Orange Medley

I'm trying to do better with what I am eating but I have a huge sweet tooth.  This is an old family favorite, usually during the summer.  It's cool and light.

ORANGE MEDLEY

Servings: 6-8

Prep time: 10 minutes

Orange Medley

Ingredients

8 oz. Cool Whip

16 oz. Cottage Cheese

20 oz. Can of crushed Pineapple, drained

3 oz. Orange Jello

Instructions

1. Mix together Cool Whip and Orange Jello.

2. Mix in Cottage cheese and drained pineapple

*Drain the pineapple juice into a glass and enjoy it plain or in a smoothie!

Enjoy!

Gizmo: A Diamond in the Ruff

The beginning.

Just over three years ago, I convinced Tony that getting a dog would be a good idea.  Tony was living in NY and working second shift, finding things to do was difficult.  I thought a dog would be great solution.  There's nothing better than coming home and there's someone there that is beyond happy to see you. Tony was hesitant.  I grew up with dogs and couldn't imagine not having one.  The best thing was coming home and there's a dog there wagging their tail so hard that they're shaking their butt. Tony didn't have a ton of experience with larger pets.  His first pet was an ant named Chance.  It was going to be a big step up from an ant to a dog. 

I convinced Tony to go to Centre County Paws, a no kill shelter near State College, PA.  We looked at a couple of dogs that we knew were not going to work.  Tony needed a dog under 25 lbs for his current apartment.  Tony and his mom also have allergies.  We needed to find a hypoallergenic dog.  This narrowed down our options.  A puppy would have been fun but an older dog could possibly be easier.  We asked to look at a 5-year-old Shih-Tzu named Junior.  We were advised against it.  He wasn't the most friendly and had been abused.  We said that's okay, we'd like to see him anyways.

In came Junior... he walked around and wasn't really sure of what to do.  Eventually, he hopped up on the couch next to Tony.  Tony picked him up and held him like a baby.  Tony didn't realize how big of a deal this was but the people at Paws did.  Junior was definitely Tony's dog.  They told us a little more about Junior history.  He wasn't house broken or crate trained.  He wasn't good with kids.  One of the questions that was asked when he was surrendered was, "Does he bite?"  The people that surrendered him answered "Only when he's about to be kicked."  You have to be kidding me!! I'd bite someone too if they were going to kick me.  We knew Junior had had a rough life but we wanted to try.

Tony had to go back to work and needed some time to get his apartment ready for a dog.  He spent that week getting dog bowls, a collar, a leash, and a bed.  The following Friday, I picked up Junior and we took the four hour drive to NY together with him sitting on my lap the entire time.  This was going to be a 2 week trial to see if this could be a permanent solution.

While we're waiting for Tony to get home, this happened...

Tony get's home from work and this happens....

We tried to put Junior in a kennel Friday night.  That did not work well.  Once we brought him upstairs, he was happy as a clam and spent the night in his new bed.

Saturday started off great.  He played around, we went for a walk.  That afternoon, he was playing with a toy and had fuzz on his mouth.  I went to clean it off and HE BIT ME!  How could he bite me?  I was the one that got him to NY.  I had fed him Friday night and Saturday morning.  Apparently, no one told him not to bite the hand that feeds you. I ran upstairs crying.  Yes, crying.  I was more in shock than it actually hurt.  Tony followed and then Gizmo.  He tried to get close and apologize.  Once I calmed down, we realized that it wasn't really his fault.  He was abused.  He doesn't know any better. He does have a good heart.  In reality, it was good that he bit me instead of Tony.

The two weeks went by and he was Tony's dog.  He didn't answer to Junior and it didn't quite fit.  He was really hairy when we first got him so he looked like a gremlin.  Gizmo it was.

Where we are now.

Gizmo knew sit and that was it.  Now he knows "sit," "stay," "paw," "down," "bang, play dead," and "roll over."  I can put a bowl of food in front of him and tell him to stay.  I can walk away and he'll wait until I say okay.  He's a bright dog. 

Gizmo is housebroken and really always was.  He knows that he isn't supposed to go in the house and that it should be outside.  From the very beginning, he would last all day without any accidents.  It was nice not having to potty train him.  The only problem is that he doesn't "tell" us he needs to go out.  We have to be diligent about letting him out and he's usually good.  Unfortunately, he does have an occasional accident.

Biting.  Gizmo does still nip.  There are some people that he doesn't like their feet and we can't quite figure out why.  As for hands, he doesn't like people who have male dogs.  If he smells the other male, females are okay, he gets very defensive.  If you are first meeting him, you've got to go slow near his face.  He's still not overly trusting.  He's gotten better with kids (< 10) but I still stay very close.  My cousins love Gizmo and he's good with them.  Tony's been really good about desensitizing him.  Tony plays with his face, sticks his fingers in Gizmo's mouth, and cleans the goop from his eyes.

