2012 Chicago Blackhawk Stanley Cup Champions

As a Chicagoan I grew up loving 4 things. The Sox, The Bulls, Da Bears, and of course The Blackhawks. This past year our amazing team defeated the Boston Bruins in 6 games to win the Stanley Cup! 

The season ended middle of summer due to a lockout, which made for perfect weather during the Blackhawks' Parade and Rally!

If felt like the entire city of Chicago was at the Parade, there were fans EVERYWHERE.

The streets were packed for blocks on end!

Our Group in the MIDDLE of Madison Street

This guy was trying to get a better view by climbing on a pole!

My good friends Shana and Bobby

I love my city!

GO HAWKS!!

Chicago's Red Line Holiday Train!!

If you've ever been to Chicago you've probably seen the El Trains. The El, standing for elevated, is one of the most popular forms of transportation in the city. Every year, during the holidays, the city runs the Holiday Train. The holiday train is sure to turn the grumpiest scrooges into happy, holiday fun loving people. The interior of the trains are decked out with lights, bows, and garland. The cars are pumped with the scent of cinnamon and gum drops. The hand poles are transformed into candy canes and Santa Clause even rides on an open-air flatcar, waving to passerby-ers. Everyone who rides the Holiday Train has a smile on their face, it's inevitable!

Me and Santa

There he goes, off to the next stop!

That's not Starbucks in that cup!

Outside of the holiday train 

My best bud, Veronica's the one who took me for a Holiday Train/Birthday ride!

We're so happy!

What we saw when the train pulled up

Even the seats are cute!

I don't know who wouldn't love the holiday train! <3 <3 <3

The Zeus Burger Recipe

Growing up Greek/Italian in America, my mom was always creating new food creations. She's an amazing cook and is constantly inspiring me. My uncle told me about this great idea he had for a Greek Burger, he said, why don't we put Saganaki on a burger? BRILLIANT

To make the Saganaki you'll need...

(1 serving)
1 Slab of Kasseri Cheese  (1/2" thick)
1 Cup Flour
2 Cups Metaxa (or Brandy)
4 Tbsp Butter or Oil
2 Lemons
Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Salt

Season both sides of the cheese with salt and pepper. Place the cheese in a shallow dish and cover with Metaxa. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. Season the flour with salt and pepper. Remove the cheese from the plan, reserving 1/4 cup of the brandy and dredge in the seasoned flour, coating completely. In a large saute pan over medium heat, melt the butter (or oil if you prefer). Pan fry the cheese for 2 minutes on each side. Add the reserved Metaxa and carefully flame the liquor, shaking the pan back and forth several times. Top off with lemon juice.

To make the burger you'll need...

(makes 4 patties)
1 1/2 lbs Lean Ground Beef
1/2 Onion, Finely Chopped
1 Clover Garlic, Minced
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tsp Dried Parsley
1 Tsp Dried Basil
1 Tsp Dried Oregano
1 Egg
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Preheat your grill on high. In a large bowl mix together the ground beef, onions, garlic, parsley, basil, oregano, egg, and salt and pepper. Form into patties. Grill for 5 minutes per side. Once your burger is done cooking, put it between 2 buns and place the Saganaki on top, with a side of tzatziki sauce.

To make the Tzatziki Sauce you'll need...

*forewarning: This recipe takes 3 hours so you'll want to start with this first or make the sauce the day before*

(Makes 3.5 cups)

3 Cups Greek yogurt (also called Yogurt Cheese, see below for alternative **)

Juice of 1 Lemon

1 Garlic Clove, Minced

1 Large Cucumber, Diced

1 Tbsp Salt

1 Tbsp Fresh Dill

1 Tbsp Fresh Mint (if you like mint, otherwise you can leave this out)

Salt & Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Put diced cucumbers into a colander and sprinkle with 1 tbsp of salt, which will help to draw out all of the water. Cover with a plate and sit something heavy on top. Let sit for 30 min, drain well, and wipe dry with paper towel.

In a food processor add cucumber, garlic, lemon juice, dill and/or mint and a few grinds of pepper. Process until well blended, then stir in yogurt. Taste before adding any extra salt. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving so flavors can blend.

This will keep for a few days in the refrigerator, but you will need to drain off any water and stir each time you use it.

** If you can’t find the thicker Greek Yogurt Cheese, you can use regular, plain yogurt that is either full fat or low fat. To thicken, spoon yogurt into cheese cloth that has been quadrupled. Draw the corners of the cloth up and tie together. Suspend above a bowl for 2 hours so that water can drip out. The consistency of the yogurt should be like that of sour cream.

