a little bit of home sickness.

Yesterday, as I was driving in Lincoln to get to a yoga workshop, I wanted to scream in frustration.  I try my best to be open-minded and see the positive in everything (including the lovely, quaint city of Lincoln, NE), but sometimes driving here makes me wants to punch something hard.  For those of you who do not live here or have never visited Lincoln, let me tell you a little something about the streets... They suck! 

I have had this conversation many times with my husband... Lincoln does not have a loop or beltway, though it desperately needs one.  According to Adam, the city council (or whoever decides on these things) missed the opportunity to build one.  As a result, many of the major streets in Lincoln are one-laners with stop lights every 15 feet and it takes me approximately 40 minutes (on a good day) to get from one side of town to the other.  For those of you who live in bigger cities, you are probably thinking "so what." Well to me, Lincoln is not that big.  In fact, it has taken less time for me to get around in Omaha.  On top of that, Nebraska winters usually do a number on the asphalt and concrete streets, so everywhere you turn is a road closure due to construction. 

So back to yesterday, as I was driving to this yoga workshop (running late as usual), stuck behind an out-of-towner going 10 under the speed limit (I know this because NE license plates identify the county you live in by numbers) and I had a severe bout of homesickness.  This has happened other times, too.  I still can't establish the link between my homesickness and frustration with Lincoln traffic.  However, despite the lack of connection between the two, I had a very melancholy Sunday.

For individuals who grew up elsewhere, I have come to understand that it is hard for you to comprehend why Texans love their state so much.  I don't have much of an explanation for you other than we love it just because it is great.  We are taught a sense of pride for our state at an early age.  I remember reciting both pledges of allegiances to the American and Texas flags in elementary school.  I also have vivid memories learning about Sam Houston and battle at The Alamo in my 7th grade Texas history class.  After getting married almost three years ago, I cried at the DMV when they took away my Texas driver's license and replaced it with a Nebraska one. 

Call it what you will... I have heard from others that our "Texas pride" is often easily confused for arrogance and obnoxiousness.  Sometimes I feel like I can't go five steps without somebody nagging and teasing me (lovingly) about my origins.  Despite all of it, it is and will always be a part of who I am. 

Part of me feels a sadness that my child will not grow up in Texas.  I am not saying that growing up in Nebraska is a bad thing, but apart of me want my little Peanut to feel the emotional and instinctual connection that I have to Texas.  The good thing is that I will be doing my very best to make sure that my child has opportunities to learn about and experience Texas (it helps that my folks still live there).  And I don't care what everyone says up here (including my husband), but I am going to make damn sure that I have a little Longhorn fan.

Texas Flag

Lastly, it always comforts me to recognize that some of the same feelings of pride and honor I have for Texas, Adam has for Nebraska.  I consider my child very lucky to have the opportunity to be embraced by two states and the wonderful people that inhabit them.  So the next time that somebody cuts me off in while driving to work in Lincoln, instead of a obscene hand gesture, I will try to remember exactly why I moved to this wonderful state... to be with the man of my dreams and love of my life.  I can't think of a better way to grow up than in the presence of parents who love each other very much and want to share their histories with you.

Nebraska Flag

super bowl sunday!

Adam and I have made a tradition out of watching the Super Bowl with our good friends, Seth and Tanya Spratt.  Each year is full of laughter and lots of eating.  Last Sunday was no exception.  Adam even dressed in red and blue to support the Giants... since when is he a Giants fan?

My favorite part of these evenings is always eating tremendous amounts of food, especially this year since I am "eating for two."  Without fail, Seth always cooks Lil' Smokies in a speciality sauce as well as a large amount of burnt Chex mix.  I always try to contribute to the feast of goodies with 7 Layer Dip.  This year, I found a recipe at allrecipes.com and doctored it a bit.  I was a little wary on how it would turn out, but to my surprise everyone seemed to really enjoy it.  The recipe makes a ton and the four of us only got through about 1/4 of the dish.  Adam took the rest to work with him the following Monday and the guys polished it off before 10am.  Here is the recipe for your enjoyment!

