Weekend Recap!

Helllllooooo my darlings!!! I trust all of you had a splendid weekend?! For those who commented on Friday's post about my dog bite, I promise, promise, promise I will respond soon and I am not ignoring y'all!!! Life is getting busy with the increasing warm temperatures and home improvement tasks and I can honestly say I did not check my e-mail once this weekend! I did instagram per the usual so here's a recap of our weekend through my IG photos!

Friday evening was our typical relaxing evening in! When I got home I headed to the gym to get in a hard workout! I clocked a one mile run on the treadmill, one mile on the elliptical, and three miles on the bike! I then came home and made Poppyseed Chicken {minus the poppyseeds because we were out of them} while the hubs spent the evening doing an online driving improvement course {Can we say too many speeding tickets?!}. After dinner, Baby Reef crashed, the hubby studied and then studied some more, and I got started on painting some wine glasses! It's funny how Friday nights are so different than they were several years ago! I certainly wouldn't trade them now for anything.

Our Friday Night! 

Saturday, the hubby woke up early to cover some more driving improvement lessons. While he studied, I went for a refreshing one mile run. Early afternoon consisted of going to watch the hubby coach a baseball game! Sadly I didn't take any photos! I took Baby Reef and while he was on his best behavior and I was so proud of him for being calm, keeping my full attention on him made it hard to whip out the camera and take photos of the game! 

The hubby and I decided after the game that we would treat ourselves to dinner out which we hadn't done since February {due to lots of family get togethers}. We had a gift card to a somewhat new restaurant in my hometown, Suffolk, named Harper's Table! It was a super cute place and the food was amazing!!! We started with Pork Belly Biscuits and shared a Fuji Apple Salad. For our entrees Todd had the Sea Scallops with roasted cauliflower, thompson raisin puree, pecans and brown butter and I had the Chesapeake Bay Flounder with fennel, new potatoes, peas and a chorizo vinaigrette and we shared a side of hand cut fries & bacon mayonnaise! For dessert we had a homemade donut with a maple glaze and buttermilk ice cream and corn pudding! It sounds like A LOT of food but they are smaller portions which I love {not tapas small but the correct portion small}! This restaurant reminded me of the restaurants we ate at while in Charleston, SC last summer! I loved everything about it and the fact that I felt as though I was on a mini vacation but I was only thirty minutes from my home! After dinner we came home and crashed from a legit food coma! 

Beautiful Morning sky during my Saturday morning run! 

When renovating and creating Harper's Table, they found this original painted ad that was covered up by a border wall! 

Yesterday, we slept in a bit later than I would have liked, however I know I needed the extra sleep! One thing I love about my hubby is that he is a master breakfast chef! He can whip up any breakfast related dish and it's always fantastic! He treated me to fluffy chocolate chip pancakes and bacon! The pancakes were to die for! Seriously, I'm not sure if it's because I haven't had any in some time, but holy moly they were amaze balls!

This is the hubby's plate as I devoured my pancakes before even thinking about snapping a photo! 

After our late breakfast, the hubby headed to take his driver improvement test! This allowed me to start working on things around the house: laundry, dusting, straightening up, creating the grocery list and starting the removal of the wallpaper border in our kitchen! Once the hubby came back home {with a A on his test} he gave our yard some close attention with some good ole dandy yard work!

Starting to remove the '80s wallpaper border!

Later in the evening, I headed to good ole Harris Teeter to do some grocery shopping and was so excited to pick up some pretty tulips to brighten the coffee table as well as some scrumptious fresh fruit! Strawberries and Watermelon scream warm weather and I love that I can add them to my breakfast routine now!

Watermelon, Strawberries, and Tulips! Gloriousness!

After putting the groceries away we decided to head out for a nice evening walk with Baby Reef! We don't walk him often because in the past he would pull and drag me along {even with the gentle leader} but after seeing how well behaved he was Saturday at the ball game we figured maybe he has matured a bit! To our surprise he most definitely has matured! The walk was great {and over a mile long} and I loved being able to do it as a family! Maybe I will be able to take Baby Reef on my runs here sooner than later! 

What did y'all get into this weekend? It was beautiful here in my area and I'm beyond thankful for it! The house is still a work in progress but I feel accomplished on what we did do this weekend! Here's to more fantabulous weekends! Cheers! XoXo!  

I Could be a Vegetarian, Just Not a Vegan, I Like Cheese Too Much!

Here is another Pinterest worthy recipe, first appearing in Fitness Magazine, to add to your recipe boxes!!! It's a Vegetarian dish and even though I'm not a Vegetarian I really enjoyed it! The goat cheese was my favorite part and this was the first time I made caramelized onions! Yuummmmy!

What You Will Need:

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups thinly sliced onion
1 teaspoon sugar {I used Splenda}
1/4 teaspoon salt
9 ounces baby spinach {I used ready-to-eat Leaf Spinach}
4 8 inches whole-wheat flour tortillas
4 ounces semi soft goat cheese
2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced

Whole Wheat Tortillas-Splenda-Onion-Tomato-Spinach-Goat Cheese-Olive Oil

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, sugar and salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is dark golden brown.

Remove from pan.

Add the spinach and 1 tablespoon water to the skillet; cook 2 minutes, or until spinach is just wilted. Remove from skillet and turn off heat.

Spread a quarter of the goat cheese on each tortilla and top with spinach, tomato and onion.

Fold closed and press lightly. Heat the skillet and place two folded quesadillas in it; cook two minutes per side, or until golden brown and lightly crisp. Repeat.

Enjoy!!!

I hope y'all are having a fantastic start to the week! The weather here in Southern VA has been beautiful which makes the beginning of a work week so much more bearable!! XoXo!!!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Alrighty loves, I'm not going to lie, this is going to be a short and sweet post! I have my monthly migraine and I'm really just not in the mood for staring at the computer for too long! What am I loving this week?! Certainly not this headache!

1.  I ran 2 miles yesterday! Yes, you read that correctly! I, Lauran, ran two miles, nonstop yesterday! I'm pretty positive that was the first time I've EVER run two miles straight! I may have ran it in high school but I can't remember so it definitely doesn't count! I'm still in utter disbelief but I'm also super proud of myself! On another plus side, my hip isn't bothering me anymore either! Bring on the miles!!! I've already clocked 4 miles total for the 30 Miles in 30 Days link up!

