Austin!!

It was time for another trip with the gang! If you remember, last year we went to San Antonio and saw "Wicked." Well, this time we chose to visit Austin to see "The Phantom of the Opera." What an amazing trip! First of all, we drove through the hill country and all of the wildflowers were in bloom! My favorite of course was the Texas state flower, the bluebonnet. This was my first time seeing wild bluebonnets and they were absolutely gorgeous! It looked like carpets of blue all along the side of the road. They were everywhere, along with purple phlox, orange paintbrush, yellow daisies, and white poppies...to name just a few :) I was in heaven!

Before heading downtown we enjoyed the beautiful sunset while eating dinner at The Oasis. This restaurant is three stories high and can seat more than 2000 guests at one time! The view was breathtaking and the food was great. When the sun finally set over the water, the bells rung and the guests clapped :) It was quite the event!

For breakfast the next day we went to the famous hotel Driskill on 6th street. The pastries, which were my favorite part, were delightful :) The food was so good we decided to come back that night for dessert after the show.

Can you believe all these boots! And this was just the aisle that had my boot size!! I had been in Texas for almost a year and had never even tried on cowboy boots, so I decided that was the day to do it! It was hard to choose, but I bypassed the boots with the snake head on them and went for a tradition brown, instead :) I'll have to save up, though...they cost $300.00. Shanam chose his favorite and of course he chose the highest priced boots in the entire store without knowing it...$3000.00!

After shopping on South Congress Street and Guadalupe Street we beelined it over to the state capitol to take a look at where Shanam's future seat in the senator's office would be. (He loves politics and would love to someday make it to that position.)

Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the hotel and get ready for dinner and the show! We ate at an amazing restaurant called Landers and enjoyed meeting up with an old friend of Andrea's. I ordered the most tender and moist fillet of Grouper over potato and leek soup. Sensational!

And here we are in the theatre! We got there a little early, hence the empty seats around us, but it gave us plenty of time to get into the spirit of the play. I tell ya, when those first chords were pounded on the organ, chills rushed through my whole body and tears ran down my cheeks! The first time I saw this play I was about 13 or 14 and I went with dad and grandma. I remember it being so overwhelming and beautiful! This time, it was both those things but with an added understanding. I felt the emotions of the characters and was completely enthralled in every line of every song!

We love the friends we've made in Andrews and can't wait for the next adventure!

Utah Ski Trip!!

It finally came time for our week long ski trip!! Shanam had been looking forward to this trip for a whole year! His ski buddy got married on Sat, March 6 but the skiing began the Monday before. Luckily we were able to leave the weekend before it all started and spend some good ski time with family up in Park City. His parents and my dad and brother were able to come with us to hit up the slopes :)

On Sunday, our friend from Texas, Laura, came out to explore and have fun in the mountains with me while Shanam left with his buddies for the week. She had never been to Utah and had never seen huge snow-capped mountains!! Can you believe it! Our first stop, though, was Salt Lake City. You can't come to Utah and not see Temple Square!

The next day was her first day skiing!! She had a lot of fun and did great for her first time sliding down a snow-covered, icy mountain :)

Then it was off to meet up with the guys for a night in Jackson Hole. The drive was gorgeous and Laura was able to see two more states she had never been to!

We hijacked some snowmobiles from the guys and had some fun riding the trails just outside of Yellowstone.

Then we checked in to our cute little cabin and met the guys for Thai food and dessert pastries. I can honestly say, I've never been disappointed with the food in Jackson! There are so many delicious little restaurants!

I think it's safe to say that Laura enjoyed her stay :) And Shanam...well, after some intense muscle message and some trips to the hot tub, he was as good as new!

