Rob and Kathryn

How do I get a do-over?

2010-04-08T15:33:00.005-04:00

Last night was a less than stellar night for our household. Nothing major happened -- just a series of mishaps that left me wishing we'd stayed home on the couch instead of venturing out.

Rob is going to build is some shelves for our basement. I, of course, voted for the easy option of simply buying shelves, but Rob wants to take on the challenge. So, after lots of measuring and drafting and figuring (all by Rob, mind you, since I don't do numbers), we headed off to Lowe's to buy our lumber and try to look like we know what we are doing.

Rob even wore a tape measure on his belt to complete the look.

We get to Lowe's, load up 20 boards on our giant cart and head to the back of the store to get them cut to the right length. No Lowe's employee is to be found. I head to the checkout at the front of the store (down on the contractor's end of the joint; not near customer service) and asked for some help. The guy at the checkout asked me if I looked for someone in the back (yes, sir, I did), then proceeded to page someone.

Maybe it was just me, but he could have announced that the Queen of England was in the plumbing section for all I know. I couldn't understand a word he said.

I wandered back to where Rob stood with our stack of wood and waited. And waited. And waited.

The checkout guy could see down the aisle, and I heard him make another ~~unintelligible~~ helpful announcement for assistance in the wood cutting area. I finally walked up to the Customer Service Desk to patiently request again.

After a big awkward stare when I asked if I could get some help, the guy there finally paged the elusive "Josh", who was apparently at lunch. With no response to his page, I was finally informed that nobody was working in the lumber section, accompanied by a big shoulder shrug.

I then informed him that I was leaving a giant stack of wood in the middle of the aisle and taking my business elsewhere. When Josh finally showed up, he could put it away.

Off to Home Depot we go, where we found an excellent wood-cutting guy and boards of better quality. He sliced the boards, I found a bathroom cabinet, and off we go to the checkout.

After several attempts, we finally wrangled the 8' boards into my CRV (So they were sticking out the back window. It was dark, and we drove slowly!) and headed home. Rob unloaded everything, then decided to fit together how the shelves will be built.

Small problem. The boards were too short. Did you know a 2x3 board is actually 1.5x2.5?

Me, either.

While Rob stands there staring at the stack of incorrectly-sized boards, I decide to back the car in the garage. I never back the car in the garage. I'm rolling backwards, thinking about the wood, and BAM. I backed right into the bikes. The handle of my bike poked through the drywall, and the handle of Rob's bike made a lovely scratch on the tire cover on the car.

Uggggggggggh.

To good news is that Rob thinks the shelves will work. He might slice off an inch of something or another so it'll be perfect. He has a new circular saw to break in, thanks to his mom and dad.

As for the bikes, they'll be okay. Since I don't ride mine anymore (Kathryn + bike = broken ankle), and we are building garage shelves eventually that will cover up the new bike handle-sized hole, it'll all be fine. Could have been worse!

We finally called it a day and headed inside before we did any more damage. All in all, a banner night.

One year ago...

2010-03-31T19:21:00.003-04:00

At this time in the evening one year ago today, I was laying in a hospital bed waiting for the orthopedic surgeon to read my xrays and determine if I was having surgery that night or the next day.

What a difference a year makes!

This afternoon as Rob and I headed out on our walk, I commented that it was about that time that we'd been setting off on our bikes (my last bike ride, by the way) and on what would turn out to be the night of my big wipe out. Here's what I wrote about the accident last year.

My co-workers always remember that I had surgery on April 1 -- they thought it was a joke when I called in. I tried convincing them today that the whole bit has been an extended April Fools joke from last year -- the cast, crutches and scooter were all an elaborate hoax. ;)

New House!

2010-03-30T15:23:00.003-04:00

Now that we'd found a place to move and all of the kinks had been worked out of the deal, we began the looooooong task of packing. My goal was to pack a few boxes every night, so that in the end, we wouldn't be rushed with trying to fill boxes at the last minute. I'm glad we stuck to the plan, because even with all the time we had, we still seemed busy busy busy.

Our first decision was that we needed to hire movers. Our friends will no longer schlep couches for free pizza, and our bedroom furniture and living room stuff were way too massive to move on our own. We interviewed three companies and chose one to do the work. BTW - moving is expensive.

We decided to move some stuff on our own, like our china and lamps. I figured if the china got busted, I'd have nobody to blame by myself. And, the movers charge $35 per lamp to box it up and move it, so we figured we could save some money there. We got the keys to the house on Sunday, moved small stuff all week long, and the movers took almost nine hours to pack the truck, drive to the new place, unpack and set stuff up the following Friday.

I'm glad we weren't doing it. I was exhausted just watching them!

During the week before we moved in, we also had some painting done and I replaced all of the liners in the kitchen drawers and on the pantry shelves. We ordered a new refrigerator and figured out what was going to go where.

We've been in now for a little more than two weeks. We are still unpacking stuff, but it's livable and we are really liking it! Our parents came down last weekend to see it -- we are glad they did!

I'll post a picture or two when we are all set up and there aren't moving boxes lining each wall. Thanks for reading along!

House Search

2010-03-29T15:06:00.003-04:00

(Sorry for the lag in telling this story!)

Since our house sold so quickly, we accelerated our new house search. We honestly thought we'd have a little more time to really look!

Our real estate agent connected me on the Web service that updates the MLS listings all day long. Every morning I would get an e-mail of new houses on the market that fit our criteria, info on open houses and news on price drops or increases (yes, believe it or not, there were some increases!).

I had my heart set on a particular neighborhood, and every day I'd look for something in that area. Nothing! After a few days I conceded that we better widen our search or else we'd end up putting our stuff in storage and renting. That was really not an ideal option.

On a Sunday afternoon, we went with our agent to see two different places. One was way below our price range, but I could tell from the listing that it need a lot (A LOT!) of work. The second was a bit above our price range, but the realtor thought we'd have some wiggle room with the sellers.

First we went to the lower-priced one. I knew when we pulled up that I hated it. Turquoise shutters, a plain cement porch, no landscaping, etc. The kitchen needed gutted and floors replaced, there wasn't a window blind in the place and the basement was a weird mish-mash of discounted tile all slapped together. It was terrible! Rob tried talking me into seeing what we could do to fix it up, but all I saw were headaches and dollar signs floating out the unblinded windows. After I agreed not to rule it out completely, we moved to the second one. I admit, that agreement was a total lie. There was not chance I was buying the turquoise-shuttered house. ;)

We'd looked at the second house online back in December, but it was out of our price range. And, we'd actually driven by it when we went to look at another house in that community for sale. I'd commented then that I really liked it, and lucky for us, the sellers had lowered the price.

As soon as we walked inside, we both were impressed. Wide crown mouldings, nice glass doors to the library, high ceilings and a huge kitchen/living room combo wowed us. My only concern was the bedrooms -- I thought they were a little small, but not terrible (I grew up in a house with big bedrooms and have a slanted view). We agreed to think about it and talk to our realtor the next day.

We ended up meeting her back at the house that next day (Monday) and decided to make an offer. We did, the sellers countered, we re-countered and so did they. After four attempts, we came to an agreement and signed the paperwork. Hooray! The timing was great and we'd be able to move from one house to the next.

A few days later, it all started to crumble. I won't go into specific details (you never know who's reading!), but the sellers wanted to back-out of the deal. We said no to canceling the contract and sat on pins and needles while they came to peace with their decision to sell. Our realtor said she'd never seen that happen after paperwork was signed -- lucky us! It was stressful and I had quite a few nights of worry, but it all worked out for everyone.

Moving dates were set in place and we began packing, packing, packing!

Next up: the actual move. To be continued!

Moving On....

2010-03-17T08:39:00.006-04:00

... to a new house! Yep, that's what's kept me too busy to faithfully blog the last few weeks. We are up to our ears in cardboard boxes and newspaper, and every afternoon and evening has been devoted to packing up our lives into approximately 150 boxes.

Let's start at the beginning.....

Last November, we started talking about whether or not it was a good time to look for a larger house. Our townhouse is terrific (and the location can't be beat), but we definitely could use more closet space, a bigger kitchen, a two-car garage, etc.

And, since interest rates are low and housing prices have dropped (although they are still RIDICULOUS in the D.C. area), we thought the timing was right. The only catch would be selling our place. We've had friends who have had condos and houses on the market for weeks and months, so we were a little hesitant.

Our first step was to meet with our realtor (the lady who helped us find the townhouse) to see what she thought we needed to do to our place to make it the most attractive to buyers and what was available on the market in our price range. We ended up visiting about five or seven houses in December, just to have a feel for what was out there.

In January, we decided to test the waters and put our house on the market. Our house really was in good shape, so we only had to do some general clean-up and pack up a few boxes of stuff. We went live on the market on Friday, January 29.

We got two offers on Saturday, January 30.

Whaaaaaat??

We had about 15 people come look at the house and got a total of four offers. One dropped out at the last minute, so we had three to choose from. We couldn't believe it!

Next up: our house search. To be continued!

Catching Up

2010-03-04T21:14:00.002-05:00

My pledge to be a better blogger was short-lived, I'm afraid. I promise to try harder!

Lots has been going on here with us -- so much so that it all deserves its own post. I'll get to that soon. I know I promised that last week -- stay tuned!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm ready for spring. This winter has been for.ev.er. Most of our 30+ inches of snow is melted, although there are some piles that I think will be here until June!

In the meantime, I spilled coffee grounds near my laptop and now my keys randomly won't work. I think the grounds that slipped in between the keys are wreaking havoc!

Are you watching American Idol this season? I'm not impressed with anyone, really. I keep waiting for someone to pop out at me, but nothing yet. I guess my favorites are Katelyn and Alex.

This was a totally random blog!

Big Winner!

2010-03-03T14:45:00.002-05:00

I won a $25 Target giftcard today at work! I've been cranking out calls for our membership team during our annual renewal time, so hard work pays off, huh? Whoo hoo for Target!

What will people remember?

2010-02-25T14:13:00.007-05:00

I've been really moved during the last few weeks by Jenny's story. I didn't know Jenny or anyone in her family, but we have friends in common and the news about her sickness has infiltrated circles in blogland and Facebook.

Jenny died this week following a two-week battle with sepsis, which developed from a strep infection. Her family and friends are crushed, naturally, and she leaves behind a husband and young daughter. She was my age.

My age. How could someone my age pass away from such an illness? How does this happen a healthy, happy wife and mom?

In reading about Jenny on friends' blogs, it's evident that she was a wonderful daughter, sister and friend. She put others before herself and was the kind of friend a friend would like to have. I'm 100% sure she wasn't perfect, yet the joy in her heart is obvious in her photos and in her own words.

That's what people will remember about Jenny. They'll remember the happiness. The love. The JOY.

