Livin' the Dream in Lima

Funny story - yesterday was a crazy busy day. I got home from a meeting around 4:40pm, but still needed to go for a run, take a shower/make myself presentable, make dinner, eat dinner, and be out of the house by 6:50pm so I could make it to Bible study by 7pm. So, I changed as fast as possible, and flew out the door for my run by 4:45pm, planning on an easy 6-miler (about 50 minutes). I would be back by 5:35pm, and well on my way to preparing some delicious homemade Chipotle burrito bowls for dinner. Except... as soon as I slammed the LOCKED door shut, I realized I didn't have the key. Crap. Hmm..... what could I do? So I decided to run to my Business Man's office (about 2.5 miles away), get his  key and then run home. Perfect! So I ran to his office. Except he wasn't there. After a quick panic, I realized that he had a meeting across town from 5-6pm. Which meant he wouldn't be home until 6:15ish. So I started running home, the long way. I figured that I co...

A long, long time ago (ok not that long) when I lived in the grand ole' state of Illinois, once a month during the winter my grandma would host 'Soup Supper.'  The purpose? One, to get my extended family with our busy lives all together for a few hours. And two, to eat soup. Betcha couldn't see that coming. Each family would make a pot of soup to bring to 'Soup Supper', and we would have a feast of soup and cheese and crackers and bread. There was probably a vegetable or two in there somewhere, too. (Like the chopped veggies in the soup. Heh.) I loved sampling all the different soups, but I always left completely stuffed! I guess three bowls of three different kinds of soup will do that to you. Anyways, one night my cousin Charlie brought the most delicious Cheesy Chicken Enchilada soup. It was creamy and cheesy and spicy and chock full of Mexican flavor. I don't think I even tried any other types of soup that night. And I'm not sure anyone...

Like that's not a mouthful, haha. So, a few months ago, I applied to host a " House Party " for Breakstone's Sour Cream. Basically, different brands offer "party packs" to people, who then in turn open their homes to friends & family to try out new brands and products. Well, I got chosen, and we had the party on Sunday night! Breakstone's has come out with several new flavored sour creams and sour cream dips, and we were supposed to try them out. Unfortunately, our local grocery stores only carried two of the seven varieties, so we only got to try two of the new flavors (chipotle and ranch).  We decided to go with a Mexican Fiesta theme, since we were sampling chipotle  sour cream. Yes, it's a bit of a stretch. But everyone loves Mexican food! Chips & salsa! We served our favorite cherry salsa from Door County. Here's what was on the menu: Chips & Salsa Roasted Corn Dip  (<-- this is delicious!) Chicken & S...

This week we've had lots of take-out. Subway, Panera, Bellacino's, you-name-it. Not that I don't like take-out (because I do!), but every night ? I don't know how some people do it. Cooking is just so much more fun! And satisfying. Anyways, we've finally reached a lull in the house improvements. They floors are in the process of being stained & varnished, so there are 10 hour chunks of time that they can't be walked on. Thus, work can't be done. (Well, no work can be done in those rooms... believe me there's plenty else to do.)  But I got a reprieve today. I pleaded with my Business Man if I could stay home and cook dinner. It's been awhile since I really cooked. Tried a new recipe; something I really wanted to make. So, after a quick trip to a store that wasn't Lowe's, I got started! Yay for produce! Mangoes, onion, avocados, limes, cilantro. Yum! I declared it Mexican night, but with a twist. I absolutely adore How Swe...

After a super-long week, I was so ready to crash last night! It's like all-of-a-sudden, after two weeks off, I completely forgot what it's like to work five 8+ hour days in a row. I guess it didn't help that the last week before Christmas break was littered with 2-hour weather delays. Anyways, after school yesterday I had big intentions of going for a nice little run. (To keep up with one of my 2011 resolutions , ya know?) But, somehow my bed lured me in for a nice little nappy. Sometimes, sleep > running. Yes, even for me.  When I woke up, I was frrrreeeeezing! Like, so cold that my toes were numb. So I had to play a little Just Dance 2 to get my body warmed up. And, ya know, it counts a cardio workout, right? When my Business Man got home, we just decided to stay in, watch a few movies, and order a pizza. We got pizza from our favorite place , and it was fabulous. And, it was so much cheaper as take-out than eating there. Our pizza last night was $12, and we h...