january's been a whirlwind

The past few weeks have been quite busy, and maybe even slightly more fun than the 'norm' (as you can probably tell from our lack of blogging - we really need to work on that). I feel like we've been quite a bit more social than normal...which feels really good to me...but it makes work that much harder. Lol. Oh well.

When we got back from our holiday adventures, Brooke was in town, and then she came back the following weekend with her friend Emily from nursing school. It was SO good to spend some time with those ladies (and the rest of our friends we met up with while they were here). It was a real treat to get to see Brooke two weekends in a row (although I can't believe she made two trips down here)! I'm sorry she got in a wreck and had to get her car fixed up...but I'm certainly glad it took them a little too long to fix it so she graced us with her presence again! (:

In the past couple of weeks, we've also been blessed to have Monday-sushi-night with Charlie and Emily two weeks in a row! The first week we tried Maki (a create-your-own style sushi place) - you can read Chance's food blog for a full review.


This past Monday we enjoyed Austin's first conveyor belt sushi place...K.G. Sushi Train...they were having a special for $1.50 per plate...Chance and I totally loaded up on sushi - we all ate way too much!


The Monday we went to Maki (2 weeks ago) we also headed to my cousin Howie's to play wii with him...and we had a blast. Lol. He got some weird game pack that was pretty complicated, I must say. Check out the old man in the corner...lol...


Chance got pretty good at a few of the games...and Howie and I showed him up in basketball. The wii world is the only place where us shorties can beat giants like Chance. (:


...more fun ensued on Wednesday. We went to Liz and James' place for Elizabeth's 28th birthday party - and there were crepes and coffee for everyone to enjoy! It was a blast talking to friends from church and hearing some snippits of future Jets Under Fire songs, courtesy of Corbin. It was super chill....the cream puffs were tasty (even frozen), and the company was even better.

Seriously - we've had a ton going on...so much it's hard for me to remember it all! This past weekend was incredibly fun. Michael, Julia, and Sherrice all came in town on Saturday for the Wideawake CD release show. They came in a little early so we could play some games...we ended up playing Gemblo (which is similar to Blokus), Wasabi (which was just awesome), and Tsuro (which we love). The show was early, so we headed out for an early dinner and stopped along the way at Dragon's Lair (a comics/gaming store). We went about 6 months ago, and I had totally felt out of place...but this time, I felt like I fit right in. Hahah. I think I'm embracing my inner nerd more than I have been. After some shopping (and purchasing by Michael and Julia),


we went down the road to Phil's Icehouse (mmm, love me some sweet potato fries), which everyone seemed to love. After stuffing our faces, we headed to the show - where Sherrice and Michael stood in line and Julia and I sat in the car and stayed warm til the doors opened. It was good to see Wideawake again,


and I've got a billion opinions on the show...but I'm just hoping someone else (ahem, Sherrice) will review it for me. The best part of the show was my cousin Ashley appearing out of nowhere - shoot, I hadn't seen that girl in like 2 years. It was great to get to hug her!!!


After the show, we played a new game that Michael and Julia had just bought - and Chance joined us...he got home from work about the same time we got home from the show. Then - we headed to Whataburger to re-fuel, and followed up our grubbin' with some Killer Bunnies (which my pal Philip had given us for Christmas). It was a long, busy, fun day - I haven't had that much fun in quite some time.

...but we did have quite a fun time this past Sunday. After church we went to Lunch with Sherrice (who'd spent the night), Stephanie, Trey, Corbin, and Chad (Corb's brother) at Magnolia cafe. Mmmmm...good food. Then - Stephanie and Trey came over with their precious Yorkie, Becsar, and we introduced him to Freddie and Brewster. We played Killer Bunnies with them before they had to head off to dinner with some folks. Sunday evening we went to help Blaine and Elizabeth Crockett move their dining table into their new house, but it was already done once we'd arrived. We decided to help them out instead by going out to eat with them. Hahaha. We went to Firehouse Subs, which was actually REALLY good (not nearly as good as Obee's, but it certainly beats Jimmy John's, Subway, Jersey Mike's (which I really like) and POSSIBLY even Which Wich). They have a huge variety of hot sauces you can add to your sandwich (my personal favorite being Pappy's White Lightning)...mmm. Tasty.

