I'm a terrible blogger...

Well, as you can see I'm a downright awful blogger. It's been 10 months since my last post... Plenty of things have gone on since I last checked in and yet I didn't write about any of them. Pathetic! :)

My Love/Hate relationship with hard floors...

When I moved into this house I was so excited to have 1300 sq ft of ceramic tile floor. It has been a blessing when it comes to puppies and cats, but believe me they are not the best thing in the whole wide world like I thought...

Plus side:

1. Dog messes...

2. Cat messes...

3. Moving furniture

4. Spills wipe right up

5. No ugly stains

6. I know there are no remnants of people that lived here before me's messes. Ick!

The Ugly Truth:

1. They feel grimmy

2. I feel like I am always mopping

3. Fur has no where to go but into clumps that fly around the house. Gross!!

4. Dirty feet...

Ok off the mop my floor again...

The married life...

Well, Jake and I have been married for 2 weeks now. Of those 2 weeks we have spent 1.5 days together as husband and wife...depressing, huh? Ehh, a little, but after all, we knew what we were getting into!

The wedding was gorgeous and once I get more pictures I'll put them up.

The ceremony was outside in 110 degree Arizona heat. Despite the stifling heat, the day was beautiful. We were blessed with friends and family to help us celebrate and that's all we could really ask for!

I'm baaaaack!

I'm BACK!

SOO much has happened since my last post in March. Here's the last 5 months in a nutshell:

April:
*I adopted a very sweet puppy named Annabelle. She's a beagle/lab mix (maybe).
*Country Thunder was amazing! The greatest 4 day party ever!! :)
*RIP Mickey - you are greatly missed.
May:

*RIP Grandpa - when it rains, it pours...
*I turned 24! ;)
June:
*I got hired to teach first grade at a charter school!
July:

*Mom and I went to Disneyland!
*I started my new job...more to come on that I'm sure.
August:
*August 14th: I became Mrs. Lovelace.
September and Beyond:
*Jake leaves on deployment and waiting game begins...

Houdini Cat...

Mickey may have turned into a Houdini Cat. Since this past weekend he has continuously escaped from the backyard that so easily confined him for the past month.

• First, it was as easy as a baby gate to keep him in.
• Then, he figured out he could hop on top of the baby gate and squeeze through the bars.
• Well, I think, I'm way smarter than this cat I'll just put up chicken wire so he can't squeeze through the gate.

Chicken wire worked for a few weeks until boredum set it on this poor kitty and his desire for escape grew...

• I then witnessed Mickey flatten himself into a pancake and wiggle like a snake under the gate...
• Since then all attempt to contain my little furball have failed miserably.

The poor creature is a mess these days as is. His diabetes have left him looking like an unloved, unfed, mangy mut. The collar and tag I bought him have been paid for tenfold in phone calls I've received in the last 2 days about Mickey. They all think he must have been missing for days or weeks by his appearance or maybe he's walked far far from home. He's always within 3 houses of home and comes running toward my voice. So I guess until I can figure out how this little booger is escaping he'll be cooped up in the garage... Sorry Mick, but it's you're own fault and for your own good!

P.S. To all of you that must think I'm stupid to think that a cat can't just simply jump over the fence in the backyard I suppose I should explain that since Mickey was diagnosed with diabetes his ability to jump is limited to how high his paws can reach...

God Thinks You Rock!

God thinks you rock the casbah

I'm feeling very inspired by this blog. Read if you wish, but be prepared to be enlightened!

Good Morning!!!!!!

Well, it's bright and early and I'm not sure if I've ever been so productive so early! 4:30am and I'm writing lesson plans... Please tell me I haven't completely lost my mind... :) **yawn** back to work.

Evaluation Time!!!!

SOOO...the last time I blogged I set 4 goals for myself... How have those worked out for me you may ask? I would say that the only goal that has successfully worked out is the one concerning cooking. That's right 25% success rate...OUCH!

I say this with loaves of zucchini bread fresh out of the oven and a kitchen that is a complete mess, but hey, I've kept ONE WHOLE GOAL! :) I do love to cook. That has never been an issue. The motivation just occasionally escapes me.

