Euro Pics

My friend Angela pointed out that there are not many pics on here and none of me. That got me looking at our Foy-Europe-07' pics. We really did have a supreme time. So I'm posting a few from Paris, the last stop on our trip.

We really like escargot.

Jay and I at the Eiffel Tower... View of the Siene River from the 2nd level.

Recipe of the Weak

I did not weigh this week. That is bad. But I did start my medicine for the PCOS and also had a stomach virus. Things don't seem to want to slow down! I am back on the proverbial "horse" and am counting food again and losing some weight. I think this medicine will help because when you eat fatty, bad things, it makes your tummy hurt. That is great! I hate having a hurty tummy so maybe I will avoid those foods. We'll see about that.

I really do want to do a recipe of the week, so I am going to cook this weekend. I'm going to try something out of my Weight Watchers recipe book and will let everyone know how that goes. So far this week it has been soup broth, crackers and Gatorade. Not anything to write home about.

I'm mostly focused on getting ready to be gone. The house, washing clothes, and mostly work all are in the works and I'm trying to get all that in line. My prayer is that the surgery goes well and that everyone remains calm and that Baba recovers quickly and calmly. If you like to pray then please pray these things too.

The Photo Trade

So I have been looking at Jen's Becoming a Foodie blog and her associated photography blog and found this photo exchange. I have wanted to get more in to photography for forever... I've tried to take a class but havent found any. So I take pictures that I think are pretty and "artsy", and thats it. The photo exchange is where they give an assignment and you take a picure and send it to your assigned partner... you can also see the submittals on the website link to the left.

I almost didnt sign up because... well because. I am so far from a pro its not funny. Also I have a crappy camera by most standards. But I figured nothing ventured, nothing gained. So we'll see how this goes.

Misti is coming in today from San Antonio - we're having a mini girl weekend. Very spur of the moment. Our plan is to lay around tomorrow in the back yard, get some sun, and play in the baby pool. Very W.T. of us but that never has held us back in the past. We're sad that Amanda can't be here so in a fit of inspiration I painted a beach mat that I had bought at Big Lots last week in her likeness. Its hilarious, but this way it is like she is here with us. Ashley took this picture last night when she got it home. We took down one of my photos to make room on the wall. I know what you're thinking, I got a little carried away with one of her (ahem) attributes. If you must know, I drastically overdrew one side, so had to balance the other, hence the busty outcome. Hee hee.

Pictures

We'll start most recently. This weekend I did it. I did lawn work. Amazingly, I had just talked with Ashley about how I just really don't like lawn work and I just didn't think I ever would. Lo and behold, this weekend we had the most beautiful weather. It was breezy, the sun was shining and it was simply the perfect weather. I pulled weeds and dug in the dirt and cleaned the porch for hours and amazingly, I loved it! Now, I am not saying that its going to be my favorite. But, there was such a sense of completion and accomplishment that I must try again to see if it was just a fluke. The top pic is our side fence all the way to our blooming, climbing roses. Those showing are Souvenir de la Mal Maison. We also have La Biche, Gertrude Jekyll (who I call Gertie) and Mrs. Oakley Fisher. The bottom pic is of my little gardening kit. Obviously I was very impressed with myself.

These were how my Lola and Gringo napped with me Sunday afternoon. So sweet. Its rare that they are that close and Lola is not chewing on Gringo.

Friday evening was Dine by Design. This is one of my favorite things the ladies do at church. Its a chance to be creative and decorate stuff and I love that. I teamed with Kim this year and although I wish I could take more credit for our piece of Modern Art Masterpiece, it was mostly her design. We were not sure what people would think because after all, its copper, bamboo, light bulbs and paint. The overwhelming sentiment was positive. The only downer for the evening was that no one sat with us. We were forced to kidnap Christin from Melanie's table so we would have 3 seats filled. The did have great service from Ron and Jay and still had a great time in spite of our tables lack of guests. Next year I shall recruit more.

This is my best friend at the zoo. I truly love monkeys and wish that someday I could hug one. I know, that is weird. Don't care.

