My Husband's Watching TV...

If Baby G is a boy...

2012-01-27T20:15:00.027-06:00

...we have his name picked out! Well, we've had it for awhile. This is a name we'd decided on when we first starting trying and then we didn't discuss it the whole time we went through fertility treatments and when we found out we were pregnant, we STILL didn't discuss it much.

I didn't want to find out the sex and I didn't want to tell names. Matt wanted both. So we compromised and agree to NOT find out the sex but we could tell names. It was kind of a win-win for me because Matt had already been telling people our boy name!!! So without further ado...if Baby G is a boy, his name will be Gunnar Jackson.

Matt really wanted the name Hunter for a boy but I denied that. 1. Because every other of his friends has a child (both male and female) by the name of Hunter and 2. I thought it was a little too cliche since Matt loves to hunt. I absolutely LOVE the name Gunnar because I only know 2 other people by that name (one in college and one my dad's age). I think it's unique but not too crazy and it means "battle warrior." I worry that it might be a bit cliche too with the hunting theme but I got over that quickly. Jackson is both my dad and my grandfather's middle name. I got the middle family name since the baby is taking on his last name.

At Christmas, we told our families our boy name (and this is probably why we're a bit more hesitant on settling on a girls name and telling people; hence the whole reason I didn't want to tell names in the first place!). Here's how everyone reacted:

Matt's mom, sis & brother-LOVED IT!
Matt's dad-"Well, I guess I'll get used to it."
Matt's Grandma-"Well that's a good German name." (It's actually Scandinavian but we didn't correct her.) Five minutes later when the name was mentioned again, "What kind of name is that???"
My dad, sis, niece & grandma-LOVED IT!
My mom-likes Gunnar, hates Jackson (go figure! and is now trying to push a family middle name from her side on the girl name and also argued that it wasn't fair to Matt's family)

Some people we've told will say, "Gunther?" which makes me think of the barista from "Friends." But I don't care because that's our boy name and Matt and I both absolutely LOVE IT!!! In fact, we call the baby Gunnar more often than not, so should this baby come out a girl, she's not going to be very happy with us!

Surviving the Registry!

2012-01-24T20:08:00.000-06:00

...Yes, friends, I survived registering for all the baby stuff and I'm happy to say Matt and I are still married. After all the comments about what to register for, I spent an ENTIRE weekend researching baby products. My mind was on OVERLOAD but when I started to get overwhelmed, I stopped and said to myself, "Self, as long as you have:

1. A car seat
2. Diapers
3. Food
4. A place for the baby to sleep

then you'll be okay." Matt may be running to the store every 5 minutes but we'll have the basics to figure things out as we go. Needless to say, my registry was 3 handwritten notebook pages!?! Matt was shocked when he got home from hunting and I showed it to him. I thought I was being smart and had gone ahead and registered for the "small stuff" at Target without him. Then last Thursday, we headed back to finish up the registry and World War III almost broke out. He questioned EVERYTHING I wanted to register for and not in the I'm curious and want to know way, more in the WTH? way. By the time we got to the end of the list, I'd given up and let him register for whatever he wanted. We left the store sans Slurpee (I was really craving one once I walked in and saw the machine) and near tears.

After a LONG discussion, we decided we would try again together and headed to Babies-R-Us this past Sunday. It went so much better! I almost got overwhelmed when I printed out 3 other friends registries to get them a gift and realized I didn't have "everything" the same as them but I ended up just getting them a gift and not stressing over it. I was also pretty excited because this is the first time that I parked in the Expectant Mothers parking spot!!!
I will tell you this though, an hour in a half registering really makes a girl have to pee...I went twice. Once when I first got there, right when they opened and I thought wow these bathrooms are really clean. Then I went about an hour later and I was gagging they were so gross...pee on the seat, long hairs on the seat-ugh! I'm going to do my best to teach our child not to pee on the seat.

When I got to work on Monday, my co-workers looked up my registry. What do you know that my boss had the exact stroller we registered for and I had the carseat in my car that we're going to use! Both of us and another co-worker, headed outside to see if the carseat fit (it did!) and I got to try out the stroller-woohoo! I feel much better knowing that it will work.

So are we done with the registry? Probably not but I have started it and have a good heads start on it. I'm sure there will be lots of additions along the way. I plan on adding some big stuff like a video camera and steam cleaner (stems and sanitizes bigger stuff so no chemicals to clean-woohoo!). Do I expect someone to buy that for us? Probably not but closer to your due date both Babies-R-Us and Target send you coupons so we can at least buy it and get some money off.

I officially bought the dresser that will match the crib tonight. Thanks to my sister for letting us borrow the crib and to my daddy for buying the dresser! I'm really excited about the swing we found because you can take the seat off and it's a bouncer! We weren't planning on registering for both so when we found this we were super pumped!

Now my plan is also to borrow things because 1. it'll save us money and 2. we won't have to store it once we're done using it! So here's my list of things we need to borrow, anyone out there that knows me IRL and cares to share, let me know! Of course, my number one priority is safety so I plan on borrowing these things as long as they are safe.

To Borrow
1. Bumbo
2. Play mat (where the baby lays on their back and plays with the stuff above them)
3. Moby Wrap
4. Exosaucer
5. Stroller-not like a travel system or a jogging stroller, just something smaller and more compact
6. Safety gate (if it works with our door frame7
7. Any other toys (big or little) and clothes (once we know the sex)
8. Crib (borrowed from my sister)
9. Infant carseat (borrowed from my bestie; still in good shape; gonna take to the fire department for inspection)

My mom is also known as the Quilting Queen so Grandma has a list of things to make:

To Make
1. Boppy Covers (Thank you Pinterest for this link!)
2. Shopping Cart Cover (Again, thank you Pinterest for this link!)
3. Baby Quilt (we didn't really pick out bedding, just plain colored sheets and then we'll use the quilt to decorate until the baby is old enough to use it)
4. Lamp shade (already have the lamp, going to buy a shade and try to match it to the theme of the nursery)
5. Wall prints to frame for the nursery

So there you have it! We survived registering but we have a long way to go! Say some prayers for me and Baby G as we have our glucose test next week. In the meantime, tune in for posts on our boy baby name (it's official!), the bump debate and the winner of my giveaway!

Giveaway and Girl Names Needed!!!

2012-01-20T15:14:00.003-06:00

...okay, all! Matt and I are doing massive cleaning and storing and packing and repacking of our house to make room for this little baby that's coming our way. In the process, I have found decorations that have been stored away and not pulled out since oh...2006 when I moved into my house!

We also need help with girl names!!! We have our boy name picked out (another post for later) but cannot agree on a girl name. Our front runner right now is Autumn but I have two drawbacks to this name:

1. Matt has a cousin named Autumn although in the 5+ years we've been together, I don't ever recall meeting her.

2. Is she going to resent being named Autumn but being born in the spring? Matt said, "No, she'll say, that's the ironic part...my parents named me Autumn but I was born in the spring." I said, "Yeah right, she'll be like, No, my dumbass parents named me Autumn but I was born in the spring!" Matt was like our Autumn would never say that. I said, I bet that's one thing we can bet she'll say.

So here's the criteria...

1. Middle name is probably going to start with an R, either Rose or Rosalee.

2. Last name starts with a G.

3. Something different, but not too out there. I loved being the only Alyssa in my classes growing up but hated my name being pronounced wrong.

4. Nothing too common...so if it's in the top 50, it's a no-go.

5. I would really like a G first name but so far haven't loved any G girl names i.e. Gretchen, Gia, Gina, Grace

I'm going to give one lucky commenter this wall hanging made by my momma. So please leave a comment with your best girl name suggestions! You have until 1/31 at 5pm to submit an entry for the giveaway but feel free to leave girl name suggestions whenever. I'll announce the winner on 2/1.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Important Documents...

2012-01-17T21:20:00.001-06:00

...the mail came the other day and it turns out that my driver's license expires in March. Thank goodness because I look like a major stoner in my current photo. I'm sure this picture will look much better being probably 7-8 months pregnant when I get this picture taken. Anyways, I read through the requirements and it says I need my birth certificate. I know the last time I needed it was when we got married and I thought for sure I'd kept it. I mentioned it to Matt and he said he didn't have it. Hmm...I emailed my dad and sure enough, he still has it!

I guess now that I'm almost 30 and about to have a child of my own, it is probably time that I keep of my own birth certificate. Unless I can talk him into keeping Baby G's too...Hmm, now there's an idea!

Calling All Mommies & Daddies-I Need Help!!!

2012-01-11T16:15:00.011-06:00

...okay, I'm starting to get overwhelmed. I was so nervous/scared the first half of my pregnancy that I didn't want to do anything to get ready for the baby. Now that we've been feeling him/her and we saw our sweet baby yawning at our last u/s, I realize it's time to get moving!

We've started working on getting things ready at the house. Honestly, I just feel like we've moved everything upstairs to the downstairs and haven't really done much. I'm *hoping* Matt gets on painting the nursery on January 28 because I work all day but we'll see. Things are kind of at a stand still with what I can do at the house right now because the guestroom has been emptied so now it's time to think about the registry and nursery.

This is where I start to freak out! What in the world do I need??? I started to print off a generic list and it had like 8 different items on it for the baby to sleep in. Um...our house isn't that big so I don't think we need a crib/bassinet/portable crib, etc...for every room in our house! So please...help me!

I think we're going to register at Target and Babies-R-Us. Leave me a comment with any and all advice...what I HAVE to have, what I don't really need, brands, how much of each items, websites I should visit to check safety on products. Anything you think a first-time mother needs to know..lay it on me!

Thanks in advance!

Baby G at 21 Weeks!!!

2012-01-09T10:33:00.016-06:00

...last Thursday, Matt and I got to see the baby at 21 weeks! It was a pretty awesome experience. However, we only got to take home headshots because we didn't bring our own disc and we didn't find out the sex. There were some super cool shots of the spine but these are my favorite that we got:

This one was in 3D. The little turkey had his back to us so we had to wake him up so we could get a face shot. It was so precious because we got to see him yawning!!! He also had his hand across his face like, "Come on guys, let me sleep!" And look at that tiny ear!

The tech said the whole time she was chasing him around to get measurements and pics but when the faceshot came, he was like good night! Now we know for next time to bring our own disc and we can bring home a lot more pictures.

The appointment went...okay. Well, it went great for the baby but just okay for me. All looked well with the baby, heart rate was 151 and he weighed one pound. Yes, I keep saying he but I have no idea, it's just intuition that it's a boy.

Now my part of the appointment...well, she finally got on me about my weight, she did give me credit that it had been the holidays but moving forward I really need to watch what I'm eating. Of course, I bummed around about that all day but what can you do? I'm going to start walking and trying to eat more fruits/veggies. I know the holidays and all their desserts really took their toll on me. Hopefully a few changes and I'll have the weight thing under control! Please keep the prayers coming for Baby G and me.

My Trip to Florida...

2012-01-05T19:35:00.000-06:00

...well, I'm home from Florida! It was a wonderful, glorious break from the crazy, hectic pace that I've been keeping up at home. This trip was much different than the last time I went to visit my mom. Different for many reasons, 1. Matt didn't go and 2. I am pregnant so I couldn't do as much stuff (we'd planned on going to Sea World but after one day of returning items and shopping at home, I knew I'd never survive a full day there). The weather was much warmer than last time so I spent most of my mornings sitting by the pool enjoying the warmth of the sun and reading and most of the evenings eating and visiting with my mom and her friends. We did get out and do a few things like go to the movies, drive all over Florida and shop!

Here are the highlights of the trip:

I saw a real life alligator in the "wild." Here he is chilling with a turtle on the bank across from the dock we were at:

We drove across this crazy bridge around Sarasota. I won't lie, it was kind of freaking me out because it was soooo high!

The last day I was there, we found a public beach that was COVERED in seashells...most of which were in tact! Here's my mom searching for shells:

A starfish on the beach that I made my mom throw back in the water because I wouldn't touch it but I thought it belonged there:

Did I mention we shopped? My mom bought me a pair of maternity pants and some tops but MOST of the things we bought were baby clothes on sale. Here's an "I heart daddy" outfit for a girl:

The cutest little sock/shoes!

We can't forget outfits that include mommy too!

Um yeah, we shopped...A LOT!

It was great to get away from the hussle and bussle but then today it was already back at it!

"Goodnight Nobody" by The Weiner...

2012-01-03T07:44:00.000-06:00

...still in FL, still relaxing and reading. Finished up "Goodnight Nobody" by Jennifer Weiner. I've heard rave reviews of her books. This is the second one I've read and I'm still not super impressed.

Summary: "For Kate Klein, a semi-accidental mother of three, suburbia has been full of unpleasant surprises. Her once-loving husband is hardly ever home. The supermommies on the playground routinely snub her. Her days are spent carpooling and enduring endless games of Candy Land, and at night, most of her orgasms are of the do-it-yourself variety.

When a fellow mother is murdered, Kate finds that the unsolved mystery is the most exciting thing to happen in Upchurch, Connecticut, since her neighbors broke ground for a guesthouse and cracked their septic tank. Even though the local police chief warns her that crime-fighting's a job best left to the professionals, Kate launches an unofficial investigation -- from 8:45 to 11:30 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, when her kids are in nursery school.

As Kate is drawn deeper into the murdered woman's past, she begins to uncover the secrets and lies behind Upchurch's picket-fence facade -- and considers the choices and compromises all modern women make as they navigate between marriage and independence, small towns and big cities, being a mother and having a life of one's own."
Review: I won't lie, I really enjoyed this book...until the end. It had all the great aspects of a chick book...comedy, romance, mystery but, for me, it just fell short. I must say though that the end of not predictable at all as some books might usually be. Yes, the mystery was solved and Kate got what she wanted but she never said who she picked!

At first, I didn't like her husband at all and I really liked Evan but as the book progressed I did NOT like Evan and I really liked her husband. Kate irritated me because her husband was really trying but she was too caught up in her Ben vs Evan to even notice.

This was a good vacation book even if the ending wasn't great. I'd give it 3/5 stars. Have you read this book? What do you think?

"The Descendants"...

2012-01-01T20:23:00.000-06:00

...I hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year! I'm in Florida, honestly just chilling out, eatin a lot and visiting my mom. Today, both of us and her two girlfriends went and saw "The Descendants" with George Clooney-yum! Ironically, when I was here for New Year's two years ago, we went to a movie on New Year's Day and George Clooney was also in that!

Summary: "With his wife Elizabeth on life support after a boating accident, Hawaiian land baron Matt King takes his daughters on a trip from Oahu to Kauai to confront the young real estate broker, who was having an affair with Elizabeth before her misfortune."

Review: First off, let me say that it is rated R. Now even though I'm almost 30, going to a movie where the f-bomb is dropped every other sentence and some really off-cuff comments are made, still makes me blush! It is also listed as a comedy/drama. Yes...TONS of drama. As for the comedy, not so much. I mean there is comedic relief but definitely not enough to list it as a comedy.

I think had I gone and seen this with my girlfriends or my husband, I may have liked it more but sitting in the theater with my mom and her two super conservative friends, I was thinking the whole time, "OMG! I can't believe they just said that!" The movie was also super slow moving but it still made me cry...a lot. Let's blame it on the pregnancy hormones, shall we?

OH! Also, I was super pumped because I got the student rate and my mom was super excited because she got the senior rate. Neither of us met the criteria for either but when my mom went to order the tickets, she said senior out of habit and said a child for me. I was like, "Umm....I don't think they'll think I'm a child!" We didn't realize until we got into the theater and saw our tickets that I got the student rate. I'm glad I still look like a young, college kid! :)

Target FAIL!!!

2011-12-31T19:41:00.002-06:00

I ordered a maternity shirt from Target...I opened the package and received a pair of bikini bottoms instead! TARGET FAIL!!!

Happy New Year all!

Christmas Recap...

2011-12-27T18:46:00.000-06:00

...well, Christmas has come and gone in a blink of an eye and I'm still exhausted! I worked right up all last week and even Saturday on Christmas Eve and now I'm enjoying some much needed time off.

Ah! I don't even know where to start but let's start here. On Christmas Day, I was officially 20 weeks pregnant...halfway through! Excited to be halfway there but overwhelmed at all that needs to be done in 20 weeks. Our "big" ultrasound is January 6 but Matt and I have decided NOT to find out the gender. We agreed to not find out but to tell names. I'm waiting until after the u/s to tell names in case he tries to change my mind! We did tell our families the names this weekend with mixed reviews (I'll do a post on that after the 6th).

I did much thinking and realized that I think I turned my infertility blog into my pregnancy blog because I do blog somewhat "annoymously" there and I feel more comfortable writing about the gross things of pregnancy there and posting belly pics. With that being said, here is my 20 week belly shot(and only shot so far!). I couldn't help but post it because of Emma in the background!

Guess she was over us trying to get the "perfect" shot, huh? Anyways, being 20 weeks had to be the BEST present but Santa was still good to me.

After a heated debate of rocking chair vs glider, he realized I would be spending most of the time and he bought me this glider! I was totally shocked and not expecting it at all. He always does a good job in the gift department.

Matt also got me new sheets (which I've been asking for the past 2 years!) and a "gender neutral" baby book (it looks more blue to me though!). His family got me boots and a gift card to the mall. My family got me a World Series hoodie, maternity clothes, some cash flow and the cutest little onesie that says, "Baby G" on it and the G is in camo. The G is for our last name and how the baby has been referred to on my side of the family so far. Matt's dad calls the baby "Butch or Butchette" after my dad...

I got Matt snow camo which he'd asked for, some Mizzou sweatpants, a change jar and socks. We spent all day today buying and exchanging the camo because the pants I got were XL and seriously, we both could have fit into them!

This was our little Charlie Brown Christmas tree we had at our house with a couple presents under it.

We had a very blessed Christmas not just with our gifts but with the food that we ate (and still are!), the family that we spent time with and our safe travels. I hope you all had a great Christmas as well!

Merry Christmas!!!

2011-12-25T11:02:00.012-06:00

...I opened this to write a post about Christmas about four hours ago and have totally gotten sidetracked. So...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

and

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!!!

I bet this is what the wise men thought!

Our First Onesie!!!

2011-12-22T20:32:00.005-06:00

...our first onesie! It is so tiny and so hilarious!

This came from one of my assistant camp directors at work! Guess she doesn't want me to forget about them this summer. Thank you Danielle for this sweet gift. I just hope my baby fits in this!

Christmas Time!!!

2011-12-21T06:17:00.027-06:00

...can you believe it's almost Christmas time already? Seriously, where has this year gone!?! I wanted to do a general Christmas post so please, feel free to comment with your thoughts when you're done reading!

Traditions
Let me be honest when I say that we don't really have any traditions yet! Well, I mean we get stockings at my mom's house and Matt's parents but when, where, how we celebrate is always different. This year is actually the first year, I won't be celebrating Christmas with my dad and that side of the family on Christmas Eve because I drew the short straw and have to work this Saturday. Oh well, at least I got Sunday off but it still counts as a weekend shift so I'm not complaining too much. We're moving that celebration to Monday so we'll still get to see everyone.

Matt and I still don't have a set time that we exchange gifts...usually whenever we can squeeze it in between all the family hopping. Some years we go to midnight service with his parents, some year's (like this year because I won't be able to stay up that late!) we don't. So hopefully, we'll figure all that out soon.

Some traditions that I would like to start next year (or maybe the year after):
*A cake that says, "Happy Birthday Jesus!" I mean after all, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus. I figure the first few years I'll just make it or get it at the store then when the baby is old enough, he/she can help me decorate it.

*Again, when the baby is old enough, I want him/her to go with me to pick out a "birthday" present for Jesus. I'm thinking it'll either be something we can donate to the church (like the nursery or school rooms) or give to something like Toys For Tots.

I just really want our child to understand that Christmas isn't all about getting presents, Santa and snowmen. Don't get me wrong, we'll still see Santa and I'm sure my family will spoil him/her with presents but I want to try to instill the real meaning. I know this isn't going to be next year or maybe even the year after but when they are old enough.

