Midweek Confessions

                              

+ Work has been crazy lately with a big accreditation coming up. I have really been feeling it these past few weeks and today my boss surprised me with a gift card and a "don't think everything you have been doing has gone unnoticed". While I love the gift card, the acknowledgement means the most!

+ This is the first week both Tim and I have been home together in three weeks. I must say it has been a little odd having both of us home in the mornings.

+ I made a large purchase earlier this week. I have been eyeing a new area rug for the living room, something larger that will go under the sectional.  I found this guy on Overstock for $100 less than Home Depot.

When they emailed me a 10 % off coupon the next day, I knew it was meant to be. I ended up scoring this 10X 8'6 rug for under $300. It shipped today and I am excited to see what it looks like in the living room.

+ Last night I made Fajita from 100 Days of Real Food. AWESOME and super easy...my favorite kind of meal.

+ I didn't have it in me to cook dinner tonight. I mentioned this to my mom and she delivered a hot plate of chicken cutlets. LOVE that woman!

+ I have been off my exercise game this week. I have consistently been working out 5-6 days per week for the past several months now. This week I have only gone twice so far and the couch is calling my name again tonight. I am not sure where this laziness is coming from...

Vacation Recap

Tim and I left last Monday around 8:30 am for our drive down to Miami. Everything was going well until we entered into the Miami-Dade area then the traffic became horrendous! Luckily, we made it to the ship with plenty of time to spare.

We checked our luggage and I tipped the man well, hoping that my luggage would be one of the first to arrive at our cabin (Seinfeld anyone?). This was our first time cruising with Royal Caribbean. Since we JUST booked the cruise about 10-days ago, we opted for an interior room to save money, another first for this girl! The room was smaller than what I am used to but was comfortable enough for 2 people! As soon as we got to our cabin, we took a Bonine, just to make sure we wouldn't get sick. I then realized I left my camera in the car. Since we were not allowed off the ship, we decided IPhone pictures would have to suffice!

Tim's luggage arrived right away but my bag was no where to be found. Tim and I went up on deck to enjoy the sun and a fruity beverage but frequently came back to the room to see if my bag had made an appearance.

 When no bag showed up by 7pm, I checked with our room attendant who stated all bags had been delivered and sent me to guest services. My bag was located in a locked glass room and I was told I needed to wait for security. Turns out my bag was searched and flagged for "containing a rice cooker". I love rice as much as the next person but I can assure you that I did not feel the needed to bring a rice cooker on a 4-day cruise. When the security officer asked me to open up my bag to she could confirm this, she spotted my travel coffee pot and confiscated it. I love cruises by the coffee is AWFUL! Tim and I have been on numerous cruises and ALWAYS bring a coffee pot and Dunkin Donuts French Vanilla coffee. It was never an issue but apparently this a big NO with Royal Caribbean.

Between the stress of the lost luggage, the motion sickness medication, the fruity drinks and the dark cabin...Tim and I fell asleep at 7:30pm in our regular clothes and did not wake up till 8 am the next morning!

Tuesday we were docked in Nassau, Bahamas. Tim and I had been there before but noted that things were much cleaner then out last trip there in 2007! We shopped, went to the Atlantis Resort and ate at a fabulous little Greek restaurant in the main downtown area. Yes, we ate Greek in the Bahamas. There were Greek restaurants EVERYWHERE. Apparently, a high population of Greeks immigrated to the Bahamas in the early 1900's...who knew? We boarded the ship around 4pm....worked out and relaxed on the main deck.

For some odd reason, we were assigned to 9pm dinner...Who eats that late? Tim and I typically eat around 6pm so this was not feasible for us! We were only able to get into the 7pm dinner one night so we skipped formal dining and opted for the buffets at a more reasonable time.

Wednesday was spent at CocoCay, Royal Carribeans' private island. It was gorgeous but they nickle- and- dimed you for EVERYTHING. We rented a paddle board and a floating beach mat and enjoyed the shallow, crystal blue waters! They ran out of food this day so no lunch for us until we returned to the ship. We both got a little too much sun this day!

That night, Tim tried out the rock climbing wall on board!

