Chinese Mexican Burrito

During our weekend in Branson, Jarrod and I ate dinner at the cutest place in Forsyth, Chinese Mexican Burrito. It's interest, that's for sure, but really really fun.

Yes, our eyes were bigger then our bellys.  We ordered this blackberry margrita to share.  It was HUGE.  We didn't take into consideration that we were heading to SDC for their midnight madness after we ate.  Since we didn't have Zeda, we were going to ride roller coaster after roller coaster. Ha. 
Also, take note that our appetizers were both chips and salsa and hot and sour soup.  I will say, the chips were the best chips I've ever had.  Made fresh there everyday.

The decor consisted of Chinese lanterns and sombreros.

I ordered sesame chicken...

Jarrod ordered the crazy burrito: A mexican burrito covered with sweet and sour on one side and cashew on the other, an interesting taste to say the least.

It took forever to drink that thing.

We were happy when we left...let the coaster riding begin.

Kitchen Maddness

Today was by far my favorite pick up from the CSA...I mean look at all that goodness and color!  I really want to use it all and not waste an ounce of it, so the Murdaugh's started cooking (after we ate dinner).
However, before I started cooking from my CSA I had already been in the kitchen for quite some time.  I made Whole Wheat Raspberry Ricotta Scones, Iced Coffee Concentrate and corned beef and cabbage for dinner.

Then, together, Jarrod and I made Peach Sorbet, Fresh Salsa and preped some red sauce for me to cook in the crock pot all day tomorrow.  Tomorrow is a long day at work, I have to stay late to cook for about 70 VBS volunteers.  I want dinner practically ready when I walked in the door.

 Oh. Do you want to know what made this "cooking" day a whole lot easier?  Well, I'll tell you...my NEW Salad Master chopper.  Isn't it beautiful???  Thank you Yoders and Murrays for helping me obtain this magical piece.

Jarrod's birthday

Let the birthday celebrating begin.  We started off the festivities tonight with Jarrod's family.  Pizza House and chocolate cake at our place.  So fun, my hubby is 29.  We are celebrating big this weekend.  More updates/pictures later.

My Child is a KISSING FOOL

I really have no words.  What have I gotten myself into?  Good luck Jarrod; I feel you might go gray early because of her.

Jonah

The last two Wednesday mornings I've been co-leading a bible study by Priscilla Shirer; Jonah, Navigating a Life Interrupted.

They shock us; they shake us; they compel us to change.  You can't escape life's interruptions, but you can change your perspective on them.  Dive into the study of Jonah and discover that what you see as an interruption may truly be God's divine invitation to a life so much bigger than you can imagine. 

Yesterday during the video, she said something that was inspiring to me.  As a girl, it's hard for me not to look at someone and wish for their life, their clothes, their looks, ya know, the usual girl stuff.  It's not something I really struggle with, I'm confident and comfortable with myself and my life but there are still things and people that make me do a double-take.  It's the whole, "You want what you can't have."  Everyone has this in them...we're human.  Anyways.  At one point Priscilla said..."You don't know the weather God has asked them to walk through."  Everything looks brighter on the outside.  Everyone seems perfect unless, they let you in on all their dunk.  Everyone struggles with something.  Be thankful you don't have to go through what others do.  God gives you what you can handle and nothing you can't.  Be strong, be confident and be happy with your life.

I'm lovin' this study. :)

A weekend of celebration!

This past weekend was a little busy.  I didn't get to see Jarrod much but when I did see him we had a good time.  Oh, our nice camera bit the dust, so...I don't have any pictures from the weekend.  The one above is from my phone of sweet Zeda before church.

