Ultimate Housewife Week

Where did this past week go?? Oh, I know...

Monday - volunteering & Zumba (first time in a looong time!)

• I did my usual afternoon shift at the Cyrenians, came home, made dinner and then went to Zumba class. My friend, Rachael, teaches it at the local church, which is literally 1 minute from my place, so I have no excuse not to continue going...plus, she's a great teacher and I really need to get my groove back.

Tuesday - day drinking and baking macarons with lovely girls + more drinking and bachelor watching in the evening

• a couple of the girls that weren't on the ski trip this week, decided to get together for a macaron baking day. we made pistachio buttercream macarons from scratch and then tried out the raspberry macaron kit from sainsbury. both were delicious, and what made them even more so were the couple bottles of champagne we drank along with a bottle of wine...day drinking at it's finest. the same girls came over to watch the "women tell all" bachelor episode and we continued on with our drinking and eating. what do you do with all the left over egg yolks from making macarons? make creme brulee, that's what we had for dessert that evening. i really need to stop baking.

Wednesday - all that dancing, drinking, and baking called for a Thai massage...and a bath afterwards =)

• the right side of my upper back has been bothering me for the past 3 weeks, so I decided it was time for a massage. I originally planned for a 30 minute back massage, but because she was doing such a great job, I went ahead and made it an hour. i love deep tissue massages and the Thai lady that was doing mine was surprised that I wasn't complaining because she was tearing me up! it felt so good and was just what I needed to get that knot smoothed out. i think I'll go back in a couple of weeks.

Thursday - first cross stitch completed, double date dinner & a movie

• so, i always thought cross stitching was for old people, but it's quite fun and entertaining, when you're watching tv, that is.  what's so fun about pulling thread through a hole? i'm kidding, it does take skill and concentration, and I was so close to giving up a few times because I kept messing up, but for some reason found myself picking up the darn needle every time i looked at it. this could be a problem. I have a bigger cross stitch pattern a friend gave me so I shall try that next. 

• in celebration of finishing my first cross stitch, we went out to dinner at Las Iguanas with the Perry's and then watched "I Give it A Year," which was a brilliant film. If you're married, you might be able to relate. We even got G-man to stay up for most of it, probably due to Diane laughing out loud next to him...haha. The 3 of us (Phil, Diane, and I) laughed so much that our abs were hurting afterwards. Although we didn't hear a peep out of Gerald, I could tell he was secretly laughing inside.  I may be exaggerating but I haven't seen a film that humorous in a while. It's a different kind of funny, so might not be for everybody. 

Friday - Nia class & lunch w/ the girls

• to celebrate international women's day, a fellow AWA member decided to do a Nia class for the community with donations given to JDRF, a local charity. the class was super fun and easy to follow, and not to mention a good workout. not sure if it was the space heater that was on, or if I was really working hard, but we sure did break a good sweat. as a rewards, a few of us went to lunch at the Beautiful Mountain. you can probably see a trend now, I like to reward myself with food for working out. which is probably not the best thing to do...haha

Saturday - lunch & shopping with G-man; dinner party with Jon & Margaret

• Gerald and I are on a mission to try all of the restaurants we've been wanting to try in Aberdeen before we leave, hence, why we are eating out so much. I really enjoy cooking and would take a home cooked meal over eating out any day, but our days are limited here and being the foodie that we are, we have to give each restaurant a go. So we decided on Cafe 52 for lunch. 

• Another thing we're trying to do, is buy Scottish memorabilia to take home with us. We found this cute highland coo pillow and decided it needed to go back to the States =)

• going back to the cooking thing...after eating out quite a few times this week, I was itching to make something so decided to have a couple of friends over for dinner. I settled on a couple of Pinterest inspired recipes: Southwest Eggrolls and Shrimp Enchiladas with Jalapeno cream sauce. If you like mexican food, I suggest you try these recipes. They're almost as good as the Chili's one, just missing that avocado ranch sauce. 

Sunday - mod podge, washi tape and slow cooker meal

• we woke up to 2 inches of snow on the ground and more falling, so I decided to put on some music and start using the supplies I bought for crafting. mod podge is awesome and so is washi tape =) while I was doing all of this, we were cooking up some pulled pork in the crock pot. I do love meals where you don't have to stand in front of the stove for hours. 

Well, that concludes my "Ultimate Housewife Week." I think I pretty much did all that you could do as a housewife =) I didn't mention it, but I also did some cleaning, laundry, and organizing. I keep saying that I'm getting bored with myself, but I think I really just need to embrace this time and quit feeling so unproductive by not working. I don't know about you, but after reading this past weeks activities, I wouldn't call that being unproductive! So, that's the last you'll hear me say anything negative about being a housewife =) I hope I didn't bore you with my daily activities, and I promise, I won't ever do this type of post again. I think I just needed to remind myself that staying at home has it's perks =) Have a great week and be productive in whatever you choose to do!

