I'm cheating...

... a little this week. Time is short, but I still wanted to post, so I thought that I would fill out one of these "getting to know you" memes. I won't 'tag' anyone, but it'd be cool to read others' answers! =)

1. Do you wish on stars? Yes
2. Do you like your handwriting? For the most part
3. What is your favorite lunchmeat? Turkey
4. What is your most embarrassing CD? New Kids on the Block
5. Are you a daredevil? I wish that I were, but I’m totally not
6. Do you have a journal? Sort of – I’m writing down my thoughts about Addy for Addy
7. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Nope
8. What’s your favorite ice cream flavor? Chocolate
9. What color pants are you wearing? Grey
10. What are you listening to right now? Adam’s episode of Dr. Who
11. Last thing you ate? Pizza
12. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Magenta
13. What is the weather like right now? Cool and damp
14. Favorite Drink? Coke (through a straw)
15. Favorite Sport? Swimming
16. Hair Color? Not quite as blonde as it looks =)
17. Do you wear contacts? Yes
18. Scary Movies or Happy Endings? Happy endings
19. Summer or Winter? Summer
20. Hugs or Kisses? Hugs
21. What Is Your Favorite Dessert? Chocolate cake
22. Rolling Stones or Beatles? Beatles
23. If you could build a second house anywhere, where would it be? In the Caribbean
24. What are your favorite articles of clothing? Do flip-flops count?
25. The last CD you bought? I guess I really don’t remember – the next one that I buy will probably be the new Rascall Flatts
26. What time do you wake up in the morning? We’re late risers at our house (even with Addy) – it’s usually between 7:00 and 8:00
27. What is your favorite kitchen appliance? Insta-hot
28. If you could play an instrument, what would it be? Steel drums
29. Favorite color? Purple
30. Which vehicle do you prefer – sports car, motorcycle or SUV? SUV
31. Do you believe in the afterlife? Yes
32. Favorite children’s book? Say Goodnight Gracie
33. What is your favorite season? Autumn
34. If you have a tattoo, what is it? Don’t have one
35. Can you juggle? Nope
36. What is under your bed? Cat hair, cat toys, and wrapping paper
37. What is your favorite day? Thursday nights – weird but true
38. Which do you prefer – sushi or hamburger? Hamburger
39. What is your favorite flower? Yellow rose
40. What is your favorite meal? Breakfast – waffles, bacon, hashbrowns – yum!
41. Describe your PJs – Adam’s old t-shirt and flannel pants
42. What is your favorite breakfast? See #40
43. Do you like your job? As Addy’s Mom – you bet!!!!
44. Where did you meet your spouse? In a community service fraternity in college
45. Something you would like to do that you have never done before? Ski the Swiss Alps

The Office - Season Premiere ** (out of 5)

The one premiere that I was really looking forward to watching this season was The Office (it premiered on Thursday). I often think that the writers lie awake at night thinking up material. However, I think they fell asleep this time instead.

The show was long and not very funny – it revolved around a Rabies ‘Run for the Cure’ and was often disjointed and drawn out.

The relationship between Michael (the odd and often inappropriate character) and his once supervisor has become strained and just plain weird. It was actually uncomfortable to watch.

The fact that Ryan was working at corporate and out of the action was disappointing, as he often adds humor to situations just by being around. I hope that his post at the headquarters is short-lived.

Oh and Andy's bloody and chafed nipples were just plain gross. And that was his entire contribution to this show.

The only good part about the episode was the fact that Jim and Pam admitted that they are dating at last. Here’s hoping that the writers decide that it’s ok to keep them together and forego the thought that tension makes for better television.

It wasn’t enough to keep me from watching the next show... but I'm hopeful that the funny from previous seasons returns soon.

Margaret's Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup

Adam I have resumed our 'dinner and a movie' nights! We tried this recipe from Adam's aunt Margaret last night. (FWIW, she says that it's from allrecipes.com, but it will be under her name in my recipe box!) Ours turned out as more of a chili than a soup, which actually was perfect for us. Oh and yeah, it was really good!

