Achoo! Cough! Hack! Hack! Achoo!

I am sick of being sick and completely unmotivated to write anything else. I am sure something exciting will happen to me this weekend. I am hoping to A.) either win the lottery or B.) Get offered my dream job making more money than I know what to do with it. In the interim I am not going to hold my breath!

Fortune Cookie Friday

"To love deeply in one direction makes us more loving in all others"

I also learned that New Year's Eve is pronounced (chu) (xi)

Drinking While Pregnant

So as well know I have babies on the brain so whenever I see anything that has the word "pregnancy" "pregnant" or "baby" I immediately read it. I came across THIS ARTICLE that I thought was pretty interesting. It's such a  different time now than it was 30 years ago. My mother openly admits that she drank gin and tonics and smoked cigarettes the whole time she was pregnant with me and she always likes to add "you were the perfect baby and you turned out fine".I am in no way shape or form saying that it is okay or even something I would do while pregnant but I think it's funny that now people are saying it may be okay to have the occasional drink. I love my wine, I really do. I have a deep love for Pinot Noir,Zinfandel, Shiraz, Merlot and Cabernet. The thought of going a whole 9+ months without a glass is quite sad but on the flip side I have a feeling Iwill not miss it when I know I have a little person growing inside me.  I feel like there are so many things you should or shouldn't do while pregnant, it's a bit overwhelming. We have a ways to go so I guess I will just keep reading up...with a  glass of wine in hand.

OCD isn't such a bad thing, is it?

I have come to the realization that when I get excited about something I get obsessed with it. Cousin B is coming this weekend for a visit and she has several friends also coming to Raleigh to visit another friend who is currently going to State. I volunteered to have a brunch at the house on Saturday and since the moment they all said yes I have been completely obsessed with menu, grocery lists, lists of things to get done before Cousin B gets here etc. I have even gone as far as looking at all the weekly circulars at the grocery stores to get the best sales, I am very neurotic organized. I absolutely love having a home that we can entertain in and I also love how I feel when it is all clean and ready to bring on the guests so my next couple days consists of cleaning, laundry and more cleaning.

It's funny because when Jason and I were growing up our Mother cleaned up behind us, we didn't have chores or any kind of responsibility when it came to picking up after ourselves. When I first moved out on my own I think my Mom was terrified that I would be a slob but the exact opposite happened, I am a clean freak. I guess I was just so used to living in a clean house, with clothes always washed and put away, plates out of the sink and everything dust free that I had to create that atmosphere in my own home. So now of course I am wondering how will I be with my own children one day. Will I be obsessed with cleaning their rooms, will we give them chores, how many chores, will they get an allowance? Okay for now I will just breathe, we have several years until we get to that point and I'm sure by then there will be an "app for that".

To end this discussion on my OCD,Cleaning and future child rearing practices I would like to add that my absolute favorite cleaning supply is Sprayway glass cleaner, The smell reminds me of my grandmother for some reason and it truly cleans the heck out of glass and mirrors. I was recently at World Market and noticed there is a stainless steel and stone cleaner. Note to self: add to Christmas list

The week in review

Last week was crazy at work, so incredibly busy. I did go out to see a project on Tuesday that I had worked on for a while and the clients had spent ALOT of money on tile...it really felt great seeing the finished project which I rarely ever get to do, it also gave me a boost of energy to think about what I want to pursue next career wise. I don't know if Traditions In Tile will be around forever and who knows if I want to design tile forever. I was able to go to lunch with one of the kitchen and bath designers I work with on a regular basis and she was telling me all about what it took to get certified and she definitely gave me a big head telling me how great I would be at it...so I figure I might look into it. I mean I love being in kitchens, why not design them?

