CROC Count

You know I love my CROCs. Before we went on vacation, I bought a couple new pairs of flip-flops. While in Hilton Head, we found a CROC outlet and I ended up buying a pair of golf shoes. I played in them yesterday. But I am still not sure how I feel about them. Traditional golf shoes give me an excuse to bust out the saddle shoes!

So, while I was cleaning today, I took a tally of my CROC collection. Looks like I am at 13 pairs now! Golf shoes aren't in the picture because I was too lazy to go to the car and get them.

Cleaning, Cleaning, and more Cleaning

It was a beautiful day out today, but I spent the entire day in my apartment cleaning and going through a bunch of junk. I needed some organization in the closets and tossed alot of items that I don't use anymore. I even spent 45 minutes cleaning the vacuum cleaner...pulling hair out of the brush and wiping the dust off of it. Yeah, I was totally feeling like Monica today!

I am exhausted! Here is a before and after of the closet.

BEFORE

AFTER

Holy Cow I need to update more

...so its been months since I have updated this blog.

So, I still need to finish my Puerto Rico trip, but here is the skinny from the last 2 months.

In June, we went to Hocking Hills. Ohio for a weekend. My little sister graduated from Ohio University....go Bob Cats! We stayed at Getaway Cabins http://www.getaway-cabins.com/. Here is a picture of the cabin we stayed in...so cute. These cabins are soooo secluded but definelty not primitive and we were able to take the dog. Each cabin has a fire pit and a hot tub. My parents cabin even had a pool table and fuse ball table! We didn't have cell phone service for 2 days! Awesome!!

Lori B and I went to Norfolk, VA for a week in June for work. We attended meetings during the day, but were able to find some tourist-y things in the evening! We had some fantastic seafood and took a cruise on the river. We got a see quite a few naval ships and a couple dry docks! How cool! We took some pictures on the USS Wisconsin. My what big guns you have!

The month of July was pretty quiet. Fourth of July came and went. We hung out with family and friends. This was one of the warmest weekends so far so we got plenty of pool time! The brothers set off some pretty fantastic fireworks and I tried to catch a few pictures.

K and I took a vacation at the end of July. We went to Hilton Head with my sisters. It was HOT and HUMID. We stayed at my parents condo (time share) while they went to Alaska. We hung out on the beach and played golf 3 times. We played Robert Trent Jones at Palmetto Dunes, Arthur Hills at Palmetto Hall, and Oyster Reef in Hilton Head Plantation. We have been going to Hilton Head for about 20+ years, so we tend to take less and less pictures every year. But here is what I have.

View from our condo balcony. This is the Marriot Monarch in Sea Pines Plantation.

Robert Trent Jones at Palmetto Dunes.

Other than that, I have been playing ALOT of golf. What an expensive hobby! I has a golf lesson last week and learned that my putter was too long....so that means I get to buy a new putter! I decided on an Odyssey Lady Divine Rossie. I usually don't like ladies clubs...but this one I liked. I was pretty happy with my putting today.

Finally, here are some pictures from the garden and the pretty flowers! The garden picture is a few weeks old, cuz the sunflower is way past the fence now. We picked our first green peppers this week and I made stuffed peppers for dinner...delish....Thanks LB for the recipe!

Puerto Rico - Day 3

Sunday, 3 May 09


We got up to gorgeous skies and went to the dining room for breakfast. Again, the fruit breakfast was great. Apparently, the Casa Cubuy is known for its fresh fruit breakfasts.


We both took showers and packed our bags as we continued with our Puerto Rican vacation. We decided to hike down to the watefall one more time before we headed out. The water was SOOOOO much clearer and calmer today. L took some time to climb around the rocks. I think she had WAY too much fun. We wished we had more time to hike today because it was such a better day for it. We took some more pictures and headed out.





We drove back down the mountain and were amazed with the crazy drivers. The winding road is barely big enough for our little car and these people were flying around corners. I couldn't wait to get to the bottom. We detoured in Naguabo and stopped at Ralph's (a local grocery store). We wanted to grab some big bottles of water.


We got back on the road and headed for Fajardo to catch the ferry to Vieques. Once we figured out where we needed to park and buy the ferry tickets we decided to go find some lunch. We followed the traffic and found a beach with a restaurant. We ate at Costa Mia Restaurant. We had chicken salads! Fantastic. We sat at the beach for a little while taking in the sun, sand, and water. I believe we were sitting at the Las Croabas Beach, which was very close to the Nature Preserve.


