Baby Baby Baby, Light My Way: Chicago Part One

I’ll have to divide my Chicago trip into two posts, one being about U2, the other aptly named for all the foods we ate while I was in town. I packed a lot of calories and deliciousness into a very short time but you’ll have to come back for that.

The concert was…amazing. It’s funny, I had been looking forward to it and yet by the actual day I felt like I could take or leave it, which is ridiculous. I was just enjoying my time with Patty and Nikki and didn’t need “the boys” to interfere. Nikki couldn’t have been pulled away by wild horses, so we went.

We got gouged $45 to park at Soldier Field, which is insanity. INSANITY. It was very close though and we walked right over to the stadium and started looking for a place to buy shirts. Nikki found a place and Patty and I walked over to check out Snow Patrol, which was very very good. We were on the main level center stage and when Nikki came back she was like “why don’t we try to stay here”. And “stay here” we did. We basically stood behind the $250 seats for the concerts and got an unobstructed (except for a 6 foot tall guy right in front of me) view of the concert. It was awesome.

The concert was great. They played all kinds of different songs from many of their albums including The Unforgettable Fire (the song has the same title) and even played Ultraviolet, a song that Nikki and I had performed at one of my birthday parties (I vaguely recall Chantelle being in our group but annoyed b/c she didn’t know the song and Nikki and I were bossy) and performed for Patty at the concert. It was just great. Great I tell you! I think all of us agreed that our favorite was the remix of “I’ll Go Crazy if I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight” that had the guys as bobbleheads on the big screen. It was just so much fun and it was so worth the flight, the days missed of work, etc.

Recipe Thursday: King Ranch Chicken

King Ranch Chicken

Ingredients
1 whole chicken (boiled and deboned)
1 diced large onion
3 diced cloves garlic
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can rotel
9 corn tortillas (cut in 1/2 or 1/4s)
1 1/2 cups mild cheddar cheese

Directions
1. Boil and Debone Chicken. Reserve 1 cup broth.
2. In a skillet, saute onion and garlic in oil, add both cans of soup, rotel and broth. Keep on low heat.
Preheat oven to 350.
3. In a lasagna pan, layer tortilla, chicken, sauce, cheese and repeat.Cook in preheated 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes until cheese is brown.


I used reduced fat cheese and soups for this recipe and it was still delicious. Soooooo good!! I got this recipe from Robyn's mom, Jeanne Birrane. This is really good served the next day too as it allows the flavors to all mesh together.

My Spidey Senses Said "Run!"

I was sitting at my desk on Sunday morning trying to catch up on some blog posts for the time we're in Romania (because when I get back it will be all Romania, all the time for awhile) and looked out our front window to see a big honking spider. I went out to take pictures of the thing, and I'll tell you the entire time I was taking the pictures I was thinking "what if this is a trap set by a WAAAY bigger spider?" and I kept looking over my shoulder as though an extra-wombo spider was waiting to pounce.

At least this wasn't as scary as my last spider experience. Ugh, I shudder just thinking about it.

The boy was irritated with me and wanted to come outside. He probably just wanted a big spider meal. Double-ewww!

(yeah, I know this post was boring, but come on, what else do I have going on in my life?)

My Poor Lily-Monster (sort of a pathetic rant)

It's funny how life works out-Lily was never my favorite cat. She was my Mom's cat, her best friend, her favorite "daughter". When my mom died I couldn't bear to part with Lily so I brought her to live with me and Courtney at Purdue and she and Fernie instantly became enemies. They only band together in the dislike of others, and while they do give each other baths, it always ends in a fight. But after being bedridden with my knee surgery, Lily was by my side every second of the day, keeping me company and actually licking my tears of frustration. She and I are wildly in love these days, and I guess that's good because it seems like we're getting closer to the time in our lives where we have to say goodbye. She's really not doing well at all. She has something called "loose knees" so the back part of her walks sort of independantly of the front of her (like a bus with the accordian middle). Lately she's been struggling with the restroom, and it appears she's terribly constipated, so we've been treating that the best we can. I just feel for her so much and I'm not sure what to do. I don't believe in keeping cats alive just so they can be my friends, but it sucks because her mind is there but her little body is failing her. I'm getting especially nervous because we're about to leave her for 16 days. She'll be here at the house with a friend stopping in every couple of days, but I'm just worried that 1.) she'll think her mommy abandoned her and 2.) she'll be sick and die alone...and Fernie will freak out. I'm not crazy enough to think that I would comfort Lily if she was sick and dying, but at the same time, I don't want her to be scared or alone if she's in pain. As I sat with poor Olive several months back, I think she actually did get some peace knowing that someone was comforting her. I'm just worried. Please pray for my little sweetie. I either want her to feel better and live forever, or somehow communicate to me what she wants me to do.

