Creature of Habit....
Ummmm.

Yo.

Blogger.

What's up with my Follow Me section?

Why do you have to mess up how I had it before? I like things the way they are. I'm a creature of habit. I brush my teeth before I put on moisturizer. I put in root lifter in my hair before the mousse. I leave the house each morning at exactly 5:58 a.m.

But you, my blog engine, have messed up my mojo. I could care less if it is Google sponsored. Well, wait. Unless Google is giving me a nice little slice of the profit, then I'm for it. But you and I both know that this won't happen anytime soon.

Help! Anyone know now to make it look.....nicer?

Works for Me....

I have to share something that I absolutely love. It's a kitchen gadget.

Now, before I go further, my future sister-in-law is the queen of the kitchen gadgets. I would love to spend one day with her while she cooks to see all the fun gadgets she has stashed away in her cupboards. This weekend we're headed to IKEA and you know there will be some cool finds purchased! Oh how I love IKEA.

OK...back to my kitchen gadget. Are you ready?

This, my friends, is called the Mix and Chop. It is from Pampered Chef.

I am not a Pampered Chef consultant, but oh. my. word. I am a sucker for a Pampered Chef party! However, props all around to Amy for sharing this gadget with me. This thing is the best.

What does it do, you ask? Well....let me tell you!

Do you ever plan ahead, and take out some ground beef (or in our house, ground turkey), and you find that it's still a little frozen--but you just don't have the time to 'nuke it in the microwave to help speed up the thawing process?

This sucker will tear through the frozen meat like a hot knife through butter. No more bending your spatula. No more trying to get a wooden spoon through the chunk of meat and having half of it slide out of the pan onto the stove top. Nope. This thing is awesome! The best part? Your beef crumbles (or turkey crumbles), will be of uniform size. LOVE IT!

Makes me want to make a heaping crock pot of chili....

The Song That Never Ends....
Today is Amy's 30-something birthday. I could get all sentimental--talking about how she's a cancer survivor, how I adore her to pieces and so on. I could also get sassy and revisit the waxing eyebrows dream (read about it here). But I'm taking a different route.

It is no secret that while Amy is happily married, she does have a boyfriend.

His name is Bon Jovi.

It is well known that Amy is the biggest Bon Jovi fan.

In fact, Amy hopes that the Card Project gets so big that we end up on Oprah. She said to me just the other day, "Remember, if we get on Oprah, you need to tell her that I'm a big Bon Jovi fan."

Amy even played a joke on me at her own wedding involving Bon Jovi's song "You Give Love a Bad Name." The short, short version of the joke is that I told Amy I'd pay her $100 if that song was used for her first dance--never thinking she would actually do it. But you don't make a bet like that with someone who keeps a journal. She dragged me to the dance floor prior to that first dance. We had some laughs and I was a very good sport about it. Amy, being the kind person she is told me, "You keep your money."

Funny thing is....I was prepared. I had a one-hundred dollar bill in my pocket ready to hand over.

That sound you hear? Oh. That's Amy saying "Shut up!" That's right, kiddo. I had that $100 on me but you told me to keep it, even after I asked you "are you sure?" heh. heh. heh.

No. You can't have it now. The bet is over.

But the song lives on....



I heart you, Amy! Here's to many more birthdays, practical jokes and fun all around.

And I Don't Even Play Tennis....
Over the last few weeks I've been having a little pain in my right forearm. If I didn't overdo it at the gym, we wouldn't have this problem.

BWAHH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

Oh. I kid.

I haven't stepped foot into our local gym since last summer when it was too hot out to do a training walk for the Breast Cancer 3-Day 60-mile walk.

No, but seriously, I've been having a pain in my forearm and it's worse when I try to grab something. Last week when I was grocery shopping it was a whole new experience because a lot of the things I needed were on the higher shelves. You know it's bad when another person in the aisle looks at you as you make a face to hide the pain and let out a little whimper.

And all I was grabbing was a 2-liter bottle of Diet Coke.

Anyway, I made a doctor's appointment for this morning. After paying my $25 copay and spending a grand total of 90 seconds with the doctor, I was told it was tennis elbow.

She told me take some advil and wear a brace that I can get at Target. Oh. She also said, "...and don't use your arm. Use the other one."

What? Excuse me? I'm right handed. I work on a computer all day. I'm right eye dominant with means that I do everything leading with my right. And I'm not supposed to use it?

Hummm....we'll see how that goes.

And in Other News...

I was given this great news earlier this week and I am so delayed in sharing it! Rachel Ann over at Rachel Ann's Place thinks I'm a pretty big deal. She likes my blog so much that she gave me a little Bloggy Bling!

Check this out....



Ohhhhh....ahhhhhh....cool!