It got me to thinking: if the unimaginable suddenly happened, what would people remember about me? Would they remember times of laughter? Years of good and loyal friendship? Cheerfulness in times of trial?

Or would they remember hurtful words said in haste, or moments when I didn't have time to be a friend?

I want to live the kind of life that lets people remember me with joy, too.

Jenny, you'll be missed by many, but the story of your life has made a difference to at least one.

Recipe Sharing: Fool-Proof Popovers

2010-02-14T19:06:00.002-05:00

I'm a big fan of Melissa d'Arabian on the Food Network. She won the last season of The Next Food Network Star and has a show on now called Ten Dollar Dinners. Her recipes are fantastic, and she definitely shares some good tips.

On a recent show, she made popovers. LOVE popovers! I think the best I've had were at Jordan Pond House on a trip to Maine with my parents.

Anywho, I made her recipe tonight with our dinner. They were simple and turned out great. Enjoy!

Fool-Proof Popovers
Yield: 8

Ingredients
3 tablespoons melted butter, divided
2 eggs
1 cup milk, warmed for 30 seconds in the microwave (should be lukewarm to warm)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Using a pastry brush, coat 8 muffin cups with 1 tablespoon of the melted butter and put the tin in the oven for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the eggs in a blender until light yellow. Add the warmed milk and blend. Add the flour, salt and remaining melted butter, and blend until smooth. Pour the batter into the warmed muffin tin and return it to the oven to bake until golden, about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve warm.

30-second snowfall

2010-02-10T09:43:00.001-05:00

Since are getting yet ANOTHER snowstorm (and this time, we are actually under a blizzard warning!), I'm sharing this cool video. Enjoy!

Nnnnnnooooooooooooooooo!

2010-02-09T07:53:00.001-05:00

Favorite Superbowl Commerials

2010-02-08T08:31:00.003-05:00

As someone in the communications field, I actually love commercials. As convenient as it is to skip right past them on the DVR, I try to watch any new ones (but feel okay about skipping some of them!), and, of course, enjoy the Superbowl ads.

There weren't too many that I really liked this year -- how about you? There were too many about "men being men," and waaaaaay too many about men with no pants. Seriously??

That being said, here are a few of my favorites:

Recipe Sharing: Pizza Bubble Ring

2010-02-07T18:11:00.002-05:00

Who doesn't love a pepperoni roll?? I am making this recipe for us to enjoy tonight during the Superbowl. Thanks to Tessa for passing it along!

Ingredients
6-8 tablespoons Land O' Lakes Butter, melted
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cans (12 oz each) Pillsbury Grands! Jr. Golden Layers refrigerated flaky original biscuits (I used Giant brand cheepie biscuits)
40 small slices pepperoni (about 3 oz)
8 oz. mozzarella cheese, cut into 20 pieces (I used shredded)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/4 cups pizza sauce, heated

Directions
Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 12-cup fluted tube pan with Crisco Original No-Stick Cooking Spray.

In small bowl, mix melted butter, Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Separate 1 can of dough into 10 biscuits; press or roll each into 3-inch round. Place 2 pepperoni slices in center of each biscuit round. Top each with piece of mozzarella cheese. Bring dough up around filling; press edge to seal and shape each into ball. Roll in butter mixture; place 10 balls in pan.

Sprinkle dough balls with Parmesan cheese. Repeat with remaining can of biscuits, placing balls over balls in pan. Pour remaining butter mixture over top.

Bake 33 to 38 minutes or until deep golden brown. Cool 5 minutes. Gently loosen bread from sides of pan. Place large heatproof plate upside down over pan; turn plate and pan over. Remove pan. Serve warm with warm pizza sauce for dipping.

Snowpocolypse 2010

2010-02-06T10:49:00.006-05:00

I'm sorry I've been a bad blogger! When I finally get around to recording everything that we've been up to in the last few weeks, it'll all make sense. Maybe I'll get started on that today.

To tide you over, here are a few shots from what those in D.C. are calling the Snowpocolypse... or Snowmaggadon... or SNOWtorious B.I.G. :)

Hello, out there....

2010-01-09T20:33:00.004-05:00

January has not been a good month for blogging. Work picked back up, crazy as ever, and we've been doing some stuff around the house. Busy!

I'm glad to say that my back is doing much better. It's still not perfect, but at least I can move without wincing. Rob thought for sure that our neighbors were going to call the police since I was practically screaming every time I tried to stand up. It was terrible! I've been trying to take it easy, but stuff still has to be done. Ugh.

I don't think I mentioned that Rob and I went to see a play in D.C. during our time off from work. It is based on the C.S. Lewis novel, which is actually the first gift Rob ever gave me! To be honest, it was really weird and kind of dark, but it was really fascinating, too. We both liked it, although it kind of haunted me for awhile. It made me want to read the book again, so I need to dig that out.

Nothing more to update from my end. I'll try to be a better blogger!

Holiday Wrap Up

2010-01-02T10:33:00.003-05:00

I've been slacking on posting on the blog, since Rob and I took off from work this week and there's been much to occupy my time. We had a nice holiday visiting with both of our families and friends.

Among our top favorite gifts was a food processor. Rob's delighted that I can now make a pie crust from scratch, and he used it last night to slice up the onions for his famous French Onion Soup. Both were delicious!

Unfortunately, I irritated my sciatica a few days before Christmas and it's only gotten worse (maybe I shouldn't have been moving heavy boxes or a dresser, but whatever). Anyway, it was so awful yesterday that I went to urgent care, they xrayed to make sure that a bulging disc wasn't pressing on any important nerves, put me on some muscle relaxers and pain killers and ordered me to rest. That is VERY tough for me! But here I am, sitting on the bed with my lazy cat and trying my best not to think about everything that is unaccomplished around here....

Hope your holidays were happy!

Cool New Toy!

2009-12-27T20:59:00.001-05:00

Rob and I got a FlipCam for Xmas from my parents (thanks, Mom and Dad!), and we've had a lot of fun playing around with it already. This is Rob's first little edited ditty -- juggling in the dark with glow-in-the-dark flashing balls. Silly, but fun... enjoy!

Recipe Sharing: Blue Sky Potatoes

2009-12-22T11:13:00.000-05:00

This is a terrific Rachel Ray recipe that I made for an office potluck. Enjoy!

Blue Sky Potatoes
Yield: 24 servings

24 new red potatoes, halved lengthwise
2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 ½ c. sour cream
1 c. crumbled blue cheese
½ c. crumbled cooked bacon, plus more for garnish
⅓ c. chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish
¼ red onion, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 400°. In a medium bowl, toss the potatoes with the olive oil. Place cut side down on a baking sheet and bake until the skins are crisp, 20 to 25 minutes; let cool.

Scoop out the center of each potato half and place in a medium bowl. Stir in the sour cream, blue cheese, bacon, parsley and onion. Fill each potato skin with the sour cream mixture and top with more crumbled bacon and parsley.

Cake Classes

2009-12-21T08:42:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, my friend Leann and I embarked on the first Wilton cake decorating classes, and boy did we have fun! My goal was just to learn the skills and techniques to make pretty birthday cakes, learn how to do a design with icing and, of course, perfect that delicious buttercream frosting. :)

Here are a few photos of my cake creations...

Cake #1: learning stars and zig-zags, plus learning how to write with the icing.

Cake #2: learning shell borders, figure-piping (aka creepy clowns), practicing roses and other flowers. A mish-mash!

Cake #3: roses and sweetpea flowers. The roses are a lot trickier than they look, but I'm getting the hang of it!

Next up, we are teaching ourselves how to do the basketweave design. Now I need an excuse to practice my skills!

Snowstorm of 2009

2009-12-19T14:40:00.009-05:00

We bundled up and headed out on a snowy walk. So far, we have 10-12 inches,
and it's supposed to keep snowing for another 8 hours!

Rob enjoying the falling snow!

The view of the snowy pines in our backyard.

Check out the stack of snow on the table.

Everybody loves a snowstorm!

Break Bread

2009-12-17T13:20:00.001-05:00

I've seen this on several blogs today, so I'm passing it along. It's a Panera Bread ad from USA Today. Very clever!

An open letter to:

The Secret Service & The Party Crashers; Darth Vader & Luke Skywalker; Glee Club Singers & Football Players; Barack Obama & Joe Wilson; The Mac Guy & The PC Guy; Rosie O’Donnell & Tom Selleck; Brett Favre & Wisconsin; Wall Street Execs & Everyone Else; Martina Navratilova & Andre Agassi; Sons-In-Law & Mothers-In-Law; Introverts & Extroverts; Mike Tyson & Evander Holyfield; Itchy & Scratchy; Ohio State & Michigan; Yoko & The Remaining Beatles; Tori & Cand Spelling; Optimists & Pessimists; The Right & The Left; Lou Dobbs & CNN; People Who Are Always Right & People Who Are Never Wrong; Michael Lohan & Dina Lohan & Lindsay Lohan; Eric Mangini & Bill Belichick; Vampires & Werewolves; Kanye West & Anyone with a TV; Hallmark & Paris Hilton; Those Who Think It Tastes Great & Those Who Insist It’s Less Filling; Bart Simpson & Sideshow Bob; Insomniacs & The Inventor of the Car Alarm; Jessica Simpson & Perez Hilton; Red Sox Fans & Yankees Fans; Billy Corgan & The Smashing Pumpkins; Nerds & Dweebs; Rosie O’Donnell & Donald Trump; Prius Drivers & HUMMER Drivers; Batman & The Joker; Mariah Carey & Eminem; Guys Named Beau & Guys Named Bo; Joe Lieberman & Democrats; Popeye & Bluto; Bill Gates & Steve Jobs; Those Who Install Toilet Paper Over & Those Who Prefer it Under; Don Draper & Roger Sterling; Skiers & Snowboarders; Teenagers & Parents; Bud Selig & Pete Rose; The FiOS Guy & That Other Cable Guy; Indie Film Snobs & Summer Blockbuster Fans; Importers & Exporters; Iceman & Maverick; Conformists & Nonconformists; Freudians & Skinnerians; Housewives in Orange County & Housewives in NYC; Jan & Marcia; Mimes & Anyone With Eyes; TOS Trekkies & TNG Trekkies; People Who Are Going Back to Cali & People Who Don’t Think So; Michael Moore & George W. Bush; Early Birds & Night Owls; Sarah Palin & Tina Fey; Those That Need a Square & Those Who Haven’t Got a Square to Spare; Goth Girls & Homecoming Queens; Big Dog People & People Who Put Dogs in Handbags; Noel Gallagher & Liam Gallagher; Fashionists & People Who Wear White After Labor Day; Susan Boyle & Sharon Osbourne; Lord Voldemort & Muggles; “Pink Hats” & Real Sports Fans; Slobs & Their Roommates; Dick Cheney & Hunters; Financial Planners & Spendthrifts; Magic Johnson & Isiah Thomas; Rosie O’Donnell & Elizabeth Hasselbeck; and Benjamin Netanyahu & Mahmoud Abbas.

