Captivated in Captiva

A week ago today, we hopped on a plane headed to Captive Island, Florida for a fun-filled trip with my family to celebrate my parent's 60th birthdays!  Initially it was supposed to be the whole family, but unfortunately my sister's family was battling a slew of sickness so they weren't able to join us at the last minute.

(the view from our resort)

We arrived in Captiva late Thursday afternoon and immediately went to the pool for some relaxation and of course some sun.  Later that evening we at dinner at a restaurant on our resort and tried to plan out our activities for the next day which pretty much consisted of the beach!

Later that evening we headed out on a dolphin (less) cruise.  Apparently, we were part of the unlucky 5% of people that didn't get to see any dolphins...

Oh look, there's a dolphin!!!  We saw this little guy as we were pulling back into the marina...

After the cruise we headed into town for dinner at Green Flash, a yummy seafood restaurant and then we walked around and topped off our night with ice cream at Queenies!

The next morning, the boys (Brandon and Todd) went fishing with the father of one of my sister's friends (who happens to live on Captiva - lucky guy!) and boy did they have a great time!

Clearly, the highlight of the fishing excursion for Brandon is clearly displayed in this picture!  He was so excited to catch this bonnethead shark and could hardly contain his excitement the rest of the trip.

While the boys were fishing, the rest of us rented bikes and biked all around the island.  We tried to sneak in a little shopping along way, too.

My dad and I were supposed to para-sail on Saturday, but if you can tell in the pictures, it was a little too windy and they canceled the trip :(

That evening, we went to dinner with our friend at the Mucky Duck, which is a fun little restaurant that sits right on the beach and has one of the best views of the sunset.  But, before we went to dinner, we walked through our friend's neighborhood to get to the beach.

While we were waiting for dinner we were able to snap a few pictures that just might appear on the 2010 Brungardt Christmas card!  We were also able to catch the beautiful sunset...

Sunday was our last full day on the island.  It was another windy and over-cast day, but we made the most of it.  We started out on the beach at the resort in the morning and then headed to another island (only accessible by boat) for a shelling excursion in the afternoon.  We had a blast hunting for shells, but I came home with more than just shells - I came home with a pretty intense sunburn!

We collected several shells and I plan to put them in a vase, but I haven't found the perfect vase yet.  Koby, however, has taken a special interest in the shells.  We left the bag of shells on our guest bed and while we were at a work event the other night, he drug every one of the shells out of the bag and ended up shredding a dried up sea urchin!  Silly dog!

Sunday evening, we got cleaned up and headed to Sanibel Island for dinner.  While we were waiting for my mom to print our boarding passes for the next day, Brandon revealed his new "accessory" for the night.  The next series of pictures will definitely say everything that needs to be said:

I was PLEADING with him to go back to the condo to shave that nasty thing off and he was REFUSING!  I'm pretty sure Natalie about peed her pants as she witnessed this scene.  How I didn't notice that thing before we left the condo is beyond me...I will blame it on a serious case of heat stroke or something.

Needless to say, we had an amazing time on our vacation.  We were so relaxed and were able to enjoy beautiful scenery, good food and good company!

I've been absent...

...because we've been here.

More to come later, once our pile of laundry is done and the refrigerator is stocked!

Busy Week

We had a pretty busy weekend and I have pictures I wanted to show, but I can't seem to find them...  If I ever stumble up on them I will post them, but for now, I'll just write about it.

After a long and emotional week, we were pretty much spent by the time Friday rolled around.  In all honesty, I think we pretty much sat on the couch and watched TV all night.  I probably fell asleep about half way through our TV watching...okay, I know I did!

Saturday morning we got up and went to Panera for breakfast and then ran a couple of errands.  I dropped Brandon off to get a haircut and went to a local nursery to browse their flower selections.  I love browsing around and looking at all of the different flowers and I love it so much that after I picked Brandon up from his haircut, we went back and purchased flowers for a couple of my pots.  (This is where a couple of those photos would be handy...).  The nursery I went to is called Dennings and they have the most unique and beautiful flowers.  They also put together awesome pots and baskets that you can purchase.  If you live our area, I highly recommend them!

