4 parks, 3 days

and we visited 3 of the parks twice in the three days.

m-i-c-k-e-y

MOUSE!

Well fall recruiting is done. I have one job outstanding to hear back from, but in celebration of a few different events my friend and I are currently in Disney.

On a break

I know I don't have many followers, but I figured I would let the few of you know: I am swamped with school stuff right now. I might posts once or twice, but I will probably not be back until later this quarter. Have a great fall!!

Today I am 30

gosh that seems old. I guess the only good thing is I will be "forever Young"

just peachy

Tonight my friend Sara came over and we made peach jam, peach pie filling, and Bill made peach martini.

This is my last week of fun time before school. Classes begin a week from Thursday but I have events starting Monday.

Before classes start up I have a few last things to do. On top of peaches, I have 25lbs of tomatoes that need peeling cooking and canning. I have case interview prep to continue. I have cover letters to start and pre-work for my classes.

Anyway, I will also try to read some and lay out and enjoy my week. I can't believe this summer is coming to an end.

Back in the windy rainy city

Bill and I had a great vacation first in DC then in Cleveland. We got back Saturday night after driving through lots of rain. it has been chilly and today more rain but it is good to be home. Now I just have to buckle down and start preping for interviews and classes.

other things to do: paint bathroom ceiling, get toilet fixed, get flashing around our windows redone, get flashing around chimney redone, weed yard, clean house etc

We the people...

post hurricane

On Sunday, after the hurricane was a distant memory Bill and I drove out the the Udvar-Hazy air hanger to go see the "annex" to the Air and Space museum (we will go there tomorrow or Wed). There we got to see the space shuttle - so awesome- and an amazing collection of fighter jets.

I have been so excited about seeing this all summer - it didn't disappoint!

One of the most historic and game changing things you can see.

Today we visited Mount Vernon, and old town Alexandria. The weather was so perfect for strolling around the grounds, visiting the house, gardens and the grist mill. Unfortunately, the wharf and farm were closed because of trees downed by Hurricane Irene, but we still saw some of the cows, sheep and pigs. We also saw the tomb of President Washington and Martha Curtis Washington and visited the newly built museum.

Pres. Washington's Home

Little piggy on the farm

the rain in spain...

It has been about 14 hours of rain and it sounds like we will have 10 to 14 hours more.

So far there has been flooding near the smaller rivers but nothing near us.

Bill brought out a bunch of DVDs so we have spent the evening watching Firefly. We have watched this series twice before but it is always amusing to rewatch.

The worst wind and rain is supposed to start in about an hour and last through 2-3 am, so we hope to sleep through it. After the storm passes we are supposed to have some nice weather the rest of the week.

This week Pros and Cons:

Pro: Last week of internship
Con: Earthquake hits DC, closes office and move my presentation
Pro: Presentation to COO went well
Con: I won't be here to re-present to CEO, VPs or Board
Pro: Bill leaving even earlier than expected to come fetch me
Con: The reason for Bill leaving early is Hurricane Irene
Pro: Next week should be beautiful for visiting DC
Con: Natural disasters have caused the closing of some of our points of interest

Eye of a hurricane

Listen to yourself churn....

Ok I know I am abusing REM's Lyrics now, but Bill and I are hoping that the eye of Hurricane Irene is far far away from DC this weekend. Yesterday they were predicting Irene would hit the Chesapeake area after hitting the Carolinas. Today they are saying it should be to the east of us but to be prepared for rain rain and a bit of blowing rain. Yay!

That's great, it starts with an earthquake

... birds snakes an aeroplane (Love that song!)

Yes we had an earthquake today. We are fine and I had a very short day at work. This last week is getting more and more interesting. Now we just watch Hurricane Irene and see where her path might take her.

What Have You Done!?!

I have been toying around with changing my blog format for quite some time. The format I had was from a long time ago, when the only customizations you could really do were colors and fonts. I am still trying to find the right background etc. for the page.
I hope you like it and if you have suggestions lemme know.

Last solo weekend in DC

Bill comes out next weekend - Yay!!! So this weekend was my last weekend as a "single-married lady."

Saturday, I went to lunch with my lovely cousin Alissa and her oldest daughter. After lunch, we visited the American Girl Store. I had never actually been to one of these stores. I have decided that I need to have a baby girl asap so that I can get my own doll to play with with my daughter. Last night, I just hung out and watched parts of a few different movies that were on TV.

