It's only been a week and...

...and he's already left me.  Man, that was the shortest co-habitation in history!  Ha!  JUST KIDDING!!  Chad left for NY to visit his mom on Saturday.  I'll be joining him soon!  Yay!

Since Chad is out visiting his fam, I thought that I'd post some pics of his brother, sister-in-law and her fam that I stole off of Facebook, so that everyone can see.

Here's a pic of Ryan (Chad's brother), Tanya (his wife) and Nadia (Tanya's sister) on a pub crawl for Tanya's bday in Pilgrim's Rest, S. Africa

Ryan and Tanya live in White River, SA near Nelspruit and a few hours from Jo-burg.  Several of the World Cup games were help at stadiums in both of these cities.  They were very lucky to get to attend some of the games.  Looks like they had a blast!!

Here's a pic of Ryan and Tanya.  Looks like Ryan's enjoying a refreshing Castle.  (That's like Bud Light or Miller Light for us in the Midwest.)

Here's a pic of the group havin' some fun during a game.  Forgive me, I completely forgot the gentleman's name on the left.  The gorgeous girl on the right is Dominique (Tanya's & Nadia's cousin).  Thank goodness for Dom!  She assisted me in understanding most of the slang terms that are used in SA.  Lifesaver!

Nadia & Dominique showing their war paint!

 

 Fun with vuvuzelas!  They must be fun if your there, but I have to admit all they did was annoy me while listening to them on TV.  LOL!

OK.  Enough of the World Cup.  Here's a few from Tanya's cousin, Rachelle's, wedding.
For the bachelorette party, they have some kind of tradition about old hens and young hens.  Forgive me, for not knowing the whole story.  But it's a big deal.  Check out this pic.  No, it's not Halloween.  : )

Looks like a fun party!  Wish we could have been there!

Here are the gorgeous bridesmaids...

...and last but not least...the stunning bride and her parents.

Hope you enjoyed my photo album...courtesy of Facebook!  : )

Not so happy Monday...

I'm sitting here nursing a sore mouth from my afternoon...yes, I said "afternoon"...at the dentist.  I was there for about 2 hours...longer than anticipated.  The dentist is one of my least favorite places on earth...mostly if I have to have something done that requires a Novocaine injection.  I've had two bad experiences with Novocaine.  I'm really not a fan now and tend to work myself up a bit when I have to get it.  Someone how I had managed to crack my tooth from the top all the way down to the gumline.  So today, I had to go in for a temporary crown...something I've never had done and was quite worried about it.  It was going as well as can be expected until he found a crack in the tooth next to the one that was receiving a crown.  Luckily, the fracture was much smaller and required only some bonding, but this made the appointment much long than expected.  Chad was a trooper and went with me, since he knew how nervous I was about the whole thing.  I know that it was difficult for him to miss work, but I don't think it was too horrible for him.  He didn't seem to be too upset about having to sit in the waiting room and play with the new iPad for 2 hours.  : )

On a lighter note, the weekend was quite fun!  Friday was Tour de Belleville.  I rode with my friends, Judy & Vicki.  It was my third time riding in this particular event.  It was Vicki's second time and Judy's first time.  We started out the riding with some food & drink at The Wine Tap...and then we rode over to the starting line a bit before 9pm.  We did well overall!  We finished in 1:25 with only one quick short water break.  Afterwards, Judy, Vicki, Chad & I went to Big Daddy's for a few more celebratory brews.

Saturday night was trivia at Holy Trinity Catholic church in Fairview Heights.  I hadn't been to a trivia night in quite some time.  I almost forgot how fun they were.  We couldn't decide what food to bring and didn't have time to make much.  Chad came up with the idea to hit up The Cupcakery in STL for some gourmet cupcakes.  What a great idea!  They were a hit!  I'm so glad we held a couple back for our BBQ the next day.  Otherwise they would have all been gone!  We didn't do so hot a trivia though.  We were in 5th place most of the night until the last few rounds kick our booty.  I have no idea what place we ended up in...but it was much less than 5th place.  LOL!

