Yummy Yummy in my Tummy

E spent the night last night, so we got up early to look for yardsales. There didn't end up being many yardsales, so we headed out to the grocery store to get food for dinner. On the menu:

HUGE crab cakes
home-made potato salad
coleslaw
fresh green beans
home-made banana pudding
fresh blueberries

YAY!

Hot for teacher!

Another teacher just stopped by to let me know that the boys in her 10th grade government class were discussing the "hot" teachers in school... and I made the list! Woo-hooooo! I've finally made it folks... the horny, pimply, 15-year-olds I teach are in love with me! What a life :-P

Jungleland

tonight in jungleland...

So as of last night, the "jungle" (as E calls it) resumed its place on my balcony. I finished the last of the planting, which included a hybrid cucumber plant. I'm super excited! Apparently it can grow in a container because its vines only get to be about 2 feet long. Double the excitement because that means I have to use my iron trellis! Woo-hoo! I'll add pictures tonight when I get home... it was too dark by the time I finished last night for a photo-shoot.

Recipe for Shredded Pork BBQ

For Liz G... :)

1. Spray inside of crock pot with Pam. Place 2 lbs. pork tenderloin in slow cooker.
2. Sprinkle meat with 1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder.
3. Add barbecue sauce (16 oz) and 1/2 cup chopped onions.
4. Mix lightly.
5. Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours.
6. Remove meat from cooker; shred with two forks.
7. Return meat to slow cooker and toss with barbecue sauce until well coated.
8. Heat through and serve!

Recipe serves 12.















From The Busy Mom's Slow Cooker Cookbook

Worst Movie Ever.

There are only two movies that I can say that I've ever walked out on. The first was The Thin Red Line. I was on a date years ago, and we hated it. So we walked out. The second was I am Legend. B and I were watching it together. In fact, he's still in the other room watching it on HBO. It was so stressful and depressing to me that I walked out, and here I am hiding in the other room watching a re-run of 90210 and blogging. Dang.

Memorial Day Weekend

Nothing much that's blog-worthy... I've been having a great weekend with B and friends. Friday night I watched "The Other Boleyn Sister" with the girls. Great story--I recommend the movie. B and I have gone on walks and bike rides. We cooked some pulled pork bbq and made potato salad for friends yesterday (both of which rocked). Today is the last day of bliss. I'm hoping to enjoy it, though I know I've got some major work to do for school. I hate working on weekends!

Hair Cut!

I FINALLY got my hair cut... and I love it. Ta-Da! :)

BRUUUUUCE!

Why was I out so late you ask?

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band were at the Verizon Center last night in DC, and B and I were there! Floor tickets, baby :)

My blog would be imcomplete, however, if I failed to tell you about the REAL drama that took place before the show. While having dinner at Rosa Mexicana's (seated on the patio) a girl-fight broke out in the street. One woman was on her back on the asphalt while the other pounded on top of her. The police came and broke things up. It was apparently the only action in the city because the initial cops were followed by a cop on a bike... a cop on a segway... a K-9 cop... a fire engine... and then an ambulance. Overkill, right? We watched the dog search the one woman's car (the one who had been on the ground). Three people ended up in cuffs... one for fighting and two for drugs. A fourth guy conveniently stepped out of the second car and left the scene. We are sure that as soon as he saw the dog sniffing the first car, he loaded up his pockets and rocked out of there. Smart guy. Interesting dinner!

Morning... ugh.

So you know how Garfield looks in every one of his "Monday Morning" strips? That's how I'm feeling today. I didn't go to sleep until 1am last night, and let me tell you, 5:30 came around reeeal early this morning. I escaped from school long enough to make a Starbucks run. Thank God.

Recipe for Rockin' Quiche

(from one of my co-workers... thanks Tracy!)

1. Put refrigerated pie crust in pie dish (do not pre-bake)
2. Mix the following ingredients in a bowl:
--4 eggs
--2 cups milk
--8oz shredded cheddar cheese
--salt & pepper
--dash of nutmeg
--fillers (I love adding sauteed onions, pre-cooked broccoli, and pre-cooked bacon)
3. Pour mixture into crust
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes
5. Let cool for ~10 minutes to set up

Yardsale!

