Ugh, Accountability

I am on the homestretch of the Whole30!
This is officially my last dedicated weekend to the program, and for the first time since I started that I woke up and reaaaally wanted actual pancakes. With blueberries and syrup. And actual butter. It was a tough sell not giving in, but I'm not about to screw this up now.

SO INSTEAD, I hauled myself out of bed and straight to the gym. And from there, out to the store to pick up the pillows I needed to finish up the guest bedroom. I mean, what's a good alternative to shoveling your face with food you can't eat? Answer: HIIT bicep & tricep circuits, followed by throwing money into the first level of domestic hell: decorating.

I managed to haul myself and eight pillows ranging from king-sized to euro, from the mall to the car, and then home, where I was greeted by the task of climbing up on the roof to take the Christmas lights down. Yes, we're those people with lights up at the end of January, shush. 

So I did the domestic thing (I'll post pics later, bc I'm over it currently). And then... I napped.
More like, I sought out the nearest coma and nose-dove face first into it, clad in sweats, a robe and freshly-showered hair that morphed into a petrified cloud as I slept. Let me also be clear here, that my pre-nap lunch of turkey hash... and the post-lunch snack of a Lara Bar did very little to satisfy the craving I had just before that for an actual chicken quesadilla, 13 donuts and a bowl of sticky rice. I am not kidding - although reticent, but meh -  when I say that the degree of food-want I experienced today could potentially have rivaled the weird collabo of stuff I demanded when I was actually pregnant.

>> I'm not pregnant, btw. <<

I woke up to Jessica on her way, which was probably the saving thread between me and the annihilation of what progress I've made this month on W30. I threw on the lowest-qualifying version of presentable and made a quick run to the store for just the essentials: cauliflower, pineapple, sweet potatoes, turmeric, ground turkey and lemons (again, I know...). I made it back, made dinner and even had some help with the golden milk at the end.


Good grief. I'm finally not hungry at this exact moment but for the first time this month, that was a close, close call.....

Stay tuned for a couple more days, and I'll have a full line of feedback for you on this Whole30 thing, AND I promise that it's not nearly as ridiculous as it sounds from this singular post. I've joked plenty in this entry, but the reality is that I most definitely endorse W30 and am quite happy with what it's done for me in just these few weeks. That'll be its own entry for another day - maybe Wednesday or Thursday next week.

Bottom line - if you're out there doing the January Whole30, HANG IN THERE! We've almost got this, and just have a few more days. We. Can. DO IT! :)

..... And with that in mind, I'm out, before I change my mind and eat more food ;)
G'Nite!

xo | cms

Small Group :)

I haven't talked much about this lately, but I feel like tonight would be a good one to express how much I appreciate our small group. Woops - they're called small groups at Sonrise, but same thing. I'm especially appreciative for the study Chris is currently walking us through: A study of the Old Testament. We had a packed table tonight, as we continued the journey through the foundation of the OT and how it shapes the rest of the Bible. 

old testament study

And no, this isn't a Baptist church [shout out to the Tower, alllll the way back in Illinois; I love & miss you guys!], but that doesn't stop us from getting our snack on during studies. I'm very much accustomed to small groups that are casual and warm all the way around, only incorporating serious focus when it comes to the studying at hand. It's funny how the presence of good food can and will always aid in the cultivation of a group or team atmosphere. 

Blogbots, I hope your Thursday was a wonderful day, and that Friday ushers in an even better weekend! TGI[almost]F!

xo | cmd

Guest Blog: Boulder Locavore [AKA... FOOD!]

The world wide web is home to literally every piece of information out there. Sure, the validity of some of what's posted may be questionable, but I don't know if I've yet hit the search engines with a question that answered, "No Results Available." The worst I think there's been is that little dinosaur guy from Chrome:

rawrrrr

^ And yes, I Googled that image. See my point?

Anyway, I was on a quest today for some new recipes to refresh my collection. For once in my life, I actually went on this mission with a full stomach, so as to avoid an impromptu grocery run right in the middle of it - you know, hungry shopping? My wallet hates hungry shopping.

So yeah, there I was, brain open to suggestions and the web at my fingertips. To say there is a plethora of foodie pages out there is like saying there's a couple drops of water in the ocean, but fortunately I managed to stumble on some good ones.