Time for some new goals to work on. I wish I could include the workout goals, but due to my new location that'll have to be tweeked a little and I need to get into my routine a little bit better first. Anyways, here goes:

1. Heading off procrastination before it starts...

For example, I will:

• Fold and put away laundry within 1 day of it coming out the dryer.
• Begin school work before 7pm on school nights to make sure that I can still get to bed at a decent hour.
• Put dishes in the dishwasher immediately after use rather than allowing a monster to take over my poor little kitchen.

2. Be 100% committed ;)

That should be enough for now. Those are some pretty hefty goals to take on. I think I've been battling the procrastination bug my whole life. A couple of weekend projects should help to make the transition to doer a little easier (hopefully!)

GOALS!!

So, they say that if you write down your goals and share them with people you are more likely to accomplish them. Here goes:

• Go to workout classes 4 days per week.
• Do an ab workout daily.
  
• Cook at least 3 times per week.
  
• Stop PROCRASTINATING!

So far the first goal is going well. I went to Zumba last Thursday and yesterday and then Turbo Kick on Monday. I'm headed there again tonight!

Zumba!!

If nothing else ZUMBA is just fun to say! As far as actually following the steps...that's not quite as fun, or at least not as easy!! Last Thursday I went to my first Zumba class. It was amazing how many different types of women were there. Most were in decent shape or at least weren't new to working out and they ranged in age from about 16 to 65!! There were about 40 of us in that little room!! Needless to say I was right, I have no rhythm and managed to run into a few people and hit this one lady in the head :) All in all, though, I did have a good time! I'm going back tomorrow night so that hopefully I can make it through the entire class!! (I thought I was going to die 2/3 of the way through the class)

Updates on my progress to come!!

Corn Chowder

I'm obviously on a bit of a cooking kick for now... I was craving corn chowder and also wanted to use up some of the food that I had around the house rather than buying more. This turned out surprisingly well, especially since it was 90% out of my head!

Ingredients (these are rough estimates because I just started throwing things together):

• 2 Tbl butter
• 1/2 bag Ore-Ida potatoes, peppers, and onions (it's a breakfast mix)
• 1/2 cup chopped carrots
  
• flour for thickening
  
• 3 cups of skim milk
• 1 can corn
  
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• garlic salt
  
• pepper

1. Melt the butter.
   
2. Add potatoes and carrots. Cook on medium until potatoes are thawed and carrots are beginning to soften.
3. Sprinkle flour liberally on the mixture and stir until nicely coated.
4. Pour in milk and reduce heat to medium low.
5. Stir in the can of corn including the canning liquid.
   
6. Season to taste. Don't be afraid to use quite a bit of salt/pepper. Taste as you go.
   
7. Heat for about 30 minutes on low-medium low until soup begins to thicken. If it is not thick enough combine more flour and water in a cup and slowly add to the soup while stirring constantly.
   

Italian Chicken and Vegetable Soup

Yesterday morning I was watching the Food Network and saw a great recipe I decided to try! It turned out delicious! It was easy and cheap too. I modified the original recipe a bit to accommodate some things I already had floating around my kitchen...

Ingredients:

• 1 zucchini cut into half moons
• 1 red onion coarsely chopped
• 1 large carrot coarsely chopped
• 1.5 lbs chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
• olive oil
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 2 cups chicken stock
• salt
• pepper
• Italian seasoning

1. Cook the chicken chunks in the olive oil until cooked through
2. Add onion and carrots and cook about 5-7 minutes until softened
   
3. Add zucchini and cook about 3 minutes
4. Add tomatoes, stock, and seasonings to taste
5. Heat through simmering for about 30 minutes until veges are soft and delicious!
   

Dieting...

Thrilling topic, I know...

Weight loss - it's an unending cycle I fear! So, I'm starting again...

I've gained about 10-12 pounds since early last summer and I don't like it. I'm still no where near my topped out weight, but it's still time to do something about it. I'm out in Arizona with my mom right now and we've been on a pretty drastic diet that has left me hungry and crabby, but it's working!! Although, with this little food no wonder it's working! Here's what I had for lunch today...

• 3.5 ounces of cottage cheese
• 1/2 of a cucumber (no dressing)
• 1 piece of Melbatoast (basically a cracker)

So far I think I've lost about 3-4 lbs, but it's hard to tell because her scale is different than mine (meaner for sure!!) and I didn't weigh myself before the first day. Either way I think I'm going to stay on this extreme diet until I leave here and then try to stick to a low carb, low cal, low fat version that gives me a little more freedom with the types of veges I can eat and so on.

