Quick Post

Just a quick post today because once again, it has been crazy busy. I've been in meetings, it seems, all day so when 5 o'clock rolls around I actually get to work on stuff that needs to be done in my office.

Anyway, made those ribs last night. They turned out really good. Brian LOVED them :) Said they were the best thing I've ever made - which I don't know if that is a compliment or not. (In case you dont' know, I am a horrible cook and I don't enjoy it very much - which is why I married Brian. He loves to cook and is good at it!).

I was going to show you a picture of the ribs in the slow cooker but it is not too appetizing. The smell, though, when I walked in the house was yum! Here is a pic of the final product:If you don't like soy sauce, you won't like this. My sister suggested putting them over rice since they are asian ribs but we had rice the night before so I did potatoes au gratin and green beans (my fave!). This is so easy to fix because you can mix the sauce the night before and refridgerate and then throw it all in the crockpot in the morning. Receipe from my sister:

1 cup soy sauce
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
2-3 cloves garlic
3-10 jalapenos
ribs (frozen or thawed)

chop garlic. mix soy sauce, sugar, garlic and water in a bowl. put ribs in crockpot and cover with mixture. add jalapenos. Cook on low for 8 hours (less if ribs are thawed).

That's all I have today. I will leave you with a picture of a Sonoma County vineyard. I am hoping to take pictures like this in California...cannot wait for the wine country!

~*~Countdown to SF: 8 days! *~*

Rain, Rain, Rain

This is what it looked like outside my house this morning:

That is not really my house or my street but the idea is that it was pouring rain. I woke up around 7am to hear the rain pounding on the roof. I got ready and really wanted to wait out the rain because I knew that I would be soaked. However, the rain was not stopping for me! I had to jump a huge puddle in the driveway and soaked my pants. I called Brian and told him to just wear shorts and flip flops until he got to work and change because there was no good coming out of running through the rain in your work clothes! :)

However, thank God for the rain because now it looks like this outside:

We got the best of both worlds, the much-needed rain and the beautiful sunshine. It's supposed to be like this the rest of the week. I've been keeping up-to-date with the weather in San Fran and it's currently 66 with lows in the 50s! Cannot wait :) Hopefully this is what we will be seeing the entire time, weather-wise

We are already starting to pack for San Fran and trying to work out details on our dog sitters. I do hate leaving my dogs and that is what usually stops us from travelling. I know that it is my anxiety more than theirs but there are only a few people that know my dog's "quirks". :)

Tonight, we are having ribs in the slow cooker - a receipe that my sister gave me. My parents and Ali have made it a couple of times so we are trying it out today. I will let you know how it goes and try to take some pics so I can post them and the receipe tomorrow.

*~*Countdown to San Fran: 9 days*~*

Memory Walk for Alzheimer's

Oh, What a weekend!

I really need to get my internet set up at the house because I've been wanting to blog all weekend :)

Friday night, I went to San Antonio with friends to Fogo de Chao. What a great time! It was not what I expected but in a good way. It is a Brazilian restaurant that serves lots of meat. It is pretty expensive but the food is so good. Definitely worth the splurge!

I was so upset because I did not even take my camera out to snap pictures (too busy eating, I guess). These waiters were running around with skewers of meat and knifes...and I mean, really running. It was so entertaining and full of people-watching opportunities, for sure.

Saturday, we got up super early and went to the Memory Walk in SA. Walking to End Alzheimer's. I went with some girls from work (shout out to Laurie & Jackie - the only readers of my blog for now :) Jackie's husband's mother passed away from Alzheimer's recently and he picked up this cause and raised some big money this year! What an awesome way to keep the memory of his mother alive!

I joined Ant's team because I appreciate what he is doing to help the fight with Alzheimer's. My family has been struck by cancer and I lost my grandma in August to ovarian cancer. I am a very firm believer in continuing to fight for the cause that your loved one fought for. Sometimes it feels like you can't or couldn't do much to help that person but joining an organization or a fundraising effort for research can be your way to help your loved one and maybe yourself one day.

