Sushi, Shiraz, & S'mores

As I posted yesterday, four years ago we got engaged. We don't "celebrate" these anniversaries expect for acknowledging them. However, last night with the temperatures well over 100 degrees, I had no desire to even microwave anything let alone cook an entire dinner.

So we decided sushi was perfect! So I picked up sushi from Masamoto on the way home, and Hubs picked up s'mores. 

We enjoyed a nice dinner of sushi with glasses of Shiraz than s'mores (microwaved) for dessert! It was perfect! 

Hubs evenly kindly teased reminded me what was going on four years ago at each time:

7:00: still crying over your camera 

8:00: still crying, calling your mom

9:00: finally calmed you down 

10:00: finally able to propose 

I think the only the 10 o'clock time matters and is what we should remember!

Four Years Ago

"When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."  ~Nora Ephron, When Harry Met Sally

Four years ago, as I sat on a plane with Charlie & four of our close friends I had visions of sun, sand, and crystal clear water. The thought of a sparkling ring was never in my wildest dreams. On July 15th 2009 on the beach of Cabo San Lucas at sunset, Charlie got down on one knee and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. 

Thanks to my broken "waterproof" camera this was my proposal at sunset ten o'clock

While his vision of the day was completely messed up thanks to me and my broken camera, the end result was the same.... the rest of our lives as one was beginning. 

Sundays I get to play "wife"

I say I get to play "wife" because only on Sundays is there time to become that "television series wife" that you thought you would be! On Sunday, I get to wake up, cook breakfast, and make coffee. The best part for me is it's the only day of the week that Charlie and I get to sit down at the table and eat/drink breakfast TOGETHER. Charlie would probably say his favorite part is that it's the only day he gets to enjoy a breakfast other than Cocoa Pebbles.

This Sunday, I made Skinny Taste Chocolate Chip pancakes. To make your own, you can find the recipe here. I forewent the heart shape and the bananas this time. I did try a trick I saw on Pinterest, using mini cookie cutters to cut the bananas. The cookie cutter was slightly wider than the banana was but overall you could see it that the bananas were stars.

It was a delicious breakfast and glad to have spent time with Charlie before he goes off golfing.

Wilmington Blue Rocks

Last night we headed to our first Wilmington Blue Rocks Game. They are an A division baseball team. We might of picked the worst hottest night ever to head to a baseball game.

Our seats were four rows from the field and directly behind home plate. We paid a whopping $10 per ticket, so it is definitely affordable.

I have never been to any league game other than the Philadelphia Phillies, so it was nice to see how much they involve the crowd in between each inning. They had all different contests, races, and entertainment to involve everyone at the game.

Mascot Race

Mr. Peanut WON! 

We went to the game with my parents, sister, aunt, uncle and godson, Jesse. We got some drinks before the game started. They keep it classy with 24oz cans of beer, which we enjoyed for $8.75. My mom ordered a frozen mango daquiri for $9.00. Both the food & drinks were cheaper than other entertainment venues.

The 11th was my godson, Jesse, 11th birthday! So we let the Blue Rocks know and they put it on the big screen! He was so embarrassed, but I think he secretly LOVED it.

As I said previously, it was a million degrees outside last night. We were all sweating and it was a 0-0 game at the bottom of the ninth. While the game went into extra innings, the sun began to set and it was gorgeous!

 However, it ended very exciting with a walk off walk in the bottom of the eleventh.

After the excitement of the win, it was time for the Rodeo Monkeys, one of the reasons my Dad chose this game. Yes, I said Rodeo Monkeys! When they first came out, I sat in aw (and hysterically laughing) as these sheep dogs with monkeys sitting on saddles ride around herding the sheep! The monkeys simply sit on the saddles, no straps, no harness, NOTHING! The monkeys were wearing mini sequin jackets. It was funniest thing ever to watch.

