Friday the 13th...again

I can't believe we have 2 Friday the 13ths back to back. I'm not feeling quite as lucky as I did last month so I'm not sure if we'll go gambling tonight or not! I have a busy weekend that I'm looking forward to sharing with you on Monday. Sorry for the tease but I didn't want to make this post really long since I haven't posted any pictures in a while. I hate reading long posts with no pictures! Here's one just for the fun of it because I'm ready for summer, warm weather, beer and boas.

Some things I'm up to

--Trying to figure out why almost every day this week I've felt crappy at least part of the day. I guess I'm still fighting off whatever I had over the weekend, but every day I try to figure out am I being lazy or do I need to rest to get completely well. Each day seems to bring a new symptom too--sneezing my head off one day, runny nose the next day, earache the next day, sore throat revival another day. The really fun days are when several of these show up on one day.

--Am reading "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult. This is my book club's next selection and to tell you the truth, I didn't want to read it. The subject matter is a school shooting, reminiscent of Columbine. Who would want to spend their time reading something like that? But I will tell you, I've been pleasantly surprised. I got the book from the library on Tuesday and am almost already halfway done. The way she sections the book and also her writing style make the subject matter much more palatable. Her insights into each character's point of view are very poignant and just generally, I'm enjoying the book.

--Next week will be my blog's 1st anniversary!! Can you believe I've been doing this for a year already? I'm trying to decide what the big "blowout" celebration is going to be for the blog. Any ideas?

--My last photography class is tonight. I have the potential opportunity to take another class with one of the premiere wedding photographers in the city and I'm just waiting to see if that's going to come to fruition before sharing all the details. I'm super excited, but am totally putting it out there that if it's meant to be, things will fall into place. Waiting is the hardest part.

--I have found a potential solution to the blank wall in the living room that taunts me every time I walk in there. Sorry, you'll have to wait, like I am, on Mr before I can share. Again, waiting is the hardest part!

You know you're freakishly domesticated when...

getting the carpets cleaned is an exciting day for you. We are getting our carpets cleaned this morning and I am jazzed. You see, our little miss Daisy dog has started a new habit--peeing on the carpet--only steps away from the linoleum floor which would be preferable (if this habit has to happen). She does this during the night and we don't know why. She's never peed in the house before and we can't figure out why she's started now but what we do know is it's wrecking havoc on our carpet. We've started pulling up her water at night to dissuade this nasty habit and it seems to be working. The next step is putting her back in her cage at night so there's no nighttime wandering going on. Hopefully it won't come to that, but after the carpets are clean, the gloves are off!

By the way, I lost another 1 1/2 pounds on weigh in today. I am officially down 10 lbs.!! Now, only 8 more pounds until I'm back to where I was 2 years ago and hopefully, back into all my old summer clothes. Yay!

How I spent my weekend

So this is basically how I spent my weekend. I had a wicked sore throat that started late Friday night. When I woke up on Saturday, it was full-blown. Every time I swallowed it felt like razor blades in my throat. It was also in my neck so I figured I was well on my way to strep throat and had Mr look down my throat for white stuff. Thankfully, none ever came. Yesterday I still felt bad and slept almost all afternoon. When I woke up late afternoon, my sore throat and accompanying neck pain were gone. Today I'm feeling pretty good but still a little weak. Hopefully it's gone, but I'm going to take it kinda easy today just to be sure. It really sucks being sick, especially when Saturday was the prettiest day we've had so far.

In addition, last night we had our first tornado scare. The whole area was under a tornado watch or warning. While we were under the warning, it got a little scary here. Mr and I went outside to watch the sky and for a brief moment, it appeared there was a funnel trying to form. I'm terrified of tornados so thankfully the scare was brief, but I can't believe we're already having to worry about them this early into the season.

My Sister Friend

As an only child, I always wanted a sister--an older sister to be specific. I thought it would be really neat to have someone bestow their wisdom to me about boys, dating, makeup, just the general things an older sister would bestow. Of course, having a bad case of the "grass is always greener" syndrome, I never considered that these bestowments would probably also come in the form of harassment, fights, teasings, just the general stuff that comes from a younger/older sister situation.

As I've grown older, I've been fortunate to have many good friends over my lifetime. Some were only in my life for a short period of time. Some have left and returned to my life. And then there there is the one that started early in my adulthood and has sustained throughout. My sister friend.

To me, a sister friend is someone who has been with me through the ups and the downs of life. She is the one that no matter what happens, I know she is there. No matter what I tell her, she's not shocked. When something great happens or when something horrible happens, she is the first one I want to share it with--she's the first call. She's the one that knows my secrets from way back...the one who knew me when. The one who cheers me on when I doubt myself. The one who celebrates my victories louder than anyone else and consoles me after my failures. The one who loves and accepts me--warts and all. And what's more, I do the same for her. She is a sister in the truest sense of the word but the cool thing is I got to choose her.

