Happy Halloween!

Halloween 2005:

John decided last minute that he wanted to dress up as Ronald McDonald, so I sewed this costume out of ponchos and red duct tape. He creeps me out. I was Cinderella in my old prom dress.

I carved Cinderella's castle and John carved a VT. My castle was falling apart. :(

Halloweeen 2006:

John made this skull.

I made Gus from Cinderella. My family cat's name is Gus. (Notice a Cinderella theme? Yes, my cat Jaq was named after the OTHER mouse in the movie...)

Halloween 2007:

John carved the Frankenstein, I did the black cat (in honor of Gus who had spent the week in the hospital) and Amanda did the Buzz Lightyear- sick eh?

Halloween 2008:

My black kitty with the pumpkins.

I have no idea what we carved and can't find any pictures. Oh well.

Halloween 2009:

Nada.. We have the pumpkins, but we never ended up carving them. Boo!

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Sunday

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Garage Sailing

We headed out to a garge sale this morning, before hitting up the regular errands. I would say that we were pretty successful!

$17 got us:2 board games (Life & Guess Who?- Classics!)

3 hand tools (square, pipe wrench and some blade thing)

a red Coach wallet for me

an Orioles bobblehead for John (still taped into his styrofoam!)

a red glass vase for me

2 off white linen roman shades for the bedroom

and a large unopened roll of screen to replace our screen doors

Not too shabby eh? I might have even convinced John that it is worth the time to go to garage sales! :)

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Oops.

So.. on Sunday I was cooking for the birthday party. Since there were so many dishes going on, I was washing the dishes as I went. Of course, this meant putting the dishes and utensils away also. Like a good girl, I was putting a spoon or something back into the utensil holder next to the stove. It wasn't going in, so what else could I do besides try even harder to jam it in? There are no knives in the container, so the worst that could happen would be a spatula slapping me.

...or a cookie scraper trying to take off my finger. Apparently the stupid cookie scraper/spatula has a BLADE on the end.

My finger
+
this Source

=

..and that is two days later, so there has already been significant healing. When I cut it, there was almost instantly blood gushing. I hollered for John and he ran to get me a band-aid. I put the cut under the running water, but as soon as I would move it, more blood gushed! I was petrified that we would have to go to the ER because 1- I have yet to look up where the closest hospital is and 2- Hello! 10 people were showing up for supper in a couple of hours! This was the only time that I have gotten so light headed. It was definitely a combination of the stress and hunger. Throw in a finger that won't stop bleeding and nothing good will happen.

Luckily, after wrapping it tightly and a couple of band-aid changes, the blood slowed down. Now the cut has sealed itself back up and is doing nicely.

The end.

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Weekend Recap

This weekend we hosted two get togethers at the house. Saturday we had some friends over to watch the football game (the outcome of which we will not discuss). Sunday we had John's family (12 people!) over for his brother & sister in law's birthday party. In both cases, the majority of the people coming had not seen the house a) at all or b) since we moved in. As you can imagine, we wanted to get a bunch done!

Saturday:
I cooked most of the day for the two gatherings, but John hung some artwork around the house. He also fixed the curtain rod over our bed and rehung those curtains. Of course we cleaned a bunch.

The menu-
Bacon Jalapeno Popper Dip w/tortilla chips (via Meredith)

Lasagna (two- I exploded my pyrex 9x13 on Saturday while cooking 10 things at once and the second lasagna was going into that, so I had to improvise. The second lasagna was round- cake pan!)
Bread
Salad
Pumpkin pie bars

Sunday:
I cooked all day again. John went shopping and the organized the guest room.

The menu-
Bacon Jalapeno Popper Dip w/tortilla chips (via Meredith)
Veggie Pizza Squares

Salad
Oven fried chicken
Homemade biscuits
Green beans w/bacon bits
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy

Pumpkin pie bars
Chocolate chip cookies
Birthday cake- Boston cream pie cake
Ice cream

The State of the House:
Last week I hung some bamboo shades in the office and the kitchen. I love them! The office will eventually get some sheers around the window in addition to the shades. Also, John hung the ceiling fans in the bedroom and guest room. The guest room one is mysteriously not working and we didn't have time to tinker with it anymore.

