M.I.A. ?????

Yes, Yes I know, it has been FOREVER since I posted and boy oh boy have we had a lot going on! To recap.... Josh started a new job. It is going great and since has started a snowball effect of changes.

1. We MOVED! That's right! We Moved! We found a great house in Wichita Falls and when opportunity knocked.... we answered. It is sooooo great! Major stress relief. We are all three very happy! :)

2. We are selling our land and house in Blackflat. It was something we were not 100% sure on but decided we would put it out there and see what kind of bites we got. Well, it never made it "out there," word spread and the next thing we knew without even listing it we had two people extremely interested. !!!! Seriously!!! Never would have thought! So we took it as a sign that it is meant to be and the best choice.

3. Josh took his Professional Engineering Test and we are anxiously awaiting the results. That is a huge load off his back. It is hard to study with an 18 mth old, work, moving, a wife and everyday life. We tried to make it easier on him.

4. I am CRAZY with pictures right now! It is GREAT! Check out the Muddy Road Blog for new pics in a couple of weeks when everyone gets their cards out.

5. I am TRYING to get this house decorated, organized and unpacked.

6. The next big thing that happens starts tomorrow for me and that is.......

NEW YORK CITY!!!!!

That's right folks! My mom, GRANDMA and Aunt Barbara are all going for 5 days!

So excited! Can't believe we are actually going! For those of you who know my Mom and Grandma, Seriously! Can you believe they are GOING!!!

I may not be prepared for this trip but I certainly know NYC isn't ready for us four!

God help the locals that run into us!

hahahahahaha

So that is a quick update on what in the world we have been doing. I will be back to post a TON of stuff from all of our adventures over the past few months after Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I know I am thankful for so much that words can not express.

Love you all-

Brandi

Summer??? Where did it go?

This summer has been CRAZY!

I honestly can say that if it wasn't for some pictures being taken I might not be able to tell you what we did all summer. It has been a BUSY summer that has been filled with a LOT of good stuff.

First, we had the first ever Liardon Family Reunion and it went GREAT! We don't get to see that side of the family very often so it was wonderful to spend time with them.

Second, I got to FINALLY join the Luig Ladies on the Annual Women's Retreat. I'm still lost on how I also got volunteered to PLAN the whole thing but I think it was a success. We laughed and laughed and got to spend time with each other which is the main goal.

Third, Josh started his new job! It is going good and we are adjusting and relishing in having a schedule and the freedom that comes with it. It was a whirlwind of changes but we made it.

Fourth, HOUSES FOR SALE..... SOLD!!! We FINALLY sold our Fort Worth house and talk about a RELIEF! WOW! Not to mention CRAZY.... My parents also sold their Grapevine house and we closed in the same week! What are the odds! We are both so glad to be home owners of just ONE house. :)

and lastly... I'm still on my rampage through the house. I've got some rooms painted, got rid of a LOT of stuff and have rearranged the furniture about 100 times. I am finally starting to see the change and can taste the sweet finish.

I am EXTREMELY ready for fall!!

I am ready to say "goodbye" to summer and all the chaos that came with it. I'm ready for Cade to start back to Mother's Day Out (it's been a long summer without many breaks) and get back into a groove. I'm ready for COOL weather, boots, layering clothes, jeans, sweaters and most importantly NOT sweating as soon as you hit the outdoors. I LOVE Texas and I would never want to live anywhere else but these HOT days could make me stray! I'm a fall, light winter and spring girl all the way!

Someone else can HAVE summer, I'm done with it! :)

Luig Women's Weekend of FUN!

I am very blessed to have been born into a wonderful family and then to marry into another wonderful family! It's AMAZING!

Few pics of Liardon Reunion

Good times, good food and a LOT of laughs. That's our family!!

Mmmmmmm...

The last few weeks I have been really paying attention to dinner time and what I was cooking. Josh's new job is allowing him to actually be home for dinner these days and earlier than 8pm so I am back in my cooking mode. :) I really love to cook. It has it's trying times with a one year old but I still love it. Here is a recipe that I made last night and boy oh boy!!!!! It is good!!!! Different than the "usual" mexican food I make and so fresh tasting!

