This is what happens....

So this is what happens when David is not around for dinner....



 My dinner is a tuna salad sandwich and canned corn :(

I did however get a lot of other stuff done though which include:

cupcakes for my work friends and family

a rosemary brine for tomorrow nights dinner

and not pictured is a run with the neighbor kids, their dog Jack and Bella!

I'll let you know how the pork chops turn out tomorrow :)

Until next time....



I do not like the cone of shame :(

I am actually a week late on posting this but I still think it is completely worth it.  Last Tuesday that adorable little brown dog of ours (the one that wakes up at 7:00 on the weekends) was laying on our bed when we noticed a big red blood blister looking "thing" on her belly.  Being a little dog and one that thoroughly enjoys belly rubs we often get the pleasure of seeing her belly. Well we both knew that "thing" had not been there the day before so off to the vet Bella went.  The vet determined that it was some kind of insect bite and was more than likely a spider bite, however Bella won't tell the vet what bit her....wise guy isn't he???  When I went to pick up Bella after work the vet sent us home with a cone and told us that in order for the wound to heal she would have to not lick her belly.  We tried it that night and she was having none of it so we gave up on that!  David stayed home for awhile the next day but eventually had to leave for work and decided to try the cone again before he left.  This is the first picture that David sent me and was literally crying I was laughing so hard at poor Bella.

I can imagine her saying "I would really like to get in my toy bin but can't with this effing thing on my head"

In the second picture she looks a little happier but not much! 

Needless to say the cone did not stay on and after some antibiotics the spot is gone, the cone is long since gone in the trash and  we have a much happier puppy!

Until next time.....



A new favorite :)

When I was thinking what we should have for dinner tonight I had originally thought about making Hawaiian chicken but then found a salmon burger recipe I HAD to try. We like salmon but sometimes get bored with just plain fillets. So.... I added a few yummy ingredients and came up with what I think was a winner!  Here it is:

I started with 2 plain ole frozen salmon fillets and baked them slightly under the recommended  directions. Don't worry though, they are going to get cooked more later.  Once the salmon was out of the oven and cooled slightly I broke it apart and added the following ingredients and mixed well:

1 cup of cooked spinach - I put a handful of uncooked spinach in a microwavable bowl with a little water and popped it in the microwave for 3 minutes
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg white
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
 fresh mozzarella cut into chunks -- about a handful

Make into patties and pan fry on medium until lightly browned and cooked throughout.

Oh my...aren't they beautiful???

Complete meal - I've come to realize we eat a lot of corn on the cob and tomatoes during the summer....Thank you Black Hog Farm:)

You could eat these on a bun but we chose to eat them without to save some carbs.

This recipe was found on http://undressedskeleton.tumblr.com/excitingentrees and adapted it just a smidge since we didn't have any feta.

Until next time.....

Black Hog Farm

I know I haven't blogged in a few days but we haven't really had anything overly exciting for meals recently :( I do have something fun to share though!  A few months ago we heard about this fabulous service from a little place called Black Hog Farm out of East Palatka, FL. They are a farm that deliver vegetables right to our front doorstep.  For $17 you can get just vegetables or for $23 you can get fruit and vegetables.  You can also get various meat, eggs, peanut butter and honey.  You do not get to choose what you receive each week but when you sign up you do select what you do not wish to have delivered. You may also get your shipment every week or every other week.  We chose fruit and vegetables to be delivered every other week because some weeks it is more than we can feasibly eat.  This week we got an onion, garlic, okra, carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, acorn squash, and peaches!!  The following pictures are not from this week but are some samples of what we have got in the past. It has always proved to be enough for us and is always very tasty! 

If you would like more information about Black Hog Farm, their website is www.blackhogblog.com. ....check 'em out!

Until next time......

Homemade granola bars

Good Morning....ok it's afternoon.

This morning we got up around 7:00. (yes, I know it's Saturday but we have the cutest little dog that can't seem to sleep past 7:00 not matter what day it is) We decided to go for a walk early before it got too hot and then have breakfast.  Last night we were playing Apples to Apples with some friends that had come over for dinner and the card maple syrup was played.  This of course made it so that we HAD to have pancakes for breakfast today.  I didn't take any pictures because they weren't all that beautiful, but we did have so delicious chocolate chip and banana wheat pancakes and bacon.....yummm.

What I am going to post pictures of are the homemade granola bars I just made. I have been super excited about these since I saw them on Pintrest last weekend.  Here they are:

Ingredients:

2 cups quick cook oats
1 cup rice cereal
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
chocolate chips

In a small sauce pan combine the butter, brown sugar and honey on medium high heat. Stir until well mixed.

