"less space, less things, more life"

Last night I caught part of a repeat Oprah. She was in Denmark. Being of Danish decent it caught my attention. What I loved about this episode was seeing the homes of two Danish families. Both homes were small yet spacious, clean and had a lack of "stuff". Ah, "stuff" you are the bane of my existence. I love you and I hate you. Part of my 2010 goal is to live without "stuff". Seeing the ways the Danes lived made me think I could really do it. One of them shared the thought "less space, less things, more life". Words to live by!

So in 2010 I hope to do just that. Be happy with my "space", have less "things" and live more "life"!

Showering!

Yesterday my Aunt's A&A threw a baby shower for me. It was lovely and totally overwhelming. My mom has gone crazy about becoming a grandmother - much to our benefit! Everyone was so generous. This baby will be spoiled indeed!
Thank you to my wonderful family for everything - our little bird is blessed to have so many wonderful people around him already.

The big Three-Oh

Michael turns 30 tomorrow. Last night we celebrated with a few friends and family and Shawnee Mission Park. I was nervous about the weather at first but it turned out to be fantastic. The view of the lake was breathtaking, there was a campfire with all of it's fragrant goodness, great food and lots of fun as we celebrated Michael's advanced age with a Transformers birthday cake!

I'm so pleased that we managed to pull off a small party for him. 30 is a birthday that should be celebrated.

New Hair

I hadn't had my hair cut in months, like 6 months. In fact I don't remember the last time I had my hair cut. Now that I think about I'm suspecting January. That is crazy.

So last night I went to Beauty Brands were Anna did a fantastic job. We started with the longest, most relaxing shampoo of my life. We are talking full on massage! My head was so happy.
Then she cut my hair in a cute cut that frames my face without making my cheeks look huge - total bonus as I'm expanding.

Okay, here's the picture.

Who doesn't love ABBA?

Seriously, who?
Dancing Queen, Voulez-Vous, Waterloo? Classics! Plus any song that you can dance to like and idiot is awesome in my book. We saw Mamma Mia! for my birthday yesterday and I loved it - with two exceptions.
1) I think Meryl Streep was a bit old for the part
2) Peirce Brosan can not sing. Tricia and I actually cringed when we realized there was a second verse to his song. YIKES!

So I have just purchased the Broadway soundtrack instead. That was I get all the songs (plus some) and I never have to here PB sing again! Well until the winter when I buy the DVD.

First Harvest

This week I finally harvested some veggies from the garden. I haven't fertilized at all so things are a little on the small and slow side, but I rally don't mind. The thrill really comes from walking outside and finding that I have yet to kill every plant in my garden.
Today's harvest consists of:

• 1 small zucchini (I could have left it for another day or two, but I wanted to eat it with my lunch)
• 2 roma tomatoes (the whole roma plant is about 1/3 the size of the others. I think it is because I planted it late)
• 1 green zebra tomato (it too is small, but I like it that way)
• 1 medium sized yellow, crookneck squash (that plant is over-running the garden)

Aren't they cute!

I immediately cut up and sautéed the zucchini and served it over pasta. It was delish! The pasta is Hodgson Mill's Organic Whole Wheat with Milled Flax Seed and it is very, very good. Slightly nutty but not gritty like some whole wheat pastas - plus it is the only omega 3 rich pasta I can find that doesn't use legume flour (aka - allergic reaction in a box).

This is all that remains of a cherry pie I made nearly two weeks ago. When I removed the plastic wrap it actually stank. Here is a note for all of you - if there is pie in your fridge EAT IT! Don't try to be nice and leave the last piece for someone else. It will just go bad in your fridge and make a sticky, stinky mess. Although the photo still looks fairly appetizing.

Right now I am savoring my first peach of the season. Just the smell is delightful. I love the way it melts in my mouth and tastes like sunshine and rainy, cool evenings at the same time.

