Food Network Friday

So here I sit, at work, watching tv.  Yep, watching tv.  LOL.  The channel of choice lately, and well anytime really, is Food Network.  I LOVE cooking and if I can't cook, why not watch someone else do it??  *insert Fangirl scream* 

There are quite a few shows that I like and a couple that I don't.  I think I connect most with Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman and Rachel Ray.  Both of these shows really speak to me.  Rachel creates good food fast and Ree makes the downhome cooking I grew up eating. 

Lately I've been trying to eat healthy and instill good eating habits in my family, so I'm looking forward to taking some of these recipes and making them a touch healthier.  Replacing oil with applesauce or avocado in sweets or as simple as replacing white potatoes with sweet potatoes and convincing my hubby the won't kill him. 

So I leave you with a little tidbit of ridiculousness I saw this morning.  It's a clip from The Barefoot Contessa.  While I don't mind her show, it's not my favorite.  Today after slaving over decadent food to feed a crowd, Ina was seranaded by friends around a piano.  While the idea of hanging out with good friends and good food appeals to me, the setting and words of the song made me roll my eyes.  Click here to see the video via Youtube.  It's not my video, just a link. 

Until next time... sweet dreams!

Whirlwind...

What a difference almost 3-1/2 weeks makes...  In the time since I've blogged a lot has happened.  On June 30th, I celebrated one of the happiest days of my life with my best friend, who is now my husband!  I GOT MARRIED!!!  It was simple, yet amazingly beautiful!  We were surrounded by a couple close friends and family for a nice, outdoor wedding.  ((I just realized after I wanted to upload about 30 photos from my wedding, that I should probably make that a separate post))

The day turned out absolutely beautiful and we had a great time!  J's parents, grandparents on his Dad's side, sister, and niece were able to come out from Michigan.  It was a great visit.  

Most of the time while his parents were in town we spent our time at the hotel visiting with them...  and swimming.  Hey!  What can I say?  Free swimming when it's 100+ degrees outside...  Yes Ma'am!  Sign me up!  I was a little saddened by the way M interacted with her grandparents tho.  Ok, so she hasn't seen them in over a year, which was back when she was 3 months old and of course she was all giggles and smiles, but now that she is a little more aware and cognisant... didn't want to have anything to do with them.  Sad really, I was hoping for a great visit that everyone would enjoy.  They sure do miss her when they aren't here and I completely understand, just wish things would have worked out better.  On a good note tho, she was giving kisses before they left, so that was nice!

We also had a great visit with a friend of ours from Wisconsin.  She is a really good friend of ours and was also the officiant for our wedding!  It turned out great!  She was with us from June 27th to July 7th.  Was sad dropping her off at the airport, but she had a function to go to back in WI, so I think she was ready!  

Now it's back to normal life... well, as normal as it ever was!  We are struggling a bit to get Maddie back on her normal routine.  Having family in from out of town and not doing what you are used to can mess up anyone's routine.  I am waiting for my test date to take my NCLEX - LPN exam, then I can get a job!  I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm kinda excited to get back to work.  After all, it's been 3 years since I last worked...  

Ok, off to see what Maddie's curious 17 month old fingers are getting into... most likely, not something she's supposed to have!  

Under Construction

Sheesh, isn't this the story of my life!  LOL  Anyways, just a quick note to say that I have some really great ideas for this blog and I'm going to be taking some time to spruce it up and add some stuff.

I've been thinking (scary, I know), my life isn't just one thing.  I am a multi-faceted person.  There is the part of me that is the wife to one of the most wonderful men in the whole entire world *swoon*.  There's the part of me that the mother to two wonderful, beautiful girls.  Then there's a part that is a recent Nursing school graduate, the part that is still learning her way through weight loss surgery, the part that wants to do ::some::  kind of crafty thing with her time...  the list goes on and on.

So my grand idea...  a blog of blogs.  I mean, why paint myself into a corner and only target one audience???    It just doesn't make sense.

So be prepared in the coming days and weeks to see some changes happening!  I'm excited...  how about you?

A Day at the Lake

So I know last night I said we were going to go to the pool today, but we changed our minds.  We decided to pack up the girlies and head to the lake.  After that decision was made, the packing began!  Towels, sunscreen, camera, toys, diapers, wipes, snacks, water… you name it, we took it!  I would rather be over packed than under packed any day.  Not to mention, John and I learned our lesson the last time we went to the pool and forgot to bring an extra diaper… Oops! 

So after we got all packed, changed Maddie into her swimming suit, and got everything out to the truck, we stopped over at my Mom’s house and picked up Kimmy.  Next was a quick stop at Wal-Mart and then we were on our way. 

