My life as I know it

Stuffed Green Peppers Prep Time: 30 Min Cook Time: 30 Min Ready In: 1 Hr Ingredients 6 green bell peppers salt to taste 1 pound ground beef 1/3 cup chopped onion salt and pepper to taste 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 3/4 cup uncooked rice 1/2 cup water 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed tomato soup water as needed Directions Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut the tops off the peppers, and remove the seeds. Cook peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes; drain. Sprinkle salt and cheese inside each pepper, and set aside. In a large skillet, saute beef, onions and 1 tsp. of Worcester...

You'll probably notice that my style of writing has a slightly more mature and distinguished flare to it now that I'm 28 (that sounds old, right?). Even though my eggs are slowly rotting and my best baby making years may be behind me (according to my doctor), I still feel just as young as ever! Except for wanting to go to bed by 10:30 every night and barely being able to handle alcohol consumption anymore (minor details). Anyway, my birthday weekend was absolutely wonderful and I couldn't have planned a more perfect way to say goodbye to 27 and hello to 28! The weekend started with a date night to the movies with my husband. We decided to go see Horrible Bosses, us and everyone else on the west side of Cleveland, and unfortunately it was sold out. So we saw our second choice, Friends with Benefits. Probably goes without saying but when I say "our" second choice, of course I mean "my." I really liked this movie and not just because Justin Timberlake...

Exactly one year ago today, I woke up to a phone call from my mom and Mark telling me Mark's cancer was back. They said it was his worst re-occurrence yet. As always, Mark sounded extremely positive and hopeful and even said, "My time here is not done." I couldn't help but be sad for the rest of the day, even though they told me not to be. Exactly six months ago today, Mark died. It's really hard to believe. When I think about the fact that it's been six months and how often I still miss him and cry, it makes me kind of embarrassed. Maybe I'm a slow griever? Or maybe I just truly appreciate what an amazing person I had in my life and know that he is worth missing! Either way, I can't help but think about him and these "anniversaries" that fall on my birthday. Don't worry, though. I'm not sitting here having a pity party for myself! If my step-dad Mark taught me anything about life, he taught me that life is for the li...

Brownie 'n Berries Dessert Pizza Prep Time: 20 Min Cook Time: 20 Min Ready In: 2 Hr 40 Min Ingredients 1 box Betty Crocker® brownie mix Butter and eggs called for on brownie mix box 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened 1/3 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 2 cups sliced fresh strawberries 1 cup fresh blueberries 1 cup fresh raspberries 1/2 cup apple jelly Directions Heat oven to 350°F (or 325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom only of 12-inch pizza pan with cooking spray or shortening. In large bowl, stir brownie mix, butter and eggs until well blended. Spread in pan. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out clean or almost clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour. In small bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Spread mixture evenly over brownie base. Arrange berries over cream cheese mixture. Stir jelly until smooth; brush over berries. Refrigerate about 1 ho...

I'm really late with this update, so I apologize. But I'm starting to operate under the, "better late than never," philosophy with my blog. Last Wednesday, Pat and I went out to dinner at our favorite Angelo's pizza in Lakewood. I don't miss the annoying cops and frivolous traffic violations in Lakewood, but boy do I miss Angelo's pizza. It was our first time eating outside on their patio, too. Good eats. Good company. After dinner, we went to the Rock Hall to see the Fitz and the Tantrums perform live, outside as a part of the FREE Summer in the City Concert Series. It was a beautiful night in Cleveland and this group was just as good live as they are on their CD's. If you haven't heard the Fitz, listen to one of my favorite songs here . After the concert we went out for ice cream. Have I mentioned I LOVE summer? Fitz and the Tantrums concert Last weekend we went camping with my college roommies (minus Emily Tucker-Halm - WE MISSED YOU)...

I don't even really like the word panties. Actually, I despise it. But yet, I still find myself using the phrase "don't get your panties in a bunch," when a situation warrants such a thing. I'm pretty sure I've said it to Pat, who doesn't even wear panties. Go figure. Anyway, I bring this up because today, my panties are literally in a bunch. Not because I'm upset; my day has been quite pleasant, actually. Well, except for the fact that my panties are in a bunch. The problem is, I'm wearing panties underwear that are a size too small for me and therefore they are cutting off my circulation. I remember back in the day when I could wear a size extra small - in everything, including my underwear. And by back in the day, I mean all the way back to high school and perhaps my freshman year of college. It was a sad day when I had to go up to a size small. As you can imagine, it was an even harder day when I realized that I should go up ...

So it’s summer and you want to dress accordingly for the season. You picture cute shorts and tank tops, right? Not for me. You see, I have a very difficult time finding shorts that are at a length appropriate for both my age and my thunder thighs. When did all of the shorts get so short ? Or have they always been this short and it just didn’t bother me when I was skinny enough to wear them? If I do find shorts that are the right length, they are usually made for older women who are comfortable pulling pants up to their belly buttons. I’m not quite there yet. Maybe someday I will be, but not yet. For these reasons, I just avoid shorts all together which leads me to wearing dresses, like I am today. Dresses are great except that your thighs rub together when you’re wearing them and if it’s hot, they get sweaty and sticky. And after going around all day with your legs rubbing together, you can be sure that you will end up with leg chafage (aka leg chaffing). It’s been so long since I’...

