60: Shrimp and Tomatoes :)

I ran three miles today! Whoo Hoo! In case you are wondering, I'm following the Halhigdon Marathon training plan and taking things slllooooow. I used to swim distance in high school so land shouldn't be as difficult as water. I've done quite a bit this week and really pushed myself. I plan on continuing my reading list and my A.F.I's One hundred years, One hundred movies. It's high time I finish. It has taken me almost four years because of work. I'm working on my new book and I'm no longer curious why they made it into a movie. It is so awesome! It's rather long so I might not finish it until the end of next week. With that being said here is Wednesday's recipe. (No, I didn't skip I only did four this week.)

Wednesday's Recipe: Polenta with Shrimp and Tomatoes

• 1 pound frozen medium shrimp, thawed, peeled and deveined
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 14.5-oz. cans Italian-seasoned diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 cup instant polenta or grits (I substituted grits with Mexican Rice. HEB didn't have any polenta that was instant :( )
• 
  

1. Sprinkle shrimp with salt. Warm olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and sauté, stirring, until pink and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. In last minute of cooking, add garlic and red pepper and continue to sauté. Remove shrimp from skillet and set aside.
2. Add tomatoes and juice to skillet and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until tomatoes are soft and sauce has thickened, about 10 minutes.
3. Pour over rice. 

Recipe Rating: 4/5 It tastes exactly like the Cajun shrimp James and I ate at Razoo's. I didn't rate it a five because I didn't use polenta. 

59

I really need a timer to remind me to post! :(

58: Weeknight Ravioli Lasagna

So in case you don't really pay much attention to titles, this is another LAH-SAG-NAH recipe. Let's hope this time I get it right! (Recipe Rating coming later after spinach finishes defrosting) And as always pictures and recipes are taken from Allyou.com.

Weeknight Ravioli Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups marinara sauce
• 1 20-oz. package refrigerated cheese ravioli
• 1 10-oz. box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 8 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1. 1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease an 8-inch-square baking dish. Spoon 1/4 cup marinara sauce over bottom of dish. Cover with half of ravioli. Spread half of remaining sauce over ravioli. Sprinkle on spinach and then half of mozzarella. Repeat with remaining ravioli, marinara and mozzarella. Sprinkle top with Parmesan.
2. 2. Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until bubbling, about 10 minutes longer. Let cool for about 5 minutes before slicing.

Recipe Rating 3.5/5 Pretty good. I would say it needs more cheese than the recommended 8 oz. of Mozzarella. It's just not rich enough for the whole platter. 

57

Well I've done it again. My life lately has been pretty hectic. I keep forgetting to post when I should. This time I had the time but my mind has been scattered everywhere. I think it's because I have four months left as Miss K. It hasn't quite dawned on me until today that I only get to really enjoy my unique last name for four more months. I'm kinda sad but at the same time excited. It was really cool to be the only one in the whole United States with my name for so long and now I get to take on the name of the man I would do absolutely anything for. (And yes, James this means skydiving).  It's just time. This June 29th we celebrate our four years together. What a day to get married right? I'm excited and anxious. Let's just hope all the planning goes well. : /  I also just recently discovered that there is a new Christina K. in town.  So Christina Vanessa K, (Whoever you are) I hope you have fun being the only K in the world now that I'm moving on. I hope you and your 18 month old self do the name some justice! :)

56

Tuesday's Recipe: Orecchiette with Broccoli, Tomatoes and Sausage

1 tablespoon olive oil 

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

8 oz. hot or sweet Italian sausage, removed from casings 

1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes, with juice

salt

1 1b. pasta shells (I used tricolor)

4 cups small broccoli florets 

shredded Parmesan

1. Warm oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add sausage and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until it looses its pink color, about 6 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juice and 1/4 tsp. salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the juice has evaporated and sauce has thickened, about 10 minutes. 

2. While sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Stir in pasta and cook according to package label directions. In last 2 minutes of cooking time, stir in broccoli and continue to cook until pasta is al dente and broccoli is tender. Drain, return to pot and toss with sauce. Serve immediately, with shredded Parmesan on the side, if desired. 

Recipe Rating: 3/5  Healthy option but kinda bland. Would be nice if it had more herbs. 

