Me when I was 7, among other things.

I. Am. Awesome.
I'm friends on Facebook with a girl that was in my 3rd and 4th grade class. She sent me this picture of myself when I was 7... and I haven't stopped laughing about it. Where are all my teeth? What am I so excited about? Is it strange that I now have a tattoo of a bow that is the exact color of the one on that shirt?

Anyway, things have been going pretty well. Work is great, though very early and my days off are screwy, which isn't really a big deal. I'm liking it. Getting up at 0330 has its perks... not really. But it's nice to be done with work so early in the day, so I'll take it!
On Tuesday, which was my one day off this week, Angelina and I went to the gloriousness that is Cactus Flower Cafe. Delicious California-style Mexican food.

Angelina had chicken tacos and some tortilla soup, and I had the chicken and sour cream enchiladas verde. So good. I also had a glass of sangria, which was beyond words. ^__^

Our awesome waitress Kelly gave us some complimentary raspberry gooey cake. Yes, that's what she called it. It was warm and soft and sweet and raspberry-tastic. I'm glad Angelina and I chose to share a small piece. Heaven knows what I would have done if left to my own devices.

I've been making lots of smoothies lately

Banana Blueberry

Black Cherry and Vanilla
Strawberry Rhubarb with Chocolate Protein Powder
My favorite so far.
Last night I made myself a simple dinner of a teriyaki pork chop, sticky rice, pineapple, and grilled spring onions. It was tasty and salty and awesome.
Then I enjoyed the pretty sunset from my back porch.

After work today I went to the gym with Angelina. I did 50 minutes on the treadmill, alternating between walking fast on a 13% incline, running at a 7.5% incline, running on a 3% incline, and walking fast on a 1.5% incline. Then I came home and did my 30 Day Shred workout. I'm sore and want to go to bed.

Mrs. Powell's (that's me) No-Tahini Hummus

I wanted a delicious, healthy, snacky lunch. My mind was set on hummus, but I don't keep tahini on hand due to it's short shelf life and the fact that I rarely need it. What else gives the flavor of tahini? Creamy peanut butter.
-Mrs. Powell's No-Tahini Hummus-
1 can organic chickpeas, drained, and 2 tablespoons of liquid reserved
1/2 of a roasted red bell pepper, chopped (I use the ones that come in the jar)
1 tablespoon creamy, natural peanut butter
salt and pepper, to taste
2 cloves of garlic
olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin

In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse garlic cloves until they are broken up as much as they can be. Add the peanut butter, chickpeas, cumin, salt and pepper, and the roasted pepper. Puree, and while the blade is running, drizzle in the olive oil and reserved chickpea liquid to reach your desired consistency. Taste (after the blade has stopped, haha) and re-season with salt and pepper, if needed.
I serve mine dusted with paprika and sesame seeds, and with fresh vegetable dippers. My favorites are raw zucchini and red pepper, which are actually the only bell peppers I like.
Enjoy.♥

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday...

For dinner tonight I made myself some tasty linguine aglio olio peperocino.
For those of you going, "Oh, of course, 'aglio olio peperocino,' right..."that means pasta topped with olive oil infused with red pepper flakes and fresh garlic, and in my case, some parsley and mint. It's simply and delicious, and reminds me of Germany.

Now I'm cleaning up and watching the best movie ever.

You touch my sister again, I'll kill ya'.

Kick his ass, Sonny.
If you don't know that this is The Godfather, I don't want to be your friend.
I cry every time I watch Sonny die. AND every time he kicks the crap out of Connie's dirtbag husband. AND when Apollonia dies in the car... I cry a lot during this movie.

Happy Valentine's Day♥

I came home from work today to find these waiting on my doorstep.
♥
Mmmmm warm fuzzies.

Even though I always say I don't want flowers, he gets them and I'm so so happy. And look! No tacky, horrible baby's breath, and he mixed just enough red roses with white orchids, which happen to be my favorite flower. He knows me so well.

They look lovely on my coffee table.

Speaking of flowers, did I mention that Angelina brought some over the other day when she came for dinner? They're beautiful, and really perk up the dining room. I call this the "J.Crew" bouquet. ;)
Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

A lovely Saturday.