*I have never been a Christmas tree person but luckily, Matt is. We've only had a tree once since we've been married. I'm hoping that maybe the day after Thanksgiving or a set day that we pick, our family (meaning the three of us) can spend an afternoon putting the tree up together and having a home cooked meal. See Matt and our son/daughter can do the tree and I can cook, just pop in to check on them from time to time but we're all together.

Those are just a few traditions I want to start...I'm sure the list will grow!

Gifts
Well, I think my shopping is done. I have to double check my gifts and start distributing them all. I'm excited about some gifts I got people and I think/hope they'll like it. I don't feel like I got anything great for Matt. He asked for white camo and that's what I got him. Then a couple weeks later, he started describing what kind he wanted...um, didn't know there were so many kinds! I'm not even sure what kind I bought so he might have to exchange them.

For me? Everyone always asks me what I want for Christmas and I NEVER know what to say! I asked for a World Series hoodie (my 2006 World Series hoodie has a hole in the armpit!). I always say sheets because I try to think of things I need (i.e. 2 years ago, I got a mailbox and last year, I got a microwave). Of course, this year there's a ton of stuff we could use for the baby room but we haven't started planning it yet so I don't know what to ask for!

In a dream world, I would LOVE a DSLR camera but that's way too much to ask for. I think Matt has in mind to get us smart phones which I have told him, no absolutely not! Not that I don't want one but our expenses are going to be increasing already, we don't need to ADD to that with smart phones. I usually tell Matt not to get me anything but he always does. To be honest, I wouldn't be upset if he didn't. Winter is always a tough time financially around our house with him having a weather related job so I'd really rather him save his money for bills (or to pay off the truck bill!). I'd settle for a foot rub. :)

Dinner
Let me just say that I'm in awe of people who host holiday dinners at their house! First off, in this house, we will never host a holiday meal because we have NO SPACE. Matt and I usually host summer holidays since we can have additional seating outside. So kudos and good luck to all those hosting!

Now my ideal holiday meal:
Meat: Ribs! Weird, right? But this is tradition in our family. We go to a local store and buy 2 slabs of ribs and they are fantastic! We usually also have either ham or turkey but that hardly gets touched.
Salad: Pasta House salad and/or Broccoli salad (Broccoli salad is made with duh-broccoli, almonds and this yummy dressing! I think my dad calls this St. Louis salad)
Sides: Grandma's homemade macaroni & cheese. green bean casserole (or anything vegetable smothered with cheese!) and rolls (not burnt!)
Dessert: Seriously? I'm not going to be picky about dessert other than NO FRUIT in it! i.e. no apple pie, cherry pie, etc...pumpkin is allowed

So there are my thoughts and what we're doing on Christmas festivities. Let me know what you all do!

Weekend Recap...

2011-12-19T11:48:00.000-06:00

...woo! It was a busy weekend! Let me try to recap it for ya:

Friday
I left work early to go to Haley's school because she had a classroom play. It was one of those days where I left work later than I wanted, traffic was horrible and as soon as I walked in the room, my work phone rang! Needless to say, I missed the first showing. Luckily, a lot of other parents did too so they did an encore performance. H was the Guardian Angel and was actually the female lead! She neglected to tell all of us that but keep in mind it was a 10 minute play. I actually left right after the play because I was not feeling great so I went to my sister's and laid down until her, H and my grandma got home.

Then we had homemade meatballs for dinner-yum and lots of pretzels with icing! H and Grandma played beauty shop which ended in finger nail polish remover all over the floor and that game ended quickly. We then did our coupon cutting and planned out our game plan for the next day.

Saturday
After a quick (well not really quick) breakfast at IHOP, we went to use up our coupons and finish up our Christmas shopping. Haley used a coupon to buy Matt an Axe gift set for Christmas with her own money; I usually get him one every year so he'll be very excited. FYI-we have Axe out the ears at our house right now.

I then headed home to find our Christmas cards had arrived-yah!!! Unfortunately, someone had pregnancy brain when making them and wrote "edition" instead of "addition" so I had to handfix all of them before mailing them. Oops!

Then I headed to work the gate at the local light display to raise money for the American Lung Association.
This is also where Matt works part-time and had worked all day from 8-5pm. I gave him Super Husband of the Day because he came home, ate dinner and went back up to help us work. It was insane! I think something like 700 cards came through and I witnessed a verbal fight because one car was mad the other car couldn't turn off his headlights...how's that for the holiday spirit?

Sunday
The night before really took it's toll on me. I stood outside for 4 hours and didn't get to bed until after 11pm so come Sunday, I had a killer headache which caused an earache which caused Crabby Alyssa. Other than almost crying twice, I think I actually did pretty good not being crabby. We had Matt's mom's side's Christmas yesterday which included 4 children and a flutophone and I didn't even ask to lay down. It was funny because his 6th grade cousin and I found we had a common love for "The Hunger Games" and spent quite awhile discussing it.

Monday
I took a vacation day today. I had to use it before the end of the month. Unfortunately, I had to go in yesterday to take care of some things at work and I had to go in today. It's nice to have a lot of time off at the holidays but at the same time, it's kind of crazy because all of this stuff has to be done before the end of the year.

I had to get up early and take Matt to work because he truck has been in the shop the past week. Apparently, a screw fell out of the bumper and went through all the gearshifts or something. We're going to pick it up today after work...and pay $3,100.

So that my friends was my weekend, it's almost noon and I've done all my errands for the day and I'm back in my pajamas now! Hope you had a good weekend!

My Thoughts on Ugly Sweater Parties...

2011-12-16T08:18:00.000-06:00

...first off, thank you so much for all the feedback yesterday! I've got some ideas to get the ball rolling so hopefully I'll have a few posts or so coming up soon. The first one: My Thoughts on Ugly Sweater Parties

The first I'd heard of an Ugly Sweater Party was back in 2008. I thought the idea was FANTASTIC! Now in 2011, I think it's totally overrated. Every time I turn around, people are looking for ugly sweaters or heading to that kind of party...I think it's time we find another theme!

In 2009, Matt and I attended our first (and only) Ugly Sweater Party. What my friends did though was you had to DECORATE an ugly sweater and bring it to the party. Once you arrived, you drew names and then had to wear that person's sweater. Me? I LOVED it because I love to be crafty. Matt? He HATED it. Apparently, men don't like dressing likes fools and then heading into public...who knew?

So if I were to have an Ugly Sweater Party...OH-idea! A Bachelorette Ugly Sweater Party would be awesome! Kind of like wearing your old bridesmaids dresses instead you could make wedding like shirts to wear. I'm a genius! Watch out Stevie, you're getting an Ugly Sweater Bachelorette Party this spring.

Sorry I got sidetracked there! I think Ornament parties are cute and you could even throw in themes each year so it's not always the same...retro, ugly, Santa, reindeer, personalized (you'd have to draw before). What about a Reindeer Party? Everyone wears antlers and you could decorate the antlers.

What do you all think about Ugly Sweater Parties? What other kind of holiday theme parties could people throw? Happy Friday!

Help! What To Do With This Blog???

2011-12-14T18:44:00.000-06:00

...I have to say that I really miss blogging! Part of the reason I'm taking a break is because I was really letting my free time get consumed with blogging...I felt like I had to have a post every day, I felt like I had to read every blog in my blog list and I had to comment on every blog too. It was like I'd come home from work, rush around to get things done, fix dinner, shower and then I'd get on the computer for 2-3 hours/night just doing blog stuff! It's amazing how much free time I have now!

The other part is because I don't really know what to blog about here. Having experienced infertility, I'm really trying to be aware of my readers. I know how hard it was to read about pregnancy when that's all I wanted. At the same time though, I do feel like this is my blog and I want to blog about my life which includes that. I've kind of turned my infertility blog into my "pregnancy" blog if you will. I debated big time over that but my justification is during that first trimester (and still now), I had no idea what was normal or not so I wanted to document that for those experiencing the same thing. And aside from pregnancy, I just don't have a whole lot going on right now outside of work (which I try not to blog about although we did have cake tasting at work on Tuesday which was AWESOME!). Well, I should rephrase that, I don't have a lot going on that's blogworthy! I actually do have a lot going on but it's fundraising stuff for ALA, promoting Hospital Hill and trying to tell my husband that Bethsheba is NOT an option for a girl name!

So help me out, readers! Please leave me some ideas of things you'd like to see me blog about....my thoughts on Albert or Matheny, my ideal holiday menu, pics of my cute furbabies, my thoughts on Ugly Sweater Parties....I need some motivation here! Please nothing political, I don't follow politics enough to do a blog post on that.

Let the ideas start flowing...GO!

An Afternoon in the City...

2011-12-11T16:40:00.000-06:00

...this afternoon, Matt and I had planned on using some of my Groupons so first stop was my favorite, the Fountain on Locust. Matt was "starving" so we ordered an appetizer. Before we knew it, our food had arrived but no appetizer. So the waitress gave us free dessert since we didn't get our appetizer-yum!!! Matt said since we got free dessert, we weren't allowed to use the Groupon so I guess that means I'll have to go again! Darn the luck...:)

Next stop was the Laclede's Landing Wax Museum. Luckily, I only spent $6 on this Groupon because it wasn't even worth that. Here are some pictures I snapped...

Matt and the Hulk

Whoopi and Patrick from "Ghost"

Louis Armstrong and Michael Jackson

Indiana Jones

Ronald Reagan

Yeah...see what I mean? Also, this place was FREEZING! I pulled out my gloves and put them on it was so cold. I guess so that the wax didn't melt, that was my guess. They also had a Hall of Horrors but only Matt went since I'm pregnant it said not to go. Matt said he didn't know why unless they were afraid being scared. OH and did I mention that we were the ONLY two there and it only took about 20 minutes to walk through the entire thing?

Since we were downtown already, we decided to drive along the Riverfront.

We found some artists working on graffiti on the flood walls.

And I never pass up a chance to get a good picture of the Arch.

All in all, it was a very nice little date for us. The weather was beautiful, it got us out of the house and was a fairly cheap afternoon. Although I would NOT recommend hitting up the wax museum! Have a great weekend everyone!

How Expedia Falsely Advertises...

2011-12-09T09:14:00.000-06:00

...okay so wow-things have been insane around this house! First off, I was gone all week at my sister's watching H and on Wednesday, Matt calls to tell me that he can't go to FL with me the week after Christmas because his boss is leaving town and he has to run the nursery. I'm going to just leave it alone and not add my two cents but that's the jest of the story. The plan was that Matt and I were going to drive my mom's car down to FL December 27 and then fly back on January 4. So now I would have to drive my mom's car by myself 14 hours and 20 weeks pregnant...not so much fun, right?

So my mom and I start trying to think of different ideas to get me to FL. First off, Matt's ticket is non-transferable to another person. We could receive a credit to use in a year but then they charge you a $150 re-issue fee so right away, our ticket has doubled in price so long story short, we're just out that $121 (hoping that his boss will pay for it but doubtful). My mom and I found a flight on 12/30 for me to fly to FL for only $159 (including taxes and fees). Sweet! That's definitely the best deal because 1. I'm not driving 20 weeks prego across country by myself and 2. It's cheap (well for the most part). Now on to how Expedia sucks!

I get on Expedia, price still advertised at $159 and click, "Book this flight." I fill in all the information and get to the payment page and suddenly the price is $189. Hmm...so I pull up another tab and search the flights again thinking maybe I took too long to book and the price had increased. Nope, still advertised at $159. So I call Expedia to find out what's going on. The agent tells me that the airline is updating the price so $189 is the price. I ask, "So you're telling me that the prices you advertise are false? You don't honor the prices you show?" His reply, "Let me put you on hold." He doesn't tell me why, just puts me on hold for over 15 minutes. When he comes back he tells me, he can't do anything so I ask to speak to a supervisor. He transfers me to another lady and I explain the whole situation to her to which SHE replies, "Let me transfer you to a supervisor." What!?! I thought I was talking to a supervisor!!! She goes to transfer me and surprise! my call gets dropped. I'd given her a call back number in case that "might" happen but no one ever called me back.

I get home from work yesterday afternoon and call again to speak to a supervisor who basically sticks to the company policy of apologize, explain and get them off the phone. I plan on writing a letter to the company, not that it will probably do anything but it will make me feel better. I'll never book with Expedia again and I hope you don't either! I highly would recommend trying out other sites like Travelocity, Kayak, Orbitz, Priceline, Hotwire...should I go on? I am now on a personal mission to spread my story because

1. Expedia falsely advertises and does not honor the price they show. It would be one thing if I clicked and then the entire site increased but for the whole 30 minutes I was on hold or speaking to the non-helpful agent, I kept refreshing and checking and the price stayed at $159 so this wasn't just a moment of I happened to click at the wrong time. They falsely advertised this price for a LONG time.

and

2. There customer service is not service at all. They have memorized the policies and lines to repeat but don't actually listen to your problem and try to help. Excuses, excuses, excuses!

So there you have it, my friends, how Expedia falsely advertises and has horrible customer service! Now let's just hope that my reservations are correct!

STL Cardinals That One Guy...

2011-12-08T12:57:00.002-06:00

...apparently, I'm the only one that remembers That One Guy from Old Busch Stadium. He would do the Clarkson Eyecare challenge and the Southwest Flight challenge. He'd interview people before the game and then there would be a video thing of it between innings. He would DJ at Paddio's after the games....anyone, anyone?

Anyways, today, he offered a free seminar that I couldn't attend but some of my co-workers went. I told them to get a picture and this photo is what they came back with!

The H & Me...

2011-12-06T14:52:00.001-06:00

…so this week my sister is out of town on business as is her husband so it's just H and me. Minus the 45 minute commute to work and 45 minutes back to her house, there are definitely perks. Let me share with you, the top five reasons it's awesome to stay with my niece:

5. Cash for food!

4. Debit card for gas!

3. Parking in a garage!

2. Cinnamon Toast Crunch for breakfast & Fruit Roll-Ups in my lunch!

And the number one reason why it's awesome to stay with my niece…

1. BUNK BEDS!

I'm not even kidding with this list! I love parking in a garage and all the yummy foods I wouldn't normally have at home. Luckily, Haley is very easy to get up in the morning and it doesn't take her long to get moving so the mornings have been easy. I will let you know that my sister left us a LONG to-do list each night and with my early bed time, it's hard to get it all done! Don't you worry about Mattie, my sis left an entire pan of lasagna for him (I had a couple pieces) plus I made him Sloppy Joes and the TJ's pizzas we ordered from our friends' son came in so he's all set.

Now snow, please stay away until at least next week!

How We Told...

2011-12-02T06:48:00.042-06:00

...well, obviously, I didn't get to do anything too cute or creative for Matt since he knew what was going on. I did the best I could with the sticky bun! So on to how we told the rest of our family...

My dad, sister & Haley
Remember, my dad took my sis, H and I to our first World Series Game? Well, that's when I told them. It was actually Matt's idea because my dad is such a HUGE Cardinals fan. So we get to the game and first off, H and I had to go to the bathroom BAD!!! So we went then everyone wanted dinner and then we finally found our seats. It was raining so my sister left to go get napkins to wipe down the seats. Inside I was screaming, let's just sit down already!!! FINALLY, we get situated and I wait a few minutes, heart pounding, when I look at my dad and said, "Dad, how cool that you're bringing BOTH your daughters and BOTH your grandchildren to their first World Series game." I got a confused look from my dad and sister then my dad whispers (as though anyone around us could hear), "Are you pregnant?" I grinned and nodded. H and my sister tackled me with hugs and my dad teared up.

Then my dad said, "It doesn't even matter if they win or not now," which for my dad to say is HUGE! The rest of the night he kept looking at me and saying, "That's cool...really cool" and my 7 year old niece kept telling me, "I'm soo excited!!!" She even told my dad, "You're here tonight with 1 boy and 4 girls," then she looked at me and said, "because I want your baby to be a girl!" When I got home that night, my sister had emailed me. She said, "H said the best part of the game was finding out she was getting a new cousin and spending time with Papa."

OH! And remember the whole World Series and the #11 post? Well, they won the World Series in my 11th week of pregnancy!

My Mom
I told my mom and step-sister at the MIA conference. It was quite hilarious how it all went down. My RE (Reproductive Endocrinologist) and I had briefly worked it out how I would tell her. This is how it went down...

I was in the hallway picking the fellow's from my clinic brain about my thyroid levels & giving him suggestions for research papers but telling him that he'd have to dumb it down for me to understand when my RE arrived. I barely got to tell her hello when I saw my mom round the corner to head to the bathroom and I whispered, "She's coming, are you ready?"

Let me break here. I tried to think of a special way to tell both my parents and I wanted to include Dr. K, my RE, because I figured she never got to be included for this sort of thing. At the same time, knowing I was at an infertility conference, I didn't want it to be a big deal and to upset people's feelings so I was trying to figure out a way to get my mom and Dr. K away from the crowd. So this all just kind of worked out. Okay, back to the story!

My mom walks up and I introduce her to some people standing there and then I turned to Dr. K and said, "And this is Dr. K. She did my retrieval and transfer and now I'm pregnant." My mom had been smiling the whole time and just kept smiling as I said that. It took about 5 seconds and then her face went blank. She looked at me and said, "What? You're pregnant!" I nodded and she started crying and repeating, "You didn't tell me!" Uh...duh, that's kind of what I'm doing right now. I then told her that we put on the whole conference just for her so I could tell her.

So picture this, my mom sobbing, hugging me then Dr. K, kissing me then KISSING DR. K! Yes, you read that right...my mother kissed my RE!?! (Luckily, just on the cheek but more than once!) I said, "Mother! Did you just KISS HER?" They all laughed and Dr. K was crying right along with my mom. Finally, I told my mom, "Go to the bathroom before you pee yourself!" LOL! It was hilarious! Then my step-sis came down and we did the same thing. Luckily, there was no kissing this time around.

When Dr. K left, I thanked her again and apologized saying, "I hope my mother didn't traumatize you by kissing you!" She laughed and said it was the best kiss she'd received in a long time. Oye! My family is so CRAZY!!!

Matt's Family
Well, as always with his family, it was totally disorganized and did not go as planned! We had two different nights planned to have family dinner and tell and both nights got cancelled. The second night, his mom calls and says, she'll take Matt and I to dinner. So we go to dinner with her and I handed her this little photo album I'd made. The first page said, "Grandma's First Brag Book" and then it was the picture of the dogs and their signs then all of our ultrasound pics. She grinned and told our waiter she was going to be a grandma as soon as he brought us more water.

After dinner, we headed to where his dad was working. Matt's mom showed him the book to which his reply was, "Okay, she's pregnant, I get it." No comment...

On the drive home, Matt called his brother and said, "Are you ready to be an uncle?" to which his brother freaked out and then said, "With Alyssa?" Again, no comment...

We tried calling his sister multiple times that night but she didn't answer. By the next afternoon, his mom emailed me to let me know that my FIL had told her and his sister had called her to say she was excited. She didn't call Matt or I until the end of the weekend. OH and apparently, she already knew because Matt had mentioned wanting a gun safe (which we've talked about ever since we got together) and because Matt told her dog not to jump on me (it's a 120 lb rottweiler).

So that's how we told our families. Matt's mom is loving the book I made her because she's showing it to everyone. My mom posted on her FB page about it and Matt and I have yet to mention anything on FB! My dad called me every day for a week asking if he could tell people yet. I think they were all more excited to tell people than we were! Not that we weren't excited, just that we were (and still are!) being cautious.

It's so funny after we tell people and they'll be like, "Oh, I could totally tell when you said..." Because I feel like I said some pretty obvious things but the things people mention I said, I'm like no way did I say that implying pregnancy. So that my friends is how we told!

THE Light Display...

