couple things...

Nothing exciting here, but I thought I'd update my list a touch. Valentine's Dinner with Johnny was SO delicious!!! I got a salad from the salad bar, and made steaks, mashed sweet potatoes, and Portobello mushroom "fries". Those last two (#45 & #46) were from a Rachael Ray cookbook I think...the sweet tatos were made with bananas, orange juice/zest, chicken broth and nutmeg. Yum. And I grilled the Portobello mushroom caps, cut them into slices, dipped them in egg/Italian breadcrumbs/parsley, and then fried them. THESE were the biggest hit...maybe even more so then the steaks?! Tonight I'm picking up fixins to make my own Tomatillo Salsa Verde and I'm going to whip up some enchiladas! So just one more recipe for the month of Feb.

So I hate to admit it but I blatantly cheated on this month's "give up" sweet bakery. It was Z's last day on Friday and she brought in brownies and mini cupcakes. So I said ENOUGH! FIRST of all, I'm technically giving up TWO things this month because of Lent...and it was three that day because I couldn't have meat either. SECOND of all, it was her last day at work and I wanted to, um, give her the proper sendoff she deserved?? haha! Anyway, I didn't even feel guilty after indulging in BOTH treats ;) And I made up for it all weekend: I ate out TWICE on Friday and didn't eat a smidge of meat, and while I was visiting Monica and Tim in Chicago I was taunted by coffee all over the place, but obediently sipped my Chai at Starbucks, and my Cherry Coke Zero whilst eating the best homemade waffles ever (thanks Chef "Not on Friends" Monica!)

Speaking of my visit, all weekend I played Guitar Hero and I now have a crush on the game. SO MUCH FUN!!! I even went to Best Buy yesterday when I got back and played it. THAT obsessed! But for the time being, I can't really justify getting Playstation, Xbox, or Wii JUST for Guitar Hero...so I guess I'll just patiently wait to visit Monica and Tim again...by which time they will have mastered the game and I'll still be on Easy mode. BLAH!

I surprised Johnny (#17) with a BOWLING PIN from the bowling alley I went to in Chicagoland this weekend. He's always wanted one...we've seen them at antique shops, but for like $35 or so...rip! This one was a steal at $5!! I think he let out a yelp when he opened his eyes...haha!!

This weekend is the Oscars people!! And full fledged Oscars...no weird writers strike version yeehaw!!

AAAAAND venting.

The "so-and-so is being promoted after just over a year" and "so-and-so just became Vice Prez after two and a half years" emails this morning are really getting to me. And yet it's only 10am. My boyfriend who doesn't love me any more is rubbing his "better lovers" in my face while I scrape old dried up food gunk off of other people's dishes every morning.

On a brighter note, a couple updates:

#17 (and #45): Recall the cookies my friend made me for my birthday, two batches: chocolate and lemon. Well the lemon cookies are completely out of control. "They taste like little cakes" according to my boyfriend (the nice one, not the cold hearted other one). John reeeeeeally wanted me to make some for him, so last night I pulled the wool over his eyes by buying garlic at the store. I really did need garlic, but a box of lemon cake mix stumbled into my arms on my way out. Lemon cake mix, 2 eggs, 1/3 c veggie oil, lemon juice and zest is all you need! Easiest recipe ever for something that tastes like a bundle of heaven in your mouth!

#45: And speaking of recipes, I made the tato parsnip hash the other night...I really love parsnips!! They're kinda sweet. I wonder if there are any recipes that involve parsnips and sweet tatos. Unfortunately I put the leftovers in a tupperware that I left on the stove, completely open, overnight. No parnsip yum yums for me the next day :(

Well, back to "work" over here...

blogcap

Alright this will be your typical update, nothing fancy!

8. I got a sweet Photography book for Christmas (The Betterphoto Guide to Digital Photography by Jim Moitke) and I'm like a quarter way through it. He's absolutely perfect at explaining all the ins and outs...I mean some of it is more basic and obvious, but sometimes relearning the most general stuff is really important! And so to celebrate (even though I'm technically supposed to reward myself AFTER I finish the book)...

9. I bought my camera!!!

(copying Z with her lovely camera photo as well!)
It's a nice transition from my more simple point-and-shoot compact Pentax from 2004...yet not AS complex as an SLR. I can futz with the aperture and shutter speed but I'm not completely out on my own. There are even a few accessories available for the S5...lenswise and such, so that's nice too! Some day down the line, especially if photography truly does become a more serious hobby for me, I can drop a grand on a DSLR ;) Anyway, I'm going to try and find a camera bag tomorrow and get me some sweet Eneloop rechargeable batteries from Amazon!

