Would you like fries with that??

Friday afternoon while driving to the lake, hubs and I decided to drive thru Mickey D's for some grub. I am not a huge fast food eater, we don't indulge often, but when we do some greasy Mc Donald's always hits the spot. So here we are in small town, middle of no where Missouri. It's a pretty fancy schmancy McD's with the two lane drive thru option. Lane 1 had like 3 cars in it. Lane 2 had zero. Seems like a no brainer to me....but what does my husband do. That's right. Pulls in behind all the other waiting idiots. Umm....why didn't we just go thru the empty lane?? Apparently the hubs does not trust the second, bypass drive thru. Uh huh. Whatever...as long as it gets me some fries in the end. Men are so stubborn! So after waiting behind the million cars, we place our order which was NOT that complicated and proceed to the second window. The pre-pubescent girl who was WAY more interested in her text messaging said our food would be just a minute and to pull into a parking space where they will bring it to us

I am not bothered by the wait. I worked fast food in high school. I know this means we will be getting fresh fries. Yum! So a few minutes later our food is hand delivered...I check the bag. Only one fry. That's perposterous...they can't possibly expect us to share! Hubs backs up, texting girl gives us the stink eye....makes us show her our receipt before giving us our missing fry. Seriously? We were just here...we haven't even left the parking lot. Did she think we were trying to pull a fast one on her? After promising her our first born, she finally hands us our other order of fries. As we're pulling away I open my sandwich. WTF?! I ordered a BLT grilled chicken sandwich. It says so on my receipt. It says so on the box. However this BLT sandwich has no B! UGH! The hubs said he would turn around, but I said it was fine. I sat and pouted while eating my B-less BLT. Stupid McDonald's.

Lazy Sunday Meme

So last week I got tagged by two lovely ladies in the blogosphere. So as I sit here sipping my succulent Italian roast I thought I'd take a moment to play award catch up!

First from Jules over at Chic & Pink I got the Splash award. Jules might just be the sweetest blogger out there. She always leaves the nicest comments, I'm convinced she must never sleep to keep up on all the latest! So if you haven't yet, go check out her blog, you won't be disappointed! Thanks Jules!
The Splash Award is given to alluring, amusing, bewitching, impressive and inspiring blogs. When you receive this award you must:

• Put the logo on your blog/post
• Nominate up to 9 blogs which allure, amuse, bewitch, inspire or impress you
• Let them know they've been splashed by commenting on their blog
• Remember to link to the person from whom you received your Splash Award

I pass this award along too:

K.Law: Inspired

The Seattle Smith's

High Heels & Huntin' Boots

This Year's Love....

Learning to be a Wife

Just Another Day in Paradise

I Love you more than Carrots

Newlyweds!

life is BANANAS

My second award, My Lazy Sunday MeMe, came from Modern Mom over at How to Survive Life in the Suburbs. She cracks me up on a daily basis!! I only hope when I'm a mom I'm HALF as cool as she is! Modern Mom...you rock!! Thanks for the meme!

Here are the rules for this one:

• Collect the book you have most handy
• Turn to page 161
• Find the 5th complete sentence
• Site the sentence on your blog

Since I'm not really reading anything right now, I grabbed the first book I could find in my moms lake book basket. Ironically it was one I had actually read, so it's not a total consolation. It's Dear John by Nicholas Sparks. I enjoy his books, but I've noticed lately I've read so many they all start to sound the same and have become very predictable. Here's sentence numero 5 from page 161:

"She leaned into me, and when I closed my eyes, I knew I wanted nothing more than to hold her this way forever"

Wow. Pretty mushy. Typical Sparks writing. Happy Sunday!

To keep or not to keep...

So yesterday I finally went and got a much needed pedi. My feet brushed up against the hubs in bed the other night and he accused me of growing talons down there....not far from the truth, they had gotten pretty long. Yikes!! I took it as a sign he wouldn't care I spent the money to pamper myself and save his legs from being ripped to shreds. Why is it I can make decisions all day long but when it comes to picking a nail polish color from the giant wall I am eternally stumped. Damn you OPI for making no less then a million wonderful colors. I toyed with the new neon trend. Considered something more sheer. But finally decided it was a crummy, cold, gloomy day out and I was feeling very fall. Sad really...it's not even Labor Day and I'm already trading in my pink toes. Sigh. Anyways....I ended up with this gorgeous hue and I'm lovin' it!

