Camo, Camping, and Casinos

Excuse the delay of this post...I know it's the end of April and I'm kind of backtracking to document activities at the beginning of the month, but you know me, I have a flair for being fashionably late and it would be completely out of character for me to do anything promptly. My handsome husband is the star of this show, which he will be very happy about considering he hasn't gotten a whole lotta love on the blog since it's debut. You should definitely know that April has been dubbed Cody's birthday month, and though we're almost at the end of it, we're still celebrating. (I may have had something to do with this trend when I declared December as my birthday month so I guess I can share that idea with him, too.)

We started Cody's birthday weekend by celebrating on his actual birthday, April 1st with our good friends the Riddles. Jen and Ryan were kind enough to let us come over and grill ribs Texas style, per the birthday prince's request. We even basted them with authentic Tony Roma's bbq sauce--just the way Cody's dad does it. I made homemade mac & cheese and we had all the yummy TX bbq fixin's to go with it, along with an AMAZING camo cake, hand crafted by the mother of one of the girls at work. You won't believe it until you see it...so check out this amazingness.

 So super excited to blow out his 24 candles and eat some camo cake!

 A big slice of amazingness is what this is...camo style!

For those of you who aren't familiar with camo patterns (and those of you that are), you should know that the outside of the cake was done in a fondant that was an exact replica of Mossy Oak camo. I mean, this was one legit camo cake. Not to mention that it was camo on the inside, too... how cool is that? It was a vanilla cake with butter cream icing, and was quite possibly one of the best cakes I've ever tasted. And that's a bold statement as you know. OK, promise I'm finished letting my sweet tooth take control now...back to the topic at hand. We ate way too much, had lots of fun, and are so thankful for our good friends Jen and Ryan who were able to celebrate Cody's entrance into old manhood with us!

The next morning, Cody and I headed to Hot Springs, Arkansas for a little impromptu camping trip. We decided it was the perfect weekend to get some fresh air, and the weather could not have been more perfect for becoming one with nature. I know it may shock you, but this girly girl has become quite fond of the great outdoors these days, and I can "rough it" like no other. After all, Carrie Bradshaw did say that city girls are just country girls with cuter outfits, so I've decided that camping can be added to my list of favorite hobbies, and I can still look cute while doing it. Plus, who wouldn't jump at the chance to sleep in a tent and sit around a campfire with their dreamy husband overlooking a gorgeous lake? Sounds pretty perfect to me, and it was! Hot Springs is a super cute little tourist town, and when we arrived we had to try out the famous bbq restaurant McClenden's. Bill Clinton flew Air Force One just to eat at this place, so we knew it had to be good--and it was. I'm definitely feeding my foodie side these days, in case you haven't noticed... it's kind of out of control. After our lunch date, we drove through the mountains and took in the breathtaking views before heading out to the lake campsite. We set up our tent in the perfect spot overlooking the lake, and then did some fishing. There were lots of bass in the lake, but much to our dismay the little boogers just weren't interested in our bait. I got pretty close to enticing  a couple of them, but sadly we both came away without a catch. Guess we'll have to wait for the next trip to Harlingen for me to dominate some redfish and trout... (I'm counting down to this, in case you couldn't tell!) That night we started a campfire and roasted hot dogs and smores, then hit the sack (literally--in our sleeping bags.) I had forgotten how much I love camping, and it always reminds me of trips to Proctor Lake with my grandparents, mom, dad and sister when I was little. I'm not sure I was such a good sport about roughing it then though... guess I've gotten in touch with my wild side a little more as I've aged.

 You seriously can't pay for this kind of view. Eat your heart out, Four Seasons Resort!

 Documentation of me being a fatty...

 Making Grandad proud!

Our little outdoor home, a complete lakefront property. So perfect!

As if you thought the birthday festivities ended there...now it's time for the big event. For one of Cody's presents, I decided to surprise (emphasis on surprise please--for those of you who know me well, you know that I am HORRIBLE at keeping secrets, so this was a BIG deal for me to not let this one slip) him with tickets to see country singer Joe Nichols in Tunica, Mississippi at one of the casinos. Cody had been begging me to go to Tunica and gamble since he went with his parents over Thanksgiving, and this all seemed to work out perfectly. Not to mention, I couldn't believe that we could get tickets to see a chart topping Nashville star for the same price as a Texas country concert! I guess it pays to live close to music city... 