14. I can't even describe to you the epic amounts of paper craft stuff I got this Christmas...it's INSANE. I could seriously open up my own card shop at this point...just gotta create the product! So on that note...I can seriously go to town on at LEAST coming up with some general ideas for packs of cards that I'd be able to sell at this imaginary craft show. I like the idea of funky monogrammed notes (like a cross between a card and stationary). And I don't know if it's because I know like six pregnant women right now, but I'm drawn to making some fun baby announcement packs. Anyway, I have more than enough paper to do this...it's just a matter of finding the time!

17. While Christmas gifts shouldn't count for my "John surprise" I did put together an entire photo album (200 pix) of Grace pictures for one of his presents! (AND one for his parents too!) I think he really liked it and it'll be nice to keep building Grace centric photo albums in the coming years.

32. OK there's no way we're EVER going to play boardgame at Monica's...I made that one of my tasks back when Monica's was totally still our bar...which was subsequently replaced by Bad Genie, which will undoubtedly be replaced by some other bar when we're sick of it. But anyway, John, Nicole, Z and I did GO to Monica's the night after Christmas and it was a great time until John and I ruined it with our love quarrel *gag* ;) Another reason we'll probably never go back. Sigh. So I completed half of this task...blah blah blah.

43. Z got me a subscription to Women's Health for Christmas! Thanks Zeetlebug!! It will pair nicely with my new twist step machine from Johnny :)

45./50. Kale is really good! I was expecting a more bitter taste I think...but Kale is more savory. I liked it a lot! It's hearty too, so it does make a good winter veggie as they all say! As for the last recipe of the month: I made the kale with some brie and bacon. Ok that was super easy, but December's been busy! ;)

Veggie for January: The Parsnip! I was inspired by some parsnip potato hash dish Rachael Ray made the other day. Oh Rache!

51. And my give-up for January is sweet bakery (but not bagels!) once again. Yeah I think I'm going to have to recycle a few now that it's been about a year. Although I'm not sure I'll ever be able to recycle "No Alcohol except Miller Lite" ever again!

87. Just in the nick of time, Mandsi gave me her annual compilation cd for Christmas on which are three great new-to-me bands: Camera Obscura, Rogue Wave, and Sweet! I definitely need to look into these in more depth...


And that's all she wrote. New Year's Eve was a blast and I think I rang in the new year just right! It might have just been my imagination, but the second the clock struck midnight, I really did feel a weight lifted from my life. Haha! Yeah, just that mind trickery again...but I hope it keeps working. Coming back to work today hasn't been amazing, but it hasn't been awful either. I'll go with boring over awful any day ;)

So to 2008! Mildly entertaining instead of insanely stupid!

big blog part one

I have lots to update/discuss, so I split it up. November has been ACTION PACKED!!

#6 - The TBA project finished with time to spare! TBA project = This "Memory Lane" drawing I did for Monica and Tim's wedding gift! I had to get it framed and even though I brought it into Michael's two weeks before the wedding, they gave me a ready date of 11/21...NOOO!!!! So I practically begged them to have it done by Friday the 16th. Well, turns out it was really a day earlier than that! I picked it up the Thursday night before the wedding. More about this gift in big blog part two!

#17 - John caught a cold last weekend, so on Monday night I went to the store and bought all the Katie's Chicken Stewp ingredients to make Johnny healthy again!

#45 - Some of these recipes are crazy easy, but with Nov being as insane as it was, I'm surprised I had time to cook anything new, let alone make 8 recipes...
to continue:
3. Roast a pumpkin (to use the pulp for a later recipe)...this was SO easy and I'll have to do it again next year!
4. Pumpkin and sweet tato casserole mmmmmm! (fulfilling #50: eating real pumpkin!)
5. Roast pumpkin seeds with spices (nutmeg, all spice, cumin, cayenne, etc)
6. Black bean and pumpkin soup (notice the theme here?)
7. Warm green bean salad with toasted pinenuts (for Thanksgiving and also task #46)
8. Ranch Potato Casserole (also for T'gives)


#54 - Alright so I'm not going to be able to get my hair cut for the fall season, but I'm using the fact that I got it professionally styled for the wedding take the place of a haircut. I've never had my hair done before and it turned out really nice! Plus the stylist I had was so adorable and I've decided to go back and have her cut AND color my hair in January.

#77 - I've already started making my Christmas cards this year!!! They are turning out SO awesome too...every year I get better at this :) I've made like nine so far and have about 30 more to go?? haha! But I think if I ever get #14 going (build up a collection of crafty goods), Christmas cards are going to be on that list.

