I found our wedding vows!!!

I haven't posted in a while, but I thought my findings today called for a post. A couple of years ago my old crappy computer died and I lost a lot of old files (or so I thought). Well I had them transferred over to my new computer, but there were things I wasn't able to find (like our wedding vows). We wrote our own vows inspired by a wedding prayer from Lama Thubten Yeshe and a few Ram Dass quotes. We just had our 3rd wedding Anniversary on the 13th. It also marked 8 years of being together! I was inspired to make a photo collage with 1 picture from every year we've been together. 

I also started scouring the computer and old boxes again for those vows, and I found them! I'm so excited to share them with you (or for you to hear them again if you were there). I know it sounds cheezy and sappy, but I really feel like I'm more in love with Kevin than I was on our wedding day, or even yesterday. I feel like every year and every day just gets better and better. So here they are. Be inspired. Be love. Enjoy...


June 13, 2009


"Love has to spring spontaneously from within and is in no way amenable to any inner or outer force. Love and coercion can never go together. But though love cannot be forced on anyone, it can be awakened in them by love itself. Love is essentially self communicative, those who do not have it catch it from those who have it. True love is unconquerable and irresistible, and it goes on gathering power and spreading itself until eventually it transforms everyone whom it touches. Being is dying by loving." -Be Here Now by Ram Dass

"The most important aspect of love is not in giving or receiving: it's in the being. When I need love from others, or need to give love to others, I'm caught in an unstable situation. Being in love, rather then giving or taking love, is the only thing that provides stability. Being in love means seeing the Beloved all around me." -Being Love by Ram Dass

Kevin and Sarah…

Do you promise to work together to develop your hearts and minds: cultivating compassion, generosity, ethics, patience, enthusiasm, concentration and wisdom as you age together?

Do you promise to follow the path of love, compassion and joy? 

Do you promise to see all the circumstances of life as a challenge to help you grow together, to open your hearts, to accept yourselves, and each other; and to generate compassion for others?

Do you promise to seek to understand yourselves, each other, and all living beings, to examine your own minds continually and to observe all the mysteries of life with curiosity and joy?

Do you promise to preserve and enrich your love for each other and radiate this love outward to all things?

Do you promise day to day, to be patient with yourselves and each other and to seek inspiration from others?

Do you promise to continuously strive to remember your own divinity, as well as the divinity of all living beings; to maintain the awareness that all things are temporary, and to remain optimistic that you can achieve your greatest potential and lasting happiness?

This ring is a symbol of the unbroken circle of love,

an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual bond 

which unites two hearts.

These rings have no beginning and no end.

Love, freely given has no beginning and no end, no giver and no receiver for each is the giver and each is the receiver.

May these rings always be reminders of the vows you have taken today.


I honor the spirit in you which is also in me. I honor the place in you in which the entire Universe dwells: the place of love integrity, wisdom and peace. When you are in that place within you and I am in that place within me, we are ONE. Namaste!

pictures!

The last few weeks have been so busy! I have a ton of new recipes and new art pieces started, but for now I have a few pictures. We're on vacation this week, so I should have time to make a recipe post and tell of my newest artistic inspiration and ideas. Enjoy!

The Nutcracker Ballet! Thanks mom for the tickets!

our 2011 tree

my favorite ornament!

xmas napper

Gigi, Mimi and the girls!

she said she wanted a big red
flashlight for xmas

oh Teague

NYE with Nathan (he's been in
Korea for the last 2 years!)

Pastor Nathan! Happy New Year!

Best way to start 2012? 2001

New Years Day smoked salmon tray :)

halloween weekend

As you know Halloween is my favorite holiday! This year we watched the parade downtown and watched scary movies at home. I wish we could have done more this year, but since Halloween is on a Monday, it was kind of hard. So here is my Halloween pic post (a little early). Enjoy!

Baby Esly in her Jack-o-lantern bib!

Kev's zombie cop looked so good!

Deviled egg :)

There were some really scary zombies in the parade!

1st intern show & a couple of fall recipes

Well the hubby is in class tonight and I got off early. So I thought I could tell you all about what I have been up to the past few weeks. I have had zero free time lately to blog or do much of anything really. When I do have time I like to catch up on sleep or do something fun with Kev. Last weekend he rode his new longboard and I rode my bike around. It was fun! Notice the design in the grip tape on the board by yours truly. :)

Custom cut grip tape :)

lovin it!

Wish I could ride everyday!

