Christmas Hangover

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I'm talking about the kind you get from shopping, not booze. (Although, as you'll see, there are similarities.)

I've noticed over the past few years that soon after Christmas (as soon as the day after) I'm completely burnt out on material goods. 

Between shopping for others and gathering a list of things that I'd like, I never want to look at Amazon.com again or set foot inside a Target again.

Like when you drink heavily and the next day swear you'll never drink again (at least, so I've heard that this happens...). I'm swearing I'll never shop again.

It's not the truth long-term, but it's the short-term truth.

John and I took his son shopping today for some clothes and each store that we went into, I initially thought, "Oh, I'll just look at this." Took one step in that direction and immediately felt a sense of dread come over me. I even tried on a pair of Bearpaw boots (Ugg knock off) that were my fave color and I could've easily bought them, but I just wasn't feeling it (I may regret that later.)

I have gift cards to spend, but it will probably be a few months before I even feel like browsing.

Does anyone else feel this way?

Book Reviews: Twice As Nice

How often does it happen that you read two really good books in a row?

Almost never.

Or in my case, NEVER. Ever.

Never say never, my friends. It has happened.

I read these two books back to back and they are AMAZING!

Mother Daughter Me by Katie Hafner

Coming Clean by Kimberly Rae Miller

Both of these books are memoirs and center heavily on parent/child relationships.

Mother Daughter Me is about three generations (grandmother, daughter, granddaughter) who decide to live together under one roof. The grandmother was an alcoholic and mostly absent in her daughter's life while she was growing up and not overly present in her granddaughter's life growing up. As you might imagine, this "year in Provence" (as they like to call it)/living together experiment does not turn out so swell.

Coming Clean is about growing up in a house with parents who are hoarders. The author chronicles the squalor that she grew up in, but more importantly, her relationship with her parents and others around her and how they were different because of the hoarding.

Things I love about these books:

• Mother Daughter Me prefaces each chapter with great quotes. From page 104:

"What do girls do who haven't any mothers to help them through their troubles?" by Louisa May Alcott

• Mother Daughter Me addresses a really interesting topic -- women and money. From page 70:

Kate Levinson, a psychotherapist in Northern California, specializes in the topic of women and their relationship to money. In her book, aptly titled, Emotional Currency, Levinson wrote that if we have enough money to cover our basic living expenses, much of the angst we experience around money stems from what she calls, "our inner money life." For women, it also represents a tangled skein of emotions. We use money to act out feelings we're unable to acknowledge or express in other ways. Nowhere does this play itself out more poignantly than in family dynamics.

WOW.

First, I have added Emotional Currency to my "must read" list.

Second, this sentence - "We use money to act out feelings we're unable to acknowledge or express in other ways" makes total sense to me. What do I do when I'm stressed, annoyed, need a "break?" I spend money. I'll admit it. Shopping (spending money) is my way of releasing these feelings. (Granted, it's only a temporary fix...) I'll stop my psychoanalysis there until I read the other book. :)

• While my relationship with my Mom is completely the opposite from the grandmother/daughter in Mother Daughter Me (I didn't grow up as a child of divorce or with an alcoholic parent), I could relate to wanting to care for my Mom as she gets older.

• As I mentioned, Coming Clean is so much more than a "Hoarders" episode. I loved reading about the author's relationship with both of her parents and trying to imagine living in one of those "Hoarders" episodes, yet protecting fiercely and caring for deeply the hoarders.

• Again, my childhood was so different from that of the author of Coming Clean (I didn't grow up with parents who are hoarders), I found it fascinating to try to envision myself in Kimberly Rae Miller's childhood. Rats. Sludge. Having to take showers at a gym. Not being able to invite friends over. That last one is the one that really struck me.

• I admire the author of Coming Clean for seeking answers through therapy and addressing nightmares that she had much later in life about the hoard.

Read both of these books. You won't regret it!

Happy Birthday My Love!

The past 16 1/2 years that I've known you have been the best of my life!

Today we celebrate YOU -- and all of the good things about you.

Thanks for being you!

Talented

Great Dad.

Great Husband.

Cute.

Sensitive & Caring.

Funny.

And so much more!

Love you!

Testing, Testing, 1...2...3

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Is this thing on? 

It's been a while since I've posted on the Blogwagon, so I just wanted to make sure everything's still in working order.

What has kept me from posting, you ask?

Well, I'm glad you asked.

Here are seven excuses, I mean reasons for not posting.

Oh, and these are in no particular order.

1. We went to a wedding! 

John's nephew Greg married his love Mariana. It was a lot of fun and good to have the whole clan together.

