My Grandma Buchanan

In May 2005 My Grandma Buchanan passed away. I think about her alot. I have noticed in May I feel the loss more then through out the year. So I thought I would write alittle bit about her and what she is and was to me.

My favorite thing about her, was her laugh and smile. There was never a time when I didn't come to see her and she wasn't smiling. She would light up when she talked about her family....and even when she would tell me about her soap operas. She always let me know how much she loved me.

There are things in this world that instantly make me think about her.
- Puzzles: She loved puzzles and I loved doing them with her.
- Christmas chocolates: We would go over and dip chocolates for hours around Christmas time. She also made the best caramels you have ever tasted.
- Baked beans: She has a amazing recipe for baked beans. I make them so often now because everyone loves them.
- Iris flowers: She loved those flowers and I will always love them for that.
- Quilts: She would always be quilting and I have so many memories around all the quilts she made.

She made a quilt for every Grandchild. They would receive the quilt when they got married as a wedding present. We all looked forward to the day when we would find out which one we got. Here is mine. I treasure it so much that it stays in a plastic carrier bag .......because I am so afraid of it getting ruined.

 My favorite thing about it.....she signed her name on it and the year the quilt was made. It was so nice to have this on display at our wedding.  So that part of her could be there on that day. Even though I know she already was.

She was such a amazing mother and grandmother. She taught me the importance of family and to love them with all your heart. She was such a wonderful women. I hope to be more like her, and I hope I continue to make her proud. Love you Grandma.

Mom.

I have one amazing mom! Since it is mothers day weekend I wanted to post about my mom.

I am truely greatful I was blessed with such a loving mother. She has always made me feel so loved. She is the mom that would do anything for you.  She makes me laugh and she is my hero. I am just like her. I love that about my self. I hope one day I can be a mother and be a mother to my future children, just like she has been to me. I love you mom. Happy mothers day!

Birthday boy 2011!

May 6th is Jeff's birthday. This year he turned 28! Wow we are both getting old! :)

Jeff had the day off but I didn't. So I decided I was going to make him breakfast in bed before I went to work. I thought it was a awesome Idea, so I got all the stuff to make his favorite Biscuits and Gravy. Well I got done making it at 6:30 in the morning.....uuumm maybe it wasn't such a good idea lol So I got his plate together and walked in the room with it and with a cheerful voice I said " Babe wake up" he stirred alittle....."honey wake up!" He rolled over and just stared at me .....there I am standing in P.J's, a towel on my head, big grin and his yummy breakfast. He just stared for a few moments and I thought ooooh gosh....this was a bad idea! then he smiled. YAY it was a good idea! lol So we ate breakfast together at the table then he went back to bed.

Jeff spent the day relaxing. While I was working. That night we went to his bowling league. We had a good time. They gave him some birthday balloons and we got so hang out with some of our friends.

He had a great birthday! Here is to a another wonderful year!

Go Cubbies!

We love the Cubs! Every time they come to phoenix we try to go see them. This year we were able to go. We had a blast!

There is a Friday's restaurant in the stadium so we ate there pre-game. You can watch batting practice while you eat....that was pretty cool!

After that we watched the Cubbie WIN!! 4-2...... at pretty awesome seats!

After the game they had a fireworks display! it was pretty awesome. I love fireworks!

Until next year cubbies!

Am I a Blonde?

Indianapolis is a great city. Jeff and I spent the last night of our honey moon there. We wanted to eat at The old spagetti factory because Jeff would go all the time when he was a kid. When we tryed to go, the wait was over a hour long.....and we decided to go somewhere else....because honestly when you are a newlywed you have better things to do with your time. (sorry mom....just saying.)

My flight was leaving from the Indianapolis airport...which is about a hour and a half away from where his grandparents live. So we decided to spend the whole day in the city before I left on my flight. They have a really cool Mall downtown and its just alot of fun to walk around.

