Ladybug Studio

Plan Free At Last

I am so glad it's Friday. This week has seemed really long. I've been going to bed too late every night and it's compounded. Today I am desperately sleepy. I used to be able to stay up late. Going to bed before 11:00 was very unusual. But for quite a while now my bedtime has become 10:00. Sometimes making it until then is iffy.

Tom and I are going to our favorite bicycle shop, Orange Cycle, after work this afternoon. They're having their Spring Sale, which is always fun. There are plenty of good bargains and it's interesting to be with so many bicycling enthusiasts. I told Tom that he would have to drive, though, so that I could sleep. I beat him to the punch because he apparently had the same thought in mind. Ha!

Almonds are a healthy snack, right? They're high in protein and fiber and low in saturated fat. I'm not particularly wild about almonds, however I've become hooked on Blue Diamond Almonds Bold Flavors. I'm afraid that the quantity I am likely to consume will no longer be considered healthy. So far I'm enjoying Wasabi & Soy Sauce and Maui Onion & Garlic. The seasonings don't appear to be affecting the nutritional value other than adding to the sodium content. At any rate they are both delish and I'm having difficulty controlling myself.

This weekend there are no Concrete Have To Be There By A Certain Time plans. It's so refreshing. Everything we're thinking about doing is pretty casual. We're going to do a road bike ride tomorrow morning. Probably our 30 mile route from the house. We are hoping to participate in the 8th Annual Ride for the Red on April 15. There are four rides to choose from:

Fun Ride: 20 miles
Third Century: 33 miles
Metric Century: 62 miles
English Century: 100 miles

I thought the third century would be right, as we haven't exactly been training on the road bikes lately. But Tom is convinced that we're in good enough shape from our mountain biking and should go for the metric century. Maybe.

The purpose of the ride is to raise money for the American Red Cross. It's not a competitive race and is only for fun and fitness. I've heard that it's a well run event with plenty of support stops providing food and drink. The cost, $35, is average for this type of ride. We haven't officially committed yet, but I'm pretty sure we will do it.

As Easy as ABC

Cooking class was great last night. In fact, everything about yesterday was better than last Wednesday. To begin with, last week I had to run an errand before heading to Melbourne. What a difference fifteen minutes can make! Traffic on I-95 was terrible, taking a back road to circumvent Wickham, I turned too soon, ensuring that I'd have to make left turn during rush hour, the tiny part of Wickham that couldn't be avoided was jam-packed and barely creeping, I missed the entrance to the school and had to make a U-turn, then I was way early and had thirty minutes to kill, reading in my car.

Yesterday, on the other hand, I had no stops to make so I headed straight to Melbourne. Traffic on I-95 was moving briskly, I found the back road easily and Wickham was a breeze. I actually went straight to the Melbourne Square Mall as I had time to spare and a return to make at Macy's.

That worked out great too. I recently decided to purchase some new sleep clothes. Because of the new bed, of course. Sounds silly, I know. Plus, I've been wearing the same boring pink nightgown for ages. Anyway, I wanted something pretty and feminine, but not see-thru, not "lingerie" but something to actually sleep in. I found a great little set on the clearance rack at the Merritt Island store. The cropped pants and spaghetti strap top are made of the absolutely softest material on earth. Both are red with black pinstripes and the top is edged in black lace and has a tiny black bow in the front. Cute, sassy, maybe even sexy, but not ridiculously so. I had also purchased an aqua shorty nightgown made of the same material. But it didn't fit right and looked bad on me. (I didn't try it on that day because I had just come from my tennis lesson - ick!)

I had hoped that the Melbourne store would have more items and I was lucky. Not only did they have the same two-piece set that I had bought and loved, they had the exact same brand/style in a shorty nightgown! This one is also red, with the lace and the bow, but with tiny black polka-dots instead of stripes. It also has a small offset slit edged in lace. I was able to try it on to make sure and even I have to admit that it looked darned cute on. (I slept in it last night and it was wonderful)

I also took advantage of the Clinique Bonus Time Gift with Purchase. I am a bonus time junkie, I admit it. Whenever I need or want a new item, I wait until one of the department stores is offering a bonus. And now I can spend twice as much money and get twice as many bonus gifts! Because even though I've switched most of my makeup and skin care products to Lancome, I still prefer some of the Clinique products (they have better lipstick). I actually have a closet full of little travel makeup bags and tiny sample bottles of products that I'll never use. I've started giving the makeup samples to my nieces and have found that the moisturizers and stuff sell good in garage sales. Yet despite this, I still rush to the store as soon as I get the magic flyer in the mail. I just can't resist the bonus!

