Long time; here is why

My brain is in approximately 10 different places at one time. It is so clustered that I just had to google "backwards multiplication" to figure something out for work. Yes, that would be called division. I have scratch paper filled with different equations trying to solve a simple multiplication/division puzzle. For humor sake, here is what helped me. This simple answer allowed me to solve the problem

You can solve a division problem if you think of the multiplication problem. 30 ÷ 6 = __   Think: what times 6 is 30? __  × 6 = 30

source
PS. I kind of loved it. The simplicity that is. Back to the basics. Now I want to go learn more and retain what I should have in grade school.
PSS or is it PPS. Mom, Dad, I promise my education was not a waste of your money.
A

More Please!

Go here and print the recipe. It is not some big fancy meal. It is an economical and delicious dish. When I was putting up the leftovers, I couldn't stop sneaking extra bites...with my fingers. I used linguine instead of fettuccine and am glad I did. Served a simple spinach salad with it. Speaking of spinach, use spinach not iceberg for salads. It is obvious why. Enough said about that.

Things are busy and we'll get back into the swing of things soon. For now, go enjoy some oatmeal (true rolled oats - no flavoring, etc - the stuff out of the cardboard cylinder) with peanut butter (not the sugary stuff) stirred in and fresh blueberries sprinkled on top.

A

Finally, a Recipe

Deliciousness. Can't wait to have the leftovers.

If you don't like feta, don't let that scare you away. It doesn't have a strong feta taste. Just use more like 3oz instead of 4oz.

Angel Hair Pasta with Eggplant-Tomato Sauce 
6 servings 1 ½ cups per serving
Adapted from Cheap Healthy Good

8 oz. uncooked angel hair pasta (half the box), cooked and drained
1 medium raw eggplant, sliced into 1-inch cubes
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch chunks
4 t Olive oil (preferably in a spray bottle) *really don't think I used that much oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 garlic clove, minced
1 can diced tomatoes
half pint cherry/grape tomatoes cut in half*
asparagus cut into 1-2 inch pieces*1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp dried basil (or 2 T fresh, minced)
1/2 cup fat-free chicken broth (or low-fat regular)
3-4 oz reduced-fat feta cheese, crumbled

1) Preheat oven to 425ºF.

2) Chop the eggplant (skin on) and red pepper, and put ‘em in a large bowl. If you have an olive oil spray bottle, coat the top of the vegetables and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Stir well (but gently). Do this three times, being careful not to oversalt. (If you don’t have a spray bottle, slowly drizzle a teaspoon of olive oil on top of the veggies. Then, follow the aforementioned directions.)

3) Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. (If you like, coat it with cooking spray. This isn’t necessary, but will make vegetable removal a little easier.) Place eggplant and pepper on sheet and roast for 20-25 minutes, or until they start to brown. Remove from oven and set aside. *Roast asparagus separately for 10 mins until just tender. Remove and keep separate from eggplant and peppers.

4) Grab a big saucepan. Coat with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and heat on medium-low.

5) Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes, until heated through. Add roasted veggies, red pepper flakes, basil, broth, and salt and pepper to taste. Turn heat up to medium-high.

6) Cook a few minutes until broth is reduced, and the mixture becomes a little saucy. Turn off the burner. Add the pasta and stir lots.

7) Add the feta and mix thoroughly, until the pasta is coated with it. If this is done while the pasta is still warm, you’ll get a lot of feta in each bite.  (We added feta while pasta was warm and did not get a strong feta bite)  *Add asparagus and toss. Serve hot.


*my changes


As you can see, I didn't make many changes. Just added a few veggies I had on hand. We give it a 4.  


Enjoy!
A

How can I compete

with my sister's blog postings? They are fantabulous! I gush with big sis pride when I read them. For all of those with sisters out there, we are lucky little devils!

Okay, that's about the most sentimental I can get before I turn into a mess.

So, A has gotten us caught up on all of the family time that's been going on over the past month or two. Why do the moments that you want to last forever go by in a flash?

After family time in Vegas, I was lucky enough to head to Honlulu for work. I know, I can't even believe it even as I type it out. I got to go to Honolulu for WORK!!

And how can one go to Hawaii for work and not manage to squeeze in some vacation time? I squeezed!

I grabbed one of my closest friends and we jet-setted straight from Vegas to Honolulu. After I knocked out work for a day and a half (and it was even fun, considering it was work), we got down to some serious vacation time for the rest of our week in Hawaii.

We did so much in a week! Ate at the finest, most local places (including an incredible wine bar that I don't think many tourists get to experience), stayed at one of the newest, fanciest hotels in Waikiki, Chinese New Year celebration in Chinatown, soaked up the most beautiful sun/beaches in North Shore that I've ever seen, surfed (my new obsession), whale watched, surfer watched, looked adorable in our rental, red, convertible and indulged in massages and facials. Words, pictures, memories will never do it all justice.

J-Kills, you are the best travel companion a girl could have. Too much fun with you!!

Here are some pictures.

If you haven't been to Hawaii, stop what you are doing right now and book a flight.

B

so about last night...

W had lots of reading to do as he is in the middle of catching up with classes from the snow days. Did I mention it snowed here..again? Probably not because snow days mean nothing to me since I work from home. Really, I don't like them anymore. Back to last night...