Sunday we headed on over to our friends', Ashley & Chad's, house for a BBQ.  We had all kinds of good food.  I even ate some meat and it didn't upset my stomach.  Woo hoo!  I'm on my way back to being a carnivore again.  Ha!  We had a great time there eating, drinking & watching the World Cup Final.  I brought over the last two Graceland cupcakes from The Cupcakery.  Yumm-o!!

Tomorrow it's back to work again with another busy week.  Thank goodness my boss comes back later this week.  Although, I don't think things will slow down that much.
Hope everyone has a great week!!!

TGIF!!!!

Phew!  What a week!  My boss is out of town this week and most of next...and boy am I feeling it!!!!  I guess I should be glad that people look to me for answers when she's gone, but I've barely been able to hit the bathroom this week.  Crazy, crazy!  As you can imagine, I'm super glad that tomorrow is Friday.  I have a half day in the office filled with multiple meetings.  Then I have to head out to on-site meeting at one of the local hospitals.  The best thing is I should be home earlier than normal tomorrow.  Yay!  I'm hoping to get a short nap in before I head out tomorrow night.

It's a busy weekend for me!  Friday night is Tour de Belleville...a night-time bicycle ride in Belleville.  I've participated in this for the last 3 years, and it's always a good time!!  My friends, Vicki & Judy, are riding with me this year.  Let's go girls!

Saturday Chad & I have a trivia night with some family members.  I haven't been to one of those in quite some time, but it should be fun.  I'm just hoping that I can keep my mouth shut when needed this time.  I love going, but I'm not very good at most of the questions.  So I tend to get a bit excited and yell out the answers when I know them.  LOL!  Maybe we'll hit up Olivia's beforehand.

Some time this weekend Chad is moving most of his stuff in.  Tonight's his last night as a "single" man.  The next time I see him, he'll be co-habitating with Smokey, Lucky & myself!  I'm sure he can't wait!!!  : )

I'm exhausted already talking about all the weekend plans.  Maybe Sunday I can squeeze in a few hours of pool time at my cousin's.   That would be a nice relaxing end to a very busy weekend and what appears to be a very busy work week next week.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

Gotta love a Monday holiday!

I love, love, LOVE when a holiday falls on a weekend and I get an additional day off!!!  Woo hoo for Monday holidays!!!!  Today I had plenty to get done around the house, but I decided not to...and it felt good!  Ha!  


For the last week, I've been planning to make fish tacos for Chad & I.  (Recipe & pics to follow.)  So the first thing I did today was to scoot on over to Dierberg's and pick up all the necessary ingredients.  It's amazing how much better the selection of seafood is at Dierberg's than it is at Schnuck's.  After the fish was bathing in the marinade, I decided to take the rest of the afternoon off...and went to hang out with the fam at my cousin's pool!  I had completely lost my tan from vacay...but I finally got some color back.  Happy days!  Here's a pic of my little cuz, Emily, taking a plunge...

This evening Chad and I made the fish tacos with fresh pico de gallo & sour cream/adobo sauce (recipes to follow).  I topped off the dinner with Bush's Fiesta Black Beans & Zataran's Spanish Rice.

Marinade: 

  1/4 cup EVOO

  2 Tbsp distilled white vinegar

  2 tsp lime zest

  2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

  1.5 tsp honey

  2 cloves garlic, minced

  1/2 tsp cumin

  1/2 tsp chili powder

  1 tsp seafood seasoning, such as Old Bay (I used Emeril's Fish Rub)

  1/2 tsp ground black pepper

  1 tsp hot pepper sauce (or to taste)

  1 lb tilapia filets, cut into chunks

To make the marinade, whisk together the above ingredients until blended.  Place the tilapia in a shallow dish and pour the marinade over the fish.  Cover and refrigerate for 6-8 hours.

Here's mine....

