A Drive Down Memory Lane

My husband had to take his beloved '99 4Runner into the "doctor" this week after his check engine light came on. I've never seen anyone love a vehicle as much as he loves Kirk (yes, we name our cars). Kirk has 150,000+ miles on him and the hubs is praying that he gets to see 300,000. He was very anxious and nervous while Kirk was away. Luckily, 2 days and a chunk of change later, Kirk is back home with a clean bill of health. Whew! The close call with Kirk made us reminisce about our 11 past vehicles. That's right - eleven. Here they are!

 
The 'Lero (and my old college roommate Sarah!)  [2002 - 2006]
This is the car my parents bought me when I left for college - major upgrade from my 1984 Mercury Grand Marquis!

The Jeep [2005 - 2006]
Loved this car - it stayed with us for about a year then went to live with Nathan's sister.
 

The 50cc Vino [2006-2007]
Yes, Nathan used to drive this around Fayetteville in below freezing weather. It couldn't go faster than about 30 mph (downhill, of course). Other drivers loved him. It was particularly awesome to see him on this tiny scooter, with full armor and helmet on!

The Honda [2006 - 2008]
This was originally Nathan's dad's car, then his sister's, then mine. We traded the Jeep for the Honda while I was commuting to Siloam Springs from Fayetteville. They never had a single problem with it - then I owned it and it broke down every other month. My ability to destroy mechanical things is really a talent.

The Vespa [2007 - 2008]
After growing tired of never being able to go over 30 mph, Nathan upgraded to the Vespa. We both loved this ride - he even drove it all the way from NWA to OKC for an oil change, in full armor and helmet of course.

The Passport [2008-2009]
This was Nathan's rainy day car - cost us less than our most recent Kirk repairs. It had the worst screech every time you turned it on, the A/C didn't work, and the doors didn't lock. We always hoped somebody would steal it...

Bonnie Lass [2008-2009]
When the Vespa no longer had enough power for Nathan, he upgraded once again. This time to a Triumph Bonneville that he and his dad drove to Atlanta to pick up. This exact bike used to belong to Alton Brown. He loved this thing - I hated it and spent many evenings praying for his safety!!

Ruby [2008-2009]
After killing the Honda (yes, I killed a HONDA), I decided I needed something new that would be more resilient. So, for the first time in my life, I had a car payment for this Ford Edge. That lasted less than a year - car payments are stupid. Plus Ruby had no power - I need some pedal to the metal action, friends.

Kirk [2009 - present]
God finally answered my prayers and helped Nathan get over his love of 2-wheels in favor of something safer and more practical. We bought Kirk off Craig's List from a family that was having their second child the next day and had just bought a mini-van. Their desperation to have one less thing to deal with worked in our financial favor!

Richard [2009-2011]
This was my "get out of debt" car. Richard - or "Dick" as I called him when he acted up because I'm classy like that - had a lot of get-up-and-go, which Ruby lacked. He is who we brought Nash home in, so there will always be a special place in my heart for him - despite doors that didn't lock, oil leaks, and torn interior leather. Still better than a car payment!

Ms. Patty [2011-present]
And finally, we've arrived at my current vehicle...Ms. Patty the Caddy. She's got get-up-and-go, a DVD player for road trips, and doesn't break my back getting a kiddo in and out. Not to mention she was in a wreck in her early days and has a rebuilt title, once again working in our financial no-car-payment favor! We're all about the the deals!



And last but certainly not least - the best ride of all! Nash is starting his car collection young!

Just a Quick Hello

Holy moly - the last post I made was Little Man's One Year birthday party?! That's crazy, friends! Life seems to be on fast forward with him. He's learning new things every day as he is quickly approaching two. It's so fun to see him experience things for the first time. Just this week he's learned how to fist bump. Definitely a milestone and important life lesson.

Look at his cuteness...

