Another One Bites the Dust......... a.k.a. Stephen's Birthday

Over the past weekend, I celebrated my 28th birthday. I decided that I had been working too much and not taking a chance to relax, so I took off the weekend, packed my bags and Jesse & I went to Houston. I enjoyed spending my birthday with family as my parents also drove over and we all stayed with my sister and her husband.

To show how much relaxing we indulged in, below are the pictures of our breakfast as we left out of Baton Rouge on Friday morning. Lets take a wild guess at who has which breakfast??

If you guessed that I enjoyed the traditional Chocolate Milk and Mary Lee Donuts, you would be correct. Jesse enjoyed a nice breakfast from Community Coffee House consisting of a Latte and cake.

Of course after Jesse enjoyed breakfast and we hit the open road, she quickly pulled out her favorite travel companion, her pillow and blanket. Can you feel the love from her on my 5 hour drive as she sleeps? Not to fear, about an hour and forty-five minutes in, we had to stop in for gas. As I woke her up to let her know we were having a fill up with gas, stretch, and bathroom stop, I jokingly said, "Want to go hold baby alligators across the street??" Granted I've seen this place a bunch of times driving to Houston, but have never stopped to go. But to my surprise, she responded, " Heck yea I wanna hold a baby gator." So hopefully she'll forgive me for posting this picture below, but she was already in her sleep portion of the trip when she was suddenly woke up for this experience.

On Friday night, before dinner, Jesse and my sister and mother went and enjoyed a pedicure in Rice Village. After returning, my sister and brother-in-law wanted to take Jesse and I out for dinner to get to know her a little better, since this was the first time since we started dating that they had a chance to meet her. So we decided since it was still Lent and on a Friday, to head over to Woodrow's in The Heights for some boiled Crawfish.

Jesse and I decided to grab and early morning run on Saturday. Since the train and dogs woke us up early, we headed out about 8 am. We went to the nearby Buffalo Bayou Walking trail. We started towards downtown Houston, unfortunately it was rather foggy still, so in the pictures you couldn't see the sky-scrapers. Instead for your viewing pleasure, we provide a stretch of the trail through the trees.

After we finished our run, we headed back to my sisters to clean up and grab breakfast. My brother-in-law once again out did himself on the breakfast prepared for six people at 9 am. It was a good start to the day, which parlayed into our trip up to Cypress to the Houston Premium Outlets. This was a major item on the agenda for both Jesse and I as we had both been getting into better shape and as everyone knows, when you lose weight and inches exercising, your clothes begin to fall off and no longer fit. So Jesse was mainly looking for jeans, shorts, and some cute tops. I on the other hand had a main focus on jeans, with the wondering eye looking out for dress pants for work, some new khaki shorts, and some casual shirts. My sister and mom took the opportunity to go with us as well and the below shot of Jesse's SUV shows everyone's success in Cypress.

After the outlet mall, we made a quick b line to Chuy's Mexican Restaurant for dinner. We met up with my dad and brother-in-law, Mike. As always, Chuy's hit the spot with the delicious food, even though I was a little disappointed they would not substitute beef for chicken on the chimichanga.

Sunday morning, Jesse and I went with my parents to church in Memorial park for Palm Sunday. I must admit that having the priests we did was enjoyable. One of the priests was from the United Kingdom and he waved the palms around as someone at a sporting events would wave a rally towel. Unfortunately, my mind continued to wonder and somewhat have the occasional laugh at the thought of him at a Manchester United match. Like I said, my mind can wonder at times. But my mom looked it up when we got back to Baton Rouge and apparently the church wants us to celebrate with the palms as he was doing.

After church we stopped at a local nursery and picked up some herb plants to bring back and rejuvenate our herb garden. We then met up with everyone at Saltgrass Steak House for my birthday lunch. Aside from the pair of screaming kids next to us just to hear themselves scream, as the parents laughed and didn't try to calm the situation, it was a great lunch. I enjoyed the 6 oz. Filet Mignon wrapped in bacon topped with Bleu Cheese crumbles and melted butter served with mashed potatoes and caesar salad. Jesse enjoyed a 6 oz. Sirloin Steak served with soup.

