Happy Valentine's Day!

New Year, New Foods (Take 2)

Since New Year's, I have been trying to make some changes to our daily diets. Falling into the lure of convenience, our diet pre-New Year's consisted of a lot of packaged food. And while I haven't gotten completely away from that, I have tried to make some marked improvements to the quality of food that Dave and I consume on a weekly basis.

Now, mind you, this is no easy task. Between certain dietary guidelines (low fat, low cholesterol), a busy schedule, and a picky selective husband to feed, I often feel like I don't have many options. So, determined to make it work, I decided that I needed some new recipes.

I checked out several cookbooks from the library (yea, libraries!) and commenced a recipe search online. I'm still poring through the recipe books, but we've managed to try a few things that I found online.

Dave will likely be the first to tell you that I haven't always had the best luck with recipes. The older I get, the more I realize that I'm just not that great a cook. My mom is. My brother is. Me? I can make a mean pan of brownies, and I have a few other specialties here and there, but overall, apparently not so much. There was a particularly disastrous attempt at a ravioli/Alfredo lasagna when we were engaged, and I think Dave's been a little scared ever since.

Needless to say, the past month and a half have been somewhat interesting. There's been the good (breakfast pizza and oven potato "chips"), the bad (those doughnut muffins sounded so good in theory!), and the ugly (*sniff* I was really excited about the Parmesan oven fries I tried to make last night. I followed the directions and everything...who knew that they would burn so quickly?).

I guess I'll have to just keep trying. They say practice makes perfect, right? Wish me luck!

Sigh

I had a new post all ready. I was posting from Flickr. It was almost ready to go. I pushed Publish. And POOF....

It was gone.

Sigh.

Survey of Life Events

I thought this was a neat list. Thanks for the idea, Karen!

Just boldface the items that you HAVE done, and leave the rest normal….
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (marching band counts, right?)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower (tried to at least!)
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort (I don't remember)
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29 Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33 Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (I've been to the country of my ancestors....)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (as far as you can go)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible (I'd like to hope that I have over time, but I don't think I've ever intentionally read it cover to cover.)
86. Visited the White House (just seen it from the outside)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee (I think...)

My 2009 "Enrichment" To-Do List

1. Read some books. So far, the only book I've read in 2009 is Night of the Twisters (a fine read, but a young adult novel that I first read in late elementary school). It's nearly February, and my list of books that I want to read is only getting longer.

2. Scrapbook. I'm still working on a scrapbook that I started before Dave and I got married. We'll be celebrating our 3-year anniversary in April. Hmmm.

3. Figure out how to work the sewing machine that I got from my mother-in-law. You know, the machine that I got several months ago. The one that is taunting me from inside the closet. The one that I have no idea what to do with.

4. Work on my ongoing cross-stitch project. I wanted to make a big picture for Dave, but I thought that I should start on something small first (you know, for the practice). That was two years ago. Apparently, I'm still practicing.

You know, I think I see a pattern forming here... :-)

Smoochacha Patchko Goes to Pittsburgh, Part Deux

You may remember my little friend Smoochacha Patchko. Smoochacha went with Dave and I to Pittsburgh when we went last August. He had such a good time that he decided to go back.

This trip to Pittsburgh was much colder than last time. I thought poor Smoocha was going to freeze to death, but he managed to make it through. He even made some new friends in the snow!


When he wasn't playing in the snow, Smoochacha was busy with other fun activities. He even learned about fire safety from Fireman Dave (and got to "ride" on a real fire truck!)


I think Smoochacha had fun on his trip to Pittsburgh. To see more pictures of his exploits (or a few of mine and Dave's!), check out my Flickr page.

Pittsburgh Bound

Pittsburgh skyline from PNC Park

Tomorrow morning we head up to Pittsburgh -- our home away from home (well, for Dave, I guess it's technically just "home"). We try to go up at least once a year to visit Dave's grandparents and our other friends, though this visit comes a little sooner than that.

The weather report is calling for COLD temperatures. While I'm not excited about the mercury numbers, I am hoping that we'll get to see (and maybe play in!) some snow. A true southerner at heart, I'm always excited to see snow...especially since we don't get it very often. Dave and I are also hoping to take part in some winter activities -- mainly ice skating and snow tubing. I'm really just hoping to not get frostbite in the process. :-)

Stay tuned for pictures and posts from our trip!