Archive for the ‘Personal’ Category

Food! Yum!

Thursday, August 20th, 2009
BBQ Tofu

We cook alot.  It’s super fun and gives us something to do besides computers or TV.  One of our favorite things to cook is picture above, BBQ Tofu.  We drain the tofu, slice it thin, pepper it, lightly pan fry it, then pour over some BBQ sauce (letting it cook a bit in the hot pan).  Lori says it’s like crack (or what she thinks it would be like).

Enchilladas

Another of our favorites is Enchilladas.  The tortillas come from a mix we get at Wal-Mart, we mix it then roll it out, fill it with TVP (flavored with a taco season pack) and cheese and sometimes onion or salsa, roll it and cover it with our AMAZING homemade sauce.  This is also like crack to Lori, she would eat it every day if she could.  She is telling me right now to go out and get the ingredients so we can make it tonight . . .

Last night we made Country Baked Seitan for the first time in a while, we didn’t realize how much we missed it until it hit our tastebuds.  This time we mixed it up with brown gravy (from a pack) enhanced with mushrooms and onions.  It tasted like the sauce on salsbury steak.  And then the first chef to get kicked off of Top Chef made Seitan, but sucked at it.  They should have had ours!

Xander’s Birthday Party

Sunday, June 28th, 2009
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Woo Hoo, Xander’s 4 now.  April and Bill (his parents, duh) had a super fun party for him today.  There was a pool, sprinklers, water balloons, a sack race, cake, presents, and hot dogs and burgers (veggie too).  April was running around, making sure everyone was having fun, laughing the whole time, running through the sprinklers, jumping in the sack race.

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We didn’t bring our bathing suits, which disappointed Lori very much, so we took pictures instead.  Xander picked the Sponge Bob cake because the heads shoot off the bodies!  We had a great time with the family, and they had a great time with us.  They even gave our car a semi-bath by throwing water ballons at us as we left.

Stone Mountain

Sunday, June 14th, 2009

Saturday we spent the day at Stone Mountain with Daniel’s family for Grandma and Wanda’s birthday.  We spent the day with April and Bill and Xander, and got April to make one of her awesome cakes to bring! We rode the train (boring), saw the 4D movie of Journey to the Center of the Earth (scared Xander),  and ate some yummy food at the cookout.  Then Lori got the guts to get on the SkyLift to the top of the mountain, and she was totally cool about it!  We stayed for the lazer show, then waited in the parking lot for about 20 minutes playing ring toss with each others arms and a glow necklace.

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Disney World 2009

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009
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Last week we went to Disney World with Daniel’s family, 22 of us total.  The ride down there was just as long as usual, and with the traditional stop at Shoney’s for lunch.  Lea got us lost trying to get to the hotel.  But we did eventually get there, and it was sunny and everyone was happy. The hotel’s theme was “decades” so it was sectioned off into the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and so forth. We had a huge Big Wheel outside of our door…and fooseball! We walked around and took pictures of everything for a while, meeting rabbits and ducks on the way. It was nice to finally be there!

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Sunday we went to the Magic Kingdom, the most walking we did the whole week. We got to ride Pirates of the Carribean, Haunted Mansion, the riverboat, It’s a small world, the go carts, and walked through the huge Swiss Family Robison treehouse! Not to mention the Carousel of Progess broke on us. It was outdated but really super to watch(says Lori, who loves creepy manequins and sets full of details like cups and ovens!) Adam and Daniel rode the water ride just as it was starting to rain, surely they had lots of fun, but Lori is a wimp and wouldn’t dream of riding it!

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Monday we went to Hollywood Studios (MGM), lots of fun, until it started raining. We definitely bought ponchos. We managed to get in the car stunt show, Indiana Jones, andToy Story Midway Mania before it got too bad.

