About Dan and me

I've been tagged 50 times, I'm bored at work, and haven't updated my blog for awhile....so here goes nothing.....

How long have you been together? Since the winter of 2003

How long did you date? Too long for Dan, just right for me. (1 1/2 years)

How old is he? 34

Who eats more? We're both gluttonous pigs

Who said "I love you" first? Dan

Who is taller? Dan

Who sings better? Dan actually has a better voice but he won't sing unless we're playing Rock Band and he's assigned the singing part. I wish he'd sing with me more!!

Who is smarter? Dan...all the way, especially when it comes to politics. I'm a dummy!

Who does the laundry? Mostly Dan, but many times it's a joint effort

Who does the dishes? Me (Dan helps out after I make a big meal)

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Dan

Who pays the bills? Dan

Who mows the lawn? Lawn? What's that? We're in a condo and I haven't seen a lawn in years. But when we get into a house, Dan will definitely be the lawn mower although I don't think he's mowed a lawn in his entire life.

Who cooks dinner? Me. When I'm gone at nights Dan will make him a PB&J sandwich - that's the extent of his cooking.

Who is more stubborn? Both of us are stubborn as mules (but Dan is more stubborn)

Who kissed who first? Dan kissed me out of the blue. I wasn't expecting it and it freaked me out at first, now I'm glad he did! :)

Who asked who out? Dan asked me out first, once again I freaked out but glad I went. (Can you tell much of our dating life was me freaking out?).

Who proposed? Well, neither of us really did. Seriously, it all happened so fast. Dan got a job in CA and had to be out there in 3 weeks. So I'm actually the one who said, "we better get married before you leave or it won't happen". I didn't even get my ring until the day before my wedding.

Who is more sensitive? Depends on the situation, but usually me.

Who has more friends? We both do

Who has more siblings? Dan

Who wears the pants in the relationship? Dan lets me think I do sometimes, but I know it's really him, which is the way I want it. So I guess we both have a leg.

My personal horror story

Have you ever experienced something so nasty that you wish you could permanently remove the haunting images from your mind? If not, consider yourself lucky, because today I was a witness to something I never want to experience again….EVER!

So, this afternoon I headed down to Quest Diagnostics in Herndon, VA (stay away, please!) for a urine and blood test (I live a glamorous life, I know). Now, for those of you who don’t know the area, Herndon is known as one of the "ghettos" of Northern Virginia, but it's close to my work so I thought, "can’t beat the convenience…how bad can it be?" Heh. Let me tell you, pretty bad.

I was one of the only patients there (besides a lady with a screaming child), so I didn’t think the wait would be very long. Apparently the phlebotomist-on-call was inadequate because I was there for an hour and was the 2nd person in line. I had my blood drawn (which was an experience for another post), was then given “the cup,” and headed into the bathroom. Every doctor's office I have been to (and I've been to many) has a cupboard in the bathroom, where the urine samples are placed. They are then (supposedly) immediately taken by the lab staff to ensure privacy and safety. So, you can imagine my horror when I walked in and saw this:

I nearly lost my lunch. Here they were, lined up... Everyone's urine samples on display like a trophy collection. The thing that disturbed me the most was that I was the only patient in the clinic at the time, which means the samples in the red box had been there for over an hour. I wonder how accurate the results will be after sitting there that long?! Although, there are deeper questions in this situation that deserve answers...

The whole bathroom smelled like pee and the floor was sticky and had not been mopped in what seemed like weeks. I proceeded to do my business and when I began writing my name on my sample cup, my fingers seemed to stick to the marker that was in there. You can only imagine what was on the marker, and now, my fingers…! I wrote my name quickly, left my sample with the trophy samples, vigorously washed my hands and left that white trash clinic before I could barf. I just hope some druggie didn't switch their sample with mine. That would be an interesting situation to explain to my boss (and husband)!

Anyway, I thought I would share the visuals so that I wouldn’t have to suffer alone. Aren’t you glad you checked in with the Milepost today?

I love Thai food

I signed up to take a Thai food cooking class in February. Don't ask me why I did this, as if I don't have enough to do. Anybody want to take it with me? Dan will be one lucky guy because Thai food is his favorite (along with Chinese, Italian, American, Indian...you get the idea).

Here's what's on the menu:

Thai Iced Coffee

Pad Thai

Mushroom and Snow Pea Stir-Fry

Hot and Sour Soup

Garlic Shrimp
Thai Lettuce Wraps
Thai Barbecue Chicken Wings
Pineapple Salad with Cucumber and Peanuts
Thai-Fried Bananas
Mango Sticky Rice

As a cake decorator, I hope I never make this mistake.....

