A Night in the Orient

我爱我的丈夫      

我爱我的生命          

谢谢上帝

I love my Husband  

 I love my Life  

Thank you God

Tonight I decided to try and cook some authentic Chinese food. I have cooked some chinese dishes before, but never as authentic as I did tonight. I found that there are a couple basic ingredients that I need to use in order for it to taste like the real stuff and boy did it make a difference. On the menu: 

Appetizers: Edamame, & Spring rolls with a spicy peanut mustard sauce. 

Dinner: Kung Pao Chicken over white rice and Gai Lan (Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce.) 

Drinks:  TSINGTAO (a tasty Chinese Beer) and Hot Chai Tea . . . and of course fortune cookies

I will never cook Chinese food again without these 2 things: Oyster Sauce and Hoisin sauce. This was my first time buying these two items, and there are probably better brands out there, so I will have to search for some others and test them out. There are a few other things I used that I have never used before, certain spices which made a big difference too! Mike thought it tasted just like the Chinese food we get when we get take-out, so that made me feel good. I bet it will taste even better after I make it a few times and master my recipe!  We had a nice night! I am so blessed to be married to the most amazing man!! 

Lil Diva Baby Shower

I have been meaning to post some pictures of my Best Friend Ashley's Baby shower last month. It was in Bella Vista, AR and me and a few girls threw it for her. It was the cutest shower ever and so fitting for Ashley and her lil diva, Avery -  who will be here next week! So exciting!!

Ashley with her new Diaper Bag
Candy Table ( also the favors)
Picture Board where guest's wrote notes to baby Avery

Awesome Cake
The Deck was cute too

Izzes!

Little pink buckets with zebra tissue paper for the favors. I also had some wallet sized photos made of some of Ash's maternity pics and put one in each bucket!

Let's Grow Old Together!

One of our Engagment pics - this pose was not planned. The photographer just caught this moment, which is why I love this pic SO much!!

Today was the funeral for Mike's Grandmother. It was a long tiring day, but I would not have been anywhere else then with my husband and his family!  Something very ironic to me (and it did not hit me till last night . . . ) is that his Grandmother ended up being buried in the same cemetery as my Grandparents (on my mother's side.) I just found it very ironic considering my Grandparents did not live here in Memphis, they lived an hour away in Jackson and died over 25 years ago. I never had the privilege of meeting them. Another interesting fact is that Mike's Grandmother had lived in TX for years and just moved back a few years ago. Out of all of the Funeral Homes/Cemetery's in the Memphis area, Mike and I now share the fact that both of our Grandparents are buried in the same place. May sound weird to say that this is cool . . . . but to me it kind of is. Funny how God works sometimes and how over 20 years ago, my Grandparents were buried there, and around that same time, Mike's Grandmother purchased her plot there. It's just funny to think about how God knew then that one day Mike and I would be there together visiting our Grandparents graves. 

Today was sad of course, but it also made me think how I want to live a long, happy life with Mike and grow old with him! And in the process, work hard to cherish every single precious moment, because each moment is so very precious! 

Happy Memorial Day!!!

On this day I am so thankful to be an American, living here in this great country! I am thankful for the freedom I have, a gift given to me everyday by the men and women who fight for me! 

Good Memorial Day Quotes:

The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example.  ~Benjamin Disraeli

And I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
~Lee Greenwood

A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.  ~Joseph Campbell

Who kept the faith and fought the fight;
The glory theirs, the duty ours.
~Wallace Bruce

All we have of freedom, all we use or know -
This our fathers bought for us long and long ago.
~Rudyard Kiplin

The story of America's quest for freedom is inscribed on her history in the blood of her patriots.  ~Randy Vader

Family time at Pickwick!

My Dad came home this weekend! YAY! We were all so glad to see him! He had been saying that he wanted to go to the lake this weekend, so we decided to go Saturday. Mike got a few days off from work due to his Grandmother passing away, and I really wanted him to go to the lake with us and just get away a little and relax, but he didn't think it was a good idea because he was afraid that he might run into someone from Fed-Ex and they would wonder why he was at the lake after his Grandmother just passed away. I understood where he was coming from, but just hated to go with out him. So me, my mom and dad and brother went and it was a good time! The sun could have been out a little more, but we were just glad it did not rain on us!

It's never easy . . .