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Tuesday we went to Epcot, but left early because of the rain. Lori was feeling terrible that day, but we managed to get in a few rides first. The ride inside the huge Epcot ball was definitely  Lori’s favorite, and Daniel enjoyed….but kinda got sick on the Mission to Mars. Leaving early because of the rain was a great idea, it totally beat our butts that day!  That night when the rain stopped we went out to Downtown Disney to see Star Trek and ate dinner at Waffle House.  It was a great feeling to be the last ones to go to bed since we got teased for going to bed earlier than everyone else the first few nights.

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Wednesday we went to Animal Kingdom.  It was pretty outside when we got up so that was super exciting.  We were able to go on the Safari and see the giraffes, elephants, and flamingos. This park really felt like we were in a rain forest, it was so grown over with vines and trees shading the pathways. Parrots and flamingos were everywhere! It was really beautiful. We met Grandma and PawPaw for lunch before it started raining again.  We left after we saw A Bug’s Life 3D movie. On the way back to the bus it turned into monsoon-like rain. We had on ponchos and the umbrella pointed out in front of us. The wind was blowing the rain so hard that our umbrella almost turned inside out! Lori was laughing uncontrolably and Daniel thought his shoes would never dry. We almost hit a huge sign because we could not see anything.  And then, while we were waiting on the bus to get back to the hotel, PawPaw calls because he lost Grandma in a store and has been waiting for her for an hour and he wants to leave.  So Daniel went back in the park to find her…in the rain.

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Thursday we went back to Epcot and it didn’t rain the entire day! Although Lori was scared out of her mind, we waited in line for Soarin, basically a swingset that lifts you up to a huge screen and makes it seem that you are flying high in the sky, over famous landmarks, cityscapes, and oceans. Lori did surprisingly well, and enjoyed it more than she ever imagined! Too bad we didn’t have time to do it again! We got to see the “Lands” fianlly, and we were in love! Paris, Morocco, Mexico, the UK…we walked to them all! Lori took about a million and a half pictures and we got to see this amazing Canadian band (who sounded Irish) called Off Kilter. It really perked our tired spirits, just in time for dinner at the Coral Reef. Weirdest lasagna in the entire world. The hardest too.

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Friday we went back to Hollywood to see American Idol! It was so similar to the show. Even the host favored Ryan Seacrest! We also rode the Toy Story Midway Mania again, Lori was determined to beat Daniel this time, but she lacked the skill she needed in the ring tosses and darts. That ride was AMAZING, totally worth waiting in line! Next was the backlot tour, where Daniel volunteered and was named Captain! He had to steer the boat and act paniced! Lori stood at the sidelines taking pictures and waving at her courageous captain! After we got a few rides out of the way, we left and then almost went to Typhoon Lagoon but it started raining again so we went to Downtown Disney, not a better choice at all when it’s raining. We ran store to store trying to beat the rain, but it totally beat us. We saw a lot of cool sites like the new Dinosaur restaurant, and the Lego store. Eventually we made it to Disney Quest, a huge arcade that is free to enter with our park passes. The games were pretty outdated but we still had fun! Daniel sunk way more battleships than Lori!

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That night, after the weather cleared up, we all went to the Polynesian Resort to the Luau for dinner. We took a nice family photo before going into the show. They made Daniel kneel down like a little kid. The food was nice (except for the dessert) and the show got better as it progressed.  There were hula girls and guys and the fire twirler was really good! It was a good night for everyone and it felt GREAT outside. All the rain from the week really made us appreciate nice clear weather. We headed to MGM (or Hollywood) again with Adam and Daniel’s parents that night to ride Rockin Roller Coater, Tower of Terror, and stayed to see Fantasia, which we thought would be rained out! We started to leave because they kept pushing back the start time, and as we were walking out, they started the show! So we DID get to see it, Lori’s first time ever!

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Saturday we left with the sun shining.  Then about twenty minutes down the road it started raining again.  It took us an extra hour and a half to get home beause all of the rain.  Rain so thick you couldn’t see but thirty feet in front of you, if your lucky. Cars would pass us a little too fast and their splash would hit our windsheild, temporarily leaving us blindsighted. It was scary….and no one wanted to drive in it. Mark and Angel wrecked and thank God they were okay.

