Wing-Eating Contest

Apparently, Seth is participating in a wing eating contest in a few weeks. The mere thought of that makes me gag--mostly just because wings aren't that good to me. They are so much work and so messy, and I just imagine lots of men covered in hot sauce to their ears and eating like pigs.

A restaurant near us has $.10 wings on Thursdays, so Seth and I went this week to check it out. He ordered 20 hot wings, and I ordered 10 bar-b-que wings.

He cleaned all of his to the bone, and ate some celery, and out-right said he could eat another 20 for sure. In that time, I ate 4.

Yes, 4.

And I was full, too. Needless to say, I don't think I'll be entering the wing-eating contest.

I'll leave it up to Seth to bring home the $500 prize. I'll supply the wet naps.

Weekend Ramblings

There isn't a whole lot that is new in Ran Land. It seems as though "daily life" has crept in--work, sleep, clean, eat...and then do it all over again. So this weekend, we wanted to have a date night that was a little different than the usual go out to eat, and rent a movie thing.

Friday night we made a nice dinner at home (steaks!) and then we went BOWLING! We haven't been bowling in a long time and the last time we did, we surprised ourselves. This time we surprised ourselves too, but not in a good way. I mean, a child could bowl a better score than I did. If I remember correctly, I bowled a 75 the first round. Seth had maybe in the 90s. What a joke. Bumper bowling didn't sound like such a bad idea at that point.

But we came back the second round to at least make it into the respectable range of the 100s. We had a lot of fun though!

Saturday Seth had to judge the history fair (fun, huh?!). Then we had a few hours before he had to be back at work again. Bentley and I had a laid back night at home.

Sunday we went to church, and then went out for lunch. It's no secret that I think going out to eat is a lot of fun, but there is something about going out Sunday after church that is even more fun! After lunch, we decided that we would try something new and take Bentley to the dog park near our house. Well, that was...interesting. Apparently, all of the dog owners and dogs that were there all met at the park and were all friends. So Bentley was totally the odd dog out. haha...it didn't take him long to get into the action though. He was chasing them all over the place! When some of the dogs started getting fiesty with him, we headed out.

Our camera batteries are dead so we don't really have any super new pictures of Bentley, but he's getting so big! He's almost 60 pounds. He gets his stitches out from surgery on Thursday so we'll get the official weigh in then! Hard to believe he was once this little:

Sausage Pasta

Fortunately for me, Seth gets home from work about an hour and a half before me on weekdays (except Fridays). So because of this, 9 times out of 10 he has dinner either finished or well under way by the time I get home. I do still try to do my part when I get home (if it isn't done) and on the weekends!

Tonight, he wouldn't be home until 8, so I decided to get a little creative with dinner and get away from the same old, same old. I tried a sausage pasta recipe I made up in my head and it turned out de.li.cious! Seth hasn't tried it yet, but I have a feeling if I like it, he definitely will.

It took about 20 minutes total, so it was super quick and easy. Consider it Danielle's Under 30 Minute Meals.

Ingredients:
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 green pepper (I hate green peppers but they were so good in here!), cut in chunks
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 lb sausage (not ground), cut into disks
2 t. garlic
salt
pepper
1 box whole wheat linguine pasta
Fresh basil
Parmesean cheese

Put 2 T. of EVOO into pan. Add peppers and onions. Salt and pepper. After about 5 minutes, add the disks of raw sausage and brown until done. Add the garlic and continue to sautee for just a few minutes. In the meantime, cook the pasta according to the box.

Once the pasta is done, drain it. Also drain any grease off of the sausage mixture. Pour pasta into the sausage mixture and sautee for a minute or 2 to be sure they are well combined and hot!

Then top with a little bit of fresh basil and parmesean cheese.

It made plenty for us to eat tonight with ample leftovers.

Voila! It's very good...give it a shot and let me know what you think!

We're Back!

I'm back! It's been a long time since I've really written anything, but it has been a stressful couple of days/weeks. My mind is still not ready to compile a post that is "all there," so a list of what's been going on seemed to be fitting. That's acceptable, right? :)

- As you know, my grandfather passed away on February 10. Without going into too many details, he is most certainly in a better place now and is happy reunited with my gramma and Jesus! His passing could not have been more peaceful, which was a blessing for the family gathered around him. We will miss him and his antics dearly! Thanks to everyone who sent e-mails, cards, flowers, etc. We greatly appreciated your prayers!

