Wednesday, February 10, 2010

I'm Back

I haven’t disappeared. I swear! I have just been super busy.

We visited my parents two weekends ago when there was the major snow storm that hit North Carolina. Brian was super excited because he had never seen snow before. We were almost snowed in and our flight back was delayed which caused a ripple effect through my week and this past weekend was spent getting caught up.



On top of all that, I have to admit I was kind of avoiding the whole cyber world. Two weeks ago I had to get a skin biopsy and the results just came in but during that waiting time, I would spend hours researching skin cancer and melanoma. So I would stop freaking out I just avoided the internet all together. Good news is the biopsy came back negative and everything is good for now. But I have become the new spokesperson for SPF!!! I used to always just use what was in my moisturizer and then wear extra if I was going to be outside but now I slather it on everyday no matter what. I do live in the Sunshine state and need to be extra careful.

But now I’m back and better than ever. I promise to have some great recipes up this week and possibly some cute Valentine treats if I can find something diet friendly.



Until Next Time,

Christine

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Packing




Tonight I will be packing for our long weekend to North Carolina and it made me think of Rocky. Don't ask me how I get from point A to point B in my head. I am still trying to understand. But I think it goes a little something like this....

Last January I took a trip alone to visit my parents in North Carolina for a weekend and it was one week after we had gotten Rocky. He was so cute and cuddly and little. In this photo he was helping me pack.

Now one year later, it is another Wednesday in January and I will be packing but I don't think Rocky will be looking like this. He will be going crazy running around and jumping everywhere and terrorizing the cats. So then when I go to comfort the cats, he will run back into the bedroom and rip all the clothes out of our luggage because he thinks they are toys.

At least he will have fun at doggie day camp with no cats while we are gone. And I will not being pulling out my hair yelling ROCKY!

On another note, please disregard my messy sort of made up bed as Brian will never make it properly, which drives me crazy. Or wait, was I already crazy. On second thought, just forget I said anything.


Until Next Time,
Christine

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Sunday Night Dinner

We have a tradition in our household of having a nice Sunday night dinner. My husband has a crazy work schedule (60 hrs/week) and the days and nights he is scheduled always change. However, we know he will always have Sunday night off. Tonight we decided to try a marinated flank steak. I got the recipe from Simply Recipes and it was a home run.


I put the flank steak in the marinade about 5 hours before we started grilling. I also put the leftover marinade in a small saucepan and boiled the marinade to become a nice thick sauce to pour over the steak.



The flank steak goes well with a variety of styles of potatoes and vegetables and once you marinate, it can be a simple easy dinner. I am always looking for quick easy meals and this will be added to the rotation. The recipe can be found here and I highly recommend it.

We will be taking a trip to visit relatives in North Carolina this upcoming weekend and B will finally be able to see snow for the first time. We can’t wait!



Until Next Time,

Christine

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Tortellini Soup

Just like the rest of the country, Florida has been under a cold snap. I have lived in Florida my entire life and I can’t remember in any recent years where it has been this cold for this long. There was two weeks were the temperature did not get above 45 degrees with lows below freezing every night. While that might sound like no big deal to you but to us it was torture.


There were a couple of good things that happened because of the cold snap. One was I didn’t have enough cold weather clothes so I told my husband I had to go shopping. Those words normally could give my husband a heart attack since when I shop, I mean I shop!! But we just bought him a new car to go with his new promotion, so he couldn’t say a thing.

The second good thing to happen was I decided to try a soup recipe. I got this recipe from Slim Shoppin'. I love this site. She gives such good advice on dieting and healthy eating and it has some awesome health conscious recipes. This recipe for Tortellini Soup was awesome. My husband and I both loved it and he said it was a definite keeper for our normal rotation.




I made slight variations because of what I had on hand. You can find the recipe here. My variation did not have the snap peas or the basil leaves. Enjoy!



Until Next Time,

Christine

Sunday, January 10, 2010

9 degrees in Florida

Okay so here in Tampa it didn’t get down to 9 degrees but it did get down to 17 last night and there were snow sightings the night before. That is right, you heard me. Snow in the middle of Florida!! The last time that happened I wasn’t even born. However all of this cold weather has brought back the memories of recent trip the hubby and I took.


The husband and I took a trip to Orlando (the land of the larger than life mouse). We spent the day attending an attraction called ICE! It is the only place (at the time) that was 9 degrees in Florida. It is this entire winter wonderland that is created entirely from ice. What these people created is absolutely awe inspiring! Here are some photos from our adventures at ICE!


Old Man Winter


I was freezing sitting on the merry go round.



He sooo didn't want his picture taken.


A nativity scene that was spectacular.


My absolute fav was this angel. So beautiful.


Until Next Time,
 
Christine

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Paper Bag Apple Pie




Around the holidays I always bake apple pies. Every couple of years I will try a new recipe but I always end up back baking my standard recipe. It is such a classic and so simple. It is a little different in the sense that you bake the pie in a big brown bag inside of the oven. My husband thinks that it is one of the best apple pies he has ever tasted, I think he just says that so I will make it more often.


I actually started using this recipe when I was 12. I picked up a recipe book that was made by some church group for 25 cents at a garage sale that summer. This recipe ended up being the only one I ever made from that book but I think the 25 cents was worth it. Hope you enjoy.



Paper Bag Apple Pie

• Unbaked 9” pie shell

• 7 cooking apples (tart)

• 1 cup sugar

• ½ cup plus 2 tbsp flour

• ¼ tsp cinnamon

• ¼ tsp nutmeg

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

• ½ cup butter or margarine, softened



Place prepared crust in a pan. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Pare apples, cut each quarter in half making 8 good-size chunks. Slice smaller if you wish.

In large bowl, toss apple chunks with a mixture of ½ cup sugar, 2 tbsp. flour and spices until coated.

Fill pie with apples and sprinkle with lemon juice.

Thoroughly mix ½ up flour, ½ cup sugar, ½ cup butter into soft paste. Spread over apples. Press down gently.

Place pie in paper bag; fasten open end with paper clip. Set on cookie sheet and place in center of oven. Bake one hour and cool on rack for 10 minutes before carefully removing from the bag.



Until Next Time,

Christine

Friday, January 1, 2010

Happy New Year

I hope everyone had a safe and happy new year. I rang in the year with a movie marathon with my husband and the pets and we went promptly to bed at midnight. Now that the craziness of the holidays is over with I am back and ready for a new year. I always make a list of resolutions. We I don’t call them resolutions. They are my big overall to do list. I always start my day with a to do list and this is just the one I start the year with. Some are lofty goals and some are ones I know will be easier to obtain. I will check in as the year goes on to and let you know how it each one goes.

Resolutions for 2010

• Travel three places that I have never been.

• Run two 5k races by my birthday (October) and a 10k on Thanksgiving at the Turkey Trot.

• Build a vegetable and herb garden in the Spring.

• Do one home improvement project job on the house every month.

• Continue on my weight loss journey in a healthy way.

• Continue attending one yoga and one dance class a week.

• Continue weight training at the gym three days a week.

• Work on getting our grocery bill to be less than $100 a week. (How we spend so much at the grocery store is beyond me for just two people.)

• Buy a set of bikes for the hubby and me and start biking.

• Spend more weekend days at the beach.

• Put more money aside for fun trips.

• Try camping.

• Try one new dish a week.

• Attempt to dress cuter. (This means actually taking the time to care about my appearance and not just waking up and leaving for work.)



Until Next Time,

Christine