Nike Running App! Some of the red spots signify me running in place for passing traffic or slowing down. I did not stop or walk at all! 

 2. The Dashing Dish Blog! I ran across this blog yesterday while doing some research on "clean eating". This girl has it going on! Loads and loads of amazing recipes and a whole tab dedicated to clean eating! She has the most amazing faith in God and watching her video promo and listening to her story is inspiring!! I can't wait to try some of her recipes and hopefully share them with y'all!

3. The Origami Owl necklace my momma gave me for Easter. Even though I told her I didn't want one she couldn't resist buying one for me and filling it with little treasures! An "L" for my name, a heart to represent her love for me, my birthstone, and a dog paw for Baby Reef! She also added a pearl charm as well! I'm looking forward to filling it with more sentimental goodies!!

My sweet necklace!

4. Baseball is officially back! If you are a fan of baseball you know Monday was Opening Day!! Baseball is HUGE in our home. My husband played his entire life, played in college, and now coaches at his high school! I like to refer to baseball as his "other wife" but when I'm annoyed with it I'll usually refer to it as his "mistress"! From now until the playoffs in October, some kind of game will be on nightly. It's such a familiar sound; announcers, the cracks of bats, and the roar of the crowd! I'm praying the Braves have a great season and I foresee they will with the Upton brother's joining the roster this year! You know they are from my neck of the woods right?! That makes me love them even more!!!

5. The home next door to us and the home two doors down are for sale! I hope I don't have to eat these words later but I really am excited about the possibility of having new neighbors!! The townhouse next to us has been empty for about two years now. An elderly woman, who was sweet as pie, lived there but she ended up moving in with her daughter and the house has been empty ever since {it's also the house where I scored that awesome vintage tufted ottoman I told y'all about here}. The town home on the other side of that one just went on the market yesterday! That home has been a rental and has seen its fair share of tenants! I'm looking forward to the possibility of some nice young families moving into both of them! Fingers crossed that they will be as awesome as our neighbors across the street! So, who wants to be our neighbors?! Seriously, if you are looking in the Hampton Roads area add them to your list!

For sale signs! Come on and be our neighbors!!!

Happy Hump Day!! I'm off to pop some more exedrin in hopes this headache goes away!!

On a side note, if any of you follow Perfectly Imperfect Jenn than you know she lost her beloved pup child Daisy on Monday! I am planning to do something nice for her to show her that all of her blogging buddies care deeply and are heartbroken for her! If you would like to partake please let me know!!! I'll be putting a group email together to send out the details later this evening!! 

XoXo!

It's Warming Up and So Are My April 2013 Mini Goals!

Greeting April means a plethora of things; warmer weather, opened toe shoes, opened windows, and more mini goals!! I really can't believe we are saying hello to the month of April! It seems just like yesterday we were celebrating New Years! I am beyond excited to see what this month has in store for the hubby and myself, hopefully a list full of completed goals!!

Via

1. Complete at least one Pinterest project that I posted about here! I'm hoping painting the front door will happen this month, however, I have some serious crafting to accomplish for my cousin's Bachelorette festivities at the end of the month. I know I will be busy trying to complete that, so I may work on something a bit smaller that will be easier to tackle and finish! I certainly do not want to set myself up for failure before I even get out of the starting gate!

2. Arrive on time to work, every morning. Y'all know about this goal, so no need to explain! If you are new to the blog you can read about it from March, February, and January! At least I know I'll get there on time this week as it is Spring Break and traffic was a breeze this morning!

3. Buy a scale. We have not had a workable weighing scale in our home since we moved into this house over 3.5 years ago! I don't like weighing myself because I am usually very disappointed by what it tells me! However, I've been working on my fitness since January and I really wish I would have started keeping track of my weight at that point. Now that I have added running into my fitness routine, I really am hoping to see a drop in weight and the only way to track that correctly would be through using a scale! It's not something I hope to use every day, maybe just once a week so I can see a significant change! Anyone recommend a good scale? I haven't done my research yet and would love recommendations!

4. Host at least one family lunch, dinner or activity. I have said it more times than I can count, how hard it is to divide time between all of our families. We don't do a lot of random, just because get togethers because there are often birthday celebrations or holiday's traditions we participate in! I wouldn't mind hosting a dinner or lunch for some of the family or even an activity of some sort, like visiting the local zoo! I'll have to get creative on the activity but you get the point!

5. Accomplish the 30 Miles in 30 Days workout plan. Nikki over at The Pink Growl did this last month and I think it's a BRILLIANT idea!! The point is to clock at least a mile a day, whether it's running, biking, walking or the doing the elliptical. If you miss a day or two, you have to make it up in another day! I am reeeeeeally excited about doing this and hope adding this to my fitness routine will help me see more good results with my body, energy levels, and stamina! I've already started clocking miles with running a few days a week but I love the option to use other methods to clock miles as well! I plan on hitting the bike or elliptical after my Pilates class tonight to clock my first mile!



6. Figure out if blogging is really something I want to do and stick with! I'm not going to lie, blogging is exhausting me. I stay up incredibly late creating posts the night before. I mean like midnight to 1 a.m. which has really taken a toll on me! I don't feel like I'm forming solid relationships either, because I can't seem to show many readers and other bloggers the attention they deserve! It's hard to juggle this with a full time job and an active home life! Seriously, I'm dying to know how some of you do it, especially those of you with children!! I hope to really reflect on this for April. I don't necessarily want to leave the blogging world, because I do love it, but if I don't learn how to juggle it correctly, I'm going to end up dropping balls in other aspects of my life and I just can't sacrifice those things for this little piece of the Internet world.

7. Start working on renovations in the kitchen. Being that we've been in our home for so long now, I have no idea why we really haven't tried harder to complete the kitchen! It really is the one room in the house where we haven't done ANYTHING, except for replacing the dishwasher and the oven. Our goal is to replace the flooring, refurbish the cabinets, add new hardware, paint the walls, add back splash, install new faucet, purchase a new refrigerator and replace the counter tops! It seems like a lot reading it but our kitchen is small enough that it's not going to be a crazy project to take on, as long as we do one step at time! First step?! Take the hideous 80's wall paper border down!

