Date Night Out, Date Night In

I know it's been a week since the last blog post, but there just hasn't been too much to report!  Nothing much going except lots of working, eating and cooking, plus trying to stay warm. I headed up to Montreal this past week, and the temps were nearing 0 (that's in Fahrenheit, folks!)  Fortunately, I ate enough good rich food to pad my bones a bit.  Decadent pasta, mussels, country bread...it's like food heaven every time I cross our northern borders.

Friday night we had a DATE NIGHT!  Yea!!  I think that the place was trying to be Tao in New York (which it totally wasn't, but still very good), and the most exciting part of the evening actually was trying to leave the restaurant.  Somehow, the valet broke our key.  How this happened (see below) I am clueless.  But they gave us a limo ride home and paid for the replacement.

On Saturday night we actually watched Date Night (with Steve Carrell and Tina Fey) while on another date at home.  Pretty cute movie that kept us entertained.  Lupe decided that, just for a few hours, she would put aside her hatred for James and show some love.  What a sweetie.

"I hate him, Mom...."

"....but, I just can't help myself"

Here at home I've also been a cooking fool, and we enjoyed some yummy new recipes this weekend:  grilled, stuffed Portabella mushrooms and Sweet and Sour Scallops.  Both said they would take 30 minutes but took over an hour, and both were totally worth it.

I have never made one dish out of this magazine series that did not turn out perfectly.   Sometimes you have to cut out some of the ingredients (either because they are way too fattening or not nearly James-proof), but even with substitutions the meals are delicious!  Check it out if you're unfamiliar (Cuisine at Home).

How could I forget that the weekend was also devoted to our training - only one more week until the Miami Half Marathon!  Can't wait for that post.  :)

Goodbye to the Old TravelPro

I am a weekly business traveler, and for years I have had the "business traveler suitcase".  Black TravelPro 22-inch carry-on, sporting all my airline loyalty and some type of colored ribbon to distinguish it among all the other business traveler suitcases.

After 6 years of hard wear / tear plus hundreds of trips spent in the overhead bin, it was time to replace the old gal.  She was DONE.  How, you ask, do I know that she has flown her last flight?

Is it when 3 out of 5 of her zippers are torn or missing or no longer zip?

Is it when part of her has completely fallen off, leaving gaping holes where plastic used to be?

Is it when the metal pieces that have been poking out of the fabric have started to rust from repeated exposure to the elements?

Is it when it looks like THIS:

Yes, dear friends, the TravelPro has finally been retired.   But, I'm not spending too much time saying good-bye: I already have a beautiful, new 22-inch carry-on ready for her first trip this week and - brace yourselves - she's black and red!!  Mixing up business travel, one little step at a time.  :)

We're Still Snowed In, Day 4

Who would have thought that the snow I reported earlier in the week would still be causing disruption 4 days later!  It's Thursday, and, my friends, we are STILL stuck in the house.  Due to very low temps and the lack of any type of cold weather equipment, Atlanta remains under a block of ice that makes walking out the front door or trying to drive down any street quite perilous.

So, James and I had to work from home all week, and it's been fun!  But are we ready for snow day week to be over?  You're damn right we are! We had a conversation today that went a bit like this:

James:  I had fun working from the house in my pajama pants all week with you.
Jennie:  Me too!
James: But, I will be GLAD to get out of the HOUSE tomorrow!!!!!
Jennie:  ME TOO!!!!!!!!!!

We didn't drive each other too crazy (success), although - tomorrow, God willing - I do think that each of us will be more than ready to dress in clothes not made with lycra and be in the office with people other than each other and our four-legged children.

James was the brave one who ventured to Publix for us yesterday, namely to get some "staples".  He came back with pita chips, gatorade, beef jerky and frozen broccoli (and nothing from my list).  I so love the guy, though... :)  James didn't think we were actual "starving" yet because we had plenty of meat and his massive arsenal of BBQ sauces and condiments remained at a reasonably safe level.  The Sassers don't need no stinkin' veggies when there's venison in the freezer!

At least I have him stocked up with some of the good stuff from Texas.

And the kitties were alright because they had their beloved Chia cat grass.  (Pet owners - this was a very solid $11.99 investment.  Find it with the As Seen on TV junk at CVS, or as James calls it "his favorite aisle".)

Despite a limited fridge I made quite the tasty dish last night that I must share!  I found it perusing the Pioneer Woman's site (one of my favs, for sure).  Chances are you have most of this stuff in your panty, so I highly recommend it.  I served with some brown rice and broccoli - yum!

