I hate to be a stereotype

But I have totally gained weight from our wedding. The biggest culprit is probably eating out for convienence sake. Well, I have been trying to make myself make and not buy the foods that are probably the worst for me. These would include: sweets, pizza, and bread. My reasoning is two fold - (1) If I have to make it, I won't eat it so often, and (2) If I make it, I can control the calorie content and portion.

So without further ado, I present to you my pizza recipe that is tried, tested, and true.

I make my dough in a bread machine - yes, I am lazy.

Pizza dough
Ingredients
3/4 C lukewarm water
2 C flour (bread or all purpose)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast (2 tsp for regular)

Instructions. Put all of the ingredidents in the bread machine in the order listed. Use the dough setting on your machine. Once finished, knead, by hand for 1 minute. Let rest, covered with a cloth in warm area for 20 minutes. Then form pizza, either by hand or rolling pin. Place in a pan sprayed with oil (I use my Misto with olive oil), and sprinkled with cornmeal. Let the formed dough, rised covered for another 25 minutes.


Pizza Sauce (adapted from Cooking Light)
Ingredients
7 tbs water
2 tbs chopped fresh basil - This is very important!
1 1/2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp dried oregano (or tsp fresh)
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp minced garlic
1 (14.5-ounce) can petite-cut diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste

Instructions. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk.


Pizza Instructions
Spoon sauce onto prepared dough. Make sure to not smother with sauce, as the pizza will become soggy. Place you favorite chopped toppings on top of sauce (bell pepper, onion, and fresh tomato are my favs), and cover with mozzarella cheese (part skim for me). Sprinkle with salt and pepper, if needed. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-25 minutes.

= happy husband

Waffles for my sweetie!

Ok, so my new husband is not a fan of breakfast, which is only my most favorite meal of the day. But there are a few exceptions. He loves my pancakes, frozen Eggo waffles, and bagels with cream cheese. Well, when I happened upon a good recipe on CookingLight.com, I decided that it was high time to put the waffle iron, which I inherited from my dear grams, to use.

The iron, albeit rather old, worked out great and the waffles did not stick - not even the first batch! The recipe listed below is a little fine tuned to suit my taste, since I often like to eat them dry - so some more cinnamon and more sugar was needed. All in all, they were a snap to make and now we have waffles for the rest of the week. I just froze them individually. They have a texture similar to Nutri-gran waffles but with more flavor and heartiness that fill you up. One is just enough for me in the morning.

A baby waffle made from the last of the batter.

Bannana Cinnamon Waffles

Makes 12 waffles

Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed - grind in coffee grinder
3-4 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 large ripe banana, mashed
Cooking spray

Instructions
Spoon flours into dry measuring cups and level with a knife. Combine flours, flaxseed, and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk.

Combine milk, butter, and eggs, stirring with a whisk; add milk mixture to flour mixture, stirring until blended (don't over mix). Fold in mashed banana.

Preheat a waffle iron. Coat iron with canola oil from your Misto (don't use Pam or other bottled stuff - it will gunk up your iron). Spoon about 1/4 cup batter per 4-inch waffle onto hot waffle iron, spreading batter to edges. Cook 3 to 4 minutes or until golden Remove waffles by gently lifting the edges with a fork and then pulling the rest with your fingers. Respray the iron plates and repeat procedure with remaining batter.

Nutritional Information
Per two waffles:
Calories:215 (31% from fat)
Fat:7.4g (sat 3.3g,mono 1.9g,poly 1.4g)
Protein:7.3g
Carbohydrate:31.1g
Fiber:3.4g
Cholesterol:65mg
Iron:1.9mg
Sodium:205mg
Calcium:133mg

Wedding Day Run-through: the final, most fun bits!

Again, sorry for the grammatical errors.

Pretty much all of these pictures are from rock star Jade at Uplift Photography.

8:10 pm: Reception time! A panicked DOC tells us that two couples have no seats. I immediately feel that I must have screwed up the seating. I later learn that our venue only put 8 instead of 10 seats at one table, and another couple just flat out refused to sit where they were assigned. It all worked out in the end, because of a few no-shows. But I was kicking myself around for a good amount of time over it. I, then, exchange my evil heels for my ballroom shoes. Ralph and I dance as husband and wife. We do what is comfy for us and had a great time with each other being silly.


Next is the parent's dance. I immediately hear the song and wonder why the DJ had to pick the longer live version of Fleetwood Mac's Landside. I hate recorded live music played at events. My dad does a great job for a man that hasn't danced in close to 25 years. We have a fun time being silly too. I notice that Esther loves our song choice.

(I love how cute Ralph and Esther look here. The look I am giving my dad is awesome!)

Toasts are wonderful by our siblings. Donna was awesome and gave an unexpectedly non-sarcastic speech. Dave's speech was exactly what I expected. I hoped that everyone got his humor. I certainly did and I loved it.



8:20 pm: Dinner is being served. The seated appetizer was horribly disappointing. I LOVE crab cakes, but this one tasted eh, and the sauce is much too spicy for a broad audience. I eat like 3 tiny bites.

