holidays

What is normally a 4 hour drive down to Nicollet turned into a 5 1/2+ hour trip! We drove right in to the storm of the season. New tires on our SUV helped tremendously! We arrived on the 23rd and spent 2 days with my fam. It was so wonderfully relaxing! We chilled, ate and watched movies. Beautiful stockings hung on the mantel:
Our Christmas Eve tradition is to have soup and sandwiches for lunch and then hors d'oeuvres for dinner. I ate way too many cookies:)
We got to witness the Raider machine (a.k.a. my dad's 1950's snowblower he found at an auction this summer for $25) in action:
Here are the "kids" all together:
On Christmas day we headed up to the cities to visit Mike's fam.
Anna and Timmy got some new outfits from Kristen & Jake:
Dog Pile on the couch:
Mikey and John made Christmas dinner.
Course #1 & 2: Shrimp Bisque and Spinach Salad (our winter favorite that I've already posted a couple times)
The 3rd Course: Peppercorn Crusted Steaks on the grill & Smashed Potatoes.
Mikey's plate:
Mandy's plate (I seriously wasn't even hungry at this point):
"Dessert" was Mocha Kahlua... it's to die for!

Sienna provided the entertainment all day:
On the 26th, we ventured to Midtown Global Market (MGM). We ate at Holy Land restaurant. Mikey and I had the buffet:
My favorite thing was the Greek Salad I put together. Here are the 'rents enjoying themselves:
After some inspiration at MGM, Mikey wanted to do a spanish themed dinner.
Course #1: Spinach salad with chorizo and spanish cheese (?)
Course #2: Shrimp tapas! This was my favorite thing all weekend! I really don't know what was in the sauce but we built little sandwiches on a baguette starting with pickeled red onion, grilled shrimp and then the sauce. It was so fantastic! Very smokey with awesome flavor combinations.
Course #3: Rack of lamb
It was like there was Spanish BBQ sauce on the meat. Pretty darn good. Again, I wasn't even hungry for course #3.
I should mention that we enjoyed a bunch of John's homemade wine at all the meals.
I should also mention that Kramer made the trek down to the cities! He's so easy to entertain especially at Christmas time with all the empty boxes and bags... lots of pouncing!
Here we are towards the end of our trip feeling relaxed:
We didn't plan to match, honestly.
We arrived home on the 27th to a total winter disaster! We got 22 inches of snow and ice while we were gone. Mikey had to head off to work by 11am so I spent the afternoon shoveling and breaking up ice... for 4 hours! I had multiple conversations with myself about how we should really move... either someplace warmer or to a condo at least. I also convinced myself that we should never travel again with the threat of a storm. If we could have kept up with the crud while it fell, I don't think it would have been as bad. Every square inch had to be broken and "cut" out with a metal shovel and then scooped up with a big scoop shovel. 2 inches of ice on top of 22 inches of snow is not fun! I did all of this by hand:
We have such limited space to pile it all up:
Ugh:
I took a break Sunday night until Mikey got home and then we both went out and spent another hour on the driveway.
Even after all the shoveling, our back steps remained an ice skating rink:
Monday morning the plow went by at 9am and piled a foot of ice chunks at the end of our driveway. Mikey worked from 6:30a-2:30p so I got to spend another hour shoveling while he was at work. I left the pile on the sidewalk for him to take care of while I went to work at 4pm. He managed to break a shovel doing that job so we now have 2 new fiberglass (read: heavy duty) shovels and an ice pick.
The ice is horrendous here!

I've enjoyed being off of work the past few days. Tomorrow night I'm hoping Mikey gets off of work in time for us to catch a couple bands playing for New Years.

I'm not planning to blog every meal going in to 2010 but I'll highlight some of Mikey's creations. I also need to do a weigh-in next week at work. Updates will be a little less frequent but hopefully more entertaining!

DONE!