Our Sanctuary

I went to a movie with my friend the other night. On our way home I started giving her my sob story of how sick I am of the pre-marriage, white trash furniture sitting in our bedroom. We each separately bought our dressers and night stands right after moving out to DC and have had them ever since. If they were of a nicer quality, it wouldn't be such a problem...but they're pieces of crap. Dan's dresser has 3 broken and crooked drawers that aren't even being used because the metal tracks broke. The thing has been sitting in our room, half used, for the past 6 months. The leg fell off my dresser when I first bought it (talk about quality) and have been using duct tape the past 5 years to hold it on. Needless to say...I was depressed.

So anyway, my friend told me something that had an impact. She said that so many of us spend time and money decorating our living room and dining room, because that's what guests see. Her point was that the bedroom should be our sanctuary. Well, I thought about that for a long time (okay, one night) and the next day Dan and I found ourselves in the furniture store buying this:


I'm not a compulsive buyer, but for some reason this was easy for me to drop the money on. It's something we will always have and heaven knows, when we have kids we won't be able to afford stuff like this. Thanks Shanae for making me feel guilty enough to go buy new furniture. :)
It wouldn't have happened had we not had our conversation.

Not much going on in this neck of the woods....

I wish I had something exciting to post. I guess I'll post a journal entry of sorts, just so my blog fans will continue to check back.

Nothing exciting has happened since I posted last. I'm back to working full time, teaching piano lessons and trying to find a spare moment to spend with my husband. We got "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" for Christmas so we've been playing like maniacs, trying to unlock more songs. It is so addicting...hence the reason I haven't posted in so long (and the reason why my house is a wreck).

I've been trying to spend as much time as I can with my new niece Sophia. She is such a sweetheart and I can't get enough of her. As a matter of fact, Noelle and baby (that's what I call her) just went to lunch today. I hope one day I can have kids half as cute (Wait...I'll give anything just to have kids....even if they're not cute!)

That's pretty much my life! I promise to post something more exciting in the near future.

After Christmas Blues

I always get the blues after Christmas. My parents have been in town the last 10 days for Christmas and for the birth of my niece, and they just left today. I would have thought that after 10 days of them being here I would be jumping with joy to see them leave, but that wasn't the case. I had a harder time with them leaving than I thought I would, I cried and cried and cried some more. My parents leaving coupled with going back to work, teaching piano lessons and all the other responsibilities that come with "real life" has given me the blues tonight.

I guess one thing to look forward to is our new XBox 360 we bought ourselves for Christmas. I just hope I don't turn into a slug and and jam out to Guitar Hero 24/7.

More pics of Sophia

Since I don't have kids of my own to post pictures of, I thought I'd post pictures of my new niece.

20 minutes after she was born

My mom, Noelle & Sophia
(Proud Grandma)

Baby Sophia

Welcome Baby Sophia

Today my little sister had her baby...Sophia Noelle Toskovich. I was lucky enough to be there when she was born and it was an amazing experience....one I've never witnessed before. Noelle had an easy, fast delivery and the baby is healthy and strong. She weighs 7 lbs. 7 oz. and is 20" long. Congratulations Noelle & Matt! Welcome to the family Sophia.

Here is a picture I took with my camera phone. I'll post more later.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I haven't posted in over a week because my life has been crazy and frankly I just haven't had anything exciting to report. When my blogging well is dry I always post a recipe...so here you go!

I found this chicken tortilla soup in a recipe book many years ago. I tried it and it has become my favorite soup recipe...hands down! Last year I made it for Dan's friends who complained that we were just having soup for dinner. After they tried it they have been begging me to make it again.

TORTILLA SOUP

2 Tbs. cooking oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (28 oz) cut tomatoes
1 can (14 1/2oz) beef consomme
1 can (14 1/2oz) chicken broth
1 can (10oz) tomato soup
1 cup water
1 Tbs. ground cumin
2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. coriander
2 Tbs. finely chpped cilantro (fresh if possible)
1 can (15 oz.) black beans or corn, drained (I use one of both)
1 Tbs. lemon or lime juice
1 cup cooked chicken, cut in cubes

Saute onion and chilies in oil until tender. Add minced garlic and heat briefly. Do not allow garlic to brown. Transfer to stockpot. Add remaining ingredients and simmer uncovered for 1 hour. Top each serving with grated cheese, sour cream, avocado, chopped green onions olives, or cilantro as desired. Make a day ahead and reheat for extra flavor. Can serve with chips or tortillas.

Happy Birthday Dan

Today is my hubby's birthday....he's a whopping 34!

Happy birthday to the best husband a girl could ask for. Thanks for being born....I love you!

A few pictures in honor of Dan!

True Love...

