Weekend Update: Colorado

Jay and I left Friday night for Colorado to visit with the Davis family. As we usually do, we spent Friday night with Shawn & Juvy in downtown Denver. It was really nice to see them! Unfortunately our flight was delayed and didn't get in until 10:30...so our plans to meet up with my friend Brandi were cancelled and we just went to Shawn's loft for some catching up before heading to bed. Saturday morning, we enjoyed breakfast at Pete's (I had the gyro breakfast sandwich which was fabulous!) and then headed down to Castle Rock to see the family.

The twins were eating lunch when we arrived. I was so happy to see that they were sporting their "X" and "L" onesies that I made them for their birthday! Guess who's who :)

They are getting so big and have wonderful personalities! Xander babbles up a storm and Liam's smiles and giggles are contagious! They are not quite walking but are very close. More than anything, they had fun crawling all over grandma and grandpa Davis' house with it's nice and open floor plan! There were lots of fun things to explore down at floor-level. I especially loved watching Liam with the door spring:

Liam and the Spring from Amie Davis on Vimeo.

Saturday afternoon we visited the park. It was beautiful outside and nice to get some fresh mountain air!

Saturday night, we went to the Old Stone Church restaurant for dinner while Mary babysat the boys (who were sleeping when we left). It was such a nice time catching up over drinks, delicious food, and great company. The restaurant was an old church built in 1888, so the architecture was beautiful - stained glass windows, exposed stone, and cozy furnishings. We all left happy and satiated!

Sunday we spent the day relaxing at home. Todd, Karen, Mary and I took a walk with Liam and Xander around the neighborhood. It was nice enough to be outside with just a long sleeved shirt and no coat!

It was sad to leave after such a short visit, but we are looking forward to seeing everyone again in June for Kyle & Becca's wedding in Kansas City.

Weekend Update

Another beautiful weekend in the desert! The orange blossoms are blooming and the air is sweet and warm. I took this photo in our backyard on Saturday morning. I'm not sure what kind of flowers they are but they sure are vibrant! It was so sunny and bright outside that it took several minutes for my eyes to adjust after coming back in. 

Saturday night Jay and I visited with Kathy, Matt and their 4 boys for dinner and some catching up. They have a new beautiful home in the East valley that we were looking forward to checking out as well. We had a very nice welcome from the boys upon our arrival - here is a photo of 3/4 of them: Elijah, Timothy and Josh...

...and the other 1/4, Benjamin, was chilling out nearby. 

We had a very nice time talking about what we've all been up to, eating pizza and even squeezed in a little Wii time! I was surprised to find that Elijah had made me my very own Mii that was a pretty good look-alike! The twins were healthier, happier (beautiful smiles!) and bigger than the last time I saw them a few months ago. Thank you Kathy and Matt for having us over!

Today Jay and I took it easy. We enjoyed too many cups of coffee in our pajamas this morning, then this afternoon ran some errands, had a nice workout at the gym, and went out for a bite to eat before he headed to work. It's going to be another crazy work week for him, but we're both looking forward to spending this coming weekend relaxing in Colorado with the Davis family. 

I am Proud.

He works so hard.

I love him.

I am proud.

From our Kitchen: Budget Friendly and Healthy

It has been quite a while since I last posted "From our Kitchen" so I thought I'd write one in lieu of our normal "Weekend Update". It works out well because Jay and I did quite a bit of cooking this weekend. I'd also like to add that these recipes happen to be low cost AND pretty healthy!

Saturday night we were browsing our newest copy of Cooking Light and decided to try Balsamic Pork with Shallots for dinner. It was great because we already had everything in the house that we needed (yes, even the shallots believe it or not). Instead of pork tenderloin, we used pork chops which worked out quite well. It was delicious and is definitely something we will cook again. 

While Jay was chopping and sauteing the shallots, I decided to make Lemony Hummus and Fresh Whole Wheat Pitas. I knew we'd be spending some time at the pool on Sunday afternoon & that we'd want a yummy afternoon snack. Again, we had all the ingredients on hand, so it was very inexpensive to make and healthy too! Note for anyone wanting to make this at home: we did not have any bread flour, so thanks to Google I found that I could make it by adding 1tbsp. of gluten flour (yes, we actually happened to have some at home thanks to Jay) per cup of all-purpose flour. Both the pitas and the hummus were delicious and hit the spot after a few hours in the sun!

My yummy homemade pitas

Tonight, I made black bean soup for dinner. I love black beans and knew that we had everything we needed to put together a good batch. I tried this recipe and found it ok, but not fabulous. I found it a bit thick and therefore did not use the cornstarch. I also substituted carrots for red bell pepper and threw fresh cilantro on top for extra flavor. 

Black Bean Soup (Pre-Blend)

Of course after I ate tonight, I got a call from Jay asking about dinner (he's coming home at 10). I tell him about the soup and he nicely asks if I can blend it for him. I caved in & spiced it up a bit with some salsa which added a nice element. Next time I think I'll try blending more (but not all) and add some more spice to it. Or perhaps I'll try a new recipe :) 

During these scary economic times, I am grateful that Jay and I are able to keep our expenditures to a minimum when it comes to food. Yes, we still go out to eat a couple times a week, but when we are at home, we keep costs down with a few main tips:

1. Buy meat on sale and freeze it. Jay is awesome at spotting a good deal so when he comes home with several pounds of ground beef, pork, or chicken, we have a little assembly line to package it up into dinner-size servings in freezer bags. 

