I wish I could say "I'm going for a run"

Alas, I won't be jetting down the street for an outdoor run for some weeks yet. I'm s.i.c.k. of the treadmill, elliptical and any other indoor exercises, so yesterday I got desperate and bought a pair of snowshoes off of ebay for $40. Meanwhile, the weather in South Carolina is a balmy 70 degrees. This is the first time that I've really missed home and wanted to get away from the snow and 9 degree night time temperature. And poor Thomas can't even get off the couch, much less go for any type of run! He is still trucking along in his recovery and being a good sport about being confined to a life of reading, watching TV, and sleeping. 

Piles of snow everywhere you look....while driving you have to inch out slowly before turning because you simply can't see around the snow:

 Here I am up to my knees in snow, and I wasn't even standing on the ground. There were probably 5 inches of snow packed between my boots and the ground.

This is why I can't go for a run on the sidewalks, and I don't want to be THAT annoying runner who practically runs down the middle of the asphalt:

I don't think anyone will be inhabiting these Adirondacks in front of our apartment for quite some time!

The bricks outside of the entryway to our temporary apartment are frozen under a sheet of ice:

Don't Waste Your Sports

Everyone who has any interest at all whatsoever in sports needs to go buy this nugget RIGHT THIS MINUTE.

I just finished reading Don't Waste Your Sports by CJ Mahaney and was so encouraged by what he wrote. Whether you're an occasional sports watcher, an avid March Madness bracket filler-outer, a soccer mom, or the wife of an NFL offensive lineman trying to make it in the big leagues, this book will reshape and redefine how you view sports. 

Over the past year, we've learned so much about how sports (and many other areas of life) are defined by performance. Most aspects of Thomas' job depend on whether he performs well or performs poorly, and oftentimes in the past year I'd find myself asking him questions about his performance in the eyes of man. "Did you outperform so-and-so? What did your coach say to you after practice today? Do you think you're a better player than _______?" And the list goes on. Basically, I was asking him if he was being glorified in the eyes of men. About halfway through the season, we had a discussion about it and we were both reminded that he doesn't play to gain the approval of men. He plays because the Lord gave him the ability and gifts to do so, and he'll be in the league as long as the Lord deems appropriate. We have to be reminded of that on a daily basis, and this book is a wonderful reminder of that Truth. 

This book is also really, really short, so it is a quick and easy read that is so encouraging. AND it is only $4. Try to think of a reason you shouldn't buy one. 

Chicken Noodle Soup

I made this recipe for Chicken Noodle soup today. It is snowing again and they are calling for another 10-12 inches between now and Thursday. And my husband is elevating his foot on the couch looking miserable. As if I needed a reason to make homemade Chicken Noodle soup!

Here are my recipe notes, because of course I didn't follow the recipe exactly: I just put 2 chicken breasts in the oven with olive oil and seasoned salt on 350 for about 30 minutes and used that. I also used seasoned salt instead of poultry seasoning. What is poultry seasoning anyway?

Here is Thomas "enjoying" his soup. Poor guy is still pretty doped up and not feeling too swell. He is being a trooper and is patient with me asking "tell me your pain on a scale of 1-10" every hour and NOT allowing him to have ice cream to "help the medicine go down."

Thomas may or may not have said......

Thomas may or may not have said the following things while under anesthesia:

-in the pre-op room as I was walking away "hey aren't you going to kiss me? I might die in surgery!" I said "no Thomas, there are way too many people in here watching." All 8 nurses, doctors and trainers giggled, while Thomas continued to attempt kissing. In front of all of them.
-in the post-op room he asked for MORE kissing. Once again, there was an audience. Once again, I resisted, and he reminded me that he COULD HAVE died in surgery.
-he asked for ice cream to make his medicine go down easier
-he told me to ask the Dr to pull up his pants legs so I could see how big his calves were. What the??????
**side note, the Dr did in fact get in a 3 point stance in the waiting room to demonstrate for me what a better football player Thomas will be**
-Thomas said "I am so glad I had that surgery, I can already tell I am better. I feel so great."
-he rolled down his window on the ride home since he felt nauseated. Did I mention it was 4 degrees outside?

