Very interesting..

I have always said that soda, regular or diet, is not good for you... Here is why.

Sour end to an amazing weekend

As you have been reading this week, last weekend was amazing. Simply amazing. Beautiful weather, sweet music & great friends... But during my drive home, something made it not so great... See the picture below.
I was traveling West on the Turnpike, just about 30 feet from paying my ticket and the old guy in the lane to my right decide to switch lanes without looking. Here are the good things. We were not going fast, and no one was hurt. But man, I don't have time for things like this. His green mini SUV scraped my car from the back passenger door the end of my car. Awesome. I called the highway patrol & they sited the old man for inattentive driving. I think the thing that erks me the most is he never asked if I was ok or apologized for anything. After we got out of our cars I asked if he was ok and he reply was "Yes, I have to call my brother and let him know I will be late." I was thinking, yeah you do that b/c I am calling the police. So I am in the process of getting it all fixed up. My insurance agent is great, another thing that I found out during all of this. Love those silver linings!

Continuation of my weekend

Saturday while Erin was at work, I baked... And baked... And baked...

Here is the macaroni & cheese recipe that I finally swindled out of one of my assistants at work. It was so good that I got 2 marriage proposals at the party I took it to.
Red Velvets...

All dressed up with cream cheese frosting and ready to go!

Cookie dough cupcakes...

I tried a new frosting technique. It is cute I suppose.

The start of a weekend to remember

I got to leave work early on Friday so I could get on the road and meet up with my good friend Erin and head to the O.A.R. concert. O.A.R. is my favorite band. I love, love, LOVE them! It was at the Starlight Theater. A beautiful outdoor venue. We were a little concerned about the weather b/c there was a threat of storms. It did rain briefly which was great b/c it cooled everything off and made the evening that much more enjoyable.

As we were walking up to the gate, we were approached to see if we wanted a yellow wristband... that would upgrade us to VIP seating! As we walked in we were asked to donate a dollar and take a spin on some wheel that had various prizes. I won an O.A.R. t-shirt & Erin got to put her name in a drawing for backstage passes. She did not win, but we both had a blast. Here are some pictures.

The opening act - Citizen Cope. They were great!
And the timer... This was new!

We were about 10 seats back. Marc's voice sounded amazing.

And Jerry... Wow. I think he stole the show! At once point he jumped in the crowd and kept playing!

We are 2 very happy girls!

Loved all the different lights

Here was the night's playlist:

City on Down

Conquering Fools

Dareh Meyod

One Shot

The Wanderer

About an Hour Ago

So Moved On

The Town

Mr. Moon

About Mr. Brown

Shattered (Turn The Car Around)

That Was a Crazy Game of Poker

Love and Memories

Delicate Few

Over and Over

Lay Down

52-50

Class

On Thursday I had my good friend Ellen over for our weekly wine education :) This was the bottle we started off with. It pretty much summed up both of our days.
Then we made a pizza to cook on the grill... It got a little out of hand.

I was afraid I may drop it getting it off the grill.

Can you guess?

Can you guess where I am tonight???

Today is the day!

Today is the day... It has been 2 years since we last met... I can't wait!!

How cool would this be!?

Undercover Karaoke with Jewel from Jewel

oh the bubbly...

Last night I attended a wine tasting class at Harry's Uptown. It was an absolute blast... Although this morning I am left a little fuzzy headed, but it was worth it. Harry's brought in a wine distributor from the KC area called Handcrafted Wines. The brought 5 amazing champagnes from the Duval-Leroy winery and a representative who is from France even!

The h'orderves were wonderful and the company was even better! Here is me, Dina, Arthur (the Duval-Leroy Rep) and Lori.
Can't pass up a French kiss! :)

Cookies!

Yesterday was a full day filled with coffee with a friend, gym, yoga, baking & champagne! What a great day it was! I just wish I wouldn't have had that last glass of bubbly... My grandma is in the rehabilitation hospital in Manhattan and the nurses taking care of her are wonderful so I decided to bake cookies and treat all of them. I also delivered them to my dentist office and my stylist. I think they were a hit with everyone. I did have a few last night, kind of ashamed of it, but boy were they worth every calorie! You can find my recipe here.

Family Filled Weekend

This weekend my family came up to visit. This time it was not to really visit me, but my grandma who has been in the hospital for about 2 months. She fell and broke her pelvis and has yet to recover. They moved her from the rehab hospital in Topeka to one here in Manhattan. Her a few of her sisters lives here and other family members so hopefully she will be able to have more frequent visitors. She is VERY weak and tired. Please say a prayer that she gets her strength back soon.

As an added bonus for my parents visiting they brought me a few more pieces of furniture for my house. And to top it off they helped me rehang pictures & move furniture.

Here is the living room set up now. Wednesday I will be getting a new love seat so it will need to be rearranged again. The wall behind the sofa is blank b/c I am hoping to get a hole cut out in it soon to make it more open between the living room & kitchen.
Feels so much more cozy

My Uncle Tim & Aunt Deb came into town from South Dakota & my Uncle Kelly from across town came over for dinner last night. I think the brothers had a ball catching up. And well everyone enjoyed grilled pork tenderloin, roasted potatoes, my famous green beans & cooked carrots. For dessert we have fruit pizza. I have a feeling my Uncle Kelly will be over more now :)

New favorite!

