I've been a horrible Housewife...

Working so much, volunteering, etc.  I let my house get away from me.  And while J and I both did a clean yesterday (nothing major, just dishes, picking up, etc), I attempted to do laundry later in the evening.  I thought I prioritized properly for him (I have 2 closets worth of clothing, of course barely anything fits right, etc, but that is beside the point), apparently I did not.  So after a massive blow up this morning that literally left me feeling sick to my stomach, I decided to take a personal day from work...

Just call me Cinderella...

Thank you....

Thank you for sticking this out with me... I know I am not the world's best blogger.  I know I am inconsistent in my posting, and I am pretty bad with comments.  But I am again working on catching up.  This late at night, even though I have plans to work early in the morning, I am making homemade granola (part of which is being sent with my inlaws on a road trip this week.  They are going to PA to bring my sister in law, her husband and son permanently to MI!  I am so excited to have them closer and get to know them better!), and the rest is going to be a snack for the week.  I am also doing laundry, which is a never ending job it seems. 

I am making my way through my google reader (which again has over 1000 posts for me to read) and commenting on your posts.  Even though I am a slacker, I am going to work more on showing you girls the LOVE!

Hope you have a great week, and I look forward to catching up with you!

Today...

I am thankful for health, and the ability to push my body further than most.

I am thankful for healthy food choices.  May have slipped this weekend, but Im back (greek yogurt, oatmeal, veggies, string cheese, tuna, brown rice... All added to the cart Sunday)

I'm realizing we all have faults and vices.  Its how we handle and overcome them that makes us who we are.

I've decided to work more on my Word: Forgiveness.  Forgiving J, my family, my friends. And most importantly, myself. 

I'm pledging to get things done, and not be idle.  (Auxilary binder, children & youth report, etc... Done today)

I'm happy I have a boss that is both understanding and accountable.  He holds me to a high standard, but is also flexible and challenging.  I am so lucky to have found a career in such an amazing company.

I am blessed to have an amazing nephew, that I get to spend time with every week.  I would be lost without that kid :)

I just needed to step back and hold myself accoubtable.  Happy Monday :)

Hooping!!

So I am sure you caught on, but I have gotten pretty serious about getting my butt to the gym.  I weighed myself on Friday night, and while the number may not seem like a lot to some people, it is the 2nd heaviest I remember being, and my body is so out of shape!

Thursday night I posted on FB about how I wanted to get back into shape.  My friend in VA (she moved after college) posted this video of herself, and it blew my mind!

She is so amazing at this!

So she and I started talking, and it made me want to do this.  Plus, she told me that hoop dancing burns more calories than kickboxing... sign me up!

Here are some hoops I am looking at, though I have to email the etsy seller and see what size she thinks I need, based on being a beginner and my height:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/60420457/hula-hoop-pink-passions-custom-travel

http://www.etsy.com/listing/92028284/a-hoop-sexy-february-sale-hoop-raspberry

And just for fun, here is another video of hers that I LOVE... I am hoping when she is here in June that we can hoop together, though I am not going to be nearly as good as she is:

Phone Photo Fun Monday

So, I am dumping quite a few photos from the past 2 weeks, and I am going to break them into categories, to make it easier.
Go link up with Savanah and Ashlee now!!!

Food:  Between cooking and going out to eat, there were lots of pictures to take over, and it was all so yummy! (Note: This was the last hurrah: we have been super diligent this week about not eating out (minus the subway treat after hitting the gym AGAIN on Saturday).  No more soda, I am done drinking, very little coffee, ALL water! And healthy food!)
 
A word of caution: the following will make you hungry!  J and I LOVE to cook, so we always try to do it up big :)

Sausage Rigatoni... so yummy!

We decided to check out a new restaurant the other night... fabulous!!!

  

The only part that made me a little hesitant was the olive in my Margarita.... but the drink was fabulous!  I would DIE for one of these right now :(

 

The salsa in the lower right had pineapple in it...so good!

 

J made me Fried Potatoes the other night... def a weakness of mine!  So yummy!

 

 

We made Tak Toritang, which is Korean Spicy Chicken and Potatoes.  It is one of my favorite meals, and the star is def the "Rooster Sauce" :)

Recipe

 

Our friend came in from Milwaukee (though he just moved up from Houston) and the boys had to build a beer cooler, since we had just gotten more snow the night before.

 

After working my first fish fry, I def needed one of these. Sadly, no more drinking right now as I work my butt off in the gym :(

 

Dan was surprised to find a certain creole seasoning they use in New Orleans for Crawfish boils.  Here in MI, we just had jumbo Shrimp available, so we did it up and it was SO GOOD!

 

Def a great "Last Meal" before starting the workouts hard core

Sunday Night Chili... my last Meat Meal for a while.  With all the working out, I want to work on eating much better too.  I've cut out soda and most fried foods (other than a few pieces of fish Friday Night), and am going to work on eating more proteins in the form of beans, nuts, yogurt, etc.  Spinach salads are going to be my new friends, too.