We weren't really sure what to expect upon entering the casino, but we knew we needed to try our hands at a little gambling before the concert. Cody won at blackjack while I played the Sex and the City slot machine and got lucky for about 10 minutes. Guess we should've stopped there, because after the concert we successfully lost our money. Oh well, there's always next time! The concert started and was probably one of the coolest experiences I've ever had. We were literally on the second row, and I kid you not, Joe Nichols (who was incredibly dreamy might I add), made eye contact with me, looked at me, and posed for a picture. I mean, we were that close to a Nashville star. The setting was really intimate, very different from the concerts we're used to (filled with drunk college kids and out of control barefoot musicians--which we love, of course), and was more of a conversational, chill atmosphere. That is, until he played Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off. :) As you'll see in the picture, I got festive and drank a marg during that one...but don't worry, my clothes stayed on. If you ever get the chance to see a concert in Tunica, definitely take it. It was truly awesome to be so close to one of the biggest names in country music, and definitely an unforgettable birthday present for my country music loving husband. I'd say I reached baller status with this gift, but that's just my modest opinion. Now brace yourself ladies for a little dreaminess in these next few pics... (of course I mean Cody... ;) )

 I got a closer one with my phone where he actually smiled at me (promise I'm not making this up, you can ask Cody and he'll roll his eyes because I was being such a groupie), but this is my documented proof that Joe Nichols noticed me. Don't be jel.

 He was such a good sport as I made a fool of myself. He got to do it when we saw Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, so we agreed it was ok. (Even though I got Tim McGraw that time, too...)

Being out of control during Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off, naturally. Keep it classy, Tunica. 

I'm not sure how we're going to top these adventures...the month of April has been pretty good to us. I'm loving all the musical options in the great state of Tennessee, too. Who knew it could be comparable to the capital of live music, Austin, TX? In fact, our next excursion is getting me really excited--the Beale St. Music Festival, Memphis' own version of ACL. Uh oh, spoiler alert! Guess you'll just have to wait for more on that one... 

Until next time, keep it real friends!

Little Kid Faith

Just to prepare you...there won't be any pictures in this post. I'm not typically one to share medical challenges or experiences due to a tendency to be slightly hardcore and not want anyone to feel sorry for me. So I must admit that I struggled with making this public. But I'm a firm believer in sharing my testimony in any way that I can, and the events of the past week have been far too powerful not to share publicly. Plus, this is my way of thanking everyone who has been loyally praying for me over the past 6 months--I am living, breathing proof that anything is possible with the power of prayer! (And anyone who wants to tell me otherwise deserves to be slapped.)

As many of you already know, I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease back in October. I'll spare you the details, but it's been a rough half a year, but one filled with TONS of lessons and blessings that we could've never experienced otherwise. Cody and I have spent lots of time in the hospital since Christmas, including our first married Valentine's day experiencing my second of four blood transfusions. Needless to say, it wasn't surprising to hear my doctor say that I am one of the most severe cases of the disease that he has ever worked with...which no one realized until shortly after Christmas (due to my being so hardcore I suppose). Anyway, let's get back to the point of this post. Cody and I have adopted a theme for our lives lately, and learned many huge lessons about faith and turning everything over to God through everything we have experienced over the past six months. At the beginning of the year, our pastor preached a sermon in church about fresh starts and having faith in God's plan for our lives. He mentioned that we should have "little kid faith" as we walk through our daily lives, and that really hit home for Cody and me as we looked back on our experiences in the past year. We have both been challenged through new jobs, a new marriage, a big move away from everything familiar, and my sickness to hand everything over to God and make space to let him work in our lives. This kind of faith has taught us that we may not know exactly what lies ahead for us (we could have never predicted the kind of adventures that we'd experience in our first year of marriage), but we have total and complete faith that God is in control. And that has never held more true for us than in the past week.

Because of my severe case of Crohn's, I had been escalated to the highest, most intense level of treatment about six weeks ago. This involves 3 infusions of Remicade, a very strong medicine that is administered through IV infusions. Thanks to this medicine, I got a nice weekend stay in the hospital (and a wonderful visit from my mom and mother-in-law to boot!), as it is so strong that during the first treatment intense monitoring is required to ensure there are no allergic reactions. I took the first infusion like a champ, and felt like a new person after just one treatment, which only happens in 30% of patients. I felt very blessed after this, and 2 weeks later went back for the second infusion. At this time, I had a slight allergic reaction, but after being given a heavy dose of Benadryl, the nurse and my doctor ruled out the reaction as a sensitivity, and we scheduled my last infusion for this past Thursday, the big third treatment that would push me into remission by Easter weekend. (Remission from Crohn's means no more symptoms and a return to normal life.) The plan after this was that I would continue to have infusions every 2 months for maintenance, basically for the rest of my life. Not bad at all to ensure that I continued to feel good, and I was definitely overcoming my irrational fear of needles, that's for sure!

