Giddy Up!

While in Texas, we are really trying to take advantage of the Texas culture. We are eating barbecue and Mexican, visiting ranches, traveling to San Antonio and Austin, attending local sporting events and festivals, even wearing cowboy boots and belt buckles. This past Friday we really experienced Texas by going to the Corpus Christi Rodeo, Buc Days! Since moving here I have learned that I LOVE rodeos (and I’m not even the least embarrassed to admit it!) I love the idea of country music, rodeo clowns, horses, beer, fried food, and cowboy boots. Needless to say, I had been looking forward to this event for months.

We went to the rodeo with three other friends (Kyle, Amy, and Adam – all students with Matt). With admission to the rodeo, we also got free tickets to the carnival. We enjoyed funnel cake, rides, and barbecue until late into the night. However, the best part was definitely seeing the cowboys and their events. Here is my novice description of the rodeo events that we saw at Buc Days.

Bareback Riding:

This is pretty self explanatory. Contestants ride the horses bareback, only allowed to hold on with one hand.

Barrel Racing:

The contestants race their horses around three barrels set up in various locations around the arena. This is a timed event – fastest time – wins!

Bull Riding:

This is one of the most dangerous rodeo events, where the contestants must ride the bucking bull for at least eight seconds. Sounds easy enough, huh.

Team Roping:

This was my least favorite event, because even though they assured us that it wasn’t cruel, I certainly wouldn’t want to be the calf. The two contestants ride their horses while trying to rope in a racing calf. One team member must rope the horn, head, or neck of the calf, while the other ropes the back legs.

Tie-Down Roping

This was another one of my least favorite events. The contestant and calf are let into the arena. The contestant is chasing the calf and once he ropes him, he jumps off his horse and throws the calf to the ground and proceeds to tie three of the calf’s legs together. Yes, throws the calf to the ground...

Mutton Busting:

This was my favorite event! It is meant for young kids – I’m sure as an introduction into big-time rodeo events. The child is put in a riding position on a sheep, the sheep is let go, and the child must hold on as long as possible before falling to the ground (no worries, the children wear helmets).

Leslie mentioned in her last blog that there are more than a few differences between New York City and Corpus Christi. I would have to imagine that cowboys and rodeos would be one of the main ones! Still, I can’t help but think that I will miss these types of events when we move in a couple of months.

I wish that I had more pictures to share, but I was notified early on that picture-taking was prohibited (after I had already stolen a few pics, see below…)

Loving Buc Days!
Let the games begin...She thinks my tractor's sexyWouldn't be a carnival without funnel cakeTexas has done our bodies goodYum, yum - Texas BBQ

Funny...

Sometimes I really laugh about how different Casey and I's daily lives are...but at the same time very simliar. I love hearing her stories and it's fun to share mine.

Here's just an example of how different our locations are...and fyi, I saw my breath this morning...not cool!

New York:
Friday - sunny, avg temp 55
Saturday - mostly sunny, avg temp 57
Today - raining...pouring, actually, avg temp 50

in summary...cool and sunny, then freezing and rainy

Corpus Christi:
Friday - foggy and sunny, avg temp 82
Saturday - sunny, avg temp 76
Today - sunny, avg temp 77

in summary...sunny, sunny, sunny and waaaarm. (can you tell i'm jealous?!)

Showered with Love and Cooking with Gas

Lately I have been in the beginnings of the wedding whirlwind, a lot of my free time has been doing wedding planning activities or pre-wedding festivities.

I was telling Casey that I wanted to blog, but haven't been doing anything interesting lately and nobody wants to hear about wedding, wedding, and more wedding. But she said, people just want to know what you're up to...and she's right, so I figured out a good way to talk about it all!

Nick and I have been extremely blessed to have wonderful family and friends who have thrown me a bridal shower and both of us a couples shower in the past month! The showers have been so much fun and made us feel incredibly special.

We also got some great gifts!! This weekend Nick is in Las Vegas on his bachelor party and it's the first weekend I've been in NYC with no plans. So I have been relaxing, spending quality time with Cole, got to see my good friend, Sara, who was in town and COOKED!

For those of you who know me well...I occasionally try to cook and try really hard, but do not always succeed, haha. This weekend I used all my new shower gifts and did alright!

Friday was shrimp scampi and pasta, using our new Calphalon pots and pans, garlic press, lemon press and zester, and my new pampered chef spatula! It didn't have as much "kick" as Casey's shrimp scampi but was really good. I had some wine which I then saved by using my new wine bottle vacuum pump! funny side note - we made Casey's "shrimp scampi with a kick" one of the first times I had Nick over and it was so spicy and hot he was dripping sweat! haha.

Today was the big challenge - I decided to make Boberry biscuits! If you've ever spent some time in the south you know the fastfood chain, Bojangles and their incredible biscuits. I found their sweet blueberry "boberry biscuit" recipe and decided to make them.

