What I'm Loving...

I've been out of Blogger land for the past few days. Monday I ended up staying home from work, after being up sick all night. I'm guessing something I ate Sunday night didn't sit well. I was up until after four a.m. and was like "screw work" that day.   And then yesterday, I was just too out of it to come up with anything to write. However, I am back today. Woo-hoo!   We had a good Father's Day weekend. My in-laws came in and spent the weekend with us. They even brought gifts for Addison.  

   I'm so in love with this Pack n Play. They bought this for us, which came with the matching Travel System, and hauled it all the way down here. The design isn't girly, I know, but that is how I wanted it. I wanted something a little more gender neutral for any future boy we had. They also bought some super, duper cute outfits for our little girl.   I've also been picking up on my crocheting again! But I'll do a separate post on that later.   So typically on Wednesday I do OHP, but today I decided to switch it up and link up for What I'm Loving Wednesday....  

Click here for the link-up

 

I'm Loving...

apple slices and caramel dip.

For some reason, I'm loving that for a snack.

 

I'm Loving...

this color yarn in "Fruit Punch"



 

 

I'm Loving...

the feeling of my little girl moving around in my tummy.

At night I want her to be still, but I still love feeling her.

 

I'm Loving...

that my next appointment is nearly here.

I love hearing my baby's little heartbeat.

 

I'm Loving...

my husband, very much.

I couldn't have asked for a better man.

 

 

 

I'm Loving...

My best frister (friend/sister).

This picture cracks me up!

 



  I'm Loving... Taco Stuffed Shells. I made it for dinner last night. #Yummy   I'm Loving... Maternity clothes. Thank you Jesus for an awesome friend who lends them to you. I have no idea what I would have done without them.   I hope you all have a great Wednesday!

Hobbies for Opposites

Ever hear the phrase, "Opposite Attract"?

I'm a believer that, in most cases, this is totally true.

 

My husband and I have a lot in common in some ways,

and then are polar opposites in others.

For example:

 

He enjoys gardening. Me... Not so much.

 

I enjoy reading. Him... Not at all.

 

He enjoys hunting in general. Me... I'm not a deer hunter.

I can't sit still that long. I could squirrel hunt, though.

 

I enjoy consignment shopping. Him...He's more of a Flea Market,

one-stop-shop kind of man.

 

I put the toilet paper on one way (the right way),

and he puts it on the other.

 

Trust me, the list could go on.

The one thing that we definitely have in common, is that we love to spend time with each other. It is just finding something that we both can enjoy doing together.

We tried to come up with something last night, and of course,

we both came up blank.

 

So I do what I always do when I'm coming up blank;

I Googled it.

 

These were the ideas that Google brought me to.

 

Geocaching

I just recently heard about this one, because some guy is always in our parking lot, supposedly doing this. I'm not sure how he has so much time on his hands that he does this on a daily basis and always ends up in our office parking lot. I digress. This is basically like one big scavenger hunt, using a GPS. I've only done a small amount of research on it, but basically you go and find these coordinates that take you to some landmark, or in some cases, something that was left in that specific spot, and then mark it saying you done it on your GPS. While I'm not one hundred percent sure I would be into this, it would be something different from the general, dinner/movie date. I'm willing to try something new, and who knows, maybe it will be something we both like.

 

Snorkeling.

I do actually enjoy doing this. I've done it twice, once just for fun at the springs down the road, and the second time I was scalloping. Both times I've loved it. This would be something cheap we could do. All we would need is to buy the gear, and then spend a few bucks going to wherever we want to snorkel.

 

Fishing

This is a given. I'm married to a country boy who loves to fish. I grew up with a fishing pole in my hand, so I don't mind it. Its not something I want to do constantly, but I always enjoy when I go with him. Not a big guy group, but with him. I think one reason I love going with him is because I get to see how much he enjoys it. He's such a hard worker, that I love watching him be able to do something that he loves and that relaxes him.

