Cookin' Tips

I'm on a mission to start to learn how to cook. Some of you might be, too. Or, maybe some of you who are used to cooking regular meals (wild) just need some ideas and recipes! Well, thanks to my friend, Stephanie, I've taken advantage of this great deal from Mable's Meals.

She sends you a menu each week along with the recipes and a shopping list. She even adds some tips to make tomorrow's meal easier. (Like, even though you won't need it all, cook the whole package of bacon today, so you'll have it ready for tomorrow.)

Go to The Deal Scoop to find the coupon code that will give you a year's subscription free. But if you're interested, you better go now. It expires today. (Sorry for the late notice!)

I got my first menu in my email this morning. There are some recipes that I wouldn't normally cook, but who am I kidding? If I'm gunna start cooking for real, I'm going to have to venture away from the frozen pizzas, chicken strips, corndogs, and mac & cheese. Any recipe will be new to me. And I'll definitely take all the help I can get.

Somebody else doing my weekly meal planning? For free? I'm totally there. Maybe keeping my end of the bargain won't be so hard, after all.

Snooze Control

[pic via]

Brad was still sleeping, this morning, as I was getting ready for work. When his alarm clock sounded, I looked out from the bathroom to see him blindly poking the buttons of the TV remote control that was also resting on his side table. After a little while, his hand wandered to the clock and continued randomly poking things until he finally landed on the snooze button, giving him permission to peacefully fall back to sleep. I couldn't help but chuckle at my adorable, sleepy husband.

For nine minutes, I giggled to myself while I straightened my hair, anticipating how he'd handle the next alarm. Finally, the terrible buzzing filled the room again, and I peaked around the corner to watch Brad pick the remote up, this time, point it at the alarm clock and punch some buttons. As time went on, he sat up straight, focused harder on the remote control, determined exactly which button to hit, and pressed it with more force than ever. At this, the laughter I had been containing burst out, waking Brad enough for him to realize what he was doing and nonchalantly tap the snooze button. We made eye contact, and he laid his head back on the pillow with a sheepish, embarrassed, (adorable) grin on his face.

Once I regained composure, I asked him what button it was that he had been pushing so vehemently. He shrugged his shoulders and casually replied,"The pause button. Made sense to me. Couldn't figure out why it wasn't working."

Oh, my sweet boy. It makes sense to me, too, honey. Me, too.  ♥

5k Training

Since Brad's keeping his end of the bargain and is nearly finished with the 2nd Potter book already, I figured it's time I pick up the pace on my side. Well, one of my sides, anyway...

I've included running as a part of my work out routine for a while, but I've always hated it. This morning, I decided to try something new. I brought HP1 with me (since I'm joining Brad and starting to read the series again) to the gym and propped it up on the treadmill. I told myself I wouldn't even look at the time or distance for as long as I could stand it.

I usually can't make it three minutes without getting winded and pleading with the treadmill to magically add numbers to the screen. Running ten minutes straight has been my record up to this point, and it was a struggle. However, with Harry to distract me, I didn't even wonder how long I'd been running until over six minutes in! When all was said and done, I ran 16 minutes solid, which was 1.13 miles, total. Longer and farther than I've ever ran at one time before! I really think I could have even gone longer, but it was time to hop in the shower, and I didn't want to wear myself out. (I know this may sound like only a little distance/length, but y'all don't realize how seriously out of shape I am.) It was the first time I ever ran that I didn't want to secretly cuss afterward, because I hate it so much. Big accomplishment!

I'm so stinking pumped about it! Looks like I found my sweet spot. I should have always known it would be Harry Potter...

Okay, okay, I shouldn't go too crazy. I know a 5k is over three miles, and I know it's outside which is way different than running on a treadmill. (I had my first experience with that this past Saturday morning when Brad took me running with him. Thankfully  he was patient with me as I gasped for air in the humid heat and realized just how hilly the world really is.) But just training my body to move for that long is a baby step I'm proud of.

Maybe I'll be able to do this after all. I'm starting to see it as a possibility, which is a really good thing. Now, if I can just figure out this meal planning business. Wish me luck!

