Girls Night Out

Last year, Rosemary, Coco and I took a chair and pole dance workshop for my birthday and had a blast while getting an awesome workout!  This year the same studio posted a similar deal and this time offered Hip Hop.   Since I'm always looking for a new and entertaining way to work out, I asked the girls if they would want to take a class with me.  Rosemary couldn't make it but Coco, GMP and myself hit the fitness center, felt the beat and got the one of the best and most entertaining hour-long workouts. 

Now I'm trying to justify a monthly membership to another, yet different kind of fitness club.  Too bad money doesn't grow on trees....

Just sayin'

A major morning workout at 4:30 am, followed by a full 9 hour day at your main job, followed by 2.5 hours of side accounting work and then going out for drinks with your friends afterwards and not getting home until 10:30 makes you very tired and makes it very difficult to get up and be raring to go for Tuesday.

I don't know what made me think that Monday was a great time to push myself to my limit but I'm definitely feeling it this morning.  Oh and in case you're wondering, my alarm went off at 4 am so I could get my morning workout in again today and it promptly was turned off.

Right now, I'm just hoping I stay awake at work today.

Happy Father's Day to all of the awesome dads out there, but especially to my own Dad, who I must say is the absolute best!!

Guy, Paula, Memphis & more

Well, since I officially agreed to more side accounting work starting up again next week, I figured I better provide some details on all of the fun from the past 4 weekend rewards before I have to buckle down and get back to work.
So, here we go!

Bon Jovi came to town and rocked my socks off!

Dad and I got to meet one of my Food Network favorites!

An essential part of any 3 H weekend -- home of the best hoecakes!

Learning a few tricks of the trade from another one of my Food Network faves!

So it's not really Paula, but I was still really excited!

Me and the King -- Memphis is definitely one of my top spots for a road trip.

I'm extremely glad I let loose a bit and I enjoyed every second of my extra time off.  Now it's back down to business...at least for a few weeks.

Love & Best Dishes

My love of cooking has grown dramatically over the past year.  I feel comfortable and most at home when I'm in my teeny tiny kitchen or talking about ingredients, recipes, my restaurant dream or anything else food related.  Nearly 2 weeks ago, I was able to see Guy Fieri when he visited St. Louis and I thought I was in heaven getting to attend an event of someone pursuing their food dreams.
Soon after I purchased my tickets to see Guy, a notification on my popped up on my Facebook page that another one of my food icons was scheduling a visit to Harrah's in Tunica on June 11th.  Normally, I would wish to go but never follow through with a plan to actually make a trip to an event like that.  Until now...
 
After verifying with Broccoli that I was not crazy for wanting to take a 24 hour trip to a city 5 hours away for something as silly as seeing one of my favorite Food Network stars live and in person, I decided to ask Coco if she would be willing to tag along on my adventure.  And....she willingly agree to make the trip!  So tomorrow morning, these two girls are headed to Tunica to see one of the greatest home cooks/restaurateurs of all times, Paula Deen!

Photo credit: PaulaDeen.com

The Tunica/Memphis area is a great place to visit anyway and being able to make this whirlwind trip to see Paula is a once in a lifetime chance.  I am soooooooooo excited!!

One upped

Remember when I posted this?!? 

I didn't think there would be another chance to experience anything nearly as awesome as that weekend back in January, yet, this weekend totally surpassed it.  A weekend break away from home, away from the hustle and bustle of my job, away from my household responsibilities and away from my crazy workouts.  It was a chance to relax my mind, body and soul and enjoy some quality time with the person that loves me despite all of my idiosyncrasies.  I truly am one lucky girl.

I definitely had a hard time being thrown back into reality when I got home tonight and I'm not really ready to restart my routine but I am hoping that all of the fun weekend memories will make it easier.

That's Money

In the last few years my brother and I have shared the interest in cooking (him more so with grilling) and creating our own signature dishes.  Then, somehow I managed to get Broccoli involved in my love of cooking to the point where he is coming up with meals to wow me with.  He also doesn't complain when we watch hours and hours of Food Network.  Now, I've even gotten my Dad on board with the culinary craze!

