Friday, April 30, 2010

More Garden photos...









We have a few late blooming azaleas, and our side bed along the driveway is full of pink and white beauty. Yea, spring!

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Straight No Chaser

Awesome, awesome, awesome!

We saw Straight No Chaser at the Center Stage theater in Midtown Atlanta last night. It was amazingly entertaining!

Highlights of the show - in no particular order:
1) Billie Jean / Poison Mashup with S-WEET dance moves
2) Fix It by Coldplay
3) I Heard It Through the Grapevine
4) Africa (1st encore)
5) Wonderwall

The 2nd best highlight - it was the first time - EVER - Jeff and I witnessed an entire 1100 seat venue clap along correctly. Like, at the right beats (not the off beats), and nice & steady, without speeding up in a frenzy. It was shocking. In a good way.

The best highlight - at the 2nd encore song In The Still Of The Night, right before the ending climax, a woman, probably in her late 60s or early 70s ~ with white hair and a very modest jacket and dress, stormed the stage (it was too high for her to climb up) and started waving a DOLLAR BILL at the lead tenor for the song. He took it and gamely removed his jacket...and the whole song fell apart. Some of the guys started laughing and some just looked at each other. Pretty much everyone stopped singing, but I can't be completely sure since the entire audience was ROARING with laughter. They pulled it together finally and hit the last few notes. With a laugh. I LOVE LIVE SHOWS!!!!

Enjoy! (Ok, just kidding, I can't get to YouTube at work - no surprise - so the clip is coming later tonight.)



Monday, April 26, 2010

Hee-hee, almost Just Married

We splurged. Don't worry, not too much. But it was time to upgrade.

Our medium 10" non-stick pan has chipped in several places. As you probably know, I don't do dishes. EVERYTHING goes in the dishwasher. This pan was a Martha Stewart Everyday purchase from the K-Mart in Hutchinson, KS in June 2003. I think we probably got our money's worth.

So we shopped for new kitchen stuff - for the first time since we got married 5 years ago. We purchased a new Calphalon 10" pan and 8" pan (from Target) and some new non-stick safe spoons and spatulas (from Bed, Bath, and Beyond).

I think we should start a new holiday of, "Congratulations, you made it 5 / 8 / 10 / 15 years!" and throw a giant party and get lots of gifts - because by now things have worn out, been used up, or are out of style or favor. Who's with me?

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Rainy Saturday

What to do on a rainy Saturday? Well, work out (yay - completed Week 4 for me and Week 1 for Jeff - yes, he jumped on the bandwagon). Then a lunch from Subway. And then work for a few hours :(

But once we got home, I played with my new yarn and crochet hooks, laid out a half-finished pink baby blanket (finally! thanks Jenn), and laid out my plans for the design.

A yummy homemade Chinese-inspired dinner came right before a Blu-ray Avatar screening in our home theater / living room.

Here's the recipe:
The Hartman EASY Chinese Stir Fry
1 lb chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
Steamfresh Asian Medley Vegetables
Kikkoman General Tso's Sauce
Thai Kitchen Rice Noodles

1. Bring a pan of water to a boil (for the noodles).
2. Cook up the strips in a skillet with 1Tbsp oil - should not take more than 5-6 minutes total.
3. Meanwhile, pop the Steamfresh veggies into the microwave and set it to cook for 5 minutes.
4. Place the rice noodles into the hot water and remove from heat. Do not cook too long otherwise they will turn to mush!
5. Toss the General Tso sauce, cooked strips, and cooked veggies all together and serve over noodles.

YUMMY!

Friday, April 23, 2010

STAR Awards

Hooray for Diversity! We had our 2010 Supplier Diversity Star Awards today, honoring the top-performing small, minority, and women owned business that work with my company. I am proud to say that I am a Supplier Diversity Champion, helping my team stay focused on offering diverse suppliers the opportunities to business with us.

I love when you can take some time out from the daily grind and honor your strategic partners, those who work really hard to make your business work. It's important to celebrate achievements once in awhile, and a Friday afternoon luncheon was a great way to do it.

Our keynote speaker, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed stated: “Enlisting the services of qualified small, women, and minority owned firms, makes good business sense in a very competitive world."

