Happy Nicole - and my 200th blog post!

 Shane is back.

We're hopefully hanging out tomorrow. If we don't that's okay since I've got "back up plans" to go to dinner with friends. I really hope we do. I am going to give him the biggest hug and kiss he's ever received.

And I do mean ever.

Random thought: We has a happy Nicole. :)

~Nicole

New recipe 4/52

 This one doesn't have an ingredient list. Well, technically it does but I didn't follow a recipe.

I was really hungry for lamb so I went to Whole Foods after work. I didn't know what I wanted to do with the lamb. I saw that ground lamb was the cheapest so I bought some of that. I don't always go the "cheap" route, but lamb isn't cheap. I bought some buns and made lamb burgers.

Lamb Burgers:
-ground lamb
-salt
-pepper
-diced onion
-worchestershire sauce
-bread crumbs

I didn't include amounts because I didn't measure. I started out with 1/2 pound of lamb and maybe a half cup of onion. I love worchestershire sauce so I probably added more than the average person. I used only enough bread crumbs so that the burgers wouldn't fall apart. I had mine with a cucumber-yogurt sauce, tomato and feta cheese. You could probably do the standard "burger fixings."

Random thought: Bob Uecker, you get better soon after your surgery!

~Nicole

Here are some highlights from the past week

 Sorry I haven't blogged for a while. I've been working some long shifts at work and sometimes the last thing I want to do is blog. Here are some highlights of the past week.

-Got my haircut
-FINALLY have my crowne on
-Had my gyno exam - all tests negative! :)
-Had a real shitty day at work on Friday. I worked 6:00-2:15, but was mentally there only from 9:00-1:00.
-Had a great time at the Brewer game with mom, even though they lost.
-Sunday was a nice, easy day at work. I went to Sam and CC's band concert and then Carolyn joined us for margaritas and dinner.
-Had a few nice runs. Am slowing the mileage down somewhat so I am fresh for my 20K on Saturday.

Random thought: I had a dream that mom found my birth control. Good thing I have it hidden in a safe place in real life!

~Nicole

New recipe 3/52

 Success this time!

Whenever I am stressed or just out of sorts I tend to a) want to spend ALL my time in the kitchen or b) practice my violin. I've been on an oat kick lately and I wanted to make bars that weren't the typical brownie or fruit bars. I did some research and found a peanut butter and jelly bar. I make it and it turned out DELICIOUS! I would use more fruit spread next time as the crust and top layer tend to mask the fruit, but it still tastes great. Below is the full recipe; I halved it and put it in an 8x8. And as usual I used less sugar, fat, salt and used a bit of wheat flour in place of the AP flour. I ALSO made my own quick fruit spread, but your favourite would suffice.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Oat Bars
-1 cup brown sugar
-3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
-1/2 cup peanut butter
-2 cups AND 2 tablespoons flour
-1 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-1 1/2 cups oats
-1/3 cup water or milk
-1 cup fruit preserves

Cream the sugar, butter and peanut butter. In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt, baking soda and oats. Slowly stir the oat mixture into the creamed mixture until just combined. Add the water a little bit at a time; you want the mixture to come together, but not be too wet. Place half of the mixture into a greased 9x13 pan. Spread the preserves over the bottom layer and then sprinkle the remaining oat mixture on top. Bake at 350 until the edges are slightly brown, about 20-30 minutes.

Random thought: Salad and ice cream for dinner tomorrow - yes!

~Nicole

Heard from the boyfriend

He thinks he'll be gone at least another week and that he'll let me know for sure when he's coming home.

Yeah, I'm disappointed but honestly I'm just glad I heard from him. He's safe and his band is playing more shows so it's not a complete loss.

Actually I'm a bit more than disappointed, but like my previous blog post I am not going to complain since there are other women and men is WAY worse situations than I am.

He said he misses me though. :) I told him that when he gets back he's receiving the biggest hug and kiss EVER.

Random thought: Making challah bread!

~Nicole

A thankful blog

 When I was thinking about blogging earlier I was going to blog more about Shane. With the help of mom I realized that he probably won't be back as originally scheduled because of the delays due to the volcano. My emotions have been up-and-down since. They still are that way and I do want him home, but I realized something:

Be thankful.

Be thankful you know where he is
Be thankful he is safer staying in Europe a bit longer
Be thankful he was able to go on this amazing adventure

And the one that really got me thinking:

Nicole, be thankful he is not in Iraq or Afghanistan.

There are plenty of wives, spouses, fiancees, girlfriends, etc. whose men are risking their lives over there every single day. They would rather by in MY shoes. I am guessing Shane will be gone 1-1 1/2 weeks longer than anticipated. These women (and men) have a timeline of when their loved ones will be home, but it's not exact. It could be longer; shorter. There is always the possibility of severe injury or death. I should NOT be complaining about my boyfriend being gone a week or so longer than usual.

I am thankful for these men and women who are out there in the Middle East. Regardless of opinion about the wars these men and women deserve our most humble gratitude.

I know I will continue to have these up-and-down emotions about Shane, but I will not complain via blog or by word of mouth. He WILL be coming home to me sooner than later.

Random thought: Yay RHR!!

~Nicole

Yes, I know this is pathetic

I miss my boyfriend.

Today, for some reason, I am just REALLY missing him. I've missed him this whole time, but for some reason today it's just REALLY bad. Maybe it's because I had a day off and my mind wasn't pre-occupied with other things.

