Vanilla Icing

At Sixes & Sevens

                          Grilled quesadilla and tortilla chips and guacamole

The lone avocado resting on the shelf in my refrigerator was demanding attention on Saturday.  I purchased it with the memory of the guacamole I tried in Asheville a couple of weeks ago.  In the past, I have avoided guacamole because I spent many, many years disliking it every time I attempted a taste.  But for some reason, in a small Pan-Latin restaurant in Asheville I scooped up some and gave guacamole the 119th chance.  It was good.  Damn good.  I ate all of it.  No one elese got any.

I peeled and pitted the avocado and chucked it in the food processor with some onions, garlic, salt and a bit of flat leaf parsley.  (A dog that shall not be named crushed my cilantro.)  A quick splash of lime juice to brighten everything up and it was as simple as that.  Guacamole!  It was pretty darn good too.  Since I knew it was best not to repeat the 'eat all the guacamole' binge again, I tossed the leftover bulgar wheat from the night before with some black beans, corn cut off the cob and some salsa.  I sprinkled a bit of cheddar on a tortilla, spooned the mixture on top, sprinkled a bit more cheddar and topped it with another tortilla and slid it on the grill until it was nice and toasty.  Who needs meat?!  

                        Toasted homemade bread with butter and a banana

Dinner found me on my own; my children were staying at a friend's house and Rick had gone to the Steeler game.  I was attending a Mad Men Party that night at my friend's house where there was sure to be plenty of cocktails and snacks and I thought it best to keep dinner light.  It was also a little boring but to be honest, I was happy to have comforting buttered toast.  Afterwards, I set about getting ready for the party and..... I wore my hair in a beehive!  

Dog Tired

Rick & I had the weekend to ourselves and boy did we ever keep busy!!  

Friday morning my brother and I went to the Strip District and had brunch at Pamela's Restaurant.  I'll discuss that place another time.  We also had coffee at Leaf and Bean which is a cool funky little place. That evening Rick and I had dinner at Palazzo Ristorante in downtown Pittsburgh.  I haven't many positive things to say about this restaurant but the company was perfect and the service was good, so I will leave it at that.   After dinner we had drinks at Olive or Twist just a few doors down.  This bar seems to cater to the theatre crowd and as it was before any of the shows let out it wasn't crowded at all.  Which was nice because it gave us time to talk and we also met Yves Jean who bartends when his band isn't touring.  His music is an eclectic blend of of a few genres but with a heavy world flavor.  Hopefully he'll play soon in Pittsburgh!  At 10 pm, another bar was offering a free salsa dance lesson for 30 minutes before the regular salsa dancing started.  Let's just say Rick and I have some work to do. ;)

This past Tuesday was the first day I've managed to workout since my recent health issues.  I was taking it slow but then on Saturday I decided to tag along with Rick to the park for a run.  Despite my unintentional two week break I managed just fine.  Later that afternoon, I had coffee with a friend and we did some shopping.  I got the supplies for strawberry jam making.   After Friday's semi-failure of a dinner, Rick and I kept it simple and stuck with pizza on the Southside and then headed over to the North Shore.  Both of us really enjoy watching surfing and at the Omnimax Theatre at the Science Center they were playing Ultimate Wave Tahiti featuring Kelly Slater.  It was perfect for the Omnimax with lots of aerial views that made you feel like you were in a helicopter flying around the island.  The film was a good blend of informative documentary, personal accounts, science and culture and of course a liberal sprinkling of travel lust.  Rick and I discussed the film over Rita's Frozen Custard in Squirrel Hill.  

Sunday saw us taking the dogs to the park for another run.  This time we ran longer and faster.  So much for easing back into a workout routine, huh?  For the record, I was and still am very sore!  The rest of the day I dedicated to strawberries.  Twelve pints of strawberry jam, three quarts of fresh churned strawberry ice cream and a deep dish strawberry pie.  I also made some bread--both yeast raised and Chuck raised.  It was very satisfying to spend all afternoon in the kitchen without any distractions.  Rick and I had dinner on the back deck including some of that fresh bread & jam.  Then the kids came home and they and I tackled the most miserable of chores: cleaning the basement.  But we did it for Rick (Happy Father's Day!) because he has been dreading doing it and has wanted it done for some time now as he couldn't use his weight bench properly.  After the three of us de-toxed --hahaha I mean showered-- and Tristyn and Maia went to sleep, Rick and I watched True Blood.  