Hats off to those who help us succeed!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Happy Earth Day

What did you do for Mother Nature today? I called Robertson Sanitation, was routed through a bunch of different people, and ultimately told that they did not do recycling in my neighborhood.

Does the Earth care that I tried? At least I bought re-usable Publix bags.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Madonna-itis

After posting a poll about the awesome songs from Glee's episode - and watching the final number for about the 20th time...guess what song is stuck in my head...

Open your heart to me, ba-by, I hold the lock and you hold the key...

iTunes it, people.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Happy as clams, or clownfish

We had a minor emergency with our new little guys. One of them was laying on his side, obviously distressed, and not moving around very much. His buddy kept nudging him and wiggling, and giving support.

After an anxious 24 hours, it appears our little clownfish is on the road to recovery. He pooped a weird colored poop but it is slowly going back to normal. And they are both eating, which is super important.

Now today they are a-wiggling around like crazy, obviously getting back to happy with life. Jeff even cleaned the glass. Now, his excuse for no photos is the water is too cloudy because the tank is still cycling. So - photos of the happy couple are still coming!

Hooray!

Saturday, April 17, 2010

When 2 hobbies collide...

Stimulus economus. That is the latin word for what we did today.

We started out the morning with a walk (DONE WITH WEEK 3!), then shower and facebooking. We decided to head up north to Woodstock, GA and grab some Chipotle lunch on the way to Creation Reef and Aquatics. We were prepared to purchase fish - we brought 2 coolers to keep everyone happy on the way home.

And purchase we did - 2 baby Grade B Picasso Clownfish who will hopefully grow up and be a pair, and 2 firefish gobys (gobies?) to add to our lonely single firefish in the tank. They are sooooo awesome and very different than any fish we had in our old tank. (I can't wait to post photos, but Jeff says I have to wait until the glass is clean and he won't do that until the copepods are more established.)

After the trip up there and back (it's about an hour one way) our new fishies got acclimated to the new tank while I took a nap. Then it was on the road again to Nearly Native Nursery, about 10 minutes away, to look for inspiration for my backyard.

I love NNN because it features plants native to the Southeast, which are drought and heat tolerant, and sometimes exotic and unusual. And, I was reminded by going there, that everything that I think is a weed is probably not - it's more than likely a native plant that blooms or is beautiful with foliage some time during the year (and therefore should not be Round-Upped).

I bought 3 spring flowering purple phlox (not groundcover), 2 summer flowering pink phlox, 2 lantern-type flowering shrubs, and a garden knick knack Kitty sculpture. These are all going in the backyard as we continue to create our walking-tour ready garden!!! Tomorrow is planting day, and we're also re-arranging our drip irrigation system to accommodate everything we have planted so far this year. Should be a fun one!

Friday, April 16, 2010

Run, Forrest, Run

I loved Forrest Gump when I was younger. I think I was in middle school when it came out and my friends and I would pop in the tape when we got together on weekends. Only today do I realize that so many pieces and parts would have so much different meaning as I got older.

I always thought it was just a fun blip to have Forrest running through all those different historical times / acts / venues. And that it was cute when he always said, "I figured since I'd run this far, I might as well keep going." But now I see that in a different light. Getting up in the morning, putting on the same shoes, and running was his only purpose that day. And it GAVE him purpose, a reason to get up in that same morning. And I never realized that until watching it again recently.

I love that movie. More and more, every time I see it. And especially as it changes meaning to me based on my own life at the time, and what I have experienced since I last saw it. I don't think many things in pop culture can have an effect like that - can you guys think of any others?

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Rewards for good behavior

I am rethinking my reward.

I am on Day 3 of Week 3 (well, I will be when I walk tonight). My Day 1 and Day 2 of Week 3 were spent on the road in a hotel gym. Well, I decided to use the elliptical there for 10 minutes each day and then finish up with 20 minutes on the treadmill.

HOLY CRAP. My legs are STILL sore today, 2 days later, from that freaking thing. It definitely worked out my quads much harder than I expected. When I stepped off the machine the first time my legs did not want to continue supporting me. (I am sure the other 5 people in the gym were wondering if the chubby girl was gonna fall over. Must have been quite the sight to see.)

