8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:
Erin coming to town in 2 weeks
Eventually visiting WA this summer to see my family, friends and all their new babies
Sleeping a lot this weekend
Someday having babies
Summmmmer time!
Pat Green concert tonight! (maybe, still haven’t decided if I’m going or not)
My hair getting long again
Camping trips this summer/fall
8 Things I Did Yesterday:
Told my boss “I don’t know what I’m doing, I just make things up”. And I was serious.
Ordered pizza
Cried
Talked to a close friend
Read the newspaper
Picked up our CSA share
Read my latest book
Played with adorable children
8 Things I Wish I Could Do:
Cook amazing original recipes
Hold a tune
Complete a triathlon
Draw/ be artsy
Play guitar
Figure out what’s wrong with my back
Get into a grad school
My make-up/ hair
8 Shows I Watch: (i dont think i watch 8 regularly)
Grey’s Anatomy
Biggest Loser
Deadliest Catch
The news
Jeapordy
What Not to Wear
TLC/HGTV home improvement shows like Flip that House
Friday, April 24, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
hello world~
It's been a while since I posted, but I couldn't pass up this opportunity to share the yummy dinner we made tonight. Andrea is starting a group version of Tuesdays at the Table and though I won't always participate, I wanted to share this today. So without further ado (or chatter, or whatever) I present ...
Easy, Delicious Shrimp Scampi! (my changes are noted)
recipe courtesy of my most recent copy of Cooking Light
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup orzo mixture and about 7 shrimp)
Ingredients
1 cup uncooked orzo
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (we didn't have any so we used fresh oregano)
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
7 teaspoons unsalted butter, divided (i used a LOT less, and it was margarine)
1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic ( I used 2 cloves of fresh garlic)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 whole lemon, squeezed)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Preparation
1. Cook orzo according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain. Place orzo in a medium bowl. Stir in parsley and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cover and keep warm.
2. While orzo cooks, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle shrimp with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add half of shrimp to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until almost done. Transfer shrimp to a plate. Melt 1 teaspoon butter in pan. Add remaining shrimp to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until almost done. Transfer to plate.
3. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in pan. Add garlic to pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in shrimp, juice, and pepper; cook 1 minute or until shrimp are done.
We steamed up some asparagus to go with the meal. Overall it was tasty and fairly simple.
Nutritional Information
Calories:403
Fat:10.4g (sat 4.8g,mono 2.2g,poly 1.4g)
Protein:40.1g
Carbohydrate:34.7g
Fiber:1.7g
Cholesterol:276mg
Iron:4.3mg
Sodium:549mg
Calcium:97mg
I promise several "real" posts to come including reviews of the 7 books I've read since January, a re-cap of our awesome vacation, and updates on life in general.
Easy, Delicious Shrimp Scampi! (my changes are noted)
recipe courtesy of my most recent copy of Cooking Light
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup orzo mixture and about 7 shrimp)
Ingredients
1 cup uncooked orzo
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (we didn't have any so we used fresh oregano)
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
7 teaspoons unsalted butter, divided (i used a LOT less, and it was margarine)
1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic ( I used 2 cloves of fresh garlic)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 whole lemon, squeezed)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Preparation
1. Cook orzo according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain. Place orzo in a medium bowl. Stir in parsley and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cover and keep warm.
2. While orzo cooks, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle shrimp with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add half of shrimp to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until almost done. Transfer shrimp to a plate. Melt 1 teaspoon butter in pan. Add remaining shrimp to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until almost done. Transfer to plate.
3. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in pan. Add garlic to pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in shrimp, juice, and pepper; cook 1 minute or until shrimp are done.
We steamed up some asparagus to go with the meal. Overall it was tasty and fairly simple.
