Great recipe to share

So I found this recipe and it looked intriguing. When you read through the ingredients you think how could this be good. But the flavors blended nicely. The sausage/butter bean combo was yummy. It was so good and easy to make I decided to share. :)


Skillet Sausage Dinner
2 Tablespoons Fat Free Margarine
1 Cup Chopped Onions
1 (14 oz.) Package Butterball Lean Turkey Smoked Sausage Links
2 (15 oz.) Cans Veg-all Mixed Vegetables, drained
1 (15 oz.) Can Butter Beans, drained
1/2 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
2 Tablespoons Kraft Reduced Fat Parmesan Style Grated Topping

Spray a large skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Cut the sausage in half lengthwise and then cut into bite size pieces. Place sausage, onion and margarine into the skillet and cook over medium heat until the onion is tender. Add in the vegetables, beans, seasoned salt, pepper and parmesan topping. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until hot throughout.

Serves: 6 (1 Cup Each)
Per Serving: 250 Calories; 8g Fat (30.2% calories from fat); 14g Protein; 28g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; 37mg Cholesterol; 1596mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain (Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates. WWP: 5 (www.AimeesAdventures.com)

I apologize to my blog

I'd like to apologize to my blog. I didn't mean to leave you sitting dormant for a month and a half. I just haven't thought of anything to write. I promise to TRY and update you more often from here on out.

Week one in the books

So I survived the first week of my "lifestyle change". I don't want to say the "d" word. Heheehe

I went to the weight watchers meeting today and I found out that I'm down 1.4 pounds. That's a great start.

I have to admit that I was a little upset and thought the amount was too low. I described it as the "Biggest Loser" syndrome where you're happy that you lost weight but you're upset that it wasn't more. They always say that on the show.

I'm glad I stayed for the WW meeting because it was all about positive thinking. That is just what I needed to hear. I needed to be reminded to think positively. Don't focus on the negative and to celebrate the little things. So I'm happy about my 1.4 now.

So in week one I stuck to the eating plan just fine. Danny and I even went to Olive Garden with some friends and were able to resist some of our favorite Italian dishes and stick to the healthier options. I only had one breadstick. When you look at my daily points total...36...and then think about eating multiple 3 point breaksticks that just doesn't leave many points for the rest of the day. So I could've eaten them and then not eaten much the rest of the day or just have one, savor it, and then be able to eat more later in the day. With WW it's all about choices. You aren't depriving yourself of anything just the choices you make disctate the rest of your day, so choose how you want to eat your way through the day.

The big improvement I need to make for week two is exercise. I've been avoiding it. I know I have to do it and I can't wait for the day that I don't dread working out. :)

Time for change

So today I'm turning over a new leaf. I'm starting a lifestyle of healthy living. What does that mean...I'm going to Weight Watchers. Hopefully this will help me turn things around and lead a happier life.

I've tried WW before and I was successful while sticking to the program. Once I thought that I could do it on my own that is when all the weight I had lost came right back and with more. I can't do it on my own. I need a program to follow and I think WW is the best choice for me.

So today at 12:15 I have to get on their little scale and let them tell me how much I weigh. I'm dreading this part. But from today on...that # will only be getting smaller. :)

Loosing weight is not fun but it is what I have to do. I might hate not being able to eat yummy bad-for-me food and I might hate exercise and working up a sweat but I will love the results.
And for my own motivation a list of reasons why this is what I need to be doing.

- Obviously health reasons but that isn't really motivating for me.
- One day I want to have children and I can't do it safely at this weight.
- I'm tired of not fitting in airplane seats and having to use a seat belt extender.
- I'm tired of being uncomfortable sitting in stadium seats to watch sporting events.
- I'm tired of getting winded by one flight of stairs.
- I'm tired of the excuses I make for myself.

I'm sure I could come up with more but that's all I got for now. Wish me luck.

Seriously? I'm not eating here anymore.

A favorite restaurant of mine used to be Crispers. I was in love with their Oriental Chicken salad. It was to die for. It was a huge bed of lettuce topped with chicken, candied walnuts, pineapple, crispy noodle things. You ate it with a scrumptious honey lime dressing. This is only one of three things I would eat at Crispers. The other two are the broccoli cheese soup or the steak and blue cheese flatbread. By far the salad was my favorite.

On Saturday after shopping, Tina and I went to lunch. I chose Crispers. She grabbed a menu when she walked in and I didn't need to look at a menu because I always order the same thing. I have it memorized. I get up to the counter and state my order only to hear back, "we don't have that salad anymore." Excuse me...what did you just say? You don't have my favorite salad anymore?

