Handsome Devil

Look who got his first haircut at Easter while he was visiting Grandma and Grandpa ... what a heartbreaker!

Weekend in Charlotte is looking up and up --

• Celebrating Kevin and Stacy's first anniversary this evening with drinks on the porch
• Pool time tomorrow (yay to my 3 new swim suits that finally arrived) followed by grilling [somewhere, TBD]
• Sirloin Steaks are on sale at Bloom, FYI. I picked up 6 big ones yesterday - Yum!
• Prep for Wednesday vacation to Florida to see the Frank Family and Emily and Odis get married :)

Hawaiian Style

Great run yesterday and I have to say ... this barefoot girl might be thinking of shoes thanks to my bud/crazy TAC instructor, Tim. Checked out the Newton's last night at CRC with Dana (who wears them) and was initially a big fan. Since they have a steep price tag, it's going to take a couple more fittings to really sell me on them, but, they would be a nice "break for my feet," especially in the summer months when it's Africa hot on the pavement.

Leftover Easter Ham was delicious on a salad last night and much deserved after a solid 7miles. Tugs is down to a mile a day with the imposing heat. She's also sleeping on the floor at night too (#WINNING). Hello Summer!

Hawaiian Salad

• Lettuce -- Romain or Spinach
• Cucumber
• Jalapeno (I put this on everything I make)
• Israeli Couscous [from Trader Joes]
• Ham (cold and cubed)
• Pineapple
• 1 Tbsp of Light Ranch
• Mozzarella

Simply pile on the ingredients in the portions you like (I like extra pineapple :P)

A big thanks to Jules and helping me pick out some new swimsuits ... which partially arrived last night. I love all three, but this one was at the top of Eric's list -- Miraculous Halter in Smoking Grey.

Em's wedding and our vacay down to FL can't come soon enough!

Holy Lettuce, Easter Bunny!

Fantastic weekend here in the Carolinas. Saturday morning was a lot of fun running the one-miler with Huff and Eric.  Kev brought Sailor from the house too so she was there supporting as I was finishing [and very jealous she wasn't running]. Later that day we spent the lazy afternoon at the ranch watching hockey followed by the first time at Pinky's and the Amos concert. New Love: Firefly Skinny Tea with Crystal Light Lemonade (72 calories per 1.5oz).

The garden is in full swing. We have a ton of lettuce that is the best I've ever tasted -- glad Eric spent extra time tilling/testing the dirt this year. Yum and Yum. 

Easter Sunday was great too -- I got to spend the whole day in the kitchen cooking in peace with Sailor lounging around sleeping [after her big-day out Saturday]. We had quite a feast and an excellent group for dinner. Thank you Molls for the cute treat bags and Eric for my lovely daffodils.

Easter Dinner

Ham with Raspberry-esk Glaze and Pineapple

Mashed Squashtatoes

Green Beans with Momma Frank's Bacon Topping

Shells and Cheese ala Molly

Almquist Deviled Eggs

Homemade Chocolate Cake (from scratch ..thanks Mom for the Easter recipes!)



Mashed Squashtatoes

• 1 Cup Chicken Broth
• 2 tbsp Garlic
• 2.5 lbs of Potatoes
• 2.5 lbs of Squash
• 8 oz Low-fat Sour Cream
• 8oz Shredded Cheese (pick what you like)
• 1/4 cup milk
• Butter to taste
• Pepper to taste

Start by boiling a large pot of water withe the broth and garlic. Cut up the potatoes and squash into smaller pieces -- toss into pot once at a rolling boil. Boil for ~15min. Drain and throw into Mixer (I used my kitchenaid) and add Sour Cream and Cheese (can also use Cream Cheese, I just didn't have any on hand). Once properly mashed, toss in a croc pot on low. About an hour from dinner, add the milk, pepper, butter, and anything else you'd like for taste. I had mine simmering for ~3hours while the ham was cooking.

