Asterisk

I want the New England Patriots to have an asterisk after their "perfect season" they attained this year. They play great football, I will never dispute that, but their tactics were inappropriate during Spygate (make sure to read how Bill Belichick isn't just cheating on the field). I may think that Bill Belichick is a cocky S.O.B. and a SLOB as well, but that isn't why I hate them. I don't hate them because they are the antithesis of the Indianapolis Colts. I just don't like them because, other than my friends Stephany and Adam (who are transplants) and my friend Eric, I don't like people from New England. Oh, and April, and Carly, and Daniel, and Eric Osborne...it's not your fault you live there and you aren't total jerks. So I don't like people from the Northeast, what do you want from me? On another ramble here, do you know why we all saw that Patriots game on Saturday night? Because John Kerry was so busy whining and crying because people from the Northeast couldn't see the Patriots game. Oh the horrors!! Glad I paid the money for NFL network when the game was free to everyone...

Ok, enough whining about that. Mircea and I had a nice Christmas. I went home to see my parents for the weekend before, and we went to a Wake Forest game and had a really good time. Then I came home and Mircea and I went to one of his family friends' house and enjoyed good food and great company. We're going back there for New Year's Eve, so that should be nice too. I'm running out of ideas of things to bring and appetizers to make though. Any thoughts?

I'll write more about this later, but my gift from Mircea was Guitar Hero III for the Wii. Oh how I love thee.

Recipe Thursday

Chicken Chili Recipe

Ingredients

1 package of boneless skinless chicken breast (cooked in frying pan)
3 cans light kidney beans (drained)
1 can tomato sauce
1/2 block Velveeta cheese (comes in a cardboard box)
2 Tbls Parsley
2 Tbls Garlic powder
2 Tbls Chili powder
1 1/2 Tbls Crushed red pepper
1 bag Tostitos scoops

Directions

Add drained kidney beans, tomato sauce, cheese and seasonings into crock pot. Add diced cooked chicken breast. Heat for one hour on high.

Depending on how you like your chili to taste add additional seasonings as desired.

Serve warm with tostitos scoops.

**Someone made this at work and it was pretty good. They made it as a dip, and I think that is how it is better served than an actual "chili". We're having a chili-cookoff at my office in January so I'm working on trying out some stellar recipes.

Goodbye Sweet Baby

You’ve only been gone from us for a few hours, but your Daddy and I miss you very much. I smelled your smell on the comforter last night and couldn’t stop crying, and that got Daddy crying too. We miss your little tuxedoed body, always overdressed for every occasion: except last night. You were ready to go, you had suffered long enough, and Daddy and I had no choice but to help you go peacefully into the night. The nice people at the Vet said we had done all that we could and that you had lived a long, happy life of 18. Although you weren’t in our lives at the time, Daddy and I were only 7 and 9 at the time of your birth. You outlived any childhood pet I ever had, and know that they will befriend you up in Heaven. Pete (your first daddy) will take care of you too, and you can watch out for him and let him know that we miss him too.

I keep thinking of all the funny things you’ve done over this past year that you’ve been in my life. The way you make this funny little Yoshi sound when you’re eating. The way you refuse to have all four paws on the ground at the same time. The first time you had the yummy food I bought for Fern and Lily, and you just sort of purred and growled with pleasure as you wolfed it up.

We miss you little sweetie. It wasn’t the same this morning without having you at our heels and giving you a kiss on the forehead before we left for work. We’ll bury you today in the front flower bed. In the spring there will be hundreds of tulips that will come up around you and remind us of your graceful beauty.

I know you are “just a cat”, but you were our baby and we will always love you and think of you with your little angel’s wings.

My Awesome Cookie Recipe

Chocolate Mint Marvels

Ingredients

3/4C butter
1 1/2 C brown sugar
2 C chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 1/2 C flour
1 1/4 t baking soda
3 or 4 packages Andes Mints (I used 1 package and broke the mints in half)

Directions

Melt butter and brown sugar in saucepan over low heat. Add chocolate chips and stir to melt; put mixture into a bowl and let cool. Add eggs, and then mix in flour and baking soda. Chill dough for 1 hour. Roll into balls and place on baking sheet. Bake for 9 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove cookies from oven and place an andes mint on each one. As the candy melts spread it across the top of the cookie with a butter knife. Makes 3 dozen.