W:  I cannot tell you enough how much I ADORE my Tuesday nights!  Love this little man, and I love how much he loves coming to see J and I.  Here's my brag section :)

Showing me his "leggies"... He insisted on a No Pants night :)

My foot, next to his.  I am almost 28, and while I know I have small feet... check out the 2yr olds!!!

He found Uncle J's hat, and some bubbles.  Easy entertainment :P

Misc:

 

I know it may seem silly, given our relationship status, but I am still in love with my ring :)

 

I took the last Dr. Pepper to work, and this is what happened when I opened it, 5hrs later.  As J said, Karma is a B!

My Olive Oil.  I keep this in the bathroom and use it religiously every night to remove my make up, thanks to Mrs. Meg O :)

 

I was going to for the "Cute Librarian" look bartending one night...I think I nailed it :)

 I've gotten J hooked on my favorite pens, too.  Kinda bragging, as he only had crappy pens at work :P

Fish Fry Crew.  This past Friday, we served 350 ppl! Almost 350lbs of Fish!  It was so awesome and so much fun!

So, there was my past couple of weeks in a nutshell... what is on your phone?!?!?

Why the "Prompts"?

I am someone who LOVES to write,and loves to make lists, etc.  OCD... maybe not, but still overtly into lists, etc.

I love writing here.  I love having an outlet, and if it means that I get to connect with some pretty fabulous people... bonus!

But lately my creativity for spur of the moment writing has lost me.  the girl who used to sit in colleges classes and haphazardly write 50 meme's or "poems" off the cuff?  I haven't seen her in years.  Doubt I could be her again even if I tried...

So, to still write like I used to, and try again to do more things I love, more things for ME... I plan my posts.  As evidenced by a screen shot I posted a while back, I plan them a long time in advance in my Google Calendar.  Sometimes I will open one randomly, add a few notes if I happen to feel like it, and then save the event until I put it into blogger.  Sometimes I move them around, based on what I am thinking.

I am sure I am not the only one who does something like this.  I honestly wish I had time every single day to sit in front of my computer, and then actually have a thought to type something amazing that people wanted to read and comment on.  But the reality is that I don't.

I could give up blogging, bc I don't ever see myself as one of those "popular" bloggers, the ones that have sponsors and get to do this for a living.  My little piece of the www. world will never gain me noteritety or recognition I am sure, but as someone who loves to write and journal, I need a place to document me.  And being that we live in a world of technology, this is the easiest place to do it.

So basically, I am saying that this style of keeping my thoughts in order, and ways of documenting thing for me... works for ME.  It may not work for some, and you may get annoyed by the "Blogher Prompts:" headings on some posts.  For that I apologize.  I may happen to love that topic, or need a stepping stone for an entry.  Hopefully you will stick with me, and see where this journey leads...

Blogher Prompt: Earliest School Memories

So, another prompt post.  School memories.  There are a few, like the time I was at Carnival Night and the girl's tooth went into my head during the bounce house (still have that scar), or my first day at my new school for Kindergarten and it was the Halloween party. Or having to have one of the kids at my table open my milk every day at lunch bc I was a weakling (he and I became best friends in High School). 

But honestly, as I sit and think about it... I remember learning to write my name in Kindergarten, and being so frustrated that my name was not "alphabetical".  I so wanted to spell my name ABMER, because it was how the letters should be! :)   It took my mom and my teacher 2 weeks to stop getting me to write my name that way!  Lordy, I was stubborn even back then.  I also remember at my first Kindergarten (which I was only at for a few weeks before we moved), they were half days every day, with naps!  How awesome was that???!!!  My "new kindergarten" was all day, every other day, and no naps.  Major let down that first day :(

Ah, to only work 4hrs a day, and nap :)

Organization

So... I crave organization.  

At work, it is insane.  I have labels for everything, am super anal about making sure things are in the right place, etc.  My outlook calendar is insane, with times tracked to call patients, etc. 

My car on the other hand, it has always been a mess.

At home, I really want to be more organized.  For the most part, I am.  Tubs/bins for clothes, tons of shoes racks, and my bathroom is the epitome of a Type A, but there is one area that drives me nuts.  And it was the one thing I was so excited for when I got back into my own place... my Recipes!

Ever since I first got married, I have been obsessed with cooking.  I seriously have thousands of recipes printed off to try.  At first, they were handwritten on recipe cards in a box, but I quickly outgrew that.  Now, they are all typed, waiting to be handwritten as we try them (there is something about a handwritten recipe) and put into page protectors in a binder.  WAITING.  Currently, I have baskets of recipes printed, waiting to be put into a filing cabinet by section, then tried.  I have the binders, but I am just so overwhelmed with the whole process.  Seriously, there are THOUSANDS of recipes.

How do you organize and store yours?  Do you organize by a specific ingredient (beef, chicken), or type (mexican, italian)??  Any help or suggestions would be awesome!!!