Biggest Loser

It's no secret that I love watching The Biggest Loser. I stuck with it this season, even though the contestants were whiny and multiple people cried during every episode. We're (Mr H and I) are a day behind on our tv due to work schedules, so we just watched last night's show. It was while I was eating my Chic-fil-A dinner (while watching the show - horrible!) that I realized that the show is supposed to motivate you to lead a healthy life, not encourage you to consume more fast food. Am I the only person that does this?
Mr H and I cannot wait until the finale. Neither of us were able to vote (Go Amanda!) because it was closed by the time we watched the show. After next week, we plan on resuming our quest to be healthier.

Recent Happenings...

So I know that I said nothing has happened since I last wrote, but that is oh so wrong. Many things have happened, some of which will have to wait until later, but part of the reason I need to write again is because my mom has recently been diagnosed with cancer. I just need to get so much out that I've been holding in for awhile now.

About a month ago, my mom went to the doctor for a routine screening not expecting anything. The doctor came back with purple bracelets for the American Cancer Society. There is no family history for this, so everyone was completely shocked. Words cannot even describe the wave of emotions that I felt. Why my mom? Why now? She is a healthy person, works out, eats right. Why? How could this have happened? I was hysterical to say the least. I even cried in front of one of my clients because I just could not keep it together.

She is doing much better now. They think that they caught everything early, and she only needs screenings for the next few years. But, this raises a whole new set of questions: Why did God let my mom be 'lucky' while others are not? I am extremely thankful, but it makes me feel bad for other daughters going through much worse than me. I only hope that I can be there for others the way that some of my friends were there for me.

Cancer is a horrible disease that catches you off guard. But, the optimist in me refuses to look at the negative. Instead, I have to be thankful this holiday season, realize how blessed I am, and continually thank God for all that He has given me.

My Blogging Hiatus

It's been quite awhile (about 2 months, I think) since I last blogged. To be honest, I needed a break from something in my life. As much as I blog to relieve stress, it was the first thing to be cut. I was not handling the pressures of living my life in limbo (since we still are not sure when/where we're moving), starting a new job, keeping up with the house, and many other things going on. But, I not only am ready to blog again, I need it. There are somethings going on that I just need to get out, and there is no better way than write/blog.
So, what's new? Nothing much. Really. I know, in 2 months things are bound to be different, but they're not. We're still living in Smalltown, USA, working, and trying to figure out this thing called life.

September 11, 2001

Eight years ago today the worst attack on US soil occurred. Who can forget that day? Seeing all of the images of buildings burning and that feeling of pure shock. I remember sitting in my Senior English Class watching as everything happened (not to date myself) and thinking, "This is not really happening." We will never forget all of the loved ones that were lost, or the tragedy that was September 11, 2001.

Thankful Thursday

This is my absolute favorite time of year - I love football, but especially the Steelers. It gives me a connection to home that I do not have during the rest of the year. This was especially important on a day like today when I am missing home soooo bad. Seriously.
So, this Thankful Thursday goes out to all of you that love football, the Steelers, or your family.

1. Today is the NFL season opener.
2. We are going to the Tennessee v. UCLA game this weekend
3. My car broke down. Again. BUT, I was only 10 miles down the road, so I was able to make it back take Mr. H's car to work today.
4. I had a HUGE breakthrough with one of my clients today. I can't give out too many details, but it was HUGE.
5. Our house is clean! Woohoo, it does not happen too often
like this!

Empty.

As I posted yesterday, our house has been devoid of food for a few days. Seriously. Here are a few pictures of how little we had.
Fridge? Unless we ate a liquid/mandarin orange/condiment dinner on Saturday, we had to order pizza. Said pizza is the only thing of sustenance we in this picture. Sad, I know.
I promise that we eat. A lot. We just both eat two meals per day at work, and had not made anything with left overs in awhile. Plus, Mr. H is on this kick where we eat everything in the house before buying more.


I agree with that philosophy; however, I enjoy having more than this in my house. This picture of the freezer does not even do justice to how little we have. Most of the 'bags' are frozen vegetables and cheese (I know, most people do not freeze it, but it keeps well enough for casseroles and cooking. And, it keeps for longer). Yes, I do have freeze pops. They're great, and can double as ice for a cooler.