Today, I put in my hour at the pool and did all my normal Sunday things. I also took a trip up to the National Zoo. I decided I needed to go see the pandas before I left. While it took two trains and getting rained on twice, I saw the pandas and a few other animals.

Totally worth it!

Freakonomics blog often provides me with smart funny and informative pieces on a whole variety of things. Today I saw this article on Barter village, which may be of interest to those people interested in urban homesteading/ simple living.
[there are two link the first is to freakonomics blog, the second to the barter village "about us" page]

What you learn about yourself

When driving 12 hours out of 48 in a rental car to and from Cleveland.

1. This driving thing isn't as bad as I make it out to be. (Until #3)
2. We need to get a more comfortable car. (Probably the cause of #1)
3. Driving in rain that is so hard you can't see 15 ft in front of you stinks! (Especially when it last for about a half hour and happens like 4 times in a 6 hour drive)
4. Out of all the reasons to drive that much, cute Baby Jack has to be one of the best! (see the pictures if you don't believe me)
5. Audio books are the way to go on long trips. (This isn't something I learned, as my parents used this tool quite often, but it does reinforce it and bring us to #6)
6. Tina Fey is quite funny and her book Bossypants was improved by having it in audio version. (though not suitable for children due to swearing)
7. My dog really does have severe car separation anxiety. (This is when she is fine if I leave her anywhere except in a car)

I am sure I have other lessons but that is all for now.

I feel like I should point out that Anna had an allergic reaction to a bug bite causing what looks like a black eye

a heartwarming story

It is rare to read something uplifting in the newspaper. This is a story of star wars fans and wonderful generosity and philanthropy. Enjoy!

such a great weekend

I had a wonderful weekend meeting family and new friends. The only thing that was missing was my wonderful husband on the 6th anniversary of our marriage (let's not do that again - ok?).

Friday I got flowers from Bill when I got home (he's so sweet). I hung out and Bill and I watched the Phineas and Ferb movie long distance. yes we are both super dorks!

Saturday, I was able to spend time with Alissa, my cousin, Tom, her husband, and their wonderful children. Though it was hot, we had a nice picnic and a good walk in nature.

Today I had an early dinner with a guy I met at a Booth alumni function. He is an in-comming executive MBA student. We had Korean BBQ with his wife and 11 of her friends and after dinner we went for frozen yogurt. It was nice to get out, meet new people and try something new for dinner.

Here are pictures from Great Falls and from Bill's visit a few weeks ago

my love of cartoons

I am sure you all know by know that I am sort of a Disney freak, loving the movies, cartoons and especially the theme parks. I admit to this obsession freely, but sometimes I wonder how poorly it might reflect on me. Maybe I just need to have a kid so I will "have to" watch the movies etc.

That being said phineas and ferb have a movie premiering at 8 tonight. I will be watching. I love Agent P, and every time I see the garbage disposal at work (insinkerator) I chuckle to myself.

So judge me if you will, but that is my plan for the evening.

happy birthday mr president.

I didn't know you are 20 years older than me until I read it this morning.

in other news I am 70% done with my internship. and happy to be that much closer to returning to my husband.

This weekend is our 6th anniversary, and the first time (and last time I hope) to spend it apart.

I hope you all are having a fine week.

doing nothing

this weekend was by far the most relaxing and least eventful weekend since I moved here. Friday I tried this awesome Nepalitano pizza place with my cousin and her husband. Saturday I hung out at the pool took a nap and then dressed up for a nice dinner by myself. Sunday had the regular Sunday events along with a little more time in the sun and making a fabulous dinner and watching Charade with my new roommate.

Yes In the 10 weeks here I now have had two different roommates, both nice quiet guys. Considering I found this sublet through Craigslist I think i am pretty lucky.

I took a break on the Sherlock Holmes after finishing all 4 of the books. I am now reading Sense and Sensibility (as I never finished going through all of Austin earlier this summer). I still haven't decided where this one ranks in order I know my two most favorite (Pride & Prejudice and Emma) and my least favorite (Mansfield Park and Northanger Abby) but the other two are about the same in my liking them.