- I am overloaded at work. So much so that I have developed what I have described in the past as some freaky peripheral vision/flashes of light cocktail o' fun. Fortunately, I chatted quite in depth with my ophthamalogist on Friday, and he pretty much diagnosed me with optical migraines, which has said are classically presented exactly as I described. He said I can relax in knowing that the chances of it being a brain tumor is about .01% of 1%. To be 100% sure it is optical migraines and nothing else, I will be seeing him within the next few weeks to rule out any other options. It is not uncommon for these things to pop up when stressed, he says.

- Bentley was neutered on Wednesday, February 11. They told us to keep him calm, not to lick the stitches, and to keep him on a leash when possible. Apparently, they forget that Bentley is an 8 month old male boxer. Needless to say, you would never know that he had any type of surgical procedure. He is so hyper and rarin' and tearin' to go at all times. We stayed over at Michelle and Jason's last night, and he never stopped playing with their 2 boxers the entire weekend. The vet would totally yell at us right now.

- For Valentine's Day, Seth and I went to the Melting Pot with our good friends Mike and Sarah. We had so much fun and pulled out all the fondue stops since it has been declared the "special event restaurant" due to the prices. :) We had the classical cheese fondue course, lots of meat and veggies, and the milk chocolate dessert fondue. It was de-lic-ious. They then spent the night and we went for lunch the next day and Sarah and I went to see Confessions of a Shopaholic. It was a great movie and a great Valentine's weekend with the love of my life and great friends!

- I appear to be losing my mind. I got a text message from our pet sitter today that said "Hi. I stopped by, but Bentley and the crate were not there." Whoops. Guess I should have mentioned we wouldn't be home and we had Bentley with us. I'm sure pet sitters love to show up to houses and have it look like the dogs have been kidnapped.

Anyway, that's just a bit of what's up with us right now! I hope to be back to writing more consistently...what's new with you?

Blog Break

It may be a few days until I get a chance to write anything. My grandfather passed away last night, Bentley is being neutered today, and I'm swamped at work. Needless to say, I'm on an emotional rollercoaster.

Biggest Loser

That's it! I've had enough of the laxadasical eating and lack of exercise. In the fall of 2007, I went to the gym 4 times a week and saw carbs and starches as the exception, not the rule. Well, the stress of life has taken its toll and has been getting me a bit down in the dumps; today, two of my co-workers and I had enough of how lax we've all become with watching what we eat and how much we exercise.

We've devised our very own Biggest Loser, and it officially begins March 1. Of course, we are able to prepare leading up to that--get back into shape, begin to adjust eating habits, etc.--but the official "weigh ins" do not begin until March.

We will keep track of our weight ourselves and use the honor system, because you know how girls are. We don't like to share that information.

We're still figuring out the rules of how it will all work (should we go with percentage of body weight lost? total pounds lost?), but we are all throwing $20 into the pot. Winner gets the moo-lah. Final weigh in is around Memorial Day. We may even pull some more people into it to increase the winnings.

You can keep me accountable now. In total, I'd like to lose about 30 pounds. It sounds like a lot--and it is--so I'll have to start with small goals first. Like....lose 5 pounds. Then, when I get there, lose 5 more. I don't necessarily have a time frame set up yet, but I'm working on it.

So far since we've come up with the idea, I've gone to the gym, gone on two long walks with Bentley, done lunges around the house, and eaten healthier, balanced meals.

Let me know any secrets that have helped you lose weight!

Puppy Drama

So last night was, um, interesting. It all actually started around 5 p.m. when Bentley started coughing. It sort of sounded like he was choking so I took him outside in case he threw up. His cough was so loud and croupy--it sounded like it echoed in the entire neighborhood.

And because I tend to think the worst in almost every single medical situation, I thought he was on his way out. And by out I mean...well, you know.

Seth talked me down from the ledge of insanity, and Bentley seemed to improve. He ate dinner and played around, so I assumed the coughing episode was all over with. But on the way to Matt and Erin's, we stopped at a rest stop and he began to do it again. And then again in the car. And when we showed up to Matt and Erin's at midnight, which is when the real fun started. It actually progressed to the point of sounding like a bull horn. We didn't want to keep him outside until it was done because it seems to be worse outside, but we also didn't want to bring him inside and wake Logan.