Later in the afternoon, we headed to Hays, America for Brandon's buddy's 30th birthday.  We rode up with our friends Nate and Lacie and really enjoyed our time with them.  I think Dustin was surprised to see us at his party. We always have fun hanging out with these two couples (Obviously, Dustin's wife was also there).  It was a night full of lots of fun, lots of laughter, a late night trip to IHOP, and a tranny or cross dresser (Nate and Lacie got the privilege of experiencing that one).  We got up pretty early on Sunday morning to head back to town and spent the rest of the day doing laundry and resting up. 

We are gearing up for another busy week, but I hope to be able to check-in a couple of times!  And, maybe I'll find the pictures and get those posted...

Crazy Love Challenge - Week 1

As I mentioned last week, we were to complete a weekly challenge based on our new Bible study that we are doing with our small group and I promised to report what I learned.  I honestly didn't think too much about it through out last week, but the weekend's circumstances really led me to focus on the eternal God that we serve.  Psalm: 102:12, 27 says "But you, O LORD, sit enthroned forever; your renown endures through all generations...But you remain the same, and your years will never end."  As I thought about those verses, these thoughts came to mind:

• God was here FAR before I was ever here and he will be here long after I'm gone, so why am I so reluctant to trust him with everything? We all look to wise people with experience for guidance and we trust their opinions, so it would probably make sense to trust the guidance and wisdom of the one who has been around the longest.
• After the death of our friend, coupled with the death of my cousin last fall, I was really reminded that our lives on this earth are very temporary.  The only constant in our lives is God's love for us, that's it.  We can't count on tomorrow, we can't count on people because we are all sinners, we can only count on God's pure and everlasting love for us.
• Carrie Underwood's song, "Temporary Home", really drives home the point about this life only being temporary and that God has an eternal home for us in heaven, if we believe.  And yes, I do believe this song is over-played.

I can honestly say I learned a valuable lesson this week and I'm excited to get through the rest of the book.  It really is a great read, even if you don't do the study!

Monday Musings

 **EDIT**  If you tried to view that video that I am definitely NOT in, you can now view it.  I didn't realize I had it set to private...

We're coming off of a whirl wind weekend, so obviously I didn't have much time to post and we are gearing up for another heavy week.  So, here are a few of my Monday musings:

• I made the best banana bread last night and you should make it too!!  I don't typically like the end piece of bread, but this bread is so moist that I gobbled it up in no time.
• I also made this salad over the weekend and it is also pretty good, and filling.  It makes a great lunch to take to work.  If I were to make it again, I might make more dressing because it was a little bit dry today.
• If you see this commercial hitting the local air waves in the next few weeks, don't be fooled by the person that looks strikingly similar to me because it is totally not me!!!  

•  The weather has been awesome this weekend and all of the trees and shrubs are blooming.  We even have a few hostas peeking through the ground!  The nice weather has also motivated me to continue running outside.  I'm still not very good, but I my distance is progressing every time we go out...
• Along with running, I've been trying to do a few lower body workouts.  Last night, I was trying out a new leg workout that required the rubber exercise bands.  Let's just say I'm not very graceful and practically gave myself a black eye with the exercise band.  Needless to say, I won't be doing that workout again.
• Last but not least, we have heavy hearts this week as we received news that a dear family friend was suddenly killed in a tractor accident yesterday evening.  Please keep the family in your prayers as they have a long road of recovery ahead.  They have also been dealing with a lot of other crummy things in the past year so I know they need to feel God's presence and comfort during this tragic time.

Crazy Love

We started a new Bible study/book with our small group this week called Crazy Love.  You can click on the link to read more about it, but basically the book talks about God's enormous amount of love for us.  We have only read the first chapter, but so far I really like it.  We had a great group discussion this week that focused on God's characteristics that are revealed in these verses:

1 Peter 1:14-16
Psalm: 102:12, 27
Hebrews 4:13
Daniel 4:35
Proverbs 8:13
Revelation 4:11

Our challenge for the week was to pick one of the attributes mentioned in the verse, choose a day to focus on that attribute and then write down all of the ways God revealed himself during that day.  I believe the goal is to show us that God is with us all day every day and that even the Creator of the universe cares about silly ol' me. 

Once I decide which attribute I'm going to focus on, I will report back with what I realized.  I'm sure I will be amazed!!