Since it was around noon, we stopped off at McDonalds (yah I know, fast food isn’t healthy, but it IS quick), grabbed some sandwiches for us and some chicken nuggets for Maddie and we headed out of town. Maddie crashed out in her seat about 5 minutes out of town. What can I say, it was around nap time and girlie was tired…

Once we got to the lake, Maddie woke up and I remembered we forgot to grab ice before we left town, so I dropped off the family at the swim beach to eat their lunch and I drove over to the Information Center for some ice.  I grabbed two bags and headed back.   After grabbing a quick bite to eat, we headed down to the water. 

The water wasn’t too bad…  a little on the chilly side, but altogether, pretty nice once you got acclimated to the temperature.  Maddie, of course, loved it.  John and Kimmy were in the water up to their necks pretty quick.  Me?  Oh, I had to take my time, it was colder than I expected. 

Throughout the afternoon, we enjoyed a few trips in and out of the water.  Kimmy blew up the floaties and we relaxed, played, splashed, and yes, Kimmy and I even got dunked a few times. 

By the time we decided it was time to get out of the water, we were all pretty tired.  Time to pack up the stuff and head home.

Overall, we had a pretty good day.  I really enjoyed the time with my little family and I think they all had a good time too.  I am a little sad though…  despite layering on SPF 50 sunscreen on Maddie, she still managed to get a little pink on her shoulders!  Poor girl, although it doesn’t seem to be affecting her.  Thank GOD!  John and I and the other hand, we are pretty pink, and me more so than him.  So here we sit, camped out in front of the fan, basking in the cool air of the night. 

Yep, I love my life and my family…  We may not have it all together, but together… we have it all!! 

Sweet dreams!

App on my phone and a toddler!

Guess what I found?  You guessed it, the Blogger app for my phone.  Now I really don't have a reason not to blog, huh? Waiting for a light to turn green...  LOL. Ok, so maybe I'm not gonna be that blog-happy.  At least not at first anyways!  I am pretty excited about this app tho.  I've been thinking about blogging a lot, but honestly, I can't seem to find the time and when I do, I'm addicted to those stupid Facebook games or whatever!  LOL. Good excuse, huh?  I'm not going to set any goals like blogging every other day or once a week cuz, let's face it, it doesn't happen.  I'm just gonna go with the flow and see what happens.

So its been awhile since I've blogged and as children tend to do, Maddie has been growing like a weed!  She is already 16 months old and as of the 5th of July, she will be 17 months!  I can't believe how fast she is growing up...  I definitely missed out on a good chunk of her infancy while being in school, but its over with now, so I can't wait to be able to spend more time with her.  (It's like 1:20 am and I can't sleep.  John just rolled over and asked what I'm doing...  LOL).  Anyways, I plan to start vlogging, so start watching for vids on YouTube.  Not guaranteeing they are going to be very consistent, but I'm gonna try!! 

The plan is to go swimming tomorrow, so hopefully I can start our vlog out strong with some cute video of our kiddos at the pool.  Cross your fingers!! 

Ok, gonna wrap this up and try to get some zzz's, Maddie wakes up fairly early still. 

Sweet dreams...

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Guess who?

Well that fated day is finally here...  June 21st, which marks my graduation from the Practical Nursing program!  I DID IT!!  I really did it!  After today I will have the opportunity to assist people in the most sincere form possible.  I can't wait to take my boards and become a Licensed Practical Nurse.  That is going to be the best feeling in the world!


So what to do with my spare time now?  I have a million ideas...  I would like to do some sewing...  spend time with Maddie helping her develop her language skills...  start working on my running workout...  plan our meals on a weekly or maybe monthly basis...  I could go on and on.  Now that I don't have tests to study for or clinical paperwork to do, the possibilities are endless!  I do know this...  I am going to enjoy my life.  If anything over the past 10 months has taught me anything, it's that I need to enjoy my life and not stress so much!  Everything will work it's way out and whatever comes at me won't be anything that I can't handle.


So the next big step in my life is my wedding coming up in 9 days.  Eeekkk!!!  I can't believe that has snuck up so quick too!  We have been getting all the last minute things in place for the ceremony and reception, but I always feel like there is something else that need to be done, or planned, or something.  I just know that I only plan on doing this once and I want it to be perfect!


So what does the rest of today entail???  I have my final conference from 10:10 - 10:20am this morning, then we have a luncheon at 12:30pm (which is mandatory, lol), rehearsal afterwards and then the pinning ceremony at 6pm.  Gonna be a slightly hectic day, but I have promised myself that I won't get stressed.  I am going to enjoy this day... cuz you know what?  I deserve it!


Until next time...

Our sweet princess at the lake :)

Too.Busy.For.Words

Man...  this going back to school crap sucks!  Ok, so I have to admit...  I got spoiled on my break.  I didn't have to get up when the alarm went off, altho Maddie made sure I didn't sleep too long.  I didn't have to use my brain for anything...  it was great!