I am spending most of my time in a panic in case he all the sudden wobbles or falls. WHAT would I do if he fell?

In other news, surgery went well and he'll only be in a hard cast for TWO weeks instead of the original four. That means he can start rehab sooner, which is great because I can only imagine what I'd be dealing with if he were restricted to the couch for 4 weeks. He is already talking about lifting weights while he sits here.

And don't worry, I'll keep taking notes on the crazy things he says.

Packing up + Satan Brownies

We're in the process of moving, again. And yet again, we are putting our stuff in storage. So, all of our belongings will either be in storage in a basement in Clemson, SC or in a garage here in Massachusetts. Thankfully, we have amazing friends and they are letting us move into their furnished apartment for the duration of Thomas' surgery and rehab. We found out yesterday morning that his "minor" surgery has a recovery of 8 weeks, with the next 4 weeks including his foot being in a hard cast. So, I would've had to move out all alone before February 15 (when our lease is over) and I just couldn't bear the thought of packing up alone. So, we've packed everything this morning and some gracious fellows from church are about to come move all of it. If only the owners of the NFL knew the headaches they are causing me with their precious lockout.

Now, moving on to more important things. If you love peanut butter, and you love chocolate, and you love peanut butter and chocolate in your mouth simultaneously, then you'd better hurry up and make these. Right now.

Or, if you love your husband who loves chocolate and peanut butter, you will also feel the urge to make them. WARNING: your husband will try to eat an entire plate and he will exclaim "get behind me Satan!" when he is looking at the brownies and trying not to eat another.

I got the original recipe from my sister, but I am lazy and cheap and hate going to the grocery store more than my alloted once a week. So, I looked for a recipe that called for semi-sweet chocolate instead of bittersweet. Other than melting the chocolate in a double boiler, this is super easy. And if you don't have a double boiler, you do this: 

So here is the recipe for what came out of my oven:

Heat oven to 350. In a double boiler, melt 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate with 1stick of unsalted butter. Beat 3/4 cup sugar with 3 eggs and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1 cup flour. Stir in melted chocolate and butter mixture. Spread into greased 9-inch baking pan. In another bowl, mix 1/2 cup flour with 2 T brown sugar, 2 T granulated sugar, 1/8 teaspoon of salt and 1/3 cup chunky peanut butter. (I used plain peanut butter and the original recipe called for 2 T melted butter as well. I just didn't use it.) Sprinkle streusel over brownie batter and press lightly into the batter with the back of spatula. Bake for 30-35 minutes. TRY to let them cool before you devour them. 

Bullet Points

-Our football season is over. Someone put it best when they said "its like running on a treadmill at 10mph and then somebody pulls the emergency stop plug." Everything is over so fast.
-Thomas did get re-signed with the Patriot's for the off season, so we are thankful.
-But we are about to move again, because of the impending NFL lockout.  We'll wait it out elsewhere. We just aren't sure where the elsewhere is going to be. Yet.
-We have to wait to make plans because Thomas is having surgery on his foot on Monday. Oh boy, here we go!
-In other news, Thomas took me to see In the Heights last weekend as my Christmas present and we had so much fun. But just like last time we went to see a show, Thomas was having problems with his contacts and could only see out of one eye. His eyes were watering really bad, so he looked like he was crying through the entire play. Why do these things happen to him?!
-We also had a delicious dinner at McCormick and Schmick's, which I highly recommend. You should find one near you ASAP.
-Thomas was thrilled about the Winter Mix plate that he was able to order. It had shrimp, scallops, a filet, and a piece of salmon. Don't ask me why he is making that face about his food....maybe it was due to the fact that he could only see out of one eye?