For the sake of time, here's the one I'm highlighting today: Boulder Locavore. It's authored and kept by this gal Toni Dash, and it's chock-full of that light & healthy - but still edible food that so many of us have promised ourselves for this year. Not only does she post the recipes, she additionally shares the nutritional value of what's in them, and why our bodies depend on some of the staple elements in each of her recipes [protein, amino acids, etc.]. Having grown up with my own mother and her holistic approach to... well, everything, I have to say I agree with a lot of what she has to say here!

One recipe that immediately caught my eye was this:

SLOW COOKER ALMOND MILK TAPIOCA PUDDING

1. I love tapioca pudding. 

2. I have - and enjoy using - a slow cooker. 

3. This one is dairy-free! 

4. I seriously... love tapioca. 

If you're a fan of tapioca the way I am, and either need or want a dairy-free option, do yourself a favor and go save that somewhere for yourself. Here's a preview: 

........ want. 

I will make that. NOM! 

Also on her page: 

GLUTEN+DAIRY-FREE OVERNIGHT QUINOA-CHIA CHOCOLATE BREAKFAST PUDDING

That's a mouthful.... but LOOK: 

yum! 

yes, please.

^ AND, it's overnight?! Bring.. it.. ON. 

The more I share this with you all now, the more excited I am to actually get this stuff in my fridge! 

Just a couple more. Perhaps something I highlighted that isn't a breakfast/dessert option.

LEAN TURKEY+BLACK BEAN QUINOA CHIPOTLE BURRITO BOWLS

I'm tellin' you, this gal knows the way to my heart! Lean turkey? Black beans? Quinoa? AVOCADO?!

Okay okay okay, one more. 

For something even lighter than lean meat, fresh fruit & quinoa options: 

COLD CUCUMBER NOODLE SALAD

Gahhhhhhhhh, YES. There's a lot going on with this salad, which includes toasted sesame dressing, watercress, mint & a few other things. 

drooling.

Folks, I will gladly be in the kitchen for a few days; Ms. Dash [wait... no way....]. your page has been bookmarked, and if you should ever roll out an app, consider it downloaded here. 

A lot of those recipes are gluten-free, dairy-free or otherwise catered so that you can adjust to your specific dietary requirements. I'm pretty excited to get on these. Oh, and for the record, in case you didn't notice, all of those pictures and recipes above are property of Boulder Locavore, which means that I didn't create, devise or otherwise own in any way/shape/form... any of that material. What I WOULD claim is a call for you to get yourself over to that page and see what looks like a fit for your kitchen :). 

Happy Eats! 

xo | cmd

Kolokithopi.....ta?

It was a pretty gloomy looking day around these parts, but that didn't stop us from maximizing the time we had during the day. I took Elisa out to drop in on a few of the regular clients we have, which ended in a semi-unscripted lunch drop-in at Findlay Market [because DUH..].

Becky found us while we were eating; we got a chance to catch up with her as we finished our lunches. We set out on a path back through the indoor market and were stopped short at the Greek pastry vendor, because... well... pastry. Greek pastry. That's why.

With being Fall season, we jokingly must ask:

^^ "Does this make one technically a 'Basic Greek Girl'?" 

Heheh. [If you missed that allusion there, just Google "Basic White Girl Fall," or whichever variation of that suits your search criteria. Also, it's a joke... don't take it seriously.]

Anyway, there was also this charming little baklava:

yummmm

All is well whenever there's a trip to Findlay involved!

Work concluded as it does every day, and I headed home to find two shipped boxes sitting on the front porch. They were addressed to Rob, so I brought them in and left them alone until his arrival. What I didn't realize was that they were actually early birthday presents to me!

surprise! 

^ Ok no, Sydni didn't get shipped in a box, buuuuut the stuff that did will be put to use as soon as possible!

It's almost the weeeeekend (:

xo | cmd

Nommas Nommas Salmonnn

Work? Check
WorkOUT? Check
Quick trip to the grocery store? Check

Awesome dinner and consequently a fun salmon recipe to share with the class?
Check & Check!