2011-11-30T06:51:00.000-06:00

...let me just say that this light display has been the topic of many arguments at our house. Instead of a trivia night, I thought it would be easier to make a light display and work the gate a couple nights at the local park Christmas light display. I should have picked someone other than my super, insanely busy husband to help me with this project! But in the end, it got done...

This is a fundraiser for the American Lung Association. This is a board with clean air facts:

Giant stocking and the present on top is "supposed" to move up and down. However, I think it's too heavy so we'll have to revamp that. Now, bonus points for anyone who notices what's wrong with this picture...

The total scene:

It's nothing too spectacular but it works. We'll be making a minimum of $600 for ALA so that alone was worth it. If you're in my area of town, please be sure to go tour this park!

The Story of Baby Awesome AKA My Compact Six...

2011-11-25T06:26:00.062-06:00

...okay, wow! Thank you for all the great comments and tweets! Matt and I are very excited but also, a little nervous...okay, I'm nervous and Matt thinks his wife is a crazy freak. This whole thing is just surreal to us and I really feel like I'm in a constant 2ww from appointment to appointment but I wouldn't give it up for anything in the world! I'm going to try to summarize the last 17ish weeks for you so here goes...

After our IVF cycle last December, we froze 3 embryos. On August 26th, we transferred all three. Matt was really leary about transferring all three but I told him that if we end up with three babies at once, we'll make it work! My favorite doctor at the clinic did my transfer so I was super excited!

The Wednesday after Labor Day, I went in for my first beta test and it was positive!!! Matt had forgot his phone at home that day so I was freaking out and couldn't tell anyone. I went to the local bakery and picked up a sticky bun and put it on the table with a note that said, "We've got a bun(s) in the oven!" When Matt walked in, I could hear him opening the bag and he took FOREVER to get to the living room. When he did, he was smirking and munching on the bun and said, "So...what did the doctor say?" Men!

I went back the next week and my beta numbers were doubling like there were supposed to. I started to do a little research and saw that we were OFF THE CHARTS for triplets! When I told Matt, he was freaking out but I surprisingly stayed very calm. The next week or so, we went in for our first u/s and the tech confirmed that we had 2 babies. However, Baby B had a very low heartbeat (probably my heartbeat). At 6 weeks, we got to hear the heartbeat, I was grinning from ear to ear and Matt was practically laying on top of me to get a closer view of the u/s screen. We went back 2 week later again at 8 weeks and they confirmed Baby B had no heartbeat but Baby A was doing great. Matt didn't go with me to this appointment and it was CRAZY to see that the baby already looked like a baby! The tech hooked me up with some good pictures to take home to Matt since he couldn't come.

After that appointment, I graduated from WashU and was released to see my own OB. If you remember, I don't have one because I broke up with mine. I have since found one that I LOVE, who is actually a D.O. At 10 weeks, Baby Awesome looked....well, awesome! :) I've had one more appointment since and didn't have an u/s but a Doppler hearing and Baby A's heartbeat was strong and right where it was supposed to be.

So today I'm 15w4d (give or take a day...one dr measures one way and the other another so it confuses me). I feel blessed to have had an easy pregnancy so far...a little nausea but I've only actually thrown up once, lots of constipation (funny moms out there, I don't remember reading THAT anywhere on your blogs!) and my new bedtime is 8pm. I've had some headaches the past couple weeks but I'm accounting that to stress at work and I'm refusing to take any meds other than my prenatals. I went off all my fertility meds and shots on Halloween per doctor's orders and my hips are so very thankful.

I call Baby A either Baby Awesome or My Compact Six. There's no way to know for sure which embryo it is but I strongly believe my Compact Six is the one that's growing inside me right now (a compact six embryo is REALLY good). My due date is May 13 which ironically is Mother's Day. As far as gender, I do not want to find out but Matt does. At this point, I think I have him convinced not to find out but I'm sure that'll change before the appointment gets here. I also don't want to tell names but my husband's a blabbermouth and has already told some people!!! I got on to him so again, we'll see if he stops or not.

Of course, we want a happy, healthy baby but Matt really wants a boy and I want a girl. I feel strongly that it's going to be a boy because I refer to the baby as he/him and we immediately had a boy name but haven't even thought of a girl name so maybe this means we're already preparing for a boy so it's really a girl? WHO KNOWS!?!

In true Alyssa fashion, I'm a total worrier, nothing has changed on that end. If Matt would've let me wait longer to tell people, I would've but he was ready to tell at 6 weeks! If I feel weird, I think something's wrong, if I feel normal, I think something's wrong...I just want to make sure everything is okay!

So I think that sums things up and answers most questions. Let me know if I didn't answer something. I'll try to post pictures of the u/s next week and I'll also do a post about how we told our families. I tried to be as creative as possible for all of them.

Now you all know why I haven't been blogging and commenting lately...this lady is in bed at 8 every night!

Thanksgiving...

2011-11-24T06:00:00.037-06:00

...here it is Thanksgiving morning! In my mind, this post today is going to be so different than my post last Thanksgiving but I'm not so sure. Just the other day, Matt and I were driving to tell his mom our big news when I got all teary and said to him, "You know God is so good, look at all the blessings in our lives" and it's so true. Despite what we have been through, we still have each other, we've got strong support systems in our families and friends, we have jobs that are flexible and support us. We live in a community where the medical knowledge is overflowing! We have a roof over our head and cars that get us from Point A to Point B. We have clothes to keep us warm and food in our fridge. In other words, God is good!

I know we all could list everything we're thankful for but I wanted to call out some extra special things we're thankful for this year....

*Matt and I are beyond thankful for the doctors, nurses, embryologists, lab techs, EVERYONE at WashU especially Dr. Keller (who I absolutely love!) and Dr. Omurtag (who puts up with all my freak out medical tweets). Without these knowledgeable people in our lives, we wouldn't have our dream coming true right now.

*Prayer! I am beyond grateful for prayer. This has been what's gotten me through a lot lately. When I'm upset or frustrated, I just stop for a moment and pray. I try to thank God for each blessing He has provided. Last week, I was taking my exam to be a professional in my field and halfway through I was near tears thinking there was no way I was going to pass so I just closed my eyes and asked God to get me through this and He did and I passed! And prayers from all of you and our friends and family. I know I asked for prayers during our journey and I ask to keep them coming please!

*The baby in my belly! Words can't even describe how much we already love this child and are excited to have him/her be a part of our lives. This is a HUGE blessing, one that we've prayed about for a long time and we are so grateful for this baby.

*Most of all, Matt and I are thankful for our support system...our friends, our family, our co-workers, blog friends, doctors, puppies...all of them! I will admit going through treatment this time without telling everyone was a lot harder than last time. All the support we have in our lives makes us feel very loved and for that we cannot even begin to express our gratitude.

There's so much more that we could list but I've got to finish the green bean casserole! I love you all and I'm thankful for each and every one of you. Happy Thanksgiving and remember....THE BIRD IS THE WORD!

Emma & Shadow...

2011-11-22T18:00:00.000-06:00

...Emma & Shadow have something they want to tell you...

Matt, Emma, Shadow & I will be welcoming Baby G this coming May (May 13 to be exact-Mother's Day!!!). More details to follow! We feel very blessed this Thanksgiving season. Thank you for all your support and please keep the prayers coming!

8 Pointer!!!

2011-11-15T06:02:00.000-06:00

...this past weekend was opening weekend for rifle deer hunting. Due to the conference, this was the first year since we've been married that I haven't gone and I will most likely not be allowed to go back. Why? Matt got an 8 pointer!!! His first buck ever!!! I'm so proud of him!

As much as they all complain and hate that I take pictures and document EVER moment of our lives, I think Matt was pretty bummed that the only picture taken was on his brother's phone which we can't get bigger than like 2 inches by 2 inches. So this is the best we have:

My pretty husband with the antlers! He's happy because he got a buck and I'm happy because I have meat in my freezer! Deer chili anyone??? Nice job Mattie!

MIA Conference...

2011-11-14T06:22:00.016-06:00

...whew! We survived the first MIA conference!!! It was a huge success. We definitely have things we can improve upon but let's focus on the great things, ok?

Wonderful bloggie friends who volunteered and dealt with crazy people named Summer!

Moms and step-sis who volunteered and handled the busy registration table!

Cookies, cookies and more cookies! Seriously, we had SO many cookies it wasn't even funny! These were cookies we had made to give to the speakers and sponsors as thank yous.

Wonderful doctors in our community!

A community full of support!

Generous Dr. Simckes from Fertility Partnership who gifted a FREE IVF cycle...on an IOU card! This couple won and they were the sweetest-I'm so happy for them!

After the conference, one couple (who none of us knew) came up to myself and the two other founders and gave us hugs and thanked us. It was truly just an amazing experience and something I'm so glad I'm a part of! I've already got ideas of where to have the conference next year and how we can improve on it. But first, I need like three days to sleep and recover and THEN we'll start planning for next year.

Misc. Monday...

2011-11-07T06:59:00.037-06:00

...UGH! As you can tell from the title, this was SUPPOSED to post yesterday! When I scheduled it on Sunday, it said scheduled and then when I just saw it didn't post about 10 minutes ago, I logged on and it said draft. Blogger keeps doing that...any ideas??? Now on to the meat and potatoes!

...hey all! Hope you had a good weekend! This is probably the only post you're going to get from me this week. This Saturday is the MIA Conference so I'm busy, busy, busy gearing up for that. I'm super excited about what all it has to offer and the speakers that are going to be there but I'm even more excited because I get my guest room back! It's currently been storing giveaways for 200 attendees. So on to the miscellaneous, shall we?

*I was thoroughly looking forward to a weekend of nothingness. Well, I was well on my way to that at 4pm on Saturday when I was still lounging around the house in my pajamas. Then my husband called to inform me that he had a blow out in his truck just west of Columbia. He was with three other guys as they'd been at a paintball tournament. I quickly threw on some jeans and jumped in the car (sans bra, thank goodness its oversized sweatshirt season!) and drove 2 hours to pick up the guys and drove them 2 hours home. We got back to STL around 8:30 and the tow truck had JUST arrived to pick up Matt. To say I was upset would be a MAJOR understatement. Once I got home and calmed down, I realized I'm very thankful the guys didn't get hurt and I sent up some major prayers for that.

*FYI-Matt knew he was in the dog house. When I got to the exit they were at (might I add this was the creepiest, most desolate exit EVER), I offered him a cookie and he said, "No...I feel bad." I responded with, "You should but you can still have the cookie." You might be asking WHY Matt was in the doghouse since a blow out wasn't his fault. WELL, my lovely husband told me their tournament was in Columbia when in reality it was halfway between Columbia and KC. He also "forgot" to tell me that he was even driving. These things, coupled with his family calling me every 5 minutes while I'm trying to get him a tow truck and our conversation less than 24 hours prior about him making more wise money choices and stressing me less equals Matt in doghouse.

*We did not "grow" a garden this summer/fall. A garden kind of grew it's self. Sunday both Matt and I laid down to take a nap so we didn't feed the dogs at their precise time. I woke up about 30 minutes later than we normally feed them and they were both snacking on baby tomatoes straight off the vine!

*Due to the conference this weekend, this is the first time since we've been married that I will NOT be attending Opening Weekend for hunting at the farm. I'm okay with it but very sad. I told the ladies that are helping me with the conference that we need to pick a different date next year.

*Holy moly! Can you all believe Thanksgiving is in 2.5 weeks and then Christmas is a month later?! Seriously, time is FLYING! I'm usually an overachiever and done with my Christmas shopping but I just started this past weekend. I know some people are all about Black Friday and going to the stores but please give me online shopping and I'm a happy girl!

That's all I've got for now. If I have time to post again this week, I will but if not, I'll be sure to post on Monday about the conference...only the highlights like Dr. Hottie who I'll FINALLY meet after a year!!!

How Young Is Too Young for the World Series???

2011-11-02T06:28:00.002-06:00

...well, as you all know, my sister, niece and I were lucky enough to have an awesome dad/papa who took all three of us to our first World Series game. My niece is only 7 years old. There have been some snarky comments made to both my sister and I that, "it's a waste of a ticket to take a kid to the World Series." My question is why?

She fully understood what was going on and how "big" the whole thing was. She helped me keep attention because she read the ball-strike-out count to me between EVERY pitch and the girl cried at the end of the game because of how awesome it was! Tell me how many adults (aside from the losing Rangers fans) that cried at the end of their first World Series game because they were overwhelmed with emotion. This 7 year old didn't complain ONE time about being cold or that she was tired and she didn't even bat an eye when it started to rain. Heck, I could barely get her to go to the bathroom with me in between innings! Aside from being hit in the eye a few times by her rally towel, I thoroughly enjoyed having her sit next to me at my first World Series game. It's a memory that my sister, my dad, me and I'm sure my niece won't EVER forget.

So I ask, if it's a waste to send a kid to the World Series then who should go instead? The girl who doesn't even know what teams are playing and runs for cover at the first sight of a sprinkle and only spends one inning in her seat? Or maybe the guy who is so drunk, he probably spent his entire week's salary on beer and won't remember the score of the game, much less who was playing? Please let me know who is the appropriate demographic to go to the World Series so that you're not "wasting a ticket."

The bottom line is, everyone has their own opinions. I don't really care WHO goes to what game. When I go to a game, I'm there for the atmosphere, the excitement and to cheer my team on. I don't look around and judge who should and shouldn't be there. If only the "perfect fans" were allowed to go then people watching at the game would be BORING!

"Artichoke's Heart" by Suzanne Supplee

2011-11-01T06:38:00.023-06:00

...I recently finished another young adult book. It was Artichoke's Heart by Suzanne Supplee.

Summary: Rosemary is an overweight high school girl with no friends, no social life and in love with Mr. Reese's, Mr. Snickers and anything else that is bad for you. Her mother and aunt nag her constantly about losing weight but, as we all do, the more someone tells us to do something, the more we resist. Rosemary's mother is diagnosed with cancer and she begins to turn her life around. Between Christmas and the end of the school year, Rosemary looks 45 pounds, gains a best friend and even a boyfriend!

Review: Let's be honest, this was no Pulitzer Prize here but it was an easy read that kept my attention. The kids in her school were REALLY mean. I'm sure my high school was the same way but I just floated in the middle crowd so I never saw it as much as some of these young adult books point out. I almost wrote this book was predictable, and yes at times it was, but I was expecting some sort of conflict with her and her boyfriend but there never really was. On the topic of her boyfriend, I also never really felt there was a true connection but that's just me. Would I recommend it? I wouldn't say go check it out today but if you want an easy read, sure go for it.

Rabbit, rabbit!

That's a Winner!!!

2011-10-31T06:20:00.015-06:00

...On October 28, 2011 the St. Louis Cardinals won their 11th World Series Championship. Some fun facts about the 11s:
*11th championship earned in 2011
*David Freese, World Series MVP, has 11 letters in his name
*The game lasted 3 hours and 17 minutes, add that up and get...11!
*Add up the date they won (10/28) and get...11!
*The Cards made it to game 7 by winning in game 6 in the bottom of the...11th!

What can I say? 11 is a good number!

Here's what we did and my thoughts on the World Series:
*We went to our friends house and watched the game because they didn't have a babysitter. During the 5th inning, I pulled my first ever tooth and Cody had his first ever tooth pulled! I apologized before we left since I ended up costing his mom and dad AKA the Tooth Fairy $1.
*When we won, we could see fireworks going off in the three surrounding towns!
*I got up at 6am the next morning and went to the gas station to get a paper for my dad but it hadn't been delivered yet. I headed down the street to the grocery store, got a donut and chocolate milk and sat on the bench to wait for the paper to be delivered. After 30 minutes, I headed home. At 9:30, I stopped back by the gas station and luckily, they still had some. Turns out, they didn't even get delivered until 9am!?!
*Is the world only made up of the US and Canada? I wonder this because it's the World Series but teams that compete are only in the US and Canada.
*David Freese TOTALLY reminds me of David Eckstein from the 2006 World Series.
*My friend Facebooked me to let me know that Lance Lynn reminds her of Matt...it must be the hair.

Congrats to the Cardinals on your awesome, comeback season! I'm proud to be a part of Cardinal Nation!!!

Newest G-Card!!!

2011-10-28T06:25:00.006-05:00

..well, it's a new season which means new G-cards at Michael's! I'm actually kind of loving this one and I might have to go back and get more.

Happy Friday all!

Not Cool...

2011-10-27T06:22:00.000-05:00

...When I let you borrow a book from me, it's not cool when A. you keep it for over 2 months and B. you return it looking like this:

Seriously?

Another Wedding!!!

2011-10-25T06:24:00.011-05:00

...this past Saturday, we attended the last wedding of the wedding season. My co-worker Stacey got married! We only attended the reception. She had a gorgeous day for an outdoor wedding but since it was a smaller venue, she didn't invite everyone to the ceremony.

I must admit that I thought I looked pretty cute. First time for me in leggings! Too bad I didn't get a full length photo-sorry! Here I am though with my co-worker Paula (R) and my good friend Stevie (L). I'll be in her wedding next April.

Here's the beautiful bride. Her dress had so much detail on it, it was gorgeous! Yes, we are in the bathroom. This was the only time I ran into her!

Have fun on your honeymoon and see ya when you get back!

World Series Baby!!!

2011-10-24T06:54:00.002-05:00

...I am seriously the LUCKIEST girl alive! Not only has my dad taken my sis, H and I to an NLDS game AND a NLCS game BUT last Wednesday, he took us to our first ever WORLD SERIES game!!! It was Game 1 of the Cardinals vs Rangers at Busch Stadium. Thank you Prince Fielder (of the Brewers who we beat in the NLCS playoffs) for giving the National League the home field advantage by hitting a bomb during the All Star Game.

Unlike the first two games we went to, the temperatures were going to be frigid! I had on two pairs of socks, long underwear, jeans, a tshirt, longsleeve shirt, sweatshirt, jacket, stocking cap and when we sat down, I wrapped up in a fleece blanket. This girl was NOT cold! It did drizzle a bit but we hardly noticed with all the layers we had on.

We got to the game and found out we were in section 166-sweet! H and I were pretty excited, "World Series baby!!!"

This is me, my dad and my sis. Photo taken my 7 year old H which explains the angle.

Michelle Obama and Jill Biden came so security was "extra tight." Other than secret service on the roof of the stadium and you couldn't bring in outside drinks (thanks ladies for making me pay $5 for a bottled water), it wasn't tight at all. They must have left about inning 5 or 6 because the men on top of the stadium were gone by then.

We got there early enough so we ventured down to the field and H snapped this pic of me and my sis.

Probably like 100 military men and women came out and presented this HUGE flag for the National Anthem. It was pretty awesome!

Freese on second!

We won!!! H was so excited that she started crying. When we asked her why she said, "This is just SO awesome!" She's so sweet.

3-2 baby!!! Love that I caught this guy on the screen.

Let's go Cards!!! How about 11 in '11???

Goodbye Lola...

2011-10-21T06:34:00.025-05:00

...it is with great sadness that I found out fellow blogger, Lola, passed away this week. Almost one year ago, Lola was diagnosed with hypoplastic myelodysplastic sydrome and needed a bone marrow transplant to change save her life. Lola fight hard but in the end, it was her decision to stop the fight. Luckily, I had sent her an email back in August to check in with her and she'd sent me her CaringBridge site to keep tabs on her.

Straight from her father's words on her CaringBridge site: "Many have asked me what they can do to help or honor Laura's memory. I will share with you this fact & you can be guided accordingly. What kept Laura alive during the 8 months before and the 3 months after her bone marrow transplant, was the weekly transfusion of blood and platelets. Those blood products are ONLY available because of the generous & selfless donors who took the time to donate blood. It truly is the gift of life and the most direct way any of us can save another persons life. Please donate when you can."

So please next time you see a blood drive, stop and save three lives and do so in memory of Lola AKA Laura the Strong. Many prayers for her husband, parents and family and thank you Laura for being a part of blog land. Your strong will and fight is an inspiration for all of us.

