hey, it's ok (tuesday) .6

hey! it's ok...

... that on your first day of "break" you did nothing of too much substance.  there's 4 other days to be productive, and enjoying some free time is not a bad thing!
... to think that one of the children on "sid the science kid" is the most annoying child EVER and that you're glad you don't know her in real life
... to be excited about the date we have set to set up our registries. 
... to have set a craaaaazy goal of minutes to work out this month.  i'll tell you at the end if i make it :D
... to have no idea what to give up for Lent this year
... to be a bit overwhelmed by wedding/honeymoon plans.  but it's a good overwhelmed.

3 in 30: march

so i started this in february, and am continuing on because it was kinda fun...and pretty effective :)

so here are this month's goals

• drink at least 3 glasses of water per day (i know that's pathetic, but my water intake of the moment is pretty pathetic too...)
• try at least 4 new recipes
• carve out at least 30 minutes of time per day for me.  this cannot include wedding planning or doing laundry... ;)

by the way, here's how i did last month:

* exercise at least 4 times each week...and stop using that "busy" excuse!
(i managed this at least 3 out of the 4 weeks, so that's not bad :D)
* eat at least 1 fruit and 1 veggie each day
(well, that was a small goal, but i'm not convinced the fruits always happened.  i'm just not a fruit girl.  however, i'm pretty sure i got in at least 3-4 servings of vegetables every day.)
* sleep. 6 - 7 hours at LEAST per night. this means when i have to get up at 5:15
(this didn't always happen, but steps toward the right direction.  i think i got between 5.5 and 7 hours most nights, which is MUCH better that what i was doing before.  so this is an ongoing goal for sure)

what are your month's goals?

thursday's ten: on my daily drives

today's ten is a photo journey...and unfortunately not all of them are mine.  as much as i find taking pictures from my car window fun, it's not always the safest thing ever...

photos obtained elsewhere are marked as such :)




please join me in this!  i'd love to see the strange and unusual things around where you call home!

1. batman building

photo from google images

it's the most recognized part of our city's skyline...and i still smile when i see it

2. traffic circle on music row

photo taken by me

natives have their own nicknames for it, but the official name is "musica"

3. "that awful mailbox"

photo by me

i discovered this mailbox years ago when driving to babysitting jobs. it's on a well-traveled street just off the interstate, and it's U-G-L-Y. i don't even know what it's supposed to be...a dead animal? a portion of one? any ideas?

4. krispy kreme

photo courtesy of google images

the original nashville krispy kreme was just down the street from my university (that's right. the ritzy universities got the starbucks and the eclectic shopping areas but WE had easy access to the "hot now" sign.)
clearly, i don't make it a daily stop, but it is nice to indulge every few months :D

5. front yard phonebooth

photo shakily taken by me

somewhere, on a residential street in our fair city, is a family who owns (and is quite proud of) a phonebooth from the UK. i played creepy stalker and took a night picture of it, but i didn't linger TOO long, so it's not a fantastic shot. sorry.

6. odd tours

photo courtesy of google images

photo taken (badly) by me

photo on company website

who wants to see nashville like a normal person? we have the nash trash tours as well as the redneck tours. i've seen both out and about, but only been able to snag a photo of the redneck bus--and in the rain at that! :)

7. walmart valet parking

photo taken by me

i have NO idea what the reason is, but there is a wal-mart in town that has valet service. hilarious...and i want to try it every time!

8. parthenon

photo courtesy of google images

complete with a huge statue of athena...it's a pretty impressive replica. it's also in one of my favorite parks!

9. casino style movie theater

photo courtesy of google image

i kid you not, it's a theater. it's obnoxious, but i don't think anyone in nashville would be able to handle it if it wasn't lit up like this every night :)

