like it or not... change is inevitable.

I'm typing this post as I'm sitting in my house I bought, looking at my bulldog, and my other bulldog snuggling with my husband. Change is inevitable - I like change - but I also like when things stay the same.  (I swear that make sense in my head). I think it's healthy to have a good mix of both. Two years ago if you told me I was going to have all of things listed above I don't think I would have believed you. In fact - I was so happy I might have done something to try and stop it.


I loved my life, friends and job a LOT when all of the above started coming into my life. I do really think there is something said to being personally settled and happy before you can work the rest in. (I mean it really takes a lot to work in two sleeping bulldogs and a snoring husband!) That has all changed now and thank goodness it did! 


Derek and I had a bonfire last night and it reminded me of my days of working at Camp Tanglefoot, in Clear Lake Iowa as a camp counselor over four years in high school and college. We were required to take the girls on a couple of cook-outs each week (meaning the counselors cooked outdoors rather than heading up to the lodge for grub the cooks had made). One fun way to get the girls involved was to make something with "Pie Irons". 


A Pie Iron looks like this:

I showed off my "camp girl days skills" to Derek and made him dessert over the fire. My masterpiece trick was a little thing we liked to call "Grilled Reeses" - which basically means taking bread, buttering the outside of the pieces and putting peanut butter as well as chocolate chips on the inside. Here's where the Pie Iron comes in - you simply put the sandwich in and toast it over the fire. Derek's only complaint was I didn't make two! 


When we were sitting around the fire though it reminded me of my times at Camp Tanglefoot and how happy I was then. I love knowing even though my camp counselor days are over I still get the chances to relive parts of them and share my stories and campy talents with my husband. 


This morning we went to brunch at my friend Jen and Seth's house. I love having a friend I met the second day of college still in my life. She knows all my stories and I know hers. She is one of the first people I call when things really go wrong or really right! I'm happy things don't change SO much that good friends come and go. 


My business is ever-changing as well. For a while each week I would think, "ok this is the week things will all get in order and things will be normal". It turns out there is no normal in business ownership - change is inevitable. I had an employee start two weeks ago which brings a whole new level of newness, twists and turns to the game. Learning to accept change and roll with the punches has GOT to be one of the most valuable life lessons out there. It seems like the sooner you realize how to do that - the sooner you feel relieved and satisfied with everything.


It's funny how life keeps coming around. Some things change and some things stay the same and some things are a little bit of both. I think that's a very comforting thought. 

Busy Wife = Busy Life

Yikes?! I knew it had been a long time since I posted, but Valentines day is just shameful! I have good reason though (or at least I think it is!). I started my own business at the end of February (note the timeline of my business starting and the pause of my posts.)

My company is called Happy Medium. Our focus is honest media buying for clients. Lots of companies spend millions a year on marketing and never seem to step back to see where all of this great creative is being placed. This is where I want to help clients by using my knowledge from selling advertising at WHO-TV. If you want to see any other info you can find it at www.itsahappymedium.com. There - that's the last four months in a nutshell.

I did find time to do a few other things as well! I went to San Diego to visit a very good friend I spent a summer with in Japan during college. She turned 30 and had a "doble quince". I flew with a friend from here and it was a blast! Derek and I also just came home from Florida and visiting the beach, his cousins and his parents. We had a lot of fun and LOVE spending time at the beach. My favorite part of the condo the Stocking's have is it's the only place Derek has still access to where he grew up and still visits. I love going there and hearing all of his memories from when he was little. It makes me excited to take our kids there someday and continue the traditions my husband had.

We also made time to go to Chicago with our friends Jen and Seth for Memorial Day weekend - and we met up with our friend Colleen from college and her boyfriend Bill. It was a great weekend! There is something very comforting about hanging out with college friends  - it always makes me feel like "me" again.

In April my friend Kahala gave birth to a VERY beautiful baby who is now referred to as Elin. (Sweedish per her fathers request!). It's been fun to be Elin's "Aunt Tee Tee"! I think it's great to see your good friends with babies, it gives you an honest idea of how it will be to have a baby of your own. Plus they can come up with lots of good tips for when I need them!

My friend Meredith is expecting in December. (yes it's baby central in my world - and i LOVE every minute!) It's VERY fun to watch friends go through their pregnancies and be there to support them. I can't wait to find out what baby Garman is!

My friend Angie from high school also found the love of her life and was married in June. I was honored to be a part of it and they make a very beautiful couple!

Speaking of my first year of marriage - Did I mention I started my own company two months after we were married?! My husband has been an absolute rockstar through the process and been such a huge help with the success I've been fortunate enough to already have. He's guided me through the entire process to make sure things are set up the correct way. He does the books for Happy Medium (thank goodness - or I'd REALLY make a mess of things i'm sure) without and ounce of complaint, and he is always just a phone call away willing to listen to my company victories and roadblocks.