Jesse and I broke away and headed to the Galleria to walk around and look at various stores, but I learned a quadrant to keep her away from. I know in a few years that I will need to keep her away from the quadrant of Sephora, Tory Burch, Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Kate Spade, and Zara. Other than that quadrant, her eyes never really lit up.

After leaving the Galleria, we headed over to Trader Joe's to see what we've heard so much about and get a preview of what's coming to Baton Rouge. We grabbed some great things which aren't available in Baton Rouge, so we'll definitely be shopping there when it opens. And of course, I can't go without saying that while Jesse was having a pedicure, the men headed to Spec's and I was able to find one of Jesse's favorite wines, Covey Run.

It was time to head back to Baton Rouge and what does Jesse do?? And of course, she grabs the pillow and blanket out. 

We all enjoyed the nice break from the busy schedule and getting to relax in Houston for my birthday was the perfect choice. Even though I hate the fact that I'm climbing in age, at least with Jesse by my side and family around, I'll be aging like a fine wine only getting better as the years pass by.

Another Birthday for Jesse!!! And Stephen's isn't far behind :/

Over the past weekend, Jesse celebrated her birthday. She undoubtably did not enjoy making that leap of age into the late twenties. I really have no room to talk, I'm already in my late twenties and have accepted that I'm not going to get younger in age by number, but I can get younger, faster, and stronger in ability of mind and body.

I never realized what kind of girl I fell in love with, apparently I didn't notice she is a four year old trapped in an aging body who is over the age of twenty one. What makes me have this comment?? Oh just the fact that the breakfast she asked me to make her on her birthday morning was a banana cake batter protein pancake with sprinkles baked inside, topped with bubble gum flavored icing, sprinkles, & candles.

Even though she is a kid when it comes to her birthday, apparently I have blonde hair that is just colored wrong. Last night I cooked a dinner for Jesse and my parents. How simple is cooking chicken wrapped in bacon?? Not only did I mess it up, I burned the heck out of the first two pieces of chicken.

My only defense was that I was using my cast iron skillet for maybe the third time, used a little too much extra virgin olive oil, and had the temperature raised too high for too long (I didn't think the skillet would heat up that quickly).

I will admit that there are no pictures of my disaster, only because my plate did not resemble the fact I was eating chicken wrapped in bacon, but Jesse made some delicious twice baked potatoes. She'll have to give the recipe just in case you don't already know how to do it, like me.

Unfortunately for the two of us, we've been rather busy and fell off the healthy eating and working out schedule we had created. Fear not, we will be jumping back on the wagon after this weekend and/or whenever we get back from Houston for my birthday weekend.

Valentine's Day

Stephen and I had a great first Valentine's Day together. He didn't have (aka, skipped) school and came over before I left to go to work, so we were able to have a nice lunch pulled together from our food prep/grocery trip on Monday. I had mashed tuna and avocado spread on honey whole wheat bread topped with alfalfa sprouts, a tomato, and some canteloupe. Stephen had a ham and cheese sandwich on the same honey whole wheat bread. We both had water to drink.

I'll get veggies into this boy eventually.

Jesse's Lunch

Stephen's Lunch

After lunch, I had to go to work; I teach from 12:30-3:15 on Thursdays. Stephen went and ran the levee on LSU's campus.

Isn't it pretty? I, unfortunately, had to skip the run didn't have time to get a workout in after school.

Stephen sent me two dozen red roses to work. Aren't they gorgeous? I mean, if a girl has to go to work instead of go for a run on a gorgeous day, she should at least get flowers, right? 

So pretty! I'm pretty traditional, so I
love red roses!

When I got home, we exchanged the rest of the gifts. I got him a cast iron skillet (he wanted it, I swear! My mom got mad at me because it isn't a "romantic" gift). 

Um, what's not romantic about a gift that lasts a lifetime?

Stephen bought me dangling pearl earrings and a pearl necklace and he printed some pictures of us from Mardi Gras to put in my empty picture frames.

I'm wearing the jewelry that he bought me
in this pic

That picture frame had seriously been empty
since April 2012

After exchanging gifts, Stephen told me to go ahead and get ready because he was going to take me to New Orleans for dinner instead of going to the place he had in mind in Baton Rouge. Once we were on the interstate, I asked if I could guess where we were going (I knew we were going for Italian in a suburb of New Orleans). Stephen said yes, and I immediately shouted "Semolina's!" He was surprised I guessed so quickly and delighted when I followed that guess with "I LOVE Semolina's!" (We've never eaten there together).