Today is the day I've been waiting for. I finished up my accounting exam this evening. Unfortunately, I had a pretty draining day just to get there. I was up at the crack of dawn to maximize my day. Breakfast was p.b. and wild blueberry jam on toast:

Once I arrived to work I had the second part of breakfast. My favorite strawberry-pomegranate yogurt minus granola:
I busted my butt in the morning to get all my work tasks done by 1pm. Lunch was Cajun Bean and Ham Soup:
Then, I took the afternoon off from work to do some final studying in the library. I took a break mid way through the afternoon to pick up the pampered princess:
She got all primped for Christmas!
I got back to school and had a veggie burger (no bun) and a couple carrots with some hummus. I had got to point of luniness after all the studying the past few days! Couple that with a Diet Coke and I was bouncing off the wall. My final exam started at 6pm and took 2 hours to complete. I sure hope this test went better than the last.
I had total brain drain after my test so I refueled at CCC:

I had a slice of Mikey's pizza with a glass of wine.
Then, I had pumpkin bisque with another glass of wine. Pumpkin bisque knocked my socks off! It had a blue cheese and cranberry gratin in the middle. I could only eat half of it. The garam masala garnish was divine! I think it's the best thing on the winter menu right now:

I arrived home and found that my Gap birthday present had arrived. I ordered 2 pairs of jeans with a gift card from the Fudala Fam. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending how you look at it), they are both too big. The good news is that we are heading through the cities on Wednesday and I should be able to exchange them.
Thanks to Gap for providing hours of entertainment to the Fat Rat:
We're looking forward to relaxing for 4 days with our families but we are dreading the car ride with the whining fluff ball. He usually stays in D-town while we are gone but we felt bad leaving him for 4 nights. He's such an emotional creature!! So, we plan to put together a rockin' playlist and blast out in the car to avoid the yelps from the back seat.
I'm freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee (for 2 weeks).

spunky spirit

Saturday a.m. came way too quick but we had a fun day planned. Today's agenda:
-Sleigh Ride with Tre & Jim
-studying
-Take Annie for a walk
-Mikey work
-studying
-Dinner at Pizza Luce
-Bentleyville!

So, I had breakfast in the car (per usual). 2 pears with almond coconut granola and coffee:

Our sleigh ride adventure ended up being quite different than we expected. It was more of an educational working experience rather than a relaxing stroll through the woods. Here we are all bundled up:
Tre & Jim:
The owners of Positive Edventures also do sled dog rides/racing. They have 32 adorable dogs:
We did everything from:
- getting the horses from the pasture
- grooming them
- putting the bridle, harness and all their gear on
-un-tarping and pulling the wagon out of the woods (there wasn't enough snow for the sleigh)
-hooking the horses up to the wagon
-learning to "drive" the horses
-finally went on a ride on the country roads
-then did everything in reverse to the point of putting the horses back in the pasture!
Here is Tre & Mike practicing driving the horses:
We were there for 2 1/2 hours and we certainly learned a lot. I just wished it would have been a little more low key with a longer ride time. It was a good way to embrace winter!

We got back in time for Mikey to get to work. I did a little studying and then took Anna out for a walk. This was the first time I had geared her up with dog booties! Mikey usually takes her out in the winter so I was really suspicious how they would work. The verdict? They are GREAT! Unfortunately, they are starting to show some wear and tear after only 3 walks:
This post is dedicated to Anna and our walk. Totally spunk-tastic! Whew, she really needed it!!
I got a couple more hours of studying in before I went to dinner with Tre & Jim. We had 15 minutes to burn until our table was ready so we (Jim & I) enjoyed some drinks. I had a Peppermint Patty:
It had Rumplemintze, Kahlua & cream in it. It was part of their winter warm-up menu!
I had a coupon for a free appetizer so we started with the awesome artichoke dip. Dinner was Baked Potato Pizza- a must have favorite (I had 2 slices):
With dinner, I had a pint of Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale. Thanks for the good eats and drinks. It was great to catch up with these soon-to-be parents (March 1st):
As you can tell, we went to Bentleyville after Pizza Luce. I had a great time once again.
After all the fresh air I got, I was tuckered out and asleep on the couch by the time Mikey got home from work.
Sunday a.m. came way too fast as well! Today's agenda included:
-Brunch at Pizza Luce with Nellie & Bruce
-nap
-studying
-walk Anna
-studying!!!
We managed to get downtown by 9:40 for brunch at Luce. Nellie & Bruce asked us to come out to brunch to celebrate Christmas with them and some of their friends. I had coffee and breakfast bruscetta which had pesto, sun dried tomatoes, scrambled eggs and basil leaves on 4 pieces of a baguette.
Pizza Luce's brunch is famous for its build your own bloody mary bar and live music. Mikey built himself a bloody mary and had the Pesto Eggs Benedict. It has artichoke dip on it!
Feeling sleep deprived, we came home and took a nap. After rising from our slumber, I did more studying and Mikey caught up on some phone calls.
After 1.5 hours of mind draining studying, I took a break by joining Mikey on a walk with Anna. It was a lovely evening for a walk... quiet, dark, Cmas lights & huge snow flakes.
For dinner, we used up some random things in our fridge. The concoction was a sausage and spinach pasta with a red cream sauce:
I had this one glass of wine with dinner.
I wrapped up the day with 3 more hours of studying for my final exam for managerial accounting tomorrow. I will be such a happy camper around 8pm when my test is over! Anna is also getting groomed just in time for Christmas. Should be a good Monday!