I seriously told the lady I don't think I can eat here anymore. She tried to suggest some other "really" great salads and I wasn't having it. I didn't even listen. I ordered my fall back meal of soup and flatbread and wasn't very happy.

She then mentions that they are out of crackers and if we really wanted something to put in our soup we could BUY some of their bread. When half of your menu consists of soup and salad, how can you run out of crackers? That was strike two.

Then it was time to get a drink. I won't bring up the fact that they switched to plastic cups instead of paper, which could be taken home with refills. I have already gotten over that point. After getting my plastic cup I turn the corner to see that the soda machine is now Pepsi. I can drink diet Pepsi but I prefer coke. Strike three.

I will not eat at this dining establishment for a very long time. I just can't forgive them for getting rid of my favorite salad in the world, without evening telling me.

Finally. Finalllly

They finally criticized the awful sounding Scott on American Idol. I can't believe he's made it this far. They finally heard what I've been hearing all along. Screeching.

But Paula just said bravo. Ughhh.

You don't have to be nice just because he is blind. He can take it.

Thankfully Simon agrees with me. We'll see what happens tomorrow night. I really hope he goes.

Why is it so frustrating?

Ever since I got the photo cd for my wedding photos I couldn't wait to get the pictures picked out for my album. I quickly made a favorites folder and put all my favorite photos in there.

The tough and frustrating thing is that I can only pick 80-90 photos for the album. I've weeded out a lot of photos and I have 127 still in the folder. I just keep looking through them and looking through them and I don't want to delete any more. I want all of these.

How do I widdle them down even more? I don't think I can. What's a girl to do?

I thought I could possible create a second album online but then leftover photos wouldn't make a very exciting album and why have two albums with basically the same photos in it.

I just don't know what to do. I have 40 pictures to delete. :( This could take forever.

Picking new recipes

First off. Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. Nothing exciting has happened.

Today I guess I'll share the recipe that I cooked last night for Buffalo Chicken Lasagna. It was very good and Danny really liked it. After his first bite he said, "This one is a keeper." That made me feel good. And after I post this recipe, I get to go through all of my recipes and pick out 8 to 10 for the next two week's dinners.

Buffalo Chicken Lasagna

12 Whole Wheat Lasagna Noodles, uncooked
1 lb. Skinless Chicken Breast, cubed
3 Cups Hunt’s Four Cheese Spaghetti Sauce
1 Cup Very Mild Buffalo Wing Sauce
1 1/2 Cups Water
15 oz. Nonfat Ricotta Cheese
1/2 Cup Egg Substitute
9 Slices 2% Pepperjack Cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Cook chicken over medium high heat for 4 minutes or until almost done. Stir in sauces and water. In a small bowl, combine ricotta cheese and egg substitute. Spray a 9X13 pan with nonstick cooking spray. Spread 1 Cup of sauce in the bottom of pan. Arrange 4 noodles over the sauce. Spread more sauce, then a layer of ricotta mixture. Add another layer of sauce, and repeat the whole process until you end with a layer of sauce. Cover and bake 70 minutes. Uncover and place cheese slices on top, then bake for another 15 minutes uncovered. Let stand 10-15 minutes before serving.

American Idol recap

I had zinfandel and goldfish crackers to keep me company while watching American Idol last night. Danny isn't a big fan so he kept himself busy by playing Word Challenge on facebook. Here are my thoughts.

Matt - sang Let's Get it On - He's so good. I gave it two thumbs up. I really liked the changes he made to make the song his own.

Kris - sang How Sweet It Is - I've liked him but I never realized what a great voice he had until last night.

Scott - Can't hurry love - It was just ok to me. I'm ready to see this guy go. I think he is still getting the sympathy vote and the judges seem to really like him. I don't see him going anytime soon because of that.

Meaghan - sang For Once in my Life - I really like Meaghan. She looked great but she blew it. It wasn't good. I really hope she doesn't go.

Anoop - sang Oh Baby Baby - The song got better as he went along but I'm tired of slow songs Anoop. Crank it up again.

Michael - sang Ain't to proud to beg - We all know I'm not a big fan. I enjoyed the song but he just doesn't compare to the others.

Lil - sang Heat Wave - I agree with Kara in that she was screaming the song at times. It was good but not what we expect from her.

Adam- sang Track of my Tears - He did a great job. Still doesn't mean I like him. I'll never like him again after he butchered Ring of Fire.

Danny - sang Get Ready - It was good as always. That's what we come to expect from him.

