A Week in our Life: Tuesday

Today started with rain and ended with rain.  The rain greeted me by started 0.000005 seconds before I opened the garage door to go to the gym at 5:25 this morning. I ran to Anna's car got in, realized my garage door opener was not in her vehicle and had to run through it again. (I swear, I'm really not a morning person!) It left me soaking wet for over an hour!

Rainy drive to work

Looking forward to my mini vacation in Florida next week starting the 29th. 

Added a pic to my desktop to motivate me to get through the next week of hard work:

Grilled cheese on sourdough for lunch with Brian watching (what else) Law & Order: SVU. :)  Rain = no work for Brian these days.  Why no drought this year?!  Brief break in the rain during my lunch.  Really pretty this time of year when everything is green.

This will look different in a few months when the stop sign and power lines are replaced with a new signal!

Random moment of the day:

Ordered my mocha at Starbucks drivethrough around 2:15....
Barista: "Would you like anything to eat with that?"
Me: "Yeah, I'd like a package of Madelines please."
Barista immediately responds: "Uh....I think I ate them all. I was a little hungry this morning. Let me check."
Me: LAUGHING!!
Barista: "Nope we have a couple left. One of my coworkers hid a few from me."
How funny is that?! This guy is makes great mochas and, apparently, is a comedian too.  Learn something new everyday. :)

My top five favorite songs (many of which I heard today while working):
1.  OMG, Usher f. will.i.am (LOVE this.... total brain virus right now... can't get it out of my head!)
2.  Already Gone, Kelly Clarkson
3.  All the Right Moves, One Republic
4.  Whatya Want from Me, Adam Lambert
5.  Winner, Jamie Foxx f. Justin Timberlake and someone else (I'm terrible with song names!)

After a day of paying bills and doing lots of customer service today at work.  I came home to this:

Yep, still on the couch where I left him at 7:45 this morning.   A rare occasion for Brian to lay on the couch all day.  He did get up and make himself & Scarlet eggs for breakfast and after lunch baked some homemade sourdough bread.  Sooooo tasty!

And I ended up relaxing for the first time in days watching Biggest Loser, a brand new Law & Order: CI, American Idol and Glee with him.  We record everything on our dvr and skip all the commercials.  I don't know what we ever did without that contraption!  So I think Scarlet has the right idea now and I'm going to take her suggestion....

Until tomorrow.....

A Week in our Life: Monday

Many are familiar with Ali Edward's projects, including A Week in the Life, which started today.  Since I already take a picture everyday, I thought it would be fun to play along with this to capture more words to go with those pictures and put it in a mini album next week.  So here was my average day....

Up at 7:15.  Totally dragging.  Not untypical for a Monday!  Showered, dressed, played with the doggie.... dash out the door to work.  A million kids walking to school.... again normal.  Cloudy and looking foggy.  Work is busy.  Happy to have my favorite Odwalla Chocolate Protein Monster for breakfast (thanks Brian!!).  Payroll in today... budgeting to finish calculating and entering.  Lots of people calling.  Lots to get done.  Finally take a lunch break at as the clock is nearing 3 pm.  Run home, check mail.... same as usual routine, but today my new camera lens showed up!  As did a belated Christmas ornament for Annie's baby (I couldn't choose which one at Christmas... finally forced myself to choose while ordering camera lens on Amazon last week!).  Also got a box of new goodies to play with from Flamingo Scraps.  Made a spinach, avocado, cheddar and bacon on wheat sandwich for lunch.  The bacon was a bonus leftover from breakfast Brian made yesterday morning!  Played with the doggie, called and talked to Susan on the phone.  Headed back to work.  More budget, more work.  Got the desk tidied back up.  Hate trying to work when everything is chaotic and I'm wasting time trying to find things.  Actually leave on time from work today.  Brian is already home from working in Felton today.  He's annoyed with having to re-file his unemployment papers.  The intermittent work is driving him nuts!  I can't wait for the economy to fully recover.  I made this scrapbook layout:

and blogged about it.

