Sunday, October 31, 2010

October Goals - How'd I Do?

Well, I had a lot of FUN in October, but it seems like some of my other goal categories fell to the wayside... :) Oh well - fun is what it's all about, right?!
Fun:

*Read 3 books {COMPLETE - Catching Fire, Mockingjay, & The Help}
*Hunter & Elizabeth's WEDDING!!!!! {COMPLETE!!! - It was BEAUTIFUL and ya'll even helped me pick a dress!}
*Family Reunion/Ketner's Mill {COMPLETE}
*Go to Wine Over Water {COMPLETE}

DIY/Crafting:
*Halloween costume? Maybe? {Ehhh... not so much. I wore a pirate tshirt to work on Friday, does that count? And I made Dash wear something!}
*Finish, yes-finish, Christmas shopping {FAIL. Didn't, yes-didn't finish. But we're about 1/2 done!}

Home:
*It looks nice - keep it up! {COMPLETE! Though Jason may disagree...}
*Hang chandelier, install last few knobs on drawers and cabinets {FAIL - We reordered a glass cover for the chandy because it broke, so once that's in, then we'll put it up. I have no excuse for the knobs.}

Cooking:
*Cook 4 meals at home EVERY week which will require meal planning {COMPLETE - again, Jason may disagree, but I definitely had a plan each week, even if we didn't follow it completely. Meal planning saves my sanity!}
*One new recipe {FAIL. But we did have this again and it was yummy!}

Wellness:
*Continue training for the Jingle Bell Run 5K {mostly COMPLETE - though I have had one small breakdown. :)  }

How was your October?!

Friday, October 29, 2010

Some Of Us Aren't Cut Out For Costumes

"Really, mom?"

"See, Snooker doesn't like it either."


{favorite shot}

"Mom, stop."

"Seriously, I'm over this."

"Okay, if you won't - I will!"

Thanks for putting up with it for my 3 minute photo session. 
I won't make you wear it again.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

But I Don't WANNA Do It Anymore!

Dear Me five-weeks-ago,

What are you thinking? RUNNING?! Seriously??

Like, actual hot-sweaty-gasping-for-air-stitch-in-my-side RUNNING?


::sigh::

Next time, let's think this through, okay?

Signed,
Me five-weeks-later.


Countdown to 5K: 23 days

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Grilled Chicken & Zucchini w/Pasta

Near the end of summer I found a recipe with chicken & zucchini {2 things I could eat every night} that I really wanted to try.
The first time we made it we grilled the chicken and zucchini on the grill, but last night we used the george foreman for the chicken, and I sauteed the zucchini in the pan (& then took it out) before I started adding the other stuff.

Grilled Chicken & Zucchini w/Pasta
{a.k.a. "honey, will you make that stuff with the gorgonzola cheese?"}
Ingredients
3/4 box whole wheat rotini
4 boneless chicken breasts
1 zucchini, quartered lengthwise & diced into chunks
{her recipe called for tomatos, but I skipped that part.. sorry, hon}
olive oil
seasoned salt
4 Tbs. butter
spoonful of minced garlic {from the little blue jar}
2 cups half & half, warmed  {or not}
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
5 oz Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled {find this near the deli counter at WM, not where shredded cheese is}
Recipe
*Boil the pasta.
*Sprinkle the chicken breasts with seasoned salt and grill till done, then slice.
*Sautee the zucchini with olive oil for about 10 minutes.
*Melt the butter in a skillet. Cook the garlic in the butter for a minute or two.
*Whisk in the half & half and cook for a few minutes over medium heat.
*Stir in the cheeses and let them melt.
*Mix the drained pasta, chicken, zucchini, and sauce together and serve. Makes approximately 6-8 servings.
The first time we made it, I wasn't crazy about it because the gorgonzola is a really strong cheese, but this time, I made myself a bowl and added several splashes of milk to it, to tame down the gorg. Next time I may go ahead and add about 1/3c of milk to the end to make it a little creamier/saucier. 

What was for dinner at YOUR house last night?

Monday, October 25, 2010

It's STILL Great To Be...

This weekend we went to the TN vs. AL game in Knoxville!
Neyland Stadium


The Vol Walk


pre-game


beautiful night

running through the T


the "circle drill" during half-time

Pride of the Southland Marching Band

Even though we lost... it's STILL great to be a Tennessee Vol!!!

Jason and I stayed the night in the Knoxville area and went to the outlet malls in Pigeon Forge on Sunday. We scored some FABULOUS deals for Jason at Van Heusen - 2 pairs of pants, 3 button downs, and a belt for $86! {original prices would have been +$300!} I didn't find anything for me, but that's okay because ya'll know I did some good shopping recently.