So who do I think is going home. Meaghan. Not who I want but I think Michael will still get the "blue collar" worker vote to stay around another week. Maybe America will surprise me and vote him off. We'll see tonight.

It is fire season

Two signs that it is fire season. You see billowing smoke in the distance and you smell it in the air. Last night leaving work I saw this (photos below) and then this morning when I walked out of my apartment I was hit with the smell of smoke. I couldn't see where it was coming from though.

Time for Spring Cleaning

For the past month or so I kept looking in my closet and thinking, "I really need to clean this thing out." We had clothes jammed in there and I knew I didn't even wear half of it.

So on Sunday it was time to start spring cleaning. I went through my sweaters first. I picked out what I wouldn't wear again and then picked out the heavier ones that I wouldn't wear again next year. That cleaned out two shelves. Then it was on to my pants. Most pants went into the donate pile. I then had one shelf dedicated to sweaters and one to pants. Danny now gets an extra shelf.

Next it was time to go through my hanging shirts. I had the entire left side all to myself. I started in the back. If it didn't fit anymore it was getting donated and if I didn't remember the last time I wore something it was getting donated. So I was able to get rid of a million things. The stack was getting quite high.

I didn't throw much of Danny's stuff out. He doesn't really have a lot of clothes. So this pile below is mostly my stuff that is getting donated. Four bags full ready for Goodwill.

We've got crabs

I meant to post this on Saturday but I never got the picture off my camera. So here it is.

On Saturday night, Danny and I elected to stay in to watch basketball and because I had picked up 4 lbs of crab legs from the grocery store the night before. I had been craving this yummy goodness and just happened to see a bag of it while walking through the store. So I just had to have it. I had never made my own crab legs.

It turned out to be super simple. You just boil them for 5-7 minutes if you don't have a steamer. They were so yummy. Danny and I feasted on it for like an hour and we made sure to finish off every last drop.

Random useless knowledge

At work I decided I wanted to get more involved in our social media efforts. I decided before I did this that I needed to learn more about social media than rely on just what I know from my own personal experience with my personal accounts. So I ordered a few books to read and have been reading articles online. I just came across this interesting tidbit that I felt like sharing.

The term "spammer" - loosely based, unfairly, on Hormel's canned meat - was coined to describe people sending email filled with questionable content.

I had never thought about it like that or put two and two together. I'll let you know what other tidbits I pull out of my reading.

You win some and you loose some

So I was almost right with my American Idol prediction. It came down to Alexis and Michael and I knew it had to be Michael. Well it ended up being Alexis. Too bad for her. She got sent home because of her song choice. Michael got lucky. Oh well at least it'll be easy for me to pick who's going home next week...let's hope Michael.

So it is March Madness time. With the Gators not being in the tournament, the only thing keeping me interested in all the action is my bracket. Danny and I entered the bracket pool at my work. We had 32 people put in $10 a piece. 75% goes to the winner, 25% to second place, and 3rd place gets their money back. So hopefully one or the both of us will walk away as winners.

Yesterday was the first day of the tournament. I didn't do terrible. I guessed 12 of the 16 games correctly. The only downfall is that Mississippi State and Illinois both lost and I had them both going to the Sweet 16. Oh well. Let's hope my Final Four teams hold on and maybe I can make a run for the money.

Today's action is just starting up at noon so I'll have to start following scores and checking my bracket here shortly.

Very exciting two days

I can't believe I didn't blog yesterday about the exciting news I received. Then today I got another surprise at work so now I must blog about them both.

Most of you probably know that I traveled to 10 tournaments last year and had been planning on doing the same again this year. Well with the "state of the economy" my travel budget was slashed to mere pennies. That meant no traveling for me except for The Solheim Cup in Chicago because that tournament was covering my travel costs.

My coworker Donna knew that I wasn't traveling and had been keeping her eye out for any free travel that might arise. Well it just so happens there was one extra ticket to the RICOH Women's British Open and she threw my name out there as the lucky ticket recipient and it was approved.

I can't tell you how excited I was. I have been to the Women's British Open the past two years and I couldn't imagine missing it. I always take a little European side trip once I'm over there. So this was the best news of the day. The past two years I've taken my side trip to Scotland. I think this year I'm heading to Dublin, Ireland. The only part that stinks is I'll be alone going to Ireland but I'm sure I can find some Irish pubs to entertain me.

Today's surprise was a new blackberry. I can't tell you how old mine was. It was a model that people didn't even recognize. I called it a dinosaur. The screen was black and white and had no camera like the color versions everyone else had. I also couldn't use cool applications like facebook and twitter on it.