Nutritional Information
Calories:403
Fat:10.4g (sat 4.8g,mono 2.2g,poly 1.4g)
Protein:40.1g
Carbohydrate:34.7g
Fiber:1.7g
Cholesterol:276mg
Iron:4.3mg
Sodium:549mg
Calcium:97mg
I promise several "real" posts to come including reviews of the 7 books I've read since January, a re-cap of our awesome vacation, and updates on life in general.
Friday, February 6, 2009
The Letter B
Andrea had a cute post on her blog with a letter theme. The idea is to post a blog highlighting 10 of your favorite things that start with your chosen letter.
I wanted to play too and she randomly assigned me the letter B. Little did she know, i LOVE the letter B! so...here we go!
First off, Blonsky. It's my maiden name and I kinda miss being a Blonsky. It's just such a fun name to say. Though I don't miss everyone adding a third syllable and saying /buh/lon/sky instead of blon/sky.
Next is Bellingham, WA. It's the town where I went to college. I call it my "disneyland" because for me it is where I have some of my absolute best memories. The town is small, yet not too small. Lots of parks, great food, interesting people and of course, WWU.
"Bellingham Blonde" is my favorite beer and it is made (obviously) in Bellingham at Boundary Bay- home of amazing food and great micro-brews. They also used to have an awesome Baked Burrito on their menu. (that was a lot of b-named things at once!)
Boca Burgers- perfect for nights when I am eating alone. They are fairly healthy and easy to make. Topped with lettuce and salsa, yummmmmy!
Basketball- specifically NCAA basketball. I live for March Madness. I fill out at least 2, if not 3 brackets and have color coding and special pens and pencils depending on the bracket. I love the excitement of small schools making it past the #1seeds and I'm a huge Gonzaga Bulldogs fan.
Bamboo- we have a small forest of bamboo growing in 3 separate vases on top of our counters. It started with a small plant which almost died several times. the other 2 plants have since thrived.
For my mom- I'll add Breakfast. She instilled in us the habit of eating breakfast everyday. I'm still in this habit and usually stick to the traditional foods like cereal, oatmeal, waffles, etc. My sisters however eat things like Ramen Noodles, Spaghetti-O's and sandwiches.
Butter, of the Peanut variety. I could and would live on peanut butter. But only Jiff, creamy style.
Blue Jeans. I live in my jeans, despite how unprofessional I may appear at work.
and finally, Babies. I love babies and kids of all ages and sizes. I love working with them and playing with them and watching them grow and learn and change. Though I didn't realize it at the time, my mom having a baby when I was 13 was one of the best experiences of my teenage years. It was a blast getting to help Celeste grow and learn. I am so excited for all my friends to be having babies and (someday) can't wait to have LOTS of my own.
I wanted to play too and she randomly assigned me the letter B. Little did she know, i LOVE the letter B! so...here we go!
First off, Blonsky. It's my maiden name and I kinda miss being a Blonsky. It's just such a fun name to say. Though I don't miss everyone adding a third syllable and saying /buh/lon/sky instead of blon/sky.
Next is Bellingham, WA. It's the town where I went to college. I call it my "disneyland" because for me it is where I have some of my absolute best memories. The town is small, yet not too small. Lots of parks, great food, interesting people and of course, WWU. 
"Bellingham Blonde" is my favorite beer and it is made (obviously) in Bellingham at Boundary Bay- home of amazing food and great micro-brews. They also used to have an awesome Baked Burrito on their menu. (that was a lot of b-named things at once!)
Boca Burgers- perfect for nights when I am eating alone. They are fairly healthy and easy to make. Topped with lettuce and salsa, yummmmmy!
Basketball- specifically NCAA basketball. I live for March Madness. I fill out at least 2, if not 3 brackets and have color coding and special pens and pencils depending on the bracket. I love the excitement of small schools making it past the #1seeds and I'm a huge Gonzaga Bulldogs fan.
Bamboo- we have a small forest of bamboo growing in 3 separate vases on top of our counters. It started with a small plant which almost died several times. the other 2 plants have since thrived.