With W reading a million pages, I decided I would catch up on my magazine stack with a glass of wine and candle. Sounds so relaxing, right? Caught up in the moment, I went to put my glass of wine on the table without looking and next thing you know I'm saying screaming "W, I need your help now."

Enter W. The scene - red wine splattered on the light colored cloth ottoman, light colored cloth sectional, and light colored braided rug. oops.

A: "Get damp paper towels and dab, NOT rub"
W: "How did you manage this? Seriously, tell me the truth about what happened."
A: "I don't know. Really, I don't. It just fell out of my hand. You see I was just about to tell you that my hands have been falling asleep and..."

Enough of the play by play, but that was really the convo and it continued in that same fashion. We decided to  break out the Resolve because the dabbing wasn't completely working. After everything was sprayed, I needed to wipe off the table where the glass (unshattered) with a little bit of wine left was still sitting. W stepped out to get more paper towels and before he could return he heard a shatter and "uh oh, I need more towels." Yes, I managed to knock the glass off the table, splatter more red wine on the couch (different cushion) and break the glass this time. My what-else-can-you-do-but-laugh reflex kicked in and let's just say W's did not :) He stepped out of the room for a breather and heard "click/snap." As he walked in, I was taking a picture of the disaster instead of cleaning because it was such an unbelievable series of events that I had to document it. I will refrain from posting those pictures as I don't think that action was viewed favorably.

A roll of papers towels and flashlight inspection of the rug later, we retreated to the two unstained cushions on the sectional with a new glass of red wine.

I have not built up the courage to check out the victims today, but last night they seemed to be healing nicely.

Cheers!
A

List

It's been a while since I've done a list post. Here's your randomness for the day.

• I wish it were Spring or Fall
• Social Computing. My nerd side often thinks about this concept and how much it has changed or is changing our face to face social skills. With just returning from a conference, I have especially been thinking about it over the past week. Are you different through email, facebook, IM, blog, etc than in person? Does it take you longer to be "yourself" in person than virtually? For me, yes. This bothers me. I dream of a world sometimes without technology. 
• I know I'm not old but it is amazing how much you learn about yourself and admit to the more mature older you get. Embrace yourself.
• Getting a little too deep...reverse. There are pros and cons to working from home. One that has been on my mind lately is when your coworkers switch from humans to dogs, the gas levels greatly increase, especially when they sleep under your desk all day. Wooooof
• My cousin(s) is awesome and adorable. http://www.wistv.com/global/category.asp?c=195964&clipId=5502277&topVideoCatNo=174353&autoStart=true 
• I miss Winter Break. This slightly contradicts the first bullet. I don't mean this in regards to the weather. I miss it just as much as I will miss summer break come fall.
• The lack of consistency in punctuation with this post is driving me bananas, but I refuse to go back and edit. 
• I can't spell "bananas" without singing the song, b-a-n-a-n-a-s
• I'm craving a second honeymoon. You know, the kind where you do nothing but lay on the beach or a float for seven days straight and eat enough food to gain five pounds. I think the combination of an awesome Vegas vacation and Brit's upcoming adventure (I'll let her provide details) makes me want to just keep living that life. see photo above since it won't cooperate and move down here.

What's the positive version of "when it rains, it pours" because that's how I'm feeling today

I hope to have a great recipe or two to post soon

A

Long Time No Blog

Let's not even talk about how long it's been.


Grandma (never tell her I called her that) said it best - this was one of the best Christmases yet. True. We were able to spend time with most of our family - both sides. I am so glad we could make that work. One of the best things about Christmas was W was on break! It was wonderful having a husband again for three weeks. (Thanks for working so hard, W.)

Visitors and Happy 50th!


Right after Christmas, Brit and J came back to the East Coast for 10 days and we got to spend every single day with them. Wish we could do that every month, or every day would be great too. We stayed busy seeing family but had plenty of time to take it easy and hang out. Miss you guys so much!

We headed up to Oak Island for a few days to see mom and dad and celebrate their 50th birthdays! Us kids surprised mom and dad with an evening out on the town in Wilmington.

We spent lots of time in our pajamas, harvesting oysters and mussels from the backyard, eating lots of yummy food, and playing games.

Vegas


I just returned from one of the best vacations. Brit, Dad, and I had work travel scheduled that allowed us to easily meet up in Vegas for a father/daughters vacation. We ate lots of great food, saw awesome shows (Phantom and cirque du soleil mystere), drove past the Hoover Dam, and danced, j-j-just dance. We were enjoying each moment so much that we never remembered our cameras and only got a few pics with Brit's phone.

Clockwise: fountains at Bellagio, amazing view while at Hoover Dam, Hoover Dam (so busy talking that we drove 15 miles past it the first time), clubbin' it with Pop Daddy and Glee*

*The cast of Glee was celebrating a birthday at the bar club we went to. While we remained a few tables away and never met any of them, we were still pretty excited to have a celebrity(ies) sighting.

Thanks, Dad, for an amazing trip. We missed you, Mom!

Hopefully I'll get back in the swing of things and it won't be so long until the next post.

A

Under Construction

Pardon the "oops" as we reconstruct