Thai Honey Peanut Chicken (from Tasty Kitchen.com)

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Chicken, In Chunks
• ¼ cups Soy Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons Honey
• 1 Tablespoon Lime Juice
• 1 teaspoon Minced Garlic (approximately 1 Large Clove)
• 1 Tablespoon Natural Peanut Butter (heaping Tablespoon Even Better)
• ½ teaspoons Curry Powder
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha (optional)

Directions:

Mix ingredients and marinate chicken for 2-3 hours.

Cook chicken in the sauce over medium-high heat for 7-8 minutes or until chicken is done. Reduce heat to medium-low and add precooked veggies if desired. Serve topped with sesame seeds.

It's Cold in Hot-Lanta!

Atlanta got her first snow of 2011 - a beautiful, disruptive snow.  I wish I could say "wow, we never see snow around these here parts", but I actually think we've had 2-3 snowfalls every year since I moved to Atlanta.  Wait, I thought this was Hot-Lanta?  Obviously we have some type of identify crisis going on here south of the Mason Dixon, because it is COLD.

Now, the 5 inches of snow on Sunday/Monday (proceeded by a horrible sheet of ice that is still out there) caused major shut downs:  the airport, most major interstates, all schools and governments, and the majority of office buildings (including ours).  After working almost three winters up in the Northeast corridor, living in DC for a while, and traveling to Montreal this winter, I wasn't TOO impressed with these 5 inches.  What was more impressive was how Atlanta reacted!  The news actually encouraged people to abandon their cars on the interstate and call 911to come pick them up.  I guess that's a safe alternative to driving, but it's only now (Tuesday) that the news is recommending people to call a tow truck and get their abandoned car off the interstate!  As if people thought they could just leave them all week?  And, what's more, the news is having to remind people that, no, they cannot expect that city to pay for the tow truck and they'll have to pick up the towing tab themselves.  Which means people now want to actually DRIVE their cars off the interstate....and then the cycle starts all over again.  Geez Louis...

Considering the fact that most every Monday I work from home anyway, it wasn't a true "snow day" for me - just another Monday that happened to be a lot colder. With a closed airport, James' flight was also canceled (yea!)  I don't usually get excited about a canceled flight because I know the headache it causes, but it did mean two more days with my honey.  And us trying to share a 1000 sq ft condo while both on conference calls. It got pretty dicey in here, folks.

Let's get to some snow pictures so my amigos from the North stop saying "oh, Atlanta, stop your belly-aching, I'm sure you got a mere dusting at most".  Well, my dear Yankee friends....check it:

Snowfall starting to fall pretty heavy on Sunday night.

The aftermath on Monday morning - snow everywhere!

My hooptie - the snow is actually an esthetic improvement for her.

We have issues with parking violations here at the Manor, and we all know I'm a stickler for rules!  I totally love to walk the parking lots on the weekends and tow the delinquents.  Here, I'm going to take a wild guess and say that he/she did not strictly follow our 30 minute parking rule here at the condo?   Guess the snow made me a softie, because I refrained from calling the towing company.  

Rule-breaker!  

My sweet honey, all bundled up 

Enjoying our snow day at home together!!

The Greencards

I've always loved me some good bluegrass music.  I remember growing up with my dad playing old school records and recorded PBS performances of all sorts of music, but bluegrass was one of the most common genres.  Anyone remember Nitty Gritty Dirt Band?  OOOOH, I was probably the only 4 year old in love with those guys.

Fortunately, I married another man who is fond of a fiddle, so now James and I enjoy going to concerts and festivals together.  One of my favorite groups, the Greencards, is a band I started following back when they were living in Austin.  Now that they're out of Nashville, they head over this way several times a year.  Good news for us! 

They kicked off 2011 with a performance at Eddie's Attic, one of my favorite venues here in Atlanta because it's so small and intimate.    And, the Greencards did not disappoint. 

If you're into bluegrass (OR, if you need a gateway band to get into bluegrass), check them out:  The Greencards.  They tour all the time, and are a staple at many of the great music festivals during the summer months.

The Kings (love saying that - congrats again on the wedding, Jeremy and Jennifer!!) drove up from B-ham to join us for the show and the weekend.   Lots of good food, and lots of good fellowship with friends - now, that's my kind of weekend.