Tomorrow, Dad and I are going to....

The Guy Fieri Food Tour presented by the National Pork Board will mix the best elements of a live cooking show, the fun of a variety revue, and the non-stop adrenaline rush of a rock concert.  Fieri will take center stage with an unscripted and wildly entertaining performance—complete with interactive cooking stations, secret tips and dishes from his forthcoming cookbook, as well as behind-the-scenes stories from the road, and much more.

We've made it a Dad and Daughter event and I'm really excited!  In fact, as Guy would say, it's "Off da Hook!"

It's all about balance

"Balance is not better time management, but better boundary management. Balance means making choices and enjoying those choices."  -Betsy Jacobson

I've started to push the Type-A Lindsay boundaries a bit but I'm really thrilled with the choices and fun things I've planned for the next 4 weekends.  After working my tail off for nearly 6 months with all of the extra accounting and tax projects I have taken on and finally giving the last completed project to its rightful owner on Friday afternoon, I decided to let loose and enjoy my new found free time to the fullest. 
Tonight starts the first of 4 weekend rewards.  From concerts to cooking to mini road trips and hanging out with some of the greatest people in my life and I'm looking forward to experiencing every minute.

If I remember my camera, I'll update and post pics of my adventures.  No promises though as my brain is enjoying the free time as well.

Very Impressive

I went to the gym this morning, like I do most mornings, and got into my zone so I could get my long Sunday workout in.  Saturdays and Sundays are usually my big workout days as I try to make up for the lack of gym time I have during the week.  I also try to work harder on the muscles that may not have gotten full attention during my early morning before-work workouts.
This morning, I finished my cardio and proceeded to pull out all of the items needed for my core workout.  I did my supermans with 12 lb weights, planks, crunches, bicycles and push-ups (boy-style, not girl) non-stop for 3 full reps.  Overall, it's about a 15-20 minute routine, nothing too out of the ordinary for me.  I've actually gotten pretty accustomed to this routine or a similar one at least once a week and it (along with the combo of all of my other workouts) has left me with a fairly flat mid-section.  I finished my routine this morning and went to put all of the equipment away and while doing so, someone else in the gym came up to me and asked if I was preparing for some sort of fitness competition.  I told him, "no, I'm just doing my regular workout." 
He about fell on the floor from shock that this was my normal workout.  He told me he was a trainer at another gym and had been observing me doing my workout and he couldn't believe how intense it was and it was highly impressive for someone my size.  He also told me that even though he's a trainer, he wouldn't have been able to go non-stop through my whole routine.
I had to smile.  I have worked my tail off to get to the point where I'm actually impressing other people in the gym.  Not so long ago, had you asked me to put together an intense workout, I wouldn't have had the slightest idea what to do for one and secondly, I probably would have given up because it was "too hard" on my body.  Now, I have other in-shape people watching me and seeing all of the hard-work I put into staying fit and healthy.
Needless to say, I was quite proud of myself and it made my arms, chest and back workout afterwards seem like a piece of cake.

Scrambled thoughts

I really wanted to post, but my thoughts are heading in different directions, so today you're left with more of my randomness.

- Last Sunday was the season finale of America's Next Great Restaurant and I was pleased with the outcome.  Congrats Jamawn "Soul Daddy" Woods!!

I've never really ever wanted to travel to Minneapolis, but now it may be fun to experience some of the food that landed Jamawn 3 fast-casual restaurants around the US.

- Last Thursday, Coco, TL and I went out to celebrate Cinco de Mayo and rather than trying to fight the crowds at every Mexican restaurant around town, we settled on a sports bar and billiards parlor.  Believe it or not, they had specials for the Mexican holiday as well.  I could totally eat my weight in chips and salsa.
 
