Back on the wagon...

So after about 8 weeks of not being quite as focused on our healthy lifestyle....Alex and I are back on the wagon. Although we maintained our eating pretty well, our exercising definately tapered off. So, this week it is time to get re-focused.

Since we have been limiting what we eat since January...I can honestly say I am getting burned out on some of our "staple" healthy foods. Breakfast is always tough for me...I am usually in a hurry so I need something I can grab on my way to work and eat in the car or something I can bring to work and eat here. This week I decided to try some Greek Yogurt. My friend Erin has been eating this stuff since i have known her and I finally decided to give it a try. I tried it this morning and I have to say it is not too bad. It is thicker than normal yogurt so I kind of felt like I was eating a cup of cream cheese.

I also started researching this morning the difference between greek yogurt and regular yogurt. I will let you know what I find out.

Do I have any Greek Yogurt lovers that know some of the reasons why it is so good for you and/or have recommendations of very healthy brands?

I did learn that when picking out yogurt it is important to try and find yogurt with less than 30 grams of sugar per 6 ounce serving. Even with the full fat greek yogurt I had this morning, it was under 30 grams of sugar. Check!

I am also going to attempt to get back to only drinking water...no diet sodas. This has also not been as bad as usual, but I still drink them too much. So today I stole an idea from a co-worker and added a cucumber slice to my water....kind of like being at a spa...only no massage and I still have to think....but good none-the-less and a nice change from plain water.

If anyone has any healthy tips they want to share, I am all ears. :)

Ummm....Yeah

Saturday Night we went to an Engagement Party for our friends Stacey and Jeff. I first met Stacey through my bible study. Then we got to know her and Jeff better through all of Lindsey and ThomAdam's wedding festivities. Stacey later confessed that she had a plan for us to be BFFEAE. Since then The Waters, the soon-to-be Hurlbert's and ourselves have started a dinner group that I named Experiencing Houston. We were discussing how there are so many neat places to try in Houston, but how we always end up going to the same place. So now, once a month we go somewhere new or non-normal in Houston and experience it. It has been a lot of fun. We made a commitment to do this EVERY month and so far we have stuck with it. Starting this month we have a new addition to the group. The Ashworth's are going to join in on the fun! :) Always nice to have an excuse to try new places.

So back to Saturday night, I didn't actually get a picture of the soon-to be's at the party...now that I think about it, I am not sure I saw them together. They were being good hosts and hostesses and visiting with all their family and friends. I will post a picture, but I don't have one of them on this computer.

Anyways, the party was a lot of fun. Stacey's aunt has a beautiful house and we had a great time. We spent most of the evening chatting and goofing around with Mikey and Erika and Erin. The pictures below tell you enough I am sure.... :)

Erin and Leiva chatting it up

Me and the Waters


These smiles look awkward -- forced or soemthing

I think we were all supposed to do kissy faces...but Erika is the only one who held it long enough

"Heeyyyy" - if you know Erin you know exactly how this sounds

Hmmmm

We had a lot of fun. Stacey and Jeff we are SO excited for you both. Can't wait until the big day gets here!!

Counting down to Disney!!

Come Labor Day Weekend, we are heading to DISNEY WORLD!!!!

Alex and I, along with my Mom and Dad are heading to Disneyworld for 5 wonderful days in September. Many people tend to give me a funny look when I they see my excitement for vacation - and then proceed to tell them we are going to Disney World for vacation. Most people think it is a place just for kiddos and silly to visit as adults. Well, this is SO far from the truth. I have ALWAYS loved Disney!! I am what you would call a lifetime fan. I started collecting Disney Snow Globes in middle school and can't wait to have a nursery to display them in. My favorite is the finding Nemo one and the Sleeping Beauty one.

There are so many fun things to do at Disney and the overall feeling of being in this magical place. You can't help but feel like a kid. If anyone is ever considering planning a trip to Disney, please call me and ask for some pointers. I have learned a lot about the "right" way to do Disney from my many visits (I was told by the Disney customer service rep I was talking to, that I have been to Disney 9 times so far) and would love to share my tips. The best tip I can give about Disney is to do the Dining Plan. It makes a world of difference and you get to try some really great food!

Disney also holds a special place because this is where Alex and I went on our Honeymoon and my parents did too, so it will always be a great place to visit for that reason.

It is beginning to feel more official.....we booked our dining reservations for Disney World this week. The dining plan covers one counter meal, one table service meal and a snack for every day you are on vacation. The good restaurants tend to book quickly, so you have to reserve as soon as you can.

Here is our dining agenda:

Tuesday Night - Le Cellier in Canada at Epcot

Wednesday Night - California Grill at the top of the Contemporary Resort

Thursday Night - Fantasmic Package at Hollywood & Vine and MGM Studios

Friday Night - Cape May Seafood Buffet and Clam Bake at The Beach Club Resort

It is going to be great...you will definately have more Disney related posts coming....can't wait!!!!

San Fran and Napa!!

