Email 3 lost friends-COMPLETE!

On Friday at work, while I had nothing to do, I decided to email a few friends who I have been neglecting to send emails to. So the first on my list, Bob from my last job. I just updated him on my life and then found out that a person we both use to work with retired. He is enjoying having him gone, but not the ringing phones. The second person was Kathleen another former coworker, whom I've neglected through out the year. I found out that Kathleen and her family are doing great, although they did have a bout with danger and carbon mixode poison. She was having a contractor come in a replace all her smoke and carbon mixode detectors. And the last person I emailed was Melinda. Although I had just spoken to her on Tuesday after I sent her a package for the baby. Yup, Melinda never returned my email, but later on Friday I got two short lived phone calls from her. On the third call I finally answered it (I was at work, not allowed to get personal calls there!). She was calling to tell me her water broke and that she was having the baby. Yup, a new baby was about to make her debut to the world. Miss Madelyn Belle was born on 12/7/07 weighing in at 4 lbs and 4 oz. Although she was 8 weeks early, she is doing wonderful. The doctors are watching her in the NI CU and told Mom and Dad that they could bring her home in 3 to 4 weeks. When I spoke with Melinda I told her maybe she will make an early departure and come home on Christmas. Now wouldn't that be great! Okay, so I've decided to stay in touch with all of these people, so I can be updated on their lives and they can be on mine!

Fondue that!

So after many months of the fondue book sitting on our book shelve Tim and I decided to make two recipes from the book last night. We even invited Laura and BJ over to dinner. They also have a fondue pot, so we thought we try a dinner of some sort. So Tim and I made Cheddar Cheese and Beer Fondue, BJ and Laura made Crab fondue and for dessert we made Chocolate and butterscotch fondue. All so very yummy. All of us having left overs and feeling very full.

The first part of the evening we did the cheese and crab and then let our belly's have a break. Played "Loaded Questions" which Tim won and then had the chocolate fondue, which we dipped, Granny smith applies, banana's, angel food cake, and marshmallow's.

Here are the recipes for both the Cheese and Chocolate fondues.

Cheddar Cheese and Beer Fondue

60z Monterey Jack Cheese, Shredded
4oz Gruyere Cheese, Shredded
4oz Sharp processed cheddar cheese, grated
1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup lager beer, at room temperature
1 tsp dry mustard

We add a little bit extra of the Gruyere, Monterrey jack cheese. I would also recommend using less beer, maybe 3/4 cup, because our cheese was a tad bit runny.

Now for the best part. The chocolate fondue:

Chocolate Butterscotch Fondue

8oz chocolate chips
8oz butterscotch chips
2 tbsp half-and-half cream
1 tbsp Kahlua or other liqueur
1/2 cup of chopped nuts

Okay, so we added both 12 oz bag of chocolate and butterscotch. We also had to add more half and half. And instead of cashews, we added pecans. It was delish and we definitely filled our belly's.

Much cheaper then going to the melting pot. So we have decided to do a fondue party in January/ or February with a few more friends and pots. Stay turned for more news!

We have new Trim!

It's offical! The Trim on our front window has finally been replaced. After a year and half of knowing about it and not doing anything we have finally had the trim replaced and repaired. Tim was home today when the Contractor and his carpenter came by to fix our problem. I am happy to say that it didn't break the bank. Thankfully considering the time of year and all! I will post a picture later tonight when I get home.

We have a new puppy!

Last Sunday Tim and I went to PA to pick up our new puppy. Roscoe is a six month old 50lb border Collie mix. He has been with us for 3 days now and gets along so great with Josie. Him and Josie run around the house, wrestle with each other and just love each other company. Today is the first day that both dogs will have to be separated for 8 hours. Roscoe is still a puppy and will be spending most of his day sleeping inside his crate. Josie the princess that she is, gets to spend her days sleeping in the kitchen. I can't wait to post some pictures of them in the snow tonight. Although, Roscoe does have a vet visit this evening. Poor guy!

Here are a few pictures with Josie and Roscoe!

Puppy Update!

We think we may have found ourselves a new puppy. We have working with RAP for a few weeks now, running to Delaware and now PA to meet potential puppies. On Sunday, Tim, Josie and I headed up to Philly to check out Roscoe. Roscoe is a 6 month old, 55lb, Border Collie mix who just loved Josie. They played for a good 45 minutes, before we just had to seperate them to give them both a break. We ended up having a great time and really loved him that we are proceeding with the next step in the process. On Tuesday, Katie a volunteer with RAP will be coming out to do a home visit. We should know within a few days if and when Roscoe will be coming home.

Another one complete!

