Thursday, April 29, 2010

New Bar Discovery

These are truly fantastic!  They taste like a dessert (Do I say that a lot?  Well, it's no secret I have a sweet tooth!) and are really filling for breakfast or an afternoon snack to tide you over until dinner...  All the flavors are perfection!  There is chocolate cherry almond, cookie dough, or chocolate peanut butter.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Some recent Gaetano pictures!

I'm so excited to see him this coming weekend... he just turned 7 months, it's unbelievable!


So happy!



Wonder who he's laughing at??

 With Mom Mom and Pop Pop after the assembly in his new adorable "40s" outfit!

He loves his PopPop!

Aunt Jackie and Uncle Isaac

With Aunt Rita

Bye for now!

What I'm:

Reading:  about to finish The Geometry of Sisters by Luanne Rice.  I like it, and there are things I don't like as well...but overall, an interesting read with likable characters.  About to read Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert next. 

















Listening to:  Ingrid Michaelson and Dar Williams lately... emotional, poetic, and somewhat depressing has been the music mood lately.



Watching:  The Dr. Quinn series through.  Just started season 4.  Really enjoying it for the most part!!

Saturday, April 24, 2010

City? Country? Beach? Mountains? Lakeside?








So... just when I think I really want to move to Louisville and live the city kind of life... I have a day that makes me hate the city kind of life. There were so many people on and in the streets, side streets, alleys, parking lots and area around work the other day at about 2:30, that about 11 people almost hit me within the span of 4 minutes. I was trying to find a parking spot at Ce Fiore, a little dessert place down the street from the Browns (the family I nanny for) and there were just none to be had. So I abandoned the idea of a frozen Italian treat and headed back to the sleepy and usually boring Corydon, full of farmland, hills, and people who have spent their entire lives there.
As I drove I wondered the question I've wondered my whole life: Where do I really want to live, where would I be happiest and most at home? I know I love being near water... at the beach or even a lake or river, in walking/ hearing distance is preferable. Water calms me and makes me happy. But I also like a quaint country setting, a farmhouse in the middle of acres of fields and maybe a stream.  I love log cabins in the mountains and could be happy living in one.  And more often than not I see my father's need for privacy and seclusion from people coming out in me... and crave a wooded spot far from civilization.  (Especially when we can't escape screaming kids and babies and cigarette smoke and tailgating in front of our apartment, and fast food smells where we live now!)  All that sounds wonderful and peaceful and welcoming.  However, there are definitely times when I think I'd love to live in a cool city like Louisville, where we are everyday for work, where we can live in an old charming victorian home turned into apartments, and walk to the park, coffee shop, bookstore, library, and boutiques.  Where things are always going on - art fairs, fireworks, festivals.  There are tons of great restaurants, museums, and cultural and artsy activities.  Also appealing.
It's hard to know until you actually live in a place, how you would like it.  I guess that is why I say, "never let me settle..." because I know I can never settle down for good in one place or situation.  I look forward to having the opportunity in the future to live in many different lands and places.

Friday, April 23, 2010

A snack that eats like a dessert!

Cinnamon Harvest Kashi cereal and Silk Vanilla Almond Milk..... MMMMM!!!  Try it.  I mean it may even be good for breakfast ;-)


Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Delish spring cuisine

Since I read a lot of food blogs, I am constantly seeing my own meals and snacks through the eyes of a computer screen/ blog post.  I find reading about what other people are making and eating interesting, so hopefully you guys will too!

The other night we had a fish dinner.  I've never been a big seafood eater, and the only thing I used to like was tuna from a can (made with miracle whip, celery, relish - basically unrecognizable as fish).  Then I cut that out because of being vegetarian.  Lately I feel like I'm not getting enough... I don't want to say protein exactly, because the amount of protein people think you need is such a myth...but I just feel deficient in something.  I feel like I'm just not eating meals with enough solidity to them.  So I decided to give fish another try, and tilapia is said to be one of the least fishy-tasting, so I bought that.  I also made sure to buy one that had a crust on it, to disguise it a little for my first real fish dinner.


It was garlic encrusted tilapia, and I made cous cous with dried cranberries and pecan slivers in it, and a broccoli cheese noodle side dish.  With a glass of Riesling as well. Overall, a winning combination of things, and the fish was great!



















Another night I made this whole wheat pasta with a little olive oil, oregano, steamed broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes, and parmesan cheese. Scruptious!!



Homemade pizza is our usual Friday night dinner... with all sorts of toppings.  Pineapple, onion, green pepper, sun-dried tomato, garlic powder, oregano, etc...














Some of my lunches at work:
roasted red pepper hummus and spinach on homemade bread (not homemade by ME, but my boss, an excellent cook)














Peanut butter, sunbutter, and banana, again on homemade bread... sometimes with a little honey on top...



Also today I had a sandwich on one of these:




I didn't take a picture, but it had laughing cow light spreadable swiss cheese, avocado, and spinach.... and was one of the most wonderful sandwiches I've ever had!!!