Hello November

It's hard to believe that it is November already! I feel like it was just yesterday when I was welcoming Justin home and now October is gone too. Last weekend we went to an '80s themed Halloween party. 

My hubby's costume was totally rad: a mullet, glasses, and a laser background! The background was inspired from Pinterest. I took a laser background that I found online and made a poster at Walgreens. We glued it to a box and connected a backpack so he could wear it. We configured the straps of the backpack to go through the back of his sweater so you wouldn't see the straps. 

We dressed Iivana up as a ladybug this year on Halloween. She wasn't a fan of the little hood with the heart antennae, but she did look adorable! (Remember last year, she was Minnie Mouse!)

She enjoyed a new rope toy that was sent from her Grannie and Uelo too. 

Whenever I think of Halloween, I think of beef stew. My mom would make it every Halloween! It was a tradition that I wanted to share with Justin this year so I called my mom up for the recipe. I made it the night before and Justin came home at lunch to put it in the oven so it would be ready for dinner.

It was actually a pretty easy recipe to make too; it just takes 5 hours to cook so you have to plan accordingly. Below, I'll share the recipe. It's my grandma's recipe and makes me think of my childhood. I made one minor adjustment to make it gluten free!

Beef Stew:

• 2 lbs. of meat (I used precut stew meat. But my mom says she has also used round steak or even sirloin.) 
• 4-5 potatoes (I like to use a crinkle cutter and cut them into about 1 in. chunks.)
• 6 large carrots (I used baby carrots and cut them in half. I used about half a 1 lb. bag.)
• 1 big white onion (cut into rings)
• 1 small can of peas (I ended up using about half a bag of frozen peas.)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• slice of bread cut into small pieces (I used the ends of 2 slices of Udi's bread that I had in my freezer. I cut them into small pieces and it worked great.)
• 1/2 tbsp. of salt
• pepper to taste
• 4 tbsp. of tapioca (sprinkle in)
• 46 oz. can of V-8 (use about 2/3 or until all the stew is covered)

Mix all the ingredients together and bake at 250 degrees for 5 hours. 

Summary of Michigan Trip

I need to wrap up my Michigan vacation posts since tomorrow is my actual last day of summer vacation. I officially go back to work on Wednesday to start another year of teaching fourth grade! Plus, I've been working on some fun DIY projects I want to share. So this post sums up some memorable things I did (& that I have pictures of) while in Michigan last month.

I was fortunate that my sister, Jill and her husband allowed Iivana and me to come stay with them for a few days. While they were at work my parents and I took the kids to Potter Park Zoo one day. These two pictures crack me up! Maren is petting the goats and my dad is with Maren in the kangaroo cut out.

 Jett and my mom with the spider monkeys which was his favorite part.

After our zoo visit, we stopped by the MSU Diary Store.

We enjoyed some ice cream.

We went out to eat for Jill's birthday at Ruby Tuesday.

They had a gluten free menu, but it was a chain restaurant. If I'm at a chain, I usually try to pick something that doesn't require a lot of modifications. I'm not sure how knowledgeable the kitchen staff is about gluten free and cross contamination. So I kept it simple with the petite sirloin, a baked potato, and broccoli.

 I was able to attend my sister's annual 4th of July party with my baby, Iivana.

I think I pretty much scarred her for life of being terrified of fireworks. For some reason, I didn't think the noise would scare her because she hears loud planes all the time. But we retreated to the van for safety during their show.

But I still got a glimpse of some of the fireworks.

My niece, Maren was still going strong that night. She was a doll and put on her mama's shoes; she was so proud of herself.

I met up with some friends for drinks.

I tried some new gluten free beer that I don't have access to in Texas. (Thanks to my sister, Kristen for hooking me up!) Here I was drinking Dogfish Head's Tweason'ale beer. I thought it was a wonderfully refreshing summer drink. The strawberries and honey give the beer a fruity flavor that isn't as sweet as cider. I hope they start selling this in Texas soon.

Check these links for other Michigan things from my trip:

• Vince & Joe's
• Fruitiversary
• Crunch Granola
• More Goods from Vince & Joe's
• Yummy Filled Donuts
• Gluten-less Maximus IPA

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.

V-day at Home

I can't believe last year was my first GF Valentine's Day. I feel like I've been GF for years, so for any newbies out there: it definitely gets easier.

For some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to tutor after the class Valentine's party today. (What was I thinking? candy + cupcakes + soda = a not focused tutoring group.) I waited around for kids to be picked up. Then I prepared sub plans for tomorrow because I have some training all day. I knew I would be home late and told Justin I just wanted to eat something at home. My hubby is seriously the best!

I came home to roses!

I also received a card and a special dessert. Can you guess what the dessert is?