It's official I have gone 9 days without coffee. Okay, I did slip this morning and grabbed Starbucks before heading to work. But I had to be here at the butt crack of dawn, so I needed a little bit of jolt. Then again, I think I may have to cut coffee again for the next 2 weeks. I going to keep trying increase each week by another few weeks, until I cut it all together. I will update everyone with my progress.

Coffee, dogs and windows oh my!

So where should I start! I like to update everyone of my progress to my blog. As for coffee today is day four with no coffee intake. I posted a comment on the Baltimore message board about giving up coffee and I got some great advice from the ladies. First off I am going try and work out every morning, then drink a cold glass of water and eat breakfast and hopefully that would help me my urges for Coffee. For those cold mornings I have substitute my coffee for hot chocolate.

Last Sunday Tim, Josie and I took a trip to Wilmington, DE to check out Sawyer (see previous post for link!). We arrived in Wilmington around 2p.m. and we were able to meet Sawyer for the first time. He was really on the small size. Maybe 30 lbs. Josie is almost 70lbs so it was kind of hilarious watching them play. Sawyer could walk underneath Josie. For the first 30 minutes Josie just smelled her way through the house. I believe about 20 minutes before we decided to leave Josie finally woke up and meet Sawyer. Sawyer and Josie started playing and growling and my heart sank. I knew right there, that Sawyer would not be good match for our family. For one he is small. We wanted a dog that is equal size of Josie give or take some lbs. Plus I felt that the growling was a major problem. Josie doesn't growl, she is the biggest lover we know. So our search continues. We are going to still try and work with this rescue.

As for Friday, December 7Th our front trim on the window will finally be repaired. It's only been about a year and half that we have known about this problem. It's only been about 3 weeks since I contracted a few contractors. And finally I got a reasonable quote. Work should start on the 7Th, unless we get a blizzard in Maryland. Hopefully I will be on my way to checking a few things off my list!

Coffee and dogs!

COFFEE is an evil evil word! I've been fighting my urges for over 5 years now. I can't exactly tell you when I feel in love with it, but I can tell you that as a child, I hated the smell and taste of instant coffee. Maybe that's the key word here, INSTANT! I hate that stuff! I hate the taste. So bitter. While I was growing up my grandparents drank instant decaf coffee every morning. I never once wanted a sip of their coffee, nor could I stomach being around people who smelled of coffee breath, but now something has changed. I like to pinpoint my addiction to a certain friendship. It all began about 5 or so years ago. I just meet this awesome friend, we will call her Jen! Jen would invite me to Starbucks and bam I became addicted! Yup, instantly addicted to all that sugar and coffee. Well Jen and I don't participate in our weekly visit to Starbucks, but I still have horrible urges for coffee at least twice a week. I swear they have put something in it. I tell my darling husband that there is crack in their coffee. He doesn't believe me! BUT if you ever had Starbucks, you will see and taste the differences between instant, plain, decaf. I would never recommend going to starbucks for a decaf, plain latte. What's the point? Spending $2.00 on a plain coffee when you can buy a can of instant in the local grocery store for $2.00 that will last weeks if you allow it. So I been trying to kick the habit. I swear to myself that this will be the week. I won't go to Starbucks, I am going to cut back, but every week, I find myself at Starbucks ordered my usually, Grande White Mocha! UGH! I wish there was a support group for STARBUCKS USERS! Does anyone have any idea how I can break the habit?? My mid section would thank you! My husband would probably thank you even more. Umm $4.26 each week for a months adds up. It's sad! I am thinking if I could give up Starbucks for a month that I may be able to kick the habit altogether, or at least only purchase it once a month. I could seriously save a lot.

On another note Tim and I in the process of adopting another dog. Sammi are current foster pup is leaving on Sunday. Yes, his parents are coming home from the War. Although I don't they are going to recognize him. He is very fluffy, not so white anymore (Although I swear I been giving him baths everytime we come home from the dog park!). His attitude has changed as well. He is move vocal on walks, he will park at passing dogs. YUP, I think he learned it all from Josie. They are definately rubbing off on each other. Just the other day, I came home from work, Tim already home, dogs out of the kitchen. I found two dogs, racing around the living room. Yes, 10lb Sammi was weaving in and out of Josie's legs. So freaking hillarious! I am serious we never taught him how to do that. He also does this paw thing, same thing that Josie does. Or how about Josie and Sammi fighting for my attention. I am not even awake most mornings. Tim leaves for work at 530 a.m. I am still peacefully sleeping and dogs are fighting for my attention or I should say body warmth. When I do finally get up I find every morning that I have two dogs snuggled up in bed with me. It's quite adorable if you ask me. I love have snuggling dogs near me!