Wednesday's Recipe: Hawaiian Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

• 8 slices white bread
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 
• 4 ounces deli ham 
• 8 slices Cheddar or American cheese 
• 1 cup canned pineapple chunks packed in juice, drained and patted dry 
• Mustard, optional

1. 1. Spread one side of each slice of bread with butter. Lay ham on unbuttered side of 4 of the slices. Top each with 2 slices of cheese and pineapple chunks. Spread unbuttered sides of remaining bread slices with mustard, if desired. Place those 4 slices, buttered sides up, on top of pineapple.
2. 2. Place sandwiches in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat and cook, pressing down on them occasionally with a spatula, until golden on one side, 3 to 4 minutes. Carefully turn and continue to cook until golden on the other side, about 3 minutes longer. Cut each sandwich in half and serve immediately.

Recipe Rating: N/A I can't give a fair rating because I didn't include the pineapple. I've had a previous bad experience with the ham and pineapple combo in the past. 

Thursday's Recipe: Chicken and Pears over Arugula 

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed, patted dry, and pounded to 1/2-inch thickness
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 large bunch arugula (about 7 oz.), ends trimmed
• 2 ripe pears, halved, cored and thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup walnuts, toasted
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries

1. 1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Warm 1 Tbsp. olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until butter is foaming. Add chicken and cook, turning once, until golden on both sides, about 10 minutes total. Transfer to a plate.
2. 2. While chicken is cooking, whisk remaining 3 Tbsp. oil, vinegar, mustard, 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper in a small bowl.
3. 3. Slice chicken thinly across the grain. Place arugula, pears, chicken and any accumulated juices from plate in a mixing bowl. Top with dressing and toss gently with hands to coat. Divide among four dinner plates. Sprinkle each portion with walnuts and cranberries, and serve immediately.

Recipe Rating: 3/5  I was not impressed with the arugula. I think I got a bad batch at the store. I like the homemade dressing although I think It's too strong for the fruit. James was not impressed with this one for the same reason. 

Friday's Recipe: (Finally) Split Pea Soup with Cheddar Toasts 

• 1 16-oz. bag dried green split peas, rinsed and picked over
• 2 smoked ham hocks
• 3 carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 2 leeks, white and light green parts, finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar
• 8 1/2-inch-thick slices baguette or country bread, cut on bias
• 
  
• 1. Place split peas, ham hocks, carrots, leeks, bay leaf, parsley and salt in slow cooker. Stir in 6 cups water, cover and cook on low until peas are tender and ham is falling off the bone, 6 to 8 hours. Remove ham hocks, shred meat and return to cooker to keep warm.
• 2. Preheat oven to 400ºF; line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Sprinkle cheese over bread slices. Place on baking sheet and toast until cheese is melted and bubbling, 1 to 2 minutes. Ladle soup into bowls, top each with a cheese toast, and serve.

Recipe Rating: 5/5 We are still eating this one. The serving size is a humongous 8. It is my second favorite recipe of this week. I started this slow cooker recipe really late and woke up to a ham smelling apartment in the morning. I had some for breakfast. I would def. recommend this recipe to anyone who likes green split peas or soup. The only thing I would change is discarding the fat off the ham hocks. It made the soup too chewy. 

I finally updated. It's been quite a long week. Between our unexpected visit to the E.R. to mailing out all of our invitations. I'm getting back on track though. Tomorrow I'm starting Super Supper Sunday with 4 new recipes I've not tried before. Only 4 this coming week because James requested in lieu of black bean soup, my pinto beans and rice. Expect pictures of the final invites soon! All is well I just need to get back to work. 

55

Boo. Now I can update but I dont have access to the computer. Grrr... I feel like Im never going to catch up. :(

54

Things are finally calm. Watching King of the Hill. I finished all the inbitations today. I have allot of posts to catch up on and I will get to it asap.

53

Sorry no post today. Had a family emergency. Everything is okay but I won't be back up until tomorrow.

52

Doing invitations. Its taking forever. Extra long post tomorrow!!

