Resolutions

We have been blessed with a great 2011, and we look forward to seeing what 2012 has in store for us.  This year, I want to have clear, written resolutions to keep me on track.

Resolution #1  Actually join a Catholic church and do a better job of keeping God as our number one priority.  Mark and I go to church on Sundays for the most part, but sometimes I feel we are on autopilot and are not getting what we should out of it.  I want to finally pick a Catholic church to join, go to confession and start 2012 with a clean slate, and be active and involved in the church we join.

Resolution #2  Loose weight, stay fit, eat healthy.  I know this is cliche and probably on everyone's list, but this is an issue I must address immediately.  I have gained a good 20 pounds the second half of 2011 that I need to get off.  I also know I am not putting very nutritional things in my body so I want to be more aware and knowledgeable of food and fitness. 

Resolution #3  Organize and live a more simple life.  I have piles of stuff...beginnings of several projects...and areas with things that need to be organized.  I am in clean mode and ready to throw out lots of stuff that I don't need.  No clutter is the theme.  Along with this is procrastination.  I am going to work on doing things quicker as they come up and not putting them off.

What are your resolutions?


Ringing in the New Year

Mark and I went to Sulpher, OK, to ring in the New Year with friends away from the city.  This is the second time we have done this, and it has proven to be a great choice each time.  Not only do we not have to worry about dressing up or drinking and driving or getting too wild, but it is bonding time with some of our bouples (best couples).  This year, we played lots of Yahtzee (I got three Yahtzee's in one round...all with sixes...what are the odds), canoed, hung out by a campfire, watched Dick Clark's New Year Special, cooked, and took walks in the trails.  Here are a few pictures from the weekend:



Giving Thanks

I know I have been the world's worst blogger these days, and I know it has been 2 weeks since Thanksgiving, but I just HAVE to write a post about the Thanksgiving holiday as it is my most favorite. 

As you probably know, I have a very big family.  We are close knit and get together on every holiday at my grandmother's house in Palestine.  Growing up, while my grandpa, Jiddo (grandpa in Arabic), was still around, he would ask that all five of his kids and their families be present at Thanksgiving so that they entire family could be together and the families could go to their separate ways on Christmas if needed (to the in-law's).  Thanksgiving was very important to him as I think his family is what he was most thankful for.  I think I have carried his tradition and meaning behind Thanksgiving.

Our holiday starts off with a Thanksgiving Eve party the night before Thanksgiving at my aunt and uncle's house in Palestine.  We normally have lots of food and drinks and visit with those we have not seen in a while (close friends and extended family).  Here are a few pictures I took at this year's party of family and friends from all over:

Normally, the party goes on for a while and ends up with the uncles and boy cousins playing poker.  However, I guess age is catching up to them these days as they now end up turning in pretty early.  This year, a few of my cousins and I went out to the local bar, The Shelton Gin, after the party.  Look who I ran into from high school in Texarkana:

That's right - Ben and Bailey Idom!  It was funny seeing them there since I haven't seen them since high school in 2002.  They are working at Lakeview Church Camp located right outside of Palestine (I went to camp there when I was young).

On Thanksgiving Day, we went over to my grandma's for our big lunch.  I guess you could say that our family is pretty much centered around food.  Maybe because we are Lebanese and our family grew up in the produce business?  We eat the traditional turkey and dressing, but we also eat lots of Lebanese/Arabic food.  The menu this year included kibbeh (a dish made of bulgur and chopped meat), cabbage rolls (meat and rice rolled inside boiled cabbage leaves cooked in garlic and lemon juice), grape leaves (meat and rice rolled inside grape leaves from the vine and cooked in garlic and lemon juice), meat pies (flat bread pies with spicy meat toppings), and okra and rice (okra and lamb meat cooked in tomato sauce and served on top of rice).  Our family craves this type of food 24/7 so we always get excited in anticipation with this meal.  The aunt's prepare this food weeks in advance as it takes lots of time.  In fact, this year, I helped with a few of the items.  Here is a look at the spread:

Then, of course, after the meal, we all sit around and watch the Dallas Cowboys game.  We also draw names for Christmas (to see who you have to buy a present for).  Since there are 15 of us first cousins, we have to draw names or else it would cost a fortune to buy gifts for everyone.  Normally, the aunt's would draw names according to the number of kids they have, but since me and another cousin are now married, and we are all getting a little older, us, cousins, draw the names for each other.

Mark's mom is still up north in Wisconsin taking care of the family estate so we did not do Thanksgiving with them that big this year.  We did have lunch with his dad and sister the day after Thanksgiving at Ojeda's, one of their favorite Mexican restaurants in Dallas.  After lunch, Mark and I went to Home Depot to pick out a Christmas tree.  A real Christmas tree is another tradition of mine.  I love the process of picking one out.  Home Depot also makes it easy as they cut and smooth the trunk for you, wrap it up, and tie it up to the top of the car. 

