CUPCAKE!!

This Monday for our anniversary we had planned a pretty low-key eveing. Russell has to be up SO early every morning, so we just went to eat at a restaurant near us, so we wouldn't have a long drive somewhere. Well, we went to a restuarant that we were told was a little nicer, so I wore a sundress and Russell wore a button-down. We were definitely the MOST dressed up people in the place. They did have really good food though. It is authentic Italian and Greek food. We asked our waitress to take our picture because it was our anniversary, and she didn't seem excited at all. We are going to St Louis for Labor Day weekend to celebrate our anniversary for real, hopefully when we go out to eat there, they will be excited for our anniversary.

In other big news, we got a puppy! We had gotten confused on what kind of pets our apartment allows, and unfortunately puppies are not one of them. The owners of the puppies offered to hold onto our puppy till we move back to TX. She came to see us yesterday and brought our puppy so we could meet her. She is ADORABLE. She is a chocolate brown Labra-doodle. She is very outgoing, loves to give kisses and nibble on your ears [fingers, toes, etc] and currently has these precious light green eyes that my mom says will change to brown as she gets older. She will be a big dog when she grows up, probably around 60 pounds. I can handle that, as long as she still wants to sit in our laps :)

I still can't get pictures to post in the middle of my blog, so sorry about the odd placement of the puppy picture. The rest of the pictures will be posted on FB.

365 wonderful days!

1 year ago God made me the luckiest girl when I got to marry my best friend Russell Brandon Lambert. I have been Mrs. Lambert for one of many years to come. Russell has been such a blessing to me, and I believe we are the best people we can be when we are together. Our personalities and spiritual gifts compliment each others. We challenge and encourage one another every day. Everyone tells you the first year is the hardest. If this is the hardest it will be, then I'm SO ready :) Every day has been an adventure with Russell. Our ministry, Moving, the Army, uncertainty, LOVE, yet knowing it is all in God's plan for us. I wouldn't change where I am even though I am so far away from friends and family, I am with the one I was made for.

I also want to wish a happy 34th anniversary to my sweet parents. We were married last year on their 33rd anniversary and they let us use their unity candle. It was a reminder to us of how long they have been married and how wonderful they are and what we have to look for.

I want a cupcake

Russell and I, but especially Russell have been wanting a dog. I want to wait till we have a house, but that seems too far away for Russell. Most of you know my parents have a Standard Poodle [the large kind] and a Golden-doodle [Golden retriever mixed with Standard Poodle]. We love Lucy cause she's big, cuddly, goofy, and DOESN'T SHED!

Russell decided he wants a dog for our anniversary, so he began looking to see what kind of poodle mixes were for sale in Missouri. He found this website listing chocolate Labra-doodles. These puppies are really tempting bc they are a great price and in our area. This just isn't perfect timing. I'm still going to call and see if they have any females available still and check with our landlords to see what the rules are on pets. Russell and I love discussing our future children's names. We've been doing since before we were engaged. So, naturally we wanted to discuss dog names for the puppy we probably can't get. We have friends with a dog named Buttercup and others with a dog named Gingersnap. We like food oriented names. If we were to get one of these puppies we are thinking Cupcake or Cinnamon Lambert. Let me know your thoughts :)

New easy healthy recipe for chicken. I made it to go along with a homemade veggie lasagna. Which wasn't too hard, but more time consuming, Let me know if you want that recipe too.

Skillet Chicken with Tomatoes

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves [I used 8 chicken tenders (boneless, skinless)]
1/2 cup fat-free or low-fat Italian salad dressing
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 can [14.5 oz] Italian style diced or stewed tomatoes

In a Ziploc, combine dressing and chicken. Let marinade for 20 minutes in refrigerator.
Warm oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and sear on each side. About 5-7 minutes total. Stir in reserved marinade from bag and tomatoes [with juice]. Heat to boiling, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

This would also be great over noodles.

makes 4 servings about 160 calories per serving

Well, I am reporting back after my haircut. It wasn't so pretty. We are heading to Springfield today so I can hopefully find a nice salon to have it fixed. After almost a year of growing it out, it is almost as short as it was when I first chopped it off :(

On a happier note, I made Caramel rolls yesterday with Julie's recipe. They are AMAZING. If you are looking for a baking project, I TOTALLY recommend them. Julie uses a bread maker, which I don't have. So I followed the steps that Paula Deen uses to make cinnamon rolls, but using the ingredients from Julie's recipe.

