Weekend Wordle

(visit Shannon to make your own)

Not much going on this weekend except football, football, football.

Go Colts!

Thursday's Ten: Wish List

I know we just had Christmas, so our lists of wants/needs may be a little short right now (or not), but I thought it might be fun to share our lists of wants--silly little (or big) material things. I will say that I only plan to buy one thing on this list for myself anytime soon, so this is more of a "back of my mind" list

:)

Please share yours so that I don't think I'm the only materialistic girl around here!

1. Ugg boots.
Reason I have fake ones: I live in Tennessee. There's just not much of a need for actual Uggs.
But they're soooo pretty...

2.
a Wii
(this is the one I'll actually be buying...most likely around my birthday in March. With a WiiFit)

3.
a trip back to Zuma beach. The Pacific waters are calling my name!
4.
a North Face jacket
Maybe that would motivate me to atually walk/run in the cold?
5.
a food processor. Ok, this is the other one that I'll probably be buying in the next few months. I have a teeeeeeny tiny 1 cup one that doesn't do squat. I don't want anything this fancy, just this size.
6.
staying in the kitchen for one more (although I have to stop myself--I could do a ten list of items I'm wanting for the kitchen)
a stand mixer. how much easier would life be!
7. One of these in the travel mug version. I had one a few years ago, and I left it at work one day (teaching at the time) and I've never seen it again. :( It's the Chicago skyline. I do have one from Boston like this.
8. A really cool coupon organizer for that geeky side of me.
9. lulu lemon yoga pants. I hear they're AMAZING but expensive, so they'll wait.
10. lots of things on etsy, but specifically fingerless gloves. aren't they cute? and great for typing OR for my iPhone which only responds to human touch...

What's your list? Sign MckLinky and grab the button!





Next week's list will be 10 of Your Favorite Things, Home Edition
(please take pictures of 10 of your favorite things in your home! I can't wait to see them!)

Recipe of the Week: The "Perfect" Bloody Mary

One of my absolute favorite drinks: the bloody mary. The spicier the better, and I am fully aware of which restaurants in town have the best. I have looked for the perfect bloody mary mix for...ever...and finally just decided to make one from scratch. Can't be that hard, right??

I started by googling "perfect bloody mary recipe".
Several came up.
After reading plenty of them one finally caught my eye.
I made a few modifications, and voila! *My* perfect bloody mary. May not be your, but there's room for more in this world!

*disclaimer: if you hate bloody marys or tomato juice in general, you may want to stop reading now.

**additional disclaimer: if you love/like bloody marys, yet have no idea what goes in one save the tomato juice and vodka, and you're somewhat picky about stuff...you may want to stop reading now. Some of the ingredients are interesting!

Tomato Juice (you can use V8 Spicy for a bit of a shortcut)
vodka (cheap = fine in a bloody mary. who knew?)
pickle juice
olives and olive juice
pepper (freshly ground)
celery salt
cayenne pepper
Cavenders all-purpose Greek seasoning
lime wedge
shake of Worcestershire sauce
pinch of horseradish
Tabasco sauce (more if you're not using spicy tomato juice)
ice

Put as much ice as you see fit in a tall glass
(my personal philosophy on ice in alcoholic drinks, particularly vodka drinks, is that less is more. no need to dilute the vodka!)
shake celery salt, freshly ground pepper, greek seasoning, and cayenne pepper into bottom of glass. Add horseradish, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce. Stir. Pour in about a tablespoon each of pickle and olive juice. Stir. Add vodka to the strength you desire. Top off with tomato juice. You can stick a stalk of celery in it, spear some olives (though if you're like me you ate them while pouring in the olive juice), or do whatever you feel like to garnish the thing...

Bottoms Up!

(sorry for the crappy picture...but this is the first one I ever made! I have discovered that the V-8 makes for a much more red drink)

Painting Pictures

At retreat this weekend, I shared this song with those at my table while explaining it's where I've lived my life for the last few years.

I had to laugh at the timing
as I consider old patterns
and how much easier it would be to use them as I set out to lose this weight.

There's no guarantee I will never slip back to Egypt
it's pretty tantalizing
but I've found life so much better through the desert.

