A New Beginning March 26, 2008

Happy Easter!  Adam and I had a whirlwind Easter this year, going to church and brunch with my family, then heading up to Sherman to visit his family right after brunch.  It was alot of fun, ALL the food was amazing, but I have to say – for the first time in a while, I got something I could take home from church.  The sermon was all about new beginnings, and I found it so appropriate that Adam and I were there to listen. 

Adam resigned from his current position on Friday. It’s been a while coming, he didn’t enjoy his job, and nobody should have to dread going into work everyday. He felt uncomfortable and always stressed out.  For me, this new chapter in our life is exciting.  It’s going to be difficult, but in the end, it will be well worth it.  Adam is finally making the leap to go back to school. We’ve talked about it and talked about it, but finally, we’re doing something about it.  This means lots of sacrifices, possibly moving, more staying home and alot more eating ramen noodles!!

 He’s accepted a job working for an insurance company, conducting the necessary medical exams when people try to obtain life and health insurance. It’s going to be alot of driving and some crazy hours, but he’ll have time to study and go to class. 

Listening to Blake at church really hit home, it is a new beginning for us, and it made me realize that hope is the best blessing we have.  That we can thrive on hope and love for a long time, and that is exactly what we are going to do.

Happy Easter!

A hallmark holiday, 2008 February 21, 2008

This year, “we” decided to just make each other dinner and save some money.  I say “we” because I always have a secret plan to surprise Adam.  He hates surprises, but who cares, it’s fun!  I made him an awesome basket full of tons of goodies, then dropped it off at his office.  I thought I was being so sneaky, he had no idea I was delivering something… so I snuck into the building as quickly as I can… and OF COURSE! He was in a meeting next to the front desk and saw everything. But, it was still fun. All his friends loved the cookies and cupcakes so it was worth it.

Anyway, the dinner.  I really wanted to use our china for the 1st time.. it was a blast setting up the dining room for the 1st time with a table runner and pretty glasses and candles.  We usually just sit on the sofa and watch our favorite shows together during dinner, it was nice to sit at the table and enjoy each other.  Below is a picture of our table.

Adam and I love sushi, and we received a sushi kit from our wedding registry – by far, the perfect gift.  Adam made sushi for me for Valentine’s Day – it was awesome.  We like using the sushi-grade salmon and tuna from Central Market, but if you’re on a budget – you can use smoked salmon as an alternative – it’s still great!  It’s much more easily accessible and tastes amazing. Homemade sushi is just awesome.  Below are images of Adam making sushi earlier in the year.

Since we only made 2 rolls, I decided to make a shrimp pasta dish – which is SUPER easy and awesome. By far, the best white sauce I’ve made.  The recipe is from Kraft Foods – here is what it is:  Shrimp-In-Love Pasta (cheesy name huh!)

4 oz. linguine, uncooked

1 cup  cleaned medium fresh shrimp

2 medium tomatoes, chopped (about 1 cup)

1/2 cup  PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese Spread

1-1/2 cups torn cleaned spinach

COOK linguine as directed on package.MEANWHILE, heat large skillet on medium-high heat. Add shrimp, tomatoes and cream cheese spread; cook and stir 3 to 4 minutes or until shrimp are cooked through and mixture is well blended.DRAIN pasta; place in large bowl. Add spinach; toss lightly. Stir in shrimp mixture.How easy is that!  We finished the meal with a little chocolate fondue – we used Ghiradelli milk chocolate, Nutella and cashew butter. It was so smooth and tasty. We didn’t even make it through a movie after that – we just went to bed!It was a great first Valentine’s for the Quintana fam…