Happy Tuesday

Positive Quote Of The Day:

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow."

- Albert Einstein

As you can probably see, I have been changing things around. I haven't quite figured out a layout that I love yet so the changes will probably continue until I do.

Healthy You Challenge:

I joined the Healthy You Challenge last night. This is a community of bloggers who want to lose weight, get fit, and maintain a healthy life style. Members can share their ups, downs, and all-arounds throughout their journey to improve their health. At the beginning of my weight loss journey, I had 50lbs to shed to fit in to my wedding gown. As of right now I'm down to 43lbs left. Last Friday, I made a meal plan for the whole week. All of the meals are fairly healthy and homemade. This has kept us from eating out and it seems as though our waistlines and wallets are quite a bit happier.

Wedding Stuff:

I know I already have my dress but I found this dress by Jim Hjelm last night.

I know its a little hard to see the details but I LOVE this dress. If I didn't already have my dress and if I had the money I would totally snatch this dress up faster than you can imagine. Here is a link to a his website if you are interested in getting a better look. jlmcouture.com

Food:

Last night I made a healthy beef and veggie stew. It was really good and the best part is we will have leftovers for a few days.

The Picture isn't all that great but it was delicious.

I also made banana, raspberry, and blueberry bran muffins. As usual this is a recipe from annieseats.com and it was super simple and tasty. There is no sugar in these muffins and they are made with bran so they are really healthy.

This recipe is a winner and I will be making them often.

Last week I stumbled upon the website ziplist.com. This is a website where you can store your recipes and make your grocery list. You can click on your stored recipes and it will add all of the ingredients to a grocery list that is put in the order of the layout of your local store. I tried it out last week and it was so efficient and it cut my shopping time in half. Also, there is a feature where you can have your list sent to your mobile device. This site is pretty cool you should check it out. zip list

Job Stuff:

I'm really excited to go to work tomorrow. It will be the first day where we will actually be working instead of watching orientation videos. The very first shipment of stock will be arriving tomorrow morning and we will be able to make the store look like a real store instead of an empty warehouse. I'm really excited to see all of the product but, I'm even more excited to work with and get to know my fellow teammates.

Have A Happy Night

-Free

Happy Campers

Quote Of The Day:

"I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter"

- Mr. Walt Disney

Pet News:
Yesterday we took Kinsey out to Laguna Lake to go for a swim and play in the dog park. It was such a beautiful day here on the Central Coast. The sun was shinning and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Laguna Lake is our favorite place to take Kinsey on a nice day. They have a floating dock and its perfect for her to jump into the water. She was one happy and tired puppy by the end of the day.

Raves:

We finally got a Chipotle Grill in San Luis Obispo! It is right in the center of downtown and they are busy. I love Chipotle because the food is fresh, tasty, and you get a lot of bang for your buck. Their burritos are HUGE!

Dan and I have been addicted to Damages on FX. It is currently in its third season and it is awesome. The star of the show is Glenn Close and she plays a methodical lawyer. If you have not seen this show yet. Go rent it because you can't miss it.
My new favorite thing to eat for breakfast is Chocolate Cheerios with soy milk. I was a little skeptical at first but they are so yummy!

Food News:

Last night I made pasta with soy beans, turkey and prosciutto meat balls, and a spinach and almond pesto sauce. It was really good! Tonight I will be making beef stew for dinner and muffins for breakfast. I'll post pictures later.





Job News:

After a year and a half of being unemployed, I finally found a job. Its nothing fancy but at this point a job is a job. I'll be working for a department store which is opening next month. Over the next few weeks we will be setting up the store and unloading truck fulls of product. I was concerned that they would rescind their job offer once they found out that I will be out of town the week of the grand opening. They said that as long as I can work the day of opening it should be ok. I'm really hoping that this is true and I'll be crossing my fingers and toes until I see the schedule for that week. We'll see how it goes...




Have A Happy Night

-Free

Fun and Smart Stuff

Positive Quote Of The Day:

"All of our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them"

- Mr. Walt Disney

School News:

This last week I have been super busy studying for midterm exams. The grades have been posted for two of my four exams and I managed to get A's on both. The third exam I was supposed to take got postponed because the teacher thought the exam would be to hard for us. I'm really quit irritated about this because the first exam we took in her class was so easy. The people that failed to actually read the instructions didn't do so well but that is their problem and not a problem with the exam. Spending a lot of time to prepare for this exam was a total waste of my time. So, I'm left waiting for my grades from my fourth exam.