Thursday we docked in Key West. This was the best port day in my opinion! I had never been to Key West but there is SO much to do! You can walk/bike to just about anything. I would love to visit the Keys for a vacation! We walked Duval street, shopped, visited all the popular bars for their trademark drinks, and ate at a fabulous little outdoor restaurant, Fogarty's.

Tim at Fat Tuesdays!

We stopped by a little shop called Key West Tea & Spice Trading Company owned by a husband and wife. She gave my a sample of her Organic Sweet Tea and it was easily the best tea I ever had! I bought a glass to walk around with and ultimately had to come back to the store to buy some loose leaf tea to take home. She shared her recipe with me and I am seriously hooked!

Friday we walked off the ship with our luggage around 7:30 am. We were then sent to security to obtain my contraband ( aka: coffee pot). Then headed out of Miami. We made a quick stop by the Miramar Outlets in Naples then headed home to pick up our girls from Grandma's house. It's strange how much we missed them!

Easy Pre- Vacation Dinner

This weekend went by so quickly! It consisted of the gym, laundry, giving the dogs a bath and finishing up some work stuff in preparation for my week off. Tim and I are leaving tomorrow for a 4- night cruise so I didn’t have all the typical “prepare for the week errands”. Meaning, I got to skip the grocery store! Not wanting to overindulge BEFORE the cruise, I wanted to whip up a simple yet healthy dinner at home. I turned to an oldie but a goodie, Vegetable Tortellini Soup. It is SO simple yet so delicious! Not to mention it is one of the husbands' favorites!

Ingredients:

      1   Large can crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce (I use whatever I have on hand)

5 cups stock ( I used my homemade)

2 tbsp olive oil

2 crushed garlic cloves

Green Veggies- 1 zucchini, chopped, a handful of kale, a handful of spinach ( I use whatever is in the veggie bin)

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 tbsp basil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 package fresh whole wheat tortellini

1 tsp oregano

2 Bay leaves

1     1)  Heat the oil. Add all your veggies. Sautee until soft.

2    2)  Add the stock, basil, bay leaf, tomato base. Bring to a boil until blended. Add the tortellini. Bring back to a boil. Reduce heat and let it summer for 5-6 minutes or longer. Add the pepper and salt to taste.

This soup is filling on its own but I decided to made a small batch of Garlic Knots on the side. For an experimental recipe, it turned out delicious! 

 I used a can of mini biscuits I had in the fridge ( A 4 pack is only $1.94 @ Walmart).

I rolled the biscuits out until 3-4 inches in length.

 Roped two of the biscuits together, forming into “knots” tucking the ends under. Repeat with the rest of the biscuits.

 Sprinkle with garlic powder and bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes.

 In the mean time mix, 1/3 cup oil, 3 tbsp fresh grated Romano, 1 tsp each of garlic, oregano and parsley. 

When the knots are done, coat them in the mixture.

Believe me, they taste as good as they look! :) And I was so proud of myself for not taking the easy road and ordering out! 

I am off to finish packing. Here is our itinerary for the week! I am pretty excited, I have never been to the Keys! 

My favorite kind of day

Today was productive both on the work and home front. Due to the crazy weather, my supervisor allowed me to work from home. It's amazing how much more I get done when I work from home without the distractions of the phone and people "popping by" my office.

I took a break around lunch time to go to the gym for 45 minutes. I typically stick to the treadmill, bike, elliptical and sometime use the stair climber up on the cardio deck. Well the last few times I have gone to the gym, I have been eyeing the stair master down by the weights. You know the one that looks like this where the stairs actually move.

Let's just say it KICKED MY BUTT! Even after using a short period of time, it made my heart rate stay up the entire workout. It definitely will be added to the rotation!

Dinner tonight was a Spaghetti  Squash and Chicken Dish. I made a few changes: I skipped the peas and added cut asparagus. I didn't have Sun dried tomatoes so I used fresh roasted tomatoes instead. I used half the chicken broth and sauteed the chicken (raw) as I didn't have any leftover grilled. Then added everything else once the chicken was cooked. I then added 1/4 cup Newman's Own garlic Alfredo sauce. It was AWESOME!

All the laundry is done and put away. Lunch is made. Plans for tonight include the Bachelorette and my favorite summer snack...Cherries!

Why do bad things always come in threes?

It has been quite an eventful week over here, hence the absence in blogging.

