Fun Stuff

Where I’ve been…

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

The month of February is almost over and I’ve been MIA from my blog.  I spent the month of February (and time before that) planning our Midwest Region Sales Kick-off (it was a huge success – a fantastic team put it together).  We selected downtown Chicago for our meeting.  I love Chicago.  I’ve spent quite a bit of time there over the years for work.  I had a chance to be a tourist many moons ago.  One of these days, I need to be a bit more of a tourist.

I thought I’d share some of my destinations from the week.

Inside the Palmer House Hilton Hotel (just love this place and the staff competely ROCKS)! 

This is a picture of the lobby with Tiffany Lighting.

This is a picture of the lobby ceiling.  One word = BEAUTIFUL

My walk on Sunday included a view of some of the many bridges (I believe 21 different bridge architectures) and a trek to Union Station.

Our Meeting was in The Palmer House Hilton.  Some of the rooms.  We met in the Empire Room (picture not posted yet) and we used the dark room as an office.  We were told Al Capone played cards in the room and used the secret doors to leave.  The doors work but are blocked off now.  Very cool.  Can’t wait to go back next year!

 

Had a chance to have some great Italian dinners on Monday and Thursday night had two great Chicago destinations – Italian Village (a very short walk from the hotel) and Carmine’s (this was an extra treat as I was supposed to come home Thursday night – Southwest decided I should stay an extra day when they cancelled my flight due to the impending snowstorm – that was a non-event).  The food was awesome and so was the company!

I grabbed this shot from the cab on the way to Carmine’s.

I wrapped up my portion of the meeting with this little petite cocktail selection at the hotel bar.  So good.  Then it was off to Berghoff’s for dinner (delicious) (they have a caramel salted cheesecake to die for) (and a short walk from the hotel)!

HodgePodge – Highlights of the Week

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I know it is has been awhile. I seem to go in spurts with my posts. I’ll try to do better this month.  So the month of Juneuary (if you are on the East Coast you will understand the meaning) is over. I wonder what February will bring?

February is a busy month for me as I have a big kick-off meeting in Chicago (so my postings could be even more sporadic)…apologies in advance.  Here are my HodgePodge of Highlights for the week.

I finally had a chance to activate my i-Phone 4S on Sunday.  Love it!  I’m a big fan of SIRI…well not as much as Raj on The Big Bang Theory…but she is pretty awesome.  I love being able to ask her the weather, make a call, put something on my calendar or just play music.  I’ve loaded some new apps that I didn’t have on my Android phone.

Sleep Cycle – view my results from last night…very interesting.  Can’t wait to see my results from tonight.  I think this was $0.99. I also loaded Cocktail Flow (Free).  I can’t wait to try it.  You can look up drinks by base drink, type or color.  And there are options for $0.99 for specific occasions – SuperBowl, Valentine’s Day or St. Patrick’s Day.

I won two one on one personal yoga sessions via silent auction back in December.  I have my first session tomorrow morning.  I decided to download the Yoga Free app that was recommended by Shape magazine.

I’ve downloaded some others, but I will save them for another time – after I’ve tried them to see if they stay on my phone.  What are your favorite apps that I should try?

I finally went back to Bootcamp this week – Wednesday to be exact.  Been in a funk since around the holidays.  More on that later in a different post.  Happy to be back and good.

The final highlight of my week and probably the best – I got carded at Houlihan’s (Rt 1 South in Edison – my new fav 🙂 ) at the bar Thursday night.  Wahoo!!

Have a fantastic weekend!

 

#45 – One of my favorite places

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This is my 45th post! Thanks so much for reading. At some point I hope to get in a regular cadance with my blog.

Last Sunday, I took a ride down to Ocean City, NJ to drop of my first payment for my summer rental. I didn’t get my invoice until right before a business trip and just didn’t get a chance to mail my check. And I’m so happy I didn’t mail the check. It was a cold, sunny day. I got a bit of a late start and got down to Ocean City around 2 pm. Dropped my check off…drove past the rental and drove past where my Aunt and Uncle will be renting as well (needed to see how close it was) (and it is close…they have an ocean front view).

Next stop the Boardwalk.  I walked up by Shriver’s (the only place in OCNJ that makes it’s own salt water taffy).  There were more people than I expected on the boardwalk.  I even stopped and took a picture of a group who wanted their first picture all bundled up.  I enjoyed my walk down to the Jewelry Hut (was hoping to see if they had any new OCNJ charms..they weren’t open…bummer).  I stopped into the Christmas shop to look around.  And before I went back to the car, I had some Manco and Manco pizza (formerly known as Mack and Manco).  It was yummy!  And of course I swung back by Shriver’s and picked up some fudge.  It was a great afternoon and it made me realize how much I do love OCNJ no matter the season.