When he's here in Madison it's not like we're able to talk or see each other every day, but I think part of it is the fact that he's NOT here. I can't call him or send him a quick message. He'll be home the middle of next week. I won't be able to see him until probably sometime next weekend. And that's another part that gets me. I want to hold him and hear about his adventures. I want to stroke that gorgeous beard of his and just be with him. And kiss him.

I have another busy work week next week so that will help. I'll have long days Tuesday-Friday. Saturday night I'm going to the Brewer game with mom. I have a short day on Sunday.

I know it'll be okay. I guess it just helps to write these things down.

~Nicole

It's the weekend!

 I haven't had a 2-day weekend in a LONG time so I am excited! I came home and had a beer and it was great. Now I want more ice cream.

I went for a run this morning, about 10K. It's funny since it seemed shorter than 10K. I guess I'm just running often/far enough where 10K (6.25 miles for those who don't know) doesn't seem as far anymore. Makes me feel good about my 20K in two weeks.

I know this is a random blog.

I've been writing more poetry lately. Shane and I were talking about stuff and I was telling him how I used to want to be a writer and how I used to write A LOT. He said I should try it up again. Poetry wasn't my favourite when I was younger, but I think I like it now since they're shorter and I can get "to the point" a lot quicker. I'll have these ideas for a short story and I'll write a few chapters, but then I don't know where to go from there and I get frustrated so I stop. I've written a few poems in the past week that I've liked. I may share them. Well, at the moment just one of them since two are about Shane and private. The other one is about my violin.

Random thought: I want more ice cream.

~Nicole

New recipe 2/52

 It was horrible. Ugh.

I had a little bit of pumpkin left and a little bit of pineapple left so I found a recipe that used both. It tasted fine at first, but the aftertaste was gross. It was essentially a pumpkin custard topped with pineapple chunks. I'm not even going to post the recipe.

To top it off my morning sucked. I thought my dentist appointment was today. I was told it was today, but they scheduled it for NEXT Tuesday. I tried to change it since I have my gyno appointment at 9:30, but luckily my dentist is at 8:00. They weren't able to get me in sooner and I am sick and tired of dealing with the dentist so I'm just keeping it that day. Two openings being examined in one day...super.

Work went okay. I'm visiting Alison tomorrow so that will be fun. I may go to Ward Brodt after my visit. It's a music store and it's on the way home and I could use some new music. Plus I'll see how much a new shoulder rest is. I've had mine for almost 10 years.

I'm making dinner tonight. Cheddar-chive scones and some sort of pasta dish. Since I have left over frosting from my birthday cake I'm going to make cupcakes and decorate them to take tomorrow when I visit Alison.

Random thought: A little over a week until the boyfriend is back! :)

~Nicole

Moving out seems mighty good right about now

Just sayin'

New recipe 1/52

I was craving pumpkin. I wanted to find a recipe that wasn't pumpkin bread, cake, etc. I found a recipe for pumpkin cornbread. The raw dough left me thinking that it wasn't going to be good, but after it was baked it turned out yummy! Drizzle a little bit of honey and you have a winner. Below is the original recipe; I halved it.

Pumpkin Cornbread
-1 cup AP flour
-3/4 cup cornmeal
-1 t. baking powder
-1/2 t. baking soda
-1/4 t. salt
-2 eggs
-1 cup pumpkin
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-1/4 cup canola oil
-1 cup chopped pecans

Combine/whisk the first 5 ingredients and the brown sugar. Whisk the eggs, pumpkin, and oil until just combined. Add the pecans. For deep bread put into a greased 8x8 or 9x9; for thin place into a greased 9x13. Bake at 350 until done - start at 15 minutes.

Notes: of course I used less sugar, oil and nuts. A few of the reviews suggested adding some spices to it, but I think it was fine.

Random thought: Found Shane the funniest t-shirt, but I didn't buy it. Don't know if he'd appreciate it.

~Nicole

It's only been a few hours

Shane leaves for Europe tomorrow to tour with one of the bands. He'll be gone for two weeks.

It's only been a few hours since we said our last goodbyes, but I already miss him and want it to be two weeks from now.

Luckily I've got my family, friends, neighbours, baseball and work to keep me busy. These two weeks will probably just fly by...I hope.

Part of me is like "Nicole, it's only two weeks." But I think because this is a new relationship and we're still getting to know each other that it just seems different.

I know it's going to be a good experience for him and that he'll have an amazing time.

In awesome/sweet news, he called me honey this evening. :)

Random thought: Maybe I should try some writing again...

~Nicole

Birthday

I worked on my birthday. I only had to work 4 1/2 hours so it wasn't too bad. I thought about getting a $10 pedicure, but the next available appointment wasn't for another hour and I had things to do to get ready so I caught the bus back to my car. I went to the store to pick up a few more items for dinner. I made lunch and took a nap. I still wanted to paint my toenails so I walked to Walgreens and bought a bottle. I came home and worked on dinner. All of my friends were at my house by 7:20, which was when dinner was actually ready by too. We ate dinner and had delicious booze cake. We were downtown a little after 10:00. Shane met up with us. Everyone got along, which made me happy. My friends like Shane and he likes my friends so that's good.

The past few days have been okay. My stomach did not like what I had for lunch yesterday so it was giving me some issues. I think it's finally happy. I'm staying away from rich, heavy foods for a while. I rarely eat those in the first place so I think that's why my stomach was so upset.

Random thought: Opening Day in two days!!

Birthday

 Birthday went well. Will post a full re-cap tomorrow. My stomach is bothering me so I really don't want to be on the computer.

Random thought: There's a reason why I make the majority of my own meals.
Random thought #2: Shane and I are officially boyfriend-girlfriend now.

~Nicole