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

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

Needles And Polka Dots

Positive Quote Of The Day:

"Try to to see the light. If it is difficult, then try to feel its warmth."
-Maysoun Saadi

Pet News:

Yesterday, Kinsey and B went to the vet. to get all of their shots. Kinsey was having a really good time until the last shot she got. All was forgotten once they gave her a cookie. Poor B was pretty stressed out but, she didn't put up a fight. Once we got home I decided that since she was already ticked off it would be a good time to get a picture of her with the birthday hat.

Happy second birthday Princess!

In Other News:

While at Walmart, I found a cute pattern for a purse and cute fabric for the project. If you guessed that I decided to use polka dot fabric, you get your gold star for the day! With pattern, fabric, and my copious amount of sewing gadgets in hand I headed over to Kristi's house for my sewing lesson. It took me forever to get everything cut out and ready to sew because I have the cutting skills of a child in kindergarten. After everything was prepped, it took me a little bit to get over being afraid of the needle. Once I realized that I wasn't going to loose a finger, it was smooth sailing. It took me eight hours to make my purse from start to finish including the gabfest. I must say that I am really proud of the way the purse turned out!

I'm going to pick up a gerbera daisy to pin in the upper right corner. I'm already planning my next project but, I need to hit the books hard before I can get started.

Well, Dan and I are headed off to Paso Robles to help his sister move. Due to the fact that I sprained my wrist I won't be doing a lot of moving but I'll get to play with my niece and two super cute nephews. YAY for being an auntie =)

Have A Happy Day

-Free

Fun And Furballs

Positive Quote Of The Day:
"If I were given the opportunity to present a gift to the next generation, it would be the ability for each individual to learn to laugh at himself."

-Charles Schultz

I love Bed Bath & Beyond! While shopping for wedding gifts (Not for me =/) I saw this set and I told Dan OMG I have to have these! And yes I made the gimme gimme face. He then reminded me that our oven is to small to fit these pans. So even if we had the extra $30 I couldn't have them =( Someday I will have a kitchen bigger than The Blue Banana.

Speaking of blue... I'm in love with a mixer. Once I saw Betty (Yes I named her) it was love at first sight. I often dream about us sitting on a white sandy beach sipping on margaritas together. When I finally do get a kitchen, she's mine and I'll be in the kitchen baking for weeks.

Ok, I need to have this dress!!!!! I'm going to become a master with my sewing machine and then it will be mine, all mine!!! (Insert evil Disney villain cackle here)

Now that I have that out of my system on to more realistic plans:

This morning Dan and I went to take tours of some of the local kennels. We managed to find just the right place for Kinsey after making only three stops. She will be "vacationing" at the Lucky Dog Pet Resort. They have a really nice facility with a super friendly staff and low cost. They even have a nice place for Princess B to stay. In a few weeks Kinsey will go to "Puppy day care" to try it out. I'm sure she will love it though.

I have been really good about not talking about Disney World but today the Disney bug bit me. Dan likes to be spontaneous and just go with the flow but, I'm a planner! The spreadsheet for the Disney trip was started today. Yes I made a spreadsheet that breaks down hour by hour in each park. This one I get to blame on both of my parents. lol I have a type A mother that plans for everything and then there is my dad... he makes spreadsheets for his video games. I was doomed from the start =) I think I may need a 12 step program for Disney planning addicts.

On to the yummy stuff:

I was feeling tired and lazy tonight after six loads of laundry so I decided to make calzones.

I decided to go with turkey, olive, and cheddar. They tasted good but, not having to do dishes after made them taste even better. Tune in tomorrow night for Island Chicken.

In kitty news:

Princess B has a birthday tomorrow!!! She will be two. Unfortunately, tomorrow both her and Kinsey are going to the vet to get their vaccinations. I know I'm a cruel parent... but I didn't plan it this way, it just happened. I will however be mean and put a birthday hat on her and take pictures before giving her a can of tuna. One of these days she is going to pee in all of my shoes for revenge.

Have A Happy Night

-Free

Going Places And Learning New Things

Positive Quote Of The Day:

"Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory"

-George S. Patton

School News:

Today was a long day of school. I accomplished a ton of work in my first two classes which is super. But my last class of the day gave me a huge challenge. I had to take a really hard exam and I have no idea how I did. But, Sharon said that she will have our grades posted before Monday. I'm crossing my fingers and toes! If I manage to get an A in her class this semester, I'll be on the dean's list.

Honeymoon News:
Dan and I found an awesome travel agent at AAA. Her name is Joie and she is helping us put together the best vacation ever! For those of you who don't know, Dan has never done any kind of traveling ie. no planes, no trains, no ships. The farthest he has traveled is to Las Vegas. This trip is going to be a lot of firsts for him so we are both super excited. The first part of our trip is going to be a western Caribbean cruise.

This is our cruise ship. She is Royal Caribbean's Navigator Of The Seas. There are endless amenities on this ship including, an ice rink and rock climbing wall. We will set sail January 15th from Fort Lauderdale Fl. Our first port of call is Cozumel Mexico and the second port of call is Grand Caymen. I can't wait to plan our shore excursions!

Yesterday I was watching flight prices on Priceline.com and I found the perfect flight for an amazing price. SFO to FLL for only $82.00! I called Joie and told her what I was seeing and she told be to purchase them right away because the flights she was able to find for us we much more expensive. It was just one of those times where I was in the right place at the right time. So now the first part of our honeymoon is all set.

In other news:
I have been trying to figure out how to make money at home so that I can finish up school without having to go back to work. Over the last week or so Dan and I have been talking about starting our own business from home. The idea is to make homemade items and sell them online. I have always wanted to learn how to sew and this idea is giving me a reason to take the time to learn. Saturday my friend Kristi is going to give me lessons. My first project is a purse.

This is the inspiration for my first piece. POLKA DOTS!!!! Any who... I want to learn new skills and build on the skills I already have and capitalize on these skills. My mom is one of those freakishly talented and crafty people so, I am hoping that the crafty gene got passed down to me. We shall see...

Have A Happy Night-

Free

Stormy Weather

Positive Quote Of The Day:

Sorrows gather around great souls as storms do around mountains; but, like them, they break the storm and purify the air of the plain beneath them.

-Abyee Maracigan

Last Thursday the rain started but this week the storm came. I have been feeling off since last Thursday but I was not able to put my finger on what exactly the problem was. Last night, I found out that one of the most influential people in my life had been diagnosed with breast cancer. My heart dropped when I heard the news. How can such a horrible thing happen to such a great person? I broke down and she took me into her arms and told me, "Don't worry, I'm a fighter!". As sad as I am, those words made me feel a lot better. I know she would give me the look for saying this but, I know she is going to kick this cancer's ass. She is having surgery next week. If anybody is reading this, if you are one of those people that pray, I would like to ask for your prayers. If you are not one of those people that is fine but, could you please cross your fingers and toes for me? There is stormy weather outside and there is stormy weather inside me. What a coincidence!

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