8. Try harder to prepare better for birthdays and other special events! I will always promise that I will never show up empty handed for a birthday or other special occasion celebration! However, I am HORRIBLE at waiting until the last minute to buy a gift! I would loooove it if I could think so far in advance that we can purchase something more sentimental and personal! I'm a lover of ANYTHING personalized, but I never seem to treat anyone to those kinds of gifts because I'm a crazy procrastinator! I also want to utilize Etsy for more unique and thoughtful gifts as well, which also involves thinking far in advance! I just need to reference my planner more frequently! What's the point of having that if I don't use it?!

9. Develop the attitude of "It is what it is". Here's your shout out Taylor! My little sister and the hubby have this mindset which is very different from my own! I tend to worry about everything, to over analyze everything, and to try and fix everything and sometimes that adds an unnecessary amount of emotional stress to my life! I don't want to adopt this attitude completely, because I feel that my personality allows me to express my compassion on a greater level, but I do want to rid myself of emotional stress beyond my control. It is what it is, there is nothing I can do to change it, therefore I must accept it.

10. Secret goal! As much as I want to share this, for my well being I can't. If things change from this goal I will, without a doubt, publicly tell you about it, but at this moment I have to protect myself and certain parts of my life. I'm including it on this list, because if I write it down, I tend to stick to it!! If your curiosity is getting the best of you and you would like to know what it is, shoot me a comment or email, I'm totally okay with sharing it privately!

As always, some of these are a bit easier than others! I brought a few over from last month but I am really excited to have added some new ones to the list! Any of you trying new goals for the month of April?! I'm looking forward to what this month will bring, including warmer weather, though the forecast for this week isn't looking too swell in the warmth department!

Be sure to check out my April Sponsors to your left in my sidebar!!! I am beyond thrilled to add them to TRYHOSOVA Family!

XoXo!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Howdy Hoo everyone!!! I hope you're having a stellar week so far! I am still trying to figure out how to maneuver through this crazy schedule of mine! Working a full time job, spending time with my little family, working on my fitness, and blogging regularly, as well as trying to do 50 billion other things is starting to take a toll on me! I don't know how some of y'all do it, but I give you mad mad props for doing it!! My sleep is suffering but I keep chugging a long! Maybe this is just training me for the future when we decide to have a wee one! None the less if you have any advice on how to juggle it all and keep your sanity, let a girl know! Other than not loving the fact that I'm losing sleep, here is what I AM loving this week!

1. That Easter is this weekend!!!! I love family dinners, lunches and brunches and we will have our fill of them this weekend! My mom is hosting a large family lunch on Saturday and Sunday we will be having brunch with Todd's family! I really do love spending time with all of our families and would love to do it more, not just on holidays! I'm also looking forward to reflecting on my God who is forever forgiving, faithful and understanding and who has blessed me beyond what I deserve.

2. The New/Prospective Member Jr. League event I attended Monday! This was the second event I have attended as a prospective member! The first one was nerve-racking being that I was "new" but I had my friend Tatiana there and we stuck together like glue! The only bad part about that was we stuck pretty close together and we didn't branch out as far to meet other ladies! We did meet a couple of gals and carried on some fun conversations that night but I think we missed some opportunities to gain more information about the group from actual members! I was able to do that Monday night! Why?! Because I was by myself and didn't have a friend as a crutch! Even the two members I do know weren't able to attend, so I was really on my own! Now if you know me, you know I do love to talk, but you also know I am very nervous about meeting new people, especially females! I'm not one to just walk up to a stranger and start a conversation and I'm certainly not one to join in on conversations already happening, so sometimes I end up standing awkwardly by myself! I made a greater initiative to walk up to different women and begin conversations and truth be told I really enjoyed it!!! I met some really great ladies who were funny and full of personality and who shared their Jr. League experiences with me, which makes me want to join this group 100x more than I did before! I'm already looking forward to next month's event!

3. My fitness accomplishments! If you follow me on IG you know that last Wednesday I ran my first mile {all the way through, mind you} in YEARS! On Saturday you learned that I went to the gym at 8 in the morning {yea, call me crazy, I called myself crazy} and Monday, well, I ran 1.25 miles during my lunch break! If you're new to my blog you should know that I've never been a fan of the gym or running for that matter {though I have been active my whole life} so this is a HUGE deal for me! I've been going to the gym regularly since New Years and I know that this hard work will pay off! Nonetheless, I'm proud of myself that I have stuck with it this long and that I am actually loving it!

4. Bates Motel! I hate admitting this, though I'm not sure why, but I am totally addicted to the new Bates Motel television show on A&E! I've never seen Psycho so once I read up on the plot of that movie it gave me a better understanding of the show! It's ridiculously odd but the kind of odd you just can't look away from! It's creepy, dramatic, strange, thrilling, peculiar, and heart wrenching all at once! In layman's terms, it's a freaking emotional roller coaster but it's a spectacular ride! I'm really looking forward to learning more about Norma and Norman and this town they are living in! To say their relationship is strange is an understatement!

5. Being told that I am an inspiration! Yea, you read that correctly. Someone told me Monday that I've inspired them to get back into the gym and work out! I still can't wrap my head around that and I won't lie, it makes me incredibly emotional! When I told the hubby about it, I couldn't even finish the sentence because I was crying! Crying because I feel incredibly honored that someone is changing their lifestyle for the better, because of little ole me, who hated the gym and working out my entire life and who has battled with weight loss and body issues for just as long! I don't feel worthy enough to be told that I am inspiring but I know one thing, a comment like that keeps me going! It gives me the inspiration and determination to continue to better my body, my mind, and my soul.

See you fabulous folks tomorrow!!! XoXo! 

Don't forget... The Give Away Contest ends Friday! Enter here!!! 

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Yea, Yea, Yea, so I know I said here and here that I created a new series for my Wednesday's posting and here I am writing, yet again, another WILW. Well, that's because I'm going to keep WILW and move my new series to Friday! Yes, Friday will be the new day with the new posts!! I still plan on making it a link up so others can participate if they would like! Stay tuned, I'm really hoping to kick it off in April! Now... on to the good stuff!

1. Befriending someone who I had a rough first encounter with! E-mails suck when trying to  communicate clearly and effectively and unfortunately E-mails were how this new friend and I were first communicating! It didn't go very well, one because we are both passionate about what we were conversing about and two, because we were communicating passionately through an email! Over the last several weeks we've learned that we have more in common than we thought and decided this week to start fresh! Clean slates are good! Here's to a flourishing friendship!