I think my posts will become less and less frequent until I'm done with the internship. Despite keeping me busy, it has been awesome lately! This week has been the best so far. Instead of sitting at a computer or organizing things in the office I actually got to help set up for a show! The 12X12 Fundraiser exhibition is tomorrow at 50 Penn Place. It is OVAC's main source of fundraising for the year. I got to paint pedestals and columns, hang signs and name plates and best of all I got to see all the art, where everything is, and how it all works. I also got to meet some pretty amazing artists, volunteers and other people involved with OVAC. Tomorrow I get into the show for free and I get to help with other volunteers and interns. I'm so glad I've had the opportunity to help out there. OVAC really is such an amazing resource for Okie artists. Oh and look at this! Click this LINK and scroll all the way down to the bottom...it's me!

Well I thought fall was coming, but yesterday it was 95! You know I'm not complaining about warm weather, but I'm actually kind of getting into the fall spirit. Mainly because I love Halloween so much and pumpkin things. But anyway, here are two fall recipes both from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food. I changed a few things, but if you want to look at the original recipes click HERE.


Savory Stuffed Acorn Squash
Ingredients
1 acorn squash (seeded and quartered)
S&P
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
1 minced garlic clove
1 bunch roughly chopped spinach
2 T. tomato paste
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated parmesan


Directions

Preheat oven to 425. Season squash with S&P and drizzle with half the oil. Bake skin side down 30-45 min. Meanwhile saute onions and garlic in remaining oil. Add spinach and wilt. Add tomato paste and stir until combined. Remove from heat and let cool while squash continues to cook. After squash is soft remover from oven and set to broil. Fill squash with mixture and top with breadcrumbs and cheese. Broil until tops are brown. Be careful removing from oven! The breadcrumbs were kind of popping and one got my hand...ouch! But it was worth it. These are so good!


Chicken Gumbo
Ingredients
1 cup cooked brown rice
2 chicken breasts
S&P
2 cups water
2 cups chicken broth
2 1/2 T. vegetable oil
3/4 cup chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 minced garlic clove
3 T. flour
1 cup frozen sliced okra (thawed)
1 t. cajun seasoning
1/4 t. hot sauce (I used Sriracha)
1/3 cup chopped basil


Directions

Saute chicken for 5 minutes with S&P on medium/high heat. Add broth and water and bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer 20 minutes. Remove chicken and shred. Reserve liquid. In a large soup pot Saute bell pepper, onion, celery and garlic in oil until almost soft. Whisk in flour and cook for about 3 minutes to make sort of a roux. Add cooking liquid whisking as you pour. Then add chicken, okra, cajun seasoning and hot sauce. Cook about 5 minutes more. Serve over rice and top with basil.

more on the mural and back to school

I've been hard at work on the mural with a little help from my very pregnant friend. Here are a couple of pics. Bad lighting...but on the finished piece I promise to have good pics.

just needs details and a few birds on top

The tall flower is going to be a
growth chart!

In other news...today is Kevin's first day of graduate school at OU. He has spent the last 2 1/2 weeks reading and working on an assignment due the first day. He left for class exhausted. He'll be there late tonight and then has to go back early tomorrow morning to stay all day. Yuck! But I am so so proud of him! I know he will do great.

first day of school :)

Zinky and Shadow

Yesterday we went to Kevin's friend's pool and played with his dogs all afternoon. I played with my new camera! Meet Zinky and Shadow... Zinky is the one with the white on his face, Shadow has the all black face. I'll probably make a recipe post and post about my new prints later this weekend, so check back soon. Have a good weekend!

CANONBALL!

Shadow

Zinky

JUMP! my favorite of the day

shake it off!

cheese 101

I can't believe I forgot to make a post about our cheese tasting class at Forward Foods! It was everything I hoped for and more...and I'm not exaggerating. We tried 8 different cheeses with accompaniments like pistachios, local honey, quince paste, breads and even a pickle. We got a nice white wine with the first 4 cheeses and a shiraz with the last four. Kevin and I both took notes on what we learned about the cheese as well as what our thoughts were about the different ones we tried (mine were much more extensive). I even won a prize at the end of class for answering a cheese question! It was a cheese magazine. Reading through it made me realize I could be a lot crazier about cheese than I already am. I ate everything on my plate and finished what Kevin didn't like...I paid for it later that night, but it was so worth it! 
Here are the cheeses that we tried...


1. Valbreso Feta
We both loved this fresh sheeps cheese from France. I'm actually eating it in my pasta salad as I type this! Mild but tangy at the same time!