While I was sitting in the fabulous massage chair I was trying to read the latest issue of Cosmo. By trying I mean I was reading it, the little man doing my toes was oblivious to this and attempted to talk to me the WHOLE TIME! Pet peeve. If I'm reading, I don't want to make small talk. I want to enjoy my pedi that I'm paying good money for and read my crappy magazine that I don't get at home anymore. Kthxbai. Tantrum over. I cancelled my subscription a year ago cause it was getting too trashy and I wanted to feel more grown up. Whatever, I snag a copy at the salon every chance I get...only difference is now I'm not paying for it. Best of both worlds. So anyways, there was a little blurb in the "man" section that said 36% of men keep mementos from past relationships. This got me thinking. When I break up with someone, I rid myself of their entire existence. I don't keep cards or notes and I never received any gifts worth keeping. Prior to my hubs I had never been a relationship long enough to acquire anything good like jewelry. So now the wheels in my brain are turning. Is my hubby in the 36% of keepers or the remaining tossers. He can be sentimental...I know he has all the cards, letters, emails, etc etc that I've given him. Is there a box of girlfriends past floating around out there. The jealous woman in me is now putting way to much thought and energy into this so I forget about it...which basically means I didn't think about it again until I saw the Mr. later that night.

Me: So I read in Cosmo that 36% of men keep crap from their exes. Are YOU in that 36%???

Mr: No. Except maybe clothes I got and underwear.

Me: Underwear? Well hopefully not HER underwear, cause that's a little twisted.

Mr: Yeah hun...I kept her panties. NO....underwear she gave me.

Me: Lame. Who buys underwear for their boyfriend.

Mr: Ummm....you did, last week.

Me: Oh right. Well I'm your wife, so that's to be expected. Underwear and socks are the only gifts you'll ever get now.

Mr: Great.

Oh my husband...always the funny one. So if your husband/boyfriend/fiance kept old love letters and mementos from his exes would you care?? On the flip side, do YOU keep stuff like that??

Lost without my DVR

Dear Time Warner Cable,

A mere 3 weeks ago I turned in my DVR box and since then life has seemed a little less complete. I can no longer catch up on all my mindless reality TV shows. Toddlers are winning tiaras. Housewives of all cities are going ape shit on each other. Top Chefs are cooking. House hunters are hunting and women all over NYC are saying Yes to the Dress without me!! If that's not bad enough I don't even have the digital guide. At any given moment I have no clue what is on TV. I don't like it. It's like living in a time warp. You have single handily turned me into a TV junkie and now it's been ripped from my hands. Please take pity on me in my poor unemployed state and give me back my blessed, beautiful little silver box. Please.

Sincerely,

Shhh....I have a secret

So I've been going back and forth with whether or not I was going to share this with the blogging world....but I'm not one to keep a secret for very long. You should see me at Christmas and Birthdays with gift giving. I'm the worst. Any hoo....back to the task at hand. First of all, don't let the picture lead you on, I am NOT pregnant. (I'm such a tease I know) We are NOT actively trying to get pregnant. (Like all that crazy charting your ovulation business) We are however not, NOT trying. Did you follow that?? Yep. That's right. We're throwing caution to the wind to see what happens. It's very exciting and scary all at the same time. I suppose it isn't the best time. (Is there really ever a good time?) There are probably a million reasons why we should wait, but we came to a cross in the road and this is the path we've decided to take. I'm beyond elated right now. Words really can't begin to describe the feelings I'm having. To think at any moment I could be a mommy. Eeek!! I'm not running out to buy any baby gap onsies just yet...but I'm sooo excited to be moving in the right direction!

Ok. Enough baby talk for now. I'll let you all know when and if I have a bun in the oven.

Tasty Tuesday

I have a ton of fresh green beans to get rid of before they go bad....so this weeks recipe is really more of a side dish. I found this winner in a South Beach cookbook a few years back and it's become one of our fave summer side dishes. They go great with just about anything you can grill...I'm having them with turkey brats tonight. I will admit I was a little leery to try the Turkey Bratwurst, but they are delish and taste pretty darn close to the real thing. I like to pre steam them in a pan with some beer before they hit the grill to give them a more authentic taste. Yum!