#87 - I listened to a few new-to-me artists on itunes because of the So You Think You Can Dance concert earlier this month: BT , Joshua Radin, James Morrison, Craig David, Devotchka, and The Presets to name a few! But I also must mention that while Duran Duran is by no means a new band, their recently released album Red Carpet Massacre is definitely a new sound and by new, I mean brilliant. LOVIE!

#51 - EATING OUT!! Man this has been hard, and I've even slightly cheated five times! Ok with one more day to go, here are the cheats:
1. Aforementioned German restaurant after John's grandma's funeral
2. Rehearsal Dinner at Maggiano's (and I went to town, let me tell you!)
3. Wedding Dinner (I had salmon, but I also tried Monica's chicken, ate TONS of garlic mashed tatos, as well as all of my delicious wedding cheesecake)
4. Every year after Thanksgiving, my fam shops the Black Friday sales starting at 7am. We ALSO eat lunch at some mall restaurant. We went to California Pizza Kitchen this year, but I was good and most definitely ordered a salad (Thai) with dressing on the side (of which I only used half)
5. About a month or more ago I emailed this local soup place (that makes my fave soup ever: spinach artichoke!) and asked if they were going to make a pumpkin soup this season. They emailed back and said that that was a really great request and they’d see what they could do! Well on Monday I got an email from them personally telling ME that they were going to have pumpkin soup on Wednesday (yesterday)...SO NICE! So I went over there and they even had “By request!” up on the dry erase board where the menu is! Once I got my soup, I told them “thanks for the requested pumpkin soup!” And the chick said “oh that was you?! Fun!” Awww!!! So even though I’m not supposed to eat out, I gave myself a dispensation because they were nice enough to make a whole pot of soup just because I requested it!

In any case, I've also turned down MAAAANY offers or ideas to eat out over the last month...I mean no breakfast at Denny's the morning after the wedding, no going out to Elkhorn with John to eat with him and Grace on Wednesdays, no adorable Bee's and a Movie with John after seeing the Mist this past weekend. So even with the cheats, it's been hard! And I feel like I'm counting down the hours until December 1st. Who knew that I rely on restaurants so heavily? And this is coming from a person who actually loves to cook at home!

blah blah updates

Alright, so I haven't updated in ages here, so I better sum up October...

#17 Another surprise house cleaning! In this case, I knew John's mom was coming into town and I thought it'd be nice particularly so she wouldn't feel like doing it herself!! ;)

#30 Milwaukee restaurant number nine is mi•key's...we were all going to do Cubanita's for Monica's pre-bachelorette dinner Friday night, but the wait was an hour and a half! So mi•key's it was and what a pleasant surprise! They never look like they're all that busy and I kinda wonder why because the food is actually way above par. I saw they had Mushroom Risotto as a side, so I just ordered that plus the House Salad which totally blew me away! A HUGE helping of greens plus craisins, Fontina cheese and a cran-rasp vinaigrette for your basic $4.50 House? Yes please! The rest of the group split a bunch of starters which I sampled as well: fancy Sliders (the one I tried was veal...mmm), to-die-for Steak Quesadillas, and Sausage/Mozz/GOUDA pizza that couldn't have been more perfect. I can't wait to go back to try one of their entrees...well, when I have an extra $30 lying around :\

#35 A couple symphony outings are in the works: in addition to the MSO Does Zeppelin in two weeks, my sis, mom and I are going to MSO does Hitchcock on Halloween next week. Good stuff!

#45 Recipes aplenty! Although I'm kinda going to combine a couple of "half" recipes together...it's like I make new stuff but it's my own recipe, so I'll only semi-count them...bah.

1/2 - Blackbean Soup: mashed up some blackbeans, sauteed some onions and garlic, simmered up some chicken broth, and whipped up a roux...it was quite delicious!

1/2 - Steak with Sauteed Baby Bella Mushrooms in Wine: I'm half-counting this because I've never pan fried steaks before and they turned out nearly PERFECT. One could say the cow was still mooing, but they're unbelievably tasty that way ;)

2 - Porkchops and Homemade Apricot (#50) Barbecue Sauce: my pride recipe of the month of October! It took me about three hours to make the BBQ sauce (well two of those hours was simmering)...but it turned out fingerlickin fab!! And I was just so amazed that the chunkiness of apricots and tomatoes actually turned into sauce without the use of any kind of ketchup or anything! I'm such a nerd. Also I've never baked porkchops before and they turned out really nice too! Of course anything tastes great with BBQ sauce!

3 - Drunken Apples: I coupled the chops with your basic sauteed apples in a thick brown sugar sauce...simply scrumptious

4 - Barbecue Chicken Casserole: I used the remaining sauce (wish I had had more though!) and combined it with pulled rotisserie chicken, corn, and sauteed onions and red peppers...spread that mixture into a baking dish and topped it with corn bread mix. Bake for about 20-25 minutes and you've got yourself a delicious sweet and savory casserole!