Here's our 'pantry'. Keep in mind that there are only two of us so we don't need as much as families. But there is not a whole lot that we can use to make a meal in here.












So now that I've shown how barren our house has been (a little embarrassing I must admit), here is how the same cabinet looks now.

Much better. Unorganized (it's usually better than this, but we just kinda threw things in for now), but better. The fridge and freezer look much the same. It's nice to be able to plan actual meals and not have to scrounge when getting home from work.

I heart days off

I have one word for this weekend: productive. We had so much fun relaxing and watching college football, but we accomplished so much around the here. Don't you just love those weekends?! Mr. H's car needed a whole bunch of routine maintenance which we have not had the time nor the money to do until now (we're talking brakes, rotors, transmission fluid, oil change, rotate tired, alignment, etc) so we spent most of Saturday morning doing all of that. Then we cleaned out the house. Ah-mazing! Clean kitchen floors? Yes, please. Move the furniture to vacuum in all rooms? Check. I think you get the point. We even made time to get rid of our massive amount of cords near the TV (it was heinous).
Most importantly, I finished the quilt that I have been making for Mr. H (it was supposed to be for his 21st birthday - 4.5 years ago). He loves it and promised to stop teasing me about it. It's even long enough to cover his entire body (he's 6'2'').

Menu Planning Monday

We finally went grocery shopping yesterday (post to follow on how little we had in the house), and we are ready for a week full of awesome meals. The total price for the entire meal is listed as well (keep in mind we always buy on sale, and combine with coupons).

Monday: Fried, Oven Chicken*, stuffing, green beans ($5.00)

Tuesday: Tacos, corn ($6.50)

Wednesday: Salad with almonds, mandarin oranges, and raspberry vinaigrette ($4.00)

Thursday: Calzones (me = lots of veggies, Mr H = lots of meat) ($5.50)

Friday: Homemade Subs, carrot sticks ($3.00)

Saturday: Tailgating food with Carolina Couple before the Tennessee v. UCLA game :) (???)

Sunday: Whatever we feel can find, but keep it lite

Total Cost: approx. $24.00**

Our week will be a little crazy, but we have the game to look forward to (hopefully I can keep the food somewhat healthy while we're there)

*We make fried chicken, then bake it on a cooling rack in a cookie sheet for 30 - 45 mins to let some of the grease drip off (it's actually good)

**This is an estimate based on what we have spent on our food. We usually do not eat everything that is planned because our schedules are crazy, plus there are always lots of left overs for the 2 of us.

Wake me up when September ends...

Today was a rough day. You know, the one where you're already tired and nobody is cooperating with you (funny how the two always seem to go together?) Instead of having a 'whoa is me' post, I though that I would share a couple pictures that I took with my phone on my drive today (I did not even look down at my phone until I got to work. Don't worry, mom). Since it's cold and the highway is higher than the valleys that the farms are on, I'm above the fog and it's absolutely gorgeous. Please excuse the quality is not that good - it's a phone camera, the car was moving and my windows are really dirty. It makes the drive even better. :) These pictures don't even do the view justice (the fog doesn't really show up/look remotely close).






Happy September!

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas...

Usually I would post about what we're eating for Menu Planning Monday, but I think that I can make an exception today since I've been so MIA lately. Mr. H and I are going crazy trying to figure out our holiday plans. Our families live at opposite ends of the east coast, making it complicated on how to divide our time. We usually go see my family before Christmas and leave the day after to drive and see his family through New Year's Day. It seems easy, but I don't get off from work until Dec 23rd which would only give us a few days with my family. If we stay longer, there is no point in driving all that way for a few days. We could spend the whole time with his family, but it's different. My family is together for about 36 hours straight, and it's awesome. Mr. H's family tends to spread out (from my understanding), and we've decided that it's no way to spend such a major holiday. We like family time. A lot. Especially when we both feel like we're part it.