We ended up bringing him inside, and against my advice to take him to the vet right then to get something, we went to sleep. HA....sleep! I think God was totally laughing at us as we layed down at 12:45.

Because an hour later, he started coughing with a vengence. Long story short, this went on for a few minutes, and I finally jumped up and in my best I'm the boss voice told Seth that "I was taking him to the emergency clinic whether you're coming or not."

He didn't want to come, which was quite evident, but he ended up coming anyway. Who says pre-marrital counseling doesn't work? I think he just knew he should come, if you know what I mean.

Anyway, one 3 a.m. trip to the Ohio vet ER visit later, he was diagnosed with something or other related to kennel cough. Interesting considering he has never been near one. But I guess they can get it from other things. And the doc, who is now my hero, suggested he give him an anti-inflammatory plus sedative to ensure a good night's sleep (which at that point was rapidly dwindling). The sedative was so good, in fact, that about 3.2 minutes after getting it, he fell asleep on the waiting room floor as we paid our bill. He snored the entire way home.

One 4 a.m. stop for robitussin DM, and we were on our way home. We concluded that our "clearance puppy" is often anything but, especially when he requires emergency vet care out of state where the prices were twice what they are in Pennsylvania.

He's been going surprisingly well today, though now he has other....bathroom problems. Or lack thereof. We're pumping him full of All Bran and pureed pumpkin. Yummy, huh?

We are all very, very tired. I don't think any of us got into a deep sleep the entire night, because something happened every time we did. Erin and I managed to nap today, but the boys are unphased and have been playing video games since we woke up with a break only for meals and the bathroom.

Hopefully your Friday was more laid back! :)

Craziness...

I wish I had something to write about. But I so totally don't. My life has been consumed by work. End of story. If you can't find me, I'm buried beneath a 4 foot pile of papers on my desk.

In leui of any real posting, I will repost my "25 Random Things" posting from Facebook:

1. I am obsessed with e-mail. I leave it minimized on my computer all day and check it whenever I get the itch—which is probably 20 times a day. Come on, I know there are others out there who do this!

2. I like to read, but a book has about 5 pages to rope me in, or I’m done. If the author isn’t good enough to keep an audience for the first 5 pages, their writing probably isn’t good enough to get me through the rest of the book.

3. Almost every single time I rent a movie, it has to be strictly a comedy or a romantic comedy. I hate movies that require me to think. It’s supposed to be relaxing. And don’t even think about subtitles. What a waste!

4. I am constantly proofreading things I read—newspapers, TV commercials, anything really. Not saying I never mess up or anything because I know I do, but I’m very critical about things in print, especially professional materials that companies use. I’ve always been taught that careless writing makes for careless business. It’s good, then, that I would set a great example when I started this job, and on my very first 14,000 quantity direct-mailer project mistype the zip code of the hospital. I almost had a panic attack. Occasionally, we go to a restaurant at lunch that actually has “appetizer” and “monetary jack cheese” written in the menu. I will never order any of that stuff because since they don’t care enough to spell check the menu, they probably don’t care enough to make it with care.

5. I often miss high school and college and wish I was back there occasionally! Not that I don’t enjoy my life now, because I love it! But those years were so much fun and made me who I am today.

6. I hate things that crunch in things that are soft (raw onions in tuna, celery in chicken salad).

7. I’m weird about condiments…mustard and ketchup should NEVER touch lettuce. The only thing that should ever touch lettuce is mayo. If I have a burger with mustard, ketchup, and lettuce, the lettuce needs to be under the burger so they don’t touch.

8. I once wrecked my mom’s car on the very night she said “Don’t wreck my car!” as I was heading out the door. I had my license for all of about 3 weeks.

9. I love to go out to eat. It isn’t a lazy thing. It’s a social thing!

10. I am obsessed with “Friends.” I know almost every single episode by heart, yet still laugh hysterically at every single one like it is the first time I’m seeing it.

11. I absolutely love to travel, especially to the Caribbean. I pick something beach-related, especially the Caribbean, for almost every single vacation idea I have.

