Anna Maria, FL

After PAO was finished, JJ and I took a few days to unwind at the beach and absorb everything we had just learned. His aunt and uncle have a beautiful beach house on Anna Maria Island, about an hour south of Tampa on the Gulf coast. I love vacations where you can park the car and walk the rest of the trip.

We got there and walked straight to the beach to watch the sunset. Next, we walked across the island to have dinner at City Pier, which is at the end of an old fishing pier about 75 yards out over the bay. Nothing beats eating grouper that was caught that day in the water you are sitting over. Ice cream at Two Scoops was the perfect ending to the night.

The next morning, we got up and walked to breakfast at Ginny and Jane E's, a cute little boutique/cafe down the road. We spent most of the day at the beach then walked along the water to dinner at the Sandbar. We got our cocktails to go, and walked back down the beach to our chairs to enjoy the sunset. Life is good.

Our last day there, we borrowed bikes and went for a ride around the island and ended up at the Rod and Reel for lunch. Another restaurant at the end of a fishing pier. We watched the fishermen bringing in and cleaning their catches. We also watched about a dozen dolphins swimming around the pier. It was a beautiful day and so fun to explore the island.

We are blessed to have such generous family who would be willing to share their piece of paradise with us for a few days. Can't wait to go back :)

Family Game Night

I love a good game night. Board games, card games, Wii games and now...Xbox Kinect games!

Disclaimer: I am not a huge fan of video games. Well, just not the ones that require you to use a tiny little hand held controller and press different arrows and letters to somehow make your person/car maneuver through awful maze-like conditions. I guess I just don't have good thumb-eye coordination.

Kinect is a totally different story. If you can move, you can play.

Tonight JJ and I cooked dinner for our families and introduced them to our new toy. (Side note for anyone interested: We made tomato basil soup and a grilled romaine chicken ceasar salad with oven roasted tomatoes...mmm mmm good! We even made our own croutons! Let me know if you want the recipes!!).

Carolyn, JJ and I took turns showing off our dancing skills. Personally, I tend to excel at all of the Latin-influenced dance moves, go figure. JJ owned the Lady Gaga songs, and Carolyn pretty much jumped right in and could do everything. The best part of each song is it gives you about 20 seconds to "freestyle" and takes pictures of you dancing then plays it back for everyone to see. Some of the most unattractive pictures I have even taken.

Next, we got the whole family involved in the sports games. First there was boxing, where Carolyn TKO'd JJ in the 2nd round. Next, I lost to my mom in beach volleyball. I guess all those years of club and Xavier volleyball didn't pay off. I demand a refund! Well, technically my parents do...

Then we moved on to track...I challenged JJ in the pentathlon. I smoked him in the 100 meter sprint, the long jump and the hurdles. The other 2 events, discus and javelin, should have been so easy for me. Not to brag, but at one time (millions of years ago) I was nationally ranked in both. Piece of cake right? Wrong. Apparently the real life technique and skills do NOT translate to the Kinect version. But no need to fear! My dad was sitting on the sideline (the couch) coaching me. Just like he did for 9 years of my life in real track. And what was my response? The same as it was all those 9 years...eye rolling and complaining, "Daaaaaaad, leave me alone! I know what I'm doing!"

Ahhhh the memories.

We finished the night off with a little bowling. After we had all taken turns and everyone was getting a little tired, I decided to let Barney take my turn. I held him up on his back two legs, drew the ball back with his right paw, and...bowled a strike!!! Just so we are clear, not once on my own attempts was I able to bowl a strike but Barney got one on his first try. He is thinking about joining a league.

Next time you are in Phoenix, you are cordially invited to a dance off against JJ and I then Barney will take you down in bowling.

Thankful!

What a wonderful Thanksgiving week it was at the Jansen house this year! We were blessed with visits from JJ's Aunt and Uncle from Atlanta the weekend before and his parents the week leading up to Thanksgiving. Always nice to see family around the holidays! Their visits overlapped just long enough for everyone to be able to go to the game on Sunday.