2. Enjoying the gym for the first time in my life! I was always active as a child; dance, horseback riding, swimming, cheerleading, soccer, and the list goes on, but I have never enjoyed actually working out or going to the gym! Since January, I've been going to the gym every week and have even added a third night into my week! I'm thinking about adding a Saturday morning as well! I've been told my whole life how working out can make you feel great but never really enjoyed it until now. And while I'm not seeing results quite yet I am feeling them! Not to mention I just feel plain good about myself! I like these new feelings and hope my new found love for the gym and keeping my body going is something that doesn't fade!

3. A BLT! This sandwich could be why I'm not seeing results quite yet from the gym! Ha! Granted I had my first one last night in what seems like forever! This has to be the best sandwich on the planet, probably because bacon is involved!!! Toasted bread, a little Dukes Mayo, Lettuce, Tomato {depending} and some good ole Bacon! Yummmmm!

4. People talking to me in person about my blog, who actually read my blog! In the last few weeks I've been approached by BOTH of my boss's husbands on how they actually read my blog! I couldn't help but laugh thinking these grown men are reading my girly rambles {whether it's out of boredom or interest} but while laughing it also made me feel humble! I realized my words reach A LOT of people and a variety of people at that! Sometimes I really do forget that people actually read this thing and that I'm not just writing to myself!

5. Baby Reef's Daycare! Baby Reef goes to daycare once a week! Usually Wednesdays so that he can get his mid week energy out! Some folks may think we are nuts for taking our pup to Doggie Daycare, but we believe it's one of the best things we can do for him! Reef isn't a crazy lab! He doesn't tear up our home or mess with things he shouldn't. He listens well and is ridiculously calm for a 20 month old yellow lab! Because of his calmness we don't "see" the point in walking him. We know it's good for him but he never begs to go or needs to "get his energy" out! He is that calm and he enjoys just hanging out in the back yard! We enrolled him in Doggie Daycare to help with his social skills around other dogs and people and so that he could have a day to play, play, play! And goodness gracious do we love that day! He is always so worn out when I pick him up! He sleeps on the commute home, eats dinner  as soon as we get home, and then curls up on his couch {our loveseat that he only uses} and passes out for the rest of the night! It's glorious! He literally remains like that for the next two days! He gets so excited about going and seems to know Wednesday's are the day! We can't say "School" around him or he will totally freak out and run to the door, hoping and skipping, literally. We he sees me open the closet for his leash,  he knows what it means and makes a beeline for the back gate! When we turn the corner on the main road this Doggie Daycare is on, he starts pacing in the back of the car and whines with excitement! I love how he knows where he is going and has so much fun that he can't wait to get there!

Baby Reef is the Giant One ;)

It's Hump Day and the First Day of Spring!!!!!!! Hope you are having a fantastic week so far! Unfortunately, I've been suffering from a migraine for the last 24 hours and the workers who are cleaning up the town home next door left the radio on FULL BLAST last night, which I could hear clear as day in our bedroom, so I am running on empty! A 5 Hour Energy maybe in my near future! XoXo!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I am crazy excited that I finally decided on how I will be changing up my Wednesday posts {Remember I kind of chatted about it last week here?}. There are still a few things I need to do in order to get it finalized and ready for sharing, like creating a button and setting up the link-up for y'all to join! I think it will be a way for my readers to get to know me on a more personal level and hopefully relate to me even more than they may already. This probably won't get underway for a few more weeks so until then I will continue with the "What I'm Loving Wednesday" series!

1. I am in love with Daylight Savings Time!! Okay... maybe not in love with the fact that I lost an hour of sleep, I'm still trying to catch up,  or that it's still pitch black when I wake in the morning, buuuuuut I'd trade pitch black nights for longer sunshine evenings any day of the week! It's the first sign that warmer weather is around the corner and who doesn't love that?!

2.  Attending my first official Pilates class on Monday night! I'm actually pretty excited and proud of myself for going! I switched my gym schedule around to Tuesday and Thursdays, however because I had my monthly YAAA! meeting last night I decided to go to the gym Monday night and try out Pilates! Holy Moly, if you think it's easy, you are in for a rude awakening! I've done it with at home DVDs so I knew it wasn't a cake walk, but I didn't realize just how much it was really going to work me! I've been quite sore in areas I very rarely work, and it's a darn good feeling! I'm really thinking about adding Monday night to my gym schedule and upping my workouts to three days a week!

3.  Celebrating lots of Birthday's this month!! March seems to be a pretty huge month in our lives when it comes to celebrating birthdays! There is my mother-in-law, my stepfather-in-law, my stepbrother-in-law, our nephew, my close friend Tatiana, my awesome boss Jen, our dear friend Matt, and a slew of other friends of ours! Lots and lots of celebrating going on around these parts!! 

4. Having my first cup of coffee in almost a month! I'm not a coffee addict whatsoever. I've been a one cup a day drinker for forever and can function fine without it. I actually like the taste of coffee, however. about a month ago I noticed I wasn't enjoying the taste of it much anymore so I gave it up and started drinking tea! Lots of green tea, chai tea, and herbal teas and even using my Starbucks giftcard for Chai Tea Lattes instead of fancy coffee beverages! This weekend while at my girlfriend, Whitney's house, I had my first cup of coffee in almost a month and boy was it yummy! I don't think I'll be going back to drinking it every day but I think it would be a nice pick me up on an extra lagging day - say like this week when I'm trying to adjust to this Daylight Savings Time! 

I found this really interesting!!! 

5. Working on our taxes! To most this is probably a daunting task but this marks year number two that we have done our taxes ourselves with the help of TurboTax. Since we don't have a ton of "extras" to worry about like second properties, self employment, or rental income we are able to do them ourselves! It's usually a few day process as I like to, obviously, make sure they are 100% accurate before filing them! I won't lie though, I am always completely nervous when hitting that submit button! It's a great feeling seeing what we should be getting back from the government during the entire process! I'm quite satisfied with the figure we've been given! These suckers should be completely finalized by weeks end and we will be on our way to get our little check back and this will be another task I can cross off our "To Do" list! 

Happy Hump Day my darlings!!! Hope you all are having a wonderful week so far and didn't miss me too much yesterday!!! XoXo! 

