New year, new goals

Let me start by wishing all of you a very, very happy new year!!! I can not wait to see what 2011 has in store for all of us. Don't get me wrong, 2010 was a pretty good year and overall I don't really have any complaints but I'm pretty sure 2011 is going to be excellent!! With the new year comes new goals and new resolutions. I'm not a big fan of new year resolutions, partly because I feel that if there is something you want to change or something new you want to try, just do it, why wait for a new year? Most resolutions are things like lose weight, exercise more, eat better, quit smoking, drink less, save money, etc. If any of you have been to the gym since January 1st, I guarantee that the fitness classes are packed, treadmills are full and you have to jump into a rotation for the weights. Wait a few weeks and you should have your gym back. On the flipside, I know a lot of people that set resolutions and actually stick to them. I encourage everyone to do something that improves their health, happiness or overall well being, even if it is just for a few months. It can't hurt right?

Speaking of health, happiness and well being, I found out some wonderful news today. A friend that has been sick since late November is officially on the road to recovery. After a fluke illness that caused severe liver damage, she was able to receive a transplant today and is officially healing. I don't want to share to much information since it is not mine to share but I just want to say WOOHOOOOO!!!

This is a belated picture from the day we cut down the Christmas Tree I mentioned in my last post.

They're heeeeere

The Holidays are officially here. Halloween was a blast, my birthday was one I will never forget and Thanksgiving at our house was a success! Thanksgiving dinner was delicious and thank you to everyone that spent the day with us. I had the entire week of Thanksgiving off from work and I can't believe I already have to go back tomorrow! The day after Thanksgiving we always spend the day with Brett's parents. Our first stop was Old Town Grill in Placerville for some lunch and then off to the Christmas tree farms to chop down the perfect tree. We ended the night with a few cocktails and chinese food with his parents before heading home. We took both of our dogs with us and besides a few mud puddles and leaving a water dish at one of the tree farms, we all did pretty well. On Saturday Brett and I took out all of our plastic bins of Christmas decorations and lights and spent the day sifting through everything. Every year I forget how much stuff we actually have and how much I love the way my house looks when it is decorated for Christmas! Saturday also brought an inspiration for a new blog post that I really think you will enjoy. It is going to take me some time to gather all of my info and finish it the way it needs to be written so stay tuned for me to send it out it in a few weeks.

My goal this year is to do all of my Christmas shopping online. I'm not sure how attainable this will be but I'm going for it. I hate shopping in general but especially during the holidays. People in malls seem extra obnoxious during the few weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas and I want to avoid as many crazies as possible. The holidays also bring different emotions for me and although I enjoy the season, it also reminds me of how much my life has changed over the years. Most of the changes have been for the better but others I would give anything to put back the way they used to be. The holidays remind me of my brothers and how I wish they were both here to enjoy them with the rest of the family. It also reminds me of the last Christmas I spent with Greg, it wasn't the best Christmas we spent together but it is one I wish we could have again.

I am back in the office on Monday and travel the rest of the week. Brett and I are taking a vacation (finally!) the following week and we'll be spending a few days in an ocean front hotel in Pacific Beach watching the waves roll in and relaxing! Christmas will be here and gone before we know it and 2011 will be on us. It feels like we just finished the holidays from last year!!

Where's the park?

Simple enough question right? Simple enough if a child asks you, or a family out for a bike ride, or a guy with his dog and a ball. But what if you are asked by a man with torn up jeans, worn out shoes and layers of filthy sweaters on his back? I was out taking my dogs for a walk tonight and as we rounded the corner between country pastures and suburbia I ran into this man.

I generally feel pretty safe while walking my dogs in my neighborhood. I never go after dark, keep my eyes peeled for anything strange, turn my iPod on low enough so that I can still hear what is going on around me. When the weather is nice there are always kids out playing, people washing their cars or mowing their lawns. Houses are kept up and the neighborhood is pleasant. I would also like to think that the almost 200 pounds of dog that I have with me would detour most ill-wishers.

