Find Your Happiness

I really wish it wasn't too hot here in Texas because I love grilled food---the smoke, char, color, smell, flavor. Mmmmm! And the best part is, it is such a healthy way of cooking and yet it is still packed full of yummy flavor! Hubby does 99.7% of the grilling in the house (and he's so awesome at it!) but I didn't feel too guilty asking him to fire up the grill during an always busy work-week because this is so quick and easy---both to prepare and cook. This is definitely a weeknight dinner for busy families. It took us about half a hour from beginning of prep to setting the finished product on the dinner table. And it taste absolutely delicious! It could probably benefit from longer marinating but it really is good as is. We will definitely be cooking this again and will use the marinade to cook other things such as chicken and eggplant. Recipe adapted from Food Network Magazine, July/Aug 2011   Serves 4 Ingredients: 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil 3 glove...

Week 29: July 16th to July 22nd 197  My sister with her beautiful family (and a baby girl on the way!) during my nephew's second birthday party ; Diego cake made by yours truly :) 198  Nathaniel's Bible; He always plays with ours and we constantly have to tell him to be gentle with the super thin pages---this way he can do whatever he wants with his Bible. 199  Spending time with my nephew Daniel who loves trains. 200  After dinner, we saw a duck pond behind the restaurant and Nathaniel chased the ducks. 201  Catching the water at the splash park with church/family friends. 202  Checking out the toys; My mom likes to call this a free playground. 203  My super adorable toddler at the Indianapolis Children's museum. There was a Dora and Diego exhibit/play area and Nathaniel was SO happy! Linking up to: Inspire Me Photography: Be Inspired Project NapTimeMomTog: Project 365 The Mom Creative: Project Life Communal Global: Tuesdays Arou...

Nathaniel and I went to the splash pad in Washington Township Park yesterday with church/family friends. It took a lot quicker for him to start playing in the water compared to last time . But unfortunately, we didn't stay very long even though he was having such a great time because it was soooo hot! This was Katie's first time in the splash park so she was a little hesitant. She was perfectly content watching other kids play in the water and stayed very close to Grandma Emily. I'm really going to miss this when we go back to Texas in a couple days. I mean, just look BIG smile! I might be biased... but isn't he one of the cutest (if not the ) toddlers you have ever seen?! :) Such a precious face!

My nephew Daniel is two years old today! We had his big party this past Saturday and today was celebrated with closest family and friends with a dinner at his family's favorite Japanese Sushi Steakhouse. Daniel has such a fun spirit and a happy-go-lucky toddler. He is a huge fan of Thomas the Train and Go Diego, Go! He can now also sing the ABC Song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star . And although some words definitely sound made up, he sure got the tune right! He loves playing with my son and for that I'm very thankful! They only see each other a few times a year but they always have a great time together. Last Monday, I came over to watch him for a few hours and he was so disappointed when he found out Nathaniel wasn't with me! (N was at my in-laws) This is definitely one of the times I wish we lived closer to our family. How I would love spend more time with this little munchkin! And I'm sure that feeling will just get stronger when his little sister makes...

This handsome little nephew-fella is turning two this Wednesday and so we celebrated his birthday yesterday. Nathaniel and I are very grateful we were able to come here in Indiana to share this happy occasion (thanks, Mom!). The theme was Go Diego, Go! and he picked this cake design. I was a little nervous making my first "face" cake, fearing that it will either be awesome and somewhat resemble the character or bomb it and look completely nothing like Diego! 10-inch Dark Fudge Chocolate Cake Daniel thought it was him, which is completely acceptable, too! But once my sister told him who it was supposed to be, he recognized his favorite cartoon character. My sister with her beautiful family and a little one on the way! I cannot wait to meet my niece Isabel this November :) One of my favorite part of the party is the dessert! We had Halo-Halo ---a Filipino dessert that literally means 'mixed.' It's shaved ice with (regular or coconut) milk and topping...

Week 28: July 9th to July 15th 190  Thai Iced Tea. Hubby and I are on a quest to try and make different types of iced tea; we have also made Nectarine, Orange, Cinnamon and Southern Sweet Teas. 191  Mischievous cousin playing in the water . 192  Bribing the kiddo with candy to stay still during a haircut ; first head injury now even more visible with shorter hair (he fell the day before and hit his head on concrete pavement). 193  Fun times at the Inlow Splash Park 194  My cat Pepper; he was born in the animal shelter, which I think is one of the reasons why he loves exploring outdoors. 195  Playboy Roll at Naked Tchopstix ; my all time favorite sushi roll. Inside: shrimp tempura, asparagus, tempura chips, spicy tuna. Outside: cooked shrimp, sweet and spicy sauce. Served on 120 proof vodka and lit on fire! 196  Go Diego Go cake for my nephew's second birthday party; 10-inch Dark Fudge Chocolate Linking up to: Inspire Happi...