51: Skirt steak with mustard sauce

• Monday's recipe :)
• 
  
• Skirt Steak with mustard sauce
• 
  
• What you need:
• 4 6-oz. skirt steaks
• Salt and pepper (I used steak seasoning in lieu of pepper)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons grainy mustard 
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 

1. 1. Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper. Warm oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add steaks and cook, turning once, about 4 minutes total for medium-rare.(Cook until well done if eating later.) Transfer to a plate, and cover loosely with foil to keep warm.
2. 2. Wipe skillet with a paper towel and add broth. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in mustard and butter. Season with salt and pepper, spoon over steaks, and serve.

This is my lunch today. It is so yummy. If you like A1 you will like the mustard sauce. I also made the baked potato. 

50: Butterfinger bars (Pintested)

Yay! I made it to post 50. Today I finally finished Super Supper Saturday and Sunday. (Betcha can't say that too fast). Which means I cooked all 5 meals featured in All You's magazine for the month of February. I'll post the recipes I did today and yesterday one at a time this week. I want to be able to give them a taste test first. Along with the 5 recipes I cooked in two days, I also Pintested the butterfinger bar recipe I saw on Pinterest. Needless to say it was simple and a big hit.



Butterfinger Bars


What you need:

Candy corn 2 cups
1 cup of peanut butter (I used creamy)
chocolate for melting

Excuse the oils in the background. It looks like I'm collecting or something. 

1. First place the candy corn in a microwave save bowl. Microwave for 1 minute to 1 minute and 30 seconds depending on your microwave until candy corn is fully melted.

2. Add peanut butter to hot candy corn and mix well.

You have to admit that this looks yummy!!

3. Pour into a glass 8X8 pan and let cool. (I put my in the freezer to speed up the cooling process.)

4. Cut into squares. Heat up chocolate for one minute in the microwave until melted.

5. Dip bars in chocolate and place on baking sheet with wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to harden the chocolate.

Recipe rating: 5/5

So good you can't really tell the difference between the actual ButterFinger and this homemade version.
Did I mention it's pretty cost effective? I think I paid $6.00 and it made about 16 bars. :)

49

Im really tired today. We did so much that Im unwinding with a glass of vodka and red bull. Today we changed the oil in my car (ourselves) and changed the clamp for my hose. It was leaking pretty bad. Then we went to salvation army and donated a whole bunch of stuff. We still need to drop off more. Met a nice lady at our apartment complex. Thank God I still understand spanish because she speaks mostly spanish. I love how people assume Im hispanic because I speak spanish well. Its quite a compliment. I ended the day with preparing a whole weeks worth of meals for James. I cooked 2/5 meals mostly because I didnt realize the bread had molded :(  I'll finish the rest tomorrow with a list of Super Supper Saturday recipes.

48

Today was a long day. I accidentally knocked over my printer right as I was going to print wedding invitations. I spent all day researching new ones and none of them were the same size or as cheap of replacement cartridges. I found out later when James came home that the printer wasnt broken. It had been printing crooked all along. So I wasted all day worrying for nothing. Then I went to go find a sewing kit to fix James pants. Dollar general didnt have one so I went to Hobby Lobby and everything was sold separatly. I finally did find one but it was a rinky-dink one. When I got to the car I discovered that the vinyl on my purse I fixed yesterday, cracked off and had a bald spot.

I guess the only postive thing was my printer wasnt broken and my dragon tree is growing. I guess it could be worse.

47: Rapid Rivets (A purse fixing tutorial)

Today I accomplished a great feat. I finally fixed one of my favorite broken-strapped purses that came apart eons ago. It was surprisingly easy. I kind of wish I had done it earlier. Thank God I saved the parts that broke as I had no clue what size rivets I needed. Please note that this is a reenactment of the actual process. I didn't actual think it would work so I didn't take photos as I was doing it.

Fixing Purse Rivets

What you need:
Rapid Rivets kit (about $10 at Hobby Lobby)

"o" shaped rivet end

Anvil

Button rivet end 

1. First select your size of rivet. Rivets (FYI) are those little button-like contraptions that magically hold your bag straps in place when you put too much junk in your purse. :P Like I said earlier I wasn't sure the size I needed so I measured the old one that broke. If you don't have this luxury choose a rivet that is just long enough see coming out of the hole on the outer side of your purse. Fortunately, if you buy the rapid rivets kit it comes with small, medium and large rivets to play around with.

