Happy Birthday Nate Dawg!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO NATE!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!

Nate gets full credit for introducing me and Kyle and for that we are eternally grateful.   Nate is Kyle's "big brother" in their fraternity and they have been friends ever since.  

Nate and Morgan are really great friends and we've had some hell-of-a good times with them!  They are making the big move from Keller, TX to Nashville in May and we are so excited for them.  

Happy Birthday!  Hope you had a great day!

We love and miss you guys!

56 days

I have been unemployed for 8 weeks and let me tell you it is not fun.  However, on Friday I went downtown and meet with Mark NeJame and he told me I would be starting on Monday!  I am really excited to get back in a routine and get up and go to work every day.  I will never complain about going to work again.  Especially with the way the job market is right now I know I am really lucky to have found something.  I am just a receptionist for his law firm but there are about 13 lawyers and 20 + other people working in the office.  It is a really busy office and if other opportunities open up while I am there I would have a good chance at it...executive assistants, legal assistants, etc.  His website is nejamelaw.com if you wanna check out my boss and office!  He is a criminal defensive attorney and apparently deals with pretty high profile cases.  

I don't think I have ever told to story of how I met Mark, but long story short his office is directly across the hall from the place where I was filling in as a receptionist for those 10 days in March.  One day he said hello to me as I was sitting there and I said hello back.  He told me I had a great voice.  I said thank you.  He asked if I was a smoker or if I had a cold and I said nope this is my normal voice.  Then his receptionists (Deanna and Frances) were telling him that I was just filling in across the hall and that we had just moved here.  So he came over to my side and was talking to me and said he had never met any one from Oklahoma! ha!  He said they are going to start advertising soon and would need another receptionist.  I met with his executive assistant, Kendra, my last day at the other place and we have just stayed in touch and she called me yesterday to come up and met with Mark!  His office is amazing I will have to take pics and show you guys!  

Monday morning I will no longer be a desperate housewife but a working woman!  I can not wait to go shopping.  Thank you to everyone for the thoughts and prayers, God has certainly answered them for me! 

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.  

Love,

A and K

Let's Go Magic

Last night Kyle and I went to the Magic Playoff game thanks to Brooke.  (thank you Brooke) We had a great time!  The Magic lost the first game on Sunday night 98-100 to the Philadelphia 76ers but won last night so the series is tied 1-1 and the next game is in Philly.  It is just a fun atmosphere!  

Brooke is also featured on a billboard in downtown Orlando!!!!  We drove by on Sunday and could not believe it!!!  We are so excited for her.  And let me tell you, if you live in Orlando you can't miss this billboard.  It is right at the exit downtown near the arena!  This is the picture that Kyle captured with my phone....sorry it's not the best photo of it, but you get the idea! 

 

Brooke's in front with the jr. magic dancer.  

Tip Off

Just so you guys don't forget what we look like...

We are debating on whether or not to go to Tampa for the Jimmy Buffet concert on Saturday and be parrot-heads for the day!  Have any of you ever gone?  Let me know if you have and what you think and if we should go do it or not...we've never been before.

Love and miss you all! 

Two years ago today

My oldest sister got married and I finally got a brother!  I can not believe it has already been 2 years!  I just wanted to say Happy Anniversary to you guys!  

Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Neal Zembower

This is me and Alyson doing our version of the Kid 'N' Play dance!

Love you guys!  

Saturday at Universal Studios

We decided to go check out Universal Studios on Saturday.  We figured that if all of you are going to come visit we better become familiar with the parks enough to tell you what is and isn't worth your time and money.  Even though we have only been this one time, I feel like we walked away with some good ideas about the rides, wait times, and a simple guide to the park.  I will give a run down of what we did, saw, and rode but without any spoilers...unless you want some.   Unlike most park attendees we decided to not get a map and to just walk around and wing it so that's what we did.

We arrived a little before 10 o clock and thanks to our season passes you now have free parking...you're welcome.  The first ride we came across was Twister, and since it is based on an Oklahoma town we figured we might as well give it a whirl (pun intended).  