For my mom- I'll add Breakfast. She instilled in us the habit of eating breakfast everyday. I'm still in this habit and usually stick to the traditional foods like cereal, oatmeal, waffles, etc. My sisters however eat things like Ramen Noodles, Spaghetti-O's and sandwiches.
Butter, of the Peanut variety. I could and would live on peanut butter. But only Jiff, creamy style.
Blue Jeans. I live in my jeans, despite how unprofessional I may appear at work.
and finally, Babies. I love babies and kids of all ages and sizes. I love working with them and playing with them and watching them grow and learn and change. Though I didn't realize it at the time, my mom having a baby when I was 13 was one of the best experiences of my teenage years. It was a blast getting to help Celeste grow and learn. I am so excited for all my friends to be having babies and (someday) can't wait to have LOTS of my own.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
where the heck did the month of January go? It seems like we just got started and now it's time for end-of-the-month madness at work! (it's how i mark time these days-by thinking "okay, how long until my billing is due?" anyway.)
This month was rough at work with 4 people being let go from the Family Services side of the agency. I was lucky and have been spared so far but it seems we are working with a constant cloud of doom over our heads called "budget cuts". Today was my slightly-early 6 month review with my supervisor. Things went as I planned, nothing surprisingly good or bad. And we went over all my errors that were found in our big audit last month- again, nothing glaringly horrible but a few mistakes that I'll be sure not to make in the future.
I'm really proud of myself for being social this month. Normally this was never an issue as I have great friends and family in WA that kept me busy. But down here I find it hard to connect with anyone due to the shore duty thing. Lyle has a group of guys he loves to hang out/ play video games with and so I find myself going out to eat or hosting them at the house every now and then. But as far as my OWN friends... I kinda lack in that department. This month though I made the effort and feel good about it. Lyle and I went to a Stingrays hockey game with Andrea and her husband. The guys went through the Pipeline together down here back in the day and Andrea and I work together now (she actually told me about the job opening). The game was a blast and it was fun to see A & J! I hope we can go to another one soon. The next week I went to a Bunco night with a wonderful group of ladies. I met the host online via a message board I participate in and have been to Bunco one other time at her house. It was a fun evening with lots of laughter, wine and dice rolling. Two times in one month friends- big deal around here. And i might even go out on a limb and host Bunco at our house next month :0 !
I'm full swing into a pretty tough work-out routine. Saturday is boot-camp class, and I work in 4 other days to do cardio and/or weights. This week I decided to suck it up and pay for some personal training as I know I am not getting enough "working out" done when I'm on my own. So I'm working the BootCamp class coach one day a week in addition to Class. I'm sore all the time, but my energy level is up, i find myself eating healthier by choice and my jeans are a little looser. Another bonus was that I found out we (Lyle and I) qualify for a free membership at the YMCA as a result of the Naval Weapons Station being on the BRAC list. I'm looking into it seriously since they offer spin class AND have a pool, which would be awesome to have access to.
This weekend is Lyle's 4 day! yay! We went and saw Defiance tonight. Consensus was that we both really enjoyed the movie, especially the little bits of Jewish humor. I'm kinda weird in that whenever we go out to the movies I bring along earplugs because the sound is always too loud for me to be comfortable. but tonight I forgot to bring earplugs with me. luckily the movie theater we were in was small and the volume wasn't too loud. Tomorrow we are going to be tourists in our town thanks to Andrea who gave us her un-used passes. This is a neat little program that encourages locals (or those pretending like us) to explore attractions in town during January. I think our adventure tomorrow will take us downtown to explore the shopping and then to go to Ft. Sumter. We might also try and make it to the Hunley tomorrow, and if not then on Sunday before the Super-game-Bowl (did you know the term "Superbowl" is copyrighted?) I'm definitely gonna look into the passes next year.