I responded to the man's question with "Which park are you looking for?" "Any park." was his response. Any park. Now why is he looking for just any park? What is he planning to do in that park? Sleep for the night? Smoke whatever he had stuffed inside the crinkled up rolling paper in his left hand? Kidnap a child? Gaze at the sunset? I couldn't be sure what he wanted in the park so I pointed down the street and said "If you keep walking that way, you'll run into a park". He thanked me and as I turned to walk in the opposite direction, he stopped and smiled and said "You have beautiful dogs". I thanked him and kept walking. I didn't point him in the direction of the park. In fact, I sent him in the furthest direction from the park.

What did this man do to me that I was allowed to judge him by his ratty clothes? I'm pretty sure his day was shittier than mine yet I sent him in the wrong direction and watched him shuffle across the street in his already worn out shoes. Maybe he was supposed to meet someone at the park who was going to give him a place to stay for the night. Maybe he was going to meet his grandkids to play in the park before it got dark. Maybe he was just a normal guy whose washing machine broke and whose dog ate his new Air Jordan's. But maybe, just maybe, he was a child molester. Part of me feels really bad for sending that guy on a journey to nowhere but part of me feels like I did the right thing. What would you have done?

When I got home I received a call from a friend with some surprising news. She found out from an old co-worker that someone we used to spend a lot of time with (back in my other life but I'll save that for a different post) had passed away. He didn't just pass, in fact this coming January will be 2 years. We hadn't seen him in quite a few years but we have talked about him in a general "Have you heard from him" or "What's he up to these days" kind of way. We never found the answers to those questions but never in a million years did it cross our minds that he was dead. We don't know much about what happened but it sounds like he made some bad choices and his life took a turn for the worst. How does that happen? I guess I know how it happens, I've seen it happen first hand with people that I love. But, why does it have to happen? What happened to him that changed the fun, happy guy we once knew into a guy that has now been dead for almost 2 years? What happened to the guy I saw wandering the streets of my neighborhood tonight? What happened to that guy to make him wear clothes that looked like he hadn't washed them in weeks? Did his dog really eat his Air Jordan's? I'm guessing not. In another life I bet he had clean clothes, a house to live in, and maybe a couple of dogs of his own. I know our friend had a better life. So why does this happen?

WFD?

Almost everyday Brett or I will ask the other "what's for dinner tonight?". We cook at home almost every night and will often plan a menu for 2-3 days at a time. When we don't have something planned I'm notorious for pulling meat out of the freezer, digging around in the pantry or the fridge and, voila, dinner is made! On days that I can plan ahead I turn to one of my favorite culinary inspirations (other than my mom of course), FoodNetwork.com. I am not good at following recipes which is why I will never claim to be a baker in any of my posts. I usually browse the net for something that sounds good, jot down a few quick notes about the recipe and head to the store. I won't actually use the recipe while I'm cooking but I might reference it if I'm using a new spice that I want to make sure I'm not using to much of. I usually just wing it and everything turns out great. I've decided to start a recurring post called "WFD?" (aka What's for Dinner?) where I post a recipe that I've tried or something that sounds good to me. I can't always promise that it will include detailed instructions like the recipe below but I'll try my best :)

On Friday I was planning for the weekend menu and came across a recipe from Giada that sounded delish! I made this last night and I have to say, it was the best thing I've made in a really long time so I thought I would share it with you for my first WFD? post.

Chicken with Mustard Mascarpone Marsala Sauce
About 4 servings, Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, each breast cut crosswise into 3 pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 tablespoons butter, divided
3/4 cup chopped onion (I used red onion)
1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced (I used 8oz button mushrooms, 8oz baby bellas)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 cup dry Marsala wine
1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves, plus whole sprigs, for garnish
12 ounces dried fettuccine

Directions
Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and cook just until brown, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and cool slightly. (Make sure the chicken is still raw in the middle). Start boiling water for your pasta.

While the chicken cools, melt 2 tablespoons (I used 3-4 TBS) of butter to the same skillet over medium-high heat, then add the onion and saute until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic and saute until the mushrooms are tender and the juices evaporate, about 12 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until it is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Stir in the mascarpone and mustard. Cut the chicken breasts crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the skillet. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through and the sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped parsley. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper. (Taste it before you start adding seasoning, I didn't have to add anything to mine).