We finally made it home…to Ringo. Wesley had watched him all week, and he took great care of him! We were worried he would have forgotten us, but he was really excited to see us! We left him again after unpacking and ate at our favorite place….Moes.

Daniel’s Birthday

Friday, April 10th, 2009
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It was my birthday on Thursday and Lori took me out after work.  It was awesome!  We went to Cafe Sunflower, a vegetarian restaurant in Buckhead.  The food was delicious and the atmosphere is better than you’d expect for a place in a strip mall kind of setting.  Lori had the veggie loaf [picture left] and I had the almond crusted tofu [picture right].

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From there we went to Startime Entertainment for some video games and comedy at the Funny Farm.  The comedy was a bit more miss than hit, but it was fun just being out.  Oh yeah, and because it was my birthday I didn’t have to do an after hours phone switch for work, and got my boss to do it for me.

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This is a picture of us chasing down an imaginary plane that’s trying to take off without us.

Seven Pounds of Beans

Saturday, March 21st, 2009
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Lori went shopping with her mom on Thursday and came home with a bunch of goodies.  The picture above is one of them, an enormous 7lb. can of refried beans.  The other can of beans is there for reference, it’s the size we usually get and can’t eat the whole thing at once.  We’re at a loss as to what to do with this thing.  There is a recipe for Queso Dip on the back, but it calls for 12lbs. of cheese and 6lbs. of enchilada sauce amongst other things so we probably won’t be doing that.  Perhaps a Fiesta is in order?

Blue Moon Photography

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

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Lori has been a photographer for quite some time now, taking stunning pictures of anyone who’ll let her.  Now she has a blog featuring her work, and as soon as we get tax money back we’re going to setup a formal website.

Check out her blog at http://bluemoon-photos.com.  Right now she is offering FREE photo sessions to build her portfolio. This is an amazing deal!  You’ll get to spend time with Lori, be a super-model for a day, and get a free 8×10 picture from the shoot.  Contact her through her blog, Myspace, or Facebook to get more information and to schedule your FREE session.

Valentine’s Day – Better Than Last Year!

Monday, February 16th, 2009

Let’s start by saying that this year was a lot better than last year.  I (Daniel) admit I didn’t do a great job at all last year, I flat out sucked at the whole day. I didn’t have a gift or a card, and I almost took her to a bar (because she loves the atmosphere). We went to Nakato and I was in a bad mood that night. I did get her flowers, but it was after we got home and I realized how i ruined the night for her. Yep, I was horrible. But that was all last year, in the past, not the point of this post.

This year was better.  Heck, I didn’t have to try hard to top last year.  We went to Ikea for free breakfast (I’m cheap so what, it was quality time we were spending together), then Lenox Mall where I was finally able to get Lori Silent Hill 4 which she really really really really wanted.  And for dinner we went back to Nakato, I had a happy face on the whole time.  Lori got a Japanese Margarita that was the prettiest blue she had ever seen in a drink and wanted to swim in it.  The food was great!  We don’t know why people get meat there because the vegetables are the best!  We both went to bed early that night, not in a good or bad way, Lori had to get up for work on Sunday.

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This is a picture of the line going out the front door and into the parking lot at Ikea to get a wristband to get a set of 400 ct. sheets, regularly $40 for $10.

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We moved to a cold apartment

Tuesday, January 13th, 2009

Last week we packed up and moved out of North, and headed down the road to our new apartment. Turns out we have a lot more stuff than we ever imagined. But we had lots of friends and family and two big trucks and a van  so it went rather quick.

Now the real fun, unpacking. Not. They just found out the furnace is broken, so it’s super cold in here. Daniel’s grandparents let us borrow a space heater which helps in whatever room you put it in. They also gave us an antique (retro red 50’s era) dinning room table they had in their basement.

Pretty soon it’ll all be packed away and you can all come over and see it. It’ll be great!