SO, do we crunch a trip to see his family for Thanksgiving, spend Christmas with mine (which we're not budging on that one), and New Year's by ourselves? OR do we try to visit both families over the Christmas holiday? I know this is early, but we need to make plans soon so his sister knows when to take off work, and so everything is settled with no more worrying.

We're also getting ready to start buying presents for everyone. Even though I have a job this year, we're keeping a really, super tight budget so we can save money for a house/grad school/two cars/furniture/retirement. We're trying to decide what to get for everyone. I'll post pictures as we find stuff. I cannot wait until Black Thursday, regardless of where we are.

#21: Fold All Laundry for 1 Week

If anyone out there is even remotely like me, then laundry is one of the worst chores invented. It's amazing how much laundry multiplies when you're doing it for more than 1 person (I give all mothers a lot of credit because of this - and many other reasons). Mr. H claims that he used to only do one load per week; I did two every month or so. How we end up with about 4 loads of dirty clothes per week is beyond me.

Anyways, Mr. H and I have a deal that I do the laundry and he folds it. It works great, but he is in need of a serious break (he's been working 60+ hours/week lately). So, I decided to fold the laundry until his work schedule calms down a bit. It was 5 loads worth (and that doesn't include towels and sheets) - I wasn't exaggerating before. The time is longer since our dryer does not dry in 1 cycle (crazy, right?), so it's been some late nights here combined with early mornings. Fun times. At least I can cross something off of my 85 in 850!

This Week's Menu

I had such a crazy time with my family, details on the shopping and whole weekend will come later (after a little rest). It is time again for Monday and for a little menu planning (is it really another week already?!).

Monday - Grilled Pork Chops and Broccoli

Tuesday - Crock Pot Roast (with lots of veggies)

Wednesday - Chicken Quesadillas

Thursday - Out to eat with some friends :)

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday - Soup and Sandwiches

Sunday - Hamburgers with Tater Tots and Carrot Sticks

Sorry, no recipes this week since we're eating simple food. More planning will go into next week (along with prices). Happy Planning! :)

For more great recipes, visit Orgjunkie.

Thankful Thursday

This week was hard to narrow down to 5 things that we are thankful for. After conferring with Mr. H as to what to write, we've decided on the following (and that we are extremely blessed):

1. Mr. H is spending tomorrow night hanging out with a friend from work whom he has not seen in awhile (they no longer work together for various reasons). I don't think that he has been this excited for something in awhile.
2. My first paycheck is tomorrow, and I get to go shopping.
3. My sister is bring the nephew out to my parents' house this weekend. I haven't seen him since he was 2 weeks old and he looks so different in pictures now.
4. Happily-ever-after pooch went up to someone at the park. He is a rescue dog that usually avoids any and all people he does not know at all cost; this is especially true when he's outside of our house. This has taken going to the park at least 2x/week for 3 years to get to this point.
5. I have today and tomorrow off from work, and did not even had to go in to organize my room. I was able to 'sleep in' this morning until 7 and ran some errands. We haven't done a few things, like buy milk, this week because of work.

We hope everyone else is having a week full of blessings!

Now that I'm in the "real world"

Not that anyone cares whatsoever about my plans for this weekend, but I just had to post it. I am going to my parents' house to see family (my sister and nephew are coming out, too) and see my younger sister perform at a local baseball game. BUT I am so excited to receive my first paycheck and shop with it. I really shouldn't shop since we want to save our money for a house and have some fun; however, this is my first real paycheck so I think we can spare a little bit of money. What am I going to buy?

How about these jeans (or something similar) since I have the hardest time finding jeans that fit me well and I can wear them to work.
And these, which I have had my eye on for a long time. Much more expensive than I usually spend, but I can get them since it's my first paycheck, right?

This wallet (since it's a wristlet/purse all in one). I usually do not go for Vera Bradley, but love this pattern and the concept (no more lugging a purse around everywhere.
Maybe I'll find a few other things as well. I'm thinking that some scrubs (pants) and plain shirts may be a good buy, too, since I can wear it to work (plus it's so comfortable!). I absolutely cannot wait to actually be able to shop and not feel completely guilty. I will still look for deals (and probably will not buy anything pictured here since it's all more expensive than what I usually spend).