Still a kid at heart…first snow

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I’m a big fan of all four seasons.  I know some are not big fans of snow…but I do love it.  I don’t mind shoveling it (although nowadays I don’t have as much to shovel as growing up…we didn’t have a snowblower…and when we were done with our house we would help the neighbors – and I still help).

Our snow wasn’t suppsed to start until 1 am Saturday morning.  I work up at 2 am to see if we had any snow on the ground yet…bummer (and I’ve been known to stay up until the wee hours of the morning waiting for snow).  When I did get up this morning (early for a Sat morning) there was beautiful snow on the ground.  Enjoy!

 

 

Channeling my inner Stephanie

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Plum!  A week from today One for the Money hits theaters.  It is a movie based on the Janet Evanovich book by the same name.  Stephanie is a bond enforcement officer (aka bounty hunter)…and she isn’t very good.  She cracks me up along with her family, Lula and her two hotties – Ranger and Joe Morelli (I’m a Morelli girl)!

It is Friday night and I’m having a slice or two of a Trenton style Tomato Pie, pint of Boddington’s (I don’t think Stephanie drinks anything as fancy) and curling up with my Kindle reading Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich.

Now if only I had a hamster named Rex!

Happy Friday!

PS:  I’m still waiting for the pizza delivery guy to come back with my change (don’t worry he got a great tip already)!

What I’m reading…on my Kindle

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I bought my Kindle last May. I love it. I decided on the Kindle because I only wanted an e-reader.  It has a great little cover with light.  I’ve read over 30 books since then – most over my 2 week beach vacation (I bought a great case to seal it to keep the sand and water out so it was so easy reading outside).

I haven’t really been reading much lately. However, I do have a few books downloaded that I’m actively reading (I have a total of 26 that I haven’t started or are in progress).  I was on a reading kick awhile back and downloaded quite a few (and the Amazon gift card didn’t hurt).  I try to have a max on what I will spend on an e-book (try to stay $9.99 or lower)…however I’ve made some exceptions…all three of the ones below (good thing I do have some that I downloaded that were FREE of $2.00 or less).

Here they are:

  • The Petite Advantage Diet by Jim Carras ($12.99).  I saw him get Diane Sawyer in shape many years ago.  I’ve been working out and making good food choices (most of the time) and just can’t seem to get the weight off.  I’m going to see what this book says to see if it will work.  I don’t like the word diet though.  The one thing I like about Jim is he also has a book called the Cardio Free diet…so I know the work outs are probably similar to what I’m doing with my boot camp.
  • The Female Body Breakthrough by Rachel Cosgrove ($12.59).  I’m about 40% through the book (love that it is calculated for you on the Kindle).  I love that it stresses strength training and pushing the limits for women to go to heavier weights.
  • Explosive Eighteen – A Stephanie Plum Novel by Janet Evanovich ($12.99).  I’m not very far on this one.  I’m traveling for work over the next couple of weeks so I’m saving this read for the plane ride / hotel.  It will get me ready for One for the Money movie which comes out on January 27th.

What are you reading?

Happy New Year – Welcome 2012

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I don’t normally have a New Year’s Resolution…this year I decided that I wanted to have a top 10 list – Goals vs. Resolutions.  So here is the list (in no particular order)…

  1. Write more personal notes and thank you notes – not email.  My goal is to write one per month in 2012.  I just finished writing Thank You notes to some employees at work for some outstanding work…it was very rewarding and I got some nice emails / comments back.  I didn’t include my return address as I wanted it to be a surprise (sent to the home not work address to btw)…one employee thought it was an invite to a ‘shower’…she was plesantly surprised!
  2. Get back to Mass.  I was pretty lax in 2011.
  3. Make Yoga part of my fitness program.  I have 5 free sessions via LivingSocial at One Yoga and have a free session (via a silent auction).
  4. Buy Made in America – buy local (note to self:  check the fine print).  I bought some Candy Canes for my Christmas Tree – the company is in Ohio; however, the Candy Canes were made in Mexico.
  5. Donate, Donate, Donate – I’ve got a lot of stuff…especially clothes, shoes and handbags…need to find some good homes locally.  And it will help me de-clutter – a bonus!
  6. Pay it Forward
  7. Play More Angry Birds Rio 🙂
  8. Schedule a massage at least once every 3 mths
  9. Re-connect with friends and stay connected with my family
  10. And last but not least…continue my journey of self-discovery and transformation

What goals do you have for 2012?