As if I haven't rambled enough I wanted to quickly mention the book binge I have been on, errr, went on earlier this month. I might have mentioned this before, but at the start of the month i bought 3 new books; Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robison, Multiple Blessings by Jon and Kate Gosselin and Almost Moon by Alice Seabold. I flew through the first two, have been plodding along through the third and now have a 4th waiting for me on the shelf- Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet. I promise to give full book reviews in my next post.
This month was rough at work with 4 people being let go from the Family Services side of the agency. I was lucky and have been spared so far but it seems we are working with a constant cloud of doom over our heads called "budget cuts". Today was my slightly-early 6 month review with my supervisor. Things went as I planned, nothing surprisingly good or bad. And we went over all my errors that were found in our big audit last month- again, nothing glaringly horrible but a few mistakes that I'll be sure not to make in the future.
I'm really proud of myself for being social this month. Normally this was never an issue as I have great friends and family in WA that kept me busy. But down here I find it hard to connect with anyone due to the shore duty thing. Lyle has a group of guys he loves to hang out/ play video games with and so I find myself going out to eat or hosting them at the house every now and then. But as far as my OWN friends... I kinda lack in that department. This month though I made the effort and feel good about it. Lyle and I went to a Stingrays hockey game with Andrea and her husband. The guys went through the Pipeline together down here back in the day and Andrea and I work together now (she actually told me about the job opening). The game was a blast and it was fun to see A & J! I hope we can go to another one soon. The next week I went to a Bunco night with a wonderful group of ladies. I met the host online via a message board I participate in and have been to Bunco one other time at her house. It was a fun evening with lots of laughter, wine and dice rolling. Two times in one month friends- big deal around here. And i might even go out on a limb and host Bunco at our house next month :0 !
I'm full swing into a pretty tough work-out routine. Saturday is boot-camp class, and I work in 4 other days to do cardio and/or weights. This week I decided to suck it up and pay for some personal training as I know I am not getting enough "working out" done when I'm on my own. So I'm working the BootCamp class coach one day a week in addition to Class. I'm sore all the time, but my energy level is up, i find myself eating healthier by choice and my jeans are a little looser. Another bonus was that I found out we (Lyle and I) qualify for a free membership at the YMCA as a result of the Naval Weapons Station being on the BRAC list. I'm looking into it seriously since they offer spin class AND have a pool, which would be awesome to have access to.
This weekend is Lyle's 4 day! yay! We went and saw Defiance tonight. Consensus was that we both really enjoyed the movie, especially the little bits of Jewish humor. I'm kinda weird in that whenever we go out to the movies I bring along earplugs because the sound is always too loud for me to be comfortable. but tonight I forgot to bring earplugs with me. luckily the movie theater we were in was small and the volume wasn't too loud. Tomorrow we are going to be tourists in our town thanks to Andrea who gave us her un-used passes. This is a neat little program that encourages locals (or those pretending like us) to explore attractions in town during January. I think our adventure tomorrow will take us downtown to explore the shopping and then to go to Ft. Sumter. We might also try and make it to the Hunley tomorrow, and if not then on Sunday before the Super-game-Bowl (did you know the term "Superbowl" is copyrighted?) I'm definitely gonna look into the passes next year.
As if I haven't rambled enough I wanted to quickly mention the book binge I have been on, errr, went on earlier this month. I might have mentioned this before, but at the start of the month i bought 3 new books; Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robison, Multiple Blessings by Jon and Kate Gosselin and Almost Moon by Alice Seabold. I flew through the first two, have been plodding along through the third and now have a 4th waiting for me on the shelf- Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet. I promise to give full book reviews in my next post.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
making progress
So in my list of New Year's "resolutions" or whatever, i mentioned that i want to work on eating healthier and getting better exercise. well, I'm proud to say I'm on the right track for both of those!