So anyway, back to cooking class.

Our originally scheduled chef was there to teach us. Because we had worked on knife skills and other basics last week, we were able to get started cooking sooner. First, our chef demonstrated several dishes, which we got to sample (OMG yum!), then we were turned loose to cook the same ones on our own. We made Chicken Breast Stuffed with Procuitto, Mushrooms and Asparagus with Brie Cream Reduction. Sounds fancy, doesn't it? Also Sautéed Shrimp with Baby Green Beans, Sundried Tomatoes and Olives. Both dishes were actually quick and easy. And delicious. The timing was much better in this class and we were actually ready to leave on time at 9:30. Ann and I stayed a little bit longer, packing our to-go containers and cleaning up our areas.

And to top off the evening, unlike last week in which I caught every red light from Melbourne to Port St. John despite the fact that it was freaking midnight, driving home was a breeze. Practically a straight shot. I was still a little keyed up from everything and ended up staying up a bit late watching an episode of The Black Donnellys. Well worth it, by the way. I am really enjoying that show.

Queen for a Day

I was the Queen of the Tennis Court, at least for a day. Doubles yesterday went so well for me. Maybe it's my new Magic Tennis Racquet! Okay, so there's nothing actually magical about the racquet, though perhaps just thinking so made a difference. Anyway, for the first time ever, I was a member of the winning pair in all three sets. I made some amazing plays too, including a deep dive for a really short ball. I surprised everyone when I pulled it off. Almost landed on my chin too. I was zooming around the court like I had on roller skates, trying to get to every ball. I think I even poached on my partner in my overzealous enthusiasm. Oops.

The weather was great for tennis too. It had been cloudy earlier in the day, but the skies cleared and there was a slight breeze. Not strong enough to interfere, but just enough to keep in mind. So I'll be moving up to the Court 3 next week. I'll try my best to stay there.

What a Birth Day

I apologize, but I made a serious omission to the rice pilaf recipe. I forgot to add the chiffonade of fresh basil. (french term meaning "made of rags" = shredded) About 2 TB. There was also some fine chopped parsley in there, but I think the basil is what gave it such an amazing flavor.

Now that I have that out of the way I can get down to real news. Newborn babies, as it happens.

Well first, last Thursday, Tom's birthday, I had a call from Stacey, letting me know that she and Greg had a baby daughter. The baby was born by c-section at 11:05. I won't go into long drawn out details, but Stacey had a pretty rough labor. Her voice was noticeably scratchy, apparently due to hours of yelling. (ouch!) After my tennis match that afternoon I went up to the hospital. I was doing double visiting duty, as it turns out. I knew that my friend Krista was being induced on that same day and I wondered if I might be meeting two baby girls.

I visited Stacey first. I have to say, she and Greg looked quite worn out and a little bit shell-shocked. But the baby was beautiful, all pink and fresh. (they haven't decided officially on her name yet) I didn't stay long because I knew Stacey needed to rest.

After inquiring about Krista I learned that she was in one of the birthing rooms. Hm. I wasn't sure about waltzing on in, but the nurse assured me it would be fine. So I tip-toed into the room and found Krista propped up in bed, hooked up to all sorts of monitors, her husband Randy sitting at her side. It was much more serene than the way I had pictured a birthing room, but made a lot of sense after I learned that Krista had just had some pain medication.

I left Krista and Randy, wondering if her baby would also be born on March 22. It was turning out to be one heck of a Birth Day. In addition to Tom and Stacey's new baby, March 22 is also my grandmother's birthday, Denise's daughter Lilly's birthday and Greg's mother's birthday. What's one more?