Thoughts on a Monday

I was going to start this blog out with all of the annoying things that happened to me this morning like the stupid drivers on the way to work or the crazy muggy weather we are experiencing, but then I thought to myself "Why am I dwelling on the negative today?".  I have so much to be grateful for and we just had an awesome weekend and all I was thinking about were the bad things that were happening at the moment.

 

I wish this were an isolated incident, but sadly it is not.  So many times I find myself uncontent with life because I choose to dwell on the negative rather than celebrate the positive.  For instance, I will sometimes gripe at Brandon for not rinsing his dish off before he puts it in the dishwasher when I should really be grateful that the dish even made it to the dishwasher.  Or, I'll nit-pick a converstaion with a co-worker and only remember the multiple negative comments rather than the positive comments. 

So, today I'm going to focus on the positive parts of my day (thus far):

1. I got out of bed this morning and I felt great!  I am healthy, my family is healthy and I have a really cute dog who always makes me laugh in the morning.
2. I had a tank full of gas in my car, thanks to my husband who filled me up last night!
3. I bought healthy groceries last night and I was excited as I was packing them up for work today.
4. We had a great weekend with our family and it makes me more excited for our upcoming trip.
5. I got to hang out with some of my old A|S coworkers at a commercial shoot today!
6. I went to my boss's house for lunch today (leftovers from our Easter lunch yesterday - she invited us over to eat with her family and a couple of other friends) and it was fun to just hang out.  Makes me wish I lived closer to work so I could go home over lunch.
7. I'm trying out a new recipe tonight and I'm quite excited!  This is one of Brandon's favorite take-out dishes, so I hope it turns out well.
8. DWTS is on tonight - yahoo!!
9. The sun is shining which brightens my mood.
10. One of my co-workers brought me a couple of baby tomato plants to plant in my yard without me even asking.  She just remembered we had a conversation last week about home grown tomatoes and she thought I might like to grow some at my house!

See, it really isn't so hard to think about the positives.  I think I'll try to do this a little more often!

Five Senses Friday

tasting :: a scrap from the King Cake I made for a Mardi Gras themed wedding shower - YUM!

hearing :: The Ellen Show

smelling :: My Island Guava candle

seeing :: Koby basking in the sun

feeling :: Relaxed!  I had the day off!!

Five Senses Friday

(I'm stealing this idea from Pink of Perfection)

tasting :: my Diet Coke that has lasted most of the morning
hearing :: the hum of my computer - ahhh silence!!

smelling :: uggh - the Mexican restautrant where I dined at lunch with a friend (yay for lunch, boo for the smell)

seeing :: the clouds rolling in and the sun disappearing

feeling :: excited for the Cats' big win last night!

Have a lovely weekend!

Simple Pleasures (With a Mix of Guilty)

So, I've been thinking a lot about the simple (or guilty) pleasures in life and thought I would list my top 50!

1. Clean sheets
2. The first snowfall
3. Spring rain showers
4. Phone conversations with my nieces
5. "The Office" - enough said.
6. The Bachelor/The Bachelorette
7. Quick Trip/Sonic runs with my co-workers
8. Reality Steve during The Bachelor/The Bachelorette seasons
9. Buying new/different hair products
10. Gossip magazines
11. A new purse
12. Chocolate cake
13. Sunday naps
14. Using my china
15. Brandon making unexpected visits to my office
16. Koby curling up behind my legs to sleep
17. A clean car
18. Fresh flowers in the house
19. Hand-written notes
20. Lamar's donuts on my way to work
21. Buying Mrs. Meyers hand soap
22. Online shopping
23. Pedicures with friends
24. Country love songs
25. Saying "hello" to strangers
26. A freshly cleaned house
27. New magazines in the mail
28. Laughing, really hard
29. Blogging
30. Sonic drinks that last all day
31. Anonymous candy bowl fillers
32. Finding money in a pocket
33. Making connections with people (i.e. knowing a mutual friend, attending same school, etc.)
34. Trying out new recipes
35. Loving the spoils of the new recipes
36. An empty dishwasher
37. Rainbows
38. Driving in the country
39. Talks with my bff
40. Hearing my favorite song on the radio
41. Receiving a genuine compliment
42. Finding items on sale
43. Much needed hugs
44. A day off from work
45. Camp fires
46. The lake in the early morning
47. A close parking space
48. An old t-shirt
49. A home cooked meal
50. Busting out a few dance moves for no reason at all

