What's For Dinner Wednesday: Tequila Shrimp

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• White onion, minced
• Garlic
• Salt
• Uncooked shrimp, peeled & de-veined
• 1/2 cup tequila
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

• Heat oil on medium heat, cook onion and garlic until translucent.
• Add shrimp and cook until pink. Remove pan from heat, add tequila. Return to heat and cook until alcohol has evaporated and shrimp are fully cooked.
• Remove from heat and add lime juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

This shrimp is so versatile that it can be paired with a variety of sides. I have usually gone with brown rice or orzo. A few slices of avocado also brightens it up.  The recipe itself is very simple and takes almost no time to prepare. And one more note, if you can, I would recommend buying shrimp already peeled and de-veined, definitely worth the extra dollars to not have to mess with that.
   

*Original recipe courtesy of www.chow.com.

Feel Good Friday: Blessed

There is always some magazine article telling women and men what they are doing wrong in their marriages or relationships and how they should fix it. Basically, a battle of the sexes diatribe.  Ryan and I do read these articles with a huge handful of salt, have a good laughing battle of wills ourselves, and then just chalk it up to nonsense.

In these articles, I see a recurring theme of how women "resent" their man because they can't seem to get him to do any sort of housework without nagging, and it makes me appreciate that I have a man who is not like any husband that these articles are referring to.

So, I wanted to end the week on an upbeat note and focus on the positive instead of the negative. 

I am blessed to have a husband, who:

• not only knows how to do a load of laundry, but will actually do it just because some of his clothes are high maintenance and I shouldn't be responsible for that;
• will willingly load/unload the dishwasher without being asked;
• who knows how to cook and wants to cook to give me a break sometimes;
• in spite of having our own spending money, still wants to spoil me;
• doesn't expect me to do all the housework just because we are now in more traditional marriage roles than we were previously;
• who knows how to say thank you, and does so, often.

What are you blessed to have in your partner?

Monday Mania: Tough Question

I have been getting this question a lot since we've moved out to Arizona: what has been the toughest adjustment?

It's been mainly two things for me.

First and foremost, is having to establish a new group of friends. The first time Ryan went out of town on business, I remember texting my friend in Atlanta, "Okay, NOW I am lonely" because I didn't have anyone to hang out with while he was gone. And since I'm not working full-time, I don't have an automatic potential friend-pool through a job. I have really had to step out of my comfort zone and seek out local women's groups to get out of the house on my own and around some estrogen. It's totally like being the new kid in school half way through the year.

The second is that I just don't know my way around this town like I did Atlanta.  Traffic in Atlanta is the pits, and I could always whip up a backup route or shortcut in the blink of an eye. Here, not so much. I just can't see the layout in my head for a quick alternate way to anywhere if I need to yet. Thankfully, this town is set up on a grid system, so that I can play chance and eventually hit a street that is recognizable to me that will get me to where I need. Which leads me to being very dependent on Google Maps and GPS. Very rare was it that I had to consult Google Maps for directions, but now, I literally have to check before I leave the house and then make sure that I have my GPS with me.

If you've ever had to move to a completely new city after living in one place for quite awhile, what was your toughest adjustment?

IRONMAN 3

This is what my rock star brother did yesterday:

I spent a lot of the afternoon and night tracking him throughout the race and trying to catch him on the live stream feed, but that one didn't work out so well. It is truly amazing how connected we all can be with technology these days.

But, needless to say, I am one PROUD sister!! 

This was his 3rd IRONMAN competition and certainly not his last. According to his previous races, it looks like that he scored some PR times.

He is a total inspiration in dedication to achieving your goals. This is what makes all those practices and early mornings worth it.

Congratulations, Kevin!

My equally awesome parents went with him, as they have been with him for all his full IRONMAN races, to New Zealand to cheer him on.  They will be stopping by for a visit on their way back home. Can't wait to see them!