So Shane came over to dinner...

 ...and it went great!

When we pulled into my driveway I suddenly got a little nervous. He had to calm me down a little bit. We went outside and I joked that we had a double whammy - the neighbours were over. We did introductions and all started talking. Lily and Elise wanted me to jump in the pool so I did. However, the landing wasn't so pretty. I jumped and tried to get my legs crossed so I'd land on my butt. Well I didn't have enough time to do that and was in the process of crossing my legs when I landed so the right side of my right food hit my left leg just below my knee. I hobbled back home in pain and my the spot on my left leg swelled up so bad, maybe 4" x 2". I put some ice on it and the swelling went down, but even the slightest touch still hurts. The neighbours left and then it was just us four talking and eating. The conversation flowed so easily, which is what I really hoped for. And my parents REALLY like him. :)

The rest of the weekend...hmmm. I worked Friday, went for a bit of a run, and went grocery shopping. I went downtown and read at coffeeshop for almost an hour and then met Shane and Val at work at the end of their shift. We went out for a few drinks. They were delicious, but they caught up with me. I did not get sick, but I felt awful on Saturday morning. Shane took very good care of me. :) I walked him to work, went to the westside farmer's market and then headed home. I had mac 'n cheese, napped and then went to pick my boy up for dinner.

Sunday should have been a great day, but it was meh. I woke up with an awful cold and a bit of a cough. Val and I went to the Brewer game. It was soooooo hot and our seats were in the sun. We maybe spent half the game in my seats and then the other half finding shade. Between her being sunburned and overheated and me being sick and overheated none of us had the best of times after maybe the 4th inning. We're still glad we went and we had fun, but circumstances prevented it from being great.

Oh and I did make my new weekly recipe last week: pop-tarts. They were okay - nothing special and they don't hold up in a cookie jar so I'm going to have to throw them out. I won't post the recipe.

Random thought: I feel awful.

~Nicole

Saturday is the day

 Shane is (most likely) coming over for dinner, hence, meeting the parents.

We hung out yesterday evening and I asked when he worked on Saturday (12-4) and if he was doing anything in the evening (no, and he wanted to get out of his house). Instead of phrasing it like "my parents want to meet you - come over" I said that we were having a barbeque and that he was invited. He didn't come up with any excuses and he did not seem nervous at the possibility. I'll most likely be seeing him Friday night. I'm excited that he's coming over for dinner and meeting my folks. Like I've said before my friends like him, he treats me well and I'll tell my parents the cute/sweet things he has done. Hell it may be a double whammy - if the neighbours are home and outside they'll come over too! lol

The past few days have been okay. I officially started my marathon training guide/plan. It's been sooooo warm and humid in the mornings so I'm glad that I'm only doing short runs. I did my long run today; it was supposed to be Friday, but I didn't want to run 6 miles at 12:30 p.m. after working in the morning. I am definitely a morning/before work runner. It's one thing running 3-5 miles after work, but longer would most likely be tough for me.

Random thought: I have my second Miss Pole class tonight. I am so glad I take that class - it's so fun!

~Nicole

Whiskey-chocolate cake

I am currently in the process of making it for my friend's birthday dinner tonight. I'm just in the beginning stages, but it already smells sooooo good.

The past few days have been okay. I'm working less since we're on our summer hours, but that's okay...for the time being. Maybe that'll give me a chance to work on my volunteer options.

Shane and I had another sleepover. I was tired and went to bed before he did. CUTE ALERT: He helped me get comfy, tucked me in and kissed me goodnight. He'll sometimes say "I can't believe I landed someone like you" or something like that, but I should be the one saying that. It's all those little things that just make me so happy and feel special.

My Brewers have been playing like crap lately. Ugh. And today's start isn't looking any better.

Random thought: The new neighbour puppy is soooo cute!

~Nicole

New recipe and pictures

This week's new recipe was an oat scone from the Ovens of Brittany, a well-known Madison bakery that was in business for almost 30 years. One of my regulars from the bakery comes into the coffeeshop about once a week and she gave me the recipe. It tasted pretty good. I used dried cranberries since I didn't have currants, but any dried fruit of your liking would suffice. Below is the full recipe; I cut it into quarters.

Ovens of Brittany Oat Scones:
-3 cups AP flour
-3 cups oats
-1/2 cup sugar
-2 T. baking powder
-2 t. cream of tartar
-1 t. salt
-1 1/2 cups dried currants
-2/3 cup melted butter
-2 eggs
-1 1/2 cups milk

Combine the dry ingredients. Melt the butter in a separate bowl and then add the eggs and milk. Add it to the dry ingredients and mix for a sticky dough. On a floured board, roll out to 3/4" thickness. Cut with a biscuit butter or 2 1/2" diameter glass. Bake at 360 (yes, 360) for 22 minutes.


A serious face in this one, but oh so cute. :)


Got him to smile in this one :)

A lovely, but chilly picnic

 So late last week Shane and I decided to go on a picnic Sunday. The original forecast called for it to be sunny and 70 - almost perfect! It was actually 63, overcast and a bit windy. It was still a lovely time. We went to Lake Kegonsa, which is about 15 minutes away from Madison. I had packed sandwiches, veggies and dip, fruit, teddy grahams, cheetoes, a pear-almond tart and various beverages. It was very good. We sat and talked for hours. We had fun playing on some playground equipment. I have some pictures; I'll post those later in the week since we're seeing each other again tomorrow and will try for more pictures.

The weekend was nice. I worked Saturday and Sunday mornings. It was so cute seeing all of the graduates come in in their cap and gowns. Today it was pleasantly steady at work. With almost all of the students gone we have definitely slowed down, but it was nothing like last summer. I think it helps that we are better known.

