Happy Anniversary!

I just wanted to write a quick blog to celebrate the one month mile marker of our marital bliss. At the risk of sounding overly dramatic, there were times in my life when I didn't think such happiness and joy would be attainable for me, but by God's grace, I have found my true companion in life. I have always been graced with many blessings in my life - but now and forever I can add to the list - a supportive, compassionate, and faithful husband. Sharing this month of change and discovery with Andrew has been a joy - and I eagerly anticipate what the upcoming months will hold for us. I know that with God's guidance, the support of our family, and our commitment to one another - we will continue to enjoy this journey, whatever it may hold.

Thank you, family & friends, for your love, guidance, & support, we love you.

Here are some pictures from the wedding - taken by a dear friend - Enjoy!

The Happy Couple!

One of the Blessings in Andrew & I's life - our favorite niece & best ring bearess to grace the aisle - Liliana.

Me with two of the most influential females in my life - and the coolest, craziest, most fun brother-in-law making the picture. :)

Grab a pail, it looks like rain!

This weekend didn't go exactly as we had first planned it. We started by waking up REALLY early (for a Saturday) in order to get into Chicago for an appointment with an Allstate guy. He needed to look at the car and provide an estimate of the cost to repair. So when we woke up we noticed it was raining, but didn't think too much of it.

Once ready to go, we went down to the garage, got in our car, and headed out the back alley - or should I say the flooded back alley. On our way to the shop the rain was pouring and we would come across many more spots in the road that were flooded. But it wasn't until our ride home that we really came across any SERIOUS water on the road. We were heading down Sheridan close to Andrew's old apartment, the road bends right along Lake Michigan, and it appears that the Lake decided to expand onto the road. By the time we noticed the high water it was too late to turn around, there was a large median to our side that we would not be able to cross and cars behind us - so we plowed ahead. The water was easily to the top of our tires. We fortunately made it through though there were some unfortunate stalled vehicles on the opposite side of the road. This was not the last of the high water we encountered on the trip home - but Andrew pulled out his eagle scout skills, and explained the key points of driving through high water - go slowly but keep moving forward, so you don't allow the water to get into the exhaust and you don't want the water to get to the spark plugs (especially since we just got new ones.) I learn a lot with Andrew around! We made it home safe and sound -and VERY thankful to have an indoor garage. We let the car run for awhile to make sure it dried out sufficiently, then headed up to our apartment - unaware of what awaited us there.

This might look like an ordinary pipe - it helps keep up the trendy loft look we are after - but this pipe - located on our apartment celling right above our brand new flat screen TV was leaking, and not a slow leak but a steady drip! So we moved the TV and TV stand to another part of the house, and put a bucket under it. The picture below is what we were able to collect after a few short hours! Fortunately we noticed it around the start, and there was no damage - that we can tell - to our new TV.

But while we were setting up the bucket we noticed other leaks all around the apartment. (This is why we are using the vase above to catch the water - as all our other buckets, pails, and bowls are being used on other leaks.) Here are a few of the leaks:

Above the fireplace:By the door to our porch:
Our leak situation was not helped by the fact that Chicago experienced the greatest daily rain fall in 137 years.

The rainfall also put a damper on Andrew's Saturday plans. He had arranged a golf outing with a former colleague that had to be rescheduled. Boy, they couldn't have picked a worse day for golf!

We believe we have all the leaks covered now - and as it has been raining ALL weekend we are looking forward to the predicted rain-free week ahead of us!

In other - more culinary - news, here are the meals we have had since the last post:

Wednesday - the old tried and true Feta Chicken (if I have ever cooked for you, it was probably this dish) biscuits and asparagus. On a fun note - I steamed the asparagus in the asparagus steamer we got as a wedding gift from one of my colleagues. It turned out really nicely.

Thursday - Chicken stir-fry & biscuits (yes the same ones from the night before - I think my creativity is waning.) This was a very bland receipt and will not be used again.

Friday - FROZEN PIZZA! To be fair it had begun raining so Andrew and I rented a few movies and settled in for the night. I made him get frozen pizza instead of ordering out, so it was kind of like we were cooking.
Saturday- We CAVED! We went out to eat! I know, I know - but giving it up cold turkey just doesn't seem plausible! We have decided to make Saturday night our eat out/date night. Don't judge!

Sunday: Breakfast in bed! Cinnamon twists and orange juice. Yum Yum! Another colleague of mine bought this tray for us as a wedding gift - so I had to use it! :)

Then in the afternoon, I decided to get a jump start on the weeks meals. One of the receipts was a seafood lasagna, which sounds good but takes a few hours to make - so I thought I would get it all prepped and ready to bake.

This is a picture of the spinach/cottage cheese/Parmesan cheese layer, also note that the lasagna noodles are in the black pot behind.