  
 Dressing:
  1 (8 oz) container light sour cream
  1/2 cup adobo sauce from chipotle peppers
  2 tsp lime zest
  2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
  1/4 tsp cumin
  1/4 tsp chili powder
  1/2 tsp seafood seasoning
  Salt & pepper to taste

To make the dressing, combine the sour cream & adobo sauce in a bowl.  Stir in the lime juice, lime zest, cumin, chili powder, & seafood seasoning.  Add the salt & pepper.  Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Pico de Gallo:
  2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
  1/2 white onion, chopped
  1 red jalapeno chili, seeded & finely chopped (I also added a green jalapeno chili for extra heat!)
  2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
  2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

Remove fish from the marinade, drain off excess and discard the remainder.  Grill fish pieces until easily flaked with a fork, turning once, about 9 minutes.  Warm tortillas over the grill for about 10-15 seconds on each side.  Assemble tacos by placing fish pieces in the center of tortillas with desired toppings.  (I layered the fish with the sauce, pico de gallo & some shredded cabbage.)  Yumm-o!!!!  I cannot wait to make it again!!  Here's the finished product...

 

Happy 4th!

Chad and I began our 4th of July by ordering an iPad online.  Yes, yes...that's right.  We finally did it!  I'm sure the fact that I often (at least once a week mentioned that "Lisa wants an iPad" had nothing to do with it.  I truly believe that Chad wants one just as much as I do.  I can't wait!  Woo hoo!!!!!

Then we headed out to the Cardinals game against the Brewers!  This was an impulse buy last weekend...but a good one!  We ended up getting half price tickets for an all-inclusive Legends suite.  All-inclusive in the Legends suites means that about 30+ people share a box that includes nachos, hot dogs, BBQ chicken & BBQ brisket...and, of course, all the fixins'.  It also includes beer, soda & water.  The food & bar tables are in an air conditioned area and the assigned seats are outside the box.  It's quite nice to be able to walk in to the A/C when we got too hot.  Here are some pics of us at the game.

The view from our seats

We met up with Ashley & her Chad towards the end of the game.  Here is Ash & I with the ultimate Cardinals' fan...The Cardinal Cowboy.  Yee-haw!

After the game we headed down to the Arch grounds to watch the air show at         Fair St. Louis.  Here are some pics...

...and the best one of all...Vicki's head!  Vicki stood up right when Chad took this pic!  It looks like the plane is going around her head!  Haha!

After the air show, we were hoping to have enough energy to wait around for a couple of hours and watch the fireworks...but that didn't happen.  Instead we came home, grabbed some grub and watched Julie & Julia.  It was a great way to spend the 4th!!

Work 1, Lisa 0...but not for long!

Phew!  This past week at work was absolutely horrible!  I haven't experienced stress like this before.  Two of the three departments that I oversee are going through major changes...and seem to be slowly sinking.  The third department is treading water in the big sea of crap.  Corporate is the captain and is standing back and laughing while watching everyone slowly drown in this sea.  I'm standing on the bow of the ship and am not able to throw out any life-preservers for fear that Corporate will throw me out in there too.  That's all the details that I want to go into here, but it's tough right now.

It's put me in such a funk, and I've had a really hard time getting out of it.  I've been completely and utterly exhausted...both physically (nausea, headaches, heart burn, chest pain, etc.) and mentally.  I haven't even been able to exercise much, which is a bit uncharacteristic of me.  But NO MORE!!!!  Today is the day that I'm turning all of this around!  I spent a lot of time today reminding myself of what is truly important and what isn't.  It's important to get a paycheck.  We all need money to live.  Most of us (me especially) need to feel a sense of accomplishment too.  Work usually gives me that...but not for several months.  I think that along with having to make some tough decisions that I don't agree with is what has been weighing on me.  I'm going to try my best going forward to really leave as much of that as I can at work.  As my boss often says, "All I can do is give 100% when I'm at work...and that has to be enough."  I have a great personal life, and I'm going to start focusing more on that when I'm home.

Onward and upward!

 

Ready for the weekend...

I'm the type of person that cannot stand a stressful professional life at the same time as a stressful home life.  You all know that I've been complaining about work for some time now...and it only seems to be getting worse.  It's quite impossible these days, and I really don't see it getting any better.  So, of course, this week started out just the same.  I was ready for a drink by the time lunch rolled around...and so was Kristine.  Ha!  So we decided to try out a newer place downtown after work Monday...Lola.  It has some really creative drinks and some pretty good food too!  Very cute patio.  Check it out...

