High School Reunion by the Numbers

Three: Number of dresses I bought before I found this one. (It's from Modcloth.com, and I love it! Don't worry, I'm returning the others.)

Four: Number of hours I spent shopping for a dress for my reunion.

Five: Number of seconds Brent spent deciding what to wear to the reunion.

Sixteen: Number of years since I was in Girl Scouts with these ladies.

Three: Number of girl scout uniforms we had: Daisy, Brownie, and Junior Girl Scout.

At least one hundred: Number of fun times we had horseback riding, cooking on vagabond stoves, eating hobo lunches, getting our hair braided, and using port-a-potties in Wimberly.

Six: Number of years we were in choir together.

One: Number of people in pictured with a super cool job. (Amanda, center, is an archaeologist!)

Twenty: Number of years it's been since Cameron (center) and I made secret forts at the creek by her house.
Twenty one: Number of years it's been since Cameron had a reindeer birthday party that I still remember.
Ten: Number of black satin and sequin show choir costumes Meghan (left) and I wore.
Two: Number of high school boyfriends Meghan & I now regret.

One: Number of UT cheerleaders in this picture (hint: It's not me.)
Two: Number of dances we went to together in high school.

Forty: Number of times we ate Rumors for dinner our freshman year of college while watching Dawson's Creek.
Zero: Number of inches of blank wall space in our freshman dorm room.

Ten: Number of years it's been since the girls of the class of 2000 have been together.
Two: Number of moms or moms-to-be pictured below (hint: not me.)
Eight: Number of 80s songs we sang together with teased ponytails.
Nine: Number of times this sweet girl has said she likes my blog.
Twenty-Four: Number of years it's been since we started kindergarten together at Moss Haven Elementary School.
One: Number of puppies who were glad to have some play time with Grammy, but equally glad to have mom & dad home at midnight.
Ten: Number of years until we do it again.

Christopher's Remix

Brent and I love Christopher's in College Station. It's basically the only nice restaurant in College Station, and it's actually really, really delicious. We look forward to going there once a year during opening weekend for football. They have an awesome menu, but we always get the house filet. I kind of want one right now. We took this year's trip in September, and they had a new appetizer on the menu. It was a "chile relleno" - basically a poblano pepper stuffed with beans, cheese, and shrimp and then deep fried. OMG it was good. Brent immediately started plotting how he could get me to make them at home, but I told him there was no way that was going to happen!

When we got home I was flipping through an old Everyday Food magazine, and I stumbled upon this just as delicious but WAY healthier version of a chile relleno: stuffed poblano peppers. I've made this dish twice now, and it is amazing. The Everyday Food recipe is completely vegetarian. That version was good - I made it according to the recipe the first time. But then we thought about Christopher's and how they had stuffed theirs with shrimp. So we decided that the next time we made them, we'd add shrimp.

I made the shrimp version tonight, and it did not disappoint. You get the rich tomato sauce, semi-cruncy pepper, beans, cheese, and spicy shrimp. And it's not fried! So you can have two! Here's how to make this super easy dish that will make you feel like you're at a Mexican restaurant.

Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Adapted from Everyday Food, April 2008

Sauce:
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 jalapeno chile, roughly chopped (seeds & ribs removed)
1 small onion, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves
Salt & pepper

Mix all sauce ingredients in a blender until pureed. Spread sauce on the bottom of a Pyrex dish.

Filling:
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 package fresh pre-cooked chipotle shrimp from Whole Foods (in the seafood section), chopped
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
Salt

Combine all filling ingredients in a bowl and stir to mix.

Halve four poblano peppers and remove seeds & ribs. Stuff each pepper with filling and place pepper halves filling side up in the tomato sauce.

Sprinkle the whole top with about 1 cup of shredded monterrey jack cheese. Cover with foil and back at 425 degrees for 40 minutes. Uncover and broil until cheese browns (2-4 minutes). Serve with Mexican rice. (Serves 4)

October Obsessions

In no particular order, here are 10 things I'm obsessed with this October:

1. Burt's Bees
I've never been one of those people who is addicted to chap-stick, but I'm starting to wonder... The weather turned cooler by two degrees and all of a sudden my lips were dying. I now crave Burt's Bees original lip balm. It's peppermint-y, tingly, and soothing, and I can't get enough. I'm now the proud owner of 5 tubes because if I'm out and about and I forgot it, I can't stand it. I have to pull into the nearest Walgreen's and buy one. I heard that bumble bees are in danger of extinction, so I sure hope old Burt is taking good care of his bees because I can't live wihout this stuff. 2. The Sweater Dress
Flattering, comfy, and trendy: what more could you ask for in a go-to dress? You better believe I snatched up this sweater dress at Ann Taylor Loft. With a low slung belt and boots... tell me you won't be the most stylish girl at work.

3. Honeycrisp Apples
These are the best apples ever, hands down. I've tried just about every apple there is, and this is what we can't get enough of. They are quite aptly named since they are indeed VERY light, crispy, juicy, and sweet. They also don't turn brown as quickly as other apples when cut: it's a miracle.