Ultimate goal:
I want to be down under 130...I would love to be a size 4, although I never have been that small with my full adult height. I don't have too much to lose, prolly about 10-15 lbs depending on what I have to weigh to be a 4.

My Etsy Obsession...

Have you been to the site Etsy? It's all homemade/vintage items that people make and sell in their own little online store. These people have real talent and I have to say that I'm 100% jealous of the gorgeous things people can make. I've always been tinkering with this and that trying to makes something that looks like something of worth or that I just "like" to find my place in the crafting world and to be honest after 23 years I still haven't really found my niche! But I'll keep looking!!

Anyway, back to Etsy. I've been trying to decide for the days which Etsy shop to make my first purchase from. The homemade clothing on there is gorgeous and I think that's what my first buy will be...or jewelry. A lot of people will make it custom for you with your exact measurements (too bad mine always seem to change!!) for no more than you'd pay for a shirt in the store! Okay, so the picture on the right may be my first Etsy purchase... It's from Dyana's Designs. Only $35, I'd say that's comparable to any store at the mall. Other shops with handmade clothing I've fallen for are Crystal, Sue Bradbury, Nanna, Lirola, Hotelle Motelle, and Eliza + Axel. You can also find super fun tanks, tees, and bags at Rainbow Swirlz. DECISIONS DECISIONS!!

Hmm...so any clue what I'd be good at making? Obviously my sewing skills are no where near this, but I wonder if I dug out my mom's sewing machine if I could make a cool purse like this one from Carry Handbags. It doesn't hurt to try right? What's the worst that happens? I waste some great fabric, prick my finger, and cry with frustration...sounds pretty minor to me! After all, if they drive is there who's to say I can't do it?

Maybe I'll start smaller with a wallet...or stick to buying the things that people will some real talent can make for me! :)

Pictures from the park!!!

Testing moblie blogging...

Let's see how well this works... I'm blogging from my phone right now just to test it out!

Picnic in the Park

I've decided that men are the messiest creatures on Earth! :) I helped my friend move yesterday and to see how dirty everything in his apartment was was unreal! Seriously, have you ever heard of a vacuum or soap? Haha, oh well, it was fun helping him out. And besides I got to help him decorate which means spending someone elses money to do what I love best! A note to Richard in case you're reading this: You're still cool even if you live in filth.

In other news:
I'm at work. It's nap time and I should be doing laundry or cleaning, but I'm pretty much in a carefree mood today. We're going to the park this afternoon and I'm packing a picnic dinner. It should be fun and I'm excited to get the kids out of the house! They love to go to new places.

Abby and George are officially gone :( They left yesterday morning as scheduled and now it's just Ladaysha and Laroman. Although, that could change at the drop of a hat. My boss said that when requests for placements come along it's, "can you take these children TODAY?" So, it's a very real possibility that we'll just have new kids without warning. I'm okay with that. I like change and the opportunity to help more children and give them a better home life brings me joy!

A day off...

Hurray!! I have a day off AND it's FRIDAY! Normally at 12:55pm on a Friday I would be changing diapers and putting down kids for nap. Followed by a long day of runny noses, sticky fingers, and baths. All to wake up and do it again the following day. Instead, my day is looking relaxing and free. No plans...no kids...just me, my kitties, and sunshine!

WORKING!!!

For those of you that don't know what I'm up to these days you aren't missing out on much!! :)

I'm working at Children's Village in a group home with foster children. They're are 4 children; 4-years-old, 3-years-old, 23-months, and 22-months. They are 2 sibling groups. I really love these kids and the structure of this home makes the children the most well-behaved children I've met (most of the time!).

I found out today that 2 of the kids are going home this weekend for good. It's hard thinking about them going back to a home that was OBVIOUSLY not good for them if the state took them away in the first place. I guess their mother got an attorney and that's really all it takes to prove that you're serious about getting your kids back. I suppose that's just part of it though...we can't keep them forever. All we can do is pray they'll be safe and hope for the best in their little lives.

Back to Blogging

I'll admit it!! I'm an on again, off again, blogger... I've started more blogs than I can count and this very well could be added to list of deleted blogs someday, but lets not be pessimistic!!

I know I know...I'm not that interesting right now. No marriage. No babies. Just me and my kitties, but who cares! If I bore you that much then don't read :)