Stephen had Lasagna (so good! I moused a
few bites)

I had Chicken Enchilada Pasta (even better
than Stephen's dish)

We also shared a bread pudding for dessert. The rum sauce was to. die. for. I may or may not have eaten more sauce than actual bread pudding... on a spoon. by itself.

We ended the night back at my apartment just cuddling on the couch before Stephen had to go home. A perfect day.

Playing footsie :)

Mardi Gras 2013

We skipped our workout this Tuesday in favor of this:

Originally on the agenda for Mardi Gras was a simple trip to the gym and some more prep cooking, but a sudden spur-of-the-moment trip changed the day's plans. I had the great idea to take hold of the tradition we were raised around, Mardi Gras. We decided to take a quick trip over to Lafayette for some parades and lunch. Our trip to Lafayette for Mardi Gras included many fun adventures, including checking out my old stomping grounds, THE University of Louisiana........ at Lafayette. (Sorry, I'm waiting for Jesse to jump in about all the massive branding around campus saying University of Louisiana, with no "at Lafayette" attached to the name.)

*Rant from Jesse: I get angry about UL-Lafayette branding themselves as The University of Louisiana. There are multiple universities in the University of Louisiana system, including my alma mater, The University of Louisiana at Monroe. Eventually Stephen will get tired of bringing up our rivalry ;)

One of my favorite things about campus is the face that we have Mardi Gras parades roll right through it.

Only in Louisiana will you find two different
Crossfit locations sponsoring Mardi Gras floats

Before we left the parade and ULL's campus, we stopped by my favorite spot on campus, Cypress Lake. Since the business building was only twenty yards from Cypress Lake, I visited often when I was a student at ULL. I enjoy being able to brag to others that my university has a real swamp in the middle of campus and legitimately has over a dozen alligators in it, some ranging up to 6 feet in size. The university has an agreement to remove the alligators at 6 feet and move them to the Atchafalaya Basin so that it does not stun their growth, and then they replace those with baby alligators.

An alligator covered in marshy swamp water

Us standing near the swamp

I brought Jesse to a place I grew fond of when I was spending a lot of my time in Lafayette for school, Prejean's Cajun Restaurant. Not only do I find this restaurant to be some of the best food in South Louisiana period, I also enjoyed visiting friends who worked there while listening to the live Zydeco bands playing the night away with Cajun music. We both enjoyed some delicious food as you can see below.

Prejean's Restaurant near Lafayette, LA

Almost anyone who knows me knows that I'm a very picky eater, especially when it comes to vegetables, but put a few Cajun dishes in front of me and I forget the meaning of the word vegetable. Granted, at Prejean's I went with my all-time favorite Cajun dish, Fried Alligator. Most people think it would be disgusting or taste like chicken, but I'll be the first to tell you that the flavor is all of its own and either blackened or fried, it's delicious to eat. I actually buy the alligator tail meat to cook at home sometimes. I think people underestimate wild game. The meat is delicious to eat as well as being rather low in fat and calories.

Jesse decided to try a dish I have eaten on numerous occasions, as well as my mother's all-time favorite Prejean's dishes, Crawfish Enchiladas. The mixture of crawfish, cheese, and flavorful vegetables are like none other when this dish is served.

Stephen's choice (Top Picture): Croc de Jacques
(Fried alligator and hushpuppies)
Jesse's choice (Bottom Picture): Crawfish Enchilada

Here is one of Prejean's slogans.....

Meet the Parents

Jesse's side of the story:

So Stephen and I had a pretty important moment in our new relationship yesterday: he met my parents.

We were both nervous. I was worried he wouldn't like my parents. He was more nervous than I was, though. Let me explain. My dad is 6'8 and drives a Harley (he also teaches second grade, so you can get the badass biker image out of your head now ;). I'm an only child. Understandable nerves? I think so.

