Something new

Ah... something new for the photo challenge... Well, I should have taken a picture of the new tank top I got to wear to the UT game today, but I forgot. So we will discuss the newest thing I have. This sunburn. 

Ow

Yeah, I know. I totally flaked out on sunscreen today. Unacceptable! I have two perfect arcs on my shoulders from the racerback of the tank I had one. Luckily, it doesn't hurt too badly. It's tender, and it's kind of radiating heat, but nothing some aloe can't help. I'll have to post more about the game tomorrow. Right now I'm quite exhausted and need to get to sleep. Good night!

Game Day

The day that many of us have anxiously awaited is finally here... It's Game Day, y'all! I'm not even kidding. I drove by a store in June that had a countdown in the window saying "57 days til Football Time in Tennessee!" We get excited about our Vols. Not to mention that we have a new coach, and everyone is excited to see what he will do with our team this year. We've been through some rough patches with our coaches in the past 5-6 years, so I think most of the fan base is in wait-and-see mode. But it's a new day, a new season, and we have faith again!

So what does that mean? It means I'm wearing orange and making chili!

In case you can't tell, I make my chili with a lot of stuff in it. Vegetables, meat, beans... It's a hearty meal. Here's the recipe.

Game Day Chili

Serves 6 to 8 people

Ingredients: 

1 C chopped onion

1½ C chopped bell peppers; any color or a combination

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound ground beef, cooked and drained

1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes (I use no salt added)

1 C mild salsa

1½ C chicken or beef broth

1½ T chili powder

1 T brown mustard

1 T Worcestershire sauce

1 t liquid smoke

2 t cumin

¼ t black pepper

1 15oz can dark red kidney beans

1 15oz can red bean

Directions:

Spray a large saucepan with nonstick spray. Add the onions, peppers, and garlic. Cook over medium heat until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients, except the beans. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the beans and cook another 5 minutes.

Serve with your favorite toppings and enjoy!

I know, it is quite a few ingredients, but it is worth it! I made mine early, then transferred to a preheated* slow cooker to keep warm until I'm ready to eat. Which will probably be around kickoff.:-)


*Many moon ago I read that you shouldn't put hot food in a cold/room temp slow cooker because it can cause cracking in the insert. That makes total sense to me! They suggested putting 2" of water in the slow cooker before turning it on to help it heat evenly. 

Siberia

Yesterday ended up being a pretty good day. Considering it was a Monday, and those are notoriously ridiculous anymore, I didn't have high hopes, but it was fine. Work was actually pretty decent, especially for a Monday. I go in 1.5 hours early on Monday to help get caught up on paperwork from over the weekend, and usually it's a race to get everything done on time. I was able to get all of my "bonus" tasks done well before my scheduled shift was supposed to start. Yay!

After work I finally got to hang out with that boyfriend of mine. We went to dinner at Abuelo's, which is definitely one of my favorite restaurants. [side note: Abuelo's is where my bff Amy said we were going for my birthday dinner when she was actually helping to plan my surprise party. Sneaky sneaky.] And miracle of miracles, neither of us was on our phone the majority of the time. I won't lie, I'm just as bad as he is so I can only get so mad. After dinner we wandered over to Target because he needed to return something he bought over the weekend. He ended up buying a new pair of sunglasses, and I managed to walk out empty handed. It was difficult.

Then we spent the rest of the evening watching TV. We started off watching Return of Jaws on Discovery (Shark Week!), which was pretty interesting. They managed to find a way to track a shark with an underwater video camera. Greg and I both agreed that we're not going swimming at the beach in Massachusetts. After that we watched a show called Siberia. I had never even heard of it before, but it was kind of interesting. It's a completely scripted series about a fictional reality show where the contestants are sent to a remote Siberian territory and told to survive the winter. But since it's a "reality" show, things start to go wrong. It's crazy, but I liked it.

Today was not as awesome. I woke up feeling like I couldn't breathe well. My chest was really tight and I kept coughing. I've also felt run down all day. None of this was made better by the fact that my boss's boss was at our club all day today. I like her just fine, but she still puts me on edge simply because of her position.

The bright side to my day came when Greg sent me a text to look at this video on YouTube.

That seriously made me laugh so hard. I love that they can be goofy and laugh at themselves. Sorry if it's stuck in your head now.