Yep, it's another recipe post! This one can be found here on the First Home Love Life page; I added some of our own touches to it, but for the most part I stuck to what I had.. and it... was.... amazing. (:

roasted red pepper salmon (:

NEED

* Salmon. For us, I just got 2 fillets from the seafood counter.
* 2 tbs light oil [I used olive]

* 2 tbs soy sauce [low sodium if you really want]

* 1 cup teriyaki sauce

* ½ cup balsamic vinegar 

* ½ cup honey
* 1 tsp sugar

* 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

* ½ cup dicded red bell peppers

* salt & pepper

 

DO

1. Dump all of the ingredients into a large freezer/ZipLoc bag to mix it all together.
Add the salmon and marinate in the fridge for 1-2 hours.

 

2. Once everything is marinated, broil the salmon until it is finished. I didn't actually time this out, but rather used the old-fashioned fork & toothpick method to make sure it was perfectly cooked through. Some people prefer the inside to still appear fleshy; I took it just past that to make sure it was opaque all the way through and slightly browned on top.

 

3. Add some sides and ENJOY!  

dinner time!

I whipped up some cous cous and added green beans for this, and I am definitely going to make this again. It really didn't take long at all to dump everything into a plastic bag, mix it up and let it broil.

NOM. NOM. NOM!

Have a great week, blogbots!

xo | cmd

 

Farewell, Weekend

Church this morning was a cold little jaunt, but as always, totally worth it. We are still in the process of exploring churches in the area. We're praying for some solid direction in making a choice, but I think we're off to a good start.

speak to me!

After church, we said our farewells to Jesse; he took off early afternoon back to Illinois and we took to cleaning up a little from the weekend. Rob, Syd & I spent the afternoon relaxing, eating lunch and finally tackling our weekly grocery shopping. It was nice having both of them with me tonight, since grocery shopping is usually a solo mission of mine.

Sasha didn't mind the evening of relaxation. She parked herself in Sydni's chair [after beeing shooed off the couch] for the night and enjoyed the rest of Sunday with us.

regal beagle! ;)
.. or pittie.

What an awesome weekend. I needed this reminder to step back from the little hiccups in life  and just.. enjoy everything I've been given and the people put here to experience it with me. I'm blessed in ways I don't deserve, but I wouldn't trade them for anything.

Hopefully I can carry some of this love into this next week.

xo | cmd

TBT | Salmon Recipe

I'm slowly catching up with the social media world; today I caved in and downloaded Flipagram, which is basically a way to create .gif stuff for Instagram or wherever else we choose to post our daily meanderings. I dug up some sequential photos from ... 2004? & decided I had to share. So, to honor #TBT, here's that time when I was a Ginger Ninja [... Ginja?] & Enjel went bowling. Oh.. and I was still in my skate shoe phase [thank you, Journeys... RIP Globes haha].
On the topic of videos, after Sydni and I had an all out jam session on the way to Mindi's this morning [to music from Frozen, of course], I bumped into this remake. I think 1] this little girl is phenomenal, and 2] The African influence kind of makes this seem more summerish than wintery, which is juuuust fine for me right about now. I'm not perched on my snowboard on a slope all day, erego I'm done for now with this weatherrrrr...
Love. (:

Back in the real world, the day wore on as usual, and I got home in time to get dinner put together, trying out a variation on a salmon recipe. We're all about amino acids in this place.. haha.

Anyway, here's a simple salmon recipe if you're into that sorta thing:

Ingredients:
* Salmon steaks
* Olive oil
* 5 tbsp honey
* 6 tbsp honey mustard [I would really recommend honey mustard, too.]
* ½ - ¾ c fresh-squeezed orange juice [the original recipe calls for 1 full cup of OJ, but even ½ was a lot for 2 salmon steaks]

First things first:
➊ | Preheat oven to 375°. I chose not to broil these, but if you are set on broiling, go for it. Spray a baking pan and lay in salmon. Add some salt & pepper, and a thin layer of honey on the salmon. Put it in the oven for about 10 minutes.
 ---- Note: I made green beans and cous cous as sides for this. I would recommend getting the green beans going before the salmon if you are using fresh beans. I boiled mine down some before they hit the skillet just so they'd cook a little faster. The cous cous takes like, 8 minutes from start to finish, so that should be bad. 

salmon & green beans [& some fresh tea brewing!]