Valentine's Day Dinner

We decided that for Valentine's Day, instead of going out to dinner at a fancy restaurant, we would bring the fancy restaurant...home :) Not only did we get to enjoy a gourmet meal but we enjoyed spending the 3 hours it took us to make it :)

There's my lovely Valentine, doing what he loves doing :)

To begin:

A lovely Spinach Salad with Glazed Pecans (that we harvested and shelled ourselves this last fall) with a sweet and tangy Pomegranate Red Wine Vinaigrette

and

Stuffed Mushrooms as an appetizer

To cleanse the pallet:

Creamy Mango Sorbet

(this is Shanam's specialty)

And now for the main course:

Seared Scallops over Wilted Spinach and Lemon Risotto with a side of Asparagus covered in creamy Bearnaise Sauce

And last but not least,

to add a little sweetness to the night...our dessert:

Dark Chocolate Mousse Ice Cream

(this is my specialty)

That was definitely a meal to remember :)

Murder Mystery!!

Awe, how precious :)

Every year, the Friends of the Library in our little town of Andrews puts together a fundraiser for the summer arts program. The theme of the Mystery Dinner this year was Prom, so we got to dress up as if we were going to the prom! We got our pictures taken in the traditional prom pose in front of the ghetto backdrop and enjoyed a great four course meal during the performance.

This was our table of awesome friends! Andrea, the woman in the blue and only other blond haired woman at our table, was a main organizer of the event. There was a great turnout and about $2500 was raised! It was fun to try and guess who the murderer was, but none of us got it :( No $200 prize for us...it was tricky!!

She was one of the main actresses in the show and was an absolute hoot!

Natalie was also in the show and did a fabulous job! Shanam and I had so much fun, we can't wait to do it next year...that is, if we're still here :)

P.S. A few of you may recognize the "beautiful gown" I'm wearing. I've worn it on many occasions...I got it for $15 my freshman year of college...10 years ago! LOL. And it has come in handy! 3 college dances, Halloween twice, "Academy Awards" as Nicole Kidman, Mascarade Party, New Year's Eve Party and now a mystery dinner. Am I forgetting anything? The seams are coming loose and I found a stain on the front of it, but I just can't bare to let it go!

Baltimore!!

This last weekend we headed out of town...yet again...for another adventure :) This time we made it all the way over to the east coast! We went out there for another Amway Conference and had such a great time exploring the city, eating seafood, and getting pumped up at the conference! We stayed at The Renaissance Hotel at the Inner Harbor. The rooms were very modern chic and the hotel was located right in the middle of everything. Perfect location! On Friday, we quickly put our bags in our room and headed out to grab a bite to eat. I wanted to eat real Maryland crab cakes and Shanam really wanted me to try raw oysters, so we found this amazing little restaurant with both! It was called Mo's and it was only a 10 minute walk from our hotel. It was recommended by everyone we asked, so it was bound to deliver! And it definitely did! The oysters were great...Shanam was disappointed that I didn't give him the reaction he was expecting, but proud that I actually liked them. And the crab cakes...oh the crab cakes!! I have never seen so much crab meat before in my life! They were packed full and soooo delicious! After our meal, we went to check out the famous Barnes & Noble. So cool! The store is inside an old revamped power plant, so you still see all the smoke stacks inside and outside the building. I loved it!

Then it was time for the conference!! Here are just a few pictures of the next two days. We heard from great leaders and met with so many awesome people from our group. Shanam had started this business when he was 18 and he has a very large group on the east coast, so it was fun seeing all of them and uniting together! I love seeing their success! If anyone wants to know more details about the business, let me know and I'd be happy to share! It's such a great organization to be a part of!

Snowshoeing by Moonlight

Isn't this picture absolutely gorgeous!! Shanam did a great job capturing the feel of the evening. It was such a perfect night for snowshoeing! It was so bright that it hurt our eyes at times! We went with a couple good friends to Cloudcroft, NM for New Year's weekend. It was about a 3 mile hike through the woods, with no sound except for the crunching of the snow. So serene and magical! Not to mention romantic :)

Laura and I all set to go! She was so excited!

The first timers, Laura and Matt.

LOL! She had trouble stepping on herself and losing her balance. She was hilarious! You can't tell but she's laughing hysterically on the ground :) What a fun trip!

Happy happy New Year!

We spent New Years Eve with some great friends eating lots of food and laughing the night away!

Here we are, ready to ring in 2010!

This is Eva. Eva the doll in white cowboy boots :)

Happy New Year!!