Yummy!

I made a very scrumptulicious supper:

steamed spinach and I mixed in a little bit of feta cheese

a Panini: grilled onions, broccoli, munster cheese--all on Rye Bread...


This is going to be AWESOME!

(did I make you hungry yet?)

You can't bottle me up

Random Thoughts and Facts: The Mind of Me:

- I love the core of pineapple
- I love laughing so hard I cry
- I secretly enjoy movies that make me sob (not tear up..sob)
- I hate wonder bread
- It's a great feeling to be admired
- I hate cold weather.. especially when the inside of my nose freezes
- I am in love with my best friend... I am so lucky he loves me back
- I have the most amazing family
- I wish I was a top chef
- I want to make pasta
- There is something about Dog the Bounty Hunter that makes me watch it all the time
- The small things in life complete me
- I do not enjoy my cat head butting me.. it hurts.
- Even though I hate the cold.. I love being curled up under blankets with a cup of tea and a good book
- I wish I had Christina Agulara's voice
- Bejewled is an awfully addicting game
- Watching the cats chase a laser is incredibly entertaining
- I wonder why I stopped writing my book
- I dream of owning a cafe someday
- I enjoy peeling my grapes before I eat them
- A kiss on the forehead says a thousand I love you's
- It's amazing how many different ways you can make an amazing sammich
- I am in deep need of a massage
- I have under $1000 to completely pay off my hospital bill!
- I love being goofy and laughing till I cry with my favorites
- My mom gives the best hugs
- I'm in the mood to explore.
- I love law enforcement shows.


Ok.. now about California!!! It was so great seeing my family! Had lots of turkey... unfortunately didn't get any sun rays. I wish I had access to their farmers markets every weekend. I found my favorite snack: pumkin naan with eggplant pesto spread. Fresh crab is quite possibly the best family activity. My favorite part of the vacation was wandering Union Square: seeing the start of Christmas and enjoying a beautiful Indian cuisine..ending with a beautiful drive and some glasses of wine and cheese. I wish I could have spent more time with my family--it felt too short. I want to send a special thanks to my grandma and my parents who made it possible for me to go! Here are some pictures from our adventures. By the way.. family videos are the best.

Surfer Erin!


Playing scrabble

She's my mini me


A very talented bunch

A few of the girls

Some of the cousins

Some of the Denny Clan!


What a wonderful family that I am blessed to be a part of! <3>

Cutest Girl

Bobby sent me this picture of Claire tonight; and it just made my night! (She is snuggling the bunny I gave her) I'm praying I get to see you guys SOON!

Dog the Bounty Hunter

So Dog the Bounty Hunter may or may not be my secret (yet not so secret) favorite tv show... it is funny, has the crime parts, and is absolutely ridiculous! How can you not love it?!

Anyways.. that is what I am doing.. curled up on the futon under a fuzzy blanket.. watching dog. Thinking about the ice cream that is taunting me in the freezer.

Sadly I haven't had a chance to make my pickled cauliflower.. but I hope to get on that soon!

I decided.. I am not ready for winter... and no, I never will be.

If I had my very own hot tub--I may, just maybe, change my mind.

Last night was a pretty epic night--Mickey, Emily and I stayed up till midnight (oh my gosh.. midnight on a weekday..i know!!!!! crazy..) and what did we do??? PLAYED GUITAR HERO! We made it adult like with a lovely glass of wine! It was a blast...and I think we all needed a good night like that!

My brother was sweet enough to let me own my very first game system (his old PS2) and I am actually really excited about it haha..

I am craving these things right now: sushi, indian food, big juicy shrimp, and chocolate milk. odd combo..

I finally started making my way to the gym again--it was really hard to get there.. but I found a new routine that satisfies me and makes me want to keep going--so I hope this keeps up! Though I will say--shin splints are the worst. Can anyone tell me why men (men who think they are a lot more buff than they are) have to make noises like they're giving birth while lifting weights??? It'd be nice if they kept it to themselves because it is real distracting and I can only hide my laughter for so long.

I am so incredibly excited for SAN FRANCISCO! I will be there in exactly one week and I can hardly handle it... family, Thanksgiving, California, warmer weather, not Winona, family, good food, smiles, pictures, laughter, adventures, family... life is going to be good :)

Ahahaha.. this show is utterly ridiculous....and Dog does need to actually wear a shirt.

Good Luck and Good Night!

Saturday Saturday Saturday

Last night I went to my first bachelorette party! It was a ton of fun--I must say it has been forever and a day since I have spent an entire night with a large group of girls--it was intense at times because people were unfamiliar with one another and some have known each other for years; but things relaxed and people started to warm up to those they didn't know (which is an interesting process to watch). Overall, it was a great night and I am really happy I went. Congratulations Jenna!!! One more month!