2. Place the "o" shaped rivet end on the inside of your purse and feed through the hole. Holding it in place, grab your anvil and place it directly underneath the rivet.

Place anvil directly under fed rivet end

3. Make sure the "o" rivet end rests on the anvil. Make sure it is still fed through the purse.

Normally rivet end would be fed through the hole. 

4. Now place the button-like rivet end on the outside of the purse. press it on to the purse.

5. Place setter on top of outer rivet. Hammer until you see fit. In my case like 50 million times. Be careful not to hammer too fast. That might result in an owie.
Viola! Your purse is good to go! :)

Don't be afraid to put some force into it! Just be careful.

Testing my actual replaced rivets. You shouldn't be able to see the middle of the rivet if done correctly. 

My end result. :)

My beautiful re-vamped purse.

Yes, I'm aware it's not a real Coach purse but " frankly, I don't give a damn". I had to take a picture of the inside. It's the reason I restored this purse instead of throwing it away. 

46

I'm so sleepy. I pretty much finished sorting everything. Now I just need to clean, do laundry and unpack my books. The work in progress is almost complete!

45: Lasagna

Our apartment is starting to look like living quarters finally. I got rid of half my closet yesterday. ( I know amazing, right? I can actually see the back of the closet) I re-organized the bathroom and added another box for goodwill. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted once I allowed myself to purge my closet. It's funny that when I took a break after all that clothes sorting I picked up O and read about clutter. Lmao. Oprah always speaks to my heart in some way. Not long after reading that, I was found in the bathroom organizing. There is still tons to be done but I feel like I'm making some progress. Tomorrow I'm going to work on the spare bedroom again.

Baby and I tried our hand at homemade lasagna for Valentine's Day. We got the recipe from Better Homes and Garden Bridal Edition pg. 390. I couldn't stop calling it LAH-saaag-NAH. It sounded so hilarious. It was certainly a trial-and-error recipe. I wasn't aware that you were not supposed to layer the la-saaag-NAH noodles otherwise they don't cook thoroughly. The book told me to!! :( You're also supposed to cover them?!?! I admit I don't know lasagna as well as Garfield but we tried and while it was still kinda chewy, the sauce was pretty good. I'll totally try this recipe again.

Valentine's Day was awesome. Best I've had ever. I sent everyone on my friend's list Valentine's card and we rediscovered the awesome wine we couldn't remember the name of. I'm excited to be able to finally check that off my bucket list.


Lasagna (LAH-saag-NAH)

What you need:
12 oz. bulk italian or pork sausage or ground beef

1 cup of chopped onion

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 14 1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 8 oz. can tomato sauce

1 Tbs. dried Italian seasoning

1 tsp. fennel seeds, crushed (optional)

1/4 tsp. black pepper

6 dried lasagna noodles (ready to bake; pre-boiled)

1 beaten egg

1 15 oz. container ricotta cheese or 2 cups
cream style cottage cheese, drained

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

6 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. For sauce, in a large saucepan cook sausage, onion, and garlic until meat is brown. Drain.

2. Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, fennel seeds (if desired) and pepper into meat mixture. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. For filling, combine egg, ricotta, and the 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Set aside.

4. Spread about 1/2 cup of sauce over the bottom of a 2 quart rectangular baking dish. Layer half of the cooked noodles in the bottom of the dish, trimming as neccesary to fit. Spread with half of the filling. Top with half of the remaining sauce and half of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. If desired, sprinkle additonal Parmesan cheese over top. Cover with tin foil.

5. Place baking dish on baking sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.



Happy Valentine's Day!! Enjoy.

44

I'm working on my closet still today. I got rid of half of my clothes now and I'm hanging them up to see if everything fits in the closet. I swear this has to be the tiniest closet I have ever seen. I have so much to do this week and with this being James last week off before work, he has loads to do also. For one he needs to sort through all his engineering papers from school that took me five boxes to fill. I don't know what the heck I'm looking at and it all looks important.