➋ | While the salmon is baking, squeeze out your oranges, measuring out however much juice you prefer. Like I said, I chose to use somewhere right between a ½ and ¾ cup of actual juice, even though the original recipe calls for a full cup [it's just.. a lot]. And no, I'm not sure if using regular OJ from a jug would be as good or not. I think I used 4-5 medium sized oranges with no juicer [sad face] to get mine done. Add the honey & honey mustard to the juice and stir well.

 

➌ | Add the juice mixture to the salmon once it's been baking for that first 10 minutes or so. I think mine cooked for about 13 minutes or so before I got back to it, but it wasn't bad.

orange juice + honey + honey mustard + salmon

➍ | Let the salmon bake again with the mixture in the dish for another 5-8 minutes or so, so everything can absorb. If you're doing a side and you time everything right, it should all come out at the same time. I'm no professional at plating food, but here in the privacy of our own home, I'm really not overly-concerned about appearance as much as taste-tester approvals.

yummmmm!

➎ | Devour! And, if you're like me, take notes on what you'd do differently the next time around. I might actually, if I do this again for just the two of us, use even less juice and maybe a little less mustard. I am all about salmon glazes, so while the soupy consistency of the juice blend was still delicious, I'm bent on finding a way to carmelize it. There will definitely be some orange marmalade in this the next time around. Oh, and next time I probably won't make tea at the same time as dinner; I'm not a huuuge fan of lukewarm iced tea, even with ice cubes. Haha.. Oh well.  

delish!

The crowd decided this was a good one, so we'll bookmark it and bring it back in a couple of weeks with the revisions.

 

For now, I'm parked on the couch about to watch Soul Surfer with my favorites before we put Thursday to rest. 

gosh, i love them.

 That's a wrap, blogbots. ♥

xo | cmd

Recipe Hack : Chicken Alfredo!

Hiiiii, blogbots!

I was in exceptionally good spirits today, partly due to the fact that it's becoming clear that our months and months of working towards the goal of Rob moving to, living in and working in Cincinnati have all come to fruition... but also because I had my heart set on sticking to the menu we planned out over the weekend. Tonight was decidedly Alfredo, and I wasted no time trying out a new, easier way to make it. I will be the first to say that this is DEFINITELY a good hack! No, it's probably not the healthiest way to do it, but if you're planning to eat Chicken Alfredo, you're probably not overly concerned with your carb or calorie count... at least not at this sitting ;)

Anywho.. This barely took any time at all, and was delicious. I'm adding this to the books of must-makes for company and for Sydni, when she's here, too.

Here's what I used. Feel free to alter based on your time & preference!:

* 1 lb chicken
* 1 box Linguine noodles.
* 1 can cream of chicken soup (or mushroom, if you're into that kinda thing) - I used Campbell's.
* 1 bag of frozen broccoli florets (the kind that steam in the bag in the microwave work great!)
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (grated, shredded, pulverized in the plastic can, whatever)
* 2 tbsp butter
* Salt & pepper

HOW TO:

1. Cook pasta according to directions. It takes about 10 minutes or so. Add some salt and just a LITTLE oil to the water if you'd like, to season and help the noodles from sticking together, respectively. Microwave your frozen broccoli. If you use fresh broccoli, the recipe I have said to add it to the last 4-5 minutes of boil time for the pasta. I don't know if/how that turns out. Drain pasta when cooked and set aside.

2. Heat a flat pan over medium heat. Add butter, then chicken. Brown it on both sides, until cooked through. Don't be impatient; let it cook at medium heat!

3. Once chicken is cooked, start stirring in milk, cheese and cream of chicken soup. Stir it gently until it mixes down together. Add in noodles.

Honestly, that's it. Serve with bread or whatever side you'd like!

nom nom nom!

Rob has promised he'll try this one next time [making, that is; there was no problem eating.. haha]. I certainly won't complain if this dish hits our house again.

We are still plugging away at this house-settling thing... hopefully by the end of this week we'll have decided on a couch for the living room. The rest has all fallen into place, so I'm not too worried.

Stay tuned ;)

xo | cmd

And Then, It Was EMPTY!