Monster Munch...

2011-10-20T06:07:00.010-05:00

...so at my Game Night, I had high hopes of doing Halloween themed food but then I defaulted back to my usual...meatballs and chips/dip but I DID try to make Monster Munch. Let me tell you that the sauce is AMAZING...chocolate, peanut butter, marshmallows and butter. LOL-what's NOT to love??? Okay on to the recipe:

Ingredients

* 2 bags (3.3 oz each) ACT II® Butter Microwave Popcorn
* 4 cups corn-and-rice cereal
* 2 cups tiny pretzel twists
* 2 cups miniature marshmallows, divided
* 1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
* 1/2 cup Peter Pan® Creamy or Crunchy Peanut Butter
* 1/4 cup Parkay® Original-stick
* 2 cups confectioners' sugar
* 1 cup peanuts, optional

Directions

1. Prepare popcorn according to package directions. Remove all unpopped kernels. Combine popped corn, cereal and pretzels in large bowl.
2. Melt 1 cup of the marshmallows, chocolate morsels, peanut butter and Parkay in medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Drizzle marshmallow mixture evenly over popcorn mixture, tossing to coat.
3. Sprinkle confectioners' sugar over mixture, tossing to coat. Spread mixture in single layer on large piece of waxed paper; cool completely.
4. Toss the remaining 1 cup marshmallows and peanuts, if desired, with popcorn mixture before serving. Store in tightly sealed container.

Here's my finished product, not pretty but oh so delicious! And this recipe makes a TON! I had two HUGE bowlfuls. Matt was happy because he got an entire bowl to himself which he deserved because he spent Friday night cleaning the house while I worked. Thank you Pretty!

The only bad thing was that I had powdered sugar EVERYWHERE!!!

It's All Fun & Games House Party!!!

2011-10-19T06:50:00.006-05:00

...I won a House Party for a game night that I hosted this past weekend. Who doesn't love game nights? And now I've got 2 new games to add to my collection: "Quelf" and "Logo."

Apparently, "Quelf" is a pretty crazy "sit on your neighbor's lap" kind of game so we opted to play 2 games of Logo. Marcy won the first and Cece won the second. Basically, each round is a brand and asks 4 questions about their marketing. Some were really easy and others, I had no freakin' clue. Jen, of course, was great at this game and it even prompted a YouTube search of Pampers "Poop There It Is." FYI-I HATE that commerical.

Jen with her thinking jacket on:

Luckily, Matt got home in time to eat all the food we were gorging ourselves on and snap this picture.

It was a fun time and now we all have to get together again to play some "Quelf!" Thanks House Party!!!

NLCS Game 3-Go Cards!!!

2011-10-18T06:00:00.035-05:00

...my sister, H and I have been VERY lucky ladies when it's come to Cardinals' Playoff games this year. My dad took us to Game 3 of the NLDS a couple weeks ago and last week, he took us to Game 3 of the NLCS. We got there early to check out the rally and so H could get her face painted. Here's H and I outside the Stadium with the Arch in the background:

If you haven't heard of the Rally Squirrel then you're missing out! I love the Rally Squirrel since squirrels are the mascot of my sorority. Here's H and my dad with the famous Jack Buck saying, "Go nuts, folks! Go nuts!" Turns out we couldn't take the signs in because they had advertising on the back-LAME!

Despite a Fredbird freakout (H is TERRIFIED of him!) and having to wait in line FOREVER to get her face painted (like 5 grandmas were in front of her and wanted some big elaborate decorations), I was SUPER excited we made it to the rally. Jack Clark and MIKE MATHENY were there and you could get your picture taken with them. Now let me tell you about Mike Matheny...he was the catcher for the Cardinals before Yadi. At Old Busch, you could hang out where the players parked and after games Matheny was the ONLY big-name player that would stop and talk to fans. And I don't just mean one or two, I mean EVERY game, win or lose, traveling the next day or not, Matheny would get out of his car and take a picture, sign autographs, shake hands with every.single.person. He is what every baseball player should be...loyal to his fans. I have a few pictures with him after games from back in 2003-2004 but, of course, now I can't find them because digital cameras weren't big then.

So we waited in line and finally got up there to take a picture with them. I told my sister before we went up there, "I'm standing next to Matheny!" I shook his hand and freaked out in my head when he put his hand on my back and then as our photo op ended, I knew I HAD to say something. I turned around and blurted out talking quickly, "OMG! I'm such a huge fan! I loved when you played for the Cardinals!" My sister nodded, "She is! She has pictures with you from then." H just stood between us smiling and wondering why we were acting so goofy. Matheny was super nice and laughed and smiled and thanked us. He's a pretty awesome guy in my book! My dad was being all chatty with Jack Clark and I had to tell him to stop talking during the picture. That's why him and Jack look funny.

We got to our seats and some people from Cape were seating just 2 rows behind us! They took this picture of us. Matt and his sister went to the game on Thursday night. My dad was there in the same seats we were in the night before. Turns out, Matt and his sis were in the exact same row just one section over!

The Rally Squirrel telling us to GO NUTS! FYI-last time the Brewers and Cards met in post season play was during the 1982 World Series (I wasn't even born yet!) AND...the Cardinals won!

And we brought home a winner! Cards won and took the lead in the series. Come on Cards-keep it going!!!

Thanks Dad for taking us!!!

A Burning Bush Story...

2011-10-17T06:00:00.001-05:00

...last Thursday, I totally had a burning bush story happen. I had a dentist appointment at 1pm. I went to the bathroom when I got there and when I was done with my appointment, I kind of had to pee again (that's what happens when you have free refills with your lunch!). I decided I could wait until I got home. On the way home, I realized that I had to have my TB test checked. I started debating whether to stop at home to pee or just see if I could go at the doctor's office. I decided to stop at home. Of course, I got sidetracked and started checking my email and all that stuff that easily distracts you. I finally headed out.

As I turned onto the main, busy street, I saw this old chocolate lab (lots of gray in his muzzle). I kept driving then I stop at the stop sign and thought, I've never seen that dog before. I pulled over and got out of the car. I walked towards him and started calling, "Here puppy! Come here!" The dog trotted right up to me and was a wet mess, someone had been swimming! I grabbed his collar and called the number. The lady was so appreciative and said her husband was on his way. The guy was a LONG way from home to and on a VERY busy street. Chance, the dog and I sat on the curb waiting. He was the SWEETEST dog! Didn't try to pull away, sat when I said sit...almost in my lap! The husband came and thanked me and loaded Chance into his truck and left.

So see, total burning bush. I had three different places to go to the bathroom but I was lead to go home so that I could get Chance home safely. Happy Monday!

Time to Start Thinking About Christmas...

2011-10-14T20:38:00.000-05:00

...true, Halloween isn't even here yet but I've got to start going through our photos to make sure we've got Christmas card quality photos for our 2011 holiday card! Last year, we got our holiday cards through Shutterfly. And we'll definitely be doing that again this year. Once I pick out the photos then it's on to pick out the cards...that's the tough part!

I really like this one but with 2 dogs, there's never just ONE photo that's good of our four of us.

So I'm thinking something more like this and I love the bright colors!

Shutterfly has holiday cards, calendars and other photo gifts too! I love getting cards with photos on them, I think it's much more personal...what do you all think?

Oh and are you a blogger? Want a chance at 25 free cards this holiday season? Then register here: http://goo.gl/DDw7Q Have fun looking through the huge selection of cards to pick from!

We Made It To 3 Years!!!

2011-10-11T06:51:00.024-05:00

...lol! Yes, Mattie and I are celebrating our three year wedding anniversary today-we made it!!! It's amazing to think back to three years ago...boy, we had NO IDEA what was in store for us! But you know what? It wouldn't have mattered if we DID know because we're strong people and together, the two of us are even stronger.

We may fight and bicker until the cows come home, which is a really long time for us considering we don't have any cows. He may drive me insane by his night snacking and I might make him slightly crazy by my OCD and routines but you know what? It works, we work...it's just how we are. He supports me, I support him and together we're pretty unstoppable.

We may not always be the best at communicating and might sometimes double book ourselves. But when it comes to the important stuff, he can tell by how I answer the phone what kind of mood I'm in and I can tell by how he walks in the kitchen door, without even seeing him, how his day was. Sometimes we don't even have to speak to agree on things but other times, it's a week long battle to get the other to see our point.

But the bottom line is that despite our differences...in personality, in opinions, in house cleaning skills, we're better together. It's been a long, crazy, rocky three years but I wouldn't rather have anyone by my side than my Mattie. So happy anniversary Pretty!

Even though this was three years ago, I still remember why we were both smiling in this picture...and no, it wasn't because of the wedding. We both gave each other "the look" and started laughing as we worried that the sand was going to pour over the jar. We had an amazing, fairy tale wedding and we're working on that happily ever after, and as long as we're working on it together, that's the best part.

Post Season Playoffs...

2011-10-10T06:58:00.002-05:00

...UGH! This was supposed to post last Thursday-sorry! Hope you all had a good weekend!

Last Tuesday night, my sister, dad, Haley and I went to game 3 of the post season MLB playoffs. It was a gorgeous day and we had fantastic seats. While we didn't bring home a winner, we sure saw a great game! Here's my sister and my dad:

H and I wth our rally towels from our seats:

The Arch from inside the stadium!

The clydesdales!!! They even made two rounds around the stadium!

H with her rally cap on and enjoying a good 'ole ballpark hot dog:

It was a school night so we had to study spelling words inbetween innings!

Thanks for the great night out Dad! We had an awesome time!!!

Bollinger Mill State Historic Site...

2011-10-05T06:37:00.005-05:00

...the wedding this past weekend was held at Bollinger Mill State Historic Site. The view was incredible and it had me pining for a DSLR...maybe ONE day. In the meantime, enjoy the pics I snapped of the surroundings.

Nat Gets Married!!!

2011-10-04T06:21:00.016-05:00

...a very good friend of mine got married this past Saturday. I've known her since 5th grade, we met at swim team but geez, we'd both freak if anyone saw us in a swimsuit these days! She moved in 7th grade to Indiana and we thought our world was over. I went and visited her in her small town each summer and even went to her high school graduation. Her family is like a second one to me, I was even in her sister's wedding 11 years ago as a candle lighter!

Anyways, it was at Bollinger Mill and she had an absolutely perfect day!!! Here's Matt and my dad going across the covered bridge.

Me and my lovely husband who refused to smile

The beautiful bride and her sister

They handed out fans which I thought was a super cute idea!

Me with my two dates and the Mill in the background

I absolutely LOVE this picture! This is her sister signing the marriage certificate, the bride and groom laughing in the background and in the far left, their mom watching.

Unfortunately, her grandpa was in the hospital and despite every effort, he did not make it. At about 6:15, the wedding party hadn't arrived yet but they said we go ahead and eat. The wedding party didn't show up until about 7:30pm because she and her new hub had stopped by the hospital to see her Grandpa.

My two "dates" weren't very attentive. I went to drop off the gifts and saw them at the bar. Then they came over to me and I was like, "Where's my drink?" Yeah, they didn't get one so I went and get a cranberry/orange juice and the lady was like that's $1. I said, umm...hang on. I didn't have my purse so I was frantically looking for the boys and surprise-they'd both disappeared! I FINALLY found my dad and I was like, I need a dollar! I walked back to the table and I told them they weren't very good dates! LOL!

It was great to see Nat and her family and I wish her all the best! Thanks for letting us be a part of your special day.

Giveaway Winners!!!

2011-10-03T06:28:00.001-05:00

...thanks to everyone who participated in my giveaway! Geez, just when I think no one is reading my blog, I take a week off because, well honestly? Because I had nothing blogworthy to blog about! But I only posted once and some friends are all over me! So I'll do my best to blog more this week, deal? Okay, on to the meat and potatoes of this post!

The lucky winners are:

Ghost Pillow-Hilary
Pumpkin Pillow-Julie
Cat Pillow-Whit
Scarecrow Pillow-Angie D.

Please contact me so we can figure out how to get these cute pillows to you or leave me your email address. Congrats ladies!

Easy Chicken Cacciatore...

2011-09-29T06:14:00.017-05:00

...well I tried another crockpot recipe from this post. Last night's meal was Easy Chicken Cacciatore from Going Jane. Everyone kept asking me what cacciatore was and I had no idea!!! The recipe:

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 oz. can of sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup water

26 oz. jar spaghetti sauce

1 tsp Italian seasoning
Spaghetti Noodles
Mozzerella Cheese

Directions:Put the chicken breasts down in your crockpot.
Top with mushrooms, water and half the sauce. Sprinkle the seasoning on top.
Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. When you're ready to serve, warm the remaining sauce and toss it with your cooked spaghetti—or any other kind of pasta to your liking or that's in your pantry. Top with cheese.

Finished product:

My mistake was that I put too much water in the crockpot but it still tasted yummy. Matt didn't add anything to his AND went back for seconds which as you know at our house, that's a HUGE deal!!! I'm eating leftovers for lunch today-yum!!!

Maple BBQ Chicken...

2011-09-21T06:44:00.010-05:00

...well, I tried out another crockpot recipe from this post. This past Monday, we tried the Maple BBQ Chicken recipe that I got from The Chrismond Family.

Maple BBQ Chicken

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup Maple flavored syrup

2 Tbsp. mustard

2 Tbsp. Worestershire sauce

2 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

4 boneless, skinnless chicken breast

Place chicken breast in crock pot. Mix all other ingredients together and pour over chicken. Cook on low for 6 hours or until chicken is done. Remove meat, shred and return to sauce. Place on buns for yummy BBQ chicken sandwiches.

Verdict: You can ONLY cook this for 6 hours or close to it. I put it on at 6:20AM and didn't get home until about 5pm...yeah, there was not much juice left. It had flavored it enough to be tasty but would have been better if we hadn't left it on so long. We whipped up some mac-n-cheese and made it a meal! Yum, yum! Definitely better than just throwing some chicken in the oven with BBQ sauce. However, I AM going to make Matt clean the crock this week. Sorry for no pictures, I was loading the dishwasher before I thought about it!

More Crockpot Recipes...

2011-09-20T06:29:00.018-05:00

...when I did my last Crockpot Recipes post, my blog stalker sister saw it and sent me a 100+ page document of Weight Watchers Crockpot Recipes!?! I've slowly gone through and picked out some I want to try and I'm going to share them with you. If you're interested in the document, leave your email and I'll forward it to you. FYI-my criteria for picking out recipes include 1. must sound like it taste good and 2. must have less than 6-7 ingredients, any more and I lose interest.

So everyone say hi to my sister Sha and let's thank her for the recipes!

Bloody Mary Chicken (6 PTS)

4 whole boneless skinless chicken breast

33 3/4 ounces Bloody Mary mix (I use extra spicy)

Wash, skin and remove fat from chicken breasts and place in a slow cooker. Pour Bloody Mary mix over the chicken breasts, turn slow cooker to low and cook on low for 8 hours.

Per Serving: 305 Calories; 3g Fat; 56g Protein; 11g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 137mg

Cholesterol; 1026mg Sodium.

California Vegetable Cheese Bake (3 Points)

4 cups frozen carrot, broccoli & cauliflower blend, thawed

1/2 cup finely chopped onion (can use frozen chopped onion)

1 (10-3/4 oz) can Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom Soup

1/4 cup (one 2-ounce jar) chopped pimiento, drained

1-1/2 cups cubed Velveeta Light processed cheese

Spray slow cooker container with butter-flavored cooking spray. In prepared container, combine thawed vegetables & onion. Add mushroom soup, pimiento & cheese. Mix well to combine. Cover & cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours. Mix well before serving.

140 calories, 3 gm fiber, 4 gm fat 13 gm protein, 13 gm carbohydrate, 236 mg sodium, 373 mg calcium (3 points per 2/3 cup serving)

Cheesy Crockpot Chicken (7.5 PTS)

2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 Cans 98% fat-free cream of chicken soup

1 can cheddar cheese soup

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Cut chicken into bite size pieces. Put chicken in the bottom of the crockpot. Add rest of ingredients on top. Cook 8 hours on low. Serve over rice or noodles. (Points include rice)

Per Serving: 328 Calories; 8g Fat; 55g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 146mg

Cholesterol; 631mg Sodium.

Sweet & Spicy "DUMP" Chicken (6.5 PTS)

1 Package Taco Seasoning Mix

8 oz Apricot Jam

12 oz Salsa

1 1/2 Pounds Chicken Pieces

For immediate cooking: Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Place all ingredients into a large baking dish, turn chicken to coat. Bake until chicken juices run clear (45-60 minutes for chicken pieces, or 20-30 minutes for chicken breasts).

For freezing: Place all ingredients into a 1 Gallon freezer bag. Lay flat in freezer.

To thaw and cook: Take the bag out of the freezer the night before, make sure the baggie is completely closed. Place the Bag on a shelf furthest from the freezer (It works best if the bag is laying flat, although this may not be the best option with a side-by-side fridge/freezer). Preheat the oven to 350 F. Empty the contents of the bag into a large baking dish and bake until the juices run clear (45-60 minutes for chicken pieces, or 20-30 minutes for chicken breasts). For the crockpot: Put chicken in the bottom of the pot, pour over the remaining ingredients (mixed) and cook until the chicken is done! SIMPLE!

Happy Crockin'! Don't forget to entry my giveaway if you haven't already. It ends at 5pm CT on 9/30.

Rainy Visit...

2011-09-19T06:26:00.020-05:00

...this past weekend, my dad came up to STL again. We had big plans to go to this local BBQ competition and participate in the People's Choice Competition by sampling and voting on our favorite BBQ. It was NOTHING like we were expecting. First off, we had to ride a school bus to be shuttled there which was almost a 20 minute ride. I was about bus sick by the time we finally got there. Then when we arrived, the band couldn't play because everything was so wet and the People's Choice Comp? Yeah, it was just a huge long line, you didn't get to see the people BBQing or anything. Very lame in our book, so we took the 20 minute school bus shuttle ride back to the car and hit up Rib City instead-yum! Here's a pic of my dad riding the school bus:

We toured town, as we always do when he's visiting to show him what's new and exciting in our area then watched a NCIS marathon and turned in early for the Inaugural Hope 4 Tomorrow 5k on Sunday morning. This was part of Runners 4 Luke that I usually run with. Matt and Trent, my running husband, ran and my dad and Matt's mom walked. I did neither because I was supposed to volunteer. However, since it was pouring down rain, I spent the majority of the time trying to stay dry. Here's Matt and Trent tying their shoes before the race, Matt insisted I get his "good side."

The boys before the rain started as you can tell by their smiles.

Matt's mom and my dad-yes, Matt looks just like his momma and I look just like my daddy.

Matt and Trent listening to instructions as the rain starts:

Here come my dad and Star drenched to the bone but finishing up the 5k!

The boys both finished in under 30 minutes. My dad and Star finished in under an hour which was a huge improvement from my dad's time last year. Great job guys especially in that rain! We all warmed up and filled our bellies with a post-race breakfast at IHOP-yum!!!

Crockpot Chicken & Dumplings...

2011-09-15T06:50:00.001-05:00

...a couple weeks ago, Kelly over at Kelly's Korner did a crockpot recipe link-up. I picked out some that I wanted to try and blogged about the recipes. As promised, I'm trying them and posting about them as promised. First one up was Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings from Tastefully Done.

Crockpot Chicken & Dumplings

4 chicken breasts (no need to cook them first, toss them in frozen or thawed)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 small onion, diced
water or chicken broth (the broth gives it much more flavor)
2 cans refrigerated biscuits

Place the chicken in the crock pot. Mix together the soup and onion and place over the chicken. Pour enough water or broth in the crock pot to completely cover the chicken and soup mixture. Cook on low for 5-6 hours if your chicken is thawed; if chicken is frozen, cook on low for 7-8 hours.

Once chicken has cooked completely, remove the chicken from the pot and shred with a fork. Return chicken to the pot.