Don't get me wrong, I love Manhattan, but I wish we could get a few more interesting & forward thinking restaurants like the one in Lawrence called Local Burger that I fell in love with over the weekend. I tried it Saturday on my way to Kansas City and had it again on my way back from KC on Monday, yes it is THAT good!

Here is the descripton on their website: "Local Burger is leading the evolution of fast food with fresh, organic, local, and sustainable fare that is free of unnatural additives and preservatives. At Local Burger, we consider the special diet, the environment, the economy, animal welfare, and the health of everyone who eats our food. At Local Burger, you'll always know where your food came from and exactly what's in it. Try it, you'll like it!" And LIKE it I did!

While I was there they had a card telling about a guy who ate nothing but Local Burger for 30 days. The change in his health was unbelievable. Here is the article.
___________________________

Fresh-food dieter eats his way to health

Thirty days of fresh food can do a body good.

At least, that's what worked for 29-year-old Daniel Fisher.

On Jan. 25, the self-proclaimed fast-food junkie quit his habit, replacing chain restaurants with Lawrence's Local Burger. The downtown restaurant specializes in locally grown, organic meats and produce.

"I've lost 23 or 24 pounds, and I can feel it. I feel great," Fisher said. "I have a lot more energy than I used to."

Local Burger's owner, Hilary Brown, recruited Fisher for the project, which she calls "Localize Me," a play on "Super Size Me," a movie in which the filmmaker eats only McDonald's fast food for a month.

"He was wonderful about sticking to the program and just being committed to this journey," Brown said.

That journey was to eat only Local Burger, three meals a day, for an entire month. At first, Fisher worried the healthy fare would not satisfy his super-sized appetite.

"I thought I was going to starve to death eating little tiny portions, but I had a lot of food to eat," Fisher said.

Brown taught him not to eat less, but better.

"I think it's time for people to be aware of what they're eating," Brown said. "It doesn't have to taste bad to be healthy, and it doesn't have to be fat-free to be healthy."

When Fisher went in for his final lab results Monday, his physician was surprised by the results. Not only had Fisher's weight dropped from 295 to 272 pounds, but his cholesterol level plummeted from 285 to 166.

"I couldn't imagine that someone could change their diet and in 30 days could drop their cholesterol that much," Dr. David Dunlap said.

In addition, Fisher's blood pressure, heart rate and blood sugar levels decreased.

"I guess I just want people to know you can change the quality of the food you're eating, and that you can change your health dramatically in a very short amount of time," Brown said.

But Fisher isn't ready to call it quits just yet. He hopes to get down to 200 pounds. Because he didn't cheat during the first 30 days, he knows he has the willpower to do it. To keep him on track, Brown offered him 50 percent off her menu prices until he reaches that goal.

"We've taken the first steps. I just have to keep it going," he said.

________________________

So if you are in Lawrence stop by and try it out. You will NOT be disappointed.

Tag... You're It!

My friend Amber has tagged me on her blog. So here are my responses.

1. What’s your staple meal (ie. what meal do you cook most often when you can’t be bothered to be adventurous)?
If you follow my blog you will know that I love to cook. I find that I do not do it as often as I would like due to the fact that 3 nights a week I get home after 7 b/c of work or being at the gym so I want to have something to eat FAST! But one staple that I may is Spaghetti Pie. It lasts me for days and is even better the next day.

• brown 1 lb beef or turkey, add 1 jar of spaghetti sauce and set aside (my favorite sauce is vodka sauce)
• boil 1 package spaghetti noodles, drain. Mix in 1 egg & 1 cup Parmesan cheese
• place noodle mixture in 9 x 13 pan and top with meat sauce. Add mozzarella cheese on top if desired. Cook at 350 for 10-15, or until bubbly.
  

2. What do you want to be when you grow up?
I guess I am living the dream... I always knew I wanted to be in the medical field, always admired my Aunt Lora, MD :) And Optometry fit my love for helping others, science, math & fashion. My next adventure that I dream of taking on is being a wife and mommy...

3. What book are you reading at the moment (if any)?
I have taken up reading more since I finished school. I just finished "Sarah's Key" and I highly recommend it. Now I am reading "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner" by Stephanie Meyer. Here is some trivia for you. I went to school with Stephanie's brother Seth. He too is an Optometrist. Next on my list is "Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang."

4. How do you relax?
Yoga, massage, pedicure, shopping.

5. What color are the interior walls of your home?
Most of my house is a straw color. My bedroom is platypus gray, and bathroom is light blue.

6. What is your guiltiest pleasure?
Hmmm... Good question. Probably eating salty foods & watching "The Real Housewives of... any season!"

7. What time is bedtime and getting up time?
Bedtime is normally around 10 or 11. Days that I work I am up by 6:15 and days that I do not I am up by 7:00. I love mornings so I hate to waste them in bed.

8. How long do you spend reading blogs (per day or per week)?
Maybe 30 min a day. Depending on how busy I am at work.

Now I would like to tag... Laura!

Salsa Saturday!

And just in time for the 4th of JuLy. Here is the salsa I made a few weeks ago. It was so yummy and refreshing. Would be great on chicken or fish.

*****Watermelon Fire & Ice Salsa*****

Ingredients

• 3 cups chopped watermelon
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon chopped green onions
• 1 tablespoon chopped jalapeno pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
  

Directions: In a large bowl, combine the watermelon, green bell pepper, lime juice, cilantro, green onions, jalapeno and garlic salt. Mix well and serve.