I've been so focused on arranging and preparing the new house, that I've neglected any specific updates on the old digs. Welllll... 

then & now..
cleaaaaaaaaan & clear!

The main room at my old house feels so much bigger without anything in it, which I realize is generally the case with any room. I don't care though; I finally cleared out the last photo frame nail from the wall and have officially cleared out all signs of inhabitance from the back half of the old house. Save for our temporary sleep set up, "WE GONE!" [yiiiiieee!]

And, on an entirely unrelated note, I'm also declaring publicly today my affection and affinity for continued healthy eating. This little shoutout is really more for myself than any audience, but a little public posting never hurts when I'm trying to keep myself accountable.. 


greek yogurt + honey + blueberries
who says office life has to be all junk food!?

... I'm bent, folks, on a healthy 2014.

Right now, I'm more excited to [almost] be down to one house, instead of split between two. Home stretch!!!

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

Good Old Fashioned Family Time

I wasn't sure last night if I'd wake up on time for church this morning. My parents, who were at the show last night along with Sydni, weren't exactly planning to go either, but somehow we all suited up and made it there and back . The rest of the day was spent relaxing and soaking up some much needed family time with Sydni.

my little burberry girl!

Oh, and my parents are starting in on their grandparent obligation of fire-safety education with Sydni. Mom bought her an activity book based on the fundamentals of fire prevention, safety and reaction in case the whole prevention part doesn't work out. I quizzed her on the answers, and well.. let's just say 2 out of 3 right isn't bad. Haha.

And I... LOVE.. My sassy little fire safety-savvy girl. Even if she does give some wrong answers every once in a while.. haha.

with jazzy, our nineteen-year-old cat (:

And... 

my silly love!

I will forever be amazed at how much this girl makes me smile and laugh. She's hilarious and there is never a dull moment when we're goofing around. She's a natural toddler: a wildly beautiful imagination and a contagious little smile. Of course, ice cream sandwiches from Nana & Pappy have never hurt anyone before, either ;)

We were prepared to hit the road somewhere in the middle of the afternoon, but Mom & Dad invited us to accompany them down to R&M's for a pre-Thanksgiving dinner, compliments of the diner, and benefitting the Knox Co. Hospice. I didn't know what to expect, but what I should've known was to never underestimate my small town fixtures in delivering!

That being said, we had a full-course Thanksgiving meal, complete with all the fixings and even dessert. To say that we had leftovers was an understatement. Sydni of course, insisted on sitting with Pappy for the duration of the time we were there (:

things that melt my heart

& my mom, who does more than most women do for her family:

awful picture of me, but who cares.. love my mother!

When we finally did get on the road, I managed to make it nearly an hour back towards Columbus before I realized I'd left my wallet in the glovebox of Dad's car.. so after my second time headed southbound out of Sunbury, it was on the way home.

... And now we're here.
... And we're going to bed.
... G'Nite (:

xo | cmd

Food, Football, Addicting Games & Tornado Warnings

As I promised, I headed off to SonRise this morning for my second installment of the Relentless series. I'll tell ya what, when there's a message meant specifically for you, it's meant FOR you. This time it was all about maintaining relenting faith under pressure, under unfavorable odds and especially when we are called to step outside of our comfort zones.

 

I checked the church's website, but they've not yet uploaded the podcast of today's message. I did however, find the one that rocked Rob and I last week; it's never too late to share some good news. It's a little long [well, standard sermon length but timely for a blog entry], but it's good nonetheless.

 

Enjoy, and I'll try to get today's up here ASAP.

After work, I had two goals:
1. Retrieve my debit card from P.F. Chang's from last night, where I signed my bill and left my card in the little holder thing. [You can face palm that one, it's okay.]
2. Make it out to Brittany's house.

I accomplished the first, and the second greeted me with a welcoming surprise: they had cooked brunch and had it laid out pretty much in front of me when I walked in the door. It wouldn't be a complete experience without scrambled eggs, homemade hasbrowns, fresh fruit, bacon [not for this allergic kid, womp womp...] & of course, mimosas.

And then.. an afternoon cozied up watching the Bengals game.
It's about TIME...we whooped up on the Browns.

cozying up to some WHODEY action!