1 - 2 hours before serving, tear the raw biscuits into pieces and drop in the pot. Let the biscuits cook for an hour. (The liquid will cook the raw biscuits and turn them into dumplings). The biscuits will absorb the extra liquid.

My variations...I only used one can of biscuits, primarily because I didn't realize that it needed two (this is why you should read the recipe before you go to the grocery store and not skim it in the night before) and I needed the other can for deer burger muffins for dinner the next night. It had a little extra juice but not so much that it took away from the dish. I only used one can of chicken broth but because I knew I'd be gone for more than 8 hours, I went ahead and added another can of water just to make sure it wouldn't dry out.

Verdict? Matt and I both thought it tasted exactly like chicken-n-dumplings!!! All it needed was a little extra salt and pepper. We both loved this and it was super easy! For just the two of us, it was enough for dinner and lunch the next day. This one is definitely a keeper!

Halloween Pillow Giveaway!!!

2011-09-14T06:49:00.000-05:00

...okay, this would definitely have to be the coolest giveaway I've ever done. Although the calendar may not say its fall yet, it feels like it already is which means its time to break out the fall decor and gear up for the next big holiday: Halloween! Four lucky winners will be the proud, new owners of this Halloween decorative pillows made by my momma Quilitin' Vick.

Here are all four pillows (L to R): Black Cat, Scarecrow, Ghost, Jack-o-Lantern

Jack-o-Lantern Pillow with bat background

Ghost pillow with owls (too cute!)

Scarecrow pillow with plain strips as a background (this might be my favorite!)

Black cat pillow with a full moon in the background

You've got a three ways to enter:
1. Leave a comment & tell me about your favorite Halloween costume. (Mandatory)
2. Follow me! If you already follow then mention that in your comment.
3. Share the giveaway on Twitter or Facebook. One entry for sharing on Twitter and one entry for sharing on Facebook (again let me know that you did this in your comment).

This are super cute and FREE so you don't want to miss the opportunity to spice up your place was one of these pillows. Giveaway is open until 5pm Central Time on September 30, 2011. Winners will be announced the following week. Good luck ladies (and Slam if you enter)!

Happy Half-Birthday to Me!!!

2011-09-13T06:40:00.017-05:00

...yes, today is my half-birthday. What's that mean? Nothing really, just needed a title for this post BUT 13 years ago it meant that I could get my driver's permit! Now on to my random ramblings...

*I am volunteering at a local elementary school with their Girls on the Run program. Last Thursday was my first day and as it turns out, I'm the only coach that's not a teacher at the school. There's a TON of coaches so I'm not sure that they necessarily need me. I'm going to make the best of it and at least stick it out through the season.

*The author of the book I did a review on last week, Playing with Matches, left a comment on the post. That's the second author that's commented on a book review I've done. That's pretty awesome in my book!

*I know I did a whole blog post about how I was going to still be blogging and then I feel like I haven't blogged much in the past few weeks. Well, here's my excuses: 1. I don't really have much to write about so there's no point in doing random postings, right? and 2. the MIA Conference I'm helping with in November is taking up a TON of my time and all my blogging time has been dedicated to that blog. I'm in no way complaining because I'm REALLY excited about this organization and conference. But now you know why my blogging here has been slacking. I do apologize for my lack of comments though, please forgive me!

*For those of you that follow me on Twitter, you might have seen my tweets but yes, once again, I have poison. Geez, I hate that stuff and I hate it even MORE when I can't take any medicine for it! Matt took Shad dove hunting and Shad must have brought it home because it's all on my legs. On top of the poison, I also had some major sinus drainage going on and again, couldn't take any meds so I was a hot mess that was in bed by 8pm for most of last week. Happy to report that now, most of the poison is drying up and the drainage is to a minimum.

*Remember this post where I smuggled a treadmill into the man cave without telling Matt? Just wanted to update you on that he STILL hasn't said anything. I know that he's noticed but he's not mentioned a word to me. I'm not sure whether to take that as a good or bad sign.

*Now that camp is over, things are slower at work which makes the days drag out REALLY long! I'm starting to study for my CPRP (Certified Park & Recreation Professional) in hopes of taking (and passing!) the test by my wedding anniversary (10-11). It's only 3 chapters to study and has a practice test so I'm hoping it's not too bad. Also, if it's approved in the budget then next year, I'll be studying to get my First Aid/CPR/AED Instructor licenses. So bottom line, I have a lot of studying to do in the next year!

*If I ran Top Chef then if the Challenger beat the Top Chef, he would become the new Top Chef. So in theory, the Top Chefs could constantly be rotating. That drives me nuts about this show! The Top Chef can loose but is still the Top Chef...that doesn't even make sense!!!

Okay, enough ramblings for one day!

Happy Birthday Butchie!!!

2011-09-12T06:24:00.025-05:00

...this past Saturday, 9-10-11, was my dad's 58th birthday! He drove up to the STL and my sis, H, Matt and I took him to dinner at Tony Roma's. Tony's is located at the Mills Mall. If you aren't familiar with this mall, it's eh...not the best place to be on a Saturday night (really, what mall is???). As we walked in there was a ton of cops and a huge crowd outside a store. The store had their cage/gate down...uh, not a good sign. I took Haley's hand and we walked briskly through the crowd to get to the restaurant and then my sister yelled at me. She pointed in the store and what do you know, Nelly was in there! I looked at my dad and told him, "Surprise! Your birthday gift is you get to see Nelly!" He said, "Who?" We oogled for about a minute and went on our way.

Now let me tell you that it was about 4:30 so the restaurant was SLOW, like maybe 5 of the 20 tables were full. At most restaurants, your water cup is never empty and you finish dinner feeling like you could float away. Not tonight, she never came around and we had to flag her down to get some water. Anyways, our meal came and I'd ordered a pulled bbq pork sandwich. I dipped a fry in the sauce that was on it to taste and OMG! My mouth was on FIRE!!! No where on the menu did it say a hot, firey sauce was on this little sandwich. It just said Memphis BBQ sauce. I guess it was my bad for not asking but I did ask for another sandwich and I NEVER do that. Matt even tasted the sauce and agreed it was hot, which for him to say means its REALLY hot. He said it had lots of cumin in it. I got the second one sans-sauce.

So dinner, not fab, but Pop got his onion loaf, bbq and got to see his girls so he was happy.

Matt, H and my Pop:

After dinner, we stopped at the shoe store and then the boys wanted to hit up Cabella's. The girls detoured to Bed, Bath and Beyond. Here's my dad with his girls:

He's coming up again this weekend and we're going to hit up a bbq competition and then do a 5k on Sunday. Happy birthday Dad! I love you!

Ten Years Ago Today...

2011-09-11T09:08:00.000-05:00

...10 years ago today, our nation was forever changed. Where was I? It was my freshman year of college and the day before was Bid Day. I was excitedly getting ready and chatting with my roommate in our dorm room, ready to proudly wear my new sorority letters to class. Suddenly, our door flew open and our senior roommate, Jo, said, "A plane just hit the World Trade Center!" She turned on our tv and my roommate and I watched. All I was thinking was, "Wow! How in the world did the pilot accidentally do that?" Then we saw the other one hit and again, naive me, thought, "Wow! Someone is not doing their job correctly!"

In my 18 year old mind, terrorist wasn't even a word to me. We live in the USA, no one would ever attack us, this was just poor piloting, right? As I walked into class and saw the panic of my teacher who turned on the tv and informed us about the other flights, I started to get an uneasy feeling that something wasn't right. She, of course, cancelled class and I headed back to my dorm room. When I got there, I had like 4 messages from my dad checking to make sure I was okay. I called him back and we talked. He explained things to me and I was in awe. How could this be happening?

That night, my sorority sisters and I headed to the vigil in the gym. Over the next week, I realized many of the familiar faces were gone from campus. When I asked about it, I found out that they were in the National Guard or some branch of the military and had been called to duty. For an event that was hundreds of miles away, this was suddenly hitting very close to home.

The following summer (2002), my mom took me to NY and we visited Ground Zero. It was the quietest place in New York other than the sound of tears. Putting the images you saw on television and then seeing nothing in person really put things into perspective. These are just a few pictures I took that day (and could find 10 years later) of Ground Zero and the memorials surrounding.

Ten years later and I still remember who told me about 9/11, what I was wearing, what class I had, who the professor was, heck I even remember what tv I watched it on (it's in my bedroom now). I hope that I never have to witness something like that again in my life time. Ten years ago and I still remember the people who lost their lives that day. I pray for their families and for the men and women who protect our freedom daily. God Bless America!

Tell me, what were you doing 9/11/01.

"Playing with Matches" by Brian Katcher...

2011-09-07T06:38:00.034-05:00

...I recently finished Playing with Matches by Brian Katcher. Katcher is from the STL area, I'd venture to say he's from the area of town that I live in. Why? Well, when I started the book, I knew he was from STL but as I read the book, I easily picked out the local high school about 3 miles from my house, the mall which is a hop, skip and a jump away from my house and I quickly recognized all the surrounding towns. It was cool to be able to REALLY picture the setting and surroundings because hey-it was my town!

Summary (From back of book and Good Reads): Some guys are born handsome, but seventeen-year-old Leon Sanders has a mug that looks like it should be hanging in a post office with the caption “wanted for shoplifting and credit card fraud”. Thanks to his twisted sense of humor, he’s managed to go from nerdy to unknown. Leon’s new locker neighbor is Melody Hennon, an unfortunate girl whose face was horribly disfigured from a childhood accident. When Leon takes a chance and makes her laugh, he discovers that underneath the scarred skin, Melody is a funny, smart, and interesting person. Leon never predicted that he and Melody would become good friends…and maybe more. Although Leon second-guesses his own growing feelings for Melody and worries about what people will think of the two of them dating, he’s happy to have someone in his life who treats him like he’s special. But when Amy Green, cheerleader and Leon’s long-time crush, asks him out, his devotion to Melody hangs in the balance. Leon tries to find a way out of this dilemma without hurting anyone, but soon realizes–a little too late–that playing with someone’s heart is as dangerous as playing with matches.

Review: At first, I really loved Leon. He was an odd teenager, who was lucky enough to have the friends he did. He reached out to Melody despite how she looked and what everyone else thought but he still couldn't help but wonder what people would think of them together. No, that's not really cool but it's true and it's honest. Then along came Amy (boo-hiss! But what's a book without an antagonist, right?) and Leon gave up everything for her. Melody begged for Leon to come back but Leon had to go with the "pretty girl" and quickly learned the grass ain't always greener on the other side. I quickly went from liking Leon for going out there despite what others thought to hating him for hurting Melody. However, I can't say I loved the ending. I'm not sure what I wanted: Leon to end up hurting or them to live happily ever after.

I would give this book a 3/5 stars. Despite the fact that Leon ended up being the typical teenager, it still made you look inside yourself to see if you've ever made those comments/looks at people that are different and it let you know that you should look past the outside to really see what's on the inside.

Crockpot Recipes...

2011-09-06T06:57:00.010-05:00

...so on Facebook and Kelly's Korner, everyone is all about the crockpot recipes! I hate using my crockpot, primarily because I hate cleaning it but all the food I make in it is REALLY good. So I scoured all the link up and copy and pasted my favorites. Over the next few weeks, I am vowing to make one crockpot recipe a week. Here are some of the ones I'm going to try:

Catalina Chicken
Frozen (yes! frozen) chicken breasts or tenderloins (4-6 breasts or 10 tenderloins)
1 can jellied cranberry sauce
2/3 bottle Catalina salad dressing (do NOT use the low fat version)
1 pkg of Lipton's French Onion Soup mix

Put chicken and remaining ingredients in the crock pot. You don't even have to stir them together - just dump and go (I do break up the cranberry sauce a little as I scrape it out of the can and into the pot). Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours.

I usually serve this chicken over rice and with a side of veggies.

SALSA CHICKEN

2-4 Chicken breasts
Taco Seasoning
1 cup salsa
1 can cream of mushroom soup
8 oz sour cream

Put chicken in crockpot and top with taco seasoning. Mix salsa and soup and put on top. Cook for 6-8 hours on low and then mix in the sour cream and let it get hot before serving. Serve over rice or in taco shells.

Crockpot Chicken & Dumplings (I'm SUPER excited about this one!)

4 chicken breasts (no need to cook them first, toss them in frozen or thawed)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 small onion, diced
water or chicken broth (the broth gives it much more flavor)
2 cans refrigerated biscuits

Place the chicken in the crock pot. Mix together the soup and onion and place over the chicken. Pour enough water or broth in the crock pot to completely cover the chicken and soup mixture. Cook on low for 5-6 hours if your chicken is thawed; if chicken is frozen, cook on low for 7-8 hours.

Once chicken has cooked completely, remove the chicken from the pot and shred with a fork. Return chicken to the pot.

1 - 2 hours before serving, tear the raw biscuits into pieces and drop in the pot. Let the biscuits cook for an hour. (The liquid will cook the raw biscuits and turn them into dumplings). The biscuits will absorb the extra liquid.

Venison Stroganoff (gonna have to wait until deer season for this one)

3 cans of cream of chicken or mushroom soup ( Usually use two cream of mushroom and one cream of chicken but it doesn't really matter)

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup water

1 envelope onion soup mix

2 lbs Venison roast cut into chunks

Combine all ingredients into crockpot add venison. stir until well coated. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve over egg noodles.

Easy Chicken Cacciatore
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 oz. can of sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup water
26 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
1 tsp Italian seasoning

Yep, that's it—and some cooked spaghetti to go with it along with some shredded mozarella for a little garnish if you want it.
Put the chicken brTop with mushrooms, water and half the sauce. Sprinkle the seasoning on top.breasts down in your crockpot.
Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. When you're ready to serve, warm the remaining sauce and toss it with your cooked spaghetti—or any other kind of pasta to your liking or that's in your pantry.

CROCK-POT MARGARITA CHICKEN

Ingredients
4-5 frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoons soy sauce
2 minced garlic cloves
3 tablespoons margarita mix
1) Mix sauce ingredients in a bowl. Place chicken into crock-pot. Cover with sauce. Cook on low 7-9 hours or high for 4-5 hours.

Crock Pot Pizza
1.5 lbs of hamburger
1 – 12 oz bag of thin egg noodles
2 pkg mozzarella cheese
1 pkg cheddar cheese
1 small jar spaghetti sauce
1 small jar pizza sauce
Optional items: onion, mushrooms, green pepper, pepperoni
Cook and brown hamburger with peppers and onions. Drain grease and add both jars of sauce; let simmer. Cook noodles. Layer in crock pot: sauce and meat, noodles and cheese. Repeat until crock pot is full. Make last topping mozzarella cheese. Cook for 2.5 hours on high.

Maple BBQ Chicken

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup Maple flavored syrup

2 Tbsp. mustard

2 Tbsp. Worestershire sauce

2 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

4 boneless, skinnless chicken breast

Place chicken breast in crock pot. Mix all other ingredients together and pour over chicken. Cook on low for 6 hours or until chicken is done. Remove meat, shred and return to sauce. Place on buns for yummy BBQ chicken sandwiches.

This week I'm trying crockpot lasagna. I will do blog posts about each recipe and I'll *try* to take a picture of each of it. If you have a recipe or try any of these listed, please share!!! Happy Crocking!

Velvetta Skillet Dinner Kits...

2011-09-01T05:51:00.001-05:00

...I have to share with you this new product out by Velvetta. It's a skillet dinner kit and they're pretty delish. They have Nacho Supreme, a cheesyhamburger one, bbq chicken and a chicken in broccoli. I hadn't even heard of them until I got my coupons this week and saw a coupon for $1 off. I thought I'd cut it out and if they were on sale I'd get one. Well, what do you know? That afternoon I went to Shop-n-Save and they were on sale for $2 so with my coupon I paid $1 for this:

Photo from here

All you had to do was brown 1 pound of hamburger (of course, at the G house we used deer burger). Then add 2 cups of water and the seasoning, simmer for 9-11 minutes or until water's gone. Then add the salsa and cheese (cheese is like when you make Velvetta shells). It was pretty good but I couldn't taste the salsa very much. Reminded me of Hamburger Helper but with taco meat. For a $1 meal though both Matt and I were pretty pleased. I really want to try the chicken and broccoli one!

Rabbit, rabbit!

My Review of the VMAs...

2011-08-31T05:50:00.002-05:00

…I’m not one to watch award shows much, maybe flip to them here or there, but Sunday night, I settled in the MTV Video Music Awards. It was an interesting event to say they least but let me give you my opinions:

*Fashion-what was everyone wearing? Really, wearing a block of cheese on your head, hot red pants and specs or a multi-colored face mask doesn’t really equal hip and with it in my book. Is it just me or since Gaga joined the scene does it seem like it’s a contest as to who can have the craziest outfits?

*Chris Brown dancing: Why was he wearing a mic when he wasn’t singing? Did you like how he didn’t have anything choreographed when Nirvana came on?

*I really think Britney was scared of Gaga when she presented her with her award, I know I was scared! I’m not a huge Britney fan but I felt kind of bad for her. Her award was overshadowed by Gaga’s freakiness.

*Gaga: Prior to the show, I didn’t really like nor dislike Gaga. Her music is good, I enjoy listening to it. When I’d seen her on Ellen a few times, I got the idea that she was just a quieter person but really down to Earth. After the award show, I am not a fan. She totally took it WAY too far and wouldn’t let it go. Okay, we get it…okay, we still get it…okay, it’s old.

*Beyonce’s belly rub hurt. That’s all I really care to share on that subject.

*I honestly can say I did not know over half of the people on the show, I thought the New Artist winner, was some kid on the street (really who wears a tie-dye shirt with a cat on it to an Awards Show?). I recognized most of their music when they played but if I passed them on the street, I’d have no clue who they were.

*Jared Leto-wth happened to him???

*Did anyone else think the Amy Winehouse tribute was kind of small? When I think of a tribute, despite how the person died, I think of it as sincere and serious but it was just laid back, not a whole lot of footage. Just odd but then again, the VMAs were odd so maybe that’s what they were going for.

*Jessie Jay singing with the band by herself was also weird and looked out of place. Maybe it was because she was sitting down the whole time. I did enjoy her singing because that was the only songs that I knew, it was more my time.

*And the reason I watched, “The Hunger Games” preview. Totally letdown! It was BARELY 30 seconds and since I follow blogs about it, it really wasn’t anything I HADN’T seen already.

Conclusion: 2011 VMAs were weird and made me feel old. What were your thoughts on the 2011 VMAs???

Movie Monday...

2011-08-30T06:10:00.005-05:00

...pretend that this posted yesterday, ok? This weekend was a big, fat, lay around the house lazy weekend-it was glorious! I rented some movies for me (read on) but I knew I'd better get one for Mattie too so I picked up Lincoln Lawyer for him because of the storyline and for me because of Matthew McConaughey. :)

Basically, Matthew McConaughey is a lawyer who does all of his business out of his Lincoln. He thinks he's pretty hot stuff and can get most of his clients off. He takes on a new client (Ryan Phillippe-hello eye candy in this movie!) who is accused of attempted assault and, of course, there's lots of twists and turns. First off, it took us until about halfway through the movie to decide what decade this was set in. Matt thought the '80s because of the hair but I thought '90s, maybe early '00s because of the phone...nope it's set in 2011. Second, they're all about hookers like it's no big deal. Maybe because I don't deal with them on a regular basis, it isn't a big deal to those people who do? Anyways, it was a pretty good movie...it moved fast, kept my attention and was easy to follow. Would definitely recommend and I'm putting this book on my to-read list.

Now for the other movies I watched...Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse, I'm not going to give you an overview because if you don't know what these movies are about, well then you've been living under a rock for awhile. I AM going to talk about these things...