Menu Planning Monday

This week's menu is a little crazy since I'm not really sure if I have to work on Thursday and Friday or not...If not, I plan on going to visit my parents/family while Mr. H works and fends for himself (he's a really good cook, and will be alright!).

Monday - grilled chicken in italian dressing with green beans

Tuesday - Homemade pizza with easy to make dough

Wednesday - Crescent Chicken with carrots

Thursday - Teryiaki Wings (wings tossed in teryiaki sauce)

Friday through Sunday - Mr H's choice :)


Recipes:

Crescent Chicken

Chicken, cooked and cubed ( 3 chicken breasts)

2 cans crescent rolls

1 package cream cheese

chopped green onion

garlic salt (a dash or so)

Melted butter

Bread crumbs (Panko with seasoning added, or whatever desired)

Combine cream cheese, garlic salt and green onion

Add chicken to cream cheese mixture

Pull crescent rolls out of can, press 2 triangles together to form rectangle

Place spoonful of chicken & cheese mixture in the middle of crescent roll and fold sealing sides (Make sure triangles are still sealed, as they come apart sometimes during this step!)

Coat outside of roll with butter and cover with bread crumbs

Cook on cookie sheet according to directions on crescent roll package

Easy Pizza Dough (from Cooks.com)

2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. oil
1 pkg. dry yeast
1 c. water (warm)

Mix yeast and warm water; let set 5 minutes. Mix into first 4 ingredients. Let rise in warm place for 20 minutes. Press into 10 x 13 inch pan. Add favorite sauce and topping. Bake about 20 minutes or until done at 400 degree oven.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Anything Goes!

We had such a crazy weekend filled with a visit from my brother, catching up on rest, and much to do with cars. You see, it all started when I pulled into the parking lot after a long day at work and saw my brother on his cell phone near his car with the hood popped. I thought, "this can't be good." And, it wasn't. His transmission went (we think, won't know until tomorrow) right as he got into town. What a way to start the weekend?! So, we got it towed and squared away. Then spent most of the day Saturday figuring out how he was getting back to Pittsburgh and getting my oil changed and changing my spark plugs (Mr. H did a wonderful job changing them). We also researched cars and crunched some numbers since my car is getting up there in age and miles (it's a 2000 with 127k - and has been driven all over the US). I am afraid that I may need a new car within a year (hopefully not, though!). My head is spinning just from thinking about it!

My car is the car that both my brother and I learned to drive on. It has dents on the driver's side from a run in with a dump truck on a side street and all kinds of crazy quirks (like you have to turn the AC off if you want to accelerate really fast or go up a steep hill with more than one person in the car) but, I love it. I'm not even close to ready to part with this car due to all of the memories. A new car means that I am growing up (which I am still in denial about) and moving on to the next stage in life.

It means that I am a real adult (not that paying bills and having a job have not shown me this already), and have to do real world things like haggling over a price and making some larger investments. Not ready for that. Nope. I have Peter Pan syndrome, and don't want to grow up. I still love talking with Mr. H about what we want our future house to be like, how we'll decorate it, kids, etc. like it's really far off (not right around the corner). I mean really, who wants all of that responsibility? I much prefer not worrying about it, at all. Which is why we are doing a TON of 'young' things this fall (like going to multiple college football games and tailgating like pros) instead of being completely responsible (and maxing out Roth IRAs).

It's okay to do this now, right? I mean, when else in our lives will we have a chance to be this irresponsible again? Yup. I much prefer this at the moment because I know that the years of doing the responsible thing is not far off. Once kids and a house and life happen there is no turning back. Everything will be planned - braces, college, retirement (if that is even a possibility for our generation), mortgage payments, home repairs, the list doesn't end. So, we're going to live it up while we can (while still being quasi-responsible and saving some money) so we don't look back on this time in our lives and think, 'why were we in such a rush for all of this?'