I'd do anything for this kitty to keep her out of pain. Man, I already miss her and she's not even gone yet. I don't know what my life will be like without my "girls" as little Fernie is getting so old too. The joy of geriatric pets-but at least I've had this time with them.

Greek Quinoa and Avocado Salad Recipe

Greek Quinoa and Avocado Salad Recipe

I haven't taken a picture of this recipe, mostly because I've had the spoon in it ever since I finished preparing it. This recipe was "banging" as Mircea would say. Last time I work with quinoa (keen-wa) I had some trouble with it-it seemed a little crunchy. It shouldn't be. This time I let it cook longer and it's delicious. All of the ingredients in this make it great, and at the suggestion of another BHG.com commenter I added pine nuts and they really made a great addition. Other than the feta, this is vegan, and I think it can be enjoyed without the feta as well, though it does add a nice tangy twist to it.

I know everyone gets mad at me when I just post a ton of recipes, but I am going to be sharing a couple in the next couple of weeks-in fact, I should probably be sharing them on Stephany's Realistic Eats blog, which years ago she made me a member of and I've only posted one recipe. This lives up to her realistic eats standards though!

I Had a Post All Planned...

But I don't feel like posting on that topic. In fact, I really have nothing to post on. I've been enjoying everyone else's blogs, with their back to school pics (so cute), their yummy recipes, and just hearing how everyone is making the best of what is left of the summer.

As for me, making the best involves going to Mircea's parents hous to swim in their pool on my off Fridays, so I can just chill and read a book. Hanging out with my friends as much as possible, and visiting Rebecca up in DC as much as I can to make use of our short time together, is another way I spend my time. I just feel so...gasp, comfortable in everything in my life except for my physique, but that was the post I didn't feel like posting today, so that will be another time.

I also think I might soon be called Little Suzie Homemaker. I'm really enjoying trying out some new recipes lately and I'm actually getting an eye for how I'd like to decorate my home, which for once doesn't involve asking my friend Robyn if "this is ok" or "if it's alright if I do this". She has great taste, but I'm finally gaining some confidence.

So short post, but I'm sure I'll provide a movie review for The Time Traveler's Wife, when I return from seeing it this weekend.

Off to the pool!

What's Up, Doc?

I realize that in the past several months I have been a terrible blogger, which is kind of funny considering the months of drivel that I’ve turned out in the past and that I actually have some cool things that are going on. But are they blog worthy? So instead of full blog posts on the following items, I’ll just throw out a little blurb.

The Other House: Mircea and I met with the Realtor yesterday to talk about listing Mircea’s old house for sale. Yeah, that didn’t go well. The comps in the area were about $40k less than he’d paid for it, so needless to say, we’ll be renting the house out until the market improves a little bit. We’ve had a couple of bites, but we haven’t been marketing heavily as we’d planned to sell. The house does look fantastic now and I need to update the website I put together for it. It turns out that I’m terrible at taking pictures of houses though…it’s hard!

The Dog: You know that dog that only lasted a week at our house? Well I just checked on her at the Humane Society and she has been adopted! It only took the entire summer and her description kept changing to add things like “needs 6 foot fence” and “extremely energetic”. She was a sweet girl and I’m so happy for her!!

My Whine Wine: My wine rack, which is really my microwave stand, is near our back door. And apparently the sun that shines onto it in the evening has destroyed my wine. Luckily I didn’t have much in there, but I did have a couple of favorites that I was saving for my friend Rebecca’s visit. It was awful when we tried it and ended up just drinking some cheap wine I had in the fridge with our ridiculously expensive cheese. So now I’m going to get that set up somewhere else in the house and not destroy my wine. I guess I have really expensive cooking wine now. Mmmm!

