Waiting on spring....

I have been a HUGE fan of all this cold weather and snow this winter but I am not officially ready for spring. Come on sunshine and warm weather! Show your face. I am ready to be able to sit on a patio and have a nice margarita. Texas has been blasted with unusually cold temperatures lately, including about 12 inches of snow a few weeks ago.

Lately, Colton and I have been busy with trying to get our life in order. Talking to potential employers, looking for houses,etc. Summer seems far off still but I know it will creep up on us quickly. Wedding mania is about to start as well so time will go by much faster with all these events we have coming up. I have three of my closest friends getting married this year and Colton has two of his good friends and his cousin's wedding. We will be busy bees pretty soon.

Spring break is only three short weeks away. Its sort of like a little blast of life support so teachers can make it to the end of the year. Boy, do I need this break! Although, I have been enjoying work lately, probably because I really love the unit we are wrapping up on Africa. I showed a documentary to my kiddos last week called Invisible Children about the use of child soldiers in Africa. They are really into it and its motivating to teach about some of these delicate topics. It makes me feel like I am doing something, however small, to make a difference. Its a really great documentary so check it out.

We went to church this morning and the service was really good. A guest minister from Scotland spoke and he was very good. His message was about finding oneness with God and focusing on what that means. He gave two stories about a relationship he formed with a Jewish rabbi and an experience he had with a Muslim imam. Both stories were inspiring because, even though the individuals involved were so different, they were all focused on serving one purpose and that was finding oneness with God. I really thought his sermon was a beautiful example of how we focus so much at times on what makes us different that we fail to recognize that which makes us the same. I really enjoyed it. Colton and I had lunch at our usual spot, Chilis, and then grocery shopped together. I think this is the second time we went through this exact routine and I told him I am really loving our Sundays together. Its nice to spend time with one another and enjoy each others company.

Until next time, blessings!

XOXO,
Devin

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope you are enjoying your Valentine's weekend with people you love. I was surprised with snow and a day off Friday so my weekend started early. Nice! Friday I attempted to make cut cookies with royal icing. Let's just say the experiment needs work. C does not like the taste of the icing so I am going to have to find a good tasting recipe for icing that decorates well. To be continued......

Mom was in wreck Friday. The snowy conditions caused another driver to lose control of his car and he came across the median and she hit him. Luckily, it was not on a freeway so speeds were low. It could have been a lot worse. Several good samaritans stopped to help her get out of her car and call my dad. The other driver had insurance and was apologetic so that was a blessing too. Mom's airbag deployed so she has a black eye and her face is bruised. Her car had to be towed and they are waiting to hear if it is totaled or not. I am so thankful she is okay.

Friday night C and I celebrated Valentine's day with a nice dinner out at Eddie V's Seafood and Steak house. We have been wanting to try this restaurant for awhile now and C surprised me with reservations there. It was delicious. I am not a big seafood lover but on our honeymoon I ate lobster almost every day because it was fresh. I am trying to expand my palette (sp?) so I settled for the appetizer sampler...crab cake, calamari, and lobster tail. It was yummy but I think I left about three quarters of my food on the plate. talk about huge portions! C had the snapper and it was great too. We went to see the movie Avatar after dinner and it was worth our money. I am not a big scifi fan but I enjoyed the story behind the people and the special effects. I don't think I will be renting it or anything but it was a good movie.

We spent Saturday sleeping in and being lazy. We had plans to meet friends for dinner at Cadillac Ranch in Las Colinas as a kind of group Valentine's Day date. I ventured out of my comfort zone again and ordered Texas Coast shrimp pasta. Very yummy. It was half price bottles of wine so we ordered a bottle of riesling for C and I. After dinner, we headed back to Fort Worth and went to Snookies for awhile. It was a fun night!

Today, C and I have spent the day cuddled up on the couch watching the Olympics. Not an exciting Valentine's but it is exactly what I wanted. I made beef stroganoff for dinner and we are now relaxing before bed, watching figure skating!

Happy Valentines! XOXO,
Devin

Love is in the air....

At least, that is what the grocery store screams at me every time I walk in. Flowers, pink and red cookies, a whole aisle dedicated to Valentine's candy. Talk about pressure! I enjoy Valentine's day but I don't really buy into all the hoopla. I like to be recognized but I don't need much. A nice dinner out will do. C is taking me to Eddie V's this Friday evening to celebrate. I think the magic of Valentine's is wrapped up in childhood. It is FUN to make valentines when you are young..the kind you drop in your classmates bags. I prefer homemade Valentines to store bought. I plan on trying to make cut cookies in the shapes of hearts later this week to take to school. We shall see.

Colton and I spent last weekend in the good ole LBK. We spent some time househunting..or rather "window shopping" for houses in neighborhoods around Lubbock. It as fun and frustrating at the same time. Fun to see what is out there but frustrating when you realize the picture online doesn't exactly match up to what you get. We did find some good areas to look for houses in so I consider the trip an overall success. Next step...meet with a realtor and actually start looking. Yay!

In other areas of our life...I am continuing to explore cooking and baking (a little more baking...what can I say? I am a chocolate kind of girl). It's fun for me and I am enjoying it. The challenge now is to cultivate my interest in cooking without expanding mine and C's waistline. We are both working on getting fit and healthy so chicken fried steak is out of the question for every day meals. We have been working out more, doing activities together and apart. I am enjoying it so far. Ask me again in a month.