And after all of that....I was dog-tired and went to sleep!!

Saturdays in Summer

....are for rolling around in the grass.

       Halter top knitted in Rowan Lenpur Linen

Weekend Ravages

Between wind and children, the outside of our home is looking most untidy!

The wind sent down some old dead branches from the trees and sent hundreds of those little seed helicopters scattering.  The first batch of those came down a few weeks ago.  Already there a dozens of baby trees sprouting in my yard that have to be plucked out.  I don't think I can blame the stone from the wall on the wind.

But the wind can certainly take the blame for covering all of the stepping stones!

Look.  Here is another one of those darned seed helicopter things.  But let's move on to the children...

Look at this great heap of bikes and scooters!  There simply isn't a way to keep these looking nice; Tristyn and Maia pull them down off the porch several times a day.  I can't keep up.  Notice the dirt and pollen coating my porch?   I'm waiting for the tree across the street to stop blowing pollen (that wind again!) before I scrub the porch.   I'll not do it twice.  Work smarter, not harder--it's the Air Force Way!  I learned that lesson well when I was in the Air Force.  =) 

Lots of chalk dust on the porch too.  

 

Lots of chalk dust here too.  This is what is left from a great heap of wet mushy chalk.  Maia and her friend, Persephone, made 'clay' out of some chalk and left me with a beautiful rainbow colored front walk.  After two good rainstorms, this is what remains.

Hey!  Don't judge us because of our current state of disarray.  We're a real family over here with lots of children running about--our own and their playmates--with more important things to do like playing having fun.  Plenty of time to straighten up this week.  Once it warms up.

I am still holding the wind responsible for 95% of this mess.

Weekend. Yawn!

It's been one of those weekends.  You know the type.  The type that nothing much seems to go on but you're busy, busy, busy and at the end of it there's a Monday morning.  On that Monday morning as you try to pry open your eyes and re-enter the world you find that your whole body is tired and would rather stay in bed.  Then, the only thing that gets you out of bed is annoyance that you are laying in bed wasting time so you get up and stagger to the kitchen and make that cup of liquid energy.

Tea.  Not quite as strong as coffee but it's much faster to make.  It's not Tazo Awake but it's an English breakfast tea and it's helping.   Helping me to do what?  Wake up enough to make a cup of coffee of course!

I'll be ready to start the week in about 30 minutes.  I promise.

Tots Anyone?

Mish-Mosh-Mash of Weekend Pics

Rick and I had a busy, tiring but fun weekend and the task of typing too many words seems daunting. I will leave everyone with a random combination of pictures and a few words.

Friday Night....

We brave the snow to venture to the Waterfront. That picture is looking up our street. I snagged what I hope to be the rest of the yarn I need for a project I'm working on at Michaels and then we went to Panera for a light dinner. Rick humored me and followed me into Ulta but lucky for him I only needed a new eyeliner and was finished in a flash. However....Rick ended up picking out something! They had a display of Yankee Candles and we spent a few minutes sniffing the different types before selecting the strawberry and cream candle. (Two days later when we finally lit it, it actually smells even better than we had hoped!) Then, onwards to Barnes and Noble for a couple hours of raspberry mocha sipping and book perusing.

Saturday....
Early, early Saturday morning I woke up in pain--the sort that is severe enough you feel more than just a little nauseous. I won't elaborate but from about 4:45 am to about 6:30 am I had quite an awful time of it and I was concerned that I wouldn't be better in time for us to leave for Columbus. I managed to stagger downstairs for aspirin and to put my heating pad in the microwave for five minutes and then crawled back into bed with it. Two hours later, I awoke feeling nearly hundred percent and not long after we packed up and left for Columbus, Ohio.