Please Watch

I try to keep my blog fun and light hearted, but today I just can't pass up the opportunity to post the link below.  I'm not normally a political person, but what happened yesterday with the health care bill scares me to death!  Please watch this video and then come back for my thoughts:

What is really in the health care bill

Basically, what this legislator is saying is that I may not have the opportunity to get a mammogram.  Breast cancer hits right at home with me as it has struck loved ones in our family and very close friends.  Had they not had a mammogram, they would not have had the opportunity to intervene and fight those battles.  Had my uncle not been able to have a prostate scan, he would not have been able to intervene and fight his prostate cancer.  Someday, when I have a baby, I would like to have a sonogram to ensure that the baby is healthy and if I encounter problems in a pregnancy, I would like to have a sonogram to know what steps we need to take to correct the problems.  If my parents get sick after they retire, I want to make sure that they have all of the services they need to get well because they have worked hard for 30+ years and they DESERVE to have health care.  But, I'm afraid all of these "luxuries" are going to go away.

All of the hard work that we put in to have good, stable health insurance is all for nothing because now we're going to pay more money and receive less services so those who have no ambition and want everything handed to them can have insurance.  What is my incentive to work hard?  Clearly, the government is going to punish me if I make more than $200,000 (which I'm not even close) by raising my taxes so those who are free-loading can be covered.  This is all just wrong and I'm very scared for what the future might hold. 

Forgive me if I have offended anyone or have not shared my thoughts eloquently, but this is my blog and today I just felt the need to share.

A Lovely Weekend

Despite the crazy weather in Kansas, we had a great weekend!

Friday seemed like the LONGEST day ever at work, but it was capped off by a fun evening bowling with friends.  Because boys are so competitive, we decided to play guys on one lane and girls on the other.  Of course the guys were trying to throw the balls as hard as they could and at one point, they were bowling between their legs.  The girls on the other hand, well, we were doing good to break 100 (or 75 in my case).  By the time we left the bowling alley, the rain had turned to sleet and it was really coming down, and by the time we got back to our side of town, it was snowing :(  I've got to admit, I'm really over the snow now.

We slept in on Saturday since it was a blowing and snowing mess outside!  I finally got in the shower around 10:00 because I had plans to get a pedicure and go to lunch with a couple of friends.  We tried a new pedicure salon and it was a pretty good pedicure and relatively inexpensive.  I chose a fun shade of purple in support of our Cats!  After lunch, I had to run a couple of errands and getting in and out of the car was pretty much awful.  The wind was blowing so hard and it was so cold.  I managed to lug a bag of dog food out of Petco and run in and out of the grocery store in record time so I could get home and change into my warm and snugly sweat pants :)  We spent the rest of the day watching basketball and keeping warm.  We honestly didn't leave the house again.  As for the basketball games, we were definitely pleased with the outcomes!  As I mentioned in my post yesterday, the KU game was so nerve-wracking that I had to do something to occupy my time.  I think KU is a good team, but it does make me happy that they got knocked out of the tournament.  It would have been fun to face them in the Final Four, but not having to face them is okay too!  The night ended with a KSU victory and we are anxiously waiting for Thursday to roll around!!

This morning we headed to church and ran into some friends we hadn't seen in a long time.  In fact, we didn't even know they had started going to our church so it was fun to see them.  Our church just wrapped up a six week series about marriage.  It was a very good sermon series and touched on a lot of topics that are not often touched on from the pulpit.  I applaud our leadership for taking a special interest in the topic of marriage and relationships and hitting on subjects that might not always be "comfortable."

After church we ran a couple of errands, had lunch, played with the pup and took our Sunday afternoon naps (Koby included) :)  Later in the afternoon, my mom stopped through with a special delivery from Crate and Barrel!!  My sister-in-law was nice enough to run to Crate and Barrel to pick up the pillows I had been coveting and my mom was nice enough to bring them back for me!  I can't wait to get this basement all pulled together!!  Beyond all of that, we haven't done much else today, which is okay by me!

**EDIT**
I forgot to mention that I am SOOOOO excited for a new season of Dancing With the Stars, which starts tomorrow!!!  Yes, this show is another one of my guilty pleasures - I just LOVE it!!

Another Good Recipe

I made another good recipe from Annie's Eats tonight.  It was my way of easing my nerves during the KU catastrophe!! It seems every time I sat down to watch, KU would play better, so it was best I didn't watch.  (By the way, I can't believe that happened!)