(apparently Adam liked it and even ate the crayfish garnish)

The Hearts of Palm salad eventually comes out, but where are the Hearts of Palm? It is good, but where is the best part? I get some aspirin in me, now that I have food in my belly, and immediately feel better. The main entree takes forever to come out and Ralph and I are ansy to go to each table and visit with our guests. I finally take a bathroom break by demanding that my new sistah Donna come to help me go. I return to find my entree, which is in some serious need of salt. I can't find the salt, as it was hidden behind the flowers, I eat three bites and then go and visit the tables. Our DJ tells us that we are running late due to the very slow dinner service and need to start the music. We hold him off for a bit to go and visit the tables, but we still miss 2 tables. I still feel really bad about this.


Now, I have no idea about time....

• With no headache anymore, I finally drank some Champagne. I think I drank a single glass over the entire night.
• I had a blast on the dancefloor and was so glad that Ralph stayed with me.

• I kept complaining about the heat. It was hot the moment we walked in - what was up with that?
• I noticed people with no shoes and then kindly asked someone to make sure that the flip flops were placed out. They finally appeared and I directed the barefooters there. It was a hit!

(I think this is a Marjie foot)

• The DJ played all the songs we requested and included a few songs that were right up our alley, however, they weren't mixed that well and he cut out alot of the crecendos and best parts of songs. Ralph and I were really sad about this, but understood that he needed to fit all our "must play" songs into a limited amount of time since dinner took too long. It didn't ruin anything for us and we were happy that the dancefloor was always kicking.
  
• We visited with people outside, where it was much cooler. I danced a bit out there too.

• My mom was in the bathroom during the playing of Dancing Queen. I tried to find her, but I didn't look there.
• I kept checking in with my Dad who was very amused at all the fun people were having.
• Cake cutting time. We had no idea what to do! We winged it and then winged it again.

• Garter removal. I had no idea what was coming! I sat out there and for some reason had no idea what the DJ was going to do. Ralph's dance was soooo classic Ralph. I love that he chugged the beer - because he knew what was coming.

• Bouquet Toss. Totally planned. I knew exactly who I was throwing it to. She just moved, but then actually caught it.

• Garter Toss. I see that my brother Dave actually went for it.

• More dancing insues. Ralph stayed on the dancefloor all night.

(Ralph's Grandmother - who rocked it all night. She says that this is the way she is 90-something young)

• We end the night with one slow song (Clapton's Wonderful Tonight) and then go into Journey's Don't Stop Believing. Somehow we become encircled as we dance/sing the silly song. The funny thing is that Journey followed us on our honeymoon and had a concert right next to our resort. We totally tailgated and stayed for half the show. I have a feeling that Don't Stop Believing was saved for the last song too. I was too chilly to wait for it.

• I try to give away as many flowers as possible. I snag a bunch of leftover favors. I try and help with clean up as Ralph yells at me to stop. I give in and we head off to our sassy little Chevy Cobalt. People keep telling me that the limo is waiting for us... he he, that ride was for my parents and family.
• We go back to the hotel room only to find this (thanks to Heather, Emily, and Corey)....

There is no other way to say it: we had a freaking blast!!!! Thank you to everyone. xoxoxo

(my amazing necklace was Ralph's gift to me - it was the most perfect gift ever)



(Our last day in Hawai'i, walking the coastline)

Wedding day run-through continued

Note - I sincerely apologize for my gramatical errors.

Hmmm so where did I leave off....

4:1o-ish pm: Ralph and I are taking pictures. The limo arrives and my brothers come in the lobby only to see me stretched out on the chaise lounge taking bridal portraits. I try and look serene. Ralph and I leave to take pictures in a dirty stairwell, while the limo and my family wait.

4:30-ish pm: I leave in the limo with my family. Shockingly, it is only very lightly sprinkling. Meanwhile, Ralph and my big brother Dave drive together in our sexy getaway car.....



4:35 pm: In the limo, I down our water bottle and eat a melting chocolate energy bar thanks to Janet. I can't believe that I did not get chocolate on my dress. I still have a terrible migrane. Phone calls go back and forth about whether we take pictures at the dock behind our venue or not.



4:45 pm: We arrive at the dock behind our venue to take more pics only 15 minuutes late. I get out and the rain and crazy wind make me change my mind. I get back in the limo and we are driven to the venue entrance. We arrive to see our new ceremony space. I think it looks just fine given our situation. I later learn that Ralph was so terribly disappointed with it. There is lots of talk about still trying to move it outside between me, Ralph, Esther, our DOC, and staff at the venue. I put all the desicions on Ralph's head, since my brain left like it was going to explode.

5:00 pm: We take family portraits. I can't believe that Ralph and I forgot to make a list of pictures we wanted. Our photographer does really well considering our oversight. All our family was on time and fully coorporates - I have a great time seeing everyone looking so cute and happy. I think my eyes stayed open during the picture-taking.