We decided to eat some lunch and we thought we should go to The old spagetti factory since five years before we were unable to go.

The buildings downtown are pretty old. I love the look of old building. The restaurant had a old feel to it. I loved it. When our salads came out we both had to use the restroom. Since Jeff finished first he went on the  long trek to the bathroom. He came back and informed me, you had to go out of the restaurant to another part of the building and down 3 flights of stairs and then you will find it. It sounded like way to much work.

So I start my long trek to the bathroom. I find the stair case and start my way down....after the first flight of stairs I started thinking about how old the building was and how no one was around....it was soooo quite. So it being me and a big scardy cat..... I start thinking about all the ghost hunter shows I have seen and the murder movies that I no longer watch for this reason. ......As I keep going, I freak my self out and I finally found the door that says restrooms! YAY! I push it open....... it is a hallway tiled in dark blue tiles and the door to the women's restroom has a window in it, which I thought was odd....but I was so freaked out, my mission was to pee as fast as I can and get out of there. I go to open the door and I see some thing out of the corner of my eye!!!! I screamed and threw my self against the wall.....then I noticed it was ME! It was a mirror not a window! I laughed at my self then I was even more freaked out.....So I sung some church hymns while I finished my business then washed the hands and ran as fast as I could up those stairs.......

Why do these things happen to me?

Hoosiers.

Sorry I haven't blogged in awhile, life has just been boring up until this last month :) ......

Jeff was able to go see his family in Indiana this last month. I planned on not going with him for two reasons.

1. He was going for two weeks. I have no where near enough vacation time at work, for me to take two weeks off.
2. Money....it is kind of expensive to fly two people some where.

I was pretty bummed for two reasons

1. I love his family, I really miss them.
2. I was going to be with out my other half for two weeks.

After a week in....and after I was bored out of my mind for that week. Jeff and I were talking, we both just missed each other and wished I was out there with him. I had two days of vacation so we decided last minute that we were going to fly me out there. We found a great priced ticket. I talked to my boss and I was there a day later. I was able to spend 4 days out there. I'm so glad I was able to go. We were really excited to be able to spend Easter with them. We had a great time visiting with the family.  We love all of you!

Scampi Fibber

I just love to cook....Jeff loves to cook too....So we talk about food allot because we love to cook and eat good food.

When Jeff and I started dating, Jeff would talk about how he can make shrimp scampi....this really impressed me.....I thought this man with a freezer full of waffles and pizza bites can cook? Wow. :) So one night he set up a romantic dinner. He had me meet him at his apartment and he had decorated the table with candles and flowers. It was swoon worthy believe me. So we sat down for dinner and he had made shrimp scampi and garlic bread. I was so excited to try his shrimp scampi! I praised him through the whole meal on how delicious it was. When dinner was done I got up to help him do the dishes and I went to throw something away and there it was.....  a frozen Bertolli pasta bag.....Then I put the two and two together and gave him a hard time about how he tried to pass the Bertolli off as his recipe....We still laugh about it to this day.

Well it took a few years but he made real shrimp scampi for me on valentines day....so I can no longer give him a hard time about it. It was so good. I thought I would share the recipe. (By the way this is not his recipe....but it is sooooo yummy!)

Baked Shrimp Scampi
Ingredients

2 pounds (12 to 15 per pound) shrimp in the shell

3 tablespoons good olive oil

2 tablespoons dry white wine

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)

1/4 cup minced shallots

3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 extra-large egg yolk

2/3 cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes)

Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Peel, devein, and butterfly the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the olive oil, wine, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Allow to sit at room temperature while you make the butter and garlic mixture.

In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, shallots, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, panko, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper until combined.

Starting from the outer edge of a 14-inch oval gratin dish, arrange the shrimp in a single layer cut side down with the tails curling up and towards the center of the dish. Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the shrimp. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until hot and bubbly. If you like the top browned, place under a broiler for 1 minute. Serve with lemon wedges.