Monday, August 9, 2010

The Prairie Lady

"You can blog Molly. Just write like the Prairie Lady!"

These loving, inspiring, and hilarious words of wisdom from my wonderful Aunt Christie have convicted me to get back to blogging. All 2 of my readers (Hi Mom and Nanny) have probably been wondering what's up. Well things were pretty crazy at the beginning of the summer. We bought a house.

We had Kids Club at The Crossing. If you haven't been to Kids Club, think: VBS on steroids.


David and I got to vacation with his family in Michigan. It was lovely (and so is my sister-in-law!)


This guy still lives with us. Seriously.


And now we are enjoying the semi-slow pace of summer. Activities include but are not limited to: Wii, training for a half-marathon, house sitting, and watching So You Think You Can Dance. Also, recently I've been cooking up a storm (aka, we're on a budget). But it has been fun. I'm not great, but I'm getting better! Here is one of my favorite recipes as of late (courtesy of the Freezer Club)

Cracker and Parmesan crusted Tilapia

Serves 4

1 cup oyster crackers

1/3 cup Ritz crackers (generous handful)

¾ cup parmesan cheese

1/3 cup flat leaf parsley leaves

3T chopped fresh chives

2T fresh thyme leaves

1T Old Bay seasoning

1 tsp garlic powder (optional)

Flour, for coating

2 large eggs, beaten

Splash of heavy cream or half and half

EVOO, for frying

4 sole or tilapia fillets, rinsed and patted dry

salt and pepper

lemon wedges for serving

Using a food processor, grind the oyster crackers, Ritz crackers, parmesan, parsley, chives, thyme, Old Bay seasoning, and garlic powder (if using). Transfer to a shallow bowl. Place flour in another shallow bowl. In a third shallow bowl, beat the eggs and cream.

Fill a large skillet with enough EVOO to reach a depth of ¼ inch and heat over med.-high heat. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Season fish fillets with salt and pepper. Coat the fish with the flour, shaking off any excess; coat with the egg mixture, then with the cracker crumbs. Working with 2 fillets at a time, fry the fish in the skillet, turning once, until deep golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer each batch to the oven to keep warm. Serve with the lemon wedges.

Enjoy! Maybe one day I'll post some good recipes with step-by-step pictures. Just like the Prairie Lady.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Really?

Today David went to our bedroom to take a nap while I sat down at the kitchen table to do some work. Within 5 minutes my phone was ringing. Don't worry, it was David.

"Yes?"

"Hey, can you turn on the TV and see if the Cardinals game is on Fox?"

"Are you seriously calling me from the bedroom to ask me to turn on the TV?"

"Ha ha, yes, but can you just check?"
At this point I'm turning on the TV.

"This is ridiculous"
I'm flipping through channels.

"Please, just love me!"

"Love you? I'm checking for the Cardinals game while you're in bed in the same house! It's on."

"Ok, I'm gonna nap for an hour and then come watch it. That ok?"

"Yes, do you want me to record it?"

"Yes, that'd be great! I love you."

"Ok, it's recording. I love you too."

Don't worry, I heard his voice over the phone and from down the hallway during the entire conversation. Our house is not big enough to warrant a phone call to another room.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Office Wars


Everyone is familiar with harmless office pranks--fake memos, staplers in jello, etc. Last week I opened my file drawers to find them all full of plastic Easter eggs (files removed, of course). Funny? Yes. Annoying? Definitely.

I've been carefully plotting my revenge, and I knew it had to be good. But when April Fool's Day rolls around, retaliation looks entirely different.

Wendy and Kay, you had it coming.


Sunday, March 28, 2010

Things Lately.

Here is what has interested me lately:


Even if you're an ultra-cool hipster, you'll love Ree Drummond. She takes good pictures, makes good food, and has somehow managed to find time to raise a family while maintaining a great blog. Ree also has a great dog named Charlie. I like to imagine that Timriggins will look exactly like him someday.

Eating Out

You know how we are on a tight budget and need to eat most meals at home? Well guess what: sometimes our dog is barky and we are sleepy and a Sycamore beet salad sounds a heck of a lot better than anything we have.