To all of those hungers out there this weekend--BE SAFE!!!!!


I have one goal to accomplish this weekend--and that is to try my hand at canning. I am going to pickle cauliflower---if you have never had it..you're missing out (and clearly means you have not had any of my persian food before)

Have an excellent, and safe, weekend!!

What a beautiful Fall weekend

This weekend wasn't as calm as I had hoped--as I am still trying to beat whatever it is that is trying to attack my immune system--thanks to emergen-c and hot tea I am praying that it disappears into thin air! I also pray that Nate gets over whatever nasty cold he has--he is on two a days now until he passes his pt test--and I have so much faith that he can do it.. and I hope it's for himself...but his nasty cold is preventing him from running as well as he wishes.

We carved pumpkins in the kitchen on Saturday night and played some games.. the cats tried helping! It's interesting what people come up with... mullets, faces of all emotions, letters, all creative and perfect in each and every way. The conversation just enlightens the whole experience, followed by laughter, giggles, snapshots, pumpkin guts, and roasting some pumpkin seeds.

On Sunday we went on a beautiful walk to Latch Island (one of my absolute favorite places in Winona). We explored more than I had ever done in six years.. that was wonderful!

Monday morning was a rough one of goodbyes and back to work--rough day at work on top of that.

Today I went to a fabulous workshop in Rochester for work. I love these workshops and hope to continue being allowed to go to conferences to learn all that I can. They started the conference with a keynote speaker--whose name I am currently forgetting and it is driving me absolutely bonkers; I will have to look in my work book because I recommend that everyone listens to what he has to say -- I would absolutely love to hear him speak again. (Ow, the cat nipped me because I am paying more attention to typing than him!)

Anyways, it was wonderful.. the first workshop at the conference I choose to attend was about teamwork and the dysfunctions and how to overcome them--they gave me lots of ideas of how to make my workplace a better team and I am just the person to succeed--and I am determined to succeed. I have been overcoming the issue of getting some of my staff to see me in a new light... no longer just their peer but now their supervisor--it is a struggle that I will overcome.

We had a yummy lunch of sandwiches and salad.

The second workshop I went to was a more in depth view of Mental Illnesses. It was interesting--some of the illnesses I don't even work with but had similar characteristics to some of my clients; this intrigues me and made me think about different ways that I can attempt to improve my client's way of life. I do wish that we covered more information about Autism than we did--> when I signed up for it I was under the impression that the entire workshop was about Autism--but it wasn't. But that's ok, I still came out of it knowing more than I did before. I wish the speaker was a little more upbeat--she was a brilliant woman with lots of credentials but it was hard concentrating on what she was saying for four hours.. real monotone and quiet--I know we have all had professors like that and no matter how brilliant or how interesting the subject matter may be it is incredibly difficult to follow.

Afterwords I was able to meet up with my friend Makaela who currently lives in Austin for supper. We met at Hu Hot--if you've never been there, I highly suggest it (unless you have food allergies). You put all of your raw ingredients (tons of veggie and meat choices --even meat alternatives) and choose from a large display of sauces and give it to these chefs who cook it on this large, round flat grill right in front of you. Delish!!!! It is always nice to catch up with old friends. She is going to be moving to the twin cities at the end of the month and I wish her the best of luck! I actually met her through work--we worked together for about a year and a half until she moved back to Austin--we clicked instantly.

Well, I am now through half of a movie I got from Netflix (not sure the name) and I have noooo idea what's going on. Time to cozy up with Black Jack and hopefully fall asleep soon!


Until Next time!

Hello Fall!

Well, unfortunately I am not enjoying the beautiful day (which I wouldn't be able to do anyway) because I am home sick. Hopefully some rest will do me some good.

Update on the diet: I am doing well still. I was happy that going home didn't put me completely off track--I only gained one pound, and still down 4!!!

Going home this weekend is just what I needed. It was wonderful spending time with my family. I miss them already, but hopefully will be home in a few weeks to celebrate mom and Andrew's birthdays.

Happy Monday to all!

I Can Do It!!!

Well, I am determined. I am going to loose 10-15lbs. I figured the best way to make sure I stay on track is to blog about it (not that I expect anyone to follow-- it's the fact that they could be..).

I have started this "Carb Lovers Diet" --> It's actually pretty tasty (if you know me, I enjoy my carbs). The main part about it is to make sure I make healthier alternatives, even if it's the little things--and especially portion sizes. And I like to think I am an overall pretty healthy eater--I don't munch on junk food regularly, I hardly ever have sweets.. but just seeing the few changes in how I cook or which ingredient would be healthier has opened my eyes and I already notice myself being more alert to these options.

I started on Monday. I have eaten what they told me I could (and yes, I had a few bites of things I probably shouldn't have) BUT I am not going to completely tell myself I cannot have it, otherwise all I will want to do is have it!)

