I'm Putting Off Laundry to Write This

Hrrrm.... Well, I'd say I've had a pretty good weekend. We relaxed at Eron's house and shared a bottle of yummy wine with the roommates as Eron cooked the most delicious fajitas - Eron made a marinade from one of our favorite Food Network chef's, Alton Brown. So delicious. Peppers, onions, a bit of cheese, and a teeny bit of the guacamole I made the night before - also an Alton Brown recipe. This is the second time I've made this guac and I still haven't gotten it right yet... I don't think I've picked the best avocados (they may be out of season...) and I can't get it as spicy as I want it to be. Oh well. I will try again.

On Saturday we completed fence version 1.1 around the Victory garden - the addition of chicken wire to keep out the rabbits. We may not be able to keep out the squirrels but we can at least try to keep out the rabbits - I don't pretend to be delusional. We still have to put in the final post and redirect the dryer output and then the fun will really begin... that particular bit of the yard has a pretty healthy bit of grass that we plan on pulling up and transplanting to other lacking areas of the yard (I welcome suggestions on doing this), after that we (yes, mom) plan on tilling the garden. Then... the sectioning off begins... tomatoes here, beans here, peppers there... so on and so forth. I think Eron wants to begin planting in late March so let's all hope for more beautiful North Carolinian weekends. Fencing didn't take too long, but my poor hands are showing proof of the sharp chicken wire... I would have taken more photos but I doubt the chicken wire would be very exciting... though I have gone on about it for a bit haven't I?

We also ran a few errands and hit up the gym Saturday afternoon :) I'm making good progress I think. I have found that reading while I'm on the elliptical passes the time better, though I am looking forward to daylights savings to begin (March 8) and being able to run out on the tobacco trail and Duke golf course again. I went running last week and was able to tell how much the gym was helping my endurance and had a great 2 mile run. Yea!!

I have to mention the Salmon I cooked on Saturday. I found this recipe on a food blog I like to read - Serious Eats - and was drawn to it for several reasons. First the first paragraph of the blog post, "Sometimes cooking dinner is like going to the gym. I know I should just get off the couch and do it, and I’ll feel so much better afterward..." (How true is that??) and secondly, the simplicity of it. By skipping the watercress I only had to pick up the Salmon from the store (all of $11 for 3 servings - me, Eron, and one for leftovers). Does that not look delicious? I really would follow the suggestion of the blogger and salt and pepper the Salmon liberally. And I did a fantastic hopping number when I burned the crap out of my thumb when putting the Salmon in the pan - I don't recommend doing that... but I do recommend that you use chicken broth/bullion when you cook the couscous.

Sunday was a little lazy - I enjoyed a nice cup of coffee while watching a movie and putting off cleaning my apartment. Then I got up and cleaned my apartment -- I even threw out 2 (2!!!) pair of shoes - old boots that were replaced this past week and an old pair of running shoes (2 are enough). I have, at 8 pm, still only vacuumed less then half of my apartment but I have done the dishes and washed two loads of laundry (please note that I did not say that I had folded or put away these loads). I had every intention of cleaning my bathroom and too... I still might do that later this week... maybe. I will at the very least finish, fold, and put away the laundry. I may have taken a small house cleaning break to do a little shopping - I returned a pair of jeans I bought in November and then bought 2 skirts and a dress for work. I'm allowed pretty things every now and again...

So that's what happened... upcoming Eron and I are going to another dinner at Jujube in a couple of weeks - this time it's a beer paring with dishes containing calamari, muscles, and pork cheek. Not all together mind you... I'll let you guys know the menu after the event. I'm looking forward to it. Eron and I are also planning a trip to Maine! Eron's brother is turning 12 and wants his big brother at his sleepover to play Smash Brothers with his friends. I might be in the kitchen with his mom... We also plan on taking a few days to go skiing at Sugarloaf. Oh!! And this is Eron's last week at the Mo! On to more exciting things!