Now Enjoy!!

Worlds Best Guacamole Recipe

I love guacamole so much! I love everything about it. A couple years ago while in Puerto Vallarta I learned how to make the best guac ever. The recipe is very simple, so simple that I would often be found making it at my desk at work. I think the trick to great guac is by tweaking your recipe and going more off taste than exact measuring amounts.

You'll need...

1 Avocado
1/4 of an Onion
1 Small Tomato
1 Small Jalapeno
10 stalks of Cilantro
1 Juicy Lime
Garlic Powder
Salt

Start by cutting your avocado in half, the long way. Remove the pit. The best way to do this is by carefully striking the pit with the sharp edge of your knife. Once you do this, put the pit to the side, as you'll be needing it later. A lot of restaurants put all their ingredients in a food processor to speed up the guac making process, but I like mine to be chunky so I recommend cubing it.

Cut into the avocado lengthwise at even intervals. Next, cut into the avocado at a 90 degree angle using even  intervals again to create a crosshatch pattern. Then scoop out the contents into a bowl.

Next chop up your tomato, onion and cilantro and add it to the bowl and stir in. The cut your lime in half and add half the juice to your mixture. Sprinkle the top with salt and garlic powder, to taste and mix. Now, if you like some heat to you guac go ahead and add the jalapeno. Again everything should be to taste. At this point you may need to add more salt, garlic, or lime juice. Keep adding small amounts until you've got it just how you like it!

Now that your guac is ready, have some fun with it. There are so many other variations you can do. Add corn, a little bit of sour cream, or even some cumin. The possibilities are endless!

MOOSEstang RIP 2002-2012

What a HORRIBLE HORRIBLE day.

It started out like any other day. Got up, went to work, laughed, got ready to leave for the day and go back to the city, but on this day I decided I should go get some gas before getting onto the highway. BIG MISTAKE! After I filled up the gas tank (my poor car has always had a problem with anorexia as she was always on empty) I headed back to the ramp for the highway. I was patiently waiting to turn left, when the traffic heading West stopped at the light. There was a gap for me to turn and a gentleman in a huge truck waved me through...

Did I mention that it was a beautiful day? Sun was shining, top was down, and I was a blasting my music - perfect day for sitting in traffic. Like I said traffic was stopped and I was just waved through. As I made my turn I looked to my right and that's when I saw it - a car barreling towards my beloved Mustang. Within seconds it was over. The car struck my front passenger side wheel well and sent me flying into a car waiting to turn onto the main street.

The crash sounds still haunts me.

After about 10 seconds I realized what happened and I unbuckled my seat belt and dragged myself out of the car. My last car blew up (you can read the post HERE) and so I was afraid this one would do the same. I was lying on the ground trying to comprehend everything that just happened when I was surrounded with people telling me not to get up. I WAS IN SHOCK! "Ma'am, don't get up an ambulance is on their way! Ma'am please, ma'am stay, MA'AM!" All I wanted to do was get up. I knew I wasn't paralyzed, I just let myself out of the car. I just wanted to get up.

Eventually the ambulance showed up. Multiple times I declined to get treatment, but they didn't listen to me. I was pissed and wanted to get up, but no... apparently my option didn't matter because before I knew it I was being strapped into a gurney. This is when I started to be a jack ass (I'm told I was being funny).

I told the cute paramedics I was fine, I let myself out of the car because my last one blew up, I was not ejected like the other people told me. They said it looked like my seat belt was intact was I wearing one? Um yes, that's why it took me so long to get out of the car! Then as they were wrapping up my leg (complete bloody mess from the steering wheel) I told them I'm glad I'm actually wearing underwear today. They were dying. Oh and did I mention that this entire time I continued to tell them to let me out and that I didn't want treatment?! I continued to tell them I was fine. They told me I was not fine and proceeded to yell at me

All of a sudden, I couldn't remember my mom's phone number! This is the same number I've had my ENTIRE life and I couldn't remember it. So I started texting my friends that I needed help and to call my mom, of course the paramedics were yelling at me about being on my phone. Ma'am Can you please put your phone down. Ma'am! UGH I was so annoyed.

I eventually got to the hospital and the doctor told me I was fine to go, I just needed to take care of my leg. Thankfully my Bestie Shana came to pick me up and take me home. What a mess!

Two days later I received a picture of the car from my uncle :(

Before Pic - Moose Happy in the Snow

She was such a bad ass!

After... Back looks fine!

:( My poor baby! 

