And a Few More

I was out raking again today and Rowdy decided to help me out. He was so cute running through and laying in the leaves! The photo ops were too good to resist so I took a few more fall pics and wanted to share :)

Fall Pictures

So we've had Rowdy for about a month and a half now, and we are having such a blast with him. Its definitely been an eye opener to both me and Jim about our "parenting" skills and opinions, as well as the total change of lifestyle that comes when you have that responsibility at home. Its such a great experience though and I still maintain that every couple should have a dog before they have a child. I think we'll be ten times the parents because we did this first.

So anyways, the little guy is growing like a weed, and I wanted to share some pictures. Saturday Jim was outside raking underneath our huge maple tree (which decided to stick its tongue out, shake its booty, and laugh at Jim while dropping another large pile of leaves on the ground literally two hours later), and I took the opportunity to capture some pictures of Rowdy next to the tree. Of course, he was quite the ham and didn't mind posing it up :)

And This Week's Student Genius Is.......

Last night I was at a college fair in Massachusetts when this young lady and her father approached my table. I'm not kidding, the following conversation is word for word:

Girl: I'm so excited USM is here! I'm from Maine originally and I am so excited to get back to my roots.

Me: That's great! What part of Maine are you from?

Girl: I was born in Portland. I'm just so excited to get back there.

Me: Awesome! How long did you live there?

Girl: We moved when I was 6 months old.

Dear God.

Carrie Underwood!

So back in June when I was going through my quarter-life crisis, and was determined to do what I wanted to do and spend money on what I wanted to spend money on, it was announcedthat one of my favorite country stars, Carrie Underwood would be coming to Portland. Now, there are about a million other things I could have done with the $50 I spent on my ticket, but I put my stubborn hat on and said, I don't care, I'm going to this concert! I headed to the Civic Center at 7am the day the tickets went on sale, waited in line, and got two tickets for me and my friend Jaime. And it was so worth it.

The concert was Tuesday night and it was such a blast. Jaime and I have been looking forward to this so much since we got the tickets and it was worth the wait!! Little Big Town opened for Carrie, and I like them a lot too. They have a couple of popular songs, but I heard a lot of new ones at the concert. "Bring it on Home to Me" is one of my all time favorite songs and I had chills the whole time they sang it. Its really cool when you go to a show and don't know the opening band very well but they impress you. I am definitely going to be getting some more of their music!

Carrie was amazing. I am still blown away by the fact that three years ago this girl was a nobody. Its also really cool that we all kind of knew her before she was huge, while she was on American Idol. Its hard to imagine her just being a contestant on the show after all she has accomplished. At one point during the concert, she was doing a costume change, and they played a montage of her accomplishments, starting in the present day and working back to her time on Idol. It really was incredible to watch her ride, and I think everyone in the civic center was just in awe of all the amazing things that the woman standing in front of us had done in just a few years.

The show was so good. She sang all of my favorite songs, and was surprisingly very candid on stage. I kind of expected her to be snooty, its just the vibe I get when I see her on tv, but she was actually really funny and relaxed. I think she's probably a really easy going person after all. At one point she invited a little four year old girl onto stage to sing "American Girl" with her, and I think it was probably the cutest thing I've seen in a long time. Her encore and closing song was one of my favorites, "Before He Cheats" and it was freakin' incredible. She ended the show with a huge confetti drop, and it was just awesome.



Here are a couple of videos I took. The first is Little Big Town singing "Bring it on Home to Me" and the second is Carrie singing "Before He Cheats" They're short, but don't they all sound so good live?

A Healthy Pot Pie

Yes, ladies and gents, there is a healthy pot pie out there. Since starting our new diet, I've discovered the joy of recipes on mrsdash.com. Mrs. Dash makes spices and sauces that are salt free, but really really tasty. I found this recipe today for a Turkey Pot Pie and we both loved it! It was so easy to make and had tons of flavor for a low-sodium meal. And, if you are on a low calorie diet, it only has 272 calories per serving, and the servings are a good size!

Just a heads up on this one and any other Mrs. Dash recipe I may post on here. You really have to use Mrs. Dash flavoring on these. I've done some comparing in the aisles, and Mrs. Dash really is the key ingredient to make the recipes healthy. Other brands will have at least double the calories, fat, and sodium.