- Speaking of weight, today is the 6 year anniversary of me taking the plunge and starting my weight-loss journey.  While the last year has been more maintenance than weight loss, I still must have the same drive and focus to make sure that all of my hard work continues to pay off.  There are some days that I still wonder how I was able to lose over 80 lbs, but I'm very proud of the healthy changes I've made in my life.  And for the record, I weighed exactly the same today as I did on this day last year.  Hoo-ha!!

- I'm working on my vacation for the summer and am having a few set-backs in the planning since the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers have decided that flooding is more important than me getting some much needed time away.  In years past, I've gone to Memphis for the Memphis in May BBQ championships along the Riverfront.  This year, the Mississippi has proven she's mightier than any plans I could have had, so I'm backing down for now.  I'm just hoping that by the time my official summer vacation rolls around the flooding will have subsided.  If not, a spur of the moment Plan B will be thrown together -- I'm thinking Vegas.

And finally, tomorrow is Mother's Day.  Happy Mother's Day to all of the women who are lucky enough to be called Mom.  May you have a wonderful day!

The Highlight of Fall

Earlier last week I found out that Scripps released a statement on the next season of The Next Iron Chef and I won't lie, I was a giddy little schoolgirl when I found out who was competing to be a part of the Chairman's culinary crew.  I was so giddy that when I met Broccoli for lunch on Wednesday that the first words out of my mouth after hello were, "you have got to read this press release!" and I handed him a copy of the info I found online.  And, I do believe he was nearly as excited as I was after reading it.
Perhaps the funniest thing comes down to the fact that we have so much invested in catching our favorite Food Network or food competition shows that we knew of nearly all of the chefs competing giving each other our opinions as to how the competition will play out.  We're even working on our own The Next Iron Chef fantasy team and of course, we've pegged who the other person will pick as the winner.

You may not be as excited as we were, but here's the release from Scripps:

Food Network Selects Roster of Ten Superstar Chefs for the Ultimate Culinary Battle - Each Looking to Become The Next Iron Chef

Elite Chefs Go Knife-to-Knife in High-Stakes Challenge to Become ‘The Next Iron Chef’ 
Hosted by Alton Brown, Season Four Set to Premiere Sunday, October 30^th at 9pm ET/PT

NEW YORK – April 18, 2011 - Food Network, the leader in food and lifestyle entertainment, today announced the all-star casting and start of production for the ultimate season of The Next Iron Chef.  Slated for premiere on Sunday, October 30^th at 9pm ET/PT, Alton Brown will again host this 8-episode, top-rated series, which will shoot in Los Angeles and New York. The elite cast includes ten renowned chefs:

 

• Anne Burrell – Secrets of a Restaurant Chef, Worst Cooks in America (Food Network)
• Michael Chiarello – Bottega Restaurant (Napa Valley), Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello (Cooking Channel)
• Elizabeth Falkner – Citizen Cake, Orson (San Francisco), Iron Chef America – challenger (Food Network)
• Alex Guarnaschelli – Butter, The Darby (New York), Alex’s Day Off, Chopped (Food Network)
• Chuck Hughes – Garde Manger (Montreal), Chuck’s Day Off (Cooking Channel), Iron Chef America – challenger (Food Network)
• Robert Irvine – Robert Irvine’s eat! (Hilton Head Island), Dinner: Impossible, Restaurant: Impossible, Worst Cooks in America (Food Network)
• Beau MacMillan – Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain (Phoenix), Challenge, Iron Chef America – challenger (Food Network)
• Spike Mendelsohn – Good Stuff Eatery (Washington D.C.), Kelsey & Spike Cook (Food2.com)
• Marcus Samuelsson –Red Rooster Harlem (New York), 24 Hour Restaurant Battle, Chopped (Food Network)
• Geoffrey Zakarian – The National, The Lambs Club (New York),  24 Hour Restaurant Battle, Chopped (Food Network)

 

Judges include the original ‘Next Iron Chef’ Michael Symon, esteemed food journalist Simon Majumdar and UK Iron Chef Judy Joo.