Christmas Tree – Finally

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

I finally got my Christmas tree up on Friday and decorated on Saturday – with a few touch-ups Sunday morning.  There is a color theme – each ornament has either green, red, gold or silver on it.  There are a few exceptions – my nephew’s photo frame ornament has blue on it and there is a PSU squirrel cheerleader (mini ornament) near the top of the tree…there is also a Nittany Lion minature too (there is green on it so it isn’t an exception).

This is a picture of the tree with gifts around it…and this didn’t include the gifts my parents brought and the ones my brother and sister-in-law brought on Christmas Day.  And a picture of the full tree (minus the top…I’m not tall enough even with a step ladder to get the angel on top anyway).

Here are some photos of some of my favorite ornaments:

Homemade Ornaments – my Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop made these ornaments in the 1970s – 1980s.  They are in great shape and really make the tree for me.  Remember these are just the ornaments with red, green, gold and silver in them…I have another box with lots of other colors.

Dough Art – I have a handful of ornaments that I made when I was in Texas (and my Aunt sent me my first Christmas down there 1996) – I’ve highlighted the TX one…there will always be a part of TX in me.

Swarovski Annual Ornament – This is a replica of the star on top of the NYC Tree at Rockefeller Center.  I have years 2002, 2004 – 2011…I’ve been back east since 2001…I’d like to get the first 10 year set from when I moved back.  This year’s ornament reminds me of a poinsettia.

Polish Glass Ornaments – I have two from the Outerbanks from 2002 or 2003.  I just love the Snowman.  I also have a beautiful Santa in green and gold.  They are both very sparkly.

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of my ornaments.

Classic Movie FAVs

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I’m on vacation this week getting ready for the Christmas (I go back to work on the 27th).  I’m hosting at my house for the third time.  I really enjoy it.  I’m a huge procrastinator…right now I should be organizing and cleaning my house (my tree isn’t even up yet) (and I work better under pressure) instead I’m writing this update.  I thought of this blog as I was eating my lunch and put the tv on and up popped TCM.

When I’m organizing / cleaning, I sometimes put music on but most times select a classic movie from my DVR or DVD collection.  I thought I’d share some of my favs.  Check them out when you get a chance:

Charade (1963):  Watching it as I type this.  It stars Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn (there was a remake with Mark Wahlberg – that didn’t do very well).  The premise of this movie is Audrey Hepburn is an American in Paris and he husband is killed (in his PJs off a train).  Her husband is not who she thinks he is.  He and some Army buddies in WWII stole gold from the German.  Cary Grant is her knight in shining armor – but he isn’t everything he seems to be.  Great music from Henry Mancini.  I first Tivo’ed this from PBS (the quality wasn’t that great).  I re-Tivo’ed it on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) – quality is much better.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961):  Starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard.  I own this DVD.  Haven’t watched in quite some time.  Need to pull it out soon and watch Holly Golightly.

The Philadelphia Story (1940):  Stars Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn.  Hepburn is a Main Line socialite (and a spitfire, Grant calls Red) and Grant plays her first husband.  He shows up 2 years after their divorce right before her wedding.  He brings with him a reporter (played by Jimmy Stewart) and a photographer from a tabloid.  I just saw it for the first time over the weekend.  I really enjoyed it.  Although didn’t like the first scene when Grant’s character shoved Hepburn’s character down…totally not acceptable now and shouldn’t have been then.  Mark your calendar, it is on TCM on 2/1/12 at 10:15 pm ET.

That Touch of Mink (1962):  Stars Cary Grant and Doris Day.  A rich businessman and a young woman are attracted to each other, but he only wants an affair while she wants to save her virginity for marriage.  It is cute.  I haven’t watched in awhile…just re-Tivo’ed it.

The Thin Man (1934):  I remember watching with my parents…probably on PBS.  I own the entire Thin Man set (there are 6 movies).  The first is of course the best.  Stars William Powell (Nick) and Myrna Loy (Nora).  He is a retired detective and she is a rich socialite.  He tells people all the time he married her for her money.  They are such a believeable couple.  Everywhere they go someone ends up dead.  And Nick to the rescue to solve it.  If you want to catch the series or DVR them, they are on 12/22 on TCM starting at 8:00 pm ET.

I Love You Again (1940):  Stars William Powell and Myrna Loy (not as Nick and Nora).  He ends up getting bonked on the head and comes out of amnesia.  He is a con man.  This is one that never gets old.  It is on TCM at 12/29 at 1:00 am ET.

Libeled Lady (1936):  This one has 4 great stars:  William Powell, Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow  and Spencer Tracy.  Powell and Harlow were an item until she passed away of cancer.  Harlow and Tracy are engaged.  He is a newspaper man.  Powell is an old acquaintance of his.  Loy plays a socialite who is suing Tracy’s paper for Libel.  Watch as he pulls Powell in to help get him out of the jam.  It is on TCM on 12/29 at 4:30 am ET.