Our mission this week is to finish as much as possible. First we are sorting through boxes and clothes. Next we will be sorting through old textbooks and dvd's. After this week I guess I'll get invitations out. I feel kind of overwhelmed. I'm tired of living in clutter even though I just got here. I feel unmotivated to work in the apartment because of all my junk. How in the world did I accumulate so much? I'll never know.

I found a running trail near the apartment. Maybe we'll go later and run off some stress. Or at least get away from the clutter for a while.

Ps. The office threw away my everyday foods from Jan. and Feb. No delicious in season recipes this month :(

43

It's snowing this morning. Talk about random. We got up early and headed out to check out a friend's new house and on the way back the snow flurries where in full swing. Yesterday it was colder than today and the wind was fierce. Hopefully the snow doesn't last too long. It makes me want to sleep all day and I have work to do!

Hopefully It clears up for Mac's birthday party. Hurry up weather you have one hour to clear out!!


Besides sleeping yesterday we actually got some things accomplished. We cleared two boxes for Salvation Army and another for trash and one for ebay. I've got to get busy clearing this stuff out. We have to make room for more junk. lol. Just kidding, I really hope not. I'm so happy to be home. As soon as the weather improves I'll be back to cooking and crafting. Well, after the wedding invitations get sent out. ^.^


Pictures of James' graduation coming soon. I got some pretty funny video of them singing "In the Jungle".  Don't ask but it was pretty funny. I'm going to miss all those crazy characters from the training center. Wish they all lived in the same town with us.


Ps. We ate an MRE yesterday. It was pretty interesting. Some of the stuff didn't taste so great. I'm grateful I'm not in the military because I'd probably starve. The meatloaf wasn't bad but the potatoes were super gritty. Yuck! God Bless our troops I really don't know how they keep some of that food down. I used the heat pack as a hand warmer. lol. I'm sure it's not meant for that but it sure kept me warm!!

42

Well we finally made it home yesterday. We got home just in time to pick up packages that had arrived last week. Luckily, only magazines were threwn out. We spent all day today going through packed boxes and so far have two full boxes for salvation army, one to throw away and one box of things we are selling. Tomorrow we are going to Mac's birthday party. Hopefully the weather will be better tomorrow. We are freezing today. Its been a whopping 27 degrees but with wind chill it feels like 12. Its supposed to snow tonight or in the morning. Hopefully it won't. :)

41

Bye Fort Worth! It's been great but Im ready to go home NOW!!!

40: A Fine Balance BR

Yesterday James finished classes!! Yay! We were going to celebrate by going out to eat but decided against after nothing sounded appetizing. So you know what this means!??!! More recipes, crafting, and couponing. I've been so afraid to buy things while we were here because I knew eventually I would not have any room in the car. It's bad enough I had to bring my wedding dress and my petticoat because we don't have a David's Bridal for alterations. Tomorrow morning we start our long journey home and I couldn't be happier. I am kinda sad that we have to learn all the really cool people we've met. Everyone lives so far away chances are, we will never see them again. :( Everyone's been so nice to us. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. Well....maybe some things.... like hot water, no crazy insurance claim.



I finally finished my book which was so gripping at the end I couldn't put it down. Here's the low-down on A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry.

Book Summary In My Own Words: 

A Fine Balance is a story about the Castes of India and the struggles of 4 very specific people. These characters start off with their own difficulties and come into contact with one another somehow. It tells the lives of two tailors ,Ishvar and Om, who seek work in a different city to escape prosecution after their family was brutally murdered for political reasons. They meet up with a woman who used to be a seamstress but is looking to hire independent contracts for sewing because her eyesight is deteriorating and she needs the income to avoid losing her flat. The fourth character, Maneck, is introduced as another way for her to pay for her flat through tenancy. The character's, despite their individual struggles, become to resemble a family which is then quickly desinigrated by the uprising of the "Emergency" in their government. ( I won't spoil the trials they go through individually but I will tell you they are pretty gruesome and heart-wrenching.) At the end they met up one finally time and realize that things will never be as they once were. Maneck is so intimidated by the way they have changed that he pretends he doesn't know the two tailors. 

Book Rating: 4/5

One of the better books I've read. The author really knows how to pull on your heart-strings. I nearly cried when I reached the end of the book which is funny given that the author does not thoroughly describe the characters. You don't really get a sense of what they look like but you get a sense of who they are based upon the decisions they make. I felt like I knew them personally. All in all, a great read for someone who is interested in other cultures. You might pick up a few words as well. 