Sesame Green Beans

Serves: 4 (we easily polish them off just the two of us)

Calories: 50

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce

3/4 t dark sesame oil

1 small garlic clove, minced

1 pound green beans, trimmed

12 cherry tomatoes, halved (Hubs hate tomatoes so I omit these)

Salt

Whisk together soy sauce, oil and garlic in a large bowl.

Bring a sauce pan of salted water to a boil. Add beans and cool until tender, about 2 minutes. Drain and run under cold water for 30 seconds. Add beans and tomatoes to soy sauce mixture and toss to combine. Serve at room temp or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Bon Appetite!

Playing catch up

Another great weekend has come and gone! Had a blast hanging out with my childhood bestie! The weather was perfect! Clear blue skies, sunny, 80's! Certainly didn't feel like August, but I sure didn't miss the heat and humidity. We even got some shopping in over at the outlets. All in all a fantabulous weekend! And now since I haven't blogged in days, I have a mountain of catchin' up on all your lives. Hopefully I make it out before dawn!

{Me and Miss Carolyn}

{Trying to catch some rays}

{My brother and SIL}

{Carolyn}

Should be cleaning....blogging instead

TGIF!! My bestie since the 4th grade is coming to the lake with us this weekend! Can't.wait. We haven't seen each other since my wedding in December (see pic below)! Love this girl. She's the kinda friend you can go months without seeing or talking to, but as soon as you get together you haven't skipped a beat. Her and I have been through some crazy stuff in our childhood....like the time we had a garage sale at my house and snuck a B&J wine cooler from the fridge. We shared one....took like two sips and dumped it out cause it was "gross." Oh we were SUCH rebels. HA! Hope you all have a great weekend!! I stole this survey from Hailey over at Matt and Hailey tie the knot! I thought it was fun...enjoy!

What are your middle names?

Emily Christine

Adam Jon

How long have you been together?

2 1/2 years

How long did you know each other before you started dating?

4 days

Who asked whom out?

Well technically he asked me out on our first real, in person date. We met on match.com though and I'm the one who talked to him first. So it's a toss up.

How old are each of you?

Me: 28

Him: 27

Such a cougar, I know.

Whose siblings do you see the most?

Mine now that we live in KC

Do you have any children?

Not yet

What about pets?

Kasey- 6 year old Beagle

Moose- 2 year old Beagle mix

Did you go to the same school?

Nope

Are you from the same home town?

Not even close. He's from Columbus, OH. I grew up in Omaha, NE.

Who is the smartest?

Do we even need to ask this?? ME.....duh. Haha. He has his moments too I suppose.

Who is more sensitive?

Probably me.

Where do you eat out most as a couple?

Betty's. Anything Mexican. Minsky's, our new fave pizza.

Where is the furthest you've traveled together?

Belize

Who has the craziest exes?

Neither. Mine are out of the picture....his seems pretty normal. We've never met, but we follow a lot of the same blogs so I "see" her from time to time.

Who has the worst temper?

That's a tough one....but I will go with him. I tend to be pretty short fused too though.

Who does the cooking?

Me. Unless you want cereal or pizza rolls...then I let him play chef.

Who is more social?

Me. I can and will talk to pretty much anyone.

Who is the neat freak?

Neither. We aren't dirty and disgusting...but we aren't neat freaks.

Who is more stubborn?

That would be me.

Who hogs the bed?

Again. Me. But the dog often takes his fair share...so I don't take full blame.

Who wakes up earlier?

Until I became unemployed, it was always me. Now it's him on work days.

Where was your first date?

The Elevator

Who has the bigger family?

Him. By a long shot. I have like 2 cousins.

Do you get flowers often?

Often like every week? No. Often like more often than most people? Yes.

How do you spend the holidays?

We try and split the big ones fairly between the two families. Since they're 10 hrs apart it's near impossible to see both.

Who is more jealous?

Me. Sometimes it's a problem.

How long did it take to get serious?

Slow at first. He had been engaged like 2 months before we met. She broke it off. I saw the rebound red flags and wasn't even sure I wanted to go out with him. I took a chance though and it obviously worked out ok. :) Once we started dating things moved pretty fast.

Who eats more?

Depends on the day...but more often it's him.

Who does the laundry?

Me. But only because I'm super anal about it and don't trust him to get it right. I'm sure once kids enter the picture and I have less time I won't care so much.

Who's better with the computer?

Neither of us is much of a whiz

Who drives when you are together?