While JJ's parents were here we went to Mimosa Grill in uptown. JJ met the executive chef a while ago and he had been encouraging us to come down and visit him at the restaurant. Oh. My. Goodness. The food was amazing! From the appetizers all the way to dessert, it was delicious. So many good flavors and very reasonably priced for what you get. If anyone in Charlotte has a date night coming up I would HIGHLY recommend trying it out. You won't be disappointed.

Thanksgiving morning Allison (who was nice enough to come down from Winston-Salem with Annie, Barney's favorite bulldog friend) and I did the 5 mile Turkey Trot. It was cold and a little rainy, but we both really enjoyed it. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and cooking while JJ was at practice. I have to admit, I cheated this year and bought the Turkey from Fresh Market already cooked. All I had to do was re-heat it. And we split up the sides between all our guests, so it was a wonderful stress-free day for everyone.

Side note, I was able to witness Allison's successful attempt at making vegetarian gravy. And I have to admit it tasted pretty darn good. Not that I am switching over to the dark side any time soon. Nope, can't do without Big Daddy's Burger Bar. Not only did Al standout with her meatless plate of food, she stood out as the only USC alumn in a room full of Notre Dame kids (minus me, but I still kind of count because I married into the cult). Needless to say, some bets were wagered on the upcoming game...ND picked a good year to beat SC! JJ will be cashing in his free fro-yo next time Allison is in town.

After dinner, we finished the night off by playing a few rounds of The Game of Things. My favorite game ever. If you like Apples to Apples, you will love this game. Pretty much any time we have a large group of people over we end up playing this game, it never fails in providing lots of entertainment and humor. What a good night!

So in summary...Thanksgiving=Good food, good friends and lots of fun

Vacation! Part 1, San Francisco

JJ's birthday was at the end of January so we combined that celebration with an early Valentine's Day celebration and headed to San Francisco and Napa Valley Feb 4-9. Seriously one of the best vacations ever! And only like the 3rd or 4th time JJ and I have flown together! We are usually flying out to visit each other or I am trying to keep up with all his football travels.

JJ's actually birthday- I made Texas Sheet Cake!

Again, thanks to Trip Advisor and Emily (who lives in the Bay Area) We had an amazing trip planned out and I just have to share all of the activities!

We got in Thursday morning and spent the day wandering around Fisherman's Wharf (right near our hotel). It is totally touristy, but it was nice to walk around near the water and see the sea lions too! Obviously, we had to have clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl at Boudin, the go-to for sourdough bread in San Fran. JJ did point out something that I had never really thought about...why is New England clam chowder one of the things that San Francisco is known for? My only thought is because they are known for sourdough bread there, and what goes better with sourdough bread than clam chowder? If anyone knows the real answer I would love to hear it!

Next we wandered up to Ghiradelli Square and sampled and purchase some delicious chocolate to bring home to my parents. We also walked right by the most adorable tea place Crown and Crumpet. Yes, it was quite possibly the girliest place in SF all decorated in pink and flowers, but JJ being the good husband he is joined me for afternoon tea. Really good tea, and fabulous scones. Life doesn't get much better than that.

After a brief nap back at the hotel we headed out to Pier 33 for our bout ride and night tour ofAlcatraz. Of course, it was pouring rain and we had prepaid for our tickets, but other than that I was really excited to go! I thought the tour as really interesting, glad we had the audio guides otherwise it would have been really boring. Because of the rain and the fact that we had to walk back to our hotel, we just ducked in to a random restaurant near our hotel for dinner, it was nothing special so i won't even bother linking it.

View of Alcatraz from the boat

Friday we got up early to try to find a battery for my camera, luckily there were about 6 different camera stores at Fisherman's Wharf. We then "hopped on" our tour for the day, Mr. Toad's Tours (and yes, I did chose it because of the name, but it had awesome reviews too!). We rode around in a funky 1930's open air bus. The weather was gorgeous and this tour was a perfect way to see the city. We drove around for 4 hours through downtown, Chinatown (if you go, try the House of Dim Sum near the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory for killer shrimp dim sum and awesome egg rolls!), Golden Gate park, Nobb Hill, Presidio, Pacific Heights and much more. The guide was very fun and knowledgeable so if you go, ask for John Francisco, no joke.

Mr. Toad's tour bus

Golden Gate Bridge

Postcard row, perfect!

