Bride Wars

Thursday night the all The Honeymooners spilt up.  

The guys stayed at the Cook's house to the manly game of poker....

........while the girls went to go see the girly movie Bride Wars.  

Since we have all been recently married we decided we were going to all pull out our veils and wear them to the movies!  I never thought I would ever get to wear my veil again, so it was fun.  When we showed up at the Cook's house, none of the girls walking in had their veils on.  I told Matt I was kind of bummed that no one was participating in the fun.  His response to that was "Maybe no one else thinks it is as cool as you think to wear you veil to the movies!!"  But luckily there were some other girls that did think it was a fun idea.  

We got a couple seconds glances at the movie theater.  And we didn't even have to tell the lady selling the tickets what movie we were seeing.  I thought it was a great movie.  It was great to see it with girlfriends, because I don't think I would have ever been able to drag Matt to go see it! 

FREE MUSIC

Go to http://www.zimforfree.com/ to get two free songs from a great singer/songwriter. This is an old friend of mine, so tell everyone you know about his music. Robbie Seay produced his CD, so it has to be good. I think it's pretty great!

You can check out some of his other music here.

Ice Ice Baby

So I got a phone this morning like almost all teachers in the DFW area.  They canceled school because of the icy weather.  I am so excited to not have school, and especially excited that I get to spend the whole day with Matt.  Since the Dart train was closed, he didn't want to have to drive. So we get to spend the whole day together.  

However, I will not be too excited when Easter break come and I only get Friday off instead of Friday and Monday.  Oh well.  I'll have to get over it.  I'm going to try to be really productive today.  So far, that's not happening though.  I slept until 8, made some breakfast for me and Matt, played Wii golf, and I've been blog reading for a good 30 minutes now.  I have got to get some things done today.  

Hopefully I can accomplish these things today. 

• Clean the house
• Finish picking wedding pictures
• Prepare some food for a shower I'm giving on Saturday
• Exercise using Wii Fit
• Cook a yummy dinner
• Update blog sidebars

Enjoy your icy day at home!!!

Dinner Disaster

Matt and I have been married for 3 1/2 months now and I have cooked dinner on quite a few of those nights.  With the help of my Mom and Grandma's cookbook that they made, I feel like I'm a pretty good cook. 

After every meal my sweet husband gives me a kiss a tells me "Dinner was good, babe!"  

Well not always.  

Sometimes, he has some constructive criticism.  And  few times he has said, "It wasn't awful, but don't make it again."   But never have I had a complete disaster.  

Tonight changed everything.  Tonight was a complete disaster.  (much like this picture was a disaster, but I didn't want to try to take a better one)

I made a 15 minute Chicken, Broccoli & Rice Dinner from the Campbell's Soup Cookbook. 

There were a couple of things that helped this meal go bad.  First of all, I decided to use pre-cooked chicken strips.  Even after being warmed up, they still tasted like they were straight from the freezer.  Secondly, the broccoli didn't cook long enough.  It was crunchy.  At third, I don't care for Minute Rice.  

So to make up for our awful dinner, we made coke floats on the coldest night of the year.  

I Don't Like Ruffles

.....and neither does Jason.

This post is for my "Bachelor Lovers" Ally and Carissa and anyone else who is not ashamed to admit they like the show. (Not Bachelors Lovers as in "We love Jason", but we love the show "Bachelor Lovers." We don't need Jason because we all have fabulous husbands!!)

If you don't watch The Bachelor, you can just stop reading right now.

From here on out ladies, I just going to give a comment about each girl. Let's start with the ladies that left.

Did you all notice that all three girls that left at the rose ceremony were all wearing dresses with ruffles?

Shannon- It's about time. She was so fake. She tried to cry and act like she really wanted to be with him on the group date. Then after the rose ceremony she was just smiling like it was no big deal. I thought it was hilarious when they kissed and then she said "Wow, we really have a connection." She's crazy!

Lauren- I liked her honesty last week, but this week she was just flat out annoying. I'm pretty sure no guy wants to be bossed around or "dominated" as she said. And when she thought Jason would know why she was mad.....Seriously??

Megan- Good. I wish I could see Jason's reaction to the way she acts when she is not with him. Maybe they will show it on the show when they all come back.

Nicole- I thought I liked her, but she really got on my nerves this week. She is very unstable emotionally. I think she was just doing this so she could be married and be a mom someday. She felt like it was "her turn." I think it wouldn't have mattered who the guy was, she would have like them even if she didn't like them. She just wants to be married in the end.

Now for the girls who are still there.