After lunch, we headed back to the ferry docks in Fajardo. We paid for the ferry ($2) and headed to Vieques for 4 nights. We stayed at the Casa LaLanchita Amazing place on the Atlantic! The owner sat us down and went over the best places to go on the island. Two thumbs up here! Here is a picture of the Atlantic from our balcony.





We quickly changed into our suits and went to sit by the pool while the sun was still shining. We went to dinner at the Barefoot Bistro, which was a restaurant in a woman's driveway. Terrific food. After dinner, we took a walk through the main part of the city. We ended the night early with a good book.

Puerto Rico - Day 2

Saturday, 2 May 2009

We both slept well at the Casa Cubuy. Overnight it poured rain (well we are in the Rainforest) and we slept through what we thought we birds....we soon found out that the sounds of the rainforest are cute little coqui's. Coqui's are tree frogs that live in the rainforest. It actually sounds like they are saying CO-QUI.

We ate a fantastic fresh fruit breakfast and then headed up highway 191 for a little walk. The views of the rainforest were beautiful that is until it started raining. We tried to keep going and hung out under some large trees for a little while, but the rain just kept coming harder and faster. We turned around and headed back to the Casa Cubuy to wait out the rain.




Once the rain let up, we waited a couple of hours and headed down to the waterfalls for a hike. Note to self: I am not a rock climber hiker like L. The first part of the hike was a piece of cake. We got to the Cubuy River and the river was flowing pretty steady from all of the rain. After some tricky steps, we managed to cross the river and continue on the hike. We came to a second river, bt the water was rushing a bit too fast for me. L went on ahead and I stayed behind. We saw some beautiful waterfalls and took some amazing pictures.



We stayed at the Casa Cubuy for dinner and met lots of fantastic people. We met a couple from Chicago that we saw throughout our trip. I called them our "chicago island friends." We met a couple traveling from St Marten and a group from San Juan. Most of the people that we met are from the States that are traveling or have relocated to Puerto Rico.

After dinner we played Monopoly for about 4 hours with the couple traveling from St Marten. Ridiculous...but so much fun!

Puerto Rico - Day 1

Friday, 1 May 2009

Travel day: L and I both had super early flights. We were supposed to meet up in Atlanta to catch our flight to San Juan. L's first flight was delayed and she didn't make it to Atlanta in time. She ran (even was losing stuff our of her bag) to get to the flight, but the gate agent had already closed the boarding door. I absentmindedly got on the flight for San Juan thinking she was already on the plane. Yeh, I little more stress than I needed AT 9AM. L wasn't able to get on the flight, but she did catch the next flight to San Juan. I only had to wait about 1 hour. In the mean time, I got my luggage and found that the zipper pulls had been ripped off of my bag. If I opened the zipper, the bag was useless. So, I took it to the Delta agent, and he is looking all over my bag for the zippers.....yeh keep looking....they are gone!! So, after 15 minutes of that, he brought me a brand new bag.

Once Lisa got to San Juan, we rented our sweet Hyundai Elantra and headed east to El Yunque (the Caribbean Rainforest). **Let's just say, Puerto Rico has some crazy drivers** We stopped and picked up some Subway (yeh we didn't look to hard for dinner) and drove up Highway 191 from the south part of the rainforest. We drove for about 20 minutes while our ears popped and stopped for a few pictures. We finally stopped at the Casa Cubuy Ecolodge http://www.casacubuy.com/for our 2 night stay. The Casa Cubuy was a clean, rustic, bed and breakfast type place. Meals are shared with all of the guests at a large dining room table. It was awesome to meet everybody staying at the Casa Cubuy. We checked into our room and ate dinner. We sat and marveled at the view of the rainforest and then decided we were tired and went to bed. Lots of reading and sleeping on this trip!

Here is the view from our room

Angels and Demons

Two thumbs up. We went to see the matinee show today.

First of all, I have to say that I haven't read the book yet and I still haven't seen the DaVinci Code. By the end of the movie, I was ready to plan my next trip to the Vatican.

We found the movie to be very suspenseful, but it didn't seem too long. Even though the story was fiction, there were some truths about the Roman Catholic Church.

Bowling Banquet

On Friday, 15 May, I decided to take the day off of work and participate in our Bowling Banquet....which is a golf outing. I was lucky enough to play with the most fantastic foursome EVER! We laughed, almost cried, and might have had a touch too much to drink. All in all, it was a gorgeous day. I managed to squeak out a 99 and that included one birdie. But once the bloody mary's and capt kicked in....it was all down hill:)

Life in Puerto Rico

What a different, yet similar world. The cars are the same, the fast food is the same, most people speak English, the post office is the same.....but there are so many interesting differences between PR and the states. We have been to the rainforest, the beautiful beaches of Vieques, and now we are in San Juan. I have so many incredible pictures to share....but that will have to be another time:) Hi to everyone in the States....see you soon.

