A Lazy Friday Night...

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 had leftovers. (It's strange, I don't think they charge tax on take-out here in the Bean Town.) Usually, when we eat there, it's $25+. This might have to happen more often.


We ordered the movie Salt from on-demand TV, and let me say it was great! Usually, I shy away from those types of movies because I have difficulty following the plot-line. And my Business Man doesn't enjoy answering my three million questions throughout the movie. (Is that her boyfriend? What's she carrying? What's that bomb-thing gonna do?) But he took a chance with me last night, and it turned out to be a great movie. It really kept you on edge until the end; you never knew what was coming. And, it was follow-able. For me, that's a definite plus.


Anyways, that was our Friday night. Pretty low-key and simple.

This morning we started taking down our Christmas decorations. Always a sad day in my book. 

One last look at the pretty tree.

While taking down and wrapping up the ornaments, I discovered one of the boxes we were using had been aptly labeled by my Business Man in his prior years. He claims he was about 10 years old when he labeled this box.

Have I ever mentioned his spelling is not quite up to par?

Anyways, after a few hours (i.e. minutes) of un-decorating, I got a little bored, and decided to go for a run. Today was supposed to be my long run of the week, so I was hoping to go somewhere between 8-11 miles. I had high hopes of going outside, but just couldn't get motivated with a temp of 17*F and a 3* wind chill. Oh, how I miss the college days of running where our coach would go drop us off to run back with the wind. Anyways, I mosey-ed on over to the gym and managed to eek out 9.1 miles on the treadmill. Good enough.

I came home to a completely clean and organized apartment! My Business Man even organized our crazy closet that had been the catch-all for every little thing since the wedding. And, he vacuumed. What more could a girl ask for?

Check out that organization... card table, coolers, Christmas decorations.

Lots of empty boxes waiting for presents to be put in them and given away.

Folding chairs and our new vacuum!

However, the kitchen does now look like a box-monster threw up in it. These were all the boxes deemed "unnecessary" by my Business Man. We will be recycling them ASAP. Does anyone need any?

Our big plans for tonight include working the concession stand at my school's basketball game... woot woot! The track team raises money through basketball concessions, and so we are helping out once in awhile. Maybe it will bring me back to my glory days of cheerleading in high school...

Pardon my crazy face. I believe it was very windy that day.

Anyways, that's all for now. I leave you with a fun appetizer that would be perfect for football watching! (Or, ya know, movie-watching or just eating if you're not big football fans.)

This is a corny, cheesy, Mexican-inspired dip that goes great with tortilla chips. It would be a great side dish with some fajitas or tacos, and it's also great on its own. (I've definitely scooped it up by the forkful before...)

Roasted Corn Dip (adapted from Taste of Home)

1 large bag frozen corn

1 large onion, diced

1 4-oz. can green chiles

2 tbsp. butter

2 tsp. minced garlic

1 cup light mayonnaise (regular would work fine, just no Miracle Whip)

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tsp. chili powder

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

1 small can sliced olives, drained

2 tbsp. sliced green onions

Heat oven to 425*F. Spread corn on a baking sheet, and roast 20-30 minutes, until it starts getting some color and becomes fragrant. Reduce heat to 400*F.

Once corn is roasted, saute onion and chiles in butter 2-3 minutes until almost tender. Add corn and garlic; saute 1-2 minutes more until completely tender. Remove from heat.

In large bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, and chili powder. Fold in corn mixture and cheese, and spread into greased 2-quart baking dish.

Bake at 400*F for 25-30 minutes until bubbly and golden brown. Sprinkle with olives and green onions. Serve with tortilla chips.

**Note: This can be prepared and put into a crockpot on LOW to keep warm.

Ole!