I noticed at one point during some replays that all four of my friends were curled around their cell phones playing CANDY CRUSH. I couldn't help but take a picture, for the sake of showing them the visible proof of their addictions. Joe even looks to be fist pumping a victory over a level. I'm not judging; honestly, I've never even thought to play it, but it's still fun watching and hearing other people do it.

candy crush-aholism.
brittany. joe [yesssss! #fistpump]. kalyn. keifer.

Keifer eventually headed out for work, and the daylight started to wear down. We started watching North Country, but were thwarted by all the tornado warnings and watches going on in the area. It was literally raining sideways across Brittany's backyard, and all over the news were pictures of damage here locally, but more seriously devastation in parts of Illinois and some other areas. My heart broke for the people caught in the path of this, and I am so thankful that, even though we ate dinner [delicious, thank you, Joe!] in the basement and had weather alerts as background music through it, that we and those all around us are safe, untouched by the storm.

little red riding pup!

^ Daisy, especially, seemed grateful for another night cozying up to everyone on the couch.. and now that her cone is gone, she's as happy as ever. So is little Maddie, creepin' there in the background.

I'm home now, glad to have the rain and wind gone.
It's another week to conquer, starting tomorrow.
I'm ready. (:

xo | cmd

I'm Awesome At Shopping!

.. That's a total lie. I'm about as good at shopping as I am at basketball.

& ice hockey.

& juggling hand grenades.

& cooking any sort of red meat.

You get it.

Shopping ≠ My strong suit.
It's okay.

Anyway, today after work, I embarked on day 1 of my mission to find a "semi formal" dress for the event I'm attending next weekend. I'm not a dressy girl by nature, so that in and of itself was the first hurdle. I figured it wouldn't be hard at all to find a piece to fit the bill.

 

Either I'm insanely picky, or I just... honestly... do not know how to do this.

^ found that online somewhere, made me laugh.. totally applicable.

So to my frustration this evening at dress shopping, and to the actual idea of dressing up in the first place, I say... not now. Just. Not. Now. I'll deal with you tomorrow. For now..

Here are some things that make me happy, that share my affinity for craftiness and avoiding big stores unless absolutely necessary. I'm drafting Christmas present ideas.

1. Jewelry. I have a lot of women [& men, too] in my family who admire and appreciate fun, quirky accessories. I just.. I have this really hard time spending exorbitant amounts of money on things unless there's an appropriate occasion [not saying that Christmas is anything less than that, however]; I simply like to give a lot, to a lot, so frugality is never a bad thing. 


via Tzunuum, Etsy
fun. definitely could add my own spin on it.

adore.

no, not mine... but doable.

... and so forth.

2. Scarves! I went on a huge knitting spree two years ago - remember that? Well, at the time I found a blog that I started obsessing over; it was one of those tutorial blogs that shows you how to knit and all that jazz. I found pictures [since I'm too lazy to go find the ones I took sporadically in 2011] of each of my four favorite stitches I learned and completed. I think.... it's gonna be another knitting year!

bring on the needles & yarn! i just got excited again...


3. Foooooooood. Duh. Food. I'd be here until next Christmas if I tried telling you all my favorite goodies for the holiday season, but I think at the top of that list is something I also learned while in Illinois: Gorilla Bread. It's a curse that I have no need for recipe instruction, but that I can recall it from memory. Pretty sad. Haha. Whatever.. I will be making mini versions of this for.... all ya'll this year. Be ready. Be hungry.


drooling already.

... So maybe my failed attempt at shopping today was a good thing, after all. I just caught my second wind of inspiration to actually do some of this stuff this year.

Gears are turnin'....

xo | cmd

Motor City Work Conference, Pt. II

gooood morning, detroit :|

I woke up in Detroit this morning.
I woke up way too early.
I smelled like an ashtray when I woke up.. because you can still smoke indoors in Michigan.
And somehow, I woke up hungry.

Luckily for us, the Westin is a classy little-well, not really little - joint, so there's nothing to complain about with wide waterfall showerheads, marble sinks, window blinds that filter in the light but not the dilapidated view of demolition and chaos.... and of course a full-scale breakfast buffet line, complete with coffee.. to start off day 2 of our conference.