(Photo courtesy of Annie's Eats)

Anyways, the recipe of choice tonight was Strawberry Yogurt Scones and they did not disappoint!  I've never made scones before, but they didn't seem too difficult.  The method is very similar to making biscuits or short cakes. 

I only had yogurt Whips on hand, but I just stirred it up and it seemed to work fine.  I also used lemon zest rather than orange zest.  I had a little trouble getting the dough to come together; it seemed a little dry.  I was also unsure if I was supposed to separate the wedges after I cut them, so I didn't and I had a little trouble getting the centers done.  This could have also been caused by not making the circle at least 8".  All in all though, these are delicious!  She mentions in her post that these scones would work with other types of fruit and yogurt, too.  I think blueberry would be delicious!

Also, I've read that scones can be frozen individually before baking and can be baked from the frozen state.  I obviously haven't tried that, but these would be excellent to have on hand on a blustery Saturday morning - kind of like today!

OMG Chocolate Chip Cookies

 (Photo courtesy of Annie's Eats)

OMG!!!  I just might have found the BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe.  EVER.  They are thick and chewy and perfect!  Now, the hubs hasn't weighed in yet, but I'm sure he will love them!

The recipe is courtesy of Annie's Eats and can be found here.  My only adaption was the baking time; mine took about 15 minutes to bake rather than the 11-14 minutes.  I also used mini chocolate chips, but I'm sure the regular chocolate chips would be just fine.  Oh yeah, and I didn't make 1/2 c. size balls of dough.  I just used a normal cookie scoop (the larger size) and split them in half.

I think the things I love the most about these cookies is the way they hold their shape and their texture.  Like I mentioned above, they are dense and chewy and they don't disintegrate in your mouth.  I have never been a fan of the Nestle or Hershey chocolate chip cookie recipes because they contain a lot of butter and are just too gooey and greasy.

Next time you make chocolate chip cookies, I highly recommend this recipe!  I promise you won't be disappointed!!

**EDIT**
The cookies have passed the co-worker taste test!!

I've Got A Long Way To Go!

Well, I've been keeping up with my Couch to 5k jogging program, but I've been jogging on the treadmill.  Tonight, since the sun was shining and since we have gotten Spring fever, we decided to jog outside.  BIG mistake on my part!!  My 4 minute jog - 5 minute walk - 4 minute jog - 5 minute walk turned into 4 minute huffing and puffing - 5 minute walk - 2.5 minute torture - 5 minute walk - epic failure!!  Brandon was kind enough to jog with me but I'm pretty sure I didn't impress him. At. All.

So, all in all, I feel good that I'm exercising more, but I sure have a long way to go before I can actually even think about running a 5k!

Some Inspiration

Lately, I've been wanting to spruce up our basement.  About a year ago, we switched the "game" and "living" rooms around so when you walked down the steps, you walked into the living room section and not the catch-all game room section.  The paint in the living room section is cream and it just looks very bland with brown carpet and a brown couch.  The game room, which used to be the living room is painted blue, so the couch stood out in that room.  Now, after a year, I'm getting rather tired of the dullness of the new living room and I want to add some color.  After browsing Crate and Barrel's web site, I've now found some inspiration for the living room! 

I love the fun pattern and movement in this pillow and I love the color combinations!

I love the texture of this shag pillow!

Our couch is about this color and I think the bright blue and green would really add some color in the blah room.

These vases might be my favorite part.  I think adding some punchy colors like the orange and the red would warm up the room a little bit and bring in a little unexpected pop.

Now, I've just got to convince my lovely, amazing, wonderful husband (Brandon are you reading this?) that this is a good idea :)  And yes mom (if you are reading) I know we still have a few items to finish up upstairs, but I will get to them someday! 

A Good Day

Today was a good day.  It was one of those days that seemed to last forever, but in a good way.  We were busy with chores this morning - me cleaning and the hubs doing yard work.  It felt good to give the house a good once-over.  To me, there is just something so refreshing to sit down knowing your house is spic and span clean!  Of course with two dogs in the house the clean feeling didn't last for long. 

Brandon spent almost all day outside.  He mowed, cleared out the old mulch from the flower beds, conditioned the soil with peat moss, scattered some weed preventive stuff, pulled out the grill and organized the garage a little bit. 