But as soon as I was done with the layout and before I blogged, I made dinner.  Chicken Stirfry Lettuce Wraps.  YUM.  And watched CSI Miami from last week with Brian.  Fed the dog.  Played with the dog again (lucky doggie!).  Went back to the computer.  Caught up on my e-mails.  On facebook.  On scrapbook.com.  Finished my blog post and posted it.  Ordering stuff for trip next week.  Now writing this and heading to to bed in a few minutes.

I felt like it was an ordinary day for me.  Highlight was definitely this series of text messages from Brian:

B: "I got good news"
B: "I love you"
Me: "I love you too :) you're so cute!"
B:  "Matter of fact that should be considered 'GREAT NEWS!' its not new news but old news but good news.  News you already knew.  Know what I mean?"

I love that crazy cute guy I'm married to! :)  Sorry there's no other pictures.  Too sleepy right now to download them!  Thanks for reading if you made it this far! :)

Are you playing along with this project?  If so, I'd love to see what you are doing!!

Time for Spring Cleaning

Thought it was about time I updated my blog... turned out being a nice break from all the work this week and weekend!  Stop on by and check it out.  Aside from the blog, I've been cleaning out old paperwork, reorganizing my office at work and working hard long hours on budgets.  I feel like I've been cleaning and organizing for weeks on end now.  Hopefully, I'll get it all caught up soon... or at least to a point where I don't feel like I can't find anything!

And before I head off to catch some sleep, I recently downloaded the ShakeIt app to my iphone and I've been having fun taking pictures with it.  I think the dog is getting tired of posing for pictures though! ;)

I'm in search of fun iphone apps aside from games.  Suggestions?

Busy Days....

Seems like it's that cosmic time where everything is due, things that need to get done are piling up everywhere and I'll I want to do is take a nap in the middle of the afternoon!  Lately, I have been trying to keep up with it all.   Here are a few scrapbook layouts I've done in the last few weeks for the Flamingo Scraps blog:

The first layout has a color photo that my cousin Jen took of my nephew at Easter.  If you live in the Sacramento area, you should check her website out.  She has a portable studio setup and can go anywhere you want to take some pictures!

I've also done a fair number of digital scrapbook layouts too:

On another note.... we have been playing the classic 1982 Electronic Battleship complete with sound effects this week!  Brian has been itching to get one since he remembered it recently from his childhood.  He found one in excellent condition on ebay and we can't get enough of it!  I'll have to post some pictures of it soon.  Hope everyone is enjoying the rainy-sunny-rainy weather that is torturing my allergies!! ;)

Sketchy Thursdays

So I did a digi layout - yay!   It's been a little while since I've scrapped anything digi other than Project 365.  Here's my take on Sketchy Thursday's 3.25.10 sketch:



You can click on the link to see it bigger.   These pictures were taken at my sister's wedding last August by David & Christie Posey of Lexigraphics.  Thanks for looking!

30 by 30: March Progress Report

So here we are 20+ days past my 30th birthday!  I feel like I am accomplishing a lot, but due to life adding additional challenges, I have not met my full goals quite yet.  Despite not making all these goals by my 30th birthday, I will be continuing to work on this until the end of this year and, I hope, that I will be finished with it much sooner than that!



Three finished now and four in progress.   So far I have completed:

Something Borrowed...
Something Blue... and now
Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton (loved it)

Lots of progress made, here's the list so far...
Completed:
1. Bookmarks
2. Knit hat for Brian
3. Christmas Cards
4. Scarf for my sister's Christmas gift
5. Reorganize Master Closet
6. Reorganize Guest Bedroom closet (including reorganizing all wrapping paper + wrapping supplies)
7. Decorate (and undecorate) house for Christmas
8. Reclaimed Window Mirror (joint project with Brian.... we love it! Pictured above... now I just need to paint those walls.... and we need to build out our living room alcove.... it never ends!)
9. January 2010 Project 365
10. February 2010 Project 365
11. Office/Craft Room closet -- gut and remodel (helped Brian with building it out)
12.  Reorganize Office/Craft Room closet (once remodel was complete!)
Still in progress:
13. Christmas Elf Hat for my new 2nd cousin Gabriel
14. Mini recipe books for Christmas Cookie Exchange party
15. Reclaimed Window Frame (joint project with Brian.... needs glass too, then it will be a frame for pictures)
16. Gift for Nancy (almost done!)
17. 365 project every month



8/30 watched.  Not a big change since Brian and I both have been working on the projects or traveling when not at work.  And with Brian's irregular hours during winter months in recent years, we only watched one movie in two months.  Yikes!