Now I have the new BlackBerry Curve and it is beautiful. It has color and I can use facebook and twitter from it. The trackball will take some getting use to but it is worth it in the end.

I'm going home a happy woman today!

Danny's making dinner

Danny didn't have to work today so I enlisted him to make dinner. The recipe I had picked out takes over an hour so if we waited until I got home to cook it, we wouldn't eat until 7:30 or 8:00. That is way to late. So why not let this fully capable man cook. All he has to do is follow the recipe. I think he'll do great. Here's the recipe. I'll let you know tonight how it turns out.

Cheesy Chicken Macaroni & Cheese Casserole

1 cup dry whole-wheat elbow macaroni
3/4 cup fat-free skim milk
10 3/4 oz Campbell's 98% Fat-Free Cream Of Chicken Soup
12 oz cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
4 oz canned mushrooms
1 cup Kraft 2% Finely Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese

Methods/steps

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain.

In a bowl, stir milk into soup. Add chicken, half of the cheese, mushrooms and cooked macaroni; mix well.

Turn mixture into a 2 qt. casserole that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake, covered, for 50 minutes. Uncover and stir. Top with the remaining cheese;

Bake about 5 minutes longer or until cheese melts.

Eventful drive to work

Most days my drive to work is pretty boring. I keep myself entertained with the Bob & Sheri show on the radio. They always have crazy people calling in with entertaining stories. Today I had a few eventful things take place. I was about 15 miles into the drive and I see a cop car at the top of this hill and he is taking up the right lane. I get over into the middle lane and then as I get closer I see that the cop is actually out of his car and standing in the right lane. He's waving everyone over to the far left lane. That looked a little dangerous.

As I came over the hill there were all these cop cars and a firetruck and a big cloud of smoke. A car was on fire. We all slowed down to look (I also took a picture) and you could see that the tailgate of the truck still had flames coming out of it. Scary.



Thankfully for us there isn't a lot of traffic going this way so there wasn't a back up to sit in. We just drove by slowly and then were on our merry way again.

Not too long after that I saw a turkey on the side of the road. Wildlife along I-95 always amazes me.

I knew that I had to go to the post office before heading to work and about 20 minutes from work I realize that I was a little early for the post office since it doesn't open until 8:30. I came up with the grand idea of going to Starbucks first. I couldn't remember the last time I got Starbucks so this kept me happy until my drive was over.

I got my venti caramel frappuccino and shipped off my package and then off to work I went. What a great way to start the day. Not so great for the person whose truck went up in flames.

American Idol through my eyes

I love American Idol so I thought I'd take notes on tonight's show and share with you. I think the last four that sang stole the show. Here's my rundown.

Michael - He sang Garth Brooks. I love Garth Brooks and the song he sang is a really fun song...Ain't going down till the sun comes up. I'll just say it was better than I expected but it wasn't anything special. I foresee Michael going home soon once his "blue-collar worker vote" runs out.

Allison - I love her voice. I think she did an awesome job with the Patti Loveless song. Randy Travis was right...she has such a mature voice for 16.

Kris - He's from Arkansas so I expected him to do well at country and he did. Simon loved him which thrilled Kris. I see him sticking around till next week.

Lil Rounds - She sang Independence Day by Martina McBride. It was just fine for me. It wasn't bad but it wasn't spectacular. She played it safe because country isn't her thing. I don't think holding back this week will hurt her. Let's hope not.

Adam - All I can say is WTF. Seriously...you're going to do that to a Johnny Cash song. It made me sick. I get what he was trying to do and be unique but not with that song.

Scott - Wild Angels, Martina McBride - I was skeptical. He pulled it off but I agree with the judges. He's got to step up. I don't think his voice is the best. I think his blindness keeps people voting. I'm not sure how long that will last.

Alexis - Interesting song choice. It was a little pitchy as Randy would say. It didn't really keep my attention.

Danny - He's been my favorite since the very beginning. I was nervous when I heard he was singing Carrie Underwood's "Jesus Take The Wheel". But I thought he did a great job. The second half was much better but I just love everything he sings.

Anoop - All I can say is welcome back. He did a great job. He got the kick in the butt he needed last week to pull off a stellar performance this week.

Meaghan - Her voice is so unique. I love listening to her. I was pleasantly surprised by her performance. I think she did a great job but the girl has got to stop doing the "twist" move all the time. Dance lessons are in order.

Matt - What a way to end the night. He's another favorite of mine and he did great. Carrie Underwood will be very proud of his performance.

So to wrap things up I think/hope Michael will be going home. I wish it would be Adam for that awful performance but that won't happen.

Puppy fever!