The view from the hotel was my favorite part of the hotel. The bed with all it's plump pillows and smooth sheets was second. Otherwise, the hotel was mediocre on the list of places I've stayed at. No matter, we spent hardly any time at all in the hotel!

We met some of Rick's friends at a bar called 'Brothers' and had a few drinks <---I had a diet coke---- and watched them play darts.

Last year when we all met at this bar we ate dinner there and it was kind of bad so we tried a new place called Spice. It wasn't much better but at least there were options that were NOT fried! Anyways, see this picture? This is the sink in the ladies' room. I know it's a silly thing to take a picture of but for the life of me I could not figure out how to turn it on. There were no sensors--anywhere!--, buttons, knobs, switches, dials or even foot pedals. Yes, I looked under the counter to see if there was something to step on to turn it on. Heck--I tapped the mirror, pushed the soap dispenser I even turned the spigot until it was facing the ceiling! Nothing. No water. I don't think anyone else was able to figure it out either because I saw 3 women go to the bathroom ahead of me and when I went in the basin of that sink was bone dry. All of you people out there thinking ugh! She didn't wash her hands! let me just inform you that perhaps YOU pee on your hands when you go to the bathroom but I can assure you that I am very neat and tidy and do NOT do that.

Wondering yet what we were doing in Columbus? We were there for the UFC!!!

The stands were filling up pretty quickly before the preliminaries.

My cell phone doesn't really do anything justice especially in terms of showing just how good are seats were. Here's a better picture:

Unfortunately, we didn't do a good job of charging our batteries for our camera because dumb me had left the camera in the car the night before (See first picture if you don't know why the camera was in the car the night before). Essentially we got the picture of the octagaon and saved the last bit of 'juice' to ask someone to take a picture of us. Here we are:

...And if you think I look tired there...you should have seen me a few hours later!!!

Sunday....

Too tired to type anymore....going to go watch the "Last King of Scotland"....I hope everyone had a good weekend!

Catching Up

...Boredom at Work on Thursday.....

...leads to...taking an off day on Friday.  Ahem!!  I mean being sick.  I got a much needed day to catch up on loads of things today.  I really needed it.  Really, really needed it.  The cold that has been brewing has even been reduced to the sniffles.

Anyways, enough about that.  Dinner tonight was at Nakama.

Typical cell phone picture...not as crisp as one would like...but in freezing cold weather I was NOT going to do a re-take.  Nakama's website probably has a picture that does it justice.  They feature sushi and hibachi.  We went with hibachi as sushi doesn't appeal much to either of us.

Flickr is having a Massage

um...what was that? Apparently flickr (the photo service I use) is currently down due to some upgrades and it's main page states it's having a massage. Flickr is kinda quirky...that's one of the things I like about it. So while it's taking a well-earned break, my post today will be picture-less.

I had a fantastic evening last night. Why? Because I finally got a good start on my next novel!!! I managed to fight through my natural inclination to completely finish one project before starting another mainly due to Rick. He kept reminding me and reminding me that many authors don't get published until their second, third or even fourth novel. *Gulp* I hope it doesn't take me that long!

With that firmly in mind, Little Mac and I went to Barnes & Noble to get some writing done. It's easier for me to write there than at home because there are fewer distractions. I put on my headphones, switch on some music and pull up Word. A big BLANK document staring at you is a good way to pressure yourself to get started. Or it might be the person at the next table sneaking peeks at you and wondering why you've yet to type anything. Perhaps it's a combination. I don't know. Doesn't matter. It works.

Here's my only gripe about it. If (okay, okay WHEN) I have to go to the bathroom I have to pack up everything to go. There is absolutely no way I'm going to leave Little Mac unattended. Once you are packed up, it's really hard to come back, unpack and get started again. Not to mention that it's likely someone stole your table in the meantime. I keep bugging Rick to let me have a small space in the corner of the (work) office where I can just write but he just looks at me funny. I don't think he realizes I write best if I get out of the house because of the no distraction thing. And at the office I could leave Little Mac safely when I needed to take a quick break. I think I'm going to bug him again right after I finish typing this. Maybe he'll let me write one of the days during the week instead of doing secretary stuff.

