Drawing the Line....
I need to draw the line, people. I wrote about this on my facebook page, but seriously, this is getting out of hand.

Please do not chat with me in the women's restroom.

I, like most people, go to the restroom with a purpose. I need to do my business, flush, wash my hands, and leave. A very simple process that doesn't need any extra steps.

Yesterday, I walk into the restroom and am followed by a supervisor (who I know and enjoy talking with) who proceeded to try and carry on a conversation with me as I'm sitting down to do what I need to do.

My "uh-huh" and small "yep" responses didn't phase her. I'm sorry--but I don't need to chat about my weekend, wedding planning, or student issues while sitting in the bathroom stall next to you!

Of course, I try to be polite, but really--I just want to pee and get back to my desk.

Does anyone else feel this way?

Drum Roll, Please.....
The Online Silent Auction is over....another year, come and gone!

I was a little worried this year about the auction. Our team is having one heck of a time raising money this year because of the craptastic economy. So, doing this auction I was a little worried that we'd be lucky to sell half of what we received.

Only one item didn't sell--the chiropractic office gift certificate (anyone in MN need this? If so, leave me a comment and we'll chat).

After all was said and done. After my spread sheet was created. After I did some formulas and sorting. I am happy to announce that Amy's Angels 3-day Walk Team raised....


drumroll......


$2650

Thank you to everyone who stopped by--even if it was just to window shop! We're looking forward to next year's auction!

I'm off to go collect the Benjamin's baby....

Hello, Lover....

This is my garden. With the nice warm temps and some good rains, my $1 Wal-Mart Garden Center plants are thriving.

Yes. $1 plants from Wal-Mart. I wouldn't have believed it either, but last summer we did the same thing and we had veggies until the first frost.

Speaking of veggies.....

What is this I see?

Our first pepper is popping out. Never mind that the leaves have been attacked by some little bug. But these peppers are the Big Guy's love, so I'll leave the leaf eating bug problem to him.

Oh. What's this? Why....my little guys are starting to make an appearance....

My cherry tomatoes are coming in! We have red and yellow tomatoes this year. So excited that they are doing well!

Have a great weekend....and don't forget to get in over at the Online Silent Auction which benefits the 3-day walk for breast cancer. Auction ends Sunday!

No. Tomatoes and peppers are not on the auction.

Cancer Stories and Baseball Brainstorming...

Yesterday, Amy and I spent the day together doing a little cancer story telling and a little baseball brainstorming.

I know you're raising an eyebrow saying, "How do you brainstorm about baseball?" I'll get to that because I'd actually like your help!

Amy was asked to be a part of a project that will take place in October--breast cancer awareness month. There is a media company who works with online media outlets (newspapers, MSNBC, etc) to help them get "news worthy" items. As our host told us, there is no way that online news media has enough to supplement their news each day. They help them do that.

In October, they will be spotlighting one person every day who is a breast cancer survivor. Amy will be one of those people.

Oh. You bet that when that baby is up for viewing, it will be here on the bloggy!

I cannot tell you how proud I am of Amy for sharing her story for others. I know it's hard, but I also know that Amy is not a "woe is me" person either. Her story was fun to watch and hear again, but also very humbling.

Here are some photos from the day. I couldn't take photos til the end because of the filming.

Getting beautiful!

After the filming...

Amy and Kelley. We obviously coordinated our outfits.

I'm joking. No coordination happened whatsoever.

After a little lunch, we started to brainstorm about baseball themes. As you know, we are doing the 3-day walk again, and this year Amy and I are driving a van during the event to help with picking up people along the way who might need a ride to the next pit stop. Every van has a theme and we went with the Save 2nd Base theme (get it? hee hee...). We got ideas--baseballs on the windows, maybe even some bases cut out of tag board...but I think we're missing something.

So. If you were riding in a van, after walking 18 miles in a day, and got in to see two girls wearing baseball caps and Twins jerseys (ha! get it? the twins? Oh I crack myself up...), what else would make our van fun?

What sorta bits and bobs can we hand out? We've made buttons, but what else? Help us with a little baseball brainstorming, folks!

Nothing is off limits or too creative!!

Kitchen Sink of Blog Posts #(who knows)....

We are under a heat advisory today where the heat index will be 105 degrees. Let me just say that standing at the bus stop today at 4:15 p.m. with that hot bus exhaust will be a real treat for the afternoon.

Speaking of treats, I am in love with the Kemps Yogurt Cups. These little desserts are just enough to give you an ice-cream treat, but without all the guilt. They are currently 10/$10 at the grocery store that I refuse to shop at. Yes. I did go in and get these. But only these.

Is it bad that yesterday while riding the bus through downtown I did a double take at a very good looking construction worker who was nothing but muscles, very tan and wearing his safety vest as a shirt? Is it hot in here? Whew...

The auction is going great and my friend Ruggs is not going to be outdone this year. I am also in a slight bidding war with another UND girl. I want those soaps, Korrin!!

