Hiatus Complete

Was a nice little break from the blog and the overall internet. Have completed/started a ton in the last couple of weeks. The garden is in full swing and producing some yummy cucumbers already. The green and banana peppers as well as tomatoes are green and fresh. We installed a drip hose too - helps conserve water and waters directly on the plants. Another great Eric idea.

The second end table is complete [finally]. Also the cute chalkboard for my kitchen is in the final stages -- pictures to come! I'm making all the use I can out of the scraps at the Ranch :) Not to forget the great help from Momma Frank - my first dress is complete too! A rather simple project with her sage help via Skype on a Saturday. 9 Billion awesome points to my mom.

This weekend is jam packed with a visit from my best best friend, an engagement party for Brad and Wen, and boating on Lake Norman with a gaggle of friends.

The How-To Post

End table 1 is complete! Thanks to a nice trade from Wen to Molls to me ... I inherited 2 end tables and have been pondering what to do with them. 

Steps:

1. Sand everything - I used a small electric sander on most of it and got the small spaces with paper.
2. Wipe off the excess dust/debris with a wet rag.
3. Paint twice - I used standard wall paint (look fimilar? It's the color of the kitchen at the ranch!). Make sure to wait for it to dry before the second coat.
4. Distress with course sandpaper - I used the sandpaper E had sitting around the garage that were for his "power sander." I went over the outside of the top, the outside of the drawer area, and the legs with the sandpaper flat and sporadically used the edges for more distinct marks.
5. Seal twice - Make sure to let the first coat completely dry before putting the second on.

Front area at the Ranch. We put the extra peppers and tomatoes we had into big pots (on sale at Lowes) and keep them next to the rain barrel. The gardenias in the back right corner I trimmed back 2 weekends ago and are in bloom now (and smell great!).

 Close up of Eric's peach tree.

 Le Garden - Blooming Wonderfully! Another 3-4 weeks and we'll have more than the best lettuce ever.

Reason to Run

Had another great start to the day with Sailor and our morning 5K. She was sitting at attention when I walked out of the bathroom this morning, waiting to go. 64 degrees this morning will sure beat 92 this afternoon! Hitting yoga at lunch today to get everything out of the way before date night.

Looking forward to a nice calm weekend of catching up and relaxing with Eric and Sailor. My awesome mom also sent me my very own sewing machine [and a bunch of supplies with it!], so I'm excited to start practicing :)

I can't wait to see the garden this weekend too and how my newly planted lilies and lipstick flowers are doing at the ranch house.

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.

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 :)

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?

O U C H

Tough loss last night for FL yesterday and very sore legs today from my first [awesome] Bikram class at Yoga Oasis.

Great News - Jalepenos have sprouted at casa de emily! Lilies might bloom soon too. Eric and I spent friday night transplanting the cucumbers and tomatoes to the "big boy" pots. The 2 days of rain we've had should help the garden a ton (and the rain barrel). I'm VERY excited to hear how much Walt harvested with his homemade gutters :)

It's going to be a busy week with the Clothing exchange tonight at Molls' house and leaving for Cooper on Thursday.

Off to get a run in before the rain starts again...

Happy Times

Gardening, Spring 2011

Celebrate

Brad and Wen are engaged! It's turning out to be the year for weddings with Emily and Odis in May and Brad and Kacey sometime late this year [or next]. Couldn't be more thrilled at the news :)!

..they also had an excellent BBQ last night at their adorable home last night.

Eric/Huff/Tudor/Kev and crew had amazing runs Saturday (1/2 Marathon). Big thanks to Stacy putting up with monster puppy (aka the #1 Barking Fan) and I traipsing around town cheering everyone on. Sails pushed up her milage to 7.5 on Saturday - very proud of her! She got more "HI SAILOR" calls than Stac or I did ... humph. Guess she's a celebrapuppy. Shout out to Kev for his 1:27 PR ... way to go ... you're a mere blurr on my camera.

Eric and I got a LOT done on the garden (pictures to come). Carrots, Broccoli, Spinach, and Lettuce are in the ground. Tomato's (3 varieties), Peppers (Sweet, Banana, and Hot), Cucumbers, and Squash are all germinating now as well. E won the battle with neighbor-Mike's tiller and got the compost/10-10-10/soil mixed in with the [awful] Carolina clay. I have a new appreciation for the dirt I grew up playing in.

Itching to get to the weekend and have another fun filled time @ Mike and Sarah's.

Beer Mile prizes for Thursday have been acquired as well as some fab volunteers.
And...thanks to Molls, I have 5 yoga sessions at The Yoga Oasis to use --- feeling very lucky and more open a. Thanks for the sweet/thoughtful/awesome gift, Molls!

Blurry Growth

Thanks for the genetics, Mom and Dad. Eyes got worse this year, but it meant a cute new pair of Kate Spade spectacles (Spectrum Eyecare uptown is supurb).

What a weekend - Friday was a late OT Devils win (watched at Ed's ... thankfully they have the NHL package) followed by a fun jaunt to NoDa with Tud/Molls (Dolce Vita, adorable and had live music). Saturday I finally got the shop vac I have been eyeing since Christmas (chew as many sticks as you want now Sailor!). It was a steal at Sams Club for $30. Great little rainy BBQ at the ranch Friday with awesome friends ... and a great couple rounds of wii bowling. Thanks for making the hike everyone!

"No-Plans-Sunday" was relaxing. Came home to find my lillies growing :) Sunflowers are growing like weeds (note: Weeds Season 6 disc 2 comes this week, le sigh). Sailor, Eric and I rocked out some fast sub 8min miles for 4.5miles last night since the rain gave way to a beautiful night. Ended with some great salmon and flounder for dinner from Trader Joes.

Stretch and Breath

Fantastic run with Molls this evening and then my Molly Massage a day early! Feeling superb and thankful for such a great and quality friend.

Pending news about work, stay tuned. Thankful for the great people I work with [and next to] (that's especially you "tams" who always always always helps me troubleshoot and teaches me how "self sooth" when wanting to crush Excel under my heel).

Tomorrow was supposed to be a day off, but now is looking like "cult" TAC class minus Huff :( followed by a run with the pstone crowd. Eric hasn't been yet and since today was tugboat's off-day, tomorrow she'll need a solid 4.5 miles.

Friday is a Devil's game ... anyone up to coming out to the Ranch and being my partner in crime?! I'm not allowed to make plans for the weekend, so I've got nothing to really report :/

Garden Update - Eric sent me a pic of the lettuce that is already sprouting! We planted Saturday and by Tuesday there were signs of life - woot woot! My lilies look lively on the front window but, no movement yet on the Lipstick Flowers or herbs. Patience is a virtue I am constantly battle.

Upcoming:

• March 20 - Brian Regan at Ovens (Eric and I will be there!)