 

The only cool part about this is all the OK references, other than that it wasn't too exciting.  They show some videos (mostly so you aren't paying attention at how long it is actually taking to get to the main event) with Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt from the 90's explaining the phenomenon of an F-5 twister.    And the main event is standing on a platform and watching a "tornado" run through the makeshift town of Walika, OK.  Pretty neat effects I guess, but overall anti-climatic.  

Next we walked up to the Mummy ride.  The wait time said it was 5 minutes so we decided to try it out.  Even though neither of us has seen the Mummy movies who isn't a Brendan Frasier fan!?

So we walked all the way through where lines would be had people actually been waiting to ride this ride and walked right up to the carts.  We climb in and I must say we were pleasantly surprised.  I don't want to build it up too much because I think the fact that there wasn't a line and we had NO idea what to expect helped us like this ride so much.  If there isn't much of a line we do suggest this ride.  

The next attraction we came across pretty much sums itself up with it's name, Disaster. Yes, that's Kyle in the bottom left hand corner of the pic.

Again, we had no idea what to expect and didn't have a handy map to explain these things to us and the wait time was 10 minutes so we hopped in line.  Basically, you are in the middle of shooting a scene for the fictional director of movies about mayhem, Frank Kincad (aka Christopher Walken...the only redeeming part about this).  In the beginning they asked for "extras" who wanted to star in the movie so I volunteered myself.  Glad I did, because that was the only thing that kept me entertained.  I got to act like I was frightened and was in a pit of green balls with a green screen and ended up being in the movie preview for the next Frank Kincad masterpiece.  I think it is the old King Kong set because the cart scene reminded me of it.  I'll just stop there because I have a lot more rides to cover and don't want to lose your interest already.

This is us in line for Disaster...

Then we came across JAWS!  I still remember this ride from when I was here like 14 years ago!  We took the touristy pic by the hanging Jaws....

And you can pretty much guess how the ride goes.  You're in a boat on the water...I won't spoil it but it is certainly a must do if you go to Universal. 

Then we decided it was time for a beer and a show.  We found the Fear Factor show was about to start and hopped in.  It's pretty cheesy but nice to just sit, enjoy a beer, and watch the show.  

Then we walked around and saw this...

It was like being in the cartoon.  They have a Kwik E Mart and everything.  We were also able to score a picture with Homer and Marge!

The ride is where Back to the Future use to be so it is a simulator roller coaster but it was really fun!  We definitely recommend it! 

Another ride at Universal that you just have to do to say you did it...

We walked up to a Horror Make-Up show that was about to start and decided to check it out.  It wasn't too impressive and they didn't really talk about horror movie make up as much as they told really lame jokes and messed with the audience.  

We also went on the Men In Black ride.  It was interactive and you ride around in a cart killing aliens with your gun and it keeps track of your points so that was fun.   

The Terminator 3-d is okay.  It made me laugh to see Eddie Furlong, I use to have the biggest crush on him back then!

There are a lot of other things to do at Universal, but those were the ones we hit up.  They have a Betty Boop and Lucile Ball memorabilia museums,  Shrek 4-D, and Beetlejuice to name a few.  They are also supposed to open a bad roller coaster any day now.  It looked like they still had some work to do on it but it is supposed to be pretty cool!  

Next we ventured over to Islands of Adventure.  Which is a separate theme park that Universal opened in 1999.  They have more "adventure" type rides.  The entire park was open an hour later than usual on Saturday so we were able to get a little more in, but over all I think it is possible to do both parks in one day, as long as the crowd isn't too bad. 

Islands of Adventure is home to the Jurassic Park ride and it is definitely worth riding.  The lines at I of A were longer but generally more worth it.  They have signs everywhere that tell you how long the lines are so you can plan.  JP took about 45 minutes to get to the ride.

You are in a raft and go through what looks exactly like the movie!  You must ride this when you come!