2. Tetilla

A Spanish semi-soft cow's milk cheese named for its boob shape..haha! This was a little too mild for me. I won't go as far as to say I didn't like it (that would be blasphemy for a cheese lover like me) but it wasn't my favorite. Kevin agreed.

3.  Haystack Peak

This cheese was super runny. We learned that the riper it is the more runny it is. I loved it! It is a soft-ripened goat cheese from Colorado. Kevin liked it with honey.

4.  Coupole

This American surface-ripened goat cheese was very "goaty". It tasted like I was in a barn...but I liked it! We both liked it better paired with honey and fruity flavors.

5. Quickes Cheddar

A firm cows milk cheddar from England. This was the most "normal" of all the cheese we tried. It was Kev's favorite. He said he would make a grilled cheese with it. It was awesome with the pickle!

6. Alsacian Munster

This washed rind cows milk cheese from France is considered a stinky cheese, but I thought it smelled and tasted wonderful. Kevin liked it better with nuts and I loved the rind!

7. Idiazabal

We both agreed this was our second favorite cheese. It reminded me of manchego. This hard sheeps milk cheese from Spain is smoked for 10 days. The rind was so so good!

8.  Shropshire Blue

A very strong cows milk cheese from England. The weird orange color is from a natural coloring the makers add. We learned that the cows produce more yellow cheese in the spring and summer and people would buy more, so to keep the color year round they just started adding color. Kevin gave it a zero :(  A lot of blue cheeses are described as having a picante flavor which means a sort of spice left on your tongue. This was by far my favorite!

Anniversary '11

6/13/09

We had a great Anniversary weekend! I should have been working on prints, but instead I laid by the pool, went to the farmer's market, out to dinner and a movie, another dinner... it was great! I've been catching up on my printing today, but I also had time to make us an Anniversary cake! Kevin made us an awesome dinner the other night and a delicious breakfast! Here are the recipes...


Kevin's Seared Yellowfin Tuna
Ingredients
2 thick yellowfin tuna fillets
blackened seasoning
2 T. honey
1 T. balsamic vinegar


Directions
Preheat grill on high. Season fish with blackened seasoning to your taste. Sear on first side 4 min. Whisk together honey and balsamic. Brush on fish and flip. Brush other side. Sear only 2-3 min on the other side.


Coconut French Toast with Grilled Pineapple
Ingredients

3 T. coconut milk
1 1/2 T. sugar
1 T. milk
2 eggs
4 slices bread
cooking spray
sliced pineapple
honey
handful toasted coconut (do not leave this out!)


Directions
Combine first 4 ingredients in a shallow dish. Coat both sides of bread in mixture and cook toast over medium/high heat. I just used a cookie sheet to "grill" the pineapple. Broil them in the oven about 5-7 min on each side. Make sure you watch them. Drizzle toasts with honey, top with pineapple and toasted coconut. I also added the coconut in between the toast layers too.


Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Filling and Vanilla Buttercream
Ingredients

1/2 cup choc chips
3 T. butter
1/4 cup+2 T. sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup+2 T. flour
2 T. cocoa powder
1/4 t. baking soda
pinch salt
1/4 cup+2 T. water
6ish strawberries
2 T. strawberry jam
2/3 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla
2 t. water


Directions
Preheat oven to 325. Melt chips and butter slowly in microwave, let cool to room temp. Beat in sugar, egg and vanilla. Combine baking soda, salt, cocoa powder and half the flour. Slowly add to mixture and mix well. Add remaining flour and water and mix well. Pour into a small 6" cake pan and bake 30-45 min. Let cool completely. Meanwhile slice strawberries and mix with jam. Torte the cake (aka:cut in half) and spread the strawberry mixture in between the layers. To make the icing beat cold butter on high until smooth. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and water. Beat on high 3-5 min until fluffy. Ice cake. Cool in fridge for at least an hour.


Notes
If you don't have a 6" cake pan you can double this recipe for cupcakes. Just adjust the oven temp to 350 and cooking time to 20-25 min. OR you can quadruple it and make two 9" cakes (that way you don't have to torte them). Temp at 350, 35-50 min. I made this little cake for our Anniversary! 

We like cake!

PS My first sunflower is blooming! How appropriate! 

a fun but exhausting weekend

This weekend we babysat our youngest niece, Emma. She will be 2 next month. We played on the slip n' slide and went to the park and wore ourselves out! Here are a few pics...

Uncle FUN!

popsicles!