By Friday I was pooped, David and I were supposed to go to a concert but we sold our tickets last minute and opted for a nice dinner at home, a rented movie and some wine.Saturday we enjoyed a great NC State win. It was an early game so we got out and started tailgating about 9:30, it was a beautiful day and we actually got a little sunburnt. After a day of champagne and beer drinking I think I was in bed about 9:00pm! Sunday was a new day and a day to make something yummy to eat. After much deliberation David and I decided on lasagna and gazpacho. Weird combination I know but David has been dying to make gazpacho so he did and it came out great and could easily fend off any amount of vampires with the amount of garlic he used! My lasagna came out great as well, I folllowed the basic box recipe but I added a couple twists. I used a combination of ground beef and hot Italian sausage to give it an added flavor. For the ricotta mixture I added about a cup of sour cream, so it wasn't so dense and I also added some sauteed garlic and onions to the tomato sauce with a  can of diced tomatoes. Our thermostat read 66 degrees upstairs so we thought it was perfect weather to have a fire in the fireplace we just could not wait any longer! Of course I walked outside at one point and it was probably more like 80-85 degrees, our neighbors must think we are insane!

Memories

The past couple days I have been thinking non stop about our honeymoon and how relaxing it was. 10 days in Zihuatanejo was incredible. We felt so special that Marsha and Walt and Ashley and Ramses gave us 10 days in their paradise. I know we will go back eventually. We hope to take friends there and then eventually take our own family trips there. Rarely do we ever "unplug" I was so at peace, read so many books and just took advantage of one on one time with my best friend and love of my life. I have a book that we took with us every day. We documented every place we went, everything we ate and each of our server's names. We indulged in some awesome food and I even went as far as getting the recipes. Typing that thing out will definitely be a rainy day project so for know I will just post a picture of our view from the condo. Stayed tuned for more....

A Day Without Eggs is Like a Day Without Sunshine....well not for David

So let me just start off by saying I friggen LOVE eggs, any kind...egg salad, fried eggs,eggs benedict, scrambled, omelets, you name it I will devour eat it! I have fond memories of being young and having sleepovers and on Sunday morning my Dad would make a big breakfast with perfectly fried eggs and each one was topped with the first letter of our name made out of a slice of cheese! I mean come on! how cute is that?! I always said I would do the same for my kids, and that's just it I will be doing it....truth be told- David hates eggs, loathes them, bickers,makes a fuss and absolutely gets obnoxious when I cook them. Has this stopped me from eating my beautifully shelled friends you ask? Well I have definitely cut down on my egg consumption but I am making them more and more and hoping that one day he will be open to trying it again because of course as you get older your tastes change. Take me and olives for example, I actually stomached them at our date night a couple weeks ago. Who doesn't like a good breakfast for dinner?! I digress. So because my weird loving husband doesn't eat eggs in recipes either I have had to try making things differently. Potato Salad for example is delicious with boiled eggs but I had to come up with a different plan for my one and only. This weekend is an NC State home game so as usual we pull out all the stops. This weekend we are having  a gourmet hot dog buffet with side dishes so I volunteered potato salad. I came up with the recipe below and it is YUM. Keep in mind I rarely measure if I am not following a recipe so quantities are off the top of my head and may need to be changed to suit your tastes.

EGGLESS RED SKINNED POTATO SALAD:
8 Red Skinned Potatoes
Whole bulb garlic
1 cup Hellmans Mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
4 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
Fresh Dill- about 3 tablespoons but adjust to your taste
Kosher Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper
Bacon- about 4 slices

MOP: (that stands for Method of Preparation...look you learned something today!)
Preheat oven to 400 cut off top of garlic bulb, drizzle with a little bit of olive oil and wrap in foil and put in oven for about 45 minutes, let cool in foil
Cut potatoes in half, cover with water and boil until fork tender approx. 35 minutes
Cook bacon to a crisp (not burnt) let cool and get off any excess fat then crumble, set aside
Whisk in bowl vinegar, sour cream, mayonnaise, dill, s&p, roasted garlic*
*once garlic is cooled you can literally squeeze it out of the bulb, it comes out like a paste
Once potatoes are completely cool you can cut them in to smaller pieces and add them to your "dressing". Mix bacon in about a half hour before serving so it keeps some of it's crunch. Also let potato salad sit out about a half hour before serving, if it's too cold it loses a lot of it's flavor. Here is a picture (minus the bacon)
Next time I will try to take step by step pics.