This weekend is my sister friend's birthday. It's a big birthday...the exact number shall remain unnamed. Right now she is going through a very dark time in her life and because of that we aren't celebrating it right now with the blowout that she deserves. I hope you'll help me wish my dearest sister friend the happiest of Happy Birthdays!

And here's also hoping that all of you have a sister friend in your life.

Another recipe for you

I don't want this to turn into a recipe blog, but eating healthy is my focus right now so....

I had some broccoli that I needed to use the other night so I googled some recipes for it. It's amazing that hardly any recipes for broccoli don't contain cheese! I found tons of different recipes for broccoli casserole. It was discouraging because I started to think that's the only way you can fix it. Then, I found this recipe on allrecipes.com.

Broccoli with Garlic Butter and Cashews

1 1/2 pounds fresh broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
1/3 c. butter (I used less than this. I'm thinking you may not have to use at all)
1 T brown sugar
3 T soy sauce (I used low sodium soy sauce)
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 c chopped salted cashews (optional. I didn't use because I didn't have any)
corn starch

Place the broccoli into a large pot with about 1 inch fo water in the bottom. Bring to a boil and cook for 7 minutes or until tender but still crips. Drain and arrange on a serving platter.

While the broccoli is cooking, melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Mix in the brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, pepper and garlic. Bring to a boil. You may need to use a little corn starch to thicken. Remove from heat. Mix in the cashews and pour the sauce over the broccoli. Serve immediately.

Because of the soy sauce, it tasted very oriental so I'm thinking it might be good with chicken stirred into the sauce mixture next time. Regardless, it's nice to find a recipe for broccoli that doesn't have cheese in it! If you all know of any others--other than boil and put a little butter on it--please let me know.

Spiderman, Spiderman

Just had to share this precious photo of baby J, one of my cousin's little boys. He's growing like a weed--5 months old, but wearing 18 month clothing! So they are dressing him in all the cute outfits that he will be too big to wear when it's season-appropriate. Isn't this adorable?!

Checking in

Miraculously, it seems I've lost 1/2 pound this week. Measurements have changed slightly--lost a little some places, seemed to gained in others. I'm recording it as a 1/2 inch gain for the week. After the weekend of eating I had this past weekend, it's a miracle that I didn't gain 2 or 3 pounds! I'm relieved to know that indeed I can eat what I want, as long as I watch the portions. And, of course, keep working out!

Please check this out

http://thepioneerwoman.com/confessions/ Monday Morning Cow

If this post by PW doesn't make you laugh out loud, you better check yourself for a pulse.

Weekend in review

Sorry it's been a few days since I last posted. We were actually kinda busy this weekend. Every time I sat down to write, though, I just wasn't inspired to say anything so that's the main reason there were no posts over the weekend.


Friday night I went to one of my aunts for girls' night. There were about 8 of us and we had a lot of fun. We ate dinner, talked and acted silly. It's always good to do that from time to time. Baby P was also there. Well, she's not exactly a baby--15 months old--but she is one of my favorite little people. I could sit and play with her all night, which I almost did!


Saturday night we went over to another aunt's and had an awesome dinner for my mom and my uncle's birthdays. My uncle's birthday is Valentine's day and my mom's birthday is this Wednesday. I made an awesome cake that took every bit of self-control I had not to consume the whole thing. It was just a box yellow cake, but I used the Pioneer Woman's icing recipe for her cinnamon rolls. I think I shared with you all how supremely awesome this icing is. Literally, I could eat it with a spoon out of the bowl without anything accompanying it! Surprisingly, it worked really well as an icing on a cake. It is a do-over for sure. Here's a couple of pictures from the night. Here's my aunt working hard to whip up the amazing dinner.



My mom and my uncle blowing our their birthday candles.

Mr posing with my cousin's rotten dog, Tyson. Of course, have you ever met a dog that wasn't rotten?


Proof of heretoforementioned rottenness!

My cousin M with his boy. (Picture needs cropped so overlook that)

Yesterday, after a few weeks of living with a file cabinet in the living room and an additional desk sitting on its end in the middle of the office, Mr painted the office and we moved the furniture into place. Painting sucks. Granted, I didn't paint. Mr is very particular about painting and he won't let me do it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not fighting to join in. I hate it and I'm a very messy painter, mainly because I get very impatient. The first wall usually looks good, but any walls after that--and bordering baseboards--look kinda like hell. Anyway, there was a lot of moving of crap, re-shuffling of furniture, taping of baseboards. Just a general sucking. Mr's trait of being very precise is a good thing, but it's also an annoying thing. I think my not helping with the painting probably saves us from countless arguments so it's all good.