Friday, February 27, 2009

this week was a real bitch

So, I started getting sick last Saturday, luckily Mike told me to "live it up" Saturday before the plague kicked my butt and so I did. This week I did not go to the gym once. During a normal week I go Monday-Wednesday, take off Thursday and finishes the week with a long Friday evening workout before starting my weekend. A week minus working out freed up a lot of my time. I couldn't really enjoy the extra time, especially with one bedridden day in there, but I was able to watch a few more movies, read a few more blogs and catch up on some DVR'd shows.

Mike and I watched Pineapple Express on Wednesday night, it was pretty ok, kinda funny at times, a typical stoner movie. Thursday after work we finally saw Twilight... let's just say I know now what all the Robert Pattinson buzz is about. Talk about my high school fantasy come to life. I even had to buy the second book in the series, New Moon, today just to hold me over until the movie comes out this November. I know I'm a dork and now I'm watching one of my all time favorites Say Anything. Lloyd Dobler, I'll always have a soft spot for him.



Ya, it's been a bitch of a week, but at least I made the best of it. O and btw, I'm still sick!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

My day just got a lot better!

My favorite band ever, ever, ever just released a new video, a track called "Wrong" from their album that comes out April 21. Depeche Mode are also going on tour once again to support their newest work which will be nothing short of a masterpiece I'm sure. No tour dates posted for Chicago yet, but this may warrant a vacation planned around a concert.... I'm so excited! DM listening party April 21!




One thing that absolutely amazes me about DM is their longevity. DM was actually formed in 1976, although Dave Gahan, the front man, did not join until 1980. 1980! Photographic, the bands first single debuted. To me, a band that can stand the test of time, and continue to reinvent themselves across a span of 29 years? Phenomenal.



Monday, February 23, 2009

Blogging from bed

I've been in bed since about 4:30. After a long day of feeling like crap I picked up some Aleve and some orange soda, always sounds good when I'm sick, headed home, grabbed Dixie and went to bed.

My body aches, my neck glands are swollen, and my head hurts. Unfortunetely I have not lost my appetite which is the only perk to getting sick. Mike is busy so I've been taking care of myself which reminded of the times when I was sick, single and loving alone. One time I got the kind of flu that took me out for an entire week. That REALLY sucked. Luckily it was pre-Dixie so there were no potty trips outside. Poor me lol.

So anyways, tonight I've been drinking green tea, made some mac and cheese and watching bad tv. Let's just hope I make it to work tomorrow since I have no paid time off until August. poo

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Food, yum!!

Last weekend I stopped into one of my favorite places in Davenport, Riverbend Antiques. If you have not been, it is worth it just to see Jazz alone (the dreadlocked giant poodle)! Riverbend Antiques has been around for 38 years at the 400block of Brady Street in downtown Davenport. The store occupies four buildings and you even walk through a cute little court yard to get to a section. Every era is under one roof! I could spend hours looking through all the cool old antiques and rumor has it, it's haunted. Scary!

At any rate, I spent some time chatting with the owner. While we were discussing restaurants and movies he mentioned that Le Mekong has the best springs rolls in the QC. This is all it took, Le Mekong has been on my list of places to try for a long time now.

Mike and I decided to go on Wednesday. Knowing that I was going to indulge, I paid my dues. After work I ran two miles and went to a pilates class before heading home and to the restaurant.

Ron, at the antique shop, mentioned the spring rolls so Mike and I both tried them. At only $1.95 a piece we thought this was a great deal! O, I have to mention the awesome peanut sauce with a hint of siracha.



We ordered a second appetizer that Ron recommended called Banh Xeo or Vietnamese pancake. It's a crepe like dish filled with all sorts of good stuff, shrimp, bean sprouts, onions(which I normally hate, but these were prepared in a way that left them with just a faint taste)cucumber and wonderful seasonings. Banh Xeo is served with a light sauce, lettuce leaves and is spooned and eaten inside the lettuce, like a lettuce wrap. I'll go back again just for this!






Next we ordered two entrees to share.



We chose the Emperor Seafood Rice cooked and served in a clay pot, it was one of my favorite dishes ever. Lot's of fresh veggies with sea scallops and shrimp!



Our other entree was the Ha Long Noodles. A combination of fresh veggies, shrimp, chicken and egg noodles. This was really good, but I'd try something different next time.



Overall we really enjoyed our dinner at Le Mekong, and will be returning again in the near future!




Tuesday, February 17, 2009

I love a Man Who Can Cook

Before we enjoyed the cake I made, Mike made a wonderful dinner


Mike made a Mixed Green salad with strawberries, avocado, and pecans. He made a delicious honey citrus dressing to go with it.



Yummy whole gran bread..




For the entree he made a gorgonzola cheese, asparagus and sweet pea angel hair pasta served with shrimp and scallops. YUM!!!



A Vday treat for my sweetie

For Valentine's Day this year Mike made dinner and I took on dessert. I knew right away what I wanted to make. I'd been waiting for the right occasion to try my hand at an Italian Cream Cake, the cake flavor we chose for our wedding cake.

I spent some time researching online and chose a recipe I found on foodnetwork.com posted by Emeril Lagasse.

After buying three new 9" cake pans and gathering all the ingredients needed, I began making my first, not out of a box, cake.

After mixing everything on the correct order I divided my batter into three pans.



While the cake was baking I worked on my own variation. Our wedding cake had a cherry filling, so I picked up some raspberry preserves and boiled them in an amateur attempt to strain the seeds. I then realized the seeds would slip right through a pasta strainer. O, well. It removed a few of the seeds. I figured it would still work.



I let the cakes cool for 10 minutes in the pan....



Success!



After cooling I started frosting my layers.



I only added the preserves on one layer, I didn't want the raspberry to be too overwhelming. I added a frosting layer on top of the preserves too.




I threw on the top layer.



And frosted sparingly. A few of the reviewers said they doubled the frosting recipe but I didn't find it necessary. Double would have been too much. I did use every last drop though!



Finally we went for it! An excellent Valentine's Day treat!

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Giving up my animal crackers

I recently developed an addiction to hy-vee brand animal crackers. Mike had been buying them for a few weeks to take in his lunches and one night I grabbed a few not thinking much of it...BUT these were the tastiest animals crackers I'd ever had! I must have been used to the lowfat, dry, bland version. These aren't high fat or anything but I know they are made from all the refined sugars and white stuff that is not good for me. Since my addiction has become a bowl a night I think it's time we part ways. So, tomorrow I'm starting to focus on healthy eating hardcore again, YAY! hahah. I've got some almonds, plently of fruit, a hard boiled egg and some tuna packed for breakfast and lunch. I'm also on my second week of pilates classes so hopefully I'll lose my winter gut in time for summer!

Sunday, February 1, 2009

I had a vision...







So mike and I painted our bathroom magenta! I LOVE IT!

Some funny advertising

I can't say I paid too much attention to the game, but I did see a few really funny ads! These are two of my favorites. I also like the Doritos commerical with the crystal ball/snow globe thing. I noticed this year there was a lot of office humor. I think this type of humor hits home with many, especially in this economy where there are less choices and more unhappy employees.