100.....WHOA!

Today it's supposed to reach 100 degrees here.  It's on days like this that I know I will miss Minnesota.  I HATE hot weather.  I don't like being hot, and I don't like sweating..... it very rarely got this hot in Minnesota.  This is the second time in a month that is has been over 100 here.... the other time was in early June, the precise day that my mom and I moved ALL of our heavy furniture into our new house.... it was a hot day.

This morning I got up and took Josie to the dog park already, because it's supposed to be so hot this afternoon, that I don't want to take her later today.

In honor of it being 100 today.... I bring you another 100 kind of update... 100 things about me.  I've seen this on several peoples blogs, so I bring you my edition.

1.  When I was little I wanted to be Amish.
2.  I still have a fascination with the Amish.
3.  When I was younger I wanted a horse.... then I went to horse camp and didn't want a horse anymore.
4.  When I was younger I had 2 best friends, they both moved away, a year apart from one another.
5.  I played trombone.
6.  My senior year I was a drum major.
7.  I was on a swim team from the age of 5 until I was 18.  Toward the end of my swimming career, I wondered why I was on a swim team, because you just swim in circles, and I really felt like I was in a fishbowl with people just watching me.
8.  I took dance lessons from the age of 5 until I was 18.  I loved dance.
9.  My first dance was the smurf hoe down.
10.  My first kiss was in kindergarten... I kissed Jared Sour's hightop haircut.  If that doesn't count, my first kiss was in third grade on a field trip to Pella, IA.
11.  I got a rose from a boy in 5th grade on Valentines day.
12.  I went to prom my freshman year.
13.  In high school I dated a guy I met on the internet (it was a big deal at the time).
14.  I was a lifeguard from age 14-18.  It was some of the greatest times of my life.
15.  I went to Luther College.
16.  I did an internship at LIving History Farms.  I love living history farms.
17.  I got married at Living History Farms.
18.  We went on our honeymoon in Galena, Illinois.
19.  Matt bought our first house without me seeing it in person.
20.  I rented our current house before either of us had seen it in person (p.s. we love it).
21.  I love chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.
22.  My favorite meal is Chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes.
23.  Matt and I have mastered making pizza on the grill.
24.  I make very good cinnamon rolls.
25.  My first dog's names were Tippy and Toby.
26.  My current dogs name is Josie.
27.  I love christmas
28.  I have 3 HUGE rubbermaids filled with christmas stuff, and 2 small rubbermaids.
29.  I own 10 American girl dolls.
30.  I worked for American Girl for 2.5 years, and was very happy in that job.
31.  I was a hall director for 5 years.
32.  I have my masters degree in education.
33.  I don't like beer.
34.  I do like martinis.
35.  When I was younger we used to get Texas donuts on our birthday, they don't make texas donuts anymore.
36.  I can drive manual transmission.
37.  I can drywall.
38.  I can lay tile.
39.  I like to mow the lawn when I have a riding lawn mower.
40. When I ran away as a child - I really just went and hid in the wheeping willow tree.
41.  I have 1 younger brother.
42.  When we were younger sometimes I made my brother play dress up with me, and make up dances on the trampoline.
43.  My grandfather built me a doll house when I was younger, it now lives in my parents basement.
44.  I had compartment syndrome in high school - I still have big scars from that.
45.  I had my appendix out the week of high school graduation.
46.  When I was in high school I would get so tan, my friends would call me Molly-hontas.
47.  I have a collection of cookbooks.... it's the area I always explore at the book store.
48.  My favorite book when I was little was "There was an old lady who swallowed a fly".....
49.  I now have a collection of "There was an old lady" books.
50. My collection of CDs includes a lot of soundtracks
51. I like the sound of windchimes
52.  I hate the sound of a dog licking themselves
53.  I love the smell of fresh baked bread
54.  I love the smell of lavender/vanilla
55.  I love the smell of puppy paws (they smell like corn chips).
56.  I like the smell of campfires
57.  I did weight watchers once and lost over 50 pounds.
58.  One of my favorite movies is Little Women... others include The Patriot, Life as A House, Mr. Magoriums wonder emporium.
59.  My favorite books include The Plain Truth, The Secret Garden, Water for Elephants
60.  I've been told that I look like Natalie Portman
61.  At one point I was tall for my age... now I am only average 5'4"
62.  My favorite color is red
63.  I've only owned 2 cars in my life... I love/d both of them
64.  I have traveled to Europe twice
65.  My favorite place that I've traveled in Prague.
66.  I would love to go to Greece, Seattle, and Washington D.C.
67.  I consider myself an introvert (this is hard for some people to believe).
68.  My favorite store is probably Target
69.  I love to use my steam cleaner
70.  My favorite board game is The Game of Things
71.  I love chunky jewlrey
72.  I was raised methodist, I attended a Lutheran school, I married a greek orthodox, and I have no idea what I would consider my religion to be.
73.  My earliest childhood memory was the day my brother was born.
74.  My favorite cereal is cinnamon toast crunch.
75.  My family owns a boat, and I know how to water ski.
76.  Growing up I had 5 foreign exchange students live with my family.
77.  My first time snow skiing was at Afton Alps when I was in 6th grade.
78.  Matt and I dated for 5 years, were engaged for 2, and have been married for 3.  We have known each other for a decade.
79.  I love hooded sweatshirts.
80.  I don't really like the taste of fish.... but I love sushi.
81.  If I could have a shopping spree, I think I would want it at Barnes and Nobles.
82.  My favorite gaming system is WII (yes, I play to much)
83.  My favorite animal is a Polar bear
84.  The first major news story I remember being interested in was Wacco Texas.
85.  I support gay marriage
86.  I am pro-choice
87.  I believe strongly in animal rescue, and get mad when people buy dogs/cats at a pet store.
88.  I love to jump off cliffs into the water (haven't done that in a long time though).
89.  I know how to cross stitch.
90.  I have lived in 4 states.
91.  I have 5 grandparents that are still alive (that's a lot when you are 30 years old).
92.  I won't buy cheap toilet paper - I think that is something worth spending money on.
93.  I don't know what I want to be when I grow up
94.  If I had a super power it would be the ability to heal broken hearts.... think of the good I could do.
95.  I can't sleep unless I have something covering me up.
96.  I love snow
97.  I have lots of pairs of birkenstock shoes (this is because my feet hurt).
98.  I don't think I am tickelish, but I can be tickeled.
99.  I belong to P.E.O..... I am a fourth generation
100.  My favorite song right now is Dynamite