Enter the first day back to class...  a proctored ATI exam (to make sure I'm learning something and similar to the NCLEX test I will have to take to get licensed) and an exam in Med/Surg that I'm sure I failed.  Yep, you heard me right... the "f" word, FAILED!  Ok, so not for lack of studying.  The weekend before Thanksgiving I got really, really sick and missed a couple days of class.  Guess which class I missed?  Can you guess?  I tried to study, but apparently I didn't study the right stuff cuz I got the test and felt like I didn't know a thing!  I know I got a couple of the questions right, but I fear I got more wrong than right.


On top of all that fun...  clinical paperwork.  Got to drive to the next clinical site, spend 2 hours pouring over client's charts, come home and pour over the paperwork.  I am super excited that I only have clinicals for 2 more weeks this semester and then a break!  YAY!  


Ok, stop complaining!  I am happy that I have the opportunity to go to school and that my family is so supportive of me!  


And now, the picture of the day... 

Not my Christmas tree, but I sure wish it was!  I can't wait for Christmas.  I can't wait to have enough time to pull the decorations out of the garage.  I can't wait to be able to buy a Christmas tree and decorate it.  I can't wait to introduce Maddie to our traditions and customs.  I can't wait for Christmas...  food, family, and fun!  Who could want more?  

Until next time...  sweet dreams!

A Day of Thanks and Giving

We had a great day today!  First off, we forgot to shut the alarm on my phone off last night before we went to sleep and it went off this morning bright and early at 6:15am!  Yay :(  Well, guess what that did?  Woke up our other alarm clock!  So M and I got up bright and early ready to face the day. 


Around 11:30am we went and picked up my mom and we went to my aunt's house for lunch.  She did a non-traditional lunch of pork roast with jalapeno jelly, mashed potatoes, peas, and cornbread.  There was a peach cobbler and french vanilla ice cream for lunch.  It was really good.  I was super proud of M, she ate lunch with all of us and didn't have any problems with any of the food.  Gobbled it down :D  *get it???*  After lunch we sat around and watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and some of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and enjoyed each other's company.  


I had a really good time today...  good times, good food, good fun!  


Enjoy the photo dump!!

K and her Great Uncle E

Sleepy girlie!

Abby girl!

M and her Great Uncle E

My lovely Momma and Uncle E

J lounging after a wonderful meal!!

Smile sweetheart!

Lovin those blue beauties!!

Wordless Wednesday: First real food dinner!!

Sickness...

Just a quick update to let you all know that we are still alive... barely.  I think we made it anyhow!  Over the past weekend, the entire family has had an illness in one form or another.  We experienced fevers, chills, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches...  the list goes on and on.  We were all home yesterday from school and work (I, thankfully, am on T-giving break, so I didn't miss any school).  J and K are back to their daily grinds and M is spending the week with me!

Anyways, have bunches to do today to make up for all time spent healing and mending.  Hope to get back to blogging soon!

Miss you all!  Until next time... sweet dreams!!

Teething... Oh The Joy!!!

Is she not the cutest thing you've ever seen?  Love this girl to pieces!  So she pushed through her upper right canine tooth last week and we were bound and determined that she was going to push through her right incisor that weekend.  Well, the weekend came and went and no new teeth.  

Fast forward to tonight...  I got home from clinical (another great day!) and I am greeted by the sweetest lil' babe with the most rosy cheeks around and some drool to boot!  Anyone want to place bets that she's gonna push another one through?  

We have been fairly lucky through our teething journey...  while she does get fussy and a little inconsolable, all we really have to do is give her a teensy weensy dose of Tylenol and she's back to her normal cheerful self!  Yay!  I am definitely a happy Momma about that!!

Another great day on the books, gonna go study for a couple tests and then get ready for tomorrow!  Until then...  sweet dreams!!

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

Did I happen to mention that today is the coolest day of the whole year??  

It's my birthday!  

I had a great day filled with love and best wishes from some of the best friends and family a person could ask for.  Seriously, I've haven't felt this loved in a long time.  

I think my family is planning something for me toward the end of 

the week, but I'm not sure yet.

((I'm not allowed to know and it's driving me CRAZY!!!))

For those who are interested, I share this awesome 

birthday with a few other awesome peeps!!

Kevin Eubanks

Ed Asner

C.W. McCall

Judge Joseph Wapner

Chad Kroeger (Nickelback)

With cool people like that to share your birthday with, who would want 

to be born on a different day???  