So back to the story at hand. We are in the process of adopting a six month old Lab/beagle mix. Sawyer is his name, and he looks a lot like Josie. Please see Picture of Josie above. Now see link to Sawyer. Please disregard incorrect information. Sawyer has been living with his foster Mom, Lisa for 2 months. He is six months old and neutered. Which is great! So we are hoping that in the next few weeks we will able to go and visit him. I hope that the dogs get along great! I will update you on adoption process.

A few more have been checked off...

So after a month or so of creating yummy new dinner each week I have completed #46 & #47. Each week I have subjected Tim to eating a few new dinner recipe. At least each time he gave me his honest opinion. I believe his favorite recipes were Creamy chicken alfredo with brocoli and the Baked Ziti. Last friday Chris and Amanda came over and sampled the Baked Ziti. I found out that both of them loved it. It was quite easy to make and I have to say this recipe that I stole from another girls cooking blog online was delish. This recipe will be added to my recipes cards. Ahh the cards that I received from my bridal shower, the cards that I must write on, the cards that are sitting in my living room, with about 30 stakes of paper filled with recipes that need to converted to each card. I must get on that task.

Several weekends ago Tim and I went to see a Maryland game with his brother Steve and wife Rena. The last game that we went to Maryland lost to Virgina in an upsetting comeback victory for VA. We were very disappointed with the team. SERIOUSLY how can one team put up all those points and then blow the lead?? A good question, a question that many football fans ask every week! The last game that we will be attending is the Boston College game on November 10th. Although when Tim and I decided to purchase these tickets we knew it was going to be a good game. Although I think now we realize that this game may be another blow out. Boston College is ranked #2 in the Country. Good for the ACC, but bad for Maryland. Maryland's defensive needs to come to the game willing to play. We have a better QB this year then we have in past years and this kid wants to win. So come on boys, we need you there and we need you to WIN! Okay, there's my words of encouragement for the November 10th game! GO TERPS!

#46 & Continuing I swear...

I really am continuing my "ONE NEW RECIPE A WEEK". Although I was getting a little nervous because I almost forgot that I needed to make something new last week. The problem that occurred was that last week we didn't go grocery shopping. Well meat non-existent in our house. But by Thursday night Tim and I knew that Saturday was a day to tailgate and watch some football. And I was in charge of dessert. So I found a recipe on http://www.allrecipes.com which seemed easy enough to make the night before. I had a lot of fun making EASY APPLE CRISP! It turned out delish and I even got some raves from my father-in-law. I promise that I am going to email my friends with the recipe. Here is the recipe http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Apple-Crisp/Detail.aspx for those of you that may be interested.

This weeks new recipe is Baked Ziti. I am excited because I love anything pasta. I'll let you know how everything turned out next week. Here is that recipe as well...

Baked Ziti
(Source: Amber's Delectable Delights)

Ingredients:1 box (16 oz) Ziti pasta1 jar spaghetti sauce1/2 lb ground beef1/2 lb pork sausageSalt, black pepper, garlic, red pepper flakes (all to taste)12 oz cottage cheese (or ricotta if you prefer)1/2 cup (4 oz) mozzarella cheese1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese8 slices provolone cheese

Directions:- Preheat oven to 350 and grease the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 casserole dish.- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, season water with salt, boil pasta till al dente; drain and set aside.- Meanwhile brown sausage and ground beef in skillet and season with desired amounts of salt, black pepper, garlic and red pepper flakes. Drain excess grease away from meats and return back to skillet. Add the jar of spaghetti sauce and let simmer until you are ready to assemble the dish.- Place enough sauce mixture on the bottom of the pan so the noodles won't stick. Then assemble the rest of the dish- half of the cooked noodles, all of the cottage cheese, 4 slices of provolone cheese, 1/2 of the remaining sauce, remaining noodles, half of the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, remaining sauce, remaining cheese.- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Let set 10 minutes to cool before serving

#77 Fix front window

After many months of procastinating on when to send in the paper work to the HOA to fix the front window. Tim and I were cited yesterday to repair our front window trim. The letter stated that we had two weeks to reply to the letter or would be fined $50.00 each day that we didn't response. What a load of crap. Tim and I walk Josie daily around the neighborhood and have noticed a lot of people with rotting window trim. So I guess the whole neighborhood will be repairing their windows this fall. This letter is now pushing us to get to finally get it fixed. All we need is approval from the HOA and then work can begin.