I hope you all had lovely weekends are are ready for a new week.

Cluck!

I have stayed abreast of the backyard chicken trend and have often said that if we lived in a town that allowed it and hard the space I would love to have a few chickens. So, when I saw this blog post about the chicken trend on one of my favorite econ blogs I had to read it.

I think the author makes and excellent point about the safety factors while ignoring the "freshness" or "nutrient" arguments that I often hear about backyard birds. I don't buy his argument that if you ar raising the bird for humane reasons that it isn't a paradox. I think part of the point of this movement is getting closer to your food source. I think a bigger problem is that once you raise a bird for eggs and it becomes a family "pet" you won't want to kill it.

Anyway, just presenting this as food for thought.

Bike ride

10.5 miles into DC around pentagon and Arlington cemetery and home.

(that is the Lincoln Memorial fyi)

Swelter

This summer has been a hot one I think no matter where you were living. The past week in DC has been hot, humid and often unbearable.
Yesterday, I went to see Captain America because I think sitting in a cool dark theater would be a reprieve. Too bad the AC is still broken (was broken last weekend for Harry Potter too) at this Regal Cinema and it was about 90 inside the theater. Now being a customer I have a choice, but I cannot believe that a corporation can in good concience keep a place like that open requiring workers (mostly high school students) work in those types of conditions.
Because of the heat I have not taken my bike out, because lets face it I am not crazy about exercise and trying to get into a workout in this heat takes dedication (like my wonderful and crazy friend CB). Instead my exercise has be lounging by the pool, sitting in the AC, and trying to sleep-in. However, the heat wave is supposed to snap and we should be in the cool low 90s this week. So I hope to get out for a ride sometime this week.
In a book update, I have read the Study in Scarlet, Sign of the Four, and am almost to the conclusion of the Hound of the Baskervilles. Good summer reads if you like mysteries. I especially love reading these on my kindel, because anytime I see a word that I don't recognize I can look it up with the flip of my toggle.
Halfway done with the internship and am not getting antsy to get home.

book review

Since this summer began I have tried to read some fun things here are some of the books

Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingbird Jay
This series was very thought provoking. Written for teens and not appropriate for children I think this series was short but really got me thinking. It is the type of series that had me revisiting the characters and story lines weeks later. And the first movie is coming out next year.

Tea Time for the Traditionally Built, Double Comfort Safari Club
I love the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. It was the first series that I read by AMS and the characters are so loveable. It made me mad that they didn't continue it as a show on HBO. These two books did not disappoint.

World According to Bertie, Unbearable Lightness of Scones
Yes, I have read a lot of AMS this summer but his fun witty writing combined with lovable characters and great stories just brings me back for more. These are part of his 44 Scotland St Series

Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag
While perusing a bookstore in Hydepark this spring I saw this series - mystery books written for adults from the perspective of a preteen (Flavia). I can wait to read the more recent one (was hoping the price on kindle would come down)

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
The only stand alone book I have read this summer. I have to say this book had me a little scared during the climax (I am a wuss when it comes to scary stories). I really liked the writing and the wonderful pictures (though those would be best viewed in print not on a kindle). To see a trailer made by the author go here.

I am back to Sherlock Holmes for the time being and then might move on to some more recent fiction.

garlic yr 2

Bill was a good husband and harvested the garlic yesterday -in the dark, after visiting me all weekend.

love it!

The millennial budget

the boy who lived

I am so excited for this last movie. To add to my excitement Bill will be coming in to see it with me. I finished re-reading the last book (for the 5th or 6th time now) and am super excited to see it in film.

I can't say why I loved this book so much, but I have been so happy with the casting of these movies. They have made the books come alive, even if they skip some of the best details.

glow in the dark puppies

Last night I was taking Winnie out for the last time and I was wearing a sweatshirt despite the heat/humidity. Whenever I wear sweatshirts in the summer, I think of camping as a kid. I think it is because of all the mosquito bites I would get, but I took to wearing long sleeves no matter how warm it might have been at night. (i would also wear jeans, socks and hats - anything to keep those bugs from biting me).
When I was very young and we would go camping I had a kids sized sleeping bag. This sleeping bag I thought was soo cool because it had glow-in-the-dark puppies on it. Of course a year or two after I got the sleeping bag I became incredibly embarrassed by it. And some how, that was my thought progression last night. I fell asleep to the happy memories of family camping trips.