Mr. and Mrs. King

New Year's Eve 2010

After all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, and I was quickly off to Mexico City for a little work this first week in January.  Thus, I am a little behind on sharing how we rung in the new year - with friends up in the Blue Ridge Mountains!  Fun filled, with a lot of food, a lot of laughs, a lot of games (at least among the gals and when we could make the boys play with us), and a lot of relaxing.  Not too much to tell, so I'll let the pictures remind us of the weekend.

Our cabin - what a view.  Three floors, two decks, an outdoor fireplace, hot tub, pool table...could go on and on!

James and I took a little hike around the neighborhood.  Enjoying the views and the cool temps.

James and Michael had a great idea to take "a few" oysters to the cabin.  The boys went (unsupervised) to the Dekalb Farmer's Market and came back with over 40lbs!!  Although I swore it couldn't be done, we ate them all.  We ate them raw, steamed, grilled, and broiled.

This year, we added a little Chinese gift exchange, in which people were to bring "funny" gifts.  That's a little dangerous with this crowd...you never know what's going to come out of the sack!

I got a shake weight (which was actually the gift I brought, but I lost out on the last draw), and I can admit that IT. IS. DIFFICULT.  I know it's just 6 minutes a day from flab to fab, but I can't even shake that thing for 3 minutes.  Of course, everyone had to try it out.  And Michael decided he'd just make his own shake weight out of the closest thing available...

Michael was "lucky" enough to pick out James' gift:  a bouquet of red neck goodies.  Who doesn't need MD 40?  Everyone tried it and agreed it tasted like communion wine, but other than that one sip it was not touched all weekend.  (The Boones Farm, also part of the package, went QUICK.)

Christina, somehow, picked the PERFECT gift for her.  If anyone can pull off a pug purse, it's this chica.   (Mama to cute little Bubba.)

It was finally time to ring in the New Year, and we did it up right.  After a champagne toast and a kiss with our honeys, the boys ventured outside for the fireworks show (courtesy of neighboring Tennessee - thanks so much (slight sarcasm) for sending them back with so many mortars, Rocky Top!!)

And after the fireworks, there came the entertainment...  :)

A great weekend with our great friends.  Love you guys - thanks for helping us end 2010 with a bang, and best wishes for 2011!

Adios to 2010 - The Year of Travel

I cannot believe that 2010 is now behind us.  Does it seem like time is flying?  I feel like this year went by in warp speed, and I can't decide if it's because 1) we're in some weird cosmic warp speed time zone or 2) (more likely) it was a SUPER BUSY year for the Sassers.

Unfortunately I started our Sassy blog a little later in the year, so I can't go back and reminisce about all of the events that took place the past 12 months.  All I know that is that very little of our time was spent in the ATL, and that our beat-up, black carry-ons got a heck of a workout.  If I could christen this year with a theme (and I can because this is my blog), I would rename 2010 The Year of Travel.

Now, we've always traveled (years in consulting and living in different states than your family and friends will cut your travel teeth), but this year went above and beyond.  If I break it down with some numbers:

• I ended the year with 176,000 Delta MQMs this year.  It doesn't even take into account that I did some travel on other airlines, too.  James was able to make platinum on his last flight of the year, barely squeaking by.  But, I'm not that type of mean wife who flaunts her DIAMOND status when he sits in coach after I get my upgrade...

• Together (i.e. for fun), James and I visited 9 states (that I can think of) this year, mostly to visit our dear family and friends that we just can't get enough of.  We also took some day trips throughout Georgia, from the northern mountains down to the deep south.  Most importantly, there was our fabulous trip to Ireland and Scotland for two weeks that we will never forget.  What a wonderful adventure to kick off our first year as a married couple.

Dornoch Castle, Scotland

• Separately (i.e. for work), I traveled to 7 different countries:  Germany, Spain, England, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, and Canada.  Getting to work with so many different people in so many different places was definitely one of the highlights of my year.  James still does his normal loop of DC to ABQ, but has added some time up in Rocky Top (TN).  

Although I know we sometimes complain about being road warriors and I think both of us are about ready to stop bragging about airline miles and instead start putting more than 1,000 miles a year on our actual vehicles...I can't help but feel blessed by the opportunities that travel brings to us.  Our jobs not withstanding (and I believe me I know we're lucky to have them this year!), the travel has allowed us to see the world, experience all the cultures, and visit our favorite people.  Something to remember and be thankful for next time I'm being frisked by TSA.  :)  

So, goodbye to 2010 and The Year of Travel!  Can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for the Sassers in 2011.