Wednesday, October 31, 2012

How Do You Feed A Hungry Law Student?

 Here's your Halloween dose of cute.  You're welcome.  (Hi, Jim's face!)
What do you pack in a hungry law student's lunch box?  Meatloaf sandwich on ciabatta, homemade mac n cheese, Trader Joe's peanut butter crackers, Trader Joe's jalapeno cheese puffs, an apple, a homemade granola bar, and an apple bar.  (In all fairness, Jim was at school for 12 hours that day.)  I included a post-it that said, "Do you have worms?"  (Freaks and Geeks.)

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Autumn

 I made one of the best Costco purchases ever last weekend: a Sherpa blanket.  It was only $17 and has already resulted in a LOT of puppy cuddles.  I also bought Trooper a new dog bed last weekend and a new bone yesterday.  Do I spoil him?  Maybe. 
The leaves have been beautiful and it's feeling fall-like.  In the Pacific Northwest, this means rain and rain and rain.  Which means cuddling with the above mentioned Sherpa blanket. 

We had a fun weekend.  We had an impromptu beer and wings triple date on Friday night.  And if you don't know, my lovely friend and I wake up early every Saturday, run, and then eat potato donuts at the Farmer's Market.  It's an ongoing date.  JMD went to the football game with a group he's been mentoring with (Dog Tags to Ducks) and I took my LS out to the movies.  And then we chillaxed together.  And I slept 11 hours last night.  So lovely.  This morning I made pumpkin pancakes, volunteered at the museum, and just whipped up meatloaf, homemade mac n cheese, and apple bars.  Oh, and the Legal Beagle's bowling team is #1 in his league.  He's feeling pretty darn content with himself these days.  (He should.)

Don't forget to vote!  Oregon is a vote by mail only state so we have to get ours out soon.  I'm sure you all know who to vote for.  (That is if you care about women, the elderly, minorities, and/ or the lower and middle class.) 

Friday, October 26, 2012

Holidays

Isn't it crazy that we are already thinking about the holidays? 
Due to the realities of adult life, the Zika/ DiVerde household will be spending Thanksgiving and Christmas in beautiful Eugene, Oregon.  (Would you like to come visit us??  We have a guest bed!)  In better news, JMD will be heading east soon for a short visit and will act as an ambassador for our family.  (I'll prepare the oxen.)
The rainy season seems to have started.  Someone asked me how I deal with it.  I said I follow this daily pattern: drink a lot of coffee, go to work, work out, then drink a lot of wine.  Repeat.  Not a bad system, really. 
Otherwise, life is going smoothly.  Trooper seems to be itch free for now.  Jim is going to the football game tomorrow with a veteran's group he volunteers with.  I continue to mentor on Saturdays and volunteer as a museum guide on Sundays. 
Okay, I'm going to let you go so you can purchase your plane ticket to Eugene. 

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Patch

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch!

Friday night was a successful Book Club.  We had 12 women attend, including a lot of new faces.  My inner nerd printed out questions about the book and the discussion lasted quite awhile.  I served this white bean and turkey chili and white bean dip.  I think both were a success.   I will keep you posted on our next book.

I have a bad (and good) habit of filling my weekends to the max.  On Saturday, I went to yoga, the farmer's market, the grocery store, mentored, and took Trooper to the dog park, and finally sat down at 7pm.  I have a really hard time sitting on the couch on the weekends and watching tv.  That's just the way I am. 

Mentoring continues to be a good challenge.  I took my LS to the corn maze and pumpkin patch and I think she had fun.  She and her life are just a roller coaster.  It makes me very thankful for my clean home and drama-free life.  It's hard to believe we have been paired together for almost two years!

This morning I ran in the Race for the Cure.  My friend and I ran the 8k option (about 4 miles) and we finished in 43 minutes.  Another cold and rainy Race!  But it was worth it.  Afterwards, my lovely husband took me to breakfast at Studio One Cafe, where I dined on Crab Cakes Benedict. 

And now I have a pot roast and sweet potatoes in the oven and will enjoy a quiet night with my doggie with the Legal Beagle goes bowling.  Then back to the coal mines tomorrow.  Sigh. 

Monday, October 15, 2012

Kale Chips

 Guys, I have a big midterm in Accounting for Lawyers tomorrow.  Wanna grab a beer at Remy's after?
I am officially about two steps away from fermenting my own kimchi.  I have started making kale chips!  I bought a bunch of kale at the farmer's market (organic, of course) and rip the leaves off of the stems.  Cover in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and bake at 350 for about ten minutes (until crisp but not burnt.)  Enjoy!

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Think Pink!

It's that time of year again: Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.  Although I was disappointed with last year's issue involving SGK planning to pull funding for Planned Parenthood (one of the most important organizations in our country), they seem to have worked that situation out (I hope.)  Breast cancer isn't going away, so it's time to raise funds!  If you'd like to donate to my run (8k this year!) click here to donate.  Thank you and let's hope for a dry race day this year!

Friday, October 12, 2012

Candy Corn

 I love Halloween decor!  I made this table cloth myself.  I bought 1.5 yards of material and hemmed the edges.  It was a perfect fit for our small rectangular table.  And the lovely candy corn dish is a glass dish that was made by one of our loved relatives.  It fits perfectly! 
We are dog sitting Oliver this weekend.  He's such a good boy and Trooper loves having him here (except when Trooper has only child syndrome).  It's nice since it's the first rainy (wah) days of the year; they can play inside all day.  (Rainy days get Trooper Z down.)

I'll leave you with a recipe recommendation.  Make this coconut curried shrimp!  I used spicy curry powder and it was awesome.  And healthy.  Enjoy!

Monday, October 8, 2012

Farm to Table Tour

 I have a not so secret dream to live on a farm.  One with goats, cows, and sheep.  And 100 Trooper-like dogs.  I'd also never have to wake up early, do much manual labor, and live a few miles from the Gap and Anthropologie.  And said farm would be very profitable.  I don't think that's too much to ask. 

 Learning to use my new camera/ being artsy. 
 Pretend law student. 
 Flashbacks of Jim's days on the game farm. 
It's so autumnal and lovely these days!  The rains haven't started yet, the leaves are changing, and the air is crisp.  Confession: yesterday I had pumpkin spice pancakes for breakfast (you must go buy the Trader Joe's mix right now), a pumpkin spice latte, and I made pumpkin cookies last night.  I've got a problem. 

And I'll end with good news: 3L Jim is pretty fun!  Ask him about his bowling league.


Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was our favorite guy's birthday!  He woke up to this fun set up on Monday morning.  We actually did a little bit (lot bit?) of celebrating all weekend long.  Bier Stein on Friday, my crazy bike ride and dinner at home on Saturday, Off the Waffle and a long walk with Trooper followed by a nice dinner at home on Sunday, and another good dinner at home on Monday (although Jim had class until 7:30pm.)
This Friday we are going on a fun field trip: a farm to table tour with one of Jim's clubs at school.  I'm pretty excited, and luckily my refurbished camera should be here by then!
(Also, if you are wondering how to make the fun birthday banner pictured above, it's here!)