Favorite Quotes:

"You see you cannot draw lines and compartments, and refuse to budge beyond them. Sometimes you have to use your failures as stepping-stones to success. You have to maintain a fine balance between hope and despair." pg. 228-229

"Stories of suffering are no fun when we are the main characters." pg. 377

39

Last night after talking about my fitness routine with James, I decided to sign up for two marathons in our area. I had no idea our little town hosted a Boston-Qualifier full marathon. Now I'm excited to run tomorrow. It's not until October of this year but there is a half marathon in March that I'm interested in. Running a marathon has always been on my list of things I want to do. I've seen documentaries of women and men crossing the finish line and collapsing in tears so proud of themselves, in shock and awe at what they accomplished;what seems like the impossible. A couple of years ago I got involved with Team In Training, the Leukemia Society but was unable to be apart of the team because I didn't raise enough money. I was unmotivated and scared to go alone to San Antonio and race by myself. This time I feel I have the perfect opportunity. I have loads of down time and there's one in our area. So I'm just going to go for it. I mean I'm that close, no excuses this time. I'm excited and I can't wait to start.

Ps. I know it's late. Can't sleep. 

38

I'm loving this new "clean" eating plan. It's fantastic!! I feel like 50% better. I hope I can stick with it. Who knew that all I needed to do was exercise portion control (pun intended :P). I can still have the things I love as long as I eat the things I should, first. Oh, and I have a new friend, My Fitness Pal. He tracks everything from water consumption to foods at restaurants. The best part is; He's free!! Today I ran/walked 5.0 miles. I'm on a jogging plan and so far it's working. I ran/walk 5.0 yesterday too. I mean now that I'm not working there is no excuse for unhealthy eating and not exercising. James did kinda look at me funny when I remeasured my portion of pasta in the measuring cup even though the box told me how much of a serving I was eating. I just wanted to make sure?!?! I'm not obsessed but my goal is to bulk up and actually have abs that are visible to others. I know it's going to be hard but I can try (and dream) right? I need to look for some trails nearby the apartment so I don't give up. It would be awesome if our apartment had it's own mini gym but all we have is a pool. Oh well, I'll make due with what I've got.

Back to making spaghetti for the fiance. Let's hope he makes it in time for dinner!

My friend :)

37

It's laundry and chore day today. So exciting, right? We have only three more days here and then we can start our journey home. So.... I'm in the process of starting to pack and man, do we have tons of food!! I'm thinking of ways to get rid of our overstocked supply that has to be refrigerated. It's going to be challenging eating everything and trying to eat healthy. I think I'm just going to stick to cutting portion size.

I'm looking forward to going home but I know when I get there I will have tons to do. Here's the crazy of things that need to be done asap!

1. Clean entire apartment - We have been gone for 3 months!!!

2. Send out wedding invitations - I need responses people.

3. Get rid of junk/unpack/organize - Almost finished setting everything up but I still have lots of junk we don't used that I'm either going to donate or sell on ebay.

4. Get a J-O-B. Enough said. If I even get part time work I'll be happy with that. So will my sewing machine. :)

Bring it on West Texas. I'm so ready to get back and learn about our area. Especially, in terms of good coupon spots. They have some stores here I've never ever heard of. Oh and we have a Hastings. Oh how I miss it. It's the closest thing we have to Half Price Books.

Tiny's big play day outside. He's too fast to catch on camera.

Trigger. I finally got a decent picture of her.

The Giants won the Super Bowl last night. I finally rooted for the winning team. Not a big deal to me since I've been a Steelers fan all my life but still a good game. 

UPDATE 11:05 am 

I think I might have broken the washer at the hotel. High volume of clothes washed but the next engineer came in to use it and magically it doesn't work anymore. oops. 

36: Super Bowl Sunday

I picked a weird day to start my "clean" eating program. I haven't cheated except for a couple of corn chips at lunch. I even ordered off the light menu...ooh-la-la. Anyway, I know it's Superbowl Sunday and I guess I should choose a side. I choose NY. I don't have a real reason just cause....

