Halloween Weekend

I haven't posted in awhile. There's nothing really exciting to post about actually and my camera is HORRIBLE so I haven't been motivated to take any new pictures.

We're going to Atlanta today. I'm so excited. Our friend, Adam and his wife Danielle live down there and they are having their annual Halloween party.

I'm not trying to toot my own horn here but I think we have a good shot at winning the costume award. I'm not going to say what it is yet (cause there will be lots of pictures assuming my camera is functional) but here is a sneak peak...

Sweet Sassy Mollassy!

This little girl (my niece) turned 5 on Tuesday! WHAT?!?!

She is full of sass for a 5 year old and ALL girl...


But, she is the cutest thing ever. I cannot believe she is 5 already.


Her party is this weekend and I'm sad to be missing it. I'm sure she really won't know the difference anyway and she'll have fun.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARLEIGH!

Last One!

I got a call back from my doctor's office about this week's blood draw and this is the latest:

My latest numbers:
D&C date - 8/14/09
Week #1 - 8/31/09 - 159.6
Week #2 - 9/08/09 - 44
Week #3 - 9/15/09 - 18.3
Week #4 - 9/22/09 - 9.8
Week #5 - 9/29/2009 - 6
Week #6 - 10/06/09 - 3.5
Week #7 - 10/14/09 - 2.1
Week #8 - 10/14/09 - 1.6!!

AND, she said that I just need to follow up in a month. HALLELUJAH!

No Words

My latest numbers:

D&C date - 8/14/09
Week #1 - 8/31/09 - 159.6
Week #2 - 9/08/09 - 44
Week #3 - 9/15/09 - 18.3
Week #4 - 9/22/09 - 9.8
Week #5 - 9/29/2009 - 6
Week #6 - 10/06/09 - 3.5
Week #7 - 10/14/09 - 2.1!!

I have no words to express my frustration.

Steve's Favorite Food

I made Weight Watcher General Tso's Chicken last night. This has been Steve's favorite meal since the first time I made it for him. Seriously. He told me last night that if he had to live on one meal a day it would be this recipe. And, the best part is that it isn't that bad for you cause it's not the typical fried General Tso's that everyone knows. So, I'll share it with everyone with pictures so I can show off my lovely kitchen in the house that we are renting that I absolutely despise (I was working with very little counter space)...

Also as a side note: This recipe is a little spicy and we love spicy so if you don't like spicy than it probably isn't the recipe for you.

WW General Tso's Chicken

So, you start out with quite a few ingredients BUT I will say that if you don't have them already and you have to buy them for this recipe, most of the ingredients will last you awhile and all you'll have to buy if you want to make it again is the chicken, scallions, and chicken broth

Ingredients:

3/4 cup canned reduced-sodium chicken broth (I use normal chicken broth, not reduced sodium) 2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons oil (I use vegetable oil but I'm sure it's fine with any type)
2 medium scallions, chopped (I think they are also called green onions)
2 medium garlic cloves, minced (I use two FULL teaspoons of the already minced jarred garlic)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 lb uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
2 cups cooked white rice, kept hot (I use brown rice to be healthier and Success makes an instant brown rice that you just throw 1 packet in boiling water for ten minutes and you are done.)

Okay, so once you have all your ingredients out, I start out by taking a small or medium sized bowl and adding to it the: chicken broth, cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, white whine vinegar, and ginger. I whisk it together for a second to mix in the cornstarch and set aside.

Next, I take a little bowl (mine is used probably for dipping sauces or au jus) and add to it the crushed red pepper and garlic. I think cut up the scallions with scissors and add that to the bowl too and set aside for a minute.

After this, I cut up the chicken into bite sized pieces. This is really all based on preference but I like smaller pieces of chicken rather than larger.

At this point, I put a pot of water on High for the instant brown rice. I let that get to a boil and then add the bag cause this will need to cook for 8-10 minutes and that's about how long the recipe takes to make.

Then, you will take a pan and heat over medium-high heat the oil.

Once the oil is hot, you'll add the red pepper flakes, garlic and scallions and saute that mixture for about 2 minutes. It will look like this...

Once that has cooked for about 2-3 minutes, add the chicken (that you have already cut up)

Let the chicken cook for about 5-6 minutes or until it is browned all over.

This was at the point where I had about 2 minutes left. The chicken doesn't need to cook all the way through but you should see any pink on the outside.

After about 5 or 6 minutes, the chicken should be cooked on the outside completely. Now, it's time to add the sauce that we whisked together at the beginning. I would give it one more whisk cause by now the cornstarch may have settled at the bottom again.

Now, add it to the pan with the chicken and keep stirring for about 3 or 4 minutes. The sauce will be very watery at first...

...but will thicken up due tot he cornstarch until it gets to the consistency of a thick gravy.