Blizzard

We finally got to experience our first Nor'easter this past week, and got dumped with almost 20 inches of snow. Thankfully our friends who live closer to the stadium were gracious enough to invite us over to spend the night before the snow came so that we didn't get stuck at our apartment with no 4-wheel drive. It is more snow than this South Carolina girl has ever seen, that is for certain. I took a walk around our neighborhood yesterday and snapped some photos of my favorite old homes.

The snow was a little higher than my knees!

My friend's car is somewhere under all that snow!

Keri this house kind of reminds me of yours. Red door, white paint etc. 

 My favorite house in our town, it has so much New England charm!

An old dilapidated mill near our house. 

Coq au Vin

Coq au vin French pronunciation (lit. 'rooster with wine') is a French braise of chicken cooked with wine. 


Last night we had Mark Bittman's recipe for "rooster with wine," which I think is a hilarious interpretation of what SOUNDS like a fancy French dish. While this dish does taste fancy, it was incredibly easy to make, and The Husband ate it with much gusto and appreciation. I served it over grits because I am trying to get rid of everything in our pantry before we pack up again, but it would also be good tossed with pasta or over rice, or even in a bowl by itself. The recipe was taken from Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express. 

The thing I love about 'ole Mark is that he writes all of the recipes in Kitchen Express in paragraph format, with hardly any quantities included. He leaves plenty of room for interpretation and adding whatever you'd like:

Coq au Vin

Pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts to half-inch thickness and season with salt and pepper. (I used 2 breasts and cut them in half) Sear on both sides in a bit of butter; set aside. Add two carrots chopped into one-inch pieces and half an onion cut into wedges; cook until onion begins to soften. Add a cup of red wine, (I tasted mine beforehand to make sure it was OK....it was) a bay leaf, a teaspoon of tarragon, and a thyme sprig (all I had was thyme so I skipped the other seasonings). Deglaze the pan (swirl it all around over the heat) return the chicken to the pan, and cover. Simmer for about six minutes until the meat is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. 

**The chicken will turn a hilarious purple color. Do not be alarmed. I also added a handful of spinach and it was delicious! 

More Adventures With Aunt B

The fun with Aunt B just kept on rolling as we traveled to Newport and Maine to take in more gorgeous scenery. Since we aren't sure we'll be living here in the summer months, we figured we'd better take the bull by the horns and just visit even if it is cold. There wasn't much going on in Maine but we found our own fun...and ended up having a little food tour without even really trying! 

This photo was taken BEFORE Bekah fell on the slippery rocks in Newport. It was a blustery day

. 

We were really feeling frisky after our BORING house tour. Our tour guide was every bit the stereotypical tour guide and droned on and on about excruciating details like marble and granite instead of telling us personal stories about the home. We were sad that Bekah didn't get to experience the self-guided audio tour, but hopefully there will be a next time. 

We stopped at our nearest Chick Fil A (35 miles from here) on our way to Maine. If you can't tell, it was a really happy day for me. Thomas was so excited he shouted out loud in the food court. Everyone turned to stare, but we weren't even embarrassed. 

Here we are at Nubble Lighthouse in YORK, Maine. I wanted to take a picture with a sign for York but never found a very good one. The folks there talk a LITTLE differently than the folks in York, SC. It was freezing (and windy) but we had fun climbing on the rocks. Bekah held her ground and didn't bust her knee this time. 

On our way home, we passed When Pigs Fly Bakery. Thomas slammed on the brakes, pulled a U-turn and almost wrecked in order to turn into the bakery. If you've never been around an Austin and a bakery, you haven't truly lived. There were more types of bread than I've ever seen before, and we finally agreed on FOUR different loaves. Our favorite is the Roasted Red Pepper Hummus. It is simply divine! The bakery does supply to Whole Foods, but I don't know if they supply down South. 