Dancing Queen

I shocked Michael with my mad dancing skill last night. We were at the wedding reception for my best friend's little sister - My second family - the Jonsies!
I spent about half my time from 6th grade to 12th grade at their house, so it was really special to celebrate with them. The bride was beautiful and I couldn't be happier for her. But it is crazy to think that the closest thing I ever had to a little sister (unless you count my brother's drag phase - he looked better in my prom dress than me...) is now a married lady!
At the reception their was dancing! Lots of dancing. Lots of "I don't care who's watching or what I look like" dancing. So much dancing that I'm pretty sure I fractured my toe. (It hurts every time I take a step)
It was such a wonderful time, a wonderful celebration for a wonderful family.

Congratulation's N & B!

Reason 638

M: I'm so glad I got to mop the floors today.
m: Me too.
M: I've been wanting to do that for so long.

Grow Your Own - 2008

I can NOT wait for my garden to grow.

So far everything is looking good and I'm very hopeful that by the 28th of the month I will be able to make a meal that involves something I've grown. Even if it is just using the herbs. I bet we can also get some lettuce. YUM!

Graden Bed #1

There are 5 garden beds planned for our little backyard. Today we planted the first one. I'm tired, sunburned and really pleased with how it turned out.

Michael, laying the ground work.

Holes dug and plants placed.

FINISHED!!

It only took ALL DAY to get this done.
It will look so much better when there is grass.

Close up of the plants. We have 3 Hydrangeas, 2 Peonies, 6 blue-green Hastas, 1 veragated Hosta, 2 Columbines and 1 Minnesota Faux Orange tree. Whew!

And they said it couldn't be done.

We finally cleaned the guest room!

That's right...it's clean...and awesome.

The furniture has been rearranged and the room looks much bigger. We also rearranged the office, cleaned and reordered the basement and cleaned the garage. All in all we cleared out about a dozen bags and boxes of things to take to the Goodwill and filled 2 giant trash bags. Whoo!

I feel so much better with the house clean and de-cluttered. And I sit and drink my hot chocolate in my freshly cleaned office I'm finally feeling Christmas-y. Clearly all it took was to finish the guest room project.

One Year Ago Today

Michael and I were married.
A year went by so quickly. Micheal is my best friend and while we didn't see much of each other this weekend as he was engulfed in freelance-a-paloza and I in winter cleaning, we did enjoy a nice evening out where we ate steak and remembered our wedding day. Here's to many more great years. (50 at the very least, though truth be told I'm hoping for 60)

Redeemed

I have been having a bad day. I day in which I cried. At work. Work crying is on my list of things to avoid at all costs. The reasons don't matter and everything is okay now, but the past 24 hours have not been nice.

But tonight, everything is better and I shall not cry at work again. (I hope)

The night was redeemed further as I discovered that Perfect Strangers is back on TV. Granted it is on one of the digital religious channels which I normally just blow past, but I saw Balki Bartokomous and started to smile. Yea Perfect Strangers!

favorite season

It is almost cold outside. Not cold, cold, but a delightful break from summer heat. Our weekend of nearly autumn weather sent me straight into the kitchen this weekend. I just can't work up the energy to really cook when its hot out.
This was a yummy weekend which included my first ever risotto. It was great. Creamy and smooth rice with seasoned zucchini and small bites of steak for protein. No wonder its Italian comfort food! The only downside is that you are wedded to the stove top for 30-40 min of constant stirring. Next time I'm bringing a book on tape.
I also made my chewy granola bars with dried apricots and prunes. Unfortunately I only had 1/3 cup butter and it calls for 1 cup, so there wasn't enough fat to hold the bar together so we were left with a crumbly tray of granola. Still good and extra good with ice cream or pudding. I realize that kind of defeats the purpose of a healthy snack, but I was going to eat the ice cream or pudding anyway - this just makes it better for me.
Tonight I am making Roasted Chicken and Veggies. I'm using Purivan Blue Potatoes and carrots so the colors are amazing. Bright purple potatoes cheer up any plate.