It seems like everyday this year I am more and more thankful I found and married Derek. Marriage is pretty cool....an amazing partnership that seems to grow daily. Who knew? I definitely didn't but I'm glad I'm finding out!

Valentines Day 2011

Oh My - I can not believe my last post was February 8th! Oops! In all fairness I have good reasons for being so busy lately. (more on that later!) 


I've been wanting to post about Valentines Day - so first things first... 


One thing unique about Derek and I, is we were engaged 7 months after we met and married after 15 months. Because of that we are still in the process of celebrating some holidays for the 2nd time together - which I find to be very fun. I can safely say the Valentines Day traditions have been officially set, with our 2nd Valentines Day behind us now. There is something about new traditions that feels extra cozy to me!


Our official tradition is simple but sweet... we watch Love Actually and I make Derek a specific dinner menu. I do think this year's dinner turned out even better than last years! Hopefully that tradition will continue too. 


Here's the menu:


Spinach Salad with a warm dressing - yum! 

Spaghetti Carbonara - YUM! 


This is a very special pasta my Uncle Craig made once for me and I immediately fell in love so luckily he taught me how to make it too! It can be a little time consuming - but definitely worth it for a special Valentine - I promise it's worth a try!!


Recipe for Spaghetti Carbonara: 


Ingredients:

• 3/4 pound pancetta
• 6 finely chopped cloves of garlic
• 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
• ground black pepper
• 1 box of spaghetti 
• 3/4 cup finely chopped parsley 
• parmesan cheese (I recommend fresh)
• 4 egg yolks

Begin by cutting the pancetta into small pieces and then cook it in a deep pan over a medium to medium high flame/heat. 

Once the pancetta is nice and browned, quickly add the garlic and pepper flakes. Be careful not to cook the garlic too long so it does not get bitter After a minute or so the garlic will become golden brown. Quickly add a cup or so of chicken broth and a generous amount of black pepper. Turn the heat down to medium / medium low and let the sauce reduce by about 1/2 the volume. (You can always add more broth if things take longer than you anticipate, and keep the volume down to about 1/2 cup. Drop to a simmer. 

Have the pasta ready to dump into the pot of boiling salted water when you add the broth to the above so they can finish somewhat together. In the meantime finely chop the parsley and have plenty of parmesan cheese ready. I recommend getting a fresh block of parmesan and grating it. This time I did it this way and I felt like it made a huge difference in taste! 

Beat the egg yolks together and then temper in about a ladle full of the boiling water from the pasta pot. (note: you temper by adding a minute amount of the boiling water into the yolks while whisking furiously so as not to cook the yolks and continue until the entire ladle is incorporated) 

By now the pasta should be ready. Drain it completely and put it in the pasta bowl and dump the pancetta mix in, continue mixing well as you add the yolk mixture, parsley, and the parmesan cheese. 

Enjoy!!!


Red Velvet Cake with butter cream frosting - DOUBLE YUM!!

And here is a picture of my very sweet Valentine enjoying it all! A Valentines Day success! 

In sickness and in health...

oh boy am I THANKFUL Derek took this vow seriously! I haven't blogged in a while because my new acquaintance Tracheitis came unexpectedly to stay for a week long visit. He arrived on Tuesday and tried his best to stick around forever but I bid him adieu (mostly) on Sunday.

It turns out Tracheitis comes with a very sore throat, a deep cough, a fever that did not go under 100 degrees for four days and I couldn't even stand up on Thursday and Friday enough to be in the shower - but I had to be in the shower  to let the steam in and my amazing husband helped me every step of the way with everything!

Derek could have very easily just let me take care of myself. Instead he totally stepped up to the plate, by forcing me to let him take care of me. He got my medicine for me and kept the three prescriptions straight as to when I was supposed to take what. He tried coming up with food suggestions (even though I had no appetite) and while he was at work everyday he was constantly checking up on me.

Finally by Sunday I was able to breathe...now i'm just stuck with the cough that was left behind to remind me of what was.

Sometimes when I get really sick like that - as pathetic as it is - I tend to really want my mom around. At one point I asked Derek if he would ask my mom to come down (I couldn't talk on the phone) and he said "no - it's you and me now babe - don't you think I take good enough care of you?" of COURSE I think you take great care of me! How could I be so rude to ask for somebody else!? So it really made me think that it really IS him and I now, we're a team and we're going to work through ALL of our vows together...and that is exciting! Sometimes I look at him and say can you believe you are my HUSBAND?! I still think that is crazy. (in a good way - duh!)

What goes up...must come down?