 

In The Next Iron Chef, the contestants bet on their culinary skills and put their reputations on the line for the chance to compete in legendary Kitchen Stadium.  The winner will join the ranks of chefs including Bobby Flay, Marc Forgione, Jose Garces, Masaharu Morimoto and Symon as a member of the Chairman’s team on Iron Chef America.

 

I'm definitely not wishing the summer away but I can't wait to catch this series!

Not a Good Friday

A very scary evening here -- storms and tornadoes have pummeled us for days and tonight it was a little too close for comfort.
A tornado touched down at Lambert Airport tonight around 8:15.  You're probably saying, "So what?  The Midwest is known for their crazy springtime weather and chances for tornadoes."
And I would agree with you, of course when you live less than a mile from the airport, it starts to freak you out a bit.  Tonight was one of those nights when I was at a complete loss as for what to do and where to go.  I saw the circulation in the air and couldn't believe it.

Definitely don't think I could be a storm chaser.

Saturday morning update:
After all of the devastation last night, here's the latest from KMOV.com..

Now the fun begins -- figuring out which areas that I regularly travel were hit and avoiding them until all of the damage is assessed and cleanup begins.  Thank goodness most of my friends in the area were not seriously affected by the storms and are safe and sound!

Just like old times...

I took today off of work and decided to just have a day to enjoy the spring weather and recharge myself.  I was planning on meeting my Dad this afternoon for lunch and to hang out with him for a bit.  Come to find out, my brother was also going to be able to meet us.  We ended up having the best afternoon!!
 
It reminded me off all of our Thursdays nights growing up.  Thursdays used to be the night my Dad came to pick us up and we would bum around town for a few hours and grab dinner and just catch up.  Some nights we'd go to the park and play, other nights we'd go to the library and then other times we'd go shop for school supplies or clothes or whatever we were in need of at the time.

Today we grabbed lunch, all shopped for new tennis shoes at Kohls (yes...New Reebok Retones!!), stopped into Verizon for a new phone for my Bro (I was too chicken to upgrade my LG EnV2, which I'm still in love with), picked up a new spring skirt for me at Old Navy and browsed Best Buy.  It brought back many good memories of all the time we got to spend together as my Bro and I were growing up and it made me cherish the great relationship I still have with both my Dad and Ryan.  It's not all that often anymore that our schedules all work out to enjoy time together, but I'm so glad that I had the opportunity today. 

I may have to take days off and do this more often....

Afternoon surprise

Guess who gets to ditch work early tomorrow and go to the afternoon Cardinals game?!?

This girl does!  Woo hoo!!

My boss emailed me today and told me that an opportunity presented itself and if I was available, he would like for me to attend the baseball game with him and our bankers.  I was excited and after re-arranging a few things, I am all set for the game!

The bonus -- the weather is supposed to be a perfect spring day as well!!

The wildcard -- whether or not the Cards can pull off a win against the Pirates!  LET'S GO CARDS!!
 

How 'bout them apples?!?

The company worked for during college throws together an NCAA March Madness basketball pool every year and while I know next to nothing about college basketball, I still enter a bracket or two, just for the fun of it. 
 Most years, I end up middle of the pack and just donate my $3.00. 

This year, I will either finish tied for 2nd if UConn beats Butler or 4th if Butler wins.  Either way, I'm thrilled!  What's even funnier is that I offered one of my current co-workers a shot at entering a bracket into this pool as well and he's in the money as well.

I'm not sure if we'll be invited back into this pool next year, but you can bet, I'll be watching the game tonight!!

Experimental Baking

I decided to try making a somewhat healthy egg-less chocolate cake today.  Not sure how its going to taste but I figured it might be a nice complement to the dinner I'm hoping to whip up before America's Next Great Restaurant and the finale episode of Chopped All Stars.

On a semi-related note, I totally want this game.

