Gray. And Dante Basco.

I'd thought about asking Rob if we could take a walk, or hike or something otherwise outdoor and adventurous after work today, but I realized somewhere around the mid afternoon that the day had changed its mind somewhere in the midst of me burying myself brain deep in the task at hand. 

So, instead of the brisk yet sunny day we had yesterday, this was the tone for the afternoon and evening:

I mean... it could've absolutely been worse, so I'll take it for what it's worth and be thankful we weren't wading around in snow this evening. :)

Instead of an urban outdoor outing, we settled for a night in, complete with a tinkering session that resulted in my broken hairdryer being reincarnated into a parts mashup to fix a heat gun. Soundtrack? Well, that one was an obvious: 

guess the movie? 

[P.S. - If you don't know that immediately, well, you're missing out!]

Time to call it a night for now.. this girl's a tired ol' thing tonight.. :) 

xo | cmd

Oh, THERE You Are, Winter..... :/

Here's the only thought I had pretty consistently as today started, wore on... and ended: 

WHY, you ask?

And just in case you forgot whose daughter I am:

I think that should about do it. Folks, it's finally starting to feel like a bitter Winter out there - please be safe - & DRIVE SAFELY - wherever you go, stay warm and don't forget about your furry kids, either! ♥

Brrrr!

xo | cmd

Potato Soup!

It's finally starting to feel pretty chilled out there..... it was clear today at work when the three of us decided it was a soup kinda day, at which point I confirmed my decision to make soup when I got home.

I promised to bring soup for the office tomorrow, too... sooooooo.. DOUBLE UP!

Here's a good old Recipe Blog for you Potato Soup lovers out there. It's super easy, and btw, deLISH.

Anyway, here ya go:

POTATO SOUP

Ingredients

* 8 - 13 small potatoes [I use red potatoes], cubed

* 5-6 carrots [the long ones, or about half a bag of mini carrots], chopped

* 5-6 celery stalks [and leaves, if you like them!], chopped

* 4-5 tbsp butter [I used less, right around 3 tbsp, but it's your preference!]

* ½ cup leeks, chopped. [use onions if you prefer those; I like leeks better!] 

* 5 tbsp flour

* ½ tsp salt & ½ tsp pepper

* 1 cup milk
* 1-2 cups vegetable broth [organic, if you're like me & weird about that stuff] 

Directions

1. Chop & CLEAN your vegetables [potatoes, carrots, celery]. Cut up your leeks, too, if you want, but be sure to keep them separate from the other veggies. Believe it or not, I have a few friends who don't wash their store-bough produce before eating it, and that.. just... juuust.... please wash your food. The easiest/fastest way to do it is in a colander/strainer & use a fruit/veggie wash [like mine, Fit!]

mmmm veggies! 

2. BOIL those veggies [use a pot big enough, so you can use the same one for the whole process]. Keep an eye on them so they don't overcook; you want them to be soft, but not mushy! Once they've boiled, strain them and KEEP the broth. Set both aside, separately. 

[doubled the recipe!]

3. Cut up your leeks if you didn't already do that. Reduce the heat to med-high. Melt the butter and saute the leeks for just a few minutes. Be careful not to burn them. Slowly add in the flour, and stir through until it's of a paste-like consistency. Add the salt & pepper and stir it all together. Pour in your milk and blend everything until there are no chunks or gritty areas. 

pre-measured flour/salt/pepper & leeks!

4. Once you've stirred the milk into the pot, add about 1/2 cup of the broth from the boiled vegetables. Stir it up, and add the vegetables [potatoes, carrots, celery] back. Stir that in, and then slowly add in vegetable broth - just enough to cover everything. If you like a soupier consistency, add more. If you like more of a stew, add just enough to cover everything, but not much more. I would also recommend saving some broth for leftovers; this stuff gets super thick in the fridge & sometimes adding water makes it bland. *FYI!;)* 

nom nom nom!