4. Essie Nail Polish

My good friend Abbie tipped me off to Essie nail polish on her blog. I've always been an OPI girl, but I am LOVING Essie now, especially this color: Island Hopping. I'm perplexed by the name because it doesn't look summery or island-y to me at all. It's perfect for fall. I hereby rename this color "warm plum crisp". It looks great on fingernails - subtle but polished.

5. Cream of Wheat

I haven't eaten cream of wheat in like 10 years. I'm not sure what came over me, but I was in the cereal aisle and I saw the box, and I was transported back in time. My mom used to make cream of wheat almost every morning in the winter. I was truly curious if I would still like it, so I bought a box of the instant packets. It is SO GOOD. I make it in the microwave at school every day and put in small pat of butter and some brown sugar. When people see me eating it they're like, "Oh my gosh, cream of wheat! I haven't thought about that stuff in ages!" You're welcome, Mr. Cream of Wheat Man, for the comeback I'm staging for you.

6. Anthony Bourdain

Anthony Bourdain's show "No Reservations" on the Travel Channel is one of my favorites. If you love food and/or travel, you will love this show. Anthony is a journalist and a chef by trade, so his show is very focused on these two aspects of travel. He HATES all things touristy and loudly proclaims his disdain for anything cookie-cutter. When he travels, he focuses on the food of a place and how it shapes the people and the culture. He eats in local places and even in homes. It's a fascinating and beautifully written show. You feel like you've been there when you watch their beautiful shots and listen to the inspiring narration by Bourdain. There's a new season going on now.

7. The White Watch

It might just be a Houston thing or a YES Prep thing, but the white watch is all the rage in my world. I'm not kidding you that EVERY female teacher at my school has one of these white watches. There are several different styles but they all have a white silicone band and most have some sort of rhinestones. I picked up mine at Charming Charlie for like $11. I'm relatively sure it will only work for about 6 months, but after that it will be out of style anyway, so we're good.

8. Seattle's Best Coffee

I like to try different coffees because I get sick of the same old thing, so lately I've been on a Seattle's Best kick. They claim that it is the "smoothest" coffee you can buy, and I tend to agree. I especially like the "cinnabon" flavor - add a little fat free half & half, a touch of splenda, and a dash of cinnamon and you're good to go!

9. Old Navy Workout Pants

I'm loving the super-affordable and super-comfy workout pants from Old Navy. They are cropped and have a rollover waistband that you can adjust to make the pants as high or low rise as you want. The super cute pink dot pattern doesn't hurt either. I also bought a pair of black cropped walking pants with two pockets perfect for a cell phone or iPod when you're walking.

10. Woodwick Candles in "Fireside"

Last but certainly not least, it's time to break out the Woodwick candles. The Fireside scent will transport you directly to fall. If you missed my last post on Woodwick candles, you can check it out here. This candle is an absolute MUST HAVE for fall and winter.

31 Workouts in 31 Days

Happy October! It's time to break out the fall wreath, buy some pumpkins, have a pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks, and... Workout!! That's right. Today I'm issuing a challenge for myself and all of my blogging friends:

31 Workouts in 31 Days!

There are several reasons why you should join me in this challenge:

• Any extra exercise you do now will allow you to go into the holiday season at your best, so you can have that extra slice of pie or serving of mashed potatoes (or both. let's be honest.)


• October is finally COOL, so you don't have to do every workout at the gym. You can vary your workouts with walks and runs and fun outside things and not die from a heatstroke while doing them, which is a bonus.


• If you succeed in working out every day this month (and you will), going back to regular 3-5 day a week workouts will seem EASY!


• Things always get busy in October, but if you take on this challenge, you have a ready-made excuse to leave work right on time - you have to go work out!

Here are my rules for the challenge, but you can make up your own rules if you'd like:

1. Any kind of exercise counts - walking, running, gym, cardio, weights, yoga, pilates...


2. You should aim for 45 minutes per workout, but 30 minutes will do in a pinch.


3. All 30 or 45 minutes do not have to be done at once. You could do 15 minutes here and 15 minutes there.


4. You don't have to work out EVERY day - you just need to get in 31 workouts in 31 days. So if you miss a day, all hope is not lost. You'll just have to find a day when you could double up - maybe a walk before work and gym in the evening? Or you could just kick your own butt for an hour-long workout, which could technically count as two 30 minute workouts - and you're back on track!

The main goal is for me to get back into a routine because let me tell you - September was no good... no good at all. However, I'm feeling optimistic about October!! We're going to make it happen!!

I've added a gadget to the right side of my blog where I'm going to update my daily workouts so you can keep me accountable and track along with me. You can see that I've already tracked my October 1st workout!

Will you commit to doing 31 workouts in 31 days with me? Why not post on your blog about your commitment? Leave a comment if you're with me!! (...And even if you're not with me, leave a comment because I still love you. Lots of you are having babies and having babies is a pretty good excuse, so all you mamas out there are off the hook for now.)

Time to load up the iPod...