Paint Job Well Done

These floors have been driving Dana nuts. I think they look
"industrial" with chipped paint. But these solid brown floors are
much better.

Painted Into the Bathroom

I had the day off today and I had the opportunity to do something we've been wanting to do for MONTHS... re-paint our floors. When we moved in to this apartment, we had the carpet pulled up because hard floors are just better for us for various reasons. They're easier to keep clean, easier to get around on, and when they're not all chipped up and they're in all their "Coffeebean" rich glory, they actually look really good!

We're pretty rough on them, though, with a wheelchair and three pets and all. I guess I'm the "and all!"

I started in our bedroom, then painted the floor in the living room and the dining room. The whole time, Michael was working in the office. Then I painted the office. So.... he was relegated to the bathroom.

He's still in there, working. Poor thing!

I told him to "look like he likes it," this is what I got:

I better get started on dinner. The floors look great, don't they? Brokaw has coffeebean brown paws now.

These Adorable Moments

Sometimes our pets are a handful. With two dogs somebody always wants
attention. But when they snuggle up to sleep they can be truly adorable.

I Gotta Go to da Sto!

I am vigilant about not running out of stuff. Check it out. It's time to go to the grocery store!!! I'm headed there NOW. I stayed at work long to stall so my honey won't have to be working when I get home (I am spoiled and used to his undivided attention!) Now, it's 4pm, and I feel like I have the blog sufficiently caught up, so I'm going to Wegmans, dropping off the dry cleaning, and I'm going home to kiss that face!

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and President Obama are appearing together in the Rose Garden this afternoon.... and believe it or not, even though I think Sarkozy is the cutest world leader (I'm a sucker for curly hair, what can I say?) I'd still rather be home with my guy, or grocery shopping, than hanging in the Rose Garden and sitting in rush hour traffic for hours this evening! Sounds cynical, doesn't it? Geez! I don't mean to be that way. Sorry, I'm rambling...

Tomorrow, Lord willing, I'll have some food pictures to show you. And a little tease... not MY cooking, but HIS! That's right. I will shame all the other husbands out there.

Nighty night.

Mmmmm, I love this man...

especially with a clean shave. Makes it even harder to leave in the morning when my goodbye kiss comes from that smooth, clean, fresh smelling face. Okay, I better stop.

Spring Has Sprung!

Woot, woot! Check out this tree that's in our court yard. You know what? If Mike had not pointed it out to me, I seriously would have never noticed it!

That's one of my FAVORITE things about him! He's totally a "stop and smell the roses" kind of guy, and I'm such a "Roses? What roses? Oh, those back there?" kind of girl. Sometimes, it gets on my nerves :)

But... when I'm in the right frame of mind and I take the time to look back at the little things he notices, I fall in love with him all over again.

Our Daily Bread

A couple of weeks ago I noticed I had gained a couple of pounds, so I didn't make any homemade bread that weekend.

And for the following week.... I was CRAZY craving it! And I realized how it seriously limited our breakfast options. So, last week, I was back at the baking, in a big way!

And you know what... those few pounds I had gained, are now actually gone again. Point of the story: I bake like a monk, my husband says, and I don't plan on stopping any time soon.

Note: This week, I did buy my first loaf of store bought bread this year, and I've actually been enjoying it!

Shopping Days!

One of my (Dana) favorite past times is, like any girl, shopping! I haven't done much of it (other than groceries or household essentials) since we got married, though, because we are living on a budget.

This month, though, I had a couple of good excuses to shop, so it's been fun!

This was my expression as I dropped the dogs off to be groomed and I went shopping for dresses for the correspondents dinners.

Brokaw and Princess weren't as amused. On my first shopping trip, I spent all day walking around Tyson's Corner with my good friend, Becky.
Here's a little scoop on that shopping day: Becky did not buy that yellow number above. Thank God, or she would have looked like little bird. And we may or may not have used the handicapped parking hang tag to park at the mall because Becky may or may not have been temporarily disabled by a little-too-intense spinning class instructor that morning before we ate Thai (shout out Ann) for lunch.

I actually struck out that day, then found a blue dress at TJ Maxx and ended up chickening out the night of the Radio Television Correspondents' Dinner and wore a dress I've had for a few years. I'll probably take the blue dress back to TJ Maxx and get something else :) I am my mother's daugther, bigtime!

Look at this pic, I am so short.

My whole point in this post was going to be about how Michael is like my life line when I'm trying to choose a dress for an occasion like this or a new suit for work. But.... my iPhone can't find a connection in here and the pictures I was going to post to tell that part of the story (I'm a TV producer, people, I think in images!) won't load. Grr.

I guess you'll just have to trust me. M gives good fashion advice and his compliments make me feel like a million bucks! This morning, I left for work with no makeup on and he made it a point to tell me how beautiful I was! That, my friends, is love.

Work News

The last month really has been insane because I've (Dana) been working SO MUCH.
I follow this guy's every move.And it turns out, well with passing health care and all, that he's been really, really busy. May I shamelessly self promote here? You can follow my work blog here.

And then there's this guy.

David Brody and I are doing a new show called The Brody File. We like to call it "Meet the Press with a dash of Comedy Central and a sprinkling of Jesus." More shamless self promotion, here.