Well, Krista's baby, Sarah Elizabeth, ended up being a rebel and came into the world on March 23. Also by c-section. The mother was overheard expressing regrets over eating pancakes and other fattening goodies throughout her pregnancy. Sarah was a healthy 9 pounds 9 ounces (or something close). I only saw her briefly but she was lovely and had quite a head of dark hair!

But it wasn't all baby stuff this weekend. Saturday was focused on my Central Florida Winds concert. We had a rehearsal from 11:00 to 1:00. Followed by an inconvenient amount of time before the 3:00 concert. Not enough time to go anywhere or do anything, but too much time to spend hanging around the Satellite High School auditorium. But I actually ended up having a nice lunch break. The weather was gorgeous, about 75 degrees and breezy. I walked a short distance to a McDonald's where I purchased a not-so WW friendly Filet-O-Fish, french fries and a high octane full sugar Coke. Then I took my food back to the school and found a commons area with picnic tables. With an audiobook on my iPod to keep me entertained, I enjoyed every scrumptious bite of my lunch.

Our concert went quite well. The rehearsal had not, so I was a tiny bit surprised, but relieved. I'm just sorry that I didn't have anyone in the audience cheering me on. Everyone had something else going on, they were out of town, they were busy running electricity to their workshop, they were still in North Carolina, etc. But that's okay. There will be another concert, this summer, probably.

Sunday we did our usual mountain bike ride. But I think the mountain bike season is coming to a close for me. At least, until rainy season starts up. The trails are so dry and sandy. Besides being absolutely no fun to ride through, sand seems to suck up all of my energy. Tom rode with me a lot and kept offering to tutor me over troublesome obstacles. Usually that would have been great, but I was just too tired to mess with it. Hopefully he'll offer again. He's often so far ahead of me that he doesn't know what I have trouble riding. At any rate, I made it out of the woods with no injuries, no blood oozing, no bones showing, which is always a good way to end the weekend.

What's Cooking?

Today is Tom's birthday and he's home lounging around. He actually hasn't been feeling well this week and said that he didn't want to spend eight or so hours of his birthday miserable at work. Can't blame him there. I gave him a card and a DVD (Casino Royale) this morning, just to make the morning special. He hasn't completely made up his mind what present he'd like from me. He's mentioned several things including a creepster stool for the garage and a new hood for his GTO. I can tell you this - he's not getting the hood. But whatever I get him, something tells me it will be car related. As my obsession is tennis, his is currently his beloved GTO.

Well, I'm running on about four hours of sleep today. I went to bed at 1:00 last night and got up at 5:00 and let me tell you - I really don't recommend it. But I was partying with the Keiser University crowd and you know how that can be.

Yeah, right.

Seriously though, I was at Keiser University, taking a cooking class. It was the first of three classes, to be precise. Part of the Continuing Education curriculum, the Beginning Series touches on knife skills, sauces and cooking techniques. While I can cook well enough to keep Tom and I fed, the kitchen is not exactly my comfort zone. So when I found out about these classes, I thought they would be perfect.

Our class consisted of 10 people, eight women and two men. And I know one of the women. (I have done freelance for her company) It was great chatting with Ann and so nice to have a comrade in the class. We learned a tremendous amount, more than my little brain could take in really. The chef taught us how to do all sorts of slicing and dicing. We chopped onions and tomatoes, julienned carrots and red peppers, minced garlic, sliced mushrooms, chiffonaded* basil and fine chopped parsley.

I was just beginning to get comfortable with the chef's knife when everyone was given their very own whole chicken to cut up. I thought this was something I wanted to learn to do so I was all into it. But handling the chicken gave me the heebie-jeebies and after I'd struggled for a bit, I had to have a lot of help from the chef to bring my bird back to respectability. Ann and I agreed that we'd rather pay to have someone else cut our chicken up, thank you very much.

Then it just got worse, from an ick-factor point of view. The sight of a whole snapper on my cutting board didn't exactly thrill me. Though it was a beautiful thing, in a fishy sort of way, all silver and green with red eyes. One of which I accidentally touched (ew!). The instructor saved me again by cutting out the first filet. Which was a good thing because by the time I was done hacking at the other side, I only ended up with about half of the other filet.