#69 - Two punctured and bruised arms later, I failed miserably at donating blood Oct 10th...we reconvened on Oct 16 and it was literally a race against time: I almost failed once again, but they got all the blood they needed under 15 minutes with literally only three seconds to spare or something ridiculous. I donate again on Dec 12 which means two donations in fall...now that week I also have off on Monday to Christmas shop, and have my lady doc appt on Thursday. That means I'm driving to the burbs three times in one week? Not so much. So I think I'm going to postpone my next donation to post Christmas (and post first day of winter), like the 27th. We have that entire week off of work, so that'll be nice. Man why am I thinking in words right now? I DIGRESS!

#87 - Technically I didn't do this, but I'm going to cheat slightly and describe how post the unbelievably ridiculous wonder that was the Aussie Floyd concert on Wednesday, I looked up contemporary bands that have the Floyd (or Floydian?) sound: aside from the obvious Radiohead/Muse/Flaming Lips type progressive rock bands, I checked out The Mars Volta, Porcupine Tree, and Comets on Fire...but the progrock band that definitely fit the bill the best is RPWL. I like the "vast landscapes of sound" they've got going on. So they'll be my Pick 'o the Month!

***

That's what I got! In the month to come, you will see me eating pasta again in one of the eight, count 'em EIGHT, recipes I have to create to make up for the summer. But I will be giving up the obsession that is Eating Out (#51). Sort of. I know it won't be completely impossible, but if I do HAVE to eat out, I can only get a baked fish or HEALTHY salad (none of that Bee's crap right?!). Dressing must be on the side and I have to use it sparingly!! Anyway, this will force me to make all eight recipes and really go above and beyond there. I mean hey, Fall is theeeee most perfect time to cook! Eating out is one of my big vices, so this will be a tough one... But speaking of, my atypical veggie for November will appropriately be pumpkin! And I'm actually going to buy a pie pumpkin and make the puree myself! Could be quite an endeavor!

Also, as of November 18th, I will finish up my duties as Maid of Honor (#101)...what a ride! But there's no feeling like being the Ultimate Friend to someone. I absolutely love it!! Being indispensable and truly making their experience that much better! Lovely :)

And finally....Holiday duties: I purchased almost all the supplies for Christmas cards (#77). I'm going to try and work the "20 Soundtracks" task into Christmas somehow (#79). But I'm not sure if THIS will be Bell Ringer year (#71)? I might already have too much going on...we'll see!

Ok I gotta stop writing...this post has gotten completely out of control. Until November!

when life takes a turn toward the meh

Ugh, what a day yesterday...not fun at all. I don't like arguing and yelling, but I don't like not being able to stand up for my principles either. At the end of the day, however, not everyone is going to be a grownup and follow the rules. And I have to learn to accept that. I'm not sporting my rose tinted shades by any means, but with so much crap going on in the world that is beyond our control, I feel that much stronger about injustices that we CAN control. But that's what happens sometimes and hopefully things will carry on for the better the rest of the week. N-N-Now th-th-that don't kill me can only make me stronger??

On a more productive positive note, here are some updates!

#17 - I was proud of John for his hard work lately and so surprised him with some eggrolls and homemade Orange/Kung Pao Chicken. Yum!

#28 - John and I took Grace to the zoo a couple weekends ago so fun!! We did indeed pet some sharks (rough skin) and sting rays (soft skin!)...and collected five Mold•A•Ramas. Gotta love the zoo! It was probably the most perfect day too...clear blue skies, about 70 degrees...gorge. I love the zoo!

#30 - One more new restaurant to add to the bunch: Cafe Lulu! Now what a fantastic place THIS is...the decor is all funky and hipster (as is the clientèle!) and the food is absolutely delicious at the most perfect price. Ok "free" would be a perfect price, but a huge avocado/bacon/cheddar melt and ginormous helping of the best Asian slaw I've ever had for $7.50? You can't go wrong. Plus downtown you'll get a Jack and Coke and fancy drink for $6 and $9 respectively. At Cafe Lulu (in Bayview just outside downtown) you'll get a Jack and Coke and, in my case, an Oranjito (don't get me started) for $4.50 and $7 respectively. Amazing!!! Haha! We also got a side order of "Bleu Lulu" chips: those really thick, good quality, homemade chips with blue cheese dip! Mmmmmmm. Now I just need to go to their breakfast: toasted sourdough bread topped with boursin, garlicky spinach, roma'matoes, two poached eggs and hollandaise??? You gotta be kidding me.

