Simply Seen

hot days

2007-06-05T10:34:42Z

It's been HOT around here lately. I love it...minus the humidity that never seems to turn into rain. After weeks without a drop we finally got a rainshower yesterday and some cooling temperatures. Nice. However, during the weekend we just had, it was all sun and no rain to be found. Meanwhile we slaved in our backyard digging new flowerbeds and expanding our meager veggie box garden into a full-fledged garden extravaganza. Ok. So Chad did most of the digging. We don't have 'soil' in the ground, we have clay. And that's nearly impossible to dig in. So he covered that while I did flower layout and planting. It wasn't fun, but it looks nice now. :) Chad starts sand vball next week and I'll be a spectator this time around. Other than that we don't have a lot of June plans. Iron Chef cooking club on the 16th - boys vs. girls. Boys cook on the 16th, girls cook in July. It should be a blast. Going to our pals Shayne & Christi's wedding on the 23rd and taking a couple extra days to vacation while we're at it. Other than that? Playing ping pong, watching reruns of The Office, watching Chad do homework and vball, grilling, and chilling. Nothin' fancy. We celebrated our 5th anniversary on the 25th. I can't believe we've been married five years!! It's been wonderful and the most fun of my life. So now we're starting on the next five... hopefully they'll be even better, if that's possible!

long absences

2007-05-09T15:08:10Z

Sorry for the long absence, nearly two months! So far our attempts at gardening have gone pretty well. The garden box is done, the plants are in it, and they've actually grown a bit. Now...whether they will produce vegetables is another matter. We've also been painting some furniture, including some beautiful custom-made nightstands our dear friend Michelle's dad made for us. Now things will start to coordinate more - classic modern black & chrome with natural wood stuff. Sweet. Summer plans are probably going to be pretty simple this year. In two weeks-ish we celebrate our FIFTH anniversary - can you believe it?! Fantastic. Vacation-wise, we'd hoped to take a trip to Chicago (aka a great trip to an urban space with an excuse to visit IKEA as well) but I think we're going to opt for saving a bit of dough and going for a long weekend piggybacked with a wedding we're attending in Nashville. That should be fun as well. Perhaps not as fun, but a good trip nonetheless. Just as long as I don't have to listen to country music. I'd prefer to seek out the blues and the other artsy fartsy stuff there. The grill has only been used once so far this season, but hopefully that will be changing soon. The weather has warmed up. It's time. Bring out the lemonade and iced coffee! We've visited the Farmers' Market for the first time this year and though we only picked up a few things, it was a sure sign that summer's on its way. That's about it for now...

new shoes for spring

2007-03-19T09:33:55Z

So this weekend I aquired my second pair of Keen shoes. And I must say I LOVE Keen shoes. They are pricey so it's a rare day to find them on sale. These lovely ones were 50% off. My other pair were about 75% off. Can I say awesome?! I also have a pair of Earth shoes that I love. I don't like all the Earth shoe styles but this one is fantastic. Ok, enough on shoes. I would like you to recall my crazy failed aspirations to grow vegetables last year... if you never noticed, no pictures of baby plants emerged on the 'net because I didn't grow any. I overwatered the seeds and then scorched them in the sun. So much for that $15 investment. This year, I once again am feeling wacky because apparently that horrible failure wasn't enough to stop me. After Chad's suggestion to 'just buy baby plants' that I ignored last year (because I'm a cheapskate and plants cost money; seeds are cheap), I decided that might actually be the way to go. So. I'm also trying to get an earlier start - apparently mid-April is way too late for seeds, so I'm going to start in March with getting things ready, and once the Farmers' Market opens in April I will get actual, already-living, baby plants to stay on top of the game. Gameplan: 1st -- DONE: get some books on veggie gardening. I bought Ortho's All About Vegetables and The Everything Gardening Book since I need some basics. The first couple chapters on dirt were.... well, boring as dirt. 2nd -- build one or two planter boxes on casters. I found a project a few years ago on Lowe's website (and CANNOT find it online anywhere now) and thankfully printed out the instructions and supply list. The planter boxes are about 2 feet x 2 feet and made out of wood, on casters, so they can be moved. As in, I can take them with me when we move to a new house, put them in a different place in the yard, etc. This should cost a bit of money (and requires that I borrow a circular saw from someone) but is better than trying to build a garden in our crappy backyard that we might leave next year anyway. 3rd -- get the right mix of dirt to fill the boxes. 4th -- go on a plant hunt. At this moment I'd like to grow peppers, onion, lettuce, strawberries (yes, I know those are a fruit), broccoli, and maybe another thing or two - cucumbers or carrots? 5th -- plant the plants in the boxes, water them, and pray. Hey, I can use all the help I can get. 6th -- wait to see if they die. If not, keep watering and praying, and maybe I'll have something to eat mid-summer.