I used to like the Twilight books but after watching all three movies in one day, I'm not so sure I do anymore. It's all about the guys (Edward and Jacob) pushing Bella around telling her what she can and cannot do. As gorgeous as they both are, I would be like peace out.
Kristen Stewart, you have ruined Bella Swan for me and your acting along with everyone else in the movies have too. If Hunger Games acting is anything at all like the Twilight movies, I will cry.
In these movies, we have the Cullen family who are very prim and proper and use good English, ya'll. Then we have Jacob and Bella who are telling each other "whatever" and "get over it." This movie really doesn't flow very well at all.

All in all, I will NOT be looking forward to the future Twilight movies unless there are new actors. Speaking of, I'm pretty sure that Victoria in Twilight and New Moon was different than Victoria in Eclipse. Anyone else notice that or is it the same person?

I also rented Whip It with Ellen Page. It was kind of predictable but a really good movie. I would definitely recommend it. I know Drew Barrymore directed it so her character was more of a cameo but still, her character was weird. I also bought Valentine's Day for $1.99 but haven't watched it yet.

Also I rented them from Blockbuster. I had a gift card and was asking if I could use it at the kiosk and the guy informed me that I couldn't even use it in the store!!! Apparently, Blockbuster got sold and they're trying to figure out how to switch them over. How hard can it be? Whatever Blockbuster! I must admit though, I like walking in and having a large selection vs standing outside a gas station and paging through random screens especially if they're the same price!

Tomorrow Back to the Regular Program...

2011-08-29T17:47:00.002-05:00

...sorry all! My brand new laptop had a crash...yep, after 3 weeks the hard drive crashed but Mr. Cash Cowan to the rescue!!! He has fixed it since I was past the 2 week return policy at Best Buy. So I apologize for the interruption but we'll be back to our regularly scheduled program tomorrow. Happy Monday!

Cake in a Cup!!!

2011-08-26T06:10:00.014-05:00

...forgot all the other cupcakes I've ever posted about on this blog. Cake in a Cup is my new love! Alicia from Supper Club talked about these Cake in a Cups back in April and May. I told her next time to bring me one. Well, this past Tuesday about 5 o'clock, my phone rings and it's Alicia asking if I still wanted a Cake in a Cup (say it out loud, it's fun to say!). Without hesitation, I was like, "Yes please!" I told her nothing with fruit and here's what she brought me:

This picture doesn't even do it justice but I guess first I should explain Cake in a Cup. There's a bakery by her house called the Cakery. They make lots of wedding cakes. Well, as we've all seen on the cake shows, they always "shave" off some of the cake to get the shape right. So then the bakers take all the cake and put it in a cup with some icing and viola! Cake in a Cup!

Let me just say that this thing was AMAZING! Moist, delicious...everything you want out of a cake. I even shared it and let Matt have a bite. I've asked Alicia if she'll bring me one to EVERY Supper Club (it's only once a month), I'll have to start a tab with her for my new addiction. Seriously, I can't get this thing off my mind and I've told EVERYONE about it.

FYI-if you're wondering about dinner, we ate at 3 Monkeys. We had a blogger outing there exactly a year ago. The verdict: don't order an entree, they aren't fab but the pizzas and potato skins are FANTASTIC!

Thursday Tidbits...

2011-08-25T06:07:00.009-05:00

...my tidbits for this Thursday.

*Do you remember Bloody Mary from grade school? Well, sometimes at work when I turn the light off before I open the door in the bathroom, I start to panic and get nervous about Bloody Mary. I refuse to look in the mirror and always swear that I see something green. I said this to some of the other gals at work and they said they do the same thing. Good to know I’m not crazy!

*The bank mailed Matt new checks and put my name on them. I’m LOVING it!!! I hope he doesn’t get mad when he sees I’ve already written 2 checks out of it.

*I’m working with a brand new , local organization Midwest Infertility Awareness. We’re offering a free conference here in STL in November and I’m really super pumped about it! We’ve already started confirming speakers and getting giveaways, now we just need people to sign up! Check out the blog because I’m the one updating it and designing it. I’ve learned a LOT about blogging and still am. Leave me some feedback!

*I’m planning on having a Twilight movie marathon this weekend, expect reviews next week.

*I had a Cake in a Cup on Tuesday night and I can’t stop thinking about it. See blog post tomorrow for more information and be prepared to drool.

*I have to Skype on Saturday. I never have and I HATE my voice on technology because I sound like I’m 12. When you Skype do the people see me? That means I’d have to get out of PJs…

*I have been trying to limit my spending…it’s not working very well. It’s like every time I turn around there’s a birthday gift to buy, a race to register for, food to buy, etc, etc, etc…I know you’re probably thinking you don’t HAVE to register for a race or you don’t HAVE to go out to eat but the race is for a good cause and I committed to it awhile back, just haven’t paid for it. And the eating out/food, well, I try my best to NOT eat out but sometimes all your social stuff line up in the same week!

*For all you dog lovers out there, go read this article but grab some tissues first.

Happy Thursday all!

Chicken Pasta Bolognese...

2011-08-24T06:15:00.000-05:00

...so last week I was shopping at Schnucks. The one by my work has the little kiosk where they cook samples and have the recipe cards for them. I always sample but never take the bait to buy the cards. WELL, knowing we were in a dinner slump, I thought what the hey and I bought all the ingredients for Chicken Pasta Bolognese. It was a hit at our house so I thought I'd share:

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 package ground chicken (I used ground turkey)
3 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 medium tomatoes (about 8 ounces each), chopped (I used canned tomatoes because I can't chop tomatoes for the life of me!)
1 cup less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup orzo pasta (apparently Barillo makes some for cheap, I could not find so this was EXPENSIVE!)
1 small zucchini, coarsely grated
3/4 cup fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. In large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add chicken, garlic, salt and pepper and cook 4 minutes, breaking up chicken into small pieces with side of spoon. Stir in tomatoes, broth and uncooked orzo; cover and cook 6-8 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and orzo is tender, stirring occasionally.
2. Stir in zucchini, basil and cheese; cook 1-2 minutes to heat through. Toss until well combined.

Final product:

It definitely isn't the prettiest dish so when Matt walked in the door and saw it, he turned his nose up but we were both pleasantly surprised how delish it was. Matt didn't even add anything to it which is HUGE! We added some extra cheese on top of our own servings. Total for like a cup, it's about 360 calories so that's not bad. Definitely two thumbs up from the Mr. and Mrs. at our house!

Katie's 30th Birthday!!!

2011-08-23T06:59:00.020-05:00

...this past Saturday, Matt and I headed out to Babler State Park to celebrate my good friend Katie's 30th birthday. It was awesome to see her and her hubby Kevin. Last summer, Katie and I saw a lot of each other but unfortunately, we've hardly seen each other at all this year. Her and her hubs are moving back to the city so hopefully we'll have more opportunities to see each other.

Here's Katie with her awesome cake from McArthur's:

Kevin forgot candles so he improvised with matches!

The kids went swimming and played football. There was a boulder wall and this is about as high as I made it:

Mattie made it to the top and was checking out the other side:

Me with the Birthday Girl!

Geez, we've been friends since way back in high school and although we may not see each other often, we always pick up where we left off which to me is the true definition of friendship. Happy birthday Katie! May the next 30 years be amazing.

Spares & Strikes!!!

2011-08-22T06:53:00.016-05:00

...last Thursday, Jen, Julie, Ellen and I went to a free bowling event for STL Bloggers. It was a lot of fun...free bowling, drinks and pizza-what more could a girl ask for? Although I pretty much rock out to Wii bowling, in real life apparently I'm not so good.

Here's Jen posing with her awesome bowling shoes and ball:

Who doesn't look fantastic in bowling shoes???

Julie and Ellen were rocking the bowling, I was not so much with a 61.

But I made a come back in game 2 with a 106! WOOHOO!!!

Here I am with my shoes and ball (and my new Old Navy jeans!)

The Bowling Gals (and no we're not underage drinkers as the sign states):

It was a nice, fun relaxing and FREE evening to hang out with the girls. We should rematch soon!

ACAC Triathlon...

2011-08-18T06:42:00.028-05:00

...last year, some co-workers and I participated in the ACAC Triathlon. We did pretty awesome and were only beat out by the 5 men's team. Well, we whined and complained enough that this year they had three team divisions: Men's, Women's and Coed. We signed up right away and about 2 weeks out, our runner got benched due to a knee injury. Now not that I'm competitive or anything, I did research as to whether we should find a male or female replace and compete in the female or coed division. I also ~~stalked~~ researched some of my running friend's 5k times to see who we could slip in to pick up where Shelley (our former runner) left off. I asked my Twitter friend, who I'd also met at some Fleet Feet social runs, runkerrierun if she'd want to join the team and she was on board so we were set.

Here is Team Tri Girls II (L to R): Amy-biker (also my boss), me-swimmer, and Kerrie-runner

Usually Matt is the camera guy but he had to work so sorry, no pics of me in a swimsuit (I know you're all thanking him for working right now!). I did my best to snag some pics of the rest of my team. Here's Amy finishing up the bike and tagging Kerrie's hand to run:

Kerrie finishing it up strong for the Tri Girls

There was 7 total female teams (3 hadn't finished yet) but as you can see Tri Girls took first place!!! We beat the second place team by 9 minutes. Our finishing time was 1:36:02(which was 1 second faster than last year). I took 20 seconds off my swim time from last year finishing 300 yards in 4:51, Amy took about 2 minutes off her bike time from last year riding 18.6 miles in 1:08:17 and Kerrie did awesome kicking some asphalt for the team running the 5k in 22:54.

Here we are after the Awards Ceremony with our First Place Trophies.

This will proudly be displayed in our bedroom (until Mattie tells me to do something with it). Guess I better get to swimming so I can keep trying to improve for next year now that we'll have to defend our title.

Great work ladies!!! It was fun and nerve wracking all at the same time, I'm not used to waiting around to see if I placed or not!

Crowdtap & Jeans!!!

2011-08-16T06:08:00.055-05:00

...I recently got picked by Crowdtap for another Old Navy Sample and Share. Previously, I participated in the Active Pants Sample & Share and this time I got picked to sample and share Old Navy Jeans. I was in heaven! 1. Because I love Old Navy and 2. Because they are the ONLY kind of jeans I own.

Last weekend, my sister and I hit up the Old Navy ready to find the perfect pair of jeans. After browsing through the HUGE selection, I narrowed it down to my top two choices which are:

Option #1 (and the Winner!) Dreamer Boot-Cut. Top also courtesy of Old Navy:

Option #2 The Sweetheart Boot-Cut. "Does this make my butt look big?"

I went with the Dreamer because they fit better lengthwise. I also like the darker denim because you can still wear it with a t-shirt to run out and do errands but you can also jazz it up with some heels and a cute top. Now I just need Matt to take me on a date night soon so I can wear them out on the town.

Here's my sis in the Sweetheart Skinny Jeans, top also from Old Navy:

Option #2 Sweetheart Bootcut and the obvious winner by the smile on her face:

Here's my neice, myself and my grandma giving my sis the thumbs on that pair of jeans

Thanks Old Navy and Crowdtap!!! I can't wait to participate in the next Sample and Share.

Holy Hills Crystal City 5k...

2011-08-15T06:31:00.030-05:00

...this past Saturday, Cece and I ran in the Crystal City 5k bright and early at 7am. I had to get up at 5am and be out the door by 5:30 to get there. Once I got there, I was worried about finding Cece but I actually pulled up next to her so all worked out. We walked towards the starting line and decided to make a pit stop only to find out that the bathrooms were still LOCKED!!! Umm...I saw another woman coming up from the woods so I headed that way and told Cece if I wasn't back in 5 minutes to come looking for me.

All 22, yes you read that right, of us runners got to the starting line and headed out when the lady said GO! I had wanted to do this race to test how much I'd improved from my speed training. My goal for this race was to finish sub-30, somewhere around 29 minutes. By the end of mile 1, I threw that goal out the window and my new goal was just to finish. Every downhill had a perfectly straight uphill. As I told Matt later, Hospital Hill was NOTHING compared to this hilly race. I eventually crossed the finish line at 31:43, not exactly what I was hoping for but hey, considering the only running I've been doing lately has been the speed work and it was hill after hill after hill, I'll take it!

As you can tell by the post race food options, there weren't a whole lot of runners. Cece rocked the hills though and came in 3rd overall for the women.

Here we are post race-thank goodness it finally cooled down this week!

You can't get a PR every time but its always fun to try. Thanks for running with me, Cece!

Friday Foto Fun!!! (Not Wedding Pics-I Promise!)

2011-08-12T06:41:00.004-05:00

...I know you all are tired of wedding pics and who doesn't love making fun of yourself, right? Here's my race photo from SCC 10k this past May.

As you can tell, Megan (in the pink to your left) thinks I'm crazy. My philosophy: I'm not going to buy my race photos so I might as well make them entertaining for all to see! Here are some more crazy race photos if you missed them. Happy Friday all!

The Wagon...

2011-08-10T06:42:00.002-05:00

...well, here we are in August. I've been trying to workout and lose weight since January 1 but I have to be honest in saying that I didn't really get committed until March. I started "officially" weighing myself in March with the Wellness Mobile that comes to my work once a month. Here are some stats:

March 23, 2011
Pulse 61
Blood Pressure 111/73

August 3, 2011
Pulse 52
Blood Pressure 127/74

Change in weight from March 23-August 3: -20.6 pounds
Change in BMI from March 23-August 3: -3.4

Great, right? Ugh...it would be except that I see myself falling off the wagon in s...l...o...w....motion. I trained until the early part of June for Hospital Hill then I continued on with trying to win the Biggest Winner and after the Biggest Winner ended...well, so did my motivation. What can I say? I need a goal in sight to keep me on task!

I slacked on my eating and my working out and now I'm paying for it. I enjoyed too much ice cream, too many days on the couch and not enough on the treadmill and now I'm beating myself up over it. Some days, I would just eat to eat even though nothing sounded good and that's when I realized as I was sucking down Twizzlers for the sake of eating that I was teetering over the edge of the wagon and I needed to get back in.

So here I am bloggie friends, pledging my allegiance to you that I WILL get back on the wagon. I may not be training for a marathon or trying to win a weight loss contest but for me, for my health, I am pledging to get back on the wagon! I still may have a couple cheat days here or there (although I made Matt promise me no more ice cream for the rest of August-tear!) but only when I have made up the calories for it. I am looking good and feeling good and I want to keep it up so back on the wagon we go! I am putting this in writing because if I put it out there, I know you all will keep me accountable, right?

Tuesday Tidbits...

2011-08-09T06:35:00.008-05:00

...it's a slow week so not sure I'll have much to blog about.

*Matt's shifter on the truck broke in half Friday night as we were getting on the highway. He was able to "suicide shift" to get us off the highway to the garage that we always take our cars then his sister picked us up. We're supposed to pick it up today, dreading the final amount.

*I am TOTALLY pumped about "Hungry Games" the movie coming out in March 2012. In the books, I'm a totally Peeta lover but Gale is WAY cuter in the movies. I'm just hoping that the acting doesn't suck like the "Twilight" films or my heart will be broken.

*Mr. and Mrs. Cash Cowan helped me buy a new laptop this past weekend. I took it to work yesterday to have the IT guys install all the stuff they wanted me to add on at the store. I'm patiently waiting for it back since I'm still propping my old one up just to stay open.

*This week is cray cray busy at night! Master the Met meeting last night, work tonight, Wednesday bikram, Thursday bikram and pottery then Friday night a CLIF bar photo shoot for work-whew! I hope the week goes by fast.

*I've lost my love to run. More on that tomorrow...will discuss "the wagon" later this week.

*I'm trying not to spend any more money this week on stuff other than necessities including ice cream. How sad! No more ice cream in August-the hottest (well second hottest) month of the year.

*Looking forward to 5k on Saturday and tri on Sunday-wish me luck on both!!!

Speed Training DONE!!!

2011-08-08T06:39:00.020-05:00

...last Thursday night was the last night of speed training hosted by Big River Running. I posted once before about it here. The last workout was a timed 5k on the track. During the whole session, my goal was to run a sub-29 5k. I started off kicking major a$$ but as summer went on and it got hotter, I started slacking off and not running as much and I could tell in my speed work. My final 5k time was 29:17...hey, I'll take it! Here is the sweet tshirt we got for attending 8 or more sessions (I attended 10/13 with one being cancelled due to heat). It says, "I ran repeats during the heat wave, what did you do?" LOVE IT!!!

Here's a pic of me running the 5k on the track. We had the marching band entertaining us on the main field.

I'm running a 5k this weekend with Cece. My goal will be sub-30 because I like to be realistic. I know this 5k is not on a track, I know it's hilly and it's probably going to be HOT. Cross you fingers for me!

I really enjoyed the whole speedwork workouts. It really built up my confidence, I met a TON of new runners and I did speedwork-hello, I'd really never done any of that before! I will definitely be doing this again next summer and best part? It was free!

Friday Foto Fun!!!

2011-08-05T06:52:00.014-05:00

...oh typical FIL...giving Mattie bunny ears!

The G Family...*shaking head*

Family photo with Grandma...forgot to tell her to put on her jacket and set down her disposable camera...

Matt HATES this picture but it always makes me giggle because I say he's whispering sweet nothings.

And Tom is done...tossing the water bottle down!

Shocker...I'm a little OCD so I had LOTS of list for everyone that had a part in the wedding. Here's Matt reviewing Curt's list with him...

Curt looking over the list ONE MORE TIME!

Happy Friday!!! And FYI-last day of summer camp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Busch Stadium...

2011-08-04T06:13:00.009-05:00

...after lunch on Sunday, we had time to kill so we drove around downtown STL. We decided to stop and walk around Busch Stadium. Here's my dad with the ever famous Stan Musical statue (this is typically where people meet up...at the Stan Statue):

Haley and my dad with his infamous brick that my sis and I got him for Christmas one year. We ALWAYS make him lay down by it and take a picture...I think we have about 20 pictures exactly like this.

Butchie with the Ozzie statue.

Here he is impersonating the Dizzy Dean statue and Haley in between the guy's legs-lol!

We went in and looked around the team store and it was FREEZING in that place! So H and I came outside to warm up...gotta love MO weather, elevenity billion degrees outside or sub-Artic temps inside:

Now hopefully next time my dad comes up, we'll be INSIDE the Stadium watching the Cards bring home a winner!

Pappy's Smokehouse Part II...

2011-08-03T06:23:00.002-05:00

...last November I went to Pappy's Smokehouse with some coworkers and as soon as I left I knew I HAD to take my dad there. Well, it only took 9 months but I finally got him, my sister and Haley to go to lunch there this past Sunday. The place opens at 11 and I told them we needed to get there at 10:30 to get in line. Well, it didn't take quite as long as we thought to get there and arrived about 10:10 and were the first ones in line. My family made fun of me until about 5 minutes later when there were about 10 people behind us in line. They opened the doors about 10:45 and we headed inside.

Here's a pic of my twin for the day (both had our bangs pulled back):

My dad got the ribs and as you can tell from his hand in the picture, he couldn't wait to get started:

Pulled pork with applesauce and sweet pototo fries-yum!

While in line, we noticed that their pit cooker thingies were from Cape. The manager walked by to ask how everything was and him and my dad got into this whole conversation and ended up knowing some of the same peeps. He gave my dad this sticker for him to spread the word in Cape about Pappy's. He also gave me a fist bump because I'd brought in newbies. Two thumbs up from Butchie and Haley:

Now I just have to get my husband to go try it!!! FYI-directions on your Iphone to this place are WRONG-both times I've gone so don't trust the Iphone on this one.

Think He'll Notice???

2011-08-02T06:36:00.002-05:00

...so while Matt was at the fair last week, my sister had a garage sale on Saturday. I went to help her with it and saw she was selling her treadmill. I've been wanting one FOREVER. Not that I'd do my primary training on it but on days that I don't work, it would be nice to have the option to run inside instead of the heat advisory or snow days that Missouri brings us.

On Friday night, I had discussed the treadmill with Matt who said absolutely not can I bring it home because there's no where to store it. I decided to ignore that "suggestion" of his and got it anyways. Think he'll notice?