Pork Carnitas Tacos

Recipe and photo by For the Love of Cooking
Recipe adapted from Noble Pig and Martha Stewart's Everyday Food

2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch pieces

4 garlic cloves, crushed

Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

1/2 cup milk

Corn tortillas, warmed

Fresh cilantro, chopped

Red onion, thinly slice

Guacamole

Sour cream

Cotija cheese, grated

Lime wedges

In a large Dutch oven over high heat, combine pork, garlic, sea salt, pepper, and 8 cups of water. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a medium low and simmer covered for 45 minutes. Drain well. In the same Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add pork, 1/2 cup fresh orange juice and 1/2 cup milk then cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has evaporated and pork has browned, about 8 to 12 minutes. The pork will start browning after liquid has evaporated. Season well with sea salt and pepper, to taste. Serve carnitas in corn tortillas with cilantro, red onion, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, cotija cheese and fresh lime wedges. Enjoy.

This may sound a little overwhelming but while the meat was cooking that 45 minutes I did everything else. Cut all the toppings up and made the guacamole. I served it with black beans and fresh guacamole. It was even great for Cade. He loves black beans and then I made a little cheese taco for him and he dipped that in his sour cream and guacamole.

Guacamole

(basic structure and photo courtesy of For the Love of Cooking.net, changed it up a little)

3 large ripe (soft but not mushy to the touch) avocados

1/4 red onion, diced

6 cherry tomatoes, diced

1 small handful of chopped cilantro

2 clove of garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, diced finely (if you want it spicy)

Sea salt to taste

1-2 limes juiced to taste (forgot to add to the picture)

Josh said this was the best guacamole he might have ever had! It really is good!!! I'm glad because tonight Cade and I are going out of town for the next few days so Josh will have leftovers to eat. :)

Enjoy!!!!

Fresh start and a fresh coat of paint

So I have decided in my very early midlife crisis that I want a totally different design then what I currently have in my house. Well I say that but actually when I was cleaning out a bunch of stuff I came across my house book of stuff that I like when we were building this house and all the pictures are similar to this look. So I have always loved this look just didn't realize how much until now. I want WHITE, WHITE and more White. I want CLEAN! I want LIGHT! I want FRESH! So I have started painting all the walls and trim. It actually is rather easy since I already got rid of most of our stuff in my de-cluttering rampage I had just a few weeks ago. :) Here is some of my inspirations.....

(unfortunately don't know the source of these pics, if they are yours they are WONDERFUL.)

Yearning for New beginnings...

I have never been in a similar place as I am now in my life.

Change doesn't scare me like most people.

I actually yearn for it sometimes.

Currently I am yearning for it but differently than ever before.

Usually I have an idea of where, what or when I want change to happen. Now, I have no idea. You know when you decide to go off to college you know where you are going. When you change jobs you know what you are going to be doing.

Everything in our life has been at a stand still for both Josh and myself.

Until now.

The first change is happening and I know there is more to come.

Josh is changing jobs.

He has decided to consult on his own instead of with the company he has currently been with for almost 6 years now. It is a major change in a lot of ways but in some ways not really a change at all. He will still be doing the exact same thing as before but with a different title and different people.

Josh and I both feel like the last few years have been going by so fast and we got lost in the day and day stuff. When I first met him he was so ambitious and I was instantly attracted.

We went from possibly living in China to living in Holliday, Tx.

I'm not saying that is bad at all, just one extreme from the other. Obviously getting married and having kids changes your goals or at least can redirect them. I think that we both got off our goals all together so that is why we feel like we are questioning our whole life and where we want to go.

We are anxious about this first piece of the new puzzle.

Excited to see what happens next.

I am de-cluttering my house and my head.

Like I said in a previous post, Parenthood changes everything. It definitely has us re-defining our happiness and what we want out of this time we have here on earth. Our ambitions have been re-ignited but in a different way then say when we graduated college. We know what we want but we don't.

I think God is toying with us. :)

We both yearn for change and he is just giving us a little taste with Josh's new job.

He is keeping us on the edge of our seats.

This crossroads has brought us closer together and we have even a stronger relationship than before.

God works wonders.

Maybe this was his goal all along.

We both believe that everything happens for a reason and God won't put more on you than you can handle.