March Snow Day!

1. The above is what I woke up to on Wednesday morning. Ten inches of fresh snow… which promptly started to melt by noon, when it was already 40 degrees. What crazy weather! Did anyone else get a snow day this week? I’m thinking that should be the last go-round Pittsburgh has with snow this year, so if it’s done snowing, I say bring on the warm weather!

2. Thanks to everyone for all of the well wishes last week; my cold has officially been eradicated and I’m feeling much better! I didn’t waste much time once my taste buds returned; my first “real” meal once I was feeling better was a favorite – Japanese Pan Noodles (and a snickerdoodle) from Noodles & Co.!

3. I’m spending a couple of hours at the hospital this morning while my mom has a quick outpatient procedure done. The last time I accompanied her to the hospital was for her gallbladder surgery back in October, and I asked for recommendations on a tote bag. You all came through big-time! Thanks to your recommendations, my sister got me the medium zip top canvas tote from Lands’ End for Christmas (LOVE it!), and I filled it with magazines and snacks to keep me busy this morning. You all rock, thank you for the suggestions!

4. My mom got her dog, Bella (a black lab/greyhound mix), as a rescue back in 2000 when she was only a year old. Thanks to some savvy math, we figured out that Bella is turning 100 (or thereabouts) in dog years this month! I think we’re going to have a little mini celebration for her this weekend :)  Here she is, photobombing Einstein in his reindeer antlers over the holidays and enjoying the Christmas tree:

Bella

5. For Valentine’s Day, I got my Chief Culinary Consultant a PlayStation Move motion controller, along with the new MLB The Show video game on pre-order. The game came on Tuesday and we promptly played multiple rounds of home run derby using the controllers. Fast forward to Wednesday early morning when I woke up with excruciating pain in my midsection and around my rib cage. We were on the verge of a trip to the hospital in 10 inches of snow when the pain finally subsided. Then, I remembered… The game. The violent swinging motion. Given how sore my entire back, sides, abs and shoulders have been since, I’m pretty sure I experienced some severe muscle spasms. From a video game. I’m super lame.

6. I got an email this week that Brown Eyed Baker is a finalist in the About.com Readers’ Choice Awards for Best Food Blog (along with some other fabulous sites!). Thank you if any of you nominated BEB! If you’d like to cast a vote, follow that link above – voting is open until March 19th!

7. I’ve seen links to this article a few times in the last week and finally read it… good stuff! 22 Things Happy People Do Differently

8. I’m happy to report that my Chief Culinary Consultant and I have finally settled on a new TV show to watch. Last Saturday night while I was still in couch recovery mode, we made some popcorn and queued up the season premiere of The Americans OnDemand. We loved it and proceeded to watch all four new episodes within 24 hours. If you haven’t seen it yet and like shows like Homeland, definitely give it a try!

9.  I’ve been drowning in the land of spreadsheets when it comes to bookkeeping, which has made tax time for the last two years an absolute nightmare. A couple of weeks ago, Kristen from Dine & Dish shared a blog post about an online accounting system called FreshBooks. I finally set things up yesterday and from what I can tell so far, it is going to make bookkeeping and taxes so much simpler! Definitely check it out if you’re in the market for an easy-to-use accounting system.

10. TGIF! Bottoms up!

Source: Attack of the Cute

Source: Attack of the Cute