15/30 made.  Half way is not bad considering I only cook on average once or twice a week!  And I'm a creature of habit... I usually make the same things all the time.



Last, but certainly not least.... the 5k.   I'm glad to say that thanks to the help of my good friend Andrea, I did do a 5k and while I was only a few minutes away from breaking 30 minutes, I know I gave that run 150%.  I'm really proud of my finishing time!  And I'm hoping to try again later this year in November with Andrea to finally beat that time once and for all!!

I'll be back in the next week or so to share about our birthday trips -- Disneyland for my birthday and a biking road trip for Brian's birthday.  We have had a great time in the last few weeks traveling on our weekends!

Project 365: February 2010

Catching up now... February was a busy month for us!

(If you want to see the larger version, just click on it)









And here we are in March already.... and it's halfway over already! Looking forward to getting outside and enjoying the gorgeous weather this weekend to celebrate Brian's birthday. Hope you have a great weekend!

Project 365: January 2010

So I'm happy to be on track with this project. If you haven't heard of it, the premise is pretty simple. Take a picture a day for an entire year. Some take it a step further by putting it to paper in the form of a scrapbook. I have chosen to document two ways. The first is the daily pictures and a weekly summary in a digital scrapbook which I will have printed & bound next year in January. The second is through a monthly scrapbook in paper form which will have a monthly 2 page spread of pics and journaling. I will also do a 2 page spread for any trips, special events and so forth. The entire point being to scrapbook and document more often than I do now.

So here is the first five weeks of pages. I'm still fussing around with a cover. If you want to see the larger version, just click on it!











Have you done project 365? I'd love to see your pictures and/or book if you have!

30 by 30: The Davis Stampede 5k

Well my birthday has come and gone.... lots of things were accomplished!  Over the next few weeks I'll be catching up my blog as I get caught up.  May take a little longer as I am now blogging for Flamingo Scraps and I'm working hard at getting some projects done in my craft room!

As far as my 30 by 30 goals are concerned, one of my goals was beat my best time in a 5k and, hopefully, beat the 30 minute mark.  My good friend Andrea saw my goal and jumped in to run it with me.  She was a great cheerleader and I'm glad we got to run the race together.  With her pushing me, I got an official time of 33 minutes and 45 seconds!  My best 5k time and now I know that 30 minutes is within my reach if I actually train to run instead of just working out like I do now. :)

Darn flash on the camera always gets me!

So I guess I didn't officially meet the mark on this goal, but I did complete the 5k and push myself to the edge, so I'm going to happily check this one off and next time I will definitely beat that time on the race clock!

Winter CHA in Anaheim

Finally home, back to work today and catching up again. Oh how I missed the comforts of home! So how did I get so lucky to snag entry to the show? A friend of mine, Nancy, and I went as buyers for two friends of ours, Susan and Suzanne, who own Flamingo Scraps.

These sweet ladies live in Florida and we were more than happy to take a break from our hectic lives to go enjoy the show for them. Boy am I glad we did!

We got to buy some fabulous flowers, papers, embellishments and goodies for them!! Check out our posts over here. You can see my pictures, read about our days at the show and see some fabulous new goodies coming out in the upcoming months!!

In addition, we had fun eating dinner at CPK, checking out Anaheim Garden Walk, drinking some tangeritas in the hotel restaurant, taking some classes and meeting new people along the way. I'm still worn out, but hoping that someday I can go back and do it all over again!! After spending the last few days surrounded by amazing art, artists and fabulous new products, I'm so inspired to spend some time in my craft room!

Recipe #11: Tomato Sauce with Onions and Butter

Wow. Who knew it could be so simple and so GOOD?! I have not tried it this way before but this is definitely going in the recipe box. Found the recipe on the smitten kitchen blog. Was not in the mood to cook tonight, but starving and lacking many choices... so it seemed like as good a time as any to try!



