Category: Uncategorized

So I was just sitting on the couch thinking about my to-do list for the weekend and thought I’d share/write it down in an attempt to have some sort of accountability for actually getting these things done.

1) Take my bike in for a tune-up. It’s been sitting outside all winter and started making a weird noise at the end of last summer so a tune-up is a must. The snow is melting and I’m ready to hop on my bike! Goodbye car and outrageous gas prices! Hello more money in my wallet, shapely legs and the wind in my hair as I cruise around. (Don’t pretend that doesn’t make you want to hop on your bike as well!)

2) Go see The Hunger Games. In a previous post I discussed my love of the book and the movie is out to rave reviews. And while we all know that the book is almost always better than the movie version, sometimes it’s just so fun to see it on the big screen. And I can’t wait to join the masses of screaming teenagers that’ll be flooding the theaters.

3) Clean and laundry. This always seems to appear somewhere on the weekend agenda. But lately I’ve been coming home on Friday afternoons (it’s a short day at work) and doing the majority of it. I used to designate Sunday as my cleaning/get organized/do laundry day but that’s no fun. That’s half the weekend spent doing chores. I’ve found that I’m already in productivity mode from work when I come home so it makes sense to keep going and get it done! Also it’s a bit hard for me to relax unless the house is clean and organized (wonder where I got that awesome trait from…??) so it works out. The trick is keeping it clean throughout the weekend…

4) Rest. Not normally something I’d have to focus on doing (I’m a big fan of sleeping) but I have a throat tickle that I want to eradicate before it turns into the never-ending sickness that I experienced in January. So while I want to fill the weekend with non-stop fun I’m going to be forced to take it easy. Darn.

5) Watch the Mad Men Season 5 Premiere on Sunday night. When Micah and I started watching this show we quickly realized that the characters always seemed to have drinks and so should we. We’re quick learners. So Sunday nights took on a whole new element of fun spent watching Mad Men and drinking Martinis. In case you were wondering my favorite is a dirty martini with blue cheese stuffed olives.

K 5 seems like a good place to start. It’s important to leave room for spontaneity throughout the weekend. Who knows what might happen…:)

What are your plans for the weekend?

Dear Spring-

I’m impressed. I asked you to bring it and you brought it. Sunshine that is. Now if you could please take the Winter chill out of the air that would be great. I’ll let you know if I think of anything else.

Love,

Lauren

Dear Spring-

Did you not get the memo that you were expected here two days ago? Because this–the scene I woke-up to this morning–

is not Spring!!! No, it positively screams Winter. Awesome. Are you seriously going to let Winter spill over into your season? Stop dilly-dallying, get here, open a can of whoopass sunshine and show Winter whose the boss! I know that you are more of a love, flowers and butterflies sort of season but I believe in you. You have the power. Everyone knows that sunshine melts snow. So bring it. I’ll be waiting.

Love,

Lauren

I’ve already illustrated my craftiness and creativity with paper bags and tissue paper. It’s time to show ya’ll what I can put together in the kitchen. Check out this beauty:

This creation came about on taco night (we typically end-up having tacos about once a week since it’s one of the few meals I have truly mastered) when I discovered that we only had two flour taco shells left and there was no way I was going back to the store just for that (I guess I’ve mostly mastered tacos…sometimes I forget an ingredient or two).

It was time to get creative, to scour the pantry and fridge and to figure out an alternative. I found corn tortillas which I assumed were interchangeable with the flour tortillas. I figured I’d nuke them in the microwave and make mini-tacos. How cute!!

Micah heard my plan and intervened. Apparently corn tortillas don’t hold-up so well in the microwave and are much better fried.  He suggested that I layer the taco night ingredients (beefy taco meat, sour cream, red taco sauce, tomato, lettuce, and shredded cheddar cheese) in between the crispy goodness.

When I went to eat it, I quickly realized that trying to be dainty and cut it with a knife and fork was not going to work. This was a pick-it-up and eat it like a sandwich kind of dish. So that’s what I did. And discovered that it was more of a tostado sandwich than a taco hybrid. It was messy and cheesy and crispy and amazing. I enjoyed every bite. So next time you find yourself in the midst of dinner preparations and find you’re short an ingredient, don’t worry! It’ll be ok. No need to run to the store–get creative with what you do have. I can’t wait to hear about it!

So Friday night I was all prepared for a night-in with the “Real Housewives” (Micah was out of town on a fishing trip leaving me to my own devices) when my friends convinced my to go to a party with them. Since they were offering to pick me up and to run me by the store to get a tasty beverage, I decide to get out there and live a little. We went to Safeway and I grabbed a jumbo bottle of red wine for us to share. When I went through the checkout line I requested paper since the week before I’d had a bottle of wine bust through a plastic bag and roll down the parking lot as I was headed to my car. Luckily, the wine bottle didn’t shatter, but I wasn’t taking any chances.

Of course, I had to use the restroom on my way out so I took my paper bag of wine in with me and sat it on the floor. I started my business and mid-stream was horrified to see red wine start seeping out of the bag and all over the floor.  Oh shoot. Did I just jinx myself or what? Just as I was picking the bag up and trying to figure out what the heck happened, the bathroom door opened and an employee walked in. Seeing my guilty expression she blurted out, “I’m just trying to pee!”. “That’s what I was trying to do too!” I exclaimed.

She ran for a mop (and probably to report to her manager that there was a crazy lady in the bathroom guzzling red wine from a paper bag) while I threw the bag and ruined wine into the trash. Not knowing what else to do I made sure the bathroom clean-up was under way (no, they really did not want my help) and headed out into the store for another bottle. I decided that I should probably buy a different brand just to be safe. This time I declined the bag and bathroom break to head straight for the car clutching the bottle of wine tightly to my chest to prevent any mishaps. All the while shaking my head and wondering, “Who does this happen to????!!” So random.