Here's the happy couple:

Here's the love of my life and moi:

And lest you think I'm some professional photographer, I'm not. I used the "Photo Awesome" app to "awesomize" this picture. I played with the light, tinting, and added the frame. I'm pretty proud of myself.

Plenty more pics, so hopefully I'll have the chance to dedicate an entire post to the event.

2. I've been cooking. 

Yes, that's right. Cooking. John called me Suzy Homemaker tonight. This is NOT to be taken lightly, people.

Let's see if I can do a recap of what I've been cooking. (Unfortunately, I didn't take many photos, so stock photos will have to do!)

Parmesan Potato Gratin: I got this passed along from the lovely Holly at When Two Became Four. I had been complaining that John and I were fairly sick of mashed potatoes at holidays and that I was in search of a new recipe. Holly came through with this one! There's a similar one from Better Homes & Gardens, but here's the one I made:

1 tbsp of olive oil

1 lb chunk of Parmesan

4 slices bacon, crisp cooked and crumbled

2 green onions, thinly sliced

2 tbsp of fresh chives

4 lbs of potatoes, peeled and finely sliced

1/4 cup of unsalted butter cut into cubes

3/4 cup of whole milk

3/4 cup of heavy cream

3 tbsp of all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 325. Brush the bottom of a 3 quart baking dish with olive oil. Shave parmesan into thin strips (about 4 cups worth) and set aside. In a small bowl, combine bacon, green onion, and chives. In the baking dish you put your olive oil in, place half of your potatoes. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper, half of the bacon mixture, and half of the herbs. Top with half of parmesan. Dot with half of your butter. Repeat layers one more time. In a small bowl, whisk together your whole milk, heavy cream, and flour, and pour over everything. Bake, covered, for 1.5 hours. Increase temp to 400 and bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes.

This is kind of what it looked like:

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I HIGHLY recommend it. (Can you really go wrong with cheese and bacon?) I halved the recipe and it still made about 4-5 servings. Lactose intolerant readers beware, however...you may want to double up on the Lactaid pills before you dive in. We'll definitely be making this for Thanksgiving.

Cheese & Chive Popovers: Another one from Holly! I do believe that this recipe is straight from Better Homes & Gardens, so I'll just send you here.

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This photo really doesn't do this cheesy goodness justice. Let's just say that if John could've married them, I think he would have. He LOVED them! I loved (not all caps) them, but didn't LOVE them because I thought they were VERY rich. Eating one was plenty for me. The thought of eating a turkey dinner (with said cheesy potato goodness above) PLUS these popovers was a bit much for me. We're still working that out. 

I saw a recipe on Pinterest for mini popovers (basically same recipe) and I'm wondering if that would make more sense. Thoughts?

Crockpot Cocktail Meatballs: Usually when John and I have our movie/date night, we have appetizers (I hesitate to call them tapas, as that word to me denotes fancy) and I was looking for something new and exciting (and I had a hankering to use the Crockpot.) Thanks to Pinterest, I found this recipe. 

That bowl of reddish stuff in the middle is them! (The cheese & chive popovers are next to them.) They were good. Cranberry sauce + chili sauce + mustard + brown sugar...mmmm. Oh, and don't forget the meatballs! A fun/easy twist on cocktail meatballs. The best part? You use frozen meatballs. Easy peasy.

Apple Toffee Blondies: Isn't the name alone to die for????

The above was taken prior to frosting. Once I frosted them, they were so yummy looking they broke my phone. You can find the recipe here. I warn you...these suckers are GOOD.

Crockpot Stuffing: Today's experiment. I took no photos, but this is exactly what it looked like.

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We usually make stuffing from the bag (which is good!), but I thought I'd try my hand at something homemade that I could just put in a pot and let it sit for hours and me have to do nothing. Yup, this worked! Oddly enough, I found this on Pinterest and it's from the same blog as the cocktail meatballs above. Recipe is here. DELICIOUS!! Spices were just right. I added a smidge of chicken broth once during the 4 hours on low and voila. The only drawback (Thanksgiving-wise) is that it probably didn't make enough for all of our guests. We're discussing making a batch the day before and one the day of.

3. We watched a bad movie.

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Ugh. Can I get that 115 minutes back? Jason Bateman, cyberbullying, stalking in person, a boy in a coma...you'd think this movie had it all. Let's just say that it was "disconnected." Two thumbs down.

4. I've been feeding my Candy Crush Saga addiction.

I'm on Level 181. I can tell that this is going to be one of those levels that I'm stuck on for WEEKS. (Good thing this isn't real life...I'd have no teeth left.)