#75 Introduce Josie to Jack! (Completed)

Late yesterday afternoon I received an email from Megan wanting to know if Josie, Sammi and I went to come up to the dog park and play. Usually I am the plan all girl- way in advance, but I was happy that I finally did something just out of the blue. So I called Megan and we scheduled a time to meet at REBEL dog Park. I arrived home around 4:45, let Josie and Sammi out, changed my clothes. Packed their water bottles, a bowl, and put their harness on. We arrived at the park at the same time as Jack and Jordan. Jack is a yellow lab and his new sister is Jordan, a lab mix. Josie immediately warmed to Jack. Jordan on the other hand she being the timidate girl that she is, was a little standoffish. Sammi enjoyed peeing on everything and exploring the huge park. Jordan was content by checking out the noises coming from afar. The first pictures is of Megan and Jordan. The second picture is of Sammi, Jack and Josie in the distance checking out the new dog. The new dog Caine was a three year old pittie, his daddy decided it was cooler to not pick up his pooh. Even though Signs at the park, ask that you pick up their waste and they even supply a bag for you. Seriously, if you can't pick up after your own animal you shouldn't have one. Oh sorry I just went over on a tangent there, but I seriously feel that this part dog ownership and responsiblity! The last picture is of Jack and Josie playing with one Stick. There were several sticks at the Dog Park, but no they had to play with this one! Josie loves to play TUG-A-WAR! I am sure it was a bigger challenge to play with Jack then with Sammi. Okay, sit back and imagine... Josie (70lb dog) and Sammi (10lb dog) playing TUG-A-WAR with the same rope. Who do you think is going win?? Most of the time it's Josie, but on rare occassions it's SAMMI!

#52 Have game night w/Friends (completed)

Last friday night Tim and I invited Chris and Amanda over for dinner and game night. We started off the evening with hamburgers and light conversation. Which lead us into two games. The first game was Loaded Questions, which tends to cause people to laugh their heads. Although I think this time around, Amanda and Chris knew each other a little to well and got all of their answer and ours correct, by just randomly guessing. The concept of this game is to guess what the other people wrote, there are no wrong or right answers. Although players are suppose to be honest. With that being said, I am thinking that Amanda and Chris practiced before hand. Kidding. The second game was Taboo... I suck at this game. I really do hate it. I usually over anaylze stuff, but with this game, you don't have time to analyze you just play. Haha. Again Tim and I lost. So it has been decided to have a monthly game night with a few other couples to make our friday night a little less boring!

Another yummy creation!

So this week started out like most of the others... work was sucking, no energy and the pantry was low. So on Tuesday I had Tim stop by the store to do my shopping. What a good boy! He called a few times with some questions as to the location of certain items i.e. chicken stock and shortening! On this weeks menu I thought Creamy Chicken Alfredo pasta with brocolli. So last night while Tim was outside cutting our grass I decided to start hashing out my plan for the new recipe of the week. I will say this by far the best recipe! I may have to stop going to the Olive Garden for my alfredo fixes. I found this recipe on www.allrecipes.com Please check this recipe out!

Creamy Chicken With Pasta and Broccoli
PREP TIME
15 Min
COOK TIME
20 Min
READY IN
35 Min


INGREDIENTS
1 pound uncooked spaghetti
1 pound broccoli florets
1 tablespoon margarine
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into strips
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup water
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, cubed and softened
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place spaghetti in the pot, and cook 4 minutes. Mix in the broccoli florets. Continue cooking 4 to 6 minutes, until spaghetti is al dente. Drain, and transfer to a large bowl.
Melt the margarine in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the chicken and onion 5 minutes, until chicken juices run clear and onions are tender.
In a bowl, whisk together the soup, milk, water, and cream cheese until smooth. Stir into the skillet with the chicken and onion, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer 5 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Toss in the bowl with the spaghetti and broccoli to serve.

Once again I emailed Heather, Rachel and my cousin Sandra with the recipe and my RAVE! The only thing that I might of done differently was start cooking the chicken before the noodles. The noodles were done way before the chicken. Also I added a tad bit more grated parm cheese. I added that to the pasta and broccoli while the sauce was thinken up.

I also found a recipe for Pumpkin cookies on allrecipes, but I have yet to make those! So maybe next week I will make that. You never know what I may try and cook!

#72 Become Redskin Fan for one day! (Completed!)

On Sunday, October 7, 2007 Tim and I spent the morning driving down to DC to do some tailgating and then watch the Redskin Game. The tickets I purchased from a guy I use to work with at the County. They were awesome seat! End Zone, Row 21, Seats 25 and 26. I decided a few days before the game to get a shirt to wear. Well we headed over to Modell's at Arundel Mills and found the PERFECT SHIRT! It was pink( to support breast cancer!) so I purchased it. I did however get a few rude comments about my shirt. I gave a few dirty looks, but most importantly enjoyed the game with my darling Hubby! Redskin won 34-3, we probably spent over $250.00 for the three and half hours of excitement but it was all worth it. Tonight I will upload the picture of the two of us at the game!