To be more accurate, Craigsphone. It's an app for my iPhone where I can waste lots and lots of time looking at furniture I "need" for our new house. It also keeps me occupied during March Madness.

Laughing

Don't tell him I said this, but David is hilarious. He starts telling jokes the minute he wakes up in the morning. Although I usually don't find him funny at that moment, I do once I have a cup of coffee.



Wednesday, March 24, 2010

My Apologies.

I really only blog about the dog(s) that are currently surviving in our home. I'm sorry. That's about as uninteresting as the people that blog about their kids. (Kidding, sort of). So here are some non-dog things happening in my life:

1. I'm trying my best to maintain a gluten-free diet. "What has gluten in it?" you might ask. The answer: EVERYTHING. But truthfully, some good friends of mine had encouraged me to go gluten-free when stomach pain after meals persisted. So far, so good. I'm learning a lot about the importance of knowing what is in my food. Aside from candy (you can't take away my M&M's) I have eliminated most processed foods*. I can't explain how wonderful it is to be able to enjoy a meal and know that I won't be in pain because of it. I'll keep you posted.

2. The house-building process is good so far. As it turns out, I have been waiting my entire life to choose the color of my kitchen cabinets and countertops. I blame this entirely on Katie Boggs for bringing me along on frequent trips Home Depot when she remodeled our kitchen. I think it is also the reason I assume that every kitchen should be sage green. Thanks mom.

(This is not my kitchen. If you would like to donate to the David and Molly Would Really Like Granite Countertops and a Double Oven Fund, please email me).

3. Other than Saturday's snowfall, spring is HERE. That means I've started wearing flats again.
Fact: I only wore boots for the months of December, January, and February.

4. At this moment in time, I'm completely caught up on laundry. If David spills his dinner on his shirt (an incredibly common occurrence) I will most likely throw his shirt away to avoid more laundry.


*I make excuses for the occasional Shakespeare's pizza and warm bread at Sophia's.


Saturday, March 6, 2010

We're building a house.

Seriously.
As usual, Timriggins is skeptical.


Thursday, February 25, 2010

This is the first time he's stopped moving in 4 hours.

I'm going to stay here as long as humanly possible. I'll probably fall asleep too.

Friday, February 19, 2010

I really don't have time for this.

A sign of disobedience? Definitely.

Adorable? You better believe it. Riggs, please get off David's guitar [insert correct piece of equipment name here] before we both get in a whole lot of trouble.


Tuesday, February 16, 2010

TimRiggins Cover: Your New Best Friend

Meet Timriggins Cover:

Riggs is our newest doggy, an 11 week-old Beagle/Basset mix. His interests include but are not limited to: having floppy ears, chewing on anything resembling a toy, snoring, and looking cute. We have had some serious bad luck with doggies over the past few months, and Riggs seems like the best possible solution.

We picked him up from a local shelter in St. Louis called Mostly Mutts. David was dead set on naming him Tyrone, but I just couldn't deal with it. After 24 hours of debating (and watching about 4 episodes of Friday Night Lights) Timriggins seemed to suit our little pup. We usually call him Riggy or Riggs, and sometimes we accidentally call him Tyrone.

He doesn't mind.

His most recent hobby is napping on my lap while I work. I don't hate it.

Long story short, I love this doggy.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

What NOT to do.

The following are the some of the most stressful life changes an individual or couple can make. We, apparently, are trying to set a record.

1. Marriage--December 27, 2008

2. New Pet--September 2009, February 2010*

3. Move--December 2008, July 2009, December 2009, May/June 2010**

4. New Job--David: January 2009, Molly: July 2009

5. Death--Steven T. Cover, December 2009 & Buster K. Cover, January 2010

6. Personal Injury--Does a broken tailbone*** count? I don't think so either

*We're getting a puppy on Saturday!
**We're buying a house and never moving again.
***The parking lot is really icy, not my fault.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Goodbye Little Man.

On Sunday, January 31, David and I said goodbye to Buster Kyle Cover. After 5 short months, our sweet little man ran away and was hit by a car.