Yeah, I can dream. Right?

Today was major catch-up on chores day. I woke up, had a quick breakfast and 30 minute session on the treadmill. Then I leaped in headfirst with the housework. I set the dishwasher to run and then went downstairs. Cleaned the basement. Did the laundry. Then to the top of the house. Cleaned the 3rd floor. the second floor and the first floor. Then disaster struck. I was vacuuming from top to bottom and got a little more than halfway down the steps to about the first landing. The vacuum turned off! Completely off. No strange sounds, smoke (that was just the ONE time), nothing. Does anyone have any clue how irritating it is for a person like me to be able to finish a task? I stalked off and took a long hot bubble bath to calm down. It helped.

Rick and I had promised the children dinner at Pizza Hut and after a false start we finally made it there. It was very crowded and not the greatest atmosphere but Tristyn and Maia enjoyed it and that's all that mattered. Plus, twisted Frostys from Wendy's made us forget poor service, a chilly dining room and so-so pizza. =) We arrived back home with Maia half asleep. Rick took them inside and got them comfortably arranged to watch Happy Feet and fall asleep in the living room. For a reason known to children only, it is much better to sleep in the living room then your own bedroom. I went directly to the grocery store to get everything we have been in need of the last few days plus a few other things.

Of course I got home completely confident I had remembered everything and then when I looked in the cupboard I saw that I should have got dog food as there was next to none left. Isn't that how that always goes?

A bit Behind

but what else is new? No matter...I shall cram two days into this post. On Saturday, I went Christmas shopping for Rick. (NYC was for the kids) I didn't get finished before I needed to come home but I still took the time to get a decaf, tall, nonfat mocha latte at Barnes & Noble. Don't think I walked out of the bookstore with only coffee! I found some books for the kids for Christmas. Hmm...that previous sentence makes it sound like I had a difficult time choosing books and well, really, it was more like I selected some books out of the hundreds I would have wanted to take home.

Rick and I went to a Christmas Costume Party of sorts on Saturday night. Lots of Santa-ish and elf-ish outfits. If you are curious in sort of seeing mine, you might want to adjust your screen settings because the picture is kind of dark. And a wee bit wonky because I attempted to take it myself with my cell phone.

If you chose not to adjust your settings to a brighter contrast--trust me you didn't really miss anything! My costume was white and silver and think snowflake or something. I had a lot of fun putting on the makeup (lots of white shimmery stuff) and spraying glitter in my hair. I got to re-live being 6 again! That was the best part of the evening!

Sunday was a good day. The earlier portion of the day we stayed in and just did misc. (i can never spell that word!) things around the house; straightening up, playing on the computer, talking. My friend Missy went to help dip apples and package them at her sister's fiancee's uncles shop. That's a bit of a chain of people to follow isn't it? Sorry. Se did send me this picture:

That picture doesn't do them justice. Apples 4 You is the website of the uncle where you can get a much better look at things.

We attended church again too. I enjoyed it as much as the last time. One of the things they talked about really spoke to me because it's something I feel strongly. It was about 'Doing it Now, and not procrastinating.' They went on to say how if you do you will receive blessings and so forth. Perhaps calling it 'blessings' isn't someones cup of tea...but...doing what needs and should be done and not procrastinating definitely brings things to the table that procrastinating doesn't.

Also, we met a very nice couple and their baby there too! They invited us over for dinner and we gladly accepted. Luckily, we had some time in between where I was able to go home and put together a small platter of chocolate chip cookies and some candy to dress the platter up to bring with us. I don't like to go empty handed and I was very glad to have baked the cookies on Saturday. After I wrap up this post I'm going to write out a thank-you card to send. This one specifically:

It's not very season suitable--it's really more suited to spring--but the weather around here has been very gloomy. Lots of dark skies and dreary rains. Something bright and colorful I think will be more cheerful to open up. Ribbon adorns the top and bottom of the checkered pattern and the little bumble bee is made out of wood. I used to have a set of these cards on my Etsy but I decided to use them myself. =) Bad, bad Etsy seller!