#87 - New-to-me band/artist of THIS month is Mark Ronson: kickass producer/dj/musician of the year. Obsessed. So much talent.

The only other thing I've got in the works right now is the bachelorette party. I cannot WAIT to be done planning!!! Not that it's a pain in the ass or anything, but just a lot of little things to keep tabs on, cancellations, making sure everything is fair, splitting up costs, etc. Not to mention the invites which are almost finished thank the powers that be!!!

To conclude, when life hands you lemons, make a vodka tonic...with lemon...but when life hands you lemons and you're at work and can't find the key to the booze drawer, listen to some good music....

End of July is Nigh

...up...

...up...

...and away!

#24 Kite flying was had! I mentioned it earlier maybe, but finally got the photos up. It was such a gorgeous day, but yeah, the wind wasn't havin' it. John had the kite up for like 45 seconds after I took that last one, and then I took a turn and had the kite up for maybe 5-10 minutes UNTIL I tried taking a picture WHILST holding said kite, and it fell. Classic.

OTHER updates!! Aside from the recipe sitch, I think I accomplished pretty much everything I wanted to.

#17 My surprise was very small...just baked some oatmeal raisin cookies and dropped them off at John's while he was with Grace. But it was partly an anniversary gift too. John surprised ME with a really hilarious card and GOOOOORGEOUS pink/yellow/orange roses. Our two [ish] year anniversary was simple, sweet and fun. We went to Harry's Bar & Grill for dinner...and then after we got home we shared the mini bottle of champagne I got from Monica and Tim's engagement party. Give or take a couple months in there, I can't believe it's been two years. And honestly things are so much better nowadays. Since the reunion, and a couple hiccups in there, I've never felt more "mature" and dare I say calm??? I just feel more trusting, confident, and genuinely happy. The work that we've both put into the relationship the last few months has been hard, but at the same time really fun! We're in a good place and hopefully it stays that way.

#39 Monday I played nine holes of golf!! Ok so I kinda blew. Not awful, but not great either. John and I played Best Ball (each player plays from the spot of the closest ball)...together we got a 47 which is like a 5 stroke average...not great for a par 3 course?? haha! But we used my ball's spot quite a few times! In any case, even though I wasn't all that good, I had a blast. It was nice to be out in the perfect weather, getting exercise, and having fun amongst the rolling hills of the course...it just made me want to go again soon to get the practice in! Yay golf!!

#75 I brought breakfast treats into work the other day, but I sort of feel bad counting it...it was thanks to everyone who contributed to the "Let's Thank Katie for Washing Our Dishes Every Day" Fund. They all got me a gift card to a spa!! It was crazy...I was totally taken a back. But in classic Katie style, I felt the need to thank THEM for such a sweet gesture. Hence the breakfast treats.

#95 I am currently reading my mom's draft of her latest novel Bloodchained which is ALL kinds of good. So in addition to the "classic" A Tale of Two Cities, I'll be able to add "erotica/romance" to my literary repertoire ;)

And finally...
#38 BALLOOOOONS!!!
John, Grace and I went to the Waukesha Co Fair as planned...the whole evening was so much fun. And the hot air balloons were the best. Not too many...only eight or nine total, but it was really cool watching them launch and then the whole "Balloon Glow" at night. Grace was especially a fan. Maybe she'll have a special place in her heart for hot air balloons like I do because of the Iowa Altoona Balloona fest I watched when I was her age?? In any case, here are some pix!

more here!

updates and thoughts a plenty

To begin, a few 101 Things List updates:

#6 - I thought of the TBA project! But it's a secret, so it will remain TBA for awhile. I really hope it turns out because it could be way rad. I'm excited!

#17 - last night I surprised John by cleaning his entire condo while he was off cleaning/painting his sister's garage!

#40 - I'm up to 16/30 days for the Pilates challange! It's all downhill from here? My Finish Date projection is mid July??? But obviously I will continue after that :)

#45 - two new recipes: 1. Salmon topped with Mango Pineapple Chutney (from recipe book #46) and 2. Grilled Steak on a Bed of Greens with Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing and Grilled Garlic Bread! I love summer...

#76 - I've been kickin some greeting card ass lately...not just birthdays either! But I purchased a "scrapbook kit" for $50 or so...I gotta make it worth my while!

#84 - I'm kind of on the spec book organizational train. I had to print off 12 copies of the spec revisions (at about 500 pages a pop...ouch trees), and I started organizing our incolumn ads. I'm not sure where to go from here, but at least it's something.

I can't even begin to describe how busy I've been lately. Not so much at work, but my personal life has exploded!! I guess that's what summer is all about. I want to make a schedule of things I could seriously accomplish in the remaining month.

