Kicks

For Christmas, my awesome friends pooled together to get me a Nike gift card, so that I could get new running shoes.  My dad had already got me my new pair of Brooks just before Christmas, so I took this opportunity to get shoes that I can wear to dance in. I’d been eyeing some of the Nike shoes for a while now, but hadn’t taken the plunge because I never had the money, and since I was only planning on wearing them for dancing it seemed a big investment.  Thanks to my friends, I turned this adorable gift card into this:

 

Fun, colorful socks, and

Fun, colorful shoes!

They are SUPER lightweight and obviously bright and cheery.  I don’t think I could actually run in them as they’re part of the Nike barefoot running collection and I’m not sure I’d get enough support, but they should be perfect for hanging out and dancing.

My friends are the best.

A Wedding in Nevada

On Saturday, our friends Nick and Tiffany got married in Henderson, Nevada.  It was a beautiful wedding, and a great weekend.

The wedding itself was at the Loews Lake Las Vegas, but we stayed in the other hotel in the resort area, The Aston Montelago.  Originally we were going to have five people in our room so we went with a two bedroom condo (which was totally affordable! and awesome)  It ended up being just three of us though.

Our condo suite had a full kitchen with a dishwasher and a washer/dryer! I wish I’d known. I would have packed food to bring with us!

There was even a blender!

Friday evening we had dinner at the Auld Dubliner, the Irish pub in the village attached to our resort. I tried to take pictures but it was too dark.  I had two pints of Killkenny Irish Red and grilled chicken Boxty for dinner.  It was excellent. Even more people joined us at the pub, and then we headed back to our hotel room.  We ended up staying up until 3am which was WAY later than I intended.  I had planned on getting up earlyish to do a run on the treadmill in the hotel gym.  I woke up at 7:30, and realized two things.  One, I was still tired, and two, we had no food in the suite and running slightly hungover on an empty stomach did not seem like the best plan.  We all slept in until around 10am then Travis went into Las Vegas proper with a friend to gamble, and Kate and I got breakfast, hung out with part of the wedding party and our friends at the Loews pool, then got our hair done.

Here we are at the cocktail hour!

The food was good! I had the sea bass, Travis had the steak and we shared a bit. The cake was also really good. There was a lemony cake and vanilla icing and orange with chocolate filling.

How adorable are they?! Seriously, so sweet.  There was also an ice luge, lots of booze, lots of dancing. After the reception some of us went back to the Loews and hung out until close to 3am again.  Waking up Sunday morning was rough to say the least.  I am too old to drink as much red wine as I did last night, and stay up until 3am two nights in a row.  You know what, though? I don’t even care, it was so much fun.

Congrats to Nick and Tiff, you two crazy kids are amazing. <3

 

Day Time TV

''I Love Lucy

Image via Wikipedia

While I was home sick today, I watched I Love Lucy, Oprah (where Martha Stewart attempted to teach me how to fold a fitted sheet,) Friends, Gilmore Girls, and now, I am watching Back to the Future which seems to be on TV all the damn time now.

I’m feeling better, but my ear is still bothering me a bit, and my throat is sore.  Going to have to power through and get back to work tomorrow.   I definitely needed the staying in bed all day for the past two days, which is annoying because I hate being sick.   It was nice to spend the day with my kittehs though.

Travis got some more parts for his Camero yesterday, Little Bits, of course, needed to inspect the boxes.

I haven’t been writing about food since all I’ve been eating is a loaf of french bread and some Progresso Chicken with Wild Rice soup.  The good news is that the weather here is kind of gross, so it’s great soup weather.

I was having a hard time staying focused enough to participate in the #fitblog discussion but I’ve been ruminating about the Marie Claire article in the past few days, and I really think what this whole thing comes down to is that our entire culture is “skinny at any cost” obsessed.  I think that is pretty obvious when you consider that magazines offer in the same issue, an article confronting weather food bloggers trigger ED, as well as “how to lose 10 pounds in X days.”  It isn’t just the articles that are upsetting though, the advertisments found even in health and fitness based magazines, for slim quick, and other weight loss pills send more than just a mixed message.  Until, as a society, we value health as beauty, we are always going to be having the same discussions, and there will always be a bit of the pot calling the kettle black. Several people have mentioned that bloggers have a responsibility, and I agree, but I also agree that readers do as well.  We as consumers need to make our own decisions.

Finally, and this will be the last time I talk about this article, I promise, the best way to send a message to magazines is to stop voting for them with your dollars. Stop purchasing the magazines you don’t like, or don’t believe send a good message.

Ok, stepping off my little soap box now, and going to lay down on the couch while I watch Marty McFly ensure his existence.

Get Up and Go, Go, Go

This weekend was insanely busy. There was hardly time to sleep, let alone sit down to blog. I apologize for going missing, but expect an update from me after work this evening! :)

Margaritas!