At least I was off Wednesday, but it was mostly so I could make several appointments.  Luckily I was able to schedule all of them in the morning.  Chad took the day off to and helped me paint all afternoon.  (Thanks, babe!)  The painting in the dining room is seeming to take forever, but it looks like we will be done on Saturday...even though I have to sacrifice the STL Heritage Beer Festival.  Boo!  I'll be very glad when all of this is done and I can move the furniture back into place.  At least then I'll be able to cease going to the living room for salt, pepper & paper towels.  Ha!

Chad and I will have some fun this weekend though.  We're planning to go to the Wine, Dine & Jazz Festival in Belleville tomorrow night, and I'm sure we'll hit up Rick's on Saturday evening.  Hopefully I'll be able to post some dining room pics by the end of the weekend.  Cheers!

Painting, painting and more painting...

This weekend was pretty uneventful.  I recently had my dining room ceiling repaired and re-plastered, so the next step was painting.  My previous dining room colors consisted of a light beige on 3 of the walls, 1 dark red wall and white trim.  Since there is a possibility that Chad and I could be moving in a year or so, I decided to tone it down with the paint.  Sabrina Soto (HGTV) says that neutral sells.  : )

Chad and I settled on a light brown on all 4 walls.  This should coordinate with the other colors in the house.  I still like my red, so I plan to accent with it instead.  Saturday we primed everything with Kilz.  I forgot how much I hate priming.  It's so much harder to apply primer than regular paint!!  Anyway, today we primed and painted the window trim & door trim.  It was in desperate need of some attention!  I'm off on Wednesday this week for a couple of appointments, so I'm hoping to get the actual paint on then.  Man, I can't wait to get the dining table out of the kitchen and the kitchen island out of the living room!  Every time I need salt, pepper or paper towels, I have to head to the living room.  The wine rack is in the living room too temporarily, but that's a bit more convenient.  Ha!
I'll be sure to post some pics of our project when it's complete.

I'm not a big fan of being cooped up in the house all weekend, so Saturday night we got cleaned up and headed out to Rick's (Olivia's).  All 6 wines on the tasting menu were super tasty!  We ended up purchasing a red blend from Cline Cellars...Oakley Five Reds.
We also had some yummy Manchego cheese at Rick's.  I hadn't heard of this before, but I'll definitely be looking for it at the store in the near future.  After Rick's we headed to dinner at Seven in downtown Belleville.  We hadn't been there in quite a while, but it didn't disappoint...and neither did the martini.  Tonight we're laying low in front of the TV.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a better week at work, but I'm probably just dreaming.  It's been crazy busy lately and I don't really see an end to it.  : (
It's a shame because I really used to like this job.  It's always been challenging (in a good way) but now it's challenging (in a bad way) and tests my limits daily.  I'm just hoping I can hang in there for awhile.  It's got to get better, right?  So for now, I'm just going to keep my sites set on the weekend.  This weekend is Wine, Dine & Jazz in downtown Belleville.  We're hoping to head up there one night.  

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Back to reality!

It's been quite hectic...but fun since we returned from vacation.  Mom picked us up from the airport, and we went straight to Rick's place (Olivia's).  Ha!  Let me explain...

There was quite a bit of fun being had back here in Glen Carbon while Chad & I were away.  John's sister, Laurie, came to visit from California.  Her visit brought another of John's sisters, Becky, and brother-in-law, Tom, in from Indy.  His brother, Tim, even though local has been visiting a bunch too.  The whole Gill clan has been hanging out and drinking George's delicious wine all week long.  Laurie's S.O., George, has a vineyard and has made some wonderful wine!  (Thanks, Laurie, for saving us a bottle!)  Now I'm rambling.  Ha!  The Gill clan met Chad, Mom and I at Olivia's for some wine tasting Saturday night.  They pulled out all the stops!  We had fruit, cheese, Rick's wine & George's wine.  It was sooooo much fun!  Everyone enjoyed themselves!!