YAAA! Young Adults for Alzheimer's Awareness!

I've talked a bit in several past posts about the volunteer organization I have joined this year. Towards the end of 2012 I was put in contact with the PR VP Chair of YAAA! Young Adults for Alzheimer's Awareness, in order to help assist her with any PR needs the group needed. After talking with her and the President {who I have actually known since I was probably 6 years old} I decided it would be a good idea to join! I wanted to serve and be a part of a group that was doing good in the area, the nation, the world. During this time of my decision to join, the hubby and I lost his grandmother's husband to this debilitating disease!

Pappa Ted is in the standing top row, second from left in the light blue polo! This was Todd's Grandmother's entire family in 2010. 

I was lucky enough to have met Pappa Ted before he succumb to the evil grip of Alzheimer's. When I first started dating the hubby, Pappa Ted had been diagnosed with dementia. He was still functioning normally, with minor spouts of memory loss, however over six years we watched him deteriorate to almost nothing until he lost the battle the week of Thanksgiving! Not only was it painful to watch him slowly lose the battle but it was equally hard to see my husband's grandmother slowly lose her loving husband! She cared for him as much as she could until it became so hard she had to have assistance in their home with around the clock care for him. Simply heartbreaking and I hope that I never have to experience that myself or have other loved ones suffer from this disease!

If you are local to my area PAY ATTENTION: This Saturday, March 2nd, YAAA! is hosting it's Third Annual Black Tie Bowling Event! This event is a fun, black-tie inspired event with black-tie on top and anything goes on the bottom! It will take place at the AMF Chesapeake Lanes, 112 East Medical Parkway, Chesapeake, VA from 7pm to 11pm. The event will be emceed by local D.J. phenom and member, Jeremy Branch. In 2012 the event drew over 240 people and sold out! We are really hoping to engage the same amount of people to the event this year!

With that being said, my hubby and I have started a bowling team for the event consisting of the two of us and 4 other close friends of ours! We have a team page set up and are currently taking donations from anyone local AND afar who would like to commit any monetary amount! I'm not one to ask much from my readers but I am going to ask, that if it is laid upon your heart to give to our organization and team, please do! Please visit this link and click on the green donate money to help our team reach our goal and beyond for this event!  You really will be contributing to a great cause and helping to eliminate Alzheimer's disease through the advancement of research and education!

If you are unable to make a donation in money, please considering looking into local volunteering organizations in your area to donate your time to a good cause that you care about! I promise it will change your life for the better and will give you a sense of fulfillment! If you are in my area and would like more information about YAAA! please, please, please let me know! Also, be sure to check out their Facebook page for more information as well!!!

Thank you again for donating to our team and organization! I owe you all so much, more than I ever may be able to repay! XoXo!

January 2012 Mini Goals Roundup!

Whoa! Hey month of LOVE! It's quite fantabulous to see you! Normally, I share this current post on the last day of the previous month, but I wasn't about to give my sponsor the boot just to update y'all on my January goals! Instead, I decided I'd do it today! It's my blog, I'm grown, I do what I want! *wink, wink*

So how'd I do on my monthly goals? You tell me!

1. Get back into the gym at least twice a week! TOTAL WIN {with the exception of this week 1. because I was sick and 2. because I had a new member organization meeting last night}. I started back to Zumba on Monday nights! Thursday nights I usually would go to a Cardio Dance class, however they moved that to Tuesdays so I started doing an hour weight class! That class doesn't seem to have a huge group of followers but I've enjoyed what I've done in it so far {except for last week when they didn't have it}. I also added one day of power walking during my lunch break on Wednesdays! There is a neighborhood right next to my office building and I've clocked in 12.5 miles the month of February!

2. Purge and Organize the house, one room at a time. HALF WIN/HALF FAIL and I say this because it is an on going project that is never ever ending! Progress is being made but not nearly enough for my liking!

3. Bring/pack lunch everyday for work - no eating out. WIN {for the most part}. I brought my lunch to work every day except for 4 days this month. One lunch was spent at a meeting where I had to buy something for my famished tummy. Second lunch was because I left my good ole Lean Cuisine on the kitchen counter at home. The third lunch was because I had a lunch date with my mommy! And fourth lunch? Well that happened to be yesterday! If you follow me on Instagram {if you don't you should!} you know that my hubby informed me Wednesday that Burger King brought back their cheesy tots! My absolute weakness, so that is what my fat-kid-at-heart-self had yesterday for lunch! I hope to continue this in the month of February but incorporate actual lunches MADE at home and not the frozen meal crap!

4. Continue to work towards a career in PR, volunteering my time to businesses and organizations for hands on experience - DON'T GIVE UP. HALF WIN/HALF FAIL. I toned down the job hunt mainly because I am full blown revamping my resume. I have literally torn it a part and I am slowly putting it back together to showcase more of my talents, knowledge and education. Once my resume is finished I plan to start applying for more opportunities. I just joined a new organization in my area {I plan on doing a post about this soon} and have already been added to their PR team! I am really excited to help them more with their PR needs, gain some more experience, and network in the process.

5. Schedule actual planned date nights with the hubby! FAIL. I feel terrible I failed this one particular goal! We did have several date nights this month but they were mainly just dinners! We had a few jam packed weekends which didn't really give us date nights and when we did decide to grab dinner it was last minute thinking! Here's to hoping we can get more creative in February!

6. Book our June trip to Jamaica. FAIL. All this entails is us figuring out which days we will be headed down there and calling the travel agent to book the trip! Who knows why we weren't able to get this taken care of! This has now become a more urgent goal!

7. Have at least one girls night with any or all of my gal pals. HALF WIN/HALF FAIL. I consider this half because I did spend a day thrifting and antiquing with my girlfriend who lives across the street! Now I just need to make sure I spend some quality time with a few other special gals in my life! I will say it can get difficult with some juggling kids, work, husbands, fiances, and even school and then I am juggling all of my crazy life too! I also live about 30 minutes away from my closest gal pals which can add more insult to injury when trying to get together! Planning girl time really is important to me and I hope to work on this more this month and to show my girlfriends I really do appreciate and need them in my life!

8. Send out Thank you cards for both Birthday and Christmas gifts. HALF WIN/HALF FAIL. I sent out all my Birthday Thank you notes early in January. I  currently have half of the Christmas Thank yous written and waiting to be mailed and will finish the rest this weekend!