I can’t remember the last time I had a margarita, seriously.  It’s been maybe, a year? Sad times.  So, when we decided to celebrate a friend being in town from Austin at Hacienda, I got excited.

We used to come here most Fridays (before karaoke) for pre-game dinner and margaritas.  The margaritas here are STRONG.  They do not mess around. I only had one and a half tonight for that very reason.

I ended up ordering two chicken soft tacos a la carte for dinner, because I knew I didn’t want a huge greasy plate of food, and I figured that would be safest.  They did not disappoint.

I didn’t take a picture once the wrappers were off the tacos because I was too busy stuffing tacos into my mouth.  They were tasty :)   It was also really nice to hang out with friends.  It had been too long since I’d seen some of the people there tonight.  I need to start making a better effort at being social.  I tend to get really anti-social and super homebody when I’m trying to save money, but it doesn’t need to be that way.

After dinner, a few of us went to Yogurt-land.

Strawberry and Vanilla yogurt with strawberries, mangoes, almonds and chocolate caramels.  I swear since I started eating fro-yo I’m eating way more fruit. :) It’s even inspired me to get more fruit at the grocery store today.

I got all my shopping done at Trader Joe’s this afternoon, everything on my list for almost two weeks of meals, plus some extras for $78.  The only item I couldn’t find at Trader Joe’s was zucchini, so I just got squash instead.  I was kind of bummed because I prefer zucchini to squash but it’ll be fine.

Well, it is way past my bedtime, so I’m off!

Spread Happiness

One of my favorite blogs is Caitlin’s Healthy Tipping Point. I enjoy her blog for a lot of reasons, but especially because of her ongoing message of joy and self love.  Next week, Cailtin’s first book, Operation Beautiful launches.  Operation Beautiful is an amazing way for each and every person to get involved in changing the lives of others.  Just by leaving a kind, positive note in a public place, you could be brightening the day, and life of another woman or girl.  I may be newer to Caitlin’s blog, but I couldn’t help but get excited when I saw not only a giveaway on Shape.com  but also a blog post all about Caitlin and her new book written by Jenna Autuori.  I just wanted to share with all of you so in case you hadn’t already discovered Caitlin, you could do so now!

I am a big fan of positive and supportive people, especially in the blog world.  Something I’ve learned from years of competitive dance is that  even when your goal is 1st place, it’s always more important to have fun and make friends. :) I’m not sure that blogging is so much about “1st place” but I do know that the internet in general is a whole lot more fun when you can share yourself and your friends with others.

On to lunch:

Leftover Chicken and Veggie Stir-Fry with brown rice.  I swear this was way more appetizing than it looks.  I think I ate too much though because I’m now feeling sleepy.

Questions:  What bloggers inspire you?

Best Friday Night Plans Ever

 

omg HSM3

omg HSM3

In Memory

The Charge of the Light Brigade
Alfred, Lord Tennyson

1.

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!
“Charge for the guns!” he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

2.

“Forward, the Light Brigade!”
Was there a man dismay’d?
Not tho’ the soldier knew
Someone had blunder’d:
Their’s not to make reply,
Their’s not to reason why,
Their’s but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

3.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley’d and thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.

4.

Flash’d all their sabres bare,
Flash’d as they turn’d in air,
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder’d:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro’ the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel’d from the sabre stroke
Shatter’d and sunder’d.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

5.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley’d and thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro’ the jaws of Death
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

6.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honor the charge they made,
Honor the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred.

Marty, you are already missed by so many. You are always in my heart.

Paprikas!

When I was in high school, my friend Marisa’s dad would make this dish whenever I came over because after the first time I tried it at their house, I was hooked.  Marisa was kind enough to have her father write out the recipe and sent it to me before he passed away so that I too could continue to enjoy the deliciousness at home.  This dish always reminds me of the power of food, how it combines all of our senses to create one beautiful experience. 

This is probably one of the only recipies that I feel super confident in making, as I am not an artist in the kitchen.  I am proficient at following a recipie (ie. I take good direction,) but lack the confidence that some people, like T, have. 

So, I now share with you, a tried and true favorite of mine, Paprikas!

 

Ingredients:

1 cut up chicken (or four whole legs)

(You can also use chicken breast steaks or tenders cut into pieces.  In a pinch I’ve used the pre-cooked chicken as well)

4 tbs. vegetable oil
1cup onion (1 med. brown) finely chopped
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
small 8oz sour cream
2 cans chicken broth
1 tbs paprika (Pride of Szeged sweet paprika)
salt and pepper
optional: add chipped green pepper

Instructions:

Brown chicken and remove
Saute onion and garlic
add paprika (off heat)
add chicken to onion mixture
add broth
cook covered for 30-40 mins till chicken is cooked throughly
remove chicken
add tbs. of flour and sour cream – blend
cook down a little
add chicken again
cover 15 mins.

Rice:

Uncle Ben’s
cook rice according to package subbing chicken broth for water.
2 cups broth/ 1 cup rice

Cover at low heat 20 mins until done

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