I Will Survive!

This is one of my all-time favorite viral videos. My roomie and bestest girlfriend Tessa and I would watch this back in the day and laugh like lunatics. Enjoy!

Three Years!

Happy anniversary to us! Today we celebrate three years of wedded bliss. It's been a relaxing and fun day... beach, good lunch, relaxing and a delicious dinner. More details to follow, but here is our annual anniversary photo (I plan to take a photo each anniversary so we can see how we've changed through the years).

Book Me

Last time I asked for your book recommendations, you sent me some good reads! I'm in need of some new reading material again.... thoughts or suggestions?

I've read the following, which are always recommended: Same Kind of Different as Me; The Shack (I may be the only person on earth who didn't like this book); My Sister's Keeper and pretty much everything else by Jodie Picoult; The Glass Castle; most all Curtis Sittenfeld books.

The floor is yours. What should I be reading?

Favorite Web sites

Besides reading friends' blogs, there are a few Web sites that I peruse daily for entertainment, news and just good reads. Here are a few:

• Blind Gossip -- crazy Hollywood gossip. Guess who did this or that-type of stuff. Usually pretty wacky suggestions and stories!
• EW.com / Ausiello Files -- TV news and scoops, show spoilers. Funny guy.
• Post Secret -- Do you know the Post Secret tale? Basically people anonymously send in postcards with their deepest, darkest secrets to a guy in Germantown, Md., and he publishes them on the Web, and in a couple of books too. Some are scary, some are sad and some are funny. They are all fascinating, and there's one new post every Sunday.
  
• Simply Recipes -- I just came across this site this week, but there are great recipe ideas that all seem pretty reasonable.
  

What are some of your favorite sites?

Recipe Sharing: Zucchini Walnut Dip

This recipe came from the Today Show Web site, and it's from "Mariel's Kitchen" by Mariel Hemingway. It is kind of tzatziki-ish, and very good. Great with a grilled chicken salad or with pita chips.

Zucchini Walnut Dip
Yield: 2 cups

Ingredients

• 2 medium zucchini, sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup plain organic yogurt or goat’s milk yogurt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• Sea salt
• 1/4 cup whole walnuts

Directions
1. Steam zucchini on the stove top for 7-8 minutes, or until cooked through.
2. Place oil, onion, yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, paprika, salt, and walnuts along with the zucchini in the work bowl of a food processor or blender and process until evenly ground but still a little chunky.

Dip can be served warm, at room temperature or chilled. Dip can be made up to three days before eaten if kept refrigerated in an airtight container.

Feeling Better

We are both feeling better after a day of rest for Rob, and day 2 of the Z-pack for me. Hopefully we are on the mend!

Did you get your free Baja Fresh burrito today? Free coupon for any burrito with the purchase of a drink is floating around Facebook. We cashed ours in tonight for a cheap dinner -- less than $3 for both of us!

I had my fourth physical therapy appointment today, and it continues to help. I did some of the same exercises and worked with the therapist, and today I added two new exercises involving the steps. Going down stairs is one of my toughest things, so hopefully I'll get the hang of moving my foot forward like I need to and will cease to be the clumperama that I am today. :)

It feels much later than 6:46 p.m.... this has obviously been a long day.

PT, Day 2

Today was my second physical therapy appointment, and we did much more this time than last. (The first appointment was mainly an evaluation.)

I started out with 5 minutes on the stationary bike. Bike?!? I have absolutely no interest in riding a bike -- at all. But since this one wasn't going anywhere, I agreed to give it a try. Apparently riding your bike stretches out lots of muscles and tendons in your legs. From personal experience, I can also tell you that it can break your ankle.

Anywho... then I met with the therapist and she did about 10 minutes of deep tissue massage and then about 15 minutes more of tugging and stretching and pulling. Apparently I have the greatest deficiency in pushing my foot down, like you'd do on the gas pedal of the car. The range of motion there is an average of 70 degrees, and I can do it at 34 degrees. So obviously that's somewhere where they'll focus. She said that's also the reason I clump down the steps -- my broken ankle doesn't bend forward as much as it should when it's leaving the step above.

Next I worked with one of the aides, and they kept me busy with picking up a tub of marbles with my toes, simulating walking a tightrope (forwards and backwards), using the balance board and standing on my bum leg while throwing a ball against a trampoline and catching it. Good times.

Last thing I did was the 15 minutes of ice treatment. Basically it's a soft boot that wraps around my foot, and FREEZING ice-cold water shoots around inside it. It feels weird, but actually very soothing.

The therapist feels pretty confident that I'll get back to normal, but she did say that my ballerina days were behind me. :)

PT

I started physical therapy yesterday. My orthopedic surgeon thought my ankle was still a little too stiff, and I have the most trouble going down the steps and doing little things, like kicking off my shoes. My toes are too weak! (Sounds pitiful, doesn't it??)