I used a can of diced, no salt tomatoes and a can of tomato sauce, both organic of course! Diced the onions and left them in, though next time I will probably follow the recipe and just half the onion and pull it out. Served over some Barilla Piccolini Mini Penne pasta and topped with a little shredded parmesan. Give it a try... I think you'll like it! I know I did....

Recipe #10: Salmon with Hoisin Orange Sauce and Bok Choy

So we had this for dinner on Monday night. (Mine didn't look so pretty!!) :)

It was excellent!! I omitted the coriander (not a huge fan of that spice). Thought we had hoisin sauce, but we didn't. Thankfully google worked it's magic and you can substitute equal parts molasses and ketchup. Honey would probably work too if you don't have molasses. Brian wants his bok choy crunchy next time. I had no complaints with any of it. Would be a great sauce on chicken, steak or any other type of fish. You can find the recipe here.

Anyone have any good salmon recipes they would recommend? We have a bunch in the freezer and I'm on the hunt for tasty ways to prepare it!

Recipe #8: Blueberry Oatmeal Pecan Muffins

wrote and forgot to post! oops!!

mmmm.........

Modified from this cookbook.

Blueberry Oatmeal Pecan Muffins

1 1/3 cups bread flour
3/4 rolled oats
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil (I used a blend we have of canola, soy & olive oils)
1 cup blueberries
1/4 cup pecans

Line a muffin tin with muffin liners and heat the oven to 400. Mix all the dry ingredients in one bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the egg, then add the milk and oil. Stir to combine, then mix with the dry ingredients. Add the blueberries and pecans. Stir until just combined. The batter will be really lumpy. Spoon into muffin pan, filling about 2/3 full. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in muffin pan on wire rack at least 5 minutes before serving. Makes one dozen muffins.

30 by 30: January Progress Report

So with 49 days left until my birthday, here's the status so far:



Two finished, but 5 in progress. That sounds a little crazy, but trust me, it's totally typical for me! Guess I haven't left my college days of multi-task reading behind me. :) Here are the two books finished so far:



Something Borrowed. And of course I immediately had to read the follow-up! Something Blue (Thanks for letting me borrow them Nancy!)



Lots of progress made, here's the list so far...
Completed:
1. Bookmarks
2. Knit hat for Brian
3. Christmas Cards
4. Scarf for my sister's Christmas gift
5. Reorganize Master Closet
6. Reorganize Guest Bedroom closet (including reorganizing all wrapping paper + wrapping supplies)
7. Decorate (and undecorate) house for Christmas
In progress:
8. Christmas Elf Hat for my new 2nd cousin Gabriel
9. Mini recipe books for Christmas Cookie Exchange party
10. Reclaimed Window Mirror (joint project with Brian.... just need to get the mirror glass!)
11. Reclaimed Window Frame (joint project with Brian.... needs glass too, then it will be a frame for pictures)
12. Gift for Nancy (almost done!)
13. 365 project (take a picture every day of 2010, so far I got this going!)



7/30 watched. Now, if it weren't for the fact that we watched our normal Christmas movies, The Proposal for the second & third times and Maid of Honor & 50 First Dates again we probably would be further along here! Add that to Brian suddenly going back to work crazy hours and we have not had the time to watch them. Hoping to catch up next weekend... if Brian is home!



9/30 made. Again, the holidays kinda killed the chances on attaining more. But I can say I made 8 dozen gingerbread men, 3 batches of shortbread and 4 dozen chocolate cherry peanut blossom kiss cookies, so I feel like I spent a lot of time in the kitchen lately!



And finally, the 5k. Going to run one with Andrea in February. Got back into exercising post-holidays and starting the serious running regiment this week... have about 9 minutes to drop from my time. yikes!

Recipe #9: Leftover Chicken & Rice Casserole

Brian suggested using up leftover rice by adding some cream of mushroom soup, some chicken, some cheese, some tortillas... so here's what I ended up with. Sorry no pic.... late dinner led to inhaling the food before I even thought of my camera!

