First Visit to Thailand

After hearing Noom talk about Thailand since we'd met, finally, in June of 2004, we took a trip there. We stayed in Bangkok with his family. Noom hadn't seen his family in two years, so it was time for him to see them again. I just needed a vacation!

Most of the time, we stayed in Bangkok. There are so many malls there; it wasn't hard to find something to do. The shopping and dining were definitely an experience. We were able to eat a lot and not worry because in Bangkok, it is usually easier to walk everywhere.

One of the neatest places we went to was the Grand Palace. It was previously the residence of the King, but now it is open for visitors. If you are ever in Bangkok, it is definitely a place to go.

Chinatown was definitely a new experience for me. There were all kinds of street vendors selling food that I had never seen before. Noom hadn't been there in a long time, so he was out of his element as well. Thankfully, we were there with a few of his friends, so they took us to the spots that were worth our time. I don't even know what half of the food I ate was, but I do remember trying shark fin soup! That is something I can guarantee that I will not try again.

We took a train trip to Kanchanaburi, the site of the Bridge on the River Kwai. When Japan invaded Thailand during World War II, prisoners of war were forced to construct this bridge. After we had toured it, we stopped in a graveyard for all of the US, British, and Dutch soldiers that lost their lives. It was a sad experience, but we were glad that we got to experience history firsthand.

Another place we went was Ayutthaya. You might not recognize the name, but you have probably seen it in movies. It is now in ruins, but it used to be the site of a city, with temples and a palace. What is left now are the remains from a Burmese invasion.

There are many places to visit in Thailand. If you want to know more about it, click here for a website that shows you many of the different places to see.

Recipe: Chicken Satay

Chicken Satay

Ingredients
6-8 chicken breast strips
Marinade
2 Tbsp curry powder
1 14 oz can coconut milk
1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
Peanut Sauce
9 oz peanut butter
1 14 oz can coconut milk (enough to make sauce creamy)
1/3 c tamarind juice (may adjust for taste)
1 Tbsp brown sugar (may adjust for taste)
1 tsp salt
Cucumber Salad Sauce
1 cucumber, coarsely chopped
2 jalapeño peppers, thinly sliced
2 shallots, chopped
4 Tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp sugar

1) Combine the ingredients for the marinade sauce. Add chicken. Let stand overnight in refrigerator.
2) Combine ingredients for Cucumber Salad. Let stand overnight in refrigerator.
3) Put chicken on skewers.
4) Grill chicken at low heat for 7 minutes, or until evenly cooked. Keep brushing the chicken with the marinade while grilling.
5) In a medium sized pot, bring coconut milk to a boil. Add peanut butter. Stir continuously until blended. Set temperature to “low”.
6) Add tamarind juice, brown sugar, and salt to peanut mixture. Keep stirring until well blended.
TIP: If the peanut sauce looks too thick, add coconut milk until desired consistency is reached. If more coconut milk is added, you may have to add more brown sugar and tamarind juice. Adjust for taste.

Recipe: Aloha Chicken Kabob

Aloha Chicken Kabob

Ingredients
6-8 chicken breast strips, cut into 1 ½ to 2-inches strips
2 bell pepper, cut into bite size
1 medium onion, cut into bite size
1 can diced pineapple with juice
10-15 cherry or grape tomatoes
Marinade Sauce
½ cup soy sauce
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp onion powder
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
3 tsp pineapple juice

1) In medium mixture bowl, making marinade sauce by mixing soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, fresh lemon juice, and pineapple juice (for making chicken meat more tender) together.
2) Put chicken into the marinade mixture.
3) Cover the bowl and leave the mixture bowl in room at temperature for about 2-4 hours or in refrigerator overnight.
4) Alternate ingredients on sticks or skewers. Keep the marinade sauce.
5) Grill at low heat about 7 minutes or done on each side. Brush with marinade while cooking.

Our Home

This is our first (and hopefully last) home. We lived in an apartment when we first were married, but realized very quickly that apartment life wasn't for us. We were married in November 2006, and had the house in April 2007, if that illustrates how much we were not apartment people.

After moving from a third floor apartment, we both promised that we wouldn't move again for a very very long time, if ever. We started our search in Carrollton, but just weren't finding anything. I was starting to get frustrated, but on a whim, Noom moved our search to Allen. It didn't take long before we found this house and fell in love with it. We are still having fun making it our own, and having a blast adding our personal touches to it.

The front yard has been our pet project since we moved in. Below are a couple of pictures of what we had to work with when we first got here. It wasn't pretty, but we both wanted to try out our green thumb. Noom realized very quickly that he is a natural at gardening. I, on, the other hand, do have a green thumb, but it points downward. I still like to look outside and admire the view, though. The picture at the top of the page is what our yard looks like now. Below left is the first look we had of our house. The picture to the right is what the yard looked like before our massive landscaping undertaking.

Las Vegas 2005

For Ann's 21st birthday, we went to Las Vegas to party it up! It was the middle of July, and they were in the middle of a heatwave. The temperature never got below 110 F during the day. We found out one morning that the previous night, Caesar's Palace overheated and lost power! We stayed at the Aladdin, luckily.

Whenver we go on a vacation, food is always on our mind. We literally stuffed our faces at the Spice Market Buffet. They had all you can eat Alaskan King Crab legs.

We tried our hand at gambling, but the only jackpot we hit was $20.00. No worries, though. It was still a lot of fun. Lady Luck just wasn't with us on that trip.

On Ann's birthday night, we went out for a nice dinner, and then a limo ride around Las Vegas. It was nice to drive out into the desert and see Las Vegas from afar. It is such a bright city!

Wedding Day

On November 4, 2006, Noom and I got married at Wyldewood Wedding Chapel in Denison, TX. The weather wasn't great, but the day was still perfect. Nothing is better than spending a day with the ones you love.

We had our honeymoon at the Azalea Plantation Bed & Breakfast Inn in Fort Worth. Since I was fairly new at my job, I couldn't take off for a long honeymoon like we wanted, but this one was just as memorable.