Happy Blogiversary!

Exactly one year ago today, I put my fingers to the keyboard and started blogging. I can hardly believe I even made it a year! Looking back at my first post, I wanted to start this blog to hold myself accountable for the things I do in my daily life. I think I've fared somewhat well. I've fallen off the map the past month because of my self-induced depression due to my jobless-stay-at-home-wife situation and my now nearly-jobless-stay-at-home-husband situation.

It's been tough. I haven't blogged much about it because I don't like to admit how unhappy I can be at times. But aside from that, there are lots of positives in my life right now. To make myself feel better and just because I feel like it, I'm going to count them:

1. I have a wonderful husband who loves me more than his truck. Ha!
2. I have a great family support network that also loves me so, so much.
3. I have friends that are amazing. Thank God for them or I'd go crazy sometimes.
   
4. I have a vehicle that runs great even if the paint job is looking shoddy. I've put all 119,000 miles on my Sunfire myself!
5. I have a nice home. I may get irritated that it still needs a lot of paint, but it's still a nice home that I love.
   
6. I have a decent amount of savings that is keeping my husband & I afloat right now. Sure, it hurts to see the bank account drained slowly, but we are able to pay our bills.
7. I am still able to make my gym payment and can slowly see the results of my hard work when I look in the mirror.
   
8. Even though we have cut back on our spending significantly, we still eat well and healthy every day.
9. I have a good education.
10. I still have my Uverse and DVR. That is a blessing when I'm home with nothing to do!

As you can see, I use this blog as my own motivator. Has it made me money? No. Has it made me famous? Most certainly not. Do I intend to become either? Not through this blog!

Although I don't have any special give-a-ways, I do have a request for my blogiversary. I would love to challenge each of my readers to write a similar list of the positives in your life. Let me know you've done so through the comment section. If you're feeling extra sweet, link back to me in your blog. If you don't blog, leave a comment with a positive in your life. I'd love to see how many readers I can actually get to do this!

Thanks again for reading me and I hope the next year brings great things!

Read more...

News from the Brother

My brother called me a couple days ago. For those who don't know, he is currently serving in the army in Afghanistan. He had called me a week ago, but the phone cut off mid-sentence. I figured he ran out of minutes. When he called me back, he said he was sorry that he ran out of minutes but something kind of funny happened after that. As his phone call ended unexpectedly, his buddy was in the process of making a phone call. They are standing outside, looking at a large hill when an explosion goes off! Then, they see something rolling down the hill. It's the cell phone tower! He looks at his friend and says, "I guess you're not making that call." It was pretty funny when he talked about it.

The Taliban had bombed it, but the army had it back up and running the next day. My brother said they do things like that all the time. He said things are rough out there right now, but hopefully as the weather gets worse (think snow), some of the fighting will decrease. He is supposed to come home for two weeks at the end of October or early November. I can hardly wait!!! Please keep him and the rest of our military in your prayers. :)

Read more...

Updates

Because I love lists, I'm numbering my updates. No need to thank me. :P

1. First and foremost, I've been feeling under the weather. I keep stalking the "In The Air" portion of the WOAI website to see what the heck is making me sneeze. Unfortunately - or fortunately - it's nothing that I'm officially allergic to. What the heck?

2. In other news, we've gotten the garden planted. With our abundance of 100+ degree weather this summer, our garden suffered a major heat stroke. Even though some of the plants looked okay, they just couldn't produce any fruit. We ended up turning things under and starting anew a few days ago. This year, we put in one cherry and one regular tomato plant, broccoli, cucumbers, 4 different types of squash and carrots. I know that carrots are not typically a South Texas crop, but I thought it would be fun. The four types of squash we planted were acorn, butternut, spaghetti and something I've never heard of. The seeds came in a mixed packet and we are hoping that we planted at least one of each. I guess we won't know until harvest! We also left one of our red bell pepper plants in the ground because it seemed to do well and had several peppers on it. We hadn't gotten a single usable pepper off either plant so we are hoping that it likes the cooler weather better.

3. I tried a new recipe last night for stuffed cabbage rolls that I will not be posting any time soon unless I am begged. Let's just say that although I followed the directions and it came out picture perfect, the flavor combination left a little to be desired. In other words, not too tasteful. It wasn't bad, but it was a lot of work for something that I didn't love.

4. I should have some pictures of our newly remodeled half bath soon! We're waiting on this humidity to go away before we attempt to paint and cut trim. This is exciting news people!

