Pasta maker = AWESOME!!!

Friday night was date night here and while most women would prefer to be taken out and wined and dined, I asked if we could stay in and test out my pasta maker.  Being the good sport that he is and willing to put up with most of my silly ideas, Broccoli agreed and even helped me make the dough, run it through the pasta maker and cook a yummy and homemade fettuccine and red sauce dunner.  We laughed and joked and pretended that we actually knew what we were doing and just had a blast!  I forgot to take pictures, but it was hilarious trying to find spots to put all of this rolled and cut pasta in my teeny tiny kitchen.
Of course, I made enough fettuccine to feed an army, but it was delicious and I'm so glad I decided to use my birthday money for this.  It is definitely money well spent!  I am even making good on my promise to my co-workers and I'm bringing in a batch for them to try tomorrow!  Who knows, I may become the Mario Batali or Giada De Laurentiis of the office.  Think they'd let me transfer from Accountant to Office Chef??

A happy girl

It's been a LONG week and it's only Wednesday but nothing makes a week seem more bearable than when you get a gift.  The item today that totally made my day -- my new Kitchenaid Stand Mixer Pasta Roller and Cutter.

Yeah baby!!

It was delivered to work this afternoon and I was so giddy to finally have it that it made me dance around the office.  (Sometimes it's the little things!)

So, guess what I'm doing this weekend?!?!

Oh and somehow in all of the excitement, I promised an handful of my co-workers homemade pasta next week so I better get good at pasta making really fast!

It's that time!

Daytona 500 2011 -- are you ready?

I will be sitting here, in anticipation that my boy, McMurray will pull out all of the stops and win the race for a second year in a row.  Yes, I know I'm asking a lot, but I believe in him.

With new rules and a few good duels under their belts, this NASCAR season should be an exciting one!

Welcome to the team

Photo by Mark Buckner/NHLI via Getty Images

The final score between the Ducks and the Blues looked more like one you would see in baseball, not hockey, but it sure was an exciting game to watch!!!  And, for all those that though the Blues would be taking a hit by trading Erik Johnson and Jay McClement, you were sadly mistaken. 
Welcome to the Blues Chris Stewart and Kevin Shattenkirk!! 

I don't think I've jumped off the couch and yelled so much during a game all season -- definitely renewed my love of hockey!

Could it be true?

Not that I believe in this sort of thing, but my daily horoscope was emailed to me this morning and for once, I think it may hit the nail on the head.  Despite all that has happened in the last 20 hours, I feel like I know what I'm doing for once. 

You can't help but show off your independent streak today, and it certainly casts you in a positive light. It may also tick off your mate or family, but they have come to embrace your peculiarities.

Stay tuned....

Channeling Paula Deen

Ah, what a week!!  Last Saturday at this time the girls were strutting off of the Party Bus and we were headed for one more surprise for the night. 

From the very beginning, Coco couldn't believe that a Party Bus was pulling down her street when we picked her up for her afternoon and night of fun and she was completely surprised by all of our birthday antics.  As you can tell, I was also relieved and excited when we picked her up!

Overall, such a great time and so many awesome memories for all of us!

Sunday was a little rough though and while the Super Bowl party was fun, I wouldn't have minded staying home and watching the game in my jammies on the couch.  And after the week I experienced at work, those few hours of down time were greatly needed.

In spite of all of the craziness, I did throw an office party on Thursday to celebrate Coco's 50th birthday.  I couldn't let the actual day go uncelebrated and since we're co-workers as well as really good friends, I felt it necessary to decorate her desk and bring in snacks as well as make a homemade gooey butter cake (her favorite!).  I didn't make just any gooey butter cake though, I pulled out all of the stops and went with the Queen of Butter's recipe.

Delish!!!

 It got rave reviews and was gone in a heartbeat -- the two things I love to see when cooking and baking for others.  It was also decided that there are birthdays every day for the rest of the year and I'm supposed to provide the desserts for these celebrations....if I only had the hours in the day and endless capital for this venture! 

