Cancun for the 21st B'day

A coworker of mine turned 21 about a couple of weeks ago so a few of us decided to take her to Cancun to celebrate... well Cancun Cantina in Glen Burnie. :)
You walk in to a hard wood floor, line dancing bar with cowboy hats and boots. I felt like I was at the Country Club in Augusta but this place was more country. They had a restaurant area off to the side of the main room. Then you walk through a door to black lights, neon decor, and club music. If you keep walking you go directly outside and end up in a sandy, palm tree area with tables, chairs, and a volleyball court. I think it was the strangest place I have ever seen. There were bars everyone, all the girls who worked there were half naked, and you saw a little bit of everything in the crowd (older men/women, country fans, rock fans, and everything in between).
Doug was the only guy in our group but he did not mind. Between the booty short, tied up shirt wearing go go dancers and the tiny shorts, bikini top wearing bar tenders he was quite entertained. I felt overdressed and not the "dressed to fancy" overdressed. The literal I have too much skin covered up overdressed. They had girls walking around with shots and jello shots. Good thing they weren't as pretty as the go go dancers because Doug would have spent all our money! :)
Then to make the place even stranger, a band called "Amish Outlaws" was playing. A band full of guys dressed up like Amish people playing cover songs.  They were good and funny. But never in my wildest dreams would I think I would be jamming out to the Amish Outlaws. Ha!
 All in all it was a great time with great friends. We will definitely have to do it again soon! (Now that I know the dress code I will have to go shopping for appropriate clothing) :) If me and Doug would have went by ourselves we would not have stayed long. But since we went with my two "wild childs", they made it an even better time. And you have to go to there website to see this place. My description just does not do this place justice.

Please note the phrase on the shirt...

From Heather's Kitchen

or should I say, "From Doug's Kitchen" or "So easy, even Doug can make it!"

Yep, Doug cooked dinner. Ok, take a break to start breathing again or pick your jaw up off the floor. I had to work late Monday night, Doug was off, so he decided to cook dinner for us. I was trying a new recipe that night and was really excited about. Doug took charge and it was ready when I got home. The best part, it was delicious! Not only did he cook it but he did a damn good job with it. It also heated up great for lunch the next day.

So here is the must try, easy peasy, yummy new recipe I found.

Smokey Sausage Penne Pasta

2 cups uncooked penne pasta (9 oz)

1 can (18 oz) Progresso™ Recipe Starters™ creamy three cheese cooking sauce

1 ring (1 lb) fully cooked smoked pork sausage, cut into 1/2-inch slices

1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes, well drained

1 cup shredded smoked Cheddar or smoked Gouda cheese (4 oz)   

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 3-quart casserole with cooking spray.

2. Cook and drain pasta as directed on package. Stir in cooking sauce, sausage, tomatoes and 1/2        cup of the cheese. Cover and bake 20 minutes. Uncover; continue baking 10 to 15 minutes or until hot in center and bubbly around edges. Sprinkle with remaining cheese during last 5 minutes of baking.

Another day, another week

So life is pretty boring right now for the Nunley's. Sundays are NFL, catch up on TV shows, and grocery shopping, M-F work, and Saturday is college football. Doug works random days, random shifts so me and Auburn just hang at the house. Doug is taking English this semester (kill me now). It's a literature/composition class. He has to read plays and novels, he has grammar assignments, and of course essays and papers. Classes like this make me NEVER want to go and get my Masters. I spent hours on his first assignment (rewrite a jacked up essay) and it was only worth 10 points. Not cool!

Auburn is good. She is still afraid of the wood floors, hates being brushed, and is still having allergy issues. We are getting her allergy test soon. Hopefully we can find a solution to her skin issues and get them taken care of. She is happy football has started back. Although I think she likes Glee more than football. :) Doug's mom & dad told us last week that they are going out of town when we go to Bama so they will not be able to keep her the whole time. Doug and I are trying to figure out what we are going to do: take her along, let her stay with a friend, or board her. Pets really are like kids. I am freaking out over being apart from her. The thought of her being in a cage, in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by yapping dogs just breaks my heart. I just can't stand the thought of her being scared or feeling like we left her there. She gets so upset when we leave her at the house to go to work or out for dinner. How is she going to feel if we ship her off to some strange place for the weekend? Doug calls me tender hearted. I get worse and worse over more and more.

Work is going great! I am really enjoying the new job. This week is going to be very busy but I love it! I really feel appreciated, that I make an impact, and that people get me. My last job I wanted to call out everyday but was not allowed to, ever. This job I could call out and I don't want to. I actually like going to work!