So on Thursday morning I arrived at the doctor's office for my spa treatment infusion (the experience really is spa-like. In fact, I joked with my nurse that we could really use some pedicures and facials when I come in for my treatments.) I said a prayer for everything to go smoothly and was immediately reminded of the Bible verse "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see." God could not have provided me with more appropriate words at a better time. Once again, I was filled with a calmness knowing that he was in control of whatever was going to happen today. And I'm not going to lie, I started the treatment out VERY nervous. After all, this was the big day, the big treatment that I had been waiting for for half a year. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel at this point, and I didn't want anything messing this up. The nurse took my heart rate before beginning the infusion, and commented that it was definitely higher than normal. I chalked it up to being anxious or excited, but had a feeling today was going to be a little bit different than I had expected. Exactly one hour into the infusion (the exact time that I had reacted in the last infusion), I began to have a violet allergic reaction. Luckily, my doctor had come in at the exact time that this happened, and observed each symptom as I struggled to breathe, sufferred intense chest and back pains, and just about vommed everywhere (sorry, gruesome I know). I had awakened to this reaction from a pretty heavy Benadryl slumber, so you can imagine my surprise when the only words that I heard were "Stop the Remicade. She won't be having any more infusions."

I immediately panicked, and the first question I asked was "So I have to live with this disease the rest of my life?" Imagine my surprise when my doctor laughed...and told me not to worry. How could I not worry when all I could see was a future of continued sickness? I was so confused at this point...and I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that I was slightly loopy and coming out of a coma. I was, however, clear enough at this point to hear these words come out of my very knowledgable, research driven doctor's mouth: "Brittany, I am baffled. And I'm not worried. You are not going to live with this disease, but I must tell you that in all of the years that I have practiced medicine, I have never seen a case like yours. You are one of the most severe cases that I have ever worked with, and you have not even been through full treatment, but your body has healed itself. Two weeks ago your body was not even pumping blood and today your red blood cell count has doubled and is almost back to normal. Your body has healed itself and I have no way to explain it." As drugged up as I was, I knew the explanation. I looked at him, smiled, and simply said "Do you think it's because a higher power, stronger than medicine, is on my side?" He nodded, smiled back, and said "I think that's a safe bet."

At this point, I could probably end this novel of a post. For those of you that have stuck it out and read the whole thing, I really do appreciate it. If I can share anything from this experience, it would be that when we ask why or don't understand the things that are happening in our lives, just know that when we give up control, have little kid faith, and trust in God's timing, supernatural things can and do happen. All it takes is letting go and letting God work. Trust me, I'm living proof.

This year as Easter approaches, it is perhaps one of the most symbolic and special ones of my life. I praise the Lord everyday as I enter remission, and will celebrate with a spirit of renewal and redemption as I thank God for new beginnings, healing, and a new season in my life. I hope you'll share your little kid faith with someone, too, as we remember the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus made for us, so that we could be healed and have the comfort of knowing that He is in control of our lives, if we'll just let Him be!

Walkin' in Memphis

Yep, that's right. This past weekend I finally got to be a tourist in Memphis! After living here for almost 6 months, can you believe it took this long? I must say I was pretty excited to have a reason to see the sights when my cousin Carissa came to visit for a long weekend to kick off her pharmacy school spring break. We both decided that we'd work in a little relaxation, but definitely took full advantage of all that this great city has to offer...which is actually quite a bit, much to my surprise!

On Saturday evening, Cody and I took Carissa to the famous Peabody hotel downtown to watch the duck march. I won't even begin to explain this, but you should just Google it or look it up on You Tube if you've never heard of it. I know I sound like I'm off my rocker, but after living here I've learned that people really come from far and wide to see these famous ducks. Who knew? Not to mention that the hotel is incredible--gorgeous historic architecture, the whole nine yards. So first important lesson of this post: ducks are celebrities in Tennessee (insert witty comment about Texas being superior once again here). :)

After we watched the ducks, we ate at BB King's on Beale Street, which is like Austin's 6th street on a smaller scale, and with a little more soul. Apparently the bars stay open until 6 AM and things get a little dirty down thurr (yes that was intentional Mom), so we opted for an early entrance and departure. Back to the dinner though--not only did we feast on good 'ol southern ribs and barbeque nachos (quickly becoming one of my new favorite foods...I suppose you could call it our Mexican food standby), but we listened to some really good, legit live jazz music. The band that we saw had a lead singer who was approached by American Idol's Randy Jackson for a record deal--at age 16. He had quite the Justin Bieber swoop to boot, and was very talented. After dinner, we visited a couple more "hot spots", including the famous Coyote Ugly. It was pretty tame at 7:00, and the Coyote girls just didn't understand why Carissa and I didn't want to join in their boot scootin' routine on the bar. We remain classy Texas girls. :) Plus, we didn't want to take away any attention from the cougars that had staked their claim on the bar and were already busting a move.