That was harder than I thought it would be..... but maybe you learned something.

Diet Coke Cupcakes

If you know me, you know my favorite food is chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.

But what you might not know is I am trying to lose a little chub.  My rule to myself is that when I am on the west side of the Missouri river I have to eat healthy, when I cross the river I can eat whatever I want.  So, I am trying to eat healthy, and chocolate cake and chocolate frosting isn't on my OKed list.

But today I compromised. DIET COKE CAKE!

Take a cake mix, and mix in 1 can of diet cola (I used coke zero vanilla).  Scoop into cupcake cups, and bake for 18-23 min at 350.  Then frost... I am using sugar free frosting (It has splenda in it).  If you have ever done weight watchers, you can have a cupcake for 3 points.  Pretty darn good.

I like diet coke cake, even if it crumbles a little easier than regular cake.  Try it if you want.

First recipe I want to share

Some of you may or may not know.... I don't love tomatoes, but will eat them on occasion, so I was surprised to like them in this recipe (that I first had at my in-laws house).  I share this recipe with you, because welllll...... it tastes good, and I like it.

Ingredients

• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups halved grape tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons crumbled goat cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1. Cook asparagus in boiling water 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes and garlic; cook 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar; cook 3 minutes. Stir in salt. Arrange asparagus on a platter; top with tomato mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and pepper.

(I was going to upload a picture.... but couldn't get it to work.)

So I'm thinking about starting a blog

So, it's been a big year for me.  I turned 30 this year, and I moved to Omaha to follow my husband's career.  I got here, I set up our house, and I continue to look for employment (which is proving hard).  I don't know a lot of people here, and I have a lot of free time on my hands.  I find myself updating facebook with un-essential updates, so I felt like maybe if I had a blog, I could share a little more, without driving my facebook friends crazy.  So this is my attempt at a blog.


I think I will probably be sharing Josie stories, new recipes, crafts, and maybe some adventures we go on.  Who knows what this will be, but we will see.