I began the week yesterday with a few rough happenings. The week after our honeymoon I was on SUCH a high, and everything seemed to be falling into place - I remember thinking this all seems too perfect, and I wonder what will be the thing to break this wonderful time. Is it bad that we naturally seem to assume something will inevitably "go wrong"? I think it goes along with that whole "What goes up - must come down theory" although I think that saying has something to do with gravity as well. Have we just had enough things always fall wayside that we have just become accustomed to planning for it? 


Apparently I have at least, I figured something would get a little out of line - and I was right. That happened yesterday and has been growing for a week or so. Luckily now though when I do have bad days I have an amazing husband and bulldog to come home to! 


Last night, after that day - I needed some cooking therapy. I've been searching for a Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe for a while. I finally picked one of the many I found yesterday and decided I could modify as I wanted. 


I'm not even going to be shy - this recipe was AMAZING!!! It literally tasted like the stuff you get at a Chinese restaurant - MINUS the deep fat fried chicken! yea!!!


Here's the recipe: (what i did anyhow!)


Sweet and Sour Chicken 


Ingredients:
3/4 cup white sugar 
(could use a sugar alternative to lighten it up!)
1/3 cup white vinegar
2/3 cup water
1/3 cup soy sauce (i used reduced sodium version)
1 tbs ketchup
2 tbs cornstarch


Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil and stir continuously until the mixture has thickened. 

Chicken:


I marinated the chicken for about 20 minutes in soy sauce. Then I cut the chicken into the size squares I wanted to serve, and coated them in flour. I put this into a frying pan with some Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Leave them until you can see they are cooked about half way through (flipping them too much will dry them out). Once the chicken was finished I put in mushrooms (you could add any vegetables you wanted - i might even add some cashews next time) and let them simmer. 

Finally - pour most of the sauce over the chicken/mushrooms, stir - making sure all chicken is covered, and let simmer for at least 5 minutes. 

I actually poured all of the sauce ingredients in the saucepan and did not turn the heat on, then I got the chicken cooking and once I flipped the chicken I turned the sauce on. You have to constantly stir it to make sure it doesn't burn. 


Make some rice (we used the uncle ben's brown rice to health it up a bit) and we also added some cheater egg rolls (which were delicious!) And ta daaaaa! You have dinner...This whole process took me about 20 minutes!

p.s. this meal was cooked partially thanks to our "challenge" - I've had some people asking how it's going. So far so good - but I'm saving the final details for the end! 

Please feel free to comment if you plan to / do try this! 

It's great to hear feedback!

The Challenge...(numero UNO!)

Sometimes a challenge feels good correction - sometimes completing a challenge feels great! not so good if the challenge doesn't turn out well. Regardless, this Kosama program we do has taught me that even though it's a little painful and exhausting, at the end of the day a good challenge feels rewarding and well worth it! 


With that, my husband and I more so I than both of us decided at lunch today it was a good time for another challenge! In fact - I kind of decided in my head that we should do a new challenge every month, but I'll ease Derek into that part of the plan. Anyway, without further adieu - our challenge...


The Challenge: Eating In To Win!
yes i feel a little "Minute to Win It"...


Length of Contest: 4 weeks 1/25/11 - 2/23/11


Rule #1 We will only eat out for lunches if it can be expensed (a.k.a. work lunches with clients). 


Rule #2 We will only eat dinner out one night per week 
(yikes! this one will by FAR be the hardest for us!!)


Rule #3 Starbucks/coffee/soda runs DO count - so they can't happen! (they add up fast too!)


We came up with this challenge because we realized we were eating out a lot this past fall and we promised each other that "after the wedding" as we said about many things this past fall we would not eat out as much and try to eat more at home to save money and to eat healthier. Plus my husband can't stop talking about "filling up the coffers" have you ever even heard of a coffer? I had not...but now I feel like they are supposed to be my bff. (ugh). He hasn't gone so far as to actually literally get us a coffer to fill up - but if he did...here's what I would have to figure out how to incorporate into my home decor. That would be an entirely different challenge.

coffersplural of cof·fer (Noun)

1. A strongbox or small chest for holding valuables.

2. The funds or financial reserves of a group or institution

We began tonight by adding up the past four weeks purchases at ANY restaurant, coffee house, fast food place or grocery store. (note: we did the past four weeks we were here - we excluded the honeymoon week since we were not here). I wasn't really sure what to expect the total to be - but it was (drum roll please!) $975.24. Do you think this is a lot? I couldn't decide...in my head I thought it would be more when i was estimating, but then realizing this is approximately $250/ week in food, that seems like quite a bit! Our Goal: is to spend $125/ week on food for the next 4 weeks, for a total of $500 and a total savings of $475.24! (helloooo... JAMAICA a little sooner if we can start pulling that off monthly!)