Sunday @ Forvie Sands and The Store

It was a pretty decent day in Aberdeen (no rain, and a bit of blue skies), so G-man and I decided to go out for a short walk around Forvie Sands Nature Reserve and then visit a nearby farm shop, The Store. We only planned to walk around for about an hour or so and then go have our afternoon tea. We decided to take the route to visit the nearby estuary, but due to heavy rains, part of the path was closed because of flooding. 

We did the best we could to follow the signs, but unfortunately, it lead us to deep puddles of water (we probably misread it). 

What looked like a pretty solid rock underneath a few inches of water, swallowed my right foot, and the walk was over. I stepped into the puddle as if I was going to use the rock as leverage to get over the puddle, but instead ended up with muddy shoes and a wet sock!  Like I said, we were only planning to walk about an hour, so didn't feel the need to put on our hiking boots. 

We were about 40 minutes into the walk when this happened. After taking the shortcut back to the car park, we actually ended up walking the planned hour, yay! My shoe was disgusting, and what was even more disgusting is that I had to wear it without any socks, since my socks were soaked. I won't elaborate on that! 

On the way to The Store, we passed by the Udny Arms Hotel, which is supposedly the birthplace of Sticky Toffee Pudding! Without even asking me if I wanted STP, Gerald pulled into the parking lot and told me to see if they were open; they were not (mental note, must come back for this) =(  So off to The Store we went to have our afternoon tea. I gave up coffee for lent, but after the day I had, I really wanted some, so I ordered it; plus it was Sunday so technically it doesn't count.  However, when it came, I felt guilty for giving up so easily. So, I asked Gerald if I could trade him for his hot chocolate, and he said aye =) I love that The Store is only about 20 minutes from us and offers fresh food and groceries. We bought some meat and veggies from there for the week and I'm hoping we can make this a regular thing. I love supporting local businesses. Happy Sunday!

Where's my iPhone?

Last Thursday, a few of us girls decided to head out to Clach-never-end, for some fresh air. The last time I did this hike was back in November, when the weather was semi-decent and the fall colors were out all around us.

We opted for the shorter 6 mile hike instead of the 11 miles around the mountain, which I was super thankful for. After hiking 11 miles that last time, Tanvi and I became a bit delirious and missed our path back to the car park which fortunately took us through this beautiful forest and back out to the main road. Luckily, we were only about 300 ft from where we were suppose to be so it wasn't a big deal. 11 miles wasn't hard, it was just LOOOONG! 

Anyhow, this time around, we were surrounded by snowcapped mountains and trekking in snow covered grounds.  I tried my best to keep up with my marathon running, hiking friends but of course, fell behind. I don't think Jill and Debbie ever stopped for breathers, but that's okay because I had Laine by my side on the way up. Thanks Laine =) This was the first hike I've done in a while and it was nice because there was only 4 of us, so we really got to talk and catch up. Even though we see each other at least twice a week, it's usually in a big group, so we can't get as much deep conversations in. Our group of friends have grown so much that when we go out now, we're rolling 15 deep, so you end up only getting to talk to the few people that you're seated next to for the night. That's a great problem to have though when you're in a foreign country. Therefore, days like this are completely necessary to just focus on a few of those wonderful people and get to know them better. I heart these girls!

So, after 3 long miles up and another 3 short miles back down (I was running downhill for some of it to try and catch up with these girls), we were at the car park and ready to head off to Stonehaven for the UK's #1 fish and chips at The Bay Fish & Chips. After dusting off my boots, and putting everything away in my backpack, I noticed my phone was MISSING! I did a double check of my backpack, jacket pockets and trouser pockets and it was no where to be found. Too bad we were out in the middle of nowhere and didn't have cell reception either. I sort of remembered taking off my jacket at one point about a mile back because I was roasting (hot!) and thought maybe it fell out then. So Laine and I backtracked with our heads in the ground searching for my life (j/j), and came back with nothing. This wasn't the first time I've lost my iPhone so I kept calm and went to eat some fish and chips. To drown my sorrows away, I treated myself to ice cream at Aunty Betty's as well =) 

We tried texting the phone a few times and calling it but still no service. So when I got home, I pulled up the Find my iPhone app and it showed that my phone was offline =( Who knows where I could have dropped it? Then, after about 5 minutes, I get a message on my iPad saying that my iPhone has been found and it was moving...someone found it! Btw, this is what Scotland looks like via Satellite.

