The "picky hubby" list

Move over, Giada!

Okay, while I may not be gorgeous Giada (my husband has dubbed her show "Cooking with Cleavage"), I am trying to get in the kitchen more. One of the goals on my 101 things in 1001 days was to cook five new dishes before the end of summer.




My husband happens to be the pickiest eater ever, eschewing such foods as:
1.) ground beef
2.) anything with veggies (onions, mushrooms, anything green) or flecks of herbs that are large enough to constitute a veggie
3.) potato anything- gratin, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes (although he does eat fries)
4.) whole grain breads/pasta
5.) berries, apples, any other fruit

It's a marvel he hasn't gotten scurvy.

Anyway, because I am such a good wife, we usually eat pretty simple food because it seems too much trouble to cook gourmet meals for one (i.e. me, who will eat absolutely anything). When my sister came into town this weekend, I jumped at the chance to cook something fresh and summery. I ended up making a Mediterranean couscous salad, which was fun to make because there was no measuring and I chopped all these amazing summer veggies (sundried tomatoes, red onion, red peppers, olives). It had such a clean, Greek-alfresco-dinner-at-sunset taste. I put the recipe at the end of this post if anyone is still reading and is interested!

I also made lemon ricotta cookies (Giada's recipe) with lemon glaze that were absolutely perfect for summer- like lemonade in cookie form. The recipe made 44 cookies. By the end of my sister's visit, they were completely gone. The best part: even though that makes us all complete piggies, none of us felt like it because they taste so light and lemony. My sister asked several times if the cookies were "good for you" (because so many cookies are). I'll let you check out the recipe, with its one stick of butter and tons of sugar and cheese, to make that call.

Just call me Betty Crocker:


Even Mr. Picky likes them (although he didn't want to try them at first because of the fruit juice.) Do ya'll see what I'm dealing with here? :)


Oh-So-Easy Mediterranean Couscous Salad
Want an easy salad to make for a future potluck? Here's the very laid back recipe:
* 1 red pepper
* 1 red onion
* 1 jar of slice black olives
* 1/2 a bag of sundried tomatoes, sliced into thin strips
* 1 small jar artichokes, sliced small
* feta cheese
* 1 box coucous- I used pine nut flavored
* 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
Just cook the coucous, fluff, and cool. Chop all fresh veggies. Put everything in large bowl and add seasoning, lemon juice, and olive oil. Put in fridge to chill. Enjoy! :)

Two new dishes down, three more to go! :)

(I'll post more on my visit with my sis later because I have a few other cute posts in mind. Bethy, I'm not posting the ultra cute photos of you and your boyfriend until you leave a comment on my blog! I'm holding them ransom... ba ha ha ha!)

The "mini living room makeover" list

I love a makeover.

My favorite part of any HGTV show is the last ten minutes. Sometimes I'll even turn on a design show, go do a load of laundry or surf the net for about twenty minutes (skipping the rather boring redo-paint-sand-demolish-build phase), and return to watch the end abracadabra switch from "before" to "after". I love how the camera shows the original footage of ugly ass decor: hideous floral wallpaper borders, dingy carpets, outdated brass figures. Then, cue the twinkle wind chime noise, and the room is so sleek/chic/magnifique that I'm frantically taking my own mental notes.


I'm SO not an HGTV pro (although I wish their talent would rub off on my from the zillions of HGTV shows that I've watched), however I thought I'd give just a few of my own "before" and "after" pictures, starting with my living room. I just bought a couple pillows from Target for the room and thought it would be fun to see the transformation.

Before:



Here's another blah picture of the fireplace:



And now the window:




It took me over TWO YEARS (not an exaggeration) before I could finally decide on a color for the walls (Behr's "warm muffin"- God what I wouldn't give to have the job of naming paint colors! How cool would that be?) Also replaced the frames and found these great leaf cushions recently at Target (which is what inspired me to put this on my blog!)

Now (drumroll, please), the after pics!






Couch with new cushions:


Fresh apples (that I have to keep replacing when they rot, but I refuse to buy plastic apples from Micheal's) and green candles on mantle:



Finally, a close-up shot of one of the leaf pillows ($12.00 each on sale!)


I'm still not crazy about the fireplace set-up. It seems a bit too symmetrical/ matchy-matchy, and I need to put some more modern or fun items to look at on it. Feel free to post any ideas! :)

Best. Concert. Ever.

How can I express how incredible the Coldplay concert was last night? Folks, as you may have gathered from my three word title, with bold punctuation between each word for emphasis, I rather enjoyed it, behaving quite similarly to how a frenzied teeny bopper at a Jonas Brothers concert might. Hoarse throat from screaming like a lunatic? Check. Dorky tearing of eyes during favorite song? Check. Standing on a chair, temporarily blocking everyone behind me, to snap a few pictures of crooning lead singer (and suppressing urge to lick his arm as he walked by)? Check.

What made the Coldplay concert such an experience? I won't say "You had to be there" because it always irritates me when some smug-ass says that, even if it may be true. It's hard to put into words, but this being a blog, I'll try...

