Captain Jack is dressed up for his first Halloween! We dressed up like doctors and went as a "Paradox". We thought it was funny... :-)

It was a very, very, very happy 30th birthday! My wonderful husband made me breakfast before work, gave me a beautiful new journal and took me out for an amazing dinner at the Thai Cottage, one of our favorite restaurants...we ended the evening sharing a yummy slice of lemon meringue sponge cake...what a wonderful day...thanks Brian - I love you so much!

Different things create a sense of anticipation and excitement in different people. Sometimes it's big events like getting married or being pregnant. Sometimes it's a big purchase such as a car or home. Sometimes it's the excitement of a new job...for me, right at this moment, it's a 5 foot tall used black legal sized filing cabinet. I know, I know, kind of a let down for y'all isn't it? For me it is the solution to the Mt. Timpanogas of paperwork that surrounds me. I am literally drowning in paperwork, both work and personal, right now. Our office area reminds me of a war zone, I get to dodge teetering boxes on the way to my desk, hoping and praying that they don't explode as I pass by. :-)

After we got married, I inherited the task of sorting through and filing our paperwork (Brian doesn't like doing it, but I lucked out since he does dishes) :-) It took a while, but I got the majority of it under control...and then came my new job...and file box after file box of paperwork to bring home and organize. Then we decided to clean out more of the garage in August...and lo and behold...more boxes of our old personal paperwork appeared! Unfortunately, this time we had no more room, as our 2 drawer filing cabinet was already full. It is also in the forefront of my thoughts since our office area is directly off the living room, and we currently don't have any doors on it to hide the clutter.

So, on to my current excitement...and a salvation of sorts for our office area...our new (used) filing cabinet...I feel like Mt. Timpanogas is starting to fall off my shoulders....if only the delivery guys would show up! ;-)

We just returned from Destin, FL...we were celebrating our one year wedding anniversary. What a wonderful year it has been - one filled with love, adventures and all the magic that marriage brings. We look forward to many new and exciting adventures together!

We are so glad we were able to work in this quick anniversary trip - it was so worth it. Believe it or not, Destin is only a 9 hour drive from Texas...emerald green water and white sandy beaches...and it was still warm enough to swim in, even though it is October! Laura grew up going to Destin almost every summer with her family - her grandfather had a home there until recently. We spent Friday making the drive over to Florida - it is a pretty straight shot down I-10. Saturday was spent enjoying the beautiful beaches...a bit of window shopping at some pretty cool art glass stores, P.F. Changs for a late lunch and then we finished the evening off at The Track, a really cool go kart and putt-putt golf amusement park. We got to test out our mad Mario Kart skills on their really cool tracks - they have 5 of them! We kept Sunday pretty quiet with church, the required time share presentation (that is how Brian got us such a sweet deal at the Marriott - $170 for 4 nights!), followed up by a siesta.

Monday was our anniversary, we started the day at 5 AM - we were going deep sea fishing! We had such a great time! The seas were pretty rough (thank goodness for Dramamine!)...but the fish were biting like crazy! We probably reeled in over 30 fish between the two of us...unfortunately, we only got to keep six (Red Snapper have to be over 16 inches to keep them). The group we went with was so great - and the captain really kept us moving...if the fish stopped biting he moved us to the next spot. We got home around two, got cleaned up and took another siesta (it is vacation after all!). Brian surprised me for our anniversary dinner by taking us to The Melting Pot, a really romantic fondue restaurant. We had a wonderful time. We had to leave Tuesday morning, so we packed up Monday evening so that we could get up super early to watch the sunrise on the beach before we drove home...what a beautiful end to a wonderful vacation.

Best Chili Around...


We can now officially say that our Bold and Spicy Buffalo Chili is the BEST...at least at the ward chili cook off. We thought it was good, but we were totally surprised when we took the Best All Around Chili Award! There were about 25 awesome entries (we especially liked a great white chili with turkey - yum!). There were 4 award categories...heartiest, spiciest, most unique and best all around. We won a yummy pumpkin loaf with caramel to drizzle over it (see pic above) Here is our award-winning recipe...I still can't believe we won!