A big struggle for me has been work. I didn't do a whole lot of movement before work and then I work till 9:30pm where I don't get a whole lot of movement and sure enough I sure as heck don't want to go to the gym after work. So I've been getting up a bit earlier to do a two mile walk--and it has given me a lot more energy throughout the day. Another struggle has been eating with my clients; to change this, I have been bringing my own meals and eating that over whatever they are having

Well it has been 2 days--and as strange as it sounds, I already feel like I have more stamina. I do feel as if the higher fiber diet has been doing the trick. I clearly have not been eating the proper amount of fiber previously.

2 day and 2lbs. And that makes me confident. Another struggle I have, is I need to see progress...instantly--in whatever I do, especially when it comes to my body. And to already see some progress keeps me confident and keeps my motivation high!

Another exciting moment of my week-->I've been trying to find a pilates or yoga class around town, and naturally all of them are when I am at work or 5am (and I am not that motivated..). BUT a new dance studio is opening up and on Tuesdays and Thursdays they offer Pilates from 11:30am-12:30am which is perfect--and it's priced incredibly well! I hope to start this next week!!!!

Family Fun At The Fair!!

BUBBLES! Who doesn't love bubbles?

The end of the fair... relaxing by the all you can drink milk :)

Claire talking on my phone!

Wait.. is this my mom being techno-logic?!

Bob went on a long hard hunt for this pineapple..I will admit it was well worth it!

First bite of fair food--aka stick food!!

She wanted more food and animals!

telling daddy all about the cows! I love how animated she is!

I can't believe she kept those ears on long enough for a picture..it took quite a few tries, but well worth it!

Of course Auntie has to tell Claire all about the horses!

She found a way to see every animal we passed..

What a lovely tour guide.

So happy togetherrrr!

Sheep go..Baa?

Heart warming!

I love this shot! So precious!

This is my favorite shot!!!! Dear Bobby and Sara: Don't forget--I will drive up to babysit for freeeeeeeee! Anytime!!!

Havij Polo

Last week we threw a division picnic for work. It was tons of fun! For our house, I made Persian food--and tried a new recipe--> I am assuming it turned out beautifully seeing as I had no leftovers!

Ingredients:
4 cups rice (I use Basmati)
oil
4-6 large carrots
water
1lb chicken (I use chicken breasts--and I like more chicken so I used more)
1 medium (unless you're an onion lover like me, I used 2)
salt
pepper
tumeric
1/2 cup sugar (you can add more if you like)

Wash and rinse the rice, then soak in water for a few hours. Add salt to the water you are soaking the rice in

Chop up the onion finely, add to a pan, and fry in oil until it begins turning golden brown in color. At that point add chicken pieces to the pan and saute. Add tumeric, salt, and pepper to the chicken and stir. Finally add a half of a cup of water to the chicken and place a lid on it. Allow it to cook for about 30 minutes.

(I had a little helper)
(The chicken being added to the onions)
The beautiful color after Tumeric has been added


In the meantime, wash and peel the carrots. Then grate them. Heat oil in another pot and add the carrots. Fry them up a bit then add sugar and 3/4 cup of water. Allow the carrots to cook until the water is pretty much gone.



Prepare the rice by bringing it to a boil and then straining it. Once the rice starts getting tender, put half of it in a pot, and then add the cooked chicken, onions, and carrots and put the rest of the rice on top. Add some of the homemade chicken stock and some more oil to keep it moist. Place a towel on top of the pot to allow steam to escape and turn the heat down to low. Allow the dish to cook for an hour.

I served this dish with maast a kheahar (the yogurt and cucumber dish) and a Persian salad (tomatoes and cucumbers) ENJOY!!

July Fun!

Meet Zach. He is a good friend of mine and made the mistake of allowing us to give him a "make over" from eyeshadow and lipstick to his pretty purple nails!

Enjoying our time outside!

It was so nice to catch up and reconnect with my high school friend, Dave. Even though we both ended up going to Winona State..we had lost contact--and he spent the entire weekend with us, it was fabulous!

Me and Emily-M :)

A beautiful flower in my mommy's garden

The Grill master doing a beautiful job

Andrew's visit.



Meet Kitten number 1: Samson--Emily's cat

Meet kitten number 2: Black Jack Kerouac--my kitty.. unfortunately he looks evil in every picture I took of him--but he is definitely the opposite

Lake Arbutis

Me and Sara (Nate's cousin) taking a jump off the boat!

We had a blast on the wave runners

Me and Jenny (Nate's sister) blowing everyone away at pool

Aw!

On our way out to go fishing!

Catching some air!

He picked me a flower!

The Dam we found while exploring

I wish I could go camping every weekend