I'm not sure how to even summarize this amazing weekend without writing a novel. Although, most of my blogs are novel length anyway so what's the difference? It was an amazing weekend. I love food, I love fun and I love the 4th of July, all of which made this weekend absolutely perfect! I had the day off on Friday so I slept in a little, woke up and went straight to work. I was working on a very special surprise for my SIL and BIL, Traci & Russ, who told Pat and I recently that we are going to be aunt and uncle to their little Baby Tigue in January 2012! WOO HOO!!! So I wanted to make Traci a pregnancy scrapbook/journal that she could use throughout her pregnancy. My mission was to complete it before our cookout on Saturday so that I could give it to her. I finished the book and she loved it. Mission accomplished! Pat wasn't fortunate enough to have Friday off of work so I drove to Elyria to meet him for lunch. Since we work over an hour away from each other, meetin...

I’m kind of dorky in a lot of ways (you’re supposed to act surprised by this statement). And lately, one of those ways is my obsession with eating healthy - ignoring the fact that this week I dominated chili dogs and cheez its. I’m not saying it’s dorky to eat foods that are good for you, but I am saying that it’s dorky to get as excited as I do when I find healthy recipes and snacking alternatives that actually taste good. You see, I do not like to work out. Actually, I despise it. Twenty minutes on a treadmill feels like an hour to me. And although I still try to work out a few times a week (I'm actually trying to run jog these days, a post on that soon), I never end up working out as much as I should. To make up for my inconsistent workouts, I have tried to introduce better eating habits to make sure I don’t add to the weight I gained in college and never really lost. A year ago in January, I started counting calories. I never thought I could or would be one of those people...

Random thoughts after the bachelorette party weekend Brow pencils are my enemy and I do not need to draw attention to the wild jungle that are my eyebrows A bright orange bra was probably not my best choice since I could see it in every picture taken of me My fun nights often include someone stepping on and injuring my toes Choosing to wear flats instead of heels was the best decision ever If I ever need a career change, I could always move to Columbus and paint womens boobs for Comfest Taking shots and drinking mixed drinks all night was a bad choice since it is 11 pm on Sunday night and my stomach still isn't up to par Speaking of par, putting golf on the tv when we got home was a great choice and put me right to sleep for a much needed nap I hope the bride felt better today than I did since she had drive back to Iowa! Bring on August 27! Rupp wedding here we come!

Pat and I made it back from our awesome long weekend in NYC. It was Pat's first time in the big apple and although I have been there a handful of times, it was my first time there as an adult and on my own. So it was a new, exciting experience for both of us. And I learned quite a few things while I was there. 1. Comfort MUST trump fashion. I don't care how stupid your tennis shoes might look with your cute outfit, you will regret it if you spend the first night of your trip walking all around Manhattan in flip flops - even if they are your "most comfortable pair of flip flops." Trust me on this one. 2. The biggest giveaway that you're not a "local," besides carrying around cameras, binoculars, city maps and wearing I heart NYC clothes, is actually paying attention to traffic signals when crossing streets. 3. Pay attention to the traffic signals when crossing the streets. Don't follow the "locals" as they walk into the traffic. It...

If you're looking for clear and logical thoughts, look elsewhere. It's Whatever Wednesday! I planted an entire crate full of tomatoes a week ago. I have been watching them every single day waiting for them to sprout. On Monday morning, I was so excited to discover all my little green sprouts sticking out of the dirt. Maybe I will develop a green thumb after all!  There was a dead spider in my mop bucket this weekend - that should tell you when the last time I mopped was - and even though I was 99% sure it was dead (there was a 1% chance it could have been rolled up into a ball to fake me out), I discovered that dead spiders make me just as nauseous as living spiders. I even screamed slightly when I dumped the dead spider into my yard. I am not brave. I'm embarrassed to admit it but yet I'm too proud of my hard work not to share the fact that my house has never been cleaner than it is right now (except for maybe when we first moved in). All floors are mopped, all t...

One of these days I will make sure I actually have all of the ingredients necessary for a recipe before I start cooking. I make assumptions that I have certain ingredients before going grocery shopping and never double-check to make sure my assumption was correct and then the next thing you know I have a hot stove and a recipe started with missing ingredients. Sometimes I get lucky and it's something as simple as milk or an egg and my wonderful neighbors are there to help me out. Tonight, however, I need 1/4 cup of Teriyaki sauce. Not something that the neighbors are likely to have on hand and/or want to share 1/4 a cup of. I would just skip it or try to substitute it with something else but it's a pretty major ingredient in this recipe which is titled, "Orange Teriyaki Beef." There are only three major ingredients and I'm missing one of them. You would have thought a three-ingredient recipe would have warranted a double-check that I actually have all three ingr...