[pic via]

The Great Mehaffey Compromise of 2010

Brad and I have struck a deal. The Deal of all deals, actually. I do believe it's a win-win situation.

I've been a Harry Potter addict since high school.  You know, that kind of fan. When we first got married, and he was still trying to impress me with his kindness, I persuaded him to read the books. He got through the first three (rather quickly, I might add) before school started back up. Once the new semester began demanding his attention, and he caught a glimpse of the swelled size of Book 4, he backed away from the series. It wasn't long until he was talking trash of HP and making comments about how dumb it is and poking fun at me for my obsession. Once he set his mind against Harry, I was never able to convince him to pick the books back up, again.

This sort of Potter abuse has been going on for five years, now! Can you imagine?? Even I can't believe I've survived this long. Granted, he's always been generous when it comes to the movies and the midnight releases of those movies, but it never goes without a little chastisement, and he'd never consider actually reading the books.

Anyway, last week, I had had the last straw. It actually wasn't even anything he did, but rather, bonding Potter experiences I had shared with other HP fans at work. We make wizarding references all the time; they serve as a sort of inside joke that links us together in a world full of oblivious muggles. We have so much fun discussing the books and joking about characters as if they're our own friends, that it made me sad for the connection that Brad and I were missing. That was it. I had had enough of his silly anti-Potter activity. It was simply unacceptable.

I became a woman on a mission. On my way home from work, I called Brad and asked him what he'd want if he could get me to do anything. (Get your mind out of the gutter people...) I told him I had a huge favor I wanted from him, and I wondered what it'd take for him to do it. But I didn't tell him what the favor was, yet. I knew he'd laugh it off once he knew, and this was no laughing matter. This was a very serious request, and he needed time to think of it.

First, he wanted me to run a marathon. (I believe he was throwing out the impossible simply to test my devotion to the secret request.) I scoffed and suggested possibly a half-marathon. He counter-offered with a requirement that I, in fact, run the entire 13.1 miles. Not possible. He then settled for two separate 5k's, running the duration of both 3.1 mile races. I tentatively agreed...

Before Brad made that his final offer, he insisted that he knew exactly what he was promising. So I hit him with it: read the entire Harry Potter series by the end of the year.

He rolled his eyes, astonished that I was going to such great lengths to make this happen, and insisted the stakes be raised. He wanted a home-cooked meal every week for a year. (I know that, like, every other wife on the planet makes something around 5-7 meals per week, but I just don't have it in me.) I rebuttaled with a meal every other week. Done. But he still wanted the 5k's. No deal. Negotiations ensued. Only one 5k, and we'd run it together. Deal.

So, the Great Mehaffey Compromise of 2010 settled under these terms: Brad will read the entire Harry Potter series, all 7 books, by the end of the year in exchange for a home-cooked meal, that does not have a main dish from a box and is never repeated, every other week from August 2010 through July 2011, and we'll also run a 5k together.

Although running is the equivalent of pulling off my fingernails, and I'm terrible at / afraid of cooking, I still feel like this is a Mindy victory! I've had to listen to 5 years of him berating my fictional love, and now he'll love it too!! He, however, claims that he got the better end of the stick. Turns out, he never hated Harry to begin with (surprise, surprise). He just knew how crazy I was about it and "thought it was funny" (not funny) to pick on me for it.

He boasts that this is going to be the easiest promise he's ever made. So easy, in fact, that he's already finished the first book, in one night!! Oh, that's right. He thinks he's proving a point to me, but I'm just so excited that we're both going to be Potter fans! Imagine the conversations we'll have about portkeys and polyjuice potions and Hungarian Horntails and rooms of requirement and invisibility cloaks and real live gnomes... Oh, the possibilities are endless!!

Yes, this is definitely a win-win situation.

Hey, what can I say? Marriage is all about compromise.

PS. If you have any great and easy recipes, please send them my way! I'm looking for approximately 25 of them. And by easy, I  mean supa.easy! Thanks!

[pics via here, here, and here]

Souvenirs

Every time Brad and I travel somewhere, we pick up a souvenir magnet. When we get home, I take a silver Sharpie and write the month and year and the special occasion for the trip if there was one on the back of it. It's always fun to glance at the side of our fridge and be immediately transported back to those memories. I love the constant reminders of fun experiences we've shared together.