Let me say that we had covered a whole lot of stuff by this time and hadn't even begun to cook anything yet. I didn't eat anything before class because I was sure that we would be eating our work. Also, the chef was filling in for another chef and apparently thought our class ended at 10:30 instead of 9:30.

Anyway, back to class. Finally it was time to start putting things together. We each had our own little portable gas burner and our mise en place (literally: everything in its place. meaning all of our ingredients and tools prepped and ready to go). We sautéed, we seared, we boiled and ended up with three dishes to take home in styrofoam containers. One with chicken, one with fish and rice pilaf. I only had a small taste of each one, but - yum!

Especially the rice, and it was very simple: Heat pan, then add oil and heat. Add diced onion (1 cup), diced celery (3/4 cup), sliced mushrooms (1/2 cup) and diced/julienned carrots (1/2 cup). Sauté for a few minutes. Remove from heat and stir in white wine (1 cup). Return to heat and add butter (2-3 TB). Add rice (1 cup). Bring to boil, then lower heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

These measurements are just approximates, they just happen to be the amount that I had prepped. I would definitely have added more mushrooms and carrots if I'd had more. With the rice and wine, I'm just doing an eyeball estimate of the amount that was given to me.

We were allowed to take the rest of our cut up chicken home and any of our prepped ingredients that were left. And we did not have to clean or wash up. Thank goodness, because by then it was 11:30 and I still had a 45 minute drive ahead of me. Once home I was too keyed up to go right to bed. By the time I had unwound, it was 1:00.

The class was fun though and well worth it. I'm looking forward to learning more next week.

*I suspect that's not actually a word

The Tennis Channel

I'm thinking about changing the name of my site to Ladybug Tennis or Tennis Studio. Because I know I talk an awful lot about that subject. But it consumes so much of my free time, there's not much else to talk about. Plus, I'm sort of fanatical about it lately. Between the new racquet, new clothes and improved skills, I have difficulty thinking of anything else, it seems.

I ordered my new racquet last night and it will arrive on Friday. It's the one I originally wanted, the Wilson W Line W2 Blue Shadow. It felt great from the first ball I hit with it. I'm currently using a Wilson Hammer and it feels similar, but better. The other racquet was okay, just not for me. We didn't have that special spark.

The demo racquets get shipped back today and I had a mild panic after doubles yesterday when I realized that I would be without my new friend for several days. I called Tennis Warehouse and placed my order. I upgraded to second day shipping, but since they were giving me a shipping credit (for buying my demo? maybe. I didn't question it) the total shipping only cost $2.

Now that I will have two tennis racquets, I guess I need a new, larger tennis bag, right? Another excuse for online shopping!

From the comments: Instead of hosting a pajama party, as fun as that might have been, here's a photo of the new bed with the new quilted coverlet.

King Size!

Our new bed arrived on Friday. It's ridiculously huge! I'm surprised every time I walk into our room. Naturally, the bed set up in Rooms To Go was a queen or a full. Definitely not a king. I nearly fell over when the delivery guys walked in with the headboard! It was so crazy, I was almost embarrassed. But once the bed was put together and the mattress and foundation were in place, it started to look a little more normal. The bed is also very tall. I can't back up to it and sit down, I have to get on my tip toes and do a little backward climb. However, once I'm finally up onto the thing, it is quite comfortable. Oh, and I love my new pillow! We got a free standard size Comfort Pillow. Since Tom prefers king size pillows, I laid claim to the new one.

I can't say that I slept very well this weekend though. The bed was fine and I really would have liked to have enjoyed my rest more, but the air purifier is causing problems again. We are so used to the white noise it makes, plus it really helps Tom's sinuses. But it has gotten into the nasty habit of turning off and on all night. And it wakes me up each and every time. I brought my sound machine into bed and laid it next to my pillow, in hopes that it would drown out the sound of the air purifier stopping and starting. It helped, but only a little.