On the way home, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the sky:
Jason took this picture and I think it is breathtaking.

Did you have a good weekend?!

Friday, October 22, 2010

The House of My Brother - Part 4

Back in July, I did a 3 part series on a few rooms in my older brother (Sam)'s new house!

Now we're back to showcase the newest change: outside paint! Now, personally, I found the yellow to be quite charming, but it doesn't exactly scream Sam, so he painted it and it looks PHENOMENAL!

Look at the difference!

He's still working on some landscaping, but COME ON - this place looks awesome!!

Great job bro!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Scarf Person

I'm enjoying one of my new scarves today!
{tied in Angie's knot}

Forever 21 apparently has the least expensive scarves in town! I paid between $5-7 each for 4 scarves! I ordered them last Friday and they got here yesterday - definitely worth it!

Are you a scarf person?

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

The Art of Reading (& Following) Directions

not the microwave in question

Monday. I bring my lunch. I'm proud to have brought my lunch. {And in my adorable new lunch box, no less!} This means I won't be spending money! Yay!

I brought one of those chinese food boxes of orange chicken, and I had been craving it all morning. So I go into the little kitchen at work, unwrap the container and then start to read the directions.

The directions that say "Heat wrapped box for 3-4 minutes."

Wrapped box? Seriously? You mean, the wrapper I just took off, I shouldn't have taken off? I should have read the directions first? Is this what you are telling me, little box?

So I figure, okay, no big deal. I'll just put it in there for longer than 3-4 minutes so it has more time to cook.

4 minutes. Still frozen.
3 more minutes. Still frozen.
5 more minutes. STILL frozen.

I decide that since it was supposed to be steamed then maybe I should try to find some tupperware to put it in and quasi-steam it.

4 minutes. Still cold.
4 more minutes. Still cold.
{This is when I should have gotten the hint.}

So this is like 20 minutes or so in the microwave, and I've been going back and forth from my desk, so it's taken well over 30 minutes for my orange chicken to still be frozen.

Then I discover the "Frozen Vegetable" sensor button and figure, okay, this has to help because surely it will just cook it until it knows the veggies are done. So that goes on for about 7 minutes. Then I check it.... put it back in on the frozen veggie button thing...

Now I'm kind of freaking out that SERIOUSLY? 30+ minutes in the microwave and this stuff is still cold/frozen?!

So I throw it away.

And my dear sweet wonderful friend, Lauren, lets me a have a can of her soup so I don't "starve". I go to heat up the soup in the same little upstairs kitchen microwave, go back to my desk to wait, go back in the kitchen to discover room temperature/cold soup, and then I realize:

The microwave is broken.

Tuesday. I bring my lunch. I'm proud to have brought my lunch. And this time, I'm definitely not going to mess it up. I have a frozen pizza thing that only has to cook for like 3 minutes. I read the directions that say to peel back the top but don't pull it completely off because you flip it around and use it as a stand for your pizza {you know what I'm talking about, right?}.

So I put my pizza in to the downstairs microwave for 3.5 minutes and go talk to Heidi and Rachel and laugh about the ridiculous drama that happened the day before. Ha ha ha.. I'm so silly. Ha ha ha - I should have realized the microwave was broken. Ha ha ha.

I go back into the kitchen to get my yummy pizza when I realize that while I read the first part of the directions, I neglected to read the part about taking the plastic wrapper off the pizza.

So it melted.
to.
the.
pizza.

I throw it away and go whine to Heidi and Rachel about how ridiculous I am and how I obviously can't read directions, and now I'm going to Wendy's thankyouverymuch. Instead, Rachel offered me one of her frozen dinners and told me the directions out loud, so I wouldn't have to read them and mess them up.

Rachel: "Well, at least this makes a good blog story."

The end.

P.S. I'm eating out today. Just in case you were wondering.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

The Lake

Jason's grandparents have a little cabin on the lake near Ketner's Mill.
It is a beautiful place - especially this time of year!





God's creation is so beautiful!!

Monday, October 18, 2010

Family Reunion & Ketner's Mill

Saturday we made our way to Powells Crossroads for the Damron family (Jason's mom's family) reunion! Every year we all get together during the weekend of Ketner's Mill.




We had a great time socializing with the family!
{And my oh my, the food was yummy!}




Then it was off to Ketner's Mill!




Jason's new bff.

How was your weekend?

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