Houston

My stress level has been reduced dramatically. Iivana's bite wound is healing. There is still no hair but it is no longer red and has scabbed over. The best part is that she doesn't have to wear that dreadful e-collar. Friday was my last day of school with my students. I have to work tomorrow to finish up paper work and pack up final items in my classroom. Last weekend I enjoyed a weekend away in Houston, which was much needed and filled with fun in the sun. As usual, the majority of my photos do not include people, I'm still working on that. But here are some of the highlights!

Infused tequila drinks at El Gran Malo which are so fresh and amazing. I can't wait to go back to this place some day for more and I usually don't like tequila. 

I ordered the blueberry jalapeno cilantro margarita! It was spicy but sweet at the same time.

Dinner at Taco Milagro which the majority of the menu is naturally gluten free. Rachel and I each ordered something and split them. Below are chicken tamales.

Here are the spinach and cheese enchiladas. I preferred these over the tamales, but both were scrumptious and filling.

We stopped at The Hay Merchant which had too many beers to count. But there were also a few ciders, so I wasn't left out.

We drove to Galveston to spend a day at East beach.

While it was cloudy, it was still a sweltering day.

Before we left the beach area, we stopped to eat some crawfish. It was my first experience eating the sea creature and was nervous. They required lots of work, but I actually did enjoy it. I know my husband is a little jealous that I ate some fresh boiled crawfish.

Finally a shot with people! Sangria at Pub Fiction

We also stopped at Spec's and I found Woodchuck's Farmhouse Select.

The label

Thank you Rachel, Amanda, and Ashley for a much needed get-away weekend! Since last weekend wore me out, it's been nice to relax this weekend. I also start my last semester of classes for my masters tomorrow.

Rainy Thursday

I'm reaching the end of the work week which means the food supply in the house seems to be diminished. Plus, I've been trying not to buy that much junk food. So when I get a late night sweet tooth craving, I start to raid the pantry looking for something to fulfill my craving. Tucked away by the flours I found a single serving package of Pamela's Chocolate Brownie Mix. It was a freebie that I scored at the GF Expo. Ah yes, I found something sweet! Just like the package says, instant gratification.

It's the perfect solution because it is quick and only one serving, which means I won't be eating brownies for a week. You simply mix in oil and water.

Pop in the microwave for 1 minute.

Out comes a warm single serving of brownie.

Storms have been brewing the last couple days. It's been fun with my students to have it thunder and lightening while we read Harry Potter. But my backyard, really doesn't enjoy being flooded. There's no in between here in Texas; it is either a monsoon or a drought. I also don't enjoy muddy paw prints through out the house.

And I'm really starting to get annoyed with Direct TV! Bad storms and rain always mean that my satellite goes out. No Office for me. I'll have to try to find it online over the weekend to watch.

Easter Basket, Cakes & More

My husband is so thoughtful and kind. We have a tradition of making and hiding Easter baskets for each other. He hid one for me before he was deployed! I was talking to him on Skype a few nights ago and he told me to look for it upstairs. I'm the worst and finding baskets, but I found it hidden in the linen closet. He's that good at hiding that it was hidden there for a whole month. 

I also had a fabulous weekend in Wisconsin with my family. I surprised my mom and dad with the help of my sisters. Both my parents and my uncle all turned 60 in March or April, so we celebrated that on Good Friday. 

Here they are with their cake. Also note Jett photo bombed the picture.

The sheet birthday cake was from Costco, which of course was not GF so Kristen bought a gluten free one for us. She bought it from a bakery in Chicago that specializes in GF products.

It was moist and delicious. There was no after taste and it was very filling. Every time I had a piece I could barely finish it; it must have been from all the big meals I ate.

Speaking of big meals, on Friday my grandma and grandpa had my cousins, aunts, and uncles over for fish. Kristen again was awesome and brought some fish for us that was gluten free. We picked up some waffle fries and prepared our own GF meal. I really enjoyed the fish and didn't remember to take a picture until I only had one piece left. (We did almost have to share mine, but I won't go there. Let's just say there was a spilling disaster.)

Saturday I was able to spend time at the park with my adorable niece and nephew. I had two coats (and looked super stylish) because I wasn't sure how cold I would be. My Texas blood has thinned out and even 55 can feel cold to me. (You can sort of see my Peeps shirt underneath.)

I snapped a few pictures of my family balancing across a zig-zag shape of planks, my mom is seen below. Even my grandpa tried to cross. It was comical but fun to watch everyone try.

Easter with my three sisters...loved seeing each one of them!

After several attempts we got a picture with Jett and Maren somewhat looking at the camera. This one includes the whole fam (of course minus my hubby) + grandma & grandpa.

The only bad part of my trip was that my flight was canceled yesterday! I couldn't get one rescheduled until today. Luckily I didn't have to work today otherwise I would have been way more upset. My sister, Kristen, was a life saver again and let me stay with her in Chicago last night so I could fly out from there instead of Milwaukee. There were more flight options from Chicago, so I'd be able to get home sooner to pick up my Vana!

My baby is always so sleepy when I pick her up after a weekend of boarding.

Hot! Hot! Hot!

May has been way too hot, so I can only imagine what June, July, and August will bring. Every night I feel completely unmotivated because I sweat bullets just sitting on the couch. Our lovely housing seems to decide to turn our air off during the hottest part of the day! (I'm pretty sure anyways...I still need to call maintenance and complain.) The air works in the morning before I work, and when I get home as it gets later, it only gets warmer!

It doesn't help that it won't get that cold at night either! I don't mean to complain, but I'm just so annoyed, hot, and sticky.

I started two other possible topics to talk about tonight, but the heat has been on my mind and I couldn't concentrate! I have a visit to the Little Aussie Bakery to share and some amazing goat cheese turkey burgers.