Break bread.

Pledge 2.0

2009-12-16T16:03:00.001-05:00

Catching Up

2009-12-15T13:15:00.005-05:00

I've been a bad blogger these last few weeks.... Christmas shopping, busy work and more have kept me too preoccupied, and I haven't made time to sit down and catch up in blogland.

I've started Wilton cake decorating classes with my friend Leann, and we are up to lesson 3 this week. It's really been fun, and I love having the tools and the (developing) skill to make pretty cakes! I don't want to be Duff, but I would like to know how to pull together an attractive cake. We did stars and zig zags last week; tomorrow we work on roses and figure piping.

The downside is that I now know what ingredients go into that delicious buttercream frosting we all love so much. Needless to say, anything with the words "butter" and "cream" in the title is just as bad for you as it sounds. I've been making two batches per week for my class and can feel my arteries hardening with each one. I wish it didn't taste so good!

Most of my Xmas shopping is finished, and the majority is wrapped. I'm waiting for one more thing to arrive. Our Xmas tree is faring okay... kitty still attacks it occasionally and probably continues to climb up and down the thing while we aren't watching. We didn't brave any ornaments this year. :)

Hope your holiday season is going well so far... I'll look forward to reading all about it!

Attack Kitty!

2009-12-07T14:55:00.001-05:00

A Tasty Pick-Me-Up

2009-12-01T15:24:00.001-05:00

I just went into our kitchen at work, and there I found new k-cups of gingerbread coffee, vanilla roast and hot chocolate.

Oh, joy, of joys. Just what I needed to perk up my afternoon! I brewed me up a gingerbread and tossed in a vanilla creamer for good measure.

Sometimes it's the little things!

Last NaBloMo Post!

2009-11-30T09:29:00.000-05:00

It's the last day of November, so I'm wrapping up my November challenge of posting something new every day. It's been fun, but a little exhausting. :)

Thanksgiving has ended, we are getting decorated for Christmas (this is our first time to put up a tree in many years, thanks to our rambunctious kitty!) and we are on the downhill slide toward Christmas. It will be here and gone before we know it.

Thanks for sticking with me, reading and commenting these last few weeks. I've really enjoyed your feedback!

Thanksgiving Wrap Up

2009-11-29T19:15:00.003-05:00

Hope you had a happy Thanksgiving! We headed up to my parents' house on Thursday morning, avoiding the Wednesday-night-before-Thanksgiving craziness, and got up there a little before lunchtime. We had a great meal with my family and spent the evening with Rob's family. It's nice when everyone is in the same place!

Friday morning, my Mom and I headed to the mall pretty early. We scored some good deals, although we didn't buy too much and we avoided Wal-Mart altogether. When we got home, everyone else was still asleep! Rob got up, we bundled up in layers (I had on long-johns, a sweater, a sweatshirt, jeans, jacket, hat, scarf, ear-wraps. gloves and hat!) and set out on the Allegany Highlands Trail, departing from the depot and walking toward Cumberland. It was snowing and c-o-l-d, but we had fun! We went about 1.5 miles out, found five geochaches, and walked the 1.5 miles back. Then we went for pancakes at a local diner - delicious!

We decided to head home on Saturday, instead of waiting until Sunday, to avoid the traffic. I decided that after five years, we should try putting up a Christmas tree again. We've not been putting one up, due to the high-level of crazy that emits from our kitty. It's sans-ornaments (that would be waaaaaaaay to much temptation!), but it looks pretty with just the lights. She's already climbed up it and I've chased her away more than a few times, but it's still standing!

Back to work tomorrow, but not before the last of the turkey leftovers for dinner tonight. Let the countdown toward Christmas begin!

Heated Rivalries

2009-11-28T16:13:00.004-05:00

Newsweek did a feature on the top 10 rivalries of the decade. Personally, I think some of them are l-a-m-e, but I'm interested in your feedback, too.

Here's what Newsweek said:

10. Angelina Jolie vs. Jennifer Aniston
9. Facebook vs. MySpace
8. Sarah Palin vs. ‘SNL’
7. Federer vs. Nadal
6. Print vs. Digital
5. Google vs. Everyone Else
4. Pixar vs. DreamWorks
3. Red Sox vs. Yankees
2. Mac vs. PC
1. Hillary vs. Bill

Okay, I get Print vs. Digital, since it really has changed the way we receive news. Mac vs. PC has the pop-culture value. And Google definitely thwarts the competition.

But who cares about Jennifer and Angelina? I'm so sick of the Yankees I could scream, and I don't think Hillary and Bill have quite the polar distinction that Newsweek does. I personally think they make a pretty good team, and you can interpret that as positively or negatively as you'd like.

What about China vs. the United States, in a rivalry for development and money? Verizon vs. Comcast? For sports, the Patriots vs. Colts is a better discussion, in my book. Heck, the Democrat vs. Republican rivalry has drawn a lot of heat in the last two years -- where are they?

What do you think are the biggest rivalries of the past 10 years?

Recipe Sharing: Hash Brown Benedict

2009-11-27T08:08:00.000-05:00

This recipe was in the most recent Williams-Sonoma catalog, and it looks delicious, so I'm sharing it with you. I'm looking forward to making it soon!

Hash Brown Benedict
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

2 lb. russet potatoes, peeled and shredded
2 tsp. cornstarch
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 egg yolks
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
Pinch of cayenne pepper
2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
3 Tbs. minced fresh chives
12 slices Canadian bacon, cooked until lightly browned and kept warm
12 poached eggs

Directions
Rinse the potatoes, drain and pat dry. In a bowl, combine the potatoes, cornstarch, salt and black pepper. In 10-inch fry pan over medium heat, warm the oil. Working in batches, form the potato mixture into 1/4-cup patties and drop them into the oil. Cook, turning once, until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet and keep warm in a 250°F oven.

In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, lemon juice and 2 tsp. water. Transfer to a double boiler set over medium-low heat, until the water is just simmering inside the double boiler. Whisk constantly until the mixture begins to thicken, then remove from the heat and whisk for 1 minute more. Season with salt, black pepper and cayenne. Whisking constantly, slowly stream in the melted butter until incorporated, then whisk in the chives. Keep the hollandaise sauce warm.

Place 2 hash brown patties on each plate. Top each patty with 1 slice of Canadian bacon, 1 poached egg and a spoonful of the hollandaise sauce. Serve immediately. Serves 6.

My Thanksgiving Wish for You

2009-11-26T10:12:00.004-05:00

May your stuffing be tasty;
May your turkey plump.
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.

May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!

Recipe Sharing: Maple Pecan Squares

2009-11-25T10:34:00.002-05:00

Rob and I went to a technique class at Williams-Sonoma a few weeks ago, and the person leading the class shared this recipe (it's also on the WS Web site). I am planning to make these treats for Thanksgiving -- hope they are as delicious as they sound! (P.S. - hop over to Dallas' blog for a tasty Pumpkin Crumb Cake recipe.)

Maple Pecan Squares
Yield: 24 squares

Ingredients

For the Crust:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup firmly packed golden brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
8 Tbs. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 3/4-inch pieces

For the Filling:

6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2/3 cup firmly packed golden brown sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

Directions
Preheat an oven to 350°F. Carefully line a 9-inch square baking pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil, letting the foil extend up the sides and over the edges of the pan. Butter the foil liner.

To make the crust by hand, in a large bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar and salt until blended. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until large, coarse crumbs the size of small peas form.

To make the crust with a food processor, in the bowl of the processor, combine the flour, brown sugar and salt and pulse 2 or 3 times to blend. Add the butter and pulse 8 to 10 times until large, coarse crumbs the size of small peas form.

Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake the crust until the edges are lightly browned and the top feels firm when lightly touched, 12 to 17 minutes. Set aside.

To make the filling, in a saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, maple syrup and brown sugar and stir together until the butter melts and the brown sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and immediately stir in the cream. Then stir in the pecans. Pour the hot filling over the partially baked crust, spreading it evenly to the edges with an icing spatula.

Bake until the filling is set when you give the pan a gentle shake, 22 to 25 minutes. During baking, the filling will bubble vigorously, then the bubbles will subside and become smaller toward the end of baking. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool until the filling is firm, about 1 1/2 hours.

Using the ends of the foil liner, carefully lift the maple-pecan square in its liner from the baking pan. Run a small knife around the edges of the square to loosen it from the foil. Using a large, sharp knife, cut into 25 small squares. The squares will slide easily off the foil. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Makes 25 squares.

Tuesday Top 10

2009-11-24T09:56:00.000-05:00

Last Thankful Tuesday of November! Here is a rundown of the things I appreciate this week:

Thanksgiving! Besides the turkey, stuffing and pie, it's always good to be with family and friends.
Cooler weather. I'm ready for turtleneck sweaters, scarfs and fuzzy gloves. Now if only the rain would go away...
Christmas carols -- one local station is playing them 24/7, and I love it! :)
My very cool new pottery mug that I picked up at a craft show last weekend. It's the perfect size and oh, so pretty. Somehow that makes the coffee taste event better!
A good start on my Christmas shopping. I have several things already for Rob and am gathering gifts for others as I go along in the next couple of weeks. I've already placed some orders online and am slowly making progress.
Better 'N Peanut Butter -- a delicious PB substitute, much lower in fat and (almost) just as tasty. Only 100 calories and 2 g. of fat for 2 tbsp.
Big decisions around our house that I'm not quite ready to talk about yet. We've been talking and planning and trying to figure out what's next for us. Stay tuned...
Smart Wool socks. I got three pair at Gabriels in Morgantown at a BIG discount ($3/pair instead of $10/pair at LL Bean). Yay!
My sweet AJ kitty who runs to great me at the door everyday when I come home. She always makes me feel loved. :)
Trader Joe's strawberry cereal bars!

Recipe Sharing: Drunken Risotto with Sausage and Spinach

2009-11-23T09:01:00.000-05:00

I made this dish Sunday night, and it's a keeper. Risotto and I don't have a good history together, but this one worked. Even I was surprised! :)

It's from the most recent issue of the Rachael Ray magazine.

Drunken Risotto with Sausage and Spinach
Yield: 4 servings (I think it serves more -- we both had a heaping portion, Rob had seconds, and there's a ton left over.)

Ingredients

3 c. dry red wine
2 c. chicken stock
1 tbsp olive oil
3/4 lb. bulk Italian sausage
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 c. arborio rice
Salt and peer
1/2 lb. spinach leaves, stemmed and chopped
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg (I used a smaller portion from my spice cabinet)
2 tbsp. butter
1/2 c. grated pecorino-romano cheese

Directions
In a large saucepan, combine the wine and chicken broth; keep warm over a low flame.

