Our week in pictures: 2/6 - 2/12

Sunday, February 6: Porkchop all tuckered out after the Super Bowl

Monday, February 7: More snow in the city while I was walking to the train; the flakes were huge!

Tuesday, February 8: Work is very busy right now. Check out my project list!

 Wednesday, February 9: Porkchop relaxing, what he does best!

Thursday, February 10: Getting into the Valentine's spirit with my heart socks!

Friday, February 11: A valentine's day present waiting for Baby Jacob when he gets home from Florida

Saturday, February 12: I had another blood test today and it was super easy, thank goodness!

This week I'm...

Loving: That this week is almost over, I am so ready for the weekend!

Disliking: This frigid cold, I really need Winter to be over.

Craving: Warmth, it's freezing out there today!

Wanting: The next week going by fast so I can have  my question answered!

Reading: Lots of new magazines this week

Watching: I am officially loving this season of American Idol, I think the new judges were a great choice

Listening to: Wow, I love the Black Eyed Peas, but after the Super Bowl I don't think I'll be seeing them live any time soon, it was rough.

Looking forward to: The announcement  of the iPad 2, I need to know the release date stat!

Hearing buzz about: The latest politician to make an ass out of himself trying to meet girls on Craiglist, when are these idiots going to learn? Oh and he is married and has a son. Stay classy Chris Lee

Wordles Wednesday - Leafy greens on a cold, gray day

Vacation set...only 93 days till we leave!

In the midst of all the snow and cold, it's always nice to have something to look forward to. Nothing cures the Winter blues more than having a vacation to look forward to! We officially have our first vacation of the year planned and we're heading to Florida and Walt Disney World for 10 days!

We haven't been in almost 2 years, so we are due for a fix. It all started because I am going to be down in Orlando for a work conference so we thought it would be a good opportunity to piggy back a vacation with it. My parents wanted to go down for a visit too, so we were able to coordinate together. We love going to Disney together. We are going to be staying at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge thanks to my parents and their Vacation Club membership.

I can't wait to lounge by the pool

Sit in the rocking chairs and watch all of the animals

You can't see this outside your window at every hotel!

All of this is just at our hotel. We also have all of the theme parks to visit as well! While we are there the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival will be going on. They have amazing displays of flowers all over the park. The best part are all of the topiaries in the shape of Disney characters. It's amazing and they do different themes every year. We haven't been to the festival in quite a few years so I'm excited to see the new displays.

Isn't it beautiful?

We are so excited to have something to look forward to now and get us through these next few months. May will be here before we know it, I hope!

Menu Planning Monday

Monday: Cheddar cracker chicken

Tuesday: Pancetta and pesto chicken

Wednesday: Herbed pork tenderloin

Thursday: Homemade ravioli and turkey sausage

Friday: Date night

Weekend Recap

We had a great weekend! On Friday I worked from home, which I ended up doing most of the week because of the snow. Work was really busy so the day flew by and then it was time for my doctor's appointment. I was meeting with my doctor to have an ultrasound to see if the fertility drug, Clomid, I am on is working. We got great news and found out that the Clomid is working and we got to see the results with a little egg right in front of our eyes. It was awesome! I got a shot of hcg, which will make me ovulate and we could know in 2 weeks if we're pregnant or not! Even if we don't get pregnant this month, it was just nice to get some positive news that we are on the right track. I left feeling very hopeful, which was nice for a change. We went out to celebrate with a date night at Sushi Bar.

We came home and watched our favorite Friday night shows, Gold Rush Alaska and Flying Wild on Discovery and just relaxed before calling it a night.

On Saturday, we got up and went to breakfast and then ran some errands. Michael needed to do some work fixing drills so I did some baking. I want to make Valentine's Day cake pops next weekend so I made my cake, added the frosting, formed the hearts and put them in the freezer.

They'll be ready for their chocolate dipping and decorating next weekend. They will look like the picture below but on a stick! Gotta love Bakerella. I will be sure to post pictures of the finished product when I dip and decorate them next weekend.

The rest of Saturday, I did some cleaning and laundry and we just relaxed for the most part. It was nice. We also watched a movie we picked up at Red Box. We watched Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, the sequel to Wall Street. It was okay, definitely not as good as the original.

