Playing Catch Up

On Saturday we took the dogs to get their vaccines. They had to draw blood to test for heart worms and the vet couldn't get any blood from Kahlua! She had to try two different veins, one on each front leg, and barely a drop of blood would come out. Apparently, the pup has really low blood pressure. Poor thing was not happy. Stella, on the other hand was happy as a clam; during the blood draw and the two shots. She basically grew up in a vet's office her first six months of life so she's used to all that.

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I've been sick for the past week and today I'm finally feeling like myself again. The only good thing about being sick was getting at least nine hours of sleep each night. It felt glorious!

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Over the weekend I read the book Matched by Ally Condie. It wasn't very good. Not very exciting and kind of slow, and I couldn't really get into the characters. It's a trilogy so because I can't just leave all the books un-read I'm currently reading the second book, Crossed. So far it's a littler better than Matched, but I wouldn't really recommend them if you're looking for a read to really sink your teeth into.

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Kevin's grandpa Joe is in the hospital. :( If you wouldn't mind saying a little prayer or sending good vibes his way, we'd appreciate it.

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So, I've completely gained all my weight back. No bueno. I'm going to blame it on stress. Ha! I do have plans to lose the weight soon. We have a wedding to go to in Lake Tahoe the end of May, so that's my motivation right now.

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For Valentine's I bought myself Kevin got me these pair of earrings from Stella Dot. I love them lots!

Link

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In exchange, I told him he can feel free to pick out a video game. Tee hee! He's going to make us a nice dinner for V-Day and that pretty much sums up our February 14th celebrations.

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I'm the worst procrastinator. I was supposed to mail a CD of pictures from a wedding from October to someone and I have yet to do so. Sadz.

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A good friend of mine got some really exciting news a couple weeks ago! I can't wait until she can announce it! :)

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What'd y'all think of the Grammy's? I have it recorded but haven't watched it yet. I really only want to see certain singers perform so I'm guessing I'll be doing a lot of fast forwarding.

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Guess what channel I'm watching right now? If you guessed the I.D. Channel, you win!

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The end.

You never know!

Every morning when I get off the train there's this man that plays his saxophone for all the commuters. He would sit in the same spot, every morning, with little inspirational quotes posted near him, his hat on the ground and a passerby or two would drop some cash in his hat, or stop to talk to him. Nothing out of the norm, really.

This morning when I got off the train I noticed a lot of people gathered around the area where Saxophone Guy would play; but he wasn't there. Instead were two copies of the same newspaper article taped to the wall and people were all crowded around these articles reading them. I didn't really stop to read said articles, but I glanced and noticed a picture of Saxophone Guy with the headline that read "APD Catches Killer." 

Say what?!?!

After talking to some co-workers and with the help of Google, turns out that Saxophone Guy has had a warrant out for his arrest. Apparently, he was wanted for the murder of his wife in the 80's, and over the weekend they finally tracked him down in San Francisco. Cah-ray-zee! 

I know the whole thing about "innocent until proven guilty" but it just goes to show that you really don't know the history and life of [what appear to be] everyday people. Saxophone Guy just seemed like a normal, older man. He appeared nice enough. Never would anyone have known that he was a fugitive.

And for the record, I'm kind of obsessed with murder mysteries and such. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, the I.D. channel is one of my favorites. So this whole thing intrigues me. 

Oh and if you're like me and you want to know more, here's a link to the whole story.

That is all.

Six months, deviled eggs and a heavy heart

How's that for a title!?
I've been itching to post all day but just haven't been able to find the time at work. ;)

Anyways, I wanted to be sure and document that yesterday - February 6th - marked six months since we got married! It's gone by so incredibly fast. These past few months we've been faced with some challenges but I couldn't feel more lucky that I can face these challenges head on with my best buddy.

Our Super Bowl Sunday was pretty low-key. We had a couple friends over but I was so tired hungover that I didn't do much to prepare for the big game. I did however, make Avocado Deviled Eggs which were pretty scrumptious. But, I think I like regular deviled eggs better. There's just something about that tartness from the mustard that I felt was lacking in this recipe. Oh, and I can really only eat one deviled egg. Any more than that then I start getting grossed out from the whole egg thing.

