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Marvelously Motivated

Posted on December 15, 2014 by kissmybroccoli

Hello there, loverlies!

I hope you all had a fun and exciting weekend! Ya know, while I was at the hospital working my bum off! Ha, well actually, I did more of working OUTSIDE my little lead-lined x-ray walls, but not all over the last two days. I’m not really sure what’s gotten into me lately but I seem to have a bit of the spring cleaning bug…quite the opposite of my seasonal hermit history…and while my house was never really dirty (pay no attention to the mound of laundry in the corner over there), my to-do list wuzzzz getting pretty horrendous. 😯

Perhaps you guys remember me complaining about my little broken garage door here?…here?…or maybe here? Well, how abouts I FINALLY fixed it! Ok, ok, so I called someone to come fix it FOR me but whatevs. The really exciting news issss…

Elvira doesn’t have to sleep outside anymore! 😀

True story: on the very same day I had the “garage door dude” out, I also had the “heater man” over to fix a part that went bad LAST winter, AND my “handy dandy daddy” to handle the rest…which was scraping out the final remains of Sir Squeaks No More (yeah, I went there) from the pantry light fixture and putting in a brand new (and very bright) LED light in the pantry! To celebrate this GSD (getting shit done) moment, I had one more fingerful of peanut butter in the pantry for old time’s sake. 😉

But I didn’t stop there!

Since I could finally get my garage door UP, I took advantage of the fabulous (for December) weather we’ve been having and got one HELL of a workout in!

I’m pretty sure what they really mean by Husqvarna is “husky ya won’t be much longer”! Trust me, it’s been two days and I’m still having muscle aches. And yes, I’m pretty sure I’m the only crazy person mowing her lawn in sweats, fleece, and mittens. Ha!

Of course, it could also have been the weed eating, sweeping of the front porch, back porch, driveway, and three MILES of sidewalk (I embellish only so much) paired with an impromptu trip to Lowe’s for weed eater string (wow, is that really the best name we can come up with?) that could’ve done me in. But hey, it was another mark off the
to-do list!

Git ‘er donnnnnnne! <- Omg, WHY did I just say that?!? 😯

Anyway, look at all the shit I’ve been meaning to buy but haven’t for the last umm…year?!! Yep, I fixed (glued) a broken gutter, replaced a dryer vent, installed a new back porch light, changed the AC filter, swapped out a ratty ass welcome mat with a shiny one, AND then I spent the rest of the night entertaining Elvira with my best Uncle Fester impression. 😉

Ha, like there was any energy left for entertaining! It took all the get up and go I had left to operate the Xbox controls for a night of Netflixing: 1. The act of watching an entire season of a show in one season. 2. A total valid excuse for avoiding social obligations.

Also? Best when paired with wine and popcorn!

And for the record, The Carrie Diaries was so, like, last week. I’ve since moved on to season THREE of Switched at Birth…and now, yet again considering taking signing lessons somewhere. I wanna look like a ninja when I talk!

Be sure to check out all the MARVELOUS things going on in and around Divaland today! I hope you all have a fantastic start to the week! I have big plans…HUGE! And they start AND END with a lonnnnnnnnnnng soak in a tub of espsom salt! 😉

Am I the only one out there hopping around like a spring rabbit?

What’s your favorite Netflixing/at home movie snack?

Posted in MIMM, Randomness | Tagged chores, Elvira, Netflixing, popcorn, wine, winter | 9 Comments

A Blushing Broccoli

Posted on December 12, 2014 by kissmybroccoli

You Gaaaaaaaaah-EYES!!!! 😀

I just finished reading through all the beautiful comments left on my blog birthday post and I’m….well, I’m just…ok, obviously I’m a little speechless at the moment. No, actually, that’s not true at all. The trouble is there are so many words running through my head right now that I’m having trouble forming complete sentences.

In the hour that it took me to read all ONE HUNDRED AND FIVE entries, I smiled, I blushed, I giggled, I laughed out loud (like really, not just when you say “lol” and in reality, your face is void of emotion…don’t say you haven’t done it), I raised my imaginary wine glass, I went to the kitchen for a glass of wine and then raised my ACTUAL wine glass, I fell back into my chair, I sighed, I clapped a hand to my chest, I muttered things to myself, and while some may have wondered what exactly was in my wine glass or if I had somehow become possessed by a sly demon with obvious good taste in host flesh, I really just felt my heart had grown so big that it would burst out of a gold frame just like the Grinch. And I immediately felt the need to write the longest run-on sentence I’ve ever written in my 1,460+ days of blogging…followed by a fragment because I know you guys also come here for grammar lessons! 😉

But seriously…I’m sorry, I always deflect to humor whenever I have to deal with unexpected emotions. The truth is, I almost cried at least twice. Good tears of course. I just feel so overwhelmed with emotion right now. So loved. So understood.

I have a confession to make.

For the last year, I’ve been seriously thinking about closing KMB’s virtual doors, especially since I’ve started posting less and less in regards to recipes. This blog has gone through many phases in these last four years and I’ve grown and changed a lot during that time. I was starting to think that maybe I’d outgrown it all. I would have days where I would sit to write and they would be painful…it would take me HOURS to type up a 500-word post, but other days, I would have so much excitement over something, that my fingers could barely keep up. Plus, the more I thought about it, the more I struggled with the emotions and connotations associated with what it would mean to me to just “give up” this whole thing. I know that I am not solely defined by my bloggerdom (ok, well that makes me feel like a princess!), but maybe I just needed a little validation…I think we all do at times…I just had to know if it all really mattered anymore.