In the midst of all of this 'being social'...we've also gotten a good deal of work done. Okay, okay...it's not as much as I'd like. But we've at least gotten the ball rolling on the garage organization project (which is huge). I forgot to take a 'before' photo...but I guess I should take one now so that you can see at least a portion of what we've come from. So far I've gone through about 3/4 of my stuffed animals and several other boxes, while Chance has hung a shelf and started putting things in the attic (where he had to first lay wood across the rafters).


It's going to be quite a process, but at least we're moving on it. Yesterday we painted one wall so we can start getting things set up at least along that wall. I'm really hoping we can finish it by March - that's my goal...because I'll have a lot of other projects to complete after that!

And now...I'm sick - with some kind of severe sore throat (maybe strep?)...I'm going to the doctor this afternoon. Fun fun fun.

So...in case you've wondered WHY we've been slackers....we really haven't - just in the blogging arena. I'm hoping we'll get around to posting more blogs (shorter ones)...as our schedule starts to clear. 2009 has certainly started out as a busy year for the Patricks!

a cue from beth

As I have been inspired by so many of Beth's posts, I decided I would give all you loyal readers a quick taste of what has been cooking in my kitchen. No, sadly you can't really taste it. However, I love to cook so if you bring yourself over, with a little warning, I will attempt to whip you up something palate pleasing. So here is what Claire and I had for dinner on Friday night.


I think I will call it Upside Down Stuffed Avocado. As you will probably notice, or have noticed in the past, I like to infuse a south of the border flair into my cooking. This recipe was a self created one. I decided this year I was going to find a good balance between using the 8 billion cookbooks I have and creating my own recipes. Someday I will compile my own creations into my own Tastebook.


The only problem I had with this meal was that I eyeballed the amount of olive oil put into the rice. Well, I'll admit, we all make mistakes and I over did it a bit so it came out just a tad on the oily side. Cutting the oil back would have made this probably a big winner, in this instance it just came out to be a good meal.



RECIPE:
1 Avocado (Halved, Peeled, and seed removed)
1 Chicken Breast (Grilled, Baked, or cooked to your preference)
1 Handful of Panko Crumbs
1 Cup Cilantro
1/2 Cup Green Onion
4 Chopped Button Mushrooms
1 Box of your favorite Spanish Rice (or make your own)
Salt, Pepper, Chili Powder, Tabasco, Cumin, Paprika, Fajita Seasoning, and Olive Oil

Saute the Mushrooms, Green Onion, Chicken in olive oil. Add all seasonings to taste. I like it strong so I pack it all on. Cover outside of Avocado with panko crumbs and quickly fry in olive oil until crumbs are light brown. Toss chicken mixture with fresh cilantro and portion onto the rice.
Top with the avocado, pitted side down and serve.

Enjoy.

i'm giddy...

...like a 16 year old girl. Resident Hero finally put up one of their newest recordings on their myspace this afternoon and I'm floored. Hearing their new song, "The Pressure" (no..the link is not broken I'm just not 100% sure you'll all be able to see it - but whatever, I digress)...took me back 9 years to the moment I fell in love with them in the passenger seat of Brooke's car. And then after that, when she dragged me to the first bar I ever went to to see the first real rock band I ever saw.


Lol. Wow. We even saw them on prom night.



So much has happened since then.



I know the song probably won't quite do for you what it did for me - It still has me reeling, it gave me chills, it made me truly feel something in a place I rarely do. But then, Ryan White's songwriting, guitar playing, and vocals are what made me fall head over heels for music. It was Resident Hero's passion (a passion which I have not seen surpassed) that inspired me to keep listening, seeking it out, promoting bands, and even start a management company with Chance.



I'm so impressed with how far he's come musically (oh, if I could only play some RH circa 1999 for you - and I loved it then)!

I can't guarantee that you'll like it. But you guys should all check it out...even if they're not your style. And wish them luck - they're showcasing in NY next week - hopefully something good will come of it. If Resident Hero isn't your flavor, or if you like pop music better than rock...you can check out his acoustic project with Gavi: Birds of New York.