We had his parents and sister and brother-in-law over for dinner tonight, so I had to make a run to the grocery store for last minute items and spent the rest of the afternoon cooking and preparing for dinner.  They wanted to go to church on Saturday so Brandon's dad could maximize his time working on Justin and Ashley's basement, so we all decided to meet at our church tonight then we came back to our house for dinner.

I meant to take pictures of our evening, but I forgot.  We had a hot peach cheese ball dip for an appetizer, brisket, twice baked potatoes, green beans and salad for dinner and then Brandon's mom made a yummy strawberry shortcake dessert. 

After dinner, we all piled in the truck and headed to Lowe's.  Justin and Ashley needed some items for their basement and Brandon welcomes any opportunity to go look at tools.  I always find lots of items that I want for a future house like kitchen cabinets, new appliances, etc.

Now, we are just hanging out watching some movie on TV and thankful we get to sleep in tomorrow since tonight we Spring Forward!  I'm so thankful for days like today because it was simply a good day!

The Death of the Blow Dryer!

I've been having issues with my blow dryer in the mornings and today, it bit the dust at 6:27 a.m.  I plug it in, pushed the reset button a couple of times and nothing happened.  I unplugged the blow dryer, pushed the reset and test buttons on the outlet, plugged it back in turned it on and still nothing.  I pushed the reset button on the plug one more time and something "clicked" and then I saw smoke.  That is when I knew I had a problem. 

My lovely husband was still cozied up in bed but he must have heard me messing with the blow dryer because once I saw the smoke, I yelled for him to come assess the situation and he got right up.  He fiddled with the plug for a bit and then declared it dead.  He looked at me and my dripping wet hair with a questionable look and for good measure, I'm sure, asked if I had to have a blow dryer this morning.  I was planning to wear my hair curly, but I really have to diffuse it to make it look okay.  So, without hesitation, he threw on some sweats, grabbed his keys and he was off to Wal-Mart to buy a new blow dryer.  And don't forget, it was 6:27 a.m. and he is NOT a morning person. 

About 15 or 20 minutes later, he walked in the door with the exact same hair dryer (or at least the updated version), complete with diffuser, multi-temp controls and a retractable cord!  What a guy!!!!

Dog Fight

The following sequence of pictures represents the CONSTANT activity that occurs at our house when Tucker is around!

Don't let them fool you into thinking they are fierce and ferocious dogs!  In reality, they are just big babies!  After they wrestle for a while, they both get very tired and suddenly stop to take a short break.  Honestly, they just stop and walk away (or lay down, in Tuckers case).

Then, it starts all over again...

Desperate

Friends, I am desperate!  We leave for a lovely family vacation to Florida in about a month and I need summer clothes. BAD.  And, let's not even talk about swim suits....

Last year, at the end of the summer season, I picked up a few bargains as I was shopping for our trip to NYC (want to revisit that trip? click here, here, here and here).  But, if you recall, it rained most of the time we were there so I didn't really get much use out of my clothes, so I have that going for me - mostly new clothes, bought on sale.  But, I don't think many of those outfits are appropriate for beach activities. 

Another issue is that I don't want to spend very much money because 1) Uncle Sam and the State of Kansas will be knocking on our door shortly before the trip and 2) I won't be visiting another beach anytime soon, so I won't really wear the clothes much after the trip.

So, what's a girl to do?  I plan to spend some time this weekend going through my closet and browsing around a couple of stores, but I'm nervous I will just get frustrated and quit.  But, desperate times call for desperate measures, right??  That is until the swim suit shopping begins...OH. THE. HORROR.

Looking Forward to Spring

Even though it is dreary and rainy here today, I am definitely looking forward to Spring!  It just seems that Spring brings on renewed spirits and fresh outlooks.  So today, I'm listing all of the things I am looking forward to as the new season is ushered in:

• Daffodils
• Tulips
• Vanilla Lime Yankee Candle
• Capri Pants
• Flip Flops
• Ballet Flats
• Grilling outside
• Driving with the windows down
• Cleaning out closets/organizing the house
• Early sunrises and late sunsets
• The opportunity to wear my fun yellow jacket
• Easter
• Opening the windows around the house
• Green grass
• Leaves on the trees
• Finding out what plants will bloom this year and which ones won't
• An occasional WSU baseball game
• Taking Koby on walks and to the park
• Rain showers on a sunny day, which lead to rainbows
• Eating outdoors

Should Have Been a Cowboy

 This post title really has little to do with my post, but it was one of Brandon's favorite songs when he was a teeny bopper.  He still often tells me that some days he wishes he was a farmer who lived in the country.  He will threaten me with moving back to my home town to take over my dad's land and I quickly remind him that while I love my home town, I'm not moving back there. 