After about 3 or 4 minutes of stirring the mixture the chicken should have had the chance to cook through and it should be done. Your rice should also be done by now.

Spoon about a cup of rice into a bowl for you and your dinner date. I spoon way more in for my date but only about a 1/2 cup to 1 cup for me so I stick to the serving size.

And, to finish, top with about a cup of the chicken mixture over the rice and make sure you get some of the sauce too! It's the best part!

Go light candles on the table and put on some music and it all comes together to make for one happy husband!

And, he may even end up doing the dishes for you!

Jamie and Kiser's Wedding Post

This past weekend we went to Jamie and Matt Kiser's rehearsal dinner and wedding. It was a good time. I was really apprehensive about the entire weekend cause things like that can turn into a debacle and because that's just the way I am to get nervous before situations that I'm used to. But, it ended up being a fun and tiring weekend. The rehearsal dinner was at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fairfax and the wedding was at the International Country Club. It was beautiful (but of course I thought Steve and my wedding topped it. :-)) Steve was in the wedding though so that was fun to see. My camera battery was dying and I've really come to the conclusion that my camera is just not cutting it anymore so the pictures aren't that great but I tried at least.

Here are some highlights from both nights...REMEMBER: You can click on the picture to enlarge.

Here, I tried to get the whole wedding party, but it was a lot of people and the lighting was horrible...

The boys in the distance at the rehearsal...

Me and the bride, Jamie...


The cake at the rehearsal dinner. Clearly, I did not touch it since it had fruit on it. ;-)

The newlyweds...

Steve, Jere and the brother of the bride...

Mother of the groom and brother of the groom...

Bride and Father of the Bride...

The Mother of the Groom and her FOUR sons...

Jamie and Matt handing out the wedding party gifts. The boys got Redskins jerseys with their last names on the back. Pretty cool! Too bad I spilled red wine on Steve's. Oops!

At our table...

On to the wedding.

This was right when we arrived (and we were there early for the boys to take pictures beforehand...

Steve and I before he took pictures...

Steve walking the grandma down the aisle. Awww...

Steve about to enter the reception escorting one of the bridesmaids...

Steve, Bride and Groom. Duh...

I actually really liked my dress. I got it the day before at TJ Maxx for $39! Score!

And, I have a few from the after party back at the hotel but my camera was being ridiculous so it's not even worth posting them but here are two.

Steve, his friend Ryan, the father of the groom and brother of the groom...


And, the final picture of the night before we got in our cab. Hair looking scraggly, makeup looking non-existent. You get the idea...

It's Like Torture....Seriously

My latest numbers:

D&C date - 8/14/09
Week #1 - 8/31/09 - 159.6
Week #2 - 9/08/09 - 44
Week #3 - 9/15/09 - 18.3
Week #4 - 9/22/09 - 9.8
Week #5 - 9/29/2009 - 6
Week #6 - 10/06/09 - 3.5!!

They tell me one more week of blood draws. I don't believe it. She told me it has to get all the way to zero. Ugh! I'm going back in on Wednesday for another one. And, the BIG blood draw lady is not gentle or friendly.

Football Sunday with Friends

This past Sunday, the Redskins played the Buccs. We decided to have over Kristen and Billy and grill and play cornhole and watch the games. It was a fun time and perfect weather! I'm so glad we did it! Monday morning was not too fun though. ;-)

We started in the basement watching the big t.v...

The beginnning of the food spread. I ended up putting out chips, fench onion dip, bffano chicken dip and pigs in a blanket. Yumz! We grilled burgers when it got dark and I made homemade macaroni and cheese...

There were THREE laptops set up so that everyone could check their fantasy football teams. Freaks!

We migrated outside after the Skins game and Billy posed for a picture with Onyx by our newly planted mums...


Kristen and Billy in the backyard

You can see our Redskins colored mums to the left of this picture.

Kristen's posed picture with Onyx.


Then we moved to outside our backyrd fence so we could spread the cornhole out and play real games. Onyx is patiently waiting at the gate. I made her stay there for the picture.


Mid-game...

We moved Onyx and tied her to a tree so she could watch us play.


It got a little redneck when we used a beer can to prop up the cornhole board to make it level...


Onyx was being so good...

It was a really fun day....and cheap!

Golfing with Tyler

Last Saturday, we took Steve's nephew out to golf for the first time on a REAL course as a present for his 10th birthday which was a few months ago! (We only played 9 holes though and it was a Par 3 course but that's all minor details). Tyler did really well for his age and for his first time. I only got a couple pictures when we were practicing hitting balls at the driving range beforehand though. The course we went to is only about a mile from our house and it's cheap and a GREAT course to learn on so it was perfect and it was a beautiful day. It couldn't have been better.