Golf Outing for Leukemia and Lymphoma

Yesterday, my dad and I participated in a golf outing to support Pat Watson, a cancer survivor. Her story is incredible and her family is even more incredible. Pat has been in remission for over 5 years and continues to be thankful for each day. I met Pat yesterday and she was so thankful to us for supporting her golf event. I was impressed that she came to each table to introduce herself! What a special lady!!

The weather could have cooperated a little more. We were called off the course after 6 holes and just barely got into the clubhouse when the rain started.....and it started coming down sideways. The rain cleared out in about 20 minutes and we were able to finish the round. My last drive of the day won me the longest drive for ladies. I walked away with a giant basket of wine, wine glasses, wine rack, stirrers, and food. What a great prize!

A much needed vaca

....is exactly what I need!

I good friend called and asked if I wanted to take a trip. The choices came down to Puerto Rico, Argentina, a cruise.....it was decided that a trip to Puerto Rico would be the best option (so much less paperwork for me). So, tickets have been purchased and we are outta here 1 May. I just need to find someone to get my butt to the airport at 5:00am on a Friday!

Any takers?

Getting Organized

Over the past few months, I have been given the opportunity to participate in several Franklin Covey courses. The courses deal with the different aspects of leadership and how to become an effective leader. The principles learned in the classes can be applied to my professional life, as well as, my personal life. Unfortunately, change is only going to happen when the principles are exercised and used on a daily basis. I have found it very difficult to practice the principles because there just isn't enough hours in the day or I find it hard to facilitate change with others, when they have no idea what I am talking about.

Today, I took a FC course titled "Focus: Achieving Your Highest Priority." The class was fantastic and focused on time management and organizational skills. We were given a FC planner and taught how to use it. I have had planners in the past, but this time, I think (and hope) that the use of the planner will become a habit and help organize my work and my personal life. The class also focused on tasks that are important versus tasks that are urgent. I think we have become an urgency driven society.

So, I vow to use the planner for the next 21 days, until it becomes my newest habit! I just wish it was as easy as watching tv or one of my other horrible habits:)

The doggie

The Birthday has come and gone.....

So, my big day has come and gone. I am very fortunate to have such great family and friends to spend the day with! 30 is rough, but I here 33/34 is worse because then I will really be in my 30s.

On the Friday before my birthday, one of my best friend's sent me the most beautiful arrangement of flowers. We have been sending each other flower's for our birthdays since we graduated from college. The picture was taken on Sunday, 22 March, once the flowers began to open.

Tuesday night we went to dinner at Ocean Prime. Great seafood and an excellent bottle of wine. Before we went to dinner, I got my presents. I was sooooo excited! Yes, I realize it is just a hub cap, but my car looks soooo much better. I also got 2 dozen roses! So beautiful.

All in all, a great week!

Countdown to 30 - Day 3

I missed yesterday because I worked most of the night!! Let's just say that I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

So, here are a couple more pictures from my 20s...

Morning before the "Brew Tour" of 2005....

Hilton Head 2007. Not sure what is happening with the keys....

Countdown to 30 - Day 5

Kari, Holly, and I at the Farasey/Develle Wedding in 2006. Holy Boobs!!

Countdown to 30 - Day 6

Picture from the Zuziak-Bolster Wedding in October 2005.

Countdown to 30 - 7 Days to go

Pic from my 25th Birthday! I love this guy!!

Countdown to 30

The march is on...the inevitable digit flip is coming! I am really not sure how I feel about it. I want to celebrate and hide under a rock at the same time. But to celebrate my last week in my 20s, I thought I would dig up some of my favorite moments!

Eastern Europe Tour (2006)

Taxes.....DONE!

2008 taxes are complete! It only took about 30 minutes!!
My exemptions are higher so, I actually get more $$ throughout the year.

So....it's been awhile

It has been forever since I have visited my own blog! And so much has happened...some good times and a few not so great. But we shall not dwell on those bad moments....but here are a couple of the goodies.

We celebrated the Bf's Birthday at Whirlyball Novi! I still have some of the bruises! My sister came up for the event and we only managed to come back to my apt to sleep. It was a crazy weekend....and Chuck was almost lost.

After Whirlyball, we went to Bar Louie in Novi...of course we were riding in style...and had a few drinks. Here was my drink of choice!

Top Chef

How sweet are these???

