Grillin' up some pie!

Another weekend in the books!  I've had some great weekends lately with family and friends.  That's really been a treat for me, since I've spent soooo many weekends recently working and working and working!

This weekend began with the Tour De Belleville ride on Friday night.  This was my 4th year participating in the race.  The Tour De Belleville is a night-time bike ride through Belleville and Swansea with two different bike routes...6 miles and 15 miles.  There was quite a large group of us this year...Judy & Rich, Mom and John, Vicki, myself and my cousin, Jimmy.  Chad, Ashley and Judy's mom, Cheryl, all came out to cheer us on!  Woo hoo!  Here's a pick of us pre-ride grabbing some grub and beverages at the Wine Tap.

 It ended up being a great night for a ride...perfect weather!  We had a fab time!  I haven't been on the bike at all this summer.  Mom and I went for a 16 mile ride last weekend, but that was the very first time this year.  Thank goodness I've recently increased my gym time.  Otherwise, I wouldn't have made it!  Fun times!!

Saturday...with very little sleep...Mom, John, Chad & I headed down to Columbia, MO.  Calyn was having a BBQ in celebration of Ben attaining his citizenship.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics of this trip.  I really wanted to get a shot of Ben with his papers...BUT he misplaced them!!!  Already!!!  Can you believe it?!?!  Love him anyway!  It was great to spending time with my niece and family!!


Today I hit the gym...and the went to see a house in Soulard with Ashley.  Ashley and her Chad are looking for some new digs and are focusing on the Soulard area.  I'm soooo jealous!  I can't wait for Chad and I to start looking.  My house looks the best this year than it ever has, but I'm so ready for a new...more modern place.  Here's the place that we looked at today. Super cute!!!


Tonight Chad and I tried our hand at homemade grilled pizza.  I've never made homemade pizza dough before...or even tried grilling it.  It didn't turn out half bad.  I can't wait to try it again!!!  We made two pizzas...a pepperoni and a veggie...both with jalpenos!!

Here is a pic of the dough rising and the ingredients used.  You can find the recipe for the dough here!

Here is a pic of the dough rolled out and the pepperoni pizza prior to hitting the grill!  We grilled the bottom side first as several blogs suggested.  After that we flipped it over on a pan (undone side down) and topped the pizza with all the yummy ingredients.  Then we put it back on the grill (on a piece of foil as suggested by a friend) for 5 min with the lid down.

Here are both pizzas in their finished state...and boy were they yummy!!!!  Everything worked great!!!

Next up...a stressful week!  I'll be prepping lot of files, etc for our accreditation on-site visit on July 18th & 19th.  I'm also hoping to hit the gym several times this week...and then there is Judy's birthday dinner on Thursday.  Hope everyone had a fab weekend!!!

One Stop Shopping

I have the best hairdresser ever!! I walked in for a cut/color...and walked out with that and a iPhone 3GS!! Woo hoo!!

I was complaining about slow and horrible my iPhone 3G has been. He just happened to have an EXTRA iPhone 3GS hanging around that he said I could use until the iPhone 5 comes out in September. Rock on!!

I promptly went home and sent some time backing up my old phone and restoring it to the "new" phone! Holy moly! It's like having a completely new phone! It's ridiculously faster...I can type without it freezing...Applications don't take 5 min to open. The list goes on and on! Now the real test will be Words With Friends! Ha!!

Let me know if you know a great place to get a cheap case. I need to protect this thing before I drop it...as we all know that I'm prone to do!

I've been praying to the iPhone gods for so long! They finally listened!! Thank you, David!


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OMG TMJ!

So Sunday afternoon I noticed a pain on the left side of my jaw. Initially I thought it was a dental issue. But after much poking & prodding on my teeth and gums, I think I ruled that out. The pain continued to increase throughout the evening. I realized it was localized in my left TMJ joint...very tender! By the time Monday morning came around the pain was quite intense!! You would think a fractured finger and back issues would be enough for me but apparently not. Man, I'm getting old.

After much research on the Internet, it seems that most people get this from clenching & grinding their teeth. Now I've done this before, and the pain was in my teeth...not my TMJ joint. Others just get it while they are eating. Of course I hadn't eaten in hours when I began to notice the pain.

