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!!

Warm & sunny...

Made it to Tampa safe & sound. I knew it was going to be close to 80 here, but it was so hard to imagine in the cold climate of STL. I should have brought short-sleeves! I'm sweating my booty off!!

Had an early dinner that consisted of a lobster salad & a mojito. Yumm-o!!!







Now it's back to the hotel to catch up from my day of traveling.

I'm excited to watch The Bachelor tonight. They are in S. Africa....and from the looks of the previews they visit many of the locations that Chad & I went to!! SA is such a lovely place! Very romantic actually! I cannot wait to go back...but next time I'll have to hit up the local wineries! Of course!!

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Saltimbocca...

I decided to work from home today before I even found out about that freezing rain debacle this morning...but oh, so glad that I did!  I was hoping for a little peace & quiet to get some of these projects accomplished.  I did get some stuff done, but it never seems like enough!  
*sigh*

I decided to take advantage of being home during the week (which I never am) and cook dinner.  I had recently researched some of Rachel Ray's 30-minute meals in hopes of cooking during the week.  Cooking is really the last thing that I want to do when I get home from a long days work...and the gym.  I really would like to cook from time to time though.  Tonight's recipe was a saltimbocca with a pasta primavera.  It had lots of flavor, but was very light at the same time.  Thanks, Rachel!  Here you go....

Saltimbocca with Baby Pasta Primavera

• Salt & Pepper
• 1 cup acini di pepe or orzo pasta
• 4 Tbsp. butter
• 2 carrots, peeled & finely chopped
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 bunch scallions, white & green parts chopped separately
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
• 1 pork tenderloin, trimmed & cut into twelve 3/4-inch thick slices
• 12 fresh sage leaves
• 6 slices prosciutto, halved lengthwise
• 2 Tbsp EVOO
• 1 close garlic, crushed
• 1/3 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• juice of 1/2 a lemon

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente.  Drain through a fine mesh strainer and return to pot.

While the pasta is working, in a medium skillet, melt 2 Tbsp butter over medium heat.  Add the carrots and sugar; season with salt.  Partially cover the pan; cook for 5 min.  Stir in the scallion whites, season with pepper and cook for 3 min.  Stir in the scallion greens and peas & cook for 1 min.  Add the veggie mixture and cheese to the pasta & toss.

On a work surface, pound the pork slices thin.  Season both sides with salt & pepper.  Top each pork slice with a sage leaf and wrap a prosciutto piece around each.  In a large skillet, heat the EVOO and garlic over medium heat.  Working in 2 batches, add the port and cook until brown, 2 min on each side, transferring the cooked meat to a platter.

Add the remaining 2 Tbsp butter to the skillet; cook until brown, 2 min.  Stir in the parsley & lemon juice, then pour the pan sauce over the pork.  Serve with the pasta.

Enjoy!!!!

 

Finally Done!!!

Woo hoo!  I'm finally done with the Isagenix cleanse!  I finished it on Wednesday.  I'm proud to report 7 lbs and 11.25 inches lost!!!  Now I expect just a bit of that to come back, since I'll be eating a bit more.  (Hopefully, just a pound.)  I feel so much better...and my mood and sleep are much better!

Tonight Chad and I are having our V-Day dinner, since I was actually on liquids on 2/14.  We're headed to 1111 Mississippi.  Yumm-o!  We love that place!!  I think we actually went there last year for V-Day.  Ha!  Even more exciting than a good dinner is a fab bottle of wine!  It's been 12 days, since I had any drop of alcohol.  I'm looking forward to it!


Happy Friday!

Over halfway there...

It's day 7 today of the 10 day cleanse!  I'm over halfway there.  Phew!  It really hasn't been too bad once I put my  mind to it.  I've barely cheated at all.  (I've had two caffeinated hot teas this week.)  The liquid days have been the hardest.  That's when you start craving everything.  I have two more of those coming up this week.  I'm a bit worried about that.  When I'm on liquids I tend to be a bit sluggish...both physically and in thought.  Currently, my liquid days are scheduled for Monday and Wednesday this week.  Monday, I'm supposed to speak at an all-employee meeting.  It's only one slide of the presentation, but I just don't want to screw it up.  I could switch the liquids to Tuesday & Wednesday, but two days in a row of liquids is brutal!!!  Anyway, I've continued to work out with Jillian...still on Level 1 but am going to move it along to Level 2 this week.  I've lost 5 lbs. to date and a few inches too!