#47 Email friends with new recipes

Obviously this goal will have to continue for at least one whole month before it's complete. This week I have decided to email Heather, Rachel and my cousin Sandra with my new creations. Once they get an idea of which recipes they like, I would like to hope that they do the same thing in return. Email me new recipes that they have experimented with.

Because I slacked last week... I will be sending out one email with 4 different recipes.

#46 continued...

So after a horrible week last week, meatloaf was the hit of the week. I did not get a chance to make the chicken enchiladena's until Friday night. I spend a good hour preparing the chicken and cassarole. I personally didn't like it, but Tim said he did. Here is the chicken enchilada recipe...


Chicken Enchilada Casserole II
Submitted By: Anya
*****
Read Reviews (264) Rate/Review this recipe
Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 Minutes
Ready In: 1 Hour
Yields: 12 servings "Strata of tortillas, chicken, cheese and a hot salsa-bean-sour cream mixture make a robust entree."

Photo by: MRSKJS
INGREDIENTS:
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
1 (16 ounce) jar salsa
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup diced onion
1 (8 ounce) can chili beans, drained
6 (12 inch) flour tortillas, cut into strips
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cooked and shredded
4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large bowl, mix sour cream, salsa, cream of chicken soup, onion and chili beans.
Layer the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish with 1/3 tortilla strips. Top with 1/3 chicken, 1/3 sour cream mixture and 1/3 Cheddar cheese. Repeat layering with remaining ingredients.
Bake in the preheated oven 20 to 30 minutes, or until golden and bubbly. Let stand about 10 minutes, or as long as you can stand it!!! You're done!

The hit of the week was the Meat loaf which I also found on Allrecipes.com. Here is that recipe if your interested!

Easy Meatloaf
Submitted By: Janet Caldwell
*****
Read Reviews (263) Rate/Review this recipe
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour
Ready In: 1 Hour 10 Minutes
Yields: 8 servings "No-fail meatloaf calls for ground beef, onions, egg, milk, and bread. It is topped with a mix of brown sugar, mustard, and ketchup before baking."

Photo by: SunFlower
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 egg
1 onion, chopped
1 cup milk
1 cup dried bread crumbs (I used itlian cheese bread crumbs!)
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
1/3 cup ketchup
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large bowl, combine the beef, egg, onion, milk and bread OR cracker crumbs. Season with salt and pepper to taste and place in a lightly greased 5x9 inch loaf pan, OR form into a loaf and place in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish.
In a separate small bowl, combine the brown sugar, mustard and ketchup. Mix well and pour over the meatloaf.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour. (It seemed to take about and hour and half!)

I think the only thing we would change next time is the topping for the meat loaf. We didn't care for the brown sugar, mustard and ketchup topping. Next time I will probably use tomato sauce or ketchup.

For this week we have decided on one new dinner recipe and possibly a dessert item...

Teriyaki Turkey Burgers

Here is the recipe for that...

Teriyaki Turkey Burgers
1 cup bread crumbs
1 can pineapple rings, drained, 1/4 cup of juice reserved
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 lb lean ground turkey
Teriyaki sauce for basting
Sesame or whole wheat hamburger rolls

In a bowl combine the breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup of juice from canned pineapple and the soy sauce. Crumble turkey into bowl and mix well. Shape turkey into four patties. Grill over medium heat 10-15 minutes, brushing occasionally with teriyaki sauce. Towards the end of grilling, add pineapple rings to grill and grill 1-2 minutes per side. Pineapple can also be brushed with the teriyaki sauce - it's good with and without the sauce! Place burgers on buns and top with a slice of grilled pineapple.

And the final expertiment of the week is...

Almost-like-Starbucks Pumpkin Cream cheese Muffins

Almost-Like-Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

3 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground cloves (I omitted)
4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Pinch of cardamom (optional) (I omitted)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups canned pumpkin
1 ¼ cups vegetable oil
8 oz package cream cheese*
Chopped nuts** (walnuts, pecans) (optional - I made some with pecans and some plain)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix ingredients together except cream cheese and nuts. Fill muffin tins (greased or paper cups) half full. Put 1-2 tsp cream cheese in the middle, pressing down. Sprinkle with 1 tsp chopped nuts. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the muffin part (do not touch the cream cheese!). Let cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove to racks to cool completely. Do not touch the cream cheese until it cools, as it is very very hot.

Makes 24 muffins.

*The best cream cheese to use is the cheesecake flavored kind (I used plain). Put the entire tub or brick on a piece of tin foil, and shape it into a long log. Put it in the freezer while you mix and fill the pans, up to an hour. Unwrap and cut with a sharp knife. If the disks are too big around, cut thick slices and then cut them in half. This keeps the cream cheese in one big lump, and also lets you push it down into the batter.