We are off to enjoy this beautiful Saturday!

Where do we wear our emotions?

I am soo tired as I am typing this. Thursday's FIT [forming individual temples] workout is running, jump roping, and stairs [on bleachers] Well today it was SO hot. The sun normally is still behind the clouds when we work out, but not today. We had an hour of exercise in the sun. Luckily this is the last day of the week to workout :) I will enjoy my three day break.
Today, I am getting my hair trimmed for the first time in a year by someone other than Lauren. She and Jake moved, and I guess so did we. She did such a good job, I hope the place I am going can live up to the standard she set...

Yesterday I hung out with a friend I had met at fit. She about 7 years older than me and has three kids, but we still get along great. I spent all afternoon at her house, first just chatting over coffee while the kids napped, then becoming a lap for rambunctious kids after that. I really enjoyed it bc I love kids, and Jessica is just as chatty as me, so it worked well :)

Yesterday I turned on my old computer to get some pictures off of it, and the instant messenger prompt came up. I then realized it's been a year since I have signed on. The last time was the day before my wedding last year. Once I got to college I loved IM. You could keep up with friends, make plans, waste time [before facebook and blogs really hit us] and best of all, wear our emotions on our away messages. I remember putting up song lyrics that I wanted a crush to see, or a friend. Why are we so concerned that everyone knows our emotions at every moment? Now with FB you can update your status for an even wider audience to see at your every whim. I know this might seem hypocritical for me to even ponder this as I write my emotions in my blog, but I'm just curious. What ever happened to discretion or just thinking things over on our own. Are we so dependent on the world knowing our every thought and commenting on them?

hmm, ponder this while I do laundry :)

TIBB

We were introduced to the phrase 'This is Branson baby' or TIBB for short while visiting our friends Cameron and Sonia. It was really fun to have a break from our little town and see familiar faces. We drove in on Saturday morning and then headed to White Water water park. It was a super hot day, so it was great to be wet. Russell and I also were daring and rode on the super high water slide where you have a bit where you are going practically straight down. It was cute, when we left the water park, Russell said 'I'm glad I did that, or any time I saw something high, I'd regret it. I mean there were little kids doing it, I had to be a big brave man' :) We then spent some time hanging out with the Norvells just catching up and just gleaning off their wisdom. They have been married 7 years and are a bit older than us, so it was great to just hear what they had to say. Sunday, in lieu of going to a theme park when the day was already in the 90's at 9 am, we just drove on home. We stopped to run some errands in Springfield then made our way back to Waynesville.

We have officially been here a month. CRAZY. In one month I will fly home for a week to help with the final preparations for Bonnie's wedding. I am looking forward to seeing family and Houston friends.

PS Courtney, from our new cook book I have made taco bake, spinach bars, and white chicken chili, all very tasty. I made the lemon scones, they are kinda plain on their own, but good with jelly. I'm making the El Dorado casserole tonight, I'll let you know how it goes.

Recipes to come soon!

the weeks fly by

We have been here in MO for almost a month. I can't believe how fast the time has flown. Only 10 more weeks till we are done! I am still tracking people down to use as references...more on that when it is all done. On Wednesday I drove to one of the larger towns to have my fingerprints taken for a background check. This was the first time I'd done that, I felt almost shady.
Russell has been VERY busy this week, most days he's not home till 7ish and he leaves before 5 am. We are looking forward to a fun weekend. Two of our College Station bible study friends, Sonia and Cameron Norvell are the A&M Navigators [a Christian organization on college campuses] directors. They have been in Branson, MO all summer training staff. This is their last weekend before go back to CS to prepare for school starting again. They have invited us to come hang out with them in Branson. We are excited. We will probably take in a show, go to a theme park maybe, and just enjoy seeing people we KNOW!
I ordered a healthy cooking cookbook from Amazon and it finally came in [our mail comes terribly slow]. I made a list of all the recipes I wanted to make in the next couple of weeks and bought the ingredients. I have already made a couple things, and am about to go make another. I LOVE having the time to enjoy cooking :)

off to enjoy my Friday
C