Him. Lately I've been hitting the invisible passenger brake a lot though...I'm starting to question his driving abilities.

It's NOT a mumu!!

So for years and years I used to be a t-shirt and boxers kinda girl when it came to sleepwear. Lately I've started wearing nightgown/sleep shirt kinda things (see picture). They're comfy. Girly. And don't ride ride up like boxers or sleepy pants. Well my husband makes fun of me. Endlessly. Last night he looked at the dog and said, "Watch out Kasey...here comes mom in her mumu." I take great offense to this. My sleep attire does not involve plaid, flannel or sleeves and it's most certainly NOT full length. My grandma would not wear it. American Eagle goes as far as to call them nighties. I'm not entirely sure why I allow this to bother me so much....but it does. So stop it. It's NOT a mumu!

I got inked

So a few posts back in one of those bare it all surveys I revealed that I have two tattoos. Several of you inquired about the who/what/where/when's of it all so I thought I'd indulge you.

The first one is your typical college girl "tramp stamp" on my mid-back. I like to think it's less tramp and more class though...it helps me sleep at night. I always said I would only get a tattoo if it was truly something meaningful. Something I wouldn't look back on in 10 years and go WTF?! My junior year of college we did a class fundraiser to raise money for our board exams. One of my classmates was Japanese and thought t-shirts with the character for "tooth" on them would be perfect to sell to all the fellow dental and dental hygiene students. The t-shirts were pretty awesome, in a dorky dental school kinda way, and I thought the Japanese symbol would make a perfect tattoo. So when my bestie was going to get one for her 21st birthday I decided to take the plunge. As far as the whole Asian character tattoo trend goes...I think mine is pretty sweet. Way cooler than "love" or "peace" or some other cliche thing. (No offense to anyone out there who went that route)

Everyone always talks about the pain of lower back tattoos...while it's not something I would want to experience 24/7...for the 20 minutes it took, it wasn't so bad. Obviously it didn't scar me for life because 2 years ago I got my second. My hubs has 5...maybe 6 tattoos and was dying to get another. I poo-poo'd the full body pin up girl but did agree to a small, tasteful Block "O" in honor of our favorite football team. In helping him find a good example, I decided I wanted one too. Call it boyfriend/girlfriend bonding. So for his 25th bday, that's what we did. They are both on the inside of our right ankles. Mine is a much more petite, girly version. I love it! Unlike my first one, this one I can actually see on a regular basis. People notice it and comment on it all the time. Surprisingly I get a lot of "is that real or one of those temporary face tattoos?" Yeah. Cause in the middle of the summer I'm going to pay homage to the buckeyes with a temp tattoo...on my ankle. Idiots. The pain factor on this one was about the same. My hubby however said it was the worst out of all the ones he'd had done. Big ole wuss! Good thing I'm the one with the vag and ute or we'd never have kids!

I said after that one I was done, but it's been a few years now and I occasionally get the tattoo bug. I don't have anything in mind right now so only time will tell if there's anymore ink in my future.

So how about all of you?? Any mystery tattoos out there?

363 days....

And we're finally IN CONTRACT!!!!

AHHHHH!!!!!!

Next on the to do list:

Call moving companies

Find new house!!!

We are on cloud 9 over here!

Thanks for all those good vibes!!!!

Tasty Tuesday (and an offer on the condo!)

First, on a totally non food related topic, I got an email from our real estate agent that an offer came in on the condo. EEK!! Yes, the condo is STILL for sale. I'd just stopped talking about it cause it was too depressing to think we've almost reached 365 days on the market. Anyways...I don't have any details yet. I'm sitting over here on pins and needles waiting for my agent to call me back. Send all your prayers and good thoughts our way!!!

Now on to the task at hand. I'm finally settling in to somewhat of a routine here and have actually started cooking again. With that kitchen can you really blame me?? Here's what's on the menu for tonight. It's new to me too so I can't actually vouch for it yet...but it sounds delish!! I bought some hummus and veggies to serve with it....oh how I love Greek food! Oompah!