New Laptop Bag

So, I have decided that I want a new laptop bag. I like my bookbag for travel but I wanted something a little more girly and fun. But I still need the bad to be functional and keep all of my work stuff organized. I scoured the internet for hours and read many many reviews. I looked at Crumpler bags, Clark and Mayfield, but I ended up with a Kensington K62535US Contour Balance Notebook Case in Onyx. I bought it on Amazon and it was pretty cheap. Here is a picture.

Shopping

What else is there to do on a Sunday afternoon but to hit the mall. I needed to see my girl Estee for more foundation and then I decided to stroll through the shoes and handbags at Macy's. I couldn't find a bag that I had to have or shoes that I could live without. I was bummed!! I headed for the perfume counter and ran across the HARAJUKU LOVERS fragrance counter. I first smelled the Harajuku fragrances in a SELF magazine before Christmas and instantly loved it! I finally picked up G today after months of stopping by the fragrance counter. I absolutely love the packaging.

Autobiography: Payne Stewart

I have been reading an autobiography about Payne Stewart, PGA player that died on 25 October 1999. PS was a great professional golfer but struggled to get to the top. 2009 marks the 10 year anniversary of his death and I am sure that the PGA players still miss Payne. Great Read!

Unfortunate Picture

Yesterday, I needed to have a passport picture taken for my CCW application. The lady taking the picture said that I needed to look down and I couldn't smile. So, I am thinking awesome..I am going to have a couple chins plus I don't know how to take a picture without smiling. So, she snaps the picture and I figure it can't be too horrible, otherwise, the lady probably would have taken it. OHHHH how wrong I was....She hands me the folder with 2 of these babies in it!

Did I mention....AWESOME!!

Tarragon Turkey

Tarragon Turkey and Pasta

Easy Turkey Recipe for the Crockpot. I skipped the pasta tonight because I have had pasta 2 nights this week. I guess I need to plan better!

1.5-2 lbs turkey tenderloin

1/2 cup thinly sliced celery

1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

4 Tbsp fresh tarragon, minced

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1Tbsp fresh minced Italian parsley

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1.5 Tbsp cornstarch

2 Tbsp water

Combine turkey, celery, green onions, 2 tbsps tarragon, wine, salt and pepper in Crockpot. Mix thoroughly. Cover; cook on LOW 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 3.5 to 4 hours or until turkey isn't pink.

Remove the turkey from the Crockpot and cut into 1/2" thick medallions. Turn Crockpot to HIGH. Add the yogurt, remaining tarragon, parsley and lemon juice to the juices in the Crockpot.

In a small bowl combine the cornstarch and water. Add the mixture tot he Crockpot and cook until the juices thicken. Serve turkey and drizzle with tarragon sauce.

Roast Chicken with Peas and Prosciutto

Yum! Tonight's dinner was super easy and tasty. I couldn't find the Prosciutto at the store yesterday and I didn't feel like stopping anywhere else.

This recipe came from the CrockPot cookbook. I love the CrockPot.

1 Whole Roasted Chicken (~2.5 lbs)
Salt and Pepper, to taste
5 oz Prosciutto, diced
1 small white onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup white wine
1 package (10oz) frozen peas
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 & 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp water
4 cups farfalle pasta, cooked al dente

Season chicken with salt and pepper. I tossed the whole roasting chicken in the crockpot. Combine chicken, prosciutto, onion, and wine in crockpot. Cover, cook on High 3.5 to 4 hours or on Low 8-10 hours.

During the last 30 minutes of cooking, add frozen peas and heavy cream to cooking liquid.

Pull the chicken out when done and no pink remains. Carve meat (the meat will probably fall off the bone) and set aside on a warmed plate.

Combine cornstarch and water. Add to cooking liquid in CrockPot. Cover and cook on High for 10-15 minutes or until thickened.

To serve, spoon pasta onto individual plates. Place chicken on pasta and top each portion with sauce.

*** YUM ***

I totally meant to take a picture before I ate, but I guess I was more interested in trying the dish that photographing it!

Pork Chops l'Orange

I tried a new recipe for dinner tonight - Pork Chops l'Orange. Recipe came from my VersaWARE Crockpot recipe book. Easy recipe and quite tasty. Just know that a little sauce goes a long way. I think I overdid it when I served the pork chops.

**Note: I can use my crockpot on the stove. May need to use a pan instead.**

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp EVOO
4-8 pork chops
1/3 cup OJ (I used simply orange)
2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp salt
1 tsp brown sugar, packed
1 tsp orange zest
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup water


Heat EVOO in crockpot on low on the stove, turn to medium after a few minutes. Once the oil is hot, sear each pork chop for 1-2 minutes or until the pork chop is lightly browned and then remove.