Ok, so I always forget that you have upload photos in Blogger backwards so they show up in the order you want them to, so these pictures are in COMPLETE backwards order....but last week I went to San Francisco for a tax seminar. The seminar was really good. I learned SO MUCH and really enjoyed everyone I met. Alex took Thursday and Friday off from work and flew into San Francisco so we could make a weekend of it. We stayed in San Fran through Friday night and then went to Napa for the day Saturday.

Before I get into ALL the pictures, I have to give Alex major kuddos. He planned our whole day in Napa very thoroughly from breakfast to the super sweet cottage we stayed in Saturday night. It was SO well planned and very romantic. I told him he could plan our vacations going forward. :)

Ok, so we stayed in this amazing cottage Saturday night in Napa Valley. It had everything...jacuzzi tub, fireplace, porch swing, chiminea (sp?) outside and in true Napa style they gave you wine and snacks in your room. They also bring you a basket of fresh pastries, fruit and juice every morning. The pastries were made at this bakery in Napa called Bouchin Bakery. The pastries were FABULOUS!

Here we are after our full day in Napa, chilling on the Porch Swing

We walked through the Robert Mondavi Vineyard

Alex wanted to show the tiny grapes

This was part of our cottage

Cute huh ?

Our second vineyard we visited was "Pride Mountain Vineyards." It is at the VERY top of Spring Mountain. It is a family owned vineyard. It is on the border of Napa and Sonoma, so they have to grow their grapes seperately and can't cross blend any of the grapes in order to be able to label the bottles Napa or Sonoma.

They had this A-MAZING picnic area where you could over look all the rolling mountains. It was SO gorgeous. Alex had worked it out so that we stopped at a little market earlier in the day and had a picnic lunch ready to go.

This is our attempt at a dipping picture.

Because of the timer Alex had to run over and then he dipped me in the wrong direction.

I told him it looked like he was throwing me off the mountain. :) (don't worry - he's not)

Pretty huh? I felt like I was in The Sound of Music. Minus the nuns....I did see a few Amish people though. "The Hills are Alive" can popping in my head.

So GORGEOUS!! This was the view from Pride Vineyard.





It was obviously very bright and windy.

At Pride, they did a Progressive Wine Tasting. We tasted wine as we toured the caves.

We even got to taste wine directly from the barrel.

Second Stop on our Progressive Wine Tasting - Pride's merlot

Our first Vineyard stop was at Beringer Vineyard. Beringer has been around since the late 1800s.

This mansion is amazing. They have completely restored it. All the wall decor and stainglass is original. It was VERY interesting!

At Beringer, we did a Private Tasting. It was a lot of fun and the wine was FABULOUS!!

This picture was taken from the parking lot of The Culinary Institute of America dormitories. Can you imagine if this was your view in the morning???

Gotta have kissy pictures in the wine country.

We are Oakland Market here picking up our picnic supplies.

Ok, so this tree was HUGE!!! Anyone know what kind of tree this is? That is me at the bottom to show how TALL it was.

More Oakland Market pics, we had some time to kill and were admiring the view.

Saturday morning we ate at Gillwood's for breakfast. It was in downtown Napa. This area was super cute. It reminded me of Uptown Park in Houston.

I got the best Egg's Benedict I have ever tasted!

Alex got pancakes.

As Stacey would say...On our way to Napa at the 'butt crack of dawn'. Alex and I can't figure out what is going on with his hand. I told him it reminded me of my Grandpa Farm. He always had his hand like that. (Mom? Scott? Amanda?? Can you see what I am talking about??)

OK, now we are back in San Fran. On Friday we took the Alcatraz Tour.

This is the view from Alcatraz looking back at San Francisco.

Doing the audio tour at Alcatraz. Alex was testing out the Isolation Cells.

Alex and I waiting for the Audio Tours. We are in the SHower Room at Alcatraz.

This Seagull caught itself a crab.

Fisherman's Wharf

This is as close to the Golden Gate Bridge as we got.

Lombard Street from the Cable Car

(Curvyest Street)

Waiting for the Cable Car

(Random side note: We tried to take the Cable Car on Thursday, but a Taxi hit one, so they were all shut down - it was blocking the area where they turned around, so none of them could run)

China Town

I am sure you noticed all the fleeces in our pictures. IT was a chilly 50-60 degrees while we were there. Lots of layers.

We had such a great time and just like our last trip to California, we already have a FULL list of things to do when we go back. California has so much to offer and other than the OUTRAGEOUS prices for food...it is quickly becoming one of our favorite places to visit. Second to Disney OF COURSE!!

Speaking of Disney, I am sure you noticed in our countdown above that we leave in less than 3 months. We made ALL our dinner reservations yesterday. It is going to be so much fun. Lots of quality time with Mom and Dad!

Can we say Baby Fever.....but not for me. :)

So I think I can officially say I have moved on from the 'wedding phase' and am sitting comfortably in the 'Baby Phase.' Now, let me preface this post by answering the question I always get EVERY TIME I mention babies.