Ground Beef Gyros

Serves 4

1 carton (8 oz) plain yogurt

1/3 cup chopped seeded cucumber

2 T finely chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1 t sugar

Filling:

1 pound ground beef

1 1/2 t dried oregano

1 t garlic powder

1 t onion powder

1 t salt

3/4 t pepper

4 pita breads, halved, warmed

3 cups shredded lettuce

1 large tomato, chopped

1 small onion, sliced

In a bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Cover and refrigerate. In a bowl, combine beef and seasonings; mix well. Shape into four patties. Grill, covered, over medium-high heat for 10-12 minutes, turning once. Cut patties into thin slices; stuff in pita halves. Add lettuce, tomato and onion. Serve with yogurt sauce.

BON APPETITE!

Happy Birthday Hubby!!

Today my husband turned 27.

Yes, at the ripe old age of 28, that makes me a cougar.

Or so he tells me.

Thanks hubs....thanks.

Rainy Day Sunday

Rain rain go away!

Some weekends I don't mind a rainy, stay at home kinda day, but not when you have plans! Boo! The hubs and I were supposed to head out for a summer concert/microbrew festival. We drove all the way there. Gray skies, but no rain. Got out of the car. Walked about 10 feet. Sprinkle. Sprinkle. BOOM! Downpour. We took cover in DSW. Bad move. I now have my eye on not one, but two pairs of boots. They'd be sooo cute on my footsies. But with no steady job, I took the grown-up approach and walked away, empty handed. Being a grown up is not fun! The rain showed no sign of letting up so we ran back to the car. Got drenched. Drove to Chipotle for dinner and called it a night. So much for our plans.

I woke up this morning to...you guessed it....more rain. I guess it's the perfect time to play blog award catch up!! I've been collecting awards this past week, three to be exact! So here they are, in no particular order....

From one of my new fave bloggers Weekly Jules I got the Superior Scribbler Award. This may be the most labor intensive blog award I've ever received...complete with laundry list of rules.

1. Each Superior Scribbler (SS) must pass the award on to 5 most-deserving bloggy buds.
2. Each SS must link to the author and name of blog from whom he/she has received the award
3. Each SS must display the award on his/her blog and link to this post which fully explains the award.
4. Each blogger who wind must visit this post and add their name to the Mr. Linky list at the Scholastic-Scribe's blog so we can keep track of all who wins this prestigious award!
5. Each SS must post these rules on their blog.

Whew. Told you that was pretty intense....for a blog award! I suppose I should feel uber honored to have won at all! Thanks Jules!!

Here are the worthy winners I bestow this great, honorable award:

ihatemichigan @ If I could only Find the Words

Brittany @ Sweet, Sassy and Oh so Classy

V @ Uncorked

Skinny Bitching

Mia Schelle @ The Ramblings of a Single City Girl

Next I received this fabulous award from Skinny Bitching. With much easier rules than the last, all I have to do is list my top five addictions. Easy enough!

1. Internet. If ever on a deserted island....I hope I can bring two things....cause the hubs just might lose out to my computer. I have a problem. I admit it.
2. Food. I LOVE to eat. I'm not picky....as long as it's not seafood, bring it on!

3. Shopping. And I have the bills to prove it. Yikes!
4. All things wedding. I still faithfully watch Say Yes to the Dress.

5. Planning trips. I probably have about 4 or 5 vacations already planned...now I just need to find the time and money to take them!

And finally. Last but not least. AE at Drifts into Randomness gave me the One Lovely Blog award.
Thanks for finding my daily ramblings oh so loverly!! Since I think ALL your blogs are lovely...and let's be honest, at this point I'm too lazy to pick just 5 people....I pass this along to anyone who's actually still reading this post!! It's your reward for making it all the way to the bitter end!! Kudos to you!! Happy rainy Sunday!

Yogasizing

Mr EyeCanSee: "I'm off to work, have fun yogasizing today"

Mrs EyeCanSee: "What? Yogasizing? You're a dork"

So this morning I did something I hadn't done in years. Yoga. When I was in college you needed a bullshit phys ed credit to graduate, cause knowing how to play a sport makes me an all around better dental hygienist. Yeah....right. Anyways....anyone who knows anything about me knows how much I detest to play team sports. So that knocked off more than half my choices. My freshman year I had signed up to take Racketball with two of my guy friends. It was winter quarter. At 7.30 am. Umm, yeah I showed up like twice and dropped it. Who wants to play racketball at the butt crack of dawn in the dead of winter. Not me! So fast forward to my senior year, months from graduating, I have to find something bareable. I decided on yoga. It was not my favorite class. I didn't really enjoy all the chanting and stretching and crazy weird poses. But I went with it...got my C, yes I got a C in yoga....and went on my merry way, diplomma in hand.