Thankful Thursday

It's been a week full of adjustments for us, but a good one. Here's why we're thankful

1. I started my job this week, so I'm not waiting at home for Mr. H all day and then decide that the moment he walks through the door is the best time to talk.
2. My brother is coming to visit (mostly with Mr. H) this weekend. So fun - I have not seen/hung out with him in such a long time!
3. Mr. H's xbox came back from being repaired. This gaming system does amazing things for our marriage (like time to clean without being interrupted)
4. Traffic on my way to work has not been bad at all.Tomorrow night is date night.
   
5. Mr. H is leaving work early and driving to the town where I work for a fun dinner - so exciting!

Happy Move-in-iversary

Okay, so I tend to make up words, frequently, even though my profession as a Speech and Language Pathologist tends to frown upon this in clients. But, today is the 2 year anniversary of when Mr. H and I moved in together (after we were married). You see, we planned the whole wedding before I moved to Nashville, then found out that my program ended in August, not May. So, we kept the date and plans, just not the honeymoon and living together for the first 6 weeks part. It was tough, but in the end it helped us keep the focus of the marriage during wedding planning (we did not care so much about the small details as long as we were married at the end of the day).

In honor of this day, I thought I'd share a few pictures of our favorite things to do together.

We always love the holidays, mostly because we spend time with family (my family spends over 36 hours together during Christmas, and we both love this time). While our tree looks like Charlie Brown Christmas meets A Christmas Story, it was one of the first major compromises we made (Mr. H thinks tinsel is the best decoration...I'm more of a modern, ribbon person) - I get to pick the decor for a big tree someday. :)

Snowboarding. It is such a stress reliever during long semesters. Plus, we make complete fools of ourselves and it's okay. Mr. H really wants to master a jump and I a black diamond next season (we've only 'hit the slopes' maybe 15 times each).

Making fondue, especially in the fall during football games. We make a pot of pizza fondue and eat all day while watching games with the windows open and the cold air coming in.


Lately, we really enjoy taking walks at the park. It gives us a lot of time to just talk and get away from all of the distractions at home. We leave our cell phones in the car so it really is just us (an the dog).

So many more, but I'm worn out. Happy Wednesday, half way there.

She Works Hard for the Money

I can't believe it's already Tuesday night! It's funny how quickly the week passes when you're a working woman (i.e. have more to do than sit at home all day). I started work yesterday, and while I'm still a little scared to actually start I love it. They have training for a week and a half due to how involved working with this population is, but it really has not been too bad. Even the drive has not been as bad as I had originally thought (ask me in a month and I may have a different answer).

Although, I have not kept up with housework so far (nor do I see myself staying on top of it!). Any thoughts on how to manage a 9-10 hour work day, working out, cooking, AND housework?! It's too much for me to wrap my mind around since I've been exhausted at the end of the day and don't want to be up until midnight (or later) every night. I mean really, too much.

Show Us Your Life - Wedding Reception & Honeymoon

The theme for the blog tour from Kelly's Korner this week is wedding reception and honeymoon. We wanted a unique reception site that was not your typical hotel-type wedding. Since a destination wedding was out of the question for many reasons and we couldn't find a barn or other rustic-like setting, we 'settled' for a historic hotel south of Pittsburgh. The ballroom was absolutely beautiful: wooden floors, huge windows, beautiful fireplace, balconies (which I wish our photographer had used for more shots). The day was perfect! Here's what half of the ballroom looked like set up.

Of course it would not be a Pittsburgh wedding without a cookie table


We had a traditional cake topper and had pictures of our parents cutting their cakes (not pictured) on the table.


Our immediate honeymoon consisted of driving back to Nashville and hanging out for a few days before Mr. H had to come back for work, and I finished my master's. We did take a cruise for our 1st anniversary, though, and count that as our real honeymoon. We spent 7 days aboard the Carnival Liberty, such a treat and sooo relaxing!

Our first stop was in Key West, FL where we visited the southernmost point in the continental U.S., shopped, and did a bar tour.

Next was Grand Caymen Island where we went scuba diving (sorry - no pictures, I forgot my camera on the ship). Our last stop was Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We climbed Dunn's River Falls, shopped a bit, and swam with the dolphins (one of my life long dreams!). They also had a walking trail with exotic animals (we both held an iguana that was bigger than my head!).

Our honeymoon was so much fun that we're planning another trip for (hopefully) next summer!