5. Jason took a part-time job in the beverage industry as well. Please wish us luck as he starts this new endeavor.....it's a brand new company with a brand new product. We are VERY excited about it!!!

And that's it, folks. I've got nothing left to say unless you want to hear about my grocery shopping excursions. :)

Read more...

Workouts

I switched up my weight workouts a long time ago, but I forgot to post it. I'm having trouble finding motivation to go to the gym every single day now, so I think it's time to switch the formula up. I'm going to try to work on that this weekend so that I can start anew on Monday.

So, this is what I've been doing lately. My old Mondays have become the new Wednesdays and the old Wednesdays are now the new Fridays. For the most part, the weights stay the same when I moved days. I think the only exception are my new Fridays. Sometimes I can't pull off 70lbs on the lat pulldowns, so I drop the weight to somewhere between 60 and 65 to get through a full set of 12-15 reps. The other thing is the bicep curls using the EZ bar. I can't always get through that many sets using the 40lb bar, but I try to do as many as possible.

The new Mondays go as follows:

• Quadriceps - Squats with 50lb loaded onto the 45lb bar.
  
• Hamstrings - Stiff legged dead lifts using a 60lb bar.
• Calves - Standing calf raises. Loaded 180lb onto the machine.
  
• Chest - Bench press using 25lb dumbbells
• Back - Bent barbell row using 50lb bar
• Shoulders - Rear delt raises using 12.5lb dumbbells
• Biceps - Preacher curls using 40lb bar
• Triceps - Triceps pushdown. Loaded 40lb onto a cable pulley machine.

(If you want to see my progress, here's the old Fridays to compare.)

The preacher curls are KILLER! I don't always make it through the complete set, but I get close. It's a tough one!

I think that I may be overtraining somewhat because sometimes I get very tired. Everything I read says that's probably a sign. Although I do see improvements in my body, I think it needs a new routine to function better. I'll update it as soon as I get it figured out!

Read more...

Pesto!

I've never made homemade pesto before, so it was high time I tried it out! It was so, so yummy! When I asked Jason if he liked it, he said "YES!!!" When I asked him if I should make it again, he replied "Oh hell yes!!!"

I think he liked it.

Disclaimer: Although your mouth make thank you, your thighs probably won't. Sorry. My suggestion would be to eat another helping of pesto pasta to shut them up.


Pesto Sauce
2 cups fresh basil
2 Tbsp pine nuts or walnuts (I used walnuts because that's what I had on hand)
1 Tsp salt
1 Cup extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic
1/2 Cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 Tsp black pepper

Remove basil leaves from stems. Place 1 cup basil leaves, pine nuts/walnuts, salt, olive oil, garlic and pepper in a blender. Process until well mixed. Add remaining basil leaves and parmesan cheese and blend well until the mixture is a smooth puree.

And that's it!

I delicately dumped the basil-y goodness over some swirly pasta and topped it with slices of baked chicken breast and a little extra parmesan cheese. It was delightful!

You could also use it as a marinade for chicken before grilling. You can also refrigerate or freeze it if you think you could wait to eat it. Enjoy!

Read more...

Movie Review

I saw "The Ugly Truth" today with my friend Shana starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler.

Image courtesy of here

Katherine Heigl plays a controlling type-A TV producer that has trouble in the dating world. Gerard Butler plays a sexist pig of a man who claims that men are simple and go for looks only. He winds up working for KH's TV station against her will and yada yada yada. Boy meets girl. Girl falls for other more "perfect" man. Boy likes girl but can't tell her. Girl realizes she's a dumbass and dumps said "perfect" man. And I think we all know where this is ending.

Even though this was a formula kind of movie, I really enjoyed it. The movie was cute and really funny! I laughed quite a bit. However, I would like to offer a word of advice if you are planning to see this movie:

Don't take your 3-year-old to this movie and let them grab someone's seat and play with their hair. It's rude and insensitive to other's feelings and germaphobias. Who knows where that kid's hands have been?!? I'm just saying. I may or may not have been said person.

And now, I'm off with the husband to hang with some friends and drink some glorious wine. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Read more...

LOL!

You must visit this site. It is freaking hilarious! If I had known that such a sight existed, I would've snapped a pic of the shirtless, stinky man my mom and I saw in the Portland, TX Wal-Mart. And let me tell you people, the "No shirt, No shoes, No service" sign is actually state law. Way to go Wal-Mart for ignoring that one!

Read more...