Now here I am 6 years later. Haven't down a downward dog or chanted one "OM" since. My sister in law is a huge, I mean HUGE yoga person. She does several classes a week and even taught for awhile. She decides today would be the perfect day to coerce me to give it another try. Sure why not. I have nothing better to do with my time....and for $15 I can go to as many classes as I want my first week. Whew. Am I outta shape!! I felt like a fish out of water next to all these human pretzels. I haven't done a head stand since preschool tumbling. And my body does not bend that way....ever. My muscles are defenitly feeling the burn this afternoon, but I actually enjoyed myself. Since I get to hit up more classes in the next week, I might even try another. We shall see!!

Time warps and wine tastings

So I've decided that subbing as a dental hygienist, while fine and dandy for awhile, is not something I would want to do forever. Let's rewind to yesterday....

I arrived at the office around 7:45. One of the dental assistants showed me where I'd be working, pointed out the basics, then went on her merry way. I understand I am only going to be here for one day. I understand you don't want to interrupt your morning showing me where everything is. I don't understand however, why every time I ask you a question you give me the stink eye. Seriously....just because YOU know how all this ancient equipment works, doesn't mean I do. I was born in the 20th century, not the 19th like this piece of shit chair. So throw me a bone lady and help me out!!!

Thankfully after my looooong day in a dental time warp, the hubs and I went out for a wine tasting. I think I've mentioned it before, but my family owns a wine distribution company called, Handcrafted Wines of Kansas. We don't have a vineyard or make wine, contrary to popular belief. We are in fact the middle man. We buy wine from wineries all over the world and then sell it to stores who in turn sell it to you. Sounds like a big chain meant to rip off the consumer, but in the state of Kansas that's the way it has to be done. Anyways, my brother and the rest of the sales guys do wine tastings to showcase what we sell...and I, as the Paris Hilton of the biz, get to show up and drink to my hearts content. Now that I'm here in the big KC and will have much easier access (my hubs works in the warehouse) I might start sampling more wine to share with all my blogging friends. I even told my brother he could guest post from time to time...cause let's be honest, my wine descriptions are less than accurate! So be on the lookout for a blog wine tasting soon!!

The word of the day is job. J-O-B

So I haven't even been unemployed for a full week and I'm already bored to tears. Pretty sad considering I worked a full day at my interview on Monday...so today is really only my 2nd day off. Ugh. It's gonna be a loooong next few weeks. Luckily I am subbing somewhere tomorrow and have a few other days lined up here and there. That should save some of my sanity. In the meantime it's nothing but QT with me, myself and I. So don't think I've become some crazy stalker all of sudden when I comment on your posts just moments after they appear.

Tasty Tuesday

Is it Tuesday already?!?! My poor kitchen has been sorely neglected, but I did manage to dig out my husband's second fave thing I make. Vegetable Fried Rice. (sometimes I throw chicken in, but it's really quite hearty with just the veggies) Plus I promised I would make it for him as our first meal in our new home. One of the perks of living in my parents abandoned condo means inheriting their FABULOUS gourmet kitchen. It's a cooks dream. Heck it's anyones dream. It's about the size of our entire old condo....seriously. There's a giant island in the middle. A side area with glass doored cabinets to showcase all my (ok my moms) fancy stemware and of course a wine fridge. I'm in heaven and we haven't even gotten to the appliances. A six burner, gas, Viking range and the fanciest oven I've ever seen complete with warming drawer. Are you drooling yet?? I am. Even their microwave is deluxe. It's touch screen. There's a dancing chef who plays a little song when your food is done. And this morning when I was eating pizza for breakfast, don't judge, I hit this reheat button. It automatically cooks your food until it senses it's done. Holy shit?! I feel like I'm on MTV cribs. Why did my parent move out again? Oh well, their loss is our HUGE gain! Enjoy my little taste of the orient!Vegetable Fried Rice

Serves 2

Calories: 366 Fat: 14g

1 c instant brown rice

1 c vegetable broth

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 t canola oil

6 oz asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced into 1-inch pieces

4 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T minced fresh ginger

4 t reduced sodium soy sauce

2 T rice vinegar

1 t toasted sesame oil

Hot pepper sauce to taste

1. Combine rice and broth in small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until the liquid is absorbed, 12-14 minutes. Spread the rice out on a large place and let stand for 5 minutes.

