May 2010 Update

Recipes I Tried:
Last-Minute Lasagna
Grilled Chicken with Mint and Pine Nut Gremolata

Books I Read:
Sophie's Choice by William Styron
Roses Are Red by James Patterson

Items I Worked On:
#6. Do something with my mom (dinner, etc) twice a month while my dad is gone
#28. Travel to at least 4 different cities for weekend getaways
#38. Get together with friends at least once a month
#42. Send birthday cards to friends/immediate family in 2010
#67. Play all (22) Nancy Drew PC games (Currently playing White Wolf of Icicle Creek)
#87. Read all books in the “Alex Cross” series by James Patterson

Items I Completed:
#8. Bike the Grand Rounds
#17. Finish the yard
#98. Get a bike helmet

Ode to Tylenol PM

Millions of Americans struggle with addiction.
Most need help to stop.
This is Laura and Andrew's story.

Those are the words that flash across the screen at the beginning of every episode of A&E's Intervention. For the past five years, I've been living with my own horrible addiction.

I don't really even know how it got started but, after I met Andrew, I started popping Tylenol PM every night before bed. He did it, so I did it. And then it became routine; an hour before bed, we'd make the mad dash to the medicine cabinet to get our sleeping pills. It became something we needed, something we depended on, to fall asleep at night. We wanted to stop, but we had ourselves so convinced we were unable to sleep without it that quitting seemed impossible


And then, back in November, we decided it was time. And we haven't looked back since.


The first couple weeks were really hard. We spent many nights tossing and turning. We started sleeping in separate beds so we wouldn't hinder the others (in)ability to fall asleep. But eventually sleep came, and with it the encouragement that things would get better. So we kept trying.

And now, six months later, it's hard to believe there was ever a time when we need to take drugs to fall asleep. Sure, we still have nights here and there where we have a hard time falling asleep, but we've discovered that it won't be the end of the world if we miss an hour or two of sleep. I can fall asleep within about 15 minutes of going to bed and I wake up more refreshed than I did while sleeping under the influence.

A month or two ago, when I was cleaning out the linen closet, I came across the bottle of Tylenol PM. I held the bottle in my hand for a moment, remembering. And then I threw it in the trash. We don't have any need for it in our house anymore.

Grilled Chicken with Mint and Pine Nut Gremolata (Recipe #34)

Cover your basic grilled chicken with the zesty herb topping for an anything-but-average meal. It also works well over steak or fish.

The gremolata had wonderful flavor and really complemented the chicken. I served it with a Lipton Pasta side.

Grilled Chicken with Mint and Pine Nut Gremolata
(Source: MyRecipes)

Gremolata:
1 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Chicken:
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. To prepare gremolata, place mint, pine nuts, rind, and garlic in a mini chopper; process just until combined. Add 4 teaspoons olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt; process to combine. Set aside.

2. To prepare chicken, heat a large grill pan over medium-high heat. Brush 2 teaspoons olive oil evenly over chicken; sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan; cook 5 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; let stand 5 minutes. Serve gremolata with chicken.

Grand Rounds Scenic Byway

After outfitting ourselves with helmets, biking gloves, and shirts, we were set to accomplish #8 on the list: Bike the Grand Rounds.

The Grand Rounds Scenic Byway is a linked series of park areas in Minneapolis, Minnesota that takes a roughly circular path through the city. The corridors include roads for automobile traffic plus paths for pedestrians and bicycles, and extend slightly into neighboring cities. About 50 miles (80 km) of roadway is in the system, and much of it was built in the 1930s as part of Civilian Conservation Corps projects. There are seven districts along the byway and we biked five of them:

Minnehaha
Mississippi River
Downtown River Front
Theodore Wirth
Chain of Lakes

The ride was approximately 30 miles and took us just under 2 1/2 hours. We would have completed it in 2 hours if we didn't get stopped at every light going through downtown and then gotten confused about where to go after we left downtown. We made it home about 30 minutes before the thunderstorms rolled through.

We even brought the little camera along and managed to snap a few pictures along the way:

First stop: Minnehaha Falls


Minnehaha Falls


Me at the Falls



Andrew at the Falls


Trying to get a shot of the Ordway behind us.


Praying those sprinklers don't turn on closer to me.

All-in-all, it was a really great experience and I can't wait to do it again in the very near future.