We joke that I should open a snack cart and run that from my desk too, especially since I wear so many hats there as it is.  Somehow, I'm thinking my bosses might not like that idea....just a hunch though.

Super Bowl XLV

Ben Roethlisberger totally resembles one of my co-workers.

With that being said, my money is on the Packers for the Super Bowl.  (Sorry Joel!!)

My Kinda Party

If you're singing Jason Aldean, we're on the same wavelength.  (Scary!)

In any case, I'm getting ready for another BIG party weekend.  We're surprising Ms. Coco today since her 50th birthday is Thursday.  She thinks Rosemary and I are taking her out for a low-key girls' dinner.  Little does she know, we've ordered a party bus and 15 of her girlfriends are picking her up for an afternoon on the town.
To top it off, the bus is dropping off us off tonight and one of her favorite places where the rest of her friends are surprising her with a massive birthday party.  It's been soooo hard keeping this a secret -- almost as hard as keeping the Bon Jovi trip a secret last year!  I can not wait to see her face, when we show up to pick her up in the bus!!

Tomorrow is Super Bowl and similar to years past, I've been invited to my boss' house.  He has a huge party with the perfect layout to watch the game and mingle with a bunch of fun people.  We always have such a great time and I expect this year to be no different.  And the bonus to the day would be if one of my squares paid off!!  Ha!

So...
"Lets get this thing started.  It’s my kind of party."

A birthday summary

Birthdays don't get much better than this one!  I had a great time celebrating with everyone and I'm so glad I agreed to all of the plans.
Here are a few pics from Friday night, aka Birthday Extravaganza Day 2:

Posing in the rock garden -- I was dared to do this by the girls! 
I think they just wanted me to show of my sexy shoes!!

One of my presents  -- LUSH: "Liquored Up Sister Hood"
I also got the new Paula Deen cookbook, cute measuring spoons,
a yummy candle, lottery tickets & a Victoria Secret swimsuit.

Success!  I caught a flying shrimp!!

I owned this shot!  And I impressed the tables sitting around us too!!

Dinner with my family on Saturday was also quite memorable albeit a little more low-key than the night out with the girls on Friday, but still so much fun!

And, I topped off my weekend with a date night on Sunday night.  Since the rest of the weekend was pretty busy, Broccoli and I decided on a low-key night in.  I think it's exactly what we needed and we were able to catch up with some must-see tv.

I wasn't sure what to expect turning 28, but I must say, it's been fairly good so far...let's keep it coming!

Today's news headlines...

- Blizzard Warning for St. Louis Metro Area
- MODOT: I-70 Closed from Wentzville to Kansas City
- Schnuck's Markets Closing for Weather
- Tonight's Blues Game Canceled Due to Weather
- Missouri Road Conditions Deteriorate
- Hundreds of Flights Canceled
- May Not See Clear Pavement for Days
- Illinois National Guard Mobilized to Help Stranded Drivers

I made it to and from work today safe and sound with the help of SS, who was awesome enough to chauffeur me through this mess.  Thanks SS for being calm and cool while I was a nervous wreck in dealing with the weather!!  As I've told him numerous times and probably everyone else I've come into contact with lately, I hate winter!  I'll handle the summer humidity, no problem, but snow and ice have to go.
As for work tomorrow, well, I'm aiming to get there at some point.  We'll just have to see....definitely don't want to have to burn a day off for something like being snowed in, but I'm sure I can keep myself occupied here if necessary.

Seriously?!?

I'm done with winter!!  I can not handle one more inch of this stuff!!  Please tell Mother Nature to bring back those nice pleasant temperatures and forget about this stupid snow and sleet and most of all ICE!!!  

