Living the Dream

Ever since I can remember my little brother has been obsessed with the Olympics. Before we ever had a good VCR that would record TV shows Nick used to sit on the couch and tape the television coverage of the Olympics using a handheld video camera (one of those big ones that rest on your shoulder - this was back in the 80s/90s).

Nick always dreamed of one day going to the Olympics. He knows the most obscure facts from every Olympics, even ones that took place decades before he was born. He competed once in an ESPN trivia contest and finished second, almost winning a trip to the ESPN 25th anniversary party in NYC.

In high school Nick found and developed his passion, sports writing. As the editor of his high school newspaper, Nick covered Tim Tebow as he played high school football. He went on to UF and was the sports editor for the UF student paper. He freelanced for many papers along the way and covered the Chicago Cubs for mlb.com.

Last summer he worked for the USOC in Colorado Springs...one step closer to going to the Olympics.

As you read this, Nick is in Vancouver. He is writing for several newspapers, covering their athletes competing in the Winter Olympics. I am so proud and happy for him. Many of us live our whole lives not accomplishing our goals. Not Nick.

If you'd like to follow his experience at the Olympics here is a link to his blog on SportingNews.com.

Shopping for Produce

A few weeks ago Grant headed to the gorcery store to pick up a few things before I left for a work trip in Dallas. He came home and was unpacking his bags and one item stood out to me...

I asked Grant why he bought cabbage at the store...was he planning on making a new recipe? We've never cooked with cabbage. He looked confused. Then he checked his receipt and it listed the cabbage.

He had thought the head of cabbage was a head of lettuce! I found out later that he brought the head of cabbage to work and gave it to a cabbage loving coworker! Too funny!

Sunday Night Dinner

Grant and I had a very relaxed weekend. It was much needed as we both had busy weeks and I was definitely feeling less than 100%.

Today I decided to make dinner. I got the recipe from Publix - they have some great recipes! At Pubilx they have people making the recipes so you can try them. A few weeks ago I tried Pork with Wild Mushroom Pasta and thought it was yummy, even though I'm not a big pork eater...and I had never made it myself before. Well, now I can say that I have cooked pork...and it was good! Here is a link to the recipe.

Pork with Wild Mushroom Pasta

I made it with half&half instead of heavy cream. I also didn't make green bean casserole to go with it...instead we had steamed broccoli.

Now we're full and ready for the week ahead!

Sen10r Night at Nease

One of the main reasons Grant and I live in Jacksonville is to be close to my siblings as they grow up. If we lived far away I would definitely miss moments like last night...Zack's last regular season home basketball game.

Zack, my youngest brother, is a senior team captain and starting point guard. It has been so much fun watching him grow up on the court from Saturday morning games at the YMCA to Varsity games at Nease. He's a great player and an even better young man! I am so proud. Next year he will be heading to UCF in Orlando.

Here are a few photos from last night.

Zack's hair...he had a mohawk and his jersey number shaved into the side.

Zack and my Mom before the game.

Clay, Kevin and Zack (three of the seniors on senior night)

Zack, Mom and the Coach

:)

Mom and Zack.

All of the Sen10rs

Zack and his girlfriend, Kellie (in her custom made shirt)

Reagan and Penelope Videos!

Reagan is getting SO big! She had the last of her puppy shots this week. Grant has successfully taught her how to sit and lay down on command. We're still working on other tricks. :) It's a lot easier with Reagan because she can watch what Penelope does and catches on real quick!

Here is a video of Reagan and Penelope practicing their tricks.


Here is a video of Reagan and Penelope watching Grant play with his yoyo.

Home cooked meals

I go through phases where I like to cook and other phases where I cannot stand it. I think I'd like to cook if I made more time to select recipes and shop for the week. The last thing I want to do when I get home is find a recipe, realize that I don't have any of the ingredients, battle the evening crowd at the grocery store to come home starving...not wanting to wait an hour for dinner to be ready. So last night Grant and I went to the grocery store with a recipe in hand. I got all the ingredients and started making the recipe when I got home from work. Here is the recipe we(I) chose:

Aromatic Beef Stew with Butternut Squash

Ingredients

2 tsp. olive oil

1 lb. stew beef (round or chuck), cut in chunks

1 large onion, chopped

1 Tbsp. peeled, minced fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. peeled cubed butternut squash, cut into 1-1/2-inch cubes (about 2-1/2 cups)

1 14.5-oz. can no-salt-added diced tomatoes

1 8-oz. can no-salt-added tomato sauce
1-1/2 cups lower-sodium beef broth

1-1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

3 cups cooked whole wheat couscous

1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted*

1 to 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Heat oil in 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add beef. Cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer meat to plate, leaving juices in saucepan. Add onion to pan. Cook 6 minutes, stirring often, or until softened and translucent. Add ginger and garlic. Cook, stirring, 1 minute more.

2. Return beef to pan. Stir in squash, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth, cumin, cinnamon, and red pepper flakes. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat to a simmer; cover. Cook until beef is tender, 30 to 35 minutes.

3. Serve with couscous. Sprinkle with almonds and parsley. Makes 6 servings.

4. *Note: Toast almonds in a dry skillet over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes or until golden brown.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 421, Total Fat (g) 11, Saturated Fat (g) 3, Monounsaturated Fat (g) 6, Polyunsaturated Fat (g) 1, Cholesterol (mg) 29, Sodium (mg) 206, Carbohydrate (g) 57, Total Sugar (g) 10, Fiber (g) 10, Protein (g) 25, Vitamin C (DV%) 1.17, Calcium (DV%) 9, Iron (DV%) 23, Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

We'll see how it turns out!

What do you love about me?

Grant and I went to dinner and a movie on Friday night with two good friends of ours, Mintu and Mary. We saw Avatar in 3D. It was a great movie, but kind of long if you ask me!

Before the movie we went to Brass Monkey for dinner. Over our food and drinks we always have good conversation. This night Mary posed a good question, "What three things do you love about me?" We each answered what three things we loved about our signifcant other and found that our three things were all very similar...family, hard working, humor, and patience. Okay, that was four things...

The fact that we all have similar values in our relationships with our significant others is probably why we have become such good friends. Try asking your friends what they love about each other and see if you come to the same conclusion we did.

Thanks for being such great friends M&M!