Donovon

Day 120 / Donovon’s Roast Chicken

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…Okay it’s actually Julia Child’s Roast Chicken recipe made with love by Donovon.

Donovon and I were talking yesterday about what to have for Sunday dinner when he mentioned wanting to cook a chicken dish. We threw out a couple of ideas and then I said, “Why don’t you just roast a chicken?” I was secretly hoping that he would do Julia Child’s roast chicken recipe, but I didn’t expect he would. It takes three hours to prepare, basting every ten minutes. It’s a chore, but luckily for me, it’s a labor of love for Donovon.

Let me tell you, if you’ve not been fortunate enough to have Juila Child’s roast chicken, you simply have no clue what you’re missing. And if you have, well, you know nothing can compare. It. Is. Amazing. And when Donovon prepares it for me, I can taste the love.

Donvon put some serious heart into his roast chicken tonight, and I couldn’t be more grateful.

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Day 116 / Mid-week Date Night with My Hubby

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Donovon and I decided kinda last minute to go see a movie tonight. I had finished reading Gone Girl and wanted to see the movie before it left the theaters. And luckily, I convinced (and paid) Alexa to keep her little sister.

Ironically, the film centered around a bad marriage. We left the theater grateful that we have a good marriage. 🙂 True, we have our ups and downs, but we still very much enjoy each other’s company, and our love and friendship is unconditional. I’m so thankful for my marriage and for a random date night with my hubby.

Day 98 / Vacation Adventures with My Hubby

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Today was quite an adventure for us here in the St. Pete/Tampa, Florida area.

Donovon and I first drove to Passe-A-Grille beach in St. Petersburg for a day on the beach. The beach was gorgeous, but we didn’t have beach towels with us upon arriving, so once we parked (and already paid), we had to find a store that sold beach towels thinking such stores must be all along the beach…only to find the nearest one was 2 miles away. What we should have done was just driven there losing our already paid for parking spot, yet instead, we left the car and took a trolley – which ended up costing us the same amount of our parking spot. Yes, we weren’t thinking this through. At all.

Once we got all our beach necessities from the nearest surf shop, we decided to just walk back along the beach to where we parked. So, two miles and 45 minutes later, we finally made it back to where we started and finally got to relax on the beach. Adventure #1, check.

On to Adventure #2. Donovon looked up some nightclub spots when I mentioned wanted to experience some local nightlife. He came across The Castle, an alternative dance club in Ybor. After Adventure #1, I was already drained, so I was a little apprehensive about embarking on another adventure, but Donovon said I was being “old” and needed to live a little. Well, I couldn’t argue, so off we went.

I have to say, I’m really glad we went. Ybor is an area of Tampa that reminded us of 6th Street in Austin about 20 years ago. They celebrate Halloween for a month, so the streets were filled with people in very elaborate and creative costumes. It was quite a people-watching fest. And The Castle was an extension of that times ten. Add to that a really awesome DJ spinning an industrial mix with many of our 90s faves and Donovon and I danced like we were in our 20s again. Adventure #2, check.

We got back to the hotel after 1 AM, and I couldn’t help but feel grateful for the day’s adventures with My Hubby.

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Day 96 / Mini-Vacay with The Hubby

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I was scheduled to be in St. Pete for meetings this week and asked my hubby to tag along and he said, “Sure”, so we’re here in St. Petersburg, FL for 6 days.

Tonight, we are dining at local pub and watching Thursday Night Football. The food and drinks are freaking awesome and we are having a good and relaxing time.

I’m so grateful for another little getaway with Donovon, even if I have work for part of it.

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Day 86 / Home Sweet Home

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Donovon and I bought our first and only house in 2001. I was 28 and Donovon, 31, when we excitedly plunged into home ownership.

We began our journey by looking at several houses in north Austin. None of them spoke to us. Our realtor didn’t really understand what we were looking for (he was terrible), so I took to the internet and picked a few houses in the area we wanted and asked our realtor to show them to us (yes, I basically did the lazy guy’s work for him).

I remember clearly walking into this house and immediately knowing it was the one. In fact, both Donovon and I knew it instantly. It definitely needed updating, but the huge backyard sold us. We really wanted a huge yard with big trees. The house was ours within a few weeks.

We’ve slowly made renovations over the years, and there is still work to be done as with any house, I suppose. But after 13 years, there’s a lot of history and memories here. I may long for a new kitchen and a bigger closet, but there’s a lot of love in this house. And that’s what I’m thankful for – our Home Sweet Home.

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Day 84 / Family Reunion

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I learned the importance of family very early in life and more so later on – Our time with our family might be very limited, so every precious moment together counts. My family is a gift – my parents, my grandparents, my siblings, my husband, my in-laws, my aunts, uncles, cousins, my nieces and nephews, and my children. I have family spread throughout this county and this world and I thank God for all of them. Every. Day.

We spent the weekend in Hot Springs, Arkansas for Donovon’s family reunion. It had been almost 20 years since Donovon and I went to the last reunion for the “May” side of the family. It was a weekend of catching up, sharing memories, lots of laughter and love. The venue was Knollwood Cabins on Hamilton Lake where the descendants of the May family occupied almost every cabin.

Today, the children splashed around in the lake while adults talked lakeside and looked through old photos. It was picturesque. It was a great time. It was family.

I’m thankful for being a part of the 2014 May Family Reunion, and for sharing memories as well as creating new ones.

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Day 37 / Watching the Emmys with Donovon

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Donovon and I watched the Emmys tonight and it was just so much fun.  It kind of sounds silly, but we enjoy the same shows and actors and we love good comedy, so it makes sense that we both find the Emmys entertaining.  There were a lot of laughs this year.  And although it may sound like an evening made for old couples, I’m grateful for such a good time with my husband, just us two in our living room, drinking and laughing like two teenagers watching Beevis and Butthead.