Anyone that knows us knew that Buster was quite a handful. It seems like I spent countless hours cleaning up poop, vomit, urine, and knocked-over trash cans. But still, he was our doggies.


Buster had 2 goals in life: food and love. Sometimes his desire for the former resulted in very little of the latter. But when we lost Steve in December we were filled with a desire to love Buster like we would love any normal dog. Buster was never normal, but we loved him just the same.


So goodbye, Little Man. I'll miss your snuggles and your crooked tail. I'll miss your goofy run and your big belly. Our loss makes us long, once again, for a day when creation will be renewed.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Special Needs, etc.

1. I broke my tailbone. Seriously. It hurts and I sit funny. And no, I don't carry a donut-shaped pillow around. I just take a lot of Advil and complain. The end.

2. We are going to buy a house! I hope. But in typical Cover fashion, we already have one picked out that is "perfect".

3. Buster got into the trash, ate half a pizza, half a pan of cinnamon rolls, icing, countless apple cores and hummus. He then threw it all up in 3 different places.


4. I'm listing Buster on Craigslist.


Thursday, January 21, 2010

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

My Morning.

This morning I took Buster for a "good outside time" per the instructions of my own personal dog whisperer (David). He was enjoying the outdoors so much that I thought I was doing a little whispering of my own by leaving Buster outside on his leash.

I went inside to shower and dress, and then I headed back out to fetch the dog I had so successfully cared for. The little punk was sitting in the middle of the mud he had been rolling in. Infuriated, I brought him inside only to discover that he was not rolling in mud. Oh no, he was rolling in POOP.

You can come to your own conclusions about what happened next. But here's a clue: it involved a shower for Buster, another shower for me, and a lot of tears/yelling. My favorite dog whisperer helped calm me down and even went home on his lunch break to re-bathe Buster.

Moral of the story: 7-8 year-old Beagle mix available for adoption

Monday, January 11, 2010

Job Description.

Is there a job that involves:

1. Reading cool blogs on: decorating, cooking, and fun things.

2. Trying out new recipes.

3. Keeping my house clean/looking cute.

4. Drinking red wine with a bit of dark chocolate every night.

5. Owning a normal dog.

???

David says there's not. But let me know if you hear of one and if they have an opening. I'd be really good at it.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

The Reason I Never Stop Laughing.

Dating.



One week before the wedding...


Married.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Nashvegas.

I just spent 4 days in Nashville and never left my hotel. The main reason for this was that I was attending a conference that kept me pretty busy. But when I wasn't busy conferencing, I was seeing the sights in the world's largest hotel structure. The size of the airport "shuttle" sure hinted that I was walking into a self-sustaining world of country music, children's ministry, and themed restaurants.


Just take Branson, MO, stick it in a bubble, and include a shopping mall-sized atrium in each wing (just for kicks.) I don't have much room to speak, it kept me occupied, warm, and had surprisingly good coffee. Here is my favorite coffee and breakfast spot.


The second night we enjoyed an amazing dinner accompanied by one of my favorite wines.


I took a picture of some confies (enthusiastic conference-goers) but I just don't feel right posting it. So here is a Google image that comes pretty darn close. I do not aspire to be a confie, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't.

Please note: Over-sized lanyard name tags and matching shirts are a required to be an official confie.

I should also give Google credit for the free internet I'm getting in the Nashville airport right now. I am not giving the airport any credit until they get me the heck out of here and stop playing announcements recorded by country music stars.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

2010.

I have only made 2 resolutions for this new year. I really don't like to set goals unless I know that I can attain them (a nice combination of my pride and laziness, I think). So here are my average, run-of-the-mill resolutions:

1. Floss more.


2. Try new recipes as much as I can. Here are some that I hope to try this month:

Moroccan Halibut and Carrots
David and I are both trying to eat healthy at home (never mind the endless supply of candy and Oreos in our pantry). This recipe offers a lot of flavor with very little fat, score!


Beef and Broccoli
This is a recipe from a blog I recently discovered called, The Pioneer Woman. She only does cool things. Check out pictures of her dog, Charlie. If I could steal him, I would.


Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon
I saw Julie and Julia, and yes, I am caught up in the hype.