London and Jane Austen Land

Zach and I just returned from a vacation to Boston, and I realized, sadly, that I never finished blogging about our first trip to Europe. As in, the one we took in 2008. All I had left was London and Bath... it'd be a shame not to finish up the story! Skip on by if you don't want to read about something from 2 years ago, but I busted out my black and white damask journal to remember the details, so here I go!

We arrived at Heathrow from Milan and were overwhelmed with the sparkling Metro. It was like entering a theme park--the Metro employees were so welcoming and everyone stood quietly in lines. After the mass chaos of the Milan airport it was a relief!

We rode the Metro to the Victoria train stop, where we stowed our bags. We had plans to meet up with our friend Stephanie, but not until much later, and we'd both grown really tired of carrying around our big bags.


After dropping our bags, we moseyed about, enjoying the culture and stopped into a pub-style restaurant called Garfunkels to eat lunch.

We were actually tired of touring by that point because we'd been traveling for 18 days, and we had both visited London before, so we decided to take it easy and check out a few places close to each other. We saw the Royal Mews.

Buckingham Palace.





Parliament and Big Ben.

Westminster Abbey-- Sadly, I still haven't been in there and this is the second time I've tried. It was closed that day. :-( I really want to see inside!


Beautiful statues


Hobbit houses(just kidding)



After walking around for a while, we sat in a park by Buckingham Palace and rested. Zach played with a British Squirrel--they were fearless.



We decided to ride the London Eye because I'd never ridden it before. It was near dusk, but we could still see really far. So cool!



We rode the metro. fun!



We goofed around too. Funny how my name was on everything!


Stephanie lived in a cute 3-story house. I think it looked a little like the houses from 101 Dalmations from the top of the roofs.... at least that's what I wrote in my journal. :-) What do you think? Her house was very nice and she was a great host.

The next day, Stephanie had to work, so we hung out and did laundry. We headed into her neighborhood of Chiswick(Chisick) to check it out. We ate at this restaurant.

Stephanie cooked a chinese meal for us-- so good! We hung out with Stephanie and her roommates after dinner for a while.

caveat-- if you don't love Jane Austen, you will be bored for the rest of this entry. I'm just warning you!

The next day, Zach, Stephanie and I went to Bath-- a town about 115 miles away. If you are a Jane Austen fan--as you probably know I am--you would be just as stoked as I was to be going there. This was Jane's hometown, and many of her books mentioned it. In fact, Northanger Abbey is even set in Bath! I actually didn't connect all of this till we got off of the train. So it was a great surprise. :-)

We saw the town church--there was a wedding going on, and everyone leaving was all dressed up with hats on. So cool!

We first went to the Roman Baths. I've seen some ruins before in Israel--and we'd seen some in Pompeii, but these were much more elaborate and kept up. It was fascinating.


We all ate lunch, and then Zach and I went to a history of fashion museum and Stephanie stayed with another friend who'd come with us. It was pretty interesting, with lots of neat clothes. We even went into the Assembly Rooms(!!!) to see some of the clothes. The Assembly Rooms of Northanger Abbey drama. :-)

We were short on time before our train was to leave, and so we almost didn't go on the tour at the Jane Austen Centre on Gay Street, where Jane lived. Zach insisted and it was a great decision. It was our favorite part about Bath by far. I learned so much about one of my favorite authors! I wish we'd taken a walking tour, but we didn't know about them until it was too late.


I just thought this was funny.

After seeing Jane Austenland, we headed back to Stephanie's house before we went out to eat at a Thai restaurant and pub with Stephanie's roommates and friends.

We passed by Colin Firth's(MR. DARCYYY) store so I had to take a pic. We went to another pub and enjoyed our last night in Europe.

The next day, we eventually headed to the airport, but made a stop at the Harry Potter metro stop. :-) We are tourists. and fans. :-)




We had a wonderful time in London and Bath. I look forward to when we can visit again. I hope to see all the castles and spots where Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters based their books... and Chatsworth house... Pemberly in P&P the movie. ;-)


So ends our 2008 Europe trip! I hope to write about our honeymoon and trip to Boston ASAP. :-)

A different kind of riding

Growing up, the main athletic activity I engaged in was riding horses. I played a little volleyball, but riding was pretty much it for me. I enjoyed working out with my equestrian team in college--except for running. I hated it and I wasn't good at it.