We went on the Dueling Dragons roller coaster which was fun.  We waited about 30 minutes and went on the red one.  They have a red and blue one, but they are pretty much the same.  Now if you're real crazy and want to ride in the front row of any of the rides, you get to stand in a different line and the wait is MUCH longer.

We also got a sneak peak at the Harry Potter "island" that is opening in 2010 and is going to be pretty awesome!   

Next we had the brilliant idea to ride Dudley Do-right's Rip Saw Falls.  

 I am not sure what we thought it was but I did not think it was basically a bath.  We watched people go down this... 

and figured it looked like fun.  When the family of 5 in front of us all put on rain poncho's I knew we were in for it.  It pretty much dumps water on you the entire time and you end up looking like this...

We were soaked.  This ride would be good towards the end of the day so you don't have to walk around with wet clothes all day, if you brought a change of clothes, or it is just SO hot you can't take it anymore.  

Lastly we decided The Hulk would be our last ride.  It is a big roller coaster and it was awesome!  Another MUST ride, even if the wait is long.  The wait was about 75 minutes earlier in the day so we waited until about 6 30 and the wait was only 35 minutes.  I would suggest getting to the park at opening and going to The Hulk first to get it out of the way!  

We didn't have as much time at I of A but other things to do here include:  Spiderman 3-D, Poseidon's Fury, Seuss Landing, Dr. Doom's Fear Fall, and Toon Lagoon for the little ones. 

One of the first times my mom meet Kyle she said, "you know who you remind me of" and kyle said, "who" and she said, "Bart Simpson."  Of course I was mortified at the time but it's now become a little joke of ours so Mom, this next pic is just for you!  Love you! 

Now, if you're still with me I will just give you some tips for when you come:

~wear comfy clothes, shoes, everything.  I suggest closed toed shoes especially if you plan on riding roller coasters.  you don't want to have to use a locker every time, it's annoying and expensive and you will lose your shoes!

~wear cheap sunglasses, just in case they fall off or break or something

~fanny packs are pretty practical, but if you just can't do it, make sure your purse goes around your chest it makes it much easier

~get there when it opens at 9 AM so you can try everything you want to

~they take cards everywhere now so you don't have to carry around cash

~you will be extremely exhausted when done with both parks, don't plan on doing much that evening

~the funniest thing after a ride is to always check out the photo that they take of you while on the ride!  

We had a great time and it was a fun way to spend our Saturday!  I hope some of you find this useful if you do plan on visiting us and if not, then I hope you enjoyed hearing about our day!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!  We miss and love you all!

Cocoa Beach

Yes it's true we went to the beach over the weekend!  We ventured over to Cocoa Beach on Saturday.  Now I realize we live an hour from the beach so I won't complain, but it wasn't the prettiest beach I have ever been to.  And there were these little black bugs that covered my arms and legs and that was not fun.  BUT, we did get to lay out, relax, drink some beer, read trashy gossip magazines, swim in the ocean, and get a tan so all in all it was a fun trip!  Kyle had mentioned going to Wet 'n' Wild (yes it's still Wet 'n' Wild here not Hurricane Harbor) but I figured why spend $100 to get a tan when we can go to the beach for free.  Well after leaving Wal Mart with 2 chairs, 2 beach towels, beer, magazines, lotion, and cash to park it was exactly $101.00.  So technically we spent more to go to a "free" beach than we would have to just go down the road to W 'n' W but oh well.  

Here are the only pics I took of our beach trip. 

 

On Sunday we tried out another Catholic Church that ended up not being a Roman Catholic Church but a Byzantine Catholic Church.  I grew up going to Catholic School and I'm pretty sure they never taught us about this "other" type of Catholic Church.  Needless to say it is a lot different and I am not sure it is for us.  So we will continue the search for the right church for us.  

