Married Monday: Count Your Blessings

It has been a couple of weeks since I've posted.  The normal deadlines have increased, along with my attempts to study for my second exam while balancing my mini family.  Life has been the same up till August 29th. 

That Thursday, I was running late coming home.  I had a deadline and lost track of time.  Brian had to go to choir rehearsal that night and I wanted to make it home in time to see him off.  I made it home 5 minutes before he had to leave and I talked with him for a few before he kissed me and left.  He decided to take my car since his car was already in the garage. 

Hours later, I was on Google Hangout with my study group.  I was expecting Brian to be home by 930pm but I knew the rehearsal usually runs late.  At 945pm, I got a call from Brian saying that he was in an accident and was on the way to the hospital.  Brian didn't know the severity of it at the time, so he told me not to worry and he will give me updates soon.  Later, I found out he was T-boned by a guy who ran a stop sign.  I couldn't do anything.  I was shaking, crying and freaking out.  I didn't know what hospital he was in and I was too emotional to drive his car.  My uncle helped me out by finding out all the information I needed and picking Brian up.  Brian had soreness on his left side and had to take off work for a day.  I had two projects to turn in the next day.  So I finished everything and left early to take care of him.

My car on the other hand:

 

With the damages shown, Brian should have been seriously injured and everyday I let him know that.  I hug him all the time.  I know he is probably tired of me by now, but I just think "what if."

This situation has been an inconvenience for us: missed work, half days and calling our Vehicle Tag Office and insurance non-stop.  My in-laws even drove down to help us.  With all of this happening, this situation has also given me a new prospective on life and learning to appreciate everything.  I'm not saying that I didn't do this before, but it definitely reassured me to count my blessings.  Cars can easily be replaced, but life can't. 

Overall, this whole process has eaten up my motivation to study or post.  With that said, posts will be a little slow for a while to focus more on my family and my studies.  It's hard writing something when I'm feeling this way. 

I will update BR 2.0's Facebook page in the meantime.     

Cya Soon,

Tibby Tuesday: Study Time

It's time to study again for the Architect Registration Exam!  My Saturdays are starting to be filled again with study sessions.  This time, T and I decided to incorporate homework into our sessions to encourage ourselves to study more at home.  I think it's working so far, but I'll see when my exam date for Site Planning & Design gets closer.

Last Friday, I got a new study partner as I completed my homework:

I think he understands this stuff better than I do!

Recipe #20: Pineapple Whip

Brian and I love finding recipes on Pinterest and added them to our snacks rotation.  So far we have added Banana Ice cream, Muffin Pan Meatloaf, Crockpot Mac and Cheese (Yummm!), Fried Bananas and Apple Ice cream.  After trying these recipes, we usually adapt them to our liking.  Two weeks ago, we found Pineapple Whips on Pinterest!

Recipe from Detoxinista.

Also called "Dole Whip,"  this dairy-free pineapple sorbet can be found at Disneyland or the Dole Plantation in Hawaii.  I've never had the opportunity to try this, so I thought this would be pretty cool to make the homemade version.  The original homemade recipe calls for 3 ingredients; one being 1/4 cups of sugar.  What I love about Detoxinista's recipe is that she substitutes the sugar with honey.  Also, I already had almond milk and pineapples in my refrigerator, so it made me want to try it even more.

Here is her recipe:

Pineapple Whip

Author: Detoxinista.com

Serves: 4-6

 

A creamy, fruit-based soft serve dessert!

Ingredients

• 1 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored and chopped
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 tablespoon honey (optional, for authentic sweetness)

Instructions

1. To get started, you’ll want to freeze the pineapple chunks. I chopped mine a day ahead of time, and froze the chunks overnight. You could also purchase frozen pineapple, if you prefer. As you can see from the picture below, the frozen pineapple reached the 6.5 – 7 cup mark on my blender pitcher.
2. This recipe works best in a high-speed blender, like the Vitamix, because you’ll need to be able to pulverize the frozen pineapple into an ice-cream-like consistency. A normal blender will most likely not work, but a food processor might.
3. Combine the frozen pineapple with the almond milk and honey, then blend until a frozen sorbet texture is achieved.
4. For an authentic Dole Whip presentation, transfer the frozen dessert to a large plastic bag, and cut off the tip to create a piping bag. Pipe the pineapple whip into 4-6 dishes, and serve immediately!
5. Any leftovers can be frozen in an ice cube tray, and used in smoothies later.

Annnnd here are my results:
When I originally tried this, I didn't have frozen pineapples.  I tried it with chilled pineapples and froze the leftovers .  Later, I actually brought frozen pineapples and tried it Detoxinista's way.  The third try was way yummier.

First try: (with chilled, non-frozen pineapple)

This tasted like slushie.

Second try aka Brian's version: (with orange sherbet)
We tried it with orange creamsicle ice cream to try it frozen.

We over blended this one, but I love orange and pineapple together.

Third try: (with frozen pineapples)

This yummy treat was fun to make with Brian and I can't wait to try it again!  Next time, I might add mango.

WIAW: What I Love About Architecture

I'm keeping today's post short and sweet. 

Our study group starts again after a month hiatus on Saturday and I'm actually looking forward to it.  I know I will handle things better than I did for the Construction Documents exam.

In the meantime, School M is finally complete!  Even though the school had minor HVAC and Electrical renovations, it felt pretty awesome getting experience in Project Management.  Hopefully, the same experience I'm getting for Project C will help me when I retake CDS for the Architect Registration Exam.

Last week, my boss, our client and I toured School M to see the final updates and our next scope for the School.  The tour lasted for an hour and I forgot how big the school was.  My feet were killing me!  On the way out, I found this little one on the canopy:

Other than seeing my finished product, I love knowing that the end user loves it too :-).

Tibby Tuesday: Did I do that?

Long time no see!

Right now, I'm wrapping up Project C.  Because of this, a lot of my posts have been limited.  It sucks, but that is a consequence of Architecture!  Anyway, Mr. Tibbs has been greeting me everyday after a busy workday.  He has been wanting to be on my shoulder or my knee more than usual, so I've been taking advantage before his mood changes.  The one thing I forget when he get affectionate is that he still isn't a fan of the guest room.  It has a television, but he doesn't have his cage with all his toys.  He has gotten better over the past year, but he still prefers our room when I have him with me.  He let me know that again last week:

He loves landing on our bookcase. 
Excuse the dust!

I'm still learning, lol.  I can't wait to be greeted with kisses from my two favorite men!

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