Sunday, August 29, 2010

Corporate Challenge


It's the time of year when a good dose of healthy competition takes over PFS as we compete in the Richardson Corporate Challenge and raise money for Special Olympics.

This year I signed up again to play horseshoes.  I was put on the co-ed team and played with David from our accounting department.  The first game we lost and the second game we won thanks to my four ringers!  The third game was very competitive and in the end we lost.  We came placed 4th in the co-ed division, 5th place in the women's and the men's team earned a bronze medal placing us 4th over all.

So far PFSweb is in 4th place in our division.  We have plenty more sports to compete in as the whole event lasts until October!

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Happy Rangers Game!

Friday nights are spent on the couch snuggled up with Lulu watching a movie after having a low-key dinner to wind down from a hectic week.

This Friday we broke out of the the box and headed out to our first Ranger's game in Arlington.  We were invited to go as a wedding shower for Samantha and Ben where we sat in the all you can eat seats and enjoyed the game.  By the time we arrived the Rangers were winning and continued their lead through the end of the game!


Ben and Samantha in their cute matching jerseys!
Proof that we were there!  :)

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Grape Stomping!

When Benjamin and I first moved to Dallas we started looking for free, fun events that we could do together.  In my search I found Delaney Vineyards in Grapevine.  Each year they host a community event where people can come to help them harvest their grapes and then have an old fashioned grape stomp!

I have always wanted to do grape stomping ever since I watched "A Walk in the Clouds" and that famous I Love Lucy episode where she gets recruited to work in the wine vat to squish the grapes.  Can I just say that I totally have a better understand of the first expression Lucy gives after stepping into vat - them's some squishy grapes!

Back to the vineyards:  We have been trying to go for the past two years, however every time harvest weekend rolled around I was laid up in bed sick.  This year we were going even if Benjamin had to pick me up, carry me to the vat, and dump me in it!

Thankfully, I was fit and able to walk myself.

After a short mini-lesson on how to use the miniature sickle to cut the grapes off of the vine, I went to town filling up my bucket.  Can I just tell you, I loved harvesting the grapes!  I enjoyed the game of hunting for them beneath the masses of green leaves, choosing the ones that were ripe for the picking and leaving the ones that were scorched by the sun.  All the time I was harvesting, John 15 kept running through my mind.

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.  You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.  Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.  
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.  If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.  This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."


A few Sundays ago the sermon series was over John 15.  One thing I remember Gary explaining was that sometimes vines start to grow on the ground and lay sucker roots.  Every once in a while the gardner will come by and tear that root out of the ground and wrap it back onto the apparatus that holds the vine off of the ground.  For Christians, there are times when we fall to the ground and start laying roots.  God comes around and prunes those roots from us, pulling us out of the ground and putting us back where we are supposed to be in order to bear much fruit.  The process can be painful, but the end result is rewarding.  Being in the vineyard and seeing firsthand the rows and rows of vines brought this chapter to life for me.   


Between the two of us, Benjamin and I harvested 4 buckets of grapes!   As the grape collecting bins filled up with the cute, purple fruit the Delaney workers were dumping them into the de-stemer.  Then the grapes would get pushed through a tube into the wine vat as they awaited the moment where little feet would start squishing the juice out of them!  All of the children went first, followed by couples who had married at the vineyard, followed by everyone else.


The sensation of stepping into the squishy mess was a strange one.  My feet were met by a cool, gummy, wet substance followed by goo squishing up through my toes!  I could actually feel the grapes popping beneath the weight of my feet and received better mushing when I picked my legs up high out of the mixture under me.  I was in heaven!  It was so fantastically fun to be covered in grape juice from the calves down and not have a care in the world.  Forgetting I was 27, I pranced around in the grapes with Benjamin for quite a few minutes.  When was the next time we would do this again?  I was enjoying it!  




We decided that our time at Delaney Vineyards was an awesome experience and we would without a doubt go back!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Monday Meal Planning

It's another whirl wind week at the Cozad's!

Monday: Cook out at the Cozad's with our Vintage ABF
Tuesday: Something on the go; Sara is competing in Corporate Challenge Horseshoes!
Wednesday: Fend for yourself night
Thursday: Pan fried pork chops, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies
Friday: Dinner at the Ranger's Game
Saturday breakfast: Cinnamon Rolls
Saturday lunch: Carr P. Collins luncheon
Saturday dinner: cereal


Wednesday, August 18, 2010

July, July, where did you fly?

As I started thinking about all of the blog posts I needed to catch up on, it hit me that I didn't keep you informed on our whereabouts dear reader!  (Hi Mom!)

Here is what we were up to in July!

We celebrated three fantastic years by doing a staycation and seeing the 6th Floor Museum.
Samantha and Ben came over for a weekend of fun.
We celebrated Cow Appreciation Day at work.
I traveled to North Carolina for my cousin's wedding reception.
My Pappy turned 80.
We took a trip to camp.
We met Punxsutawney Phil.
We saw Cleveland.

I am working on the last few entries now and then you will be all caught up!

Monday, August 2, 2010

Monday Meal Planning

Here it is Monday again...  This week will be a four day work week for me and I am super thankful!

Monday: Papa John's $6.99 Carryout Pizza Night

Tuesday: Grilling cheeseburgers, mac n cheese and broccoli

Wednesday:  Breakfast Tacos

Thursday:  Mickey D's on the way to Houston

Friday: Houston

Saturday: Houston

Sunday: Houston

Sunday, August 1, 2010

g'noshing we will go!

Saturday was a fantastic day for the Cozad household.  It was the first weekend that both Benjamin and I had been home together in three weeks!  Earlier in the week we planned on having a date night to g'nosh, an interactive art studio.  Each night they have a painting that they teach a class on how to create by yourself.  They provide the easels, paint, canvas and expert - you show up with drinks, food, a camera and an attitude ready for fun!

Benjamin and I chose to go to the Frisco location and paint an abstract painting of the Dallas skyline.  Our thoughts were, "Abstract!  This should be easy!"  When in reality, the instructor was telling us that abstract art is one of the hardest styles to teach.  Each person has a different interpretation of what abstract is.

Here is our journey to making our masterpieces!  If you come to visit, you will see them proudly displayed on the wall!
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