In my positive psychology class, we have to give a presentation on some aspect of positive psychology for our final project. We were instructed that we had to make it personal to us. I have decided on my presentation topic and I'm so excited to start putting everything together. My topic is.... Learning Positive Psychology Through Lessons Taught By Disney. All Disney films have some sort of positive aspect so I will be sitting down in front of the tv and watching Disney movies over spring break. YAY!!!

Wedding News:

We ordered my wedding band about a week ago and the scheduled delivery date was yesterday. I stayed home all day waiting for the UPS man to come. Our house is a granny unit behind the main house and most delivery people can't figure out where our house is. This always ends up with one or both of us trying to track down the package and having to wait a few days to pick it up from the distribution center. I heard the UPS truck at 4:00pm and I booked it out side to catch him. When I opened the gate, my favorite UPS man from Blockbuster was standing there holding my package. It was great to see him and I was able to explain where our unit is. He said that he would make sure to drop off future packages to the right place.

ok on to the ring...
This is not the original ring we were going to go with. My engagement ring had a matching band to go with it but I found this ring and it is nicer than the matching one and quite a bit less expensive. You can't beat less expensive. This is what we went with...

If you look closely, the top row and the bottom row are separate pieces. I love this because I can have 5, 3, 2, or 1 depending on what I want to be wearing. I'm very happy with it except for the fact that I ordered it half a size too small. But that isn't a big deal.

Friend News:

Wednesday night my friend Robert called and asked if he could stay with us for a night on Thursday because he was passing through town on his way down to San Diego. So he got here around 9:15pm and we went out to dinner at Chili's. He slept on our tiny couch and Kinsey had to take the floor. She was not to happy about the arrangement. It was really nice to start off my spring break spending time with him.

Honeymoon News:

I was finally able to get all of our flight tickets for a really good deal. Spending hours watching the rates go up and down was not my idea of a good time but it was worth it. As of right now, it looks like we won't be able to book anything else until the first of August. That is when Disney puts out their 2011 rates. Besides Disney the only thing left to book are our shore excursions for the cruise. We looked through the current shore excursions and we have picked out two that we are interested in. I'm pretty sure we have to wait until August to book them but our travel agent will let us know when they become open for booking.

Food News:

Due to my crazy schedule this last week, I have not cooked anything. While I was waiting for the UPS man yesterday, I was watching The Martha Stewart Show and she had her personal financial guru on the show. They were talking about how much money you can save if you plan your menu for the week and make one trip the the grocery store. This cuts down time, gas, eating out, and impulse shopping. So yesterday I pulled out the weekly ad for Albertsons and clipped coupons as well as I was able to put together our menu using the items that are on sale for the week. Both of us are really excited that we don't have to sit and try to figure out what we want to eat and then make several trips to the store throughout the week. Our menu item for last night was Red Chile Chicken With Rice and Black Beans. I found the recipe on annieseats.com and as usual it was super simple to make. Both of us gave it two thumbs up.

This recipe was quick, simple, and healthy you just can't beat that!

For breakfast this morning I made cinnamon rolls. I made the dough and did all the prep-work after dinner last night. This morning all I had to do was pop them in the oven. I found the recipe on allrecipies.com and it was fairly simple but I want to use the recipe from annieseats.com and compare.

The whole house smells like cinnamon now and I love it!

From making the dough for the Cinnamon rolls I learned that I need to purchase a few tools before I make anything else that involves dough.




A pastry Brush

A timer

and most of all a rolling pin

These are things I don't think of needing until I'm in the middle of doing something. I think a trip to Bed Bath & Beyond is needed after we go to the dog park.

Have A Happy Day

-Free

Busy Bee

Positive Quote Of The Day:

A man is the product of his thoughts, what he thinks he is.

-Ghandi

School News:

Wow this week was crazy! I have been going at warp speed all week and I got a lot of stuff done but, now I'm pooped. This semester I'm taking life management . My instructor told the class that this would be a semester of change and she wasn't kidding. She told us that a goal is not a goal unless you schedule daily tasks to make your goal a reality, its just a fantasy. We have been working on a goals project. This project made me write down my long term goals, my intermediate goals, and my daily tasks that will put things in action. I have been aware of my long term goals and my short term goals for quite awhile now but I haven't been doing anything to move forward with my goals. Since I could physically see what I want and what I need to do to get there I became really motivated. All though if you were to ask Dan right now he would say I'm way to motivated. I have been up until about 4am every night this week and since our shack is so tiny I have been disrupting his sleep. I feel bad but I can't help it.

