It's no secret to anyone. I really, really do not like animals. I was going to skip today's photo assignments until I was sent this photo last night from Dad.
Three of my favorite people, with Mr. Peyton.
If I have to choose one animal that I've ever been able to put up with... I didn't say like, just tolerated, it would be Peyton. He really is a sweet dog and since we didn't have pets growing up because of allergies and bad luck, I know how much Jill loves this dog since it's the first pet she had once she left the house.
I wish I was there with them all this weekend, even if it meant hanging out with the dog.
And today, there was no breakfast. I slept right through it.
It's been a productive weekend, the house is spotless, but I'm really beginning to miss Dan. So I'm off to pick him up to the airport, can't wait to see him and hear about his adventure this week.
Happy Sunday Night!
When I said yesterday that there wasn't going to be anything special about the moon today, I was right. It was way too cloudy to even see the moon here, and I looked, like walked around aimlessly outside of my house with my eyes pointed directly at the sky looked. And I saw nothing.
But you know what, every moon is preceeded by a sunset. And I think sunsets are more beautiful than moons anyway. And every time I see a beautiful sunset, I not only think of my Momma, but I think of Dad too, because he always says... "Red Sky at Night, Sailors Delight!" I've never been happier than when he put his arm around me at our rehearsal dinner and said these words to me while looking at this beautiful sunset. Thank you, Jessica, for this picture.
Thank goodness Dad didn't say to me "Red Sky in the Morning, Sailor's Warning" Or the weather just wouldn't have been as beautiful on our wedding day.
And today, in the same room where he held our rehearsal dinner, I saw this sunset.
And the clouds just kept rolling in.
It was beautiful. For a few minutes, we were above the clouds, and it was like we were floating.
I've seen this quite a few times since I've started working on the 95th floor, but I've never been able to catch this on film, and it's such a special feeling.
When looking at pictures like this, and pictures of beautiful sunsets, you really begin to think about how amazing of a gift this life is. We get to experience these beautiful, natural things. And where they come from, who knows, that's what makes it all so magical.
Happy Friday. Cheers, to you all, from all of my favorite people.
I hate my kitchen sink. When Dan and I were going through the pros and cons of each town home that we looked at before we bought I honestly wrote down "Kitchen Sink" under cons for 2907 Clough Ave. Dan didn't think that it was an important enough flaw in the house, and I guess I didn't either, but I'm not going to go around taking pictures of it.
So here it is, everything that is going on in my brain today, Everything But The Kitchen Sink.
Are we going to have a spring? I would honestly like to know. I have really cute spring clothes that I have totally skipped over this week and went straight to the sleeveless tops. Come on, Mother Nature, don't do this to me. And with all this warm weather so early the tulips on Michigan Avenue are beginning to bloom and I need them to still be blooming on April 20th when Mom comes to visit... because I've been talking about these tulips for two years, she just needs to see them.
I could drive to work tomorrow because I don't have to be there until 10:00 am, which means total I could have only a two hour commute tomorrow opposed to the 3 hour commute I have when I take the train. But if I drive, I have to put gas in my car... and gas is $4.29 right now. I'm honesly considering taking the train with hopes gas will be cheaper next week. I can't believe I'm becoming one of those people.
I'm so jealous of spring breaks. I think everybody should have them. No matter what. As we speak my family is on the house boat, hopefully John brought back some ginormous fish from his fishing adventure with Debbie, and Dan spent the day exploring Atlanta, eating at my favorite Top Chef's burger restaurant and getting lessons at the driving range. Me on the other hand, I'm just holding down the fort here, itching all day at my desk to be outside. We are even trying to convince our boss to let us go to Oak Street Beach to do some marketing and make connections, I don't think it'll happen, apparently beach goers aren't our target market... we thought it was definitely worth a shot.
Easter can't get here soon enough. I am so excited to go home and see my friends and family. Amanda just reminded me today that it is only two weeks away, and I am so incredibly excited! Easter is one of those weekends though, it just goes way too fast. I'm already getting anxiety about getting to do everything I want to do and see everybody I want to see while I'm home.
Guess who had Louisville beating Michigan State on their Sheet of Integrity? This girl. Looks like Dan will be buying me dinner at my restaurant of choice because his sheet is looking pretty sickly. Speaking of college basketball, do you think UC likes wearing that neon pink? They look more like Rainbow Bright than a basketball team.