Bold and Spicy Buffalo Chili

Ingredients
• 12 oz tomato paste
• 16 oz tomato sauce
• 4 15oz cans chopped tomatoes (drained)
• 4 15oz cans dark red kidney beans (drained)
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh garlic
• 3 Tablespoons garlic powder
• 2 Tablespoons ground cumin
• 3 Tablespoons parsley
• 2 Tablespoons oregano
• 1 Tablespoon sea salt (or to taste)
• 2 Teaspoons ground black pepper
• 2 Tablespoons Chipotle chili powder
• 1 Tablespoon Ancho chili powder
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 whole red habenero (de-veined, seeded and diced)
• 5 jalapeños (de-veined, seeded and diced)
• 1 pound bottom round steak ½” cubed (easier to cube if slightly frozen)
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground buffalo
• 8 oz beef stock

Directions
Sauté the onion, garlic, jalapenos and habanero in a small amount of olive oil until the onions are translucent. Meanwhile place the tomato paste, tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes, kidney beans, garlic powder, cumin, parsley, oregano, salt, black pepper, Chipotle chili powder, Ancho chili powder, and beef stock in a large crock pot. Add the onion, garlic and pepper mixture to the crock pot. Brown the cubed steak, ground buffalo and ground beef in a large skillet. Drain the meat. Add the browned beef and buffalo mixture to the crock pot. Mix thoroughly. Slow cook in the crock pot all day. Serve with grated cheese, sour cream and chopped green onions.

Wish us luck!

We are entering our Bold and Spicy Buffalo Chili into our ward's Chili Cook-off tonight...we'll let you know if it's award-winning. ;-) The best part was inventing it...Brian's idea was to use buffalo meat while I cooked up the spice combination. We have so much fun inventing recipes together. Brian is so great at making suggestions and thinking out of the box. Here's a pic of our entry!

It's been almost exactly one week since we have returned from evacuating. Things are almost back to normal. Believe it or not, our return from evacuating took longer than evacuating. The majority of last Friday was spent driving around the Dallas area looking for gas cans (six stores later, we finally came up with 4 two-gallon cans)...we then secured a large Coleman cooler to bring back staple items such as milk and eggs. The reports from our neighbors told us that gas was still scarce and that most of the grocery stores still weren't open (the ones that were open were swamped). We found places to fill up along the way home so that we had a full tank when we arrived in Houston around 9:30 PM.

We didn't know what to expect. We were shocked at the amount of damage had been done even on the north side of town. As we drove through our neighborhood (realize that we live an hour from the coast) we saw 8 foot piles of debris, roofs with tarps over them, 30 year old trees cut down to the stumps and piles of ruined carpet on almost every corner. When we arrived home, we carefully went over the interior and exterior (with a flashlight)...and...nothing. Our house was in perfect condition. We didn't even lose a shingle. We have been so blessed. All the houses behind us have major shingle damage and their roofs leaked down into their homes, ruining sheet rock and carpet. Our fence didn't budge either. I know without a shadow of doubt that Heavenly Father was looking out for us that day. I cannot put to words how much gratitude I feel.

The next day, Brian went back to work at 6 AM. I was able to go to our local Petsmart to donate some dog food to the Humane Society - that is where we adopted Jack-Jack. They have so many animals in need (our Humane Society rescued over 600 animals that had been abandoned during Ike in our county alone.) As I was driving home, I took the opportunity to take some pictures around our neighborhood.

Fences Down...and major shingle damage which let the rain inside.

Fences down at a neighbor's home.

Roof and carpet damage right down the street.

Ward members on our street...they lost their beautiful Chinese Elm, but it didn't fall on their home...what a blessing.

Our street - minimal damage compared to the rest.

Our home...ten large yard bags of sticks, pine needles and leaves...minor cleanup.

The extent of our damage...one $20 package of black shingles to replace those that were chewed up by our large elm branch that banged on them repeatedly during the storm. We are so grateful!

We spent Monday and Tuesday returning our yard to its pre-Ike state. I planted some cheerful yellow mums to help encourage autumn to make its way down to Texas. I am so impressed with the blessings that Heavenly Father poured out upon us in the midst of this natural disaster. Out ward really pulled together and was able to account for and take care of every member who had a need within the first 48 hours. We have spent the last week providing meals, laundry facilities and company to those members still without power. Everyone is safe. We have been able to reach out in fellowship to neighbors and in return have gained new friends. I have seen so many people pull together in the spirit of service during this time. Heavenly Father has blessed Brian and me with the opportunity to serve our brothers and sisters as well. I see the extent of his love in the many helping hands that have been extended...this is an amazing blessing.