This weekend the forecast was for rain both days. Good thing those weather forecasters don't always get it right! Saturday was my store's first on-the-water kayak demo of the season. The sky was definitely overcast, but the rain stayed away all day and we had a decent turnout. Better yet, we sold a few kayaks! Joe decided to get a long bike ride in with some friends, and rode from the Plaza to Parkville, a small town north of downtown KC right on the river. The city was holding its annual Microbrew Fest, an event that brings 20-30 small breweries together and for $20, you get a sampling glass and can try all of the different beers that the breweries bring out. We went a couple of years ago and had a great day, so Joe and his friends thought it would be a fun way to spend the afternoon. I picked them all up, since they had ridden their bikes to the park, and Joe and I had a quick dinner out at Ponak's, the un-official place with the best margaritas in KC.
Sunday, Joe and a friend plotted to get me and the friend's girlfriend out to go golfing. I hadn't been for almost 2 years, and was a little reluctant, but agreed to go anyway. Joe and I split a bucket of golf balls at the driving range waiting for the others to show up. I figured, ehh, I'm probably a little rusty, but it can't be that ugly, right? WRONG! I missed the ball completely the first few times I swung, and the next dozen only moved a few feet. Getting more nervous, I insisted we split another bucket until I could tell I was settling down and my swing was coming back. We started the 9 hole course, and my game was definitely off. As we continued down the course, a miraculous thing happened - I got better! Unfortunately for Joe, it seemed that I may have been stealing his skills, because as my game improved, his worsened. We only had a little tantrum on the course, and no mom, it wasn't me! :)
Yesterday I opted to relax at home instead of doing work, and definitely paid for it today. Last night I made dinner, using Jill's meatloaf recipe that Joe and I both love. I decided to try something new as a side... instead of traditional mashed potatoes, and mashed cauliflower! I'd read that mashed cauliflower is a much better substitute for potatoes, and has a similar taste. I have always hated cauliflower and have been looking for ways to eat more vegetables. Turns out, with a little milk, garlic, salt and pepper, they really were pretty good! They definitely didn't taste exactly like mashed potatoes, and I need to perfect the recipe, but I plan on making them again. Once I figure out the recipe, I'll be sure to post it, as I think it's a great side dish that's tasty and really healthy!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
More exciting news
Not to downplay the other exciting family visit, but we are also really looking forward to seeing Jill and Gary, and hopefully Grammy, as well, over Memorial Day. Our summer plans are really shaping up to be full of fun with family!
In other news, it turns out the sweat and blisters of last week's yard work will pay off! After a great rainfall this weekend, I went outside tonight to see if any grass was starting to grow. Finally, tons of tiny shoots are coming up! Now the challenge will be to keep the dogs off the large patch so that the grass actually has a chance to fully come in. That's definitely easier said than done!
In other news, it turns out the sweat and blisters of last week's yard work will pay off! After a great rainfall this weekend, I went outside tonight to see if any grass was starting to grow. Finally, tons of tiny shoots are coming up! Now the challenge will be to keep the dogs off the large patch so that the grass actually has a chance to fully come in. That's definitely easier said than done!
Hooray!
We just found out Joe's sister, her husband Dan and their two kids, James and Ruth are coming to visit over the 4th of July! They'll be here for an extended weekend. Joe and I are very excited and can't wait to see them!
Monday, April 27, 2009
Sunday fun
Yesterday Joe and I accomplished quite a bit! Joe started the morning off running the annual Trolley Run, a 4 mile race along the old Trolley Trail in the Brookside/Plaza area. I had thought about running it as well, but haven't been as good with my training and knew the 4 miles would be over my head right now. I'm also trying my best to take Molly and Lucy on daily walks/runs, and I thought I'd rather jog 2-3 miles with them, than struggle at the race by myself. So after our respective runs, Joe and I set out sights on taking care of some things around the house that we hadn't finished since the kitchen project.
We started with the garage, which once again became the storage unit and kept both of our cars outside on the driveway. Most of the clutter came from bigger items, and things that just needed to be cleaned up and put away after collecting dust from the kitchen construction. It didn't take too long to get it emptied and cleaned out, (it is only a single car garage, mind you!) so we kept working and turned our attention to the cars. Both needed serious attention, more inside than out. A few hours later, my car was completely clean, and the inside of Joe's was looking much better!
