Just Breathe

Phew!  Sorry for the absence…short story long, my anatomy professor posted that we would be able to use our notes and book on our exam. So what do I do?  Put off studying, of course!  When I checked the message board around midnight on Saturday, she had taken it back.  It was a mistake…urrrgh!

Anyway, I got through the final and got an A in my class!!  For now, it just feels.so.good to be done.  Tonight is the first night in a loooong time I don’t have that hanging over my head.  I forgot how I don’t like that part of school. 

I was lucky enough to have my 3 nieces and nephew spend the night last Friday night.  Two of the four made it through the night (ummm….I had to call my sister because the kiddos were having a hard time sleeping. Fail, Aunt Holly!).  But before that all started, we had a great time dancing to The Nutcracker…

My nieces + 2 friends.  A dance party up in herre. ..and making these babies.

Melissa posted a link on Facebook for these adorable Rice Krispie snowmen….it was perfect timing because I knew my nephew could eat them!  (He has severe food allergies).

Otherwise my week has been pretty good.  Well, I might have had a minor short-lived breakdown at the Colts game, but we won’t go there. 

We got to see my boys win yet another game…

Me and my cute prego sistah!

Celebrated my brother-in-law and other sister’s birthday…

….saw my adorable niece at her first Christmas Show!

The Catholic School jumper….oh, the memories.   …and got to see the Statue of Liberty.

I promise I will get caught up on all my blog reading work tomorrow.  Hope you’re having a great night!!

Friday’s Song of the Day: (ugh….a day early)

I really like the soundtrack to Twilight, but this by far is my favorite song.  “Flightless Bird, American Mouth” by Iron & Wine.  I could listen to it over, and over, and over again.  Now, ask me to explain the lyrics and I’m completely lost! 

Brrr! It’s Cold in Here!

…..there must be some Toros in the atmosphere!

My house is.so.cold.  I “cranked it up” to 71 (normally I  keep it at 68/69 – I have gas heat and my $300 January bill last year makes me nervous!) and my fingers are STILL ice.  I did ask for a Snuggie for Christmas.

Just for around the house.

And thanks to Emily’s suggestion, I copied her idea and got some cute booties! 

But my fingers are STILL like icicles.

Ahhhh, well…such is life. 

Thanks for all of your comments/kind words about my news from the doctor.  So frustrating!  I need this guy:

Call me crazy, but I do find him sexy.

While I’d love to get a second opinion, I have to pay off the almost $1,000 of medical bills I owe right now.   I’m going to give PT a shot – fingers crossed!

I think I might go with Michelle’s advice, actually, and look into swimming more.  I go once a week, but I hate it because I have to go at 9 p.m.!  So I think I’m going to try going in the morning next week a couple times, before work. 

Also, I’m going to challenge myself to find something I love in 2010 – to take the place of running.  I am going to see if pilates, yoga, zumba, or spinning will do the trick.  I have done all of those things, but have never really been consistent.  Any workout ideas out there?  What’s your workout of choice?  I do better if it’s a program or something I can do consistently.  We’ll see…I”m not giving up hope that something is out there for me.

Okay, I must stop procrastinating blogging and get back to studying. 

Friday’s song of the day:

“Cathedrals” by Jump Little Children.  (Couldn’t find the album version – SO much better!)  Such a beautiful song – I listen to it whenever I’m a little sad or blue.  It’s a good “wallowing” song, ya know?! 

Check out Iowa Girl Eats Coffee & Carbs Giveaway!

Happy Friday!

It’s My Hump Day!

Happy Tuesday, Bloggies!!

So I got the results of my MRI yesterday, and basically, he didn’t see anything too abnormal. 

Good and bad, right?  He did see some wear on my kneecap on the lateral side, which is normal for women because the width of our hips put more stress on our knees.  But nothing too out of the ordinary.  In the end I decided to go back to Physical Therapy – shoot, I’ve met my deductible this year, so might as well…right?  I go next Tuesday and hopefully will be able to get in a few more times before the end of the year. 

So a little bummed, and a little relieved.  My doctor is super nice, but he basically said in a nice way my running days might be over.    I refuse to accept this…I mean, my hip problem had me out for a year!  And I came back from that.  So…I’m going to keep hope inside, even if my running days are over, I just will keep trying until I have to get a knee replacement or something. 

So something positive…today is my Hump Day!  I’m taking Thursday and Friday off to study for my Anatomy Final, and I had some vacation days to use up.  If you had a day off, what would you do?  I must say, sleeping in is my FAVORITE part of days off…and I don’t sleep super late (usually until 8 or 8:30), but it’s such a treat.

Who is excited for the Biggest Loser Finale tonight??!!  I want Danny to win.  Or Amanda.  Or even Liz.  But really I can’t wait to see what everyone looks like!! 