Yesterday we took Tiny and Trigger out to play I have some really neat action photos of Tiny, who got so excited, he threw up. Wow. That looks wrong. I mean I have action photos not Tiny puking action photos just to clarify. That would be extremely disgusting.

And now back to your regularly scheduled programming already in progress......

35

Working on my book still. I just haven't been motivated to read it lately. I must finish before we leave so I can sell it back to Half Price Books. Only 300 more pages to go! Gotta get back to work on that.

I'm also starting a new project when I get back home to test out several recipes on Pintrest. It's becoming one of my favorite places for recipe ideas. I'm going to be a Pintester. Yay! It sounds like fun and some work but I have all the time in the world to learn new things.

Wedding Planning is going well. I have some replies already without invitations being sent out. The sooner I find out the better and hopefully the cheaper it will be for us. I'm so ready bring it on!!!


Well back to work....err....reading I mean. >.<

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I just have to say first of all, that I'm really proud of my self for making and keeping my New Year's resolution. I made it at least one whole month! Let's see how long I can last before messing this up completely. I know lately I haven't been around. I haven't had much to talk about or much time. With James' training winding down he has the weirdest schedule ever. He's only had time off to sleep and I have been trying to keep up with him. It's not going to well and sometimes I forget what day it is. :O Thank God it is almost over!!


I can also say that I've almost been successful in staying away from cokes. I've had one coke in the last month and it was root beer at Taco Bueno. I recently read that there are now some studies that indicate that diet soda can cause heart attacks and strokes. YIKES!! It's a good thing I quit when I did. They said that it somehow weakens heart valves and are doing more research to pinpoint the direct element causing these problems. I dunno still scary in my opinion. I'll take plain water thank you. Read all about it!!

Anyway, on to the good news. Yesterday I nearly fell off the bed as I read that I had won a contest on the website I have been following for years, Hip2save.com. If you are unfamiliar with Hip2save, they are a coupon website that helps you save money by creating deal scenarios for different stores. I'm obsessed with this site and saving money. I frequent Collin's page at least 10 times a day and I felt so honored to be mentioned on the site as winner #3!!! I won a $50 gift certificate to CouponClutch.com. Basically I scored a new coupon binder that converts into a tote for easier traveling. I was/am excited!! I never thought I would win something so cool. With so many projects going on at once, I can def. use the help of a better binder. Speaking of which, I need to plan my coupon haul for today. James has been so excited by how much money we have saved that he's starting to follow along on all my hauls. Gotta love his enthusiasm :D We even scored free underwear last night that cost $25 a pair. He couldn't believe it.

I love this one. It's between this and zebra :)

I'm starting a new workout program as well. I was under the impression that moving away from all the yummy Mexican food was a good thing and I was correct. What I was incorrect about was my weight loss. Let's just say I want my pounds back!!! My weight loss has caused my clothes to become loose and not in a good way. I went from weighing 128 1bs. in the valley to a crazy 115 1bs. in Fort Worth. Any normal person would be jumping for joy until they figure out that it has been 3 months since I quit working and walking 4 miles a day. The depressing fact was I'm loosing muscle and it's turning to fat. So my new mission is to walk my 4 miles everyday and get it all back!

Finally some love for big booty girls!

My new camera is working out beautifully. I am in love. I have tried so many different cameras and none can compare to my Kodak. It's so user friendly and the photos are gorgeous at 16MP. I'm been really Paparazzi lately. James has even become annoyed. Sorry Hun :(  The only person (** ahem animal) whom I can't a decent photo of is Trigger. She's very intimidated by the green flash light that comes on. She physically backs away from the camera. I will get her on camera on of these days!!! Tiny on the other hand is the most happy with Mom's new camera. He tries to squeeze himself into every photo. Mostly because he wants me to only pay attention to him and not the camera. Gotta love the little man, he's quite hilarious and a HUGE dork.

Bub really misses Daddy.

Photobooth!! Poor James is so tired!

Tiny Alfalfa 5 years old

Nothing like a little King of the Hill after a long day!

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New post coming tomorrow..
I PROMISE. lots to update on but not enough time at the moment.

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I'm so tired... I worked out too hard. Goodnight.