From KMOV.com:

4Warn Storm Team Forecast (Updated today at 6:41 PM)

This Evening: Near 30.  The freezing rain/sleet/rain mix will taper off to a some patchy freezing drizzle or just drizzle in some areas this evening.  Watch for icy areas on untreated surfaces or areas where chemicals were washed away and the damp pavement may freeze more easily.  Ice accumulation generally around .10" to 0.25".  Winds East-10 mph.

Tuesday: Low 25/High 28.  Blizzard warning for areas North and Northwest of St. Louis where winds and snow will create whiteout conditions.  Heavy snow and or ice in the St. Louis metro, especially from late morning and continuing all the way through the evening hours.  Snowfall will be determined by how much sleet mixes in for St. Louis as we could see 0.5" to 1" of sleet with 4-10" of snow.  If there is less sleet, snowfall totals in St. Louis may reach 15-20".  Areas Northwest of St. Louis will see 12-20" of snowfall as they will see less mix and mostly snow. Areas South and Southeast of St. Louis will see more of a mix with freezing rain accumulation of .25" to .75" and less snowfall ranging from 2-6". 

The parts in red have me most furious since it's for my area.  I guess I'll be surprised tomorrow -- snow, sleet, ice, or a combo of all three.  Yipee!!

All I can say is spring better get here fast!!!

Tired...

Birthday Extravaganza Day 2 was a blast!!!  Dinner was absolutely hilarious (my apologies to the sweet newlywed couple that had to spend their date night with us, although we did provide priceless entertainment for the evening!) and then we went to dance and listen to an awesome cover band at another local hot spot.  I haven't partied that hard in a long time.  I am realizing that I don't bounce back that quickly from a crazy night out.  My alarm went off this morning and I woke up in a huge state of confusion.  Of course, only I would plan a morning workout and an eye doctor appointment for my birthday.  

Tonight the festivities continue with dinner with my family at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants.  I'm thinking a short nap is in order before that.  In any case, I'll post pics of all of the birthday antics later.

Party Time!

Tonight the girls are taking me out to celebrate my birthday in true girlfriend style.  We're going to dinner at Kobe Steakhouse of Japan and then out for a night on the town.

The last time I dined at Kobe, I caught a shrimp in my mouth and was spit on by the owner of the company I work.  I thought that was pretty crazy but I can only imagine what the night will bring when I have dinner with my 5 favorite girls who have been given the aliases of Mi Mi, Di Di, Si Si, Wi Wi and Pi Pi for the night.  (Per the email invitation/instructions we were given this morning.)  I laughed my tail off from that alone.  One can only expect us to be a bit out of control at dinner.....but who knows for sure.

Oh and in case you're wondering, I'm Li Li for the night.

Have a great Friday!

What was I thinking?

In a mere 24 hours, I go from not wanting even one birthday celebration to now having a 4 day birthday extravaganza.  It's not the fact that I didn't want to recognize it because I look at each birthday as a milestone measurer and a stepping stone to bigger and better times in my life.  But, this year has been crazy since the drop of the ball and I just didn't feel like I had much energy left to plan a party/dinner/night out/etc.  Today, in spite of being pulled in many different directions, I gave my blessing to whatever ideas were mentioned and when the day ended, I realized my no birthday celebration turned into something else.  From a quiet, fancy schmancy dinner at home to a girls night out to dinner with my parents to a date night -- I think I'm in for a memorable 28th birthday.

Yet, somehow I think I'm going to regret that Monday is January 31st and I have month-end, a 401k census due and 1099s to get mailed.  Oh well, you only live once, right?!?

New Challenge

For Christmas I received Rachael Ray's new cookbook Look + Cook. 

I'm a huge Rachael Ray fan and when I was going to the gym after work during the week, I always made sure I was on the elliptical to catch the evening episode of 30 Minute Meals.  I've decided to take on a few of her new recipes and impress anyone and everyone with my version of her dishes.

First recipe I decided to try was the Bocconcini Stuffed Meatballs with Tomato-Pesto Sauce. 