It seems everywhere I go I see a puppy I want. I spent the weekend with my friend Vivian who has two dogs. Watching the play together was so much fun. It made me want a dog.

My friend Christine is getting a puppy. Seeing her post photos of it makes me want one.

Last night we watched a hilarious new show...Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory...and he has a new English bulldog puppy that I really want. We watched three episodes and the whole time I oohed and ahhed at the puppy. See pictures below of how cute it is. It's the one he's holding. It's a girl and her name is beefy. Meaty is the boy sitting. They are sooo cute.

The reality is we can't get a puppy. We probably couldn't afford one right now and with Danny and I being gone from our apartment for 11 hours a day just doesn't work when getting a new puppy. This makes me very sad because I've wanted a dog of my own for forever. I keep dreaming of the day that I don't drive an hour to work so that I can get a dog and come home on my lunch break to let it out.

Oh how I love....

Japanese Steakhouses. I just went to dinner with two of my favorite people...Tina and Daniel. Tina now lives in Jacksonville with her husband Daniel so we get to see each other more often. It's so exciting. We've lived in separate cities for two years or so but now we're back together.

We decided to eat at a Japanese Steakhouse. It is so good. And it is good because of the sauce. Oh the yummy yummy sauce. I could eat that sauce on everything everyday. I even have the chef give me two dishes of that sauce instead of the ginger sauce. I then proceed to pour the sauce over my plate while still dipping it in the sauce tray. If only you didn't come home feeling so stuffed. That's the only problem.

Let's talk about American Idol

I'm so excited American Idol is back on. I'm watching the results show right now. I was so happy last week when they picked both Matt and Anoop to make 13 contestants. I didn't know how they were going to choose between them.

I watched last night's show. I wasn't too thrilled that they chose Michael Jackson as the artist to choose from. But my favorites did well. Here's a breakdown of who I like. Danny Gokey has been a favorite of mine since his audition. I'll just have to wait and see who gets kicked off.

Here are my likes:
Danny Gokey
Matt Giraud
Lil Rounds
Alexis Grace
Meghan Corkrey
Adam Lambert

Sometimes:
Anoop Desai
Allison Iraheta
Scott MacIntyre
Kris Allen
Jasmine Murray

Not so much:
Michael Sarver
Jorge Nunez

Need new shows to watch!

So I'm bored with all the shows I have recording on TIVO. Now it is up to you to recommend new shows for me to record. Here is what we already record. And before you read the list...no making fun of me. I love reality TV which you can totally tell from the list below. Please help enrich our lives with new programming.

Survivor
American Idol
Amazing Race
Celebrity Apprentice
Desperate Housewives
Biggest Loser
Private Practice
Grey's Anatomy
Girls Next Door
Ace of Cakes
Miami Ink
Deadliest Catch
LA Ink
The First 48
Run's House
Gene Simmons Family Jewels
Work Out
Million Dollar Listings
The Hills
Say Yes to the Dress
Project Runway
Real Housewives of ...everywhere
Keeping up with the Kardashians
Snoop Dogg's Father Hood
Celebrity Rehab
Jon & Kate Plus 8
Little People Big World
Top Chef
The City
Ellen
Daddy's Girls
Sober House
Will Work for Food
Intervention

I've got gas!

I'm so proud of myself. I actually filled up my gas tank on the way home from work instead of on my way to work...which I hate.

I have to fill up with gas so much I hate the task. I barely get 400 miles to a tank and during the week I drive 120 miles or more a day. I know I'm crazy. So I usually run low on gas on my way home from work. I always bypass the gas station because I just want to get home. Then I hate myself in the morning when I HAVE to stop and get gas or I won't make it to work.

Well today my gas light came on with 7 miles on the highway from home. I decided that I could make it home and that I would actually stop tonight for gas so I wouldn't hate myself in the morning.

I'm so proud of myself. Proud enough that I'm on my second glass of wine.

Two Thumbs Up: Crockpot Cheeseburger Soup

Thought I'd share that my crockpot cheeseburger soup that I had at lunch was very good. It tasted good and it was filling. I paired it with a PB&J sandwich and I was very satisfied. I'm still satisfied at 4 p.m. so that is a good sign. Here's the recipe if you want to try.

--4 cups chicken broth
--1 T dried onion (or 1/2 of a white onion, diced finely)
--1 lb lean ground beef, browned and drained on the stove top
--1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
--3 potatoes, cut in 1-inch cubes
--2 small garlic cloves, minced
--1 cup milk (to add later, soy is fine)
--24 oz Velveeta, cubed (to add later)
--Tabasco sauce, optional
--crumbled bacon, optional

The Directions.