2. While the rice is cooling, coat a large nonstick wok or skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat. Pour in eggs and cook, stirring gently, until just set, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Transfer to a small bowl.

3. Heat canola oil in the pan over medium-high heat; add asparagus and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Add bell pepper, scallions, garlic and ginger; cook, stirring until the veggies are just tender, about 2 minutes. Add the cooked rice, soy sauce and vinegar to the pan; cook until the liquid is absorbed, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Fold in the cooked eggs. Remove from the heat; stir in sesame oil and hot sauce.

BON APPETITE!

Hello from a whole new time zone!

Whew! I made it! I am officially in Kansas City! We had a crazy busy weekend. Thursday night after the hubs got in....I welcomed him home in a not so welcoming manner. Around 11:30 or 12 that night I started having what I thought was really bad stomach cramps. It turned into the worst pain I'd ever felt before which soon resulted in mass vomiting. Long story short, I am under great suspicion that an ovarian cyst ruptured and I was feeling woman cramps...not stomach. This has not been confirmed, but after a little self diagnosis this seems to be the most logical. Fun! My hubby sure was glad he got to witness that little escapade. I am finally feeling better after a few miserable days and plan on finding a gyno stat just to make sure everything is kosher down there in baby makin' land.

I spent most of Saturday packing. What didn't look like much sure turned in to a lot!! When did I get so much freakin' stuff?!?! We some how managed to get everything I wanted into the car though, with the exception of my wedding bouquet. Unlike most of my other worldly possessions...I didn't want to take the "cram it in and slam the door" method with my million dollar preserved flowers. I must admit I was uber impressed with the packing of the car. Every time one of us would doubt we could get anything else in there...a pocket of space would appear and we'd shove, push and pull to get it in. It was almost comical how much junk we shoved into my little Jeep Liberty. God forbid a door latch broke or my undies would be dancing across I-70!

Sunday morning bright and early we left Columbus. I actually didn't cry. I think the excitement of our adventure had finally kicked in and I was excited to finally be starting the journey. That and I'm pretty sure I had just run our of tears. The hubs drove all 10 pain staking hours while I slept and read Harry Potter....again. We pulled into KC just after 4pm. Got the car unloaded. And crashed. I kept looking at the clock going...it's ONLY 7??!! Funny how gaining one hour can make such a difference! By 9 I was passed out.

Today I was up and ready for my working interview...my first day as a Missouri dental hygienist. All in all it was a good first day. Different offices are always a bit of an adjustment...but if they offered me the job I would take it. They're still interviewing...so I will keep everyone posted! The Mr. and I finished the night off with Minsky's pizza....heaven in pie formation...and walked around the Plaza. Now I'm enjoying the comforts of my new blogging chair savoring a glass of wine. Oh the perks of having a wine distribution company as the family biz!! It's so good to finally be home!

Happy Birthday Moose!!!

Today is my other baby...err dog's 2nd birthday!! He's come a looooong way from the cracked out puppy we brought home! Our original plan when we decided to get another dog was to get a French Bulldog. They're so ugly they're cute and I couldn't resist those ears. I started researching breeders online and discovered they are CRAZY expensive. I guess because of their big heads, they have to be delivered by C-section which allows breeders to jack up the price. We weren't ready to through down over $1,000 on a dog so I gave up on the idea. A few weeks later I get an email alert about a puppy on the website I'd been using. There was a mixed dog available who was 1/2 Beagle and 1/2 French Bulldog. Well that was perfect! We already had one beagle...and he was still part Frenchie. So we drove 10 hours to West Plains, MO (an experience ALL in itself) to pick up our little bundle of joy! Here's a few pics of baby Moose...he was such a cutie! Happy Birthday Moosey!!! I can't wait to see you....mama's coming home real soon!!!

Moose's First Day. He only weighed a few pounds!
You have to love me....look at that face

Not the brightest crayon in the box. Yes folks. He has a dryer vent hose stuck to his head. We of course, being the good parents that we are....took a picture first...THEN helped him get it off

Moose's First Christmas...gotta love the butt flap PJ's. They were too big that year...by the next year they didn't come close to fitting.

Camping in Hocking Hills

First snow storm....the snow was deeper than he was