Cooking in a kitchen that is approx. 4 feet long and 2 feet wide is not easy. We have a makeshift counter top, a gas oven, and no dishwasher. It's a strategic effort from beginning to end and involves me using a step stool alot! Plus it doesn't help when a 90lb lab is at my feet and thinks there's room for him to sniff around for crumbs. Anyway, I used almost all my new tools: spatulas, hand mixer, pampered chef measuring bowls, whisk, zester...the list goes on and I loved it!!

My boberry biscuits turned out ok, but gas ovens are very tricky...I barely know if it's on! There is also supposed to be a white icing on the biscuits and the recipe said sugar and melted butter, which tasted good but came out clear...oh well.

Now I'm catching up on some tv shows with Cole at my feet after enjoying all my new toys...thanks for showering us with love and kitchen tools :)

Much love from the city!

During


After


Results

We're Hooked!

Summer is officially around the corner; tis the season of baseball, beer, and hot dogs.

We kicked off baseball season today at the Corpus Christi Hooks game. The Hooks are a Double A Astro’s farm league team. They have only been around since 2005, but have become a major part of the Corpus Christi sports scene. The games are full of minor league fun --- dizzy bat games, Kiss Cam, dance offs, and racing mascots; plus a few Texas extras, like a swimming pool in the outfield that can be reserved for parties.

We had perfect baseball weather – 80s and partly cloudy. We sat on the Grass Berm where tickets were only $5.00 (bring your own blanket). What started off as cheap entertainment got a bit pricier when you add in the foot-long corn dog, Whataburger cheeseburger, two fries, two waters, soda, and Hooks gear. But as they say, the experience was priceless.

Looking forward to a season of Hooks baseball! GO HOOKS!

Whataburger, just like you like it

Let's play ball!

The cheap seats (the camera position makes those shorts seem muuuuch shorter;))

2010 is a Big Year!

This blog entry is dedicated to the year 2010...it's a big year for my family! I must say it's funny how life happens....a year ago I never would've imagined I'd be living in New York City with a wonderful fiance and our loving yellow lab.

Anyway, 2010 is a big year!! Nick and I moved to the big apple, we're getting married in exactly 54 days and......we're going to be Aunt Leslie and Uncle Nick!!

That's right...my big brother Andy and his wife Shannon are expecting a baby in October! We couldn't be more thrilled and happy for them. We also can't wait to be aunt and uncle, I am soooo looking forward to holding that little bambino and watching it grow up. I'm also looking forward to being the best aunt and buying lots of noisy fun toys and then heading home! just kidding, Shan ;)

Andy and Shan came to visit this weekend to tell us the news in person and we had a great time! Here are some pics of us and the mom and dad to be.

Nick and Andy in Little Italy where we had dinner and heard the news!


Brunch :)


Cole happy at Central park with a stick


Best Buds, Nick and Cole spending a beautiful day in Central Park


Mom and Dad to be enjoying spring in NYC


The Great Lawn in Central Park

Festival of Sand

Even though the weather wasn’t great yesterday, Matt and I ventured out to Port Aransas for the day. Port Aransas is about 20 minutes away from North Padre Island (where we live – yes, we are “Islanders”) and is my favorite place here in Texas. It is a beach resort town filled with rental go-carts, surf shops, beachy restaurants, and gift shops. People come from all over Texas to visit Port Aransas. When we first moved here I asked Matt if he was willing to commute. It is about 40 minutes from the base, needless to say, I wasn’t able to convince him (maybe it was those 5:00 a.m. briefs…) They promote Port A as “Texas – Island Style” and have restaurants with names like Castaways, Fins, and Moby Dick's...what more do I need.

We started out at a little café, Island Cafe. Those who know us best know how much we LOVE hole-in-the-wall restaurants (what I would do for a taco from El Charrito’s on Washington Blvd. in Arlington). I think my appreciation for local hole-in-the-walls comes from my parents who love to discover unknown eateries in small towns. The food was great, service was fast, and the prices were CHEAP. After finishing up with brunch, we headed to the coffee shop for some more caffeine to get through the day. *Matt had two flights on Saturday and didn’t get home until midnight* The coffee shop was an awesome discovery; big leather couches inside and relaxing beach chairs outside. They served all the regular coffee, plus gelato (Matt had a Butterfinger and Andes mint double scoop)!

Next stop – Sand Fest 2010. I read about Sand Fest a couple of days ago and was expecting a simple sand sculpting contest. I figured we would park on the beach and see a few cool sand sculptures and then make our way back home. Little did I know, people come from all over the country to participate in Sand Fest. It was amazing! Not only were there sand sculptures, but it was a flea market on the beach. There were vendors from all over South Texas, plus live music, amazing Texas food like fried cheesecakes and fried pie, and a mechanical bull in the sand (only in Texas!) We spent an hour or so wandering around; upset that we had eaten our fill at the café and couldn’t make room for the potato on a stick. All I can say is that I was impressed with what one could do with a little creativity and a whole lot of sand.