Nothing says Easter lunch like Chili's chips and salsa and margaritas...right!?  Yes, we did.  Don't ask me what I am going to do when (if) we have children because I don't know okay.  Hopefully by then we'll belong to some fancy country club (or someone we know will) and we can just go there for holiday meals.   Then the guy that Kyle took over for...his name is Hunter, he and his girlfriend, Heather, invited us over for Easter dinner!  We went over to their house and she prepared a lovely (much more appropriate than Chili's) dinner.  They even hid easter eggs with candy in them for us!  It was very sweet and definitely helped make us feel at home to spend the holiday with some friends and good food.  

Our big news today is that we just purchased season passes to Universal Studios.  This means we can go to Universal Studios and Universal Island of Adventure ANY time we want for a whole year.  We are going to go on Saturday and it is more cost effective to do this and now we can go with our guests when you all come in town!  

Nothing too exciting going on here this week.  And no I have not cooked since last Thursday, I told you it wouldn't stick.  I might cook tonight, but it's not looking good.  OH I did drive by a Cantina Laredo yesterday!  So they do have at least 1 good mexican restaurant here.  I actually don't think I ever ate at one in Dallas even though they are everywhere there, but I have a feeling I am going to be forced to try it soon.  

Happy Thursday!

Turkey Taco Bake

Hold your breath...I actually made dinner last night!  My wonderful Mother-in-law sent me a package with a bunch of recipes and things from an Expo she went to in Claremore and I thought I really should try and make one of these!  (Thank you Duffy, and the candle thing smells amazing!)  I picked the one with the least amount of ingredients, littlest serving size, and minimal culinary skills required.  I chose to make a Turkey Taco Bake.  Now I thought it would be fun to take pictures and post them as I went but I was so overwhelmed with the whole cooking thing I totally forgot.  

It started with me going to the store with recipe in hand and buying exactly what it told me to:

2 cups coarsely crushed corn chips

1 can refried beans

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 cup salsa

2 cups shredded cooked turkey

1 teaspoon taco seasoning

1 green onion

1 medium tomato

I told you...minimal ingredients.  Now, you can't just buy 1 green  onion, you must buy a bundle but it's pretty cheap, $1.18 for a lot of it.  And I prefer the Fiesta Cheese which is a mix of like 4 cheeses and so good!  I got the Taco Bell taco seasoning, the cheapest tortilla chips on the aisle and a pound of lean ground turkey.  I was a little confused by 2 cups of shredded cooked turkey.  I looked at deli turkey, thought I might have to cook a turkey like it was Thanksgiving then use that, or buy pre cooked turkey stripes like I've been known to do with chicken, but they conveniently don't make those.  So I stuck with the lean ground turkey and figured I could just cook it in a pan and use that.  The entire bill for 1 meal was $17.00.  Not bad.  And there are enough left overs for a couple more meals ;-)  I just don't know how to downsize a recipe made for 4, for only 2 people.  

I start making dinner around 6, it takes about 20 - 25 minutes for it to bake.  The first step is to crunch up enough chips for 2 cups worth.  Okay not so bad, AW even enjoyed some that feel on the ground!  Then you put the chips into a "shallow 2 1/2 quart baking dish".  I unpacked very few kitchen items because well we don't cook, but for some reason actually had a 2 quart baking dish!  Thank goodness.  Although I did also peruse the aisles for a 2 1/2 quart dish (and mostly to compare them with the 1 dish I had) and they don't really make 2 1/2 quart dishes anyway!  crazy recipe!  

Okay on to step 2.  Then you cook the refried beans in a saucepan until heated throughout, then stir in 1 cup of cheese and salsa and spread over the chips.  Simple enough.  Then I had to cook the turkey which actually wasn't too bad.  It only takes about 5-7 minutes and you can use this stuff with everything.  I really do need to buy more of that stuff and cook with it, it's pretty good for you too.  Then you combine the cooked turkey and 1 teaspoon of taco seasoning.  Now I had to buy a bag of this taco seasoning and wasn't sure why I only needed a teaspoon so I added a bit more for flavor.  And what in the world am I going to need taco seasoning for anytime soon anyway.  The you put that on top of the "bean mixture".  And then sprinkle with remaining cheese and a chopped onion.  Now it's ready to go into the oven.  

