It's the little things that make me smile...

This Facebook status and accompanying photo from my sweet husband today made me smile :)

"What an awesome wife, cupcakes and a six pack of beer to celebrate Opening Day!!"

Yes, we celebrate the opening day of MLB in our house -- it is sort of like Brandon's Valentine's Day, so I make sure to surprise him with a little something each year.  Like I said, it's the little things...



March To-Do List #2

Go Skiing with Friends!

 

This past week, we spent a few days in beautiful Crested Butte, Colorado skiing with our friends Christy and Corey.  We drove to GC on Saturday, stayed the night and made the final trek to Crested Butte on Sunday.  We rented a cozy condo that was nestled amongst hundreds of other condos on the mountain.  Here are a few views from our balcony...

Sunday night, we ventured into town for dinner and a little browsing.  There weren't too many shops still open by the time we got down there, but it was still fun to walk around.  The actual town of Crested Butte is very cute and quaint.  We forgot to take the camera with us, so we didn't get any pictures.

We got up early Monday morning and headed to the slope.  I was a bit nervous because I hadn't been skiing in 15 years (!), but I was ready to go...uncomfortable boots and all.

Here we are right after we got off of the first lift on the first day...I'm still standing!

The first run, a green, went pretty well.  I didn't fall and I felt like I had my feet under me.  So, we moved on to a blue.  The slopes were a little icy because it hadn't snowed in a couple of days, so they were moving rather fast.  I got a little bit nervous and a lot frustrated as the day went on.  I felt somewhat out of control and found myself snow-plowing, which KILLED my legs.  Then, I felt like I was holding up the group, so I got annoyed and frustrated with myself and by the time we made our last run before lunch, I was ready to quit!  At that point, Brandon hung back to wait on me and we stopped about midway to the mid-mountain restaurant and I just about broke down in tears.  At that point, I think Brandon was questioning my toughness and wishing he would have married someone a little more fearless and adventurous.  

Once we finally made it to our lunch stop I walked in, sat down and took off my boots.  Brandon and I then proceeded to make plans to sell my lift ticket for the next day and I would spend the day in the spa.  As we continued to rest, my attitude began to change a little and I was willing to give it another try.  Brandon and I skied the rest of the day with each other while our friends went off and did some harder runs.  I finally quit snow plowing and was actually enjoying myself a little more.

{see, I'm even smiling!}

While Brandon and I were skiing together in the afternoon, he decided to take a run through a terrain park.  I skied down to the end to film him with our Flip camera and then I proceeded to erase the video because I had on my big gloves :(  I felt so bad!

We ended the day around 3:00 and made our way back to our condo where we all just pretty much crashed!!  We made dinner at home that evening and played a few games before calling it quits rather early.

The next morning, we got up and pretty much went through the same motions as the day before.  Surprisingly, I wasn't as sore as I anticipated so I was ready to go.  It had snowed quite a bit over night and was still snowing when we got to the base so we had fresh snow, which was great!  However, I was determined to ski greens all morning and after the first run of practically pulling ourselves the entire way, we decided to do blues.  Christy and I split off from the boys and did some blues which was actually pretty fun.  We would ski a little ways, take a break, ski some more, etc. etc.  We met up with the boys for an early lunch and by this time, the snow was really coming down.  It was actually almost white-out conditions, so we took an extra long lunch break and then split up into couples again after lunch.  The conditions were not getting much better so Brandon and I did a couple more runs together and then we all called it quits.  We met up at the base restaurant/bar for a refresher before heading back to the condo for the evening.

We got up super early on Wednesday to drive home because most of us had to work the next day so we wanted to get an early start to our twelve hour drive!  All in all, we had a great time and I've now decided I need to go skiing more than once every 15 years!

March To-Do List Item #1

Build a shed!!

 

This weekend, Brandon's parents came to town so Brandon and his dad could build a shed in our back yard.  The shed was constructed in a matter of about 14 hours over a day and a half!  They took advantage of the nice weather on Saturday and got most of the work done and then finished up Sunday.

 

Brandon and his dad make a pretty good team.  Brandon would take one task while Craig would do something else and together, they work pretty darn fast!

 

After lunch, Brandon's sister and brother-in-law came over.  While the guys continued to work, us girls did a little shopping and got pedicures and by the time we got back, they were getting ready to start the shingles! 

They got half of the shingles done on Saturday before calling it a day and decided to finish up the shingles and the trim on Sunday (luckily they got that far because it ended up being pretty cold on Sunday).

Once they finished up on Sunday, Brandon didn't waste any time getting the shed filled!

And of course, I have to include a picture of Koby...his idea of helping was to follow the guys around hoping one of them would want to take a break and throw his ball!

It's hard work being a dog!

We are so thankful that Brandon's parents were willing to give up their weekend to come help us (I use the term "us" very loosely)!  I know Brandon really enjoys working on projects with his dad and I think his dad really enjoys it as well.

***EDIT***

I should add that the shed is not completely done because we still have to paint it, but we are going to wait on that part until it warms up a little more.

March To-Do List

It's only almost the middle of March and I'm just now posting my March To-Do list.  I guess I haven't been in much of a blogging mood, but that doesn't mean I can't keep up with my monthly lists (even if they are late). 

1. Build the shed (Actually happening this weekend...)
2. Go skiing with friends
3. Make a plan for front flower bed
4. Switch out winter clothes for spring clothes (I hope I don't jinx the weather) and take unworn winter items to Goodwill
5. Start the new Weight Watchers online program after we return from our ski trip and stick to it for at least one month

Based on this list, we better get busy!!!



Laissez les bons temps rouler

That's right!  Today is Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday and in honor of the day, I am posting a recipe for Shrimp Creole that I made last night (we have small group tonight and we're having pizza which is definitely not a Mardi Gras food) courtesy of Ella Says Opa.