Place the OJ, salt, honey, brown sugar, and orange zest into the crockpot. Stir to mix. Add pork chops and turn to coat each side with the sauce. Transfer the crockpot to the heating base unit. Cover and cook on HIGH for 1-2 hours or LOW for 4-5 hours.

Remove pork chops to a warmed plate and transfer the remaining liquid to a small, heavy saucepan. Heat the liquid over medium-high heat until the liquid begins to boil. In a small bowl combine the cornstarch and water. Mix well and add to the orange sauce. Stir the orange sauce to mix together the sauce completely. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

To serve, spoon the orange sauce over the pork chops and serve immediately.

They have finally arrived!

We have been waiting for this day for months....the arrival of our Christmas present from my bf from the Nati!! That's right.....we got our Snuggies......the blanket with sleeves. Not sure how I will use the snuggie, but I will make sure to catch those special moments on camera!

Picture to come!

Would you like to smell my ball?

On Wednesday night, I found myself at Pampa Lanes picking out a new bowling ball. I decided that since I am playing in 2 leagues, I needed to upgrade my 10.5lb plastic ball. It was so light that I was swinging it around my body and I was totally inconsistent! Seriously, though I am not the best bowler so it is probably just me. Anyway, here is what I picked out....a 13lb Teal and Pearl Purple Tropical Storm. I didn't know at the time, but it is scented. I couldn't place the scent....so I looked it up online...Red Currant. I definitely need more practice, but I am loving the new ball!

I like Shoes!

So, winter in Michigan just won't quit....although today it is a balmy 42. However, with the wind it feels like 35. Seriously, that's a heat wave!!

Anyway, I have been looking for snow boots for ever, but the boots that I have found all have suede and I don't want to ruin the suede. And then, I found these......

They are the most comfortable shoe I own.....with the exception of the other crocs that are in my closet. The boots have the typical croc material on the bottom which is so easy to wipe off the salt and the suede upper is super cute. OK maybe not super cute to everyone, but I like them. I like them so much that I bought a second pair in black. They were on sale, so it was totally worth it!

I want these too. But they didn't have my size in black. I will for sure be checking on these.

Total Croc count: 10

Are you ready for some football?

Today is Superbowl Sunday! I have my squares and made the food and now I am ready to relax and watch the commercials! We are heading to a friends house tonight and I thought I would share my superbowl foods!!

First, I made football chocolates; dark and milk chocolate. The milk chocolate candies have malted milk crunchies in them!

Second, I made funfetti cookies. They are so easy and yummy! If I had more time, I would have iced them too. I wish I could make choc chip cookies from a cake mix...such a time saver.

Third, I made a Tuscan Cream Cheese Spread....my personal favorite! It's loaded with sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, garlic, green onions, chives, and parsley!

We are making a seven-layer Tex-Mex dip, but its not done yet! I will have to get before and after pictures of that one.

Snowed out!

Today, I was supposed to travel to Lexington, KY for work. But as I packed this morning I was watching the weather channel. After countless reports on the about the "crippling" snow and ice in the Kentucky area, I was beginning to rethink my travel plans. So, on my 45 minute drive into work this morning, I decided it probably wasn't the best thing to do today. I can honestly say that I was snowed out of KY and I got to stay home! YEH

Movie - Gran Turino

Last night, we went to see Gran Turino! Great flick! Since I am not a car enthusiast, I had no idea Ford even made a Gran Turino! Great Clint Eastwood movie filmed in Detroit.

Curling

Last Thursday, I got to try curling. Yeh, you know sliding heavy stones down a sheet of ice. I participated as a sweeper, but also got to throw some stones. The stone was somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 lbs and it was tricky task to learn to slide on the ice and "curl" the stone. My delivery was getting better as the night went on. I played 2 games and was out on the ice for about 4 hours. My butt was frozen by the end of the second game. I probably walked about 4 mile Thursday night...and tonight I sit here with aching muscles still!! I haven't been this sore since my first time at Pure Barre! It was an awesome experience and something that I hope to do again soon!

Back from the Texas Coast

Wednesday night, I returned to the frigid Michigan winter after a couple of days on Galveston Island, Texas. I went to Galveston for the 2008 Gulf Coast Conference. Yep, that's not a typo...I said 2008 Conference. Hurricane Ike came through Galveston last year and postponed the conference. The island is still recovery from the total devastation of the Hurricane. We took a drive along Seawall Blvd and saw house after house with damaged roofs, missing stairs, and even some washed out roads. Galveston is doing a great job trying to repairing resorts and restaurants that thrive on tourism. I stayed at the Hilton Galveston Island Resort. The hotel was right on the Gulf of Mexico. Here are some pics that I took.