Scattegories Continued

First off- Congrats to Jen & Matt!!!
So it's been a whirl wind of a week.
I've had a customer in two weeks in a row now. Thank goodness that project is about done...Stay tuned for your next new convenient meal snack.
Training for a half marathon in October...humm 4 out of 5 workouts accomplished is better than I thought I would do. How I ever had time to train for a full before is beyond me.
Saturday we had another house hop. Several houses, each has a theme. People host with their house as a stop, some sponsor and bring the food. This time around we did traditional picnic type items. Of course we were house two (Infamous Watermelon Salad and a Fresh Berry over Nillawafers with Whip Cream). Clean, clean, prep, shower, walk a dog, people here!...crap there is a load of laundry still on the bed (shove that back in the drier), cat puked..great,...clean that up...crap, forgot to put make-up on! Yikes! Let's not try and scare them all away.
Sometimes these are more work than it is worth for people to say "your food is great and your house is awesome". I am steering clear of hosting the next two! Man did I have a headache by the end of the night!
Anyway, this coming week is also packed. Second customer in from Tuesday through Friday. A's in town Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Monday is our first Fall Softball Game.
Looking forward to doing nothing on Monday..except a 7 mile run!

Inspired by Misty, Scattegories Continued. ...dare you to try it yourself!

What's my name: Stephanie
4 Letter Word: Shop
Boy Name: Steven (My name if I were a boy!)
Girl Name: Samantha
Occupation: Saleswoman
Color: Sea Blue
Something you wear: Sandals
Beverage: Sangria
Food: Strawberries
Something Found in a Bathroom: Scrunchie
A place in Illinois: Shoe Store (you didn't say it had to be a proper noun!)
Reason for being late: Slept late
Something you shout: S*IT (unfortunately, I should think before I say this as often as I do!)

My Friend Teddy

Theodore Roosevelt once said....

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorius triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.

This is my short post for this week. When caught in a cross roads in any matter, at any point in your life you must remember these wise words. What is the worst that could happen? If you never try, you'll never know.

I first heard this quote from my college rowing coach. If you try your hardest when running, rowing, or swimming the worst that could happen is that you end up last. Is that such a bad thing? In my opinion it has only made you stronger for your next challenge.

If you have a dream, don't sit by and watch t.v., do a little bit of what you love everyday.

August is Awesome!!

Well I survived...I turned 35!!! yesterday. Yikes! and yes...I know the clock is ticking. Someday I'll be able to decide on that important commitment. Although seeing Darrell with Tyler and Zac at my sister's wedding reception proved that he is just a kid at heart. They gravitate to him. It sounds silly but I had a great day. I worked til 6 but got word that my job will be changing in the near future, for the better. Darrell treated me to a glass of champagne, a very funny Hoops & Yoyo card (if you know me, you know I love these guys), a new Nike i-pod pedometer, and an awesome Strawberries and Cream Cake from CakeLove. I can't even describe how good this cake is. Then we ordered pizza and watched the Olympics. Tonight we will go out to dinner.......ahhhhh he is such a keeper!

So this is such an exciting month...Happy Anniversary Grandma and Grandpa. You are awesome role models for us. You are such wonderful people and we all aspire to be with our other halves so happily for so many years. It starts as best friends, that is for sure. We love you both!

Then Big Al...Man Happy Birthday. Lovin' your classical music stint lately. Hoping that So. Cal is treating you well and soon you will find that lucky gal. I know we are all lookin'. You're brilliant.

Who else? My sister, as you know. My brother in law. I know we have a few kids in there too.
We share birthday's with the likes of Madonna and Napoleon Bonaparte are know for being creative but demanding people that love to be the center of attention..me...nooooo...shocker!

The end of my Cheer's for the week....love you all.

Happy Birthday Laura

It is not too often that my sisters check out this site, however I thought I might let everyone know that my baby sister turns 31 today! Happy Birthday..Megee.

This was taken last year but you get the idea!

Alright, the chaos continues but what ya' gonna do. It has been a busy week of concerts. Sunday's Coldplay concert was so awesome! I can't even explain how much fun we had and I was VERY thankful that I had arranged with my boss to take my Friday summer hours on Monday AM. Here are a couple shots from the concert. My husband managed to get me incredible seats about 15 rows from the stage! They were all over the arena. At one point they left the stage and went all the way across the arena and played in the middle of a second deck of fans. Wow, they didn't know what to say. They were shocked.

Meanwhile Darrell spent the weekend at Lollapalooza in Chicago. Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against the Machine, and Radiohead just to name a few. He had a great time with the guys. Here is a photo of some of the insanity of this three day event.

Then...yes...one more. Saturday night (last night) we went to the Virgin Mobile Music Festival at Pimlico Race Track here in B-more. Highlights were definitely Offspring and Foo Fighters. Both had some incredible energy and their sound didn't skip a beat. Foo Fighters have gone through a little bit of an instrumental phase but didn't hold anything back last night. Man they let it all out! Sooooooooooo much fun. Imagine me singing at the top of my lungs and you got the right picture in your head!

and now we are broke....jk.

Have a good week! Stay tuned for a new recipe next week.

Sisters

So it has been a very busy two weeks since last post.
On Wednesday of last week I left for Michigan to join up with my family to go to my sister's wedding reception. She got married back in March in St. Lucia. Wed through Friday were full of planning and visiting with family. Darrell joined us on Friday night. My sister from California brought along her two kids....total cuties. Here are some shots from the event. It was a long five days but a ton of fun!








The rest of this last week was packed with events every night. Monday- softball, Tuesday- softball, Wednesday- Dinner out with Darrell's office mates (It's restaurant week!), Thursday- softball, Friday- Restaurant week for me and a girlfriend and Darrell left for Chicago (Lolapoluza with the guys!)
Week before last I fertilized all the indoor and outdoor plants and flowers. The basil is just awesome right now. Therefore, I thought I might share one of my favorite pasta salads!

Pasta Salad with Mozzarella, Sun dried Tomatoes and Basil
Dressing:
6 Tbs Olive Oil
1/2 cup drained Sun-Dried Tomatoes in oil (cut into strips)
1/4 Balsamic or Red Wine Vinegar
1 Tbs drained capers
1 crushed garlic clove

Salad
1 pound box fusilli pasta
12 oz cherry tomatoes halved
8 oz mozzarella cheese (fresh water packed is awesome) cubed
1 cup (packed) fresh basil, thinly sliced
1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 minced pitted kalmata olives

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water just until tender. Drain. Transfer to a bowl. Mix dressing in and allow to cool. Stir occasionally to evenly coat. Stir in fresh tomatoes, cheeses, basil and olives. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 6 hours.
Enjoy!

Tomorrow night....off to see COLDPLAY!!!!!....I'm so excited. They were awesome in San Jose back in 05!