 

Collecting

My husband is pretty sentimental when it comes to things. He has a stamp collection that his dad (or someone) started that he refuses to get rid of. He has a whole box of baseball cards. He has the map coin collection (you know, the 50 states map that became big while we were kids?), with all 50 coins. I want to say that his dad collected coins as well and he has some of those. The only thing I've ever collected consistently was notes from my friends that we passed back and forth during the school days LOL. However, this could be something we could start and then include our children on it eventually. The time spent looking together would make it worth while.

 

Rock Climbing

I have never done this, and I'm not sure if he has or not or even if he would be interesting. But it came up in my Google search and intrigued me. I've always wanted to do the indoor rock climbing, especially after watching people do it on TV. Turns out there is one conveniently located near us. This may not be an all the time hobby, but maybe something once or twice a month, especially after Addison is born.

 

I haven't had the chance to discuss any of these with him,

so I have no idea if any of it is something he would be interested in or not...other than the fishing.

However, its worth a shot.

I want to find something we can do together, just the two of us.

We've found that we don't have much of a life outside of work and church.

Most evenings are spent at home cleaning for me, gardening for him, and watching TV.

So, obviously, we need something.

If you guys have any ideas on things that we can do together please let me know! 

Oh How Pinspiring!

The last two days I've been super exhausted! Not sure why... I've been getting plenty of sleep. Yesterday, after eight hours of sleep, I ended up leaving work early and went home to sleep another three hours... I was still in the bed before 11 p.m. last night. I'm guessing this is just one of those pregnancy lull's after feeling so good, and energized the last two months.   Anyways, Last night I finally decided that I wanted to pick up my crocheting again. Sadly, its been a long while since I've picked up my needle and yarn. I was working on my sister a blanket, and have realized that I am not very good at focusing and doing just ONE project. I get bored with it too easily.   My theory, at the moment, is that if I can switch it up, and just try something else for a bit, then maybe I'll get back in the blanket-making-mojo, and actually finish the darn thing for her.   This brings me to today's OHP Pinspiration;  Ideas on what to try next before focusing back on her blanket...          

Newest Obsession

At the moment I'm battling the urge to either hug my supervisor,

or give her shake and ask her what she was thinking!!!

 

Which of course, I would almost never do... ;)

 

She and I share a love of reading,

so when we got to talking books, and she began telling me about Divergent,

I knew I wanted to read it.

 

 

Basically, if you liked the Hunger Games, you will love this.

It is similar, in the way the futuristic society is broken up; instead of Districts, like The Hunger Games, they are called Factions.

There are Five Factions: Amity, Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Erudite.

 

Needless to say, I'm hooked. I started the first book Friday, and finished it Friday night.

The second book I bought on Sunday, and finished it Monday night.

I tried, tried, TRIED, to slow it down on the second one,

because I knew I had until October for the third one came out,

but that didn't happen.

I was totally sucked in, unable to put the stupid book down for too long,

because I HAD to know what would happen next.

 

Now I have 4 months until the third book, Allegiant, comes out.

I will definitely be pre-ordering this book.

 

I think my favorite thing about this book is the relationship that forms

between two of the main characters.

But I won't spoil it for you.

You will just have to read them yourself!

 

The movie comes out next year; March I think.

So I'm super excited!

That means more premiers for my sister and I to attend! :)

 



Menu Monday & 5 for Five

Today is going to be a good day, Monday or not.
I feel like, if I keep telling myself this, then just maybe, it will be.
Mind over matter right! :)

So over the weekend I thought it would be fun,
that along with my 5 for Five post on Monday's,
I would start something like a Menu Monday.

I've mentioned several times on my blogs about my menu's and grocery shopping lists.
I've mentioned how much of a pain in the rear-end it is,
and my love/hate relationship for cooking in general.

In a sick and twisted way, though, I kind of enjoy it all.
It makes me feel like I've accomplished something at the end of the day,
and that at least one small piece of my life is on track in an organized,
non-chaotic way.

Let me know if it something you are interested in, and if there are enough people who are interested,
we can do some sort of link-up, which is ALWAYS fun!

Okay, So last Friday I put my Menu and shopping list together,
and then, yes, I took the time to make up a cute menu on PowerPoint to put on my fridge.

Just a little screen capture of what my menu look like.

  My Menu Plan for the Week.

