Running thru life... Interesting take on V day flowers!

Joe always gets me some type of flowers for Valentine's Day.

With my patient getting me the most gorgeous roses the week before- he knew roses were out.  

So he got me tulips that have yet to bloom. 

They came in a vase with just the roots soaking. 

Apparently they forces the flowers to bloom- very interesting concept.

So we I got them on the 14th- the flowers were still closed.

The Sunday morning.......

Starting to peak thru!

 And Tuesday evening they were blooming!

This is such a cool idea because 1) Flowers last longer, 2) I am going to try to replant the bulbs

3) I want to try to do this next year on my own and see what happens.

=0)

Running thru life... In a Hurry Chicken Curry

Tuesday before I ran off to have lunch with my mom, I took less than 10 minutes to throw everything in to the Crockpot for "In a Hurry Chicken Curry."

I found the recipe in Better Homes and Gardens and thought I would try it out.

Ingredients

• 1  16 ounce package frozen stew vegetables-  I used Fresh Veggies- Carrots, Potatoes, and Mushrooms
• 4 large chicken thighs, skin removed (1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds)
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1 10 3/4 ounce can condensed cream of potato soup-  I actually found an organize cream of potato that I used.
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1tablespoon snipped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Place frozen stew vegetables in a 3 1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker. Top with chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, stir together soup and curry powder. Pour soup mixture over all.

2. Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 6 to 7 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Remove chicken from bones and, if desired, break into large pieces. Sprinkle with cilantro.

It turned out great- so much that my husband said I needed to keep the recipe.  I think next time I would put some raisins in it and also add a little of chicken broth.    I did serve it on a very small amount of rice which I think helped cut the curry a little- I am not a curry person, this was definitely made for my hubby. 

 Picture of the remainder left in the crock pot-  can we say left overs!!!

Runnign thru life... Tax Season

Last year I blogged about my filing system for keeping our Taxes organized.

This year I added a step.

I made a spreadsheet, which is shared in Dropbox so it can be edited on either computer in our house, to organize our deductions.  As you remember the front pocket is normally where I stick deductions so every 2 or 3 months I would just sit down and add any new ones to the spreadsheet.

Since now it is tax season, I just printed it off and add it to my tax paper to insure that I stay organized and do not miss a deduction.
Then I placed everything in the correct piles:

W2s
1099 INTs
1099 DIVs
1099 Rs
House related forms
Forms for Joe school
Deductions
Work deductions.

I find that this helps me to complete a section or two and then take a mini break.
Once I am done I have my hubby just quickly go thru everything as two sets of eyes are always better than one, and then we submitted both State and Federal electronically!
Totally worth it- not having to go to the Post Office!


Of note- I hate taxes but they are officially done! 

Happy Taxing!!!

Running Thru Life... Carmello's Review

My husband and I have decide that this year- 2012 will be the year we get more adventurous with our eating out.  We do not eat out that often but when we do we seem to pick the same places out of habit.  So when talking about where we were going to Valentine's Day dinner we started looking around for something different.  We stumbled upon Carmellos on Open Table- the reviews were good, it was Portuguese food (which I heart!) and it was a place that we actually had been wanting to try.

So we made the reservation for the Saturday before Valentine's Day.  

I hate eating out of V day- I much rather have a nice quite night at home.  

So we headed out on Saturday to Manassas where Carmello's is located.

It is located in Old Town Manassas which is quaint.  

We walked in and it just went down hill from there.

First, we were not greeted at all.  It was almost we were inconveniencing the wait staff being there.  

They did not offer to take our coats. 

 (This is suppose to be a fine dining place!!!)

We were escorted to our table which was very small and so close together that I could barely get thru the sides and as my husband pointed out "you have a small ass!" 

 Thank you Joseph!

The waiter then came over- did not introduce himself, did not go over the special, nothing- just asked us if we wanted to order.  Joe ordered the Paella and I ordered the Scallops. 

