The Second Most Wonderful Time of the Year

This was my view on the way to work on Monday. It was very pretty, but come on; can we be done with winter? It snowed Monday, Wednesday and Thursday here. Enough! It is time for spring. Flowers, grass, sun. Remember? Everyone loves spring, and everyone would like to see it arrive!

Had a wonderful time in Florida. I was amazed at the amount of retired people and dogs. My dad even joked that they won't let them live there full time unless that got a dog. I don't see either happening anytime soon. The condo was beautiful. Nicest rental we have ever had. But it was full of big clunky furniture that caused me to bruise and cut my knee, bruise my hip and stubbed my toe like ten times. Not old (or clumsy) people friendly. It was nice to sit in the sun and hang out with my family. The history buff in my also had a great time. On one particularly windy day we visited the Edison-Ford Estates in Fort Myers. I think that it would be very cool to visit again in the summer when the wind wasn't 90 miles an hour off of the river it over looks. It was cold, but I will not complain because it was 10 degrees in Chicago that day, it could have been worse. Edison and Ford had houses right next to each other and a gate in the middle, I could imagine them meeting by that gate and have a couple of beverages in the evenings. Below is a rubber tree that Edison planed on the property. He planted alot of unique plants and trees on the property. It is a very educational place and I recommend it if you are ever in the area.

 

 Cool, huh?

So the recipe this week was grilled pork chops, and broccoli cheese rice. The rice was bland, so that recipe is not a keeper, but the pork chops turned out great. There was a minor issue with the smoke alarm going off a couple of times, and we had to open a couple of windows and turn on the ceiling fan, but it was worth it. I love that grill pan, best buy I've made in along time. Today I went to the grocery store (cute firefighters=easier grocery shopping) and got everything I needed to make my creamy crab stuffed shells. Cannot wait to try them, that's tomorrow's project.


So I gave up ice cream and cheese puffs for lent. I admit it, I cheated. I didn't have good information prior to making my decision. It is shamrock shake season, and I totally forgot about that. I love them. I can't miss having one, so I had one yesterday. It was yummy. I will also admit that I'm an ice cream addict. This is what happens to you when your family owns a dairy queen during your formative years. I will try to limit them. They made them fancier this year by changing the cup and adding whipped cream and a cherry (all ice cream is better with a whipped cream and a cherry - doesn't matter what kind).

 

Shake, anyone?

So what else is going on...I've discovered that waiting to watch tv shows on DVD (or on Netflix) is the way to go. I've finally starting watching the office and I cannot get enough of it. It is too funny, and the characters do remind me of people that I have worked with in the past. So I'm caught up on that, and have moved on Leverage (super cute guy in that one). I have two more episode of Weeds season 5 and I will be caught up there. I hope that Nancy realizes that she is supposed to be with Andy, I do not like the Mexican drug lord.

Better go check on Hubba he is making some DYI repairs to his truck. Have a wonderful rest of the weekend and week.

At this time next week....

What a crazy week! Crazy at work, and at home. So ready for a break. This time next week I will be hanging out in the sunshine. I'm headed down South to hang with Bob and Jo at what I have begun to call the "Golden Girls Condo"; I've seen pictures I expected Rose, Dorothy, Blanche and Sophia to be sitting at the kitchen table eating cheesecake. I loved that show. So between now and then I have to get alot done, and I feel like doing none of it.

Tomorrow we are headed to IA to visit family, and Abby's big 5th birthday party! It will be nice to see everyone, considering this was a sad week in Jeff's family. His uncle Marty, passed away on Wednesday night, after a long illness. Although he had not been well, we were still very surprised to get that call. Because his uncle lived in FL they are planning a memorial service for later in the Spring when everyone can make into town. Jeff has been taking this pretty well, but I know that he is very sad inside.

On Sunday, we are headed out to watch the Colts beat the Saints in the Super Bowl. I'm not looking forward to watching it at a party. I'm not one of those women who like to sit around in the kitchen and gab during the game. I like to watch the game, I understand what is going on, and usually have some financial stake in it. As many of you know, Jeff and I know that we are much more interested in college football, but as they say any port in a storm. Thank goodness race season starts next week.

Monday is Jeff's b-day (alot about him tonight, huh?) this is a birthday before a big birthday, so I'll I hear is 'one more year before I'm old' I told him that I had a news flash, that he was already old and stuck in his ways! LOL But, as I always tell him he was like that when I married him, so I knew what I was getting into!

Tuesday I leave for Florida. Bright and early. There is talk about a snow storm hitting late Monday - early Tuesday, so I'm alittle nervous about that. I better not have to sit at the airport all day, when I could be in the sunshine. Other than that I love the airport and to fly. I'm a big people watcher so the airport is always good. I love to fly, I get nervous, but it's the good excited nervous. I haven't flown by myself in forever, but I'm sure that I'll make some new friends on the plane.

So between all of this I need to make cupcakes, cookies, paint my toenails, wrap presents, clean up the house, and pack. I would bet 10 bucks that Tuesday morning, I'm throwing stuff into my suitcase as Jeff yells at me to move my butt!

So this week the new recipe was Beef and Mushroom Lasagna. It was okay, but I don't believe that it made the cut. But, that is the point of this whole exercise, to see what is good and get some different foods into our diet. I'm taking this week off due to all the running around we have to do and my escaping to warmer weather. Still on the fruit and veggies, I think that I'm down anywhere b/t 6 to 8 lbs. The cheese fries that I had for dinner may have ruined some of my progress. I'm sure next week will not be any better! I think my parents have a week of eating and sitting by the pool planned.

I've almost finished 'Devil in the White City' I have to say it is a great book, and I should have read it along time ago when it was suggested. I love books that are set in Chicago, I love the history of this place. The CAF offers a walking tour of area where the book is set. I can't take it until the spring, but I will definitely be taking it, by myself. I'm also planning a blog on the book and the exposition. But I'm still researching that. I should have been a history teacher I love this stuff. My next book is on the Kennedy wives, it is big book and I won't be able to carry it with me on the train so it will take longer to read, but I think it will be interesting. I mean we all know alot about Jackie, but I'm interesting in learning about Ethel and Joan.

Hope you noticed all the fun stuff I added to the side of the web page, I plan to add some pictures and other links soon. Hope you enjoyed this. I've feeling alittle motivated! Ok, I'm watching 'Twister' for the 500th time and I want to concentrate on that!

Have a awesome week and I'm sure that I will have some interesting stories for next week.