Hair and more

Typically Joe goes to the driving range alone but I joined him yesterday and am considering taking up golf as well. This all depends on whether or not my "natural" luck at the range continues. I can see it being fun (Hey, I do like mini golf. How much different could this really be?) but I can also see if being frustrating. I might take lessons with Joe in the future and we'll see if fun or frustration wins.

We also took in a great production of the musical, Hair. I will never take for granted all the great theatre we have access to here. It's truly great to wake up, decide you want to see a show, get tickets at one in the afternoon and then go that evening with very little planning.

Tomorrow I'm taking Amtrak for a short trip to visit my family for a couple days. Not my favorite way to travel (I'm apparently incapable of entertaining myself during any car, plane or train trip that lasts more than two hours) but hopefully I survive. Lots of fun things in store for next weekend! 

Grade A

My final grades are in and I have finished graduate school with a 3.8 GPA. I will take it! Have I mentioned lately how happy I am to be finished??

Spring is here!

After "summer-like" temps for several days that actually required us to turn our air on in March (crazy!), as of this weekend, we finally have spring weather...I was okay with skipping our traditional Midwest winter this year but going straight into 88 degree days was a little too much for me.

We've had a great weekend and even managed to put together and install a new mailbox this weekend. Neither one of us are "handy" but this was an exceptionally easy project. Never mind that we put it off for the past year, that's another home improvement to mark off our list.

Also noteworthy and fun weekend activities:

• The Hunger Games. Totally worth the hype, in my opinion. Joe and I bought our tickets a day early because I knew it would be crazy but when we arrived 40 minutes before showtime, I was totally caught off guard that the movie would already be full. We found the last two seats together in the theatre that weren't in the first three rows up front in the "neck-craning" section. We are both looking forward to reading the books now.
• Jeff Who Lives at Home. Not the best or worst movie I have seen recently but still good. Who doesn't love Jason Segal?
• Naps. Yes, plural.
• Friends taking us out to dinner to celebrate me finishing my MBA. And breakfast at one of our favorite spots...and wood-fired pizza. We like to eat.
• A trip to the gym. Once during the weekend is better than not at all so I'm counting that as a win. Although I'm not sure it countered the dinner, or the breakfast, or the dinner.

Finished

Graduation isn't until May but I am officially finished with my MBA. I can't believe it. Part of me is almost sad about this since going to school has become part of my identity over the past couple of years. And even though it's been two years in the making, I also almost can't believe I actually finished my master's degree. I thought about going back to school briefly after getting my undergrad degree just long enough to take the GRE on a whim and I put that thought behind me as soon as I found a full-time job. If I had not left my last job in Missouri and moved, I'm not sure I would have ever taken the time to do it but now that I'm finished, I'm so glad I did.

Also, where new beginnings are concerned, I signed a contract this week to work as a project manager at a local hospital. The position is not supposed to be permanent but I'm so excited by this project and the opportunity. I should start in the next couple of weeks.

How I spent my weekend

• Walked to Red Mango
• Went to see "Friends With Kids"
• Went to my second to last weekend class
• Napped
• Watched Mizzou win the Big 12 Championship!
• Went to my last weekend class
• Walked at the Arboretum
• Walked to Red Mango...again
• Watched Selection Sunday (#Mizzou)

Do you see some reoccuring themes?

New carpet day

Yesterday was "new carpet day" and I spent seven hours confined to a 2x3 space in the kitchen while we had new carpet installed. (Thank goodness for the internet!) It was a long day and now we have a lot of our stuff to put back in place. When we moved in, we put new carpet in our basement and one bedroom. The old carpet has stayed put for the past year but became increasingly more disgusting so we decided to replace it with what we put in the basement. The new carpet is plush and cozy for walking around barefoot and sitting on the floor (unlike the stiff, non-soft, gross carpet before). It's also stain-resistant which is a huge plus. Hopefully, now that the entire house is filled with the new plush carpet, our house doesn't look too 70s shag...I think it's such a big change, it will just take a few days to fully adjust.

Dog Wash

It's been a great Saturday so far. Out for breakfast, off to meet classmates to work on homework, a walk to Red Mango and some Starbucks. Also, we took our dogs to the dog wash...kind of like a self-service car wash but instead of washing your car, you wash your dog. They get baths at the vet when they are there being boarded and sometimes we do it at home as well but it's also back-breaking at home. (Also, yesterday was new carpet day so if we can avoid wet dogs at home for awhile, that's a plus.)

As usual, Crumley took it like a champ.

As usual, Iris did not take it like a champ. She tried to bite the blow dryer and blow dryer operator (me). Awesome.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Surprise from my Valentine...