In a large, heavy pot, heat the EVOO over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, crumbling it and until browned, about 2 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the rice and season with salt and paper.

Add the warm wine stock mixture a couple of ladlefuls at a time (I used a 1/2 c.), stirring vigorously after each addition and letting the liquid evaporate before adding more, cooking the risotto for 18-20 minutes.

In the last 5 minutes of cooking, stir in the spinach by the handful, allowing it to wilt. Stir in the nutmeg. In the last minute, stir in the butter, and then the cheese.

Do You Yelp?

2009-11-22T12:48:00.002-05:00

Yelp has become my new favorite site for reviews. I have an account and primarily do restaurant reviews, but you can find anything and everything on there -- from shopping to stuff-to-do to doctors and more. You can sort by city and find almost anything (at least in the D.C. area).

I wrote a review of our dinner at Founding Farmers on Friday night, pretty much giving them a glowing rating, but noting that it took a little longer than normal to get our check and get out the door. Nothing terrible, and we agreed that it was nice not to be rushed, but we just thought that with the big crowd waiting at the door, it would have been fine to turn our table over a little faster.

Anywho... today I got a message from the manager of FF, thanking me for our nice review. He even offered us a free dessert on our next visit. He asked us to share our server's name (I assume it's probably on the receipt??) so he can follow up and make sure that others don't have that delay in wrapping up their meals.

Impressive follow-up! If you don't Yelp, check it out and find info on the good, bad and ugly of your neck of the woods.

Date Night

2009-11-21T16:23:00.006-05:00

Rob treated me to a night on the town on Friday. We headed down into D.C. after work, parked our car near the Kennedy Center, where we had show tickets for later.

As it turns out, we'd both forgotten to grab some change before we headed out, and we needed it for the parking meter. We were near George Washington University, so I stopped three co-eds and asked them if they knew of anyplace we could get change. They just started handing over their quarters and dimes! Rob gave them $2, we fed the meter and set out on foot to dinner. How generous of those girls!

We had a dinner reservation at a popular D.C. restaurant we hadn't tried, but we'd heard lots of good reviews from friends. Excellent! We shared appetizers of skillet corn bread and blue cheese/bacon wrapped dates. The dates were delicious -- sweet and tangy, and not anything I'd ever try to fix at home. Rob had the three-cheese ravioli with herb butter, and I had the rustic chicken pot pie. We were too stuffed for dessert.

After dinner, we set back out for the 10-block or so walk to the Kennedy Center to see A Streetcar Named Desire (the Tennessee Williams play). We'd gotten the tickets months ago, and I'm so glad we did because the play was terrific. Cate Blanchett played the lead role of Blanche DuBois, and the other actors all really stood out too. I really didn't know much about the story going in, so that made it really interesting.

Thanks to Rob for treating me to the show and dinner!

Am I Missing Something?

2009-11-20T10:23:00.000-05:00

Are there Twilight fans out there?

Is there something I'm not getting about these books? Should I be reading them? Everyone I know is talking about them. I guess I have a pre-conceived idea that I won't enjoy them, since I don't really like science fiction or fantasy stuff.

Examples: Rob had to draaaaaag me to those Lord of the Rings movies, and I still don't understand The Matrix and think it's probably one of the dumbest movies ever made.

Like me, you are likely seeing stuff everywhere about the new movie coming out. (Or maybe it's already out? I told you I was out of the loop.)

Tell me -- am I missing something???

I'd Have to Disagree

2009-11-19T08:53:00.001-05:00

Oh, People magazine. Really?

I'm not sure what you were thinking, naming Johnny Depp this year's classy title of "Sexiest Man Alive."

I guess he's just not my cup of tea, but I don't really see what qualities make him attractive. Maybe some people really do find that whole bad boy motif enticing. Personally, I do not. Everyone knows I love nerds.... Matthew Broderick, John Cusack, Noah Wylie. Oh - and my hubby, of course.

Next year, please, please, please encourage your search committee to expand beyond the Oceans 11 cast and Hollywoods stereotypical heart-throbs. There are tons of notables out there that are way more deserving. Or at least I think so.

**********

Note: this is my immediate reaction upon learning the Depp news. Who knows, maybe I'll change my mind after I read the article... but somehow I doubt it. If you love Johnny Depp, no judgment from me! :)

Recipe Sharing: Beef Stew

2009-11-18T10:52:00.000-05:00

This is my favorite recipe for beef stew, coming from Rob's America's Test Kitchen cookbook. It's perfect for a Sunday evening dinner, and there's always leftovers to enjoy for lunches or throw in the freezer for a quick dinner later.

Enjoy!

Beef Stew
Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

1 3 lb. boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
salt and pepper
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 onions, minced
1 tbsp. tomato paste
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp. flour
1 c. dry red wine
2 c. chicken broth
1 tsp. dried thyme
2 bay leaves
5 medium red potatoes, washed and cubed
4 carrots, peeled and sliced thin
1 c. frozen peas

Directions

Put oven rack to the lower-middle position; pre-heat oven to 300 degrees. Cube and season beef with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp. of oil in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown half of the meat, about 10 minutes, and then transfer to a plate. Return the pot to medium-high heat and repeat with 1 more tbsp. of oil and the remaining beef. Set browned beef aside.
Add the last tbsp. of oil to the empty pot and return to medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stire in the tomato paste and garlic, cooking for 30 seconds. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute.
Slowly stir in the wine, scraping up any browned bits. Stir in the broth, thyme, bay leaves and browned beef (along with the accumulated juices). Bring to a simmer, cover and transfer the pot to the oven. Cook for one our.
Stir in the potatoes and carrots. Cover and continue to cook in the oven until the beef and potatoes are tender, about 1 hour.
Remove the pot from the oven and discard the bay leaves. Stir in the peas and let sit for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste before eating.

Tuesday Top 10

2009-11-17T08:13:00.008-05:00

Happy Tuesday! Here are my top thanks for this week -- hope you are having a great day!

Weekend visits with family and friends, as Rob and I traveled to West Virginia and to Ohio to spend time with some of the people we like the most. :)
Sweet AJ kitty who is always so happy to see us! When we got home from our long weekend away, she was waiting by the door. She's been extra friendly and is glad to have us home!
Our upcoming date night. We are going to see A Streetcar Named Desire and enjoying dinner out in D.C. Can't wait!
The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. I'm reading this book now and can't put it down. It's a heart wrenching story.
The kind happy birthday wishes that filled my facebook and cards that filled my mailbox last week -- thoughtful friends!
Spending 30-40 minutes on the treadmill daily. I've been a little flattened with my weight loss efforts (basically, I'm stuck), but I really enjoy getting in a workout and clearing my head or watching a show on the DVR.
Burt's Bees Lip Balm and Dove Cream Oil Intensive Hand Cream -- my two must-haves for the cooler weather.
My new Bublé CD -- love it! Thanks to Rob for a perfect birthday gift. :)
Jolly Christmas carols that are starting to fill the airwaves. It might be a smidge early, but that doesn't keep me from humming along. :)
Trader Joe's Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites!

Boots Update

2009-11-16T09:46:00.000-05:00

After last week's fruitless search for new boots, I'm happy to say that I found a pair! I happened by an Aerosoles store and saw a big variety of boots in the window, so I wandered in and found a jolly, very helpful sales gal who guaranteed me that she could get my ankle in any boot in the store.

I don't know how she did it, but she did!

I left with a new pair of black boots that not only fit, but are very comfy and stylish. I'm looking forward to wearing them next weekend when Rob and I venture out on our theater date (more on that coming soon).

Yay for me!

A Big Cookie!

2009-11-15T19:29:00.002-05:00

I was just thumbing through the new Williams-Sonoma catalog and came across this: Sandwich Cookie Cake Pan.

How cute is that???

I'm debating on whether I should spring for it now (I do have a $20 gift card I could cash in), or if I should hold off until December 26 and try to snag it at half-price.

I'll probably hold off, but I'm already planning the fun cakes I can make with this cute pan!

Kankles

2009-11-15T09:23:00.000-05:00

When I broke my ankle last March, I kind of knew there would be shoes in my closet that I would probably not wear ever again. I had a feeling that I'd be bidding some of my cute, strappy heels farewell.

I did not expect that I'd be bidding my boots goodbye, too.

Turns out that I now have kankles.

Correction, I have a kankle.

My right ankle is wider and chunkier than my left ankle. It's very attractive, if I were a table.

I decided to order some new tall black boots from Zappos. I ordered two sizes (I feel like I can do that with free shipping and free returns), and they came last week. They are soft and stylish!

They do not fit.

I can zip up my left boot with no problem. My right boot won't zip up past the top of my foot.

They are going back and I will be bootless.

Goodbye, cute heels. Goodbye, comfy boots. Sigh.

Walken Gaga

2009-11-14T08:43:00.000-05:00

Love me some Christopher Walken! He can make almost anything (including these wacky song lyrics) sound fascinating. Have a listen at him taking on Lady Gaga's "Pokerface"...

Recipe Sharing: Corn Chowder

2009-11-13T19:33:00.000-05:00

Fall is an excellent time for hearty soups, chowders and stews. I made this recipe a few weeks ago and we really enjoyed it. Warning: it makes a TON, and the cookbook recommends against freezing it. Despite our best efforts to enjoy it for a couple of dinners and lunches, I still finally pitched out a ton. Next time, I'll probably half the recipe.

The recipe calls for 10 ears of fresh corn, but since that isn't available now (and shucking it even when it is would be a pain), I used the option to use frozen corn. I'll note the substitution in the recipe below.

I guess you could add chicken to this dish, but it isn't called for in the recipe. If you want a chicken corn chowder, I recommend this recipe.

Enjoy!

Corn Chowder
Yield: Six servings (sayeth the cookbook - I'd say eight or more is more accurate)

Ingredients

10 ears fresh corn, husks and silk removed*
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 onion, minced
2 garlic cloves
3 tbsp. flour
3 c. chicken broth
2 c. milk
2 medium red potatoes, washed and cubed small
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1 c. heavy cream

* Two pounds of frozen corn can be substituted for the fresh corn ears. Puree one pound of the frozen corn (I used the blender) with all of the broth until smooth. Omit the flour from the recipe and use the pureed corn in place of the grated corn.