Gizmo has been a blessing for us.  When I started work and was living by myself, Tony let me have Gizmo.  Gizmo was there to give me a hug when I was homesick.  He knows when one of us is upset and will try to go be with them.

Gizmo is a very sweet dog.  He just needed someone to be patient, love him, and work with him.  If you have the time and the patience, shelter dogs can be an amazing option!

Apple Crisp

A few weeks ago my sister and a good friend came to visit.  Sunday morning, we went apple picking!  I had never been apple picking before so I didn't know what to expect but it was a lot of fun.  I purchased some apples to bring home. 

Here's the first recipe that I tried...

APPLE CRISP
Serves: 5-6
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 45 min

Apple Crisp

Ingredients:
6 medium apples
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 cup of flour
3/4 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of butter

1. Peel, core and slice apples.
2. Arrange in a baking dish.
3. Sprinkle with a mixture of cinnamon and nutmeg.
4. In a large bowl, mix flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter. Be sure to blend this mixture until crumbly.
5. Pour over the top of the apples.
6. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes until apples are tender.

 Serve warm with vanilla ice cream and enjoy!

Spare Bedroom

When we moved into our new house, it was bigger than we needed but figured it would come in handy.  With combining our two apartments, this instantly gave us a fully furnished guest bedroom.  In our guest bedroom, we have a double bed.  This is great when we had friends over but for our parents, they weren't going to sleep in a double bed together.  This meant one parent got the bed and the other got the aero bed.  If we were tight on space, this would have been fine but we had a perfectly good bedroom sitting empty. 

After struggling with what I wanted to do, I settled on wanting a twin bed with a trundle.  This would provide us the most flexibility without taking up a ton space.  Here's the room as it is now.  I HATE the color it's way to dark and makes the room feel small.  I'm reaching out for ideas on what to do with the room.

Any thoughts?  Paint colors? Bed spread? Layout?


I'm hoping to update this room this fall!

Finding Myself

I've been contemplating doing this post for a while.  It may be a bit lengthy, but bear with me...

Over the past 6-8 months, I've been trying to "find myself."  I remember when I interviewed (almost 3 years ago now), the question came up, "What do you do for fun?"  My answer consisted of well in high school, I danced.  In college and grad school, my focus was school and being an RA for 2 years.  I had danced there for a semester and tried ultimate Frisbee for a year.  In grad school, weekly yoga classes with my sister, Amy, became a regular thing.  I found myself asking the same question to an interviewee last fall.  He gave me the "my focus has been on school."  I thought that that was a perfectly acceptable answer just like when I gave it two years ago.  What would my answer be now?  Last year, it was planning a wedding and working on our new house.  After the wedding, things really calmed down.  The house was (and still is) a work in progress.  What was I going to do for fun and for me?  I had to figure it out...  With Tony working second shift, I had to find things that I could do just for me.

Step 1: Join the Gym (lifestyle change)

Okay so I did the very cliché thing of joining the gym after the new year.  However, this was something that I had been thinking about, but "didn't have the time."  My co-worker teaches an amazing Zumba class and that was my main reason for joining.  He had been asking me for several months if I wanted to do it.  The wedding (and work) was always my excuse.  I didn't have a reason to say no.  Plus, my company provides the perk that if you go to the gym 80 times in a year, they'll reimburse you for 75% of your gym membership.  This definitely made it a no brainer!  I am so glad I said yes!  After 7 months, I attend 2 classes a week as long as I am in town.  Zumba gives me my dance fix.  Even though it was cliché, I have stuck with it and love it!

Step 2: Find a dance class (emotional and lifestyle change)

This was a short lived experience.  I found a local studio that had an adult ballet class on Fridays after work.  I loved it!  I was getting my flexibility back and was planning on re-starting Pointe.  Unfortunately, they didn't have the numbers so after May, they cancelled the class.  I am hoping someone else will start an adult class or that the gym will start a barre class.

Step 3: Read more (emotional change)

Sitting and watching TV isn't healthy.  I wanted to read more.  I'm between books right now so this is currently lagging in my life.  Perhaps tonight, I'll start my next book. 

Step 4: C25K (emotional and lifestyle change)

A good number of my friends run and are super athletic.  I HATE running.  I tried it before and couldn't stand it.  My friend, Phil, started the C25K program this summer.  Taking inspiration from him, I started this 5 weeks ago.  It wasn't bad starting out.  I'd listen to a podcast and the 30 minutes would pass quickly.  Week 4 was rough.  The last 5 minute burst was painful.  Looking back, I was so focused on my body and how much longer I had.  When I did Week 5 Day 1, I was fine.  I focused on the podcast and that was it.  For me, running is more of a mental challenge than a physical one.  Running is teaching me to focus on one thing and not multi-task.  This is something I need!