Monday
Meatball Stroganoff
(my newbie recipe for the week)
Click here for recipe

Tuesday
Chicken Pot Pie
(I can't find the link for this recipe,
but if you want it I have it printed out at home,
and can post it one day...really simple)

Wednesday
Hotdogs w/ chips

Thursday
Taco Stuffed Shells
Click here for recipe

Friday
Chicken Strips
w/ a veggie

Saturday
Spaghetti
w/ garlic bread

Sunday
Chicken and Spinach
Pasta Bake
(yes again... I was impressed)
Click here for recipe

Side Note: I'm a Pinterest Recipe Fanatic

Now as usual, I don't go by this strictly.
This is only a guideline so I know exactly what I have that I can cook.
You'll notice on the bottom of my menu (picture above),
I have a space where I put "Optional Dinners".
This was for any dinners pushed over from the previous week.
This way we have lots of options for the week! :)

So what does your Menu look like for the week?

 



Last Weeks Goals

1. Clean Bathroom
Check!!

2. Make up Menu and Grocery List for the week

Proud of myself for staying on top of this! :)

 

3. Get the rest of the Furniture out of baby room

This was a no go, but maybe this week!

 

4. Get Secret Sister a Gift

Finally got this done!!!
 

5. Get Graduation Gift

Ended up just giving money, because I couldn't find what I wanted to give,
but hey, it is still a gift!

New Goals

1. Polish and Vacuum

2. Bring at least 4x to work

3. Get the rest of the furniture out of baby room

4. Read my Bible every morning at work

5. Blog 5 days



What goals do you want to accomplish this week?!



Friday Food (Yummy)

First things first...

 

I wanted to apologize for my uber, depressingly, short post yesterday.

Yesterday wasn't a very good day.

And when you are having a terrible not so good day, it's hard to keep it from

seeping into your blogging.

 

However, today is a brand new day, and I'm feeling much, much better!

Seeing as it is Friday, that tends to help.

Who doesn't love Friday's?

 

I am, once again, making up a menu and grocery list.

I know I JUST done this on Monday,

but I decided that since our church no longer has night services on Sunday,

I would take advantage of that time to grocery shop,

instead of waiting until Monday evening, when I'm exhausted.

 

I mentioned yesterday in my Its OK Thursday link-up,

that I have a love/hate relationship with cooking.

It used to just be a straight-up HATE relationship, so I've made progress.

However, while I've come to enjoy it more, I still have that tiny bit of dislike going on,

which may be a bit of an understatement.

 

The love part really kicks in, though, when my meal comes together,

and, of course, I get compliments on it from even some of the pickiest of eaters.

For example, when my dad compliments something I've made,

then I know its good, because he isn't one to hold back.

He would bluntly tell me if something wasn't good or not.

 

Last night I tried one of my newbie recipe's from pinterest.

I have been trying to incorporate at least one new recipe in my menu each week.

This week was the Chicken and Spinach Pasta Bake.

Click Here for the original recipe.

 

My version of end result

 

 

One thing you should know about me...

is that I NEVER strictly follow the recipe.

 

 

As soon as I read over a recipe, I already know what I will, more than likely, skip.

Very rarely do I not skip over something in the recipe.

 

With this recipe, the first thing it tells you to do is put 1 TBSP of olive oil in the bottom of the pan and slice an onion to put in it and bake it for however long.

 

The first thing I didn't do was measure the olive oil.

I just put enough in the bottom of the pan to coat the bottom.

 

Second thing I didn't do was the onion.

I didn't have one and stopping by the store for just one onion just didn't make sense to me.

So I just skipped it altogether.

 

Third thing I didn't do was use chicken breast.

I used what I had, which was leg quarters.

So I boiled me some leg quarters, and then shredded it into the mixture.

 

I also forgot to add salt and pepper.

Oops!

However, it was fine.

I just made sure everyone drizzled a little on there before eating it.

 

Even with that little mishap, I still got compliments.

I took some to my mom and dad because we had so much leftover,

and they both complimented me on it.

Score!!

 

My husband even told me that it was one of the best things I've ever made.

I love it when (and IF) my meals come together LOL.