happy 4th of July

Our country isn't perfect, but I consider myself so lucky to live in the Land of the Free

picture of the day

Mandy Mandela

pic of the day

ok one more try

apparently if you load one at a time it will work

me and dad

brian started bothering bobby only hours our of the womb

i still have mom's robe, dunno what happened to the outfit i am wearing

one little sample

mom on her first communion

me in the same dress on mine

scans

So last fall I started a project to get a bunch of the old family photos together for scanning. I had seen this deal online that was basically 50% off (buy a gift certificate of x and get 2x in value). I started the project in september, sent the photos out finally in october got the digital proofs online in december and then did nothing with them until this week. I finally went through all of the albums deleting pictures i didn't want and approved the order. today I spent the better half of the evening down loading un zipping and compiling the pictures into one folder. Eventually I would like to go through and sort them. I am pretty sure I have some duplicates (scanned the negative and the photo) and a bunch were just mish-moshed together but here are a few of the old ones i liked.

I just tried to up load a few and the computer gods are not being nice. maybe tomorrow.

Hi from DC

Winnie here. I want to tell you all about my adventures in DC. First we went on a long car ride we stopped to see Grandpa Weber and he gave me bacon. He is now second favorite to Uncle Bacon ( Bobby). Then we got to my new home in DC. I live on the fifteenth floor of a building with lots of doggy friends. I like my new home though there is not as much room to run around inside.
I keep asking mom when dad will get home from work I think he has been gone for too long. Mom seems happy enough - she is always taking me on walks and that is what matters most. Ok time to go nom on a bone.
Winnie

a long short day

So my first day was a whirl wind of orientations meeting new people and meetings with my bosses and co-workers. It has been a long time since I was the new kid on the block. I hope that the next few days I will settle in and start on my projects.

Tonight winnie and I played on the roof top with some other doggies. It was good to let her run around unleashed. Other than that life is good. It rained last night and this morning so that weather tonight was gorgeous. And the sunset was awesome.

Tomorrow is the summer solstice. maybe i will celebrate with a late evening bike ride.

In DC

So maybe now that I am living in DC I will have time to blog.

Bill and I made the 12 hour trek out on Friday and Bill left today. I will miss him terribly, but I think of people like my friend Mary who endure their husband's deployment for far longer periods of time. Bill is safe and sound in Chicago, not in danger, not halfway across the world.

I am living in Arlington about a 20 min metro ride from work. My place is super dog friendly so winnie should have a great summer. I have plenty of restaurants within a 10 min walk and Arlington is super bike friendly. Overall, I am so excited about my place and my job which will start tomorrow. I will update more after my first day.

Curry ginger carrot soup

Next time more carrot and less ginger

newest addition to my yard

Looking good Mr Azalea.

What is new

Well other than the pictures I haven't posted much recently. This is because the social monster of my school gobbled me up. I never knew that my social life was so lacking until I started at Booth.

Classes are going well and they are rapidly approaching the end. I have 2 weeks of classes left and then a week for finals. It is crazy how quick this academic year has gone by.

I am going to write the rest of this post as a reflection of my first year at Chicago Booth. Warning it will be long.

Things that have been awesome:
I can't believe the number of accomplished men and women with whom I not only get to interact but are my friends. The people at this school are doing amazing internships and awesome research. their interests are much more varied than I thought would be the case.

The social aspects, not only the parties but also alumni events, club events, trainings, lectures, are all so much more than I expected. I find myself constantly declining invites because I already have something planned for lunch/ evenings/ weekends.

Things that have changed me:
This school has re-awaked my desire to lead and join in groups. I have become a co-chair of a great group (public speaking club) and joined a variety of fun and more career focused clubs.

I competed for and landed a position as a Career Advisor. As such I will get to help incoming first years navigate pursuing a non-profit internship.

Having classes with incredible professors and my wonderful classmates has made me more confident of my skills and yet very aware of how little I know.

I am more social. From the very first day of LOE I challenged myself to be more social, to make the effort in leaving my comfort zone (and my house all the way in Homewood) and to really experience the full time program. I know that this challenge has sometimes been very hard for myself, and at times I have failed, but in the end it has made me more well rounded and provided me with so many fun memories.