Check out Iowa Girl Eats Larabar Giveaway!

Deck the Halls With…

….balls of Holly. 

The wonderful and sweet Emily from homecookedem chose cinnamon as the BSI ingredient this week.  One of my favorite ingredients….ever!!!  It all goes back to when my mom would make me toast with *real* butter and cinnamon and sugar.  Then I found Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  Now cinnamon goes in my oatmeal everyday.  Okay, I digress.

My sister has a great recipe for Moroccan Meatballs, and I remember her saying they require cinnamon.  So, I decided to whip up my own version!

Moroccan Meatballs

Ingredients:

Meatballs (Amount Varies)

Couscous (Amount varies)

1/2 diced onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 tspn sugar

1/4 tspn cumin

1/4 tspn cinnamon

1/4 tspn ground corriander

1 1/2 tspn olive oil

Directions:

Heat oil in pan, and put in meatballs for about 10 minutes.  Add in onion and cook until soft.  Add rest of the ingredients and cook until heated through.

Balls and such.

  The couscous is there…I promise!

Mmmm mmm – these were so good! 

Mmmkay, I’m off to study and watch the Colts game.  I’ve been a MAYJUH slacker in the studying department lately, and my final is a week from tomorrow!!!

I Grew Up Thinking…

I Grew Up Thinking I would have my dream job at 22…..

Now I realize that I have to take many detours to get there.

I Grew Up Thinking racism was something from long ago and didn’t really exist anymore….

Now I realize how sheltered I was and how we still have so far to go.

I Grew Up Thinking I’d be married with 3 kids by the age of 30…

Now I realize the saying “Wanna Make God Laugh?  Make a plan” is oh so true.

I Grew Up Thinking I would make lots of money and never have to worry about working…

Now I realize I was smoking crackbeing so silly.

I Grew Up Thinking I would never have to worry about food or my diet…

Now I realize how much time I’ve wasted worrying about my food and diet in the last 12 years.

I Grew Up Thinking my 2nd grade best friend would be my BFF…

Now I realize how much we all change and need to move on sometimes.

I Grew Up Thinking we would have flying cars by the year 2010…

Now I realize – Really?  Flying cars, Holly???

I Grew Up Thinking the St. Louis Cardinals were the best baseball team in the world…

Now I realize….yep, still right about that one.

I Grew Up Thinking a lot of things would/should/could happen differently than they have – what about you?

  

Friday’s song of the day: Britney Spears “Slave For You.”  Yes, I love Britney (don’t hate!) and this is probably my favorite song of hers….and I have a dance to it. 

Good luck to Nicole who is running her second marathon on Sunday - you’re gonna rock, chica!

Check Out Iowa Girl Eats Nasoya Giveaway!

  

 

Soup Nazi

 

 

No soup for you!

Oh my….I might starve if someone told me that.

Yes, it’s pretty obvious I adore soup.  I mean, I’m cold ALL THE TIME.  Plus, it lasts forever.  So, sorry if you get tired of seein’ my soups!

I tried this recipe for Six Can Chicken Tortilla Soup because, quite frankly, it looked ridiculously EASY.

And…it was!  (Sorry for the bad picture).

I would definitely do this again, if I was in a pinch for time and wanted something quick and easy.  (I also added some cumin + chili powder to spice things up a bit).  Not sure about the canned chicken – does anyone else think canned chicken tastes and smells like tuna? And I LIKE tuna…but when I eat chicken – I want chicken!  Ya know?

In other news, I had an MRI for my knee today.

I paid $600 for an MRI, and all I got were these ear plugs.

I go to the doctor on Monday for the results.  I figure it’ll either be "good" news, and they won’t find anything, or it will be not so good, and we can figure out what to do next!

Biggest Loser is almost over!  Who are you rooting for?  I’m Team Danny – all the way.  He’s kind of….hot now?

Check out Iowa Girl Eats Popchip Giveaway!

And the Winner is….

Thank you SO much to all of you who submitted recipes for this week’s BSI Contest!  They seriously all look SO GOOD. I would eat them all up in a heart beat!

So this might be cheating, but….

I couldn’t decide from all of the wonderful recipes you all submitted!  I am the worst judge/decision maker, like, ever. 

So I ended up drawing from my handa hat to choose.    First, though, I want to show you what these wonderful ladies came up with:

Emily from HomeCookedEm submitted  Flax English French Toast:

 

Erica from Itzy’s Kitchen submitted two varieties of granola:

Biz from the Biggest Diabetic Loser submitted Mac N’Cheese:

Jessica from Johnstone’s Vin Blanc submitted Cranberry Date Bars:

And the winner is….