That afternoon we met up with Emily and a few of her friends from law school. She took us on an amazing culinary tour of SF! We started out in Union Square and enjoyed some cream puffs at Beard Papa's in the mall. If you go, vanilla was my favorite, but we also tried chocolate and caramel. Next we went for some fried rice at Katana-ya. Seriously far better than any other fried rice I've ever had. It wasn't greasy at all! Next we went deep into the heart of Chinatown to the Vital Tea Leaf and sampled about 20 different Chinese teas. The hostess who was serving us did a really good job of telling us about the teas and all of the health benefits of each one. Very interesting!

Even after all of our snacking, we were ready for dinner at Incanto. A restaurant that features a Food Network chef and boasts about using the whole animal in their cooking. This was pretty adventurous for both JJ and I, but we really loved everything we tried! (I did have to pass on the duck brain though...I just couldn't do it)

Happy to explore one of the most beautiful cities in the country and so happy to visit Emily in her new surroundings! Next, we were off to Napa!!

In All Things Give Thanks

There was an interesting editorial in the New York Times today. It was a Thanksgiving toast about being thankful for the unpredictability in our lives, appreciating the fact that we cannot plan out every detail.

For all the control freaks out there, that is a tough pill to swallow. We often think that we know best, and our way is the only way. But I have found that some of the best moments in my life are things that couldn't have gone better than if I had orchestrated every last detail. Sometimes we just have to trust in the process and trust that there is someone else who knows better. Who knows all things and all people. Who loves us and wants what is best for us.

I feel that this especially true for us with JJ's job. We often feel like the uncertainty is unbearable, but it is the uncertainty that makes our lives so exciting. We have lived in places that we would have never even visited otherwise (i mean really, who would have thought we would end up in the Frozen Tundra for 6 months??). Been able to explore different parts of the country and learn new cultures (yes, even though it is part of the US, the South has its own culture). Meet new friends and keep in touch with old friends (because it seems that everyone ends up on the east coast).

Thanksgiving can be seen as a benchmark in our lives. We can see where we've come from, where we are and where we're going just by looking around the table at Thanksgiving dinner. I know this first hand by just looking back at my recent Thanksgiving dinners.

This year we are in Charlotte, NC far away from family and close friends celebrating our first Thanksgiving as newlyweds with new friends. Last year, we were in Green Bay, WI celebrating our engagement with good friends that felt more like family. The years before that we celebrated apart, me in Phoenix, AZ with family and lifelong friends and JJ wherever the football season took him, usually South Bend, IN.

We have come a long way and ended up in a place that we never could have predicted. And as scary and stressful as the changes were at times, I wouldn't change anything. We are happy, healthy, and loved. We have wonderful families, faithful friends, and the best puppy in the world. Who could ask for more?

I just wonder what state we will celebrate in next year...

Home Sweet Home

I have been lucky enough to take advantage of many of JJ's awesome away game locations this season. This trip to Phoenix was the third away game I have been able to attend, and I took full advantage of the opportunity. I got to Phoenix on Wednesday to spend time with the fam.

When my parents picked me up from the airport I learned that Carolyn had the flu and unfortunately would not be joining us until she got better. Actually, my dad banned her from the house. It sounds a little harsh, but with my mom's upcoming surgery no one wanted to take any chances. So she had to miss out on our Wednesday night cooking class at Sur la Table.

Thursday I went for a 6 mile run along the canal, escorted my my father on a bike. Not only did he carry my water, he was full of monologues (stories) to keep me entertained and helpful tips on running...gee thanks Dad! We also hiked North Mountain that day. One of my favorite Phoenix activities. We also had a wine and cheese evening at JJ's parents house.

Friday we had a dinner party at JJ's parents house with JJ, because the team came in day early to adjust to the time change. We got to see one of JJ's best friends, Mike, and Carolyn because she was feeling better. Saturday was full of shopping with my mom and then another family dinner with the Jansens and the Blisses. Lots of family time.

The best part of the weekend was game day and an awesome win over the Cardinals. What an impressive stadium too. I had never seen it and although I mentioned previously how impressive Cowboys Stadium was, I think University of Phoenix is a little better. Don't tell Jerry I said so.

This post is a little late, but better late than never!