Brown the meat on the stove top with the onion, and drain fat. I have used 1/2 pound instead of a whole pound before, and we didn't miss the extra meat. Set aside to cool a bit.

In a 5-6 quart crockpot, pour in chicken broth. Add garlic, bell pepper, and potatoes (I didn't peel them), and add. Stir in the browned meat and onion.

Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or until onions are translucent and potatoes are tender. Stir in milk and Velveeta 20-30 minutes before serving. If you'd like the broth thicker, blend a bit with a hand held stick blender.

Garnish with Tabasco sauce and crumbled bacon if desired.

What's for dinner?

Danny and I did good this weekend. We went to the grocery store to stock up on food for the next two weeks. Here's a list of dishes I will be making for us in the coming weeks. I'll post recipes after we've tried them.

Crockpot Cheeseburger Soup - We're both having this for lunch today. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Enchilada Lovers Casserole
Cheesy Chicken Macaroni & Cheese
Chicken Toss with rice
Fiesta Turkey Pie
Beef Stroganoff
Crockpot Chicken and Stuffing
Chili Mac
Spicy Cheese Soup - another soup to freeze for lunches

(Funny side note...the spell check for this blog doesn't like the word crockpot. It's first suggestion as a replacement was crackpot. Not sure I've heard of a crackpot but it made me think of a crack pipe. Big difference between that and a crockpot.)

Ugly T-Shirt Bowling

Danny and I finally hung out with Laura and Travis and we tagged along with them to Ugly T-Shirt Bowling. It was just regular bowling except you had to come dressed in an ugly t-shirt. I dug through my drawer that afternoon and found Danny and I two shirts to wear. His was this lime green shirt from the restaurant Snooty Pig. My shirt just happened to be my vision, mission, values work shirt.

We all met up at Beach Bowl in Jax. Some of the t-shirts were hilarious. This one guy cut his shirt off to show his belly. It was a site to see. They even made up ballot sheets so we could vote on the ugliest, funniest, and most unique t-shirt. The awards ceremony was hilarious.

Now lets get down to the bowling. I usually start off good and get worse as the night goes on. This time it was the opposite. I started out with a first game of 80 something and came in second to last. My second game was much better. I scored a 99. I almost hit 100 which was my goal.

Before the final game we all started making bets. Laura and Travis bet Danny and I that they would do better than us. The losers would buy lunch for the other group. Turns out Danny had his worst game of the night and I had my best game (scored 100) and we lost. Travis and Laura were on fire. So we owe them lunch. That's ok...it's a good excuse to get together again.

Danny doing a turkey dance after getting 3 strikes in the 10th frame of game 2. Why couldn't he have bowled like this when it counted.

I almost scored 100. If I wouldn't have had a double gutter in the last frame it would have been great.

Woohoo for scoring 100. Booo for loosing to Travis and Laura (otherwise known as Debbie and Mr. Awesome).

What are they doing?

I had these two flies land on my mirror. They were flying around attached at the butt and then landed on my mirror. I had to take a picture.

My new favorite blog to read.

I found a new favorite blog to read on Friday night while I was home bored. Danny was working of course and I knew that we would need to go to the grocery store this weekend. So I was in search of new recipes and stumbled upon this crockpot blog. This woman made it her New Year's Resolution in 2008 to cook something in her crockpot every day. And she did it. Amazing.

She uses her blog to post the recipe and pictures each day of what she made. She won't be updating it as much in 2009 but it will take me forever to get through 366 days (it was a leap year) of recipes.

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

I'm making one of the recipes as we speak in my new crockpot. I'm trying the cheeseburger soup recipe. That way I can divy the soup up for us to use for lunch this week. Very exciting.

I'm also very excited about my new crockpot I bought today. I didn't really need a new one but my problem was that I'm away from home for about 11 hours each day and that is way too long for most crockpot recipes. So my new crockpot has a timer and once the time runs out it switches to warm, so this will allow me to use my crockpot no matter how long I'll be away from home. This is going to be great. I'll probably cook a lot more because crockpot cooking is so easy.

Now who wants my old crockpot? Nothing wrong with it...just no timer.

Thank you Girl Scouts!

I just wanted to give thanks to the Girls Scouts and their COOKIES. Two nights ago I was craving cookies and had nothing in the house that would stop the craving. I was wishing and hoping that Danny would run out and get my something but he didn't volunteer.