Well, how about if I were to tell you about how when the entire amphitheater was plunged into darkness, and Chris Martin whispered, "Is anyone out there? If I could hear anyone out there, we might play a song called 'Yellow'"? When my ears were officially bleeding from torrential outpour of screams and whistles, the lights shot on and huge soft yellow balloons were dreamily bouncing everywhere, bursting into showers of sparkles. I felt like I was in a Beatle-style, trippy cartoon.

Or I could tell that when they played the catchy "Lovers in Japan", thousands of multicolored butterflies shot into the air. Everyone in the audience (drunk frat boys, older couples, teenagers) put their hands up into the swarm of paper butterflies and were catching them, sharing them, etc.

You might want to hear that the highlight of the concert was when the entire band walked off stage, came through the crowds (cue me screeching), and sang a few acoustic songs on mini stages scattered throughout the lawn area. This is a picture I snapped of Chris Martin...



Pretty close, huh?

I could tell you about how Coldplay organized a massive version of "the wave" (yes, like at a baseball game) with illuminated cell phones, or how EVERYONE crooned along when the band sang The Monkeys' "I'm a believer", or how about 50% of the crowd's couples were kissing during "The Scientist", or how Chris Martin sincerely thanked the crowd several times, or how EVERY person was given a C.D. of nine Coldplay songs after the show (containing everything from "Clocks" to "Viva la Vida").

I could list the ONLY possible ways the concert could have been even better: 1.) Gwyneth could have been dancing next to me, we become best friends, she tells me to call her "Gwynnie", and Dan and I go on a double date with her and Chris after the show. 2.) Honestly, I've got nothing else!

Maybe I should just stick with my title: Best. Concert. Ever.

The unathletic list

My greatest athletic accomplishments are so few and far between that they can barely compile into a list:
1. Running the 10K this past March
2. Learning how to throw a frisbee straight rather than having it arc into the air and then boomerang back in a stiff breeze to hit me in the forehead
3. Hole in one at Putt Putt

One guess which athletic feat of wonder is the most significant to me...

I "trained" (AKA randomly pushed myself to run until I felt my legs burn) for the 10K throughout the winter, running endless circles on the track at my gym and doing ridiculous stretches after each session (garnering smirks as I did the butterfly and pushed off the wall as if gearing for Olympic sprint). On the 10K day, I ran the entire six mile course and felt terrific afterwards. Then I promptly took a very long break. Weeks long.

When I was about to run a 5K (notice 1/2 the distance!!) this past weekend, I thought it would be a breeze! Um... no. My middle school students who had helped organized the event fluidly raced by me, and I almost felt bile rushing into my throat the last mile. Yes, my friends, it may be time to work out regularly again.

Dan snapped the above picture as I limped across the finish line.

That big grin? Happy to be finished!

The "graduation" list

Ms. Cranky writes... Top Five Things I Hate About Graduations:
5. The extended journey metaphors and comments about how "'Commencement' means 'beginning'"
4. Introduction speeches: does anyone care about the speaker's credentials? Is it truly necessary to have a speech that sets up another speech?
3. Looooooooooooong processional and recessional
2. Graduates who don't get any applause when they walk across. (I always find myself clapping wildly in an outpouring of sympathy.)

and the number one thing I hate about graduations is...
1. The fact that graduates never seem to throw caps in the air anymore! How about a little enthusiasm? Throw that mortar board in the air a la Mary Tyler Moore!


Last weekend, Dan and I visited in Alexandria and viewed my sis graduating with her master degree in psychology (following in mom's footsteps!) The actual graduation was pretty boring (see above list of "Top Five Things I Hate About Graduations"). It spanned over two hours and had the requisite dull speeches complete with quotes from clever politicians or writers, none of them witty enough to hold my interest. I was the antsy one who kept looking through the pictures on my digital camera and getting church laugh every time Dan sighed wearily or mumbled under his breath, "Let's start to wrap this up, lady" when the final speaker droned about how important it is that alumni donate money to the Marymount University after graduation.

While the ceremony may have been one, long, tedious roll call, I really did feel touched throughout the day when I reflected on my sister's accomplishments. She read to me from her class journals before the ceremony, explaining a particularly interesting assignment where she had to select a photograph that represented her view on counseling (apparently psych majors appreciate symbolism as much as nerdy English teachers, like me!) My favorite moment of the day, however, was when Bethy first stepped into the aisle to walk towards the stage. Dan and I were sitting in a balcony seat nearby and screeched out, "Bethy!" so that we could snap a picture.

Here's what we ending up getting:



At first glimpse, I was so disappointed that the picture simply looked like a parade of black caps and gowns. Then, I started to zoom in and saw....




Crazy Joker grin + kid who just saw bike on Christmas morning= my sis in this picture!

I can't even express how this picture captures everything I love about Bethany: her unbridled enthusiasm, her inner child, her crazy happy smile of relief and joy to celebrate her accomplishment. That is one happy girl, huh?

Actually, make that two happy girls!