If it were up to me I would be getting ready for the midnight showing of The Hunger Games. I have been anxiously awaiting this premier for months, but since I begged Dan to read the books as soon as I was done, and he got into it just as much as me, I decided to be a good wife and wait to see it with him when he got home. I can't wait, I even have our whole pre-movie dinner planned out with goat cheese tarts and "squirrel" stew, Katniss's favorite meal. It's not really squirrel, but you know how much I love themes and we are going to go all out for this movie premier.
Tomorrow is employee appreciation day at work, which means amazing Mexican lunch. I exercised extra today and plan on getting up early to work out tomorrow so I can have as much guacamole as possible. Tomorrow is going to be a good day.
And this weekend is going to be a good weekend. When I get off work at 8:00 tomorrow night, I'm free. Free for an entire two days, to do whatever I want, whatever I feel like. It'll be glorious, probably not very glamorous, but oh so glorious.
And FYI, I might take the next two days off. I don't think the moon is going to be anything special tomorrow night, and I really hate animals, but I'll see what I can do.
And I don't want to leave today's post without a picture. So here it is, a picture from my favorite spring break. Our trip to Puerto Vallarta, our engagement trip. I'd give anything to be back on that balcony.
There it is, everything but the kitchen sink.
I prefer the shorter version of this word, delish! And tonight, here was my delish.
This might be one of my favorite new low calories recipes that I have found. By the name of the recipe "Sausage and Mushroom Stew," you don't expect much, until this one pan wonder comes to life. It just takes like love... if love had a taste and since I do my cooking for the entire week on Sundays, I like eating this meal later in the week because it's one of those things that gets better each day. And wait for it, wait for it.... 282 Calories!
Here's the recipe
2 tsp canola oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic gloves, finely chopped
1 pound Turkey Sausage, the recipe calls for Italian style, but I prefer hot and spicy, casing removed and chopped into pieces
8 ounces of mushrooms (yeah, I guess at what 8 ounces looks like...)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup fat-free reduced sodium chicken broth
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
Heat oil, saute onions and garlic until onions have softened. Add sausage and cook until no longer pink. Add mushrooms and saute for 1-2 minutes. Stir in herbs, followed by canned tomatoes, broth, and black beans. Simmer for 15 minutes. Serves 4.
It's beautiful... and delish.
In other news, Dan has landed safely in Atlanta. I only know this because I received a text message that read. "I'm on the ground in Hotlanta with Nene Leaks and the girls." I love this guy, and the housewives of Atlanta of course. So for the next 4 nights it's all me. I am so very excited. Don't get me wrong, I love having Dan here to talk to and go on walks with, and to fall asleep with. But I also like watching whatever I want on the television, going out by myself for sushi and gyros, and sitting in the quiet, and sleeping in the middle of the bed.
It's going to be a good weekend. Hopefully I will get the deep spring cleaning done around here and be very productive since I won't have to pick up socks around every corner. But Sunday will be good too, when I welcome him home and get to hear about his weekend full of golf games, and we get to be us again.
Happy Spring! It's been a long couple of weeks since we started The Biggest Loser. But it has been totally worth it. WE WON!!
And when I started on this adventure I had a lofty goal of losing 17 pounds. I thought for sure that this was totally out of reach for me, but I decided that I felt best my senior year of high school, and I wanted to weigh what I did then. But you know what, I lost 18 pounds. I am pretty, pretty proud of myself. But that doesn't even compare how proud I am of Dan. He doubled my weight loss, and lost 36 pounds. So all together Dan and I pretty much lost an 8 year old child.
I'm really bummed we didn't take before photos, so here is one from Christmas, our last picture together before this competition started.
And here we are now!
HOORAY!! We both feel so much better, and here's to loosing some more, and keeping it off, Cheers! Please note: I'm cheersing with sweet tea vodka and 0 calorie lemonade flavored vitamin water, best low cal cocktail EVER!
Nothing too hilarious happened on March 19th. Except, I did learn a new joke.
What's do a cheap motel and tight pants have in common?
No Ball Room.
You're welcome to use it on your friends, I have found it gets a lot of laughs!