The walk was only 1.5 miles and some good exercise. There were so many dogs there, big & small:

After some IHOP for breakfast, it was certainly nap time. Only to wake up and head to the Texas State football game. We won, 56-18 (I think). Here is a picture of the Texas Southern band.
They were amazing. They played and danced to Thriller. I didn't get to watch the first part of the game because I was working and then I was too tired to stay for the second half.

Sunday was rest day, grocery store day and Grey's Anatomy day :) I got plenty of rest of a busy Saturday and got to finally watch Grey's.

Gotta go now because I need to catch up on Brothers & Sisters! :) I love fall TV!

*Countdown to SF: 10 days...

Where Have I Been?

I've been MIA for the past few days, I know. The first day of fall was on Tuesday and with that, came sickness....crud...yuckiness. Brian was sick over the weekend with a cold and of course, Monday night, I started feeling crummy. I left work Tuesday, had fever that night and stayed home on Wednesday. I am feeling much better now but I am getting a residual cough.

Also, with the start of fall came our big comforter :) During the summer and usually most of the fall, we sleep with just a light blanket on our bed. I am so hot-natured that anything more makes me sweat all night. But since it has been unusually cool here in Texas, I broke out our comforter last night. I love it :) However, it's supposed to get back to the 90s this weekend so the comforter may have a short life.

Not much has happened in the past few days since I've been sick...a lot of laying around. Brian and I did go to Taste of China and the volleyball game last night. I broke down and offered ToC for dinner to Brian and of course, he accepted. I am not a huge fan of chinese buffets...they kind of disgust me. But I actually enjoyed my food last night and had good conversation with my husband. :)

The season premiere of Grey's Anatomy came on last night. I haven't watched it yet because I'm just not ready. I've watched the finale twice already and I'm not ready to say good-bye to George. The show is changing so much and again, I'm just not ready for it to happen yet. So, with the magic of DVR, I can hold out for a little while longer.

I did, though, watch 'Marly & Me'. It was our next movie on Netflix and I've been wanting to see it. I read the book and of course cried. I knew the movie would be sad but ultimately, I love watching the journey. Just as I know that, one day, losing my dogs will be the hardest things ever BUT I know that the journey is worth every minute. So, it was a great movie. Me and the dogs laid in bed, under our big comforter, watching the dog movie. Of course, I bawled and sobbed at the end...noisy, "ugly cry face" sobbing. And appropriately, as I was sobbing, Gus was laying on my stomach with his head on my chest comforting me. :) Simba didn't like the tears so he and Brian watched tv in the living room. :)

This weekend will be a semi-busy one. In the morning, I am walking in an Alzheimer's walk in SA with some friends and then we have TxSt football tomorrow evening. Sunday will be my Grey's Anatomy day and Brothers & Sisters starts back up too. I love fall! Football and all my shows = one happy girl :)

I want to leave you with a story that I found today on yahoo: http://arkansasvarsity.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=992976

This is an awesome story and I love anything that highlights the heart and plain awesome-ness of high school football.

Here's a picture of my first baby. I love it because it looks like he is smiling at me! Have a great weekend!

Monday Monday

I am dragging today!

Went to Yoga today at lunch as part of my Total Wellness and it was what I needed for a little jump start but I have just been waiting for today to be over.

My dear Bobcats lost this weekend to TCU. We stuck with them until the 4th quarter...which is after I left to go to Buffalo Wild Wings with the parentals. We got 6 free wings with our ticket stub. The place was PACKED with people watching UFC fighting and the Horns but we got our wings and couple of beers. It may be nerdy but I love hanging out with my parents. They are a couple of fun people :)

The only team of mine that won this weekend was those Hachie NDNS! 35-20 over Lancaster. I can't find an NDN logo to put on here...I'll have to work on that!