Protecting our Noggins

When I had mentioned helmets to Andrew before, he kind of scoffed at the idea. It didn't suprise me, coming from the guy who doesn't where his seat belt in the car (don't even get me started on that).

So, when he suggested getting helmets before our big ride tomorrow, I was a little flabbergasted. Excited, but flabergasted. When I asked him what changed his mind, he said he realized it would probably be a good idea when we go on longer rides or when we're biking on lots of busy city streets.

So, after spending almost an hour at the bike store, we walked out with brand new helmets. I really wanted this blue/silver/white helmet, but it wasn't in my size. I ended up with the one pictured below. It's cute, but totally not me.

My Backyard Oasis

Okay, that's a little over the top but our yard is really starting to look nice. Here's a little run through of the yard and what we've done this spring:

Andrew rebuilt this planter last summer and planted these Hyrangea bushes. This year we dug up all the old woodchips and laid fresh ones. The bushes are finally starting to look good. We were a little worried about how they would do after having 6 feet of snow piled up on them all winter, but they seem to be bouncing back. We should have flowers on them in no time.



After our success last year, we decided to plant more vegetables this year. We planted green beans and green onions again this year, as well as serano & jalepeno peppers, spinach & arugula, and basil & cilantro (in the window boxes).

The spinach and arugula are doing great this year. Last year the bunnies ate our spinach before it even started really growing, but this year we broke down and put up the ugly fence. So far, so good.

The beans are sprouting like crazy. Last year we had beans coming out of our ears all summer long, so we planted fewer plants this year.


The green onions are sprouting (they look like grass right now) and should do just fine.

Looks like third time might be the charm with the peppers. After unsuccessfully starting them in the house early this spring., I replanted seeds when they could safetly be outside. Well, we got a cold snap the weekend we were heading out of town, so I brought them in the house before we left. When we came home, well...I'll let the picture speak for itself:

Thanks, Lucky! That was really fun to come home to!


So, I planted them a third time and we have some sprouts. I need to remember to water them more frequently or they will wilt and die.


The basil and cilantro are officially dead. They get too much sun and not enough water and I haven't been able to get thtem past teeny tiny sprouts.

We purchased a topsy-turvey this year and, as you can see, our tomato plant is going nuts! We already have three tomatos growing with the promise of many more!


(Hastas)

This area used to be rocks, with lots of weeds! Andrew dug up all the rocks, planted these nice hastas, and finished with woodchips.

The ground around the lilac bushes used to be just dirt ,weeds, and grass. After laying woodchips and planting lilies, it looks infinately nicer.

Quite possibly my favorite part of the yard. These were planted prior to our purchasing the house (lucky me!), so other than adding woodchips and buying a few more plant wire supports (those plants get droopy when they flower!) we haven't had to do much.



And that's our backyard.

Last-Minute Lasagna (Recipe #33)

I made this meal last night for dinner and Andrew and I both agreed it was really good. The best part is that the layered ravioli have all the cheesy deliciousness of real lasagna, minus the lengthy prep work. I'll admit I didn't use any exact measurements while making this dish. I also used normal sized ravioli layered in a 8x8 baking dish (32 raviolis total). Oh, and the leftovers today were just as good. :)

Last-Minute Lasagna

(Source: Real Simple)

1 26-ounce jar pasta sauce

2 30-ounce bags frozen large cheese ravioli, unthawed

1 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess water

1 8-ounce bag shredded mozzarella

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1. Heat oven to 350° F. Coat a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with cooking spray and spoon in a third of the sauce.

2. Arrange 12 ravioli on top and scatter the spinach over them. Top with half of each cheese. Cover with another layer of ravioli and the remaining sauce and cheese.

3. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes. Uncover and bake 5 to 10 minutes more or until bubbly.

Happy Mother's Day!

Since we had a pretty busy weekend, Andrew and I decided it would be easiest to just visit our respective mothers today instead of trying to make a big production out of things. I spent the afternoon watching the Twins Game, eating DQ, and just enjoying the company of my mom. As soon as the weather gets nicer (it seems to have taken a cold and rainy turn), my mom and I will head out to the Arboretum to walk around and view the pretty flowers.

Wine Night, Take 2

Since we hosted last time, it was Mel and Adam's turn. I enjoyed hosting last time, even though it was a lot of work, mostly because I got to get quite tipsy since we didn't have to drive home. I was quite a bit more reserved this time around since I am always the DD (what can I say, I'm a nice wife).

