Tomás' turned 24!

On friday, I threw Tomás an ice cream sundae birthday party! We invited a bunch of people, and had a GREAT turnout. It definitely was a blast.

We had everything you could think of to put on a sundae. 

 

And Sara drove up from Utah to come! Yay!



Lots of friends came. Thanks guys!

He got lots and lots of his favorite thing... chocolate!

Things I Love

While Tomás is in classes and I'm at home, I have some time to think about the little things. Today, these are some of the things I love. Some of these are also things that remind me of Portland.

Tomás
A great view from up top
Scent of candles burning
Horchata
Ripe Mangos
Wheat Fields
Dogs barking down the street
Feather pillows and pillow-top mattresses
Cloudy days
Sunny days
Echo of a dump truck lifting trash into its bed
Crashing waves
Sweet treats
Pepperoni Pizza
Killer sales
Whirr of a train's wheels rolling over the tracks
A warm wind
Roaring thunder and flashes of lightning
Candy hearts
A flickering flame
Groves of trees planted in a perfect grid
Birds singing and chirping when the sun comes out
Milka chocolate
Pouring rain
Upbeat music
Downy laundry detergent
Watching dance pieces that make me cry
Photo shoots
Being silly
Painted nails
Tropical places
The way it smells before it rains

Cranberry

I've been really into baking and cooking lately. Today, I had a craving for cranberries. Maybe it's because I never had any cranberries at Thanksgiving or Christmas. So, I decided to throw some chicken in a crockpot with this yummy cranberry glaze. It was taaasty. It's always nice to try something new for a change, instead of the same old chicken-type seasoning. I served it with rice and fresh cut honey dew melon.

While the chicken was cooking, I made these fantastic oatmeal craisin butterscotch cookies. I'm not a fan of oatmeal raisin cookies, but I love craisins. I will admit, they are pretty tasty. Tomás calls them "dangerous."

Valentine's Day

 We love eachother.

It's nice to have a whole day out of the year to spend with your love. When I was single, I hated Valentine's day. Now that I have a Valentine, I love it!


For Valentine's Day, Tomás and I went out to eat at Famous Dave's in Idaho Falls. It's famous for their Barbeque. Mm... I love Barbeque. I got boneless chicken wings, and Tomás got the ribs. I still don't quite understand why the mascot is a pig. Aren't they famous for their pork too? To me, it's like that pig is holding a cooked friend of his. Either way, it was very delicious.

After dinner, we went to see Tron in 3D, which we had been planning on seeing for quite some time now. We both loved it. We enjoyed the symbolism that was portrayed, the Daft Punk soundtrack, and how beautiful of a picture it was. I thought Disney did a great job. Valentine's Day was a hit.

Share the Love

It's always good to have some music to match the season. That's why I made a Valentine's Mix from my iTunes library. It goes like this:

The Way I Am by Ingrid Michaelson

All You Need is Love by the Beatles

Fidelity by Regina Spektor

City Love by John Mayer

Hold You In My Arms by Ray LaMontagne

What's Simple is True by Jewel

You Rock My World by Michael Jackson

The Scientist by Coldplay

The Way You Do The Things You Do by the Temptations

Take It From Here by Justin Timberlake

With Or Without You by U2

1, 2, 3, 4 by The Plain White T's

I Will Follow You Into The Dark by Death Cab for Cutie

First Day of my Life by Bright Eyes

I dropped off some sweet treats at a few friends' homes today to share the Valentine's love. Yay!

And, I made even more Valentine's treats! Tomás loves Jell-o Jigglers. So, I busted these out today.

Valentine's Treats

Yesterday, I made some yummy heart-shaped sugar cookies with pink strawberry frosting!

Just to add a little more love to our apartment, I made this 3D heart mobile. First, I was going to make it 2D. Then Tomás showed me how to make it 3D. Ooooo.

Today, it's time for some chocolate-covered strawberries. I know, I know, strawberries are out of season. But man are they tasty! I made some with Amy after Tomás left for Boise to take his Praxis exam. Wooee! Good luck Tomás! I'll be at home making more Valentine's Day treats.

We made a blog!

It seems as though everyone who is married has a blog. I guess I'm a little late jumping on that bandwagon. A year and a half late. Well, now that I'm finally graduated and have a little more spare time, I decided I'd make one for us.

Currently, Tomás is still in school, and is set to graduate after his student teaching next Fall. He's busy working as a tutor, and being the Area Director of Lifeskills (a section of Activities on campus), along with the load of his classwork. I'm working part time at Circle of Love, a formal women and menswear shop, and I love it. I'm still looking for a second job, or some way to earn extra money.

Right now, we're hooked on a new show called Community. We're still catching up from Season One, and we watch two or three episodes a night to catch up. My favorite character is Abed. Here's one of my favorite clips from the credits.