Taste of the Panthers

Last night we were lucky enough to be part of the Taste of the Panthers event benefiting the Second Harvest Food Bank. There were about 15 different restaurants who brought their signature dishes for everyone to sample along with wine to pair with the dish. All the food was amazing, and the wine was plentiful.

There were current and former Panthers players at each booth to mix and mingle with the guests, sign autographs and take pictures. I still get a kick out of people wanting JJ's autograph so I spent the evening taking pictures of him with the fans. I think I was creeping out the chef at JJ's booth with my obsessive picture taking until JJ introduced me as his wife. No sir, I swear I'm not just a deranged fan obsessed with the long snapper.

They also had a silent auction which was way more fun than I thought it would be. We ended up winning two golf packages and a yoga package for super cheap. The first thing JJ said after I told him we won..."Awesome, we can write this off as a charitable contribution!" Ah, still an accountant at heart.

Funny story, before all of the guys were assigned to their booth they were walking around and talking to each other and the VIP guests who paid extra to get there early. All the guests brought footballs and jerseys to get signed and take pictures. The players weren't wearing anything special to let people know who they were, but for the most part you could tell. Most people figured out JJ was a player, but there was one woman who I saw multiple time throughout the night who just couldn't decide. Instead of just coming up and asking, she would study him from afar and flip through the program trying to figure it out. Then she would disappear for a bit and return only to continue the awkward game of "who's who". You could tell she was trying hard not to miss a single player, but I just had to laugh.

Anyway, here are a few pictures of JJ and his fans from the evening!

Other highlights were meeting people in the organization that I hear about all the time. It's nice to put a face to the names I hear JJ talking about. I also got to meet the new team president, who was the athletic director at TCU while I was there. So glad we got to be part of this, and can't wait to do it again next year!

Southern Living

I bought my first issue of Southern Living on Saturday night. I saw it while standing in the checkout line at the grocery store (yes, I spent Saturday night at the grocery store). I figured it would be another great way to embrace my surroundings and pick up some fun new ideas about living in the South.

One full page ad caught my attention: The Biltmore, America's Largest Home. I had heard about the estate from my mom and sister, who are architecture/interior design experts and was already planning on going closer to Christmas when they came to visit. But, apparently I am a sucker for good advertising and got online right away. I was blown away by the pictures on the website and all of the information about visiting in the fall to see the leaves change color. It made me want to visit immediately.

Well, that was Saturday night at 11pm and by Sunday evening after the game, I had convinced JJ to take advantage of their "Victory Monday" (thank you God for a victory finally!) schedule and take me to Asheville which is about 2 hours from Charlotte, up in the mountains. They always have Tuesdays off, but the low-stress schedule for Monday allowed us to leave early.

So we hit the road, with little to planning. I mean, we didn't even have a hotel booked. This is a big deal for us (mainly me), we (again, me) are definitely not the most spontaneous. I am the type that researches vacations months in advance. I want to maximize our time in new places because in my mind, we may never again get to come back! I think of it as being efficient and economical, JJ thinks of it as me being a bit of a control freak. Maybe its a little of both?

Anyway, we got to Asheville despite a consistent downpour and enjoyed the beautiful fall colors and mountain scenery on the drive. The mountains here are very different from the mountains I am used to in Colorado, but beautiful regardless. We easily found a hotel for the night and then headed downtown to explore.

I love mountain towns and the laid back, hippie-ish attitude of the locals. We wandered around downtown, enjoying the typical boutique stores you would expect and found an amazing tapas and wine bar called Zambra. It featured lots of local ingredients, really great Spanish wine and a fantastic atmosphere due to the interior design. We had local trout, seared NC scallops, a Spanish cheese plate, smoked lamb tacos, and a Spanish sausage chimi. Yummm!

Next, at the suggestion of our waitress, we wandered over to the French Broad Chocolate Lounge, and yes, it was as good as it sounds. Their signature item is a liquid truffle and it was as rich as some of JJ's teammates. We got the Buddha, which is a bittersweet chocolate and coconut milk mixture and also got a lavender chocolate truffle.

Tomorrow we are spending the day at the Biltmore, enjoying a tour of the house, gardens, winery and farm. I am charging the camera in anticipation of BEAUTIFUL pictures to share.