It's not THAT obvious, is it?

First off, I carried that entire thing inside on my own with a dolly. Yes, I have bruises all up and down my arms from it and it did start to pour rain while I was trying to get it to fit inside and I may have cut the carpet but it's old and doesn't match anyways but I got it inside. My dad came up later that afternoon and I told him I was hoping Matt wouldn't notice. My dad gave me the "are you crazy, of course he'll notice" look.

I think Matt's just worried because I'm taking over the civilized part of the man cave as my exercise area. Sorry dear! I'll let you know what he said. I did tell him worst case scenario, we can sell it on Craigslist.

"Do You Believe in Magic???"

2011-08-01T06:00:00.025-05:00

..."in a young girl's heart? How the music can free her whenever it starts?" Everyone sing along! This past Saturday, my bestie, Q, from college had her wedding reception at the Magic House here in the STL. Her and her husband had gotten married in the Dominican last week and were celebrating this past weekend. Unfortunately, Matt was at the fair but my dad, whose known Q longer than Matt, filled in as my date.

We got there and didn't know a soul!!! I mean, I knew everyone in the wedding party but they were busy doing wedding stuff. I was looking around expecting our friends to come in and the first person I ended up knowing was a PTer from work! HA! So we chatted with her and her husband then went to talk to the bride and groom and her parents. Go figure as SOON as we got there my battery was dead in my camera but luckily, Butchie had an Iphone so we were good to go. Here I am with the beautiful bride, I absolutely LOVED how she and all the bridesmaids had their hair and don't mind my super high poof.

This is one of our sorority sister's Mindy with her 9 week old son Benjamin and her parents. Her dad was always in charge of making sure we had something rotating on our homecoming floats back in college.

You can read about Q's 30th birthday here (in which Matt also missed but I promise Q it's nothing against you!). At her birthday party, they had cupcakes, cannolis, etc...in the shape of a 30 so I thought it was appropriate that the "cake" was the same sort of make-up at her wedding, some with sea shapes as it was a beach wedding:

If you know the couple then you know they are total Dave Matthews fans so it was also appropriate that they had a one man acoustic guitar player (who was AWESOME!). I think they did a great job tying in all the things that make them them.

Then we got a phone call that the President needed Butchie and I's help with the debt crisis:

We did our best to help...

But decided to stop at 5 Guys instead of listening to them debate!

It was a good time and I'm very happy for Chris and Q (even if you aren't a Q anymore, you always will be in my book!). Thanks to my Poppa for being my date!

Rabbit, rabbit!

Friday Foto Fun!!!

2011-07-29T06:44:00.011-05:00

...definitely an outtake as my dad scratches his nose and Sally spits out her gum!

Uh...maybe we shouldn't look directly into the sun and what's up with my weird hand position?

Kristal, my day of lady, and me looking cray cray as I stare again into the sun! Kristal and I love our lists!

The boys thought they were hot stuff in their shades.

Then we take the shades off and they forgot how to smile!

Are they blessing him? Telling him not to run? I don't know what's going on here...

Happy Friday!

Thursday Tidbits...

2011-07-28T06:07:00.012-05:00

...how in the WORLD is it already Thursday?!? I don't know but I'll take it!

*Every time I see Jeopardy, I think of Colin.
*Spent a good night with my mom last night. We got pedicures, ate at Kitaro, tried out Orange Leaf and baked a TON of chicken then froze it all.
*Have now done bikram 4 times, I feel like it should be getting easier but I'm not sure I'm getting any better. I can definitely tell a difference when I have a clear mind set vs thinking about what I need to do/did before/after class.
*Although Matt's gone for the week, I apparently have spread myself pretty thin. I feel as though I'm going to need a weekend to recover from my weekend!
*My laptop has to propped up on a pillow to stay open because it either lays completely flat or completely shut. I'm thinking of purchasing a new laptop during the tax free weekend coming up. I just HATE making that decision to spend that much money. UGH!!! The main reason I hate being an adult is financial.
*Have I mentioned that between the heat wave, bikram yoga, work and the 500 million things I have going on that I'm exhausted? Well, I am but I LOVE that feeling!

Happy Thursday!

Fair Feast...

2011-07-27T06:11:00.023-05:00

...I hope yesterday's post didn't come off as too bitter. I do enjoy the fair and I love that Mattie has something he loves working at, I just am a girl and get my feelings hurt from time to time. I wanted to follow up that I went out to see him last night at the fair. First I hit up some bikram yoga, class just prepared me for the heat at the fair! When I got there, Mattie drove me around in his cart and we watched some of the tractor pull. Here's a pic of the two of us (remember just came from bikram):

The main reason Mattie loves the fair is because he gets to do manly stuff like fix that water tank thingie. When we drive around the fair, he's constantly asking if anyone needs help. I don't mind chilling in the cart and people watching...it's ALWAYS interesting.

Tuesday night is the laid-back night because it's not as busy so usually Tom and Matt make a huge meal i.e. 10 packs of chicken legs, 8 boxes of instant potatoes and a giant can of green beans:

Here's Matt and Topper manning the grill:

Uh...think we had enough chicken?

I had to eat and run because I needed to get home to let the dogs out. As I was leaving, it was pitch black and BAM! I ran right into a golf cart...awesomesauce-NOT! My car was fine and the golf cart was fine...or so they tell me. Guess I'll find out when I go later this week! OH! And we only grilled 7 packs, I had to bring 3 packs home. Good thing my momma's coming up tonight to help me figure out what to do with the other 3 since I can't refreeze them and I sure don't know how to grill them. I think we'll be eating chicken for awhile...

Perk, Downer, Frustrating...

2011-07-26T06:49:00.031-05:00

...I'm a bachelorette this week! It's that time of year that my husband takes vacation and camps out at the fairgrounds with his BFF Tom. It's has its ups and downs.

Perk-I get a whole week of the house to myself...no one fighting over the channel, cooking dinners for two, spreading out and sleeping in the entire bed, not listening to the alarm go off at 4am for an hour (because he INSISTS on setting it that early), no packing lunches...its like a vacay for me too and I enjoy my break!

Downer-Since we first got together, I tried to get involved with the fair but honestly, no one has ever taken me up on the offer to help (maybe they just don't like me?). I've helped with the dinner auction a couple years but it's not the same as the week of the fair. The first 3 years we were together, I went to the fair EVERY night to visit him. I'd always offer to bring dinner or snacks but Matt always declined. A couple years ago, I went out one night to find out that Tom's gf had brought dinner for them and everyone (including her) raved about how good it was (it really was good!). After that I quit offering. I now instead make plans during that week to go out with the girls or my mom (my dad may even be my date to a wedding this weekend). I used to take my niece at least one night to the fair but honestly, it's a lot of driving to get her, to get to the fair, to drive her home for only a couple hours at the fair.

Frustrating-I know Matt enjoys having his own "thing." But it really hurts my feelings that he invests so much time into something without me. It's not that I'm against it, it's a great cause and good people. But I mean, he takes 1 of his 2 weeks of vacation to spend without me, he doesn't care that I don't come, he doesn't let me try to help or be a part of it. His excuse-he's done this since BA (Before Alyssa) when in actuality the first year we dated was the first year he started this. Its hard to deal with but I just try to look at the perks and know that after his one week with the fair and fun, he'll be back home. And I'm finding my niche with organizations that I can volunteer and be a part of as well.

Marriage...no one said it's easy. It's all about finding the middle ground and each of us being happy.

End of an Era???

2011-07-25T06:44:00.000-05:00

...it seems like every time I turn around another one of my bloggie friends is closing down their blog for a variety of reasons. Although I understand their reasonings (and totally agree on some!), it makes me sad. When I first moved to STL, I mainly hung out with old college friends. After I got to know my co-workers, I started making friends and hanging out with them.

A co-worker introduced me to Mattie and well the rest is history! Like any relationship, we were inseparable for the first part of our relationship but then came a point where we wanted to start hanging out with our friends. By this time, I had started a blog but had never even thought twice about meeting other bloggers. Well in May 2009, I met my first blog friends: Randall, Heidi, Angie and some other girl (who fell off the Earth, it was weird). After that, we hung out a few times and now I have a whole plethora of bloggie and Twitter friends!

So it makes me sad that my all my bloggie friends are signing off but hopefully we'll all still stay in touch. I know that I've not gotten nearly as many comments as I used to and I'm not sure if it's because blogging isn't the "in" thing anymore or people just don't like my content. But I have to be honest and say I know I haven't been the best commenter these days either because I've been crazy busy. But to all my loyal readers out there, I promise I won't sign off or close this 'ole thing down. Even if I get NO comments, I love looking back over the past 3 years and remembering and referencing. At some point, I may slack off and not blog as much but I'll be around. There, now you can all sleep easier at night! :)

Friday Foto Fun!!!

2011-07-22T06:37:00.016-05:00

...more wedding outakes that did NOT make the album!

I think I was on the phone with Kristal at the time because the caterer wasn't there yet...either that or this was when my dad and I were both calling the caterer at the same time and I "calmly" told my dad if we were BOTH calling, they wouldn't answer. They FINALLY showed up.

Classic sister pose, I can't get over how opposite we are in looks and personality at time!

Here I am helping Butchie look beautiful!

This is one of our table decoration but I love the pic on it, it was taken the day after we got engaged...look closely!

We're just like little kids, have to look at the picture taken right away!

Happy Friday!

"Deadline" Book Review...

2011-07-21T06:33:00.000-05:00

...I was totally bummed when I finished the "Hunger Games" trilogy but I was not let down by the next book I read which was "Deadline" by Chris Crutcher. This is a young adult book (as are most of the books I read) that was an easy read (finished in 2 days) but wow! I read the summary on the back and I thought it was deep stuff then I got into the book and it got REAL deep.

Summary: Ben is heading into his senior year of high school when he finds out that he has a rare disease that gives him less than a year to live. Ben decides to not get treatment and also not to tell anyone. He wants to live a "normal" life and live life to the fullest. His three main objectives for the year are 1. to go out for the football team (Ben's a scrawny little guy) 2. Go for the girl! and 3. push his teacher to his limits to find the "real" truth in government and history.

Thoughts: I REALLY liked this book! I try to think back to myself as a senior in high school and I'm not sure I could have done what Ben did because 1. no way would my parents be like Ben's (but that's another story within the story) and 2. I wouldn't be nearly that brave to go through all that alone. The more you read the book, the more secrets were revealed and you had to keep turning the page to find out what was going to happen. The book does use quite a bit of foul language and touches on very difficult subjects. I don't think this book will be a best-seller or turn into a movie but for a quick, easy read that gets your attention I would definitely recommend this book.

This for That...

2011-07-20T06:49:00.013-05:00

...I got this:

...for that:

Sunday morning, Cece, Jenn and Jen and I met at Forest Park for to run 5 miles. We didn't do it for training or just to run, we purely did it so we could go to Jilly's for brunch. The food hangover and blister were SOOO worth it!

Bikram Yoga AKA Hot Yoga...

2011-07-19T06:07:00.010-05:00

...last spring, Groupon was offering a deal for $40 for one-month unlimited Bikram yoga. I've never been a fan of yoga, seemed too much of a calm, peaceful sport and at the time, I had no idea what bikram yoga was. Then suddenly bikram, or hot yoga, started popping up all over my radar! When Jenn and Jen said they'd bought the Groupon, I was totally bummed because it was an AWESOME deal (normally it's $170/month for unlimited so $40/month for unlimited equals AMAZING!). Oh well, I'd filed it away under missed opportunity, don't pass this up again. Then this past Sunday, fate started working it's magic. Long story short, Jen's friend had bought the Groupon then she got a new place and neither location was convenient for her. Jen hooked the two of us up, I got the Groupon, she got her money and we were both two happy ladies.

So on to the class...first off, what is bikram yoga? Straight from the studio's website: "Bikram yoga is a demanding series of 26 postures (asanas) that works the entire body for 90 minutes. The class is conducted in a heated room to improve circulation, help eliminate toxins, and significantly reduce the risk of injury during deep muscle stretching."

Second, there's rules...yes rules. 1. You're supposed to drink like 100 ounces of water/day. 2. No talking in the room (MAJOR no no) and with that, you can't make any movements or get a drink if they're still in a pose. 3. You're not supposed to eat 1-3 hours before class. Those are just a few of the rules. I broke 3/3 rules! 1. I only drank like 60 ounces before class but I'm pretty sure I drank 100 after! 2. I did well the first day not talking until she asked me a specific question and instead of nodding, I said "yes!" Yikes! She didn't get on me too much. 3. I was STARVING as I neared the studio so I stopped and got a cereal bar...I was totally fine.

Once I got there, I got set-up in the room and before class even started, I already had sweat rolling down my forehead. When we got going, I could feel the sweat but when I bent over to touch my toes and saw sweat beading out of my calves, I was in shock because I didn't know I could sweat like that! By the end of the class, my navy shorts looked black, my sports bra and tank top were soaked and my hair looked like I'd just gotten out of the shower. I was so wet and sweaty that I could barely get a grip on my ankles during some of the poses! My thoughts on sweat...I love it! It means I've worked hard (even if I would have sweated regardless of the movement) and I just wish that every time I sweated that I would get tan too...wishful thinking, I know! OH! And you're not supposed to wipe your sweat, one lady kept doing it and the instructor kept telling her to stop then I think she walked over and took her towel away. They're hardcore! So even though at some points I had sweat rolling IN my nose and couldn't even grip my ankle, I did NOT wipe a single bead of sweat off until the very end.

Let me be honest in saying I've really NEVER done yoga before. I mean I've tried out a few videos here or there but they only kept my attention for 15-20 minutes. I was amazed at how flexible some of the people were especially the man in front of me (which for the record, I will not stand behind him again...old man, sweaty hairy armpits and a Speedo-no thanks! I'm just glad I only had the cereal bar before class.). I surprised myself and I thought I did VERY well. I mean I'm not touching my foot to my head or anything but I actively participated the entire class, which the lady told me the main goal of class #1 is to make it all the way through, and I didn't sit out of any poses. The last 10-15 minutes of class though, I was getting tired and hotter and I was ready to be done. Hopefully it'll get easier with more practice! The teacher recommends 10 times in 30 days and that's my goal plus whatever else my schedule will allow. This week I can only go 3 days but next week I think I can make it every day but we'll just see how my body reacts. Tonight I'm going back with Jen and I'm just hoping we don't get in trouble for talking! Now before I sign off, I'll leave you with pictures.

Before class (please disregard the hair, I swam before I went to class):

After and exhausted!

So have you done bikram or hot yoga? What's your thoughts? OH! Does anyone know how many calories you burn? My Fitness Pal keeps telling me that for 90 minutes, I only burned 300 calories. Maybe that's true but MAN, it felt like WAY more!!!

Sherlock's Steak & Seafood...

2011-07-18T06:05:00.022-05:00

...Saturday night, Mattie took me to Sherlock's for date night. We got dressed up and headed to the local restaurant in Cottleville. I've been wanting to go here FOREVER even though I'd heard mixed reviews from Jen and Heidi. Here's Mattie outside the restaurant:

I ordered the Chicken Capelini which had no flavor whatsoever. Matt ended up eating my leftovers later that night as he was snacking around the house. He ordered the Grilled Salmon with lime and dill butter, he said it was pretty awesome but his sides weren't great. We split a Cheesecake Bomb for dessert and, well, it was cheesecake...not a whole lot more to say. I must say that the bread they served was fantastic especially since it was served warm.

I have to be honest...I should have listened to Jen and Heidi-this place was NOT fab. It was decent but for the prices, very disappointing. It's also the local joint for the older residents to come hang out at so we were definitely WAY below the age range. We had a Foodie STL coupon which was $10 off so basically we got the tip for "free." Bottom line, we've been there, tried that and probably won't be going back.

Friday Foto Fun!!!

2011-07-15T06:26:00.019-05:00

...continuing on with Friday Foto Fun, the next few Fridays will be outakes from our wedding. I only have made it through pre-wedding photos so far and I have like 20!!! Anyways, easy and fun reads for a Friday.

Matt's mom helping him with his flower. Matt's not so sure about what she's doing and I really wonder what she's thinking or just said...

Here's H being a little ham!

First off, you will never find a picture like this again...me, my sister and my mother in one photo-this is history people! Besides that, I love this pic because, besides me, everyone is laughing and happy. I think I was worried because they thought the hook was broken. Never fear, all was good!

Don't look at the spot on my back (it's been there for years!) but I love my Granny's face on the left hand side...we were STILL looking for the hook!

Maybe having a Bridezilla moment as I leave the hotel for the wedding?

Happy Friday all!!!

Thursday Tidbits...

2011-07-14T06:06:00.023-05:00

...random thoughts for a random Thursday!

*While I love a good book, I hate finishing it because I hate finding a new one. I mean I'm loving the characters and the plot and then its done and I have to start all over again. What are your thoughts on this?

*I went an entire week without running and I'm paying for it. I suggest to NOT do this if you want to keep up your cardio and speed...just saying.

*I don't live in the town where I grew up. I sometimes miss going to the store and seeing at least 3 people you know, getting hugs from my friend's parents as a hello and knowing everyone around town. It kind of makes me sad that up here, it's like a big deal if I see someone at the store that I know and even then its usually someone that comes into my work and its just a polite nod.

*Matt dropped chocolate syrup on Shadow's head and didn't clean it up. It got hard and sticky so I cut it out, yeah...the hair on his head is patchy. Matt said, "All you had to do was get a wet towel and clean it off?" I gave him the evil eye.

*I am totally loving CLIF Mojo bars!!! It's like perfect for me...pretzels, chocolate, peanut butter...and probably some other stuff that's good for you. They're dangerous though because I could eat like 10 in one setting. What's your favorite "healthy" snack?

OH! And here's the before picture from Biggest Winner, taken April 27:

I think that's all the tidbits I have for now! Matt's planning us a date this weekend...I'm interested to see what he's got planned for us...any suggestions?

"Mockingjay" Book Review...

2011-07-13T06:15:00.040-05:00

..."Mockingjay" the third and final book of the "Hunger Games" trilogy. You can read my reviews on "Hunger Games" here and "Catching Fire" here. The first two books, I read in like two days but I took my time reading this last one because I didn't want the series to end!

Summary: Katniss has been saved from the Quarter Quell, District 12 has been destroyed and District 13 really does exist!!! Katniss' bold action during the Quarter Quell has officially started the war between the Capitol and the rebels and Katniss is THE Mockingjay AKA the rebel leader. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol but District 13 saves him only to find he's been "hijacked" and is now a threat to Katniss' life. Katniss vows to kill President Snow and end the war.

Review: So a LOT goes on in this book that I had to leave out of the review but I didn't want to ruin it for those of you who haven't read it yet. I felt like this book moved a little slow at times especially in the beginning and then BAM-the last 3-4 chapters TONS of stuff going on. But at the end of the book, it seemed like everything was just summarized and no real details...I'm a detail kind of person, people! I feel like the author skips a lot of important events by making Katniss get hurt and then people summarizing to her what happened vs actually playing it out in the book. My heart was broken in this book because some people die that I really "knew" and liked. The whole Gale/Peeta situation was really played up in books one and two and then in this book, I think it was obvious who she would pick because she kind of backed off the other one and so did he so that wasn't a shocker too much. I wasn't a fan of the "resolve" between the two of them because it still felt like she choose the one by default even though she said she would have picked him anyways. I was thrilled with the demise of Snow, seemed as though he still got "his way" despite everything he put the districts and victors through. Buttercup was a very small character that after I read the book and thought back on it, I loved him but I'm also a big animal lover. Sorry to be vague-just trying not to spoil it!

And to those of you that have read the trilogy, do you not find it ironic that the whole series started with Katniss volunteering to save her sister? So the question is...if she hadn't, would the outcome have been the same? Would the rebels have revolted against the Capitol? Would everyone go through as much pain and suffering? Because in the end, Katniss ultimately had the same outcome. Now on the other side of the fence, by volunteering, Katniss found Peeta, the Games ended and hopefully everyone ends up leaving happily ever after...although it wasn't necessarily spelled out for us.