Things I wish I could change:

I wish I wasn't leaving my home for the summer. This will be very hard on both me and Bill, but I know that the internship is important and I am so lucky to have landed such an amazing opportunity.

I get frustrated with my classes, especially this quarter. It is so hard to pick out your classes and a study group and it is very disappointing when you look forward to a class as you don't get out what you thought you would.

I wish I had gone on a random walk/ gone to the chicago area meet ups. Last summer I was so excited to get into the program and have the chance in expanding my academic horizons. I was NOT looking forward to all the social events and the new working and interacting with people. I wish I could call my past self up right now and yell at her. I would have met my friends even earlier and started bonding even earlier.

Things I look forward to or worry about next year:

Finding a job - I both look forward to recruiting and worry about it. The timeline for on campus recruiting for full time position is compressed into one month. But if you land a job you are set and can enjoy the rest of your year.

More travel - travel with Bill, travel with friends, and maybe some family time. that mixed with a weddings of close friends in october, november and december will make for an awesome fall

Overcommitment - I worry that between the club the recruiting the weddings the travel AND the classes I might have already overbooked myself in the fall (and this is before the social monster of Booth tries to gobble me up again).

There are so many more things I feel about this year but above all I am so blessed to have had this time, to be a part of the Class of 2012, and to have the wonderful family and friends (old and new) support me and my decision to return to school.

this quarter is flying by

Happy Mother's Day

To my mom, grandma, and all of the wonderful mothers out there!

Midterms are here again

Times seems to fly by while you are in school.

I am about to take my last midterm as a first year student... the next time I take a midterm I will be a second year.

I am starting to get excited about my summer position and getting anxious about finding a place. But as a firm believer in the universe working things out I will stay positive and keep looking.

Home grown asparagus

Homemade dressing
Grilled asparagus
Yum!

Spring!

sweet sweet chocolate

How I missed you!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. Bill and I have a great day with family and friends, ham and chocolate, church and naps. Easter was a sunny day amidst a bunch for yuck rainy days, so Bill and I walked to church which was very nice. Today it was cold and rainy, again. Sometimes I think Chicago had its weather crossed with Seattle.

and a funny e card to brighten up your monday...

Free tea, fasting and ham via the mail

So for those 5 of you who read this probably know Easter Sunday is tomorrow. Happy Easter!

Some of you 5 may be aware that yesterday was Good Friday AND Earth Day. Which meant I was fasting, but did take advantage of the free tea that Starbucks offered. It also meant that I was inclined to finally buy reusable produce bags. It is something i have been interested in for a while and am very excited. these are a very fine mesh bags meant more for veggies than fruits, but I am excited because it kills me to use plastic bags, especially at the farmers market - it just seems counterintuitive.

Onto the last part of my title - my mother-in-law bought us an "Easter Dinner" from honey baked ham co. So will will be hosting Bill's family and two of my friends from the MBA program for an Easter "Linner" as Bill has a midterm to study for in the evening.

I hope you all have a happy Easter, and I will be excited to find my Easter basket (filled by myself and hidden by Bill) as it is sure to contain some chocolate, a very missed indulgence.

forced grill cleaning

due to mouse on the grill. not welcome in 30 some degree weather at 9pm.

in other news my iced tea has grown white mold.

just another day in the neglected young household

taking time for myself

as an add on to the post last week - this weekend, while busy was also used to recharger my "me time" battery. I got the BBC Pride and Prejudice on DVD on Saturday morning and spent the afternoon, late evening and Sunday morning watching all 6 episodes. We had dinner with some of Bill's school friends Friday and a birthday party Saturday. So homework waited until Sunday night.

Bill and I finally had a date "night" (or late afternoon) on Sunday as the last few Fridays have been busy with friends & family. We went to Naperville, and though it was chilly enjoyed walking in the sunshine around the downtown area (think quaint downtown with every fun retail store) We ate at Flattop Grill which not only has a student discount but also has "lunch prices" that we qualified for by eating at 4:50pm.

One of the things I miss when we have these go-go-go weekends is cooking, however with as busy as we are I do appreciate just having an easy meal where Bill and I can talk and spend quality time with each other.

