Wednesday, August 31, 2011

lunch club

my office has a lunch club.  it's pretty much my favorite thing.  we go out to a new restaurant every other wednesday.  today's pick is LaFonda - a mexican restaurant off southwest blvd. 
did anyone else automatically think of this?



i'll let you know how it goes, but if you want to read up on some new great places to eat in KC go here:

or here:

or here:


Tuesday, August 30, 2011

i need hamburger helpers

i continued my crockpot experiment with a mexican dish. 

1 lb of hamburger
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 cup of water


 
it was a short day at the office.  i didn't have to be in until 8:30 and i got home around 3:00, so i put this concoction together at 8 and checked it at 3:00.  the meat was definitely done, so i added a mexican rice packet and some more water to let it set for another couple hours.  in the last couple of minutes i added a shredded cheese and let it melt over the top.  i served it with corn and tostitos chips. 
it was really good, but i think if i had left at my normal time (6:30am) and didn't get home until my normal time (3:30pm) my hamburger would have been over cooked.  maybe dried out or even burnt. 
do you think it's because i was trying to do more of a casserole and that's my problem?  i just don't think i could do hamburger again unless i had another short day. 

maybe you have suggestions or tips?

Monday, August 29, 2011

little lives

i met a new little man over the weekend and found out that another one (not sure if its a girl or boy yet) is on the way.
shannie had graham last wednesday. 





on sunday his adopted aunties all gathered at shannon's home to welcome him.  he has the cutest little brown curls on top of his head and makes the funniest faces.  i cuddled him as long as i could before another of his aunties claimed her turn.

and since we had all the girls gathered, jana told us that we will have another peanut in our group around april. they got pregnant on their first wedding anniversary to the day.  talk about planning.   

so here's to the new little lives that will become a part of mine.  

(i forgot my camera and almost cried - but these are pics from the hospital.  graham was actually four days older by the time i met him.)

Friday, August 26, 2011

get with the fitness

this summer has been filled with food and beer.  not good for the liver or the waist line.  it's pretty much how we spend every summer because it's just so much fun - - BUT i'm ready to take a break and get back to my good ol' weekends of renting movies, working on the house and NOT drinking.  i'd also like to take off that extra five pounds that crept on in the last three months. 
i found this little exercise routine on pinterest and decided to give it a try.  i've done it four times this week and i'm sore, but i feel much better about life.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

float on

my july was busy.  so busy in fact that i just got around to developing the [disposable] camera from our float trip.  electronics are banned from any and all rivers after last year and what i like to refer to as "flip mania."  let's just say by the end of the trip we were too sauced to keep our boat afloat and blackberries were destroyed.  i didn't want the same fate for my digital camera - so although some of these pictures are not high quality, they're a lot of fun.

the girls road trippin

stopped at a gas station for supplies

 we bought some strawberry hill for old times sake.

and sat three deep in chris's truck

we were excited and ready to go.

down by the river

turnbow fell in love with the floaty cooler.

 kass brought lots of jello shots

 boys being boys and turnbow being kenny powers.

 love linds

 this is ronnie's sweet hat

back at camp

a good evening to a good day.

and our 2nd annual float trip is concluded.  another success.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

way back when

it's weird the things that can trip your memory.

last night ronnie told me that a friend of ours had read my senior will and was explaining it to ronnie - random - so i was trying to remember the things i wrote in mine... trying to explain to him my senior skip day, senior breakfast, my prom, graduation. 
while i couldn't find my copy of the will, i can remember bits and pieces of what i wrote and what others left to me.  (for those of you that did not do senior wills in high school, it's where you leave things to your friends and basically it becomes one big inside joke.)
it's strange how people that were main characters in my life, now don't even have a minor role.  and the people that i had yet to meet and love were still a few years away.  i had no gal pals, i had no ronnie, there was no best friend-marge simpson look alike.  but at the same time, one of my best accomplishments is keeping my old "high school" friends close.  closer even than we were back then.

us currently
 

the love, the fights, the girls nights, and the drama that consumed me, are now ten years old. 
my life is different and as it should be, but it's still bizarre to remember my 17 year old self and the things that were most important to me back then. 
i had a good life, but now i have a great one.

the loves

the girls nights

the fights

the drama


do you remember your 17 year old self?



Monday, August 22, 2011

working over the weekend

we're supposed to be working for the weekend, but with no plans and a stint of rain, ronnie and i decided to get a few things done around the house.

project number one.
our light fixture in the kitchen is broken and luckily i have a live-in electrician that knew just what to do. so we went from this:

to this:

i decided to change it up a bit and go to a black fixture instead of the brushed nickle.  i think it goes well with our cabinet hardware and counter tops.

project one complete.

on to project number two.  my dye job.  and yes, he complained a lot.

project number three.
we came home to this and ronnie thought he could at least get started.  he thinks it's still too hot to actually finish the job - we'll probably have to wait until fall to paint - but at least it's looking better.  

starting to dry.

dried.  much better and not so noticeable.

started with this:

ended with this:

we rounded out our saturday with laundry (yes, ronnie really does wear bibs everyday and i have to hang them in our bathroom to dry)

and a trip to the grocery store - finally, some real food in the house.

but that didn't stop us from ordering a pizza

and renting a couple of flicks.

we enjoyed an evening of doing NOTHING!
hope you had a good weekend too!