1 onion, chopped
1 (16 oz) can chili beans
1 (15 oz) can black beans
1 (15 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (12 fl oz) can or bottle beer (used a can of chicken broth)
2 (10 oz) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
1 (1.25 oz) packet taco seasonings

3 – whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts

OPTIONAL TOPPINGS:
Shredded Cheddar cheese, Sour cream & Crushed Tortilla chips

A) Place first 8 items in slow cooker, stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts
on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other
ingredients. Keep covered & cook at LOW heat, 5 hours.

B) Remove chicken, allow to cool slightly. Using a fork, pull chicken
apart, into small shreds. Return shredded chicken to slow cooker for
at least another 2 hours.

Serve, topped with a dollop of sour cream, cheddar choose and crushed
tortilla chips. Enjoy!

What makes this recipe even better is that the chicken can be frozen - no thawing needed. I don't know why, but I hate thawing meat... so this is just perfect!!

The movie last night was Knocked Up. We got a rather late start so we'll finish the movie tonight, but so far it's actually an ok movie.

Ratings:
Adam - Soup ****; Movie - ***
Melanie Soup ****1/2; Movie ***1/2

"Look at my teeth!"

You have to look closely, but they are definietly there. In the last two weeks, Addy has started teething, sitting up on her own and crawling (at least in a modified form). She's growing up!

Just Because...

...I love you. ...I wanted to say hi. ...I'm thinking about you. ...I miss you. ...you're my friend. ...I wish you well. ...you're super. ...just because. I'm official! Just Because is now up and running. If you're interested, stop by and take a look. I love feedback on the site - please let me know if you think that changes should be made in order to make the site more user friendly. And, if you ever have a need for a gift package, please keep me in mind! Thanks! =)

The power of the Goodwill box

Yesterday I did it. I finally went through and sorted all of my clothes… and this time I was brutal. All of those clothes that I should have gotten rid of previously but didn’t (“What if 1980s fashions come back into style and I need this shirt?”) got put in a box. They’re going away. Emotions be darned.

I always keep an open ‘for Goodwill’ box in our closet. I’ve heard that this is the way to keep clutter from accumulating. Always have a box open so that when you come across something that you don’t want or need anymore, there’s a place to put it – a box to put it in. Then, when the box is full, start a new one and take the full one to Goodwill.

I have to admit that it really does work pretty well. But, it doesn’t work on those things that are kept around because of an emotional attachment. (I’m not talking about true emotional meaning… I’ll always keep things like my wedding dress and graduation robes. I’m talking about that “Oh I really liked the way those pants fit… back in 1995 and even though they don’t fit that way anymore and even though they’re not in style, I still may have a need for them someday” emotion). To get rid of those pants (and several items like them) takes strength. I was strong yesterday.

No, the box is not yet at Goodwill, but it will be soon. And until then I’m not going to allow myself to go back through it again. My decisions don’t need to be second guessed by me when I’m in a weaker moment than I was when I first made the decision.

But now, I have a little secret to share too. After I left the closet and my rearranged dresser drawers (they actually close without me having to jam the clothes down in them now), I actually felt just a little bit freer. Isn’t that crazy? I’ve heard it said that getting rid of clutter can be freeing, but I have to say, I never really thought that was possible. I guess I was wrong.

It’s a pretty good feeling. I mean, I’m not going to go build a house on Walden Pond anytime soon or anything, but the realization was a welcome one. I guess I’ll have to start on cleaning out the garage again! =)

Because I Said So ***1/2 (out of 5)

I’m talking about the movie not the blog (though the blog is pretty funny – I highly recommend that you check it out). Anyway – on to the movie.

It’s about the dynamic between mothers and daughters. This movie shows what happens when a well-intentioned mom (Diane Keaton) meddles just a bit too much in her youngest daughter’s (Mandy Moore) love life. Mom places an online personal ad for daughter (without daughter’s knowledge) with hopes of finding Mr. Right for daughter (from mom’s perspective of course). Complications arise when daughter starts dating two men – the one that mom picked and one that mom most certainly would not have picked.

About one third of the way into the movie, I had rather high hopes, but the movie did start to slide downhill a bit as the end approached. It just seemed to end rather abruptly. The primary plot of the movie became secondary to a minor storyline and I was left wanting a little more resolution than was provided.

All-in-all though, it was a fun movie and a good chic flick. I loved the dynamic between Mom and daughter (and the other two daughters/sisters that I have neglected to mention here as well).