We've been so excited about cooking with all of our new fun tools  that I can't think of a better time to meet this challenge head on.


So here goes nothing! (oh lordy - why am i ALREADY craving Jimmy Johns?! damn...) 


I'd love to hear feedback on what you think of this!!

Sunday Funday!

In my days at college which i fondly refer to as the glory days "Sunday Funday" meant for yet another wonderful day of fun with your friends - as if going out Thursday, Friday and Saturday wasn't enough "quality" time with your pals. Generally playing yard olympics, finishing the keg from the night before, ordering pizza and not so much studying for that chem. test you are taking at 8am Monday morning were on the itinerary. 


These days - my idea of the perfect "Sunday Funday" was waking up with my husband, making breakfast, cleaning the house together, working on wedding thank-yous and verbally planning our next trip to Jamaica as we seem to do daily now. Derek and I talked today about how we used to go crazy when we didn't have something to do on a Sunday, and now today getting off the couch seemed like too many scheduled events!


I was able to motivate myself to make my husband somewhat of a proper dinner this evening. In light of my fond memories of college "Sunday Funday" I was craving my favorite dining center soup - Pizza Soup! 


I didn't have the recipe - but I let my fingers do some research through the google and combined all the pizza soup recipes with my memories of this glorious concoction to come up with the following:


Pizza Soup!


Ingredients:
3/4 Box of Cooked Rigatoni
1 family size + 1 regular can of tomato soup
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/4 - 1/2 bag of Pepperoni's cut in half
1/4 tsp. Basil
1/4 tsp. Oregano
1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder
Shredded Mozzarella 

ingredients = check!
(think I went to Target today?!)

Fresh shredded motz is best!

Make the tomato soup as directed on the can, use milk.
(and even a little extra milk for a little creamier texture)
Add all seasonings and the parmesan cheese. Stir well. 

Add the pepperoni's and cooked noodles.
Stir again and let warm/simmer on medium for about 20 minutes 

Top with the Mozzarella - and voila FINISHED PRODUCT!
My husband was sweet enough to say
"it looks like something from the Food Network" - i love him!

It was delicious - i must say! I think in the future I will add mushrooms and maybe some Parmesan Cheese as a garnish as well. 

Derek said he LOVED it - and that it makes for a great comfort food in these days of the below the 0 temperature mark. yuk!

Check the "cool" box below if you plan to try this! 

(just curious!)

You're gonna catch a cold...

You will find that I tend to be the girl who listens to songs and makes it a hobby to try and figure out the true meaning and message the songwriter was trying to convey.

I LOVE this song: Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri. I think the song is actually a man hatin' song, but it has a line in it that I've taken upon myself to interperet in a way that related to my week better. If you listen she says "you're gonna catch a cold, from the ice inside your soul".

This is the premise to my rant on mean people. I am very over mean people. I seem to keep getting slapped in the face not literally thankfully! this week by mean people. The worst of it is - I'm realizing that actual "mean people" are not just people who get upset about one thing, or do one specific mean action. The people I am tired of are the day in and day out mean people - the people who - after time - it becomes painfully evident after you've spent months making excuses in your head for them they are mean ON PURPOSE! That is the worst kind of mean...

i.e. - "you're gonna catch a cold - from the ice inside your soul" A word to the permanantly mean people - you better start carrying around an unlimited refill prescription for z-packs.

I know it sounds a little Miss America - but do wish people were more accepting of the day to day behavior of others. Imagine a world thank you John Lenon where everybody treated everybody else with respect at the minimum but also genuine friendliness.
I am going to make an effort to be nicer to people, I am not going to make dirty faces to people who cut me off on the road ok-make that I'm not going to give people the bird, If somebody around me seems to be struggling with something - I'm going to try not to think in my head I'm too busy to help them, I hope they don't ask me. I'm going to offer help and a friendly face, I'm going to say Good Morning! to people at my office yes - even on Mondays to brighten the mood.

My point is, I believe being mean is probably more exhausting and I am glad to know already I am not somebody who evidently enjoys being mean, but I believe there are still plenty of ways I can improve myself.

I'm going to even apply this to my marriage or try to. If Derek gets home late I'm going to try to think positively not completely annoyed about how it's ruining my day. I'm going to keep focus on the small things and be nice in small ways. It's easy for a lot of people to not cheat on their spouses which obviously would be considered in the "mean" category" But I bet it's a lot less easy to remember to say sweet nice things - and act on those. Actions speak louder than words and I'm going to act nice!

Is that too much to ask out of everybody else?? So go out of your way to be a little nicer today. I bet you will feel better and maybe it will be contagious!

Who's with me??