Q: Tonya, when are you going to have one of these.
A: Not yet, we are enjoying our time of being married. We look forward to the day when we will have a little one of our own, but for the record, it won't be any time soon. :)

Anyways, back to babies. This past weekend we hosted a baby shower for my roommate from college, Lori. Lori and I have been friends since Middle School and have grown up together, both in life and spiritually. She is such a special friend and I am so excited for her and her husband Josh. They are having their first daughter at the end of August. Here are some pics from the shower.

Lori and her whole fam

Beautiful Lori and her parents

Lori and the Hosts

(l-r) Alex, me, Josh, Lori, Lindsey and Todd

I dont think Lori has gained anywhere but in her belly. Not fair.



Lori and I and Mom and Dad!!

Sarah was in town for the shower too. I got to hang out with her on Friday afternoon at the pool with her son Benjamin. I will post those pics once she sends them to me. Sarah is such a great friend. She is having her second precious little boy in November. Those boys are SO lucky to have her as their Mommy.

Me and My Roomie

Lori has probably seen me at my worst more than anyone I know.

B-E-A-UTIFUL Cake.

Lindsey made this by hand--it looked amazing and tasted even better.

Lindsey also crafted this great Diaper Cake

She is a jack of many trades.

I made a Diaper Wreath for the shower. It turned out pretty cute.

Up close with the bow - I love that the "Lovey" is the center of the bow.

Stacey needed to make a diaper wreath for a baby shower she is throwing

Here we are hard at work...this was only two days before Stacey got engaged

Here is the full picture of my wreath.

A few weeks ago, my sweet friend from college came in town to visit. She, as you may guess, is pregnant and is having her sweet pea in September. Her little one is a surprise, but I am officially guessing that it is a girl. It was so much fun to see her.

We went to this Shakes and Sliders place called Lil Bigs to celebrate my neighbor Kimberly's birthday.

Cute belly shot

In addition to these three pregnant ladies, there are at least 5 others that have informed me they are pregnant or trying. Not to mention a couple have just had their little ones....seriously...its raining babies. :)

I am way behind on my blogging. I have a few other posts I am hoping to get done this week. I am at a interstate tax seminar in San Francisco beginning tomorrow evening, so it should be a nice relaxing week, well until Alex gets intown and has our free time packed with activities. I can't wait. Have a good one!!!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Hello!! I am still around...I actually have like 3 or 4 blog posts that I need to put up, I just haven't had time to upload the pictures, so I am starting with the most recent and will fill in the others as I can.

This past weekend we had a whole weekend of Mother's Day celebrations. It was a lot of fun -- we never get to see our families enough, so it was a good way to make us get together.

Saturday we went to lunch at Lopez with Alex's family to celebrate Mother's Day. It was a GREAT day to spend with the family - but was not the same without Sonia in town. She was definately there in spirit though.

While we were at lunch, Maggie (Alex's favorite (*cough* ONLY) aunt) was talking about how for New Year's in 1999 they made a time capsule. At this point Alex was 17, George was 15, Danny was 10, Jose was like 3 maybe....Maggie had everyone write a letter to say where they thought they would be in 10 years. Well this New Year's is the 10 year mark, but since Sonia will not be here for new years, they are going to open the letters on Thanksgiving. I am REALLY curious to see where Alex thought he would be in 10 years, considering he wrote this letter 4 months prior to meeting me. :) He said he is pretty sure at that point he no longer thought he would be a famous soccer player. Anyways, I thought it was neat that they did that. They are going to do another one this Thanksgiving for another 10 years.

Here are some pics from lunch.

Mags and Alex

Alex's Grandma and Grandpa and Alyssa - my little niece monkey

Grandma and Alyssa
I LOVE this pic


Alex and his Grandparents

Jennifer and Adrianna

Me, Alyssa and Jose

I hadn't seen the boys in a LONG TIME!!

Maggie, Anthony and Jose

(Will was at the other end of the table)

Maggie and Alyssa

Friday Night we celebrated Mother's Day with my Mom. Mom and Dad drove in Thursday night through Saturday. We ate dinner at this restaurant called Alexander the Great - Greek Restaurant. It was VERY yummy. They had live music that sounded just like My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It was so much fun!!

The whole Family!!

Me and The Olson ladies

Mom and Dad

Me and Hubs

My wonderful Mama and beautiful sister in law

We hung out at the condo and this was where Skid likes to lay

Saturday night we had dinner with our neighbors Chad and Julie and their daughter Avery. I pulled my camera out to show Julie a picture and Avery saw the camera and automatically started posing. She is precious!! She calls Spencer - Kenser.



Since we really didn't have much going on this past weekend, I was able to get SO MUCH done around the house!! It was awesome. I have a little more cleaning to do before the weekend. One of my closest friends, Katherine, is coming in to visit me from Dallas. She is preggers and this is the first time I have seen her with her baby bump. Can't wait to see you Kat!!!

Dear Bri

Dear Bri,

I thought about you this morning (afternoon to you - it is 3 PM there). I thought about what you were doing and what your weather was like. It is ugly and rainy here.

I hope you have a wonderful day. We need to plan another Skype date soon!

Love you.
Ton