Well, the pillow is calling my name so that is all for now.

XOXO,
Devin

The Last Day of January

Colton and I have spent the day enjoying being off work. We attended church this morning and went to our weekly Sunday lunch spot, Chilis. (If it were up to me, I would eat at Chilis every day. However, my waistline would not appreciate that so I refrain.) Since my list requires that I decorate cakes twice a month for practice, and I have not yet done this, I spent the afternoon in the kitchen whipping up some tasty treats to decorate. As we speak, I have a red velvet cake and french vanilla cupcakes cooling on wire racks, just begging to be decorated. I will brag...I made the red velvet cake from scratch! I hope it turns out well. Pics to be posted later this week.

Our good friends Simon and Amanda are now officially residents of Oklahoma City so we attended a going away party in their name Friday evening. The party was held at TABC in Dallas and it was nice to see some of our Dallas friends. We had dinner with Colton's buddy from college, Derek and his wife and two kids. Hopefully, when we move to Lubbock, we will be good friends with them.

We are on week two of our eating healthy plan and I hope to start seeing some changes soon. We have a wedding in three weeks and the Cowtown in four so I am hoping to be in better shape by then.

Random facts/thoughts-
*My sister turned 24 this week.
*Colton and I are headed to Lubbock this weekend.
*I am thinking of trying bikram yoga. Its up in the air right now.
*I finished the book, The Help, which is on the NY Times bestseller list right now. Its a really good, fictional book on the relationship between white and black women during the 1960s in Mississippi. It is one of the better books I have read in awhile. I would recommend it for a good fiction read.

I am off to decorate aforementioned cupcakes and cake as well as fry some chicken tenders for dinner! Have a blessed week!
XOXO,
Devin

Quick Update

Apparently, I am busy. I did not realize it but I have not updated in over a week. I am cutting it close on not following my list and everyone knows the list has to be completed. Its life or death...isn't it? No, really it is a just a list of things I would like to accomplish but I do feel accountable.

Colton and I started eathing healthy and working out again. I have known for awhile now I needed to get back on the workout train because I was not blessed with the skinny gene. You know the one. My mom has it and why I did not get it I will always wonder. She can down a stack of Oreos every night and never gain an inch. I am a different story. So...back to the gym I go. Colton and I are going to run the Cowtown 10K the last weekend of February so I have started running three miles this week to slowly build up. I am going to have to figure out how to reconcile my sweet tooth with my new eating plan. Every girl knows chocolate is the cure to just about anything!

School is busy. We are about to start my favorite unit, Africa, so I am looking forward to that. Colton and I are planning on visiting Lubbock next weekend so we can meet with a potential employer. I am excited!

Well, this is going to be short and sweet! I will post more pictures later this week!
XOXO,
Devin

Project 365 so far

Back to School

Hello! I have neglected my blog for several days with the start of the spring semester. I have been extremely busy and in my free time I have pretty much been lazy. However, I decided to blog before I missed my weekly deadline for my 101 in 1001 list. So here's a little update on what has been going on in the life of the Street family.

Colton and I have both been working on lining up our future in Lubbock. I have applied with school districts in the area and Colton has been talking to some dentists in the area. We are really excited about moving to Lubbock and hopefully we can start househunting soon.

Its finals week this week and many of my students are busy taking exams. It has been a nice week for me because it gives me time to catch up on my work, grading, and get prepared for next semester. It has been a slow week at work though and I am ready for the weekend.

I have been back in the kitchen this week and I am loving expanding my skills. I made champagne chicken and beef stroganoff, both of which turned out fantastic! I also tried my third CCC recipe and I think I may have found the best one yet. Each one has different positives but this one was thick and chewy. There is one more recipe I want to try, Alton Brown's The Chewy. I will keep you posted on my quest to find the perfect CCC.

Colton and I have decided to run the Cowtown 10K in February. Its part of our goal to get healthy and lose those unwanted extra lbs. We started running this week and its been pretty difficult. I have not worked out regularly since the wedding so running again is challenging.

Colton and I went to see The Blind Side last Friday evening. I HIGHLY recommend the movie. It was a really moving story. I don't want to spoil anything but it is one of the best movies I have seen in awhile. We also watched a rental movie, The International, which was really good, too.

I have read two really good books lately. The first, The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan, is a good novel about two women who grew up in China during WWII. Tan has a really way of weaving several stories together into a beautiful piece. I really like her writing.

The second, Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay, is about a Jewish girl and a journalist whose stories become entwined when the journalist begins researching the Vel De Hiv roundup in Paris in 1942. Jews were rounded up and sent to camps where they were later deported to Auschwitz. The story is told from the perspective of the little girl during the actual round up and the journalist as she uncovers more about the story of the little girl.

I am still working out the kinks as to how I want to keep track of my list. I cannot decide if I want to log every thing I am working on or keep a running list somewhere else. I like having it on my blog but I don't want my entries to always sound like a laundry list of things to do. I will have to brainstorm how to do this creatively!

My final comments are on a subject I am passionate about- Texas Tech Football. I am VERY excited we hired a new coach, Tommy Tuberville, after a series of trying weeks over the holiday season. Our former head coach was fired, and although I do not agree with the reasons, I do believe Tech has made a postive step forward out of a negative situation. I am sincerely hopeful that our program will continue to grow and improve because Colton and I are extremely excited to be living there and attend football games. Guns Up!

XOXO,
Devin