Jillian- Still my favorite. So down to earth. I love how she just chilled and didn't get upset when she didn't get one on one time on the group date. I thought it was cute that Jason said she was the backbone of the girls. I think he really sees that she gets along with everybody. That is a good quality to have.

Molly- She is cute as cute can be, and she seems to have great conversation with Jason. I just didn't like how she bragged about how she stayed the whole night with Jason. And really couldn't stand how she made such a big deal about being so tired. I think they did a lot more than kissing in that tent.

Stephanie- Sweet as sweet can be. She is so genuine so appreciative of everything Jason does for her. I just don't think they have a romantic connection. And she's kind of old. I mean 34 isn't old, but she seems way older than the other girls. But I don't even know how old Jason is.

Naomi- I feel like I don't know that much about her. I like her so far. I don't have anything to not like about her, but I also don't have anything to love about her.

Melissa- I'm liking her more and more. She seems sweet and I think she was being very honest when she told him that she was falling for him. Her tears were real. Did you hear what she said when they had their one on one conversation? She was talking about how she hadn't been excited to see someone in a long time. And she hadn't "done it" in a while. Did she mean what I think she meant? If so...I think a little less of her. Why would she say that??

Jillian is still my girl!! Until next week girls....

And I think ruffle dresses make people look like big blobs.....even if they are in style.

Life Before the Wii

I don't remember life before we had the Wii.  I asked Matt the other day what we did before we had our Wii.  We love it.  Our game of choice right now is golf on Wii Sports.  

We love it so much that we are going to have a "Wiiesta" with our ABF in March.  Mexcian Food and Wii all night.....it should be fun.  

On Saturday, we didn't have any plans at all.  We actually stayed home all day and stayed in our pajamas all day.  Matt watched a TV show series that he had from Netflix while I played Wii Fit. I unlocked all but 5 of the games.  Before I knew it, I had played for 2 hours.  I did all the Yoga poses, all the strength training exercises, all the aerobics exercises, and all the balance games.  I had so much fun until I woke up on Sunday morning and my whole body ached.  I had no idea you could get such a good work-out from the Wii Fit.  Or maybe I'm just really out of shape.

Any suggestions of good games we should add to our Wii library?

Name That Tune

Last night we had a friendly game of Name that Tune with our ABF (Adult Bible Fellowship...I'm still transitioning from calling it Sunday School all my life.) About 20 of us met up at the church to play Name that Tune. The Cozad's did an amazing job getting the game together.  The had some really great categories.  Round 1 consisted of Movies, Grammy Nominees,  Girls Names, Grab Bag Christian, and one I can't remember. Round 2 consisted of the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and 2000's.  And the final round was, Song you like, but hate to admit, Songs you wish you could forget, Musicals, TV Shows, and Countries.

I get so competitive when it comes to playing games.  Matt did really great at the game.  By the end of the game, Matt was known for raising his hand first and then looking to our team for the answer because he would go blank.  I did a whole lot better than I thought I would.   I was so excited about the Musical category.  My family gets season tickets to the Dallas Summer Musicals and I have been to NYC twice, so I have seen quite a few musicals. That was my best category.  But the best song I guessed was Wannabe by the Spice Girls.  I guessed it in the first 4 seconds.  All I heard was the stair steps at the very beginning of the song.  Listen to it for yourself here.   Everyone was so surprised that I got it so quick.  I give all the credit to Lindsey Jones' birthday party when I was in 7th grade.  She got the CD for her birthday when it first game out and we listened to the song probably 100 times in a row.  I know that song quite well!  I think Matt was a little embarrassed of me at some points in the game, but we sure did have a lot fun.  Our team lost the first round, but kicked butt in the last two rounds.  And we dominated in the Lighting Round.  

I'm pretty sure our ABF did this last year too, so I'm already looking forward to next years Name That Tune. 

Kung Fu Panda Express Night

Every other week, our Sunday School class, assigns 3 couples together.  The couples are supposed to "date".  We have 2 weeks to hang out, go out to eat, or meet at someone's house.

This week we were with the Fant's and the Jane's.  I didn't take any pictures of the evening, but we had alot of fun.  

We all met up at Panda Express and got some yummy Chinese take-out.  We then headed to our house to eat dinner, have dessert, and watch Kung Fu Panda.   

 

This has been such a great way for us to get involved in the class.  We are really building some great friendships.  I'm so excited that we have found such a great church and Sunday School class.  We are so blessed.  

I Love My Backyard!

I absolutely love my backyard.  I loved the inside of the house when we were first looking at it.  But when I saw the backyard, I really loved the house.   It's wonderful.  I can't wait until we get our hammock chair hanging and get some patio furniture and a grill.  It will be an awesome place to hang out when the weather warms up.  