5. We were watching A LOT of baseball around here.

In case you've been living under a rock, THE BOSTON RED SOX ARE WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS. (Sorry, but I needed to shout that.)

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There's nothing quite like watching baseball into November! (Even better when your team wins it all.) The only downer? Withdrawal.  We were staying up so late for so many nights, that it felt strange when we could start going to bed at whatever time we wanted. It's a small price to pay!

6. I've been watching a new (new to me) BBC series (since baseball ended).

I quickly put a stop to that withdrawal! I found a great new TV series on Netflix and started watching Season 1.

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It's a BBC series called Land Girls and it's about a group of women that join the Women's Land Army during WWII and move to a farm in the English countryside. They're doing their part to help win the war while meeting GIs in town, interacting with the family of the manor/farm (very Downton Abbey-esque). I'm not far along, but so far I LOVE it!

7. I've gotten my Pinterest groove back on.

Recipes, clothes, wish list, you name it. Some might say it's wasted time, but I'm actually cooking some of the recipes I pin and I'm actually wishing for some of the things on my wish list, so I say it's a perfectly good use of time!

I'll try to pry myself away from some of this and get back on the Blogwagon!

It's [Not] All Greek to Me!

tza·tzi·ki: 

/tsäˈtsēkē/

noun

1. a sauce of Greek origin, made from yogurt, garlic, and cucumbers.

When I started on Weight Watchers almost a year and a half ago, a friend (thanks Vic!) recommended I check out Skinnytaste. It's an amazing blog/website with tons and tons and tons of recipes. All are on the healthy side and BONUS -- Weight Watchers Plus points are provided for each recipe.

There's usually a new recipe everyday and I love going there to check it out and Pin it if I like it.

When I had some free time on my hands, I decided to browse older recipes and started with those that are zero points in the Weight Watchers world. I came across one for Skinny Tzatziki.

I like Greek food and it seemed fairly simple to make, so I recently gave it a shot. 

Two thumbs up!

Here's a photo of the finished product from the Skinnytaste site. (I always look at photographs on food websites and am immediately jealous I can't take photos like theirs.)

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Here's the recipe:

Skinny Tzatziki
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes 
Servings: 8 • Serving Size: 1/4 cup • Old Points: 0 pts • Points+: 0 pts
Calories: 17.8 • Fat: 0 g • Protein: 2.6 g • Carb: 1.7 g • Fiber: 0.1 g    

Ingredients: 

• 8 oz fat-free Greek yogurt (I used Fage)
• 1 small cucumber, peeled and seeded (1 cup grated and drained)
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
• kosher salt and fresh pepper

Directions:

Strain the yogurt using a metal strainer or a coffee filter for a few hours to remove as much liquid as possible. Set aside.


Scoop seeds out of the cucumber with a small spoon. Place cucumber in a mini food processor or grate with a box cheese grater. Drain the liquid from the  cucumber in a metal strainer and sprinkle with a little salt (this helps release the liquid). You may want to use the back of a spoon to help squeeze out any excess liquid.

Combine strained cucumber, garlic, yogurt, salt, pepper, lemon juice, dill, chives and refrigerate for a few hours before serving.

Makes about 2 cups. Store in refrigerator for about a week.

Comments from me:

• I didn't use Fage brand (I think I got Oikos)
• One small cucumber did not end up being 1 cup grated and drained, so you may want to get two.
• Not sure if my salt and pepper were kosher.
• I used a box cheese grater to grate the cucumber.
• It made a lot more than we could eat in one week. I think I'd halve the recipe next time (or find more ways to use it!)

Here's my yogurt straining (I went the metal strainer route):

Finished product (so much less glamorous than the photo two above) -- orange countertop and all:

We happened to be having burgers the night I made the tzatziki and so we put some on them and OH.MY.GOD. Amazing topping!!! Would highly recommend that. 

Now off to find a gyro recipe!

Aruba: One Happy Island: Days 8 & 9

The number 13 -- lucky or unlucky?

Lucky in this case!

Palapa #13 -- our home for the last two days of our trip.

My turn to float (I'm the one on the blue float.):

I see you taking a picture of me...

From ocean to pool. Sun, warm pool water, reclining chair, and good book. Does it get any better?

The view from my seat:

Trying my hand at the panoramic feature on the iPhone:

Glad I came back to the beach after being in the pool -- a wedding had set up right next to us!

We sat at Palapa #13 throughout the ceremony. It was neat, although windy (the bride's veil blew into the ocean!)