 

Brandon was a little bit skeptical at first because he saw green peppers and shallots, but after he tasted it, I think he liked it a lot!

At first I thought it was going to taste a lot like Jambalaya, but I've got to say that the secret ingredient must be the Worcestershire sauce.  It added a different layer of flavor that was just right!

Also, last week when I was home sick I was watching good ol' Paula Deen and she was making none other than Shrimp Creole (which was the first recipe I was going to make, but then I saw the recipe below and changed my mind).  One tip she gave was to make sure not to overcook the shrimp, so I took that tip and I do believe I have been overcooking shrimp all this time!  Tonight's shrimp was so tender and so good.  So, everyone else should take Paula's advice and make sure not to overcook shrimp!

Shrimp Creole

Adapted from Ella Says Opa

1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 small shallott, diced
1 celery rib, sliced (I didn't have celery so I had to omit it)
1/2 or 1 small green pepper, diced
4 tsp. creole seasoning, divided 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup diced tomatoes with their juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chicken broth
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs thyme
2 tsp. hot sauce
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
cayenne, salt and pepper to taste


Melt the butter along with the canola oil over medium heat. Add the shallots, celery, and green pepper and cook a couple minutes until they begin to turn tender. Add 2 tsp. of the creole seasoning and salt. Sweat the vegetables until soft.

Add the garlic and the tomato paste, cooking off the paste until it starts to brown.  Add the wine to deglaze and reduce it down until it’s nearly evaporated. Add the tomatoes, broth, remaining Creole seasoning, bay leaf, thyme, and cayenne, salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the hot sauce (I left this out, but Brandon added it to his own dish), Worcestershire and re-season to taste if necessary.

Sprinkle  your shimp with salt, pepper and cayenne to taste.  Add the shrimp to the simmering liquid until just cooked through. Serve over rice (I used brown rice, but white rice is the traditional way).  I also made a batch of cornbread to eat with the meal.

I hope everyone has a fantastic Mardi Gras!  Let the good times roll, indeed!

Oops! Febraury To-Do List Recap

Oops!  I forgot to post my February To-Do List recap last week so here is a quick run-down:

1. Find fabric for the curtains in our bedroom and complete item #6 on our January list (painting our bedroom).
   I looked for fabric but I did not find fabric.  This is harder than I thought.  I'm now trying to find pre-made curtains that fit my criteria...
2. Make fun Valentines for friends and make a really yummy Valentine's dinner for two!
3. Join a friend as we test the waters with a new business idea (more on this later).
4. Clean out our kitchen cabinets.
5. Commit to exercising at least 4 days per week.
   NO EXCUSES FOR NOT COMPLETING THIS ONE!
6. Sketch out a design for built-ins in our basement.
   Again, no excuses...I just didn't do it.

I have not made my March list yet.  However, I will do that soon and get it posted!

Sick Day Redux and Weekend Wrap-Up

Yep, I'm home sick again today.  This time, though, it is what I affectionately call "The Crud" and it is not much fun.  It all started with a bit of a sore throat on Sunday evening.  I still had a sore throat Monday morning, but I was not achy so I went ahead and went to my dentist appointment (what a way to start a Monday, huh?) and then on to work.  I drank hot tea, sucked on Ricola cough drops and gargled grapefruit seed extract oil. 

By lunch time I was feeling significantly worse, but I had a lunch meeting so I went ahead and went to that and by the time I got back to the office, I was pretty much feeling like crap.  So, I decided to call the doctor because I've heard the current version of "The Crud" is nasty and doesn't go away.  The doc got me in pretty quickly, took a peek at my throat and my nose and asked me to remind him when my throat started hurting.  He said by the looks of my throat and nose "The Crud" (not his term) was definitely moving fast and he was glad I came in when I did.  So, now I'm on antibiotcs and I'm feeling sort of better today, but I didn't sleep much last night (which I know caused Brandon to not sleep well either) so I decided to stay home today, get a few doses of meds in me and take it easy.  We have a work event in Topeka tomorrow that I need to be at so I'm hoping I can get some rest today so I can be ready to go tomorrow.

Aside from "The Crud", I had a great girls weekend with my sister this past weekend.  We don't get to spend too much time together with just the two of us, so this was a special treat!  We started out on Friday night with some yummy appetizers at my house, then we headed to see The King's Speech, where we indulged in a bucket of popcorn!

Saturday we had a leisurely morning before heading to get Shellac manicures.  The weather was crummy so that was not much fun, but we made the most of it the rest of the day.  After lunch we browsed at a boutique and then met up with my aunt and cousins for lunch at Cafe Moderne.  After lunch, we did more shopping at Lucinda's and then headed to Bradley Fair to do yet some more shopping!  We stopped at Cocoa Dolce for a yummy treat, browsed through Williams Sonoma and ended up at Francesca's where we both did a little damage!  We both picked out a bunch of things, tried them on and ended up getting two items that were identical (I tried to find pics of the items we bought but couldn't find them...).  Thankfully, we live in different cities so our chances of running into each other while wearing the same outfit are slim.  We did a little more browsing the rest of the afternoon and then headed back to my house to get ready for dinner.

One thing my sister likes about my city is that we have a lot of local restaurants, so I wanted to take her somewhere really yummy for dinner.  After thinking about where to go, I knew Luciano's was the perfect spot!  It is a little out of the way, but so worth the drive!  We definitely didn't hold back for dinner and we loved every last morsel.  Needless to say, we both felt like we should do a body cleanse or fast or something after the weekend, but that is what girls weekends are for, right?!

And of course, I didn't take any pictures.  I think I might ask for a small camera for my birthday or something.  I love to have pics for the blog but hate to lug around our big camera...