Apparently there were 2 different difficulty settings which I could have adjusted. I didn't even notice it the first day. On the second day I did notice them - and let me tell you, I put them instead of on a 10 and 1 to a 3 and a 1.

So. Is a piece of torture equipment REALLY the appropriate reward for meeting my 8 weeks? I am thinking it's like Jillian from the Biggest Loser - she kicks your butt but you love her for who she helps you become. Readers, weigh in.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

GLEE returns...TODAY

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

The long awaited return of GLEE is tonight! I have been waiting 6 months - yes, 2 trimesters for all the preggos out there that talk in trimesters instead of normal time - for this thing to return and I, for one, cannot contain my excitement. (Obviously.)

So here is how my day transpires:
8am - prep for meeting
9am - meeting about scorecards
10:30am - chat with a colleague about recent trip
11:00am - respond to email and follow up items
11:30am - eat lunch
12:00pm - meeting about a proposal
1:00pm - leave for airport
3:00pm - take off for Providence, RI
5:30pm - land and get car
6:00pm - check in and settle in
6:45pm - work out (yea, Day 1 of Week 3)
9:00pm - GLEE!!!

This whole exercise was meant to illustrate that a semi-boring lame-o day can end great!

Monday, April 12, 2010

NCIS

Any fans out there? Jeff and I got hooked a few weeks ago when an NCIS Marathon was on USA. (It was the one where every story involved an agent being undercover. Did you love it?)

Anyway, we have been watching episode by episode of Season 6 and have just started Season 7. AKKK!!! This show is awesome - I can't believe such great TV went unnoticed by our household for so long.

So - who is your favorite character? Or do you watch NCIS LA instead (Boo)?

I like Ziva. Assassin and good-natured and beautiful. Just what I always wanted to be.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

The Poof Beneath My Feet

We braved the outdoors today to get photos of our yard in full springtime bloom. When we came inside, Jeff had to use the air compressor to clean off our legs and shoes from the pollen. It poofed when we walked.












Friday, April 9, 2010

The Pollen is Swirling

After three days with pollen in the 5700 and 5800 range, tasting it on your tongue when you went outside, and choking on it walking to work from your car, we finally got relief yesterday in the form of an April shower.

It was so weird - the rain would catch the flowering tree buds and tear them down. Coupled with bringing the pollen out of the air, it almost looked like it was hailing in a few spots.

As it sprinkled, the yellow streets began swirling and getting clean. I have never seen anything like it!

Today it is supposed to be back to normal temperatures and lower pollen counts. I am hoping the azaleas bloom like crazy this weekend - if they do, I will post photos of our yard (finally)!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

The Royals

Jeff and I have a deal going - if I work out at least 20 minutes, 4 days a week and do this EVERY week for 8 weeks then I can get a new piece of workout equipment. I would really love an elliptical to make it easier on my knees (any suggestions on equipment, readers?). Plus, Jeff said he would even use it - but the problem is the ones that are rated for us heftier folks tend to be very pricey.

But I digress. The real reason I told you about my workout routine is I am on Day 2 of Week 2 (yea, go me!) and I watch TV while I am walking. On my morning show today they reported that perhaps Prince William and Kate Middleton would be engaged in June...

EEEEK! I love Royal-Watch. Consider yourselves warned - if this happens, many photos will be posted. (And by posted, I mean copied from various internet sources and posted here. Not actually photographed in person. I wish.)

Monday, April 5, 2010

Spring is sprung

and that means Pollen is in the air!!!

Today's count is 1633. A "very high reading" is anything greater than 120. Our temperatures are supposed to climb into the 80s over the next few days and our trees and bushes and flowers are going to be even more active.

We've heard that the count can even get into the 5000s or 6000s - I can't imagine what that will look like. And how I will feel!

So - if you move down here to the BEA-U-tiful south, make sure you take Claritin and allergy shots (that's what I've done). And hopefully you won't be too much worse for the wear.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Jeff's new fish

Yahoo! Hurrah! It's BACK!

Yep, it's true - Jeff's fish tank is full of water, cycled, and home to a cute little firefish and 4 new corals.

Photos are coming (this spot is reserved for pictures)

YAY!!!