It started late last Thursday night when one of our dogs, Lucy, wouldn't bear any weight on her back right foot. Being the overprotective pet owner that I am, we immediately went to the vet with thoughts of IVDD running through my head. They thought she tore her ACL which is around a $1200-$1400 surgery ( Thank God for pet insurance). Two trips to the vet, 4 X-rays and $500 later, the diagnosis was torn/pulled ligament. She is on crate rest and meds for two week which is tough with two other dogs in the house. Thankfully, she seems to be doing OK now!

Tuesday night, I was headed out to a nail appointment. I stepped foot into the garage and noticed a large stream of water. I thought maybe Tim left the door open on the outside fridge but open closer inspection it was clear that it was coming from out water heater. I called my dad to brainstorm a possible diagnosis. He stated that if the water was coming from the bottom, we had problems. Sure enough, that is exactly what happened. The unit had so much sediment in the bottom that we could  not even drain to move it. We had to roll it with all 40 gallons of water in it! Of course this was around 8pm so it was a scramble to get to the store for a new unit. My dad wasn't too pleased to have to help at that hour but of course he came through as always. Two hours and $338 later, we had a new tank and hot water. Turns out my previous water heater was over 20 years old!

Thursday I picked up a client as a favor to one of my staff since I was in that general area. We were driving back to our main office. We were next to a large semi truck and heard this awful noise. We both assumed it was the truck. When we passed the truck and the noise got louder, I realized it was coming from my car. I pulled over and had a flat tire. Luckily, I have three companies that offer me roadside assistance: AAA, State farm and Walker Ford. I just happened to be in a Valvoline parking lot and since I had roadside assistance they quickly popped on my spare, free of charge. My tire looked like Swiss cheese! Apparently, I hit some kind of metal/  debris in the road. I submitted a claim with my warranty and was told it was 50/50 as to if they get approved when it deals with tires. I didn't even make it back to my house before the denied my claim, forcing me to pay $226 for a new tire and alignment.

I am looking forward to putting this week behind me and starting out on fresh ground. Let's hope things are a little less eventful!

Wordless Wednesdays

We have a bunch a beggars on our hands

In their defense, this was our AWESOME dinner!

Electrical Happenings

Back when I listed some of the projects on my 2012 “to do”list, I did not include several electric projects I wished to accomplish. Due to the fact that our house was once a grow house, our electrical panel is a nightmare and the lighting in our house is simply bizarre. Actually, our inspector mentioned this to use before anyone knew the real story behind the house. This weekend we tackled two of said projects.

One of the major lighting issues was in our family room/ office. In the center of the room there is an air vent and the fan is to right side of this. Due to the desks location in the life corner, the fan did not provide enough light when working at the computer. So we purchase lamps for the end tables…still not enough light! So after speaking to my father, we decided the best solution was to add a second fan to the left side of the center air vent. We have a similar set-up in our living room and love having the two fans.  Now because there was no electrical in this location we had to run some new wires up in the attic. My husband has had to crawl around up there before (it is very pitched with little crawl space) and was simply despising this part of the project. We again used 14-3 wire and ran the electrical over from the existing fan.

We had plans to use a pancake to install the second fan directly into a stud. However, doing so made the fan off center with the existing fan. So back to Lowe’s we went to purchase a Ceiling Brace and Box kit. This allowed us to secure the fan where we wanted it, between two existing joists.

We installed two double switches, allowing us to control both fans separately and also to turn on the lights/ fan separately without having to use the pull strings on the fan itself.

We have the same fan in every room of our house, a HunterRidgefield. We have had NO complaints and the color is very similar to our wood floors. While it might not look like much aesthetically, the difference in light is AMAZING. We only need to use the new light to provide enough “work light”.

The other lighting project is very aesthetically pleasing in my book, albeit a bit simple. We finally got around to installing our new light fixture in the dining room. We had guests over for lunch last week and we became increasingly aware of how much heat that ugly old light was throwing off, even with CFL bulbs! So that was motivation enough to hang the new light. I am officially OBSESSED with it!

 It looks so much better than I was expecting. It uses two less lights and gives off a warm ambiance.  Can you spot the rug under the table? I used some birthday money to purchase the rug I mentioned in my dining room post, so my “mini makeover” is well underway!