Rolling Through Puddles and Gifted Lilies

Last night was our favorite night of the week. The Oregon Ducks played Hawaii, a sweet team that we do have a lot of respect for. For anyone who pays attention to Oregon football even in the slightest, Marcus Mariota came from the beautiful state of Hawaii and was loved by all here in Oregon. We still hold the highest regard for the former Oregon quarterback. Unfortunately, these college boys do graduate and leave us. Mariota moved on to Tennesse, where he was pushed too hard, too fast and was dubbed a failure. Not the case. Our beloved man moved from there into the Philadelphia Eagles where life is a bit better for him. Because of Oregon's love for Mariota and the devastation Hawaii is facing now with the Lahaina fire, we hold the state near and dear to our hearts. 

Marcus Mariota, one of Oregon's beloved quarterbacks, hailing from Hawaii.

The game was good. Hawaii played as well as could be expected, missing some people on their team. They did play with heart and that's what matters. Pushing through, they lost by 45 points to the Ducks. Final score was 55-10, Oregon. Still a good game! Keeping it to 55 did allow Puddles, the Oregon mascot a chance to breathe. Pushups for Puddles for every point scored is a tradition and the game between Oregon and Portland State in the season opener had the Duck exhausted as he pumped out 546 of them. 

The Duck could at least relax a bit more during the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, Oregon Ducks football game. With a score of 55-10 Oregon, the pushups were not as numerous as they were in the season opener against Portland State. I'm sure Puddles was happy for small favors. 

He was one exhausted mascot during the first game of the season. 

Awesome game and we have to hand it to Hawaii. Their defense was pretty good. Even though the score doesn't show it, the Ducks could have and would have scored much higher if Hawaii didn't keep them under control at times. They played with true Hawaiian heart and definitely deserve kudos for their efforts. 

Now, during the game, hubby and I ate our typical snacks. We loaded up on edibles once again. Anorexic f***ing chickens as my husband so happily calls them or better known as Chicken in a Biscuit crackers, some popcorn, fruit, and a nice veggie tray. I also had a couple of sugar free candy bars, the miniature size. All this was great except I had made a promise to make some cinnamon rolls this weekend and I did just that. 

Cinnamon rolls take a bit of time, but the end result is worth every second of the waiting. I mixed the dough and put it in a bowl to begin the first rise. This step took place before the game. During the game, I went into my kitchen, punched down the dough, rolled out the two pieces I cut the dough into, and began the process of filling the center with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. I rolled them up, cut the slices, and put them into pans for the second rise. It was all looking great. 

Two pans were filled with the cinnamon goodness. Now we wait for that second rise. 

With the game complete, now I bake. The pans came out brown, oozing with cinnamon and butter, and smelling heavenly. 

I applied the frosting while still hot to let it melt into the crevices and blend with the cinnamon. 

Now for the taste test. Sweet man loves them! Success in the kitchen again. 

I was not as thrilled. I used to make Cinnabon cinnamon rolls that came out huge, bursting with the cinnamon flavor and so large I couldn't eat a whole roll in one sitting. These? They were okay. They tasted good, but they just didn't have that Cinnabon largeness and yummy base that the company is known for. I will try again and this time, I have a good idea how to make it work. Back to the sciences of baking. 

Speaking of science of baking, Audrey and Seymour are still bubbly and making their way into grown up sourdough starters! Feeding them every 12 hours still and they are loving it. 

One more weekend gone. Nothing special happening, at least not as of yet. Our big plans are to stay at home and hang photos of our family, our wedding, and three poems that Terry wrote for me. The family wall is coming along nicely except I seem to lean all the pictures to the left. I have no idea why. Maybe sweet man can get one straight for me. 

He found photos of his mom and dad and that means a lot. I can't wait to hang their photos up with the rest of the family pictures. We have two walls reserved for family images, one for our pets, one for our wedding pictures and vows and of course one for the poems that sweet man has written for me that mean so much. I have been wanting to get the photo hanging done for quite a while now and even though it's been a while, we still need to get it done. Between purchasing frame after frame and the damage-free hanging solutions, it has definitely been a process. We will get it done though. 

So here it is Sunday. Our final day without work. Both of us, like the majority of readers will head back to the old grind tomorrow. But we enjoy our days off too. Terry came in and asked me to go to Costco for some items and then Fred Meyer for a few more things. He filled the car with gas for the week and then we went shopping. If you follow the blog or know us, we both hate shopping. Shopping for anything can be a pain in the derriere. Larger stores, such as Costco can be especially dreadful. 

We entered the store and rushed back to find the things we needed. The place was full, but lines moved quicker than I thought they would. We were in and then out again in no time. I wasn't quite sure what we needed at Fred Meyer too, but he went into the store as if he was on a mission. Apparently, he was. I was asked to wait in the car while he ran in on an "errand." So, I sat, looking at my phone and enjoying the air conditioning that cooled my body while sweet man was in the store. Suddenly my door opened. I turned to look and saw flowers in my face. 

I forgot. It is the 17th again, three months of our being wed. He remembers the 17th every month, so well. The date or any other day pretty much comes to mind for me. I'm awful with time, dates and the like. I received an absolutely beautiful bouquet of lilies! One of my favorite flowers! I love the smell of lilies. They're so fragrant and enjoyable. 

When we arrived home I cut the stems, filled the vase, and placed the lilies inside. The fragrance was amazing! I realized the best place to put them was in the office, on my desk. That's where I spend most of my day and I had to be within smelling distance of these flowers! My sweet man did it again! He tells me he wants to keep showing me how much he loves me, and I appreciate him so much for that. Being grateful does not seem to cover the way I feel strongly enough to cover everything he does. Our love hit hard and fast when we first met, and I was concerned at first about how quickly the relationship was moving. When his marriage proposal was presented, I was scared that we were moving way too fast, but it also felt as though we had such a strong connection. Now that we are married and in our third month, I have no regrets or "regerts" as we always joke. Some things were just meant to happen, meant to be and I believe our meeting each other, our marriage is just that. Something that was meant to take place, for whatever reason. 

Wishing all of our readers the best week ever, filled with love. Shine your light bright! Until next weekend.