9. Arrive on time to work, every morning. HALF WIN/HALF FAIL. Literally I was on time for nine mornings, late for eleven mornings, I went in just for the afternoon one day and had one sick day. If you knew my track record for getting to work on time, you would know this is actually really impressive for me!

10. Keep Blogging! WIN! This was a huge win! I blogged every day and I set up new guest posters/ sponsors! I will admit, blogging is time consuming and I would really like to plan out my posts better and create them more on the weekends to save some precious time during the week nights. I'm starting to understand why some bloggers like to be paid for this hobby, at time's it seems like a second job! Nonetheless I hope to continue as long as it doesn't interfere with quality time with my little family!

All in all I am pretty proud of what I did get accomplished this month! Of course since I'm an over achiever and beat myself up a lot when I don't do my best, I think I should have done better! However, that's why there is always next month right?! I just can't give up, not even on the little things!

**Also, I am still planning "My Favorite Things" give-a-way, but had to order a few special things which won't be shipped till later this month {would've been nice to have had a heads up on that}! I promise once I get those items the contest will be underway, but more than likely won't occur till the end of the month! I appreciate all of the support and fellow friends who helped me get to 200 followers! And thank you all for following me, seriously, from the bottom of my heart, thank you! **

Friday's Letters!

Boy am I happy to see today! I thought last week was a long week, but this week totally topped it! By golly I thought today would NEVER get here! It has been a rough week for me. I haven't been in the most stellar of moods and the weather has been far to cold for my liking. Side Note: I hate complaining about 32 degree weather when some of you readers think that is warm. Kind of like how I laughed last week when all of California was freezing at a nice 55 degrees! Are you kidding??! I had to sit back and tell myself that they just aren't used to those low temperatures just as I am not used to 20 and 30 degree temps for an extended amount of time! Anywho, I've been highly annoyed this week and have a feeling I will be posting about it on Monday. So if you are at all curious - stay tuned! As for today, I'm trying to stay positive and look toward the weekend - the blistery cold weekend! Joy!

Via

Dear Organizational and Get Things Done thoughts, Yes- I think up all these great plans to organize the house, purge all the unneeded crap, and clean, yet my mind can't seem to actually make my body do it! I usually think the weekend would be a great time for such projects and then the weekend arrives and I'm lazy as {insert 'f' word here}. My mind is crazy motivated but the rest of me? Not so much! I've made lists, I've filled in calendars, I've put reminders in my phone and yet still can't seem to get much done! It's enough to drive me bat shit crazy! I really do believe I will be working on motivation as a February goal. Dear Lush Fresh Homemade Cosmetics, I am beyond thrilled that we have your store in one of our local malls! Not that I am some huge advocate for using all natural handmade products, however I am becoming more conscious of what I put on my face, skin, and in my body! I already use the Oil Cleansing Method to clean my face but I felt something was lacking, like a mask and spot treatment. That's where you come in my dear Lush. With your Mask of Magnaminty and Grease Lightning cleansers, you have added more to my skin care routine! More cleanliness and clearness! All without harsh chemicals and ingredients! Dear Gym, I am finally motivated to come visit you twice a week and you thank me by not having my weight class last night. You thanked me even more by allowing the employees I spoke with to have NO clue about what was going on nor did they seem too eager to find out for me either! I am extremely disappointed that I woke up able to walk this morning and make it down the stairs easily {unlike last week}. Now I feel as though I didn't work out on my own very hard. Do you know how long it has taken for me to get to the point of actually coming to see you regularly and enjoying it?! 28 years! Don't ruin it for me now by skipping classes I actually come to take! Dear Marshalls off of Independence, You are the best dern Marshalls in my area! Seriously! I am so glad I was able to buy some new work out gear from you yesterday! Two pairs of yoga pants, two bright tank tops, and two neon sports bras! I, no doubt, will look like a human highlighter while rocking out in Zumba! I wore one ensemble last night and LOVED it! Knowing that I saved a few bucks on the Nike and Jockey gear rocks even more! Oh yea, and I appreciate that you had some killer pieces of clothing on display, yet I was strictly there for gym attire, therefore I could not partake in your fabulousness! Maybe next week, maybe next week. Dear Hubby and Puppy Child, Is is possible at all for Momma to have some room to sleep in our King size bed????? I might as well be sleeping on a two by four with the way y'all hog the bed! And don't even get me started on the covers! I understand it's cold outside but do y'all need to cocoon yourselves up in the blankets and leave me with a square inch of sheet? I don't even want to talk about when I try to nudge either one of you, you both are dead as door nails. Awesome. It makes me super comfortable knowing someone can move you and you not wake up. I guess if someone were to ever break into our home I'd have to protect us all since you both would sleep through it! Must be nice to sleep like a rock!

Hope you darlings {I told y'all I was going to use this word more!} are having a fantastic Friday so far! No big plans for us this weekend however I am looking forward to the snow that is supposed to give us an inch or two! Plenty for Baby Reef to experience his first snow! Definitely will be working on a few things I will be sharing with you all later and of course gathering that motivation to get some serious organizing and purging completed! I'm going to leave you with this quote I came across last night! The Lord must have known I needed some encouragement and support! More on that Monday!! XoXo!

Friday's Letters!

Well, Well lookie here - Friday we meet again! I would welcome you with open arms if I hadn't spent all of yesterday thinking it was Friday! What a disappointment to wake up for work today! Regardless, I am glad you are here and that I was given another week to blog, work, work out, and live my life as a wife and puppy momma!