A (small 6") Sweetheart cake from Little Aussie!

 Justin made some tortilla chips from left over frozen corn tortillas.

He also made some homemade humus! Both recipes are from the Simply Sugar & Gluten Free Cookbook. A perfect treat to fill my hungry belly while the rest was being prepared.

Then he made a Greek salad with fresh tomatoes, red peppers, cucumbers, red onion, feta, olive oil, oregano, and some lemon juice. It was so fresh, light, and flavorful.

Finally he made some baked tilapia with fire roasted tomatoes, garlic, and onion.

There was dessert too! Doesn't it look so decedent?

Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, and oh yeah gluten free too. Got to love Little Aussie's cakes!

Served with a little ice cream and more left for later.

In a Funk

I've managed to not update for 3 weeks, despite the fact that I haven't started classes again yet and have only been back to work for two weeks. I haven't been that busy; I guess I've been enjoying my lighter schedule. But I have been in a bit of a funk. I can't explain it, but I haven't been completely motivated for work, working out, or updating. But I think it's time to get out of this funk!

Here is a recap of my two week break for Christmas and New Years.

Justin and I saw the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

My mom and dad came down for a week! We had so much fun; here we are at one of the wineries in the hill country.

Justin and I at another winery.

We also went to the Alamo Bowl, where we watched RGIII play and I saw Lee Greenwood sign live!

Before the game, we fueled up on burgers at El Colegio, the bar at the Omni where Las Canarias is located. El Colegio uses the same kitchen as Las Canarias, so they were able to accommodate me with a GF burger.

My plate...Kobe beef burger; it makes my mouth water thinking about it.

On New Year's Eve we went downtown for dinner and at Fogo de Chao. I didn't take any pictures this time at dinner, but look here for a recap of our first visit. But I did snap this photo of the beautiful river walk decorated for Xmas.

Xmas

Justin and I spent Xmas in Texas this year; Christmas day we saw his grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousin, brother/wife, and kids, so it was nice to see some family. My parents are coming to visit tomorrow for a week too! We spent Christmas Eve at our house in San Antonio and were heading out to the hill country on Christmas day. Since we'd be going out to Wimberley, we decided to open presents on Xmas eve.

I must've been a good girl this year! Here are a few highlights of some of the gifts I received this year.

Pink shoes!

New watch with changeable straps.

Jingle bell charm for my charm bracelet.

I received the book, The Help, from Justin's family Xmas exchange from his cousin Jeanette. I finished it today and couldn't put it down!

So Justin bought me the movie, The Help...I'm interested to see how they compare.

I not only bought Justin Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3, but the gift to play it most of the day on Xmas eve. I read The Help most of the day; it was nice for both of us to relax together.

Of course Iivana had her fill of gifts as well. These next several pictures are her opening a bone from Justin's parents. Iivana opened the bone all by herself from wrapping, to plastic, to bow, to consuming. I thought it was pretty commical.

On Christmas morning we had cinnamon rolls, it has sort of become a tradition of ours. Our first year of marriage we had gluten filled ones that you pop out of the Pillsbury can. Last year, I made them from scratch and it was my first GF Christmas. They were okay...I know a lot more about baking GF than I did a year ago. This year I took the easy route and bought Udi's Cinnamon rolls. I love Udi's bread and Udi's cookies, so I figured I'd give the cinnamon rolls a try. (While I was taking this photo, someone ehem...Iivana...decided to counter surf and check out what we were having for breakfast.)

I had kept them in the freezer and pulled them out Christmas morning. I looked at the box and was surprised there were no directions for how to heat them. Do people tend to not heat them up because they are already cooked? To me, I need warm cinnamon rolls, so I again took the easy route and used the microwave. I popped one in for about 30 seconds.

I warmed each and covered it with the cinnamon glaze that was provided. To be honest, I wasn't that impressed with the cinnamon rolls. I must have high expectations for Udi's products. I thought they were a little dry and I wasn't a huge fan of the glaze. I prefer a strictly vanilla flavored icing. Justin and I wondered if they were meant to be more like muffins and just kept in the fridge when ready to eat. Did warming them up, dry them out more? I'm not going to say I hated them, because I still found room for two. I guess I was just hoping for a more comparable GF version.

After breakfast we headed over to the squadron to serve Christmas dinner to basic trainees. We sported aprons and cool chefs' hats. It was fun volunteering, even if I did work up a sweat serving the potatoes, stuffing, and yams.

After lunch we stopped home to pack up the car and drove to Wimberley. We had a nice linner (lunch/dinner), gave the kids their presents, played games, and spent time chatting. For some reason, I always forget to take many pictures when we're there. I must be in the zone of relaxation!

I did get a few of our niece and nephews opening some gifts.