Partini Party

We had a few friends over this weekend for game night and a small birthday celebration for ME! It was Doughboy's debut with house guests, and actually, our's too, so we wanted to keep it small (for those of you who are wondering why you weren't invited :D). We would've loved to have a big blow-out, but since we are new to entertaining as a couple and Doughboy is new to houseguests, we just had to keep it down to a few brave souls. Doughboy only had a couple barking spells and then retired to his room. I was really impressed! Us human types had homemade ice cream that Troy and I made in the ice cream maker we got for our wedding and cake "balls" that I made (I guess cake balls are the new popular thing - I read about it in Dallas Morning News). We played Partini (another wedding gift), a game with challenges like charades, word games, ball-bouncing games, name-that-tune, etc. I think everyone had a lot of laughs and learned a lot about each other (like how much Troy likes to be the D.J. and I like to hum incoherently!)

Troy surprised me with the most AWESOME birthday gift ever. . . season tickets to Dallas Summer Musicals! Some of the shows are Happy Days, A Chorus Line, Legally Blond, Mamma Mia, Mary Poppins, and Wizard of Oz! Can you imagine a better gift for me? It just goes to show how wonderful marriage is! To spend a lifetime with someone who knows me that well and would go out of their way to make my wishes come true - it's divine.

Oh, but here's the highlight of last week . . . Somehow our marriage license was "lost." The church promises they mailed it, but the county office never received it! We had to run downtown and get a new license and have our minister sign and back-date it. We like to say we got "remarried." :D

Sushi and Blackberries

Troy and I enjoyed another Sushi Saturday last weekend. We went to Oishii http://oishiidallas.com/, which is right down the street from our apartment on Wycliff. It is located in a strip mall next to the awesome pizza place, Sal's. The restaurant has a bar with a cool ambience, but the restaurant side feels a little less "uptown" and little more strip mall. We shared a couple rolls that were really yummy (especially the rainbow roll) and we each had an entree. I had kung pao chicken and Troy had the sweet and sour chicken. Both meals had the taste you expect and love from Chinese take-out, but they were fresher and less greasy. Overall, we give Oishii a 6 out of 10 on the Tropril Sushi Scale :D

On Monday of last week Troy picked up new phones for us - Blackberry Storms (the touchscreen Blackberry). We played around with them at the Verizon store a couple weeks ago and decided we should replace our old junky phones with these cool, new, do-everything phones. I really like the phone, even the touchscreen keyboard, which some people have trouble with. The only problem at first was that noone could hear me! Dad told me it sounded like I was talking through a sock. So, I exchanged mine for a new one and it works perfectly. It is more convenient than I ever imagined to be able to use your phone to check your email, see the weather forecast, listen to music, keep your calendar . . . I'm already addicted to the Crackberry.

Fireproof

Have you seen this movie with your spouse yet? Troy and I had heard positive reviews from Christian radio and our church, but we weren't quite sure. First, Troy doesn't like sappy love stories. Secondly, it really is a low budget film shot with one camera - made as part of a ministry of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, GA. Many of the actors are just members of the church who were interested in becoming part of the ministry. On the other hand, Kirk Cameron, who I had a gigantic crush when I was about 8 years old, stars in the film. So, that convinced me to give the movie a shot :D

Once we got past a little rough acting, Troy and I really loved this movie! It is funny and clever, but also has a great message about persisting in marriage, putting your spouse first, and learning to truly love and serve your spouse. The movie deals with pornography and adultery in a way that doesn't come across as "preachy" but demonstrates in a real way how a marriage can surivive these tough issues. When cutie Kirk Cameron learns about the love of Christ for him, he also learns to show that same love to his wifey, and . . . (I won't give away the ending even though it's obvious :D) Ok, so we recommend the movie to ALL married folks, most def.

Also, we had a lovely Easter together this weekend. I cooked lots of food and it was all delicious, of course :D We went to a great service at First Baptist. The only not-so-good part of the weekend was that Doughboy ate my black silk pillow from my couch on Saturday night. Boo hoo.

Sushi Saturday!

Last Saturday, Troy and I started "Sushi Saturday," our newest DFW culinary adventure. Before we got married we scanned Dallas for the best margarita ("Margarita Saturday"). I'm not quite sure we're done with Margarita Saturday, but we were a little burned out on Tex-Mex, so we're now in search of the best sushi rolls in Dallas! As a disclaimer, we are certainly not sushi experts! We just enjoy sushi rolls now and then! Our reviews may be vastly different from the "experts."

We actually started prior to our wedding at Hibashi http://www.hibashi.com/ near the Galleria. I had the Tahiti Roll, which was super delicious. It had pineapple inside and sweet potato shreds on top (and other yummy stuff too inside and out!). Troy had the 3 piece sushi appetizer to start with a fish entree (it's been too long to remember exactly what it was :D). Overall, when looking at the selection of sushi rolls, they were creative, visually stimulating, and yummy (that's how I judge my sushi rolls :D) On a scale from 1 to 10, we give Hibashi a 7. I liked it more than Troy did, probably because of the Tahiti Roll.

At the official kick-off of Sushi Saturday last week, we went to Tei Tei Robata Bar http://www.teiteirobata.com/ in the Knox-Henderson area. Tei Tei has the typical ambiance of uptown Dallas; modern, cool, a bit pretentious. The bar has a DJ on Saturday nights, so we hung out and got a martini before our table was ready. We ordered several plates of sushi and rolls, but the sushi menu was pretty basic - spicy tuna, soft shelled crab, etc. The quality of the fish is top-grade, though (Troy has the insider info. on that :D). We give Tei Tei a 7 out of 10. Troy liked it more than I did - apparently he has a more sophisticated palate.


This weekend we'll be taking a break from Sushi Saturday for a celebration dinner for a friend who passed his architecture tests (yippie Michael!). And, we'll be celebrating Resurrection Day! I'm so excited for our first family Easter - Troy, me, and Doughboy!

The Journey Begins

We're back from St. Lucia and we've moved my stuff into Troy's apartment, so now we're ready to start acting like a married couple! Already I know that marriage is a beautiful, wonderful gift, but also a most challenging experience. Thank God I've been given Troy to experience it with!

Jesus said in Matthew 7, and it was referenced well in the old sunday school song, that "the wise man builds his house upon the rock." When the rains came down and the floods came up, the house stood firm! So, friends and family, pray with us that we will build our house on the firm foundation of Christ, so when the rains come our house doesn't go "SPLAT!" :D