Second-priority traveling souvenirs are always Christmas ornaments. We don't pick one up every time we go somewhere, but we do as often as we can remember / can afford it / can find one. It's so fun to jump back in time every holiday season as we decorate our tree to remember fun times.

Do you collect anything, or is there one thing that you just have to get when you visit a place?

X-games

I bet my brother is cooler than your brother. Can your brother do this awesome flippy-trick on his rollerblades?

I didn't think so.   :P

Syrupy Kisses

Back in the day, Brad and I would meet in the middle of our work days for lunch dates every once in a while. Since his schedule has changed, and he's working over night, our dates have also shifted. We still meet for meals, but instead of meeting across the table from each other at lunch time, now it's breakfast time!

Anxious to see Brad for the first time this week, I cut my workout a little short this morning so that I could meet him around 7:00, right when he got off work, at the Soda Shop across the street from the hospital. (Yep, that's right, it's an old fashioned soda shop.)

I was running a little bit late, but when I got there, Bradley had already ordered my breakfast for me. :)

I love that he knows what I'd order.

I love starting my day with syrupy kisses.

I love any sort of date, whether it's breakfast, lunch or dinner.

I love seeing my honey after a while of not getting to.

I love hearing about his crazy work stories and having him be proud of my working out progress, and subsequently sympathetic of my ridiculous soreness.

I love sharing my life with my best friend.

I love my husband. Yep, that about sums it up. I love my husband.

Dad Life

I just can't resist sharing funny things that I find on youtube. And for some reason, white people trying to rap about everyday life cracks me up! This is no Swagger Wagon, but it still makes me laugh out loud!

Brad's not even a Dad, yet, but I still see him in some of those things, especially the grilling and the yard work. Although his manscape's got nothing on the guy's in the video! Ow, ow!

Hahaha, dozens of dollars... I'm still chuckling.

Our little greeter

We all know that I like gnomes and am on a mission to become the Gnome Lady. It was only a matter of  time before Walter had a fellow gnome friend.

This is Edmund.

He was a birthday gift to me from Brad's parents. I love him. He reminds me of one of the Seven Dwarfs, especially Doc, thanks to his studious glasses and continuous studying. His lantern even glows in the dark; that's how awesome he is.

I like to think that he's not only greeting our visitors, but also double checking his records to make sure that your name is on the list before he lets you enter our house. But don't worry. The list is fairly inclusive. So far, everybody who's tried to come has made the cut. I have a feeling he might be tweaking the directory in order to gain friends. (That's so Edmund... Always striving to be the favorite gnome...)

But see? There's really no excuse to not come visit. Edmund is waiting patiently to give you the go-ahead. Come on over and play!

Full House

We had quite a full house last week. Some of our family from Texas came up to visit the Mehaffeys as well as Nashville. So, for a week, we had Aunt Cathy and Uncle Sam, their two sons, Adam and Ryan, and another tagalong cousin, Amy, to hang out with!

Luckily, we didn't all have to fit in our house. Adam and Ryan stayed with Jeremy throughout the week. And Mathew and Heather hosted dinner one night and breakfast another morning. Then, when Mom and Dad Mehaffey came in for the weekend, they were able to stay with the middles. With this arrangment, nobody was overcrowded or overwhelmed. (Having all the Mehaffey kids in one place has more perks than we thought!)

Besides eating turtle (and Mickey Mouse and blob) pancakes at their house, we also participated in some pretty intense board games! I'll have you know, the girls totally smashed the boys at Mad Gab, even though it was 4 against 6. Neener, neener! But I won't even go into how out of hand Scattergories got! I don't think it'd be a good idea to bring that back up...

During the days, while I was at work, the crew travelled around the city visiting some of the Civil War historical sites in the area. Apparently, they had an especially good tour guide at the Carnton Plantation, in addition to some other locations they visited, and they really enjoyed their history lessons.

Even though I missed some of the more informative daytime activities, I was able to participate in the night life! Anytime someone visits Nashville, we have to take them to the Wildhorse Saloon, and this time was no different. The boys' skills at country line dancing was quite impressive. Let me tell ya.