Here is the order of celebrations from the weekend.
1. Friday is when our 417 hit the news stands.  Click here to see what Meg had to say.
2. Meg and I ran a Social Graces wedding rehearsal together.
3. Later Friday night, Jarrod and I went out to celebrate our 5 year anniversary.  We had a giftcard to Harunos which we loved and a giftcard to Mudhouse for dessert and coffee.  Then on our way home we stopped for a redbox since Z was with Jarrod's parents all night.  It was a good night, he let me pick the redbox and we spent a total of $4.38. :).
4. Saturday, Meg and I put in a full day at the wedding.  It was a Social Graces wedding but still a girl we were both close to in high school.  It was a beautiful wedding and a huge celebration.
5. Sunday morning my wonderful husband made a few pies with me (so we could spend a little time together) because I had 3 showers that day.  2 weddings and a baby.
6.Kylie and Devin's wedding shower. We went to church, dropped Zeda off at her class and I went straight to setting up for the shower.  We used her wedding colors as part of the decor.  I made a fabric banner and used fresh flowers.  Once things were decorated and church was over we headed home so Jarrod could put Z down and I could grab my pies and head out for my next shower.
7. Cheri and Adam's wedding shower.  Once I got there, I helped finish the decoration, set the pies up and then we celebrated our little Cher bear.
8. Christy's baby shower.  After Cheri's shower, we went to the new crepe place downtown called The Aviary Cafe.  It is so lovely inside, Meg and I got there first and decided every Social Graces meeting should be there. :)  Christy is due Aug 2 with a her sweet baby girl.  I am so excited to see this baby.  Christy looks GREAT, she looks about 4 months pregnant with a tiny little bump.  She has definitely handle pregnancy well.

What a busy but super fun weekend.  I can't wait for more celebrations!

Vacation Part 12: The End

Everynight before bed housekeeping came to turned down your sheets, leave a yummy mint and make a pretty animal out of a towel for you. Not sure why these creatures make me so happy but they do. I also love the mints...can I have another?

Here's to the end of vacation...now I must return to everyday blogging again.

Vacation Part 11: Steve and Jennifer

We made friends on the cruise. I usually make fun of people who make friends on trips, especially trips with your significant other. Mainly because I don't really see the point and because when I go away with my man, I want to spend all my time with HIM. With all that said, we made friends. :)
I'm actually quite thankful we did because when Jarrod was sleeping in the room all day from being sick, I had someone to hang out with. We met them at dinner the first night since we were assigned to the same table and about the third night we found out their room was next door to ours.  I think Carnival really wanted us to be friends.
They really are two of the funniest people I've ever met and we had a great time with them. We actually don't have much in common, except for the fact we both have great danes, but that didn't stop us from clicking.
Jennifer has a THICK southern/Mississippi accent and the first night we met Steve he warned us that he's "that guy" and sure enough he really is. The first night they called us "the rich folk" ONLY because I ordered cheese and espresso with my dessert. They asked if I had "learned that at the Starbucks." (I'm not kidding) They had nicknames for everyone on the ship which made things really funny if one of those people would talk to us. They were rude, crude and loud but we absolutely LOVED them!
Thanks Steve and Jennifer for making our trip so great!

5 Years Baby!

Okay, Okay, the insanity is coming to an end.  Today is the last day of our cruise postings, because...today is 5 years for me and the hubs.
Happy 5 years baby, you are everything I could have hoped for! Love.

Vacation Part 10: Cruising Tips

 

Jarrod and I have compiled a few tips, so I thought I'd share.  We are by no means cruise experts, I've been on 3 and Jarrod has been on 2, but we do have a few little tips that we will continue to use on cruises here after.  We love to travel and the only way we can travel a lot is to keep each trip cheap cheap cheap.  It's a common misconception that everything is free on a cruise while in fact, food is the only thing that is free.

Here are a few tips to save money or get the most for your money.

1. Listerine bottles.  If you like to have a few drinks when you are on vacation, sneak some on.  Do you remember seeing my drink on this post?  It was $14 and the ONLY drink we bought on the trip, but it's not the only thing we drank.  Before we left, we bought Listerine, carefully cut the seal (without taking it off) and emptyed it out into another bottle.  We washed them and poured in our alcohol of choice, then we put in a few drops of food coloring, 3 blue and 1 green.  Perfect, right? (However, make sure you get the Listerine smell out before you pour in your alcohol)

2. Take the sit down dinner option.  It is 10 times better than the buffet every night.  Come on, you get the buffet during the day, why not take the nice option for the evening.  