But then dear hubby called and said he was just now leaving Tampa and the Garmin said he wouldn't be home until 7:34.  Of course he's like (because it's usually how dinner goes around here) "not sure if you want to go ahead and eat or we can go get something when I get home."  And I said, "Well I actually made something so it will be ready when you get home."  I think he was so shocked he was like, "what did you make?"  and i just said don't worry about it, it will be ready when you get here.  

So I waited until 7 to put it in the oven.  Meanwhile I (enjoyed 2 glasses of wine) made some Spanish Rice (just boil hot water, through the stuff in there and viola' Spanish rice) and a garden salad (from the bag of course).  Kyle gets home right on time and everything is ready.  He asks me what is in it and I tell him, refried beans, and he goes "I don't like refried beans."  And as his wife of 1 year and 9 months I should know that if I ever attempted to cook for him but I just looked at him confused and said, "but you get them at El Tequila all the time?"  and he said, "yes but i never eat them, you do."  OH right.   

Last step, cut up tomato and put on top after it's done baking.  However, I do know that hubby hates tomatoes so I made sure not to put any on top of his piece.  

We sat down for a wonderful dinner at home and just goes to show that he will eat something even if he doesn't think he likes it!  Because it is either eat what I made or make something yourself.  I am hoping this cooking thing catches on and I can practice some more meals.  Now I wished I had unpacked my red mixer, spice rack, utensils, baking pans, and mixing bowls!  

I am going to go enjoy some left over Turkey Bake now for lunch!   I can't promise any more attempts at dinner any time soon but I will let you know if I do.  And try to document the steps with pictures. My Aunt Linda is going to be so proud!!

Have a great Good Friday everyone!  Only 2 more days and you can have what you gave up for Lent.  

Family, Friends, Food, and Fun

That pretty much sums up my 5 days in Dallas!  And in case you don't believe me here is a break down of what I did (and where I ate):

El Norte with mom and Amy, mani / pedis, liquor store for boulevard wheat, Fireside Pies and out with Lisney, homemade breakfast by Dennis, baby shower with cupcakes, oreo cake balls, and jelly beans (that was just the desserts), BBQ at Alyson's, babysat Dennis' kids Christian and Cameron -too cute, another breakfast by Dennis, Chuy's with Dad, Marilyn, and Amy, baseball game and Starbucks with Kristin, dinner and CMA's at Mom and Dad Peterson's, cheesecake and wine with Cathy, Macaroni Grill with Mary Beth, a visit with Jennifer, Andrew, and Sarah, Village Burger Bar with David, Idle Rich with Lisney and Cathy for some wheat beers and basketball, and of course had to end it with El Norte again on Tuesday before my flight!  Yummy!

The baby shower was wonderful and it was so great to see everyone.  I will say that the little bottles of Barefoot White Zin were a hit!  And I'll do a little PR for Kyle and say that Barefoot makes them in a pretty light pink, light blue, and dark blue and have little baby feet on the front!  Perfect for baby showers!  It was great to see my sisters and hug all over Alyson's belly.  Baby Girl Zem (BGZ) got the hiccups on Saturday night and I must say it was the cutest thing ever.  You could feel her belly move when she hiccuped.  Only 7 more weeks and she will be here!!  

Kyle didn't have too many stories to tell from his trip and I'd say he could get on and write a post about it, but we all know he won't, so I'll recap his trip as best as I can.  He got to go to the Final Four all weekend and hang out with his old co-workers Justin, John, and PJ from Oklahoma.  He said it was fun, they had VIP treatment the entire weekend which must have been rough.  For the final game (UNC vs. Michigan State) he sat in the suite next to Michael Jordan!  They did some (okay a lot) of gambling, drinking, eating, and even took a trip across the border to Canada!  