After a quick lunch break, we ran to Lowe's to pick up a few basement subfloor tiles, designed for basements with moisture issues. I'm going to go out on a limb and say the small springs of water that flow from the natural stone walls in our basement during a heavy rain qualify us for "moisture issues!" The neat thing about this subfloor system is that it's pressed plywood attached to a layer of plastic grating, similar to the inside of an egg carton. The plastic part is on the bottom, so if there is moisture, it doesn't damage the wood above. The downside is that the subflooring is rather expensive, so we decided to try a few pieces on the cabinets we saved from the old kitchen that Joe's turning into a new workbench. We're planning on watching to see how well it works, and then may use it down the road if and when we finish the rest of the basement.
When we got home from Lowe's, we avoided any temptation to stop working, and headed straight downstairs. We had piles of dirty laundry that needed to be done, and yet another leftover workspace from the kitchen that was covered in sawdust and drywall dust. A few hours later, the basement was starting to look better, so we kept going. I think one of the things that kept us going was that while it was a warm 80 degrees upstairs, the basement was nice and cool. Not wanting to go hang out in the hot, humid living room above, we decided to arrange the old couches we've been storing in the basement and TV that we were planning on getting rid of into a second living/TV room. Joe even figure out how to re-run the cable lines in the house to add cable to the basement TV! We spent the rest of the afternoon doing laundry and watching a movie in our new space.
And the storm that pushed us to work quickly and finish ahead of it's forecast early afternoon arrival? It didn't roll into the area until much later, around 11pm. No hail, no damaging winds, but enough rain to start examining whether those subfloor tiles will be a good product for us or not!
We started with the garage, which once again became the storage unit and kept both of our cars outside on the driveway. Most of the clutter came from bigger items, and things that just needed to be cleaned up and put away after collecting dust from the kitchen construction. It didn't take too long to get it emptied and cleaned out, (it is only a single car garage, mind you!) so we kept working and turned our attention to the cars. Both needed serious attention, more inside than out. A few hours later, my car was completely clean, and the inside of Joe's was looking much better!
After a quick lunch break, we ran to Lowe's to pick up a few basement subfloor tiles, designed for basements with moisture issues. I'm going to go out on a limb and say the small springs of water that flow from the natural stone walls in our basement during a heavy rain qualify us for "moisture issues!" The neat thing about this subfloor system is that it's pressed plywood attached to a layer of plastic grating, similar to the inside of an egg carton. The plastic part is on the bottom, so if there is moisture, it doesn't damage the wood above. The downside is that the subflooring is rather expensive, so we decided to try a few pieces on the cabinets we saved from the old kitchen that Joe's turning into a new workbench. We're planning on watching to see how well it works, and then may use it down the road if and when we finish the rest of the basement.
When we got home from Lowe's, we avoided any temptation to stop working, and headed straight downstairs. We had piles of dirty laundry that needed to be done, and yet another leftover workspace from the kitchen that was covered in sawdust and drywall dust. A few hours later, the basement was starting to look better, so we kept going. I think one of the things that kept us going was that while it was a warm 80 degrees upstairs, the basement was nice and cool. Not wanting to go hang out in the hot, humid living room above, we decided to arrange the old couches we've been storing in the basement and TV that we were planning on getting rid of into a second living/TV room. Joe even figure out how to re-run the cable lines in the house to add cable to the basement TV! We spent the rest of the afternoon doing laundry and watching a movie in our new space.
And the storm that pushed us to work quickly and finish ahead of it's forecast early afternoon arrival? It didn't roll into the area until much later, around 11pm. No hail, no damaging winds, but enough rain to start examining whether those subfloor tiles will be a good product for us or not!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
One more first
I forgot another first for us. The other night, I decided to try a new recipe. It's one that I've looked at many times in the past and thought about making, but never had all of the ingredients. Thursday night I had all but one, and decided to go ahead and try it - Penne with Spinach Sauce. It called for goat cheese, which we don't ever have on hand and I didn't want to make a special trip to the stores, so I decided to substitute. The recipe is really easy - mix the ingredients for the sauce in a food processor while the pasta cooks, combine and voila! it's ready to go. Except our processor is a Magic Bullet, a very small, albeit great processor. It took much longer to mix the sauce, and as I tasted it, realized it had an overwhelming garlic flavor, despite all of the fresh spinach, cheese and spices that were also mixed in. I kept trying to dilute it, and then gave up. I tried a few bites and found it tolerable, but in the end threw mine out and ate a bowl of cereal for dinner. Joe, on the other hand, had seconds! I am fairly certain this was the first meal I've prepared that I disliked enough to not finish while Joe not only finished it but enjoyed it to eat it again. Oh well. We decided that the goat cheese must have been an important part of the recipe, but I'm not sure I'll ever give it a second chance!