**I made these cookies last year too, but this year I had a heck of a time with the batter sticking to my hands. In the end, I actually had to put the dough in the freezer to work with it a little better, so it is very important that you have it cooled before you start molding the balls.

I've Been Swamped

• Last Thursday was the funeral for my co-workers baby who died the week prior. I don't know which was worse; seeing the tiny casket or hearing the poem about how the little boy was watching his parents from heaven. It was heart-wrenching.
• I'm traveling to North Carolina this weekend to see my Dad and stepmother for an early Christmas. Although I'm not looking forward to the drive, I am looking forward to spending some time with them and enjoying the holiday.
• Mircea bought a fireplace for his house and I helped him install it. I'll post pictures soon, it is really nice and I'm sure that one of the kitties is going to burn themself in some capacity.
• I bought Yukon a Santa suit. He hates it and it is really tight, but I'll try to get a picture of him in it.
• Just read this article on CNN. Has anyone at the jail seen The Shawshank Redemption?
• Going home to make some cookies for work. Have a yummy recipe that I am bringing into work and I figure I'll bring some cups and a gallon of milk for all to enjoy. And I'll enjoy a few myself. Yummy!

What a Terrible Morning

This morning I came to work to find that the young receptionist at our office lost her newborn baby. Her and her husband had the baby two weeks ago, and he'd been in the hospital ever since. He had an underdevloped lung, a hole in his heart, and they also found that he had clubbed feet (totally fixable). What's amazing to me is that no one discovered this is the ultrasounds that she had before the baby was born.

I can't imagine what her and her husband are going through. They are both 22, high school sweethearts, and this was their first child, a son, named after her husband and his father. I know that these next few days and weeks will be hard for her, but sadly, I also know that she will always remember this for the rest of her life and that problems that I have are NOTHING compared to what her and her family are going through.

Oy Vey

I have been such a bad blogger lately. I've been pretty busy at work and school (finals this week), and I haven't been focusing on fun as of late. I did post on my other blog about the fitness changes and goals I have for the next several months. I really need to get back to the "old Kate" because this Kate of girth and wideness is the Kate that I enjoy or respect.

I'm going to participate in a walk this weekend, so that will give me a little motivation. I'm meeting a friend of mine (Nikki) that I met last year at another race. We hit it off really well and may start exercising together on the weekends (we live about 45 minutes away from each other but there are good outdoor places in between.)

Lindsay spent the night on Friday, and we had a great time watching the Girls Next Door and playing the Wii. We also had fun making fun of Mircea, who came home after a night of drinking with a friend and acted like a nut job. A good time was had by all and I can't wait to see Lindsay again-I'm going to take advantage of the 3 years that she's in DC!

Other than that, things are going well. Tomorrow is the anniversary of my first date with Mircea. I can't believe it's already been a year since I denied him that first kiss on our date. Dream on boy!!! We're not going out tomorrow because I have my precious bowling league, but we're going to go out on Friday, for dinner, and probably go home and play Wii or watch a movie.

An update on our little Stinky/Squeaky. Her tumor is getting bigger and bigger, and she is really pretty unhappy. She doesn't appear to be in pain, but she is definitely not enjoying life as much as she used to. We're just giving her lots of hugs and cuddles, but we both agree that her time is getting pretty short.

The other cats are all happy and healthy. Yukie is enjoying his time outside. He has a little gray "friend" out there, that I have seen him fight with, but whom I've also seen him eating with, so Lord knows their relationship. He's taken to spraying in the house, though, so he may be spending a lot of time outside. Fernie and Lily are cute as ever. Both of those little furbabies have been playing under the Christmas tree and cuddling up on our new warm blankets. Silly girls!!

Ok, that's way more than I've written in a long time, but I'll have a recipe tomorrow and more to post soon.