New Year Goals

2007-02-28T09:31:01Z

It's been quite a while since I posted last - apologies. A few new year goals are well underway in our house! First of all you'll see my dorky food tracking system in the image above. This is a way I'm trying to keep track of what I eat each day. Balanced meals are not my strongpoint so this is my challenge to self to be more intentional with what I eat. Along with that comes exercise. Chad and I have been doing much better with that so far this year. He's joined a cheap gym to work out in, we've been using our workout equipment more, and have been taking walks. I also have been getting in some pilates and other mat workouts which has been good. Now if we can just get in a routine! One of our new year goals was also to pay off our silver jetta, which we purchased about 14 months ago. And yesterday we mailed off the payoff check!!! Hooray!!! We're on our way! Next up, the black accord. We're about a year away from paying that one off as well. Plus we started a new high-interest savings account to store up some emergency fund money. Wuhoo! Cooking club has been going great. We just celebrated Mardi Gras with a cajun feast and our next gathering will be British Isles food in honor of one of my FAVORITE holidays, St. Patrick's Day! Good food all around. We haven't done much in the way of cooking at home lately but that tends to go in cycles. We'll eat out for a month, then buy groceries and dine at home for a month, then run out and start over. Ah well. That's about all from this side of the world. Our jobs are going well, Chad's school is whizzing by (one semester down, three to go) and we've been doing a little home re-organization. Like early spring cleaning. :)

warm winter

2007-01-16T15:41:22Z

This has been an unseasonably warm winter thus far. I have seen one tiny snow flurry that isn't even worth mentioning. Other than that, nada. I almost wish we did have snow so we could slow down a bit. Life's been pretty busy the last few months! I love my new-ish job, but I have certainly been working harder than I ever have before. I've never seen so many emails come my way, so many brand new things to develop and do, so many excited people, so many impatient people, so much room to work things out on my own with my own ideas. It's been a blast. I just wish I had a secretary to take my calls and answer emails. ;) 2007 is going to be an interesting year to say the least. It already has been! Many surprises loom in the near future.... Will we sell our house again? Stay where we are? Take trips to exciting places or familiar ones? Actually stick to our healthy eating goals? Eat more pizza? Learn pilates? Take naps? Pay off debts? Change jobs? Change goals? Try something new? Explore the great unknown?

bake-a-thon 3

2006-12-19T09:55:27Z

The third annual bake-a-thon has come to an end.... We seemed to run a little behind schedule this year, but we did manage to finish everything yesterday evening after work. We ended up totally scrapping one recipe due to time, so we ended up with a grand total of 13 recipes. We had to think on our feet and took the dough intended to make raspberry linzer windowpane cookies and made them into nutella sandwich cookies instead. Chad made a lovely visual picture collage to show everyone what they will be eating. We made over 30 bags of gifts with lots of extra cookies to share. And the finished product? Well, in my opinion, we have a great selection this year and ended up with not only tasty treats but good-looking ones too! Every year we get a little bit better at presentation, at making cookies and breads look great, at perfecting our efforts. What helped make this year's bake-a-thon great: - Three of us willing to work like crazy people for over three days straight. - Great recipes that were fun, a few low fat, and look more delicious than the pictures on the recipes or in the magazines even. - The aforementioned KitchenAid mixer. It was amazing and performed like a star. - Borrowing my mother-in-law's food processor (next year's addition to our equipment, perhaps?). - 2 cookie scoops that helped make the cookies uniform and cute. - 2 mini-bundt pans that really added a neat touch to the marble bread. - As usual, the wonderful, amazing, can't-live-without-it parchment paper. - The dog, always ready and willing to clean up any spills on the floor. :) - Our dining table and 2 card tables to hold all the stuff. - 4 handy cooling racks. - Christmas cards I actually purchased last year on clearance - such forethought! - Last-minute Priority Mail boxes my mom dropped off at the house for the mailed gifts. - Michelle picking up McDonald's breakfast two days in a row to start the day off right. - Caffeine. - Chad's picture collage in response to some requests from last year. - Knowing that I am going to get this in the mail by Friday to work out all the muscle kinks I have in my back from standing up for three days. (My Christmas bonus put to good use!)

Holiday frenzy

2006-12-12T16:49:58Z

So here is our multi-colored Thanksgiving plate... I have to say (honestly, though it doesn't sound very humble...) that the food was probably the best Thanksgiving food I've ever eaten. Not only was it colorful and crisp and full of flavor, it was even better because it was the first time we'd ever pulled off such a feast. Fun times all around. Now we've quickly transitioned from Thanksgiving towards Christmas - a week away in New Orleans made it seem even more speedy of a switch. Our Christmas tree is up and lit and the bake-a-thon quickly approaches (this weekend... quick summary of last year's itinerary here)! Insanity time! Time for the numbers game: - 9.6 lb Thanksgiving turkey - 9 different foods on Turkey Day - 13 strands of Christmas lights - 50 ingredients for the bake-a-thon - 14 recipes for the bake-a-thon - 30 gift bags to make (with a few extra batches of cookies) - 5 USPS mailing labels for gifts via post - 4 gift exchange gifts to buy - 70 random items on my Amazon wish list - 3 Christmas CDs that we own - 360 days until my 29th bday - 1 new annual Christmas ornament from our vacation w/ Christina - 1 new KitchenAid mixer to help us accomplish the bake-a-thon - 1 kitchen table, 1 kitchen island cart, 2 card tables and a bit of counter space to hold cookies - 3 Christmas elves (Chad, Michelle and me) to bake like maniacs all weekend

Cooking Bliss!