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Menu Plan Monday

Monday
Leftover lasagna from party #1 (Saturday)
Leftover bread
Green Beans

Tuesday
S- Spinach/garlic stuff portabellas
J- leftover chicken from party #2 (Sunday)

Mashed potatoes

Wednesday
Grilled turkey breast (marinated in FF Italian dressing)
Rice
Green beans/corn

Thursday
Taco salad (we didn't have it last week/two weeks ago)

Friday
Out to either Melting Pot or Macaroni Grill (where we have gift cards!)


What are YOU having this week? Anything good?

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Dear Metro Rider,

Please do not cut your fingernails on the metro while riding. Especially during morning rush hour. The train is full. I gag at the thought of your nail clippings flying everywhere.

While you are at it, please tell the lady behind me that it is not cool to paint her fingernails while on the train either. I would rather not start the day off with a headache.

If you THINK what you are about to do may be considered gross, unhygienic, stinky, etc. please consider your fellow riders and just wait until you get home!

Sincerely,
Samantha


PS- Dear Person I drive home behind daily,
Please go faster than 35MPH while in a 50MPH speed zone. I would like to get home before I have to turn around to go back in. Thanks.

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Stuffed Zucchini

This was delish. Even John didn't complain too much (which is AMAZING given the amount of veggies that this meal contained). I pretty much just used Annie's recipe. I used 97% fat free ground turkey in lieu of sausage. Also after I hollowed the zucchini, I sprinkled a little steak seasoning in the shell. I love some steak seasoning.


C&P from Annie's Eats:

Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Ingredients:
1 zucchini, about 12 inches long (or 2 6-inch)
2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
½ cup onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup mushrooms, chopped
1 lb. turkey sausage or ground turkey
2 tbsp. dry white wine
2-3 tomatoes, seeded and diced
3 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper

Directions:
Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Scoop out insides, leaving a shell about ¼-inch thick. Reserve about half of the insides.

In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sauté the onion and garlic until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and reserved zucchini insides to the skillet and sauté another 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Crumble in the sausage or ground turkey and cook until lightly browned on all sides, stirring occasionally. Stir in the cooked onion and mushroom mixture. Add the wine to the pan along with the tomatoes, basil and rosemary. Cook for 1 more minute. Drain of any excess fat, remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Once the turkey mixture has cooled a bit, mix in the Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper. Fill the zucchini shells with the mixture. Fill a baking dish with ¼-inch of water. Place the filled zucchini shells in the pan and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, until golden brown. Remove the zucchini from the pan and serve immediately.

Source: adapted from Simply Recipes

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Weekend Recap

Saturday
We woke up at 4:30 am (!) and got in the car to head down to Blacksburg. We arrived, had breakfast (chocolate chip pancakes and bacon) with my sister and her boyfriend, got on the drunk bus, and headed over to the stadium. The Hokies whupped up on BC. We headed back, changed, and went for supper with my sister and her boyfriend. And drove home. The 5 hours home.
Recap- Up at 4:30 am. Home at 11 pm. 10 hours in the car. 7.5 hours in Blacksburg. Hokies owned BC.

Sunday
We got up and headed over to Ikea! The plan was to get in on the free breakfast that they were offering over the weekend, but it ended at 10:30 and we were lazy. And Ikea is 45 minutes away. We had lunch instead- I got delicious noodles & marinara and John had a buffalo chicken wrap. Plus we shared the amazing chocolate cake.

What was on the list? A pantry, something for behind the sofa, lights for the office, hallway and dining room, sheers for the office, a front door mat- if there was anything else on the list, I haven't a clue what it is as I lost my list in the store.

The results:


A pantry!! It's red (more red than the picture- we still have the sticker thing on the door)! It is actually part of one of their entertainment centers- the Besta line. We chose this one because it is shorter than the actual pantry that I was looking at- making space to get the microwave off of the counter and there is still room for shelves above to hold my cookbooks. It was cheaper, worked better, and RED! Sold.

Of course we had to buy the shelves to go over the unit.