**Starbucks uses chopped pumpkin seeds, which are very good if you can find them. I like walnuts, but any kind of nuts work well.

#46-Make one new meal each week...

I have offically started to make one new meal each week. This week September 24-September 30 I will make two new dishes. One being meat loaf, which I will take on tonight and the second will be chicken enchilades in the Crockpot. I have found some awesome recipes from my girls on the nest and from Allrecipes.com. I can't wait to dish out the recipes and let everyone know how yummy they are. Oh and Tim will be the taster for all of these new dishes.

# 17, # 32 and #74 Completed

I've been slacking on updating my list, but here is a short summary that I have been working hard on the LIST! Last week I finally decided to download all my pictures from my laptop (#17) and send them to Shutterfly.com to have them printed. Not only did I want to have the pictures in my hand, but I am going to a Scrapbooking party at the end of the month I wanted to have a few to make a page with. Also I decided to show off my pictures to my mother. She snagged some of the pictures for her own collection. Being the nice daughter that I am, I even had a few wedding pictures printed for her, so she can place around her new place. She will be surprised on September 22nd with a photobook of mine and Tim's wedding. Now with that said... Tim and I also hung all of the wedding frames that we received from our wedding around the house. We also finally decided to decorate the living room. We recieved our last package last night in the mail. A seven piece mirror set that will go over top of the piano.

And for those who think we spend all of our hard work on our house, we don't. We do entertain Josie our puppy. On Saturday, August 25th, Tim and I meet Baxter and his mama up at he Ma & Pa Dog Park for a good hour of running. We mainly spend the time under a tree due to the extreme heat. Josie had fun, it was much better then getting peed on... yes the night before we took her to the dog park and a bunch of dogs came over to meet and greet her, and one just decided to pee on her! NOT COOL! So Josie looked saturday's visit, just a tad bit more!

#2 and # 24 Completed 8/31-9/3/07

This past weekend Tim and I along with 21 other people traveled up to Ohiopyle, PA for a three day weekend trip to Tall Oaks Campgr0und and to go white water rafting. Tim and I left Linda's house on Friday at 2:50 p.m. and thought "yeah we should arrive around 6 or so!". Well that wasnt the case. Everyone and their mother was on the roads on Friday night. It took us about 4 and half hours to get up to PA, when it should of only taken us 3 and half hours. So you can say we arrived very tired, and agrue with the way the traffic. We had about 30 minutes of light before we would be setting up in the dark. Friday night, I wasn't feeling so well, so we made dinner and kind of just sat around. Saturday we enjoyed most of the day, by eating, sleeping and drinking. There was a beer pong and poker for all.

Sunday morning arrived and everyone was either tired and cold from the nights air. We hurried along, got into our bathing suits and headed for the white water site. We found out later, that Jessica are leader and planner had lied to everyone and told us we had to be at the WWR place at 10, when in reality it was 1030. We arrived at 10:10. So we had twenty minutes to kill. Everyone was really excited about the whole trip. We finally were assigned a raft and were shoed into them by the White Water Adventure staff. We learned how to do a forward paddle and backwards paddle. Our trip began when our leader and tour guide Chris joined our raft. He showed us where to sit with Jon and Jason the biggest headed toward the front. Holly and Beata in the middle and Tim and I are in the back. We carried our raft and paddles to the water edge where we would launch into the water. Yup, that meant walking out in the cold water and hoping in raft. Chris showed us how he wanted us to work together and we did just that. We spend about 5 hours on the water. We had awesome time with a few victims taking a plunge into the water. Tim and I have decided that it would be awesome to do it again, but not at a catogory 5 but at a 3.

# 49 Donate Clothes- Complete

Early last week I decided to finally finish cleaning out my closets. It was really sad to see me toss some of the clothes that I so cherished through my 20's into the white trash bag. Although I am sure Tim was happy to see that I was scarficing some of my old clothes to make room for new ones. I did however donate my clothes no to the goodwill or Salvation Army, but to a family friend. I have yet to see the smile on the young girl face when she finds out she more clothes go through, but I heard it's priceless! That is my goal to put smiles on people's faces!

#31-Dust Shot Glass Collection!-Complete!

I know it seems that I am really lazy when I need a list to tell me to dust my own shot glass collection. The problem is that shot glass collection is in one of the other small bedrooms, which I harder ever go into. So finally on Saturday, August 25, 2007 I did just that. Not only did I dust the collection, but I dust the entire house.

#22 Clean out Closet-Complete

Last night I decided to finish cleaning out the closet of old and small clothes. This is probably my 4th bag of clothes that I have pulled from the closet. Tim was impressed because we now have lots of room for this clothes and more "new ones". I have decided to see if anyone's kids want my clothes and if not then I will probably give them to goodwill. Yes I do have a good struck in me to help those less fortunate then me.