When I moved to Fort Worth and started dating Zach, my eyes were opened to the benefits of exercise. Zach was a personal trainer and he'd been a star soccer, cross country and tennis player for most of his life. He guided me toward a habit of working out often and correctly. And I really like it! :-) I decided to try running, since he ran 3-4 miles in the hills by his house almost every day. It was a major struggle for me. Running is HARD, and i worked up minute by minute to run my first mile in February 2008. I decided to run a 5K that fall-- 3.4 miles! Zach helped me train and we ran it together. I felt a major sense of accomplishment for that.

So in 2009, I decided to step it up and try a 10K- 6.2 miles. Faith and I signed up for one in August called the Hottest Half. I was really worried about running that far, so I enrolled in bootcamp with The Body Firm for 2 months. Ended up being the most fun workout I have ever done and I got in really good shape! The 10K was very hard-- Zach had an alumni soccer game in Arkansas, so he didn't run in the race, but he helped me train. We ran another 5K last September, then I took a break from hard core exercise and running to survive the hectic fall and our wedding.

Back to a normal routine this year, we just finished the 3-month program p90x. It was a very good program, if a little time-intensive. I also decided to sign up for a half marathon, which is two 10Ks--13.1 miles. I've been training for the Wounded Warrior Half on June 13 for about three months. It's getting really hard, and I have just a few more weeks to go! Zach's going to run it with me. I really think this is as far as I want to run. I've gotten to where I enjoy 3  miles and I can do 6, but any further is just no fun. So what else can I do to push myself?


Faith's been bugging me to do a triathlon with her for like, years. She even sent me some info about some tempting tris a few months after the race. The problem is, I've never ridden a road bike before and I suck at swimming any kind of distance--despite being a lifeguard and swim instructor for two years in college. It's ironic, I know.


My friend from work, Stephanie, is big into cycling and she offered to take me out on her road bike. Exciting times! I figured I might as well try it, maybe I will do a tri eventually. There's less running involved in a tri but it's still a challenge. So... yesterday, Stephanie and I went out to the Trinity Trails to bike. Regular bikes-- I'm a pro. used to ride all over campus in college and I loved riding around as a kid.


I'm very intimidated by the road bike. The tires are the width of my finger, for goodness sakes! The whole experience was so much like when I take new people out to ride my horse--only in reverse. It was so funny! Stephanie lent me her gear--helmet, jersey and bike shorts--who knew they had a giant pad sewn in the bottom?? The right equipment is necessary, just like a helmet, boots and jeans are on a horse. We loaded up the bikes in my truck--just like loading the horses in a trailer to head for the trail. She oiled up the gears on her mountain bike and road bike--just like grooming the horse. She adjusted the seat for me to be comfortable--stirrups, anyone? and we set out on the trail.


I had the sensation that this must be what it's like to ride a horse for the first time. I've never been afraid of riding horses and I always feel in control--maybe because I started riding when I was young and fearless.  Tiny road bike--not so much. I had a death grip on the handlebars and I wobbled for quite a while. I worried a lot, cause that's what I do. Worried I'd run into Stephanie next to me and crash like all the awful videos of bike races I've seen. Worried I'd wobble into the guys coming from the other direction and I'd fall--to my death--down the hill into the river, after killing Stephanie's expensive bike. Worried I'd get the tiny tire stuck in a rut and crash. Worried my shoes would slip off the little pedals. sigh. the list goes on and on. I crouched on that thing with a death grip just like every new rider does on a horse. I just had no hide to dig my heels into or bit to jerk on.


Gradually, I realized this thing could go pretty fast--like 18 mph! and I was covering some miles and I wasn't breathing hard like I would be running. I passed a bunch of runners who looked like how I feel running-pissed off and working hard. I was smiling on the bike--when I wasn't worrying about any of the above reasons. When we'd gone 6 miles, we turned around and it was even better. I could control the bike better, I knew where the ruts were and I was flying. Air conditioning for the win!

Then we hit cloud after cloud after cloud of bugs. I thought inhaling bugs while running and riding a horse was bad. Hoo boy. This was like riding through RAIN of bugs. I didn't have sunglasses with me, so I had to squint and they got stuck in my eyelashes. If I looked down, i could hear them going through the slits on the helmet into my hair. I ate a whole lot of them, which was preferable to getting them in my nose. And... when we finished the ride, I had probably 100 bugs stuck in my jersey and sports bra. Good times.

We had a great time and I'm so thankful stephanie let me try out her bike. We burned 800 calories and rode 11 miles in less time then it would take to run half that--plus it felt way easier. So that's a huge benefit. :-) I am not sure I want to do a triathlon any time soon though. I have a major phobia of riding around other people--which most definitely would happen in a race... and i still have to figure out how to swim far. But, I really enjoyed the bike!