Not sure what I'm trying to say here
but maybe someone else needs to hear this song

So here it is, on youtube
(lyrics following)



Painting Pictures of Egypt
Sara Groves

I don’t want to leave here
I don’t want to stay
It feels like pinching to me either way
The places I long for the most
Are the places where I’ve been
They are calling after me like a long lost friend

It’s not about losing faith
It’s not about trust
It’s all about comfortable
When you move so much
The place I was wasn’t perfect
But I had found a way to live
It wasn’t milk or honey
But then neither is this

CHORUS:
I’ve been painting pictures of Egypt
Leaving out what it lacked
The future seems so hard
And I want to go back
But the places that used to fit me
Cannot hold the things I"ve learned
And those roads closed off to me
While my back was turned

The past is so tangible
I know it by heart
Familiar things are never easy to discard
I was dying for some freedom
But now I hesitate to go
Caught between the promise
And the things I know

BRIDGE:
If it comes too quick
I may not recognize it
Is that the reason behind all this time and sand?
If it comes too quick
I may not appreciate it
Is that the reason behind all this time and sand?

I need a makeover!

A bloggy makeover, that is.
I don't really need a "design" persay...because I like changing up the backgrounds and all.
What I would LOVE is a button.
and a header.
and possibly a signature.

I have my sick attempt at header and signature visible.

If someone could recommend a site for me to make uber-cool items in all of the above categories, I would be forever grateful.

I don't have monies to pay someone to do all this for me...but I would be more than willing to barter something--jewelry from my store, whatever. If you're interested in that please comment or email me!

And if you recommend a place to go that has the best do it yourself designs for buttons and headers...I'll give you an extra entry in the giveaway that I'll be doing soon!

Help a girl out?

Keep Your Friends Close

and your frenemies closer.

Is it just a female phenomenon--the frenemy?
Do you have one?
I'm beginning to think I do.

I do know her in real life, although I don't know her well. And quite frankly I don't care to. The snippy comments she's posted on facebook and her blog make me realize that I have no interest in actually being friends with her. If they were the exception that would be one thing, but it seems that they are the norm.

I tried for a long time, I really did. Commenting on statuses and blogs and truly trying to weigh in with good stuff. On the surface it seems like we should be great friends--several things in common and I do occasionally find her funny or entertaining. But the vast majority of the time, I'm simply annoyed by her.

I find her snobbish, condescending, and alienating. And though most of the time I can't stand her...I sometimes wonder if I'm giving her a fair chance (in my head) and start to feel guilty.

And then I remember. that I've truly tried to be a friend.
or at least friendly.
both in person and online.
and as long as I continue to be friendly... it's ok.

right?

maybe one of these days she'll come around...

(I'm sooooo not used to not being liked...and I get the distinct impression that she doesn't like me...and I think that's what bothers me more than anything!)

Thursday's Ten: Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful...

but the fire heater is so delightful
and since we've no place lots of places to go....
Let it snow, Let it Snow, LET IT SNOW!!

I'm hoping for some white stuff here in mid-TN, but I'm not holding my breath. We're not exactly known for getting it when it's predicted!

However, schools have closed. I'm writing this on Wednesday evening so that I can schedule it to pop up first thing on Thursday and schools.are.closed. Not a trace of snow in the air.

Meanwhile, I'm cold.
Bone-chilled, aching, miserable COLD.

Honestly, if it snows I'll instantly warm up. There's something magical about it.

But just in case it doesn't (because that's pretty likely around here)

here's some other ways to warm up!



1. Scarves, scarves, scarves, scarves, scarves
2. Cuddling with your honey :)
3. a fun hat
4. building a small fire out of bamboo skewers normally used for kabobs...
5. bundling up with enough layers that you'll walk like a penguin
6. letting your leg hair grow so that there's another layer between you and the cold air
(I would NEVER. It's just a suggestion!)
7. using a hair drying for warming yourself up. Honestly, Driving Ms N did that.
8. having a bulldog breathe on you (Moxie's staying the weekend, just in case you were wondering)
9. running
(but who wants to do that in the COLD?!)
10. heating pads. they're not just for pain anymore.

What about you? What do you do when the weather outside isn't to your liking?

MckLinky is up, grab the button and post your top ten!
(It doesn't have to be about this subject)

Oh, and next week we'll do a "most wanted" list. 10 material things you are saving up for or just wanting...