Today I had a missed called from Mike when I left a class and I called him back and he told me that his grandmother had passed away. She was in her mid seventies and although we all know she lived a long life, it is never easy and still at seventy something you think that they still could've had a few more good years left. Mike is doing okay, pretty blah. He went to bed very early tonight because he is just so tired (it's been a very tough week for him at work) and I think he's just sad. 

It was his Dad's mother. His Dad is not one to ever really show emotion. Mike said that he has never seen his Dad cry. Today he called me after he left his parents house (I was at work) and said that in all of his thirty years, he has never seen his Dad they way he saw him today. Just very, very sad. I guess that goes to show that no matter how old we are or whether or not we show our emotions, losing your mother is NEVER easy!

I pray for Mike and his family and ask for your prayers at this time as well! 

Minage a Trois - great red wine!

Tonight I opened up one of my favorite bottles of wine, Minage a Trois! I have purchased it many times, but recently got it as a gift and after a long day today, decided it was time to open it. My Mom and I ended up drinking the bottle, ha ha - not hard to do really. This is a very good red wine and at a very reasonable price of around $12 a bottle - such a deal for a good red wine!!! It is a good, smooth blend and at first taste, you think it is sweet, but it isn't, it is smooth, mellow and overall a unique taste compared to other red wines! It is a wonderful flavor and low on tannins compared to other reds!  It is SO yummy!!! I also like the white wine by Minage a Trois!  

Cheers!

Walking in Memphis

  Mike likes to put his hand on my leg when he drives . . . I love it so!!
The Orpheum Theatre where we have seen Sheryl Crow, Bill Cosby, Jerry Seinfeld, The Goo Goo Dolls, Alicia Keys, Damien Rice, and Ben Harper (just to name a few . . . there are many more we have seen, not to mention the Broadway shows!)

                      Beautiful churches and old buildings

                                                            Railroad Tracks
                            My yummy dinner: a Waldorf Salad

Sunday Mike and I both had to work and I was bummed because it was a beautiful day and as I was in my store I noticed people out strolling along and enjoying the day. It made me wish so bad that Mike and I were both off from work and doing the same thing. On my way home I called him and told him how I wished we had been off work and out enjoying the day, and he suggested that we do just that and go downtown, walk around and go to dinner. It was perfect weather for it too. This is the time of year that it is great to do this sort of thing in Memphis, because it is not miserably hot and humid (yet). 

We walked around and I took some pictures of downtown and a few places that we know well! Downtown is very special to us! We have had many good times downtown, before we met, and after. We have gone on many dates there, and done many fun things there. We love downtown so much that we got married in a wonderful building downtown called The Cadre and had our Rehearsal Dinner at the famous Broadway theatre the Orpheum, where my Mom worked for several years. So we love going down there and walking around and looking at all the places that hold so many memories for us! 

UT Bound: Congrats Chelsea

Over the weekend my Mom, brother and I went to a graduation party for my cousin Chelsea who is graduating HS. She is going to be attending college at UT Chattanooga. A couple years ago, her older brother Daniel graduated. He is now at UT in Knoxville. For his graduation gift, I had the idea to make a large basket full of things he would need and could use once he went off to school. I filled the basket with mostly orange things - since that is the primary color of UT. I put orange towels, candy, food (Cheetos, mac n' cheese, candy) and many other useful things. I had SO much fun putting his together, that I decided to do the same for Chelsea. I put all kinds of things in her basket, from washcloths, body wash, lotion , soap, candy, orange tic tacs, nail files, candles, school supplies, and lots more.

I think that is the cutest gift idea to do for someone who is graduating High school and going off to college. Just start gathering up things that you think they could use while going off to school and try to purchase things that go with the school colors. It makes it much more fun and so cute when you present the basket. 

When Chelsea saw that I had done the same thing for her as I did for her brother Daniel, she was so excited because she knew she would find all kinds of useful things, a long with some goodies too. Daniel told me that was one of his most favorite gifts he got when he graduated. He said it was not only fun, but very useful!  

My Mom got her a Coach wristlet - which is also another great gift for a college bound girl! She can put her school ID in it along with her other ID and money and carry it everywhere with her since it can also hooked onto her key chain! I want one for myself too! 

Congrats Chelsea! May you succeed in all you do and never forget that God is always there to direct your path!