While Don and Elaine were able to join us, we toured Yazoo, the microbrewery downtown. Everybody enjoyed tasting their different brews while learning how they are brewed throughout the tour. (Well, Heather and I enjoyed treating somebody to a little extra, since we aren't the beer-drinking type.)

No matter what we did, we had a fabulous time. Even though getting the entire group together was utterly impossible because of everybody's varying schedules (hence the lack of a quintessential "group shot"), we absolutely loved spending time with one another.

We Mehaffeys rarely get to visit with the family in the Lonestar State. It was such a privilege to get to spend time with some of them, but even more so to get to know them better. We are so blessed to be part of such a wonderful family!

Spectacles

When Brad and I first got married, he had these super hot, dark, thick-rimmed glasses. They were full of feisty personality, and I adored them. Then, one day, he gave them to a homeless man while he and some men from church were downtown doing their homeless ministry. Well, that's a very generous and Godly thing to do, sure, but still I missed his glasses!

(If the above picture looks like a mugshot, that's because it basically is. It's his driver's license picture from right after we got married. The only picture I could find of his old glasses.)

Even though he most often wears contacts, he still needed a back up pair of glasses. So, shortly after giving them away, he  replaced his punk-ish glasses with a new pair. However, he picked the new pair out all by himself while I was at work, which means I had no say, and he went with an entirely new style.

He said he wasn't in college anymore and he needed to look professional. (I believe he was working as a stock investor at the time.) So he got some very mature looking wire-rimmed frames that made him look very handsome, indeed. However, handsome and hott are two different things. While I've always thought that Brad is the most handsome man in the entire world, I've spent years secretly lamenting the loss of my husband's feisty appearance.

But guess what he went and did last week, without telling me. He took an undercover trip to the eye doctor and picked out some new, trendy, chunky, nerdy, dark, thick-rimmed glasses and surprised me with them when I came home from work to find him wearing them!

Take a look at how hot he is!! *sigh* Now, he still has the professional frames when he wants to impress somebody with his intelligence, but you better believe he's gunna whip out his rockstar eyewear when he wants to impress his lil' lady! I seriously can't help but swoon every time I see him in them.

I have the best husband in the world for taking my preferences into consideration when it comes to his style. He's even growing his hair out a little bit for me and sneakily forming a faux hawk every once in a while. Oh, someday I'll do a progression of Brad's hairstyles just so you can oogle at his college curls, too!

I know that we've been married for over five years, and you can make fun of me if you want, but I just can't help crushing on my uber hott husband! And, since this is my blog and all, I get to gush about him all I want.

Thanks for indulging me.  :)

Preparing Princess Layla's kingdom

Emily had her church shower this past weekend for upcoming Layla Grace, and it was all pink and all princess!

We had a tiara on the cake, pink roses and pink sweetheart roses everywhere, and even items directly from Layla's nursery to use as decoration! Can you believe that Kris hand painted those two princess canvases?? He's so talented!

People must have gotten the memo, because everything she got was an adorable pink and brown! Emily and Layla were definitely showered with gifts.

Of course little Charlie had to come to the all girls' event, and of course Emily had to practice loving on a precious angel.

Seriously, look how cute she is!

Oh my goodness, I just can't get enough of these sweet little babies! I especially love the pink, ribbons, flowers, bows, and princessy things. I always wanted to have a boy first when we start having kids, but these girls are quickly winning over my heart!!

Summer Style

Chester got his summer cut, last week.

I, personally, don't prefer him with short hair. I miss his waves. He holds so much personality in his fur, and he simply doesn't look like himself without it.

But, I'm not going to tell him that he looks weird. He seems to like it just fine. Who am I to burst his little doggy bubble?

My little boyfriend

Our friends, Pam and Mitch, came over for dinner the other day. My boyfriend came along with them. His name is Ben, and he's their 2-year-old son.

We've been dating ever since he was born. Seriously, I pretty much have a little boy crush on him. We flirt all the time. He's so stinking adorable, and I absolutely love to be around him.  He makes me want to have one of my own!