Compassion International

I was sitting at work, reading a blog TheNester.com when I heard about Compassion International. This story, Decorating Truths From a 10 Year Old Boy, story brought me to tears. It was so beautiful that before I knew it, I was on their website looking for a child to sponsor. I've always been drawn to books on Africa, so I decided I needed to find a child from Rwanda. That's when I found my girl Niyogushiwa. She was waiting over 180 days for a sponsor, so I knew she was perfect for me. Isn't she the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?!

<3 I love her so much! <3

At my grandmother's 95th birthday, my mom thought it would be fun if we took a picture with all the ladies and a hello sign for Niyogushimwa.

Here I am holding my first letter from Niuogushimwa and her family!  

Lisa, Donna, Me, Grandma, Carol, Mommy, Kathy, Cindy, and Carol down below

A little bit about Niyogushimwa...

A little bit about Rwanda...

My Girl! <3

My First Letter

For more information on sponsoring your own child, check out Compassion International. And thanks to The Nester for bringing this beautiful girl into my life! <3 <3 <3

Run a mile... or 13.1

Around January, my best friend Shana suggested we run a half marathon. Shana's a regular runner and I was the complete opposite. The only time I ran was... never. She convinced me that we would be able to do this and that if I ran every day I would be able to run the 13.1 miles required. Shana also knew that I wanteed to lose some weight, so I decided okay! I'm gonna do this!

The first day running Shana had to practically push my ass to run a mile and I think it took about 37 minutes, but I did it. So I continued to run every couple days. Everyone kept telling me that I would start to love it and soon I would be addicted. For once in my life I was dedicated, but at no point did I ever start to get that feeling. Every day I continued to hate running, more and more and more. On top of that the girls at work said I looked like Tarzans wife after each of my afternoon runs. I was huffing and puffying, my face was red, and I couldn't even breathe.

Then my life had a change at the end of March, I broke up with my boyfriend and on top of that I decided 2 days later I was going to move out of my moms house and head downtown! That's when the running stopped. OOPS! and I started to forget that I needed to be running 3 miles consistantly, so that I could start pushing the limits. Well that went out the window.

Fast forward to July 22 the day of the Rock-N-Roll half marathon, well actually fast forward to the day before. Veronica, my best work friend who also decided to run with us, asked if I was actually going to show up? Of course I'm going to go! I'm dedicated to showing up and attempting this stupid run. That night Shana and I went out to Japonais with my exboyfriend and his friends.

Prepping for tomorrow's marathon!

Thankfully Shana and I were serious about the next mornings run and we went to bed at a reasonable hour... 2:30AM! Oh and did I mention that Shana was broken and unable to run even a mile because of bad knees? When we got home the door me couldn't believe that we were going to attempt to run 13.1 miles in 3 hours! I got up with a bit of a struggle. I dragged Shana's ass out of bed and we left without breakfast or even going to the bathroom (bad move on our parts!). At 5:30 AM I was hip hopping around the lobby of my building waiting for a cab.

Best part of our cab ride... watching all the people out, leaving the clubs/bars

Eventually we found out numbers, but not Veronica.

It was too late to look for her because the race was off...

Shana and I ran about half a mile, when we decided to slow down the pace to a walk. Around the half way mark Shana and I were complaining about our need for using the bathroom, how hungry and slightly drunk we were. So we did the only logical thing we could think of... We went to Duncan Donuts!

Thanks to my best friend Haider, who created this great picture.

 Now in my own defense all I had was a banana and a poweraid. Then Shana and I started wandering back to the starting line, but before that we stopped off at The Bean.

After relaxing a bit, Shana and I decided to go to the finish line to find Veronica. We decided that we would run in the last half mile with her. This is when the most exciting part of my day happened. Shana and I were observing all the runners headed toward the finish line, amazed at the drive and determination in each of their faces. We also observed the different gaits and outfits of all the people. That's when Shana saw something amazing... a man in spandex. She must have been staring for a while because as he passed us he said, "I saw that!" I looked at Shana puzzled. She said she was thinking about why this man was in spandex and as a result she was staring at his short shorts... he thought she was staring at something else (HAHA Shana's a pervert!).

Before we knew it, Veronica was coming down the path! I was so excited, Shana and I jumped back into the race to cheer her on. She said she was in a lot of pain and wanted to give up, so she's glad we found her when we did. Can I just say, I AM SO PROUD OF HER! She ran thirteen point one miles! Fucking rediculous!!

Veronica, Shana, and Me

Our matching shoes!

But wait... there's beer! 

CHAMPION OF THE DAY!