I never expected the flood of emotions I would feel while scrolling through entries from loyal commenters, lurkers finally introducing themselves and confessing to being long-time readers, and even newbies too! Knowing that my energy and attitude come through so positively in my writing makes me bounce up and down in my chair. Knowing that many of you are doing your best to stifle giggles and/or not spit all over your computer screen while reading is just ~~icing~~ peanut butter on the ~~cake~~ brownie. But knowing that through it all, you guys really see me for ME, that’s the best part. Well, besides getting to brighten a certain someone’s day.

The winner of KMB’s 4th Birthday Giveaway issssss…

Congratulations Jess! Expect an email from me later today to collect your information so that you can soon be rolling in a pile of all these bars! 😉

I want to thank you all for entering and for literally making my day. I wish so much that I could give more than just one person something tangible to show my gratitude, but since I can’t really afford to make my way to each and every one of your homes and personally BEAR HUG YOU, these words will have to do. I hope you can feel all sincerity in my “voice” and know that I love you all so much!

Thank you.

Posted in Personal | Tagged blog birthday, blogging, real life, selfie | 22 Comments

One MARVELOUS Birthday!

Posted on December 8, 2014 by kissmybroccoli

Wake up annnnnd…

~~Smell the roses~~ BAM…you’re THIRTY!

While I’m still trying to figure out just how the hell THAT happened so fast, I have to say, I’m looking forward to the next decade of my life, especially since it was rung in in the most MARVELOUS way possible…with wine, laughter, wine, good home-cooked food, wine, great company, and…wait, did I already mention the wine? 😉

On my way out of town early Saturday afternoon (which for all practical purposes, I pretended was my birthday this year*), I stopped in at a gas station to fuel up, pee (duh), and snap a selfie in the bathroom once I noticed that my hair and makeup on POINT (rainy day curls are the best, ya know)!

But just WHERE was I headed??

Remember how I was marvelously spontaneous earlier this year ended up joining a wine club? Well, I finally got a chance to revisit Bean’s Creek Winery after ten long months and I definitely made the most out of it. Not only did I snatch up a case of some of my favorite wines (at a 25% discount I might add) but I also got to attend one of their wine tasting classes that I’ve been pining over for months!

During the class, we learned all about Riedel Wine Glass Company and how they have tailor-made glasses to enhance the flavor of certain wines. We also got to see, first hand, how a particular glasses can affect the taste of different wines and seriously, you guys, it was like magic. But the best part? I got to keep all five of my glasses!

I’m now well on my way to becoming the wine snob I’ve always hoped to be! 😉

Especially after the food pairing section of the class!

Bean's Creek Wine Tasting - Food Pairing

Clockwise from the top we have: sausage and spinach stuffed mushrooms (INcredible!), cracker topped with an herbed-caper spread and smoked salmon, almond cookie, and a cheese-wrapped grape (heaVEN!). The recipes for the mushrooms and the grapes can be found here. I loved the burlap table runner bulk in every table in the restaurant, it looks elegant! like I highly suggest you make one (or BOTH!) for your next holiday shindig because they are the shee-UT! 😉

But the birthday fun had only JUST begun!

My buzzed little booty then found itself in the middle of Foodie Mecca where it then began frolicking among the flavored coffees, internationally themed sauces, COCONUT RICE, and mysteriously flavored Greek yogurts…

Ba ba ba BAAAAAAAA! Superrrrrr TarrrrrrGET-all-my-money-out-and-hand-it-over-to-a-girl-clad-in-red.

I’m pretty sure she was an elf. Or maybe that was just the wine goggles. Regardless, I came away with quite the haul…which deserves a post all to itself so stay tuned for that!

The culmination of birthday events and excitements was set to end at the place where it all began…well, not technically since we lived in Portsmouth, VA when I came into this world, but uh…well shit, now I’ve ruined the poetic moment I had going on. Forget it.

LOOK, guys, FOOD!

Upon my request, Broccoli Mama made one of my all-time favorites: pot roast with gravy, potatoes, carrots, and biscuits…and then some green beans because she said (and I quote), “It’ll make for a prettier picture!” God, I love this woman! And not just because she makes me mouth-watering birthday dinners.

She ALSO makes my FAVORITE brownies!

There are many many things I will take over a slice of cake…but brownies are at the TOP of that list (along with cookies…but there were no cookies…at least none that I could see before being hypnotized by the scent of dark chocolate Ghiradelli brownies (with ooey gooey melty chocolate CHIPS hidden inside))…and yes, I did take the middle one! 😉

After dinner, there were ab-inducing laughs, cheers with some of the metric ton of wine I had in the car, and of course, PRESENTS!

There was also a trio of earrings that managed to escape a picture since I was already engrossed in my literary adventures. Seriously, these books were FUCKING made for me, right?! And a total surprise! The problem is I can’t seem to read more than a page or two at a time without switching books? Lol.

*Yesterday was actually my birthday, but I couldn’t get all three days of my weekend covered at work. When it came down to it, it made more sense to have Friday off so I could have all day Saturday to spend with the people I love.

If this birthday is ANY indication of how the next year is gonna go or the rest of my thirties, I say bring it! Just umm, go easy on me with the gray hairs, would ya, Daddy Time? 😉

What has been your most MARVELOUS birthday to date?