Anyways, on with my post.  Last night, I made The Pioneer Woman's Cowboy Calzones from her new cookbook and they were delicious!  I wish I had take a photo, but I didn't.  These calzones are not the typical Italian calzones filled with pepperoni, sausage, veggies, and marinara sauce.  Instead, they have more of a Mexican flair with Rotel tomatoes and monterrey jack cheese.  And the dough, well it just doesn't get much better than PW's pizza dough.

Cowboy Calzones
1/2 pound breakfast sausage
1 pound ground beef
1/2 onion, finely diced
One 8 oz can Rotel tomatoes
8 oz. whole milk ricotta cheese
1/2 c. grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. grated monterey jack cheese
1 egg, beaten
Salt and black pepper
1 recipe of PW's Pizza Dough
Olive oil for brushing

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large skillet, combine the sausage, hamburger and onion.  Brown over medium heat.  Drain the excess grease.  Pour in the tomatoes, stir to combine and simmer for 2 minutes.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

In a bowl, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, monterey jack and egg.  Add a dash of salt and pepper.  Add the cooled meat mixture to the cheese mixture and stir to combine.

Divide the pizza dough into 8 equal-size balls.  With a rolling pin on a floured surface, roll each ball into a 6-inch circle.  Place one-eighth of the meat/cheese mixture in the middle of each circle.  Fold half of the circle over the other half, gently pressing to slightly spread and flatten the filling.  Press a fork along the edge to seal closed (or fold the edges over), then transfer the calzone to a greased baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining dough and filling.  Brush the calzones with olive oil.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.  Transfer to a serving dish or wrap individually in foil. I read on another blog that these calzones freeze well, too!

So, there you have it, Cowboy Calzones!

Want to play ball?

 

Today's weather has been BEAUTIFUL and with beautiful weather comes Koby's STRONG desire to go outside and play ball.  As soon as I walked in the door after work, he was waiting by the back door with his ball, dancing around like he just couldn't wait.

To Koby, there is nothing better than going outside to play ball after being cooped up all winter!  

 

And sometimes, just to mess with him, we throw it where he is not looking and he goes into "Pointer" mode in order to find it!

He eventually finds the ball, brings it back to us and the cycle goes on and on and on!

 

But today, that was okay because I get tired of being cooped up all winter too!  And sometimes, it is just refreshing to go outside and play ball!

Health Kick

Today, I'm starting to get healthy.  I've decided I need a little "kick" in the rear before we head to Florida in April and I need to get myself in line NOW!  I obviously haven't been keeping up on this part of my New Year's Resolutions!

My first move in this new regimend is to start the Couch to 5k program.  It is VERY easy and VERY attainable, just what I like!  Brandon is doing the Couch to 10k program and is already killing it, so I'm a bit behind, but I'm starting today!!  I could probably actually start my program around Week 3, but I'm going to ease into and do it the right way.

I'm also planning to tweak the way I've been eating.  Instead of stopping off at Panera on my way to work, I'm going to make some Healthy Breakfast Muffins (will post recipe soon) to bring to work.  I also tried a new type of yogurt, the Yoplait Whips and I really like it so far!  The texture of normal yogurt really gets to me, but this is like mousse and feels more like a treat.  Snacking at work is also a problem for me.  I tend to much on junk instead of healthy snacks.  I'm not a huge fan of the trail mix with peanuts, M&Ms and rasins, but I wanted something similar so I browsed for ideas a while back.  I found one that I modified a bit to fit my needs.  Basically, I just mixed together Golden Grahams, Craisins, almonds and mini semi-sweet chocolate chips.  While this may not be totally healthy, it's better than leftover muffins and cookies that are in the break room!

So, that is my new "kick" and I plan to stick to it because I'm going to Florida soon and that means I will be wearing a swim suit soon...EEK!!!!!!!!!!