I have some pictures from some of the recent events, but I have yet to load them I promise I will soon.

gardening in the rain

So first - I talked about my internship a few weeks ago when I got it, though I didn't mention the name of the place. I will be working for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation in Washington DC for the summer

Next - all week I have looked forward to getting some seeds planted for a spring garden. Before I would let myself enjoy some garden time I had some tasks to do and some homework to finish. By the time I got outside I was able to gather my tools and start raking when it started drizzling on me. I worked in the steady drizzle for a half hour before I gave up. No seeds were planted, but I will be ready when the weather is ready to cooperate

beautiful weather

We had some gorgeous weather here over the weekend. Bill and I got to enjoy it both days and it was invigoration to get some work down around the house and outside. Winnie and I treated ourselves with some dairy queen on sunday.

As for school things are going well though crazy busy. I feel like I had not participated must in campus life last quarter and am making up for it this quarter. Last week was the CWIB (chicago women in business) spring dinner which was a fun reason to dress up. This week was have a GSB (give something back) charity auction, also a fun reason to dress up. Classes are fun but many of them I signed up for the teacher and therefore am still uncertain of the point even in week 3.

I am still trying to find a place to sublet in DC and will start to get really excited once that is settled.

Once my housing is settled I need to start thinking about what to take clothing & object-wise.

Left to my own devices

I will throw everything into a frying pan

One week down ...

Time flies when you are in school I am now on quarter 3 of 6 of my MBA. School is so much fun and I am so happy I decided to go back. Overall, I am really excited to dig in to the work and fun, but I am also a little overwhelmed by all that has changed in the last week. Over finals/spring break/ first week back I landed an internship for the summer. So with that pressure off, I can concentrate on my four classes and also having some fun (re)connecting with people. I also want to have more to do with leadership roles in the school.

So much to do so little time!

fun times in cabo

white party

hotel & pool

seals

Lovers beach - where the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez "make love" according to our tour guide

the fancy dinner at Krystal

Spring Break

I am now on spring break for a glorious week - Cabo here we come!

"chi-rish"

So St Patrick's Day is celebrated on the weekend here in Chicago. We have finals starting on Monday but were still able to enjoy some of the festivities.

Fat Tuesday

So tomorrow is Ash Wednesday - the day I like to think of as my second chance at a new year's resolution. Should I give something up? Should I do something more? over the years i have tried both to different degrees of success with cabo on the horizon the one thing i won't be doing (which I normally do) is give up soda. It might be silly but i have a feeling that with water and such I will be drinking soda more for safety than for enjoyment. chocolate is always hard to do and it does make a good sacrifice. But I don't think it is really enough. I have though about adding daily meditation as i think that would be good and in line with the idea of lent. But I don't know how to meditate.

Any ideas?

Sign of spring

Garlic peeking out of mulch

easy nice dinner

so as the quarter is coming to an end Bill and i have even less time to spend cooking and being together. usually this means more fast food etc in our diet but with Cabo around the corner and that bikini I bought laughing at me I am trying to eat a bit better and exercise. So when grocery shopping this weekend we tried to keep this in mind. One of the places i love to go to get quick meals is Trader Joes.

They aren't the best for fresh fruit and veg, but their frozen meals rock. Bill and I bought so pre packaged snowpeas and a port tenderloin that was pre marinated. Last night I made dinner in the time it took bill to get from the train station down town to the train station in Homewood.

Sear tenderloin on all sides in a stove to oven pan

Through some baby carrots and half an onion in the pan with a bit of olive oil

set timer for 20 min

snap snow peans and wash

rinse rice and put in rice cooker.

saute snowpeas

dinner in 30 min - yum!

I think that pork tenderloin might become a new rotational member in my "homey" but easy meals.

Formal

or as mom called it - MBA Prom. The theme was Casablanca, so I got my hair done up in a 40's-ish style. Bill got a new tux (thanks Nordstrom's Rack!) and learned how to tie a bow tie (thanks You Tube!). Anyway, we had a great time and we will definitely get tickets for next year.

I played around with some setting to make the photo look old

Bill and me!

I wanted to keep my hair nice for Sunday's date night, so I slept in this. Bill kept calling me Rosie.

Rice krispy treats

For me the best part is the pan

Cooking!