Mediterranean Tuna-Noodle Casserole

My church regularly sends out emails for help with meal requests and I try to help out whenever possible. A recent request came my way and noted "no chicken or shellfish." I assumed the rest of the meals might be red meat heavy so I looked for alternatives and found a delicious Martha Stewart recipe for Mediterranean Tuna-Noodle Casserole. The recipe makes enough for two dishes so it was perfect to make one for us and one for someone else's freezer. It earned our seal of approval and a spot on our meal rotation so I thought I'd pass it along.

1/3 cup olive oil, plus more for baking dishes
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pound wide egg noodles
2 red bell peppers (ribs and seeds removed), thinly sliced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
5 cups whole milk
4 cans (6 ounces each) tuna in olive oil, drained*
1 can (14 ounces) artichoke hearts, drained and thickly sliced
5 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil two 8-inch square (or other shallow 2-quart) baking dishes. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook noodles until 2 minutes short of al dente; drain, and return to pot.

Meanwhile, in a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium. Add bell peppers; season with salt and pepper. Cook until crisp-tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Gradually add milk, stirring until smooth. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a simmer.

Remove from heat; add mixture to noodles in pot, along with tuna, artichoke hearts, and scallions. Season with salt and pepper, and toss. Divide between prepared baking dishes, and sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake until golden and bubbling, about 20 minutes.

*Instead of four cans in oil, I used two in oil and two in water.

Whidbey

Joe and I flew to Seattle on Friday and spent the weekend with his family on Whidbey Island. We ate some delicious family dinners, took the ferry around the San Juan Islands for some sightseeing, took the ferry to Port Townsend (where we got caught in a torrential downpour) and had fun visiting with family that we don't get to see often enough.

On the ferry to the San Juan Islands (clockwise: Joe, Uncle Will, Joe's dad, Joe's stepmom and Cousin Devin.)

Joe and I on the ferry.

Joe's dad and stepmom at The Captain Whidbey Inn. Yum! I was going to take a picture of the mussels but they disappeared before I could pull my camera out.

One of our delicious family dinners cooked by Joe's Aunt Judy and Cousin Nicholas.

Joe and his Grandma Dorothy.

(left to right) Joe's Dad, Aunt Judy, Grandma Dorothy and Uncle Will who made the trek from Arizona to visit.

Favorite Movies

Now that it's award season - my favorite season of all - it's time to announce my favorite movies. We've seen a lot of really great movies this year (and I know my husband's list would probably be a little different) but this is my best-of-the-best in 2011 in no particular order:

• The Artist
• Moneyball
• Bridesmaids (yes, really, my husband and I still quote lines from this movie which automatically makes it a winner)
• My Week With Marilyn

Comfort Food

I am going on day 15 of being sick and Joe has had a week of bronchitis but I think he's mostly better now. I thought I was better at the beginning of the week and had my best day, ironically the day I saw my doctor, and then it went downhill from there. Anyway, this is a long way of saying we were both in the mood for some comfort food. The snow has finally hit us, it's very cold outside and neither of us feel 100%. Sounds like the perfect day for homemade chicken pot-pie. I got Joe involved in today's meal, too, by summonsing him to make the mashed potatoes to accompany the pot-pie. My recipe came from Pioneer Woman and it didn't disappoint...so good! This batch actually made two with my smaller pie plates so I have another in the freezer for another day.

Here's Pioneer Woman's recipe for the pie crust that goes on top of the pot pie. I made this yesterday and then froze per the instructions. I am not sure if I've ever actually made pie crust before but this was surprisingly easy. I will say that once I rolled it out and put it on top, it wasn't all that pretty (I need some practice here) but it tasted great.

Chicken Pot Pie
3 celery stalks
3 medium carrots
1 large yellow onion
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 cups cooked chicken
1/4 cup flour
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/4 cup white wine (optional)
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon ground thyme
1 teaspoon kosher salt
black pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Finely dice the celery, carrots and onion.
3. Melt the button in a large pan and add the onion, carrots, celery and peas. Saute for a couple minutes.
4. Add the chicken and stir to combine. Sprinkle flour evenly over the vegetables and chicken and combine. Cook for a couple minutes.
5. Pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly. Stir in the bouillon cube and wine.
6. Pour in the cream and stir. Cook over low heat to thicken for about 4 minutes. Season with thyme, salt and pepper.
7. Pour the chicken into a deep pie pan or small casserole dish.
8. Roll out the crust so that it's 1 inch larger than the pan. Place the crust on top of the chicken mixture and cut small slits on top. Press the crust gently into the sides of the dish to seal.
9. Bake for 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

How We Spent Our Holiday

Aside from me being a little under the weather the last couple days, Joe and I have had a very nice, leisurely vacation.  We have been on a movie marathon over the past two weeks and have seen: Young Adult; Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol; Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (we liked it so much that we also watched the Swedish version); The Artist (technically, we saw it and then had to come back again and see the ending when the movie broke an hour into the film); and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. We also watched the second season of one of our favorite BBC shows, Luther. (I highly recommend this series if you have Netflix.) Also over the past couple weeks we've eaten some great food, visited with family and friends, and gotten into a routine of napping. Tomorrow officially marks the end of this life of leisure with Joe going back to work and school is on the horizon for me.