Via

Dear Fashion Bloggers, As much as I adore all of your fashion posts, can someone start posting career oriented fashion inspirations? I feel like much of the ensembles are great for weekends out, date nights on the town, and fun creative office jobs! However, I need some inspiration for corporate America! If anyone knows of some great fashion bloggers who specialize in appropriate attire for the corporate world let me know! Dear Snow, you are always such a disappointment in our area, except for two years ago when you came the day after Christmas and really gave us something to cheer about! This whole frozen slushy crap is for the birds! I'm not digging having to drive into work today! Lucky for you, I feel super duper safe in our Volvo! Dear Smoothie Diet, I have been experimenting with you for a little over two weeks now. You are proving to be really substantial for my morning breakfast! I've tried four recipes and the newest one is my favorite! Almond milk, spinach, blueberries, strawberries, and almonds! It all makes for a nutty protein filled kind of morning! Dear Paper Organization, I need help with organizing bills and important forms! Granted I am in the process of ordering a file cabinet for our library/office but I would love a more creative way to file you all away accordingly and to keep all "To pay" bills and "Paid" bills organized. And before any of you say do online bill pay and paperless billing - NO, I refuse! Well, I take that back, some bills we do receive paperless and I pay them on-line, but others I still stroke out a check for each month! I am not a fan of automatic payments either! I don't like knowing if an emergency were to happen and we needed money to pay for something quick we may not be able to because something was take out of the account! Point blank I just feel more in control when we make the decisions of when we pay our bills! None-the-less I need some help organizing and filing it all. You would think I could do this easily being an Executive Assistant and all, but when it comes to my own crap all my expertise flies out the window ha! Dear Blogging Friends, Be on the lookout for a give away soon! I've almost reached 200 fans and in doing so I will be treating a lucky fan to some fun swag! Pass the word along! The quicker I get to 200 followers the quicker this give-away can get underway! Don't pass it too quickly though, I still have to come up with what I'm actually going to give away! While I am at it, let me ask all of you... would you rather win a gift card or win a Few of my Favorite Things??

Hope you lovelies are having a fun filled Friday - many of you with snow I am sure!! Any one get a paid day off from work because of it?! If so, you are one lucky duck! XoXo!

Cheesy Jalapeno Popper Baked Stuffed Chicken from Skinnytaste!

Simply put, I love Skinnytaste! I have whipped up a few recipes from here and this one is definitely one of my favorites!!! It was easy to prepare and baked up quickly in the oven! Easy Peasy for a week night meal! Serve with sides of your choice {we opted for baked sweet potatoes and fresh steamed broccoli} and dinner is done!

I prepared the chicken for two people so I made modifications to accomadate our serving size!

Here is what you need for 4 servings:

2 slices of center cut bacon, cooked and crumbled {I actually used 3 pieces because we LOVE bacon in our home}
3 jalapenos, chopped {remove seeds for milder} {I used 1 jalapeno and no seeds}
3 oz 1/3 less fat free cream cheese, softened {I used 3 oz of fat free cream cheese, as I LOVE cheese}
4 oz reduced fat shredded cheddar jack {Sargento} {I didn't measure out the cheese, just eyeballed it and I used the Harris Teeter brand shredded cheddar jack}
2 tbsp chopped scallions {I actually forgot to purchase scallions at the store, so I just chopped up an onion}
8 thin sliced skinless chicken breast cutlets, 3 oz. each {I had 2 chicken breast and cut them both in half, to make 4 pieces, and then pounded them thin with a meat tenderizer}
1/2 cup Italian seasoned whole wheat breadcrumbs {I used plain breadcrumbs and mixed in Italian seasoning. I also used 1/4 cup instead of half}
1 1/2 juicy limes, juice of {I used 1/2 of a lime leftover from a meal earlier in the week}
1 tbsp olive oil {I eyeballed this!}
salt and fresh pepper
olive oil non-stick spray

Directions:

According to Gina, at Skinnytaste, Wash and dry chicken cutlets, season with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly spray a baking dish with non-stick spray. {I actually just lined tin foil on a baking sheet}.

Combine cream cheese, cheddar, scallions, jalapeno and bacon crumbles in a medium bowl.

Lay chicken cutlets on a working surface and spread 2 tbsp of cream cheese mixture on each cutlet. Loosely roll each one, secure the ends with toothpicks to prevent the cheese from oozing out {though our cheese oozed out because I used a bit more than I should have}.

Place breadcrumbs in a bowl; in a second bowl combine olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper.

Dip chicken in lime-oil mixture, then in breadcrumbs and place seam side down on a baking dish. Repeat with the remaining chicken. When finished, lightly spray the top of the chicken with oil spray.

Bake for 22-25 minutes, serve immediately. {I baked ours for 30 minutes, just because I am always overly cautious of cooking chicken and want to make sure it's completely done}.

Serve immediately!

This is what mine looked liked but you can check out more detailed photos of Gina's recipe here.

Don't judge my photo taking skills! I know they are lacking... a lot! ;)

The hubby and I both really enjoyed it and because I made four chicken pieces I had one left over for lunch the next day! It was just as good as the night before!

What are yall cooking for dinner tonight?!

Friday's Letters!

Has anyone else noticed this week was a bit slower than the usual or was it just me? It may have been all the Holidays off that spoiled me with three and four day work weeks. A girl can get used to that... and well... this girl did get used to that!

Via

Dear 1 hour weight session last night at the gym, Thank you for allowing me to wake up with jello for arms! I couldn't even lift my toothbrush to clean my pearly whites and I had a really difficult time slapping on my makeup! If anyone sees me today and notices I look like a clown, it's because I started crying while blending and gave up trying to raise my arms to finish my makeup application! Dear Hubby, when have I ever brought a basket of unfolded clean clothes upstairs and set them in the hallway? Never. So why would you assume the basket of rumpled up clothes in the hallway were clean? Thank you for making me rummage through my dresser trying to determine which clothes were dirty and thank you, my love, for making me laugh endlessly when you tried to blame it on me! Oh how I love you and your humor! Dear Weekend, I am really looking forward to you and the warmer temperatures you are bringing! I see organizing, cleaning, redecorating, antiquing, thrifting, and even possibly beach going with Baby Reef in the plans! Dear Brent Musberger, I don't believe you were out of line, what-so-ever, for accusing Katherine Webb of being BEAUTIFUL! What female wouldn't want to be referred to, on national television, as beautiful!? You were only stating the obvious and I am appalled at the backlash you have received for such statements! If Katherine has declined your apology and sees nothing wrong with what you stated, than the rest of the world needs to get over it! What is with the general public these days? Damned if you do, Damned if you don't! You can't even say something nice or compliment anyone anymore! Lastly, who cares if you said it while commenting the game, Notre Dame was having their behinds served up on a silver platter and your comment was more exciting than the umpteenth touchdown Alabama scored. Keep being a gentleman! It's definitely more becoming than the douches that complained about your comment! Dear Flash Sale Websites {Joss&Main, OneKingsLane, HauteLook, GroopDealz, etc.}, You make it really difficult to save money! Each day your little daily sale e-mails appear in my inbox AND they always contain something I'm looking for! Like Vintage French Decor, a Sideboard-Buffet, sexy kitten heels and the perfect accessory to complete ANY outfit. Not to mention all the little extras that I sit and drool over! Maybe if I wasn't having so many taxes taken out of my paycheck, I'd feel less guilty about buying all of these awesome finds!