One mile from the bakery was Bob's Clam Hut, which we'd seen on Diners Drive-Ins and Dives. It was 4pm so supper would've been premature, but we shared lobster stew and clam chowdah. They were both wonderful and the lobster stew especially impressed us with the amount of lobster meat. 

We then drove into Boston to show Bekah around and have dinner at Rino's, also a Diners Drive-Ins and Dives location. Lots of people have told us that Rino's is an absolute necessity, so we were pretty excited to end Bekah's trip with some local Italian food. We got a little lost turned around and were confused when our GPS took us into a neighborhood and said "you have arrived" when there were no neon restaurant signs anywhere in sight. Suddenly, I looked to my right and saw a sign that said Rino's but was definitely not turned on and definitely not open. I said "um, guys, I don't think Rino's is open today." Thomas shouted "I'm going to cry!" while Bekah sat in the back seat, speechless. I googled on and found that the Rino's owners happened to be taking a winter vacation December 23-January 10. It was January 8. Thomas plummeted into depression, our GPS promptly quit working, and Bekah and I fell into uncontrollable giggling. We then went the wrong way on the interstate, almost ran out of gas, and 2 hours later arrived at another Italian place close to our apartment. Bekah got a good dose of what travel with us is really like. We had so much FUN with her being here! 

Aunt B

Aunt B is here, aka Thomas' youngest sister, Bekah. She is spending the remaining days of her December break from Clemson with us, and Bekah+Margaret usually equals an interesting combination of events. Yesterday we went for a 2 hour hike in the local state park. We channeled our inner 10 year old and tried our hardest to break the ice on the lake we were hiking around. Like, we tried really hard. 

Here is B, very excited about how deep her feet were sinking into the snow. 

 My first attempt at breaking the ice, which included a 5 minute search for a rock that looked large enough. 

 Attempt #2, which including prying the ice up from the bank with a stick. This worked much better than the rock, and even garnered a large crack that went across the ice which appeased me momentarily.

Bekah was confident I'd lost my mind and was turning into a savage. 

Last night we made Pioneer Woman's Baked Fudge.  If you've never tried it, go do so immediately. It is A. easy  B. the best thing you'll ever taste this side of Heaven. C. Make sure you put some coffee ice cream on top.Thomas watched in fascination as we morphed into chocoholics and even pointed out that Bekah had gotten chocolate on her HEAD. 

And then this morning, Bekah was shouting at me for the way I store my salt, as she'd mistaken it for sugar and placed a heaping spoonful into her morning coffee.  The best part of this story is that Bekah did the same thing with the salt in her coffee when we lived in Clemson. COME ON BEKAH. Learn from your mistakes.

Bekah asked me to post this in order to take a poll and see which one you think the sugar is.....

Dan and Cathy

My parents got to come up for a 4 day visit and we had such a fun time showing them all around New England. We packed a lot in their trip and have plenty of photos to prove it. I have a hilarious amount of photos in which my father is not smiling, and then a picture right after that before which we all said "SMILE like you mean it." He is a hoot. We took them to our new favorite city of Newport, RI so that they could see the mansions and enjoy the Cliff Walk. They didn't let us down and enjoyed every single minute of our time there. 

 {Yes, Thomas wore shorts on January 1. Yes, he is crazy.}

 We all loved touring The Elms, and my dad even got in trouble for opening a historical drawer in the house. My mom especially enjoyed listening to the house tour on her very own headset and did not break ANY rules.

 We had a fabulous dinner at The Clarke Cooke House by a roaring fire. We will be going back again for the best clam chowder I've ever had. Seriously.

We also got to watch the Patriot's wallop the Dolphin's yesterday, and my parents enjoyed the people watching that is inevitable at any Pat's game. People here wear/own jerseys like I've never seen before. And let's just say folks use language to cheer for their team that we don't exactly use {as frequently} at a Clemson game.

Lord willing they can come again next year and we'll have a place that is larger than 700 square feet and more than one bedroom and tiny bathroom. But regardless of the tight squeeze, we had a wonderful time!