5:30-ish pm: Ralph and I try and take some outdoor portraits. We run into a zillion people coming to another wedding right across the way from us. They are surprised to see a bride that they don't recognize. It is still drizzling so we take some pics under covered areas, except when Ralph wasn't looking I posed for one in some great foliage getting slightly wet in the process. As we begin our return to the VIP room, we run into some of our early arriving guests. They are pretty surprised to see us.

5:45-6:15 pm: I hang out in the VIP room; I am standing not sitting, as the families come and in out. Head is absolutely killing me. My mom is trying to make thank you cards and divvy up tips. I sip on some Sprite and Coke. Why is there no water around????? Bass music is pulsating through the room, and I ask Ralph to take care of it. He does and gets them to also tone down the steel drums from the wedding I ran into (I had no idea). I cannot belive that all 3 events are going on at the same time in the same location, as they promised that it would never happen, but tell myself to save the angry for later. I do exactly that.

6:30 pm: Showtime! I walk in, or more like stumble. My footing was really off especially with both my parents by my sides. Our officiant signals for us to slow down, since the aisle is ridiculously short in our new space. My feet are KILLING me for standing up in the VIP room for so long. What was I thinking? I manage to cry gracefully (I think) , but facing our friends and family and not completely bawling out of such happiness was really hard. As we say our vows, I remember to bend my knees so I don't faint or anything. I try hard to listen to what our officiant says. But I am so distracted by Ralph and being ridiclously happy to remember it all. I snatch my ring by accident - whoops. I put Ralph's ring on him exactly how I was instructed NOT to do. We have no problem kissing each other, which was a problem at the rehearsal. Then we disappear to the VIP room.

7:00 pm: Picture time in the park. But first we go down another dirty staircase. It is still too windy for the dock. We take pictures on some bridges and by some waterfalls. A server offers us some appetizers, and I force one down, but I still feel ill. We walk into the mulch to take some shots under a huge Banyon tree (Ralph can't believe I can do this in heels and in a wedding dress). We go to our original ceremony site and cocktail site for some pics.

7:49 pm: My veil taken is off and we return just to catch the end of the cocktail hour. We are greeted by a claps and cheers. I couldn't be more happy. Flavia gets Ralph a beer and gets me some water (begrudgingly, I might add). I eat another appetizer or two, but I just feel too ill to eat. I hope the water kicks in to help my headache.

Okay, all the rest in one more post.

Venue Reviews - Day 2

Another early morning adventure... We started off by going to Jungle Island. It is located very close to Downtown Miami and South Beach.



It is very convenient to get to. I was really concerned that it would be too theme park-like. But when we entered the building it was nothing like Disney World or any of those Orlando theme park attractions. I guess it has something to so with it being so new. The coordinator in charge of us, showed us around for the potential outside spots. It was lovely and so much better than any of us expected. And pricewise - this place was within reach.


Then, we headed to the beach to the Miami Beach Botanical Garden. I feel bad about this place, because I couldn't help but compare it to Fairchild. That is a very unfair comparison. It is a lovely garden, but it is tiny. The room and the outside area that we would have for our reception was right next to the highway.



That pretty much killed it for me. In hindsight, I shouldn't have even considered this place, because there is also no parking for guests. That is something I just don't want to deal with.

So, we headed to the Van Dyke Cafe on Lincoln Road for some great food and terrible service (see that it what happens when they automatically include an 18% tip).

As I sat there enjoying my company and the Florida weather, decided to cancel the rest of my appointments for the day. I made my decision that it was going to be between two of the venues.

Venue Reviews

I promised to talk about all the venues I perused in March. I had a 2 day whirlwind adventure with my mom, and Ralph's moms. This is what we did on Day #1:

(1) We first visited Cauley Square in Cutler Ridge. It was a bit of a hike to get there from the airport area. There isn't too much by there either. Hotels in the area are even a bit sketchy. But still, the tropical garden was too beautiful to pass up a visit.

However, it is a bit cramped in person. But what really turned off of this otherwise lovely location, was their bathrooms. They were tiny and really rustic. Now I am not a prissy girl, you should see some of the places or lack thereof I have "gone". But for my wedding, I am not offering my guests in their fancy garb a lavatory like that. Yeah, that bad.

(2) Next we saw the lovely Deering Estate. Honestly, I love this place. However, they were terribly strict about that number of guests we could have that would work with our budget. It is too bad, because it is really pretty:


(3) Right by there is a place called Palmetto Bay Village Center. It is the old headquarters for Burger King, that has now been renovated as office space. The place is huge and had some lovely options for us.

Potential cocktail area

Potential Reception site

However, we agreed that it is a tad too modern for us and not warm enough for our personalities.

(4) Then we raced from South Miami to North Miami to the gorgeous Spanish Monastery. These pictures don't do it justice.

Potential ceremony site

Potential reception area

The bad thing was that no Saturdays were available for March. That didn't thrill me, plus it was a bit more than I wanted to spend. But it is very lovely and therefore an option.

Whew! That was a long day. But that didn't stop me from dragging my mom to Laurenzo's, an amazing Italian Market, and then Krispy Kreme (my #1 guilty pleasure).

Next up... Day #2