Source: eatingwelllivingthin.wordpress.com via Kaysie on Pinterest

I've kind of had a heavy heart today. There are people that are dealing with sick babies in the hospital, sick friends or a sick parent. I've been praying a lot for all of them.

I'm hoping to get back into the swing of blogging again. There are things that I want to make sure I don't forget!

I make all the foods

It's been a while, hasn't it? Truthfully? Life has been v. stressful lately and I so so so wish I could elaborate more but I can't until things are no longer stressful. But I've basically been a Negative Nancy and Debbie Downer about things and so I feel it's best I don't inundate your blog roll with a bunch of "poor me" "why me" "complaining" type of posts. You're welcome. ;)

Instead, I'd like to tell you about the fact that I cooked both Saturday and Sunday of this past weekend! On Saturday I made Grilled Chicken Cajun Ranch Pasta and it was delish! I also added some grilled zucchini to the dish for some veggies. Definitely a good Pinterest find!

Source: plainchicken.com via Kaysie on Pinterest

On Sunday I made Buttermilk Pork Chops, Roasted Dijon Potatoes and Roasted Green Beans with Mushrooms, Balsamic and Parmesan. And after typing that I just realized I forgot to include the Parmesan on the 'beans and 'shrooms. Fail.

Here's the recipe for the Pork Chops and Potatoes. I'm not sure where I got these recipes from so I'm sorry I don't have a source to give. The Green Bean recipe I found on Pinterest and that's near the bottom. It was all very good. I think The Husband is impressed with my cooking skills; or maybe he's just happy he doesn't have to cook for once.

Buttermilk Pork Chops

Ingredients:

4 to 6 thin cut pork chops
1 C flour
1 1/2 Tbsp onion powder
1 1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp black pepper
1 1/4 C beef broth
1/2 C buttermilk

• Mix together dry ingredients.
• Dredge pork chops in the mixture.
• Fry pork chops in a pan that has a coating of vegetable oil over medium-high heat, until both sides are a light, golden brown.
• Remove pork chops from pan and add a few tablespoons of the flour mixture to what is left of the oil, and whisk together.
• Add beef broth and whisk together. Turn pan down to low and let simmer and thicken, about 3-5 minutes.
• Add buttermilk whisking continuously.
• Put the pork chops back in the pan and let simmer for another 3-5 minutes.

Roasted Dijon Potatoes

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp olive oil
3/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 pounds uncooked potatoes (new, red or russet), quartered

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• In a large bowl, whisk together mustard, oil, paprika, salt, thyme and pepper.
• Add potatoes and stir to coat.
• Transfer potatoes to the prepared baking dish and roast 20 minutes; stir and roast until tender on inside, about 20-25 minutes more.

Source: kalynskitchen.com via Kaysie on Pinterest



Enjoy!

PS: You should've seen how many words I spelled incorrectly in this post. It was pretty special.

Things on Thursday

I would have a lot more to blog about if I could blog about what's going on in our lives right now. Oh well, hopefully by next month I'll have more to share.

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In the meantime I came across this new singer named Lana del Rey. Pretty sure that's her stage name -- and I'm pretty sure she's had a lot of work done. Either way, she has two songs ("Video Game" and "Blue Jeans") that I have grown to like. But I have no clue what "Video Game" has to do with the actual song. I think her album comes out this month. I found out about her by reading a Yahoo! article about how she had a horrible performance on Saturday Night Live. So I looked her up (and indeed, her performance was not good) a little more and decided I like these two songs and she has a 60's-esque look about her that I like and her voice is different. Thought I'd share. ;)



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In other news, I've started counting points again. I know I announce this like every other month, but this time it's for reals. After seeing how great Maygan looks over the weekend in her cute little clothes, I decided it's time for me to get back on track. I totally kind of let myself go after our wedding and I refuse to buy bigger clothes at this point. So get down to my normal weight it is!