In other news, we went mountain biking at a semi-new place yesterday. I say semi-new because we've ridden there before, but it's been several years since our last trip. Also known as Crossroads, the trails are located in Ft. Pierce, which is about an hour and fifteen minutes from our house. Vicky and Matt had been there recently and told us that the trails were in good shape, so our gang decided to give it a try. We had a lot of fun, as it turns out.

The trails are quite technical and I remember not liking them much in the past. But as my current skill level is much greater than it was then, I had a much better ride. The loop is only about four miles and is extremely twisty, with many switch backs. There are tons of roots, dips, short steep climbs, log stacks, ramps and bridges. On my first loop, I was extremely cautious, walking my bike over anything even slightly suspect. But on the second I felt much more confident and rode all but the most difficult obstacles. I was following Vicky, which helped immensely. Vicky is by no means a wimp, but she is quite smart and considers the consequences without going headlong into a situation. I felt confident that if she was willing to ride it, then I might as well try too. We ended up doing three loops. Now I'm looking forward to the next trip.

Bed Day

I went to work for two measly hours today. And only because it was a coworkers birthday and I wanted to be there to celebrate and eat an asiago cheese bagel from Panera. Because otherwise, two hours? Silliness.

However, I had to be at home to accept the delivery of our new bed. The delivery window was from 10:00 to 2:00 and the Rooms To Go guys arrived around 12:30-ish. I really hate having furniture and stuff delivered to the house though. Especially when something has to be assembled. I don't know what to do with myself. There's no way I'm going to be out of sight, but at the same time, I don't want to be in their way. So I puttered around the kitchen, pretending to do stuff while keeping one eye on them.

When they first brought in the headboard I nearly freaked out. It was HUGE! Naturally, the RTG showroom had a queen bed set up. The king looks ridiculous! Plus I wasn't even sure it would fit in the room. It did turn out to be a tad wider than the waterbed, but still fit. And now that it is assembled and made up, it doesn't look all that crazy after all. Whew. Though it is really tall, as the mattress and foundation are fairly deep.

My problem regarding a night stand solved itself. Previously, there was only about 6" of room between the bed and my chest of drawers. But once the waterbed headboard was gone, I'd no longer have a place for my alarm clock and lamp. The new bed is so much taller I can put my things on the corner of the chest. It's only a little bit higher than the bed.

So staying home wasn't too bad really. (how could it be?) I even got several deliveries. First the mailman brought a box to my door (bday gift from Jenn - thank you!). Next I received a completely surprising gift basket, a sympathy basket from the company who did our concrete patio (during the week of my mother's passing). And last, the pink tennis dress and other tennis clothing that I had ordered from Tennis Warehouse. I tried on the dress and while it looks okay and I could be seen in public wearing it, it does give me the incentive to lose my last 8 or so pounds.

Oh, speaking of Tennis Warehouse, I got the two demo racquets on Wednesday and tried the Wilson one yesterday. I really liked it. I won my match, though I don't know if the racquet had everything to do with that. But I think it helped. Nancy said she thought I was hitting harder than I usually do. This racquet is the one I really wanted, and it looks good that I will buy it, but I still should play with the other one and see how it works. I'm meeting Jeanene tomorrow to hit and I am planning to try it out then.

The weather is supposed to be beautiful this weekend and I'm hoping to spend a good bit of it outside. We have plans to mountain bike at Crossroads in Ft. Pierce on Sunday. We haven't been down there in years so it will be good to try some new trails.

Game On

Tennis was a blast last night. I'm still jacked up about it. I didn't play doubles, which is usually the routine on Tuesday. One person had to cancel and the other didn't want to play Australian, so the last person and I played singles. The pressure was off, because neither of us would be moving down a court. However, the winner would be the one to move up. Now, James is better than me and definitely stronger. But I have played him before and figured we'd still have a good time.

Well, I surprised both of us by providing a challenging match. It was neck and neck for a while, but I ended up winning the first set 7-6. The second set went to him 3-6. By this time we were both getting a bit tired so instead of playing a third set, we opted to play a tie-breaker to determine the winner. It too was tight, but James did get the better of me and won it 7-5.