This card (and the one from Monday) come from one of my favorite sites ever, someecards.. This is the perfect site to browse a hilarious array of greeting cards. Take me to a store for a greeting card and we might be there for hours. Seriously. I will read EVERY SINGLE ONE to find the perfect card. With someecards I can browse from the comfort of my couch. And the cards are waayyy more amusing than the ones at the store and never seem to convey quite the right message.

Another thing I love about the site is that you can make your own cards FO FREE! I just made the one above in like two seconds. Nothing crazy or super witty, but it gets the message across just fine. Pick a theme, image, background color, type your text and you are good to go. Amazing.  There is even a section to browse all the user created cards. I find myself frequently checking this for hidden gems. Only problem is that I start to get ecard envy as I bemoan the fact that I’ll never be as witty as User 5515 whose ecards put my creations to shame. Oh well. Can’t be good at everything.

I absolutely love this candy. It’s not the first candy to combine peanut butter and chocolate–seriously a match made in Heaven–but for some reason it is the BEST. I don’t know if it’s because it’s shaped like an egg (so fun for Easter) and comes in a pretty package or what but it just tastes better. And while I love this treat and choc/PB is my all time fav marriage, I kind of forget about it until Easter rolls around again. And then one day I’m watching tv or browsing at the grocery store and I see the yellow packaging and fall in love all over again. Bliss.

And even more blissful is the Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg and red wine combo. A pretty balanced meal all things considering. You get protein from the peanut butter, resveratrol from the red wine (some antioxidant that’s supposed to be good for your heart…honestly I’ve known for ages that wine was good for something) and a sugar high from the chocolate. Perfection.

What’s your favorite Easter candy/alcohol combo?

And if you aren’t I don’t want to hear about it.

My first, and last, yoga class until Friday was a few years ago at an athletic club in Jackson, WY. I should note that it was also my first time in an athletic club. It was a big day for me. A lot of my friends were members of this club and I had a free trial so I had nothing to lose.

My first impression was that it was a strange place full of sweaty people huffing and grunting as they battled machines that resembled medieval torture devices. I finally spotted a machine that looked familiar. Aha! A treadmill. I’d been on one of those before. Granted it was when I was about 10 and my friend and I would take turns sitting on a pillow while the other turned the treadmill on full speed to shoot the pillow riding person across the room. I remembered that as being pretty fun so I thought the treadmill was a pretty safe bet for me to try.

I got on, pushed a button and started moving at a brisk walk. Easy peasy but a bit boring. Then I noticed the row of tv’s lining the wall in front of me. Ohhhh, perfect. It was a bit awkward to watch as I had to tilt my head up to see the screen. This motion, combined with my attempts to read the closed captioning scrolling across the screen, diverted my focus from what my feet were doing and before I knew it I’d lost my balance and was sprawled on the floor. I decided that riding on the treadmill was much more fun than exercising on it.

A quick survey of the gym lead me to the conclusion that I had absolutely no idea what to do with any of the other equipment and as I had no desire to further my humiliation it was time to go. I was just bolting out the door when I ran into two friends on their way in for a yoga class. Before I knew it, I was back inside and in my first yoga class. I’d heard all about yoga, but never thought it really fit my personality. I don’t exactly radiate zen. After the rat race of the gym though, it sounded perfectly delightful. In fact, the more I thought about it the more I liked the idea of an hour spent in serenity and reflective meditation.

Then the instructor, a fifty-something hippie dude, launched into an hour and a half lecture about how we should be living our lives (no television, no meat, no booze) while leading us through a series of body contortions that I’m pretty sure my body was not built to do. So much for my hour of zen. If that was yoga, I wanted nothing to do with it.

And I stuck to my guns until this Friday when I attended a class called Yin Yoga; a type of yoga focused on maintaining poses, controlling breathing and slowing down your mind. I’ll admit I was a bit skeptical about spending an hour stretching and taking deep breaths with a bunch of random strangers. I’d even heard that all that stretching could lead to wayward farts. And at first it was a bit weird. I’m not flexible or graceful so I felt like an elephant in a room of yoga goddesses. The instructor encouraged us to relax but how was I supposed to do that when I was simultaneously sucking-in my muffin top, worrying that I might fart and trying not to fall over? Gradually it became too hard to focus on measured breathing, holding the poses AND judging myself so I just let go and went with it. In fact, by the end of the class I was drifting off on a pleasant daydream. My worries were gone and I was one with the world. Clouds wafted across a blue sky and waves crashed on the beach. I floated in a….Wait.

The reverie faded and was replaced by the sound of snores. Was that coming from me?? Nope. It was coming from the yoga goddess to my left (who’s the elephant now!). I stifled a laugh and felt a wave of triumph–I’d managed to complete the class without seriously embarrassing myself AND accomplished the class mission of becoming relaxed through breathing and stretching. Miracles do happen.

Mom, I’m dedicating this post to you as you’ve worked hard to instill the importance of a healthy breakfast in me. I’m sure my desire to eat pie every morning for breakfast while home for the holidays is still fresh in your mind. You won that battle, but I’m sure there are some lingering doubts in your mind that I’m some sort of pie-eating monster while away from your guidance. So I thought I’d share my new favorite breakfast to ease your mind. Really it revolves around the Greek yogurt and the fact that I have gallons of it courtesy of Costco. Maybe it’s an acquired taste but I think plain Greek yogurt tastes like mushed-up cardboard. Luckily with granola, fresh fruit (I chose strawberries because they were on sale) and honey it tastes yummy. Kinda like a mushed-up pie.