Let this mixture bubble for two minutes to allow the brown sugar granules to all dissolve.

While the mixture is bubbling, combine the oats and rice cereal in a large bowl.

Add the vanilla to the mixture and then pour over the dry ingredients.  Stir until all the oats and cereal are covered evenly.

Firmly press the mixture into a small cake pan. Add the chocolate chips last.

I honestly don't think I mixed and pressed enough.  Hopefully my granola bars stay together.

Let the granola bars cool for 1 hour before cutting.

You could add any other ingredients you wish such as raisins, dried fruit, nuts, spices, etc.

Enjoy!

Until next time.....

I found this recipe at the following link and have to admit her granola bars look much prettier than mine:) http://www.laurenslatest.com/no-bake-chocolate-chip-granola-bars-easy-healthy/



Fate was born in an airport

While the title of this blog is "Life as we know it", the web address is fatewasborninanairport.  If you really looked at what that long string of letters said you would notice that it says fate was born in an airport.  When I was choosing a domain name I wanted it to be something that reflected my husband and I.  For those of you that don't know how we met, here's the brief run down.

On July 26, 2003 I was headed to Chicago for my dear friend Katie's baby shower.  After a 45 minute silent ride to the airport, my ex boyfriend dropped me off at the curb of the airport, which at this point in my life was absolutely devastating.  I immediately burst into tears as I walked through the Kansas City airport to  my terminal.  As I sat there feeling very sorry for myself I saw a guy wearing jeans and a black Calvin Klein shirt carrying A LOT of stuff.  I pulled myself together as he sat in the same small terminal as myself. 

When I got on the airplane there were two girls traveling together, however one was in my row and one was sitting in the row in front of me.  I asked the girls if they would like to switch seats with me so they could sit next to each other.  Low and behold when I switched seats I was sitting across the aisle from the guy in the black Calvin Klein shirt ;)  Coincidence? I think not!

We argue about who initiated the conversation, but I know that I am right on this one.  We were delayed and the guy in the black Calvin Klein shirt asked me if I knew what time it was. I said that I didn't but it just so happened to strike up a conversation between the two of us.  Now for those of you that have flown from Kansas City to Chicago you know that it is maybe an hour flight.  In that hour we had a nice casual conversation about what we do, school, etc.  The guy in the black Calvin Klein shirt gave me his business card but I however didn't have one since I was going to start teaching that August.  I did however ask for a piece of paper and made my own "business card" with my name, the school I would be teaching for, my title and cell phone number.  Clever, huh?

After our short flight we parted our own seperate ways with little more than our "business cards" and a casual conversation.  When I got off the plane to meet my friend Katie, I told her I might a boy on the plane.  I think at that point she thought I was crazy! 

I have to admit that I was the first to email the guy with the black Calvin Klein shirt but let it be noted that his response was very quick.  I know its hard to believe but all of this was before myspace (mywhat?) or facebook.  We relied on emails, AOL instant messenger and eventually calling cards (the guy in the balck Calvin Klein shirt didn't have a cell phone).

I'll spare you the rest of the details but on October 10, 2009 the guy in the black Calvin Klein shirt and I got married.  This was of course after he proposed to me on an airplane on our way to New York for my birthday :)

When thinking about how we met, the only thing I can attribute it to is fate.  We were supposed to meet that day. I don't think either of us knew where it would lead 9 years ago but I'm certainly glad that I asked the girls if they would like to switch seats with me. 

So, I guess it wasn't such a short story but I truly belive that fatewasborninanairport.  Oh and by the way.....the guy in the black Calvin Klein shirt still has my "businss card" ;)

Until next time....

Turkey vs. Pork Loin...We choose turkey

Alright...Tonight we had turkey loin with snow peas, carrots, and potatoes.  Did I mention we made extra turkey burgers last night so I was able to enjoy one for lunch today?  Oh yea....that happened!

I have to admit that I didn't do anything fancy to our turkey loin.  It went straight from the Publix package into my oven.  We do enjoy turkey loin more than pork loin and it is a healthier option.

Here's our turkey loin in all its uncooked glory.

It went in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.

Baby red potatoes with a drizzle of olive oil, kosher salt, pepper, rosemary along with a few onions.  I baked these at 350 degrees for 45 minutes stirring every so often. 

I would recommend spraying the foil with cooking spray so that the potatoes don't stick to the foil.

This has to be my all time favorite kitchen item.... my Pampered Chef vegetable steamer.

For tonight's dinner I put trimmed snap peas and carrots in the steamer with about an inch of water and put them in the microwave for 8 minutes.  My vegetables always come out perfect!!

Dinner is served and all for a little over 300 calories!

Until next time :)