My dish was terrible- It was 4 small scallops on cold white rice with barely any sauce.  

Joe Paella was Ok- it was made with a tomato base which was the not way it was advertized on the menu. 

The waiter did not come back to check us until Joe was done and my plate was still pretty much full to ask us if we wanted dessert.  Both Joe and I were so over the experience we asked for the check and proceed to a local cupcake store for a treat.  

I normally do not do this, but the next morning I woke up and wrote a email to the owner about our experience.  I have now only done this twice in my whole life.  

However, I felt it was warranted because of the bad customer service! 

I was very civil and explained that what we experienced the other night was not fine dining. 

 The owner answered me within 2 days- apologizing for our experience and stating we are not the only ones who did not receive excellent customer service.  

They are apologizing by sending up a substantial gift card to try Carmello's again. 

I will update you with our second experience...

One can only hope it will get better!

Running thru life.... Finally did it!

 With one of my New Year's resolution:  "to decrease spending by making a Want's List,"  which I have been going strong with.  I put a label maker on there in the begining of January.  

So this weekend, I discussed it with my husband who said "I can't believe you do not own one already."  
I headed out to Walmart- my least favorite store on the planet because it had the label maker that a neightbor loved and it also fit the budget of less than $20.  

I purchased the Dymo Personal Label Marker LT-100T for $18.95.  

I headed home to test it out and organize.  

This was our organization system before for paperwork such as wills, mortgages, etc.  

We are fortunate that the people that lived in our house installed cabinets in our bedroom.  

However, things were in a need of being organized!!!

So I started out with the label maker helping me organize our recipe book and the other notebooks. 

I immediately fell in love with the label maker for a couple reasons

1) It was easy to use-  instruction manual was very easy to follow.

2) Had different font sizes.

3) Had different font settings such as verticle.  

4) Keyboard buttons were big.  

The only thing that I found a pain was the "Cut" button on the side but i figure it out after a couple of tries. 

Finished product

Finished cabinet....

I was able to get rid of alot of stuff.  

Feel so much better.

I love my label maker!

Running thru life.... My Pal

With one of my New Years goal to lead a healthier lifestyle and also loose the extra pounds that have snuck up on me in my 2 1/2 years of marriage, I knew I needed help.

So I went to the App store to see if there was an app that could help me focus more on this goal.

I was in luck!

MyFitnessPal  APP

Cost: FREE

What it lets you keep track of:

-Weight

-The Weight you want to get down to (then it determines the amount of calories a day you are allowed)

-Your calories for each meal.  It truly has everything in the data base!

-You work outs and the amount of calories you burn

-Water and hydration.

I have been using it for two weeks and am seeing the results slowly!

Which is the healthy way to do it!

But what I love is that it makes me aware of what I am putting in my mouth!

It helps keep me accountable because I put everything that I eat/drink into the program.

Which is awesome because it lets me keep track of the water I am drinking as i get closer to my run.

What I love even more, is it syncs to my ipad, ipod and online.

I heart Myfitnesspal

Running thru life... Cooking attempt take two!

One of my New Years resolutions was to book.

So last week I made Wine Braised Beef.

I found the recipe in the magazine Family Circle that I get for free.

Ingredients

• Wine-braised beef
  1 1/2 pounds beef chuck, cut into 2-inch cubes
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 large carrots (about 1/2 pound), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 8 ounces frozen pearl onions (1 1/4 cups), thawed
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups hearty red wine
• 1 cup low-sodium beef stock
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 spig fresh rosemary
• Fresh parsley (optional)

Directions

Wine-braised beef

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees . Season beef with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a Dutch oven on high; brown beef on all sides, about 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-high, add carrots, onions and garlic; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add wine, stock, tomato paste and rosemary and bring to a boil. Cover, place in oven and braise at 350 degrees for 11/2 hours or until meat is knife-tender and sauce thickens.

Finished Product.  

We placed it over a little rice.  

It was perfect.

Will be a recipe we save!