Today my very handy neighbor came over and informed me that my dishwasher is kaput. I guess it's back to the pioneer days for this lady.
At least I have Mrs. Meyer's to make the task more enjoyable.
Later in the morning Angelina and I went to Pensacola to buy necessary things like skinny vanilla lattes with protein powder and makeup. It was a good, fun day.
I decided to switch foundations. I've only ever been loyal to one brand, and that's Lancôme. I love their products, they blend beautifully with my skin tone, and don't cause any complexion issues.
I switched from their Ageless Mineral Makeup to their new Ôscillation Mineral Makeup.
I thought the oscillation thing seemed gimmicky, but the lady took off my makeup and applied this stuff, and I loved it. It feels soft, has just the right amount of coverage, and is still sheer enough that my skin looks like skin. Plus it wears for 14 hours and has an SPF of 21.

I also picked up a new facial cleanser, Philosophy's Purity Made Simple. It's a makeup remover and cleanser in one (because those aren't the same thing, people) and it's got a nice, creamy texture. I'm pretty excited about it.

Shopping made us hungry, so we went to Panera. I had half a Fuji Apple Salad and half a bowl of their Garden Vegetable with Pesto Soup.

Angelina had half of a Greek Salad and some of Panera's awesome Chicken Noodle.

And we both had a Black Cherry Smoothie. They were delicious, and under 300 calories. Which made us happy.

One more thing. I've decided that I'm going to start wearing my hair in a more wavy fashion, so this morning I gave my hair some big curls with my flat iron. Strange, I know, for me to be curling my already curly hair. It fell flat rather quickly, but I still liked the way it looked.

And for no good reason at all, I thought I'd throw in a picture of my newest tattoo. It's not really new, I've had it for a while, but a lot of my good friends back home haven't seen it.

Haha, don't be jealous of my mad photography skills.
I'm off to work out and then go to bed! I work bright and early tomorrow. Happy early Valentine's Day everybody!

Not Much

I didn't do much today. I had the day off and didn't feel well this morning, so a lot of sleeping was in order.
Once I woke up and was functional, I fixed my favorite snack.

Now you know my secret... my favorite snack is cherry tomatoes topped with feta cheese, dried herbs, and olive oil, then heated up in the microwave. It makes me happy.

Then I hung out with baby Braden from 5:30 to 12:30. Yay for baby time, he's awesome as awesome can be.

this is awesome. and sad.

Chicken two ways and birds on soap. Oh, and the dog park.

I finally opened one of the cute soaps that Angelina gifted me. I didn't want to, it was so cute!
I'm glad I did though, because I found out that there's a cute little bird etched into each bar!
The soap is olive leaf and coriander scented, and I'm in love with it. I want to stock up for my guest bathroom!

This post isn't going to be lengthy or chatty, I'll save that for another day. I've been working a lot, and that combined with housework (which never ends) and yardwork (which is just beginning) and endless puppy attention time is wiping me out! It's going to take me a couple of weeks to normalize.
My dishwasher is broken, and that makes me sad. It smells like fire and spits water. I'm afraid of it, it's like a deleted scene from Mr. Mom. Only with me, not Michael Keaton.
The other night I made this tasty little chicky boob.
It's a chicken breast pounded thin, cooked through and then topped with sliced tomato and feta cheese and broiled for a few minutes. I made a quick side of orzo pasta with oregano, zucchini, and lemon zest. Awesome.
The next night I had chicken left over from the night before, so I made curry. A girl I work with, Grace, invited me to a really nice dog park in Pensacola, and on the way there we passed an Indian restaurant, so I got a hankerin'. The dogs had a great time at the park, Malo and Maggie got along well with Grace's Border Collie and Border Collie/Labrador mix. I forgot the camera, otherwise I'd be posting tons of pictures of the pups being silly. I just need to get another one and keep in my car.
Work is going pretty well. I hope to pick up some more bar shifts (actually making drinks) but since I'm new I guess I need to prove to everyone that I can hang, hahaha. I've been working register and the drive through window, which I don't mind at all, so no complaining here. I worked today from 0500-0930 (a "princess shift" as my boss called it) and tomorrow I have a real shift, 0730-1600, and I'm off Friday and Saturday, then open again on Sunday. I love how working is making the time fly by, Ricky will be home in 5 weeks!
I'm off to shower, finish bed linens (it's Wednesday) and watch The Purple Rose of Cairo.
And possibly have some wine. Orrrr liquor.
Goodnight!