The Big Guy and I have started looking into the adoption process. Two words: overwhelming and expensive

Tomorrow Amy and I head to St Paul where she will be part of a video production of breast cancer survivors. I'm going with as cheerleader/photographer. Photos on the blog later this week (Amy will LOVE that....).

I'm off to check out the auction and see if Korrin trumped my bid. You should stop by too!

3-Day Silent Auction is HERE!!!

I cannot tell you how happy I am that this blog auction is finally up and running. Setting up a blog auction is nothing like writing a blog post about our every day going's on.

I had to break out my creative writing skills. I was an English major in college and had to take a creative writing class. It was quite the challenge. Actually, I felt like I was back in that class over the weekend writing up all those posts.

Anyway--go over and check it out: www.amysangels.net

Even if you don't see anything you like, you might know someone who would like an item or to. If so, pass it on! Share the link! Help us get back our fundraising mojo!

Not that I'm biased or anything but the English Toffee is quite good.

My Name is Kelley and I'm a Food Freak...
I've written about it before, and I'll write about it again.

I'm a food freak.

Expiration dates/sell by dates/best by dates are all the same to me. To me they mean, "do not under any circumstances consume this after the date." While I don't think I'll die, it still is gross.

Sorry. But it is.

Imagine if you will, however, that on Sunday I decided that the 4 bananas I had on the counter that were brown and spotty needed to be used for banana bread. I could slice it up and take it with me to work each day and have a little banana bread goodness each morning.

I made the bread and it was lovely.
That was until I ate mold.

Uh huh. Yep. I did.

See, it's been a little warm here the last few days. Minnesota is known for the humidity, you see. We've had the A/C on, but it was still a little on the humid side.

When I made the bread on Sunday, I sliced it up and put it in baggies. Which I left on the counter. I've been eating on that damn bread all week. A slice in the morning. A slice in the evening. I figure I was doing my colon some good because of the flax seed I put in the bread.

Yesterday, though, I didn't feel great. I wasn't ill. But I just didn't feel good. I thought, "....its the flax seed." Yep, you got that right!

This morning, I get to the bus stop early and I decide to eat my slice of bread before boarding the bus. Took a bite. Took a second bite, and when I went to take a 3rd I stopped. On my brown bread was a tiny white spot.

"What is that?" I thought. "Is it flour?" No. Flour isn't furry.

It was mold, my friends.
On my banana bread.

Apparently moist bread, in a closed baggie, on a kitchen counter in a slightly humid kitchen is the perfect breeding ground for my own antibiotics factory.

The remaining piece (yes. Only one was left!) was tossed by the Big Guy when he got home and read my facebook post. Though my friend JP commented on that facebook post and said that if it was in the form of a religious symbol (the Virgin Mary, Jesus, Apostle Paul...), I'd be in for some big money. Sadly, nothing of the sort. Just a tiny, white, spot.

That sound you hear? That's my mother laughing and saying "She didn't get her freakish food nature from me!"

I'm Here! I Swear!

I am probably going to be MIA this week. Next week is a pretty busy week for me & the 3-day folks.

Why, you ask?

Oh. I don't know....

There is quite a bit that goes into this auction. Right now I'm concentrating on writing up each post for the items we've secured. Note to my 3-day girls....if you have an item and have yet to send me pics and descriptions, please do so this week. Thanks!

Be sure to check in next week. We will ship most items anywhere in the world. Some cannot be shipped due to weight or because they are perishable. You can visit the auction at www.amysangels.net or just click the button on my blog (upper left hand corner).

All money benefits the Breast Cancer 3-day which funds Susan G Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust. Not "thrust" as I mistakenly said last week while calling for donations to a brewery.

Yeah. That place has yet to call me back. Go figure.

Feeding a Fever....
The Big Guy has been sick since Friday. Seems as though the strep throat bug has hit our house and it hit hard. Well, it hit the Big Guy....not me. He didn't work at all this weekend. I think he was full of it and just didn't want to work.

I had planned to make the Big Guy the Marlboro Man Sandwich for dinner one night as I heard feeding a fever is what you do to cure what ails ya'.

It was either that or the 1/2 pound of butter in the recipe. You be the judge.

For the record I did not eat this as it is made with beef. I don't eat beef. After a summer at camp when the camp cook was making hamburgers in the oven and they were swimming in grease at least two inches deep, I couldn't touch beef again. That was the summer of 1992.

Here is the recipe, courtesy of Ree, the Pioneer Woman. Wanna put a smile on your man's face? Feed him this. And it is QUICK to make...20 minutes tops.

Here is the link to the recipe on Ree's site. Check out the photos on how she did this! This is why I love her cooking site.

Here's a rundown of what you'll need....

2-3 pounds of cube steak, cut into strips
1 med. onion, sliced
2 sticks of butter (told ya...)
1/2 cup of worcestershire sauce
Season salt
Hot sauce
Sub rolls

Now, go forth and conquer this sandwich.

If you're wondering, the Big Guy is 100% better.

I swear. It's the butter.

Yeah. Right.
Like a lot of people I really love looking at Pottery Barn catalogs. While I can never really afford anything at Pottery Barn, I do love to look at the catalogs and get some ideas.

