- My sister is just under three weeks away from her due date. To say I'm excited! is an understatement, I can not wait to meet that little girl!! May family is taking bets on the day and weight. Even my 96 year old grandfather and 94 year old grandmother got in on the bets!
- My sister-in-law found out she is having a boy, so in August we will have a nephew!
- The pollen is killing me. I have never had seasonal allergies, I have plenty of skin and other allergies, but the pollen normally does not affect me. This year, maybe due to outrageously high numbers, I feel like I'm suffocating and my lungs just can't handle it. Praying for rain!
- I've been reading the book Cure for the Common Life. The question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" has puzzled me for as long as I can remember. I know that God gives each of us special talents and gifts to use for His glory. I have constantly struggled with this and have always been one to compare myself to others. This book is helping guide me to find those talents and truly find what it is that I would enjoy doing.
- My husband started his new job Monday! It has started off well and we hope that it will be a good fit. It was a much needed change!
- My husband's aunt passed away this weekend from complications following heart surgery. Because of the new job, we will not be able to go to the funeral in Mississippi.
- I ordered a lemon tree, lime tree and an orange tree. They are being harvested right now and will be shipped at the beginning of April. I would really like to have a garden, but being in an apartment is not conducive to having a garden, but a few trees on the balcony will be nice.
- We joined Costco. It's been great! Ryan ventured out to Costco three times in the first week of membership. I think it will save a lot in the long run. And I love to save!
- We are supposed to have dinner on Saturday night with a few of my Italy girls and their husbands. One of the girls has been sick though, so I'm hoping she is still feeling up to coming. I've really been looking forward to getting together!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Bullet Points
Just a few random thoughts:
Friday, March 9, 2012
2012 Recap
Well it’s been a while. Life has gotten in the way. I really thought the start of the new year would help me get back into blogging. Well, it’s March and that didn’t seem to happen. So for a quick recap.
To start the year off, Ryan and I celebrated two years of marriage. We didn’t do any major celebrating since at the time we were/are planning on buying a house. We had a gift certificate to Salt, the restaurant up in Roswell that we got engaged at. We had a lovely night out.
On to the baby showers. My mom, my sister’s best friend and I threw a shower for my sister and her little girl on the way.
We quickly started the home search in late January. We were really interested in purchasing a fixer upper, however most of the homes we looked at were way beyond being fixer uppers. We noticed that many of these homes needed a great deal of work but did not have the purchase price attached to it to be able to afford to do all the repairs and upgrades. We quickly changed our focus and found a great home in our price range that we loved.
For a few weeks we went back and forth on whether to put an offer in, submitted an offer and then turned down on our offer. The seller even came back a week later to see if we were still interested. We hesitantly put in another offer to be rejected again. Unfortunately the seller was severely under water in the home and did not have the cash to sell. The seller was a little unrealistic in their expectations and at most only reduced the list price by $5,000, stating that they had done numerous upgrades to the home. I believe they bought the home as a flip, but purchased the home in 2008 just before the market crashed and then they continued to put a lot of money into the home. Unfortunately, some of the upgrades were great and much needed, others were poorly done and the value is not there. So we had to walk away. A first we were devastated, I think Ryan a little more upset than me, but after the final offer, I was at peace. The home was not meant to be. More than likely the home will go into foreclosure and we may be able to get the home at a more reasonable price.
Throughout the whole home buying/not buying process, to make things a little more stressful, Ryan was interviewing for a new job. Thankfully, he accepted the new job and has left Enterprise. I cannot explain how wonderful this is!! Enterprise had been taking advantage of Ryan for the last four to five years and it was a much needed change. He has been at home for the last two weeks and will have one more week at home before he starts. It’s been a nice time for him to slow down and rest from the ridiculous crazy life Enterprise created for him. Even though he hasn’t started yet, it’s already a huge improvement, they offer better hours, better benefits and a more relaxed environment. We are excited for the new direction and are looking forward to see what this job holds for our future.