Step 5: Eat better (lifestyle change)

I know a number of people who fast, do juice cleanses, and diet (paleo, gluten free, sugar free, etc.).  I've tried them and it's just not for me.  I've been pretty good since starting the C25K program.  Here's what I am trying to stick to:

- one pop per week
- one sweet per day
- less pasta (mac & cheese is a weakness for me!)
- more water

It is going fairly well.  I slip up every once in a while but I am eating better than I was.

Step 6: Fulfill life goals (emotional and career)

In college, some people said you need to take the FE others said for mechanical, you don't need it.  I didn't take the FE in college.  I now regret that choice.  I don't technically "NEED" my PE but it is now something I want.  So to get to the PE, I have to take the FE.  I bought the books to study and the goal is to take the FE exam in January at the latest.

Mom and Dad, if you are reading, stop here...




I told you to stop reading...




Okay, if you insist...



Tony had been talking about getting a motorcycle for about 5 years.  Last year, he finally did it and loves it.  It would be great to join him and tour the lovely lakes and parks around us.  I have been wavering back and forth about getting my motorcycle license.  I'm not sure if I'd enjoy it or it would stress me out.  There's only one way to find out.  Try it!  I'm planning on getting my permit (tomorrow?) and then taking the motorcycle safety class (this month?).  If I like it, I'll figure out what to do from there.  If I don't, I can say I tried it and will have no regrets moving forward.


That's where I am with life now... I feel I know things will change but I  need to stop focusing on the what-ifs and focus on the now...


What kind of things do you do for you? 

Garage Makeover

When we moved in, the garage was a holding place for a long time.  A couple of weeks ago, my parents came to visit and we built the workbench.  In anticipation for the project, I took an hour and moved stuff around or put it away.  There was a huge improvement.  Sweeping out the floor and cleaning up the cobwebs also helped tremendously.

After we built the workbench, we moved other stuff around and swept up.  The garage is now so neat and organized that it's one of my favorite places to be.

Thanks for stopping by!

Grammy's Crab Dip

One of my favorite appetizers is my grandmother's crab dip.  This is something super quick and easy.  There's two ways to serve it and they're both yummy!  If you want something more formal, layering them is the way to go.  If you want something for a larger group, kids, or to take to a party, mixing everything together is the way to go.

GRAMMY'S CRAB DIP
Serves: 2 -8
Prep Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
Bar of cream cheese
Can of Crab meat
Bottle of Cocktail Sauce

Directions:
1. Layer cream cheese, crab meat, and cocktail sauce. 
               - or - 
   Mix cream cheese, crab meat, and cocktail sauce.
2. Serve with crackers (I prefer Sociables)

Enjoy!

Return to Reading

Growing up, there were very few books that I read and actually liked.  During my spring break two years ago, I read three books in one week while sitting on the beach.  That fall, I started work and took a couple trips overseas.  While there, I finished 4 books in one trip and 6 in another.  I started to really like reading.  Recently, I haven't been traveling as much and my reading has dropped.  That's got to change.  The goal for the rest of the summer is 2 books per month. I'm finishing up Allegiant by Veronica Roth now.

I found HPB - 100 Books You Can't Put Down.  The books that I have read on their list I did really enjoy.  
 
Amazon also has a 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime: Readers' Picks.  Some of the books overlap with the list above. 

Here are their top 100 books:

“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee

"Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen
“The Diary of Anne Frank” by Anne Frank
“1984″ by George Orwell
“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” by J.K. Rowling
“The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien
“The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald

“Charlotte’s Web” by ER White

“Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott
The Hobbit by JRR Toiken
“Fahrenheit 451″ by Ray Bradbury
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn  by Mark Twain
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Night by Elie Wiesel
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
The Handmade’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Little Prince by Antoine de St-Expupery
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery
MacBeth by William Shakespeare
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The Holy Bible: New King James Version by Thomas Nelson
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas pere
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Catch-22 by Joesph Heller
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
The Stand by Stephen King
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Watership Down by Richard Adams
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by JK Rowling
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Outlander by Gabaldon
A Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
The Good Earth by Pearl S Buck
The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Odessy by Homer
Celebrating Silence: Excerpts from 5 Years of Weekly Knowledge by Sri Sri Ravi Shanker
A Prayer for Own Meany by John Irving
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullogh
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Wall
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Helen Keller: The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler by EL Konigsburg
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

I thought I'd pull from these two lists for now.  Up next, I am between:

• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
• Eat, Pray, Love
• The Fault in Our Stars
• Bossypants

What do you think?  Do you have a favorite book on/off the above list?

