Weird Facts!

I've been tagged by Jessica, Liz and Kara.

The Rules: Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog. Share 5 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog. or Share the 5 top places on your “want to see or want to see again” list. or Share 5 things you never pictured being in your future when your were 25 years old. Tag a minimum of 5, maximum of 10 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. The tagees have a choice of which they want to do.5 random and/or weird facts about me:

1. I have to sleep with a mouthguard every night, because I started grinding my teeth when I taught first grade....too much stress and frustration!
2. I can't go to sleep at night without Josh rubbing my hair. He's too kind!
3. While we're on the subject of sleep, I also can't fall asleep without rubbing my feet together.
4. I have to sleep in socks, even if I'm burning up.
5. Josh makes fun of me for all of these strange habits!

Here's to a good night of sleep!

I tag Jenny, Laura, Rachel, Aimee, and Onawa!

Weekend in Review

We had a really good weekend! We got to hang out with friends and family and had a great time! Friday night we had breakfast for dinner (chipper chicken will have to be tomorrow night...I was WAY too tired!), went to the gym and came home and watched The Unit. We've been renting the discs and we're really liking it!

Yesterday we cleaned house, I baked those yummy chocolate chip cookies and worked on a few orders. Last night we went to a hibatchi steakhouse with my family for my sister-in-law's birthday! We had a great time! After dinner everyone came to our house for cake (no, I didn't bake it!) and got to hang out with the fam some more!

Today we went to Red Pin Bowling in Bricktown for more b-day celebrating! It was a really cool and upscale place! I am HORRIBLE at bowling!!! It's sad when a 31/2 year old beats you at bowling! No joke! There were 11 of us and I came in dead last with like a 3o or something!

Tonight we had dinner at Panera w/ our small group friends and then drove across the parking lot for ice cream at Baskin Robbins. It was nice to hang out with friends and eat great food!

It was a very enjoyable weekend! Everything on my to-do list has officially been marked off!!! That rarely happens!

Be sure to check out my Blessings and Bows blog weekly. I have a great designer featured this week! Her work has been featured in Martha Stewart, Country Living and more! I am featuring a new artist, crafter, designer, etc. weekly! Each of these artists have used ribbon and/or bows in creative ways!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I tried a Real Simple cookie recipe today for chocolate chip cookies and they were GREAT! Yes, they were really simple and cooked much better than most cookie recipes I've tried w/ butter. I usually end up with really flat cookies that you can't get off of the pan, but not with these! I highly recommend them! I tried them w/ Ghiradelli 60% cacao chocolate chips..YUM!!

Corn Chowder

I've never been a fan of anything that ends in "chowder". It just doesn't sound at all appealing. But, when I looked in the February issue of Real Simple magazine, I had to try the Smoky Corn Chowder. I made it tonight, along with a salad (topped w/ cheese and bacon) and berries w/ whip. It was really great! I plan on making it again! It was easy to make and great for a cold night! I halved the recipe and it made 3 servings. ( I used cayenne in place of the crushed red pepper and just used regular paprika. For the bacon, I used the Oscar Mayer heat and serve bacon, but still prepared it according to directions, using 6 slices)

Last night I just popped in a Wolfgang Puck pizza and of course had salad and berries. We like the pepperoni and cheese. I must say that those pizzas are really good!! It makes a quick and easy church night meal.

Tomorrow night I'll make what Josh and I call "Chipper Chicken." It's one of Josh's favorites that I haven't made in a long time.

Tuesday Night's Dinner

Menu:

Meatloaf

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Salad

Berries w/ whipped cream

Meatloaf Recipe (revised from my Betty Crocker's Cookbook)

-1 1/2 lbs ground turkey (recipe calls for ground beef)

-1 c. oats (or bread crumbs)

-1/4 c. wheat germ (my addition)

-1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

-1/4 tsp pepper

-1/2 tsp. salt

-1/4 c. chopped onion

-1 egg

-1 c. milk

-1/4 tsp sage (I omitted)

-1/2 tsp ground mustard (I omitted)

-1/2 tsp minced garlic

-1/2 c. ketchup

-Combine all ingredients except ketchup. Spread in a greased 8x8 baking dish. Spread ketchup on top (I forgot this step until about 50 minutes into bake time...oops! So, I added it for the last 10 minutes of baking). Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 min.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Red skin potatoes (unpeeled)

Half and half (I had it for another recipe...I usually stick with milk)

Butter (I used Smart Balance tonight)

Garlic Salt

Pepper

Boil potatoes. Using a hand or stand mixer, mash the potatoes, blend in softened butter and half and half to consistency. Add garlic salt and pepper to taste.