Once water is boiling, add the fettuccine and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain. Toss the fettuccine with 3 tablespoons of butter and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Swirl the fettuccine onto serving plates. Spoon the chicken mixture over top. Garnish with parsley sprigs and serve.

I would love to hear what you think about this recipe so please leave me a comment if you try it!

Do eyeballs sweat?!?

What about fingernails? Or hair? Up until tonight I didn't think it was possible for those parts of my body to sweat but let meee telllll yooouuu, they did after 90 minutes of Bikram Yoga!! I took my first class tonight and despite the 3 pounds of sweat I lost (literally, I weighed myself) I really enjoyed the class. I have always enjoyed yoga and wanted to try Bikram but never wanted to spend the money on the pricey classes. A few nights ago a friend tipped me off to a Groupon deal that I just couldn't pass up so tonight I found myself in a room heated to 104 degrees, doing yoga poses and sweating more than I have ever done in my entire life! As weird (and gross) as it sounds it was was actually pretty refreshing and I'll be going back again tomorrow. I'm hoping this will help keep me motivated through the next few weeks of our weight loss challenge.

A quick update on the 'Surprises' post:
Part of Brett's 30th's birthday present (last year) I gave him a skydiving session in Santa Cruz. As we crept up on his 31st birthday and he still hadn't used it I decided that I would make the reservation myself and not tell him. I checked the weather every day until I could see the two weekends before his birthday in the 10-day forecast. Both weekends looked great so I made him a reservation for Sunday, 9/12. As we got closer to the date I struggled with whether or not I should tell him what I had done and ultimately decided to tell him the Friday before. I figured that if it were me jumping from a plane, I would need some mental prep time. (By the way, you will never catch me jumping from a perfectly normal plane!) I bought him a belated 30th birthday card and spilled the beans inside the card and he was both surprised and excited. September 12th was supposed to be a clear, sunny, 68 degree day in Santa Cruz. Perfect for jumping from a plane over the ocean and landing barefoot on Capitola beach, right? Wrong. The Skydiving facility called me about an hour after we left our house that morning to tell us that the fog had not yet burned off for the day and that Brett's jump time may be pushed out by a few hours. I told them to keep us posted and we continued on to Santa Cruz. We arrived around 11:30am and the jump was originally scheduled for 12:30pm. I called the facility and they told me they were still delayed and he wouldn't be able to jump until the landing spot had cleared up. We spent the next several hours walking the Boardwalk and the Pier and finally the facility called to tell me that things weren't looking great and that we should probably cancel. I'm not sure which one of us was more bummed. I wasn't thrilled that my husband was going to jump from a perfectly good plane but I knew how much he wanted to do it and what a let down it was for him. Plus, I had finally been able to plan a successful surprise only to be shot down by some darn clouds! Overall we spent a fun day with our good friends in Santa Cruz and now we have another reason to go back again soon! Hopefully the weather cooperates with us this time!

Yours Truly

Dear Headache:

You barged into my life 2 weeks ago, uninvited and unwelcome. You have banged, poked, prodded and squeezed my brain to the point of unbearable. Despite the hoards of Excedrin, Aleve, Advil or Tylenol that I have sent your way, you're still hanging around. You're like the annoying drunk guy at Happy Hour that everyone wants to get away from but can't. You're everywhere. You're obnoxious, inconsiderate and rude. You have overstayed your visit. It's time to move on.

Yours Truly.

Surprises

I've never been a good surprise giver. I partly blame my lack of imagination but mostly I just think I suck at it. Brett on the other hand likes to give surprises and he's usually pretty good at it. His biggest downfall is that he gets so excited that he has to tell everyone except the receiver (usually me) before he pulls out the "Surprise". I would like to be better at it and with upcoming birthdays, holidays and 'just because' opportunities I am hoping to pull a few things out of my sleeve by the end of the year :)

I have a quick breather in my travels and will be home this week and possibly next. Brett, however, left for Riverside today and will be working there for the next 4 weeks. He drove for over 7 hours today and then worked another 5 hours (and we thought the commute to Chico every day was bad!). The plan is for him to leave on Monday mornings and come home Friday night until the project is done and yes, he is driving, not flying. All of this travel also overlaps Brett's birthday which means that he will be in Riverside and I'll be in some other state. It might be a good time for me to work on one of those surprises...