#62 & #63 Completed

So after spent an entire hour swimming through paper after papers on the downstairs desk, we decided to clean off the desk and file all bills/ letters/ and more bills into their appriopriate places. It probably only took us about an hour to get everything in piles and into their folders, but it took us no time to create the piles. (hopefully I can keep the desk cleaned!)

Changing # 24.

I have decided to change # 24 to state- Go camping with friends in PA.
(Side note: Only 3 more changes will allowed to be made to the List!)

#100 Update Resume and have friend proofread (Complete)

After many emails back and forth to Becky I finally got around to emailing my resume to her. She proofread it and made a few changes. Hopefully with that done I will receive more emails stating "PLEASE COME IN FOR INTERVIEW!".

Thanks Becky!

#93 Visit St.Louis Cardinals Stadium (complete)

On Monday, August 6, 2007 Tim and I were able to attend for the first time a baseball game at the new Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO. The Cards were playing the Padres with a smaller crowd then normal due to having the time of the game changed for national TV viewing. Our seats where in the club level of the stadium, which were awesome. We were able to go inside and eat, cool off from the hot temperature and get a few drinks. Here is a picture of Tim and I before the game started.

The Cards put on a great show for us, they ended up scoring 10 runs in one inning, breaking a record of some sort and winning the game 10-3. GO CARDS!

#57 Overcome fears of public speaking (Complete)

On Monday, August 13, 2007 I put into a sticky situation at work where I had to inform incoming patients into one of our properties that the building was closed due to an power outage. At first I was uncomfortable, being that I have been shy for the longest time. But after an hour of speaking to over 20 people, I became comfortable in my own skin. I am just hoping that after a few more "sticky, embrassing situations" I will more likely to speak when needed.

# 3 Visit Grandmother and Grandfather in Law (COMPLETED WEEK OF AUGUST 4-11, 2007) & # 4 Visit Arch in St. Louis.

Tim and I decided back in March of 2007 that we were going to visit his grandparents in St. Louis, so on Saturday, August 4th we boarded a plane to St. Louis to do just that. We arrived in St. Louis around 1p.m. and picked up our rental car at an off site location. We headed to downtown St. Louis for two nights to celebrate our anniversary. We stayed at the Renanissce Hotel off of 800 Washington Avenue. On the first day we visit the Arch (The gateway to the West!). Also walked around LaCleade's Landing exploring some speciality shops. While we waited for our tour to the top of the arch we did a riverboat tour, which was kind of depressing, but the view of the Arch was amazing. Once inside the Arch we road in a TRAM to top, where we got some more awesome shots of the City.

We spent the rest of the week with Tim's extended family visiting the St. Louis Zoo, Botonical Gardens, Anesheur-Busch Brewery Tour, City Muesum and his even his relatives house in the evening. It was awesome week, which we enjoyed tredemously.

Changing: 93. Visit St. Louis Cardinals wearing O's gear

I have decided to modify # 93 because wearing O's gear to Cardinals stadium is just weird, when you think about it. Now if the O's were playing at the stadium, I would be gunho about it, but otherwise I would just feel weird. So # 93 will now state, visit St. Louis Cardinals Stadium.

# 35 & #87 Complete

This past weekend were super busy for Tim and I. Tim worked most of the weekend trying to provide some extra dough for our trip to St. Louis! Per a request from my Mother in Law, Norma, we scheduled a fun evening with the group (Rena, Steve, Mike (FIL), Norma (MIL) and Tim and I) at Toby's Dinner theater in Columbia, MD. The play featured "Little Shops of Horrors" and because of where our table was places, both Mike and I were part of the show. I became plant food for Audrey II. It was a fun filled evening, with lots of laugh, and some yummy ice cream!

Later on in the weekend (Sunday) Tim and I visited my unlce and my mother. My uncle invited us out to his house, where we enjoyed steamed crabs, some yummy food and jet skis. Tim and my uncle spend about an hour on the water, while my mother and I caughted up. It was a nice weekend! We returned home on Sunday evening completely exhausted from the weekend travels.

# 5 Buy Curtains for Spare Bedrooms- Complete 7/25/07

So after being in our townhouse for a year now, we have finally gotten the curtains for the other two bedrooms. We purchased the curtains (one white- for the small room) and (rust- the other spare room) from JcPenny's. Tim worked really hard last night while I entertained the dog. Yup, Josie decided to destroy one of the many stuffed animals that we have left. Within 5 minutes the little pink dinosaur has been destuffed and turned inside out. Yummy, a mess! I may try and post pictures later!