I watched this movie while Adam was out of town, and I’m positive that was the right time to watch it. I think that he would have lumped it into his “They Came to Talk” category of movies that he doesn’t particularly care for. =) I’d guess that most guys would feel the same way about the movie as well. But, if you’re looking for a movie night in with the girls, I’d say to give it a go.

Nachos

We're really falling behind! I'm posting an oldie but a goodie (and an easy!!). =)

This one is a family favorite for a fall dinner or for Sunday afternoon football!
1.5 lb ground beef, browned
1 C medium salsa
2 C shredded cheddar cheese
1 bag of tortilla chips OR 4 baked potatoes

1. Brown the ground beef in a skillet and drain fat. Add salsa to meat, bring to a boil and then turn heat down to low and cover. Simmer for ten minutes.
2. Pour meat mixture over tortilla chips (for game day) or over baked potatoes (for dinner) and sprinkle cheese on top.
3. Enjoy!!

Adam: Nachos - "when served with a side of football **** 1/2"
Melanie: Nachos **** 1/2

Ready to roll

This picture is a little late, but I thought that I would post it anyway. Addy and I went for a tour of the Redmond Fire Department last week and I was struck by the fire jackets hanging in the garage - just waiting for a call.

The life of a dollar bill

For the past couple years, I've been trying to track the dollar bills that come in and go out of our house. Of course, this is true from a 'balancing-the-checkbook' standpoint, but I'm actually speaking more literally. I'm talking about tracking bills through the Where's George (cleverly named for George Washington) site. It's simple - when we receive a bill, I log it at the site and then stamp the bill with a Where's George stamp in hopes that the next person will see the stamp and log the bill in at the site after it leaves my hands. I've had a couple hits, though nothing all that exciting (all bills have stayed in the area, even though we've been sure to take stamped bills with us when we go on vacation), but I have to admit, the possibility of what could happen if the right bill ended up in all of the right hands keeps me stamping and entering!

Regularly scheduled blogging

Wow - where does the time go? I'm madly working on getting my little business venture up and running (more on that in a few days) and of course, spending lots of fun time with Addy (who, BTW, is cutting her first tooth today - yay!!!) and I truly haven't even really thought about writing lately. So, to think about the fact that I haven't written means that I'm now thinking about writing (even if it is that I'm thinking about not having done so) - and therefore, I can no longer use that as an excuse I suppose. So, this is my long winded way of saying that my break is over. Regular posts will return at the end of this sentence. =)

Lasagna and Ballykissangel

On Wednesday, we had lasagna and watched a couple episodes of an old favorite, Ballykissangel - which actually was the reason for our visit to Ireland a couple years back.

Maybe someday soon, we'll get back to actually watching movies on movie night.

Easy Lasagna
Yields: 12 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 (32 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
32 ounces cottage cheese
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 eggs 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons dried parsley
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
9 lasagna noodles
1/2 cup water

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large skillet over medium heat brown the ground beef. Drain the grease. Add spaghetti sauce and simmer for 5 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the cottage cheese, 2 cups of the mozzarella cheese, eggs, half of the grated Parmesan cheese, dried parsley, salt and ground black pepper.
3. To assemble, in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish evenly spread 3/4 cup of the sauce mixture. Cover with 3 uncooked lasagna noodles, 1 3/4 cup of the cheese mixture, and 1/4 cup sauce. Repeat layers twice. Top with 3 noodles, remaining sauce, remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Add 1/2 water to the edges of the pan. Cover with aluminum foil.
4. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F(175 degrees C) oven for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Ratings (out of 5):
Adam - Lasagna ***; Ballykissangel *****
Melanie - Lasagna ** 1/2; Ballykissangel ****

Creepy crawly

The Northwest is full of cool spiders (well, cool from a distance anyway). While I was taking this spider's picture, I just knew that a spider was crawling down my neck. All was well though - turns out it was just my hair... each and every time.

Addy's family tree

We've started a family tree project for Addy. However, we've just started and there's a lot of information that we're missing. The above image is just the basic framework of it all. If you have any information (names, birth dates, marriage dates etc. etc. etc.), we'd love it if you could send it on to us (I guarantee you will not send too much information!)!

