My New Favorite Vegetable!!!

Ok this is so easy!! As a matter of fact it's almost as easy as opening a can of green beans and warming them up. Asparagus is my new favorite vegetable. I couldn't be happier that my youngest loves it too, but I was disappointed to learn my husband has no use for it. *Sigh*.. It's like two steps forward three steps back when trying to please everyone in the kitchen. I borrowed this recipe from a Bunko girlfriend. A few months ago I may have passed on it at the monthly Bunko but I'm on a new diet (another blog) so my choices were slim. It was either the potato salad or the asparagus. Please try this simple recipe. Don't forget the Italian dressing or you will not love it the same.




Asparagus


1 bunch of asparagus
About 2 T of Newman’s own light Italian dressing

Snap off the ends of the asparagus and rinse well.

Place enough water in a skillet to partially cover the asparagus. Bring to a boil. Add asparagus, cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook asparagus for about
2 ½ minutes. Immediately drain hot water and put the asparagus into a bowl of ice water. Leave in ice water until cool. (You may have to add more ice.) When cool, drain and pat excess moisture on paper towels.

Put the asparagus into a Ziplock bag. Add the dressing. Shake well. Keep chilled until ready to serve.

My Sprain Ankle

This is old news but I thought it deserved mentioning. I sprain my ankle April 13th, during tennis practice. I was in a boot for 10 days and the doctor told me no tennis for 3 weeks. The 3 week mark is getting closer and I can tell my ankle is stronger but I'm not sure it's ready for the side step movements of tennis. I went to the gym this morning and walked on the treadmill for 30 min and rode the bicycle for 30 min. After walking on the treadmill, my foot started to hurt.

I really miss tennis and seeing my tennis friends. It sucks!! I play in a New Neighbors league on Mondays and my partner and I have had to cancel two matches so far. I can't decide if I want to try and play on Monday. It will be 2 weeks and 6 days.

Get better soon ANKLE!! I've got places to be and friends to see!!

FOR SALE!!!

It's OFFICIAL!! Our house is finally on the market. What does that mean? Well for one, the time is coming closer to moving in our new home. I couldn't be happier, especially since we purchased our property in 2007. It's been almost 3 years of House Planning. There are other things it means too when you have a house for sale. Keeping your house SPOTLESS!!! Every morning this week, I have spent hours making sure beds were made, hiding the shampoo bottles, hiding all the food because God forbid the next owner think we actually lived in this house. Even laundry baskets are stored in the trunk of my car. The dog has gone on vacation to Grandma's house. Bless her heart!! We just spent hundreds repairing doors and cabinets from where he had scratched. This week he came home for a few days while my mom worked and I had to place barriers up so he wouldn't scratch. He's a monster, all 15 pounds of him. The girls refuse to play here. Today I took Megan and her friend to a movie and after the movie, they decided they wanted to go play at Grayson's house. My response was "Why can't you play here?". They then explained it was boring and there was nothing to do here. You see back in March we had a POD delivered and placed inside it items we could live without until we moved. Yeap!! All the toys went inside of it. I also placed half of my clothes in the closet and now every time I want to wear something I remember it's in the pod. Megan went on a field trip last week and needed a sleeping bag. In the pod. Rachel needed a shoulder bag for the zoo this week. Yeap-in the POD. Shovel, rake, hammer, IN THE POD!!!
It's weird to think about people going threw your home. Coming in to judge your items. Everyone knows the bedspread does not come with the house but the bedspread still must look immaculate!!
I must admit, the house looks great!! Fresh paint, and clean windows make a huge difference. I almost can't understand why we're moving. I kinda like what we've done to the place in the last month. We just did it 3 years too late.

Happy Birthday Andria!!!!

Yesterday, we celebrated my friend Andria's birthday at Soul Fish. It just opened maybe a month ago. I had the smoked chicken and it was finger licking good!!! Pictured from the left is myself, Adrianne Tillman, Cindy Weatherly, Andria Feinstone and Karen Woodyard. Lauren Edwards is not pictured because she was in her Tennis attire. WHATEVER!!!