Directions

If using fresh corn, cut corn off of four ears; set aside. Grate the remaining six ears (using a box grater) in a separate bowl. (If using frozen corn -- waaaay easier! -- skip this and see note above).
Cook the bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat, until crisp. Stir in the onion and cook until softened, about five minutes. Stire in teh garlie and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Stir in the flour (omitted if using frozen corn) and cook for one minute. Slowly stir in the broth and milk, scraping up any browned bits.
Stir in the potatoes, bay leaves, thyme and grated corn.
Bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes.
Stir in the remaining corn kernels and cream. Continue to simmer until the corn kernels are tender, yet still slightly crunchy, about five minutes.
Discard the bay leaves. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Restaurant Tell Alls

2009-11-12T08:09:00.003-05:00

Last year, New York City passed legislation that required all city chain restaurants to post calorie data on their menus. I think this is an excellent idea! As someone who (mostly) tries to keep track of the calories I consume, it is so helpful to be able to easily find nutrition information. Kudos to restaurants who aren't scared to actually share the good or bad news about the food they are serving!

Here are a few of the helpful nutrition Web sites for restaurants -- do you know of any others?

Red Robin -- Customize your burger by adding cheese, taking off the bun, enjoying fries.
Starbucks -- Test your latte knowledge or find out how many grams of fat are in your apple fritter.
Panera Bread -- Get the skinny on your "you pick two" combo.
Baja Fresh -- A nutritional table for entrees and their most popular side orders.
Chipotle -- This isn't an official Chipotle site, but it's an excellent calculator for finding out the bad news about your burrito.

DietFacts.com and CalorieCount.com are also two great sites, chock full of tons o' restaurants.

Xmas Wish List

2009-11-11T07:59:00.001-05:00

What's on your holiday wish list? It's only 43 days until Christmas, and this is the time of year that people start asking for gift ideas... and I'm always stumped. I try to keep a running list of things I'd like to have to pass along as suggestions, although surprises can be fun, too! Here are a few items from my wish list so far....

A new food processor. Mine is small and old (a hand-me-down from my grandmother), and I've been eyeing up some of the new models.
Pastry Mat -- I saw one of these used at a technique class at Williams-Sonoma, and now I'm a fan.
2qt. baking dish to match my 9x13, 8x8 and pie plate.
Gift cards to Starbucks or iTunes.
New black socks. All of mine are wearing thin!

What is Santa bringing you?

Tuesday Top 10

2009-11-10T09:46:00.002-05:00

It's week two of the resumed Tuesday Top 10, so here are the things I'm thankful for this week....

A wonderful wedding celebration for my friends Kelly and Brian. Everything was perfect, and everyone is so happy that they are starting their life together!
Spending lots of time with my parents and having dinner with my grandmother this weekend. Always fun to see everyone!
Celebrating another birthday! It's much better than the alternative. :) I believe that 33 will be a good year!
A short week at work... since I took off Monday, it'll make the week go even faster.
Thoughtful birthday messages, cards and gifts from friends and family. It's nice to be remembered!
A jillion loads of laundry, finally washed, dried, folded and put away. (Boo for the fact that the laundry basket is getting full.... again. How does that happen??)
Finding a new pair of jeans that fit. I have the hardest time with this.... too long (even thought I'm tall, I have short legs); fit in the hips but gaps in the waist; etc. The same stuff every girl finds, I supposed. Banana Republic's Urban cut are my new faves.
The accomplishments of not biting my nails for five weeks. It's been tough! I'm trying to stop doing it for a couple of reasons, including trying to avoid picking up any germs and getting them inadvertently in my mouth.
One step closer to that dishwasher I've been wanting.... at least we've started to look in the stores. :)
Trader Joe's mini gingerbread men cookies!

Hope you are having a great week!

Happy birthday to me!

2009-11-09T16:39:00.003-05:00

Today is my 33rd birthday. Wow! I guess I should feel old, but 33 still sounds good to me and I don't feel old.... yet. I've never been the kind of gal to feel a crisis coming on about a birthday, so why start now?

I celebrated today by taking the day off from work, running a bunch of errands, having lunch out with my hubby and looking for a new dishwasher. Tonight we are going out to dinner and opening gifts. Love low-key celebrations!

The Wedding and the Toast

2009-11-08T19:26:00.009-05:00

Well, the big wedding weekend came off without a hitch. The bride was beautiful, the ceremony was perfect and my friend is married!

In case you are interested, here is the toast I offered at the reception:

Hello, my name is Kathryn, and it’s my honor to offer a toast this evening.

Kelly and I met a very long time ago, when her family moved into
a house up the street from mine, and our families quickly became friends. Throughout the last 30 years, we’ve been each other’s shopping companion, traveling buddy, card playing nemesis and confidant for all things good and bad.

What stands out to me about Kelly is that she is as loyal and as sincere a friend as I’ve ever known. She’s always supportive. Always thoughtful. Always encouraging. Always there.

I know that Brian knows this, and I want each of you to know what kind of friend Brian is getting in his wife Kelly. His life – and their lives together – will be blessed with this closeness. I know everyone here today celebrates this joy!

The actress Nanette Newman once said, “A good marriage is 80 percent good luck in finding the right person at the right time. The rest is trust.”

Brian and Kelly couldn’t have chosen better people to hold that trust than one another.

So, please join me in celebrating Kelly and Brian – to love, laughter and happily ever after!

Here are a few photos from Saturday. Kelly and I had our makeup done, and I don't think I look quite like myself. :)

Love and Marriage

2009-11-07T09:31:00.000-05:00

In honor of Kelly and Brian's wedding today, I'm sharing some fun quotes about marriage that I found as I was researching ideas for my toast. Enjoy!

To keep your marriage brimming, with love in the wedding cup, whenever you're wrong, admit it; whenever you're right, shut up.
-- Ogden Nash

Marriage is a great institution, but I'm not ready for an institution.
-- Mae West

Love is blind -- marriage is the eye-opener.
-- Pauline Thomason

A good marriage is like a casserole, only those responsible for it really know what goes in it.
-- Anonymous

Good Snackin'

2009-11-06T10:43:00.001-05:00

Last week I went to the market on the way home from work, which typically turns into disaster since I'm usually hungry! I ran across a display of these bars at the end of the health food aisle, checked out the nutrition and tossed one in the cart. I'm so glad I did!

Luna Minis may be my new favorite snack. They are half the size of a normal Luna bar, but still packed with nutrients like calcium, folic acid, iron and protein. The minis come in these flavors: S’Mores, Nutz Over Chocolate and Caramel Nut Brownie.

As the Luna Web site says, bigger isn't always better. Sometimes a little bit is all we need!

Birthday Clubs

2009-11-05T08:13:00.000-05:00

I am a big fan of signing up for restaurant birthday clubs and taking advantage of all of the free appreciation they throw my way every November. Here are a few of my favorites -- join them and celebrate your next birthday with these goodies! (Note: all of these coupons are good for the two weeks surrounding the big day.)

Red Robin -- Receive a FREE burger on your birthday.
Noodles and Company -- Receive a free dish on your birthday and a surprise on your Noodlegram anniversary.
Qdoba Mexican Grill -- free birthday burrito!
Houlihans -- free birthday entree.

What are your favorite birthday freebies?

Glee and the SSB

2009-11-04T10:19:00.000-05:00

Did you see the cast of Glee sing the Star Spangled Banner at game three of the World Series? They did an excellent job! Rob and I like to watch Glee, in part for the campiness of the whole show, but they also reflect a lot of diversity and overall wacky characters.

Tuesday Top 10

2009-11-03T09:21:00.002-05:00

It's back for November! Last year, the bloggy-thing to do was to share 10 reasons to be thankful that week. Seeing as how it's November and Thanksgiving and all that jazz, I thought I'd bring it back for the next four Tuesdays. Here goes nothin'.....

1. Celebrating good friends! We are really looking forward to this weekend's wedding celebration for Kelly and Brian. Besides my duties as MOH, we can't wait to spend time with their families and buggy on the dance floor. :)
2. Seven months healing on my broken ankle and a 99% return to normal mobility. For a while, I thought it would never heal. Yet here I am, running and jumping and sometimes completely forgetting that it ever hurt so badly. It still aches here and there, and the scars are slowly fading, but it's so, so much better than I would have thought just a few months ago.
3. Since today is the day we'll elect a new governor of Virginia, it also means that we will FINALLY have an end to the incessant phone calls we receive to vote for one party or the other. I bet we get 10 every day! I am more than thankful that those are coming to an end.
4. Fall weather, cooler temperatures, sweaters and the beauty of the season.
5. My funny husband who loves to tell me about his kills and successes on his Xbox shoot-'em-up games. I have no clue what he's usually talking about, but it's fun to hear the stories nonetheless.
6. Red Starbucks cups and the return of holiday drinks on November 3. Gingerbread latte, I'm coming for you.
7. The new dishwasher I've convinced myself that Rob is going to buy me for my birthday. It's the only thing I've asked for!
8. A job that I continue to really enjoy, even almost eight years after I started. Never a dull day in our office, and fun co-workers really make a difference.
9. Facebook and blogs that keep me in touch with so many friends I wouldn't be able to keep up with without them. Sometimes that are too time-consuming, but I really enjoy following your stories!
10. Jell-o Cinnamon Roll pudding snacks!

NaBloPoMo

2009-11-02T09:49:00.004-05:00

Last year, I pledged to blog every day during the month of November as part of National Blog Posting Month. I have a couple of other friends doing it again this year, and since I blogged yesterday (unintentionally!) on November 1, I thought I'd give it a go.

Hopefully I won't run out of things to say. :)

This weekend was busy, but fun. I headed west on Saturday to spend the day with my dear friend Kelly who is getting married in LESS THAN ONE WEEK!! Her big day is next Saturday! We finished her seating assignments, figured out who is eating chicken and who is eating beef, tried on her dress, fooled with her hair and had lunch with the groom. I made it back home in time to make chocolate waffles for dinner and give candy to our handful of trick-or-treaters.

Sunday morning was a washout with buckets of rain coming down, but we headed out anyway after church to a picnic with Rob's geocaching people. I'd made a lemon pound cake and a pasta salad to take (I need some new potluck picnic ideas -- I'm pasta-saladed out. Ideas??), and we were crammed in the world's tiniest pavilion. About halfway through the event, though, the rain stopped and the sun came out. It was a good time and nice to be outside some, although I stayed out of the rain as much as possible as I'm trying to avoid getting sick before my MOH duties next weekend.

Overall, a fun weekend!

To Whom It May Concern

2009-11-01T14:57:00.002-05:00

Dear new thyroid doctor,

It was nice meeting you, and I feel like we'll make a great team to kick my thyroid back into gear. I'm optimistic!

Next time, please don't give me a blank prescription, and then let me know you'll call me with what dosage level to check off before taking it to the pharmacy. The nice ladies at Target didn't appreciate that and refused to give me my medicine until they talked to you.

On a positive note, I'm feeling much better!

Sincerely,
Me

*******

Dear Target pharmacy,

Please don't give me a hard time. I only did what the doctor told me to do. I guess I thought it might be a little odd (or, in your word, illegal), but I'm just the one who needs the medicine so I can stop dragging around. My husband will thank you!

