High Five For Friday!

Hooooray for Friday!  This has been one seriously long week full of many planned and unexpected events involving our littlest furry child.  Linking up with Lauren for my high five of the week!

1) On Sunday Aaron came home from being on a fire for two weeks and our two girls (and I) were incredibly excited to see him and have him home safe and sound.  We also celebrated Marley's first birthday on Sunday with peanut butter puppy ice cream, which was a huge hit!  I can't believe she's one already and weighs about 20 lbs more than Maya.  She is an oaf.

2) Sunday evening Aaron noticed that one side of Marley's face was swollen so we decided to take her to our vet on Monday.  The poor thing had to have surgery to have two molars pulled, one of which was packed with tons of fox tail pieces.  It appears she may be genetically predisposed to poor teeth but aside from that our vet said she is an incredibly fit dog and very healthy.  The first night home was hard, she fell asleep in my lap early and then I was up with her during the night too rubbing her paws until she was able to fall back to sleep.  Luckily by Wednesday she was back to her loving, happy, puppy self.  It's pretty amazing how resilient animals can be!

Naturally Maya couldn't let Marely get ALL of the attention.

3) I also spent time at my parent's house celebrating my sister's graduation.  My Mom put together this table of photos of my sister over the years and amongst the photos was a letter she had written me when she was little and I was at sixth grade camp.

The letter reads:

Dear Katie,
I know that I miss you.  I should tell you that.  I know you some times cant read my writing but I'm still going to write you a letter anyway.  Hi this is Chris (our brother).  Hey tell Amanda I said hi.  See ya.  Hi this is Natalie again.  I miss you so much.  Dad hooked up the VCR in our room.  When you get home we can watch it together.  Last night I had a nightmare. It was about dead people coming to life.  It was really scary.  They stole me and put a drill in my head. I screamed for help but dad did not hear me.  But that was in my dream.  Well I love you.  From Natalie and our Family.  P.S. Did I tell you I love you?

Wasn't she just the sweetest little girl with some seriously messed up dreams?

4) I got some of the best fruits from Trader Joe's!  These peaches are the most perfect I've had in a long time and the blueberries and strawberries are so sweet and haven't even started to spoil almost a week later.  I've had very happy lunches and snacks this week :D

5) We also ordered our wedding cake and Aaron's wedding band this week!  Ordering the cake was actually much easier than I thought, we really love the bakery we selected and can't wait to see the final product!  Aaron's wedding band was a little more tricky.  My wedding band is actually made from my grandmother's ring.  When I was 20 she had her ring melted down and had a band of diamonds made for my sister and I, not knowing our intention was to use this ring as my wedding and one day.  Needless to say, after we got engaged and told her this she teared up with joy and still does when we talk about it.  We wanted to find something equally special for Aaron.  It took a bit of hunting but we found something we feel is perfect and can't wait to see the finished product from the jeweler.  I'd love to tell you more but you'll just have to wait!

I hope you have a great weekend and manage to stay cool!    We're off to a wedding on Saturday and I look forward to relaxing and maybe reading some on Sunday.

P.S.  We found a solution to Maya's barking.  We discovered that she only barks at walkers when our neighbor dog antagonizes her from the corner of our joint fence.  Solution, fence off that corner where it meets our gate so Maya no longer can meet up with the neighbor dog.  She has been a million times better ever since!  I'm just sad it took us so long to figure out such a simple solution.

Meal Plan Monday!

Happy Monday! This weekend went by pretty fast but for once I didn't mind so much because Aaron was coming home on Sunday!  He's been on a fire for 14 days and the girls and I were so excited to have him home safe and sound. I also spent time at my parent's house on Saturday at a BBQ for my sister's graduation and had brunch in Solana Beach with some girlfriends.  

Then to top it off, we celebrated Marley's First Birthday with peanut butter puppy ice cream! I can't believe she's one already. 

T

Since Aaron's home again, I'm back in the cooking routine.  Here's what's for dinner this week:

Sunday: Salmon with brown rice and roasted broccoli 

Monday: Spinach ravioli with roasted stacked eggplant

Tuesday: undecided. We have a bunch of wedding related appointments this day so what I make depends on when we get home.

Wednesday: Chicken Tamales with Spanish rice and salad

Thursday: Windy City Pie, aka deep dish pizza, from Clean Eating Magazine with salad

Friday: Leftovers if they exist and they almost always exist

I hope your week is off to a great start, enjoy your Monday!

High Five For Friday!