Oh snap.. look at all of that storage. All of the crap from the counters is now hidden!

Microwave-free counter!

We also got a thing for behind the sofa for my library books and eventually our shoes and work bags.

The Expedit unit. Its a mess now.

We had a big fail in lighting though. John and I couldn't agree on anything. I will keep stalking Overstock.

After we got home on Sunday, we built the pantry and shelf and I was still feeling ambitious, so I painted the second coat on the trim in the office. And the third coat. Whee!

WHITE trim! NOT Miami green! Oh! And notice the white switch plate. It used to be wood. John got me that present from Home Depot. He's a high roller.

I also painted the window! When the trim was white, the window looked gross and dingy. At least it will only take 2 coats, versus the 3 on the green trim.

Before-

Green trim! Green chair rail! Green window! (You can kind of see it behind the curtains)

After-

Yum.. litter boxes. (I should note that there are two for ONE cat because he is SO weird.. Jaq uses one for the specific purpose of peeing and one for pooping. Like he poops, climbs out of the box, climbs into the pee box and THEN pees.)

ALSO, on Sunday I spray painted all of the radiator/vent covers in the house. Well except for the kitchen one because I forgot it. They used to be a variety of colors, off white/dirt, rusted out brass, GREEN (see above). I bought a can of Rustoleum's white lacquer spray paint and after a good cleaning, sprayed those suckers.

For about $5 I had several like-new (matching!) radiator/vent covers.

I tried to find a before picture for this one, but apparently I strategically cropped it out of all pictures.

Anywho, here is the after!

Ta-daa!

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Menu Plan Monday

Monday
Stuffed Zucchini
Carrots
Brown Rice

Tuesday
for me: stir fry
for John: spaghetti (he doesn't like all of the veggies in the stir fry.....)

Wednesday
Shrimp with garlic
Brown Rice
Carrots
Green beans (me)/corn (John)

Thursday
Pork Chops on the grill
Baked Potato
Green beans/corn

Friday
Taco salad

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Take Me Shopping..

Ok y'all- I have a mission for you.. I have this awesome skirt that I love. I got it last winter at the Gap , but have only worn it like twice! Why? Because I have no idea what shirt to wear with it!!

Close up of the fabric/color.

I usually wear the skirt with my brown boots. I never know what top to wear though, because I feel like a big brown blob if I wear a brown one, but I don't know what other color to wear! In addition to color issues, I don't know what STYLE top to wear with this skirt? It is already a wool of some sort, so I am afraid a sweater would be too much of that knit fabric.

I will officially award 10 cool points to whoever finds me something to wear with the skirt (and possibly even something tangible if you have a REALLY good suggestion!)!

It is the perfect fall/winter skirt and I don't want to miss out this year!

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Shrimp Fajitas

This is another of my "healthy" recipes- shrimp fajitas.

I marinated the shrimp (lime juice, cilantro, 3 cloves of garlic, a splash (less than a tsp) of olive oil, and a shake of red cayenne pepper) and then grilled them, along with an onion.

I plopped the shrimp, onions and a little bit of low fat sour cream in a flour tortilla and rolled it up. I only had one tortilla and then ate the rest of my shrimp and onions with a fork. It was really yummy and filling.

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Shelves!

Check out what John made me this week!


All week before I got home from work, he was putting in the cleats (supports) and measuring. Yesterday after work he did a big Lowe's trip and got plywood for the shelves and then finished it up! I hadn't known that he was building them, so it was a nice surprise for me!

This is in the office closet- it is so nice to have all of the boxes and stuff off of the floor! Everything is still in the boxes, but just in the closet now. Obviously I need to do a little more organizing and take everything out of the boxes. I will probably at some point paint the shelved white, but that is at the very bottom of The List for now.

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Ahem...

I hadn't said anything because I didn't know if it would happen, but it is looking good- Dudes... I am going to AFRICA!!! Fo' Free! Well.. I have to work.. but still!

Last Friday I was called into one of the partners' office. He is head of HR and all of that, so I was nervous/scared. Even more so when he asked me to shut the door to his office... Well, when I shut the door, he asked if I would be open to traveling! HECK YES! He told me that the office has a ton of work coming in and there is nothing for certain yet.