My favorite of this series was "Hunger Games" followed by "Mockingjay" then "Catching Fire" was last. If I had to pick, I would definitely say I like this series better than the "Twilight" series and I'm SOOO excited for the movie...coming out March 2012 (although I think the actors are way cuter than they are portrayed in the book if that makes sense)! Let me know your thoughts!

Biggest Winner Results...

2011-07-12T06:57:00.000-05:00

...well, the Biggest Winner contest ended July 1 and last Thursday, the final results were in! You can read more about the contest here but basically, it was a county-wide 8 week weight loss program put on by the local hospitals.

It was tough but it definitely kept me on track during camp which is an easy time for me to "let go" because I'm stressed and busy and write off exercise and good food choices without a second thought. I did take a "cheat week" last week so I don't lose my mind but I'm back on track this week and still trying to lose.

Sadly, I did not win the contest but I wasthisclose! During the contest, I lost a total of 26 pounds which is 13% of my body weight. The third place person lost 15%. I may not have won the grand prize but I'll definitely take the loss and be VERY happy with that. I don't know for sure what place I got but I know I was in the top 10 out of like 133 people. I got recognition and a bag of freebie stuff for losing over 10%.

They also had a drawing for door prizes and I was crossing my fingers I wouldn't win the one from my work...which I didn't but I did win the door prize from, basically, my work's competitor! How funny! I got a stadium seat, more cups and 2 Family Day passes to the gym/pool...now I just need a family to take! The main lady running the presentation was HORRIBLE at pronouncing last names. I mean she botched Reid and Tarbox so can you imagine when she got to my super German married last name? Yeah, she kept saying, "Alyssa Grody..." After the second time she publicly called my "Grody" she asked if she was close and I told her absolutely not. By the time I picked up my certificate and she called me "Grody" for the THIRD time, I straight up told her to STOP SAYING THAT! ANYWAYS...would you like a photo comparison?

They're supposed to be emailing us our before pic but in the meantime, here's a pic of me on May 1.

And here's a pic I snapped of my swag and certficate on the last night (July 7):

I am right about at the weight I was when Matt and I started dating and it feels GREAT! Starting August 8, I'm going to start training for a fall half (not sure if I'm going to run one but at least training) and I'm still doing speed training on Thursday nights. So if anyone in the STL area wants to get together for a run...give me a call!

Floatin' 2011...

2011-07-11T06:40:00.000-05:00

...well, we're home yet again from another year of floating! You can read about 2010 here and 2008 here. It's a good time because of the great people but also because I get a chance to be "unplugged" meaning no phones, no Internet, nada! We only get to see these friends once a year so there's plenty to keep us entertained as we catch up on what's been going on in each other's lives for the past year. Okay, on to this year's recap!!!

Friday morning, Matt was loading up my car before we left. Shadow snuck out of the house and jumped in the back...apparently he wanted to go too!

Randomness of the float:
*Once again, we got on the river at 9am and didn't get off until 6pm...I'm a lobster! We got seperated from the sunscreen canoe and I never got to apply! :(
*There are lots of dirty old men on the river. That's all I have to say.
*Beer plus root beer schnapps equals deliciousness!
*Matt and I got seperated from our group twice so we just banked to wait for them. I pulled out a book to read and you would have thought I had a third eyeball. I got sooo much grief that I didn't even get to read any! I did talk some of the girls in our group into reading "Hunger Games" trilogy.
*People do REALLY stupid stuff when drinking and when water's involved that makes me REALLY nervous i.e. scale a steep hill, passout IN THE WATER, try to paddle. (luckily none of this was with our group).
*I played beer pong for the first time ever! Matt nevers lets me play since I don't drink that much (I always tell him he can just drink all the beer but he doesn't go for that). Luckily, my friend's husband was down with that so he and I partnered up. It turned out to not be an issue since we creamed the other time and I made the winning shot!

Matt and I planned on having hot dogs for dinner Saturday night. When we were leaving the house Friday, he asked what we were having with. I grabbed some potatoes from the counter and said, "Potatoes?" Well, he kept checking one pack on the fire (on the right) and they turned out WONDERFUL. However, next time, he should check both packs because the others were charred black-oops!

Remember when I said I was a lobster? Case and point...see the red at the top and the pure white ghostliness below the bra line...yeah, I'm on fire (like Katniss!). I'm pretty sure I may have had a mild case of sun poisoning along with too much junk food because when I laid down to sleep on Saturday night, I spent 3 hours convincing myself NOT to puke (and no, it wasn't from two much alcohol-I had 2 beers all day and that was it).

'Cole and I chilling Saturday night around the campfire. Love her and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Once again, another succesful year!!! I do have to say that this year it didn't seem like near as many people on the river nor as wild and crazy. However, when you're half asleep and someone shoots off an exploding firework-not cool, my friend, not cool. Until next year when we float again and I'm sure to fry!!!

Friday Foto Fun!!!

2011-07-08T06:30:00.020-05:00

...I know my halves have come and gone but I wanted to share some of the professional photos from the race. This year both of my halves also posted a video of your finish! Very cool but ugh...you think you look good and strong and athletic and I just look like a hot, floppin' mess! Anyways on to the pictures...

Here is me stopping my watch (my watch ended up having my exact official time-how cool is that!) at the end of the Mini Marathon in Indy. This is what I look like after 7 hours in the emergency room, a 4 hour drive across three states and 13.1 miles...not bad, eh? I also feel like I look a bit like a giant but whatevs!

This is MB and I crossing the "bricks" in the Brickyard. They were WAY smaller than I expected...see it's just that little bitty strip of bricks:

Now on to Hospital Hill...this is probably like mile 7ish. I'm in the hot pink with my two She-Ra pacers on either side...Shelley in lime shorts and Sherrie in the white tank. They are AWESOME!

Look at the intensity on that face...or wait, is that heat, exhaustion??? Let's go with intensity!

Get ready for the finish line photos! I've noticed in a lot of these pics that sometimes I'm not even touching the ground, I'm floating like a butterfly!

Now I think this look is desperation, I was probably thinking, "Hurry up and cross that finish line so you can pee!" I also think I have an awesome runner's form...at least in this pic.

Tada-finished!!! Now where is that Porta-A-Potty....

And that my friends is my Friday Foto Fun! Race pictures are always so much fun to look at but remember, you gotta have a sense of humor because there are NOT always the most flattering!

"Catching Fire" Book Review...

2011-07-07T06:04:00.028-05:00

...over the holiday weekend, I started and finished "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins. This is follow-up book the "Hungry Games" where you can read my review here. So here's the summary, in my words of "Catching Fire":

Since Peeta and Katniss return from winning the Hungry Games, they haven't spoken despite being "in love." The time comes for them to go on their Victory Tour but before they head out the President of Panem comes to visit Katniss informing her that her scene at the Hungry Games has put the districts on edge and about to revolt so she MUST stop this. However, she only makes things worst and when she returns home from the Victory Tour, security gets tighter in her District 12. She and the other citizens learn the new ways and do the best they can. Then it is announced that the 75th Hungry Games, or the Quarter Quell, will all be victors from previous Games which means, of course, that Katniss being the only female victor in her district will automatically be going back in. The rest of the book is all about the 75th Games where her and Peeta both know the Head Gamemaker won't make an exception to have two victors again...

While I did like this book and wanted to keep reading, it wasn't quite the page turner that the first book was. I felt like I could also see that Katniss had grown-up quite a bit from the first book to the second and was seriously considering marrying Gale. The Games also felt like there was more coming from the Gamemakers to rid the contestants whereas in the first book there was more hand to hand playing. This book didn't focus so much on the Games as it had in the first book which was odd. In my opinion, if you devoted an entire book the Games then it's weird to not focus that much attention to them in the second book...but that's just me.

Honestly, I felt like this book was just written to bridge the first book to the third book. There was no resolve at the end of this book, you knew you'd have to keep on reading to find out what happened. So one more book, "Mockingjay," to go, let's hope it's more like "Hunger Games" and not "Catching Fire."

Have you read this book or series? What did you think about "Catching Fire?"

Parade & Deliciousness...

2011-07-06T06:20:00.009-05:00

...on actual Fourth of July, I got to be in the local parade for work. It was a 2.1 mile walk so I was looking forward to the exercise until it started pouring down rain! Before it did, I got some pics of the other floats. This is a local church, I thought the gumball idea was cute:

This was another local church that they'd built out of cardboard but don't the stained glass windows look great? We listened to "God Bless America" from their float on repeat the whole route!

A giant roller skate for the roller rink:

There were still quite a few people out there despite the rain. Here we have umbrellas in extremes...the teeny tiny lady bug that barely covers dad's head and then the gigantic beach one that could fit a small town!

Here's what I did to stay dry...raincoat! It worked out pretty well, only the bottom of my shorts that were showing got wet but I think I might have drowned my camera...cross your fingers that it revives!

Here's our great float driver Mattie and I who yelled at me in the middle of the parade to roll up the passenger window! I finished zipping my jacket up first THEN rolled up the window...priorities!

My husband had to work at the local festival 9 hours on Sunday and 10 hours on Monday. When I got home from the parade, I turned on the crockpot and started the Slow Cookin' Pulled Chicken recipe from Hungry Girl. I also attempted to make potato salad for the first time. I will have to say that the hardest part of the salad for me was getting the eggs all the way boiled!!! We also had leftover mac-n-corn casserole that I took to Jen's the night before and some DQ for dessert.

Verdict: DELICIOUS!!! Seriously, the pulled chicken or pork from Hungry Girl, always looks a little sketchy until the end and it turns out FAB!!! We had ours on whole wheat tortillas and I actually REALLY loved that! I omitted the celery from the potato salad and not even half of an onion...I think I could have omitted the entire onion. Anyways, full tummies were had at the G-house and we'll definitely be making those recipes again. Here are the recipes-enjoy!!!

Slow Cookin' Pulled Chicken from Hungry Girl

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb. raw boneless skinless lean chicken breasts, halved
1 cup canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. brown sugar (not packed)
2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. cider vinegar
2 tsp. garlic powder
Optional: red pepper flakes, to taste

Directions:
Place all ingredients except the chicken in the crock pot. Stir until mixed. Add chicken and coat well with the sauce.

Cover and cook on high for 3 - 4 hours OR on low for 7 - 8 hours, until chicken is fully cooked.

Remove all the chicken and place it in a bowl. Shred each piece using two forks -- one to hold the chicken in place and the other to scrape across the meat and shred it. Return the shredded chicken to the crock pot, and mix well with the sauce.

If you're serving a group, keep the crock pot on its lowest setting, so the chicken stays warm. If you like, season to taste with red pepper flakes. Eat up!

MAKES 7 SERVINGS
PER SERVING (1/2 cup): 149 calories, 1g fat, 462mg sodium, 10g carbs, <0.5g fiber, 9g sugars, 22.5g protein -- PointsPlus® value 3*

This shredded BBQ chicken is FANTASTIC over salads, piled onto light buns, stuffed inside high-fiber tortillas with (rinsed) cole slaw, or eaten all by itself is what the Hungry Girl website says.
Great American Potato Salad by Kraft
Ingredients
1/2 cup KRAFT Real Mayo Mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. yellow mustard
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
4 cups cubed red potatoes, cooked, cooled
2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
1/3 cup dill pickle relish

Directions
1 MIX first 5 ingredients in large bowl.
2 ADD remaining ingredients; mix lightly.
3 REFRIGERATE several hours or until chilled.

per serving 1/2 cup serving

Calories 190 Total fat 12 g Saturated fat 2 g Cholesterol 55 mg Sodium 400 mg Carbohydrate 18 g
We omitted the stalks of celery because Matt and I both HATE celery.

4th of July Awesomeness Courtesy of Cash Cowan...

2011-07-05T06:19:00.025-05:00

...I hope you all had an awesome Fourth of July! I got a much needed break from work and lots of friend time along with some awesome eats. On Sunday, Jen AKA Cash Cowan, opened her house to use for her Annual Fourth of July Awesomeness Party complete with Jello shots!!!

Let me tell you I did a number on those! Jen is such a good friend that she made some non-alcoholic ones for her prego friend and her non-drinking buddy me. Thanks Jen! There was soo much food and I was too busy stuffing my face to take any pictures of it but we had Oreo Truffles, Smiley Face cookies, dips and chips, burgers and brats and a ton of brocoli salad....unfortunately due to a faulty lid, one batch met its fate on Jen's kitchen floor BUT the party went on!!! Here's a pic of the Twit ladies: (L to R): Jenn, Cece, me and Jen

The darling hubby and I who was all nervous because he wouldn't know anyone but I had to PRY away from the party knowing he had to be up at 4am on Monday:

Cece with her handsome son Danny who was awesome. The kid got to hang out in Mr. Cash Cowan's Man Cave and we barely noticed he was there. During the fireworks, he just sat on his momma's lap and was good to go!

Fire in the sky!!!

How we spent most of the fireworks display, staring into the sky...at some points, I did fear for my life just a tiny little bit!

The team of Pyros! Thanks for letting Matt and Danny join you guys.

Here's Jen, Julie and I post fireworks display...Julie will be a married woman next time I see her!

Cece and me...thanks for letting me borrow your chair vs sitting on the crowd since hubs' forgot ours!

It was a great way to celebrate the holiday and always a fun time to hang out with friends! The only downside to the night is that when we got home, poor Emma was too terrified to go outside to potty with all the fireworks going off. I settled in to watch "Titanic" and stayed up until midnight when the fireworks stopped and she FINALLY went out! The things we do for our puppers!!!

Aimee's Baby Shower...

2011-07-01T06:29:00.019-05:00

...last Sunday, Alicia hosted Aimee's baby shower. It was supposed to be at Aimee's house; however, due to low fluids, Aimee is at the hospital and probably will be until Baby Max is here. :( So instead of cancel, we just moved the party to Aimee at the hospital! There was a nice little quiet corner where we seriously didn't see any doctors, patients or nurses so it worked out very well.

Alicia did a great job working with a space she had no clue how to plan for. Here is one of the tables complete with cupcakes from the Cupcakery. They looked delish but I was good and ate a single sugar cookie instead.

Angie was there with Nick who discovered that he loved pomegranate juice.

Here is Aimee with part of my gift, a book and then like a change pad thingie that my mom made. I didn't get a picture of it but it was super cute.

All of us that attended.

As we were leaving, we saw this in the hallway and I said to Jen, "Oh no! The baby's gone" to which she reacted as so:

Overall, it was a good time catching up with friends. Now Baby Max just stay put for the next few weeks! Happy Friday everyone!

Big River Running Speed Work!!!

2011-06-30T06:48:00.000-05:00

...back in May after my half in Indy, Big River Running, a local running store, started offering FREE summer speedwork sessions. I was a little intimidated at first but I thought I'd give it a try. So far, I'm LOVING IT!!! I'm in the slowest group but near the front of the pack and there's lots of others that are at my speed to push me along. We typically run between 2-3 miles/night so I still try to do an easy workout earlier in the day or weights to burn some more cals. I'm hoping to find a 5k in August to see if this has helped at all even though I know it'll be eleventybillion degrees. I've been able to move my work schedule around and have only had to miss one night, possibly one more but I haven't decided yet if I'm going to go to the Biggest Winner last night or not...the speed work will be mile repeats so it'll probably depend how I'm feeling.

Last week, Haley went with me so she took some pics and recorded my times for me. I'm in the back left in a red shirt, it looks chaotic and sometimes it is but for the most part, we all know what's going on:

There I am breezing by:

And again at a distance...

So what are the workouts? You can find them on the Big River website but I'll just share here. Ben, the owner who looks totally like Apollo Ohno, created it. Here it is:

Week 1: 8 - 10 x 400 @ 10k race pace (rest interval = 200 meter jog)

- The first 5 weeks of the schedule are all based off of 10k race pace. This is because we don't want to get too fit too quick. Doing the repeats a little slower at first will be a good way to introduce your body to the track without risking injury from going too fast. This first workout is essentially a "rust-buster". It shouldn't be too hard but it will be a chance to feel a little bit of turnover.

Week 2: 4 - 5 x 800 @ 10k race pace (rest interval = 400 meter jog)

- This workout plays off of the week before and gives you a chance to tap into your VO2 Max zone a little bit. Workouts of 800 to 2000 meters in length are the bread and butter of any 5k training. They teach your body to run efficiently at a fast pace.

Week 3: Ladder # 1 = 1600/ 1200/ 800/ 400 (rest interval = half the distance of the repeat)-MISSED THIS WEEK!

- This is a fun one! We will do three of these throughout the summer. For this first one we will do the 1600 at 10k race pace, the 1200 at 5k race pace, the 800 at 2 mile race pace and the 400 at mile race pace. Don't worry if you don't know what your race pace is for those different distances. We'll have a chart that will tell us all that good stuff.

Week 4: ONE MILE TIME TRIAL (mine was 8.07)
- FUN STUFF! Simple as it sounds. We'll break up into groups and run one mile all out. This will give you a chance to run a fast mile, see ho far you've come so far, and challenge yourself a little bit.

Week 5: 10 - 12 x 300 @ 5k race pace (rest interval = 200 meter jog) This totally sucked!

- We lower the repeat distance to 300 meters for this one but we lower the pace to 5k race pace. It will be a good chance to learn the pace as you will have to do 10-12 of them. This workout really shouldn't feel that hard, that is not what is designed for.

Week 6: 5 - 6 x 600 @ 5k race pace (rest interval = 300 meter jog)

- 600s, not my favorite. This workout, as simple math would tell you, should be about twice as hard as last week.

Week 7: Ladder # 2 = 1200/ 1000/ 800/ 400/ 200 (rest interval = half the distance of the repeat) Was really scared by this workout but I LOVED IT!

- This will be a faster ladder than last time. We'll do the 1200 at 5k race pace, the 1k at two mile pace, the 800 at two mile pace, the 400 at mile race pace and the 200 at FAST.

Weeek 8: 4 - 5 x 1000 @ 5k race pace (rest interval = 400 meter jog) Doing this tonight!

- This workout is a classic in almost any 5k training program that you'll ever see. It is tough but it is a good indicator of what you can run for 5k. Plus we're going with pretty short rest.

Week 9: 3 - 4 x 1 mile @ 5k race pace (rest interval = 800 meter jog)

- This is a tough one. Be ready for some huffing and puffing. You'll feel stronger the next week because of this workout though.

Week 10: TWO MILE TIME TRIAL (try to hit 5k goal pace)

- Our second time trial of the summer. This time it's two miles close to all out, but holding a little bit back. Basically we want you to hit the pace that you want to run for an entire 5k in a few weeks.

Week 11: 12 - 16 x 200 @ Mile race pace (rest interval = 200 meter jog)

- Now the fast stuff begins. 200s at mile race pace is tougher than it sounds. Running this fast puts a lot of stress on the system but because of the longer workouts you have done all summer you'll be ready for it.

Week 12: Ladder # 3 = 800/ 600/ 400/ 200 (rest interval = half the distance of the repeat)

- Fast stuff tonight. 800 at mile race pace, 600 at mile race pace, 400 at FAST, 200 @ FAST. You're first chance to really go all out.
Week 13: 5K RACE ON THE TRACK (PR TIME!!)

- This is the BIG DAY!! Depending on how many people we have we run a couple of different heats. This will be chance for everyone to set a 5k PR. With all the training it will be a piece of cake. Plus, how often do you get to race a 5k on the track?

So there you have it, this is what I'm doing every Thursday night from 7-8pm. If you're in the area, feel free to come join me! The other local running store has free speed work sessions too but started almost a month later. It's difficult to arrange my schedule for 2 nights off on particular weeks but I still might try to make a couple. I'll be sure to update after my 2 mile and 5k time trial. Happy Running all!