Also, I've been doing some work in front of the camera! This is a change for me, because for the past 11 years, I've been behind the camera. So, it's a bit of a stretch for me, but it's been so much fun!! When I was a kid, my best friend Courtney and I used to make goofy videos all the time. Now, I'm being paid to do that, and that's crazy, right?

Okay, done with plugs for my work. :)

Seriously, though, working SO MUCH and SO HARD over the last month has been good for me. I know I am doing what God made me to do and I am absolutely thrilled to get up every morning (okay, that part's a stretch) and go to do a job that I love to do. I know many people don't enjoy that blessing, and I am VERY thankful for it!

Really, I'm done now!

Now, I'm going to plug Mike's work! He landed a gig as a web guy for Elk Remodeling, a local company. He is managing the company's website and social networking, along with balancing a full load of school work and other projects. Busy guy!! We're still adjusting to our new roles, but thankful to have the work. Thank you, LORD!

I Can't Believe This Was 6 Months Ago!

Worst Picture Ever

It's Dana.
Yes, I'm still alive. I'm embarrassed that it's been so long since I've posted anything to this blog.


About a month ago, I started producing a new show at work, and my life got a lot busier! I didn't know that was possible, but apparently it was and I am now running around crazier than a chicken with its head cut off (whoa! what a disturbing picture, I've never thought about that!)


I always feel like I can't move on unless I'm caught up, so... humor me as I browse my March 2010 pictures to jog my memory.


MARCH 6TH MICHAEL AND I CELEBRATED OUR 6 MONTH ANNIVERSARY!!!!!! We ate out at TGI Friday's. We eat out rarely, so it was a treat. We got one of those fabulous deals where you get an appetizer, an entree and a desert for some ridiculously great price. I don't even remember now, but I do remember eating fried green beans and having lots of leftovers. It was a nice celebration!


And, we took the absolute worst picture together that we've ever taken. Seriously. Look at it! We are both pretty photogenic people, not that I'm trying to brag or anything, but just look at this horrible picture (and this is actually re-touched!)
We look exhausted! ("we" read: me)

Rise and Shine

Some mornings we have to get up so early that we just need a nap to make it through. Having a snuggle buddy helps.

Rainy Days and Mondays

I guess my mom is to blame for my knowledge of slow '70s songs. We listened to the easy listening or Christian music stations when I was growing up. Songs by Barry Manilow, Neil Diamond and --yes-- the Carpenters, were staples on the playlist. This morning Dana was leaving and had to peel herself away. Rainy Days and Mondays are the perfect excuse to stay home. There's nothing like a chilly rainy morning or the first morning after a nice weekend to make us wish we were back in bed, cozy and sleeping.

Creativity and Frugality

One of Dana's favorite bloggers is the Frugal Girl. She has been inspired to cut back and be creative. As regular followers know, Dana cooks a lot. What started as a way to save has become Dana's creative outlet. She bakes like a monk and cooks wonderful meals. Most of them are from Wegman's or Every Day w/ Rachael Ray. And I LOVE it!

So, this morning, we had leftover skillet-grilled peppers and mushrooms from our pizza (note, that was fresh, from scratch, homemade pizza, including the crust) in the fridge. Dana decided she'd throw together breakfast burritos since she had that sitting around. How great!

So, Dana has her creative outlet because she started being more frugal. It reminds me of that saying, "Necessity is the mother of invention." I think of soul food (you know we loves us some soul food), quilting, and so many excellent traditions the same way. Just having leftovers sitting around that need to be used leads to something so very gratifying.

A lot to learn...

Hi, friends! So, as you can see from the plethora of food pictures on this blog, I am quite into cooking! This post is to let you in on a little secret... I'm not perfect! As if my experience week before last about how we were reduced to eating Hamburger Helper weren't bad enough... I have a couple of updates for you.

1. I do not know how to make a roux. I was following this recipe last weekend to make Chicken & Sausage Gumbo. I had all 3,000 of the ingredients perfectly laid out on the counter, ready to go... when I started mixing my flour in my oil... and ended up with a substance that looked like bisquick. I was crazy nervous, googling pictures of roux, and not seeing anything that I had going on in my stock pot, which may I mention, I couldn't even STIR because it was so thick. So, what did I do? I ADDED A STICK OF BUTTER. Yeah, Paula Deen would be proud. Too bad... several steps later in the recipe... I saw that I was to add TWO CARTONS of Chicken Stock... so... yeah... we ended up with what was more like Gumbo soup than real gumbo.

2. I do not know how to freeze and thaw bread dough. So, I was trying to be all frugal/practical/awesome and I froze a loaf of bread dough to bake this past weekend. I followed the instructions that came up in my Google search, but my dough didn't appear to rise all the way... and it kind of looks like it got sick on itself. That's because I didn't wrap it tightly enough, and it kind of spilled out of the plastic wrap.. So, yeah...

I am happy to report, however, that both were/are very tasty!

I was able to redeem myself this weekend with Paula Deen's Chicken Spaghetti. I thought I'd be able to link to it, but I got it from her magazine, which I guess they don't post online. I guess that makes sense if they're trying to get you to buy the magazine.

That's pretty much what we've been living off of for the past two weeks! I am literally finishing up the Chicken Spaghetti for lunch today. Yummy! Tonight, Salmon. I don't know how, but I'll come up with something! :)