DIY Workbench

This past weekend was filled with a quick and easy project that made all the difference in the world.  My parents came to visit and my dad helped us build a workbench.  I wanted something that had a table top, a bottom shelf, a peg backboard, and an upper shelf.  My dad had built a workbench years ago when they moved into their current house.  We were going to build something similar. 

When he built his, he used RTC2Z Rigid Tie Connectors.  We used the same ones and they made the whole thing so easy!!

We also used plans from DIY Done Right as the starting point.  We did modify them to create a 6' x 2' x 6' work bench rather than the 4' x 2' x 5' one that the plans had.  We lifted the height of the table top as well since Tony and I are taller. 

Here's what we did.

Step 1: Determine the size of the workbench and the materials required.

As I mentioned, we modified the design to give us a larger workbench.  See our new plans below.

Here's what we needed for our larger workbench:

Tools Required:

• Saw
• Screw gun
• #2 Phillips head bit
• Tape measure
• Clamps
• Framing square

Materials Required:

• 2" x 4" x 8' lumber - 6 pcs 8 pcs
• 24" x 48" - ⅝" plywood sheet 48" x 96" - 23/32" plywood sheet
• 24" x 48" 48" x 96" - ¼" pegboard sheet
• (8) Rigid Tie RTC2Z Connectors
• (1 box) Strong-Drive® SD #8 x 1¼" Screws - 100 ct
• (20) (36) #6 x 1¼" flat-head screws
• (4) #6 x 2½" flat-head screws

You can also buy a workbench kit from Amazon here or here.

Step 2: Purchase Materials.

The Rigid Tie connectors and SD Screws came from Home Depot.  I had gotten them earlier in the week.  Saturday morning we went to Lowe's and got the lumber, plywood, and pegboard.  The nice thing about Lowe's, or any of the big hardware stores is that they will rip the large sheets for you.  We had them cut the plywood and pegboard down for us.  If you have this option, take it!  The pieces are perfectly square and it saves a ton of time!  This gave us:

• (2) 2' x 6' - 23/32" plywood sheets + scrap
• (1) 3' x 6' - 1/4" pegboard sheet + scrap

Step 3: Cut to length


We had to cut our 2x4's to length.  We followed the modifications that we made in Step 1.

We needed:

• 1 - 72" piece for the top rail
• 2 - 70" pieces for the rear corner posts
• 4 - 69" pieces for the rails
• 2 - 38" pieces for the front corner posts
• 4 - 17" pieces for the end rails

Step 4: Assemble end pieces.

Make sure you make opposites ends.  You don't want two of the same ends.

Step 5: Install rails.

Step 6: Attach top rail using 2-1/2" screws.

Step 7: Corner out plywood and install.

Step 8: Attach pegboard

Step 9: Organize!

The larger size gave up plenty of room for our small and large tools.

The actual assembly of the workbench took us about 1-1/2 hours.  Not bad at all!

Enjoy!

Grandmom's Baked Mac and Cheese

One of my go to comfort foods is Mac & Cheese.  Normally, I settle for the Kraft variety but let's face it, it tastes like it's out of a box.  Growing up, every once and a while, we'd get the "special" mac and cheese that took over an hour versus 12-15 minutes. 

Here's the yummy recipe.

BAKED MAC AND CHEESE
Makes: 3-4 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Bake Time: 45 minutes

Baked Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:
1 cup pasta - elbows
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2-3/4 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
Velveeta cheese
butter

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Cook pasta.
3. While the pasta is cooking, melt butter in a sauce pan and brown the bread crumbs.  You'll need enough butter (~2 Tbsp) to coat all of the bread crumbs.
4. In a greased baking dish, put 1/2 of the pasta on the bottom.

5. Layer with slices of Velveeta cheese.

6. Top with the remaining pasta.
7. Layer again with slices of Velveeta cheese.

8. Mix milk and eggs in a separate bowl then poor over the casserole.

9. Top with bread crumbs.

10. Bake for 45 minutes.

Enjoy!

Happy 3 Years, Mom!

Earlier this week, my mom asked if I was going to re-post any of the posts from my old blog, especially Goodbye Montefiore, to this blog. I figured it was still on the other blog so I didn't need to. 

Well, yesterday was my mom's 3 year anniversary of her liver transplant which happened on January 8, 2011. When looking back, all the pain and stress that stated December 23, 2010 seems like a distant memory. I guess time does heal. I figured it would be good to post something new. When looking back, I don't focus on all the things that happened during those stressful 2 1/2 weeks but on all of the great things that have happened over the past 3 years. Here's a summary of everything that my mom has gotten to experience over the past three years because the doctors took a chance on her and on our family.

A Family Trip to Aruba

A New Puppy

My master's graduation 

Amy's internship at Movado

A family reunion in Oregon

 My Engagement 

My Wedding

Thank you to everyone who has given us love and support and the much need prayers over the past 3 1/2 years. Here's to many more years and many more memories!