Lastly, this is very old news but we had snow in March. Yes! March! So I had to show our front yard covered.

No food worth posting yet. Tonight it is chicken a' la Shake N Bake. I know, not too original but is actually good and in my points. C'est la vie!

Tonight

I haven't posted in a while, but tonights will be a doo-zie. I am posting pictures! That's right, finally something interesting to look at besides a brown background. We had a busy weekend with Dine by Design Friday night, yard work on Saturday, and lots of napping. Stay tuned...

Sunny Austin and New Food

Dh and I had a trip to Austin this weekend to visit Jim and Mary. I forget how lovely
Austin is and how much I enjoy it. The weather was truly beautiful... I know that is kind of a grandma thing to say but its true! We had a great time visiting and shopping and eating really yummy food. I really wanted to start sharing food ideas so now I am going to but the two I have to share today I cannot take credit for.

First, I believe that the most important salad of our time was created by Aunt Stacey. Aunt Stacey is Ashley's fabulous aunt that lives in Austin (see there is a theme) and always has the most fabulous of foods on hand. It goes like this...

Aunt Stacey's Fabulous Sass Salad

1/2 bag Baby Spinach
1/2 bunch Chopped Cilantro
lots o feta
sliced almonds
thinly sliced purple onion
Sisters Sass Sesame Garlic dressing

Its not too difficult but dang is it yummy!!! Of course you can add other items if you like. For example, Ashley likes dried or fresh fruit in it, and I like some halved cherry tomatoes or chopped cucumber. The above ingredients are essential.

Now I have a little appetizer that I CAN take credit for. It got mixed reviews but I loved it and think its a great little snazzy appetizer...

Pear/Blue Cheese Appetizers

sliced baguette
sliced pear
olive oil
balsamic vinaigrette
crumbled bleu cheese

I simply sliced the pears and placed one or 2 pieces on the baguette slices, topped with the balsamic/olive oil mixture (about half and half) then added some crumbled bleu cheese. I loved it with the cool pear and pungent blue cheese, but I think some may find it a bit overwhelming so feta would be a good alternative if you are not a bleu lover.

I don't know the WW points for the appetizers, if I had to guess I would guess about 2 pts a piece. The salad just depends on what you add in... The really good news is..... (drum roll please)..... I lost 4.6 pounds this week!!! Woo Hoo!!!

Geez

Its been a crazy year so far, that's all I can say! Since my last entry some things have come up. I found out Tuesday morning that Baba will have to have triple bypass open heart surgery. Wham! Before that, we found out that Misti's sweet grandparents, Nani and Pawpaw got hit by a drunk driver. A 17 year old who had a bac of .17. As a result, Misti's sweet sweet Nani is on life support and the prognosis looks grim. Wham! Ashley's dad is having some surgery this month too for a crazy, gone haywire sinus infection that has gone into his bone. I didn't even know that could happen! Wham!

I'm getting ready to be away from work and home while taking care of Baba after his surgery. The timing is not so good with work considering some of the changes going on this month with personnel and policy changes. But of course, that is the last thing I am worried about. Family is so much more important. The only thing I can guess is that God is working on me and strengthening my faith. I suppose that's what I get for asking for guidance and faith. He doesn't just "Poof!" give it to you, he grows it in you.

But lets look at the positive... I am super blessed with amazing friends, a fantastic family and the best husband that I could ever dream of. We are financially secure. We are growing in the Lord. I have a job that will allow me to be away and care for my family. My hair looks fantastic with my new sassy hair cut and color. Wow! I have so much to be thankful for! (So stop your griping, Jules!)

So keep everyone I mentioned in your prayers please.

BTW - I only lost .8lbs last week but I guess that is better than gaining .8lbs. Look! I'm being positive! This week I expect much better results. I have been doing a much better job at controlling myself and eating well. Ashley made the best baked pasta last night that I have ever had! I am going to examine the recipe and get points calculated for it and post it here. I haven't been as ambitious as originally planned in the area of foodie-ness since all this mess has been going on. But things will normalize and I will!!!