Since Tom started a new term this week, there was no reason to rush home. So I went over to court 3 to watch them finish their match. Also to do a little reconnaissance. Nancy, my nemesis, was playing with the group and I am set to play her singles on Thursday. She's a hard one to beat and I thought I might figure out an angle, if I watched her play for a bit. But no. All I learned is that she has a great ability to return nearly everything. But maybe with my secret weapon…

My New Tennis Racquet!

I finally got my butt in gear and ordered two racquets to demo from Tennis Warehouse. They are scheduled to arrive this afternoon. I hope to round up someone to hit with today, so that I can get a feel for them before tomorrow. Though I may still use my current racquet in the match. Depends on how comfortable I feel with either of the new ones.

Oh - just got the news that our bed will be delivered Friday between 10:00 and 2:00. Hm. That's a pretty crappy block of time. It prevents me from being able to work a half day. There's no point in going in for just two hours, with no guarantee that I will return later in the day. Not that I would want to drive all the way out to work again anyway. I might end up taking yet another vacation day. Which wouldn't necessarily bother me, except that I'm taking the following Friday off while Ann (and possibly Michael) are visiting. I'm also afraid I might get too used to having Fridays off…

Birthday Weekend

Well, the Birthday Weekend was a success. Having lots of things mapped out turned out to be a good idea. Though I found out quite early that flexibility was important. Not everything went according to plan.

On Friday I puttered around for a long time before finally getting started on my car. Then I was so absolutely nit-picky, I only got the interior cleaned. (but boy, is it clean!) Next, I tried to give blood, but my iron was too low. (I wasn't surprised)

The trip to the mall was good. We found the earrings and Tom bought them for me. I got several items from the new Godiva Chocoiste collection and they are truly yummy. For the most part though, that mall is for window shopping as far as I'm concerned, so we weren't there very long. I had wanted to visit Golfsmith Golf and Tennis, which is across from the mall, but I missed my turn and it was simply too much of a hassle to go back, so we went home instead. We had pizza delivered and watched an episode of Band of Brothers. (yes, again)

Saturday morning rehearsal went well. I found I was more interested and involved than last time and wasn't watching the clock continuously either. I'm concerned about La Fiesta though. The piece is really hard and we only have two rehearsals left before the concert. Yet I was thrilled when the conductor let us leave 30 minutes early.

Tom and I did our mattress shopping that afternoon. We ended up spending a bundle at Rooms To Go. They always have wonderful interest-free financing offers, which we have had good luck with in the past. After lounging on all four Tempur-Pedic styles they offered, we stuck with our original choice, the CelebrityBed. We also chose a bed with dark brown faux-leather covered headboard and footboard, which will blend right in with our hodgepodge of mismatched bedroom furniture.

From R2G we headed to Macy's to buy expensive new sheets for our expensive new bed. A helpful saleslady found some 460 thread-count Hotel Collection sheets in the clearance bin. Score! We also bought the bed skirt that matches our comforter and pillow shams, now that we will have a regular bed, instead of a waterbed.

Dinner at Shells was delish! We met biking friends Vicky and Matt and the four of us had a good time. I definitely indulged, starting with a Coke with lime. I haven't had anything other than water in a restaurant in a very long time. Next, I had the crab cake appetizer and Vicky and Matt shared their fried calamari. For my entree I chose the Langostino Pasta. (AKA Baby Lobster Pasta) Despite all of that wonderful food, I still had room for ice cream, so Tom and I went to Marble Slab Creamery where I got my usual: half Birthday Cake and half Swiss Chocolate in a waffle cup. I savored every bit.

We didn't end up biking on Sunday. Dallas was sick and something came up with Carl, which just left the two of us. We could have gone anyway, but Tom wasn't feeling all that great and there were plenty of things to do around the house and errands to run. Yeah, so we ended up spending more money. We went to Bed Bath & Beyond because Tom needed a new electric razor and I have a collection of 20% off coupons. In addition to the razor, we also bought more sheets. These aren't as high of a thread count as the Hotel Collection sheets, but they're a different fiber (modal, a fiber created from the beechwood tree) and are incredibly soft. We figure we'll use these first and if we love them, we'll get another set and take the first ones back to Macy's.

And that concludes this highlight episode of Amy's Birthday Weekend 2007.