Anyway, since nothing really picture worthy happened that was funny, I decided to share some pictures that always make me laugh because I cannot get over how ridiculous me and my friends are sometimes. And since everyone has been sharing Spring Break pictures lately, I figured there was no better time than now to share some pictures that I find really, really funny.
It all started with Taco night on our Senior Year Spring Break. It turned into this...
And the next two years after this first fiesta we celebrated with two others. The first one was pretty low key at The Horstman house, but we had the most beautiful taco bar and lots of margaritas. Mom and I spent the better part of the morning shopping for fiesta accessory, and we came home with this awesome wall decor and lots of Mexican Flags.
Amanda was especially hilarious this evening. She decided that she was too tired to drink her cocktail, so Jesika widdled together an extra giant straw for her to drink out of while laying on the couch. It may not seem funny right now, or to the outside observer, but it was hilarious. Here is the picture of Jesika in action. What might be more funny is the captain that Kaitlin put along with this photo on Facebook.
Jesika welded this super straw together for Amanda over the open flame. Tracy, taco in hand, oversees this operation. No one was harmed in the making of this straw.
And here is Amanda enjoying her cocktail.
The next year we took our fiesta to Acapulco in Lawrenceburg to celebrate. With one fake ID we somehow ended up with five margaritas on our table and a sombrero for us to share.
There was an 8 year old girl celebrating her birthday next to us and she got fried ice cream. Since Kaitlin's birthday was coming up in close to four weeks, we decided to tell them it was her birthday too. We wanted some friend ice cream. Well... they brought out a shot of tequila. And seeing Kait's face after taking it was funny. Hilarious, actually. Almost as hilarious as seeing all of us in this sombrero.
They even sang Feliz Cumpleanos, and everything, and I stole the maraca right out of Juan Pablo's hand and did my own thing. Priceless.
Of course, we ended up back at Paul and Theresa's that evening. I love this picture and it always make me laugh.
The next two years, unfortunately, our Spring Breaks didn't coincide and there were no fiestas. So when it came time to have my bridal shower, I couldn't think of a better theme, and you know I am a sucker for themed parties... that's how all this fiesta nonsense started.
It was a beautiful day. It was absolutely perfect, and definitely Nacho Average Bridal Shower, and how could I forget, I got the most fabulous margarita maker from the girls! But, it's almost been a year, so girls, get your sombreros ready and your tequila drinking shoes on, were having a fiesta... and soon, we need some more funny times!!
There are so many corners in my home that I could write about. There's the corner of the kitchen where the coffee maker lives, love that appliance. There is the basket in the corner of my living room that holds the blankets my grandma has crocheted for me. I love those blankies and will never understand how she creates them. And there is the corner where the coat rack sits that holds all my favorite hats.
But I decided, I would write about my absolute favorite corner in my house. The corner of my couch. After a long and adventurous day, there is nothing more that I love than to snuggle in my little corner. It's where I hang out with Dan. It's where I read my books and magazines and stalk people on Facebook. It's where I am currently watching the Boilermakers beating Kansas (at this point I don't even care that I have Kansas going to the Championship game in my Sheet of Integrity. Boiler Up!). And this corner is where I blog. It's the most comfortable spot in my house.
And as I'm typing this I am remembering a scene of the really really old people version of Cinderella where she sings, "In my own little corner, in my own little chair, I can be whoever I want to be." Love that song... and my little corner.
Here's to you, enjoy your week.
I love St. Patrick's Day, in fact, we are still celebrating St. Patty because I made the most delicious Shephard's Pie for dinner tonight. It is a surprising 322 calories per serving, the recipe is below:
1 tbsp canola oil
· 1 medium onion, finely chopped
· 2 large carrots, chopped
· 1 pound extra-lean ground beef
· 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
· 2 tbsp no-salt-added tomato paste
· 2 tsp dried mixed herbs
· 1 cup fat-free, reduced sodium beef broth
· 1 cup frozen peas
For the Topping:
· 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-1 1/2-inch pieces
· 1/2 cup fat-free milk
· 1 tbsp light butter
Preparation:
In a large pot, heat canola oil on medium-low heat. Saute onions and carrots until softened. Turn up heat to medium-high and add beef; cook until no longer pink. Add Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, herbs and broth. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Add peas, then simmer 5 minutes more.
While sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add potatoes, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain water. Add milk and light butter. Mash with a potato masher until smooth. Season if you like.