First and foremost, I realize I never posted the meal plan I promised this week. Fail. Utter fail. I am sorry.  In my weakest defense, the last few days have been pretty crazy.  When traffic sucks I tend to make it home anywhere between 5:45 and 7:15.  I'm off at 4.  Let's just say traffic sucked this week and by the time I finished my house chores (I say that as if I'm not an adult living in a house with a mortgage, my fiancé and our two dogs) ate dinner, and showered it was basically bed time and I just failed to write.  Monday: Me, you, and a meal plan. It's a date.

Now onto my usual Friday link up with Lauren!

1) I've squeezed in walks with the dogs everyday this week, mainly to prove a point to my neighbor.  If you missed it you can read what I'm talking about here.  I love taking the dogs for walks and they love it to.  That being said, these two together weigh more than I do, so walking them by myself is quite the chore.  Normally we'll play fetch and tug of war in the afternoons instead. Anyway, they prance all around chasing bunnies and butterflies while I struggle to keep my arms from getting tugged in too many different directions.  Regardless, I have enjoyed our evening strolls to the park and back and I also enjoy the fact that Maya is still crazy afterwards, which proves that my neighbor's theory is wrong.  Thank you very much.

2)  The Chobani bowl.  Maybe it's real, maybe I made it up.  I don't care because it's delicious.  When one of my tubs of Vanilla Chocolate Chunk Chobani was getting down to the last serving this week I brought it to work for lunch.  To it, I added one whole chopped apple and 1/4 cup of organic granola. So easy, filling and good. Try it, you won't be disappointed.

3) Breakfast for dinner. We all know this is a favorite and we all know it tends to show up when I fail to meal plan. I'm not sorry this happened though. Breakfast for dinner = Dinner of champions.  Maybe that's a slight exaggeration but whatever.  And yes, that is a sectioned Toy Story dinner plate.  I don't like my foods to touch and I received that plate as a gift from my future in-laws about 4 years ago.  I have one to use at their house too.

4) This week I discovered a flower on one of our squash plants! We now have blooms on almost all of our plants plus 5 jalapeños.  The excitement I have over these plants only confirms how strong my Iowa roots are.  I'm sure I'll still won't win the tomato growing contest I have going with my Grandparents who grew up on farms in Iowa, but I'm going to give it my best shot!  

5) Last Sunday I took my parent's to lunch at a favorite local brewery for Father's Day.  My Dad is a pretty quiet guy so going out, after a weekend with my sister in LA, was kind of a big deal.  Judging by the smile on his face in this picture I'd say he enjoyed the day and I know my mom and I did too.

 

The sister and I post UCLA graduation.

I hope you're weekend is wonderful.  Be safe out there, the world has a weirdo or two in it you know.

Dog Problems

I’ll be the first to admit that Maya is a bit neurotic, she always has been.  We adopted her right after her first birthday from a family who kept her in their backyard the entire time they had her.  From the minute we brought her home she’s never left mine or Aaron’s side.  If I’m in the bedroom and Aaron’s in the bathroom Maya lays in the hall so she can be near us both.  Meanwhile Marley’s off in la la land stealing bananas off of the kitchen counter or making herself cozy on our bed (where she’s also not allowed).

Anyway, for whatever reason, Maya is very very protective of our yard.  When people walk by, especially with other dogs, she goes crazy.  She sprints from one side of the yard to the other barking like a psycho.  What’s strange though is that she’s not even fazed by some people.  I think she has gotten used to a few walkers, and one even tells her to “shhh” and she listens.  Meanwhile Marley’s off gnawing on a piece of bark, eating some grass, or ripping branches off of the apple tree oblivious.  

Well, yesterday someone in our neighborhood possibly our next door neighbor was walking by and Maya went crazy.  He proceeded to tell me “Well maybe if you took her out and ran her more she wouldn’t do that.”  I laughed a little and said, “Maybe, but even then I don’t think she’d be different” and he said, “Well it would get some of that energy out” and kept walking.  Thank you sir for the advice. 

Clearly he doesn’t know Maya.  She’s a yellow lab who, after incredibly long walks, is still insane yet is also a complete sweet pea when she warms up to you .  Maybe I’m just sensitive because I love Maya so much, or maybe it’s because I didn’t sleep the night before because said neighbor’s dog barked ALL NIGHT LONG while they were gone, or maybe it’s because this neighbor has not been my favorite ever since I caught them spraying Maya with their hose through the fence.  Whatever the reason is, this really annoyed me and it’s safe to say I won’t be heartbroken when their house finally sells.