So far this week I have gotten the following items done:

1. Organization- my filing system is updated, my calendar is updated, There are lists everywhere, and my desk has been rearranged to increase productivity.

2. I polished up my resume

3. I have made spreadsheets for everything ie. school assignments, degree requirements, travel, chores, and financial.

4. The dreaded credit report- I have been avoiding this task for a long time because I was of what I would find. I was pleasantly surprised YAY!!! I was really worried about my student loans but since I'm still a full time student they are deferred for quite awhile and not accumulating interest. Score! So now I have some light cleaning up to do and then my score should shoot up pretty quick.

I'm pretty excited about getting so much done. I'm planning on landing a job in the beginning of May because April is to hectic to start a new job. But the ball is rolling =)

Advisory Board News:

We had our March meeting yesterday and there was a lot of talk about budget cuts and whatnot. This is probably my least favorite part of being on the board because it is almost always bad news and the mood in the room tends to be pretty gloomy. On a positive note, when I got to the meeting my business cards were sitting there waiting for me. I know I'm a dork. The best part of the meting was a video we got to watch about teen drinking in our community. It was put together with students from San Luis Obispo County and it was really well done.

Cooking:

I found a recipe for oreo cupcakes on annieseats.com and I had to make them. They came out really good. Due to my current diet plan, I had to get them out of the house so I brought them to school. My classmates loved them and they were really happy to get cupcakes in class. YUMMY!

Have A Happy Night

-Free

Not Quite June Cleaver

Quote Of The Day:

"The shortest distance between two points is under construction"
-Noelie Altito

In School News:
This week my favorite teacher was out sick and we had a substitute teacher. Luckily our substitute was my second favorite teacher. He wanted to get to know us so, he went around the room and asked everybody, what do you want to be when you grow up and why are you here? When he got around to be I said that I wanted to be June Cleaver when I grow up and I'm in college as a backup plan. After class he told me that women have been fighting to get out of the kitchen and be powerful business women since the fifties and that wanting to be June Cleaver might be viewed as taking a step backwards. All I could say was, "Maybe if women got back into the business of running a household and raising children the younger generations might end up being productive members of society." All he had to say after that was, "maybe you have a point."

I'm not quite there yet...

In Crafting News:

I started a sewing project this afternoon around 2:00 it is now after 11:30 and it is not done yet. Nothing was going right from the start and it just kept rolling down hill. I threw in the towel over an hour ago but Dan is determined to show me up and make it work. As I am sitting here typing, he looks to be on the home stretch. Is there anything he is not good at???

In Movie News:

We went to see Alice In Wonderland 3D this morning. I hate Tim Burton so I went reluctantly. Pleasantly I was surprised! The Red Queen was awesome and the movie was beautiful. My only two complaints are, Dakota Fanning should have been casted as Alice and they should have included the singing flowers. Overall, I give the movie a B+

As for the theater...

$24.00 for two matinee tickets is crazy and $6.00 for a small bag of CRAPPY popcorn is robbery.

In Cooking News:

Tonight I made Herb-Rubbed Grilled Chicken with Creamy Orzo. I found this recipe on annieseats.com and it was quick, simple, and it was really yummy =)

Looking at this picture is making me hungry again.

Crafting Side Note:

Growing up I had one of those Martha Stewert loving mothers. There were countless hours of watching that show in our house. Martha had a small segment in each episode called "It's A Good Thing" and after awhile I wanted to tell Martha where she could stick that good thing. Ten plus years later... I'm recording and watching the show daily. There is definitely something wrong with me. LOL

I found this the other day. One day when we are living in a real house and not a shack, I want a crafting room just like this one but with more blue.

Have A Happy Night

-Free

Sweat And Sweets

Positive Quote Of The Day:

"All great achievements require time"

- Maya Angelou

Let me start by saying, today was a long day. Moving is never fun but I'm glad that we went to help Dan's sister move. Vanessa and I got to spend alone time today while the boys were moving and the kids were at the new house. We never get to hang out so even though we were cleaning it was still fun. I was also able to spend a lot of time with my niece and nephews. Its always crazy to see how fast they grow in between visits. Last time I saw Cade he was barely crawling and today he was running and talking.