Sunday we headed back over to Mom & John's to hang with the fam, eat, drink and play some hand-and-foot.  (I have to brag.  I don't think I lost a game all weekend!  Ha!)  Tom made some mouth-watering jambalaya Sunday night and John grilled some delicious sausages (and a portabella cap for me) on Monday afternoon.  Many of us were attacked by the "sticker monster" (AKA Lehni) this afternoon while playing cards.  Lesson learned...Grandma should only give her one sheet of stickers at a time!  There were stickers everywhere...chairs, tables, faces, arms, & backs!!

Now it's back to the old grind stone tomorrow.  I spent a couple of hours already tonight going through emails, so I don't have to waste too much time on it tomorrow.  Chad's been working too.  It's quite a busy time for him right now...and it took quite a lot for him to take this much time off.  Thanks, babe!

On a side note...found out on vacation that the camera flash was smoking when it was used.  Ouch!  So luckily it was still under warranty with Canon.  We're sending it back for repair.  So there won't be anymore pics for a bit.  The Gill clan (above) got the last pic for now.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Ahhhh...relaxation!

Since Chad & I will both be so busy when we get back home, we decided to take full advantage of our vacation...and do a whole lot of nothing the last few days. Thursday was another poolside day filled with reading & piña coladas. Thursday night we headed to a local Italian joint in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Nick's Italian. Very reasonably priced with yummy food! Chad ordered the chicken parm. and I got the seafood papadelle rustica...shrimp, scallops & papadelle pasta in a seafood broth with olive oil, tomatoes & garlic. (Sorry no pics of this meal. ). We found a little wine bar across the street, 33rd St. Wine Bar, for a little after dinner drink. They even served the wine in Riedels!

Friday was our final beach day. We rented a couple of lounge chairs & an umbrella for the day. This provided some much needed shade that we did not have at the pool. The water was very calm, so it was quite crowded. We were both able to finish our books & enjoy the water! Serious relaxation!



Friday night we grabbed some fresh sushi at Sushi Rock Cafe on Las Olas Blvd. (Again, I failed to take any pics.)

This morning Chad & I spent our last morning chilling on our deck eating breakfast & then took a stroll on the beach. Quite peaceful! We topped off our stay here with a wonderful lunch at The Blue Moon Fish Co. in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. We had a view of the boats on the intercoastal waterway & the drawbridge letting them through. This is quite an expensive restaurant but they have a 2-for-1 lunch, which is really nice. I opted for the Lobster Roll & Chad chose the Filet Mignon Panini.






I haven't had a relaxing vacation like this in many years. I will truly miss waking up without an alarm, breakfast on the balcony with the paper, wine on the balcony in the evening, the ocean across the street, and, of course, the amazing seafood!!!


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Day 6 - Poolside

Today was a poolside day...all day. We both really needed it after a busy Monday & Tuesday. I even got a workout in at the Fitness Center.

We decided to hit the pool at the other resort...Wyndham Royal Vista. The pool here doesn't even compare. Here's a couple pics of their pool...









We did encounter a large rain shower later in the afternoon, so we headed in and got ready for dinner. We chose Casablanca Cafe on a recommendation from a local bartender. It was fabulous! It is right on A1A and overlooks Ft. Lauderdale Beach.








We had baked Brie & fresh fruit for an appetizer. Chad ended up with Lobster Ravioli & I picked the Chili Dusted Sea Scallops with Chipotle-Orange Caramel Sauce. Yummy,yummy! We post so many pics of food you'd think that's all we did was eat. Ha! We always appreciate great food though. Here it is..












Cheers!

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The Keys...good food, great drinks & Hemingway

Days 3 and 4 of our Florida trip consisted of a road trip down to the FL Keys, which is about a 4 hour drive from the Pompano Beach area where we've been staying.  This was a gorgeous drive down once we got to the Keys...and past the swamplands.  Although beautiful, it is a slow drive...kind of like the pace of the lifestyle down there...a bit slower.  The highway is 2 lanes almost all the way down and the speed limit averages around 45 mph.  This does give you a chance to take in the scenery though.  The water is a gorgeous green-blue color and so calm!