polished off at work

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb of hamburger (cooked with packet of taco seasoning)
1 16 oz can of refried beans (mixed with 1 small can of green chilies)
5 cups of Cheddar-Monterey Jack Cheese blend
1 8 oz container of sour cream
1 cup guacomole (I used organic Wholly Guacamole that I found at the store b/c avocados were yuck. I used about three packets of it.)
1 cup salsa (fresh from grocery store mixed with El Pato)
1 2.25 oz can of black olives (I just used half the can)
1/2 chopped tomatoes
1/2 chopped green onions

Directions:

1. Brown ground hamburger (I mixed it with taco seasoning and prepared it as directed on the packet), set aside to cool to room temperature

2. Spread beans at the bottom of a 9x13 dish (I mixed the beans with a small can of chopped green chilies). Sprinkle 1/2 of the shredded cheese on top. Sprinkle beef on top of cheese. Spread sour cream slowly on top of beef. Spread guacamole on top of sour cream. Pour fresh salsa (I it mixed it with El Pato - find in the Mexican aisle) over guac. Spread remaining cheese on top of salsa. Sprinkle olives, green onions, and tomatoes on top.

3. You can serve immediately or refrigerate over night and serve cold. 

room by room: john deere on crack room

I call this the "John Deere on Crack" room.  The name was actually inspired by my mother-in-law, Cathie.  I saw this color painted in a funky room in a house magazine and just loved it.  Upon the complete of our house and in the midst of our first tour, Cathie exclaimed, "Wow that color is John Deere green.  More like John Deere on crack!"  The name has stuck ever since.



Take a good look at this room everyone, because it is the last time you will see it this way.  This cozy upstairs bedroom will soon becoming our baby's nursery.  I am sad to change it up because this room is actually one of my favorite's in our house.  We filled the room up with odds and ends that we inherited from family members.  The only newly purchased items are the Moroccan style curtains (Anthro... gotta love it!).  As a result of eccentricities, I feel that this room gives off a casual, yet fun vibe for any guest who has had the chance to stay in it.  However, despite the my sadness about losing this cool guest room, I am very excited for the new challenge of making it a space for my little peanut.  Stay tuned for updates as the transformation begins...

nana's delicious oatmeal cookies.

On days when I am snowed in, it always seems like I have a yearning to make oatmeal cookies.  My nana has a great recipe that she gave me.  Not only are these cookies to die for (they are that delicious), but Nana included a little note about my dad and grandfather with the recipe.  It reads:

"I started baking these cookies when Jim was about 3 years old.  He liked to help me and wanted to eat the cookie dough before it was baked.  Ray liked these, too.  I baked this recipe for Jim's senior party from high school held in our back yard.  Enjoy!"

Every time I make these, I often find myself snacking on the dough just like my dad did when he was three.  Now that I am pregnant, it was extra hard this time not to sneak in a couple of bites of dough (it has raw eggs in it).  I did cheat a little bit :)  Peanut didn't complain.

Here is the recipe for these delicious cookies (ignore how much fat and sugar is in them):

Ingredients:
1 c. Crisco
1 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 c. flour
3 c. Old Fashioned Oats
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
Optional: add any sort of nut, we sometimes use pecans

Directions:

1.  Cream the Crisco
2.  Mix in both brown and white sugars
3.  Add the beaten eggs
4.  Add vanilla
5.  Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt
6.  Stir in the oats
7.  Form dough into small balls (about the size of a quarter)
8.  Bake at 375 degrees for 9 minutes (they might not look done, but they will be)

There you have it!  I perfect snow day treat!  Enjoy!

from june-uary to snow-maggedon.

I thought the saying, "If you don't like the weather, then wait five minutes..." only applied to the weather conditions in Texas.  Boy, was I every wrong...  It is hard to believe that in the span of a few days the Nebraska winter weather has gone from 68 degrees on Tuesday to a snowy, wintry wonderland today.  Though I am usually unhappy about cold and wintry weather, I found the freshly fallen snow to be quite beautiful and found myself outside snapping a few photos of AP snow blowing the walk and our dog, Ella, romping around.  Quite a joyful day if I may say so.

AP blasting me with snow blown output

Beautiful snowy day

Ella basking in the snow

Having a romp