Lobster killer...

We went to a couple's cooking class this weekend in Dallas at the cooking store Sur la table.
We had a great time! At the beginning the chef had live lobsters and she talked about how to select a good lobster and then cook it. We all had turns taking the lobsters apart and extracting the meat for the bisque we were going to make.


I actually handed my lobster parts to Michael, because it grossed me out a bit. (And I was thinking lobster killer...from Julie and Julia). Here is Michael working on getting the meat out of the lobster claw.


Here she showed us how to take the legs off and get the meat out of the body.


Michael and I cooked the lamb chops and only one small fire was started! :)


Here is what we ate for dinner when it was all said and done: Lobster bisque, baby greens with candied hazelnuts and blue cheese, pan roasted baby lamb chops with provencal glaze, risotto, and chocolate fondue with fruits and coconut macaroons.

It was a fun and different kind of thing to do together! I loved everything except for the risotto. It was good, but I'm not sure it was worth the time it took to make. There are also cooking nights at Central market that cost less that I want to check out sometime.

Rainy Caliafornia

Michael went to visit some people in LA this week, so I joined him. I couldn't help but hear Miley Cryus singing 'I hopped off the plane at LAX with a dream and my cardigan' when I got off the plane! :)


Michael picked me up in this ridiculous corvette. He had reserved a "compact car" for the rental and this is what he got!


It rained the WHOLE time we were there. We drove along the Pacific Coast highway between LA and Malibu and saw lots of storms over the ocean.




We tracked down the Hollywood sign


A windy street in the Hollywood hills


We went to breakfast at the griddle cafe. I got the nutella stuffed french toast. It was amazing and sick at the same time. I could not come close to finishing it! All of the food there looked great.


Me on Rodeo drive in the rain


Grauman's Chinese theatre. This is where the famous hand prints are and they do premieres.


Afternoon on the beach when the rain had stopped for about one minute.


We had fun together despite the crazy rain. We got home and drove straight to Dallas for a couples cooking class I had scheduled well before this trip was scheduled. It has been a busy week and I am ready to head back to OK!

Fortune Cookie Wisdom

There is a game we play when we get fortune cookies. We each say what the other's fortune is in regard to. So we might say: your fortune is about the new york trip or yours is about going fishing. I kept my last one. Michael said- yours is about your job. Here is the fortune I had:



It was perfect for me. I hope to be licensed in April this year, and continue making steps toward "the dreams of my youth".
*Most of the time the so-called 'fortunes' make no sense and don't fit at all so it is just a silly game!

January Goals

For this month we have a couple of goals. Every year at some point my dad reads through Psalms and Proverbs in a month. To do this you read 5 Psalms and 1 Proverb each day. I have started this in the past and not finished. Although it wasn't a goal in December, reading my bible more was something I worked on, so this is a good one for me. I will-mark my words-complete this one! :)
The other goal is to eat a minimum of three fresh/unprocessed foods per day. For example, today I ate a clementine, had broccoli, carrots, and snap peas in my lunch, and had a side of broccoli with dinner. Michael ate a pear, spinach with his lunch, and had a side of broccoli with dinner. This one came from many days of holiday foods, casseroles, desserts, and processed foods. My body was crying out for food that came from the earth! :) While any nutritious diet should involve fresh foods, sometimes when life is crazy it seems more difficult to eat that way.

If you are wondering about the mile a day in December- truth be told we didn't make it every day. We did make it a good solid two weeks and then missed a day here and there. Things got really crazy with blizzard 2009 and the holidays. But the goal here is not perfection, but making a good effort. We definitely made more of an effort to run than we would have over the holidays if that was not our goal. I love fresh starts and new resolves....So here is to new beginnings and a sharpened focus! Feel free to join with our goals or share your own.

Weekend Fun

We enjoyed our last weekend of the holiday with having Christmas with my dad's extended family and having some fun.

Heather and I went ice skating




I had a great lunch with some friends for my birthday

We also spent a lot of time taking down our Christmas decorations and doing some organizing. Usually I feel sad about taking everything down, but this year I tried to think of things differently. While I was working I thought about the changing of the year and the past year.
I thought about good times over the past year and goals I want to have for the coming year. I think from now on I will think of that time as a ritual of clearing unnecessary things away, preparing for getting back on a schedule, and renewing my focus for the direction I want to be headed.

Happy New Year!

We rung in the New Year with friends- what better way is there?
My wildest dreams have already come true...
Today when I went to Target there was a sign that said they are beginning new hours and will be open until 11 during the week and 10 on Sundays. What more could a girl ask for? If this is a sign of things to come in twenty-ten it is going to be a great year! Happy New Year!