Fast forward to training [it's a bunch of useful info that's applicable to my job but not really to a blog].. and then fast forward again to the part where we continued eating. They called the food-intake part "breaks." We called it the other way around: in between eating, we took some breaks and learned some stuff. It's a huge win.

So yeah, we ate, again, at the full-table service awards luncheon. ConGRATS to Kortney on being recognized as one of the top 5 sales reps for our territory, to Nikki, Kortney & Anna on completing their EUC for sales, and to a tiny self-backpat for completing my EUCP. It only took me a shy 3 years to do it. Haha.

express takes care of its own ;)

Oh, and Chris bid for and won this:

4-foot tall wooden express superhero?
..... check.

Haha.

Anyway, it wasn't long before Nikki, Elisa and I were back in yoga clothes and packed in a row into the backseat, headed for home. We stopped off at a gas station in Wapakoneta [yep, welcome to Ohio...] and debated a mini visit to the Armstrong Air & Space Museum, but were distracted immediately by the DQ, which of course was a bigger priority. It'd been nearly FOUR hours since we'd eaten, so by this point in the weekend after having stretched our stomachs to the max with heart-attacking food, we figured, why not?

neil armstrong air & space museum | wapokoneta, oh

.... and then, finally, we were home.
It's still early in the evening; Oktoberfest/Zincinnati is happening this weekend downtown, but if I'm being honest, I'm parked on the couch now and really not in the mood to do anything else. 

... Don't judge.
I'll see how I feel about all of it tomorrow. (:
For now, I'm gonna lay here and attempt to will this food to digest.
We'll pick this back up tomorrow.

xo | cmd

& A Bunch of Random Stuff I Find Online

Every once in a great while, I find myself saving random articles, pictures, tutorials and creative project/recipe ideas off of whatever source they originated. I discovered today that they're starting to overrun space on my desktop; not that there isn't ample room there to share, but it's looking cluttered.

So here's an entry where I use my blog as a personal remember-this-for-later type board..

First things first:
FOOD. [Don't act surprised]:
[also, click on the pictures to enlarge, if you can't see .08 font ;) ..]

1. Banana Burritos ... or, if you're in Asian mode, Sushana:

things to try with syd!

2. Jelly Worms [these look tricky.. but fun .. for Fall & Halloween!]

wiggly...

3. Casseroles. You can so rarely go wrong with giving me a casserole recipe. The fact that there is an entire stick.. of butter, makes me want to prepare this for and send it to Marianne. Haha.

"curse youuu, paula deen!!!"
[and jk, i don't think is a pd recipe...]

4. Cookies. Don't ask. Just make.

things i promise to only make once a week.. at work...

These things are gonna make me start drooling... I'm such a foodie.. not to be mistaken with critic.. just a fanatic.. of food.. more specifically, eating it. No shame. Haha (:

This one made me laugh. A random number called my cell phone while I was at work, so instead of answer it, both for the obvious reason of my being at work, but also because I didn't even recognize the area code, I let the voicemail pick up. I later Googled the number; apparently G+ thought I needed help pronouncing it... assuming I know each sound component of the English alphabet letters already.

ohhhh, so that's why english-inept speakers sound so strange to us:
"fahyv" ??

^ Really? Twenty-six letters to memorize, but you've not yet done 1 through 10? Hmm. "Fawr, fohr." I think I'll start handing out my number in that format. "Eyt,... too,... fawr..." Yikes.

And then there's this... making me appreciate cotton and satellites in ways I probably never would have before:

thank you, buzzfeed.

Yyyyup.

Lastly, for today at least, I found a shirt that I wouldn't mind owning. It makes no sense, which is part of the quirky fun about it, but it's part of a tshirt company whose claim is in the printing of fun stuff specific to various parts of the Midwest [USA]. As someone who hails [mostly] from the MW, I have to say that many of my non-MW friends certainly do this.. a lot. This made me laugh especially after having lived in Illinois, to which nearly everyone would immediately reply, "Illinois? Ah, cool! Chicago!" ....nnnnnnnnnnnnnn...o.

want.

^ Looking at that, I realized I should probably start forming my birthday and Christmas wish list... more for myself than for anyone else.. haha.

Anyway, that's enough menial stuff for today.

xo | cmd