Turkey Pot Pie

Ingredients
2 prepared frozen pie crusts, 9 inches in diameter
1 can condensed low-sodium cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup skim milk
1/4 cup Mrs. Dash Zesty Garlic Herb 10-minute marinade
1 tbsp cornstarch
16 oz mixed frozen vegetables
2 cups cooked diced turkey breast

Directions

1. Thaw pie crust and vegetables.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Cook and dice the turkey breast.

4. Grease pie pan with cooking spray and the bottom pie crust.

5. Whisk together soup, milk, Mrs. Dash, and cornstarch in a large bowl. Add the thawed vegetables and cooked turkey. Spoon the mixture into the pie pan. Top with the crust, pressing the crust onto the edges of the plate. Cut slits in several places on the crust.

6. Bake for 40 minutes in the oven. Let stand at least 5 minutes before serving.

Quote of the Week

And now, the question of the week, brought to you by one very curious high school senior in Massachusetts:

"So, like, with the snow, do I have to like clean off my own car and stuff?"

Oh boy.

Tales from the Road

Well I've been a traveling soul for about four weeks now, and its been quite an adventure. I love my new job (yes, I know I've mentioned this once or twice). I have met so many nice people and so many great students. To be connected with kids and schools again and really feel like I am making a difference in someone's life really has me back on my game. For so long I was so miserable at work, and its just awesome to look forward to my days again.

For the most part my days are pretty typical. Wake up, drive south, or wherever from my hotel room, go to a high school fair or visit, meet with anywhere from 1 to 60 students depending on the event, get in the car and do it all over again. My nights in the hotel vary. Some weeks I'm gone three nights in a row, some weeks its just one night and the rest of the days are day trips. Its really not a bad gig.

Every few days though something just plain weird or ridiculous or something that is complete crap happens. Take for example, Tuesday night. I had a fair in western Massachusetts that got out at 9pm. Wednesday morning I had to be on the other side of the state for an early high school visit. If you've ever lived in Mass, you know attempting to drive anywhere in the morning with hope of no traffic or accidents is like saying last night you went out for beers with the Pope. It just doesn't happen. So after my fair got out at 9, I hopped in the car, put the debate on the radio and ventured east. Two hours later I arrived at my hotel in Peabody, very tired and very ready for a hot shower, my reserved king size bed, and fluffy pillows, followed by a nice free breakfast in the morning. When the nice man at the desk told me there were "problems" with the rooms and my reserved room no longer existed, you can imagine I was less than pleased. So the nice man informed me my stay would be free, and that they had set me up at a very nice hotel down the street. The nice man then proceeded to send me to an Extended Stay America a mile down the road. Instead of my nice warm shower, king sized bed, fluffy pillows, and expected breakfast, I was greeted by a scuzzy hippie (no not all hippies are scuzzy, just this one), who directed me to my dirty room, queen sized bed that was hard as a rock, flat pillows, and zero breakfast.

The next morning I woke up with a creak in my neck, and significantly dark circles under my eyes, and proceeded to call the sales manager at the hotel where I was initially supposed to stay. I'm an honors member at this particular chain, and lord knows if I had a night like that I damn well better still be getting my points. (I'm saving up for a cruise you see, it only takes 800,000 points. We'll be enjoying the Mediterranean Sea in roughly our late 80s). Luckily the woman I talked to was fantastic. She informed me that typically if this happens (not that it typically happens), guests are sent to the Sheraton. She wasn't quite sure why I was sent to Cirque du Extendastay, but was rather embarassed. She kindly rewarded me with ten times the amount of points I would have earned had I stayed at her hotel. I kindly accepted them. Yay for me for finally getting the guts to stand up for myself. Two years ago I never would have made that call.

So that's the story this week. Tonight I'm in a much better place. I'm staying at a Homewood Suites in Peabody. My room has three rooms, a full kitchen including a dishwasher, and..wait for it...free popcorn. Oh, and because I'm signed up for rewards there was a sign at the check in desk with my name on it, welcoming me to the hotel. I almost feel famous.

More Pics!

Clare posted more pics from Ray's wedding on her blog last night!! Check them out, she did a fantastic job!!