Plunge

While I was in Portland this weekend, lots of weird stuff happened.  Some fun.  Some gross.  Some cold.

 Blair had planned to participate before I went, and Dad bribed me with donations until I had to participate also.  While I was terrified, it was totally worth it.

All the girls

Blair (left), Patti, Barbi, and Pat

 

 Some of the group.  Oh yeah... and Blair made me wear these ridiculous swim tights from her mom's store Aries Apparel. (I totally went and bought some for water skiing the next day.)

Colder than I could have ever imagined

Pat, Special Olympics athlete and Blair's friend, had such a great time!  While I will be picking another weekend to visit next time, this was so much fun!  So glad we did it.

The Adventures of Peggy and Blair

I'm headed west this weekend to visit my PIC Blair (yes, I just quoted Kendra).  On the agenda are the following things: weird donuts, a road trip to the coast, pink costumes, and a morning dip in the Columbia River, just to name a few. Here are some awesome times we'll surely add to this weekend...

Chitown, circa 2006

Barcelona, Summer 2007

Venice, 2007

Drinks on some ferry to somewhere... (Corfu maybe?), 2007

Santorini, 2007

Vatican City, 2007

Rome, 2007

 Florence, 2007

 Cannes Film Festival, 2007

Athens, 2007

 

Norman, America. 2007.  BOOMER!

Seattle, WA. 2008.

Birth of Peggy: Eugene, OR. 2009.  GO DUCKS!

See you next week.

The Woman's Answer to the Lawnmower

If you like to cook but think you don't have time, GO TO WILLIAMS-SONOMA AND BUY ONE OF THESE IMMEDIATELY!

I love veggies, but I hate chopping them.  I went out a few weeks ago in search of something to help me with this problem, and this is what I ended up with.  Best $30 I've ever spent.

The veggichop has 3 pieces:

The super sharp blades that do the chopping (with a nice hard plastic sleeve for storing... I guess that makes 4 parts), the lid (which does the spinning by use of a ripcord.  Yes, a ripcord.  That's what I'm calling it), and the main container.  The blades and container are dishwasher safe.

You'll need some veggies.

Cut them into big chunks and stick them in the spinner.

Pull the ripcord a couple 5 times, and vwala!

Don't believe me?  Check it.

Then, take off the lid, remove the blade (carefully, please), and dump!

Repeat.

 

I've been making veggie dishes just to use it.    What's your favorite kitchen helper??

Wordless Wednesday (almost)

In just a few short days, I'll be headed west to visit my dear friend Blair in Portland, OR.  I've been watching this to get myself in the mood.  Enjoy.

Madness

I spend about half of my time at work deciding which schools to visit and organizing recruiting trips.  This is what Snowpocolypse thinks about all the work I'd done prior to last week.

This is the reason I have no time to post anything interesting today.  Back tomorrow.

Wordless Winter Wonderland Wednesday

Like Butta

I've learned a lot about life from my grandmothers, such as: 1) There is no pie crust in the world better than Pillsbury from the freezer section; 2) How to tell a fake Louie from a real one; 3) "If you want it, get it.  We'll figure out a way to pay for it later"; 4) Vintage and retro are two very different things; and, perhaps the most used bit of information, 5) If it wasn't made with real butter, it ain't worth eating.

My Granny Jane is convinced that margarine is the root of all long-term health problems.  She always tells the story about her first tub of margarine as a girl:  a tub of white cream with a bead of yellow color in the middle that you had to pop and kneed in.  YUCK!  Butter may be fatty, but at least it is real!

My dilemma:  butter doesn't spread easy, and I use it every day.  Nick prefers margarine because it is always soft and spreadable, but I don't believe in it!  So...

Can I leave butter in a butter dish out on the counter?