We (more like I) picked up AW last night from Brooke's house!  Brooke was SO kind and watched AW for the 5 days we were gone and I think AW and Ellie became bf/gf over the weekend.  I can't say thank you enough to Brooke for watching him.  I have never boarded AW and I was really nervous to do it.  Brooke was so sweet and offered to watch him.  I missed him so much.  He was so tired last night so I know he had a great weekend too!

Remember that concert we went to last week and they didn't allow cameras?!  Kyle took it to the car and put it under the seat and I forgot to grab it so I didn't get to take any pics with my camera.  I stole these from Amy and as soon as I get more I'll post them.  

Alyson and BGZ (33 weeks pregnant)

The dessert table!

Aunt Angela, Mommy and BGZ, Aunt Amy

BGZ racked up!

Cute gift idea from Amanda (baby clothes on a clothes line in a hamper!)

The hostess with Mom

Mommy and BGZ and all her aunts!

Next time I go to Dallas I will be an aunt!  and Kyle will be her only uncle!  Is she going to be spoiled rotten or what!

i'm really not good at this

I have spent close to the last 2 hours trying to make our blog "cute" and "more interesting"  but I must say it is a lot harder than it looks.  And did you know people actually charge (and pay) for someone to create cute headers and designs for you!  Sorry guys, hope you aren't completely turned away by our boring headers and designs, but this is what you get!  I've even tried to spruce things up with a picture slide show and I can't figure that out either.  But going through old pictures was quite fun!  Oh and in case Kyle reads this I have also been doing a lot of laundry, dishes, and cleaning to prepare for this weekend ;-)  Being a stay at home house wife can be quite exhausting!  

I am so excited to be back in Plano tomorrow.  Today has been the longest day!  Some things I am looking forward too and can't stop thinking about:  

El Norte,  Alyson's belly, slurpees with Lisney, boulevard wheat,  hugs and kisses from my family, catching up, hosting a baby shower for my niece, mani pedis with mom and Amy, relaxing, BBQ at my sisters, laughing with friends, watching basketball, reminiscing, seeing the baby nursery, driving around a familiar town (you have no idea how happy that will make me to not have to rely on my Garmin!), and just being at HOME!

Well my suitcase won't pack itself!  Say a little prayer for safe flights for both of us!  

3EB and FFTC

We have had quite an eventful week and it's only Wednesday. For those of you who know Kyle you know one of his top all time favorite bands is Third Eye Blind. And when he found out that they were playing in Orlando, we just had to go. So we did. They played on Monday night at The House of Blues in Downtown Disney. We hadn't been over to Disney yet so it was fun to see some of the things out there. And House of Blues was a really cool venue to see a band at. They played "Graduate" and "Semi Charmed Kind of Life" and I realized that those songs are like 10 years old and it made me feel super old! Unfortunately they don't allow cameras inside so I have no proof...but we were there I promise!

Then on Tuesday night I got tickets to the Fashion Funds the Cure event at Saks. (We're kind of a big deal in Orlando in case you didn't know!) The lawyers office that I interviewed with is a big sponsor of the Pediatric Cancer Foundation and they gave us two tickets. It was a great evening! They have 25 girls aged 2 to 19 that have cancer and they are the runway models for the evening with a "celebrity" escort. Some of the celebrities were local news anchors and radio personalities and even Chris Kirkpatrick from N'Sync, Shaq's mom, a Prince, 2 Magic players, and Mark Nejame and his wife (he is the lawyer that I interviewed with). I forgot my camera this night so we have no proof of this either, but there was quite a lot of "papparatize" there so maybe just maybe we made it in some high society Orlando magazine. HA!

Now I am just getting ready for both of us to go out of town! I fly home on Friday morning and can't wait. We are hosting a baby shower for Alyson and my baby niece who will be here 7 weeks!! They aren’t revealing the name until she is born but I don’t care what they name her, she is going to be my very spoiled favorite niece and I will just call her Princess! I am sure I will have lots of pictures and stories from my weekend back in Plano! Hope you all have a great rest of the week and weekend!

xoxo
Aunt Angela and Uncle Kyle