Here are the rooms with the new curtains. The small spare bedroom has another addition as well. A new comforter set. I love Ty Pennington! He rocks!

#70 Send Baby new gift- Complete

Okay so I didn't really send the baby a new gift, but I did give two gifts away. First gift was for Treith C. Mr. Treith is four months old and we were so happy to finally meet the little man. Tim, Rachel, Treith and I all meet up at starbucks for his first outing with the Shylanski's. Tim took to Treith very well. After purchasing our drinks we headed to my aunt's house in Severn, MD, for some pictures and gift time. We were very happy that we got to spend some quality time with both mom and son.

On Saturday, July 14 we presented our gift to a sleeping Carly, she on the other hand was to worn out from a day of partying. From being dressed up in her little yellow dress to playing with her grandfather. We didn't really get a picture of Mom opening up the gift, but the gift entailed two little onesies and two adorable skirt/shorts.

And by the end of the day of visiting with all the babies, I kind of now have a the baby itch going on. Hehe!

#81-Closing Checking Account!

I am really late on this one, but back on June 27th I finally closed my credit union account. After 7 months of no activity in the account I finally did. I really hated to even stepping foot inside the credit union. Everytime I go in there to change my name or close out the direct deposit, I seemed to get an ear full of crap. So on Wednesday I finally decided enough is enough. I stood my ground and closed it. For one the account not easily accessible. There are no location in my neck of the woods and I dont like doing cash back at a "Target or Walmart" like the employees suggested I do at the Credit Union. I finally took my money and ran!

# 30- Completed!

I can't beleive that I actually did someone on the list without having to think about it. On Sunday Tim and I were cleaning up the house after another long weekend of entertaining friends. The house was smelling like crabs and I personally wanted to just sleep all day, but I decided the housework needed to be done. So while Tim cleaning off the sofa's of the horrible "JOSIE HAIR", I decided to clean the bookshelves and just throw away all of mine and Tim's college textbooks. Okay so probably 4 years ago I would of keep them, but seriously what was the point? They were just taking up space? Not because I thought I was going to look at them again. NO NEVER! So they went out yesterday with the trash.

#28-Visit Havre De Grace

On July 3rd Tim and I went up to Havre De Grace to watch the fireworks with some friends. We arrived around 8 to find no parking. Most of the neighborhoods had no parking signs posted everywhere. By chance we came across this community/health center. We parked there along with 20 other cars. We figured if we get towed, they would all get towed as well. We ventured down to the waterfront to find a very lame traveling cranival set up. We seriously got wiped off by these people. But they were making the money. For 30 tickets it cost us $27.00. All four of us rode two rides each. Most the rides cost between $3.00 and $4.00 dollars. Tim and I rode on the bummer cars. I believe that this older man was just aiming for my car the entire time. Seriously I was wearing a low cut shirt and I swear he was trying to take a peek. After the rides we found our yellow blanket and settled in for some fireworks. For a small town Harve De Grace put on a nice show. After the fireworks we vowed to return to the area for a nice dinner by the water.

#23- Get Professional Masage and Facial-Completed

Last Saturday (June 30, 2007) my aunt and I enjoyed ourselves at The Spa on the Avenue. We were both look forwarded to our morning at the spa. This was our frist time at this spa. Back oh about 5 years ago, while visiting family in South Carolina, my Cousin Sandy took my aunt and I to the school of massage in Greenville, SC. We enjoyed our $25.00 massages there. A few years ago I gave Linda a gift card for a day spa in Columbia. On Valentine's day this year, my lovely husband gave me a gift card for the Spa at the Avenue. I decided for my aun't birthday that I would get her a gift card. I really wanted to experience the spa with someone. We both had a great massage. I was a little pissed off about my facial. I explained to the girl that I had roseaca, yes a nicely skin condition that makes your face look blotchy and red. The girl taking care of me keep trying to tell me that I didn't have roseaca. "UMM yes I do". Finished result, I left the spa with a red face!
But all in all, Linda and I had a wonderful time being pampered. (Now If I could only figure out how to get my husband to go to spa!! Ladies would you like to give me some advice?)

Completed #11-Buy new Jane Green Book

I am not completely sure why I am even buying new books, because if you know me, you seen my house. You seen the bookshelf filled with so many books. I should consider becoming a librarian. I seriously spend either to much time reading or in the library. Maybe that will be my next career move!

#10- Finish reading "Shopaholic and Baby".

On June 28, 2007 I finally finished reading "Shopaholic and Baby". I will say that this book is probably the best read so far out of all of the Shopaholic Series. Thanks to Jen Mook to getting me hooked on Sophie Kinsella. Onto my next read! I just started reading "Second Chances" by Jane Green.