The evening of day eight, we decided to venture into Oranjestad, the capital of Aruba. We got there around 7:30 on that Friday night and it was DEAD. The mall (which has many "upscale" stores was closing at 8). We wandered around there a bit (I couldn't get up the nerve to go into Louis Vuitton) and then hit the casino (shocking, I know!) and decided to eat at the third iteration of the Smokey Joe's trio, Iguana Joe's Aruba. It was probably my least favorite of the places we ate at. It was across from a REALLY noisy bar/dance club (?) and techno music was blasting throughout our meal. The food was just so-so.

On the menu:

John had sangria (again, shocking) and I had Grandma Joe's Lemonade. That stuff was potent!

John had a shrimp BLT wrap and I had a grouper BLT. Nothing to write home about.

We went back to our hotel room saddened that we'd have to pack it up and leave the next day.

Bon Bini Aruba!

Aruba: One Happy Island: Days 6 & 7

So as not to disappoint my readers, day six has brought us right back to the beach.

We're kind of cute, aren't we? :)

In addition to the lizards that joined us at Gilligan's for lunch, there several birds. There was this one bird that was completely black with a bright yellow eye. It had an Edgar Allen Poe vibe to it.

Still having fun.

Still relaxed.

Since we'd enjoyed Smokey Joe's so much, we decided to go to one of its sister restaurants. (It has two -- Iguana Cantina and Iguana Joe's). For some reason, I had it in my head that Iguana Joe's was within walking distance of our hotel and that we'd passed it on one of our nightly walks. John and I walked down the high-rise hotel strip and kept looking at each other wondering where it was. Turns out that the Iguana Cantina was within walking distance, so we went for that. It's a Mexican restaurant that overlooks an outdoor mall. Every night they have a "water/light" show. I'm not really sure I'd call it a "show", but there were actually people sitting in stands watching it.

On the menu that night:

Chips & salsa (of course)
Katie: Shredded chicken burrito (I really need to branch out.)
John: Coconut shrimp

To drink for both of us: Sangria swirl margaritas:

Traditional evening photo:

Day seven. Back to the beach. It's a tough job but someone's got to do it.

Traditional lunch at Gilligan's.

If I close my eyes and think hard enough, I see frozen raspberry margaritas and a "bucket" o'shrimp in front of me.

Even after eating all that, John can still float.

I thought I'd be all artsy and try to write in the sand and take a photo. Yeah, didn't exactly pan out.

(It says "John & Katie, 10 years.) I won't quit my day job.

I may not be able to write in the sand, but I have no problem relaxing in the blue waters of Aruba with my husband of ten glorious years.

Dinner on day seven. We'd been waiting for this ALL WEEK. We were headed to Madame Janette. If you've been to Aruba but never been to Madame Janette, you MUST go. It was our "get all gussied up night" so naturally I wanted extra photos. (You can click on photo below to enlarge it and see how fancy we look.)

(In case it wasn't clear from these blog posts, this picture confirms we love Aruba!)

Madame Janette is in Noord, which is not walkable from the high-rise hotel area and is basically hidden in a residential neighborhood. Taxi drivers can find it easily, but if a tourist rented a car and tried to drive there? Forget it. Twists and turns and in someone's backyard. 

Luckily cab drivers can drive the route from the high-rise area to Madame Janette in their sleep, because John and I put our cab driver to the test (and lined his pocket.) As soon as we go to the restaurant, stepped out, and looked at the menu, I realized I had forgotten my lactose pills. ::sigh:: 

I had dreamed about a cream-type frozen drink or a large slab of meat doused in cream sauce.

WAIT!!!! 

Luckily our taxi driver was still idling there. Um, can you take us back to the hotel? He gave us a bit of an odd look, but happily drove us back to the hotel, waited while I ran up to the room and grabbed my pills, and then drove us back. We arrived back (for the second time) just moments before our reservation.

Phew.

We were escorted to our seat and promptly asked if we were allergic to cats. 

Um, what?

Apparently there's a resident cat that roams the section we sat in. I'm not a big cat person, but he/she sat below our table and wanted a chin/belly rub and he/she got them (mostly from John, as is evidenced by this photo.)

On the menu:

Appetizer: Janette's Homemade Crab Cakes with chef's spicy island aioli

VERY GOOD. Yummy, in fact.

John's Entree: (from the specials menu) Comentatore Mario Andretti's Veal Chop. 

Yes, that was for ONE person. HUGE. Delicious, according to John!

Katie's Entree: (also from the specials menu): Pasta a la Mamma Mia.

AMAZING. Delicious sauce and just the right amount of creaminess.

Drinks were Appletinis for me and a Brown Lady for John.

Best night. (insert heart here.)

Up next: days eight and nine -- last two days. :(