We're using a pretty cool genealogy program - and best of all it's written on top of Adam's group's product! Try to add your own family and see just how easy-squeezy it is to use!

Hotels

When I was little, the best part about being away from home was sleeping in a hotel. We weren’t away from home very often – which made the time away from my own bed even more exciting. Even now, though the novelty has worn off somewhat, I have to admit, I still like staying in hotels.

During the summer Adam and I went to a drive-in on Whidbey Island. Good drive-ins are hard to find here, and this one (our favorite) is a ways away – especially at 2:00am, so we decided to stay overnight at the Best Western on the Island.

Adam checked us in before the movie as Addy and I stayed in the car. As we sat there under the drive-through carport that so often marks entrances to hotels, I was reminded of the times that my Mom and I would wait in the car for my Dad to come back with a map – our room marked with an “X”. A generation later, Mom and daughter repeated history, as we waited for Dad to come back with a key to our pit-stop for the night.

After the movie, we went back to the hotel and settled in for the evening. As we opened the door from the hallway to our room, I smelled the excitement of staying in a hotel - the scent of freshly laundered linens, combined with that lingering whiff of stale cigarette smoke that just won’t ever quite go away. It was right there, just beyond the door.

So I soaked it in.

That night my younger self took over and forgot the fact that the television remote is the germy-est thing in a hotel room and that the bedspread is probably a close second. I changed into my pjs and left my clothes in a pile at the side of the bed (because it’s ok to do that in a hotel for some reason) and then I crawled between the cool white sheets under the heavy bedspread and flipped on the television to watch whatever was on, just because it was on. Free from guilt, I thoroughly enjoyed the soda and candy bar (from the vending machine of course) on the bedside table (I guess calories don’t count in hotels either).

As it did twenty years ago, our hotel room offered a small bubble-like oasis for our little family.

The next morning we woke up slowly and watched some more TV and indulged in the continental breakfast (we took full advantage of the calorie-not-counting deal) and then packed up to head back home.

As we pulled out of the parking lot, I have to confess, I looked back – with just a little longing at the fact that we had turned in our keys to our small little corner of paradise. But was cheered by the fact that I know that delight is waiting for us again – just beyond the next hotel room door.

Mythbusters **** (out of 5)

Adam and I love to watch Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel. I think that we’ve seen every episode ever aired. The basic premise: the Mythbusting team takes age old adages or myths and ‘puts them to the test’ to see if they really are true. We’ve seen the Mythbusters challenge quite a few myths – from questioning if it really is possible to teach old dogs new tricks to examining if rolling stones really gather no moss. They’ve tested quite a few conventional (and even some rather unconventional) myths.

According to their website, they have aired 82 shows (though I believe that that number may be a little outdated). The early shows feature only Jamie and Adam and are, I think, a little more interesting than the later shows, for they test some of the more common myths – ones that (my) Adam and I have actually heard of. Plus in the early shows, it was fun to watch conservative and careful Jamie and erratic and crazy Adam interact with each other. In later episodes, it appears that they have rubbed off on one another, making their personalities a little less distinct and taming down the interaction between the two.

The Mythbusters team has grown since the first shows and and now includes Grant, Kari and Tory. While they are all fun to watch, I don’t think that the show would have survived without super-smart Grant who always knows how to build the exact thing that is needed. (Grant is by far the best Mythbuster on the team!).

In general, I really enjoy the show, though lately, I think that they may be stretching for material. They plug their website a ton (asking for new myths to bust) and the number of commercials per episode has steadily increased. It also appears that the myths that are being busted are more and more dangerous (well beyond the schadenfreude of Adam vacuuming his face or burning his eyebrow off or Tory trying to clear a way-too-high jump on his bike) and more and more scary stunts are taking place inside the converted warehouse/shop that the show occupies. We recently saw a show that included rather careless actions (exploding cannons in the shop!) which made me happy that I wasn’t the Mother of any on the team!!

I have learned some things from the show and I like the fact that they revisit myths when the viewers think that the team didn’t fully address the myth at hand. I think that the show may have unavoidably become a little more commercialized than ideal, but I guess that is the way that these things go.

Overall, I’d say it’s worth Tivoing (that way the commercials don’t waste your time!) – and best of all, probably provides something for most viewers.