That's all for now. Be expecting some possible future blogs about...my past and my future. Oh - and whatever Chance might want to write about. (:

big c's version of the holidays

I will start way back before Christmas. Pre-Christmas was kinda hectic. Although we did put up lots of House lights and a tree, it still didn't feel like much of a Christmas season. Claire and I were to busy running around trying to prepare gifts, travel plans, dog arrangements, work, and just keep our day to day lives in one piece. On my end it was mostly work and be discouraged that my computer was on the fritz and about to die. Beyond work, I did a lot of cooking.

But since Claire did most of Christmas I will briefly touch on my week alone in Austin and then update you on Amarillo.

While Claire worked, socialized, and visited family in Tyler. I was stuck in Austin pretty much just working. I did celebrate New Years Eve with our good friends Charlie and Emily. Thanks guys for inviting me! Mostly I just played Civilization IV which Claire got me for Christmas. Deep down I am still a nerd. Oh well, I enjoyed my time alone but was very ready for a vacation. Once Friday the 2nd hit I was off to Tyler with Freddie and Brewster in tow.

We were finally off to Amarillo for Vacation after that! I hadn't really had a chance to visit with family for over a year. So the plan was to make it as laid back and relaxing as possible, and it was. We did Christmas with my parents when we got there.

I got a sweet magnetic picker upper thingy and Claire got a little baggy to hold stuff in her purse among other great gifts.

That night we headed over to visit my great friends John and Lacey. Although their dog Darla stole the show after her bath.

The next day we finally went to Malcom's. Claire had been begging me to take her there and so Mom joined us


and we had lunch and sundays. Ours was butterscotch. It ended up being a little to butterscothy?! Good non-the-less.


We met up again at the Eslers that night to play some board games (munchkin) and catch up.


During the days Claire worked at Roasters and enjoyed some good coffee, while I caught up on my reading. On the 6th Claire and I celebrated our anniversary...family style.

We had a big meal out with my parents, John and Lacey, and Will and Anna. Off course, if you know us, you know we had to have Mexican food. So we went to Leals. It was delicious, of course. It was also a great way to celebrate two years of Marriage. We topped the night off with more board games at the Eslers. You may start to see a pattern here.


The next day we shopped out at the mall, made friends with a stray,

worked crossword puzzles, bummed around and ended up playing more Board Games.

All the days kind of blend together when you are recalling memories. At some point we went and saw Seven Pounds. I thought it was incredibly slow and boring. Claire was intreguied. We made our way over to the Water Still for some great flavored Ice Teas. We also played around with Scott's fancy lens for his Canon. We pretended we were models. Which Claire could be.


And I could not.


Mostly we ate a lot of food. Hung out every night at/with John and Lacey. Played games, had great conversation and even made some new friends! It was great to see Nick, Will, Anna, John, and Lacey all again and even got to hang out with some of their Amarillo friends, Thomas and Colleen.
On Friday we got up and drove back to Tyler to retrieve our dogs from Luci's care. Which of course while we were away Freddie thought it would be a good idea to eat a Tennis Ball, puke all over the room he was sleeping in and be a general nuisance for Luci. Thanks for keeping the pups though! Before leaving on Saturday to come back to Austin we played a little WII with Elbert. I also discovered not to mess with Claire because she was knocking people out in like 10 seconds flat on WII boxing. The pups enjoyed a smooth ride home

and we finally are home for a while. I bought a new computer on Saturday when we got back from Dell. Merry Christmas to me!

As for 2009, I expect a good year. Yes, Yes..the economy is bad, bad news, bad news, bad news. Thats all I hear. But after two years of marriage God hasn't failed us yet. In fact he has only blessed us so I expect good things in the future. Some things I know are coming and some goals I have set for myself and Claire:

Welcome in a bunch of Babies (Esler's, Rajeh's, Gooch's, and the Carroll's).
Get some new CD's from some of our favorite bands
Have a good time at SXSW
Plan the next set of Holidays way in Advance
Read a lot of books
Accomplish more of our summer goals
Blog a lot more
Practice my photography more
Clean out the Garage
Take a vacation (Most likely to San Francisco)
Redo our Back Yard
Possibly start a Garden
Put in Lights for the House
Write a lot more restaurant Reviews

And continue to bless and be blessed by others whether through prayer, conversation, online chats, blogs, phone calls, texts, emails, or just by word of mouth. I hope that everyone has something great to look forward to this year because I know Claire and I do. When I stop to look back on it I can truly see how blessed we are.