5. You. Are. DONE! Go eat!! :D

6. Optional step: Let your boyfriend disappear into the kitchen for 20 minutes and come back with these. And eat them also, because he is thoughtful & they are delicious. 

surprise smores, by the boyfriend! 

^ And yes, that's the Express logo that you see there; to clarify, I was doing a little bit of work - that is not my wallpaper ;)

Hope that recipe finds its way into your bellies!

xo | cmd 

Sneezy Sunday

7,467.

What's that number you ask? 

That is my approximate guess of how many times I sneezed today. *H'ACHOOOOO.

I woke up just fine, but by the time we were halfway through the 11:00 church service, my sinuses were at a total discord with each other. Not long after that, the sneezing set in, and from there on out, it was a battle that ultimately left me sore-nosed and sullen on the couch with blanket over my wheezing face. 

Hot, I know. 

The silver lining to all of this? The waking up part looked like this: 

crazy morning hair & i love it. 

And this: 

sleeping bag snuggles

and of course... a wake up call for mr. rob! 

^^ Because who needs sleep when they camp, anyway? 

1. I managed to, without infecting anything, turn the small spaces of time between sternutations into productive increments of cooking. Lunches for the week are done. Yay! 

2. Rob fixed our oven, because... well, that's what he does. He fixes everything. I don't know how he always does it, but it happens and for that, he's pretty doggone awesome. 

3. Sydni took a nap & cut up some paper. Hey, we were all being productive, yeah?  

post-church snoooooze

I'll spare you all any photographic evidence of my lovely state right now: couch-bound with tissues in hand, breathing like a Persian cat on a hot day. While I'm sure that's enticing, this day ends here; See you tomorrow ;)

xo | cmd

Say Something..

 Welcome to the first day of a[nother] blustery winter day here in the midwest..

that's about right.

I believe I'm speaking on behalf of at least three quarters of Cincinnati when I say that I'm over this whole driving-in-snow-in-MARCH-now thing. Don't get me wrong, I love powdery snow, but I like to keep it under my board and not under my tires. //rant.... Be SAFE out there today, friends.

Good news, though - PTX has impressed again with this number. I missed them when they were on their first US tour, but I will see them. Eventually. (: And a sidenote, Avi has got to stop singing like that.. I'm developing a celebrity crush. Haha.

^ While I wish Kirsti would've done less grimacing and more smiling in the video, I am still a loyal lover of all things PTX.

What I also love is the generosity of my bosses; the day was moving at molasses speed, so they cut us loose an hour early. What I don't love is the sinus infection/head cold that's taking over my ... well.. head. I headed straight home and crawled in bed, where I have basically stayed all night. I do not handle being sick very well.

Blah. At least the sun was out today, and from what I hear, it's supposed to be on the up-and-up from here on out. Maybe we'll see some Spring after all (:

xo | cmd

Monday: Before & After

I've so far refrained from the infamous dashboard pictures that plague newsfeeds everywhere each time the temperatures hit high or low spikes. Today however, I just couldn't help it, as I realized that the longer I stayed out there, the colder it got.

yeah... it's cold.

From what I hear, it's supposed to hit a high today of something boisterous, like... 4? FOUR DEGREES. The midwest is having some serious identity issues this week.

On that note, I'm going to give a naggy PSA for all of you pet-owners out there...

It is ... COLD outside. Don't leave your dogs chained up in this crap outside. It's not safe, and you know it. There's NO excuse to leave our pets outside in this kind of weather. If you think there is a good excuse, then find someone who actually CARES for animals and give yours a better home. That, or you go spend the night outside with your animal and see how much fun it is. Negative something degrees overnights? BRING YOUR ANIMALS INSIDE. (:

We were fortunate enough to work indoors today, and when the day had passed and it was time to head out, I headed to Milford to get Sydni, and we were both greeted with this beautiful picture on our way home:

how great is our God?! ♥

In other good news, my headache and pinching sensation in my neck have significantly subsided. I am thankful for that, but beyond that, that I have a body that is still resilient and can recover itself. I am healthy. AMEN!