I have been taking every opportunity to do water-related activities here in Indiana because there is pretty much nothing in Texas due to the drought. So yesterday, Nathaniel and I went to the Inlow Splash Park with one of my former coworkers and her kiddos. Carefully exploring the place It took Nathaniel close to an hour before he completely warmed up to the idea. But he was willing to play in the water as long as I was carrying him. Cookie face And this is Little Miss P. She's the youngest of Kristin's two adorable children. She is six months old and also half-Filipino! (except Daddy is the Filipino, not Mom). Just look at those thick, beautiful lips! We were at the splash park for about two and a half hours and although I religiously put sunblock on Nathaniel, I forgot to put some on me. Needless to say, my shoulders are burnt. Nathaniel also spent quite a few time watching the older kids paint. He really enjoys the company of o...

Nathaniel was in dire need of a haircut and I finally took him yesterday. Strangers were starting to refer to him as a girl on a regular basis! His Daddy took him to his last haircut a few months ago and Nathaniel sat on his lap. I wasn't there (which honestly made me sad) but Hubby said Nathaniel did well until they had to use the clipper. This time around, Nathaniel wasn't too happy! He didn't want to use the cover and he really got agitated when the hair stylist started cutting the hair near his ears. Thankfully, I thought to bring a candy. I suspected he wouldn't handle this very well especially since we went around his naptime. He sat still and behaved for the rest of the haircut. He actually got so preoccupied with eating the sucker and watching cartoons that he didn't want to leave when it was finished! I know it's just a silly, little haircut but it always makes me sad seeing him with his new, short hair. Nathaniel always looks ...

Nathaniel and I arrived safely in Indiana yesterday afternoon. It has been a year since just the two of us traveled together so I was a lot little nervous. It was also our first time flying with Nathaniel weaned from nursing. And it was a little rough because the little one cried because he got tired of sitting on my lap and wanted to explore. The lack of 12-hr nighttime sleep due to waking up him up at 0545 to catch a 0730 flight didn't help either. But we're here and I'm going to try not to think/worry about us traveling again until we have to do it, which is in about two weeks. Nathaniel and his soon to be two-year old cousin Daniel had a great time playing in the water yesterday. It seems that every time we are in town to visit, Mom's central air conditioner unit breaks down! So while waiting for the guy to fix it, we were outside grilling, eating ice cream, and watching the boys cool down in the water. The boys sure had a great time and...

Week 27: July 2nd to July 8th 183  We went to the Abilene Zoo over the Fourth of July weekend. 184  The red and blue part of our red, white, and blue dessert for the 4th of July (white: ice cream). Nathaniel refused to eat the sliced strawberries because they didn't look like "real" strawberries. 185  Fireworks at Lake Nasworthy. This was Nathaniel's first time to see a fireworks show and he loved it. Best part: his little voice going, "Cooool!" 186  Cranky butt! 187  Meticulously "reading" a newspaper 188  My favorite fruit. Nathaniel loves watermelon, too and his diaper shows it. 189  Blowing 'bu-bbas' (bubbles); When Nathaniel gets bored popping the bubbles with his hands, he catches them with his tongue like they are snowflakes. Linking up to: Inspire Happiness Daily NapTimeMomTog: Project 365 The Mom Creative: Project Life

Welcome to our 365 Project! Each week, Audrey ( The Daily Wyatt ), Tracey ( Inspire Me Photography ) and Diana ( Find Your Happiness ) will be picking our Top 5 Photos to highlight on our blogs. In order to be a winner, you must add your photo(s) from the week (not a collage) to our Flickr! group: 365 Days in Pictures . We are choosing our winners based on entries that week, not where you are in your 365. For more information, go here .  Top 5 this week: Betsy Blue The color, DOF and clarity are gorgeous! This could easily be a piece of canvas art. Are there blue ladybugs? Amazing :) Cole Pickup I'm going to admit I'm pretty biased here... I'm from this neck of the woods (West Coast of Canada) and when I saw this I sighed. I just love how beautiful my home is! I'm sure you'll agree though, the reflection, the color and contrast is just beautiful. Having the perfect location helps :) hehe Kimberly V Photography "Playing around......