 
We stopped in Marathon, FL (a little over half-way through the Keys) at a restaurant I found on the internet...The Island Fish Co.  Boy did I make a good choice if I do say so myself!  This place has an amazing view and wonderful food.  It was hot outside but we sat under a little tiki hut and there was a small breeze the entire time.  Here's a view from our table...

Prior to the trip several of my friends/family mentioned that we HAD to try conch fritters.  My mom actually said that her and John went on a quest to find the perfect conch fritter when they were down in the Keys several years ago.  So, of course, we ordered the conch fritters.  Chad had a lobster sandwich, and I had the salad special...grouper pan-fried in coconut on a bed of lettuce with fruit slices and a coconut dressing.  Yumm-o!  

We finally arrived in Key West in the afternoon and drove straight to The Southernmost Point.  (No pics to post just yet.  We took most on the camera, so you'll have to wait until we get home and are able to download them.)  There is also a small beach and pier near here, so we checked that out too.

We stayed at La Concha Hotel, which was right on Duval Street amidst all the action.  This was probably one of the only hotel-like places to stay on Key West.  Most accommodations are at inns or B&Bs.  It was a nice hotel...a bit older...but remodeled and clean!  It was within 2-5 blocks of everything we needed.  There isn't much parking in Key West, so we were able to park and walk!  The drink of choice that afternoon was a mojito.  Here's our first one!

 We hit up a few other places on the Duval Crawl...Jack Flats, Hog's Breath, & Rum Barrel.  We had dinner at a Cuban place with tapas cuisine...El Meson de Pepe...and boy did we have a spread.  I even tried ceviche for the first time.

We did take in the sunset at Mallory Square and watched a few of the vendors/artists.  It was a great sunset, but seriously crowded with tourists!

This morning we took in a brunch at Banana Cafe, which specializes in crepes.  I had La Ratatouille...mixed veggies in a red sauce wrapped in a crepe with a fried egg on top.  Chad had a burger crepe.  Here's mine...

After breakfast, we toured Ernest Hemingway's home.  Very beautiful!  My favorite, of course, was the 6-toed (and one 7-toed) cats!  (Sorry, pics to come later.)  Our final stop in Key West was Peppers.  This was Chad's heaven.  It is a boutique store that caters to hot sauces.  They even have a "tasting bar".  Several of the sauces were made right there in the Keys.  We tasted several and bought 3 hot sauces and 1 BBQ sauce.  Luckily they have a website.  I anticipate we'll be ordering from there often.  


On the way back we realized that we had just spent a day in the Keys and hadn't stepped foot in the water, so we stopped on the side of the road in Islamorada and walked out into the water.  They have very large sandbars there, so you can walk quite a ways out and still not have the water above mid-calf.  It was amazing how HOT the water was...kind of like bathtub water.  Lastly we stopped for a quick snack and a drink at Wahoo's Bar & Grill in Islamorada.  We had our third (and least favorite) batch of conch fritters here.  (Our favorite was the fritters at Island Fish Co.)  The view at Wahoo's was amazing as well.  It's a harbor and caters to the boat crowd.

We were exhausted when we got back to the Pompano Beach area.  (We hit Miami at rush hour and wasted an extra 45 min in backed-up traffic.)  We hit a local dive for some carry out pizza...Stingers.  We did sit and have a drink while we were waiting for the pizza.  This gave us the chance to chat with a local and get some good ideas on where to eat and what to do with the remainder of our time here.

We've had a busy last couple of days, so we're planning a beach/pool day tomorrow with dinner out somewhere.  We're quite excited to lay around, get some sun and read our books tomorrow.  Ahhhh!  Relaxation!

See you soon!

Day 1 - Part 2

We chose Wild East Asian Bistro for dinner.




Some of the best sea bass I've ever eaten.




Round 1 - saketinis at Wild East. Chad's was lychee & mine was a French saketini.












Round 2 was at Big City Tavern...




Headed back to the condo early tonight. Off to Key West in the morning!

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