A+B's Leftover Chicken & Rice Casserole

Leftover rice, about 2-3 cups
Can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
3/4 can of water (use the empty soup can)
Mix in a 8 or 9-quart casserole dish
Add 2 cooked chicken breasts (we use boneless, skinless), cut or shredded into small pieces
Stir to mix.
Add a handful of shredded mozzerella cheese, 2 teaspoons paprika and 1 teaspoon of black pepper.
Stir again.
Top with two tortillas that have been cut into 1/2" squares, then sprinkle another handful or two of mozzerella.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

YUM. Great way to use up leftover rice, tortillas and chicken! Would be excellent with some veggies added (mushrooms, squash).

My Last Decade... by the Numbers

I saw this somewhere... can't find it now, so I’m sorry to whomever I’m borrowing this idea from without giving credit! It reminds me of the Wisconsin vacation summary I e-mailed to everyone and have since lost. So if you never delete your e-mails and have it still somewhere…. Please forward it to me! :)

So without further adieu… I give you the last decade of my life:


24 Trips/vacations and of those…
17 were with Brian :)
32 Plane flights (this is counting takeoff/landings! And I am not a fan of flying, so this makes me happy!)
18 States visited (California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Michigan, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Georgia, Florida, Colorado and Hawaii)
50+ races watched
5,000+ pictures taken
Hundreds of Mochas
3 Moves
2 Apartments (both in Davis, California)
1 Home (the current one!)
10 Dogs to love (between us + my family – Scarlet, Gracie, Ziggy, Sarge, Yoda, Daisy, Oskar, Belle, Otis & Pepper)
6 Cats to love (between us + my family – Nala, Darby, Simon, Bunnie, Cuddles and Goldie)
17 Classes taken at UCD (not including the 16 or so that came before those)
250+ books read (rough estimate)
1 Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations
6 jobs
3 cars
300,000+ miles driven
124,000+ of those miles in my current car
2 car accidents
1 set of crutches
1 walking boot
1 3-day, 60-mile Breast Cancer Walk completed
$2,250 raised for Breast Cancer Research
16 weddings
7 of those weddings were my cousins
2 of those weddings were my siblings
18 babies born (rough estimate, off the top of my head!)
7 of those are related to us somehow
1 of those is my adorable nephew
1 First Kiss… that led to
1 Whirlwind romance… that led to
1 Perfect wedding… that has resulted in
Being married to my best friend.

Best. Decade. EVER. :)
This next decade has a lot to live up to!

How about you? What did the last decade add up to for you?

2010: All about the love!

Supplies used: (Re)Collection Kit from Songbird Avenue, 1942 Report font

My one word I want to live by the year is simple. Love. Love my family, my friends, myself, our home, our pets. Love life in general. What goals have I penciled in that fall within that list of loving my family, friends, self, home and pets?

1. Spend more time with family, friends and the furballs in our house.
2. Nuture our relationship, hopefully by continuing to spend quality time together.
3. Workout 3-4 days per week.
4. Continue eating healthy.
5. Finish all the projects on that long list of mine.

So far, this year is all about those things.
January - a trip to LA with Nancy.
February - a 5k with Andrea, a visit from my brother, which will include a trip to Disneyland with the family for my 30th birthday.
March - a month to focus on the house and time with Brian.
April - a trip to Florida with the girls.
May - the nephew's 2nd birthday and a trip to Pennsylvania to visit my brother.
June - still in Pennsylvania in the beginning....
the rest of the year is up for grabs still! Well, except for the first weekend of October, where we will be celebrating our 5th anniversary. How time flies!

So what are you resolving to do this year?

Recipe #7: Vanilla Spice Oatmeal

YUM. Give this recipe a try! I made this in less than five minutes by taking a scoop of oatmeal, adding some water and microwaving for three minutes in a bowl. I then sprinkled with cinnamon, nutmeg, a splash of vanilla extract, a spoonful of brown sugar, a little milk and a handful of raw pecans. Stir and eat. So tasty!

I skipped posting recipe #6 for biscuits. Had not made this recipe before, but they turned out great! Used butter and instead of Gold Medal Flour, used White Whole Wheat by King Arthur Flour. They went great with our homemade "KFC" dinner of pan fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy and steamed broccoli!

Off to take down the Christmas decor and finish cleaning out + reorganizing two of four closets in the house!