I hadn't updated my passport since we got married/I changed my name, as I needed it for the cruise in my maiden name, as well as for a trip in the summer that was in my maiden name. I figured I would update my passport this week, so I would have it ready. Not so much.. Monday morning, on his way to his office, first thing in the door, the partner asked if I have a passport. All of a sudden there was a big rush to get the name changed because there was a trip pretty quick that also requires a visa. WHOA FAST.

I spent all of yesterday (Tuesday) running around and getting passport pictures done, filling out forms and then going to some passport office that can get it done like overnight. For an extra $200 or so. Yay...

Anywho.. I got my new passport today. Friday I go to a health clinic to get a TON of shots- yellow fever, etc. Then I think we are good to apply for a visa.

They don't know for sure yet when the trip is going to be- either the last week of October, or more likely, one of the first two weeks of November. It is only a week long, so its not going to be like one of John's month long trips. From what I know so far, I will be inventorying furniture at an existing embassy so we know what there is for the new one/addition. I don't have too many details, and I don't want to give specifics that I do know right now, as it is a government project and there is a bit of security around it (as I'm sure you can understand).

I will make sure to take lots of pictures for my friends though :)

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Healthy Turkey Parm

As part of my quest to eat more naturally/healthier, last night we had a turkey parm. John actually made it since I wasn't feeling well after getting home from work.

This isn't anything special or fancy. We dipped turkey breasts into egg whites and then lightly breaded them. They breasts were baked until done (maybe 15 minutes at 350?). While the turkey was baking, John saute'd diced tomatoes (half of a can- fresh would be perfect too), half of an onion and some garlic. The juice from the tomato should be enough liquid for cooking that you won't need any oils. After the turkey is done, pour the tomato "sauce" onto the turkey and top with just a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. I had a side of green beans with this.

This was super filling and as you can tell, not "saucy"- the worst ingredient, I would say is the bread crumbs, possibly the parmesan cheese, and these were both kept to a minimum!

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House Updates...

Well there hasn't been a TON of stuff going on here, but there are a bunch of small updates that make a big change in the feeling.


Kitchen/Dining Room:
John finished putting down the new floor! It feels so nice and clean! AND I can now walk around barefoot!

Still to do:
-Get a pantry and clean up the counters
-Hang blinds in the windows
-Get a light fixture for over the dining table


Living Room:
We hung the ceiling light/fan. Also you will see our furniture in place, along with the curtains! It is very messy- we still aren't fully unpacked and I wasn't actually planning on taking pictures.

From the front door.

From the dining room.

Before:

After:

My fix for the broken bi-fold door at the entry closet.

Still to do:
-Pick up/organize
-Fix the blinds in the window
-Hang artwork and pictures


Office:
I've gotten all of the books put away on the bookcase so we were able to get a big stack of boxes out of the room! I also painted the bulletin board frame (with some help from Jaq) so that it is black like the rest of the furniture in the room. Last, we hung a shelf over the desk and bulletin board.

Jaq helping.

Clearly not very organized yet, but here is the desk with the

new matching bulletin board and a shelf above.

Still to do:

-Touch up the orange paint next to the ceiling

-Give the trim a second coat of white

-Build and install shelves in the closet.

-Hang blinds that I ordered in the windows

-Hang some white shears

-Hang artwork and diplomas

-Eventually get baskets to replace the red boxes

Bathroom:

This room is pretty much finished for now. We are planning a complete gut for the early spring, so we didn't want to do too much- just make it clean and comfortable.

Before:

After:

My temporary storage solution.

The bathroom "artwork"- samples that I got from work and then framed.

Master Bedroom:

This room has fallen behind. We have not done much in here at all. All I will show you is the paint color next to our curtains. :)

Still to do:

-Hang blinds

-Fix curtains

-Make headboard

-Hang artwork and pictures

-Hang mirror

-Get another hamper to solve the clothes problem

Guest Bedroom:

Ummmm this room is still a mess. Nothing further.

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