This little Q&A a Day book. It's a journal that asks a serious, random, quirky, or fun question every day of the year. Not to mention, it leaves you space to answer for the next five years!! I can't wait to make the full circle and see the answers that we gave in years past. It'll be interesting to see how we change and grow.
G & I just purchased this little gem and have been answering questions for the past three days. So far, we've gotten "What comes to mind when you think of fear?", "This is utterly profound: ______", and last but not least "What advice would you give a second grader?".
It's not really the questions I look forward to, but more the time that we spend laughing and coming up with silly answers. Probably my favorite thing ever.
I know, I know. I've got a lot of catching up to do. Life has been a tad bit crazy. Okay, not that crazy, but kind of? A few things to peak your interest:
I started handling two territories at work. Got a new position. Was only handling one territory (breath of fresh air even though I had no idea what I was doing in my new position). Two people on my team quit. I was immediately handling two territories again. Sigh. Such is life in Corporate America. My days are busy so when I get home, I'm mentally exhausted. I cook, we eat, and then we sleep. Literally. Hoping that will all change soon!
G and I have been obsessed with Downton Abbey, thanks to my good friend, Chelsea. Have you watched this glorious PBS Masterpiece Theatre show? Seriously. Better produced than most other shows. If you love Pride and Prejudice, I highly recommend watching the seasons of this on Netflix or Hulu Plus.
Obsessed.
My old man, G, turned another year older. Love that man so very much.
My best friend from high school got married. Love her too. It was an Aggie wedding, so I was a little out of place, but hey, I'd do anything for her. Pics coming soon.
We found a church in Frisco that we really like. Mercy Church. You should check them out. Seriously.
We randomly decided to sign a lease and move to Frisco? We were kind-of, sort-of contemplating it. Then we found an apartment. With a fenced backyard. And a garage. For cheap. So we thought, "Meh? Why not?". So alas, our house is halfway packed (aka a WRECK!), and we're in the process of moving. Have I mentioned that I hate moving??? G talked me into it... Fun.....
If you're in the market for something bright and cheery, check out this steal of a shower curtain from Anthropologie. I think it's lovely. And I may have purchased on for our now second bathroom yesterday. Feel free to come over anytime and Swoon.
A long time ago, I blogged about some New Mascara that I tried and absolutely loved. Turns out, that mascara is Katie Couric's favorite beauty product. Ever. That's how you know its a winner.
I really think that's all for now. All I can think of anyways.... More to come!
I would just like to apologize on behalf of all of my posts. I am no English major. My grammar and spelling are absolutely terrible. If it weren't for Spell Check automatically checking my emails before they are sent out at work, I think I would have realllllly embarrassed myself on numerous occasions. So I apologize. For spelling errors. For leaving words out. For using the wrong conjugation of verbs. For.. I dunno... being human?? hah! Just don't judge me.
My mother has some recipes that she has made FOREVER and therefore they are some of my favorites. There were several recipes that I took with me to college and now re-create in the Foster home. One of these is Santa Fe Skillet.
Santa Fe Skillet is cheap, quick, easy, absolutely delicious and not to mention healthy. Yep, you heard me, its a Weight Watcher's Recipe, and you would NEVER know! After feeding this to Greg, I let him in on the secret that it was a Weight Watcher's recipe and he was shocked! So, needless to say, this is one that the men absolutely LOVE!
What you need:
1 lb ground beef
3/4 cup onion, chopped
3/4 green pepper, chopped
1 can Rotel, drained
salt & pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cup instant rice
1 1/2 cup beef broth
Grated Mexican Blend cheese (or cheddar)
What to do:
In a large skillet, brown the meat with the onion and green pepper. Once browned, drain the grease off of the meat.
Add the rotel, salt and pepper, instant rice, and beef broth to the skillet. Immediately cover with a lid. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top and re-cover for two minutes. Once the cheese has melted, serve with tortila chips and a salad. Viola!
In case you haven't heard, there are some pretty big movies coming out this year. Three of those movies are inspired from best-selling and must-read novels. I'm SO excited. Not only do I have three movies to look forward to, but three books to re-read before they come out!