My favorite thing about our backyard is the view out our back fence.  

This pond is home to atleast 50 ducks.  Our next door neighbor feeds them everyday, so they really hang around close to our fence in the early evening.  

Izzie stays outside all day while I'm at school, so I'm glad that she has a place that she can run and play.  I think she likes having the company of the ducks!

I sure do love my backyard, but I love my sweet husband who takes care of our yard even more!!

P.S.  Be watching for a virtual tour coming hopefully sooner than later.  As soon as I get curtains up, I'll get a virtual tour of our home posted.  

Bachelor Review

This post is for my friend Carrissa!!

Here are a couple of comments I would like to make about the Bachelor.

I’m obsessed with Jillian. I think she is so real, down to earth, and seems like a lot of fun. I think she would make a great match with Jason and I will be sad if she goes home because I think she should win. Last week or the week before, she said she didn’t expect to fall for him so quickly. I love that she didn’t come in obsessed with Jason before she had even gotten to meet him. Unlike….,

Shannon. I can’t stand her. I want her gone. Seriously, stop talking about how you want to be a Mommy and how much you loved him last season. Jason wants to know that you are there for him, not just to become a Mommy. And seriously, stop telling him about all your myspace stalking. That is just creepy.

If Jason doesn’t get rid of Megan soon, I will be mad. What kind of guy would want to be with a girl that talks trash about everyone. And she cusses like a sailor, which is extremely tacky and not very classy.

Overall I want Jillian to win, but right now if he chooses, Molly, Nikki, Melissa, Naomi, Lauren or Stephanie I would be okay with it. My mind could change about some of those people as the weeks go on. But I definltey think Megan and Shannon should be the next to go.

What were your thoughts on last weeks episode??

Date Night

Matt and I had a long week, so we decided to make Friday night a Date Night and just spend some quality time together.

We started the evening at home with some Chicken Noodle Soup and some Crab Triangles. This has become one of our staple meals at The Link Home.

The recipe is super easy....so I'll share.

Crab Triangles

Mix a stick of butter or margarine, one jar of Old English Cheese, a can of fancy white crab meat, 2 Tablespoons of Miracle Whip, and a dash of garlic salt in a bowl. Once you get it all mixed up, spread it onto English Muffin halves. Freeze for 10-15 minutes, then cut up into quarters and store in a ziploc bag. I keep these in the freezer and then cook about 16 for me and Matt to eat with Chicken Noodle Soup. Yum Yum!!

After dinner we headed to the movies and saw.....

.......Gran Torino. I have to say that I really enjoyed the movie. I did not think that I would enjoy a Clint Eastwood movie. I'm definitely a "chick flick" kind of girl, and I don't think Clint Eastwood has ever been in a "chick flick." The language is awful in this movie. Normally bad language in movies really bothers me, because it's usually not necessary. But in this movie, I felt like it really helped portray the lives of the people in the movie. I think it is a must see.

This is an awful picture of me. I was being silly. But it's a great picture of my husband. I just had to post it because I recently told him that I wanted to try to take a picture everyday, and this is the only picture we got of the evening. He's such a good sport when it comes to taking pictures. I know he hates it, but he always looks so great in them.

So if you are looking for a great Date Night, go see Gran Torino and if you are in a cooking mood, try some Crab Triangles.

January Restaurant Review

Matt and I decided this weekend that we are going to try a new restaurant each month.  We've been told that it is so important to continue to go on dates, even after your married.  So this is one time of the month that we will always have a date planned.  

This month we went to Chiloso in Wylie.  I had heard great things about it from a friend that I work with.  She said it is just like Chipotle but better.  Matt and I love Chipotle, so we were excited to try it out.  

Matt:  Beef Burrito  & a soft drink(rice, beans, beef, salsa, jack cheese, tomatoes in a giant tortilla)

Katy:  Burrito Bowl & water (rice, beans, chicken, salsa, queso and corn salsa)

On the side: Chips & Jalapeno Ranch

Price: $17.00

The Jalapeno Ranch was wonderful.  I will be trying to find a recipe to make some of that.  Matt absolutely love chips and ranch.  But overall....

We give Chiloso.....TWO THUMBS DOWN.  

Leave a comment if you know of a great restaurant that you think we should try!!

**Update: After my funny husband read this post, he said,"Chiloso...more like Chigrosso."  

I couldn't agree more!!!

Allergies

Last week, my students were working very quiet.  (which is very rare this year)  I decided they deserved a skittle for working so quietly.  