I woke up around 7:30 this morning and thought I'd take advantage of my early start to go yardsaling. I drove all around my neighborhood and saw lots of stuff. It was all baby/kid stuff! Doesn't anyone get rid of "adult" stuff anymore? I spent two hours and $1.50. Woo!

What is that smell?!

So my nose was working over-time the other day when I walked into a "wall" of funk inside the stairwell to my building. It smelled as if something (or someONE) had died in there. That's when my over-active imagination kicked in. I seriously started considering whether one of my neighbors had died. There is a very elderly lady who lives alone on the first floor. Then there was the fact that B and I had heard some neighbors screaming at one another about their dogs. For all I knew they had gone and strangled the little, yippy things! Ok -- extreme -- I know. But I seriously entertained that thought until today when I saw the little pups running around outside. I haven't seen the elderly lady yet, but the smell is gone, so I guess she's ok, too.

Baltimore on Sunday

My excuses...

...for having abandoned my blog for so long!

-We had company last weekend
-I was helping my mom with her yardsale
-We took a tour of Baltimore
-I was busy cooking one rocking quiche
-B and I started taking hour-long walks after work
-I was finishing planting my balcony flowers

(and more I'm sure... but isn't that enough?)

Lizard Porn

Saturday I went home to visit with my mom and help her out with her yardsale. So did my sister and my brother. Leave it to my brother to notice the lizards "doing it" on the front porch. There was actual hip action, and let me tell you... they didn't mind the audience.

Green thumb (and yucky brown hands)

My accomplishments today:

They claim that it's Teacher Appreciation Week, but...

So, this week is teacher appreciation week, and so far we've gotten some pretty tacky gifts, including a "rulator." What is a rulator you ask? Why a calculator imbedded on a ruler... duh! Today we got a bag of un-popped popcorn with a pre-printed sticker that says "We're 'popping' with appreciation for you!"


My buddies took teacher-appreciation week to a whole new level of lameness. See below:

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Tonight B and I had a thematic dinner party for two!

"Rain, rain go away...

...unless you're going to find a way to come out of my showerhead."

I love how rain is better than any conditioner you can find at the store. Silky, smooth, and soft.

National Scrapbook Day!

When B and I had our wedding reception in 2007, I had a scrapbook to explain how we met and dated long-distance, how B applied and was accepted to a Master's program here, and finally how we were married in July. My in-laws loved that scrapbook so much, that I wanted to make one for them to remind them of their first trip here to visit us.

So, yesterday was awesome because I was finally able to finish their book (almost). I hung out with 3 friends (and 10 other women) and worked on my scrapbooks all day. Now all I need to do is write the stories for each page. The thing is, I'm relying on B to help me with translating all that into Portuguese for them, so it makes it rather convenient for me to procrastinate! I love making the scrapbook pages... I just don't like writing on them.

The thing is, I can't procrastinate much. We just found out yesterday that they're going to buy tickets to come visit us in July. Yay! B is super excited because we weren't expecting to see them again until Christmas. That would have meant that they hadn't seen each other for over a year.

All in all a good day! (here's one of my favorite pages)

Emergency Call

Remember how people used to joke about the Hallmark commercials (and how they always made people tear-up?) Well that's how I am with the On-Star radio commercials. Without fail, every time I hear those recordings of people calling for help and the operator comforting them, my eyes get all watery. It just happened to me on Friday when I was less than 5 minutes away from work. I had to fight off the tears so that I wouldn't go into work all red and puffy. I think the reason those calls always get me so much is that I had to call 911 myself once. Several years ago, my dad had a really bad fall and crawled into the house in bad shape. While my mom comforted him, I called for an ambulance. Now, every time I hear an On-Star commercial or see an ambulance going by with its lights and sirens on, I relive every step of that night.