In This Crazy Life...

I've been wanting to purchase a few things for the house and I know what I like, but I'm not always sure of myself when putting patterns together. My aunt, the one who did my wedding, has wanted to come help and we finally set aside some time. She spent all day Saturday with me. We started out by walking around the house so that i could tell her what I was thinking and wanting to do. Some of it we would be able to do that day, but others that I would have to get along the way. Once we aren't putting money back for Ireland I can do more furniture buying. I REFUSE to use credit cards anymore!! I do have one, but it's only to earn points and gets paid off every month. Anyways… back to decorating. We shopped At Home, Pier One, Hobby Lobby, and Home Goods. We are needing a new picture for above the fireplace. Something with lots of color. A friend is supposed to paint us one, but I have yet to buy her a canvas. I did see this at At Home. We picked up several pictur

When we built our office closet, I wanted it to be a fucnctional clothes closet. There's a good chance that the office/craft room will be moved upstairs once the attic is finished out. However, I wanted it to have lots of shelves and storage for now. When I moved all of my school stuff home this summer, I had several shelves.  I didn't need them in my new classroom, so I decided they could be used in the closet. This is one of the before pictures. I took everything out of the closet and started with a clean slate. This is the after picture. Now, I started this job back in August. I put the tall shelf on the left in there and the white metal cubes on the bottom right. The top right small shelf just go put in this week. Why you may ask. Well... We had to get a couple of shelf brackets to help hold it up. The closet rod is holding up the front and the brackets the back. Yes, I probably could have done it myself, but wanted Kev to do it, so I had to wait.  This is the

I have been binge watching Once Upon a Time on Netflix. I've been hiding out in teh bedroom every night watching as much as I can. I love that show! I am officailly caught up and can't wait for the season to start back in March! If you don't warch it, you should check it out. It is so good!

Saturday I prepped a few items for breakfast. I made a dozen mini egg muffins. I adapted this recipe I found on Pinterest. I didn't use the bread and add spinach and bell pepper. I also made oatmeal bars. I found this recipe, but instead of sugar I used real maple syrup and a mashed banana. I also added pecans and apples instead of the blueberries. Breakfast is the hardest meal for me. I don't like eating really early and I leave the house around 6:45. I have planning time first thing in the morning at school, so I usually eat then. That means I need something that I can take on the go. These were really good.

I just spent two days preparing over 30 meals. With school about to start and going to Jazzercise after work everyday, I wanted some easy dinners. The freezer meat stock was getting low, so I needed to stock up anyways. I bought most of my veggies and meat from Sam's. I did hit Kroger up for a few meats they had on sale this week. Here is a list of meals I made. I figured if I documented them hear they would be easier to find in the future. Some were recipes I had already and the others I linked.  3- Chicken Spaghetti s 2- Italian Sausage Lasagnas 2- Meatloaves 1- Chicken Pot Pies 2- Chicken Enchiladas 1- Cranberry Pork with Green Beans 1- Cranberry Chicken with Green Beans 1- BBQ Country Pork Ribs 1- Cranberry Apple Pork Loin with Carrots 1- Sweet and Sour Curried Pork Loin 1- Honey Garlic Chicken with Green Beans 1- Chicken with Spinach and Mushrooms 1- Chicken, Broccoli and Rice Casserole 3- Bags of Chili 8- Chicken, Black Bean, Spinach, and Rice Burritos 6

Happy New Year from us!! We enjoyed a very low key night with some very good friends. I don't really have any new goals or resolutions this year.  I w ill always want to workout/ run more. I bought a year membership to Jazzercise last month and I started going right after work.  We are still trying to cut out processed foods. I joined 100 Days of Real Food's 14 week mini-challenge. Each week is a small step towards eating cleaner. The first week is eating enough fruits and veggies. I've been reading labels more and noticing how many chemicals and artificial flavors we are putting in our bodies. I want to start making homemade and freezing for quick uses. I made homemade cream of mushroom. It was so easy and really good. It's also cheaper than the canned stuff.  We have a few exciting things planned for this year. We will be on our way to Ireland in 10 short weeks. Once we get back we are going to start trying to have a baby!  I know that doesn't always go as pl