Long story short...I have this intense pain that inhibits me from chewing or opening my mouth very wide (like yawning). I had it adjusted at the chiropractor yesterday, but that didn't seem to help much. Medication doesn't even seem to touch the pain, but that's just as well. I'm not a big meds taker. So I've resorted to jaw exercises specifically for this problem. They help while I'm doing them at least. Let's hope they have a lasting effect!

On the flip side, my finger seems to be healing nicely. Another week or two of taping, and it should be ready for the beach!! Let's just hope my jaw is!!

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Dr. Chad

Phew!  What a busy week!!  I was in KC for the first part of it.  I made it back just in time for Chad's mom's arrival.  Sandi was in town for Chad's graduation.  We had a whirlwind weekend.  Wednesday night we took Sandi to Zia's on the Hill for a little St. Louis Italian.  You gotta love Zia's!!  Thursday we hit up St. Charles for a little window shopping in the cute little boutiques there and had dinner at Frazer's.

Friday was Chad's graduation at SLU.  Wow!  What a long, fabulous day!  Graduation started bright and early at 8am.  The ceremony was followed by two different receptions...one for the entire School of Arts & Sciences and the other, the smaller of the two, was for the Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Dept.  Later that night we hosted a dinner for Sandi, my family and Chad's advisor, Dr. Graves, and his wife at Sage.   Here's a few pics of the day.

Chad & his mom, Sandi

Me and the doctor

Chad and his advisor, Dr. Graves

Saturday we stopped by Rick's for a bit of vino before heading up the River Road to Grafton.  It was a beautiful day for a drive and a glass of wine at Aerie's Winery.  Later that afternoon we went to my mom's for a celebratory dinner for Chad.

Today I'm spending the day working...catching up from being off the last couple of days.  I'm wishing I wasn't spending the beautiful day inside, but it was definitely worth it being off the last couple of days.  Hope everyone has a great week!!

Good Times...

Wow!  It's been almost a month since I posted last!!  I can hardly believe it.  It's been so crazy the last several weeks...and I expect more craziness in the coming weeks too!  Ha!  

Time to play catch up...
Here's a random pic of my niece, Lehni, from Easter.  Sooooo cute!

Me and the girls at Casa on Cinco de Mayo!  It was sooo drizzly and cold that night, but we managed to make it outside for a bit.

Last night we had a small get together at Global Brew for Chad's impending graduation and my birthday.  It was a good time!!  Here's a couple of pics of my mom, John, Chad and I.

Me with Kristine, Rebecca & Joli

...and a few of the SLU crew.

This coming week is going to be crazy!  I'm headed to KC for work on Monday morning.  I get back Wednesday...just in time for Chad's mom's arrival.  Sandi is coming in town for Chad's graduation on Friday.  We have lots of plans for the end of the week.  I should be thoroughly exhausted by Sunday...but it should be a good time!  Have a great week!!

Another fun weekend!  Why do they always go by so fast???  Friday night, Ashley, Kristine and I hit up The Wine Tap.  It's the perfect way to spend a Friday night!  I definitely indulged...in a whole pizza and a Chardonnay flight!  Yumm-o!

Saturday, Ashley, Vicki and I went to Rick's for a little vino.  We tasted some great wines, but my favorite of the afternoon was the Y3 Taureau...a jammy, full-bodied red.

I can almost never leave Rick's without purchasing something, so I got two of my all-time faves...Cline Cashmere & Y3 Chardonnay.  Saturday night I made dinner for Chad and I...one of Ashley's recipes.  It was super yummy!  Check our her blog for the recipe!

Sunday, Chad and I worked in the flowerbeds for a couple of hours.  Needless to say after bending over for that length of time, I was down for the count.  I didn't get the cleaning done that I had hoped for the plants look great!  What a beautiful day!!  I even cooked again tonight!  Can you believe it?!?!  This time I made a Rachel Ray dish...Moussaka.


I've got a busy week ahead of me, but it looks to be a fun one too!  Jeff's on Monday & a beer tasting at iTap on Thursday.

DC Trip

This week I had to travel to Potomac, MD (just outside of Bethesda where are corporate offices are located) for a work conference.  It was the senior Health Services and Network staff from all of Coventry's health plans.  These used to be annual events, but they haven't evolved the last couple of years.  So this was my first time to attend.  It was nice to finally put a face to the names & voices that I've worked with for the last several years.  The conference consisted of lots and lots of speakers, but they also threw in a little "mandatory fun"...as I like to call it.  Mandatory fun can be defined as any activity that you absolutely do not want to do...but that the company thinks would be fun to make you do.

