Where have I been?

Celebrating the Awesome TD's PhD graduation

I had a blast with TD and his family


I also had a work meeting in DC last Tues-Wed and a conference in NC for my new job at the beginning of the week.

And now we are in full-on PACKING mode for our BOS-FL-TX move. We pick up the truck on Monday morning and the movers come to load it in the afternoon. Tuesday morning we close on our sale and hit the road. Whew--no holiday weekend for us!

Welcome dinner - The Salt Lick

We were so excited to have our welcome dinner at the Salt Lick. Because we had so many people attending the wedding from out of town, it was great to kick things off on Friday night. TD's family did a lovely job of hosting--there was even all local alcohol!

Becker Vineyards, Lone Star and Shiner Bock!

Awesome wildflower centerpieces in a boot

We didn't do favors at the wedding, just these goody bags: Sweetleaf tea, Lammes Pralines, a clementine tangerine, Advil, and a custom map with list of things to do.

The PIT!

All of my grad school pals arrived

Mingling before dinner is served

My Auntie and I...these East Coast gals love to pull out the boots!

My Dad with D and Best Man - they were a hoot, and came prepared with props for their toast. I can't wait to hang out with them again!

All the Cousins from 'sota

with the adorable Baby J

Chatting with Boston pals

The awesome bbq - we love family style!

Cheers!

Congrats to Dr. D!!

Well, TD finally did it--he filed his dissertation on Wednesday! I am so proud. I am off this evening to CA to celebrate and attend his graduation. TD's mom, Sis and her family are coming out. It's MIL's first time to visit. Plus, tomorrow a grad school friend is getting married in Napa. Happy Times!

This doesn't really describe the awesome TD, but I thought this comic was pretty funny. Thankfully no more dissertations for us, now we just have to get tenure!

Cleansing & Fasting

I have done fasts before as a way of jumpstarting healthy eating. Rather than a tool to lose weight, fasting gives your body a break from processing food. This is what I will be doing this week:

Monday: Fruit and light vegetarian dinner
Tuesday-Thursday: Master cleanse juice fast
Friday: Fruit and light vegetarian dinner
Saturday: back to regular eating

Menu monday

I am SO PROUD of TD! He filed his dissertation today and left for CA. He'll be there for a week and I will join him on Friday for graduation along with the rest of his family. We are going to have a fun time!

Since I am flying solo this week and because I ate TONs of rich food while my sis was here, I am taking it easy for meals this week. I'll be finishing up some leftovers that we have in the fridge, and doing a few days of the Master Cleanse (juice fast). This is something I enjoy doing every now and then, but its difficult to do when TD is here and expects to be fed.

My Sis!

Continuing the break in wedding posting, but my Sis and her BF arrive later tonight. I am SO EXCITED!

Her BF is a big Red Sox fan, so for his birthday Sis surprised him with a trip to Boston and tickets to see the Sox play the Yankees. I am so excited to get to see them.

Not sure yet what is on the schedule for their visit, although we will definitely be eating at Neptune Oyster, getting canolis in the North End, and checking out campus.

Other spots I think they will enjoy include the Arnold Arboretum, Museum of Contemporary Art, and Harpoon or Sam Adam's breweries. They will be here for three nights. I'll have lots of pics to post next week!

Healthy food for busy folks

Given our busy lives, I find that one of the best ways to get TD and I to eat more fruits and veggies is to be sure that things are prepped and ready to go in the fridge. This also help to ensure that the veggies I buy at the store get eaten before they spoil. Each evening when we come home, veggies for each meal can be quickly steamed or tossed into whatever is cooking.

When I come home from the grocery store, part of putting groceries away is to wash and chop fruits and veggies. Since I read this article in the NY Times, I've also started marinating some of the veggies with olive oil, salt, garlic powder, cumin and cayenne.

Here's what we have on board this week: strawberries, zucchini, red bell peppers, green beans, and broccoli (not shown).

RF O'Sullivan's--Saturday night burgers

I was very happy when I found out that THE BEST burger place in the Boston area is less than a mile from my house, and conveniently located between work and home. Last Saturday, as a reward for working all day, TD and I decided to go here on the way home. We invited a few friends to come, and just like that a fun evening was planned. Too bad I didn't get any picks of the food, but trust me, its awesome. I recommend the Black and Blue.  Mmm!

Menu Monday

Bleargh---We are on a water boil advisory, and have been so since Saturday night. We are even supposed to use boiled water to wash our hands and to wash dishes. This is a big pain in the ass. We aren't really following this and hoping that the dishwasher sanitizes things.Thankfully Cambridge is not on the same water system, so we will have regular water at work tomorrow.

Also, it was 85 yesterday. This means that it was 85 in our house. This plus no water, led to a headache, which made me very grumpy. I pretty much sat on the couch all day yesterday and dreamed about when we will have central AC. ...Soon!

Thankfully I went to the store on Friday, so we at least have something to eat this week. Although I realized I didn't buy enough fruit or veg, so I will have to stop by on Tuesday.

Sunday: Leftovers
Monday: Pot roast with smashed potatoes and zucchini
Tuesday: sausage wraps, sweet potato fries, green salad
Wednesday: Tofu with sweet potato and broccoli and miso vinaigrette
Thursday: Pasta carbonara with green salad
Friday: Neptune Oyster with my Sis and her BF! Yay!
Saturday: bean burritos with green salad