3. Don't buy into the "sales."  The massages, spa treatments and pictures are NOT worth the money.  I don't know how many times I heard people say, "why not, we're on vacation."  No people, you still have to pay for it when you get home and I promise, you can get it cheaper at home.  If you want pictures of yourself, take a camera.

4. Excursions: When you book your cruise, look to see what excursions you want to do and then look online and find a local shop that does the same excursion for a lot less (make sure you read the reviews) .  Jarrod saved about 80 bucks on his dive.

5. Get a basic room.  I've had a nice balcony room and it was great, but as little as you are in your room, it's worth saving a little extra money.  The only reason I enjoyed the balcony was waking up and seeing the beautiful scenery as you come into a port.  However, it's easy to walk up the stairs and enjoying the same thing.

6. Always take the stairs (I realize this has nothing to do with money).  If you like to eat as much as we do, you need to find a way to walk it off.  There are 10 plus floors on these boats and all the entertainment is usually on the top floors.  If you go with a basic room, your floor will be one of the lowers ones which makes a perfect little workout.  At the beginning, we promised each other to only take the stairs and not ride the elevator.  I think when Jarrod was feeling his worst we took a ride but that was it.
7.  If you go with Carnival, once you book your cruise, check the price as often as you can.  Carnival will price grantee your trip depending on when you book it.   If what you bought goes down in price at anytime before you leave they will give you that credit back.  We saved about $80 because Jarrod checked it everyday.  We actually got it refunded back since they hadn't charged the second half to our credit card yet.  However, if you've already paid you just get ship credit (so you can buy these crazy expensive drinks).
8.  They give you beach towels in your room, don't loose those because they will charge you $25 if you do.  If you need a towel when you are exploring the destinations, just take a plain white bath towel.  If you loose it, it doesn't matter.
9.  Read the fine print of your itineraries.  Some ships do a cocktail hour one night where you get free drinks.
10. The last one I learned from the 2nd cruise I did.  We went to an art auction where I found a painting I absolutely LOVED.  I waited around to see if anyone would bid on it.  Yeah, it went for over 16,000 dollar.  No way would this girl be getting that painting.  They had the painting in a brochure and I took it back to school for my friend (who will remain nameless since she might not want people to know she did this, you know who you are) to see if she can paint it.  I told her I wanted it for a wedding present.  In a matter of hours she had it done and it now hangs in my kitchen.  She made it slightly different so she wouldn't feel guilty about stealing working, but I absolutely love what she did.  Thanks Friend.
Welp, that's it, remember these are just suggestions!  Happy Cruising everyone.

Vacation Part 11: Swimming with sharks

If we ever go somewhere with water, I'll be sure to know that Jarrod will dive.  He loves it and I support that.  I just wont go along.  Ha. This was the first time I got to ride in the boat with him.  I didn't realize I'd be the ONLY one in the boat while they were down there but I was.  The guy left me a loaf of bread the feed the fish so I could be entertained.  When I started to feed the fish I had the attention of many birds.  I started to get freaked out so I stopped but then the birds all lined up and waited for me to feed them. So, why not?  Those birds had me laughing so hard that I felt a bit stupid all by myself.  They were hilarious lining up then catching the bread as I threw it.  Sounds stupid I know, but really, you would laugh too.  While I was playing with the birds, Jarrod was playing with these guys.  Do you see those sharks?  Yeah, I was pretty sure I was coming home alone.  The guy told us he'd never seen a shark bit in the 20 years he'd taken people to this spot.  My response, "There's a first for everything."  Luckily my husband made it out alive and was able to see some pretty cool stuff.