Dan loves peanut butter balls. His mom started a tradition when he was younger and made them every year for his birthday. After we got married she passed the torch to me....thanks Marilyn! :) Dan's birthday is on Tuesday so I thought I'd better make his favorite treat today so he can have them to enjoy this week. They're a pain in the rump to make. I don't know how people dip chocolates and make them look pretty. If you have any tips let me know.

Pre-Dipping

The final product

Here is the recipe if any of you are interested. They are super delicious!

PEANUT BUTTER BALLS (Marilyn Jensen)

8 oz. Hershey Bar
6 oz chocolate chips
sliver of parafin wax (I use a plain wax utility candle sliver...no one has died yet!)

Melt this mixture together in the top of a double boiler and keep it warm while you are mixing up your balls!

1 stick of butter
2 cups peanut butter (any style)
1 lb. box of powdered sugar
4 cups of rice cereal (crush after measuring)

Melt butter in heavy pan and mix in peanut butter. Add powdered sugar and cereal slowly to melted mixture. Mix by hand and form into walnut sized balls. Place on wax paper to cool. Dip in chocolate and place back on paper to cool completely. You can put them in the freezer for a couple of minutes a few at a time to solidify the chocolate faster. Then store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks if they last that long.

A Belly Buster of a Cake

This is what I spent the last 3 days making.....a cake for my sister's baby shower. Hopefully people enjoyed it.

Our Trip Across the Pond

Dan and I decided to skip Thanksgiving this year and travel to London with our friends David & Briana Tavernier . We had a great time but I'm glad to be home and back on my regular schedule.

Here is a brief itinerary of our trip along with some pictures! We took over 400 pictures and there's no way I can add them all here, so if you're absolutely dying to see more pics, let me know!

DAY 1

*Took a stroll through Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens
*Walked through Picadilly Circus
*Shopped at Harrod's

Feeding the ducks at Hyde Park

Picadilly Circus

DAY 2 (Thanksgiving in the USA)

*Saw all the major sites in London

-Big Ben
-Parliament
-Buckingham Palace
-Tower of London
-Tower Bridge
-Westminster Abbey

*Rode on the London Eye
*Saw the musical "WICKED"

Buckingham Palace

Parliament & Big Ben

Dan, me, Briana, and Dave with the "Beef Eater"
Tower of London

Tower of London

What a better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than with
traditional English fish & chips

Tower Bridge

You can't go to London without getting your
picture by the famous red telephone booths

Me and "B" at Westminster Abbey

A view from the top of the London Eye

"Wicked" was a fantastic musical. Thanks Dan for sitting through it
when you'd rather be doing something else. What a good sport you were!

DAY 3

*Rented a car and drove to the Cotswolds. Dan did all the driving and there were a few times we thought we weren't going to make it back alive. It was so strange being on the other side of the street, and having to look the opposite way than in the states.

*Went to Stratford Upon Avon-the birthplace of Shakespeare. It was one of my favorite towns.

Dancing in the streets at Bourton-on-the-Water (Cotswolds)

The famous stone cottages on Arlington Row
Kate Winslet and Elizabeth Hurley have a home here (at the Cotswolds)

I saw this pink car while we were at the Cotswolds
and fell in love with it. I wish it were for sale...I'd have Dan buy it for me for Christmas!

Stratford Upon Avon-the home where Shakespeare was born

DAY 4

*Drove South to East Horsley-saw the house Dan lived in for 2 years. We knocked on the door and introduced ourselves, and the couple that lived there actually let us go in and check it out. I think that was the highlight of Dan's trip.
*Walked through Bodiam Castle (East Sussex, UK)
*Visited the Battle of Hastings battle grounds
*Went to Eastbourne and saw the Seven Sisters (white chalk cliffs)

Dan's house in East Horsley

Bodiam Castle

The Seven Sisters

DAY 5 - PARIS

Our friends left on Sunday so we decided to take a trip to Paris since neither of us had been there before. We took the Eurostar (Chunnel) over Sunday morning and were only there for one day. Paris is a beautiful city, but one word of advice: Don't ever go on Sunday because everything is closed. Yes, we got to see all the big sites but all the cute shops and restaurants were closed. I guess God was trying to teach us a lesson on observing the Sabbath Day!

*Eiffel Tower
*Notre Dame
*Arc de Triomphe
*Ate lots of crepes
*Couldn't get over the fact that French people hate Americans

Notre Dame

Do I really need to caption these next photos?
I'm assuming you all know what this huge chunk of metal is.....

Arc de Triomphe

DAY 6 - Last Day

Before heading home on Monday, we walked around London and tried to take in as much as we could because who knows when we'll be back?

*Trafalgar Square (so sad you can't feed the birds)
*Notting Hill

Trafalgar Square

Notting Hill-I wish I would have seen Hugh Grant!