Friday Vlog!

Things to accomplish....

You guys better keep me in line for my "honey do" list. It's exploding and overflowing! I love a list so let me get right to it...

Friday
1) Switch closet from Spring/Summer to Fall/Winter.
2) Give clothes to Goodwill
3) Shop as Goodwill to use my 20% off coupon, woohoo!
4) Laundry
5) Video Vlog!
6) Watch The Godfather for class

7) Go Rock climbing?


Saturday
1) Go to the Library and pick up my books on hold:





2) Read like a crazy person!
3) Walk for at least an hour at Lake Michigan with Beanka
4) Study for African American History test. eek.
5) Go Rock climbing?
What are your plans for your weekend?

Return of Pumpkin

Today just felt so much like Fall has arrived! I could do without the rain though. It's been raining everyday since last Friday here.

I was in such a fall mood that I thought, Pumpkin should be the taste of the day, so I made...

pumpkin turkey chili


and pumpkin spice tea latte



except I made mine at home with earl gray tea, fat free pumpkin spice creamer, and cinnamon...yum :)

So I had to drop my mom off at the airport, and I actually made my self detach from the moment or else I was going to completely lose it.

I ended up grieving when I was back in bed (we dropped her off at like 5am) . I don't know when I will get to see her again.

When I finally woke up, it was so LATE! (11:20am) so I ended up not having time for a jog, but did get some errands done. We went to the bank, went grocery shopping at Aldi and Pick n Save, and then went home. It was so nice because Marc was in SUCH a good mood! He's been so lovey lately and I'm thinking his new medicine has balanced his emotions. He did have a bad
day yesterday (or was it the day before?) but managed to get through it after lunch time. If you've never been around someone with severe depression it can be really hard but the good ALWAYS makes up for the bad. I think if I could do a 5k or any kind of race I would love to find one to raise money for mental illness like that. This could be a whole other post about depression...I think I might make a mental note to talk about it one day.

I managed to clean up quite a bit this morning so that could have helped with both of our moods! I found a couple old as the hills Glade plug ins, so when we went shopping I found some Apple cinnamon inserts.

I kinda hid it from Marc because he HATES apple cinnamon smell anything. So far he hasn't complained and my house is finally starting to smell how I like it! Fall smells, and wonderful homey yumminess (yes that is what I would call it, officially). All I need now is some fresh Eucalyptus since mine has pretty much faded completely away. Anyway, I really recommend this smell, it's not overpowering and doesn't seem to cloud over other smells but feels like I just baked an Apple pie with my mother like we did this past week...



I did end up weighing myself and am up 4 pounds, I was proud of myself to see that number and NOT freak out. I know I can drop that weight in 2 weeks comfortably so it was worth it just not worrying about it while Mom was here.
One thing that I forgot to mention that happened to me this morning was after Marc and I woke up the second time, he went upstairs to have breakfast with Nana and I was downstairs kinda lollygagging when all of a sudden I hear RAP RAP RAP RAP on the door. IT FREAKED ME OUT because our neighborhood isn't the best, and I have an overactive imagination. I got brave enough to answer the door, since the person knocked and didn't kick the door in LOL. Come to find out it was my replacement printer and the FedEx dude. Unfortunately(or fortunately) I was still looking like this...




So for now I've gotten the house clean and finished up my homework. Come on 11pm so I can hightail it home.

(thought you would enjoy this Rayel, as it was one of your favorite lines growing up)

A sad day, but a new plan!

Tomorrow is going to be sad because my mom is leaving in the morning. I'm really going to miss her. I thought by the end of two weeks I was going to put her on a plane and be happy, but I think I was probably kidding myself, she's quirky but so unique and lovely. I'm going to try to stay busy tomorrow so I won't be too broken hearted.

To keep myself busy, I've decided to revamp my healthy living (having a visitor in town and being on vacay kinda put healthy eating on the back burner). I'm going to stock up on healthy groceries and try to go for a run/walk at Lake Michigan with my dog Beanka. I've always sucked at running but the cooler weather has always helped me with weight loss. I just want to be more active in crisp air! Beanka loves running too, so she will help keep me on track. I'm going to wear my heart rate monitor as well!