I made Andria a Chocolate Chip Cake. It is so scrumptious. I had a slither. (on a diet-tell ya in another blog) My friend Christy gave me the recipe and it may not be the prettiest cake but it is the MOST DELICIOUS CAKE around!!!


Chocolate chip cake

1 box yellow cake mix
1 small box vanilla instant pudding
1 German Chocolate bar grated (in processor)
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup water
4 eggs

Mix above ingredients well then fold in:

12 oz sour cream
1/2 pkg of mini chocolate chips.

Pour into greased and floured bundt pan (I use Baker's Joy). Bake at 350
for 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
May dust with confectioners sugar for presentation.

I'm afraid to blog

After reading my friend's lastest blog on Grammar Pet Peeves, I'm afraid to write any more blogs. I"m sure she will tear these two sentences apart.

Sincerely,


Scared Blogger

My BUCKET LIST

If you haven't seen the movie The Bucket List, you should. It's a great movie. In it, Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman make a list of everything they want to do in life before dying. So I decided I'd make a list too. Here it is in no particular order.


1. Go to the Olympics (preferably the winter)

2. Scuba dive (tried it once in Hawaii and had to give the thumbs up-meaning I'm going up and getting the heck out of this swimming pool)

3. Go back to school-for what is still TBA. Who knows what God has in store for me.

4. Sing on Stage

5. Be on TV

6. Meet Dolly Parton or Oprah. Less Oprah more Dolly. Oprah sometimes gets on my nerves.

7. Open a small children's book store with a European Feel.

8. Run a Marathon. Half or Full. Either one and I'd be happy.

9. Own a farm one day with chickens, horses, goats, and cows. I want to rise at 4am to gather the eggs and milk the cows. I am not a morning person, this would probably last a week and I'd be ready to hire someone to gather the eggs.

10. Take a road trip in an RV around the United States.

A week at the Umansky's

Just thought I'd update the world (ok just 5 or so people) on what's been going on at the Umansky House. We've been in full swing since returning from California. Megan tried out for Middle School cheer last week and made it!! Yeah. She will be on the football and competitive team. After Easter she will practice twice a week. Rachel's play practice started and it's four times a week. That's right 4 times!!! 2 hours on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and 3 hours on Saturdays. I hope she likes this kind of stuff because it's what she will be doing for the next 30 days. So in between hauling little people back and forth, we are also trying to get our previous house ready to sale. Painters have been here since last week. I'm so ready for them to leave. All the pictures have been taken down, old furniture thrown out, and the pantries & closets have been cleaned out. We were suppose to meet the realtor this week but now she is scheduled to come next week. Maybe by then we will be ready. I've either given or thrown a ton of stuff away. I don't know where all that stuff came from, INCREDIBLE!!! On Monday, Rachel woke up sick but by lunch she was ready to go back to school. On Tuesday, she woke up sick again so I took her to the doctor. He said it was viral and that she could return to school by Wednesday. Hmmmm... always thought viral meant contagious and you should stay at home. OK I know she didn't look all that sick at the doctor's office yesterday but this morning, she was knocking on the MISERY door. Poor little thing and mom left her to go play tennis. Whoops!!! Let me explain before you judge. Maria was here cleaning and all Rachel was doing was watching TV. It was our 2nd USTA tennis match and unfortunately we only had one other girl who could sub if I didn't play. The news gets worse, we lost!!! Stupid Collierville team!!! I was back home with Rachel by 11 and just as I had suspected, Hannah Montana was on. The new house is moving along, the kitchen cabinets went in yesterday and now that we have beautiful weather they can pour the driveway. Yeah..my shoes will stay clean. The granite has been approved and we are in the process of picking out light fixtures. The weather is beautiful this week and Cody couldn't be happier. He knows mommy doesn't mind walking him when it's warm. If I have to layer up to take him outside, I'm not a happy person. Cody is such a finicky dog. He hates to get his paws wet. You should see how he tip toes out on the grass. He really should have been a girl dog. Dan likes to say that he lives with all women. And I always say "oh no-don't forget Cody"... his response "my point exactly". Ok so as you can see not anything too exciting going on here. Just the usual stuff. Easter is this weekend and we will head north to visit my parents. Enjoy your Easter break.