2006-11-21T13:08:21Z

Welcome to the family, KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer! It takes a special kind of love to spend your birthday and Christmas money on an appliance... Chad did so with the caveat that delicious food including mashed potatoes would begin to overflow from its stainless steel 5 quart bowl... I did so with the assurance that not only fatty cookies would be produced from this match but also healthier options (what, I know not). And so our relationship begins. Just in time for our 3rd annual bake-a-thon! As we speak, recipes are being considered and evaluated to see if they make the cut this year. In other foodie news, Chad and I are embarking on our first-ever Thanksgiving meal. Since we are spending most of Thanksgiving Day serving a meal to the homeless and poor in our community, we have postponed the great feast until Friday... but are also taking this opportunity (and my parents' lack on interest in cooking) to cook an entire meal for ourselves and my parents. A little 9.6 pound turkey has been purchased, with plans to round out the meal with sweet potato souffle, fresh green beans, corn pudding, homemade yeast rolls, and lower-fat oatmeal-pecan pie. A culinary adventure, nonetheless! Life otherwise has been pretty good. We've been dealing with some new extended family stresses that have sapped our energy somewhat, and Chad has been involved with a good but time-consuming class the last few weeks... needless to say we're looking forward to a long weekend this weekend! The first week of December we embark on a week-long trek to New Orleans to do some Katrina demolition and building... so on my birthday I'll be sleeping on a cot in a church run by generator. But we're excited about the opportunity to serve (plus, the warmer weather won't be bad either, even if I am cleaning up debris).

colors of autumn

2006-11-07T10:58:41Z

This year the leaves have changed more slowly to their usual autumnal palette. It's early November and normally I'd expect the leaves to be gone by now but they're sticking around, brightly colored, covering the streets after the rain. Perhaps we'll have another mild winter this year. And this is the time of year I do nothing but think about food... so everyone will have to humor me with every foodie post. I'm not much of a 'stew' person (too many veggies mixed in together) but I love chili (see our cooking club merlot and sausage chili above). I also am really starting to look forward to our 3rd annual bake-a-thon (accounts of the first and second are here). This coming weekend the cooking club is gathering for a cookie swap, which should provide us with some new ideas for recipes and some inspiration to start on our gift list and recipe list. I know, I know, it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but with December 15-17 (the bake-a-thon weekend) coming up in just over a month, we've got to get ready!! And this year, in anticipation for our best baking year yet, Chad and I are going to forego separate Christmas gifts to each other and pool together to purchase this beauty in time to use it. This will be the only kitchen tool we own that actually has a direct drive transmission. If that's not enough to justify it to boy-world, I don't know what is. :) So if anyone sees a good sale on one of these before Dec. 15 let me know! In the rest of our lives, all is well. We had a fabulous visit with E O'C a few weeks ago and she got me TOTALLY hooked on the Settlers of Catan board game (even though I'm awful at it!). Chad and I are heading to New Orleans in early December to do some post-Katrina cleanup/building/etc. We're trying to figure out the rest of our holiday plans. And I still love my new job. I actually have an office now! First time ever. It's really strange... I hope people don't notice me talking to myself in there...

chill

2006-10-23T16:04:21Z

It's not even November yet but a wintery chill has descended here. We've already had three fires in our fireplace, drank a gallon and a half of apple cider, made (and eaten) one pumpkin pie, made (and eaten) about four batches of chili and started wearing flannel pajamas. Now if that's not a sign of seasons changing, I don't know what is. Our lives have continued to be busy busy busy all the time, and we're still searching to find that continual healthy balance. I'm taking off early on Fridays during weeks I work late. Chad's finding a way to pace himself with homework. We're trying to not get snippy when we don't see enough of each other or housework isn't getting done. It's just a matter of constant readjustment. We went for a night away this past weekend which was refreshing. A little hiking in the crisp air. Horseback riding together for the first time. A bit of peace and quiet and change of scene. Good times. I'm also getting back into the baking mindset. Chilly weather rolls in and I get in the mood for baking. It's partly because the annual bake-a-thon is approaching, but also because warm brownies and pies and breads are so delicious in the fall. Plus, the cooking club has recently welcomed a few new members which has infused some refreshing enthusiasm into our group. A whole year of wining and dining and cooking and talking. It's been a blast. I have to say that I look forward to the cooking club more than almost anything every month.