I recently bought 2 packets of organic cilantro and oregano seeds. I planted them in organic soil, watered and have been holding my breath in hopes that little green sprouts would soon emerge. and i checked them yesterday after not looking for a couple days and they've sprouted! yahooo! now, i did have the cilantro on one side and the oregano on the other, but one night i mistakenly left the planter on the ground in the hall and my dog thought it would be fun to dump it over. then when i picked up all the dirt and scattered seeds, they all got mixed up. whoops. I am VERY excited to have my own little herb garden this spring/ summer. I plan on buying seeds to grow mint, rosemary and who knows what else.
in addition to growing herbs, lyle and I also recently purchased a share at a local farm, through a program called CSA. Basically you pay a set amount of money to the farm and in return, each week during the growing season you are provided with a box full of veggies and fruits that were ripe. we get to pick it up right around the corner from our house and then at certain times during the growing season the farm is open to go do "u-pick" for some crops.
and the biggest event in my life right now is the Boot Camp/ Biggest Loser competition i have joined at the gym. The Boot Camp class meets once a week for 8 weeks and is one of the toughest workouts i've done in months. Last week was the first week and we were flipping tires, pulling firehoses, doing countless lunges, squats and crunches. I really liked it because there was only 4 of us in the class so it almost felt like an hour of personal training. the second part- the biggest loser part is a spin-off from the tv show. those of us in the boot camp class, along with a few others are all competing for $500, paid to the person that loses the most weight, inches and decreases their body fat percentage between January 10th and March 7th. It works out great- we are set to leave for Costa Rica that weekend too, so with lots of sweat and hard work I'll be looking good and feeling great just in time.
that's all for now.
I recently bought 2 packets of organic cilantro and oregano seeds. I planted them in organic soil, watered and have been holding my breath in hopes that little green sprouts would soon emerge. and i checked them yesterday after not looking for a couple days and they've sprouted! yahooo! now, i did have the cilantro on one side and the oregano on the other, but one night i mistakenly left the planter on the ground in the hall and my dog thought it would be fun to dump it over. then when i picked up all the dirt and scattered seeds, they all got mixed up. whoops. I am VERY excited to have my own little herb garden this spring/ summer. I plan on buying seeds to grow mint, rosemary and who knows what else.
in addition to growing herbs, lyle and I also recently purchased a share at a local farm, through a program called CSA. Basically you pay a set amount of money to the farm and in return, each week during the growing season you are provided with a box full of veggies and fruits that were ripe. we get to pick it up right around the corner from our house and then at certain times during the growing season the farm is open to go do "u-pick" for some crops.
and the biggest event in my life right now is the Boot Camp/ Biggest Loser competition i have joined at the gym. The Boot Camp class meets once a week for 8 weeks and is one of the toughest workouts i've done in months. Last week was the first week and we were flipping tires, pulling firehoses, doing countless lunges, squats and crunches. I really liked it because there was only 4 of us in the class so it almost felt like an hour of personal training. the second part- the biggest loser part is a spin-off from the tv show. those of us in the boot camp class, along with a few others are all competing for $500, paid to the person that loses the most weight, inches and decreases their body fat percentage between January 10th and March 7th. It works out great- we are set to leave for Costa Rica that weekend too, so with lots of sweat and hard work I'll be looking good and feeling great just in time.
that's all for now.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
vacation!
After a few months of debating, pondering, and quizzing our family and friends about where we should go on our late Honeymoon/ 1st Anniversary vacation we decided today- We are going to Costa Rica! wahoooo! Our first choice was New Zealand/ Australia but after looking at the cost of airfare and the time it takes to travel to/from there we knew we couldn't do it (this time at least). Plus, we have to think about boarding the cat and dog and I can't take off TOO much time from work. Lyle has put in for leave(to be on vacation in non-Navy speak) from the 10th to 25th of March, so we've got a good window of time to work with.
Now I get to search for the best prices on flights and hotels. Oh and get my passport. Kinda important. If you've been to the area, we'd love your advice about must-do activities, sights and places to stay.