Today of course was Super Bowl Sunday! We got up early and went to breakfast and then headed to the grocery store to pick up fixings for the yummy food we were going to make for the big game. Arla and Teddy were hosting this year. We made a sub sandwich, buffalo chicken dip and a new recipe, hot reuben dip. I wanted to try the hot reuben dip as a test run for a possible new menu item at Oktoberfest! The hot reuben dip turned out really well, it was a hit, so I think it will be making it's way onto our menu this year.

 Putting out the spread

Mom making tomato, garlic and basil pizzas

Hot reuben dip

Lots and lots of food

Sub sandwich for halftime

Flirty cupcakes for dessert!

We had a great time visiting with everyone and eating lots of delicious food. I thought the game was pretty good and there were some funny commercials. We also won $50 in a squares pool so all in all, it was a great way to end our weekend!

Superbowl Sunday!

It's Super Bowl time! Today it's the Packers vs. the Steelers. We'll be rooting for the Steelers tonight. No Bears fan can root for the Packers. We are headed over to Arla and Teddy's to hang out with them and my parents to watch the big game. We are all bringing some delicious eats, because of course the food is as big a part of Super Bowl as the game is! I hope everyone has a great time watching the game, go Steelers!

Our week in pictures: 1/30 - 2/5

Sunday, January 30: I made some really yummy chocolate chip cookie bars

Monday, January 31: This is Michael's idea of "necessities" for the snow storm, HA!

 Tuesday, February 1: The blizzard is here!

Wednesday, February 2: Snowpocalyspe 2011!

Thursday, February 3: Porkchop sunning his buns on the one of the coldest day of the year

Friday, February 4: I got great news at the doctor today that the Clomid is working. This is the little egg that could become our first baby, fingers crossed!

 Saturday, February 5: Porkchop enjoying a lazy Saturday

Things I'm loving...January

1. Anna and Kristina's grocery bag

Anna & Kristina's grocery bag is my favorite new cooking show on Oprah's new OWN network. Each episode focuses on them testing recipes from a different cookbook. They make a full meal for a special guest chef while following the book's recipes & instructions. One of the things I like most is that they do product testings of kitchen gadgets and/or food items to provide a side-by-side comparison between different brands/models. These product tests usually pertain to ingredients or tools they are using in that episode. At the end of the program, they will declare the book a "Buy" or a "Pass" depending on whether they feel the book has delivered in its promise and purpose. They are really funny to watch as they sometimes make mistakes along the way!

 

 2. Blog book

I was so excited to make my blog book this year. Last year I only blogged half of the year so I couldn't believe that my book this year was over 300 pages! I am so happy I have kept up with my blog and have an almost daily record of our lives.

 3. Vacation plans

This month we finally figured out our first vacation of the year. In May, we are heading to Orlando and Walt Disney World to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I can't wait! We haven't been there in a couple of years and I definitely need a fix!

 4. My understanding husband

 January was a rough month for me in our ongoing quest to become parents. The fertility drugs I am on make me completely crazy and emotional for 5-7 days, not to mention the hot flashes, head aches and other side effects. My dosage was bumped up this month and it was a lot worse than the month before. It's not easy for either of us, but Michael always keeps his cool and does everything he can to make me feel better.

5. My surprise bag from Michael

See number 4 above. I have been lusting over this tote for a while and in the middle of my rough week, Michael surprised me with it. He's the best and I love it!

This week I'm...

Loving: Working from home the rest of the week, snow days have perks!

Disliking: Our roads not being plowed so we can't go anywhere, I'm gonna get stir crazy!

Craving: Warmth, it's freezing out there today!

Wanting: To go Spring clothes shopping, all the cute new things are calling my name.

Reading: Not much this week since I haven't been on the train

Watching: The Super Bowl this weekend, go Steelers!

Listening to: Lots of Blizzard 2011 commentary; man Lake Shore Drive was a mess!

Looking forward to: Hopefully getting some good news at the doctor tomorrow...

Hearing buzz about: Punxsutawney Phil didn't see his shadow yesterday so Spring is coming early, and he better be right!

Wordless Wednesday - Snowpocalypse 2011!



Snowpocalypse 2011!

Well you would have to be living under a rock for the past 24-48 hours to not know about the blizzard heading our way. It is supposed to start later this afternoon and snow all night as much as 2-3" an hour. I am definitely bringing my work laptop home with me tonight because I don't think I will be making it into the office tomorrow. I am hoping for less than the 18 - 24" predicted, that is just a crazy amount of snow! I hope all of you are safe and if you don't have to leave your house, DON'T! That groundhog better not see his shadow tomorrow either, we definitely deserve an early Spring after all of this!