A Day in the Life of a Student Practical Nurse

So today was a pretty good day.  I did the first day of my two day clinical rotation at a small rural hospital about an hour from here.  I wasn't actually in the hospital, I was in the Specialty Clinic.  I had a great time, learned lots of neat stuff and met some very special people.  Unfortunately, because of privacy policies and such (I would want the same respect) I can't tell you anything general or specific.

Is this not the coolest looking badge ever???  I especially like the "N" word... Yep, Nurse!!  That's me!  I can't wait...  I am having a hard time trying to decide if I want to continue on with my education and get my degree as an RN or stick with my LPN and start working.  Part of me really wants to make my mark, strike out on my own, and start my career, but then the "smart" part of my brain (and everyone I've talked to) says to stay in school and keep going.  I'm SO torn.  I still have until June 2012 to make a decision.  If you don't know what that date is I will enlighten you, it's the light at the end of my tunnel...  GRADUATION!!!


So off to jump in the shower and get ready for my second day... until next time...  sweet dreams!!

Priceless...

I went in to check on the baby before jumping in the shower and this is what I found...

She's cuddling a stuffed animal sting ray that she got from her Grandma Gayle and Grandpa Chuck when they came to visit last May.  


Too stinkin cute to not post!!

Spicy Chicken Soup/Stew

See the title?  Between J and I, we can't decide if it's a soup or stew.  Either way, it's freakin delicious!  It was originally inspired by a soup potluck we had in class last week.  Yup, you read correctly...  a soup potluck.  I had never heard of one before, but since our class president LOVES soups, she thought it up!  Great idea C!!  There was a chili and a chicken noodle soup along with some delicious dips and chips.  I will be adding my copy cat recipe for the absolutely delish dip that was made and brought in.  I have to admit it looked rather, um... gross, but alas, it was fantabulous!!  Anyways, on to the soup.  The other soup that was brought in was a spicy chicken soup/stew (LOL).  Thanks S for the inspiration!

Doesn't it look to die for?  It is...  trust me!  J went back for seconds and he's not a big fan of soup.  I made the base soup and then put out cheese and fresh chopped onions to add as a garnish.  I would have put out some sour cream too, but we were out.  (Sour cream doesn't last long in our house.)  J doesn't care for fresh onions so he only went for cheese, but K and I added cheese and onions to ours.  I think the fresh onions added a crisp element that really set it off!


Here's the recipe...


Spicy Chicken Soup/Stew


5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cans of whole kernel corn
2 cans of black beans
2 large cans of chopped green chilies
2 taco seasoning packets
2 large cans of whole tomatoes


I pulled the frozen chicken breasts out of the freezer and put them in the crock pot around noon.  I opened all the cans and added them, juice and all, to the pot.  Stirred it well and cover.  Cook on high for 5 hours.  Pull chicken breasts out, trim, cut up the meat and return to the pot.  Since I used whole tomatoes, I pulled them out and quartered those also.  You could use diced tomatoes which is probably what I will do next time.


J also convinced me today to pull out our cinnamon butter braid out of the freezer and make it today.  I just put in in the oven and can't wait to pull it out!!  Yummy desert!!!


Here it is going in...

And here it is when it came out...  YUMMY!!

Hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it!!!  Until next time...  sweet dreams!

Don't commit to something you can't finish...

Right?  I so fail at this blog thing.  LOL :D  I need to either set a reminder in my phone or give up, cuz I can't remember to do this on my own, can you tell???  


So on to the picture of the day.  This is showing what a healthy diet should include... 

This is what our diet has been lately...
  

 and 

Horrible huh?  What can I say...  I'm a busy Momma!  I think I'm going to start menu planning again.  At least then I will know what we are having when I come home at night and won't have to try to come up with something.  Another advantage to that is having the ingredients at home and not having to wonder if I have everything I need to make a meal.  Hmmm.... so now to find the time to do it!  Anyone want to volunteer??  LOL


Well, off to study for a test I have tomorrow!  Hope you are having a great day and God Bless!!

A streak of one!

Hahahaha!!! That's all I have to say! My good intentions of keeping going dropped off yesterday and almost today til I remembered that I forgot to post! LOL Actually I've been having a pretty stressful 2 days, but it will get better. Things always get better with time... I hope.

Anyways, on to the picture of the day, which was taken yesterday, so in my head... it all works out! Right? We were at Wal-Mart doing some shopping and Maddie (who was sitting up in the cart like a big girl :D) decided to eat my finger. I would say suck on it, but with two teefers... yep, she was eating it. The look she had on her face was priceless! So I had to take a picture. Hope you like it as much as I do!

Lazy Sunday

This is the way I like it... relaxed, calm, and chilled. I have decided that I am going to try to post one picture a day and blog about that... hopefully it will help to motivate me to keep this going. LOL I have started numerous blogs, but can never seem to keep them going. I love to take pictures so this should work for me! So on with the picture!