Well thankfully yesterday when I stopped to get gas on my way home, there was a poor girl scout and her mom selling cookies at the gas station in the cold weather. It was 49 degrees outside and they were sacrificing themselves for us who just wanted cookies. So I bought three boxes. HEHEHHE

So today as I'm still enjoying my cookies, I say THANK YOU GIRLS SCOUTS FOR YOUR DELICIOUS COOKIES THAT KEEP ME HAPPY.

My Wii age :(

So tonight after a few glasses of wine for me and a few cocktails for Danny, we started playing the Wii. We now have two nunchucks so we can battle each other in boxing. I knew this would be a tough match because we're both good at boxing. It was very close but I knocked him out in the end. Thank goodness I won because he beat me in every other sport we played. Tennis and bowling. He not only beat me at these...he creamed me. GRRR

So after the beating, I told him he should do the exercise to find out his Wii age. It uses a few games to test your balance, stamina, and skill and then gives you an age. I had heard of other people's ages and was expecting the worst. Danny didn't do so well at tennis, was good at baseball and great at bowling. His Wii age was 44. I thought wow...maybe mine won't be so bad.

Next it was my time. I had baseball first and didn't do so hot. Out of 10 tries I had 2 home runs, lots of balls not go long enough and some foul balls. Then it was Tennis. I think I did pretty good. Most went where they should. Then it was time for bowling. I didn't do so hot. After a few calculating seconds...there it was. My Wii age of 69. AHHHHH.

This is not my Mii but this is what my face looked like when receiving the news. I tried to do it again but I guess you can only try once a day. It is now my goal to lower my Wii age.

Deer graze along I-95?

I meant to write this blog last night but I never got around to it. So just pretend it is Monday night.

So you all know that I drive around an hour to work and an hour home each day. The drive can get long and boring at times so it doesn't take much to keep me entertained. We'll this winter I started noticing deer grazing right alongside I-95 and they would always be in the same general area. This not only fascinated me, it also terrified me. I mean why would deer choose this spot to feed and how are they not scared about the millions of cars zooming past. It terrified me to think that one night a deer could jump out into my lane. That would be a disaster, as my car is usually going 80, so that would be quite the impact.

So each night as I'd get closer to exit 294 I would start keeping an eye out for the deer. It was usually hard to spot them because it was dark by this time of my drive. Well one day a couple of weeks ago I stayed in Daytona after work to have Happy Hour with some ladies and so I was driving back home around 8:30 p.m. and that night I saw at least 10 deer that night. I couldn't believe it. Some were even frolicing down the highway along a fence. This is not something you usually see out in the open like that.

Well last night I was a little bored on the drive and started thinking about the deer. I also thought this would make a great blog story and what would go better than a picture. So I got my camera out of my purse and had it ready so I could get a picture of these deer to prove my point of how close they feed to the highway. I'm starting to near the area and I see three objects up ahead. I'm in the middle lane and there is a car in the right hand lane. So I slow down so that the other car doesn't block my view and I try and take a picture but I was too slow hitting the button and all I got was a blurry picture. As you can see it doesn't take much to entertain me.

On the rest of my drive home all I thought about was how I would try harder tomorrow to get that picture of the deer. It probably isn't the safest thing to do while driving on I-95 but it sure does brighten up my drive. So maybe tonight when I'm driving home I'll get the picture of my deer. Hopefully they'll be out. It is starting to get lighter out around that time so I would think the deer would start eating later but I guess not.

Friday night fun!

Friday night I came home to a happy house guest. We were doggy sitting for our friends and Harley greeted me at the door with his wagging tail. It was just the two of us that night since Danny was working. On the menu was one of Danny's favorites, Taco Pie, and Harley decided to join me in the kitchen and help keep the floor clean.

I decided I would give you the recipe to one of our favorite meals. It is so simple to make that I kept myself entertained by taking pictures of each step for my blog. Hope you enjoy.

Taco Pie

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 pkg of crescent rolls
Half bag of Tortilla chips
8 oz of sour cream
1 cup of mexican cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown ground beef according to taco seasoning packet directions.


Spray 13x9 pan with Pam.

Roll out crescent rolls and line the dish with them.


Spread the seasoned beef over rolls.


Spead the sour cream on top of the beef.


Cover the sour cream with the cheese.


Take the tortilla chips and crumble them into small pieces on top of the cheese.


Put in the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes.

And here is your finished product. I paired the Taco Pie with some left over Rehearsal Dinner wine. We've got plenty so I'm trying to put a dent in

My new do!

I can't remember the last time I got my haircut. My usual pattern is to cut my hair off and then let it grow out really long and then chop it off again. So I had been growing my hair out for a long time and didn't want to cut it because of needing longer hair for a wedding updo. Well now that the wedding is over I got the idea to chop my hair off.