I love this psudo-autumn weather and all the great food that comes with it. I can't wait for the real autumn (it's going to get hot again this week)!

happiness and being grown-up

Most of the time I think that being an adult is highly over rated. Paying a mortgage - bleck, Taking care of said house - blah, Making sure that everyone is happy and healthy - tiring. But then there are days like today when Michael and I spent time just talking and thinking about our lives together. The things we want to do, our hopes and fears. The many things that will come our way. Things that you can only do as a grown up. And I like it. I'm happy to be here, happy to be a grown-up. Happy with my mortgage, my puppy and husband.

quick run down

Michael is a computer hog.
But I can't really blame him, he's been working on some cool projects which has left me time to work on some of my own like:
- Finishing Harry Potter! (So good - and final)
- Plunging right into The Golden Compass. (Very interesting so far)
- Knitting a second shrug. (The first one turned out very cute so I'm trying again with a few modifications.)
- Watching Season Two of Doctor Who. (Oh David Tennent - you just get yummier)
- Work, work and more work (I love it, but if I haven't gone in early I've stayed late (or both) for the past few weeks, and its starting to wear on me. We are interviewing this week so hopefully we will be getting some extra help soon.)
- Planning out my next sewing project. (Booties!!!)
- Enjoying the bounty of the garden. (I made pesto last night and I'm just waiting for Pepe the Pepper to turn red so I can eat him too.)
- Enjoying the bounty of other peoples gardens. (The farmers market is my new favorite place. This weekend I made zucchini curry soup that even Michael liked from one of my finds.)

Well, that's about it. Hopefully I'll pick up the posting again.
tata!

Blackpool - Greatest Show EVER

Holy crud! Police investigations, choreographed sining and dancing AND the Hot, Hot David Tennant!



Seriously I think I have found the best show ever...too bad I can only find it on You Tube because its not on DVD yet. Sigh.



One more because I can't resist!

Just Where I Should Be

I had a long day at work. It was full of ups and downs and moments where I just put my head on my desk and sighed. There was even the moment where I stabbed myself in the chest with a click pen because it best expressed the way I was feeling.
But also it was a great day. I finished a draft of the presentation I will be giving at Chapter Training and felt really good about it. It is what I should be doing. I should be writing trainings and working on big picture projects. It is what I am better at (no claiming to be the best here) and it felt good.
Coming home to a husband who made linguine and sausage was even better.

Realizing that the person I am, is exactly who I want to be was the best.

This one moment, standing in the kitchen - doing the dishes after a long but fulfilling day at the office - with my husband and crazy dog made up for all the awkward high school years and the 'trying so hard to be someone I'm not' college years.
This is me, my life and it is exactly where I should be.

Worlds of Fun

Michael and I went to Worlds of Fun yesterday. It is the only real amusement park in Kansas City and we only went because Michael's company provided us with free tickets, free parking and $10.00 "beagle bucks" each. That is the only way we could ever afford to go. Plus there is the issue that Michael and I both do poorly on rides. The V factor.

We arrived at about 10:30, took some time to get our bearings and then proceeded to ride a total of 4 rides.
1) The Viking Voyager - Really it is just a log ride through an elevated water way with one big drop at the end. I hid behind Michael and managed to stay dry.
2) The Fjord Fjarlane - A spinning ride where your car is lifted extra high sometimes for extra fun. (There was actually a baby on this ride. A baby! She had a great time - I clung to Michael the whole time. Who's the REAL baby?!)
3) The Sea Dragon - Nothing more than a giant swing shaped like a viking boat. Still it had me curling up like a little girl and freaking out a little more than is appropriate for someone my age.
4) Fury of the Nile - I remember this ride being scary and very wet! We manged to stay dry and un-afraid. It was easy and a rather pleasant trip around a man made "river"

Worlds of Fun is broken into regions. Scandinavia is where we spent the most time - in honor of my heritage - that and the other regions have "real" roller-coasters and we don't do that sort of thing. There were a few more rides that we could have done, but really we were happy with our 4 rides, our $20.00 worth of BBQ and a day of terrific people watching.

Clearly we were prepared for fun.
also, I'm kind of freaked out that the lip can stretch like that. gross.

Said by Michael

upon licking my cheek.

yum. you taste like a really soft potato chip.

indeed.