10. super secret target parking lot

photo by me

ok...i hesitate to post this. BUT there IS a target in town with a secret lot. i refuse to say which one, but it exists, and here's photo proof, kinda ;)

so...what's a bit different about where YOU live? :)

meal planning tuesday .4

tuesday (today)

breakfast: coffee
lunch: sonic (down the street from where we set the wedding date ;)
dinner: frozen pizza with a's mom (we were discussing wedding stuff)

wednesday
breakfast: bagel/cream cheese, coffee
lunch: leftover shepherd's pie
dinner: taquitos and rice (taking to church since i'm helping lead worship and THEN we're meeting with the minister we want to do our ceremony.  i think i'll have 30 min though to sneak in the kitchen ;))

thursday
breakfast: bagel/cream cheese, coffee
lunch: leftover poppyseed chicken
dinner: taco mac (my invention...i'll share it here one of these days ;)

friday
breakfast: bagel/cream cheese, coffee
lunch: chicken salad, hummus and veggies
dinner: on the road, meeting our friends angie and brian in evansville

saturday
breakfast: coffee
lunch: with my parents
dinner: hopefully at my favorite german place there

sunday
breakfast: coffee
lunch: with my parents
dinner: something quick, since we'll have traveled all afternoon...probably frozen pizza

monday
breakfast: coffee, bagel/cream cheese
lunch: at nanny gig
dinner: greek meatloaf, mashed potatoes

monday's memory: the one with the awesome pub picture

one of our favorite photos of the two of us
ever
taken at the pub last february, by our friend natasha

it's a great day to show you my ring :)

first this weekend's wordle:

hey -- i finally have ring pictures!

my friend natasha came over last night and she has this fantastic little camera that she got for christmas...so i asked her to attempt what had been impossible for me :)

here's a few shots for you -- he did good, yes? :0)

thursday's ten: oscar buzz

oooookay, i KNOW i said "things on your daily drive" for this week, but i kinda forgot about the oscars this weekend.

so, push that to next week, mmmkay?



anthony and i, with his roommate kyle, are throwing a red carpet party this year
and the twist is that we've asked people to bring a dish based on a best picture nominee.

i haven't decided what i'm making yet
but here are a few ideas
(the recipes that i already have on my blog are marked with *)

1 - black and white cookies, buffalo "swan" dip*
(black swan)
2 - soda bread (ok, i prefer this one because it's authentic Irish tips, but the other is simpler for our quick american parties), shepherd's pie*
(the fighter)
3 - "inception" wings, jello shots
(inception)
4 - strawberry-rhubarb pie, deviled eggs*
(the kids are all right)
5 - tea and cucumber sandwiches
(the king's speech)
6 - "like this" cookies -- use a sugar cookie dough and this thumbs up cookie cutter
(the social network)
7 - hummus (probably a pretty plain one) and veggies, trail mix
(127 hours)
8 - horseradish mashed potatoes, haystacks
(winter's bone)
9 - cowboy beans, cheese grits, ranch stuffed potato skins*
(true grit)
10 - macaroni and cheese, pigs in a blanket, green alien cupcakes
(toy story 3)

so if you were coming to our party...what would you bring?  if it's something not on my list PLEASE share!  i'm not convinced i want to make any of these!

recipe of the week: buffalo chicken stromboli

i ran across a recipe on pillsbury.com awhile back for buffalo chicken stromboli.  i was intrigued, but a lot of the ingredients (namely blue cheese and bell peppers) didn't appeal to me whatsoever.  i searched around, found that rachael ray had also created a buffalo chicken stromboli, and realized that i didn't like some of HER ingredients either.

so, i did the normal thing for me and combined the two, changed a couple of things that were similar to both recipes that i was NOT going to do, and came up with the following:

buffalo chicken stromboli

2 rolls of crescent roll dough
1 9-oz package of pre-cooked chicken strips (i used southwestern flavored ones)

*i will definitely keep some of these on hand in the future for this recipe...but i would imagine that using a rotisserie chicken, or leftover chicken from another meal that you cube/shred would be equally good!
1/3 to 1/2 cup hot buffalo wing sauce (i used frank's red hot)
1 cup mozzarella/monterey jack cheese blend
1/2 a large red onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, diced
your choice of dressing on the side (ranch is my preferred, naturally)

preheat the oven: 350゜

lightly mist a large cookie sheet with nonstick spray
(and don't skip this step like i did...in my defense, i was making them at anthony's apt and they didn't have any spray!)

unroll both crescent roll doughs, and lay them on the cookie sheet so that they meet at the longest sides.  work with the dough a bit to seal in the perforations the crescent rolls make, and then press the dough together to make one large rectangle.

