The One With a Meme

A couple of my blog friends did this meme a few days ago and I thought I'd join in.

Age: 30
Bed Size: King
Chore You Hate: Vacuuming
Dogs: Corgis & french bulldogs have my heart :)
Essential start of your day: Music in my car on my way in to the office
Favorite color: Blue
Gold or silver: White gold
Height: 5'3"
Instruments I play (or have played): Clarinet (17 years ago, yikes!)
Job title: Office manager
Kids: Someday
Live: Southeastern MN
Mom’s name: Jean
Nickname: Jess
Overnight hospital stays: None
Pet peeve: Bad drivers, people who don't watch their children
Quote from a movie: Oh I could never pick just one
Right or left handed: Right
Siblings: Two younger sisters & a younger brother
Time you wake up: between 8:07 & 8:37 am
Underwear: Bikini
Vegetables you dislike: Cooked carrots--but I love 'em raw!
What makes you run late: Hitting the snooze
X-rays you’ve had done: Teeth, wrist
Yummy food you make: Meat wrapped in meat, on top of meat. (I should share that recipe here!)
Zoo animal: Penguins, giraffes, hippos

Did you play along? Leave me a comment and I'll check it out! ;)

The One Where It's Back to Life, Back to Reality

Well, we are back from vacation. Let me just tell you, it was 10 much needed days away from work, our disaster of a house and the real world. We had such a blast and really did not want to come home on Friday.

We went to 2 baseball games, one in Milwaukee and one in Chicago. I visited 2 knitting stores & came home with what seems like a metric ton of new yarn (yarn diet starts NOW). We spent a lot of time with family, which was fantastic. We went to Summerfest and the Navy Pier.

All in all, it was a wonderful get away that the two of us greatly needed to recharge after what seemed like two months of working 55+ hour weeks, moving (twice!) and just a general lack of relaxation.

I will be back soon with lots of pictures of everything that we did, but for now it's back to reality. How is summer going for you? I cannot believe it's almost half over already!

The One With My Sister

My sister decided to go to Denmark for 6 months to work, but she was nice enough to come and visit me right before she left. I didn't even scare her off when I told her that I was moving 3 days before she was visiting.

We visited Kristen's Knits and all of this yarn may or may not (MAY) have come home with me....



I couldn't resist! And it's a good thing too, since I just found out they are closing. That beautiful pile of fluff includes Spud & Chloe Fine, Supersocke (which my amazing sister bought for me!), Mirasol Nuna, some local handspun and Cascade. I just want to dive into that pile and sleep for hours.

As you know, there has been a bit of a craft & knitting shortage around these parts. No more! I have been knitting up a storm, in fact, I present you with:





My latest WIP. It's just a simple shawlette, but it's brought my knitting mojo back in full force. I love the yarn, the pattern is so simple and I can watch tv and do other things and easily pick it back up again if I have to set it down.

Not only did we visit my LYS, but she brought me an entire box of yarn! Destashing at it's finest, people. I am so in love with everything she gave me and now I must get on with teh nittingz. All that yarn won't knit itself. Oh look! My kitty!



Ok, ok here's a better look at the box. It was so generous of her to bring it all to me and now I know she's expecting I have several FO's by the time she returns to the United States in December. Better get crackin' on that....



And just because I can, here is a picture of our GIANT new TV and TV stand. I love them both. And you can see that I watch many intellectual shows. That 70's Show, anyone? My TV's were all ridiculously old and we got crazy good prices on the stand and the set itself.



I will post pictures soon of our new place. My boyfriend is moving all of his stuff down next week, so it is still a bit of a work in progress around here but we are loving it. Grilling out on our deck has been fabulous. What have you all been up to?

The One Where The Dust Settles

Sorry I've been MIA, but packing and moving has consumed the last month of my life. We finally got all of my stuff moved yesterday (with the help of some amazing friends)! The boyfriend moves down at the end of the month and then it's no more moving for 5 years!! Atleast, that's what I told him, and he whole-heartedly agrees. We have too much stuff. So, you can expect some pictures soon, but only after my couch has been turned right side up and my underwear found.....let's hope it's not too long! Hope you are all well.

The One On Cinco de Mayo

Happy Cinco de Mayo!! The boyfriend and I made chicken enchiladas and rice for dinner and followed it up with tortilla dessert cups. They were awesome!! Here's the recipe if you want to try them. They turned out fantastic and we all had seconds. All images and recipe found here.



Ingredients:
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
10 flour tortillas (6 inches)
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese
1 cup cold fat-free milk
1 package (1 ounce) sugar-free instant white chocolate or vanilla pudding mix
2 cups reduced-fat whipped topping
1/4 cup milk chocolate chips, melted

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Coat one side of each tortilla with cooking spray; sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar. Turn tortillas over; repeat on the other side. Cut each tortilla into four wedges.

For each dessert cup, place round edge of one tortilla wedge in the bottom of a muffin cup, shaping sides to fit cup. Place a second tortilla wedge in muffin cup, allowing bottom and sides to overlap. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until crisp and lightly browned. Cool completely in pan.

Meanwhile, for filling, in a small bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. In another bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. Beat in cream cheese on low until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Carefully remove cups from pan. Pipe or spoon about 3 tablespoons filling into each cup. Drizzle or pipe with melted chocolate. Refrigerate for 5 minutes or until chocolate is set. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 20 servings.

So, SO good! Let me know if you tried them!

The One Where I Ask For a Favor

A knitting friend and fellow blogger posted this on her blog. If you can, please repost this on your blog. It would be so greatly appreciated.

Guys, Mac needs some help.



His heartbreaking story (direct copy of the knitter’s forum post):

Hey everyone, a friend of mine is involved in a Chicago-area rescue group, Alive Rescue, and they currently have a pitbull mix who is in desperate need of a foster home. He’s currently being boarded in a kennel, but he’s extremely stressed under those conditions. Alive has been told that they have until Friday, 5/6, to find him a new temporary home. If they can’t do so by then, they’ll have to euthanize him.

Here’s the info that I’ve been given, as well as some pictures. If you’re interested in helping him, or know someone who can, please please please let me know, and I’ll put you in touch with the necessary people. Thanks!

ETA: Mac is 3 years old and about 60 lbs.

“Hey! I’m Mac. A couple years ago, ALIVE took me in & adopted me into, what appeared to be, a loving home. While I was with them, they put me through shock collar training. The training made me afraid of other dogs & afraid to bark. Now I am dog reactive because I think I will get shocked. They are working really hard to get me socialized again and back to the dog I was. Unfortunately, I am SUPER stressed at the boarding place I am staying at and have been given until Friday to find a new place to live. I’m super loving & great with children! I just want a family that will treat me with kindness.”
“Right now I need a long-term foster home and ALIVE has until Friday to find a place for me to go. Ideally, it would be a home with no cats or other dogs. I’m super mellow and just need a temporary place to stay until my forever home comes along. ALIVE Rescue will provide you with all the necessary supplies to care for me too! PLEASE HELP ME! ”

Please contact ALIVE Rescue if you’re able to help, or please pass this along to anyone else who might. I’d hate to see Mac’s wonderful smile disappear.

Thanks so much.

The One With The First Glimpse

.....of our new house!! Well, besides facebook, that is! I will post pics of the inside soon, but here's the outside. Isn't it adorable? We are so excited for a garage, a deck, a yard & more bedrooms than we need. May 15th can't come soon enough, especially with the price of gas. It will be awesome to not have to drive an hour and a half each week (well, as soon as BF can find a job.)