• INKYTNMO scrapbook: will start to purchase items next Saturday or Sunday
At least I looked?? And I have a vague idea of what I need now!

• East Town Market THIS WEEKEND!!! I'll go before or after my orientation at St. John's

• Maybe tomorrow I'll have time to burn some soundtracks...have a "It's Summer...go on a road trip" theme?? If I had been ON IT I would have dumped a few treasures on my own road trip, but the thought didn't occur to me until now. I have nothing too spectacular going on tonight, so I could brainstorm a map of somekind for that hipster Geocache flair

• I will also make time to GIVE BLOOD before the 21st which is next Thursday. Because even though I've said "it's summer" like 39280352 times in this post, it technically isn't yet and I can still get in my "donate blood once a season" for Spring!
*Scheduled!! For Wednesday, the 20th. Whew!

Ok done...I will do these four things in the next week and a half. I promise!!!

Other thoughts? Not much...I want to be happier and just the other day I was wondering how I possibly couldn't be with so many nice things going on. I have an odd sense of impending doom going on behind the scenes. But why??? I'm exercising a lot (I can tell! I have muscles in places I didn't know had muscles?). I'm eating very well...produce a plenty. I'm dealing with a decent mix of social and homebody for the MOST part. I mean there are days, but I still have time to chill out and watch So You Think You Can Dance! ;) I don't know, maybe I do have too much going on. I feel stretched thin sometimes and yet feel guilty when I don't get everything done. Oh well...I mean there are people out there that do a hella lot more than I do on a daily basis, so I really should complain. But I definitely feel a level of anxiety. Hopefully it's just a hormonal thing...maybe Jupiter is aligned with Mars or something.

as the month ends

Well I didn't do the best I could this month (#45). I had two more recipes and I only really did one (cheeseygooeyhotsausagedip). Alas. Tonight's the last night I got, but I highly doubt I'll have time to cook up a recipe with all of the running around and last minute junk before the trip.

The new-to-me band (#87) changed to the Fratellis. They have a song in an iPod commercial ("Flathead"). They're like a lot of the Post-Strokes bands, but with a little bit of an edge...good stuff!

I surprised with John (#17) with some apology flowers the other week...eh, long story ;) Orange daisies and lime green mums...they match his house!

I worked on another work concept project (#85): designing the convention booth. My ideas won't make it into the final look, but at least I tried right? :)

And finally, I completed the first third of my Pilates 30 Day Challange (#40)! Unfortunately, I am about to embark on a trip sans pilates and full of plenty of calories. I'll have to work double time once I get back!

And that's all I got! June plans TBA....

Ok so that's the best of my flower porn up there. (the larger version is here. Hope you enjoy. It's like if Robert Mapplethorpe and Georgia O'Keefe had a love child?

More updates!

17. Surprise John (3/33)
And what a surprise indeed! Well, his birthday just so happens to be tomorrow, but I'm busy all day and won't be able to spend it with him. So! I got a few gift cards to places we used to frequent on our Days O' Fun (breakfast at Webb's, Target, coffee at Barnes & Noble), I also put my ticket stub to 300 in there as he really wants to see it too...along with our Bee's punchcard from when we used to go all the time. I also wrote a little clue poem thing to lead him to the graphic novel compilation Flight...which he can read whilst sipping his Starbucks coffee :) In addition to this little things, I got him two tickets to The Music of Led Zeppelin by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. VERY cool! He reeeeeally wanted tickets to this! In any case, if you haven't noticed from this gushing and gift giving, we're heading down a good road here. We had a rough heart to heart this past Sunday, which revealed a lot of anxiousness and dismay. But apparently it was the best conversation we could have had because, ever since that night, things have been so nice. Very relaxed and comfortable and I dare say splendid? Hopefully we'll stay on the right track!

30. New restaurants (5/10)
Speaking of birthdays, my sister and I took our stepdad to Cafe Hollander for his birthday! It was SO delicious! I had a roast turkey sandwich with gruyere, hot giardiniera, red onions and blackberry jam...oh man so good!

51. Guilty pleasure food Sweet bakery!
Man almighty this has been a hard month!! Everywhere I turn sweet bakery is looming and staring at me. I never thought I'd be so tempted by muffins, scones, donuts, and coffee cake!!! It's awful! May can't come soon enough. And speaking of temptation, that will be another hard one because I think I'm giving up candy. I've been all over candy lately like hot guys on the Lost island.

76. Birthday cards
I made a card for my stepdad and for John, both were hard because I'm used to making frilly girly ones...I had to butch these up a bit, but I think I did well. I also made a wedding card for a coworker...used my frilly girly skills to their strongest capacity!