We are really enjoying living in Maryland. I miss the south but not as much as I thought I would. The weather right now is amazing. I cannot tell you the last time we turned the air on. The windows have been up almost all day. It has just been beautiful. After our trip to Bama we are going to try to do some more exploring. When we get some snow I want to go to the west side of state where all the mountains are. I have planned a NY/PA road trip that would take us to Niagara Falls, Cooperstown, and Philadelphia. I hope we can go in the spring. I really hope we get to go to a Ravens game this season. With the Orioles doing so well and the Ravens season beginning, sports are big topics around the area. It is quite electric right now. 

I know this is crazy but I finally found my go to grocery store. We have a Foodlion by our house but it is small and expensive. There is a Safeway a little bit farther down but it does not have a lot of what we usually buy. Giant is ok and Wal-Mart is the farthest away. I found Shoppers by searching for this yogurt I really like (they are the only store in the area that has it). I went by one day to check it out and fell in love. The prices are really close to Wal-Mart and they have everything! I love the lay out of the store and how CLEAN it is. The only down fall is the checkout lines but they are better than Wal-Marts. So they got my yogurts, they got my business.

I will say this and this alone about Auburn football. We are young, we are new, we are playing top ranked SEC teams. Maybe next year...

From Heather's Kitchen

Today I went in the kitchen looking for something quick to make for lunch before the game came on. Doug was off to work so I wanted to something to feed just me. Last week I bought a cheese grater so I used the Wisconsin block cheese Doug's parents brought us from their last trip there to make a cheese quesadilla.  I have one of those quesadilla cooker things but it makes a huge mess when you use it so I decided to put it on the stove in a skillet. It came out much crispier than the cooker makes it.
So, I am in the kitchen digging through food trying to find something yummy when I spot the grilled leftover steak. I have never made a steak quesadilla before because how many times do you have grilled steak laying around the house. I knew today was the day. I usually brown some ground beef, simmer it with taco seasoning, and add that to the quesadilla. It is good, but my steak one was so much better.
Side note - use a pizza cutter to cut your quesadillas. So much easier and less messy than a knife. 
I am not sure if it was the steak, the Wisconsin cheese, or the skillet crispiness that made it great but it was the best quesadilla I have ever made. Doug was not happy when he saw what I was making. I had to promise him to make it for dinner sometime soon. I wish I took a picture of it before I ate it but I didn't. Yall know what a steak quesadilla looks like so just imagine a picture of one below.

Renaissance Festival

Last weekend Doug and I met up with our friends, Ryan & Sarah, and headed out to the Renaissance Festival. The weather was a little warm but a nice little downpour came though and made it quite nice. The people were just as charming as last year, the food was just as fattening, and the beer was nice and cold. Great friends, cool jewelry for me, swords and axes for the guys, and lots of people watching made for another great day at the Renaissance festival.

"Tangled Up In You"

You're my world
The shelter from the rain
You're the pills
That take away my pain
You're the light
That helps me find my way
You're the words
When I have nothing to say

And in this world
Where nothing else is true
Here I am
Still tangled up in you
I'm still tangled up in you
Still tangled up in you

You're the fire
That warms me when i'm cold
You're the hand
I have to hold as I grow old
You're the shore
When I am lost at sea
You're the only thing
That I like about me

And in this world
Where nothing else is true
Here I am
Still tangled up in you
I'm still tangled up in you

How long has it been
Since this storyline began
And I hope it never ends
And goes like this forever

In this world
Where nothing else is true
Here I am
Still tangled up in you
Tangled up in you
I'm still tangled up in you
Still tangled up in you

-the lyrics to the Staind song I walked down the aisle to. Happy 3 year anniversary, dute dute!

I remember...

I remember bits and pieces of the year leading up to it

I remember getting the inground pool and the noodle

I remember the oxygen tank

I remember having to move our football seats down closer to the field 

I remember the bracelet she gave me to always remind me she loved me

I remember all the special things she did with me just in case it was our last time

I remember getting checked out of school by mom, full of excitement, thinking "Today is the day!"

I remember the hotel we stayed at and the celebration dinner

I remember the stuffed pig I bought her

I remember getting the call and going back to the hospital thinking it was good news

I remember sitting in the room and seeing my uncle ask his dad why

I remember driving home and "One Sweet Day" coming on the radio

But most importantly I remember the smile, the laugh, and her love.

I cherish the 13 years but it was not long enough. Always in my thoughts. Always in my heart.

Patsy Pigg - 9/4/96