Foodie

Who isn't obsessed with Pinterest these days?  I am one of millions who have fallen head over heels in love with Pinterest.  I could sit on there for hours searching everything under the sun and be completely content/amused.  One thing Pinterest is particularly good at is making me hungry.  I have found endless amounts of recipes on there that I can't wait to make.  I have recently been experimenting with a few of these recipes and have been pleasantly surprised.

This was the first recipe I tested out.  Pesto stuffed chicken with Parmesan and garlic linguine.  YUM.

This is something I will definitely be making again!

I still like to think of myself as a beginner chef.  I never cooked much before John and I got our own place.  The extent of my cooking ability didn't steer far from macaroni and cheese and scrambled eggs.  The recipes I've been finding are very beginner friendly.  Some seem more advanced and I have "pinned"  those as well for when my skill grows a little more. 


The next recipe that I made was spinach and ricotta stuffed shells.  I am a sucker for anything pasta, so this was a good new recipe for me to steer away from the classic spaghetti and meatballs.

There was not a single shell left!  I was hoping for leftovers, but couldn't resist myself from going back for seconds.

That's all I have for now.  More to come, I promise!  


Bon Appétit!

New Year, New Attitude

John is always telling me that I need to find a system that works for me to accomplish things that I have on my goals list.  I feel this is always hard, because old habits and daily regimens are hard to break and start new!  I have decided to come into this New Year with a few really strong resolutions and a whole new attitude about how to make them reality.

1.)  Go to the gym at least twice a week.
      -  In the little planner that I keep in my purse I have my work schedule written in for the rest of the month.  Whether I am off, or I close that night, I have gone through the whole month of January and written in "gym" on certain days.  Most weeks, it is more than two days out of the week, but I feel that by planning it ahead and giving myself more options of when to go, I can up my gym goings to maybe even 3-4 times per week.

2.)  Get serious about saving money.
      -  One of the ways we decided we were going to get serious about saving money is by eating dinner at home more often.  With our crazy schedules it is always so hard to find time to go to the store and get stuff for dinners, but we have to find the time!  I went through my little planner again and on nights that I am off, or I have an opening shift I have written "dinner".  This is going to help me get in the habit of planning ahead with my shopping trips and not just shop for one night of dinner.  I am going to get in the habit of planning out dinners for the week and shopping ahead!

3.)  Explore with more new recipes!
      -  Since we have moved in together, I have found that I actually really love to cook!  Thanks to my recent interest in Pinterest, I have found so many recipes that I can't wait to try out!  Back to my handy little planner again, I have gone through and written "NR" for "New Recipe" on about 2-3 days out of the week.  I have written them on days that I am off, so that I can have more time to really enjoy the process.

4.)  Blog more!
      -  I have always loved to write, but lately I have found that I really love to blog!  I have only written maybe 5 entries so far, but I have noticed that I find myself being more open to things in everyday life.  I watch people more, I am more aware of what is going on around me, I feel I have a new attitude towards things because writing it out helps, and I am more open to new things so I can turn around and blog about it!

John told me the other night that in his eyes the worst thing a person can do in a relationship is stop bettering themselves.  I am making a resolution to never stop bettering myself.  For John, and for me. 

The Past, Present and Inspiration

Tonight, I began thinking about friends, friendship and family.  Past friends, present friends, future friends and family that lasts a lifetime.  How does that quote go?  

"People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime."

I am sure we all have people who stick out in our minds from each of these situations.  For me, I have friends (and family of course) that are in the lifetime category, friends that are in the reason category (and I know the reason, and in some cases turn into a lifetime),  and others that have (sadly) fallen into the season category.  

Bottom line is, these people have (in some way or another) left a mark on our lives.  Whether it's good or bad, we remember these people for a reason.

I began looking at photos and thought that I would share some of my favorites.  

Love this picture of me and Kandace.  This was taken 4 years ago before we had an interesting night out at the Branding Iron.

Another good one from when John and I had just started dating.  I had so much fun at this Wedding with John and his family.  We will be having a lifetime of memories together.

 

I am so grateful to have childhood friends that I still keep in touch with and look forward to seeing!  These ladies are responsible for so many memories I have as a little girl, and they are great memories!

Oh the camel...these ladies came into my life when I was still learning a lot about...well...LIFE.  Still love them and am thankful for them every day.

Life changing events will happen with your friends, and you can't wait to be there for them.

At the end of the day, whether you are pictured (or mentioned) in this entry or not, but you have been a part of my life, YOU inspire me.  Each and every day.  You inspire me to be who I am.  And I thank each and every one of you for that.

2011 in Review

Since 2011 is now a few days behind us, I figured there couldn't be a better time to look back on it.

January started out a little rough for us with the passing of John's Grandpa.  The world lost a wonderful man, but he lived a good, long life and was surrounded by people he loved and who loved him in return.

 

 

This time last year, the Wedding was fast approaching and February and March were filled with Bridal Showers and Bachelor/Bachelorette parties.  We were making last minute plans and meetings, and getting all of our Wedding ducks in a row.  Through all of the craziness, 3 weeks before the wedding, we moved out!  We got our first apartment together (well, first apartment EVER really for both of us).

 
We were hearing Wedding bells before we knew it!  April came so fast, but that month was filled with so much love and excitement.  We were so grateful to see all of our family members who were able to make it to the wedding from near and far.  We had such a blast and the day could not have gone better.

Following the wedding, John and I took a week long cruise to the Mexican Riviera for our Honeymoon.  We ate delicious food, met some really fun people, danced (A LOT), and walked lots throughout our two destinations.

 May and June went by without much excitement.  But, then July rolled around...

I started my new position at work in July.  I'm making the commute to Mission Viejo, my new retail home.  Angel stadium hosted a series of concerts over the summer to celebrate their 50th Anniversary.  In that line-up of musical acts was my favorite man of country (some people know that I call him my boyfriend), Dierks Bentley.  John and I got tickets to the game to enjoy the concert after the game and ended up with field level passes!  I was so excited!  Here is a picture to show you just how close we were!  OK, it was zoomed in just a little...

 

I think he is pointing at me ;)

In August, we celebrated John's birthday.  I also got the chance to spend quite a bit of time with Kandace.  Her flight got pushed back a whole week because of a Hurricane, which meant she got to spend more time with me!  We spent lots of time lounging by the pool, and going to the beach.

October, November, and December flew by so fast with the craziness of the holiday season in retail.  But here are some highlights...

• John began working at an electrical company, and started a job with Best Buy.  Guitar Center will no longer be a part of his everyday life.
• Halloween!
• We shared Thanksgiving with our wonderful family.
• We celebrated my Grandmas 84th birthday at Disneyland!
• We celebrated holiday parties, and gift exchanges with friends.
• Our first Christmas together was both fun and exhausting!

• And finally our first New Year's together was spent at home, because the flu decided to take me out on New Year's Eve.  Awesome.  BUT....Spending the night lounging on the couch in our pajamas and watching movies was a nice way to start the New Year.

 

So here is to 2012 and all that it has to bring!  I am excited to take it on and make it even better than the last!