Sincerely,
Me

*******

Dear insurance company,

Why, oh why, won't you pay for my new prescription? The generic drug you will cover just isn't doing the trick. Won't you please consider paying for it and saving me $55 every month?

My husband will thank you, too!

Sincerely,
Me

Add this to my film list....

2009-10-31T09:34:00.000-04:00

In addition to the Lovely Bones, this is another new film I'm adding to my "must see list":

My friend the rugby player passed this along. Hopefully, the film does history justice.

Today's Bust of a Halloween Show

2009-10-30T09:12:00.003-04:00

I used to l-o-v-e the Today Show's annual Halloween show! They'd have creative costumes, all kept secret from one another to add to the buzz (except Matt and Al, who were usually a team). We've seen them as J.Lo and P-Diddy, and then as Simon and Garfunkel and Oprah and Paris Hilton. Katie flew in one year as Peter Pan (almost knocking an innocent bystander in head, but that's neither here nor there), and Anne made a lovely Audrey Hepburn. You can take a look back here.

In the past couple of years, though, I've been really disappointed in the costumes. It's like they are trying too hard to make everyone come together under on theme, which never works. This year, they all dressed up as characters from Star Wars. It was painful to watch, and the whole schtick was more about the authentic Star Wars items on loan from Lucas Films than it was about the hosts in costume.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

My advice: Quit phoning it in. If you don't want to do the costumes anymore, don't do it. Find another way to celebrate, but please quit dragging out these lame attempts!

Halloween. Bah Humbug.

Some Closure, I Suppose

2009-10-27T18:55:00.010-04:00

Back in 2002, the D.C. area was terrorized by two crazy people who were randomly killing people. At the time, it was thought that it was one killer, dubbed the "sniper", who was driving around in a white van targeting people for no reason. Victims were being shot as they pumped gas, walked along the roadway and sat on benches. It was really scary! It seemed like every night I'd turn on the TV and the sniper would have struck again. He was hitting his victims from a distance, so people had no clue if someone was watching them from afar, just waiting to shoot.

It turns out the white van was a myth, and one night we turned on the TV to find coverage of a backyard in Washington State being dug up as part of the investigation. A suspect was in mind, and now the job was to find him. Then, just as suddenly as it started, the sniper was caught by an observant truck driver who spotted the suspected vehicle in a rest area parking lot.

The sniper turned out to be a team of two -- one man, and a teenage boy he'd taken under his wing. They were tried and convicted in both Maryland and Virginia, ensuring that any legal loopholes that could get them off the hook were essentially closed.

I explain all of this to share the news that John Allen Muhammad -- the mastermind and adult male sniper -- is set to be put to death by lethal injection on November 10. When I first heard the news, it almost took my breath away.

To be honest, I don't know why. Maybe it's because every time I pumped gas, I held my breath. I'd be nervous walking out to my car at the mall, wondering if the sniper was nearby. My heart would beat faster when I'd turn on the news and see another shooting. I guess it was just natural that the news of his execution give me the same reaction.

For the families of the victims, November 10 will bring some closure. I guess it will bring some for me, too.

Happy Hikers

2009-10-24T19:36:00.006-04:00

We headed out early this morning for a five-mile hike in a nature preserve near Alexandria. The weatherman was calling for "soaking rain" in the afternoon, so we got up and out so we'd beat the rain and enjoy the hike.

The first part of it was on a boardwalk-type walkway that ran for about 3/4 mile, right through the wetland/nature area of the park. We were surprised to pull in the parking lot and see so many cars that early, but quickly realized that this wetland area of the park was filled with photographers trying to capture the perfect shot.

This is what I've learned about these geocaching hikes with Rob -- even if he says we'll be on the trails, we won't be on the trails. I'm not sure why it's taken so long for this to sink in, but today it was hammered home. We bushwacked our way through quite a bit, including some waist-high growth that was pretty tough! We eventually made it back to the trails as we hiked back towards the car.

It did rain on us a little bit, but we were lucky to miss most of the down pour that came later this afternoon. We spent the rest of the day napping, watching football, eating pizza and trying the Ciao Bella Blackerry Cabernet Sorbet - yum!

Book Recommendations

2009-10-20T21:39:00.007-04:00

I've been reading some good books lately, so I thought I'd pass some recommendations on to you....

Still Alice by Lisa Genova. This is the story of a woman with early onset Alzheimer's, and it's really a wonderfully written novel. It's sad and sweet and very, very touching. And now I've convinced myself that I probably have it too. ;)

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf. I seriously could not put down this tale of two missing girls, family secrets and tragedy. It wasn't a mystery novel, but it was a real page-turner.

Happens Every Day by Isabel Gillies. This is an autobiography about a real woman who gives up her life to follow her husband's career.... up until the minute he decides he doesn't want to be married anymore. It's a fast read.

I'm on the waiting list at the library for The Help by Kathryn Stockett, and I have This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper, although I haven't started it yet. Any other suggestions from you??

I'm Back

2009-10-17T18:52:00.003-04:00

I flew home yesterday from five days in Chicago for a work conference my association hosted. Those days are looooooong days -- down to the staff office or prepping for the breakfast sessions by 6 a.m., and not back to my room until 10 p.m. or later. It's really exhausting!

The conference went well, the sessions I was responsible for running went smoothly and we managed to have a little bit of fun -- and a lot of good food. :) Dinners at N9NE, Gibson's and Volare were good treats and enjoyable time away from the madness of the meeting.

Unfortunately, I didn't get out of the hotel much more, so I wasn't able to see as much in Chicago as I wanted. Plans to walk to Millennium Park were canceled due to rain, but I did manage to get down Michigan Ave for some window shopping on my first day in town.

It's pouring rain here, but Rob decided to head out to do some geocaching this morning. After pancakes, he took off and I hit the market, Costco and Home Depot. I started today on the guest bath upstairs -- peeled all of the wallpaper border and plan to paint it a soft cream color. I've already picked out a new shower curtain and am ready to get it finished, so we can put it to good use when I start our master bath renovation.

Tomorrow after church, we are going to brunch and then taking a fall baking class at Williams Sonoma. I'm looking forward to it!

Hope you are having a nice weekend. To come, the recipe for the yummy corn chowder I made for dinner tonight.

Happy 35th, People Magazine!

2009-10-08T16:23:00.000-04:00

As an avid People magazine reader and a longtime subscriber, I'm happy to celebrate the 35th anniversary of my favorite magazine.

People has launched a cool interactive on their Web site: 1974 to Now: People's Biggest Stories.

You can see the layouts, see the photos and read the actual articles from the archives. Very cool way to look back at great pop history, mixed in with political news and famous faces.

Toast Tips?

2009-10-08T08:42:00.000-04:00

I am the Matron of Honor (doesn't matron sound sooooooo old??) in a wedding this November, so I have the honor of making a toast to the bride and groom.

Do you have any tips? Any good dos or don'ts? Heard any good toasts I could poach? (kidding!)

At our wedding, Tessa's (the MoH) toast was sweet, and Dave's (the BM) toast was funny. Can I be a little entertaining??

Advice welcome!

Recipe Sharing: Zesty Crockpot Chicken

2009-10-07T14:38:00.003-04:00

Not to be confused with Zesty Chicken Enchiladas or Zesty BBQ Chicken, here's yet another tasty and easy "zesty" recipe!

Zesty Crockpot Chicken

Ingredients

4 boneless chicken breasts (thawed, not frozen)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 pkg Good Seasons zesty Italian salad dressing mix
1 c. water
1 tsp. parsley
1 pkg cream cheese

Directions
Place chicken in crock pot. Blend soup, dressing mix, water and parsley, add to crock pot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. One hour before serving, add the package of cream cheese. Serve over cooked egg noodles.

All the Pieces Coming Together

2009-10-05T21:01:00.004-04:00

Dear Kate,

I'll admit that when I first met you, I didn't like you. I thought you were snippy and a little mean to poor Jon. After all, you were both working hard to raise your slew of children, and he seemed to bear the brunt of your exhaustion. What did he do to deserve it?

Now, after all that we've seen on TV and read in People magazine, I get it.

You really were living with nine children.

Doesn't Jon realize that your children -- thanks to the wonders of the Internet -- will see and read every little sordid detail of your marriage's demise? They'll see him say that he "lost his twenties" to his kids, and they'll see him sucking face with every 22 year old who he meets on the street.

You still may be a nut, and your kids definitely need some counseling and time away from the cameras, but now I get it. Jon is an idiot.

Sincerely,
Me

P.S. - In case you haven't seen Nancy Grace put Jon in his place, you can see it here:

Basket Bonaza

2009-10-05T20:49:00.003-04:00

I've been a bad blogger lately! Work has been crazy as we prepare for a conference, and it seems like every evening has been busy with one thing or another.

Last weekend, I boarded a bus with my mom and 34 other ladies for a road trip to the Longaberger Homestead. I hadn't been there in almost 10 years, and the trip was great! We'd not been on a bus trip before, and I think we both liked it (no driving, hotel and other arrangements made for us, etc.).

Longaberger has opened a Factory Outlet where they have extras from special baskets, heaps of liners and pottery, etc. They also had a "second quality" section, and I got a couple of baskets there at a great discount. Some of the baskets in that section are really screwy, but we dug through them and found some that have defects that are barely noticeable (example: I got a giant blanket basket that has a little bit of uneven stain on the a couple of the basket splints -- who'll notice that?).

Tonight I organized my new baskets and got everything put away. Thanks, Mom, for a very fun weekend!

Recipe Sharing: Sweet Potato Gratin

2009-09-27T17:40:00.004-04:00

We are big fans of sweet potatoes, and I found this recipe in a recent issue of Wegman's magazine. We're having it tonight with seared scallops and salad. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Gratin
Yield: 8 servings (nutritional info below)

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 sweet potatoes (or yams) (2 1/2 lbs), peeled, sliced 1/8-inch thick
Salt and pepper
1 cup (1/2 pint) fresh heavy cream

Directions

Use a 2-quart shallow casserole dish. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Coat bottom of casserole dish with oil; sprinkle with garlic. Cover bottom of dish with single overlapping layer of sliced sweet potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Repeat until all potatoes are used. Pour cream over potatoes. Bake, uncovered, 30-35 min, until potatoes are tender and top browned. Let rest 5 min before serving.

Nutrition Info: Each serving (1/ 3 cup) contains 220 calories, 24 g carbohydrate, (4 g fiber), 4 g protein, 13 g fat, (7 g saturated fat), 40 mg cholesterol, and 50 mg sodium.

New Fave Shows

2009-09-24T18:24:00.003-04:00

Lots of new TV shows have started in the last couple of weeks, so we've been sorting through them and figuring out what we want to add to our watching. I've been trying to cut back on how much time we spend in front of the TV, so this means we've dumped some shows in order to add others.