2. We write our "menu" out each Saturday or Sunday before going grocery shopping. We check out what meat is in the freezer and build our meals around that. 

3. We get our veggies at the local fruit/veggie stand (where prices are lower and produce is fresher) before we go to the grocery store. 

We save a lot of money each month by following these few rules and don't feel like we are sacrificing at all! The great thing about all the healthy meals and snacks is that I can justify eating desserts like this! Gotta go before it melts....

Weekend Update: Cowboy Up!!

Jay joined me on a business trip to the Toughest Cowboy finals in Chicago this past weekend. Toughest Cowboy is a reality show on SPIKE TV produced by Mark Burnett (Apprentice, etc.) in which cowboys compete in three events each night. One cowboy gets eliminated each week leaving the final, Toughest Cowboy with the grand prize of a ranch in Wyoming. My company is providing the ranch for the winner and sponsored 2 cowboys that were competing in the show. I was excited to bring Jay along to share with him what I've been working on for the past 6 months! I also went to the first show last month in Raleigh and had a great time so I wanted to share that part with him too!

We arrived in the Windy City around noon on Friday. It was a beautiful day, so we took the train from the airport into town and walked from there to our hotel. It was pretty cold and windy but we didn't really mind. We were luckily all bundled up!

Cool statue we walked past. I tried to get Jay to reenact it with me (we had our suitcase and everything!) but my request was quickly DENIED!

Overlooking the river

Trump Tower

Friday afternoon we went shopping on Michegan Avenue (aka: The Magnificent Mile) and then out to dinner with all of my co-workers and ended the night with a nightcap on top of the Hancock Building - 96th floor!

Jay and I at dinner.

Saturday we got up to catch the end of the hotel's free breakfast before taking a walk down to Navy Pier. It was only a few blustery blocks away from our hotel.

Jay pointing ahead as to say "I'm not stopping for a picture in this cold a%$ wind!!"

Looking back at the city

I had read in Southwest Airlines' inflight magazine that there was a coffee festival at Navy Pier this weekend, so was excited to check it out. Unfortunately the coffee fest ended up being a trade show, so the only thing we got to see was a Barista competition. As you can see, it was a pretty big deal (to these people at least):

We also were blessed with a beautiful snow storm on Saturday which was such a treat! Here is a picture from our hotel window. It was also fun to spy on people in the condos across the way. We saw some...um...interesting things over there this weekend!

Toughest Cowboy was Saturday night at the United Center. We got there early to take pictures with our team and the cowboys we sponsor. It was great getting to show Jay around backstage and introduce him to everyone.

All of us posing on the dirt before the show.

Jay and the Bulls

The beginning of the show introducing the cowboys

A saddle bronc ride

I was so happy he was there with me this time!

Hanging out with the cowboys after the show while they signed autographs.

Toughest Cowboy was nice enough to let us take this cardboard cutout with us. It will be displayed at our Wyoming office on Wild Horse Ranch near Laramie. You'll have to watch the show to find out who won a beautiful piece of Wyoming :)

We left Sunday afternoon and after a few hassles with flight delays, got home around 9:30. We are both looking forward to a quieter and more relaxing weekend ahead :)

Packing for Toughest Cowboy

Cowboy Boots: Check.
Belts: Check.
Belt Buckles: Check.

Western shirts and tight jeans: Check.
Husband to keep me warm in the Windy City: Check.

I think we're ready to go!

The Surgery

Before:

Forearm cyst - this is the newest of the 2

This is the one he's had for 8 years now. We put a pea there for your reference :)

Jay had to be at the hospital by 9am for his 11:00 surgery. We got there on time and checked in. I had to wait while they got him hooked up in Pre-Op and then was allowed back to hang out with him until they were ready for him. It was quite a wait so we had a fun time taking pictures!

Unruly patient
Thumbs up

Dead Sexy

It was great because the waiting room had a screen just like the cell-phone lots at airports. I had Jay's secret patient number and could follow his progress on a scrolling screen! The surgery took just under an hour at which time the surgeon came out to tell me that everything went really well. Because he had general anesthesia, he had to spend over an hour in recovery which I wasn't allowed into. Once he was ready, one of the nurses got me and went through all of the rules, medication, etc. Keep in mind that one of the rules was to go directly home from the hospital before doing anything (even before dropping off the prescription). She then told me to go grab the car & they'd be right out with Jay. I tell ya, valet parking at hospitals is awesome!! The valet got our car and soon after Jay was wheeled out and looking great but a little loopy :)

First thing out of his mouth: "CHINO BANDITO!" Yup - my husband was starving. Having not allowed him anything to eat prior to the surgery, he would not let it go and didn't give me much of a choice. It was only a couple blocks away, so we grabbed some to go and went on our way. Of course 2 minutes into the drive home he wanted to drop off the prescription AND grab a movie at Blockbuster! Needless to say, my patient was pretty much a pain in the butt but I was so glad he was normal. Just like any other day - hungry and back seat driving :)

Here is the post-op photo we took at home:

Last night we were allowed to take off the bandages to Jay's relief. I get a little woozy with these pics, but check out the "final" result:

He goes in tomorrow to get the stitches out. We're not yet sure how long it will be before he can fly again, but so far driving has been ok.

Thanks everyone for your concern these past few days. We love you!!