Stephen and I are both incredibly fortunate that we are both so close to our parents, so the stakes are pretty high when meeting them. I've met his parents a few time (they live in the same town we are currently in), but my parents live about two and a half hours north of us, so it's obviously not as convenient to spend time with my parents as it is to spend time with his. Because we all have a four-day weekend (Happy Mardi Gras!), my parents decided to drive down for the day (because they missed me, obviously).

My parents came to my apartment where they met Stephen for the first time. Then we all went to Jason's Deli for lunch. In case you're curious, I had the salad bar and chili; Stephen had some kind of sandwich he didn't like. Obviously, we finished lunch with ice cream (if you don't know, you get free ice cream at Jason's Deli!).

We'll get better at this whole "we are bloggers and need to take pictures of things" thing.

All in all, things went really well. My parents like Stephen. In fact, they say he seems to be the best guy I've dated so far (they actually said that I improve with every boyfriend), so that's always nice to hear. I guess I can keep him, right?

Stephen's side of the story:

So yesterday was the most nerve wracking day in a while for me.... D-Day, the day I met Jesse's parents for the first time. As the time passed and it got closer to meeting them, I started feeling like a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. I decided to try and psych myself out by playing it as cool as an Eskimo selling Popsicles on a cool winter night. That thought lasted about all of 0.25 seconds when I saw Jesse's parents step out the pickup truck.

The first thought that ran through my head, no lie, was that this would be David vs. Goliath. So the typical David in the story is tiny; well, at 6'1, 250 lb., I'm no small David, but Goliath had me topped at 6'8 easy, and I had a crick in my neck after looking up at him all day. But instead of slaying Goliath, I just needed to befriend him as a formidable opponent. This challenge was due to the fact he is a key piece in Jesse's life.

Good thing for me that Goliath was a jolly fellow who did not care to slay the young David, but rather get to know one another. I knew things would be ok when discussing where to eat lunch and his first words were, "Anything but sushi."

*Alleluia*

Things were looking up: the discussion was flowing back and forth with Jesse's parents and lunch at Jason's Deli was good. As Jesse said above, my food wasn't the absolute best, but it was still good. Unlike Jesse, I passed up the salad bar and decided to go with a create your own sandwich. I decided to roll with a ham sandwich on herb foccacia bun with provolone cheese. Since the bread wasn't toasted, the ham was cold. (*enter disappointment*)

After enjoying laughs over lunch with Jesse's parents, we came back to her apartment to visit a little longer before I had to rush off to work. I enjoyed getting to know two individuals who raised such a beautiful and wonderful daughter, inside and out. They reaffirmed in me what I want in life, and that's to have happiness like theirs and my parents, but with Jesse by my side.

As I left, I had a good feeling about the day; the bear hug I received from momma bear helped reaffirm in my mind that I must have passed the first test. One hurdle jumped, but its a marathon of hurdles to jump get to our final destination together.

Meet & Greet: Jesse and Stephen... And Lizzie!

Who are we? We are a young couple who fell for each other and the values instilled in each of us...

We decided to make healthful eating and regular exercise a part of our relationship from day one. Jesse takes the reins in the kitchen (though Stephen can certainly hold his own! Just ask about his Turkey/Buffalo burgers... delish!). Stephen is the brains behind the fitness side of things (though Jesse... well, she's pretty clueless. But she tries!). We keep things fresh not only in the kitchen but also with our workouts by changing it up and not sticking to the typical gym day-in-and-day-out routine. And how could we forget our cuddly cat, Lizzie, who one minute is snuggling next to us and the next minute swatting Stephen's hand away... typical cat.

Travel is important to both of us, but Stephen has the schemes to get us where we're going. He came up with an incentive-based workout program which helps pay for our travel, either partially or completely (depending on the trip). The days we both workout, either together or separately, we pay the other person's mileage walked/jogged/biked. The days we don't workout, or one of the two of us doesn't, nothing gets paid towards our travel. Simple incentives, but great rewards: $1 per mile, if 2.51 miles, we pay $3. If 2.41 miles, we pay $2.

Neither of us is particularly happy with our current weights, though the pounds are being shed! This blog is a chance for us to share our weight-loss journeys, our kitchen successes and disasters (trust us, not everything is delish! Stephen is still recovering from Jesse's Spaghetti Squash au Gratin.), as well as our dating adventures.