I immediately called the phone and the sweetest Scottish lady picked up and said her son-in-law found it in the woods just before the car park. He must have picked it up on his way up the mountain and decided to hang on to it instead of coming back to let us know we dropped it. I swear Laine and I looked up and down that wooded path until our eyes were coming out of our heads. They lived out in Banchory, so Gerald and I made arrangements to go to their house to pick it up later that night. The first thing he said to me was..."Take care of your phone!" As if I didn't hear that enough from Mr. Pena. haha. So thankful for him though =)

Lesson of the day: 6 is better than 11; Keep Calm and Your Lost iPhone will be Found! 

I've returned a few lost things in my days so I'm glad someone did the same for me =) Overall, it was a great day! Or as Gerald would like to put it..."It was a Good Day!" After I told him about my little mishap during the hike, he told me he got an unexpected promotion, and that I could buy an iPhone 5...haha. Yeah right, he was going to make me use an old flip phone, can you believe that? I really should take better care of my phone =) Cheers!

Shout Outs to my Talented Friends

This past week, I've been contemplating what to do with all my free time. It's nice being at home and all, but it sure does get boring sometimes. There's only so much pinning, reading, cooking and cleaning you could do. So I started thinking, what do I really enjoy doing that I can pursue to the next level: baking and photography immediately came into mind. But then, I started thinking...I enjoy doing these things only if it doesn't require pleasing anyone but myself or Gerald. With this kind of attitude, I'm really not meant to be a small business owner, so I need to rethink a few things. I'll come back to you when I figure something out.

In the meantime, let me share with you the success of some of our friends who have pursued their passion to the next level. It takes a lot to do this so I am super proud of them and wish them all the best in their new adventure! Support them if you can =)

Cirque - Handmade Nail Polish

Created by one of Gerald's good friends from high school, Annie.  Gerald bought me a bunch of Annie's nail polish for Christmas and I love them. The colors are unique and the quality is great. 

by Jeannie Vianney Jewelry

Designed by a college friend, Jeannie has made magazine headlines all over Texas and was even featured at this year's Academy Awards. I haven't personally seen any of Jeannie's pieces but when I get back to Texas for a visit, you better believe I will check them out.

Emma on Etsy & Pretty with Sprinkles on Etsy

Emmahlyn is a pretty talented woman who is also the mother of 2 beautiful children. She has an eye for  fashion and decor and her style is simple and chic. We have similar taste so I love looking at her Pinterest board. Her items make for cute gifts =)

Be More Pacific Food Truck

Our dear friends Gio, Mark and Krissy took their love for food to the next level with this awesome Filipino food truck. I'm still sad that every time I'm in town, they're out of town, so I have yet to try any of their deliciousness. Lucky for me, we've spent lots of late nights and weekends together cooking and eating that I know what I'm missing out on. If you've never had Filipino food, I suggest you try out their truck the next time you're in Austin, TX. 

Well, that's about all I can think of for now. I know we have many more talented friends out there that have taken their passion to the next level, so when I remember them, I will do another "Shout Out" feature. I love supporting small business owners, especially if they're our friends! So if you can, show them some love, I know they will appreciate it! Hopefully, I'll get to be as cool as them one day=P

P.S. hopefully, I'm not violating any copyrights by using their website pictures, so I apologize in advance if I am, and will remove them immediately if their are any problems.

Stirling Castle

On the way home from Loch Lomond, we took a detour to visit one of Scotland's most important castle, Stirling Castle. Like Edinburgh's castle, this castle sits on top of a hill so you can get pretty good views from all around the castle.

Looking out towards the mountains - Ladies Lookout

Looking out towards the surrounding city

Looking out towards Wallace Monument

After visiting about 15 castles now, we know the drill...get in and out as quickly as you can, while taking as many photos as you can, just kidding. Ever since I started watching Downton Abbey, and other Royal Monarchy documentaries,  I'm actually more interested in visiting these castles and imagining what went on behind the walls. It also helps when you have an audio guide =P So with our audio guides, off we went into each room; Me, trying to listen to everything, while Gerald is rushing me from one room to the next. I think he's pretty much over castles at this point.

Anyhow, we decided to go and grab some lunch in the town of Stirling and with the help of TripAdvisor, we found Cibo y Vino. If you're this serious about your coffee, then it must be good. Too bad I couldn't have any, I gave up coffee for Lent. Almost A little over two weeks in and I'm doing great; I guess it helps when you don't work. I tried this a few years ago when I was working, and it was torture!! Anyhways, the restaurants was located in the beautiful Arcade with rooftop windows to let the sun in. Almost like sitting outside, but not really.

By the time we finished lunch, the sun was out in full force so we decided to drive back up to the Castle for some more pictures. I wasn't kidding about trying to take as many photos as you can....haha

Once we got our dose of sunshine, it was time to hit the road back to Aberdeen. We were about 2 1/2 hours away, but the drive didn't even feel like it with all the beautiful views. We had a great weekend getaway and I look forward to many more this coming year.