Monday Night Meal

I made DD chicken nuggets last week and breaded a chicken breast and cooked it at the same time so I could use it tonight for a mock-chicken parmesan dish.

I chopped up the pre-cooked chicken, put it in a skillet that I sprayed with cooking spray. I covered it and let it cook over medium heat, while boiling multi-grain rotini pasta. After about 5 or 6 minutes, I added a partially drained can of diced tomatoes, a few tablespoons of parmesan cheese, italian seasoning, minced garlic, pepper and kosher salt to the chicken. I heated it, covered, until the pasta was done. After draining the pasta, I topped it with the chicken and tomatoes and topped that with mozerella cheese. I added a side salad and finished off the meal w/ ice cream and chocolate syrup!

Josh liked it and there's enough leftover for his lunch tomorrow. It was an easy 10 minute meal!

I've had a strange craving for meatloaf, so that is what I'll be making tomorrow night, along with mashed potatoes!


**Check out my Blessings and Bows blog for a special discount and to take a look at my newest additions.

ROYGBIV

Here is my newly organized closet! It's not "cute", but I can actually find things now and everything has a spot! I didn't buy matching hangers or clear shoe boxes...I am totally fine with store and dry cleaning hangers:) I'm just glad to be able to find my clothes! I actually found lots of clothes buried that I didn't remember having! I need to think of my next project!



My new labeling: Before:After:

Before:
After:

Before:

After:

On a cooking note, this weeks meals included:

Wednesday night (before church rush):
-Soft Chicken Tacos (made with chicken steamed in a Ziploc Steam Bag with EVOO and seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and cumin, served on whole wheat tortillas w/ cheese, romaine and salsa)

-Strawberries and Blackberries with frozen fat-free Cool Whip

Thursday night:

-Chicken w/ Curry Cream Sauce (recipe from my Betty Crocker cookbook)

It was a new one that I tried and it was so-so. I prefer my mom's recipe...I'll post it sometime.

-Steamed Brown Rice

-Romaine Salad w/ ranch, cheddar and sunflower seeds

-Strawberries and Blackberries w/ Frozen fat-free Cool Whip

Tonight:

-Deceptively Delicious Chicken Nuggets SALAD! (I used the Gerber sweet potatoes and added some wheat germ to the coating mix) w/ homemade honey mustard dressing and cheddar on romaine.

-Vanilla ice cream w/ strawberries and chocolate syrup (after we got home from the gym...I strongly believe in canceling out the workout!)

-Homemade popcorn, as a movie snack!

I'd rather stick with the fat version!

I almost forgot to post about the worst drink I've ever had........

the new Skinny Latte from Starbucks!

It is absolutely AWFUL!!! I'm sad to say that Josh brought us each one home to try last week and after we both took a sip or two, we both decided it was not drinkable. I hate to admit that we threw away about $7 worth of coffee. I'll stick to my full-fat mochas.....peppermint or raspberry, if I decide to deviate!

This WILL NOT make my list of favorite things!

My Saturday in pictures....

This is what I worked on today (this AND baking some desserts:))

This is what I did (with Kara!):

This is what I'm making right now, complete with homemade sauce!:
I also made bbq chicken sandwiches for lunch, went to the gym with Josh and organized a few things. Speaking of organizing, my next post, which is actually from last night, will be posted shortly!!

Dinner from an organized kitchen! (from FRIDAY NIGHT!)

Earlier this week, I had a Bree Van de Kamp moment (for those of you who watch Desperate Housewives) and reorganized my kitchen, labeling most of my cabinets (on the shelves) with my handy-dandy label maker! I am so happy to have this complete! It only took about 30-45 minutes and is well worth it. My breaking point came when every time I opened the cabinets, all of my cookie sheets would fall out onto the floor. Not good! So enjoy the pic, below! My next project to tackle....re-organize my HORRIBLE closet (complete with labels)! I'll post soon!

Tonight for dinner, from my well-organized kitchen, I made:

-DD hamburgers with organic beef and baby food carrots instead of homemade carrot puree...not enough time, but same results!