So I met with the PT group yesterday and they gave me some new stretches. Plus, they'll do some massage therapy and work on getting the skin around my incisions back to normal (it's super dry, mainly because I'm too chicken to really touch it). I'll go twice a week.

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Thanks to those who share good recipes for all of the veggies we got from the CSA. I ended up making a delicious gratin with the potatoes, grilled squash marinated in the herbs, and Erin's cabbage recipe with olive oil, butter and a diced apple. Delicious! I'm still munching on the cucumber, and last night I used the last four potatoes to make cheesy smashed potatoes, using the Laughing Cow Light Swiss cheese wedges. I'm glad we used all of the veggies.


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I'm reading "Perfectly Imperfect: A Life in Progress" by Lee Woodruff. Recommend it for short chapters covering different areas and stories in her life. Some are super funny, and some are super moving. It's a good read so far.

I have a giant stack of books to get through in the next few weeks: After Etan, The Time Traveler's Wife, Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult, and about a half-dozen more.


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We had another stellar experience with Lowe's in-store pick-up this evening. Rob placed an order at 10:45 a.m., and we arrived to pick it up at 5:30 p.m. They looked at us at customer service as if we'd walked up to the counter and ordered a Big Mac. Totally confused. After 15 minutes, they finally tracked down the item and brought it to the customer service desk. This is the item that was supposed to have been ready for pick-up at 12:45 p.m....

Get Real Simple

Thanks to Dallas, I'm passing along this great deal -- a one-year subscription to Real Simple magazine for $5! (Its list price is $54 - ouch!). Great home organization tips, recipes and more. Enjoy!

Recipe Sharing: PB Chocolate Rice Crispy Treats

I made these for a picnic today, and they are delicious! Easy recipe and a fun variation on rice crispy treats. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Rice Crispy Treats
Yield: 24 (or fewer if you cut them larger)

Ingredients

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 10 oz jumbo marshmallows
  
• 3/4 c. creamy peanut butter
  
• 6 c. rice crispy cereal
• 6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
  

Directions
In large pot, melt the butter over low heat. Stir in the marshmallows and cook until fully melted. Stir in the peanut butter until combined. Stir in the cereal until distributed evenly through the marshmallow mixture. Pour out onto a lightly greased 9-by-13-inch rectangular baking dish. Smooth out the top of the treats (I use a sheet of wax paper). Set aside to cool.

After the treats have cooled, melt the chocolate over low heat. Cut the treats into even squares and quickly just shallowly dip the top side of the treats into the chocolate. Turn, chocolate side up, and place in a baking dish or on a rack until set.

Catching Up

This has been a busy couple of weeks, with us being gone for my grandfather's funeral and the fourth of July last week, and a busy week of work and appointments this week. I'm finally sitting down, and I'm delighted that the premiere of Big Brother is tonight. It's a total train wreck every year, but we still love watching it all unfold.

Tonight we went to Manassas to pick up a bag of fresh veggies as part of a community supported agriculture (CSA) group. Our friends actually belong to it, but they are on vacation this week and offered their week's share to us. We got a head of cabbage, a giant squash, a cucumber, 10 potatoes, an onion and a bunch of herbs. We are glad to try it out to see if we'd like to participate in one, maybe next year. Now I need to find some good recipes -- anyone ever buy a cabbage before? I never have!

My dear friend Kelly got engaged two weeks ago, and I'm happy to be her matron of honor! I'm meeting her tomorrow for dress, cake and invitation shopping. Bring on the cake samples!!! :)

I should update on my ankle... I went to the orthopedist last week, and he thought it all looked good. He would like me to do 6 weeks of physical therapy, so I start that next week. I also bought some scar cream to put on my two slices --- both are pretty dry and itchy, so I'm hoping that the cream will help.

This weekend is a picnic with good friends, and not much else on the radar. We are all bringing a dessert to share at the picnic, so I'm bringing peanut butter chocolate-dipped rice crispy treats. YUM!

Hope you are having a good week --

Recipe Sharing: Red Potato Salad

I am sharing this receipe as it was shared with me, and not exactly how Paula Deen introduced it. This is a lower fat, lower calorie version, but it is delicious! I made it over the Fourth of July holiday and we all really enjoyed it.

Red Potato Salad
Servings: 6 (3/4 c. each)

Ingredients

• 4 cups baby red potatoes, cut in small pieces
• 1/2 cup green bell pepper, finely diced (I don't like green pepper, so I used orange)
  
• 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
• 3 scallions, diced
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
  
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp reduced fat mayonnaise
• salt and fresh pepper

Directions
Boil potatoes in salted water until soft, approx 10 minutes. Drain and let cool. While the potatoes are boiling, combine red onion, green pepper, mustard, olive oil, vinegar and mayonnaise and season with salt and pepper. Mix well and let the flavors marinade while the potatoes cook. Once the potatoes are done and cool, mix into the bowl and add scallions and additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve room temperature or refrigerate until ready to serve.