Biz with her Mac N’Cheese!!

Congratulations!!!  I loved reading all of your recipes since I have about ZERO creativity when it comes to this kind of thing.  That’s why I have all of you!    Biz, if you could shoot me an e-mail with your address (thebalancebroad@yahoo.com), I will send out your gift card!

Be sure to check out Emily’s blog, as she’ll be hosting this week’s BSI contest.  And if she chooses what I think she’s gonna choose, it’s a good one, folks!!

Hope you’re all having a great Monday so far.  25 days until the BIG DAY!!! 

Yes, I Would Like Fries to Go With That

When I first declared my love for butternut squash, Emily recommended I try butternut squash fries.  And who was I to resist a temptation like that?

I found this ridiculously easy recipe and took a stab at it.

 

OH MY.  These were, hands down, the best fries I’ve ever had!  Maybe I was hungry because I realize that is a BOLD statement, but really.  The sweet/salty combo was out of this world.  Of course adding my favorite salt helped.

I’m not even a salt person, but this is where it’s AT!

So I can’t believe no one guessed my favorite Christmas movie!

Yes, I’m a total cheese ball.

What can I say?  I LOVE GEORGE BAILEY.  I watch this movie probably 2 or 3 times each December.  It just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.  I also love “Elf,” and Kim – I’ve never seen “White Christmas”!   I know, I know….that is on my list.  I LOVE old movies, so I know I’d like it.

Hope you’re all having a great Sunday!  I’m finally going to see “New Moon” tonight!  Has anyone else seen it?  Yes, I feel 14 years old, but I’m cool with that.

Going to announce the BSI winner tomorrow morning, but you still have until this evening to turn in your recipes!!

Sausage Fest

Ahhh….Saturday.  My favorite day of the week!

All of the Christmas decorations are up…

 

 

This is one of my favorite pictures.  I keep it up year-round, but it’s perfect for this time of year.  This is my dad and 2 of his 5 siblings.  My dad is the boy in the middle, looking at the camera.  Aren’t old pictures the best?  I smile whenever I look at this picture.

And of course I love anything with my name in it.  (Best time of year for my name!)

I don’t have that many Christmas decorations, but I’m more of a minimalist when it comes to Christmas decorations. 

Kind of the opposite of this guy.

My 2nd favorite Christmas movie, BTW!  Can you guess the first?

I LOVE Christmas!!!!!  Anyway, onto food.

I ’d read on Stephanie’s blog that these sausages were out of this world…imagine my surprise when I actually found them at my store!

Ladies and gents, this is a winner!

SO easy. Just sautéed them up and threw them in a wrap.  So nice to have something yummy and quick for those nights when you don’t feel like heating up the same leftoverscooking.

What’s your new (or old) favorite go-to meal?  This is mine for sure…I’m a sucker for anything I can throw in a wrap.

Hope you’re all having a great Saturday!  One more day to send in your BSI Recipe…and a little spoiler as to what the prize may be:

 

Makin’ Whoopie….

…PIES, that is.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

My Thanksgiving was just wonderful.  Too fast, but so nice to see my extended family and catch up with them.

Now, I am all for letting loose (figuratively speaking, ladies) on Thanksgiving and Christmas.  My favorite stuffing I only get ONCE a year?  You better believe I’m eatin’ it!  But this was probably the first Thanksgiving ever that I really ate just until I was full.  Most years (read: all), I eat until I’m SICK.  Literally!  I didn’t deprive myself one bit, but it felt good to wake up hungry this morning rather than "hungover."  Will I do this at Christmas?  Probably not.    I LOVE the food at Christmas time so much more than Thanksgiving…..there are more sweets to choose from, most of which involve CHOCOLATE!

I volunteered to bring cookies on the big day.  It’s what I like best!  I saw this recipe on Iowa Girl Eats for Pumpkin Spiced Whoopie Pies and bookmarked them on the spot!

Step One: Make Cookies.  Try not to eat.  You’ll need them later.

Step Two:  Whip up Frosting.  See above note about not eating.

Step Three:  Assemble.  And now you can eat.

These were yummy, yummy!!  I didn’t have a piping bag for the frosting, so mine aren’t as beautiful as maybe they would have been.   But the taste?  Un.believeable. 

What did you bring to your Thanksgiving Dinner (if you celebrated yesterday)?  Or did you just bring your sparkling personalities?  That’s normally what I bring.  But this year, I thought I’d chip in.

Friday’s song of the day:

“Go Girl” by Pitbull.  Seriously, this is a GREAT running/cardio song!  (Video is cheesy, but it has a GREAT beat).   I have a dance to it, but I’ll only perform after a drink or two.

Don’t forget to send in your recipes for the Blogger Secret Ingredient by Sunday night!