Firstly, I'm going to do a small plug. I've been working with my aunt, a very talented artist, to build a new web site for her business and a cafepress shop to promote some of her art. Neither are 100% done, but they're both v. close and it's getting towards gift-buying time, so I wanted to mention it early on. I've also put it in my shopping links in case you forget!!
House Pics
Up (sadly) sooner than my NYC pics!! Yep, they're here … house pics. Since it was a model home, there was some furniture in there that was up for grabs, so Matt went out this morning to pick out what we wanted (provided it was for sale). So we ended up with quite a few pieces (approx 2/3) for about $1500. Score.
Anyhoo, while he was out there he took pictures. I tried to get the floorplans to add to the pictures, but Village Homes' website won't bring it up right now, so we'll have to wait.
Chocolate-Eclair Icebox Dessert
from: 96
Ingredients
22 1/2 sheets (about 1 [14-ounce] box) low-fat honey graham crackers, divided
Cooking spray
3 cups fat-free milk
2 (3.4-ounce) packages fat-free vanilla instant pudding mix
1 (8-ounce) tub fat-free cream cheese
1 (8-ounce) tub frozen reduced-calorie whipped topping, thawed
1/4 cup fat-free milk
2 tablespoons stick margarine or butter, softened
2 tablespoons honey
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
Directions
Arrange 7 1/2 graham cracker sheets in the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Combine 3 cups milk, pudding mix, and cream cheese in a large bowl, and beat at low speed of a mixer 1 minute or until thick. Fold in whipped topping. Spread half of the pudding mixture over graham crackers, and top with 7 1/2 graham cracker sheets. Repeat the procedure with the remaining half of pudding mixture and 7 1/2 graham cracker sheets.
Combine 1/4 cup milk, softened margarine, honey, and unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl, and beat well with a mixer. Gradually add powdered sugar to milk mixture, and beat well. Spread chocolate glaze over graham crackers. Cover dessert and tent with foil; chill 4 hours.
Nutritional Info (1/18th of a recipe, or 3(
CALORIES 234 (22% from fat); FAT 5.8g (sat 2.7g, mono 1.5g, poly 1.3g); PROTEIN 5.4g; CARB 41.5g; FIBER 0.8g; CHOL 3mg; IRON 1mg; SODIUM 352mg; CALC 105mg;
The House
I've added a mo-blog from Flickr and the first pic is our new house!!! We haven't closed yet … but hopefully in about a week and a half, it'll be ours. I will be posting more details as they come up.
Housekeeping
Okay, so I read about getting free stuff from this site. A n IPod to be exact. I don't really need an Ipod, but they do offer other cool free stuff. I also read about it on Wills Thrills, so I decided to try it. I'm signed up for the free flatscreen one. I need 8 people to sign up and complete an offer too (the Blockbuster one is free). I'll try to return the favor for anyone who helps me out too. I've got a lotta email addresses. 
What else has been going on? Hmmm… not much. I did a little of everything this weekend. It was waaaay too short though. But I want to go to work tomrorow because it will get my mind of house stuff, which I really don't want to think about because it's become a little bit stressful. Continue reading “Housekeeping”
More House Hunting
I'm sooooo sick of house hunting. It's been such a frustrating process. Yesterday, we found what is in many ways the perfect house. It's good sized, with good-sized rooms, great living space, a nice kitchen, and we would get to pick some of the finishes. It's in a new development called The Village of Five Parks. It's a Pleasantville-esque community with picture-perfect well, um … everything. It's got about 10 different styles of houses with their own floorplans and then levels of finishes. We could pick some of the finishes in one of the two of the style we like that aren't yet completed.
There are two problems though … The commute will be about double to what I would really like, basically on the upper-end of my personal allowable commute. Another problem is that they won't be ready 'til early January, which, of course, means that we can't get settled 'til then. It's not the end of the world, but it is a little annoying.
I'll definitely be thinking on it though. 
Asian Flank Steak
from: someone on the Glitter Board
Ingredients
4 1/2 cups (19 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
4 1/2 tsps (3/4 oz) baking powder
2 cups (16 oz) dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
3/4 cup (5 1/4 oz) vegetable oil
1 1/4 cup (10 oz) milk
3 large peaches, unpeeled, diced (or 3 cups small whole berries or other fruit, diced)
Granulated sugar or cinnamon sugar
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, brown sugar, allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Whisk until brown sugar is evenly distributed and there are no lumps. In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, beat eggs, vegetable oil, and milk together, then stir into dry ingredients. Gently stir in the fruit. Grease 16 muffin cups and heap the batter into the cups; they'll be very full. Sprinkle the tops with granulated sugar. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from the oven, let cool for 5 minutes on a rack, then turn out of the pans to finish cooling.
Nutritional Info (1 muffin(
340 cal, 11 g fat, 5g protein, 27g sugar, 2 g dietary fiber
from: 96
Ingredients
1 (1 1/2-pound) lean flank steak
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup minced fresh mint
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons minced peeled gingerroot
2 tablespoons minced seeded jalapeño pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
Vegetable cooking spray
1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
Directions
Trim fat from steak. Combine steak and next 6 ingredients (steak through garlic) in a large heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag. Seal bag, and marinate in refrigerator 8-12 hours, turning bag occasionally. Remove steak from bag, reserving marinade.
Prepare grill or broiler. Place steak on grill rack or broiler pan coated with cooking spray, and cook 8 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Cut steak diagonally across the grain into thin slices; thread steak slices on skewers, if desired. Set aside, and keep warm.
Pour reserved marinade through a sieve into a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at high 1 minute or until marinade boils. Steam green beans, covered, 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add green beans and tomatoes to hot marinade; toss gently to coat. Serve with steak.
Nutritional Info (1/6 recipe, 3 oz. steak, 1 cup grean bean mixture(
CALORIES 252 (45% from fat); FAT 12.6g (sat 5.3g, mono 5.2g, poly 0.5g); PROTEIN 23.3g; CARB 11.5g; FIBER 2.8g; CHOL 57mg; IRON 3.4mg; SODIUM 338mg; CALC 53mg;
It's Over
I'm sooo glad that the election is over. Most of you can agree (whether you like the outcome or not) that it's good that it's over … and that it didn't drag out too long. I was soooo sick of the ads. We had a really nasty senate campaign out here and I'm sooo glad that's over. Continue reading “It's Over”
Real Estate Dealings
Well … it's been a bit of a roller coaster. Last night, our agent called us to tell us that they had gotten two offers yersterday. Ours, and another. We were first, so they gave us a counter offer. We accepted their counter offer. This morning, before the official paperwork could go through, though while we were still pretty happy over “getting the house,” they recinded their offer and took a second offer from the other people. We had the chance to counter, but we decided to walk instead.
I was kinda upset at first, but now I'm pretty much at peace with the whole decision. We'll find another house. Huge city. Lotsa houses. And, as my pep talk goes, it'll be better, cheaper, and in a better location. It will.
Aaaaah!
Well … we put an offer on a house today. It's a little freaky, honestly. Sort of one of those things that I'm really excited and scared about all put together.
The house is a fairy new one (a little less than 10 years old) southwest of Denver. It's a pretty area, sort of in the foothills and it's got nice views. It's a two-story with three bedrooms and a finished basement. One of its best features is its kitchen which is quite large. It's easily workable for 5 or more people and it's got nice appliances.
Since it's empty already we got a pretty good price on it and we'll be able to move in (assuming they accept our offer) in about two weeks. I can't believe how fast it's happening!!