I may not have a real son, but I do have Chester, and the two of them are pretty comparable, don't you think? Look at them when both of their dad's went outside to check something out on the truck. Adorable, I tell ya. They could nearly be twins.

(Yes, we do have doggy steps by the window so that Chester can see out.)

Now be honest with me, you're starting to have a little boy crush on Ben, too, aren't you? I don't blame you.  You just can't help it. He's adorable, and you can't not love him. That's all there is to it.

My future's so bright

I've gotta wear shades! 

Even on glasses days...

Come to think of it, why are small glasses trendy but giant sunglasses are the biz-ness? Well, whatever the reason, it does make it easier to shield my duel facewear action.

(Hey, you've got to keep yourself entertained somehow when you're driving 0 mph on your commute home from work.)

Happy Birthday, America!

Of course, we had to wish America a big "Happy Birthday!" with popsicles, sparklers, and fiery fountains in our backyard.

However, the next morning, on the actual 4th of July, is when the party really began. Brad and I joined our friends Alex and Amber for a day of Independence Day fun. We started our afternoon out at the Hot Chicken Festival, where the goal was to prove that Nashville's chicken is the only thing hotter than the 4th of July.

And, boy were they right! Despite the all-you-can-eat watermelons, mouths were breathing fire all over the place. We waited in line (forever) amongst the other first 500 guests to get two free samples of any hot chicken of our choice. Which meant, that Brad got four free samples, because I know better than to try to even attempt to consume something that is called "400 Degrees." Brad, on the other hand, was not so wise.

Once we were sufficiently sunburned from the noon-day's heat and had consumed multiple cups of freshly squeezed lemonade and some red, white, and blue sherbet, we ventured across the river to procure our seat for the city's fireworks display. We got there at 2:30, and could barely find a place for the four of us to sit. The show didn't start until 9:30, but this is what the riverfront looked like already at 5:00.

Luckily, we were able to snag the best seats in the house. We were all the way up front next to the fence, so nobody was in front of us, and we were all the way to the side. So, while there were 100,000 people to our right, there were only 20 or so to our left, alleviating the claustrophobia.

The temperature was so high, and the sun was so blazing, that we went on a venture to 2nd Avenue in order to find Brad his very first cowboy hat to help him from getting further sunburned. Thanks to a damaged hat that was on sale for $5, Brad is now officially a Southern Boy. Amber and I, meanwhile, huddled on the blanket under an umbrella, savoring any ounce of shade we could muster.

Five hours and five gallons of sweat later, we heard ourselves saying things like, "Are we completely crazy?" and "Who in the world actually does this???" and "Alright, great experience to say we did it, but only one time in our lives." or "What ever made us think this would be worth it??"

But we were enjoying all of the pre-show activities, concerts, and vendors. We especially loved this firefighter boat that sprayed water in red, white and blue. They also had a performance with the Nashville Symphony playing patriotic songs while a speaker passionately read the Declaration of Independence and other patriotic quotes from some of America's past heroes, before honoring our armed forces by asking any men or women who have fought for our nation to stand and be recognized. It was so powerful.

And once the actual fireworks display began, any doubts of whether or not we made the right decision to watch the show on the river were immediately squelched. It was absolutely breathtaking!

Fireworks (or, as I like to call them, Christmas lights in the sky) filled our entire view. They had constant fountains coming up from the ground and a perpetual stream of massive explosions occupying the sky. The show, combined with the live soundtrack of the symphony, was something like we had  never experienced before. We couldn't take our eyes off it.

I literally Ooh'ed an Ahh'ed and squealed and clapped and grinned so hard that my cheeks hurt. I felt like I was seven years old, but I couldn't help it! It was the most spectacular thing I had ever seen in my life.

Not to mention the most romantic. There's nothing that says romance like kissing the love of your life with the glow of fireworks shining behind your eyelids.

We are 100% glad that we braved the crowd, heat, and traffic to experience the Best Fireworks Show in the South first hand. It's definitely a memory that we'll cherish for a long time to come.

Did you have a great Independence Day? Did you watch a big show or put one on yourself? And most importantly, did you eat a lot of watermelon??