Karen

Date night: payback for the chick flick

January 10, 2011 by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, movies, restaurants

Our last date night movie was chosen by moi: How do you know (as in, "how do you know" it's a chick flick? When your husband looks around the theater and says, "Hon, I'm the only man in here," that's a big clue). This time we went to see The Fighter (his choice). Now, this is … Continue reading Date night: payback for the chick flick

The (other) cure for what ails you

January 8, 2011 by Karen, posted in health, quest for the best

Apart from the ocean, the other cure for anything is homemade chicken (or turkey) soup. Who supports using chicken soup as a curative? Well, besides me and most of the mothers and grandmothers in the history of the world, The Mayo Clinic sings its praises. Chicken soup acts as an anti-inflammatory and it also speeds up the passage … Continue reading The (other) cure for what ails you

Winter bounty

January 6, 2011January 9, 2011 by Karen, posted in chicks, raising chickens

Lately we've been getting so many eggs because we've (well, full disclosure: it's mostly been my husband) been working on the timing of new chicks. . . the September 1st chicks have now begun laying brown eggs. In the spring, we will refresh the white and green egg layers. We used to only get new chicks … Continue reading Winter bounty

Re-entry; it’s a…(well, YOU know)

January 5, 2011 by Karen, posted in fitness, friends, health, Life in the cube

So, first day back to work after a few (or many) days off is always difficult, right? Add to that being sick and having major dental work the day before, and you've just added a heap of insult to injury. The sound of that alarm going off for the first time in days was a rude … Continue reading Re-entry; it’s a…(well, YOU know)

My New Year’s Word

January 4, 2011January 4, 2011 by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, fitness, Holidays

I'm sorry, but I have to ask: is there a more thankless job than deconstructing Christmas? I mean, touring the house, scavenging all the nooks and crannies for the little Santas, Nutcrackers, and whatnots that have been stashed hither and yon, all in the name of festivity, inevitably finding one or two refugees after all … Continue reading My New Year’s Word

2010 in review

January 2, 2011 by Karen, posted in Uncategorized

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here's a high level summary of its overall blog health: The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow. Crunchy numbers A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 2,700 times in 2010. That's about 6 full 747s. … Continue reading 2010 in review

New Year’s Eve, tween style

December 31, 2010January 4, 2011 by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, books, friends, Holidays, local fun, movies, tweens, writing

Today was a "Girl's only" day for me and my tween. We had originally planned to go shopping to spend gift cards received for Christmas (both for her and for me) but then changed the plan to include a movie with a friend. (We never did go shopping with the gift cards, come to think … Continue reading New Year’s Eve, tween style

Date night (vacation week edition)

December 30, 2010December 31, 2010 by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, local fun, movies, restaurants

It's been a while since we've been able to have a date night, what with the holidays coming, shopping for the holidays, wrapping for the holidays, hiding presents and then (forgetting where they were hidden) looking for the presents for the holidays.... It was nice to have Christmas behind us and get a little time … Continue reading Date night (vacation week edition)

One of the Best Christmases ever

December 28, 2010December 28, 2010 by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, family, Holidays, italian, quest for the best, tweens

I originally thought that this would be one of the worst Christmases ever. It had three strikes against it before it even started: I had to work late and wouldn't get home until 8:20PM Christmas Eve. My husband had to work early Christmas Day, leaving at 5:10 AM, and would be gone the entire day … Continue reading One of the Best Christmases ever

Gratitude

December 27, 2010 by Karen, posted in family, good grief, Holidays, Midlife Crisis

I've been keeping a gratitude journal this year. A long time ago, I read Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach and decided to give the "keeping the journal all year" thing a shot. It was an easy enough premise: write down at least three things that you are grateful for each day. That's it. It starts off fairly … Continue reading Gratitude