I feel like I don't cook as much these days (see my previous post) but tonight I am taking a break to make baked bbq chicken and chicken broth. They coincide since one uses the bones of a whole chicken and the other uses the pieces. If you are interested in how to make either lemme know.

I hope this week to also make that kale and beans recipe I have been using recently. And maybe the forbidden rice pudding. Yay for cooking!

Rain rain

actually I don't mind you you don't need to go away... you are much better than the freezing weather and snow!

BBQ left overs for lunch and lots of homework to do. Mondays yay!

I am starting to think about my garden. Not knowing if I will have an internship in town or now I don't know what to do. Should I get seeds? wait and not do heirloom versions of plants? don't worry about this and focus on finding my internship?

warm weather

maybe the groundhog was right, maybe spring is coming sooner that I thought. I know that winter's icy grasp will strangle these happy thoughts out of me (and probably wring me dry), but for right now the snow has melted the sun is shining and it seems more like march 18th instead of february 18th.

Life is moving fast so I will update on the important things:

Winnie is still cute

Bill is still busy

And me, well this week:

I applied for two jobs (an improvement over the previous two weeks - one job)

I was elected co - chair of the public speaking group (yay)

I have listened to the tangled soundtrack like 15 times - i can't wait for this to come out on video - i am 5 years old sometimes

I have made a "grand plan" document outlining all the rest of the courses I have to take and the bid points I have to take them (we have to bid on the classes we want for school)

And in the rest of time I have gone to class, gone to group meetings and tried to stay afloat.

I love the dog show!

"to love another person is to see the face of God"

Bill and I celebrated St. Valentine's Day by a lovely dinner and seeing one of our favorite musicals Les Miserables. I love the music the lyrics and the staging of this musical (though this set is the new one without the rotating stage etc). But most of all I love the message of redemption and love.

Happy Valentines Day everyone! Love you all!

Yay!

I am in a good mood today and I just want to spread my happiness to all of you. Happy Valentines Day weekend - the picture is from last year, but still cute.

snap crackle pop

My hips, ribs, and neck are all in alignment and my knee isn't horribly injured (tell that to the stabbing pain).

My chirocraker basically told me if it isn't horribly swollen I will be ok. he did some range of motion tests and said my knee is over extended in one direction and that i probably have some swelling that I can't see (and that is causing the stabbing pain). But he said the only other thing an orthopedic would do is order an MRI.

I had my only midterm today... I have no idea how it went it could have been an A or a C , but hopefully it is just the same as everyone else and then it is a B+.

can you sprain your knee

So i slipped and fell last night. Sadly I am not cool enough to have some great story about my battle vs the ice. instead this is a story about me tripping over a barrier we have for the dog and then slipping on the way down and twisting my knee.

Last night i was in so much pain i was shaking. I am doing much better now thank you, but my knee feel sprained. I have to got to my chiro cracker tomorrow for my rib, so I will have him look at it (though there really is nothing to see).

The good news (haha) is that I have been excused from the latest round of shoveling. My wonderful husband is out snow blowing right now.

so yummy

I forgot to take a picture because I was busy eating it.

Anyway when I was visiting mom we went to a restaurant called Cowboy Ciao and I got the chopped salad there. It was so yummy and different I had to make it for Bill. So I improvised a little but you can look at the original recipe here

What I did was this:

grilled chicken on my panini press

made pearled couscous (yum!)

washed and chopped red leaf lettuce

chopped tomatoes

used Trader Joe's canned corn

Used dried cranberries (b/c that is what I had)

Used shredded mozzarella (again what I had)

The only sadness was that I had not pumpkin seeds or even sunflower. The crunchy really does help the texture and the salty is nice

I used a vinaigrette, but if I was planning to make this again I might try making the dressing.

One other note - both what I did and the online recipe are for chicken, but at the restaurant they serve it with salmon. I am sure that is good, but I like my chicken.

Anyway back to watching the bowl of supers.

snowmageddon

winnie playing with the neighbors

my garden - the chicken wire fence is 3 ft tall

Winnie vs the snow mound

our snow house

Bill snow blowed our house and then helped out 3 of our neighbors and did the side walks, when he was done he snow blowed our house again (the snow was falling so fast) i shoveled during most of that time, and then let winnie play with the neighbor kids

Sedona with my mommy