Tomorrow I open and then plan on going for a run after work. I need to run some errands in the afternoon and then Shane and I will be spending the evening together. I may bring my violin, I'm not sure.

Random thought: Older sisters, I may need your advice later on in the week. Going through something and I may not be able to "figure" it out on my own.

~Nicole

Talking with my boyfriend

I love it.

We can have open and honest conversations with one another. We'll just lie down and talk for hours. Yesterday we had a long conversation about our relationship and sex. And kids and abortion. Yeah, maybe a bit early for some of that talk. Talk about "light" dinner conversations. LOL We started talking about why neither of us are ready to become parents. Or even want to become parents. And that got the whole abortion topic started, which we agree on. The conversation became lighter as the evening went on. He gave me some really nice compliments and I of course gave him some. I almost cried when he called me beautiful because I knew it was sincere and from the heart and he wasn't saying it just to please me.

Like I posted earlier I love lying next to him. I did not want to leave his place early this morning. I was tired and it would have been so much easier to fall asleep with him and wake up and go to work. Another time. Speaking of another time we're (hopefully) having a picnic on Sunday! We're going to Lake Kegonsa. I wanted to go to Devil's Lake, but it's further away and with me opening Monday morning I'd rather have a 15-20 minute drive than a 45-60 minute drive. We'll have more time to spend there and we'll most likely talk more. I'm taking my camera so hopefully I'll have some cute pictures to share.

Random thought: I hope y'all don't mind some of these mushy posts. This relationship is still new so I'll probably have my fair share of them. :)

~Nicole

New recipe 6/52

I'm currently noming on it as I type!

Balsamic-Glazed Salmon:
-salmon fillet(s)
-olive oil
-chicken broth
-balsamic vinegar
-brown sugar
-orange juice
-salt
-pepper
-ginger*
-garlic*
-cornstarch, if necessary

Chop the ginger and garlic. Marinate the salmon in the oil, broth, vinegar, juice, sugar, salt, pepper, ginger and garlic for 2-4 hours. Bake at 350 for 15-25 minutes (depending on size and thickness of fillets). While fish cooks bring the marinade to a boil and reduce until it thickens. If it is not thick enough by the time the salmon is done thicken it with the cornstarch. Pour sauce on top of fish or serve the sauce on the side.

Notes:
-While the original recipe included amounts I did not because it really depends on how much fish you have. Plus I LOVE balsamic so I probably used a bit more than what the recipe called for.
-The original recipe did not call for the ginger and garlic, but I put it in for flavour. Plus it's delicious.


~Nicole

New recipe 5/52

I've had this recipe for a watermelon cake for NINE years and I finally made it a few days ago.

You basically add watermelon gelatin mix to a white cake mix and decorate it like a cut-up watermelon. In the original recipe the cake turned out pink, but the only watermelon gelatin I was able to find was green so essentially I had an "inside out" cake. The actual cake itself was green so I decorated it in red icing and used chocolate chips for the seeds, like the recipe called for. It turned out really good - Shane and I shared a little more than half (it was a tiny one, about 3" in diameter) and I polished it off this afternoon.

Of course I made my own white cake mix and made my own icing.

Random thought: Last night was fun and needed.

~Nicole

Saturday was great!

So earlier on Saturday before my run I had blogged about how good the weekend was going to be. Well it was!

My run on Saturday was great. A bit warmer than I would have liked, but I finished in 1:59:49. I thought I was going to be about 2:05-2:10! When I was driving home I almost felt like I was a bit drunk since my legs weren't used to being still but I made it home okay. I didn't really have much time to rest before my concert. My concert went well. My arms were soooo tired among the run, dress rehearsal and the actual concert itself. To be honest the concert was almost like a blur; it was like I was in a zone. The time seemed to go by so fast, but we were on stage for almost an hour. It was also really warm so I was ready to get out of there! I mainly lounged around Saturday evening.

Sunday I had to open at work. I only worked until noon so that wasn't bad. I stopped home quick before walking over to Jaime's parents house. Jaime, myself, Lindsey and Ashton had a good time visiting. I left early and went home to get ready for a "date night." Shane and I went to a movie and out to eat. Then we went back to his place and had a nice evening/early morning.

Today I slept in until almost 9:00. I went for a walk and am soon to go to the grocery store.

Random thought: I'm tired. I also hope I'm able to figure out my dilemma.

~Nicole

A weekend of good fun

 I have a busy, but good weekend coming up.

Yesterday I worked 6-2 and it was MUCH better than the previous Friday. After work I rested for a little bit and then hung out with some friends. We had dinner, made another podcast, played the Goosebumps board game (nostalgia much?) and watched some TV. I left early so I could get some sleep.

Today is my 20K run. I'm a bit nervous, but I'm always like that before runs. I feel good though. It's sunny, the winds are light and the temperatures are good. The humidity is a bit high, but I suspect that will go down as the morning goes on. After my run I'll have about 2'ish hours of recovery time before I have to go downtown for my dress rehearsal for my concert. I'll walk around between the rehearsal and concert - don't want my legs to tense up!

Sunday I work 6:30-12:00. After work I hope to visit Jaime for a few hours since she leaves to go back to NYC early Monday. Shane is done with work at 2:00'ish and we made tentative plans to do something. Speaking of the boyfriend, I am sooo happy he's back. We were able to see each other Thursday evening and it was so good to see him. He told me about his trip, the tour and he showed me pictures that one of his bandmates had taken. I want to go to Europe now! I enjoyed and missed being held by him. It is such an affectionate gesture and he does it well. :)

Random thought: I am so thankful for such a gorgeous day. :)

~Nicole