Bon Weekend

Wait, what weekend?
I worked Friday, Saturday, and today, and I'm not off until Friday. I'm actually glad to have the hours, it makes the time fly by and it's better than sitting at home. Today was a really good day at work, there were only 5 people on, and that's a number that makes me happy. I'm still not used to working with so many people! At KB we had 3 people max, at our busiest times, and even that felt crowded. We had the business to justify more, but the NAF staffing rules were ridiculous. Anyway, I'm still getting used to not bumping into people and learning to tuck in my elbows. =)
I do my "Barista Certification" tomorrow. Exciting, no?

I got off at 1600 today, and I have a lot of housework to do, so I wanted something fast and comforting for dinner tonight.
Enter the soup and sandwich combination.

Tomato soup (Campbell's!) with some creme fraiche and shredded cheddar, along with a grilled cheese made with Jewish Rye (what what), cheddar, and green onions, and a Granny Smith.

This was delicious. I don't know how long it's been since I had a grilled cheese sandwich. Too long.
I hope everyone had a great weekend and is rested up for the coming week!

Squidly Diddly

Thanks goodness for squid and it's wicked fast cooking time. I was tired today and wanted something fast, but I still wanted something delicious and homemade.

Campanelle pasta topped with a mixture of olive oil, white wine, squid (bodies and tentacles), shallots, fresh garlic, Italian seasoning, and cherry tomatoes.

Blazing Saddles is on, it's a good way to spend the evening.
=)

37 and a half. Oh my god!

Angelina came over tonight for some tasty food.
And lovely company.
And The Office & 30 Rock.

Dinner was filet mignon, potatoes roasted with truffle oil and herbes de provence, and pan roasted broccoli with pine nuts. I made a quick sauce for the filets with shallots, oyster mushrooms, thyme, and some of the Pinot Noir that we also drank with dinner. Thyme, mushrooms, and Pinot Noir... so Northwest chic! We're both Washington girls, so it works.

Angelina brought over this fabulous Harney and Sons tea, the Paris blend. I made some light as air lavender cookies to go with it.

Delicious meal and lots of laughter.

Ricky is in Ruidoso going snowboarding until tomorrow night, and all of the phones are down at the hotel he's staying at. How awesome is that? Ugh.
It's raining so hard right now, it's so loud that it's keeping me from relaxing.
Malcolm in the Middle is still on TV?

Cardio, Shellfish, Coffee, and Babies.

Today was a pretty good day. Angelina and I went to the gym (which was too damn hot, arg) and did some cardio. Ah, cardio. I love you and hate you.

Before I left to pick up Braden I made myself a delicious lunch of spicy shrimp and a nice hunk of baguette.

Fresh shrimp, lots of garlic, tomatoes, shallots, white wine, red pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning. So good.
Braden didn't feel well this afternoon. Poor guy.
I'd like to give a big thanks to my iced Venti Americano with nonfat milk, for getting me through the afternoon. Thank you. ♥

Annnd now I'd like to share two fabulous websites

Earthy Delights
-truffles, mushrooms, and other gourmet goodies-
(thanks Kari Beth!)

Caldrea
-the higher end offering from Mrs. Meyer's, they have fabulous scents like Lavender Pine and Basil Blue Sage.

Braden doesn't care much for Eddie or Jimmy.

Bethany had to work late today, so I got to pick Braden up from daycare and take him home!

While stopped at a red light, I reached around and, without looking, took a picture of him.
This is what I got.

He's such a GQ baby.

In the car we had a lengthy discussion about Eddie Van Halen and Jimmy Page. Braden didn't have much to contribute, he just hiccuped and fell asleep.I still gave him some smushy-face kisses when we got home.

Once Bethany got home, he looked at her like she was crazy for leaving him in my care.
"Seriously mom, all she did was sing "Panama" and talk about guitarists. Come on. How is this helping me develop?"

To be sweet and thoughtful and wonderful, Bethany treated me to some tasty and super spicy Thai food, complete with delicious Thai iced tea.

Thai hot is serious stuff. My nose was running and my lips burned, and it was totally worth it.

Ricky Powell!

I love you and miss you.
You're the best husband I could ever ask for.
♥-Nissa