splish, splash..

my husband was taking a bath?!

That's right, poor Mr. Drake is SICK. I mean he really is sick, obviously. What 24 (going on 25) year old man takes baths?! He tells me its very soothing, but really I feel bad for him. He worked his entire thanksgiving break and then comes home from work Saturday night sick as a dog. Knowing that being sick never has perfect timing, this time was no exception. He, being the dedicated pharmacy student he is, has a TON of studying to do to prepare for finals. Poor buddy. Prayers are appreciated!!

Well, aside from the sickly news, hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving! We sure did! Joseph and I  spent out very first married thanksgiving together, and what did I forget?! THE camera! Oh well. Tons of memories were made and if anyone knows my family well (I mean really well) this was our first NORMAL thanksgiving in a while! Whew! Thats good for us. We enjoyed the Bradford's thanksgiving lunch and wonderfulness and then around supper time we stuffed our faces again with the Drake's thanksgiving dinner. Both were delightful and share their own uniqueness. There were a lot of changes for both sides this year. For the Bradford's, first Joseph and I slept together the night before in my parent's house, and our new dog, Mr. Bentley! He's the cutest little rascal dog I've ever ONLY had! He really is adorable and adds a little excitement and joy to the Bradford family. For the Drake's, Miss Audrey Grace is the bright full of joy! We absolutely adore her and she is precious (yes, I am kicking myself for not having any pics). I will be sure to have my camera for Christmas, no worries.

After Thursday, was IRON BOWL! We enjoyed the (tense) game with our closest friends and had a great time. We were also able to see our friends Caleb and Laura. Caleb shot our wedding. Joseph and Caleb have been friends since high school (maybe earlier?) and I have enjoyed becoming friends with them myself! They are expecting their first baby in April and they were able to go on a road trip (I mean road trip! 4 weeks and like 20 states) and we got to talk about their adventures and amazing things they got to see. We have such different lives, but that makes our friendship even better. Maybe one day, Joseph and I will be cool like Caleb and Laura! :)

Joseph and I enjoyed our family time and we cherish every moment. As for the next couple of weeks, study, study, study, for the Drake household, but there is a time for everything, and relaxing and playing isn't it!! I hope to finish decorating the house for Christmas after my final next Monday and hope to post pics. Hope you have a wonderful week!

happy 80th birthday, pawpaw! (x2!)

This past weekend, my family and I got the chance to drive to Texas to take part in a surprise birthday party for my PawPaw and his identical twin brother. They are absolutely precious and they were completely surprised, and very  surprised to see the Alabamians there. It was a very short trip, but a wonderful one nonetheless. We were able to see a lot of family and it was a great time.

 Here are the celebrities:

My PawPaw is on the right and Uncle PawPaw is on the left. 

As cute as ever about 80 years ago...

I love the fact that we have twins in our family. My uncle PawPaw has twin grandchildren, they are so pretty, and identical! Maybe Joseph and I will be blessed with cuteness times 2, not that he particularly wants TWO at the same, but I think it would be great! Here are my cousins with the PawPaws.

Told you they are pretty...

We were also able to see my mom's side of the family, and especially we got to see my Uncle Artie Paul. Uncle Artie, is a special man to our family and by God's grace and His perfect timing, we were able to see him one last time before he went to heaven. We got to see him Friday and he passed away Monday morning. I am sadden by the thought, but so incredibly grateful for a Mighty God who is in control of everything. Uncle Artie, I am so glad you are no longer suffering and you get to see MawMaw. I will always remember you and how you always made us laugh, even last Friday.

Sorry to end this post with sadness, but "there is a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance." God's timing is perfect, praise God we are not in control!

In loving memory, Uncle Artie Paul 

head full of tricks and treats.

Joseph and I had our first "halloween" together as a married couple. Since this was the first time Joseph and I had ever carved a pumpkin (both of our moms are anti-halloween) it was REALLY interesting! Ha, needless to say we really didn't know what we were doing. I personally don't LOVE halloween and all the ghosts, witches, etc, but I do LOOVEE pumpkins. I thought we could at least make a happy face pumpkin. So we decided to carve an "AU" pumpkin. (War Eagle!)
We got out our utensils,  since we are first-timers it was for us our big chef knives...

Went online and got a good pumpkin example of "AU" and traced our desired shape...

 and got to work... or so we thought.

 Joseph taking the first stab. 

I think I did more damage than good.

I didn't realize there were "pumpkin carving kits", which would have been very beneficial. Either way, we had fun trying to figure it all out with our chef knives, and it actually turned out an UTTER MESS!! Proof:

The funniest thing that came about this, was the next morning I looked out side and the middle of our "A" was on the ground! I laughed so hard. It look absolutely terrible so I went ahead and threw it away. Lesson learned, buy a pumpkin carving kit! 

One GOOD thing that came out of this experience (aside from the quality time we spent together) was delicious pumpkin seeds. As a dietitian in the making, I must warn you: calorically DENSE! Of course, I looked up the nutrition facts on pumpkin seeds.. they are FULL of calories, so don't be fooled. According to the USDA's nutrient database 1 cup of seeds is 675 calories, 35 g protein, 57 g fat, and 15 g carbohydrate. It is a rich source of monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats (AKA: GOOD fats). But still, not worth it. Sorry. Not to me.  Sorry about the downer news, now I give you the recipe. I just couldn't leave that info out!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Wash and dry seeds on baking sheet over night. (don't use a paper towel! they will stick!)

Sprinkle olive oil over seeds

Shake on- salt, pepper, steak seasoning blend (tex joy in this house), little bit of sugar and cayenne pepper. 

Sprinkle a little worcestershire sauce. Bake on 250 degrees for 1 hour! Enjoy (in moderation)!