Here's what's on tap...

1. Glee - This show is great - the music is fun, the characters are likable and the stories are funny. My only beef is that it seems like most of the women on the show (the cheerleading coach, the wife of the Glee director, the cheerleader) are all schemers. Where are the nice girls??

2. The Perfect Wife - I'm a Julianna Margulies and Chris Noth fan, and I really liked the storyline of the first episode. She's balancing career with family and a screwed up marriage/husband.

3. Flash Forward - We haven't seen this yet (it airs tonight), but I'm holding out hoped since it's from the same guys who made Lost.

Of course there are the stand-by shows we'll continue to watch, like Survivor, Amazing Race and The Mentalist. I will miss ER this year!

What are you watching?

A little sarcasm never hurt

2009-09-23T20:47:00.001-04:00

I'm not big on Hollywood celebrities sharing their political views, but I do enjoy some good sarcasm! A friend shared this, and I thought it was too funny not to pass along - enjoy!

Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell

Catching Up

2009-09-22T22:41:00.004-04:00

We've been pretty busy for the fast few days and I haven't taken the time to write a blog. Now I'm parked in front of the tee-vee watching the stars dance, so I'm finally getting to it.

We went on a big hike last Saturday -- 8+ miles! We were actually hunting for a few geocaches, and Rob mistakenly thought we'd be on trails the whole time. He couldn't have been more wrong! We did some major bushwacking and blazed our own path. We climbed down hills and scrambled up others. I only had a minor breakdown - I'm terrified that I can't do it with my ankle still on the mend - but we did great and had such a fun time.

I have some good recipes to share.... we've been trying out some new things, so I need to get a few in order and I'll post them here. Tomorrow night we are having sweet potato gnocchi from Whole Foods, which I'm very anxious to fix like this.

So many good TV shows starting/resuming! I'm going to have to be selective -- there's no way I can watch as much as I think I can. Thank goodness for "on demand" that allows me to catch up on shows that we don't DVR.

Off to bed!

Let 'em sing it for you

2009-09-16T08:49:00.002-04:00

This is too funny. The radio station I listen to was talking about it this morning -- you basically type in text, and it pulls the words from songs, pieces them together and sings it for you.

I, of course, am wasting all sorts of time with this. :)

Let Them Sing it For You

First Five Minutes

2009-09-15T13:30:00.002-04:00

Kick-back and see the first five minutes of the season Grey's Anatomy premiere...

Recipe Sharing: Baked Oatmeal

2009-09-14T14:40:00.000-04:00

I ran across a similar recipe on another blog, made a few tweaks and served this for dinner last night with eggs and toast on the side. Super easy, and super yummy. Enjoy!

Baked Oatmeal
Yield: 6 small servings

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups oatmeal
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter and mix with all other ingredients. Put in an 8x8 baking dish; bake for 30 minutes. Top with fresh berries and chopped pecans. Optional: could add dried cranberries/raisins into the mix before baking, or as an additional topping.

Charm City

2009-09-13T18:51:00.002-04:00

Rob and I decided to head up to Baltimore yesterday for a little exploring and a fun dinner in the Little Italy part of town. Baltimore is about 50 minutes from us, so it's an easy drive.

We started at the Aquarium, which is cool, but not nearly as nice as the one in Atlanta. Of course it's a lot older, but it's a lot darker and the displays aren't as fun. Regardless, we had fun and saw lots of cool sea creatures.

We'd packed a lunch, so we sat by the Inner Harbor and ate our pb&j and other snacks, then set out on foot for some geocaching and looking around. All told, we walked 8 miles! My favorite stops on the walk were the park on Federal Hill and our cannoli after dinner at Vaccaro's. :)

Oprah's Party

2009-09-12T16:34:00.000-04:00

This is pretty cool...

Eight Years

2009-09-11T10:00:00.000-04:00

I've seen lots of blog and Facebook posts today commemorating the eight years since September 11, 2001.

I can't believe it's been eight years. Where has the time gone?

I remember a lot about that day. I was working for a big Internet company, located near Dulles airport. My co-worker's husband was a lobbyist for the FAA, and she came down to my office to tell me a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. This was before it was online or on the news, so we headed into our office kitchen, where the TV was always on CNN. We flipped the channels until we saw something, finally landing on the Today Show.

There a bunch of us all stood, watching it happen. I remember seeing the plane crashing into the second tower and hearing Al Roker gasping. I remember another co-worker running into the kitchen, crying about the Pentagon and being so worried about her daughter who was in a daycare nearby.

I remember calling Tessa from my desk, and her telling me that the buildings were falling. I remember being evacuated (Being too close to Dulles and the hosting spot for the majority of Web transactions maybe made our giant building a target? Everyone thought they were a target that day). I remember calling my mom at school as I drove to a co-worker's house to wait out the afternoon, and mom telling me that a fourth plane had crashed in Pennsylvania.

I remember watching the coverage, seeing the posters of the missing and hearing their families' pleas to find them safely. I sat on the couch and cried.

Eight years. Wow. I remember it like it was yesterday.

PT Graduation

2009-09-10T08:10:00.000-04:00

I finished my last physical therapy session yesterday. Hooray! I have to say that my eight weeks there (probably 15 sessions or so) have been so, so helpful in my recovering the majority of mobility. When I started there in July, I walked with a gimp and was a total chicken to try anything that might remotely hurt.

Now I can run, balance on my bad leg and play catch, jump with two feet, walk at 4/miles per hour on the treadmill and do pretty much everything else I used to do. Jumping on the bad ankle (just on one foot) is still a little tricky, since I can't really push off solely on that foot yet, but I'm working on it.

What's next? Keeping up with the stretches and exercises recommended by my therapist. She said it can take up to a year to regain everything, and she feels confident that I'll regain 90-95% of my mobility. I'm thankful for that!

New Favorite Snacks

2009-09-09T07:45:00.001-04:00

I had about 30 minutes in Target the other day as I was waiting for my prescription to be filled. Dangerous! I was hungry, so I pursued the snack aisles and found some new goodies:

SmartFood Cranberry Almond Clusters. So good, and not bad for you at 120 cals and 2g of fat. Way overpriced, yes. But so good! I bought mine on sale, and I'll watch for the next sale. I think there are also several other flavors.

Hershey's Pumpkin Spice Kisses. If I can't have a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice latte (no sugar-free option), I'll have three Kisses instead. I'm not a fan of candy corn, but if you are, there's a Candy Corn Kiss, too.

Fiber One Strawberry Oat Bars. Again, not bad for you with 140 cals, 3g fat and 9g fiber (notice I did not offer nutrition for the Pumpkin Spice Kisses). I'm a fan of pretty much every Fiber One product, and this is no exception. My only pet peeve is that I'm pretty sure they used to come six to a box, and now there are only five. And the box is still the same price. Hmmmm.

What are you favorite snacks?

Long time, no blog

2009-09-08T13:31:00.004-04:00

I've been a negligent blogger the last few weeks. It's not that I don't have anything to say. In fact, I think of things throughout the day that I plan to blog about, but somehow I never get to it.

So Labor Day is over, which means summer is grinding to a halt. Boo! We spent this weekend at the lake with Rob's family, and we saw my parents on Friday night for dinner. We had a relaxing few days of cook-outs, walks and sitting by the lake. Despite the clouds and chilly temps, it was a fun weekend.

Work has been getting busier and busier as we approach the fall conference season. We are headed to Chicago in a few weeks, and I'm looking forward to it.

We are having some friends over for dinner this week, so I tested out one of the side dish recipes I'm fixing: 5-Minute Individual Potato Gratins. Yum! It's a total winner, so easy and very good! I saw this on the Next Food Network Star and recommend you make them too.

I am in a vacation planning mood and might start looking around the Web for ideas and deals... who knows where we'll go next?

Recipe Sharing: Asian Chicken and Orzo Salad

2009-08-23T17:33:00.002-04:00

I made this Paula Deen recipe today for a picnic, and it was a hit. My dish was empty at the end of the meal -- and there was a good amount of food there to choose from -- so I'd classify this one as a success and definitely make it again. The only difference I did from the recipe was leaving out the water chestnuts (not a fan). Enjoy!

Asian Chicken and Orzo Salad
Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients

1 (9-ounce) package frozen sugar snap peas
1 (16-ounce) package orzo, cooked and drained
1 cup water chestnuts, drained and chopped
3 cups diced cooked chicken
3 green onions, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons hoisin sauce
1 (2-ounce) package slivered almonds, toasted (1/2 cup)

Directions
Cook sugar snap peas according to package directions; drain well.

In a large bowl, combine sugar snap peas, orzo, water chestnuts, chicken, green onion, and red bell pepper. In a small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, soy sauce, and hoisin sauce. Pour over orzo mixture, tossing gently to coat. Stir in toasted almonds. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

$10 Dinners

2009-08-19T21:06:00.001-04:00

The winner of this year's Next Food Network Star has launched a great new show that I really enjoy. Good tips, easy recipes and delicious food!

Vacation! Photos of our Southern Road Trip

2009-08-18T20:11:00.001-04:00

Rob and Kathryn's Southern Vacation (July-August 2009)

Vacation! Part 3: (rest of) Savannah and Charleston

2009-08-17T09:44:00.011-04:00

I have been too slow in getting the rest of our vacation blogged. I'm starting to forget!

Days 5-8: Savannah, Ga. -- We'd walked and seen a lot of Savannah, so we decided to head out of the city on our last full day there, which also happened to be our third anniversary! We decided to spend the day on the beach at Tybee Island, which is only about 25 minutes from Savannah. On the way out, we stopped at the world's smallest Wal-Mart and bought two cheap beach towels and two $10 chairs. We parked, scoped out a spot on the sand, swam in the very warm (but still cloudy, east coast) water, and just hung out. After a couple of hours, we decided to go walk around the little island, leaving our beach chairs on the sand so they could dry out before we packed them up.

Two hours and a long walk later (there is supposedly a lighthouse on Tybee Island that we never did find - we looked for it, followed the map and came up empty-handed), we were headed back to collect our chairs when the rain started pouring. So much for dry chairs! Rob rescued them from the beach, we wiped them off the best we could and threw them in the trunk with a neat sheet. Grabbed lunch at a random roadside stand (the fish tacos were excellent!) and headed back toward Savannah to clean up and walk around a little bit.

Dinner that night was AWESOME. We celebrated three years at The Olde Pink House and loved it! I think it was probably the best meal I've ever eaten and we went all out. I had the blue crab beignets, she-crab soup and bbq grouper with spinach and grits. Rob had a shrimp and fried grits appetizer, a wedge salad with fried green tomatoes, and striped bass with a coulis of potatoes, corn, black-eyed peas and blue crab. We were seated in the nicest room in the restaurant -- it only had five tables and looked out at the square -- that they use for anniversaries and special occasions. It was so nice and a great way to end our time in Savannah.