And also on that note, I can now officially say that we.. are ALL... in the same house together!!!! Sydni, Rob, myself & the pups - we're all here and we are having a blast. This is gonna be a good week! (:

xo | cmd

Martes! [Tuesday!]

Instead of a car dashboard picture, here's a phone screen shot. Hah...


-5, ya'll. still cold.

^ Oh, and about those multiple alarms set, it would be fitting that Rob sent me this today, completely out of the blue:

this is me. to. a. T.

^ Har har harrrr...
Speaking of Rob, and me, and all things Rob and Me, he sent me a shot today of Soliman, claiming I've been rubbing off on him in the photography arena. I have to give him credit; for a cell phone, this was not a bad shot.. plus it's of the ever-photogenic big boy himself! ♥

soliman the mastiff ♥

Post-work, I decided it was time to put these new running kicks to the test. I toted them to work with me and we got some good interval running done. I promised myself I would do some circuits, too, so abs it was. I'll see if I can stand up straight tomorrow. Haha.

not great for the first time in a few months.. but we'll get there!
13.1, watch out (:  

While I was planning my next move either for the gym or for this big move, Rob was consulting me for lessons on rice preparation. I am Asian, so obviously this is second nature for me, right? Hah. Just kidding. Buuuut, I have to say I think I did a half decent job explaining the process of fried rice via phone call, and from what he said, I'm thinking it worked out well!

long distance rice dedication from my one & only (:

Rob's pretty impressed with his new culinary abilities; I told him to watch what he wishes for, otherwise he's going to get trusted with multiple weeknights of showing them off. Haha. I wouldn't mind it if he did, or didn't... but I'm proud of him for mastering rice. It's not always easy when you don't have a rice cooker!

*Sigh. I'm whooped. Today was a good day, and I have some plans for the rest of this week to wrap up here before Rob, Jesse, the moving truck & boat get here this weekend. I'll keep ya'll posted.

For now, g'nite!

xo | cmd

Sub-Zero Weather :/

Bro, it's COLD.

It started snowing last night, and I was totally prepared to awake this morning to huge drifts and an excessively-lengthy commute. Fortunately, the snow must've changed course; all that was to be seen this morning was a dusting across the ground. Unfortunately, we traded snow banks today for sub-zero temperatures.

.... and did they ever. Instagram for hours, folks.... haha..

I made it work just as my own car's dashboard settled on -3 degrees. The weather forecasters predicted drops throughout the day to about -6 or so. Yeah, it's cold. At work today, Elisa informed me that in Indianapolis, it was near -35. Sheesh... :/

Sydni was at her dad's tonight, so I took the opportunity to make one run to the new house with the things I'd loaded up last night. It was a short-lived visit; this is the kind of weather that makes your nose hairs freeze the instant you step outside and take a breath. I was ready to be home, make dinner and cozy up with my dogs.

diiiiiinnnnnner! (: (:

Things I didn't really plan thoroughly when I  moved all my kitchen stuff to the new house: I am still living here, but had nothing on or with which to eat. So, in the classy fashion that is, I found a stray fork that had been in the sink, washed it and paired it up with the paper plate china. Fortunately, I forgot about the pots and pans in the drawer beneath my stove when I was moving, so I still had all of those. Add some chicken, green beans and pierogies, and I had myself a dinner that would've been delicious right from the pan. I just had to laugh at my present first-world-issues of no real plates.

Tomorrow it's projected to be even colder than today. I'm not motivated to move any more stuff for a day or two, if I'm being honest. I think tomorrow it's going to be a gym day. I need some motivation, and I know some indoor cardio [because let's be real, I'm not a diehard runner who likes lung expansion exercises in sub-zero weather] and circuit training will do the trick.

For now, STAY WARM and STAY SAFE, friends.
P.S. - If you have elderly relatives or neighbors, it might be a good time to check in on them, ya know, just to make sure they're ok! Also, if you have ANIMALS outside in this crap........ don't get me started. Just bring them inside. This is dangerously cold....

Good night!

xo | cmd