Pour sauce into an 11-inch by 7-inch baking dish and allow to cool slightly. Top with potato. Optional: sprinkle with 1/3 cup reduced-fat cheese.
Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.
So anyway, back to green.
One of the great traditions in Chicago is the dyeing of the river on St. Patrick's day and the parade. Unfortunately I had to work Saturday morning so I couldn't really be a part of the celebration. I had to find a conservative green shirt, that didn't say "I Peed Green on 3-17" on the back, to wear under my suit, and instead of drinking green beers in the morning, I was drinking my regular coffee... without Bailey's, thank you very much.
I decided rather than sit in traffic on Lake Shore Drive, I would take the train. Little did I know, I would be riding the train with very obnoxious, very excited people. Every one was decked out in their finest green and everyone was ready to party. We finally made it to the city and my walk to work which usually takes 20 minutes... tops, took 45. I've never seen so many slow moving people.
And when we got to the river... there was a wall of traffic... not moving. Every one was there to see this.
I can't think of a better representation of green, and hopefully next year I will be able to join in the celebration.
Sorry, there wasn't a cloud in the sky today. It was 75 degrees in Chicago today, which I'm pretty sure broke the record for the highest temperature for this date. So I don't have a picture to go along with today.
Instead, I'm going to write this about my mom. I've been trying to do this since the dawn of my blog but every time I try it just doesn't come out right. So today is the day, I've decided this because I just read my most favorite blog "Enjoying the Small Things," by Kelle Hampton. I love this, I love her and her girls. I love her courage and the way she can write and just paint the most beautiful picture with her words. If you haven't checked out her blog, please do. It is so special. It's here and you'll see why I have decided to turn the "Clouds" blog into one about Mother Theresa.
I love my mom. As I've mentioned before she is one of the top three ladies I've ever known. She gave us the perfect childhood and since I've grown up and left the house she's given me the most wonderful support. At times in my life I've thought she didn't care enough about what I was doing, but I realized that she was just letting me figure things out for myself because she knew that I could do it. She's the first person I want to call when something good happens in my life, but she is also the first person I call when something crummy is happening. Either way, she's there, and she'll listen to me go on and on. She's a little rock of mine in my sometimes crazy life.
My mom has taught me so many things just by her example. She's taught me to love, she's taught me to laugh at myself, to love Rod Stewart and Michael Bolton, and she has taught me to be content. I don't need every material thing in the world to be happy and I don't have to have these fabulous plans laid out for every day. It's the tiny little things that count. The family dinners, the beautiful sunsets, the cycle of the moon, the birds chirping outside the window, she enjoys life's little gifts. I cannot see a beautiful sunset or a full moon without thinking of my Mom. A couple weeks ago the moon was hanging so low and so bright and I called her, "Are you looking at the moon?" I said. She couldn't see it from her house, so she made John get in the car with her and they drove. Unfortunately it was too cloudy to see the Chicago Moon in St. Leon's sky, so she didn't get to see it, but wanted me to take a picture. It's the little things.
And not to mention, this lady can cook. She is hands down the best lasagna, meat loaf, chili, and grilled cheese chef I've ever met. I don't know how many times I've said it on here before, but Mom created the most wonderful meals from nothing. The refrigerator could be almost bare, but she would whip up the most fantastic meals. It just happened, my friends thought it was a magic trick. And every night we would have dinner, as a family, even if it was Tuesday nights at Pizza Hut (which has now turned into BW3's), but we were a family. And she is our rock.
I appreciate every big thing my mom has ever done for me and given me, but more so, I appreciate the little things. Jill, Johnny and I are so lucky to have her as our Mom. Love this lady. 
I have not seen one of these signs since I was 16 years old.
When I saw it the other day I about died. Because of this sign I have to take my driving test twice. Well actually, I had to take my driving test 4 times (Written Part 2 Times, Driving Part 2 Times), and it was all because of this tricky sign.
"Cross Traffic Does Not Stop," Now when a scary driving instructor that looks liked the Wicked Witch of the West tells a nervous 16 year old, "Now pay close attention to this sign," that nervous 16 year old will automatically over think the situation. And this is exactly what She did. She thought, "Cross traffic, I'm crossing the street, so that means me, therefore I don't need to stop." So she just went right through the stop sign.