I didn't get a picture of my masterpiece but I was happy with how much my version looked like the awesome photo in the book.  I made a few minor changes, using ground turkey and regular mozzarella cubes (do you know how hard it is to find bocconcini in my part of St. Louis?!?!?  Nearly impossible!) and dried herbs, but overall, the meatballs were delicious.  Broccoli gave it a thumbs up as well and we'll probably add this to the list of dinners I will make again.

Being extremely ambitious, I also decided while I was grocery shopping today to pick up ingredients to make a few more dishes next week.  Nothing too outrageous, but some items out of my normal range. 

Seems like this is going to be a fun project, one that will hopefully cure these winter blues!

Best Weekend Ever.

Ever have a span of 3 days that you have experienced so much fun and it was far greater than anything you could ever possibly have imagined it to be?

Yeah, that's what this weekend has been for me. 

I'm a bit bummed to be home but by request and for my own piece of mind, I'm currently working on a future plan to top it.  It's gonna take a lot of research and planning, but I'm definitely up for the challenge and it gives me something more to look forward to so I don't bawl the rest of the evening.

This really was the best weekend ever.

Just sayin'

Snow days are no fun when you're forced to get up and go to work anyway.  It stinks even more when you have to go clean inches of snow off of your car before you can even make the trek to work.

Of course, you're telling me I could call in and take a PTO day -- no can do, it's a double payroll day, if I don't go in, no one gets paid on Friday (including me!). 

Yeah, I'll find a way to make it in.

Exciting first day back to work

These are pictures from the lake behind the building I work in.  Focus on that little dot in the lake in this first picture.  The second picture is a closer shot.

Can't make out what that is in the water?  It's a car. 
The last picture is of two of my co-workers checking it.  We joked with them all morning saying these are the two guys that ran the car into the lake.  (I can assure you, they were not.)

Here's the story from KMOV.com: 

Two men safe after car crashes into water in Earth City

(KMOV) -- A car crashed into the water near the Earth City Expressway and Lakefront Drive.
This happened just before 7 a.m. Monday in Earth City.
Authorities said two men in a Honda approached slow moving traffic. The driver swerved off the road and into the pond.  Both men were able to get out the car safely.

What a way to start off a morning.

By the way, if you're prone to road rage, be sure you know what's around you before you try to swerve around slower drivers, you never know when you may end up in a lake.

Miss You Grandma

As promised,

Grandma -- the musician

Enjoying a St. Louis Cardinals Game with my Mom

Stopping by for a visit

Celebrating her 79th birthday

Visiting with the Grand kids

My Grandma came to this country from Bermuda in the late 1940s and raised a family while learning American culture and tradition.  Always one to love and care for her children and grand-children, there was never a day that went by that she wasn't excited to see us.  She loved going anywhere and experiencing all life had to offer -- from going to sporting events to para-sailing on a cruise last year to random road trips, she inspired us all to try new things.  She was a caring and giving lady and until her last day never complained about not feeling well or life being unfair.  After all of the treatment and hospitalization she struggled through, she still smiled and told us she was ok, even when we knew she just didn't want us to worry about her.  She was a true matriarch and the glue that kept us together.

Relaxing in our hotel room in Hawaii

Spoiling the Grand kids

Showing me a few things in the kitchen

Grandma, you will be truly missed, but your spirit will remain within me.  You taught me so much over the years and I hope I can someday pass on all of your knowledge and wisdom.  But for now, I'll just keep my promise to you.  Love you always!

Bring on 2011!

As a way to relax and enjoy a bit of downtime, my Mom and I spent a good part of the afternoon shopping.  Nothing says Happy 2011!!  like 6 new pairs of shoes, a new purse and some fun costume jewelry and that's just what I bought for myself.  Mom had a really successful shopping trip also.  Guess this is why we don't shop together all that often

I'm hoping the new stuff brings on the positive energy for the New Year.  If not, we'll at least I'll look fashionable while trying to take on the world. 

Hope you have a happy and prosperous New Year.  And be careful if you're going out to celebrate tonight.