I have been slacking on THIS blog

I have totally ignored this blog the past week or so. I think it started when the kids were out for snow days. Then this week I worked two days. We've also been under the weather. Time flies.

Speaking of flying, my husband flew to Sweden yesterday. He'll be there a week.

So, here I am with two kids, two dogs and a cat. There is snow in the forecast again. Ugh. I'll get through it but it won't be the life of a suburban housewife this week. Nope, I will be man and woman this week with making sure the trash gets to the curb, shoveling snow, walking dogs, scooping the litter box, taking kids to school. The list goes on. I'm hoping the kids get better and stay well while Pete is away. I know I'm still lucky compared to others. He'll be back to help at the end of the week.

I've been watching the Olympics off and on. I used to make an effort to watch them a lot more years ago. It's been fun watching the ski jumping and speed skating. I marvel at the talent.

Today we will lay low. We skipped church and it's probably a good thing. It wouldn't be good to spread the kids' crud to everyone else.

On a positive, happy note the sun is out today! Yay! I'm tempted to sit by the window and soak it up without leaving my toasty, warm house. I should walk the dogs. I'll have to think about it, though.

Yummy salmon recipe

Today I did my regular volunteer gig. I can't get over how much I enjoy it--from the people I work with to the patients. It's really nice.

We're getting more snow today and then again tomorrow. The school will most likely take a snow day tomorrow. Sigh.

On the food front, I made some salmon last night and both the kids ate it! I call it Nana's Salmon because I got the recipe from Pete's Nana. It's simple and very tasty. Gosh, if a very picky 7 year old will eat it, then you can bet most will.

1 lb salmon fillet
olive oil
rice vinegar
white wine
Dijon mustard (2 tsp)
red onion
herbs (parsley, thyme)
lemon juice

I put the oven on 375 F. I put a little oil in the dish so the salmon won't stick. Put the salmon skin side down. Pour 1/2 bottle of wine over it. Add some rice vinegar and lemon juice (I use fresh lemons and use 1 to 2 lemons) and a little olive oil. Spread some Dijon mustard over the salmon and then put some chopped red onions on top. You can slice the red onions--it doesn't really matter. Then sprinkle some herbs over the salmon. Bake on the middle rack for about 18 min depending on the thickness of the fillet. The fishmonger at my grocery store said it should cook 11 min/inch.

I like to serve fresh green beans with the salmon and some Basmati rice. There's a lot of juice from the salmon and it goes great over the rice.

Tonight I made quiche--all from scratch. I think I've finally perfected my crust. I served an arugula salad mix with craisins and chopped walnuts. I drizzled my homemade Balsamic and olive oil salad dressing over it. I used whole grain Dijon mustard in the dressing to give it some zip. Kendall won't eat the quiche and couldn't stand the smell so I had to leave it on the kitchen counter. Clayton ate it but preferred it with hot sauce.

That's it for now. I didn't exercise today and I probably won't get to tomorrow. Ugh.

Snow and more snow...

Just a quick post today since I have some things to do and I've been wasting the morning.

This is what we woke up to on Saturday morning. I think we got 16 inches. The kids loved it and played outside a bit. Pete's toe was hurting him so we didn't go sledding. Usually, he is the first one out there and suggesting we do stuff outside.

The kids are in school today and with Valentine's Day coming up, I need to get busy making some sweets for their little parties at school.

I've been running on the treadmill the last few days and I'm determined to lose my spare tire around my waist. I can't stand my body right now. My husband loves it that I've put on weight in some places, but I would settle for nothing in that department if it meant my pants weren't too tight! Sigh.

OK, enough sitting. I gotta go run on that thing!

pots and pans

DSCF8597
Originally uploaded by Kelly'sphotos

This week flew by. I can't remember much about it. I think I stayed home much of the day on Monday, did my volunteer gig on Tuesday morning, ran around Wednesday, did my Bible study on Thursday and ran some more errands on Friday.

OK, I did get to go out for karaoke Wednesday. How could I forget that? Oh, maybe it was the sleep deprivation? Seriously, it was a blast with a bunch of married women. We were singing and dancing and clapping for the other fools getting up there to sing. There were some really good ones, too. My husband refuses to do karaoke. How does he put it? It's an embarrassment. I think it's fun, especially when one loves to see such as myself. And it's not like I do this a lot. I think the last time I did karaoke out and about was about 3 years ago. Anyway, there were people singing 80s songs, British songs, Broadway songs. You name it, it was sung. Our group sang "Dancing Queen" by Abba and I sang "I feel Lucky" with one of the women. We also sang "Summer Loving" from Grease. I did sing one song by myself. It was "Pony" by Kasey Chambers.

And then Wednesday was spent getting a passport photo, getting Pete a passport photo, getting a snapshot of the two of us together and heading out to the FedEx place to mail an overnight envelope to The Amazing Race. Yep, I convinced him to apply for Season 17 race. We know we won't get selected, but hey, it was fun dreaming for a bit. :)

And tonight the kids each have a friend over for a sleepover. Oh, and it's snowing like there's no tomorrow.