In other news, my work computer got a virus when I stupidly downloaded a browser from a fishy source randomly caught a virus this week. I am constantly amazed at how terrible people can be. I mean, really, what's the point of creating computer viruses? It made for a frustrating week of trying to get old files off, having my wonderful IT guys at work build me a new computer so they could overnight it to me, working off our home Mac (don't get me started on Office for Mac...), and feeling like a complete fool for downloading catching such a virus. In order to make myself feel better, tonight's dinner will be from Pioneer Woman - her food (*cough*butter*cough*) makes a rough week better. Here's what we're trying - fingers crossed it will be amazing!!

Spicy Lemon Garlic Shrimp. Yes, please.

Happy Birthday, Little Man!

Wow - I am so behind on my blogging, but I could not miss the opportunity to relive my son's amazing Little Man birthday party. I still cannot believe I have a one-year-old. It's been such a great year, but I'll leave the gushing for another post.

Today, I'm reliving his wonderful party. We had the best time, and thanks to the ever so talented Elyse Fair (www.elyfairphotos.com), we have some great pictures to remind us of the day. Here are the highlights:

The decore: ties, everywhere - around lamps, hanging from chandeliers, tied nicely on a coat rack, and of course, on every guest.

The food: Big Man Brisket, Macin'-on-some-Cheese, Little Man Crackers (aka Goldfish), and Root Brewskies.

The cake: Mustache cupcakes

The activities: Paper tie decorating, reading of The Book of Nash, and best tie contest

And last, but certainly not least, the man himself: my wonderful, funny, sweet, shy, silly, little man Nash

Gosh I love him! :)

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Since I've moved back to Edmond, I have noticed more and more how alike my mother and I are. But Friday night was eerie. Hubs and I had been prepping all week for Little Man's birthday party (it was amazing - more on that later this week). So when Friday night came, I was pooped and was not going to be cooking! We decided to hit up our favorite restaurant down the street. Just as we got situated in our booth (not an easy task with a 1 year old) who should walk in but my parents! We had to laugh that when we both decide not to cook, Interurban is the restaurant of choice. We enjoyed a nice meal and parted ways. There's a grocery store down the street which reminded me of a few last minute prep items I needed for the party. As I was walking through to the back of the store, cutting through some random aisle, I ran smack into my parents once again buying their last minute prep items as well!

I really am my mother's daughter...and proud of it! :)

Recipe: Balsamic Baked Tilapia

I made a fabulous tilapia recipe tonight that I thought I would take a moment to share. I meant to take a picture of how it turned out, but it smelled so good that we devoured it before I remembered to snap a shot! Woops. :/

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped (or 1 cup frozen onion)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
4 tilapia filets

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat and add onion and bell pepper. Saute until vegetables are soft (about 10 minutes).
3. Add salt & pepper to taste as well as balsamic vinegar. Heat another 1-2 minutes.
4. Place fish filets in 9x13 baking dish and poor vegetable mixture over. Bake for 30 minutes.

Super easy and super yummy! For those on Weight Watchers, this is about 3-4 points depending upon how big your filets are. Enjoy!

Family Photo Fun!

During the Thanksgiving holiday, we took advantage of the fact that we had everyone in one place for some family pictures by the wonderful Elyse Fair. Below are some of our favorites that I thought I would share:


This is my Mom's family. Great lookin' bunch.


Just our smaller family unit, which as you can see is continuing to grow!


My sweet grandparents...love this shot!


Love this man.


And this little man!


Be still my heart! This was our favorite from the day. Love!

And you may now return to your previously scheduled activities. Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas Approaching

With Christmas just weeks away, Nathan and I have been discussing what Christmas will be for our family - what traditions do we want to start and what do we want to carry over from our families. It's amazing how little you talk about these things until you have children. I look back at my childhood and Christmas was always such a fun and special time. There are so many of my experiences that I want to give to Nash. But there are also new ones that we want him to have. I want Nash to know that we don't celebrate Santa and that Christmas is not about "me". It's about the birth of our Lord and celebrating the sacrifice he gave to us. While a big fat man coming down your chimney with presents may sound more magical to Nash, the true wonder is how our Lord came into this world and that he defeated death that we might live. But how do you teach that? How do we learn that and model that for our son? That is definitely my prayer this Christmas - that God would change Nathan's and my mindset so we could teach that to our son. I so desperately want him to be a better person than me!