So my goals will be to:

1) run with Beanka

2) stock up on healthy groceries

3) Wear HRM

4) Take pictures for the blog!

5) stay positive.

6) weight myself in the a.m to find out the damage!

7) Clean my house top to bottom!



Wish me luck!

Back From The Dead

Have you missed me?!?

I have so much to tell you!

As most of you might have remembered, my mother has been in town since September 14th, and I have been enjoying every MOMENT!




I haven't seen my mom since June 2010 so it has been so nice to be around her and to share some uninterrupted time. I took some time off work, so the only time I was online for a little under two weeks was to finish homework!

Today is my first day back to work since she got here, and the countdown for her departure is sadly ticking louder and louder.
We've been a little naughty...



A little nice...





And A LOT adventurous!
















I hope you didn't think I was through with blogging! I feel so refreshed and HAPPY!

F You, Auto Correct!

My sister sent me this HILARIOUS website! Go check it out, I can NOT stop giggling, I hope no one at work asks me why!

F You, Auto Correct!

Pray that my mom's flight is perfect tomorrow, I'm nervous!

Sorry I've been straying, I don't mean to!

Tell me how you are!?!

September 11th

Big waves start with little ripples.












Thinking back ten years ago, I was so naive.

I never thought this would happen. America was indestructible.

Ten years ago I was (ironically) studying Pearl Harbor in a history class, and I'll never forget watching the TV and not grasping what was happening. I had no idea what the World Trade Center was.



We must never forget 9/11/01, because it reminds us of what is important, it gives us a moment to be thankful for all the blessing we have in our lives, and what we should do...cause ripples.


I love you, and am thankful for you!

Pinterest has caught me.

I'm interested in Pinterest ha! Have you heard of this website? I just started fiddling with it yesterday after my sister had told me about it. One of my favorite things about it, is that I can save certain items online that I want to decorate my house with, or cook!

Here are some of my boards. You can click on the links!

For the Home

Delectable

My favorite pictures so far,

Source: luxinteriordesigns.com via Chetney on Pinterest

Source: None via Chetney on Pinterest

And my sister's board which is what made me decide to actually start doing it! Look at the cool things she's found!

Hey, That's a good idea.

Some of my favorite image of hers.

Source: etsy.com via Rayel on Pinterest

Source: family.go.com via Rayel on Pinterest

Yummy HEALTHY Chicken Alfredo!

I had a really busy day today! It's not a school day for me so I spent most of my time running errands.

I made bacon, eggs, toast, and grapes for brunch (we never eat real breakfast because Marc and I work late).


I had turkey bacon and no toast while Nana and Marc had the real deal holyfield with toast and jam. I love these kinds of foods because I don't get criticized for not eating the bread, Nanushka loves her bread, I was proud that she ate two eggs and two pieces of toast! The Polish word for bread is Chelp (Hhlep).


After brunch, we decided to take Beanka on a walk in Bay View. Lake Michigan was so beautiful this morning, the sun was full and hot while and the air was cool and crisp. PERFECT! When we first got Beanka she was so scared of going for walks, but today was her best day yet! Barely any shaking, and she thought the whole 3 mile walk was too SLOW! There was one point that I even ran with her so she could go at her own pace. I never thought my little munchkin was such a exercise nut!

After our walk, and getting groceries, I decided I was in the mood for something creamy! With the diet I'm on I can have two servings of plain yogurt and day, with unlimited lean white meats and veggies. Last night I was thinking, why can't I make an alfredo sauce with yogurt? So I did! With the yogurt (2 cups), I added a tbsp of minced garlic, 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, pepper, salt, and onion powder to taste. I made the "noodles" out of zucchini and cut up chicken breast into the sauce. At first, Marc was like "there is no way in hell I'm eating that", but once it was done he was like "Ok that looks really good, can I have some?" Yeah he's lucky I'm nice...dissing my food like that. He told me to tell you guys that the sauce sort of reminded him of Ranch dressing (and was super delicious!) but since I don't think I've eaten Ranch in my life, you'll have to take his word for it.