Lastly, it was a fireworks game. By this point, the humidity was FINALLY starting to lower so it was nice to sit and watch the fireworks in our seats.

Overall, we enjoyed our night at the Wilmington Blue Rocks game. I definitely would recommend this to anyone, especially families for a low cost baseball game.

Lake Harmony: Mini Vacation

Each year since 2011, my inlaws have planned a vacation as a family. In 2011, we took the 10 hour drive to visit OBX, in 2011 we traveled 2 1/2 hours to OCMD and this year we decided to travel up to Lake Harmony, PA. I have never skied before in my life and it wasn't until 2009 that I have ever even traveled to the Poconos. Since that trip in 2009, we have been up there three times and I still have not skied yet!

This year we rented a house on Big Boulder Lake, which is about a 2-3 minute drive from Lake Harmony. The house was A-MAZING!! It was a 5 bedroom home, equipped with two game rooms (aka MAN HEAVEN), huge deck, hammock, a hot tub....the epitome of RELAXATION!!

Our House

Game room 1

Game room 2

    

Family Time in the Hot Tub

Nothing says vaca more than Mimosas and Bloody Marys

Each year, we do a "Beer Challenge." The rules of the challenge is you are given unmarked cups with beer inside. Each person must write down their guesses for which beer inside. This year, the challenge was 8 craft beers. I am sad to say I did not win first place, that award goes to Michael. However, second place with 4 out of 8 is not too shabby

Unfortunately this year we could not stay the entire week but we were determined to enjoy every single minute of the three days we were up there! In three days, we relaxed on the deck, drank some delicious cocktails, ate way to much, laughed, traveled to the lake, went on the water trampoline, watched sunset and enjoyed some family time! It was a great three days with the family.

A trip back to the same house in 2014 is already in the talks...

Starting along the Broken Road

I might as well begin with how Charlie and I's journey began. I grew up in a small town outside of Philadelphia. Across the street from my house lived Anna, Danny and Danielle. Anna was very close with her family, especially her sister Margaret. Margaret has four children, one of which is Charlie. My first memory was our annual Hawaiian Themed Block Party in 1991, which made Charlie 10 years old and myself 7 years old. When you are a kid, a three year age difference is major.

Charlie doing the hula in 1991

Dancing the night away in 1991

From 1991 until 2007, we saw each other from across the street during holidays when Charlie's family was visiting his aunt's house or at major events for Danielle as over the years she became more of a second sister for Alyson & I.


In October 2007, my ex-boyfriend and I went to my first Eagles' game for my 22nd birthday. At the same game was Charlie and one of his close friends, Tim. We saw each other but didn't speak or anything since I was in a relationship as was he. In March 2008, Charlie sent me a message via MySpace asking if I was attending Opening Day for the Phillies as he knew I was a fan of the team. I said I wasn't and the conversation ended. Later in the month, I asked Danielle for Charlie's phone number and sent him a text. This started our relationship, but it wasn't until April 6th that we went on our first date. Our first date was supposed to be a movie and drinks after, however a power outage at the movie theater resulted in drinks at J.B. Dawson's while watching the Tennessee Girls' basketball team play. The date was wonderful and I felt oddly comfortable for a first date with a man I knew for 17 years but never spoke more than a "Hello" to.

Our Journey along the Broken Road:

July 2009 when we traveled to Cabo San Lucas with friends. Charlie proposed on the beach.

reenactment due to camera issues

December 2009, we made our first major decision together, we adopted our dog, Lloyd.

November 6, 2010 we got married. We couldn't of asked for a better day celebrating with our family and friends.

November 2010 we traveled to Hawaii for our honeymoon and we made amazing memories there.

February 2011 we purchased our first home!

I cannot wait to see how our journey along this broken road continues. 

Changes Ahead

I decided to change the title of my blog from "Daily Bites" to "Along the Broken Road." My goal is to continue writing my blog, but to cover more topics than simply food and recipes. I want to incorporate more of my life into my writing.