The night started off with bread, cheese, and grapes. We had a wonderful dinner (stuffed chicken breasts, risotto, and green beans) with equally wonderful conversation. The evening ended on a musical note by listening to the boys butcher songs us girls didn't know.

Mystic Lake Casino

I heart Joel McHale.

He is a comedian and the star/writer/producer of E!’s The Soup, which satirizes pop culture and current events, and also stars in the hit comedy Community on NBC.

We saw his show last year (story about that at the end of this post) and had a fantastic time. So, when we heard he was coming back, we made sure we got tickets right away. Since the show was down at Mystic Lake Casino, we decided to make a night of it.

We took off work early on Friday so we could try to beat some of the rush hour traffic. After checking in and getting settled in the room, we went down to the casino for some gambling fun. Andrew prefers to play blackjack while I enjoy playing video poker, so we split up and reconvened a little later for dinner at the buffet.

After dinner, we went back up to the room to relax a little while before the show. I got hooked on Wife Swap, so Andrew went down to the casino again for a bit.

The show was...fantastic. We remembered some of the material from the previous show, but there was definitely new material thrown in there too.

After the show we spent a little more time in the casino, then went back to the room and went to bed. All-in-all, it was a fun little getaway.

Oh, except that we came home to this:

(insert photo here)

Okay, so onto the story from the first show we went to...

We decided to go to the show at the last minute, so we didn’t have great seats and we had to go to the 10 o’clock show (there was also a show at 8). Since the first show started late, we had to wait in the lobbyuntil they got out and I made friends with the security guard.

After the show, Joel was down signing autographs. I bought a shirt and, after fighting off annoying drunk girls, got an autograph and my photo taken with him. I was incomplete heaven that night.

Unfortunately I somehow lost my shirt on the way back to the car and I didn’t realize it until we’d already left the parking ramp. I frantically searched the car and could. not. find. it. Shit. I convinced Andrew to go back and let me look for it. I searched around where the car was parked and inside in the hallway but didn’t see it. I retraced my steps back into the skyway...and found it! I must have dropped it after peering out at the new Twins stadium when I was putting on my mittens. I was so relieved to have found it and I must have clutched it to my chest for the entire car ride home.

Happy Birthday Lindsay!

"Have a buttload of fun on your birthday!"

Secret of the Scarlet Hand

Plot
Nancy lands an internship in Washington D.C. as a deputy curator for a small museum. Despite her intentions to get their newly placed exhibit off the ground for its grand opening, things go downhill fast. If the museum's most prized acquisition being stolen isn't bad enough, Nancy must find the thief and help the exhibit reach its opening. To do this, she must explore a centuries' old secret centered around a monolith and delve into the life of Maya culture.

I think this is an excellent plot. I like how there was no mystery before Nancy came, but then she dives into adventure to find out what happened. It kept me interested and it didn't seem like it was too far out.

Characters
The characters were interesting and beliveable. They each had well-defined, yet realistic personalities and traits. They were dynamic and had depth to them. They were real--yet not plain at all.

Setting/Graphics
The graphics in this game have improved; They're still stiff, but more realistic than ever.

The museum and its garden were beautiful! The graphics were so great, the artifacts looked very real! Although the scenery in Beech Hill was excellent, the few other places that you could go were pretty drab. That's okay though, you really don't spend a great deal of time in the other places.

Difficulty/Length
Since you're technically interning, there will be a list of tasks for you to do to keep busy. The difficulty isn't too bad so that won't be a problem. As the case gets more complicated however, you'll have to do a bit more problem solving on your own by reading notes, asking questions, and exploring the museum. The exhibits are the main key to the majority of the puzzles so I would suggest reading everything and anything, then keeping notes on it since it will prove useful as you advance in the game.

"Scare Factor"
It is a bit... spooky. Not scary at all.

History
No game I've ever played (that goes beyond this series) have I gotten more out of than Secret of the Scarlet hand. I could actually give a whole lecture on the Mayan king Pacal right now! It's worth buying for this alone.

Final Verdict
It is one of the more educational of the Nancy Drew series since its theme is heavily influenced by Maya culture. I certainly enjoyed learning a lot of facts I had never known about the Maya before. The confrontation requires quick thinking, which I also liked.