Little did the nervous 16 year old know that this is not what this sign means. It means, "Holy smokes you better be looking both ways... twice... or else you are going to get your car smashed. Luckily, for the nervous 16 year old and the wicked witch of the west, there were no cars coming that day and They were safe, but the lady made her go directly back to the DMV. She didn't even get to parallel park.
That nervous 16 year old was me.
So when Dan and I were driving the other day I spotted this sign, and shouted, "Dan you really need to stop!" He thought I was crazy, until I told him this story, and he thought I was even crazier.
So there it is, something most of you probably didn't know about me, it took me 4 times to pass my driving test... and I'm still a terrible driver... and this is my least favorite sign...
In college my roommates and I spent just as much time watching television as we did anything else. We all had our shows, and when nothing was on and we actually did have to do homework, we would have the TV guide channel on for background noise. Rebecca’s favorite show was Everybody Loves Raymond. She absolutely loves this show and we would hear her laughing out loud to the television show nightly. I never watched it before I moved in with her and I found myself enjoying to it. But my favorite episode is the one where Marie is telling Debra about the Fork and Spoon that they have on their wall. You can see them here.
These were a wedding gift and they both hated them so much, but one day Frank put fork on the wall, so of course Marie had to nail the spoon to the wall… higher than the fork. They both thought these things were hideous but they never took them down, and at the end of the episode Debra convinces Marie that they needed to go. She finally gets up the courage to do so… and after 45 years the outline of this fork and spoon are still on the wall. It’s a hilarious, hilarious episode, my favorite Raymond episode that is for sure.
So when I spent my summer in South Carolina, I found the most perfect accessory for our apartment kitchen. I just had to have these. And right when I got back from my summer these babies went up.
They aren’t as large as the ones on Raymond, but they were awesome, and our little inside joke. And I know it’s more of a spork than a fork, but I couldn’t let today’s photo assignment pass without sharing this pictures. I miss these girls, and our apartment like crazy. I wish I could go back for just one weekend with them.
Just like mid month last month, I got a little burnt out on blogging this week. But, I don't want to stop, I really like the concept of a photo a day, so I'm going to just encompass the last four days into one.
Here is goes...
March 8 - Window. On the actual 8th of March I looked out my window and saw the most beautiful full moon. "The Worm Moon" is what it is called. I didn't get a chance to read the article about why it is called "The Worm Moon" or take a picture that day. So my picture to describe window is here.
This weekend was so beautifully fantastic and I couldn't help but have the windows open in the house. Dan got home on Saturday and couldn't believe the wind that was blowing through the house. I told him that I was getting the disease out of the house, "What disease?" he asks. "Winter," I said.
March 9 - Red. Red is my favorite color, but once I graduated from East Central High School and didn't have to wear red every Friday as a cheerleader, I kind of gave up on the color in my wardrobe. Except for these puppies, which I absolutely love and wore to the first grill-out of the season at Artie's house this weekend.
March 10 - Loud. I have sensitive ears, you can ask anybody that has ever lived with me... or ridden in a car with me, my ears hurt... a lot. Especially when there is music on that I don't like. That really makes my ears bleed. On Saturday, March 10th, I just drove. It had been a long week and after I left Dan at the driving range I just decided I needed to drive a little bit, and listen to the radio really loud with my window down. It was glorious... and I love this Kelly Clarkson song that was playing at the time of this photo, what doesn't kill me makes me stronger!
March 11 - Someone you Talked To. Since I'm combining everything into one weekend. Here is someone that I talked to. Johnny.
Now when I think of my brother John, this is automatically what I think of, because this is how I think I will always see him.
But in reality, this is John.
He is growing up. He has his driving license, he told me about the job interview he went on this weekend, he's in high school for crying out loud, and doing things I did in high school, which gives me great anxiety. Because he's John, the most perfect little brother ever. I'm sure most of you have heard this story before, but when Mom and Dad told Jill and I that we were going to have a little brother or sister, I sobbed. (Jill did cartwheels), but I sobbed. I didn't want a younger sibling, I didn't want to be the middle child. But I couldn't imagine life without Johnny. I love him to pieces and I am so proud of the person he's becoming.
So there it is, I'm caught up, and you know what the beauty of this week is... It's St. Patrick's Day week... love this holiday, corn beef & cabbage, and Guinness. Bring it on!