(this just in: the bread aisle at Kroger today via twitpics. if the milk and eggs look like this we'll have plenty of french toast to go around the city!)

*healthy* recipe of the week -- tomato basil soup

Is it cold where you live?

It's REALLY cold in Nashville right now. I'm not too thrilled.

However, it means that I get to try out some new cold-weather recipes. And since one of my goals for the year is to find one new healthy recipe each week to try out in the near future, I thought I'd look for something healthy-ish.

Tonight Anthony was coming over and I told him I'd get a rotisserie chicken to make sandwiches out of (not a whole lot better there!). And then I told him that I'd found a great tomato soup recipe to have with the chicken sandwiches.


That's when he told me the jaw-dropping fact that he doesn't. like. tomato. soup.

Omgosh.

I told him I still want tomato soup, so to pick another side for me to cook.

He picked Sun Chips. I was beyond cool with that. "Cooking" them means opening the bag my parents sent home with me after Christmas!

Anyway, on to the tomato soup.


The basis of this recipe is from this food network recipe. I made it much, much easier though, which I'm definitely a fan of!

Homemade Tomato Soup

1 can fire roasted tomatoes
(the fire roasted bit is important. original recipe calls for fire roasting your own tomatoes. I said why bother!)
swish of extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper, Italian spices of your choice
various chopped veggies
(the recipe calls for celery, carrot and onion. I chose to buy the "trinity mix" of pre-chopped celery, onion and green pepper. worked just as well)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 chopped basil leaves (or torn, which is my preference)
1/2 cup cream
(optional--even lighter without it I'm sure but I definitely prefer it!)

Heat olive oil in saucepan over med-low heat. Add veggies and garlic, cook until softened or about 10 minutes.

in my world, that means walk into the living room and talk to the boyfriend, check on farmville, and then remember that you took the can opener to A's parents house on New Year's and you have NO IDEA where that bag is...

Add the tomatoes, chicken broth, bay leaf (if you remembered to buy one...because I didn't), and butter. Simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 15-20 minutes.

again, if you're me, in between this step you've taken the saucepan off the heat because you're still looking for the darn can opener oh, and when you DO find the can opener? add the tomatoes et al, and then reorganize the silverware drawer where you'll find not one, but two extra handheld can openers...

Add basil and cream, if using. Puree with a hand held immersion blender until smooth.

or...if your immersion blender is broken because you may or may not have immersed it too far when cleaning it last time, attempt to use the gizmo your parents bought you once upon a time which is a poor substitute at best, but at least gets it smoothish. And add "immersion blender" to your Target list.

So...was it worth it?



You bet.

It'll be a LONG time before I open a can of tomato soup again.
(and Anthony even tried a bite and claimed it "more bearable" than most other tomato soups he's had. I'll take it)

Emi's Box

In case you haven't met her yet, I have a cat named Emi.

Here she is:


Apparently she's being shy. Let's try that again.


Ahh, that's better.

Emi has a new love. It happened when I pulled some stuff out of the closet to decorate for Christmas, and stumbled across a couple of empty shoeboxes.

I pulled them out of the closet and placed them near the edge of the dining room table so that I would remember to throw them out.

She had other ideas.


In fact, every time I would even think of throwing the boxes away, I'd remember how adorable she is when she's in her box, all curled up and cozy. I can't bear to throw these eyesores away.



However, she can't stay in her box forever.

The box is comfortable.
It provides a somewhat secure and cozy place for her to sleep.
She observes life from this box.
The box serves a purpose for her. It's a familiar place that she can retreat to when new and scary people or situations enter her life. It's a great spot for napping or for watching tv with "mommy"
But she fails to see the chaos that is sometimes around it. I doubt she even notices the candy wrapper, plastic shopping bag, or pair of shoes.



We do the same thing.

Our boxes are comfortable.
We feel secure.
We observe life from this box, and we try to place others in similar boxes so that we can avoid getting to know the real persons. We even try to put God in a box--as if He is going to stay all neat and tidy according to our dictations.
Our box has sometimes served us well. It's been the vehicle in which we've grown and developed. It can protect us from those new and scary situations. It has a purpose.
But when we stay in our box we fail to see the details, the chaos around us, the living that is going on without us.

We can't stay in our box forever.

Even if we do look cute in there.