Maya’s high energy is part of her personality and doesn’t really bother me.  Do any of you dog owners have suggestions for handling her barking fits at walkers though? Thank you for letting me vent, I'll be back with a meal plan tomorrow.

High Five For Friday!

Linking up with Lauren from The Lauren Elizabeth for my high five of the week!

1) I love these two.  They have recently made a habit out of snuggling at my feet when I get ready in the mornings, both trying to cram on the floor mat because the tile is too cold.  Our bathroom is definitely not big enough for three girls but we make due.

2) For my birthday and graduation one of my brothers and his girlfriend got me the ice cream maker attachment for my kitchen aid mixer!  I finally got to make my first batch (cookies & cream) and I'm pretty sure I'll never go back to store bought again, especially now that I own Ben & Jerry's book of recipes too!

3) I'm pretty sure I woke up in book lover heaven on Thursday.  I also received Amazon and Barnes & Noble gift cards for my birthday/graduation and naturally I set out to expand my library almost immediately.  I'm still waiting on one book but the rest came in the mail on Thursday, it was like Christmas!!!!! Here's a peak at a few of my new reads:

4) My new iPad and treadmill have become pretty well aquatinted this week.  I managed to fit in 6 workouts, three days running and three days of strength type training, this week.  I didn't realize how much I missed being more active until I had free time to do it again.  I've been able to stream my strength training videos from Amazon on the iPad and then catch up on The Bachelorette and Pretty Little Liars when I'm running. It's been awesome!

5) Tomorrow I get to go watch my little gem of a sister graduate from UCLA!  I can't even put into words how incredibly proud of her I am and how happy I am for her.  She has worked so hard for this and to think she's up for another 3 years at USC for her PhD after this is even more amazing!  Congratulations Natalie! I can't wait to see you walk across that stage and claim the degree you have worked so incredibly hard to earn!  See you tomorrow, I love you sister! 

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe weekend! Be sure to check back on Monday for a meal plan derived from my new cookbook pictured above!

Driving

Most already know that I spend a crazy amount of time in my car driving to and from work, it's been that way for almost three years. On average I spend anywhere from 2 1/2 - 4 hours in the car each day.  Some people would see this as a serious loss of time in, not only one's day, but one's life.  I wouldn't disagree with them, not one bit. But, instead of dwelling on that I do the following to entertain myself and make that time feel less wasteful instead:

1) I look at license plates.  Every once in awhile I will see one from a state that I've never seen before or someone will cleverly spell out funny phrases or words.  Just yesterday I saw one in our parking garage that said "LAWYUR".  That guy paid way too much for school and can't even spell his own profession. Then there was also a plate from Iowa yesterday.  It's the first Iowa plate I have ever seen and I thought to myself "I can't wait to pass them to see what someone from Iowa looks like"......and then I thought, wait you boob. Both your Father and Aunt were both born in Iowa, you've known all your life what Iowans look like. I'm not joking, this really happened.

{Via}

2) I listen to AM 1000, Compassionate Heart Radio. I'm not sure if it is a purely Catholic talk radio station or not but that's all that is on durning the time I drive.  One of my favorite classes in college was Religious Studies so I'm not to surprised that I got sucked into this one.  My favorite it Mother Angelica on Tuesday afternoons at 5.  I'm telling you she is hilarious, I mean I literally laugh in my car, stuck in traffic, funny.

{Via}

3) I started listening to books on tape.  I'm not sure if this is for me or not yet and my poor first choice in Audio book land probably didn't help matters.  If you happened to read The Snowman, I'm sorry if this offends you but, that book was horrible.  I suppose the storyline was actually "ok" but I honestly found parts perverted, that could have been left out, and the vulgarity didn't do much for me either.  Ok, so maybe I'm just a prude.  Whatever. 

{Via}

4) I sing so loud I hurt my throat and had to see a doctor.  Turns out it was actually allergies and not awesome car solos that hurt my throat but I don't risk singing anymore just in case.

And that, my friends, is how I make my time in the car feel less wasteful.  And now you all think I'm officially crazy and are out scouring the web to find me a job closer to home to save me from myself.  You are too kind, really.  Have a wonderful Wednesday!  

High Five For Friday!

This week seems to have flown by, although I think they all have seemed to fly by lately!

Linking up with Lauren for my high five of this week!

1) This week we celebrated my birthday. I think I say this every year but, this was one of my best birthdays.  Not just because of the gifts that ranged from a rosary purchased and blessed for me in Vatican City to an apron to dinner with my family to an iPad (don't get me wrong, all of those things are wonderful) but also because of the kind words and thoughtful sentiments that filled my day via e-mail, social media, text messages, and good ol' fashioned cards.   