12. I’ve been to the following Caribbean (or Caribbean-ish) locations: Bermuda, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Grand Cayman, Turks and Caicos, St. Lucia, Mexico, and Haiti (it was gorgeous!). I loved every single one of them and would absolutely go back to any of them again.

13. I love to nap, especially on Sundays. And have Seth and Bentley right there to cuddle with me. Those are the best Sundays ever.

14. We have the most adorable boxer of all time (though my sister’s come in close), Bentley. He is….um, energetic.

15. Jon and Kate Gosselin’s sextuplets were born at the hospital where I work. Because I work in PR, I got to meet them one time when they were here filming an episode for their show. It was fun (and my supervisor is mentioned in her book!).

16. I despise lazy people that go far in life.

17. I am obsessed with celebrity gossip sites like Perez Hilton, Bricks and Stones Gossip, etc.

18. Sometimes when I am in large crowds and there are germs everywhere or I get overheated, my hands begin to itch and swell. So weird…

19. When I’m stressed in general, my head, arms, and hands get itchy too.

20. I used to be scared to death of roller coasters. Then, in 7th grade I went to Cedar Point with my friend Staci, and she made me get on them. I’ve loved them ever since!!

21. Iced tea is my all-time favorite drink. I don’t like soda, and the tea I prefer is the restaurant unsweetened stuff.

22. I’m going to be an aunt to twins in a few months! And probably broke because of it…

23. I want to have 2 kids. One of each gender. And if I have two boys or two girls, I’ll try for one more in hopes of getting the other gender. But then I am absolutely having no more. Because I’m not risking 4 of one gender. No way…

24. I was completely oblivious the night Seth was going to propose. I didn’t even think that was what he was up to when he 1) told me to dress “cute”; 2) took me to the park where we had our first date in the middle of March; 3) wouldn’t let me walk on the right side of him all night (because the ring was in his pocket); 4) was worried about the precise time the sun would set; and, 5) when he acted a little odd and nervous all night. Not until he got down on one knee did it even cross my mind, and I think even at that point, I might have said “shut up!”

25. That was way too many random things about me!

How You Know it has Been a Long Week.

Today when I got home from work, I was watching TV and kept hearing a chirping sound. It was just a single chirp and did it every 2-3 minutes. I just ignored it because I knew it was the smoke detector. I figured Seth could get them down when he got home and we could replace the batteries.

But while I was making dessert for tonight when our guests come, the chirping drove me insane. I washed my hands, climbed up and got the one in the hallway, and took out the batteries. We just put the other one up last night, so I knew those batteries couldn't be dead yet. But as I went back to stirring, it chirped again. UGH. Great, they sold it to us with dead batteries.

So I climb up and get that one down too, and removed it's batteries. Finally some peace!

Chirp.

WHAT?!?!? We don't have any more smoke detectors!

As I stand there figuring out what it could possibly be, my purse chirped. Yeah...the chirping sound was my work pager going off. For three hours.

Good thing it wasn't an emergency. And good thing I now have two unassembled smoke detectors to put back together.

My House is Worth WHAT?

I am a little, teensy bit obsessed with that show on HGTV, My House is Worth WHAT?. I find myself watching it, crossing my fingers for the people on the show, hoping that their improvements will make them money in the end. And when they suffer a loss, I'm feel bad for those strangers.

Well, over the last year and a few months since buying our house, we have put a lot of work into our house. (Not just Seth and I, of course. We have had help from parents, friends, siblings, neighbors, etc!) It seems like at any given point, we were always doing something.

Other than the hobby room, every single wall in the house has been repainted. All of the bedroom carpet has been replaced. We've finished the basement into a great room by knocking out unnecessary walls, put all new flooring down there there, installed solid wood doors throughout the entire house, put new hardware on the doors, remodeled the master bathroom, updated electrical, did yardwork, etc. It looks like a completely different house!

And tonight, after a year, our realtor and her husband (who happen to be family friends) are coming over for dinner and a tour of the work we've done. Even though the economy is sort of tanking right now, especially in terms of housing, we're hoping that our house has sgnificantly increased in value. So we'll have to ask her that famous question: our house is worth what?

*Crossing our fingers!* :)