The Self-Compassion Project

Barb is one of my dear friends whom I've known for many years. I first met her almost twelve years ago when we worked at the same place. Upon meeting, we soon became fast friends. I've consistently been impressed with her ever since. Barb is a pyschologist and is always coming up with creative ways to help others whether it be writing books, appearing on television or using social media. Her latest endeavor is called, "The Self-Compassion Project." I hope you can check out her new blog and follow her on this journey in 2012.

Christmas 2011

We arrived home today after a weekend celebrating Christmas with my family. The dogs are happy to be reunited with us and we have a lot of work ahead to unpack, catch up on laundry and catch up on other housework.

Cousin McKenzie and baby Jaspyr

Cousin-in-law Mallory, Kamdyn, Adyson and Cousin-in-law Wayne

Sister Cathy and niece Brylea

Brylea on Christmas with her two new purses

Adyson the budding photographer

New ornaments

Tomorrow we leave for Missouri so today Joe and I opened our stockings. I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit that we are like small children at times and already opened our larger Christmas gifts to each other. Of course we justified opening the other gifts by saving our stockings until right before we left town. We both got each other some fun things including new ornaments.

I adore the movie Up so when I first saw this ornament in a picture my friend Laura posted I knew this was my must-have ornament of the year. I had actually thought about telling Joe to please buy it for me but then thought maybe that wasn't the most polite thing to do so I never mentioned it. What an awesome surprise to find it in my stocking!

If you know Joe, you know that he is obsessed with pizza. I'm sure he thinks it should be its own food group and the only thing one needs to eat on a regular basis. Obviously when I saw this slice of pizza ornament, I knew it would be perfect in our house and on our tree.

Flattering or annoying?

I have come to realize there is a fine line between being flattered and being annoyed. For me, it's my age. I have gotten a lot of comments recently from people thinking I'm much younger than I am. And maybe if I was 64 instead of 34 that would be flattering but, at this point, I just want to be treated like an adult in my 30s.

A week or two ago, I had the UPS guy bring a package to my door and as I was signing he asked very seriously if I was old enough to sign. "You need to be 21," he said.

Last week my church hosted a ladies' Christmas brunch. While at the brunch, I met a lot of people I didn't know. I am not exagerating when I say most everyone I met that day for the first time asked if I was a college student...and they didn't mean graduate school.

Today Joe and I went to a movie. He usually gets the tickets at the window but today I picked them up...and I got carded for an R-rated movie. Tell me that I at least look 17. (The movie, by the way, was Young Adult...ironic, no?)

All of this to say that the fine line between being flattered and being annoyed has been officially crossed. Afterall, I have gray hair and a mortgage!

Neighborhood Fun

Tonight we went to a dessert party hosted by our neighbors two-doors-down. While this might not seem like a blog worthy post, it was a huge deal for Joe and I to receive this hand-delivered invitation. You see for more than a decade I have been a renter and when you are a renter, typically, you're not very connected to your neighbors...more so when you live in apartment complexes. Unless, of course, someone you went to school with from kindergarten through high school moves in next door (true story) or you move into a new apartment complex and realize a work associate/friend lives in the building across from you (true story)...those were such fun days that I have missed so much...but mostly I have gone through long periods not knowing neighbors and feeling very disconnected from the people who live near by. And now we have neighbors we know by name who actually pick up our newspapers if we leave town and forget to cancel them...it's wonderful!

To the Market

Today Joe and I took the train downtown to go to the Christkindlmarket. This German Christmas market comes to Chicago for the month before Christmas. We went last year on Christmas Eve for the first time. It was so crowded we didn't look as much as I'd have liked but we did eat some really great German food.

Life-size nativity at the front of the market.

Joe enjoying his hot chocolate on this cold and drizzly day.

Welcome to the Family!

We have added a new member to the family just for the holiday season - our very own reindeer! Hmm...maybe we need to give this cutie a name. Any suggestions?

Unlike a real reindeer, this one smells really good.