I have one student who happens to think that purple skittle are "chocolate."  But not just regular chocolate.  He says it in Spanish.  I've tried to tell him that purple skittles are grape flavored but he just swears they are "chocolate".  

When I handed him a lemon skittle, he was a little disappointed that he didn't get a "chocolate" skittle.  He decided to eat it anyway.  A few seconds later he came up to me with the lemon skittle about to come out of his mouth.  Our conversation went a little like this.  

Student:  Ewww....I'm allergic to lemon skittles.  

Mrs. Link:  Well then you better spit it out if you are allergic. 

(He spits it out)

Student:  Can I have a "chocolate" one now?

Mrs. Link:  No sweetie, I already gave you a skittle, and you spit it out.  

Student: But I allergic to lemon skittles.

Mrs. Link:  Sweetie, I know all of the allergies in our class, and your mother didn't tell me that you were allergic to lemon skittles.

Student: Well.....my Mom doesn't know yet.  I haven't told her.  

Mrs. Link: Sorry sweetie, maybe next time you will get a "chocolate" skittle.  

Here comes the funniest part of the story...

After this whole conversation went down I overhead another boy say, "You're not allergic to lemon skittles.  You're lying."

His response to that was "Nuh-UH....I'm allergic to lying."

Wouldn't it be nice if some people really were allergic to lying?

Wii are so cool!

You read that correctly!!! We got a Wii! and Wii Fit!!

We are so excited to finally have one.  I feel like everyone I know has one.  When I went back to school on Monday, I asked my kids what they got for Christmas.  I had 6 kids that got a Wii and 4 of them already had one.  I asked if I could have theirs, and they said NO WAY!!

So if you don't hear from me for a while, you know why!!

I'm off to get fit!!

Do You Talk to the TV?

Matt can not watch a televised sport without yelling at the TV.

If an ump or ref makes a bad call, he lets them know.

If a player does something stupid, he lets that player know.

If a coach makes a dumb decision, he lets them know.

And if an announcer says something wrong or dumb, he lets them know.

I don't get it. I don't understand the need to yell at the TV. It doesn't hear you and it doesn't talk back.

I didn't understand until tonight.....FINALLY I felt what my husband feels when he yells at the TV.

Tonight I watched.....

I just really feel the need to commentate the whole show.

If a girl says a stupid pick up line, I have to let her know.

If a girl is wearing an ugly dress, I have to let her know.

If a girl does something dumb, I have to let her know.

And If the Bachelor makes a stupid decision, I have to let him know.

The lesson learned here that women watching the Bachelor are much like men watching sports.

I finally understand Matt's need to talk to the TV even if it doesn't talk back. It just feels good to let your opinion out sometime and not have anyone comment back.

You should try it sometime!!

*On a side note, I know that The Bachelor is a really stupid reality show, that you can't really find true love on. But I started watching it from it's very first season with Trista and Ryan. It's just so addiciting. Is anybody with me?

A Lot Has Changed...

From then.....

......to now!!

New Years Resolutions

I'm kind of with the elephant and the rhino.  I always make  a big New Years Resolution and fail to keep it.  I've decided to set the bar low this year so I can reach my goals!! Just kidding.  I'm just going to be reasonable and set some goals for myself in 2009.  

I want to keep up with the laundry during the week rather than doing 4 loads at a time.  

I want to consistently exercise 3-4 days a week.  

I want to lose those pesky 3 lbs that showed up after the wedding.  

I want to keep up with my 365  days of devotionals book Matt gave me for Christmas.

I want to learn how to digital scrapbook.

I want to be a consistent blogger.

I want to try new recipes.  

I want to serve more in my church.

I want to read more books.  (this won't be too hard, because I don't ever read. )

I want to have all of my Kindergarteners reading.  

I think that's it.  It looks like 2009 is going to be a busy one!!

*As for the other one in my house....

Matt chose not to have an New Years Resolutions. 

2008: A Year to Remember

This year has definitely been one of the best for me!  The Lord has blessed me more than I could have ever imagined.  By January 1st last year Matt and I already knew that we were meant to be together.  Our saying for the year was "2008 is gonna be great!"  And it sure was.  

Here are some of unforgettable moments of 2008.

My brother got married. (and I got a sister!)

We got engaged on the beach!

We set a date and the craziness of planning a wedding began.

Two of my best friends got married.

We bought a house.

I became an aunt.

I married the love of my life.

I became the aunt of these precious kiddos.

We celebrated our first Thanksgiving together.

And we had a wonderful Christmas together. 

(pictures in the posts below)

We hope 2008 was great for you too!