 

I'll share my next Menu of the Week with you on Monday! :)

 

Does anyone else have that Love/Hate relationship with cooking?

 



Its Going To Be OK...Eventually

It has been one of those mornings,
where I could and should have just stayed in bed.
However, duty calls,
and now matter how not-so-good your night was,
You still have to get up and face the day.
 

 

  It's OK   ...To feel like you are the only one excited about something   ...To be who you are   ...To be scared   ...To remember God's promises (He will be faithful to those who are faithful to Him)   ...To always try your best and be your best (If it isn't enough for someone, that isn't your fault)   ...To love your life (even on the bad days)   ...To still want to be looked at like you are someone's entire world   ...That some days you don't feel like you are (see above)   ... To miss the high school days where I went to school, and then took a nap   ...To have a Love/Hate relationship with cooking   ...To want to go out for lunch, instead of eating what you brought, just because you aren't having the best of days   Hope everyone has a great Thursday!      

OHP: House Edition

 It's Wednesday, Oh yeah! *Does Happy Dance*   

   

I hope everyone is having a great week so far,

and if you aren't, just know that you are now halfway through this week.

 

Yesterday, I decided last minute to go to the beach with my mom, sister, aunt,

and the kiddos! After a pretty emotional Monday, I knew I needed it,

and my husband didn't mind me skipping a day of work to go off.

(Yes, I have the best husband, EVER!)

 

So I spent a relaxing day at St. George, and yes got a little red-ish.

But I had a blast.

 

My little Addy must have had a blast too, because she was moving a lot yesterday.

She has finally gotten big enough that I'm feeling her move a lot more.

Now I can basically press where I know she is usually at, and she'll kick my hand.

My husband finally got to feel her for the first time yesterday evening.

I was laying on the bed and asked him if he wanted to feel her...I've gotten pretty

confident about getting her to move. So I place his hand where she'd been kicking.

The first kick wasn't hard enough for him to feel, but then she kicked again,

and he said he felt that one.

 

I'm so excited that I can finally feel her.

Some people tell me that I'll eventually get tired of feeling her,

and about how painful it can be.

However, to be honest, I doubt that will happen.

After having a mild scare where I went so long without feeling her,

I have a feeling I'll cherish each kick, shove, stretch, etc.

whether they feel good or not.

 

Since my little Addy has been on the way,

I've been thinking more than ever about changes needed in my house.

Not just for her, but things that will probably make my life easier as well.

There are things I want to redo, add to, and re-situate to make it all more functional.

So I've been pinning a lot of stuff for my house.

Some things are way out of league for my little home, but are just for future reference or just for fun.

And some things I can actually put into action. 

  So Today is OHP: House Edition     Hope you all have a great Wednesday! :)      

5 for Five

Good Monday Morning Everyone!

I will never understand how week days can drag by,
and weekends stay in hyper-speed.
It was just Friday, the start of the weekend,
and now here I am once more at work on a Monday morning,
wishing I was still asleep.

Oh well... I still had a good weekend.

Recap of my weekend...

My SIL brought in the babies last minute,
 so Friday night I decided to stay home and spend some time with the family.

Saturday Morning my sister, mother, aunt, and myself went and seen Fast 6.
In a word, it was awesome.
My husbands sister (my little SIL) came in Saturday afternoon.
So I took her to the springs that afternoon for a little bit.
We concluded Saturday night with stuffed shells that my aunt made,
and then I fell asleep early.
Big shocker, right? :)

Sunday was church and afterwards we were going to take the SIL to Genghis.
Except he got called in.
So we ended up going for dinner instead once he finally got home.

In other words, my weekend was very nice, but I wish it would have
lasted just a little bit longer.

Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever.

I hope everyone else has a great weekend as well.

Today I'm going to be linking up for 5 for Five.
I haven't had the chance to do it in a few weeks,
because the past few Mondays I haven't been near a computer.
So here we go. :o)

 



Last Weeks Goals

I didn't have any previous goals

New Goals

1. Clean the Bathroom

2. Make up Menu and Grocery list for the week

3. Get the rest of the furniture out of baby room

4. Get secret sister something

5. Get graduation gift



What goals do you want to accomplish this week?!