2) I decided to try out Audible.  It's an Amazon company that provides Audio Book services.  I thought it would be neat to try and listen to books during my commute.  I really like it so far but I'll admit I get a little sleepy if I listen in slow traffic so then I switch back to music.

3) I added some yoga to my workout routine this week.  I downloaded Jillian Michaels' video (which, level 1 by the way, is apparently available on YouTube here for free) and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.  I'm pretty sure this is going to be a regular part of my routine now.  It was challenging enough to make me a little sore and not so slow that I found myself bored.  Definitely worth a try!

{Via}

4) I per-ordered my 2013-2014 Emily Ley planner this week!  I seriously cannot wait for this thing to arrive but I guess I'll have to!  It should ship at the end of June or beginning of July and I'll be sure to tell you all about it as soon as it arrives.  No matter how advanced digital planners become I'm still very old fashioned in the sense that I need to physically write things down and then mark them as complete.  Total weirdo, I know.

{Via}

5) I'm finally getting around to getting my hair trimmed this weekend! I swear I am the absolute worst about keeping up with this.  So needless to say my hair is happy I'm finally making time for it and I'm happy I get to spend some time with my soon to be sister-in-law while she tends to the mop on my head at hautePINKstudio :D

I hope you all have an excellent weekend, be safe!

Things I know at 25 (Ok 24 & 364 Days)

Things I know at 25 (Ok 24 & 364 Days)

 

1)      Life has its hard moments.  I’m grateful for those moments because they make me recognize and appreciate the “easier times” so much more.

2)      People are nosy.  That’s ok though.  This means you are still relevant.  At some point you made an impact in someone’s life that has lead them to still wonder about what is going on in yours, even if they don’t want you to know they care.

3)      I don’t like crepes.  Leave it to someone to screw up a pancake, call it something fancy and hope it takes off.  PS: That is really not how crepes came to be.

4)      I am officially too old to sit on my knees for an extended period of time.  Practically falling out of my chair at my desk after sitting on my knees should have convinced me of that months ago.

5)      Exercise and nutrition are important.  Being active and eating well makes me feel good.  That being said, my grandparents have lived off of comfort foods with dessert as a course and are still well at 96 & 93.  All things are good in moderation, which is why I’ll rarely turn down dessert.

6)      Friends are not generational.  Some of the greatest friends I have are not from my specific generation.

7)      Driving takes more patience than I ever would have imagined when I received my license at 16.

8) Sometimes you have to do things you just don’t want to do.  I don’t want to drive 100 miles a day for work but, I do want a job and I do want to work with people I sincerely like. So, for now, I drive the 100 miles.

9)      Speaking of work.  Having a job is a blessing.  Whether it is at home caring for children and loved ones, or traveling to a place where you bring home a paycheck, you are healthy enough to get up and do those things.  That in and of itself is a blessing.

10)  The ability to read was one of the greatest gifts I was given as a child.

11) The pressure for girls and women to be "thin" and "pretty" is beyond obnoxious.  Both topics are subjective anyway so people should just let it go.  Let little girls be little girls.  

12)  Decades from now, god willing, when people discuss me in past tense I want them to tell others that I was a nice person.  That I was patient, kind and helpful because life is short and being kind is easy.

So here's to my last day as 24 and to turning 25!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

 

Meal Plan Monday

Welcome back Monday, you sneaky son of a gun.

This weekend was jam packed with things like a late night campfire at my brother's house down the street, celebrating my graduation, picking bridesmaid dresses and not turning on the computer!  That last bit is due in part to the fact that after 6 years of use, the battery in the MacBook died and will no longer recharge.  Sorry Aaron!

I also picked up this super cute herb planter and another piece of art for the montage wall in our dinning room.  I'll have to update you on it's progress soon since we've added a few new things.

For those of you with a case of the Mondays, I thought I'd share some of my recent favorite commercials.  You know since I now actually have time to watch that thing people call TV.

And for those of you in need of some meal insperation, this is what we are eating:

Monday: Chipotle Chicken Skewers with Red Pepper Quinoa and Salad

Tuesday: BBQ ribs with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Salad

Wednesday: Roasted Veggie Pesto Pasta

Thursday:  This may or may not be my birthday so,  I'm still trying to decide what to have this night

Friday: Steak with Tabouli Lettuce Wraps

It's Monday, make it awesome!