My mom comes it a week! I'm excited! Still a little nervous that she might have trouble getting on the plane since I bought the tickets, but the tickets have her information on it. I am just
going to have to pray about it, it makes me nervous! Of course, I'm not going to freak her out so I just mailed her all of the receipt information and told her to give it to the attendant while checking in.I just remember being asked to see the credit card used the last few times I've flown. What do you guys think?










I love my mom! The last time I saw my family was after my wedding in the first week of June, 2010! When was the last time you've seen your parents, what about siblings?

New outfit

I bought a new outfit this weekend and now i'm thinking it'll have to wait until next summer!

it's freakin' cold here!

I'm going grocery shopping tomorrow and my meal plans are:
Zucchini Chicken "Alfredo" (using a yogurt recipe for the sauce!)
Turkey Meatloaf with veggies
Cauliflower "fried" rice
Parmesan breaded shrimp with green bean fries
Cauliflower crusted pizza

Did you notice there aren't very many carbs here? That's because I've been back on the 17 day diet and have gotten the same great results as last time. It helps to take the 17 days and kind of "reset" my mind and pallet!

I'm reading this book, and it's good.
















I can't write, I can't use correct grammar...seriously I need a brain transplant.

Goodnight!

Props to me ((and you))!!

It took me 4 hours but I finally finished my homework. I seriously don't know what it is about focusing that hard but when I'm done with my work, my brain really feels overused or something! Maybe it had it's exercise. I'm too tired to think about it. really.


So I have to tell you I'm proud today. I'm usually proud of myself for the things I have accomplished, but today I'm extra proud.

My tight jeans have become my loose jeans. I'm proud of that little strip of belly too.




I grew stuff in our garden and am reaping the final rewards. Look at that HUGE cuke on the left, I think I left him on the vine too long because he's a bit white!



I'm proud that I got my husband and Nana to eat this concoction.


A lot of people don't like fish but my family doesn't like that much veggies. In the "stir fry" onion, carrot, cauliflower, spinach, flounder, lite soy sauce, and garlic. It was good, and they both ate a plate each. Yes! I swear there are TONS of veggies under that fish.

I'm proud I've stayed on top of my homework even though sometimes I want to give up. I haven't yet, and I wont.

Tell me, what are you proud of yourself for today? Give yourself some props!

Weekend Recap

So it's official. Another weekend is over!! I must say this past one was pretty satisfying, except I think I spent too much money. I hate it when that happens. We run out of everything and I go and buy stuff and be completely freaked about how much I spent at one time. I was planning a party though for Saturday. We had our family over for Linner, or Dunch, what ever you call it.

I love it when my niece and nephew come over, but I think Beanka likes it even more! Look at her, little sweetie pie! She loves to be petted.







On the menu, we had hot dogs, hot wings, hot German potato salad, curried cauliflower salad, watermelon, chips and dip, and jalapeno poppers. But the best part was dessert (well for me it was seeing everyones faces when I brought dessert out! We had...

Cake Pops


and Smores on a stick.

Unfortunately, I was too excited to show it off then to snap its picture :( I served them like kabobs on a cake plate so it was fun. The cake was strawberry and I put rainbow sprinkles on the hardened chocolate, and the smores looked exactly the same...easy yet fun!

Earlier, before the party started, I was treated to facial! It was fun and incredibly relaxing. Sometimes I have a hard time suppressing giggles though. Especially when they say stuff like you're going on a sensory journey or something. I'm impressed with my sister in laws school though, I am glad she's learning how to do this so I can always ask for a facial for my birthday HA! My after facial face, and after party face!

I may have looked tired but there was one other person who seemed to be a bit more exhausted than I was.

Out like a light.

I've lost 4 pounds this week! What did you do this weekend? Have you ever had a facial?