-Leftover Annie's organic mac n' cheese

-Fresh raspberries and blackberries (sadly we're out of whip:()

It was a hodge-podge dinner, but good. The burgers had a good flavor, but the meat was too soggyish. If I make them again, I'll use less milk or something.

I plan on enjoying a nice relaxing weekend, finally at home w/Josh!

Back with some random thoughts!

I have gotten some emails, etc. from readers (yay! people actually read this blog) of this blog, requesting more posts. I know it's been a very long time!!!

So, here goes--the most random blog!

Over the past several weeks, we celebrated Christmas with family, went to a New Year's Eve party, attending a wedding in TX, had my old college friends/roommate spend the night, babysat my precious niece, started back teaching, taught Bible class, took 2 weeks away from my Blessings and Bows business for Christmas break and filled orders after that. So, it's been busy, but fun!

Kristina's (friend from college) wedding in TX:

Serving punch with Ashley, a great friend from college:

Kara (roommate and Maid of Honor in my wedding) w/ her baby, Maida:


Me, Josh, Kara, Kristina and Ashley, December 2001 (aka...the week before Josh and I started dating). My, how we've all changed!:
Precious baby Viv:

My family Christmas was really fun! My big brother, Joe, surprised us and drove in from California to celebrate with us! We got lots of fun presents-I got a cute new coat and much more!!! Vivian made Christmas extra fun this year!! Of course, I indulged in my mom's BEST fudge, too!!!





We drove to TX to spend a few days with Josh's family to celebrate. I got a new sewing machine and supplies, which I'm very excited about!! I'm looking forward to making some things soon! Maybe pillows and curtains?!? We got lots of fun gifts there, too! Josh was excited to get a new mandolin and we all enjoyed his brother's new gift of a Wii. I enjoyed a few rounds of bowling!! We were able to drive down to Josh's aunt's house and celebrate his grandmother's 70th birthday with the whole family!

I have been cooking lots of meals from my Deceptively Delicious cookbook. I would pretty much recommend everything but the Tofu Nuggets....YUCK!!! We had to throw them out! I hated wasting them, but they were awful! I thought I could trick myself into eating tofu, but it DID NOT work! It tasted like extremely nasty battered eggs. I made the Chicken Nuggets this week and Josh LOVED those! He made a chicken sandwich with the leftovers on a wheat bun with pickles and mayo.

I have been working on New Year's resolutions, one including getting to bed early! So, now I'm getting ready for bed at 10:00 and then getting in bed by 11:00. I've done okay with that so far, for the most part!

I'm hoping that this new year brings us a baby, or at least a healthy pregnancy and some peace. I'm also hoping and praying that for my friends struggling with fertility, also, that 2008 can be THE year for them!! In my efforts to make this happen for me, since I have been rebellious about going back to the doctor for further treatments, I have purchased and read the book The Fertility Diet: Get Pregnant and Prevent Miscarriage. I have been surprised with how easy it is to throw some of the book's key ingredients into my food. Sunflower seeds are great on a salad, wheat germ is great to sneak into my DD (Deceptively Delicious) chicken nugget batter, yams are great to stick in my DD recipes, too! I'm not strictly following this eating plan, but I am trying to make some healthier options overall! Just adding things to what I already eat.But, I'm having an EXTREMELY hard time giving up my huge amounts of sweets that I eat on a DAILY basis! It doesn't help that I currently have in my house (from Christmas gifts): Twix, Reese's, Ghiradelli chocolates, Russel Stover's box of chocolates, plain M&Ms, Dark M&Ms, Hershey's dark chocolate sticks, Hershey's Kisses, and Hershey's Dark Chocolate w/ Almonds Nuggets, and other candy, too!. So, when I am double my weight by next month, you'll know why!! I will say, that I've been trying to go organic on my meat and dairy purchases or at least hormone-free. I do not need any extra hormones, that's for sure!!!

Here's my current list of favorite things:

-Horizon Organic Chocolate Milk: I'm usually a chocolate syrup kind of gal, but this is SO good! It has vanilla, real chocolate and creamy milk! I strongly recommend it!

-My Scumbuster: No more scrubbing and reaching!

-Brown Sugar and Fig Wallflower from Bath and Body Works

-Etsy.com: fun handmade finds for all of your gifting needs!

-Strawberries, blackberries and raspberries w/ frozen fat-free Cool Whip...the BEST!!!

-My new coffee maker!

I'm sure I'll think of more later.....

I will TRY to post more often in the next few weeks!