Friday, August 19, 2011

falling apart

besides coming home after a week's vacation to a house empty of food.
we also came home to a house that crumbled right in front of us.
notice anything?


oh yes, we have a ceiling that is literally falling apart. the sheetrock is practically attached to the roof.  there is no in between.  so when it get really hot, it crumbles.  lovely.


you'll notice the white patch next to it.  this actually happened two years ago.  came back from our vegas vacation and it collapsed.  ronnie had patched it and painted over it.  painting the rest of the ceiling is still on the to-do list. 


so here we go again.  ronaldo has a sweet saturday date with the living room. 

let's be honest

so while my last post probably has you thinking that ronnie and i have turned our lives around and are having these awesome meals - let me recap this week's dinner menus:

monday (ronaldo was out of town)
cheerios and skim milk

tuesday (ronaldo got home early, but i wasn't planning to make dinner)
ronnie ate a McChicken and fries.
i had crackers with cheese and turkey.  straight up homemade lunchable. and my mom and dad dropped off a bag full of peaches off their tree.  they're amazing.  so add one of those to the list too.

wednesday
ronnie ate nothing.
i had peanut butter and crackers with another peach.

thursday (ronnie has class on thursdays from 5 - 9)
i decided that i had enough of my crackers and peach diet, so i packed the puppies in the car and headed for my parent's house.  i spent the evening telling them about our recent trip, dropped off a gift for watching our puppies AND ate chicken, green beans and homemade chocolate pie.  my mom already had a pie in the oven when i called her at 4:00 to let her know i was coming.  i told you that dessert with my family is mandatory!

i also explained what my dinners had consisted of since we've been back from the cruise since sunday and have still not made it to the grocery store.  they were appalled.  my mom packed up leftover pork and rice for us.  looks like tonight's dinner is already done.  score.

a look into the future?  i see an early saturday morning run to the grocery store.  dammit.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

impressed?

when my mother-n-law was in town we decided that we should probably make a few meals at home, so not to spend all our money before we left on vacation.  since ronaldo and i both work full time - and do not enjoy cooking - we rarely (and by rarely, i mean probably only once a week) make dinner.  sure, we grab a bowl of cereal in the morning and always pack our lunches, but dinner?  that's left up to a frozen pizza or mr. ronald mcdonald.  i know, unhealthy, but true.
one of my best friends, margie, told me about her crockpot roast and since we happen to own several of those - i decided to give it a try.  here are her instructions:

1 packet of ranch dressing
1 packet of italian dressing
1 packet of brown gravy
2 cups water
1 beef roast

basically you just mix the seasoning packets with the 2 cups of water and pour it over your roast.  leave it in the crockpot all day on low.  i added carrots and potatoes when i got home at 3:00.  we ate around 6:30 and it was amazing.  (thanks jonesi!)  ronnie thought i was the bomb. 


so the next day i decided to try it again.  this time, chicken. i put 3 or 4 chicken breasts along with salt, pepper, half a can of cream of chicken soup and 1 cup of water and let it simmer all day on low.  again, it was so good.  all i had to do that night was cook some squash and make a lipton rice packet.  (takes about 10 minutes). 


you want to know the best part?  it takes literally 2 minutes in the morning to throw it all together and then there is NO clean up after you eat.  3 plates and one crock pot later - the kitchen was spotless. 
i'm in heaven.
next, i'm going to try mexican.  i have a taco seasoning packet, rotel, water and i'm either going to put in hamburger or chicken and see what happens.  i'll let you know how it turns out. 
chili
soup
lasagna 
casseroles 
bbq

this could be the beginning of a beautiful crockpot relationship.

Monday, August 15, 2011

what could go wrong?

i returned last night after being gone seven days on an amazing trip to the caribbean.
never ending buffets, sleeping in, white beaches, gorgeous water and new adventures at every island.
it was so much fun. 
so what could go wrong?
instead of going over all the amazing things i did in the week, i want to jot down a few reminders (mostly for myself) so it helps me remember some important things the next time i travel. 

1. being so excited about being on vacation that you get wasted night one and are hungover the first day at sea.
2. frying your skin on the second day of the trip - - as in crying in bed that night because you hurt so bad.
3. forgetting to pack the dramamine and your husband feels nauseous all night.
4. getting attacked by billions of mosquitoes on your excursion mudding through the jungle of belize because they HIGHLY recommend bug spray, but you don't have any.
5. blistering lips from the sun because all you packed was lip gloss instead of spf chapstick.
6. not realizing that the cruise is air conditioned to the max and therefore, might need a cardigan instead of all tank tops.
7. sit on the cruise for 3 hours before being let off, then sit at the airport for 2 hours before finding out your plan has been delayed another 3 hours, followed by a 2 hour plane ride and a 1 hour drive home.
8. prepare for vacation - then take out half of the clothes you pack and double the amount of money you thought you would spend.

but really, i can't complain.  it was one of the best trips i've ever been on.