The receipt called for shrimp and crab meat. This was a LARGE grocery shopping lesson for me - READ THE LABEL! So the crab I got was not actual crab, but crab flavored fish - Andrew discovered this by, you guessed it, reading the label. Let's just hope it taste alright! Then, when I went to prepare the shrimp I noticed that it was still shelled! Call me naive, but I thought if it was frozen shrimp in a bag it was ready to serve shrimp. Why would anyone buy unshelled shrimp when it comes deshelled? Pulling the little legs off was almost too much for me, and definitely a flashback to the lobster on our honeymoon.

Sunday night - Andrew cooked the main course - Bison Burgers! Andrew was craving bison (I usually don't ask) so he went out an bought some ground bison. We added some garlic and parsley to the burgers and boy were they tasty!

Additionally, I made sweet potato & Idaho potato wedges.

I also made an apple Carmel cake - but we both ate too much for dinner so we are saving our dessert for tomorrow.

Finally, Andrew took a picture (from the side) of the wall hanging, so you can see the spiral iron vase holder. You will also notice in the bottom right hand corner - Andrew got new dress shoes this weekend.

Hope you have enjoyed the culinary re-cap. We will try not to let so many days go between posts again - but I'm not going to lie - it will happen again.

Disappointment...

Disappointing is definitely the perfect title of our evening. After work we decided to try and head out to a few stores, that we had gotten gift cards for as wedding gifts. So first stop - Old Orchard - an outdoor shopping mall. After entering numerous stores and leaving empty handed and disappointed we decided to move on to Bed, Bath & Beyond. We had already predetermined what we wanted to get with the gift card, but after searching an overstocked & overcrowded store for way too long we were unable to locate the canisters we wanted. So we left there empty handed and you guessed it disappointed.

Fortunately for us the disappointment ended there, as our next stop before heading home was to pick up Toby from the mechanic. The maintenance light had been on for a little under a week, so we took that as a sign that we needed to get him checked out. Turns out he needed a few new spark plugs and some random things tightened up a little. This was our first time taking a car to this particular shop - but after some Internet research Andrew decided that this was the best place. And boy was it! So close and so reasonably priced. As soon as I started Toby he began purring like his younger self. Now we just need to fix his outside!

And the final part of the night and what I am sure every one has been asking throughout reading this post. "What did they have for dinner?" Well anyone who knows my food preferences might want to sit down for this...I made - Parmesan Tilapia! That is right fish prepared by yours truly. And honestly, it has been my favorite meal thus far. I know, I know, but it is all true! Lindsay, I might take your tilapia receipt now.

It's a Keeper!

On tonight's menu...Chicken Fajitas.

They were a big hit! And oh so easy! A few more easy receipts and I will have a great tax season line-up, assuming I am still cooking by that point. Note: The food pictures will start to slow down a bit as the novelty wears off. We don't have children so what are we supposed to take pictures of?
Andrew has his nose to the book - studying again, so I went around the house and took some pictures of the items we purchased for the house while on our honeymoon.

This is a hanging wall vase - you can't see the actual iron hanger, but it looks really nice.

And here is the 3 dimensional wall mounted candle holder. (Though you can't really tell it is 3 dimensional - maybe I will take a picture of it from the side and post that later - if I get really bored.)

We got them both from the same store and we couldn't be happier with the way they look. Putting things on the wall definitely helps to bring a room together - and make a house a home.

A Day of Firsts

The first first is this post. You have been begging for it, and now it is here - your one stop shop for Waggoner updates. We will try to keep it up to speed, but if there should be a large lag in posts, say between January and April - don't send the cops out - we are not at the bottom of Lake Michigan - sadly we are at work trying to keep up the lavish life we have grown accustomed to.

Which brings me to the second first...for the first time there are TWO seniors living in our house - no not the kind of "senior" that comes with a discount before 4 - but rather a senior in staff level. Michelle was notified of her promotion at work on Friday. Andrew has been "enjoying" his senior status for over a year now.

And our final first, and probably the most shocking - Andrew and Michelle's first home cooked meal as a married couple. Michelle was inspired this weekend to get out ALL of the collective cook books and put together a "menu" for the 2 upcoming weeks. She spent 2 hours grocery shopping this afternoon - while Andrew stayed at home to study. When she returned home she had all she needed to prepare 2 weeks worth of wonderful new creations (at least new to our house.) Tonight's meal was "Stuffing topped fillets" "sauteed zucchini & onions" "garlic & chive mashed potatoes" and for dessert "creme brulee." Andrew ate up everything with the exception of the zucchini - he doesn't like zucchini, what was Michelle even thinking when she made it? Crazy wife!

We will end this post, the first of many more posts, with pictures of our meal..."Your mouth isn't watering - it's crying for Michelle's cooking" (final quote adapted from a sign at Jimmy Johns)