The Bishop’s Wife (1947):  I mentioned this in my Christmas FAVS post. This stars Cary Grant, Lorretta Young and David Niven.  Niven plays the Biship and Young is his wife.  Grant plays the angel.  It is a wonderful story around the holidays.  It is on TCM on 12/24 at 2:30 am ET.

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946):  Stars Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed (both are in a THIN Man movie – different sequels).  I remember watching this as a kid before it became popular.  Could be one of my all time favs.  Remember – “Everytime a bell rings, an angel gets its wings.”  Congrats Clarence.  It is on NBC on 12/24 at 8:00 pm ET.

Miracle of 34th Street (1947):  Stars Maureen O’Hara and little Natalie Wood.  A great movie about Believing!  It is on TCM on 12/24 at 8:00 pm ET.

I have on my list to watch North by Northwest.  It stars Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint.  I’ve seen parts of the movie but never in one sitting.  I just recently Tivo’ed it.  It is on 2/13/12 on TCM at 5:30 pm.

I hope you get an opportunity to watch some of the movies.  Do you have any suggestions of ones I should watch that aren’t on the list?

Favorite Christmas Cookie Recipes – Last Installment

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As promised, here is the last installment of my Christmas Cookie recipes.  These last three recipes have been added in the last 10 years.  Of course, there is a little story behind each recipe.

Buttery Shortbread:  This is the easy recipe of all the cookies I make – and the richest.  If I don’t have time to make cookies – I still find time to make these cookies.  I even have a 12 days of Christmas pan I use for them.  If you don’t have a speacial shortbread pan, I’ve used glass  pan pans.  This recipe is from some dear friends who I met during my time in Dallas.  It actually comes from England.  2 Cups of Flour, 1/2 Cup Cornstartch, 1/2 Cup Sugar, 2 sticks (1/2 lb) butter – unsalted (melted).  Preheat the over to 300 degrees.  Sift the flour, cornstarch and sugar into a medium bolw.  Stir in the melted butter (I microwave the butter).  Knead lightly; press into 8 inch round cake or pie pans.  Prick the dough all over with a fork (if using a pie pan I prick the dough so it looks like slices of pie).  Back for 35 minutes, until set but not browned.  Remove from the oven and cut.  Let cool on a wire rack.

Great Big Oatmeal Cookies:  These cookies are courtesy of The Great American Home Cooking Recipe cards.  Yes, those requests to join a recipe club.  I never joined, but I kept the recipe because the cookies had coconut in them.  One year instead of making the Oatmeal Crispies (see my first Christmas cookie recipe post) I decided to make these cookies to see how everyone liked them.  They were a hit; although my Dad still prefers the Oatmeal Crispies.  1 1/2 cup flaked coconut, 3 cups rolled oats, 1 1/4 Cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 cup unsalted butter (softened), 1 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar, 2 large eggs (room temp), 1 tsp vanilla & 1/4 cup milk.  Spread the coconut and oats over a large baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until toasted, stirring often.  Cool.  Mix the flour, baking soda and salt.  Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl at medium speed for 1 minute.  Add the eggs and vanilla to the butter mixture.  Beat int he milk.  Stir in the flour, then the coconut and the oats.  Drop dough in 1/4 cup amounts, 3 inches aprt onto baking sheets.  Bake for 12 minutes at 350.  Let cool 1 minute; transfer to a rack.

Laurie Womer’s Coffee Bean Cookies:  My Mom found this recipe in The Patriot Newspaper – Harrisburg, PA.  This came from a reader in Lower Paxton Twp.  My Mom knows I enjoy my coffee and thought these would be a hit.  She made these cookies for me one Christmas and gave me the recipe.  The are obviously great with a nice cup of coffee.  1/2 cup butter (unsalted) (softened), 1/2 cup solid shortening (Crisco), 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, 2 large eggs (room temp), 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 1/4 cup flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 cup chopped almonds, 1 cup chocolate covered coffee beans, 1 cup Heath Toffee bits.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees  Beat the butter and shortening on medium speed of an electric mixer until creamy.  Gradually add sugars and beat well.  Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.  Combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; add to butter mixture, beating well.  Stir in almonds, coffe beens and Heath bits.  Cover and chill dough for several hours or overnight.  Drop dough by heaping teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets.  Bake 10 – 11 minutes or until golden.  Cook on cookie sheets for 1 minute; remove to wire racks and cool completely.  Makes 4 dozen.  Note:  Find chocolate covered coffee beans at local coffee houses or coffee kiosks at some grocery stores.

Happy Baking!  Enjoy!!  Let me know if you try any of the recipes and if they were a hit or not.