The Hobbit
Movie Release Date: December 14, 2012
I had an absolutely insane English teacher in 7th grade who made us read this book. It was way beyond our reading level, but after she was able to walk us through it all, this is one of my very favorite books. The pre-cursor to The Lord of The Rings series, this book explains the back stort. I literally CANNOT wait for this one to be released!
Les Miserables
Movie Release Date: December 14, 2012
This is another book that I had to read during that same 7th grade year, but this book literally IS my favorite book of all time. If you haven't read this book, you HAVE to read this one before it comes out (subsequently on the same day as The Hobbit). If you decide to take on the task of Les Miserables, make sure you read the abridged version. It will save you a couple thousand pages of non-sense. Anyways, this movie will be starring some huge names: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, and Anne Hathaway. I'm getting so excited about it already and I've already started re-reading this one. Worth the time it takes.
The Great Gatsby
Movie Release Date: December 25, 2012
Sadly, I did not read this one in 7th grade, but it was a book that I had to read for school. I remember liking this book, but unfortunately do not remember too much about this one. That's why I'm excited about reading this book again for the Christmas 2012 release date. This movie, starring Leo DiCapprio and Tobey Maguire, should not disappoint.
So what do you do when you visit the grocery store and it's "buy one package of Raspberries, get two free"? You buy them of course and immediately go to Pinterest to find some recipes involving Raspberries. At least that's what I did. After perusing several recipes, I decided to try these Raspberry Pretzel Bars because well, they involved cream cheese. And whipped cream. COUNT. ME. IN.
Good news: Tom Thumb has the same Buy One, Get Two Free deal going all week!! I might be making another batch.... :)
What You Need:
1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
8 oz. pkg cream cheese, softened
8 oz. container cool whip
6 oz. package raspberry jello
2 cups water, boiling
24 oz. raspberries (frozen or fresh)
What To Do:
Preheat oven to 325.
Crush enough pretzels (about 3 large handfuls) to make 1 1/2 cups of pretzel crumbs. Combine in a bowl with 1/2 cup sugar and your melted butter. Once well mixed, press into the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Bake for 6 minutes and then let cool.
In a separate bowl, cream together the softened cream cheese and the last 1/2 cup of sugar. Once well mixed, mix in the container of cool whip. Spread on top of the cooled crust with a spatula.
In yet another large bowl, pour 2 cups (2 1/2 cups if using fresh raspberries) boiling water over the package of raspberry jello. Whisk until the jello powder is completely dissolved. Once dissolved, add your raspberries and mix well. Place bowl into the freezer for about 1.5-2 hours, or until the mixture turns into the consistency of an egg white. Pour over the creamy layer. Refrigerate until the jello has set. Best if left untouched overnight!
Sorry for the ugly corner where Greg and I taste-tested this before approving!
There was a day when my sweet endearing husband said "I don't know if you could do it". Of course, he only said this because my nature is to stay in bed and sleep till noon, given the choice. Well, if anyone knows me, they also know that me being told that I "can't" do something is straight up a challenge. Something to immediately prove that I CAN do. And that's also what he was doing. By telling me that I couldn't do it, he knew that it would spur me to want to prove him wrong.
And it worked! Almost 8 months later, I still wake-up early 4-5 days a week and go get a good workout in. Naturally, I've had to change my workout every so often to give me something to look forward to, but I've gotten into a rhythm and have developed some staple workouts throughout my week that I absolutely love. One of those workouts is the one that greets me every Monday Morning.
Brace Yourself.
I start out every Monday with some cardio. Actually, let me clarify. Its hill intervals on a treadmill. Aka death on a Monday. On the blog I pulled this from, Sweet Tooth, Sweet Life, she titles this workout "Sweaty Mess" Incline Intervals. That should give you some insight into what you could get yourself into here. But in the end, after I'm sweating profusely and vastly out of breath, I love it!
If you're looking for something that will burn a TON of calories, help improve your endurance, and tone up your legs, this is a great workout to try out this upcoming week. Keys to success for this workout: a water bottle, some good tunes to keep you pumped up, picking your knees up on the hill sprints, and "driving" your elbows to keep you moving. You'd be surprised at how easy hills become when you pick your knees up and drive/pump those elbows. Just a little trick I learned from my distance running hubby.