USAopoly Scrabble Cooking Edition: 

The Cooking Edition of Scrabble includes classic Scrabble fun with a cooking twist allowing players to earn bonus points for words related to everyone's favorite past time. Recipe cards are the perfect mix as players double and triple their scores with directives for all new custom game play. Become the master chef as you spell your way to victory with tasty abbreviations and names of your favorite celebrity chefs. Can you spell D-E-L-I-S-H?

 I love playing Scrabble and cooking is one of my favorite hobbies, so why not combine the two? 
Sounds like a great idea to me!

Opening Day 2011

Today is an unofficial holiday throughout the city - Opening day of Baseball Season and all of Cardinal Nation is celebrating.  Some played hooky to attend the game or pep rally or in our case, our office threw a mini-BBQ, wore our Cardinal red and turned the game on this afternoon to support the team.
This season is sure to be an exciting, yet uncertain one -- Lance Berkman is playing right field for the first time in a few years, Albert Pujols is playing with the possibility of not being a Cardinal after the end of the season and Adam Wainwright is out with a season ending elbow injury.

As of right now the Cards are tied with the Padres, 3-3 in the top of the 11th.

I'm rooting for my Redbirds.

Music feeds the soul

Yesterday my Bro threw his Belated Birthday Shindig so I headed out to visit him and my Dad.  While I was there, the subject of music came up.  As you know, music is a big part of my life.  My Bro and my Dad are also big fans of music.  Ryan will listen to just about anything and will serenade you with Michael Jackson, Earth, Wind & Fire, Journey and then Eminem; whereas my Dad is a fan of mostly Classic Rock, but occasionally he'll surprise us and mention that he likes a song by Train or Uncle Kracker or Kid Rock.
As for me, well, I'm across the board as well.  Depending on my mood, I may listen to Classic Rock, Top 40, Modern Rock, Rap, Pop or Country.  Right now, I'm in the Country phase. 

As our conversation continued, I guess I got a bit excited and mentioned how I heard a Garth Brooks song when I went to lunch on Friday and the fact that I had no Garth Brooks on my Ipod and I really needed to get some on there ASAP!  Somehow my lack of Garth Brooks sounded like I had a major disaster on my hands and in true sibling fashion, my Bro ran with and had us laughing like crazy. 

I guess I'm a bit intense about my musical tastes.  But, you can bet the next time I buy any music, I'm getting some Garth Brooks.

3 Ingredients, Endless Possibilities

We've started a new Sunday tradition here. 

The work week has been extremely stressful for both Broccoli and myself  lately so for the past few weeks we've settled into a low-key Sunday night routine which involves watching two of our new favorite shows on TV --

This week we decided to throw a little competition together to spice up the evening.  It was Battle Dos of our version of Chopped.  Our basket included chicken breasts, balsamic vinegar and jalapeno peppers and we had 30 minutes to create an entree to impress the other person with.  Nothing like a friendly competition, right?  No, not really -- we take cooking competitions very seriously here but we had so much fun with it!! 

I pulled some inspiration from my Rachael Ray cookbook and Broccoli came up with something on the fly but both were equally delicious and fairly healthy as well.

Here are the results from our little battle --

Balsamic-orange glazed chicken and veggies over rice

Balsamic and cracker crusted chicken with homemade cheesy mashed potatoes

Can you guess who's dish is who's???

One difference in our Chopped battle -- neither of us would chop the other dish.  We both were so pleased with the outcome that we didn't mind sharing the title of Chopped Champion.  And I think it's safe to say, bring on the next basket!!

A green baby is what I wanted....

...and a green brother is what I got!

Happy Birthday Ryan!!! 

May you have the best birthday yet!!!

I still can't believe that 24 years ago today, I was throwing a fit and telling Mom and Dad to leave you at the hospital if I was getting a little brother because I only wanted a little sister or a green baby and lo and behold, you came into this world a green baby.  Now 24 years later, I'm glad I didn't let Mom and Dad leave you at the hospital.  You're the best brother any sister could ever ask for and a great friend!

Enjoy your day to the fullest!!