Music Mondays

Today was a fabulous day. Back to work/normal after a very "eventful" weekend. Only worked a half day, and then I was treated to mani-pedi by my oh so fabulous husband! Love him. Now I am home, in pajamas, snuggled up on the couch and waiting for the rain to come down. Yes again, but dont worry my friends just thunderstorms this time. On cloudy days, or good weather days, or lazy days, or really any day, I love to listen to some really good music. So I came up with the idea of Music Mondays.

Today I bring you one of my most favorite songs of all time. For lots of reasons that are close to my heart.

Presented is Brooklyn by Wakey Wakey



I hope you love it as much as I do...

Birthday lists

Since I was such a trooper through Hurricane Irene, not even complaining when we were without power for 36 hours, I think that I deserve lots of birthday treats! I mean it's only fair :0) So I thought I should give out my list early, just so people can plan accordingly.

My birthday list:

- Aveda Comforting Tea Bags
- Aveda Calming Composition
- Target Giftcards
- Gap Giftcards
- American Eagle Lightweight Hoodie in Aqua size medium
- Modcloth Casual Get Together Dress size small
http://www.modcloth.com/Modcloth/Womens/Dresses/-Casual-Get-Together-Dress

That's it ladies and gents. Hope everyone fared really well from the storm this weekend!

Xoxo

Bring on the Rain

That bitch Hurricane Irene is making her entrance into the area. We are already getting pelted with strong winds and rain, and the hurricane hasnt even reached us yet. Keep your fingers and toes crossed that they over-exaggerated the severity of what would hit us. I'm really not a fan of being without power, let alone for longer than a few hours. I pre-cooked a few things and we have some snacks, so hopefully the power will only be out for a short period of time (or better yet not go out at all).

They already canceled school for Monday, can you believe that? It's insane. I mean we dont even know how bad this thing will be, and to be honest our area tends to blow things wayyy out of proportion.

Also, my husband is still sleeping. Its starting to make me mad. I'm sitting by myself weathering this freaking storm, and he is upstairs sound asleep. He truly could sleep through the end of the world. UGH!

An Earthquake? For real?

Thats right people, VA had its very own earthquake today. It was crazy! The whole house was shaking and I could see the other houses moving through the window. Honestly, at first I thought my mind was playing a crazy trick on me! I mean who has heard of an earthquake in Virginia? Not me thats for sure. Apparently it was a pretty moderate size too at 5.8.

And one natural disaster leads to another, because we have a hurricane set to hit us this weekend. I currently have my amazing hubs at Target gathering supplies, so we're prepared of course. Fingers crossed that Irene doesnt cause too much damage!

Hello World

I have not disappeared, been sucked into a black hole, or forgotten the blogging world. I've simply been enjoying two weeks of vacation before the big girl world starts for me. I soon begin my last semester of school  before I get my Masters degree! Needless to say, it's going to be an extremely busy semester for me. Stephen and I are in for quite the ride, but we're very excited. Married life is still blissful, but does require lots of communication so it's a good thing that Stephen is my favorite person in the world to talk to!  Nothing extremely eventful has happened for us lately, mostly lots of cuddling and good cooking. We're also doing so serious work on the house. My very handy husband just finished painting our bedroom and it looks fantastic! I'll be sure to post pictures as soon as we upgrade our bedding.

I leave you with our favorite recipe from the week:

Chicken Gyros
Ingredients:
For the tzatziki sauce:
16 oz. plain yogurt (not nonfat, if possible)
1/2 hothouse cucumber or 1 regular cucumber, peeled and seeded
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press (or finely minced)
1 tsp. white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped dill

For the chicken:
4 cloves garlic, smashed
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping tbsp. plain yogurt
1 tbsp. dried oregano
Salt and pepper
1 1/4 lbs. chicken pieces (I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts)

To assemble:
Pita bread
Fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced
Red onion, sliced thin

Directions:
To make the tzatziki sauce, strain the yogurt using cheesecloth over a bowl. Let strain for several hours or overnight, if possible, to remove as much moisture as possible.

Shred the cucumber. Wrap in a towel a squeeze to remove as much water as possible. Mix together the strained yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and lemon juice. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld.

To prepare the chicken, combine the garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, yogurt, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl. Whisk together until mixed well. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and mix well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Cook the chicken as desired, either in the skillet or with the broiler. (I butterflied the chicken breasts and then cooked them under the broiler.) Once the chicken is completely cooked through, transfer to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut into strips.

Heat pitas (I sprayed with some spray oil and then popped them in the toaster oven for a few minutes). Top with chicken, tzatziki sauce, diced tomatoes and sliced onions. Serve immediately.

I've got nothing

I've been a bad blogger, I know this, but honestly my creative/writing mojo is lost. I haven't thought of a single creative post as of recently. That's not to say that our lives have been excessively dull, because summer is always hoppin for our family. I just haven't really been inspired to write lately. So here are some things that have happened in our lives lately:
- My brother came to visit (and left yesterday)
-Christian turned 18 and we threw him a party at our house
-My nephew turned 3, and he's already a rockstar on the drums
-I'm totally over this heat
-We're going to DC this weekend, and I'm super excited about it
-Football season starts in approximately 7 days (well pre-season anyways), and my jersey is excited to come out of retirement
-My best friend/cousin/moh/partner in crime in amazing fabulous (what's a better word than amazing and fabulous? she's that)
-Phineas and Ferb is seriously one of the funniest kids shows I've ever seen.
-My husband is a genious
-I'm really ready for Fall
-I need a vacation

That about wraps it up. I'll try and find some inspiration, I promise.