One of the best parts of being a military family is the opportunity for new experiences. We have had so many down here and this was one of the best. What could be better than a morning that starts off with corned beef hash and ends with a flea market on the beach…

I look forward to sharing our next Texas adventure with you. Until then, love from Texas!

Our new hole-in-the-wall discovery

Local coffee shop - Coffee Waves

Sand Fest 2010

Note the concentration...

Wouldn't be a Texas event without a mechanical bull

Even though this wasn't in the finale, we definitely thought it was the shit;)

Congrats, it's a girl!

This morning I woke up with babies on the brain and could not go back to sleep. Not because I want a baby just yet, but because recently I seem to be surrounded by them. 
 

Here is a recap of my baby week…
 

Last Sunday, Matt and I went to a barbecue at a new friend’s house. Of the four girls there, two were pregnant. Both are due in the next couple months and needless to say, babies dominated the conversation.
 

On Wednesday, our Texas Hokie friends had a little baby girl (Natalie). She is already sporting a future Hokie onesie and will be ready for football season in no time.
 

On Thursday, our Marine friends had a little baby girl (Evelyn). She is beautiful and is our new favorite Ranger!
 

On Friday, Jacque came to visit! YEA!!! She is my first pregnant friend from home. Not only is she an adorable mom-to-be, but she is a wealth of knowledge. I would expect nothing less from my favorite book-loving English teacher. She has even become an expert on non-alcoholic beers (even though she can’t wait for the real thing…). Here we are enjoying our non-alcoholic Warsteiners on my porch.

Please don’t get the wrong idea; I am in no way complaining about my baby week; in fact, just the opposite. I have loved it. I love hearing the stories and hearing the excitement as my friends plan for their new families. I love hearing the new Dads talk about their little girls. I love buying the baby clothes and learning about their birth plans. But just because I love it, doesn’t mean I’m ready (Sadie is about all I can handle…) 
   

For now, I’m just baking casseroles (while drinking a nice big glass of red wine)…

2 months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nick and I are two months away from getting married! I can't believe how quickly it's coming up....we are SO EXCITED. Nick has been in NYC for about 2 weeks now...his new job is getting off to a great start and we are enjoying exploring NYC together.

It's great that we are able to be together as the wedding approaches. Here are some recent pics of us as new yorkers as well as some pics of our neighborhood and people enjoying springtime.

Walking Cole and grabbing pizza (Ben's is our favorite) on a Sunday night


A pretty West Village street


New Yorkers enjoying the Hudson River Park...two blocks from our apt, where we walk Cole daily


Start of spring on the Hudson

Visitors Make Us Feel Loved!!

One great thing about moving to NYC is that people love to visit! In 3 months we've had a lot of visitors...some come up and visit us because they're here for work or some event...some just to see us and hang out in the city! Either way we love it! We hope they had a good time too and enjoyed the double layer air mattress ;)

Here's are highlights from their visits. (I apologize for the lack of pictures for some...I forget to take them! I have a goal now to take a picture and do something new with each visitor!)

Andy & Shannon (brother & sister in law)...helped us paint our apartment (they are experts at home improvement) and we ate dinner at a fabulous Italian restaurant on our block. the picture below is of my gray-blue accent wall and excellent paint job on the kitchen cabinets :)


Mom...came up to see our new place. We saw Billy Elliott on Broadway and shopped for her dress for the wedding.


Abby Bland (longtime friend)...got Magnolia's cupcakes and saw Naomi Watts.


Kathleen & Andrew Kay and Tracy & Joe Peddicord (longtime friends)...came for valentines day weekend and visited FAO Swartz, the Top of the Rock, and ate at a great west village restaurant for valentine's day, centro vinoteca.



Rebecca Harper (longtime friend)...here with her friend from Charlotte and we had beers and burgers at Corner Bistro


Allison & Jared (friend from VT and boyfriend)...Allison was here for work and did a full day of shopping in SOHO!


Tina & Joey Cavucci...were in NJ for a wedding and came to the city for the rest of the weekend. We did the chef's tasting menu at a fabulous restaurant, Barbuto, and went to a comedy club in East Village.


Trace & Natalie (nick's good friend from college and his girlfriend)...we enjoyed the sunny weather outdoors which included drinks on some restaurant patios and lots of laughs!


You want to visit!? let us know and we'll make sure you eat well and sleep on a comfy air mattress which includes wake up kisses from a big lab puppy.

Much love from the city!

p.s. I promise I'll get better about blogging more frequently and documenting my blog topics.

Happy Weekend

It has been awhile since my last update from Texas. Matt has been flying again (finally!) and I have been running around Corpus. My friend Jacque is visiting this weekend and we are hitting the beach today. It is supposed to be 83 and sunny! Bring it on...

I will have more updates tomorrow, but thought I would wish everyone a great weekend and leave you with this little gem from Sadie.

Isn't she so helpful...