So earlier this week I made the appointment and tonight I took the plunge. I also got the thought that I could donate my hair to Locks of Love and I found out you need 10 inches to donate. I had a friend at work measure my hair and I could only donate about 7/8 inches. That was a bummer but I was still excited to cut my hair.

I wasn't exactly sure how much I'd cut off until I got into the chair at the salon and we looked at pictures. I told her to go shorter because I didn't want to get home and it not be short enough. Caitlin, the stylist, was super excited and said that it would be a great cut whether I wore it curly or straight. When she turned me around and I saw it dried straight and super short, I loved it. So here is the before and after for your viewing pleasure.

The way to a man's heart...

Is through his stomach. But that isn't why I have cooked dinner every night this week. It's because we need to save money so last week a trip to the grocery store was a must. We hadn't been to the store in months and so we had a lot to buy. I had picked out 6 dinner recipes and 4 soup recipes for us to eat for lunch and dinner for however long this food lasts.

I think I've done a great job this week. I ate in every day at work for lunch because I had leftovers to bring. Danny ate in too with sandwiches and some of my yummy soup. I also made myself cook dinner 3 nights this week once I got home from work at 6:30. I also have tonight's dinner in the crock pot right now.

I thought I'd share my recipes because we all need to try something different from time to time for dinner. If not it can become so boring. I hope you try some of these. They turned out good for us.

Refried Bean Soup

Ingredients:
1 can fat free refried beans
1 can rotel
1 can chicken broth
bit of garlic, cooked onion

Throw it all into a pot. Simmer 30 minutes.

Corn Chowder

Ingredients:
12 oz can corn
12 oz can creamed corn
12 oz can black beans, rinsed, drained
12 oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles
4 oz canned green beans
12 oz can fat free chicken broth
1/2 cup diced onion
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder

Saute onions, garlic, and spices in a stock pot with cooking spray.
Add remaining ingredients.
Heat through.

Baked Ziti

Ingredients:
8 oz ziti noodles
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
1 egg white
1 tsp basil
1 tsp parsley
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 (26 oz) can Hunt's sauce
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Cook ziti according to package directions
Preheat over to 350 degrees
Stir half of Hunt's sauce into half of cooked noodles into 8x8 baking dish
Combine egg white, cottage cheese, basil, parsley, and 1 tbsp of parmesan.
Spoon over noodles.
Top with remaining noodles and then the rest of the sauce.
Sprinkle the rest of the parmesan on top.
Bake 30-35 minutes.
Add mozzarella to top and bake 5 more minutes.
Let rest 5 minutes.

Beef Burrito Skillet

Ingredients:
1 lb beef
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 can kidney beans, drain, rinse
1 cup salsa
1 cup water
4 flour tortillas, cut into 1 1/2 inch squares
1 cup mexican cheese
1/3 cup sour cream

Brown meat and drain.
Add seasoning mix, beans, salsa, and water.
Stir. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium/low.
Simmer for 5 minutes.
Stir in tortillas.
Top with cheese.
Cover. Let stand 5 minutes.
Top with sour cream.


Southwestern Skillet Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:
1 cup Elbow Macaroni Noodles
1 1b. Ground turkey breast
1/2 cup Onion chopped
1/2 cup green bell pepper chopped – I leave this out b/c don’t like peppers
2 tablespoons Chili powder
1 teaspoon Cumin
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 can diced Tomatoes
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (4 oz. can) mild green chiles – I only use half can b/c don’t like.
1/2 cup Water
1 cup Cheddar reduced fat

Cook the macaroni according to package directions, drain.
Meanwhile spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium heat. Add the turkey and cook breaking it up with a wooden spoon until no longer pink.
Stir in the onions, chilli powder, cumin and salt. Cook until onions are tender, about 3 minutes.
Stir in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, mild green chiles, and water. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and cook until the flavors are blended. About 10 mins.
Add the macaroni and the cheese. Stir to combine and serve.

Let's take a look back at the wedding.

My wedding day was amazing and I have great photos to look back at to remember it all. So if you haven't seen them take a look. There are a ton but I could sit here all day and look through them.

I can't wait to get the cd of all of them. Then I can do fun things with them. If you see any pictures you like just let me know and I'll email you the files once I get the cd.

Guest photos: http://dannyandstacy.shutterfly.com/

Professional photos: http://www.printroom.com/ghome.asp?domain_name=labranchephotography&group_id=5

You should be able to figure out the password from the name of my blog. Here is one of my favorites.