And speaking of weddings, last but certainly not least:

101. Participate in a wedding
My bestest friend Monica just got engaged at long last!! And she asked lil old me to be her maid of honor!! TOO SWEET FOR WORDS! I am embarking on my very first maid of honor duty this Sunday when I drive down to Chicagoland with her mom to attend a bridal expo (the wedding is in a short seven months, so we gotta get crackin!). Frilly girliness awaits!

They say time heals all wounds

Wow! It's April already...life has taken me on one crazy journey this past month. So much has happened. For one, I haven't updated. And there's sort of a reason for that. What seemed to be very final and cut throat, morphed into this in-flux, mystifying situation with many more questions than answers. I guess what seemed dead was much more organic and alive than I gave it credit for. I won't go into too many details, but I'll say that things are never quite as they seem. Life has revealed some interesting stuff to me and I'm going to take advantage of it. With that said, I'm not going to change too much on my list...just two items. I'm keeping things open-ended and hoping for the best. I said this yesterday: "How do you know if you're going in the right direction if you don't go there?" So I'm taking a little walk. And I'm happy.

On to my update! A whole month's worth yipes! But here goes:

end February/all March/beginning April

17. Surprise John once a month: (2/33)
So, right away we've got this one. Too funny. Well, I'll just mention that I think my positive/optimistic response to his revelations on 3.22 was surprise enough!

30. New restaurant (4/10)
Open Flame (the best seafood I've had in Milwaukee so far!) 2.23
Benji’s (jewish deli although I had to have a tuna melt because it was a Friday! although my friend Katie bought me a corned beef sammie to eat the next day and it pretty much knocked my socks off) 3.2
Riverlane Inn (good seafood, but I still love O.F.) 3.24

39. Walking when it's above 60 degrees:
3.13 (70 degrees), 3.25 (75 degrees), 3.26 (80 flipping degrees)
The current temperature in Milwaukee? Oh that's right, it's 28 degrees and snowing. How's that for fabulous?

45./46. New recipes:
Feb:
*Pumpkin and sausage pasta 2.20 (4/4) - I made this twice it was so delicious! Just amazing!
Mar:
*Corn Chowder 3.5 (1/4)
Cold Sesame Noodles 3.21 (2/4)
Squash Risotto 3.26 (3/4) - also incredibly tasty so I made it twice...tonight I'm trying a mushroom risotto!
*Hot Potato Salad / Creamed Spinach sides ?date? (4/4)
Apr:
Mandsi's Kielbasa dish (kielbasa, napa cabbage, sweet onions with a sweet relish/hot mustard/horseradish/fennel sauce) 4.1 (1/4)

*...also from Christmas recipe books (4/50)

50. Atypical Produce:
Feb: zucchini .5/33
(ok so I never made it...but I had made a Zucchini Gratin dish RIGHT before Feb started so I'll count halvsies and make it up later!)
Mar: bean sprouts 1.5/33
(added them to my cold sesame noodles at the last minute!)
April: artichoke hearts
(have a few recipes in mind!)

51. Guilty food
Feb: fried foods...a success!
Mar: chips...a success!
Apr: This month's is sweet bakery, but this also includes bagels...a hard one!

54. Hair cut: (1/12)
Spring: 3.14

58. Organize paperwork
Done and done...I even took home all the stuff from my work drawer! So exciting.

68. Vacation from list (1/12)
Although I fulfilled most of my monthly duties, I think my general absence from this blog counts as a vacay...

72. Give away Beanie Babies
Crossing this one off the list is a big one for me. I've had these mini Beanie Babies for like 7-8 years or something. I got them for free when I worked at McDonald's. And of course, greedy 20 year old Katie wanted to make money off of them one day. Well times have changed and I always wanted to give them to someone who would really appreciate them (that and they really aren't worth anything at all!) So a couple weeks ago, I find out my boss is going on this missionary trip to Africa this summer. She asked everyone if they had anything to donate, including toys for the African students. Perfection!!! So I had about 27 of the little guys and I handed them over to her the other day. Good stuff!