For my birthday, my husband surprised me. I’m not easy to surprise, I tend to play detective and figure it out. But this year he surprised me. I spent about three hours in the car heading to a destination unknown before he finally spilled the beans that we were about thirty minutes away from Huntsville and we were going to the Jason Aldean concert that night. Because we got to Huntsville a little early I was able to spend a few hours with my Italy girls, Kristi and Ashley. Ashley and Ben just had baby Chloe in January and I was super excited to meet her! As an added bonus Kristi happened to be visiting with her little boy, Trey, who is now two years old, and I have never met. Since one of my most memorable birthday was spent with these girls, it was nice to spend the afternoon with them. The concert was awesome and I think Ryan and I are Jason Aldean fans for life, he puts on a great show! Unfortunately I forgot my camera, so I have no pictures of the day except for the few I took with my iphone at the concert. I'm hoping Ashley will share the ones with her sweet little girl!!
Which now brings us to March. Last weekend I went to a surprise baby shower for a sweet friend who is having a little girl in May. It was exciting to be a part of the surprise and it was a lovely shower.
I’m hoping that now that I’ve done a little bit of a recap, I can move forward with blogging, but I make no promises.
To start the year off, Ryan and I celebrated two years of marriage. We didn’t do any major celebrating since at the time we were/are planning on buying a house. We had a gift certificate to Salt, the restaurant up in Roswell that we got engaged at. We had a lovely night out.
On to the baby showers. My mom, my sister’s best friend and I threw a shower for my sister and her little girl on the way.
We quickly started the home search in late January. We were really interested in purchasing a fixer upper, however most of the homes we looked at were way beyond being fixer uppers. We noticed that many of these homes needed a great deal of work but did not have the purchase price attached to it to be able to afford to do all the repairs and upgrades. We quickly changed our focus and found a great home in our price range that we loved.
For a few weeks we went back and forth on whether to put an offer in, submitted an offer and then turned down on our offer. The seller even came back a week later to see if we were still interested. We hesitantly put in another offer to be rejected again. Unfortunately the seller was severely under water in the home and did not have the cash to sell. The seller was a little unrealistic in their expectations and at most only reduced the list price by $5,000, stating that they had done numerous upgrades to the home. I believe they bought the home as a flip, but purchased the home in 2008 just before the market crashed and then they continued to put a lot of money into the home. Unfortunately, some of the upgrades were great and much needed, others were poorly done and the value is not there. So we had to walk away. A first we were devastated, I think Ryan a little more upset than me, but after the final offer, I was at peace. The home was not meant to be. More than likely the home will go into foreclosure and we may be able to get the home at a more reasonable price.
Throughout the whole home buying/not buying process, to make things a little more stressful, Ryan was interviewing for a new job. Thankfully, he accepted the new job and has left Enterprise. I cannot explain how wonderful this is!! Enterprise had been taking advantage of Ryan for the last four to five years and it was a much needed change. He has been at home for the last two weeks and will have one more week at home before he starts. It’s been a nice time for him to slow down and rest from the ridiculous crazy life Enterprise created for him. Even though he hasn’t started yet, it’s already a huge improvement, they offer better hours, better benefits and a more relaxed environment. We are excited for the new direction and are looking forward to see what this job holds for our future.
For my birthday, my husband surprised me. I’m not easy to surprise, I tend to play detective and figure it out. But this year he surprised me. I spent about three hours in the car heading to a destination unknown before he finally spilled the beans that we were about thirty minutes away from Huntsville and we were going to the Jason Aldean concert that night. Because we got to Huntsville a little early I was able to spend a few hours with my Italy girls, Kristi and Ashley. Ashley and Ben just had baby Chloe in January and I was super excited to meet her! As an added bonus Kristi happened to be visiting with her little boy, Trey, who is now two years old, and I have never met. Since one of my most memorable birthday was spent with these girls, it was nice to spend the afternoon with them. The concert was awesome and I think Ryan and I are Jason Aldean fans for life, he puts on a great show! Unfortunately I forgot my camera, so I have no pictures of the day except for the few I took with my iphone at the concert. I'm hoping Ashley will share the ones with her sweet little girl!!
Which now brings us to March. Last weekend I went to a surprise baby shower for a sweet friend who is having a little girl in May. It was exciting to be a part of the surprise and it was a lovely shower.
I’m hoping that now that I’ve done a little bit of a recap, I can move forward with blogging, but I make no promises.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Make Ahead Meals
A coworker of mine is going in for surgery tomorrow to remove some cancerous growths. I can only imagine what he is going through and I’m sure he is a mix of emotions. He is a single guy and doesn’t have much help from his family. A few of us at work have pitched in to make some meals for him since he will be off his feet for a few weeks. I thought I would share my freeze ahead meals.