Our Fantastic Voyage (Honeymoon)

Wednesday, October 29th, 2008

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The wedding is over, my feet have somewhat recovered from the dancing, and me and Daniel make our way to Savannah for a scenic pit stop. We grab lunch and walk through a couple stores and we leave for Charleston. Our plan was to find the crappiest, cheapest motel we could, just for fun and to help the budget. We totally find the cheapest place ever, $35 with tax.  We walk in and get the creeps, it looks like an 1800’s widow’s room that she died in. No art on the walls, no blow dryer, just a tiny tv, bed, and small wooden dresser. I feared for my life, but Daniel reassured me that we were safe and right by the busy highway.  We must have hit up the local KMart 3 times in that one day, because we kept realizing that we had forgotten crazy things like sunscreen and a hair brush.

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So we wake up the next morning and drive to the historic part of charleston, much nicer than Savannah, and before you know it we were boarding the boat.  So who had the awesome idea of going on a cruise? Oh wait, that was me. Really it wasn’t bad and we had a great time in the Bahamas, but the boat rocked a little more than expected, leading me to sleepless nights and Daniel to the info desk for dramamine twice a day. But besides the  swaying from side to side and being queasy numerous times, we had a lot of good times. Bingo, dancing to James Brown on the top deck, getting ice cream and pizza anytime we wanted, playing mini golf, seeing the late night comedians and magic shows…we spent about 7 dollars total in the casinos on the boat and various islands and I think we only won $1, but it was spent trying to win more money!

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Our first stop was in Freeport, Bahamas. The water was SO blue and gorgeous. There were actually coconuts in the trees…I have never seen that! Daniel and I tried our hand at snorkeling but saw no fish. It was very wavy and I felt I would drown soon, so we just floated around. The woman near us did find a huge starfish though and she held it up for everyone to see. We must have been asked 400 times if we wanted our hair braided. I’m pretty sure if we were bald, we still would have been haggled to get a braid or two.

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From there it was Heaven, I mean Nassau. When we hit the Atlantis resort I almost peed in my pants. It was SO amazing! We swam in the giant pools, walked around the aquariums and saw giant manta rays, and Daniel EVEN got me on a WATER SLIDE! Now granted, it was super tiny and it just spiraled down a few times and then slowed to almost a lazy river because it took you through a shark cave…but I was still clenching my eyes closed and screaming I HATE YOU…so I didn’t notice the sharks. It was all laughs when I got out of the tube, but now Daniel has seen first hand how terrified I am of anything that is fast or goes down a hill. We took a bus back to the boat area and shopped around where the locals hang. Pretty interesting to see the clash. This part was a little dirtier and definitely had more culture. We were haggled by children, one even put bracelets on our wrists and then asked for a $5 tip. The other was the cutest little girl ever trying to sell us a $1 wooden flute. Of course, since I was in band, I HAD to buy the flute and she even played one for us! Another man was yelling that it wasn’t fair that his wife got to look at men, but he couldn’t look at women. So they divorced. We kinda ran to the boat afterwards…

The trip home was rough. The rain and wind made the boat sway horribly (at least to me) and all we wanted to do was sleep. We did however make it to dinner for the bread, starter, entree, coffee, and dessert. This never got old. Bring it on…and the couples we sat with were also young and in relationships, so we had a lot in common and the conversations were great! I swear the first formal night we must have heard 100 Happy Honeymoons and Happy Birthdays sung by the waiters. We somehow managed to be skipped, but it was our honeymoon and very close to my birthday, so I was sure we would be victoms.

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Every single person on the boat was extremely nice and seemed elated to be there. Like Disney World, it felt surreal. We even got cute little towel animals from our room service! It was very refreshing and we will never forget it. Especially the man who left a trail of $100 bills and the barf bags at lunch. :) We laughed so much and ran into so many walls without being drunk! Here’s to a great honeymoon!

We had a great time! Thanks to everyone who wished us well!  Click here for more pictures.