75. Bring treats into work (2/8)
Our first 5th floor Happy Half Hour 3.9 (brought 3 bottles of vino)
Spring CKYP Luncheon 3.15 (brought "famous" buffalo chicken dip)

76. Home-made Birthday cards
Bekky - 2.28
Jean - 3.1
Joel - 3.16
(I also made a thankyou card for my mom and a sympathy card for a security guard here who's fiancé passed away)

87. New band (3/33)
Feb: Röyksopp
Mar: the Good, the Bad and the Queen
Apr: The Brian Jonestown Massacre

93. Lent
Well I've tried to participate as best I could. My "almsgiving" turned out to be volunteering my services at the St. John's soup kitchen via the CK Culture Committee. I went to the Ash Wed service of course, along with one church service every weekend, but only one Stations of the Cross which I sort of regret. It's quite an endeavor (particularly on the quads...who knew?!), but definitely something I'd like to participate in more next year. This week is Holy Week of course, and I plan to attend the 7:30 mass on Holy Thursday (Last Supper), the noon service as well as the evening Tenebrae service on Good Friday, the 3 hour Easter Vigil on Saturday, and finally the 8:00 Easter Sunday service followed by a lovely Easter brunch at my parents (salmon crepes!!!) After that I'll be able to cross off this item!

Miscellaneous:
Stuff I continue to do regularly: aspirin mask, weekly grocery list, $250 in savings, $1 a day (starting today! oops!), and sticking to budget (eh sort of...I'm good with the groceries, but the rest isn't where I'd like to be just yet)

TO DO LIST!:
-The 26 project - I'm going to check the website sometime this week or next
-Donate blood (the plan is 4.20 via work)
-Inspirational Note/soundtrack - I'll figure this out sometime this week as it is Holy Week!
-Books: finish He’s Scared She’s Scared to count toward my ten books
-Take spring photos (yesterday would have been a perfect stormy spring photo opp, blah)

And finally...

New items to the list:
These two are OUT: 99 & 100....I’m not pushin the envelope there anymore. Not that I was in the first place. But my Big Goals don't have to be either of these things. The other John related items, however, I’m going to ever so optimistically leave for now :)

What's IN?
new 15. Create INKYTNMO* Scrapbook!
* - INKYTNMO = Indiana Kentucky Tennessee Missouri road trip Memorial week!
new 62. Decorate bedroom so it looks like I sleep there!


I will update my list after posting. And speaking of posting, excuse the length here! Hopefully I will be able to update more often now that my life has settled down a touch. I really hope to get on some of these more creative/inspirational type projects sooner than later! Until then!

keepin it cuban

4/4 - Note: all of the numbering prior to and including this entry is off because I changed my list. Carry on!

A few more updates! Life has been topsy turvey lately, but my list is keeping me sane I guess... Oh and please try not to gag at this first one! ;)

#16 Surprise John (1/33)
A little ironic considering my week, but I surprised...or at least tried to surprise John yesterday for Valentine's Day. I bought a red shadow box and put a bunch of mementos and a couple photos of us inside with pushpins (totally stole this idea from HIS last years' Vday gift to ME!!) Then I taped lyrics to "our songs" along the frame of the box. I also got a red retro vase a put a red, orange, and purple rose inside (kinda representing me, him and Grace). I wrapped the shadowbox in a Captain America tshirt I got from Target. I followed my "hand made cards" task and made a Valentine's card for him too. AAAANYWAY, that morning I walked over to his condo building and like a flipping STALKER, waited for a car to drive out of the garage so I could "sneak in". Ahhh it would be so much easier to surprise him if I had a key.... ;) I quietly left the package and flowers by his door and ran out and off to work. When he got to work, he said that he found the gifts, and read the card, but didn't open the bag because he was rushing out the door. I was a little bummed, but oh well. He had a present for later. I think he liked it all? Not sure if he was "surprised" per se?

#29 Ten new restaurants (1/10)
Last night I did Vday with the ladies and had dinner at Cubanitas on Milwaukee St. OhmyFABULOUS!!! In case you're curious, their specialty, the Cuban Sandwich, is roast pork, sliced ham, swiss cheese, mustard, and a thin dill pickle pressed on Cuban bread (flown in!) so it’s all melty and gooey...man almighty I want to DIE just thinking about it! With it I got sweet plantains...equally as to die for. Seriously. I also had a mojito...I'd be a fool not to! They definitely have the best mojitos in the city. With Cheesecake Factory at a close second interestingly enough... So my first restaurant out of ten, I give an A+! I can't wait to go back for that sandwich. Also, I wanted to try one of my friends' fried plantains, but because of my fried food ban this month, I refrained. Next time though!

#44 & 45 Four new recipes (3/4) and (1/50) recipes from Christmas Cookbooks
I made a Chicken and Orzo recipe from Rachael Ray's "Comfort Foods" book. I know I just gushed about food, but man, this dish was fab too! Diced chicken, garlic and onion, chicken stock, fresh thyme and orzo basically simmering in a pot for 20 minutes...then you had a ton of an Italian shredded cheese mix and black pepper. So wonderful and totally the epitome of comfort food, which I needed this week :)

Fifteen minutes till I'm OUTTA here...and I'm starving of course!