Four Cheese Tortellini
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In 3 quart glass baking dish, mix tortellini, spaghetti sauce, and water. Make sure all tortellini is coated with sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Uncover and bake 10 minutes longer, until tortellini is tender. Once pasta has cooled, place in container to freeze.
Preheat oven to 350. Cook for 30 minutes. Top with the Parmesan and Mozzarella and continue to cook for another 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and pasta is heated through.
Breakfast Burritos
While the eggs are cooking, place your tortillas on a microwave-safe dish and cover with plastic wrap. Heat for 30 to 45 seconds or until tortillas are just slightly warm. (Warming the tortillas makes them more pliable. If your tortillas are already soft enough to roll, you can omit this step.)
When the eggs are cooked through, stir veggies.
Place ½ cup egg mixture into each tortilla (more if using larger tortillas); sprinkle with cheese and top with some salsa. Roll them up burrito-style.
Wrap each tortilla in tin foil, place on a large baking sheet and freeze. Once frozen through, transfer the burritos in batches to ziploc bags. Freeze for up to one month.
Last Minute Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove burritos from Ziploc bags and heat in the tin foil for 10 to 15 minutes or until heated through.
I can't take complete credit for these. I believe I found them here. I did adjust the pasta dish, it calls for alfredo cheese sauce, but I don't care for that and I bought four cheese tortellini, I thought there was plenty of cheese. :) I also thought about adding sausage or bacon to the burritos, but decided against it, maybe next time!
Four Cheese Tortellini
- 2 (10 oz.) pkgs. refrigerated or frozen cheese tortellini, uncooked
- 28 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
- 1 cup water
- 1-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In 3 quart glass baking dish, mix tortellini, spaghetti sauce, and water. Make sure all tortellini is coated with sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Uncover and bake 10 minutes longer, until tortellini is tender. Once pasta has cooled, place in container to freeze.
Last minute preparation:
Remove pasta from the freezer. Unwrap, place into casserole dish, cover and allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator.Preheat oven to 350. Cook for 30 minutes. Top with the Parmesan and Mozzarella and continue to cook for another 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and pasta is heated through.
Breakfast Burritos
- 12 eggs
- 2 cups cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
- 1 cup chopped veggie trio (red, peppers, green peppers, onions)
- 1/2 cup milk
- salt & pepper to taste
- 24 medium flour tortillas OR 10 large flour tortillas
- salsa
Make-Ahead Preparation:
In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs with the milk and salt and pepper.
Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the egg mixture and cook, stirring constantly, being careful not to brown the eggs, until cooked through.
While the eggs are cooking, place your tortillas on a microwave-safe dish and cover with plastic wrap. Heat for 30 to 45 seconds or until tortillas are just slightly warm. (Warming the tortillas makes them more pliable. If your tortillas are already soft enough to roll, you can omit this step.)
When the eggs are cooked through, stir veggies.
Place ½ cup egg mixture into each tortilla (more if using larger tortillas); sprinkle with cheese and top with some salsa. Roll them up burrito-style.
Wrap each tortilla in tin foil, place on a large baking sheet and freeze. Once frozen through, transfer the burritos in batches to ziploc bags. Freeze for up to one month.
Last Minute Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove burritos from Ziploc bags and heat in the tin foil for 10 to 15 minutes or until heated through.
I can't take complete credit for these. I believe I found them here. I did adjust the pasta dish, it calls for alfredo cheese sauce, but I don't care for that and I bought four cheese tortellini, I thought there was plenty of cheese. :) I also thought about adding sausage or bacon to the burritos, but decided against it, maybe next time!
Friday, October 7, 2011
Photography Challenge: Orange
Orange has always been my favorite color! When I was 2 years old, my mom wanted to have two year old pictures taken. I insisted on an orange dress, and I have been hooked on the color ever since. I promise I did not choose my college based on color, I'm just lucky! I love wearing orange, my room at home is yellow and orange, I decorate my home with hues of orange and red. I try to mix things up and I am still drawn to those colors. One of the hardest though was my wedding. I really wanted a fall wedding, because the colors would be perfect, but I ended up getting married in the winter. Still that did not deter me, I was dead set on orange bridesmaid dresses! I think the bridesmaid dresses took the cake, they were difficult to find. But I love how they turned out. So this week's challenge is easy! Although I did not take some of these photos, they are some of my favorites!
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