Because it's Monday...

...and because journalism this fantastic needs to be shared.


Props to you channel 48 reporters for keeping a straight face during this segment...I also would like to personally thank you for showing the interview with the "victim's brother" in it's entirety. It's because of people like you that I can survive another Monday.

Vacation, the 5 pounds that haunt me, and whatever else comes to mind in the next 5 minutes

Hello there. I know all five of my followers have missed me lately and I apologize for my absence. I have had (and possibly still have) a severe case of writer's block lately. While the definition you will find says the writing has to be a profession in order for this illness to be applicable...I think the "expert" that entered this definition into wikipedia did not take into account all of the bloggers out there including myself. Oh well though... I'm going to do my best to throw something together(and keep doing so) until it comes back to me.

When I figure out what I mean by "it" I'll be sure to let you know.

I enjoy having a blog. The hard part is trying to have something interesting to say. So here we go.

What's going on with me you ask? WELL I am so glad you want to know...

 This Friday we leave for vacation!!!!

Ahhhh...beach house. My love. I have been waiting to see you for an entire year.

1 whole week of relaxation, basking in the sun, plenty of reading, and let's not forget the high intensity wii playing that will be going on. Um yes. I think I will. Thank you.

So this leads me to my next subject that I'm sure all of you are dying to hear about...

The dreaded insert number here pounds that every woman hates/complains about/talks about losing. You know what I mean and with women there is usually a number that we have decided on. My most recent number is 5. 5 pounds can make all the difference in the world. Jeans fit better, shirts aren't as tight, and let's not overlook the fact that it takes you about HALF the time to get ready because EVERYTHING DOESN'T MAKE YOU LOOK FAT anymore. Ah yes. 5 pounds. I hate you. Why oh why will you not go away?

I think the most difficult part in all this is diet.

meh.

But with the help of my good friend R, I have been doing well for going on 3 weeks! We are eating better and working out.

Which brings us to Jillian. The devil.

If you're not terrified. You should be.

R and I have been doing her 30 day shred for the past few weeks along with our new diet plan.

It is painful. makes you want to kill yourself.and...awesome.

 What happens on vacation you ask? Don't worry. We are taking her along for the ride. We plan on working out while the boys are all gone fishing. Nothing like a little pain and suffering to get you going in the morning!

I also plan on going to target on my way home to get a sweet new scale I found online. I'm realizing that the whole "goal of losing five pounds thing" is a whole lot easier to keep track of when you own a scale.

Go figure.

Now for the finale of this post....my latest favorite song.



Happy Monday Everyone!

Recently

I've recently decided a few things...

One of the first things is I want to finish school in 2 years or less if I can. I'm tired of school. It exhausts me. It annoys me. It keeps me from doing what I do best...which is working of course and spending time with the people I love. I feel like school is something I can be  good at if I try REALLY hard. Which lately I have been. However, working comes naturally to me. I'm good at working hard. I'm good at learning my job and growing to be great at it.

Yes.I know. The importance of education...blah blah blah.

I have every intention of completing school and I will very happy once I finally get my degree.

But that doesn't mean I have to enjoy it.

Secondly...

I took Lilo for a walk at the dog park in my apartment complex the other day. There were big dogs there that wanted to eat her and while the people were very nice, it just wasn't Lilo and my's scene.

We need a yard so that I can sit and drink coffee....

or maybe a glass of wine.... 

and watch the bug terrorize anything that moves for as long as her heart desires...

I know right now is not the time, but someday I intend to be in the country again. I love it there.

No traffic.

No one living directly next door to you.

Its where I grew up and eventually it's where I would like to be again.

For now I'm happy living in the city. In an apartment where there is not a lot to worry about. I have my two plants out on the balcony and Lilo and I have plenty of room to go for walks outside.

but maybe someday I could have a nice big yard...a garden...and possibly a clothes line...

Totally not kidding about the clothes line. 

For now, I am content where I am. I have things I need to accomplish, then I will see whether or not my dreams of  living the country life are able to become a reality. It's possible that I could change my mind before then...so who knows? I'm just thinking out loud...

Plus...I definitely feel like it's ok to dream...

hmmm...I can almost smell the fresh air 

Southwestern Baked Chicken and Zucchini

I found a great recipe via my palm pre app that's called "what's for dinner?". It's great because I can type in ingredients and it pulls up recipes. This one was super easy and came out great. I improvised a little but mostly stuck to the directions.

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts
• southwest seasoning (Emerils is a good brand)
• 1 1/2 cups enchilada sauce, divided
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 3 tablespoons chopped green chilies
• 2 medium zucchini, unpeeled
• Shredded mexican cheese

So I forgot to buy green chilies but I added some chopped red bell pepper and chopped fresh jalapeno (both of which were in my fridge) and they worked just fine. 