Now that I have told you a little bit about my Thanksgiving, I want to take a few minutes to talk about what I am thankful for this year.  This is a subject I do not talk about much, but now that the holidays are here, and things seem to be looking positive, I figured it's time for me to say a few words about the situation.  My brother, Jeffrey, has battled a drug addition for several years now.  Being we are such a close knight family, you can imagine the toll this takes on our family.  My brother has the biggest heart; anyone will tell you that he is such joy to be around.  However, this addiction got to the best of him and he has been in lots of trouble (drug charges).  The result is prison, a rehab program in prison to be exact, for those that have addictions.  We were fortunate that he was placed in this rehab sector of prison called Safe P (Johnston Unit) in Winnsboro, TX.  He has to stay there for six months.  This is blessing number one as he could have gone to "regular" prison with a mixture of all kinds of criminals.  This rehab program encourages the inmates to be accountable for their actions.  They are there to help themselves and their colleagues be better people and to get to the bottom of their problems.  They are given privelidges as times goes on...things that you and I take for granted like working out, eating certain foods, purchasing stamps, eating certain foods, etc.  After a month or two into the program, they allowed my brother to get a job (he does not get paid of course, but it is something to do with his time and to gain work ethic and appreciation).  He is responsible for the warden's yard.  He mows it, gardens, and does other landscaping jobs around the facility.  He was also given the privelige of playing the guitar at chapel service on the weekends.  He is a very gifted guitar player, so it is great he is able to showcase and envelop his talent.  The second blessing is that I think his mind is finally clear and he has strengthened his relationship with God.  Going to visit him, you can tell that he is learning and realizing his strengths and weaknesses.  He has hope for what lies ahead of him, and he is putting his best foot forward in trying to live life the sober way.  He has been in Safe P since August, and he told me last weekend that this is the longest time he has been sober in years.  I really hope he has the strength and courage to fight the demons and temptations when he gets out and to live a normal life.  I am so proud of him and his progression in this program.  He also turns to the bible and even gives me enlightenment in his letters he writes me.  Even though Jeffrey wasn't present this Thanksgiving, I felt like he was with us more than ever.  I love him and look forward to the future having him back as my brother.  I am so thankful that he is still with us and turning a new leaf in his mind, body, and soul.  Please continue your thoughts and prayers as I know that is part of his recovery and it is much appreciated.  If you are interested in writing him, let me know and I will get the information to you. 

I would love to hear what you were the most thankful for this season.  Happy belated Thanksgiving!

Labor Day Lakeside

We celebrated this Labor Day a tad bit early - on Saturday.  We went to Lake Ray Hubbard with two sets of friends (brothers and their wives) that both have boats.  We are blessed and lucky to have such great friends, and we are fortunate they like to take us out on their boats.  :)  Here are a few photos from the day.

I hope everyone has a safe, relaxing Labor Day weekend.  I would love to hear about your weekend festivities!

Stars and Stripes

It was fun to read about everyone’s Fourth of July weekend festivities.  My Fourth of July weekend turned out to be a very busy, jam-packed weekend. 

We kicked off the weekend on Saturday at our house.  My family came down from Texarkana Dad’s new truck.  For those that do not know, my family was in a car accident over Easter weekend in Tyler.  Someone rear-ended my dad which caused him to hit the car in front of him.  The truck was deemed totaled from the front and back.  My parents were in the front, and my sister and brother were in the back.  Needless to say, my family was OK as they came out with only a few bumps and bruises.  Mark and I had to go pick them up from Palestine.   My dad has been driving around a rental car up until last week.  After “oohing and awing” over Dad’s new truck (he got a sweet deal), we headed out to the pool.  Jessica brought her new dog so we were able to get to know him a little (he is a Chihuahua Terrier mix…name is tbd).   

Later that evening, we cleaned up then headed to my favorite restaurant, Campisi’s, to celebrate my birthday and Father’s Day (I'll do another post on my birthday festivities soon).  Campisi’s has been in the family for a long time.  My dad grew up going there with his brothers, cousins, and uncles (when living in Palestine, once a year, they would hire a limo to take them from Palestine to Dallas while getting tanked, then they would eat at Campisi’s and go to a Cowboys game).  My parents continued the tradition by taking us kids to Campisi’s every time we would come to Dallas for a weekend trip.  Now that I live here, I like to say that I continue the Campisi’s tradition as we have celebrated many events there from birthdays to girl’s night to family get-togethers.  I was extremely bummed when I found out I couldn’t have my rehearsal dinner there, but I am still fortunate we were able to get Campisi’s to cater my bachelorette party.  My favorite (and only) pizza I order from there is Italian Salami and Mushrooms.  Many places try to duplicate the pizza, but they never have that one topping that sets Campisi’s apart – Italian Salami.  Anyway, enough about Campisi’s and on to the pictures!

After dinner, we headed back to my house to open a few family gifts.  My dad is hard to buy clothes for as he wears a 2X or 3X (big and tall).  I ran across two sweater vests in the clearance section at Old Navy that happened to be returned from someone that bought them special order online.  They were a 2X big and tall.  SCORE!!  My parents got Mark and I a joint birthday gift of a large picture of The Last Supper to put in our dining room (we get to pick it out).  To tie us over until we pick it out, I also got a few pieces of my Arthur Court Grape kitchenware (salt and pepper shakers and a frame). 

Sunday, my parents went to Palestine and Mark and I headed out to Lake Ray Hubbard with our friends, Alex and Andrew.  We were invited out by Scott and Dana Buckner as they have a boat that we frequent on the weekends.  Scott’s brother and sister-in-law, Gary and Natalie, also have a boat.  The beauty of their boat is that Gary rigged up a grill on the boat so we the guys are able to prepare food while we are hanging out in the lake.  The evening was supposed to end in fireworks, but for some reason, we either missed the show or weren’t able to see it or maybe it just didn’t happen!  Nonetheless, it was a nice day out on the lake with friends.

Monday, Mark had to work half of the day while I stayed home and did a few things around the house.  That afternoon, Mark was able to get my family and I tickets to the Rangers Game in the Napoleon Suite along with his boss and his family.  It just so happened that my aunt Gina from Chicago was also in town so her and my other aunt, Meems, joined us.  It was definitely a family affair.  We were spoiled of course by all of the food in the suite, and we were very fortunate to get our fireworks fix at the end of the game (and the Rangers won 13 to 4 to top things off).

That was my 4th of July weekend in a nut shell.