Granted, if I lived on the Cape I'd seem to fit right in.

I happened to see a catalog at work that someone left in the kitchen and I scooped it up as the front cover was featuring lanterns. I fell in love with a specific lantern and have yet to find it. I was hoping that Pottery Barn would be there for me. No such luck. But one of the cool things about Pottery Barn is that I get some cool decorating ideas, and often can find a cool craft project and can make it for a lot, lot less.

Need an example? Oh. Have I got one for you.

As I was riding home on the bus, I noticed this.....

Rustic Wood Accents.

Price? $199 - $249.

ONE HUNDRED NINETY-NINE DOLLARS? FOR A LOG?

Seriously.

In case you're wondering, no. I won't be recreating that for my home.

20 Years Ago This Week....
The other day I was talking to my aunt and we were chatting about wedding plans. She said that she would be celebrating her 20th anniversary this year. I then remember that I wasn't at her wedding because 20 years ago I took a trip to Czechoslovakia, Hungary and the Ukraine of the Soviet Union. I thought I'd post a few photos of our trip....

Twenty years ago this week......

There was some partaking of the European culture (read: no drinking age).

If this trip happened today, we would have been suspended.

There was the realization that I didn't learn anything in my Russian class.

You know it's bad when you're quizzed on the spot by your Russian teacher.

So much for reading the wall of the WWII Memorial.

This hat caused quite a stir at the Russian/Czechoslovakian border.

The border guard didn't believe that Jason bought it at an Army Surplus store.

Jason also didn't have his receipt.

Thank God for a translator that was able to work it out.

I'm pretty sure Jason was having visions of sitting in a Russian prison.

I know I was having visions of that same prison because I bought a USSR flag,

which I had hidden in my suitcase (those flags were not allowed out of the country).

I got to see Austria from this castle on the Hungarian border.

Sorta like how Governor Palin gets to see Russia from her house.

For the record, we didn't see her house from Russia.

I thought this shirt that I got at Rag Stock was the coolest shirt ever.

Anyone Got a Hover-Round I Can Borrow....

Oh.

My.

Word.

Wii active? Yep. It's pretty active alright. So active in fact that I had to stop the program in the middle, and "uncheck" the leg exercises from the exercise list because my legs were complete jello after 16 squats, 24 kick squats, running in place for a lap of the track and 24 lunges.

Then they wanted me to do kick-backs (where you run in place, and the heel of your shoe kicks your butt....literally).

I looked at my personal trainer on the active and said a few choice words.

I did the rest of the work out with the upper body work and felt good. But walking into work today and up 2 flights of steps was a new experience in those jello legs.

You know it's bad when you walk up each step saying "...this is making me stronger. This is making me stronger. This is making me stronger."

The Big Guy is going to do it today. I can't wait to hear what he has to say. Then again, knowing how men lose weight, he'll do 4 lunges and lose 25 pounds.

Figures.

**Edited to add: This is straight from the Big Guy after doing the workout

I did it.

MY legs are goo.

But I did 'em all. Every last stinkin' runnin', high-steppin, self-ass-kickin' one of 'em.

As I said, ow.

You can find me collapsed on the floor when you get home. Please step over me, not on me.

Thank you

I Might Qualify for Social Security Now...
The photos of the Diane Keaton meet and greet are up.

Oh. Can't see it? That's right. You won't.

Yours truly looked like complete $#@& in the photo. I could make a thousand excuses--the lighting was bad, it was taken from the side, Diane Keaton is a size zero and anyone next to a size zero looks like crap. Blah. Blah. Blah.

The truth of the matter is, I'm a big girl who's big badonkadonk has been in the plus size section since she was a junior in high school. While I'm on the low end of the plus size, it still isn't an excuse.

Therefore, the Diane Keaton photo will stay hidden for some time.

But it did give me (another) wake up call that as you get older it isn't as easy to lose weight as it is when you're younger. I think the biggest reason is energy level. I think about being 20 something in college, where I could stay up late at night, get 3 hours of sleep and go all day.

Now, I get up in the morning, and by 9:30 a.m. I'm ready for a nap.

This is a clear indicator that someone needs to get her metabolism up and running. Wait. Not running. How about a brisk walk.....

That is where the Wii comes into play. Yep. The Big Guy and I bought a Wii this weekend with the new "game" Active. The Wii has the WiiFit, but this is a new, more active--ha!--work out. All the reviews I've read have been 5 stars. So, my hope is that this will get me off the couch and feeling a bit better.

Anyway, we hooked up the Wii Saturday night and started to play the game that came with it. The Big Guy kicked my butt in every game. We bowled. We golfed. I told him that it was because he plays computer games now and again, where I don't. Though I did do pretty good at bowling.

Then you can figure out your "training age" (I think that's what it is called). You hit a few baseballs, you play a little tennis, and you bowl a few frames.

The Big Guy was, like, 53 years old.
I was 73 years old.

SEVENTY THREE.

In my defense it was the bowling part that got me.

I do have tennis elbow ya' know.