February Date Night a.k.a Valentine's Day

I don't really like Valentine's Day, it just feel so forced. I love the Hubs, but I tell him that all the time. But regardless of my thoughts on Valentine's Day it is fun to celebrate and do something special you otherwise wouldn't.

This day started off right...

with flowers.
He even made sure the florist added my favorite calla lilies in there. Such a good Hubs.

I love getting dressed up


And of course...


I am pretty sure my shoes freaked out some of the patrons and waitstaff at the restaurant that was really conservative, but sometimes a girl just has to have a little fun.

And finnally off for a romantic dinner (well if we weren't sitting so close to others...LOL)

February's Vegetable of The Month

#9 - Try one new vegetable a month

February's vegetable of the month... bok choy

Over the years I have found myself picking the bok choy out of my chinese food, and claiming not to really like it. But since this is the year for trying things, I decided to give it a go.

Since the only way I have ever had bok choy is in Chinese food, we used it in a stirfry that also had beef, red peppers, and shitake mushrooms. It came out really yummy.

But now I have extra bok choy, and have to find some other way to make it. Suggestions?

It's almost Valentine's Day....

...time to break out the red high heels!

Number 13, here I come...

Non-Fiction Here I Come... sort of...

#10 - Read more Non-Fiction

So this started out as a joke. You see, when I was asked by a friend of mine what I have been reading lately, all I could muster as an answer was "young adult vampire novels... 4 different series". Ok, so time to stop the teen vamps, and look for some grown-up books. The plan is to read 1 book every two months.

Here are my first two selections:

Why did I decide to start the non-fiction event off with two political memoirs? Well, reading about Politics is pretty much the same as reading fiction, so I figured it would help me ease into the realm of unfamiliar.

I am taking suggestions on other non-fiction to read... please send along any ideas via comment!

January Recap

1. Learn to ballroom dance - Not yet, have to call the studio
2. Walk a 5k for a good cause - Looking for one in May, but haven't signed up yet
3. Clean out the closets in my house (4) - Yeah right!
4. Have an official date night with The Hubs at least 1x a month - January Done!
5. Take vocal lessons - nope.
6. Go to Eucharistic Adoration at least once a month - Went twice, have a lot to prayer for
7. Reconnect with at least one old friend - Working on this one!
8. Have my old photos (the really old ones) scanned - have to gather them all together first, this probably be after I clean out the closets.
9. Try one new vegetable a month - January Done!
10. Read more non-fiction (at least 6 books this year) - First 2 picked out!
11. Continue to blog funny or interesting photos - Well, I got one...
12. Stop drinking Drink Less Starbucks - changed this to drink less, I had a hard time giving up Caramel Macchiatos, especially on the weekend! So now it is a weekend only treat.
13. Make more whoopie - No comment. Why did I put this on here again?
14.Learn to use my Adobe Photoshop Software - Maybe in February I'll pick up the book I got.
15. Cancel ALL All but one of my magazine subscriptions - Changed my mind - keeping my Weight Watchers Magazine.. good tips, good recipes - And Oh yeah, I cancelled all of my other subscriptions! DONE!
16. Live in the moment - Trying!
17. Volunteer with RESOLVE - have a suppport group month picked out and ready to co-lead witha friend.
18. Organize and keep my desk clean - Well it went from piled high, to just piled.. Almost there!
19. Get caught up on my scrapbooks - Scrapping Trip/Weekend planned for the last weekend of February, expect a big dent at that point.
20. Use my home gym regularly (4x per week) - Um...
21. Visit my grandmother more - still have to work on this. In my defense everyone in her house was sick
22. Try Bikram Yoga - not yet.
23. Try one new recipe a month - January Done!
24. Use our pool at least 2x per month during the summer - On hold, given it is 30 degrees out.
25. Visit at least 3 CT State parks - figure this will be a summer thing
26.Lose 20 pounds - slow and steady wins the race...
27. Recycle my old magazines - Officially recycled 3 stacks of magazines in January.
28. Plan an amazing 5th Anniversary for the Hubs - plans are in the works..
29. Learn how to use my StoryBook Plus software - Just added this one... so I need some more time.
30.
31.
32.

Still have 3 more slots.... I am taking any and all ideas!!

January Date Night

#4 Have an official date night with The Hubs at least 1x per month

So our first attempt at date night failed miserably. After a banter of "what do you want to do?" "I dunno, what do you want to do?", I convinced the Hubs that we needed to go to Kohls to spend of gift certificates and get him some new dress shoes. Yeah, let's just say that wasn't totally a romantic date night, and somehow the poor Hubs was relegated to watching me shop for work clothes. He lovingly acted happy, but seriously what man wants to shop for fun? Not my hubby.

Date night take 2 - We went to see the movie "Up In The Air"


We were originally intrigued by the idea that American played a large part in the movie, and the Hubs being Executive Platinum, wanted to see how they were portayed. I love George Clooney, so how could I say no? And was surprised to see that my hotel brand of choice was also prominently featured.

It turned out that as depressing as the story line was and as much as I wanted to kill the Alex character, the message about the importance of the relationships in your life really hit home. But I can't for the life of me see why the movie is nominated for so many Oscars.

After the movie we went to dinner. Where? Couldn't tell you. We eat out at least once a week, and I really just have no idea. Sad I know.

But all in all date night was a success, and here's to seeing what we come up with for February...

January's New Recipe

#23 - Try one new recipe a month

To be honest, we try new recipes all the time in my house, because The Hubs and I love to cook. And since I am lucky enough that he works from home, he does a lot of our cooking.

In January, we tried a recipe from Cooking Light called "Fettuccine with Shrimp and Portobellos", it was quick easy, and really tasty.