The next morning, we got up and stopped at a jewelry shop we'd been in earlier, and Rob bought me a pretty pendant designed by a local jeweler. We headed out towards Charleston!

Days 8-11: Charleston, S.C. -- On our drive, we realized that the car's front power outlet wasn't working. Turns out we blew a fuse when we plugged in the GPS up front and a cooler in the back (it was above the suggested combined wattage, which we never thought about when we plugged them in). So we stopped at an Auto Zone and bought a new fuse, which Rob replaced after trying forever to take out the old fuse - he couldn't get his big fingers in there to grab it. But it still didn't work, so we passed a Honda place and I made Rob pull over. The guy there was super nice -- apparently there are two fuses for that power outlet, so he swapped out the second one (he was much faster than Rob, but he had tools!) and we were on our way. By this time we were starving, so we stopped at another random roadside place for an excellent BLFGT (bacon, lettuce and fried green tomato) sandwich!

We checked in to our hotel and spent most of the day walking around the downtown area. Charleston is much more of a city than Savannah, with more traffic and people and distance. We trekked around and stopped for a Lady Baltimore cupcake -- one of my favorites that can't be found anywhere near home.

For dinner, we'd made a reservation at Hominy Grill -- shrimp and grits for Rob, and more grouper for me. Rob says this was his favorite meal of the trip! Our only miscalculation was that it was 2 miles from our hotel, and it was looking stormy when we left (to be honest, we thought it was closer and probably would have driven, but we didn't realize it until we were on our way). We made it to the restaurant before it poured, but the skies opened up while we were eating. The gal at the restaurant called us a cab to get back!

The next day we walked through the City Market, visited the Powder Magazine, ate some southern cookin' lunch at Jestine's Kitchen and headed toward the docks to do a riverboat cruise. We'd both been to Fort Sumpter before, so we opted not to do that and instead cruised down the coastline, under the Cooper Bridge and by the Yorktown. Then we walked a loooooong couple of miles down around the Battery and finally back to our hotel to crash. Dinner that night was lowcountry cuisine -- more shrimp and grits for me (are you seeing a pattern here??) and a seafood medley for Rob. Plus, the best biscuits and honey butter!

On our last day in Charleston, we headed out to Cypress Gardens for a blackwater swamp tour, alligator spotting and hiking. We arrived soon after they opened, so we were the only two on the first guided boat tour. Our guide took us in a smaller boat and we saw about five alligators! After the boat, we hiked around and spotted some other weird wildlife. Back to Charleston for our last walk of the city, visit to the Market to pick up some bene wafers (like sesame seed cookies) and dinner at Blossom.

Sunday we started north for our 8 hour drive. It actually went quickly and we were sorry to see our vacation end, but glad to be home.

Next up, photos!

Sneak Preview

2009-08-11T14:27:00.002-04:00

If you haven't read "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold, you might want to before December.

Vacation! Part 2: Atlanta and (part of) Savannah

2009-08-10T19:31:00.007-04:00

Back to the vacation recap. I've been negligent in getting this finished!

Days 4-5: Atlanta, Ga. -- We arrived in Atlanta in the early afternoon, and we were happy to stay with and catch up with my college roomie Ashley and her fun hubby Anthony. Their house is so cute and comfortable, and Rob loved introducing them to geocaching (right, Ant??). We had a great breakfast-for-dinner at The Flying Biscuit Cafe. Mmmm. Wish we had one here!

Days 5-8: Savannah, Ga. -- After leaving Atlanta, we drove the four hours to Savannah. After we'd checked in, we set out on foot and did a walking tour from our guide book. A lot of the sites we saw were from the movie "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil", which I loved! We had lunch -- and more importantly, bread pudding -- at Express Cafe. We went down by the waterfront to check it out, then headed back to the hotel to cool off.

We'd researched some places to eat dinner and had chosen a bbq place, so we got directions and started our walk there. There had been some light rolling thunder, so we took our rain jackets along. That was the smartest thing we did the entire trip! Just as we got to the bbq joint -- which was closed on Mondays! -- the heavens opened up, lightning started flashing and the rain poured down. We were probably about a mile from the hotel at that point, so we just started walking toward our second dinner choice. But with the rain coming down, the streets flooding almost instantly (literally, it was up above our ankles at the street corners) and our clothes soaked, we decided to go back toward the hotel. I was terrified by all of the lightning! We grabbed some cheesesteak subs at a local place across from our hotel, took hot showers and ate our lovely dinner in the hotel room. Luckily, it cleared up and we ventured out after dinner for some awesome ice cream. Rob says this will probably be one of our strongest memories from the trip!

Tuesday after breakfast, I headed over to get in line at Lady and Sons, Paula Deen's Savannah restaurant. My friend Leann told me to be in line at 8 a.m. (they start giving out dinner reservation times at 9:30 a.m.), and she was right. I was the fourth in line, and by 8:30 a.m., the line was down the street and wrapped around the block. Crazy!

We'd decided to do one of the Trolley Tours during the heat of the day, but we saw a horse and carriage tour and decided to do it instead. Our carriage driver told us about all sorts of stuff and we rode around the historic district for almost an hour. We saw the park where the beginning of Forrest Gump was filmed, saw General Sherman's house, learned about the Live Oak trees and a bunch more. It was really interesting and fun.

That evening, we headed back to Paula Deen's for dinner. In my opinion, you go here more for the experience than the food, although it was all good. It was laden with butter, just as we'd expected.

Okay... this blog entry is long enough. Rest of Savannah and all of Charleston -- plus photos! -- coming soon...

The Time Traveler's Wife

2009-08-07T11:24:00.003-04:00

We interrupt these vacation updates with a book review.

I just finished reading The Time Traveler's Wife. I hated it. Every. Single. Page.

I really wanted to read it and thought I'd better do so before the movie came out in a few weeks. It took me several chapters to even get interested, and by then I felt I was too invested to just quit. I didn't like the story or Henry or the whole idea. The only person I really liked was Clare.

And to add insult to injury, I had to pay a late fine to the library because it was due while we were on vacation.

Have you read it? What did you think?

Vacation! Part One: Gatlinburg and Chattanooga

2009-08-06T14:24:00.007-04:00

Rob and I embarked on an 11-day trip to the hot, humid south two weeks ago today. We had such a great time, and this was our first road trip together. We managed not to get too fed up with one another in the car. ;)

Both Rob and I were feeling pretty crummy when we left. I'd been diagnosed with bronchitis and had been on the z-pack for two days, and Rob had been given a diagnosis of a viral infection. We were a fit pair.

Here's a run down of our adventures. I'll post some photos later.

Day 1: Gatlinburg, Tenn. -- This was our first stop, about 7 1/2 hours from home. We'd thought about driving the whole way to Chattanooga, but Gatlinburg is fun so we decided to stop there, and then take the long way the next day on to Chattanooga. If you haven't been there, Gatlinburg is a pretty honky-tonk town. After we checked in to our hotel, we just meandered up and down the strip, going in shops and looking around. Rob even found about five geocaches, right in the heart of the town!

We had dinner at the Smoky Mountain Brewery, which turned out to be yummy. We'd planned to go to a pancake place that had been on the Food Network, but they weren't open for dinner. We shared an appetizer of fried mushrooms with spicy brown mustard and a pizza. Rob enjoyed a sampler of five different beers (his only of the trip, since he started antibiotics the next day), and I had my first few glasses of what was an uncountable number of sweet teas.

After dinner, we rode the Sky Lift to the top of the mountain and enjoyed the view, although it was a bit weird at the top with an ice skating rink, rides, etc. We then headed back to the hotel so we could get up early and move on out towards Chattanooga.

Days 2-4: Chattanooga, Tenn. -- We headed out from Gatlinburg around 8:30 a.m. on Friday and decided to go the long way through the Smoky Mountains. The drive was beautiful!

We arrived in Chattanooga, checked in to our hotel and decided to head out on foot to see some of the downtown area. We went to the Chattanooga Choo Choo and were walking around when Rob decided to blow-out his ear. He did like people do when they are trying to get their ear to pop (hold your breath and blow out), but his ear made this tire-leaking sound that I heard about 10 feet away. Yikes! After walking around for a bit more, we decided to call his doctor. She finally called us back and called in a prescription for him at a pharmacy we'd found. So, there goes the end of Rob's great southern beer adventure. ;)

We met my college girlfriend Stephanie, her husband Eric and their two sweet little girls for dinner at Sticky Fingers. Yum! I love good bbq, and good company makes it even better.

The next day (Saturday), we headed out to Signal Mountain, which is where my Mom grew up. We drove all over the mountain, saw my grandparents' house, the church, the elementary school, etc. Then we went for a visit with my Aunt Pauline, my grandmother's dear friend who is 90 and still just as I remembered her. We stayed about an hour and loved talking with her! We made plans to meet her at church on Sunday.

After coming down off of the mountain via the very curvy W Road, we headed to Lookout Mountain. We'd planned to ride the incline, and just as I bought the tickets, the guy hung up a sign that said "Wait: 1 hour". What?!? Rob and I were standing there, debating what to do, when a security guard walked up and told us to come back after 6 p.m. He said there's hardly ever a line then, and it's open until 8 p.m., so we'd be fine. Good tip!

So we headed on to Rock City Gardens, where I hadn't been in ages, and meandered through the rocks. We saw a bird show called "Save Our American Raptors" and had giant birds flying all over the place around us.

After Rock City, we headed back downtown and walked across the Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge, then ate dinner in the Bluff View Arts District. It was so pretty up there, and we found a great restaurant to crash and enjoy dinner. We were wiped out!

We headed back to the incline, and the guard was right! The line was super short and we rode up and then back down. It was probably more fun when I was four, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. :)

Sunday, we went to church on Signal Mountain with Aunt Pauline and saw several other old family friends. After church, we headed out to Atlanta.

... more vacation posts coming soon!

I Will Survive!

2009-07-31T08:47:00.001-04:00

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!

2009-07-29T21:06:00.000-04:00

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

2009-07-27T13:04:00.000-04:00

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

2009-07-25T12:53:00.000-04:00

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

2009-07-23T16:49:00.000-04:00

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

2009-07-22T18:44:00.004-04:00

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

2009-07-17T09:16:00.005-04:00

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

2009-07-15T20:22:00.005-04:00

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.

****************

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.

****************

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.

****************

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

2009-07-14T08:30:00.001-04:00

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

2009-07-11T15:54:00.002-04:00

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

2009-07-09T20:48:00.002-04:00

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

2009-07-07T21:38:00.002-04:00

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.