Now I get to search for the best prices on flights and hotels. Oh and get my passport. Kinda important. If you've been to the area, we'd love your advice about must-do activities, sights and places to stay.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
a look back, a look ahead
Goodbye 2008, hello 2009! 2008 was a long year full of changes, both good and bad, happy and a few sad times.
Some highlights of the year include: getting married, buying our first house, getting a dog, my new job, surviving life on the other side of the country from all my family and friends and becoming best friends with my husband.
I won't dwell too long on the sad moments but a wonderful little girl named Madeline Lester passed away in January and she is missed dearly. My not-technically-related but still very close to me Aunt Helen passed away in the spring. And probably the hardest death was Sue Bruneau- she fought cancer for 2 long years and left behind many family and friends that miss her.
In 2008 I proved to myself that I still take on too much at once, but somehow make it out in one piece. I didn't get into grad school (again). Our move to South Carolina was both a good and bad thing. It was tough leaving a group of friends that I had become very close with over the past 2 years. I missed my sister's birthday for the first time in her life, all 12 years. The move has also brought positive things to my life. I have a great job where I feel like I truly do make a difference in the lives of children I work with. I have a beautiful home. We are almost completely debt free which given the downturn of the economy I am very grateful for. And I have an awesome best friend- my husband.
Looking ahead to 2009, I have a couple things things I'd like to accomplish. I need to make the time to take care of the important things in life, like my health.I finally want to take control of my weight and get into shape. In addition to getting in shape, I really want to eat healthier including more organic and local foods. The second major thing I want to do is get accepted to a Masters program. And lastly I want to be more "Jewish". I want to take advantage of the great Jewish community here in Charleston and go to Synagogue on a regular basis, celebrate more than just 1 or 2 Jewish Holidays and overall re-connect with my faith.
Some other events for 2009 that will be exciting is our yet-to-be-planned vacation/honeymoon in March, at least one trip home to Washington to see friends and family, and at least 3 of my closest friends are having babies in 2009! I am so excited for the "East Bremerton Baby Boom". (and any other friends who become pregnant this year)
Here's to a new year, a new president and a chance to make changes for the best.
Some highlights of the year include: getting married, buying our first house, getting a dog, my new job, surviving life on the other side of the country from all my family and friends and becoming best friends with my husband.
I won't dwell too long on the sad moments but a wonderful little girl named Madeline Lester passed away in January and she is missed dearly. My not-technically-related but still very close to me Aunt Helen passed away in the spring. And probably the hardest death was Sue Bruneau- she fought cancer for 2 long years and left behind many family and friends that miss her.
In 2008 I proved to myself that I still take on too much at once, but somehow make it out in one piece. I didn't get into grad school (again). Our move to South Carolina was both a good and bad thing. It was tough leaving a group of friends that I had become very close with over the past 2 years. I missed my sister's birthday for the first time in her life, all 12 years. The move has also brought positive things to my life. I have a great job where I feel like I truly do make a difference in the lives of children I work with. I have a beautiful home. We are almost completely debt free which given the downturn of the economy I am very grateful for. And I have an awesome best friend- my husband.
Looking ahead to 2009, I have a couple things things I'd like to accomplish. I need to make the time to take care of the important things in life, like my health.I finally want to take control of my weight and get into shape. In addition to getting in shape, I really want to eat healthier including more organic and local foods. The second major thing I want to do is get accepted to a Masters program. And lastly I want to be more "Jewish". I want to take advantage of the great Jewish community here in Charleston and go to Synagogue on a regular basis, celebrate more than just 1 or 2 Jewish Holidays and overall re-connect with my faith.
Some other events for 2009 that will be exciting is our yet-to-be-planned vacation/honeymoon in March, at least one trip home to Washington to see friends and family, and at least 3 of my closest friends are having babies in 2009! I am so excited for the "East Bremerton Baby Boom". (and any other friends who become pregnant this year)
Here's to a new year, a new president and a chance to make changes for the best.
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