mix together the chicken strips and the buffalo wing sauce.

put the chicken mixture down the center of the the dough

top with cheese

veggies

and more cheese

fold over the dough on one side and work to seal the edges.

fold the other side so that the dough overlaps in the middle.  seal completely, and then place in the oven.

bake for 30 - 40 minutes, until golden brown.  serve with ranch or whatever dressing you would normally eat buffalo wings with :-)

our verdict?  YUM.  definitely one to keep in the repertoire!

monday's memory: the one where it's pretty fresh on my mind...

after much thought, consideration and prayer
anthony and i have come to a decision
to stop dating.



last night, we went to dinner at this fantastic gourmet burger place around the corner from his place.
(seriously gourmet, i had a lamb burger!)

while we were there, anthony mentioned that he had left his journal at church that morning.  since it was on the way back to my house, we decided to stop and get it on the way back.

then his aunt texted me to say that she was dropping our girl scout cookies off at his parents house, would we be around there tonight?  i told her we could stop by in a few minutes.  but anthony wanted to go to the church first.

so we drove up to the church and saw that there was a funeral being held upstairs.  anthony made the wise decision to park to the side a bit and walk in the side door, crossing his fingers that it was open (it was).  he walked inside.

and i waited.
and waited.
and waited.
i was occupied enough with twitter and facebook and words with friends for awhile
but then i noticed that 30 minutes had gone by

i began to get annoyed.
thinking there must be something REALLY personal in this journal
or that he had run into someone he knew and got caught up talking
but SURELY he would have texted me to let me know that had happened...
perhaps he was sick or something...
but SURELY he would have called/texted to say that

and then i got a notification from words with friends
saying that he'd made a move in our game
so i KNEW he was ok

and so i played back and in the "chat" wrote something on the order of
"you've been in there a LONG time.  what are you doing??"

no response.

s.t.e.w.i.n.g

his sister texts me, saying her mom was wondering if we were going to be there soon
i reply that i seem to have lost her brother.
i text him
i wait
i call him
(45 minutes have gone by)
i may have mentioned in my voicemail that his phone had rang several times, so i was pretty sure he was getting reception...
his sister calls me
she suggests i go look for him
i say maybe

i finally get fed up enough to emerge from the car.
and go downstairs to the teen center
now, remember that there is a FUNERAL going on upstairs.
so when i crack open the doors and see candles, i panic and close them thinking "it's a vigil area!"

so i go to the only other place i can think of
i begin knocking on the men's bathroom door
and am thisclose to opening it
when anthony emerges from the teen center
saying "you are one stubborn woman."

and of course, i'm going "what are you DOING in there?!"
he tells me to come in
and i do, still a bit upset

and then i notice his sister's flip video camera on the counter
and hear him begin making a speech
about how this is the place we met, this is the place it all began
and all of a sudden i'm not quite so angry anymore
and then he drops to one knee
and the next thing i know
i'm an engaged woman
(eeeek!)

the next few hours were spent calling and texting and hugging
(his aunt that texted me asking if we were coming to his parents?  had NO.CLUE.  she had been invited over, and just *happened* to text to see if we were coming.  her reaction may have been my favorite -- jaw dropping in slow motion upon seeing my finger.)
(his sister and roommate were in the building...hiding in one of the adjacent rooms.  they burst out after the ring was on my finger.)
(his other sister, when i walked into the house screamed "WE GET ANOTHER SISTER!!")

so yes, we've decided to stop dating
and take the next step
:)
we're hoping for a particular church and are kind of going to set a date based on availability...
and there are TONS of other details to be dealt with
although i hold to my statement i have always made
that really, i just want a pretty dress
and people we love surrounding us

(this, by the way, means our guest list is already looking huge.  gulp.)

i promise to show you better pictures of the ring
when i, um, figure out how to TAKE a better picture of the ring!
he picked it out by himself
and drove up to indiana last thursday to ask my dad's permission
(which is a total southern thing...but so incredibly sweet and charming)

i'm thrilled
(obviously)
and so excited that it's official
that i get to spend the rest of my life with my best friend :D

you know the *really* funny thing?
after all that drama...

...he still left his journal at church...