Vacation: Only one more month until we go to Romania! I’m so excited, terrified, and even more excited. It should be a great trip and hopefully will be somewhat relaxing. I’m so nervous that all I’ll have with me is my crappy camera, but hopefully it can eek out some decent pictures. I can’t wait to share all of my adventures!

Money Talk: I finally got my raise. It was a debacle but it’s finally here in my paycheck not doing nearly as much as I would have liked it to. But now I can move to other jobs without having weird promotion rules and it’s just for the better. Who doesn’t like a little extra cash (to pay for all that stuff you couldn’t really afford when you didn’t have the extra cash) ?

The Notebook: Seriously, how have I not seen this movie until now? What a great movie. I’d watch it again right now if I could. Great great great great great movie. Does anyone have any comment on the book? Is it worth reading?

Reading List: I’ve been trying to read like crazy this summer. I’ve completed several books, but mostly I just keep adding to the list. I’m currently reading The Other Boelyn girl, and I’ve read some other great books as well. When I can get a decent list together I’ll share them with a recommendation to the folks in the hizzous. Is that how you spell that?

Procreation: I swear that everyone has had a baby this summer. Or found out that their having a baby. Or has practiced making babies all summer. Its been fun going to baby showers (and hosting one!) and fun laughing at all the games and seeing the happy mothers, but man, I’m ready. We’re not going to have a baby for awhile (if we’re blessed with one at all) but I am just ready now. I know that I won’t get to live my free-wheeling rock and roll lifestyle once we have a baby, and I’m totally ok with that. Mircea is ok with it, but he’s not like super excited about it. I’m not sure Mircea is super excited about anything but football, so I’m not offended.

Th-th-th-th-that’s all folks!!

The Wedding Website is Up!

As much as I wanted to get our own domain I decided to just host the wedding website on a blog and make it easy on myself. Easy it was!

Come see all the fun (ok, it's still a work in progress)

My New Friends

My friend Katie and I have been talking for months about how we want to get bettas from Petco and have them at our desks at work. Well, we finally did it yesterday and although I had a great plan for a vase with a plant growing out of the top, I fell in love with two fish at the store and I was stuck with the divider option. Yes, that's right, instead of giving one beloved fish a great home, I decided to give two fish a studio apartment adjacent to their worst enemy. Let the fun begin!

I couldn't help myself either. When I picked them up I told Katie "I am naming them Picard (Jean-Luc) and Riker (Will) from Star Trek: Next Generation" (you wanna fight about it?). And so the names stuck, even though there were other great duos to choose.

Aren't they cute in their crappy house?

Bacon, You Dirty Slut

I felt sort of risque using slut in the title, but decided, that I'm 29 years old and I can type what I want. Oh yeah, and if you don't like it...I'm sorry. :-) See, I can't really be risque without the guilt.

Back to bacon. I've made the decision to eat meat-but only for Romania. I did a lot of research and the places in Romania we are going to are FAR from veggie friendly. And who really wants to be the annoying American saying "i don't eat that"? Well, being the annoying american who asks their fiance to say "she doesn't eat that, yeah, I know, aren't all americans so damned picky?" So alas, I prep my belly. And yes, I said a prayer to all the animals, apologized and said that it's ok if you eat other humans to get back at me. Mean humans.

So basically I've had a Wendy's spicy chicken sandwich (awesome) and some bacon (really awesome). I am trying to keep a positive attitude about this because I really don't want to eat meat and have every intention of stopping the carnivorous frenzy when I return from the good land (not Milwaukee-come on, 10 points to anyone who gets the reference). I'm trying to eat one meaty meal a week and so far I've really just been eating the bacon. I can hear myself getting fatter on that, but it's the only meat I even like at this point. So we'll see.

Yeah I know, boring post, but just as some don't like to talk about their flair, I don't like to talk about my meat.

On a side note, I'm babysitting Mircea's mom's feral kitten. He's a wildman but I think they'll tame him if I can convince them to stop letting him use their hands as toys. A little tough love never hurt a kitten (and by tough I mean ignoring him or using a spray bottle, not actually tough). Cute kitty and I'll post pictures of him later.