I went on a coupon shopping spree yesterday. Target has their Soliel (sp?) razors on sale for $3.99 and there was a coupon in the Sunday paper for $3.00 off so I got 6 razors for $.99! I also stocked up on some dog treats that I had coupons for at Target. Then I went on to CVS. They have some of their Covergirl make-up for $5.00 and I had a $6.00 coupon for Claritin. I was excited for all of my savings :) Plus I always love a good trip to Target!

I am looking forward to Wimberly Trade Days in two weeks. Hopefully Brian's parents will be down and his mom will join me. I am excited to see their Christmas stuff....even though it's only September! :)

Happy Monday!

College Gamday!

Forgot/was too tired to post last night!

Thursday, Brian and I had dinner at Olive Garden and let me tell you, that was one gooood dinner :) We had great service, fantastic food and one of the best glasses of wine ever. We had a glass of their specialty wine and it was delicious! Of course, when we got home, we were exhausted. That wine knocked us out! We were lounging and I looked at the clock thinking it was 10 but it was only 9pm. We were in bed and asleep by 9:30pm! Crazy!

Yesterday, after work, we relaxed for a bit at home but as I said before, we had plans to go to Waxahachie. I was hoping to make it to the WHS football game at Lancaster but we didn't. And the drive seemed like the longest ever. We were so tired when we go to the in-laws AND Brian was starting to get a head cold so he went straight to bed. MIL and I stayed up and watched Armageddon...what a great movie!

Today is College Gameday and my favorite day of the week! :) We watched CG since they were in Austin - GO HORNS! We also have North Texas (my alma mater) playing the Crimson Tide. I didn't know they were playing Alabama but GO MEAN GREEN! And last but not least, I will be attending the Texas State/TCU game tonight. GO BOBCATS!

For now, though, my sister and I are headed to SMU to watch some Texas State volleyball!

Wishing all of my teams luck today and YAY! for College Football!! :)

Patrick Swayze

In my last post, I spaced. I had every intention of making a mention of Patrick Swayze's death. Besides George Strait, he's the other hunk I'd marry :) I have loved him since I was little and fell in love with Dirty Dancing. I always wanted to be Baby, just for the idea of having Swayze's strong, muscley arms dancing with me. I was very saddened by his death and watched Barbara Walter's special interview with him and his wife, Lisa. Of course, I balled my eyes out. But I also found out that before his death, he finished his memoir called The Time of My Life. I'm not a big memoir reader but this is one book I will be reading. Patrick Swayze fought a hard fight against his cancer and will certainly be remembered.

In different news, we have a busy weekend coming up. I am not sure if I'm ready for a busy weekend. I've been exhausted all week and I really just want a lazy weekend. However, after a good night's sleep last night, I am a little more prepared ;) Brian and I are headed to Waxahachie this weekend, on Friday. Those Hachie Indians play Lancaster on Friday. We will be a little late to the game but it will be a good one so I'm excited. If you know me, you know I LOVE my high school football. On Saturday, Texas State Volleyball will be playing SMU and then we will head over to the TxSt/TCU football game. Busy but if I'm gonna be busy, I'd rather it be with sports than anything else!

I was at our academic center yesterday and was super excited by the fact that I saw one of my athletes walk by with "My Sister's Keeper" in her hand. If you have not read Jodi Picoult, you need to. She is a fantasic writer and her books are a different kind of read. There is always a moral argument in them that makes you think but she does a great job of showing both sides of the issue. I don't have much else going on. Brian is off today and it's a beautiful day so I wish I was off too. Well, even if it was rainy and nasty, I would still be wishing I was off :) We are going to dinner tonight - Olive Garden - so I will get plenty of salad and breadsticks. Yum!

Oh! Forgot to mention - I am in a Total Wellness Program at the University. It is basically step classes that are offered during lunch and after work. Since it's right down the hall, I decided to try it out. I quit Curves and this new program has been fantastic. It kicked my butt today but I already feel better. I've only been doing the classes for 3 weeks now but hopefully in another 3 weeks, I can measure and be able to tell you that I've lost inches!