Cade and Kalie

Kalie is one smart kid! Today Grandma had given her a bunch of candy and a little while later she saw me eating a smores granola bar and wanted a piece. I explained to her that she had already had to much sugar and I wasn't about to give her any more. She looked at me and said, " So next time I see you, if I don't eat candy, you will share with me???" I just love kids as long as I can hand them back to their parents when I'm done.

In food news:

The island chicken that I was going to make last night didn't get put in the oven and the chicken went bad. I'll have to try doing it next Friday =( Tonight after a long day of moving I had no desire to cook dinner so we opted for a freezer pizza. So healthy... but while the pizza was in the oven, I decided to make coffeecake muffins. I got the recipe from some website and the recipe didn't make any sense. I ended up with a ton of the streusel left over and not enough batter. They did come out nice and Dan gave them the thumbs up though.

Now the house smells like cinnamon =)

Instead of a muffin I had this for dessert:

It looks like ice cream, it smells like ice cream, and tastes like ice cream, but it is NOT ice cream!Haha I figured out how to make 100% natural ice cream with no sugar or dairy added. Does anybody have a guess as to how I worked this miracle????

There only three ingredients in this bowl. Strawberry, vanilla, and banana. I froze the banana and put it in the food pro. with a little vanilla, put it in the bowl with strawberry as a garnish. Is is so yummy and knowing that I won't get sick or fat from eating it makes it taste even better!

In crafting news:

People love my purse that I made last night and everybody wants one. I wanted to make a quilt next but now that is on the back burrner. Next up is a purse for Dan's sister. She will be getting a bag the same style as mine but hers will be black with hot pink polka dots and a pink inside. After that I'm going to make a pirate tote bag to take on our cruise. Dan picked out the fabric and the pattern and it is going to be super cute. After that is a tote bag for my mom. I don't have fabric picked out yet but it will be super cute as well. With taking fifteen units this semester, it is going to take me forever to get these three projects done but I can't wait!

In wedding news:

Tomorrow afternoon Dan and I are going to meet with the owners of the restaurant where we will be having our reception. I almost feel bad for them because I have made a spreadsheet for the meeting. Yes I'm obsessed with Excel. Dan is really excited that he has the day off. Originally I was going to go and take care of it myself and he really wanted to be part of the menu selection process. After the restaurant, we are going to walk down to the bakery and order the coolest wedding cupcakes ever! I think I'll have to test the cupcakes one more time while we are there, just in case ;)

Have A Happy Night

-Free

Mud And Chocolate

Positive Quote of the Day:

God: How do we change the world?

Evan Baxter: One single act of random kindness at a time. -Evan Almighty

Happy Birthday Kinsey!

This morning we took Kinsey to get a new chuck-it for her birthday. It is a lot nicer than the one we had because the handle hadn't been chewed on yet. Once we had the new chuck-it, we were off to Kinsey's favorite doggie park at Laguna Lake. Due to all the rain we had the last few days it was pretty swampie (yes that's a word!). Kinsey was covered in mud and she loved it! When we got home she put on her birthday hat and ate her yummy sprinkled brownie. It is really hard to believe that she is already a year old. Time seems to blow by so fast.

Yes I know the carpet is hairy don't judge!

After we got home from the park I made Cookie Dough Truffles with a recipe that I found on annies-eats.com. I was a little apprehensive about working with chocolate at first but everything went fine.

They are not as pretty as the ones from Annies Eats but they taste pretty good.

The last item of my day was margarita time with my favorite family member. We went to Chili's and had good food, good conversation, and great margaritas =) You just can't beat that!

Any who... Tomorrow is Monday which means it's time to start my diet and exercise program. I purchased my wedding gown almost a year ago because originally we were planning on getting married in May. A lot of stuff has gone on in the last year and I ended up gaining fifty pounds since I bought my dress. I have managed to lose five pounds already but I still have forty-five to go. Now that the count down is at 228days to go, its crunch time. I really love to eat so I'm going to have to work my butt of at the gym and I'm going to have to learn how to cook health food that tastes good. This is going to be a long and hard journey but I'm up for the challenge!

Tomorrow will be full of exercise, chores, and a lot of homework. I can't wait!