I think I've said enough. I think I'll fold some laundry and maybe finish knitting the scarf I started last year :) I hope you had an enjoyable and/or relaxing weekend too. Night-night, kiddies.

A Novel

What a week! Last week started off on an okay foot - Monday was at least normal. Tuesday took a sudden turn down hill when the oil light came on in my car on my way to the gym. ACK!! Very few things can stress me out faster then car problems and I really can count two or three things that can stress me out faster. So I immediately freak out and call Eron who tells me to pull over at the nearest gas station and check my oil and add some if I need to. So I do and I add two quarts... this seems really odd to me. I mean I know that I was about 500 miles over due for an oil change but I've done worse and (*knock on wood*) my car doesn't really burn oil at a high rate and it doesn't leak oil so it shouldn't have been that low... but at any rate I put oil in, the light went off and I went on my merry way.

On the way home from the gym that stupid light come on again! Ugh. So I call Eron just to lament and then I call my boss, Tim, to let him know that I'm taking my car in the next morning. So early the next morning I take my car to Sears - because that's where I take it for all my oil changes... I didn't know that they don't do engine work... So I walk out of there with an oil change, two new tires, an alignment and the oil light still on and I'm two hours late to work. I spend a few minutes in the parking deck crying - because I'm super stressed about my car, I don't know whats going on and, well, I'm a cryer - its my nature. But my car drives much smoother with new tires and an alignment...

The upside of Wednesday was dinner. Eron and I made a fantastic and healthy mac and cheese dish (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/macaroni-and-4-cheeses-recipe2/index.html) served with a wedge salad (not so healthy) and some fresh steamed broccoli (healthy). We cut the recipe in half but I went a little heavy on the sauce because we had 12oz. of butternut squash and I probably cooked a little more then half of the box of noodles. I will admit that I was a little skeptical of the recipe because Ellie Krieger's recipes can be a little bland but there was so much flavor. I plan on making it again next week. You should give it a shot - super easy and just as good the day after!! Oh yeah... I do recommend that you double the crumb topping. Delicious. Really, try it.

Thursday was uneventful. Friday was the beginning of a perfect weekend. Eron and I hit up the gym Friday after work - I had a great workout. We made pizza and watched a little Battlestar Galatica... a perfectly relaxing Friday night on the couch.

On Saturday we go up at a relatively decent hour, cooked some breakfast, Eron scored some super awesome seats to a Red Sox v. Yankee game (!!!!!!!) and then we constructed a fence. We took advantage of the absolutely stunning weather on Saturday and constructed the perimeter of the victory garden that is going in Eron's backyard. Eron keeps calling this garden "his" - I don't think he understands that I'm taking partial ownership of it :) He will (once he reads this.. haha). We plotted out the garden as we settled in to watch the UNC game. Its going to be super crowded but to the specifications of each vegetable - tomatoes, peppers, beans, cucumbers, corn, herbs... keep in mind that this is a 10'x14' area. It's going to be awesome.

Sunday... hmmm.... I got up super early to get to the gym by nine. I was pumped. I was ready. My head was in the right place (even without coffee). The gym didn't open til ten. Ugh. Oh well. Deflated, I went back home and made a pot of coffee and took my time getting ready for the day. I met Tania and two of her friends for a girly afternoon - BOGO sushi at Tasu and a chick flick, He's Just Not That in to You. I have to say that He's Just Not That in to You was pretty funny but I recommend that if you go (ladies only) that you go soon. Half of the fun was being in a crowded theater and laughing at the very vocal women calling out "Oh no he didn't!" I did get to the gym after the movie - I was determined to get there.

Hmm.... what else.... I had my car truly fixed on Monday. Yea! Expecting the worst I was pleased that it was only a faulty sensor. That's all I got... later kiddies.

Too much work...

This seems like an awful lot of work for the end result... Oh well. Happy hump day!




Later kiddies.