You'll be happy to know that I am in a much better mood today. I was even feeling happy and energized this morning and that NEVER happens. The first part of my day that went well was that I actually left for work on time (well, very very close to on time anyway). I spent my commute singing to the playlist "my favorite sing alongs" and was really enjoying my commute until I was stuck in traffic on the innerbelt bridge, about half way through my commute and I looked down only to find that my gas light was on. I had a bit of a panic attack because I had no idea when it came on or how much longer I had until I ran out of gas. I pushed my luck and drove it all the way to the street where I work. But lucky for me, I didn't run out of gas! And I paid under $4.00 a gallon. Who knew that one day you would consider $3.96/gallon a "bargain." When I got to work, I started my Pandora music player and the first song randomly selected for me was Mrs. Robinson by Simon ...

I'm copying the name of this blog from a local radio station, but WHATEVER. For Whatever Wednesday I'm going to say whatever I want in my blog. It doesn't have to be a story, it doesn't have to be funny, heck, it doesn't even have to make sense for all I care. It's whatever! This should be quite liberating for me...here we go. I am sick and tired of the rain. There is a pond in our backyard again and the rain does nothing good for my mood, my flowers, keeping my freshly groomed dog clean and most importantly, it does nothing for my HAIR! Not to mention, spring is usually one of my favorite seasons. This has not been much of a spring at all. I really dislike you right now, Mother Nature. And remember, I defended you alllllll winter long. I swear I was the very last person in Cleveland to complain about the snow. But I'm complaining now and you are officially on my "list"!!! I don't know what that means, exactly. But you're on it. I made ...

So first, let's state the obvious: I'm an inconsistent blogger who is absolutely incapable of blogging every day. Heck, it seems I'm not even capable of blogging every week! In my defense, I worked more in the months of March and April than I have ever worked in my life. Does that make up for it? I didn't think so. Moving right along... My lack of blogging has even caused me to stop reading other people's blogs because it was only making me feel worse about the fact that they were keeping up with their blogs and I wasn't keeping up with mine. Waahhhh! So, today is the day where I dive back in. What to talk about, what to talk about... Why don't I tell you about my day? The good news is, if you're not interested in hearing about my day, you can simply X out of this browser. It's much easier to shut me up virtually than it is in person. :) For those of you who think you're interested in hearing about my day, continue reading but let me warn yo...

My mom used that saying a lot when I was growing up. I'm pretty sure it had to do with me always being the last to wake up and my siblings getting all the good breakfast or something like that. It seems I haven't outgrown this tendency. Pat and I are very different when it comes to consuming desserts and sweets. I don't crave chocolate or sweets very often so I like to save mine until the moment is just right. Pat, however, has a never ending sweet tooth and will devour all sweets in sight, even if they're mine. Take for example, the candy I got in my stocking. I love peanut butter so naturally, anything reeses makes is up there on my list of favs. Reese's pieces, reese's peanut butter cups, you name it. I received both in my stocking from Pat and haven't eaten either of them. I was saving them for that perfect moment when I'm craving something sweet and either can afford the calories or just lose my will power completely. Recently, I noticed that ...

I just found this in the back of one of my Great Grandma's handwritten cook books dated December 1989 and thought it was definitely worth sharing. Recipe for a happy day: 1 Cup of friendly words 2 heaping Cups of understanding 4 heaping Tablespoons time and patience Pinch of warm personality Dash of humor Measure Words Carefully: Add heaping cups of understanding Use generous amounts of time and patience Cook, but keep temperature low - do not boil Add dash of humor and pinch of personality Season to taste with spice of life Serve in individual molds  Just another example of why my Great Grandma was and always will be remembered as one of my favorite people in this world. :) Click here to read more about what a special lady she was. 

That's a lie. My bags aren't even close to being packed. My suitcase is sitting on my bed. Open. But empty. This is SO unlike me. Normally I would have had my bags packed last week. But we all know how many hours I worked last week and that trend has continued this week, too. I tell you what, if you didn't need a vacation before, you will definitely need it after preparing for a vacation at work. So stressful! You may not know this, but after Mark died, I really, really wanted to get out of this trip. It seemed like a waste of money and very frivoulous at a time when I knew my mom would really be struggling for money. But we would have lost about $700 if we canceled our trip and neither of us were willing to just let that money go to waste. So here we are, several months later and we leave tomorrow. After the last few months of work being so busy and very stressful, I can't tell you how happy I am that we are going. But I won't be going anywhere if I don't g...

A big, inflatable Easter Bunny that we saw tonight on our walk (like this) is what got me thinking about this story. When I was about 6 or 7 years old, I wanted SO badly to figure out what was real and what was make believe as far as holidays and life were concerned. It was very important to me that I had all of my facts straight so that I could "plan for the future," so I told my parents.  I was in second or third grade and there were a lot of rumors going around school about whether or not Santa Claus was real or make believe and I just had to know the truth. So I started hounding my parents for answers. I was begging them to tell me the truth. They were convinced that I was still too young to know the truth so they kept telling me, "of course Santa Claus is real." I still wasn't convinced, even after all of the assurances that Santa Claus was real so I started explaining the very logical and practical reasons about why it was so important that I get t...