The southwestern seasoning I made myself from the recipe that I also pulled from the app

Emerils Southwest Seasoning

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano

A good reason to save your empty seasoning containers, just make sure you label them afterwards :) 

So once I preheated my oven to 350, I followed the directions pretty closely.

First you slice the zucchini and lay it in the bottom of a baking dish(the recipe calls for a 9x13 but something close to this works just as good) then you pour 1 cup of the enchilada sauce over it. Lay the chicken breast on top and sprinkle with the southwestern seasoning. Next pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the chicken and add the chopped veggies. 

This is what mine looked like at this point

Pop it in the oven and cook it for about an hour, about 50 to 55 minutes in you can add the cheese and let it melt.

When it's done your home will smell wonderful and you will have something that looks similar to this to eat for dinner....

Yummy!

                                      

My roommate wasn't the only one excited about dinner being ready...although in this case the excitement was in vain...

"Is that for me mom??"

Sorry bug, that's for mom and Auntie Krust. 

the uneventful life of me

I am determined to keep this whole "blog" thing going.So.Although I don't really have anything to say....I think it will be OK to put a few snips of what's been going on in my life lately. No it's not exciting at all so please brace for boredom:)

Moving was a pain as usual, but once again I survived. Things are different now, more different than they have been in a long time. I know that everything has a purpose and I know that change is also good sometimes. So I'm happy and I'm hopeful for what is to come of this new situation I am in. Lilo and I are  living in our new home with our new roommate krust and it is going great. Lilo is getting better every day with potty training and she is also getting big, losing baby teeth and growing adult ones all the time. Weird.

She is also crazy, stubborn, gets into everything, and loves loves loves. She makes me happy.

School has started back up and to be honest I'm relieved to have something to do with my time. Not that I have a crazy abundance of it, but like I said things are different. I have allot more time to myself lately which means allot of time to think. It can be overwhelming to face yourself alone every day but I seem to be adjusting just fine.

I miss my sister. We moved to a brand new city together and now it's just me. Its a good thing but again it takes some adjusting. My roommate is great but my sister is my sister.

Austin will never be the same without her.

I know it's good for both of us though. Splitting up also makes me realize we're growing up. Scary as it is I'm alright with it. Who knows where each of us will be in a few years but I'm glad we shared the time we did. One chapter ending leaves an opening for a new one to begin...

I miss cooking dinner for A and watching junk TV with him. He's such a hard worker and I love him for it but it has its moments where it is hard not having him around. The little things you never think about are the things I miss most. Adjusting to feeling single during the week has been a challenge. Once again though, it all happens for a reason and I know it will work itself out.

I'm never certain of where my path will lead next, but I'm always certain of Who is leading me down it. Thank you Jesus for all your blessings. Your forgiveness of me and all of my shortcomings. I know You will continue to work things out the way that You see fit. Lord I believe...help my unbelief...

Organizing with style

I've recently moved into a new apartment and ever since  have become increasingly overwhelmed by the massive amount of crap I own. Because of this feeling I am in a mood to either turn my stuff into something I like to look at or throw it away. I have been known to have several projects going on at once when I find myself in a mood like this one. So here it is, Thursday, and I have successfully completed two projects for my bathroom, rearranged my bedroom, and thrown away random pieces of furniture that have been moved one too many times and subsequently passed from the useful zone into the junk one. 

So project number one is a copy cat DIY project that I stole from my good perfect insane friend R, check out her blog here.

I fell in love with the jewelry holder she made and felt the need to create my own. I have several pairs of earings but rarely wear any of them because they are in a mess of a drawer underneath my sink.

Taking R's advice I moved on to a more heavy duty wire to avoid any tearing. Not quite as fancy looking but much more durable.

Just like that, jewelry I forgot I own! This was a simple project all that was needed was an 8x10 picture frame, a piece of scrapbook paper, an 8x10 piece of sturdy wire mesh (easily found at Lowes or Home Depot), and a good pair of wire cutters to get the size right. A glue gun is a good idea for the paper but I didn't feel like digging mine out of the box I'm sure it still resides in so tape worked just as well. Attach the paper to the backing insert of the photo frame. As for the wire, the original plan was to use a staple gun to attach it to the inside of the frame. However, I found that once I cut it to the perfect size with the cutters it fit in nice and tight and didn't need to be stapled.

So the second project was an attempt to tackle the same problem in regards to my necklaces. I had been searching for the perfect little shelf I could use for this purpose but I only found one's that were more than I was willing to pay. Instead I went to the unfinished wood section at hobby lobby and found two tiny shelves with shaker knobs that were perfect for hanging things on. They were both less than $2.00! Of course I needed to buy acrylic paint, I purchased a solid white for a base coat and a nice butter cream color to finish with.

I applied two base coats and let it dry before applying the final color. Great thing about acrylic paint is it's around .99 cents a bottle and only takes an hour to dry:)

I am quite happy with the finished project, but the pictures don't really do it justice. Wow accessible jewelry that also decorates my wall...yay:)

I <3 projects.