Have A Happy Night

-Free

Tsunami In The Kitchen

Positive Quote of the Day:

Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind -Dr. Seuss

First I would like to say that my prayers are with the people of Chili and all others that are suffering from today's earthquake and tsunamis. For those of you who know me well, you all probably know that I was a basket case today due to the tsunami advisory that was in effect here on the central coast. For those of you that do not know me well, I am deathly afraid of cold water. But we made it through the day with nothing but high surf and for that I'm so thankful.

Now on to the fun stuff...

Dan went down to Apple Valley with one of his buddies to do some wrenching. Normaly when he goes out of town, I like to have a nice meal waiting for him when he gets home. So today I decided to try a new recipe that I found on fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com for Chicken and Bisuits. I'm not sure if it was because of the tsunami advisory or not but tonight I was a tsunami leaving distruction in my kitchen. There was flour everywhere, pots boiling over, dishes everywhere, and food all over the floor. Kinsey appreciated the food on the floor and I appreciated her cleaning the floor. Despite the mess, dinner turned out really well.

Fresh out of the oven and smelling yummy!

Both of us enjoyed dinner and we have enough leftovers to last us for a few days. I was hoping to beable to make dessert but Dan didn't call when he was on his way home so I didn't have enough time to make both. I have a recipe for dessert that I have been wanting to try for a few weeks now but for whatever reason I can't seem to find the time to make it. I'll have to find time to make it tomorrow because as of Monday I'm going to be on a very strict diet.

Tomorrow is Kinsey's first birthday and I have a lot of fun things planned. I know its a little silly to plan a birthday for a puppy but I can't help myself. Tomorrow I'll post pictures and hopefully pictures of my dessert if I can find the time.

Have A Happy Night-

Free

Overview Of My New Blog

So far 2010 has gotten off to a great start! The next couple of years have so much to bring and I'm hoping that this blog will catalog all ups and downs, trials and tribulations, and the fun along the way.

Breakdown of 2010 Events:

1. Spring 2010 Semester- I started the semester earlier this month and I'm taking a huge load this semester. Over the next four months of the semester I'm sure I'll have moments of joy,anger, anxiety, laughter, and triumphant achievement. You can look forward to rants, raves, and stories of absolute ridiculousness.
2. Kinsey's First Birthday- This Sunday is my puppy's first birthday and Dan and I have a full day planned just for her.
3. Nick's Bachelor Party- One of my best friends is getting hitched to one of the most awesome chicks ever in April. For as long as I can remember Nick has looked down on "The M word". But he met that perfect girl for him and before he can say "I Do" we are throwing a bachelor party that will go down in history! I know girls at the bachelor party is a no no but as my guy friends like to put it... I'm not a girl, I'm just a guy with long hair.
4. Nick & Lisa's Wedding- This will surely be the best wedding I have ever been to. I'm super excited that they have decided that they want me in the wedding party. In the past I have dreaded being a bridesmaid but their wedding is super laid back (Hawaiian dress and sandals) and their is no way I could turn down this opportunity.
5. The Cruise After Party- A week after Nick and Lisa's wedding, some of us close friends are going to join them on a four day Baja Mexico cruise. It is going to be super fun and some people are going to lose liver function.
6. Summer Semester- I'll be nearing the home stretch and I'm predicting that there will be a lot of senioritis moments.
7. Fall Semester-I get to do a 400 hour internship. I'm hoping I can do my internship at San Luis Obispo Drug and Alcohol Services in the Department of Prevention.
8. Sunset Beach Camping Trip- My friend Robert has organized trips once or twice a year for quite awhile. The last few years busy schedules have gotten in the way of this fun event but Robert is back and I have a feeling that this will be the most fun trip we have ever had.
9. My Wedding!!!- Dan and I are going to get married October 15th 2010. We have a super super tight budget. I plan on blogging about DIY wedding stuff so it should be pretty fun. The only thing I'm dreading is dealing with my dress.
10. Christmas- In the last few weeks I have been bitten by the creativity bug. I'm planning on doing crafty projects for gifts this year so I hope you will get to laugh at me trying new things. I know I'm going to be pulling my hair out and laughing at myself a ton.
11. Our Honeymoon- On January 14th 2011 Dan and I will be leaving for our honeymoon. The first part of our honeymoon will be a Western Caribbean Cruise and then we will be hitting Disney World! The planning process should be interesting to say the least.

Other Topics You Will See In My Blog:

1. Cooking
2. Crafting
3. Positive Quotes
4. Diet & Exercise
5. Books
6. TV Shows
7. Rants & Raves

If you are reading this, Thanks for visiting!