Brats, Beers and Cheese Heads

JJ and I took advantage of his 3 days off for the bye week and headed up north. After a minor delay we flew to Chicago and then drove up to Green Bay, getting in around midnight. The Crosby's were nice enough to open up their house for a "big kid sleepover". We knew that Mason had practice early the next morning so we planned on heading straight to bed after giving their black lab a little love. We were quite surprised when a golden little fuzz ball appeared at the top of the stairs to greet us! Little did we know Mason bought Molly a golden retriever puppy two days before we got there. What a great way to start our vacation!

The next morning was rainy and cold so we all (minus Mason) slept in a bit and relaxed in the living room letting the puppy run all over us. She was full of energy and their black lab was just starting to get used to playing with this new toy. It was so cute to watch. Molly made us breakfast and we got caught up on everything that has been going on since we last talked.

After a relaxing morning, Molly and I left JJ behind to puppy-sit and met up With Emily Nelson for lunch at one of my favorite Green Bay lunch places. Last year we lived in historic downtown De Pere and every time we had guests in town, I would walk them down to this adorable bakery/cafe for lunch. What a treat to be "ladies who lunch" with such great friends. It was especially fun to see Emily because I got to see her little baby bump! She is still so tiny and the bump is just adorable.

After lunch we spent time hanging out with the puppies at their house and watch JJ and Mason catch up on making fun of each other. Its almost like watching a sit-com the way they go back and forth. We got ready for the one thing JJ had been looking forward to the most on this trip, dinner at Koko's. Now, JJ and I have both blessed enough to travel quite a bit and enjoy fine dining all over, but we have never had better sushi than Koko's in Green Bay, WI. Who would have thought sushi in Wisconsin?! Maybe its the atmosphere, the fun drink list, the great conversations we shared over numerous dinners there (often multiple times in a week) or maybe the sushi is just that good. Whatever it is, we haven't found better sushi. Needless to say, we were both very excited.

Sushi was followed by another Green Bay tradition, game night! The Nelson's joined up with us back at the house for an evening of Imagine If. The game poses questions like "Imagine if JJ was a tv channel, which one would he be? A. The Food Network, B. Animal Planet, C. ESPN, D. BET E. Comedy Central. Obviously the correct answer was D. BET. The point of the game is to pick the same answer as the majority of the players to get points. It was very funny and very entertaining, especially after all of the beverages off of the fun drink list at Koko's.

We were sad to leave the next morning, but we had to hit the road to get to South Bend in time for the Notre Dame game. Can't wait to see the Crosbys and the Nelsons again soon!

Southern Exposure

Even though I have technically lived in the southern half of the U.S. for my entire life (minus 6 months in the frozen tundra of Wisconsin), I have never experienced true southern living. Arizona has more Southern California influences than I care to admit, and well, Texas is it's own country.

On my trip to Atlanta last weekend I was introduced to 2 uniquely southern culinary delights: grits and boiled peanuts. Grits I had heard of before and kind of new what to expect, but Boiled peanuts?? Really? What's wrong with roasted peanuts?

We went to visit JJ's cousin, Courtney, at her new townhouse and as we were walking up to her front door we were greeted by her neighbor. Well to be more specific, it was her neighbor's kind-of boyfriend. Kind-of boyfriend? I had to ask. Apparently he is her boyfriend depending on how much he has had to drink...too much information, sir. Other than this little bit of over-sharing, he was your typical 30 year old former frat boy, sweet Georgia drawl and all. He was hanging out in the garage boiling peanuts for his college game day party going on upstairs. He invited us over and started explaining the intricacies of peanut boiling. He also explained that he did this for a living...I'm still not sure if he meant he boiled peanuts or educated people about boiling peanuts. He was 2 beers past the point of having that intelligent conversation. He was, however, thrilled to be able to introduce me, a non-native Southerner, to this great tradition. Now for the peanuts...they tasted more like bland potatoes than anything else. A bit of a let down after the build up from Mr. Fratty Peanut. Regardless, I enjoyed the snippet of Southern education.

I'm sure there will be plenty more distinctly Southern things to discover, but for now, that is all.