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I'm struggling with finding the next book to read. Right now I've started Nicholas Sparks' "The Best of Me" (and I definitely just wrote that title as "Home With You" - goes to show how much I'm into this book, ha!) and I'm just not feeling it. I'm thinking I'm not in the mood for something romantic and that's going to make me cry. Suggestions?

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On to other more important things like: in the morning when I let Stella out in the backyard before I leave she goes into her doghouse. I'll usually take one of the blankets out of her doghouse and throw it in the dryer for about five minutes. Then I take it back out and bundle her up in it and she snorts and rummages in her doghouse to make herself comfy. Hey! It's only fair seeing as how Kahlua gets to lay on a heating pad all day. We don't love our dogs at all... ;)

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This is pretty much the sweetest thing I've seen all year. Megan's babies are just so cute!

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I went to Forever21 last weekend and I hardly found anything I liked! I did end up getting two tops but I'm not thrilled with them. They were kind of my last resort. Everything was just so short - like crop tops - and I just am not feeling the bohemian-look-thing.

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I would like to be on What Not to Wear so Stacy and Clinton can tell me what my style is and do my shopping for me and so I can have "timeless pieces" to pair with things.

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The end.

The Way We Are

Kevin and I kind of have our own chores around the house and unspoken way of doing things.

*Kevin empties all the trash in the house and takes the garbage cans to the curb Sunday evenings. If he happens to not be home for this I literally loathe having to do this.

*If I make dinner one night, Kevin will do the dishes and clean the kitchen. Or vice versa. That seems to work out pretty well.

*Kevin usually tends to the outside of the house and I usually tend to the inside of the house. However, I hate, hate, hate cleaning bathrooms. Those seem to not get cleaned quite as often as the rest of the house. So much so that Kevin has resorted to cleaning them every now and then. Oops!

*I also hate doing laundry. So I'll ask Kevin to bring all the dirty clothes out to the laundry room, then I'll sort them and that's pretty much the extent of me "doing" laundry. I usually find a way to get Kevin to fold all of the clothes too, and I'll be honest and admit that I also complain about switching the clothes from the washer to the dryer. I'm bad!

*I'm in charge of our budget and bills. So far it's been working out pretty well. At first Kevin was a little hesitant about handing all that over to me, but I think he's getting more comfortable with not having a handle on it all. Probably a little grateful too.

*More often than not Kevin cooks dinner on the week nights since I get home an hour later than he does. He'll also feed the dogs. I'll try to cook dinner at least once a week on a week night (usually it's a crock pot recipe) and then I'll cook on the weekends. If I got home earlier I would love to cook dinner more often!

*If Kevin's out of town and there are clean dishes in the dishwasher, I may or may not leave those dishes in there until he returns so he has to empty them. I can't believe I just admitted that!

*Every night before bed I always have to make sure the living room is cleaned up and our bedroom is cleaned up and the bed made before we get in it. I can't stand to get into bed when it's un-made.

*Right now we have hardwood floors in our house, but when we lived in an apartment that had all carpet, I would vacuum at least every other day. It just made the rooms feel clean and I love me some vacuum lines!

*I usually give Stella a bath in the bathtub and Kevin usually gives Kahlua a bath in the sink. Right now Stella gets a bath indoors because it's cold outside, but during the summer months Kevin will usually wash her outside with the hose because it's so hot. Kahlua always gets a bath in the sink (she's teeny tiny).

 *As far as organization goes, that's all me. I feel so discombobulated when things are out of sorts at home. With our wedding last year and all that planning I never felt like I could get caught up. This year I'm trying to stay on top of things and not let stuff get out of hand before it becomes too big of a project.

*By the looks of things, Kevin does an awful lot around the house - and I'm so thankful and grateful for that! I'm pretty sure that once kids enter the picture some of these roles will change so we can survive, but for now this works for us!

What are your unspoken ways (and maybe even some admissions) when it comes to cohabiting with your significant other?

A Week of Project 365

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I hope everyone had a great weekend! I thought I'd share my past week in pictures. I'm not sure if I'll remember to do this each week but we'll see.

Carry on.