The Dove's Nest White Chili

This was a recipe Zach brought home from his mom's house as a favorite, so I thought I'd give it a try. It has a lot more ingredients than anything else I'd made before, and the preparation took me about an hour. But man this is a delicious meal! I have to say it was worth it. It's surprisingly spicy and a hearty soup.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 1/2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes or--my recommendation--2 10 ounce cans of diced tomatoes with green chilies
• 6 tomatillos, chopped. These really add flavor--don't omit them if possible!
• 1 medium jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 2 cups chicken stock. I used chicken boullion and water.
• 1 17 ounce can of chopped green chilies
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken. I sauteed chicken breast in a pan and then chopped it.
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 cup--heaping of fresh cilantro. I used a tablespoon of dried cilantro.
• 2 19 ounce cans of cannellini or Great Northern Beans(my choice)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• salt and pepper to taste
• sour cream for serving
• shredded monterey Jack cheese to top soup
• fried tortilla strips

1. Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onion. Saute for 3 to 5 minutes or until the onion has softened. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes longer, but don't allow the garlic to brown.

2. Add the tomatoes, tomatillos and jalapeno. Cook until the tomatillos are tender, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the chicken stock, green chilies, chicken, oregano, cumin, cilantro, beans and lime juice. Cook until heated through, stirring frequently. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Ladle the chili into serving bowls.

5. Serve garnished with a dollop of sour cream, shredded cheese and tortilla strips.

Hope you enjoy!

Shrimp Florentine Stir-Fry

I got the basic idea for this recipe from my favorite recipe book, Betty Crocker's Quick & Easy Cookbook. This book has gotten me through college and beyond with easy and tasty recipes. It's the book I use the most!

We made shrimp Florentine stir-fry for our 1-month anniversary of being married. We picked this recipe because we had a big bag of spinach leaves we wanted to get rid of. It's fresh and tasty. Hope you enjoy it too!




Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 8 minutes

Ingredients for 4 servings

• 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil. When in doubt, we usually opt for olive oil for most recipes.
• 1 pound medium size uncooked, peeled and de-veined shrimp. If you get it frozen, run some cool water over the shrimp for a few minutes to thaw it.
• 4 cups of fresh spinach leaves
• 1 can(14 ounces) of baby corn nuggets, drained. I used regular corn and it worked just fine. :-)
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped, drained roasted bell peppers - from a 7-oz jar. I found these in the aisle with Mexican food--not something I usually get. :-)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves. I used dried--my tarragon plant keeled over this winter.
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• lemon wedges. We didn't have these, but I don't like lemon on seafood anyway, so I didn't miss them. They are just for garnish.

And here are the directions!
1) Heat a wok or 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. I used a deep skillet because that's what we have! Add the oil and coat the sides and bottom of the skillet.
2) Once the oil is heated, add the shrimp to the skillet. Stir fry 2-3 minutes--stir constantly--or until shrimp are pink and firm. Add the spinach, corn, bell peppers, tarragon and garlic salt. Stir-fry for 2-4 minutes or until spinach is wilted. You can add lemon wedges for garnish.

Nutritional info:

Calories: 175(calories from fat 45)

Fat: 5g (Saturated fat 1g)

Cholesterol: 105mg

Sodium: 480 mg

Carbohydrates: 20g (dietary fiber 3g)

Protein: 15g

Diet exchanges: 1 medium-fat meat, 4 vegetable.

See? Pretty easy. Let me know how it works for y'all and if you do anything to it!

Recipes: yes or no?

Hello blog land. I would like your input. A few people have asked me to share some of the recipes I've cooked recently. I always cook from a recipe, but in the last few years, being a single working girl, I pretty much only made something more than pasta+spaghetti sauce on the once or twice a week occasions when Zach came over. Now that we're married, I make something probably 3 times a week. One of my favorite parts of having him around all the time is the chance to try recipes I've never made before--I have stacks of books and allrecipes.com at my fingertips, so it's been really fun!

My question for you is this: Would you guys like to see some of them? It seems like it's a newlywed trend to post recipes, and I haven't done it before simply because I didn't think there'd be an interest. I make what looks good to eat--to me--and stuff that's pretty healthy.... and most importantly, meals that are quick and easy. I'm not Rachel Ray by any means, and I don't have hours to make a meal most of the time! I tried to make a recipe of hers once and her 30-min dish took me 2 hours to prepare and make. I also haven't been all awesome photographer-y with the food. I make food and then take a pic with my point and shoot--just for posterity. :-) I could do better, I suppose... ;-)

If you don't want to see recipes, you can post that too. I know it's not something everyone likes. If you want me to e-mail you instead, tell me that! Just looking for input. :-) love y'all!