Surprisingly, I was actually looking forward - somewhat - to the mandatory fun this trip, since I have never been to the DC area.  It consisted of some free time (2 hours to be exact) to walk around the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, etc.  I threw in the "somewhat" because it happened to be in the low 40's and super gusty on this afternoon.  BRRRR!!!  In this case, 2 hours was way too long!!!  We spent the last 40 minutes huddled in the Lincoln Memorial trying to stay out of the wind.  I did manage to take lots of pics though.  There were some great clouds in the sky from the storm earlier that day.  They made for some really great pics!  

The two sites that I wanted to see the most were the White House and the Reflection Pool.  I did get a glimpse of the Reflection "Pool", but the White House was a no go.  Boo!

We were supposed to be viewing the cherry blossoms, but most blew off in the storm.  Here's a pic of the last couple trees that had the blossoms.

Here's the Korean War Memorial.  These statues made the hair stand up on my arms!

This is the WWII Memorial.  It was amazing how large it was.  Gorgeous!

This is the Freedom Wall, which is part of the WWII Memorial.  Forgive me if I get this wrong.  If I remember right, each star stands for 100 lives lost during that battle.  It was a bit breathtaking.

I took tons of the Washington Monument!  It's such an enormous structure!!

Next up...the Lincoln Memorial

Love this pic!  It's from atop the Lincoln Memorial.  You can see the Washington Monument and the top of the Capitol building!

...and the drum roll please!  The Reflection Pool or as I like to call it...the Mud Pond!!

(Darn construction/rehab project!)

Happy Birthday, Ash!

What can I say?  I'm behind on my blogging once again, so let me catch you up.  Last Saturday we celebrated Ashley's birthday with a pub crawl in Soulard.  Here's a few pics of our fun afternoon.  The birthday girl with Chad...

...and Vicki

Vicki and Larry

Me and Jude

Me and Chad

Last but not least...the girls!

Cheers!

Return from Hoosier-ville...

Soooo excited to be leaving Hoosier-ville!  Over the next month, I will have a new roof, a new porch railing and a cleaned up yard!  It's definitely going to cost me, but man is it going to be worth it!!!  Adult-hood sure is expensive!  : )

Pics to come in the future...

Fun Times!

March has brought me lots and lots of work, but I've found time for a few fun days...Mardi Gras, The STL St. Pat's Day Parade & St. Patty's Day.  Check out some of the pics below...

A pre-drinking breakfast at Cracker Barrel

Bundled up for the parade.  Must drink to keep warm!  ; )

The only way to do up Mardi Gras...VIP tickets inside a warm bar with normal toilets...and all the food & drink that you want!

Another pre-drinking meal before the STL St. Patty's Parade.

What a different a week makes in the weather!  What a great day!

...and finally the celebration of St. Pat.  Fun Mary came all the way from the ATL to see how the STL does up St. Patty's Day!

Fun times with good friends!

Better than perfect...

That's right! I'm better than perfect...my eyes, at least. I went to the optometrist yesterday for my 6 month checkup following the PRK surgery. Great news! Both eyes are 20/15...better than 20/20...better than perfect! Yahoo! It was a long recovery, but completely worth it. I think I'll celebrate with a green beer on Thursday with the girls!

Happy Tuesday!


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Crazy times...

Wow!  It sure has been a couple of crazy, busy weeks!  Last week I was in Tampa all week.  Came home just in time to hit up Mardi Gras with the girls!  What a nice set up that was!  Larry & Vicki really hooked us up!!  VIP tickets to Bar 101...free food, drinks & good bathrooms!  I'm not sure I'll ever be able to do Mardi Gras the traditional way again.

This week has been super crazy too!  Chad had a conference at SLU the first part of the week.  Now he's in MA for the weekend at another conference.  Phew!  I'm exhausted just talking about it!  Just when we thought it was going to get back to normal, we both go out of town again in the next 3 weeks...at different times.  Thank goodness I have another girls day planned tomorrow for the STL St. Patty's Day Parade...and again on Thursday for St. Patty's Day.  That should provide some release for my crazy life!  Can't wait!!