All my loves, I hope you are having an extra fantastic Friday! I'll leave you with this photo I found yesterday of my man, Matt Bomer and Ian Somerhalder at the People's Choice Awards Wednesday night! Considering these two are rumored to be in the running for Christian Grey, which would you prefer!? Y'all already know where my heart resides.... Oh Mr. Bomer. And while I'm at it, did any of you by chance see the confirmation of the rating the movie will carry?! I'm going to have to have y'all research that for yourselves as typing it out makes me blush!

Via

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

It's here, It's here, the middle of the week is here!!! Already we are flying through the month of January!!! Where is time going and what am I loving today?! Check it out below!

1. Getting back to the gym! Monday was my first night back in MONTHS! My Zumba instructor even said "Hey girl! It's been awhile"! Why yes, yes mam it has! What a great work out I had too. It felt good to sweat, to get my body moving, and to feel that much better leaving the gym knowing I just did something good for myself! I'm hoping to head out for a two mile walk on my lunch break today and hit the gym tomorrow night! I certainly don't mind the sore feeling the next morning either! It's a reminder of the good I am doing for myself!

2. Using up my Flex Spending Account before it runs out! Long story short, when I had to get my wisdom teeth pulled, I asked the Dentist office to run the numbers so I knew what price tag I was going to be looking at. I was looking at a $1,000 procedure, including my insurance, or so I thought. Great. Dandy. Fine. To help with the cost I opened up a Flex Spending Account at work with the total amount of the teeth extraction. The only intended purpose of the card was to pay for the wisdom teeth removal. After the dental procedure, I had to pay for the service. Duh. Well, the receptionist tells me "That will be $94.00".... Excuse me?!... $94.00 is FAR from a grand! It's unclear where the mistake was made when the dentist first ran those numbers but now I've had to come up with ways to spend the rest of the account before it runs out in March! The list provided is limited to mainly band aids and pregnancy tests! Literally everything else needs a prescription! Can you imagine.... $900 worth of First Response tests?! ha! Anywho, since I now need glasses {that's a blog post all its on} I have successfully spent the majority of the card! Now I have no fears of eating $900 at the end of March!

3. The Duchess of Cambridge's 31st Birthday today! Yes, the gorgeous and oh-so-classy Princess turns 31 today!! I hope she has one of the happiest of birthdays yet! I'm excited to read about how she spends her day, sans alcoholic beverages of course! More so I'm excited to see what she decides to wear to celebrate her birthday!

4. My second sponsor post for tomorrow! I can't wait for y'all to meet Jill! She has some of the best fashion sense of anyone I know! And yes I know her in real life! I wish I could pull off half of the creative ensembles she creates! Not to mention she has the sweetest personality too and I know you all will love her!! She's a Boston native now residing in D.C. and living the whirlwind newlywedded life! Be sure to stop by and meet her tomorrow!

5. White Collar starts back in two weeks!!! The best part is I've gotten the hubby hooked on it so now he can enjoy watching it with me! I don't know why I considered couch/TV time important, but I think its great when you can sit and enjoy the TV program together! I'm not a fan of watching TV in separate rooms or being in different rooms while you are both home for that matter!

What are y'all loving today?! That the work week is half way over?! Yep, add that to my list too!

A Little Natural OCM!

Back in October one of my girlfriends was telling me how individuals with oily skin should cleanse their face with, none other than, oil! I seriously laughed at her and told her that was OUT OF THE QUESTION! My face would be one grease slicked mess if I was to do such a thing so I continued scrubbing away with Proactive. When you are used to caring for your face with a certain routine, it's hard to give that up especially for OIL!

About six weeks later I started doing some research on cleansing with oil. Part of my interest was that there are no chemicals! I was tired of ruining towels with Proactiv as it was bleaching them! If that stuff is bleaching my face towels, what is it doing to my skin?! I'm not an all natural advocate but with the knowledge of already knowing I'd have to give up the Proactiv routine once I'm pregnant, I figured why not give it up now and try something new that I would be able to use once we decide to expand our family!

In comes the OCM - Oil Cleansing Method! According to Crunchy Betty, the OCM doesn't strip your face of it's sebum therefore your skin doesn't work in overdrive to produce more oil! That overdrive work leads to clogged pores, blackheads, acne, and overall irritation! Who knew?!

Regardless of your skin type you have to start with the base oil, which is Cold Pressed Castor Oil. I found mine at The Vitamin Shoppe! And YES there is a difference between Cold Pressed and regular! Cold Pressed Castor Oil is a drying oil and is highly antibacterial. Depending on your skin type you will use more or less! I use more since I have oily skin! You then add a second and third oil {third is optional} depending on your skin type. Here are a few options! I use jojoba oil which is best for acne prone and oily skin.

Once you figure out which oils will work best for your skin type you mix them together in ratios of thirds. You can see the ratios here as well! I use 2/3 Castor Oil and 1/3 Jojoba Oil! I bought a 3 oz bottle in the travel section at Target to store it! Lather your face with the oil and massage gently for about two minutes. The oil also works as a natural makeup remover so there is no need to prewash your face beforehand! Let the oil sit for 30 to 45 seconds once you are finished lathering it on. After your time is up, take a washcloth and run under hot water. Use the hot washcloth to steam your face for 15 to 30 seconds. Slowly wipe your face clean. Rinse the washcloth, Repeat. You should steam your face about 3 times! Once you've steamed and wiped your face completely clean, you're done!

I've been using this cleansing process for a month now and actually really like it! My face isn't a big grease ball, my breakouts dry up quickly if/when I get them, and my towels are staying the color I bought them! Seems like a win win all the way around!

If you have any questions about it please feel free to ask!!! Be sure to check out the links! Crunchy Betty has some great information on the OCM! I also have to thank my girlfriend for jump starting my questions on the process, for without her saying "Clean your face with OIL", I would have never found this!