Because of the cleanse, Chad and I are going to move our V-day plans to next week.  It's no fun to go out to a nice dinner on these kind of restrictions.  We did hit up Jefferson's last night though.  (Our first night out in awhile.)  I was good and got my salad...and no pickles or beer.  Boo!  I think that we're going to head out tonight too.  I love that you can find a restaurant's nutritional information on-line!  I'm going to carefully select what I'm going to get beforehand, so I don't get off track.  Nice!

Today is a work day for me.  Our company is going through NCQA accreditation this year.  I have lots of deliverables due in a few weeks.  So the next couple weekends are going to be work filled...at least one day anyway.  (Although, I might have to sneak up to The Limited today.  They have their pants 40% off still!)  I better get moving!  

 

Liquids, liquids and more liquids

Man, these liquids just about kicked my butt today!  At least I only have a few hours left of today.  The lack of food today makes my shakes & frozen dinner tomorrow sound phenomenal!  Ha!  My legs are also quite sore today from the 30 Day Shred video I did last night.  Unfortunately, I don't have any energy to do the video tonight...but I'll be back at it again tomorrow.  Watch out!

I hope everyone is having a good week!

Clean Living...

This year I've been very successful at packing on the pounds.  The frequent illnesses and back injuries have not helped.  My motivation has gone down the toilet.  Each time I think I'm really getting back into it, something comes up that gives me an excuse to skip the gym.  Work is definitely not getting any easier...and the amount of work isn't going to lessen.  So I've completely run out of excuses...and have seriously run out of room in my current-sized pants.  I needed to make a change.  I decided to go back to what worked for me a couple of years ago...Isagenix.  I lost about 7 or 8 lbs. back then and kept all but about 1 lb. off for close to a year.

So after completely making a pig of myself this weekend, I've decided to start today.
(Check out my friend, Ashley's, blog for fun pics of Saturday night.)  I've taken my measurements and am ready to go.  I won't bore you with all the measurements, but hopefully I'll be reporting pounds and inches lost soon!

The 10-day plan consists of 6 "shake" days & 4 "deep cleanse" days.  The shake days are a piece of cake!  You replace two meals with these high-protein shakes that are around 250-300 calories...and then have a 400-600 calorie meal.  The difficult days are the "deep cleanse" days.  These are the days when I have to keep reminding myself why I'm doing this.  All you have is water and the Isagenix liquid all day long...except for a handful or two of almonds.  You tend to feel a bit sluggish on these days, but luckily they are split up.  Two at the start of the program and the other two at the end.  It also helps being busy at work on these days, so you don't have a lot of time to think about food.  I'm sure you're thinking I'm crazy about now.  I just remember feeling so filled with energy and motivation at the end of the program...like someone took a roto-rooter to my arteries!  Oh, and one more thing...no caffeine or alcohol for this period.  Boo!  The caffeine is a bit difficult...but not as much as the alcohol.  Guess there will be no Rick's this weekend.  Ha!

My other problem is the gym.  I HATE the gym this time of year!  It's filled with tons of people (the resolutioner's as I like to call them) that take up all the equipment.  Luckily they won't be there in a few months.  So for the next month, I'm switching it up a bit.  I bought Jillian Michaels' 30-Day Shred video.  I've heard it's difficult...even for those who frequent the gym.  I just completed Level 1 tonight.  It was easier than I thought, but I was still sweating my booty off.  Cutting out this gym time will also cut 40 min from my drive time, which will give me more time to work in the evenings...and I'll still be able to exercise.  Woo hoo!  Now if only I can keep this up!

Wish me luck!

Wine, wine and more wine!

Chad and I had tickets to the first annual red wine tasting at Olivia's Wines!
What a fun time!!  There was 26 bottles of wines total...each over $75. 

The most expensive wine on the list retailed at $525!!  This was the 2005 Penfolds Grange, which is mostly Shiraz.  This was quite good, but surprisingly, it wasn't our favorite.

Our favorite was the 2007 Numanthia Termanthis...a Tempranillo.  It was the second most expensive bottle there...$250.

 

A close second...if not a tie for first...was the 2005 Pine Ridge Fortis.  This is a Cab Sav blend that was a bit more affordable at $200.  Ha!  Too bad this will be the last time drinking these wines.  There's no way we can afford to purchase them.

This was a great opportunity to try wines that we would never be able to try!  I wish we would have had the stamina to try them all, but we only made it about half-way through the list.  Ha!  Here's Chad and I with the proprietor of Olivia's Wines, Rick.  He definitely knows how to throw a good party!

 

Good times with good friends!  Thanks, Ashley & Chad, for coming with us.  We were so happy to spend time with the both of you before Chad heads out to serve our country!  Cheers!