After church on Sunday, Carissa and I put on our blue suede shoes and ventured to Graceland to visit with the King of Rock and Roll. We had our doubts, but it was actually really cool, and now we can say that we've been to Elvis' crib, which is definitely something you should add to your bucket list. The decorator in me found an appreciation for the extravagance of the interior design, and I even fell in love with the couch in the billiard room--it was surprisingly Anthropologie-esque! Just another example of how trends in fashion and design are so cyclical. Flashes weren't allowed in the house, so the few pictures that I got of the inside are on my phone. When I figure out how to get those to upload, I certainly will--but you may have to check Facebook for those. (I am trying to utilize all social networking outlets to keep you as updated as possible you know.)

The rest of the weekend brought lots of hanging out, relaxation, movie watching, and eating dessert (what we do best). I absolutely loved having Carissa here and can't wait for our next get together. It was wonderful to have some one-on-one bonding time outside of the crazy holidays! The only thing missing was our third musketeer, Jeffy. We missed you cousin!

Here's a little photo documentation of our fun weekend...

 Dinner at BB King's--check out those BBQ nachos. Makes me hungry just thinking about them.

 The famous Beale Street, pre-party animal hours...I mean, it was hard to control ourselves but somehow we managed.

 My handsome husband's Elvis face, in preparation for the visit to Graceland. What a hottie.

 BB King's

 I'll give you one guess. I'm thinking this is a great idea for decorating our next home... 

Keep it classy Memphis. :)

 This rule pretty much ruined Cody's evening...

 The classiest Texas ladies on Beale Street. Making our mommas proud. :)

 Cody and Carissa having some quality bonding time, which may have included a weekend of trash talking thanks to the NCAA tournament...

 Hello Graceland!

 Is it what you expected? Purchased for just over $100,000 when Elvis was 24 (I think that's accurate, but don't quote me those of you who are real Elvis followers). Wonder what it's worth now?

 The famous pink Cadillac. We could totally pimp this thing.

Elvis' private jet, which just happens to be the size of a real passenger airplane. It has 5 bedrooms and 2 baths too, no big deal.

Clearly I've becoming the blogging queen these days. Either that or our life is just really exciting...or I have too much time on my hands... I'm going to go with the second option. Until next time, we'll be ballin' hard in Memphis...

"Woke up this morning, Texas on my mind..."

Obviously, this Pat Green song has become the theme song for Cody and me lately. Literally, everytime that we depart for the Lone Star State it seems to be the background theme playing constantly in my mind. (Thus the Facebook status posts, blaring of the iPod, etc.) I suppose it's time to expand a little and find a few more Texas-themed tunes to add to the soundtrack...I'll get to work on that stat, although it may be a little late as I'm not sure when the next time we'll grace our homeland with our presence will be, sadly. :( Our goal for the near future is to explore the mid-south and all it has to offer, and I must say I've never been so excited! We've got big plans for the next few weekends, which means lots of blog material (and the family rejoices!). I know you're on the edge of your seat with anticipation for our upcoming adventures, but I don't believe in spoilers. So in the meantime, you'll just have to settle for a recap of our weekend in the big D (and I do mean Dallas), which was so full of fun I'm afraid I'm going to miss some of the very important details!

My good friend Rachel got married the weekend of March 12, and when we learned that the drive to Dallas was only 7 hours, we decided to take full advantage of the opportunity to celebrate with her and her wonderful hubby Joe. The ceremony was absolutely perfect and Rachel was absolutely one of the most gorgeous brides I've ever seen. I was also able to reunite with some great girlfriends from Swift, and had so much fun catching up and seeing them. You should also know that I was the dancing queen and between the moves that Cody and I displayed that night, it's quite surprising that we weren't asked to audition for Usher's next music video. I mean, we were on fire. Luckily, there's no photographic documentation because you'd probably feel really threatened by our mad skills... I did get a few pics of the event though, not to worry!

 Wouldn't have missed this for the world. Love my Rach!

 Absolutely stunning! Pre-ceremony

 Look at my handsome hubby :)

 Mr. and Mrs. Joe Martin

 Miss you girlfriends!