scale=broken

It's official... our scale at home is broken. Thankfully for me, the medical scale at school is showing weight loss! Weekly statistics:
-Lost 1.5 lbs. this week
-Only 4 lbs. to go to meet Christmas Eve goal of losing 10 lbs.
-It's doubtful and pretty unreasonable to lose 4 pounds in one week but I'm hoping to reach my 10 lb. goal by New Years. It's pretty much the worst time of year in regard to temptations to be losing weight. Exercising is saving my butt:

My favorite culinary delight this week was this new Stonyfield flavor:
Lunch was a veggie burger with some red pepper hummus spread on top (no bun).
Dinner was Beef Stew, garlic toast and 7UP:
I whipped up another double batch of my favorite almond coconut granola (100 cals/1/4 cup):
We had a relaxing night. Mikey wasn't feeling the best so we just chilled in front of the tv. I went to bed early due to an early morning on Thurs.
I got to work by 8am and had a p.b. sandwich and 2 pears:
Note to self: an entire bag of organic pears for $2.88 seems like a good idea but they will all ripen at the same time!
Lunch was... big surprise... beef stew! I did a 40 minute workout on the treadmill in the afternoon before heading out with the office gang to Green Mill. My office peeps and I met some other UMD peeps out for holiday happy hour. I convinced my co-worker Jeff to split sweet potato fries and beef sliders with me (off the happy hour menu):


It was a great way to go! I didn't feel like I over indulged on food. However, I did have a Bells Two Hearted Ale and 2 whiskey diet cokes (over 3 hours). I was pretty tuckered out by the time I got home so I played with Annie and then went to bed early. Mikey worked late since there was music in the Wine Bar.

That brings us to today- Friday! Our pantry & fridge are pretty bare so breakfast was 2 pears and some granola (no yogurt):
I worked out before noon. I did a 30 minute elliptical interval workout and then did my usual Fri. weight lifting routine. My calves are killing me once again!
For lunch, this is the last photo of beef stew as it is now all gone:
I had a pear and a ton of water as well.
This evening I cooked a package of Rising Moon Butternut Squash ravioli:
I like to just top it with cracked pepper and grated parmesan cheese.
Seeing that is Friday, I dipped in to the Fudala 'rents stash of Old Man Winter Barley Wine:

Mikey called at 8:30 saying he was coming home early from work due to a slow night so we're now sharing a glass of wine. Time to watch Julie & Julia!!

fffffffreezing

Dinner on Sunday revealed:
This was the same salad from a week ago (spinach, craisins, oranges, goat cheese, red onion, balsamic, bacon bits) with the addition of shaved fennel. Once again, it was delicious. It was the perfect meal after a big brunch. After dinner, we headed out to look at Christmas lights. It was a perfectly relaxing birthday!
I started out Monday with coffee, granola, strawberry-pomegranate yogurt (it's like candy) and a pear:
Nikki made a stop at Ikea over the weekend and picked up my new pencil holder:
I love the white porcelain against the chocolate brown desk:
For lunch I had beef stew and a piece of a baguette:
At 4:00 I headed to the fitness center and watched Ellen while doing a 40 minute treadmill work, most of it at 4.3mph at 7% incline.
Class was short since we are wrapping up the semester. Once home, we ordered VIP's Deluxe pizza:
It was another good day.
Today, I left my camera at home but here's a re-cap of what I ate:
B:coffee, yogurt, granola, pear
L:beef stew, another pear (notice a pattern)
D: whitefish and potatoes

We're currently keeping warm by drinking hot tea and curling up under down blankets on the couch. There's a good program on NOVA about the NSA and the 9/11 attacks. Good program but makes a person a little feisty! It's SO COLD here! We've been dealing with 25-40 below zero wind chills!!