Chicken Fried Steak

A few weeks ago I made Chicken Fried Steak for the first time.  It was amazing!  I got lucky and made some of the best gravy I've ever made!  Tim even thought it was wonderful....the best he's ever had!

I definitely want to make this again...but after I've lost some weight! :)

Family, BBQ, Animals, & Camping

my oldest brother and his family came to town for the latter part of their spring break last week.  Tim and i decided to take Thursday and Friday off to spend time with my family. we couldn't have been more happy that we took those days off!  our family "weekend" began Wednesday night with dinner at Nana's house {my mother}, followed by a BEAUTIFUL Thursday at the zoo.  all the animals were out soaking up the sun and playing.

after the zoo, we headed downtown for a trolley tour and the rendezvous. Tim had never been to the rendezvous so that was a great experience to have with the whole family.

rendezvous is not our favorite BBQ in town, but the atmosphere there makes it a great experience. 

after dinner Tim and i headed home but not without some dessert.  brad has tried to talk us into trying sweet ci ci's for a long time now {instead of yo lo}.  we finally tried it Thursday night and LOVED it!  much better than yo lo.

on Friday Tim and i packed up to go camping at shelby forest.  we got away around 2:00 and headed to the woods.  this was our 1st time camping together, it was also the 1st time to camp with the dogs..........ALL 4 of them.  it was a good learning experience.  we will not be taking the big dogs camping anymore. :)  too much work and too noisy! poor doggies had to be on a lead the whole time too and untangling them got old pretty quick!
we did let them run around some on Saturday morning when we were away from the other campers.  we didn't want to keep them leashed up the whole time.

all in all it was a great weekend and very relaxing.  we will definitely be taking the kids camping soon before it gets too hot.  

A Productive Weekend

Tim and I recently bought bikes {the ones you peddle} and have been doing our best to ride on the weekends.  Well this weekend was a good one!  It was beautiful on Saturday and the Memphis Greenline was PACKED!  We headed out to explore & see what all the Greenline had to offer.  On Saturday we rode over 16 miles and Sunday we rode 15 miles.  Needless to say we both have sore booties, but it is a small price to pay for exercise on a beautiful day!
It's so great to be able to exercise with Tim and be able to talk while doing it {as opposed to swimming & not being able to talk}. Not to mention the fun we have people watching!!  If you haven't tried the Greenline, you most definitely should.  Whether you have a bike or not.  There are always plenty of walkers and joggers on the trail.  Happy Exercising!

Lent

With yesterday being Ash Wednesday I've been thinking about giving something up for Lent.  Even though we aren't Catholic I think I'm going to participate this year.  It seems that more than just Catholics practice the discipline of giving something up for Lent.  I hear and see non-Christians even doing it.  So.....I decided that I am giving up fast food.  I have several motivations. 

1. I wanted to pick something that will be a "sacrafice" for me.
2. I need to lose some weight and fast food doesn't help me in that quest.
3. It's horrible for you! I can't believe I eat it as much as I do {and I'm embarrassed to say how much I do}.
4. Did I mention that I need to lose some weight?!

February

Quite a lot happened in February.  But here are a few pictures from our various "adventures".

1. It snowed. A lot. 

2. I tried a Shellac manicure.  I love it!!  Got another one already.  The absolute best manicure I've ever had.

3. Tim and I had a date night at Joe's Crab Shack.  I've never had Joe's....it was pretty darn good.

4. That same weekend, Tim and I did a little Living room make-over.

5. The Pioneer Woman came to Memphis for a book signing.  My sweet husband got me tickets AND went with me! Afterwards we stopped for dinner at our favorite sushi place.

A warm day at the park

A Make Over

Tim and I had a big day yesterday. We have been wanting to do a few things in our living room for quite sometime and we finally took the first big steps. We bought much needed new couches and a new TV.

These are the new couches. This view is from the entry way/hallway.

This view is from the couch.

I took the entertainment center that the TV used to be in and made it a "storage" cabinet.

A picture of the new TV.

We still plan to paint the living room this spring/summer and will replace the sliding glass doors {that I kicked a hole in...another story} at that time too.  We are painting the living room, entry way, hallway, and kitchen Martha Stewart's heavy cream.

We also are planning to paint our bedroom, bathroom and the guest bedroom. But we haven't quite decided on those colors yet. I'll be sure to let yall know when we do though!