Countdown to Mr. and Mrs. Glover

Can't wait to see you tie the knot May 7, 2011!

This weekend:

• Sign up for the one-mile race Friday @ Icehouse
• Run one-mile race Saturday Morning
• BBQ @ Eric's Saturday day
• There will be hockey on ... and booze
• AMOS LEE - Sat night with Wen/Brad

I Know What You Did - WALTER!

I know you stepped on my flowers, Mr.! They better be alive and kicking when I see them next ....

Great weekend consisting of eating lettuce from the garden on Saturday night with our Stuffed Peppers for dinner followed by a game of Scrabble (don't mock it, Scrabble is a lot of fun).  5.5mile run with tugboat on Sunday where she only tugged a bit -- getting better with age i suppose .. or the longer runs!  Rounded out nicely with dinner at Copper after the boys had a day of golfing.

This Week:

• Friday - register for the One-Mile run at Icehouse
• Saturday - One-Mile run uptown at 730am
• Saturday - dinner at Pinky's with Wen/Brad then off to Amos Lee!
• Sunday - Easter Mass followed by a yummy ham for dinner :)

Committed

Committed to 2-a-days. TAC followed by a track workout -- here comes bathing suit season and Ms. Emily Pieri's wedding! May can't get here soon enough.

Excellent time at Brixx last night with the Wed Run crowd. We definitely started to feel summer approach yesterday...even tugs was exhausted (so rare) at the end.

Looking forward to Golf all weekend ... for those that read this ... still hunting down where to play on Sunday. I'll send you guys an email with details.

One more day to the weekend...

Cheers to the Weekend

Other than getting shouldered in the nose in 1v1 basketball with Eric, the weekend was excellent. Started off with a great crowd at Mac's celebrating Tudor's closing followed by Jack's with everyone + FL girlfriends.

The garden is looking phenomenal [and my flowers are quickly growing around the border] with the lettuce a week or less away from picking and the carrots sprouting. The squash/spinach/cucumbers have been transplanted to the actual garden too - busy Saturday.

Made some yummy food/drinks this weekend in honor of the Masters.  Here's a new one for the summer:

White Sangria

• Bottle Dry White Wine
• 3/4 Cup Peach Vodka
• 4 tbsp Frozen Lemonade Concentrate
• 2 Peaches sliced
• Grapes as desired
• Optional - 1/8 Cup Sugar (I added this and it was too sweet for me)

Who wants to golf this weekend?

Congratulations Tudor!

What a year 2011 has been -- Tudor is closing on his first home on Friday!

We will be at Mac's officially at 6pm for dinner and drinks to celebrate - Please join if you can! Note: I would like to get there in time for happy hour (4-6pm), if anyone else can make it then. Weather is looking great for Friday, will be nice to sit outside :)

Eric made a yummy dinner last night when Bloom was out of Mahi like I had planned. He sauteed peppers, tomato, sausage (I had chicken), jalapenos, and pineapple for 20min and then put it over rice (I put mine over lettuce with cucumbers and a bit of rice). D e l i c i o u s.

My 20x30 print finally came in the mail as well -- pictures to come. Shocking .. it's a sailboat photo I took at 2010 Cooper River.

FYI: Walter let me know about music next weekend at the Whitewater Center which sounds like a blast, more to come.


...I had Amos Lee going this morning in prep for his concert this month, whoa who!

Thankful

I am thankful I take the train and am not sitting on the highway like everyone on my new team -- what an awful night of storms.

Slow week - Tugs was a little under the weather after our nightly 5K yesterday. She's more of a high of 70 fan than 80 deg at 5pm. First "official" day with my new team was yesterday, and it was fantastic. Tonight I was strong armed into drinks with my old team as a "farewell." There goes yoga.. sigh.

Friday there are plans in the making to celebrate Tudor closing on his house -- YAY! I'll post more details later this week, thinking Revolution in NoDa.