Friday, April 24, 2009
A Week of Firsts
On my way into work this morning, I realized that a lot of things, albeit small, happened for the first time this week...
1. Joe and I had our first dinner, just the two of us, at our dining room table. Ever. It's only the 3rd or 4th time we've sat at it, usually for bigger family events. I decided that it's time for us to start eating healthier, and thus made a salad, salmon and asparagus for dinner. Joe decided that a dinner that nice deserved to be eaten at the real table!
2. Joe has started meeting with spanish speaking clients through an arrangement with another attorney who has staff that are fluent in spanish. He's been wanting to brush up and re-learn spanish for a while now, and this has given him a good reason to pursue it further. However, yesterday he came home and commented that he's finding that he's able to start filling in for the interpreter and even understanding/speaking more himself, without having taken any lessons since high school.
3. This morning, I fed the dogs and then got into the shower. I don't typically close the door to the bathroom b/c our fan doesn't work very well, so I try not to let the steam accumulate. Imagine my surprise when all of a sudden I felt something furry brush against my leg from behind... it was LUCY! For some completely unknown reason, the dog who almost tries to hide whenever it's bath time decided to hop into the shower with me, and proceeded to sit down in the tub! I have no idea what prompted it, but the thought of Lucy's first voluntary bath is enough to make me laugh.
4. This is apparently my first post in over a month. I apologize for not keeping up with it better! Now that spring is here, my business is crazy and I'm working many long hours. I'll try to do better, but make no guarantees!
1. Joe and I had our first dinner, just the two of us, at our dining room table. Ever. It's only the 3rd or 4th time we've sat at it, usually for bigger family events. I decided that it's time for us to start eating healthier, and thus made a salad, salmon and asparagus for dinner. Joe decided that a dinner that nice deserved to be eaten at the real table!
2. Joe has started meeting with spanish speaking clients through an arrangement with another attorney who has staff that are fluent in spanish. He's been wanting to brush up and re-learn spanish for a while now, and this has given him a good reason to pursue it further. However, yesterday he came home and commented that he's finding that he's able to start filling in for the interpreter and even understanding/speaking more himself, without having taken any lessons since high school.
3. This morning, I fed the dogs and then got into the shower. I don't typically close the door to the bathroom b/c our fan doesn't work very well, so I try not to let the steam accumulate. Imagine my surprise when all of a sudden I felt something furry brush against my leg from behind... it was LUCY! For some completely unknown reason, the dog who almost tries to hide whenever it's bath time decided to hop into the shower with me, and proceeded to sit down in the tub! I have no idea what prompted it, but the thought of Lucy's first voluntary bath is enough to make me laugh.
4. This is apparently my first post in over a month. I apologize for not keeping up with it better! Now that spring is here, my business is crazy and I'm working many long hours. I'll try to do better, but make no guarantees!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Not much new going on
It's official. Joe gave his notice at work last week and his last day is April 3. Then it's off to the races with his new firm! There's lots to be done to get from here to opening a new business, but I'm confident that it'll all get done. Hopefully this new practice will provide him with much more satisfaction with his job and freedom to run a firm the way he wants.
In other news, I bought a boat! It's an older Hobie 16 catamaran, pictured below. We'll probably use it at the store for lessons and maybe rent it out, but it should provide Joe, me and our friends lots of enjoyment this summer. These boats can sail crazy fast, with one hull out of the water and the crew hanging on over the edge of the boat to keep it from flipping over. Lisa, Linda, Mike and Dan, if any or all of you come out this summer, be forewarned - you will be going sailing! :) I have yet to sail a Hobie 16, and I'm usually a little chicken when it comes to sailing small racing boats, but I have great hopes that this boat will help me become much more confident. If not, at least I tried!
Not much else is going on. The weather has been quite nice, so hopefully this weekend we'll get some of the remaining house projects finished - ceiling installed in the porch, rescreen the sections the dogs ran/fell through, clean up the yard and get ready for spring planting!
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