Tomorrow is Friday!! Yay!

Shelving and Reunions

I'm back! :) and I've already missed a day! Just some things that have been going on with us lately:

During Labor Day weekend, Brian and I actually labored :) We put up shelving in the garage. It was our first project and even though it's not our house (we rent), it was fun and functional. I buy a lot of stuff in bulk and store it in the garage so the shelves helped get things off the ground. We also cleared out trash and had a donation box. I still need to take some stuff to the animal shelter (sheets, beds, etc.) but it looks so much better! Below is a picture of Brian working on the shelves (posing, really!)

Then last weekend, I went to Waxahachie to hop in the car with my parents to go to East Texas. I grew up in Texarkana and 10 years ago this fall, Liberty-Eylau won their first state championship in football. My dad was the head coach and it was such an awesome time! So this year, the school hosted a reunion of that championship team. It was interesting to see some folks that I have not see in yeeears! I was a little disappointed that more players did not turn out but my dad had a great time and it was fun to remember those times. Hopefully this year, Waxahachie will bring my dad another state championship! Go NDNS! Here are some pics from the weekend:

That's my mom with some family friends

The State Championship trophy, ring sample, and cake

My dad, some coaches, and some of the players

The "original" coaches kids without my sister, who refused to go with us: Me, Jordan, Kevin, & Kendall

And on one last note, our San Francisco trip is just a few weeks away! Here's a pic (Brian will kill me) of Brian with our 49er tickets. He is so excited! :)

Here I am! :)

Here is my first post! I have decided to start blogging for no reason in particular. I think it will be fun and interesting to say the least. I was first intrigued by blogging when I started reading Kelly's blog. What an awesome way to document the things going on in your life, keep family and friends informed, and just have fun.

I thought that I needed a good reason to start a blog but I have finally just decided to get one. I will be able to post pictures of trips (we have a trip to SF coming up!) and hopefully keep up with family. Another reason I wanted to blog is that I am constantly looking for new, simple receipes to cook for two people. I have found some great blogs out there that are great and hopefully, I can share some of my receipes (although I'm the worst cook ever - I try though!).

I had to come up with a blog name so I googled my name to see if anything interesting came up. Here is what Wikipedia gave me: Kelsey is an English surname and originated from an Old English place name in Lincolnshire, England. The place name derived from words meaning "Ceol's island." (Mills 1991). In modern times Kelsey has also become a given name for boys and girls in English-speaking countries. Kelsey comes from 'island of the ships' in Irish and Scots, and 'a dweller on the island, by the water' from Norwegian

So I used "Island" in my blog name. It so happens that my new last name - Solis - means "sun". This is perfect because I would love to be on an island with the sun and sand :) haha

We will see how well I keep up with the blog world. For today, though, I am going to post a receipe that I made yesterday because it's been rainy around here lately and I was wanting some stew. Many of you have probably seen it but it is so good:

Mexican Stew

• 1 lb of ground beef
• 1/2 onion

*Brown the ground beef and add in onion. Once the meat and onion are cooked, add in:

• 1 can corn (don't drain)
• 1-2 cans ranch style beans (depending on your liking of beans)
• 1-2 cans of Rotel
• 1/3 lb of Velveeta

*Let simmer until hot throughout and cheese is melted.

I put the 1-2 cans because my husband is not a big fan of tomatoes or beans but I love them so I just put 1 can of each in but it calls for two cans. Also, check the thickness and adjust your velveesta accordingly but be careful because you can easily make it too cheesy! :)

Also, I know some people who have add taco seasoning or ranch seasoning to their meat after it is browned. I will probably try the ranch seasoning next time. This makes a big pot but I split it up and take it to work for lunch. Great with cornbread!

Until next time!