 Come to Tennessee!!!

 Just a glimpse of the mad dance skills exhibited at the reception...

As if partying Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn style at the wedding wasn't fun enough, Cody and I also got to stay with our good friends Wes and Nicole for the weekend, which brought a trip to the Greenville St. Patrick's Day parade on Saturday morning. We had so much fun celebrating our Irish (some of us authentic and others honorary) heritage and enjoying the gorgeous WARM weather. I think I may have even gotten a little sun...for which now I'm completely starving... but that's another story, and another rant, as you know. :) Getting back to the parade though--it was wonderful to see old friends from high school, including my college roomie, Carrie. We also got the chance to meet some of Wes and Nicole's awesome Dallas friends who I had so much fun getting to know (shout out to Jodee, you're awesome girl!) After a quick breakfast with Carrie in Arlington, we headed to Boyd/Decatur to visit with Uncle Brian, Aunt Stacey, and Karsyn. I was super excited to spend some extra time with them, and even got to feast on some tasty homemade chocolate chip cookies--which we all know are a total luxury to me because of the mere fact that my crazy husband refuses to eat chocolate and there's no point in making a huge batch of these from scratch for myself (or is there?). Obviously, it was a fun and busy weekend filled with so many activities! I must say I also enjoyed the bonding time with my hubs that came from 14 hours on the road. Sometimes you just need that kind of togetherness, filled with old school rap CD's and Texas Country music.

Here's a few pictures for your viewing pleasure, then I promise I'll wrap up this novel for the evening...

 Love this girl!

 Wes and Nicole--fabulous hosts, and can't wait for their wedding!

 My roo! Caroliiiiiine

 Alejandro/Roberto we miss you!

 Hey boys...Cody's an honorary WC alum for this one.

 Amazing girls :)

 Showing a little Irish spirit. Note the sweet belt.

 Jodee! Love this girl.

 Miss Karsyn, post lip gloss sampling and Cheeto eating. This girl has my heart!!

Being fabulous clearly runs in the family...

Now get pumped because you're about to see a lot of blog action in the next few weeks, and this time I mean business. :)

To whet your appetite...figuratively and literally.

So, I know I've been a bit of a blog slacker lately. I like to think that's a good thing and shows you how super exciting life has been for Cody and me. :) I have, however, been guilted into an update by my fabulous sis-in-law, Katie, who has been kicking my butt at this lately...

While I must warn that this won't be the most lengthy of posts, I can assure you that it will satiate your appetite (both literally and figuratively) until the monster post that is under construction and should make its debut before another month passes.

The month of March has brought lots of Texas time for us, including a real, authentic Texas Independence Day celebration, Tennessee style. While living in God's country, I was always aware of the fact that this "holiday" fell on March 2nd, I of course understood it's significance, but this year I appreciated it tons more due to the mere fact that I wasn't in the Lone Star State to celebrate it. It's true what they say--you don't know what you've got til it's gone. Not to worry though, Cody and I are always looking for a reason to party, so along with our good friends the Riddle's and a group of Bayer Crop Science Texas natives (and honorary Texans), we got together for a good 'ol Texas Independence Day celebration. Everyone brought food that reminded us of our homeland, including brisket and all the fixins', chips and queso, some authentic Johnson margaritas and Spanish rice, Texas sized sugar cookies, and my very own soapapilla cheesecake. I definitely brought my Texas-sized appetite for this fiesta, and don't regret one second of indulgence!

And now the moment you've all been waiting for... the soapapilla cheesecake recipe. If you haven't tried this, you should probably get off the couch and whip it up--it's super easy and quite possibly one of my favorite desserts EVER. And those of you that know me know that's a bold statement, considering my sweet tooth is absolutely out of control. Let the walk to the kitchen be your cardio, because when that first bite melts in your mouth you'll forget every calorie and escape to a Mexican paradise, trust me.

Soapapilla Cheesecake

2 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 8 oz. cans refrigerated crescent rolls (come in dough sheets now, it's fool proof!)
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, room temp.
1/4 cup honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 9X13" baking pan. (Aluminum foil pans work best for this.) Beat cream cheese with 1 cup sugar and vanilla extract. Unroll crescent rolls and press 1 can into bottom of pan. Spread cream cheese on top and top with other can of crescent rolls.

Stir together 3/4 cup sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Dot mixture on top of cheesecake. Bake about 30 minutes until puffy and golden brown. Remove and drizzle with honey. Cool completely and cut into squares.

Until next time, adios mis amigos!