I know you're jealous. Thank you Rachel Ann for this wonderful award. Part of the award requires that I list 7 things that I love.

Just 7? Goodness me. If I write, friends, family, relationship with God and other things like that, it takes up most of my 7. Don't get me wrong, I love all of those, but let's make this fun. OK...let's see.

1. The Big Guy. Come on....I have to put him first!
2. Making connections again on Facebook with awesome people.
3. Finding good deals at Target on the clearance end caps
4. Fix it and Forget it--Lightly, a cookbook for your crock pot. Seriously--it's the best.
5. Lite Latte's from Caribou Coffee
6. Finding new music for the iPod.
7. Sleeping in on the weekends. Amen.

Now, I'm supposed to pass this on--but I'm a rebel and I'm going to say that I love ALL the blogs I read and just cannot pick 7 for this award. But Rachel Ann is super awesome, so if you haven't been by to see her place, you better get over there. She's a cutie patootie!

I'm off to drink my latte and listen to my iPod while dreaming of what to make in the crock pot next week.

Spring is Just Around the Corner....
Today as I was riding the bus into downtown, I noticed that before 7:00 a.m. it was no longer dark outside!

You know what that means...spring is just around the corner. I am thrilled!

Soon that will mean:

• No longer having to fight for the garage spot
• No longer having to worry about snow covered roads
• No longer having to rush around the house saying to yourself, "Where is my hat? My mittens? Do I need to wear boots?"
• No longer having to warm up the car for 15 minutes before leaving for work
• No longer driving to work in the dark!
• No longer having to wear layers to work (bring on the capri pants!)
• No longer having to keep plastic on the windows to keep out the cold drafts

Oh, I can't wait for spring to get here!

Recipes by Request....
On Saturday, I posted on my facebook page that I was going to make carrot bread. A few folks commented that they would like to have the recipe. I'm always happy to share!

I found this recipe in a recent catalog from Penzeys Spices. I came to discover Penzeys from my future sister-in-law. She is, by far, the most amazing cook. Last year, she made a cake for her oldest child's school fundraiser. It made more money than lunch with a local TV personality.

Take that and rewind it back.

Now, the Big Guy and I are trying to limit our sugars and white flour. I actually found that if I eat too much white flour, I don't feel the best. So, I did alter the recipe a bit. But let me assure you--this was wonderful. It is not sweet, like a carrot cake. It reminds me of zucchini bread.

This lasted about a week in our house. Which was a miracle in itself.

Here is the recipe as written. I'll give my alterations in parentheses

Carrot Bread
2 cups of sugar (I used 2 cups of splenda)
1 1/2 cups of vegetable oil (I used 1 3/4 cups of natural applesauce--try Motts Healthy Harvest Granny Smith Apple.)
4 eggs
3 cups all purpose flour (I used 2 cups of whole wheat flour, 3/4 cup of regular flour, 1/4 cup of soy flour)
2 t of baking powder
2 t of baking soda
1 T of cinnamon
1/2 t of salt
2 cups of shredded carrots
(1 T of ground flax seed)

Before I go into the directions, keep in mind that if you use all wheat flour, it will be a lot thicker and a bit dry. That's why I added a combination of soy and regular flour and upped the applesauce to help give it a little more moisture.

Also, soy flour is not a 1:1 swap. It has no gluten, therefore it will not rise. But to add a little bit in this, it helps to actually add a little protein to the bread.

I also added the flax seed to bulk it up a bit. You couldn't even tell it was in there.

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 (if you want to make muffins, preheat to 350). Grease & flour two bread pans and set aside. Cream together sugar and oil. Add eggs one at a time. Gradually add dry ingredients until well mixed. Add carrots (and flax seed). Pour into pans and bake for 55 minutes (if making muffins, bake for 25 minutes).

The Big Guy loved this bread with a bit of cream cheese. I loved it with some natural peanut butter.


Now, I had another request for my hummus. I cannot take credit for this recipe. This is 100% Rachel Ray. But let me just say that Rachel Ray has helped my Big Guy eat more veggies because of this hummus.

Rachel Ray...I thank you.

This hummus is not a traditional hummus as it does not have tahini. I repeat--this does not have tahini. But it does have chic peas. And lemon. And hot sauce. And garlic.

Oh. It's so good.

Rachel Ray Hummus (or as she calls it "Lemon Chic Pea Dip")
1 can of chic peas--drained and rinsed
2-3 cloves of garlic
1/2 to 1 t of cayenne pepper (use more of less...your call)
1 t of dried thyme (you can also use parsley)
dashes of hot sauce (again, your call on how much)
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 to 1/3 cup olive oil

It is best to use a food processor--but I'm sure a blender would work too.

Put chic peas, garlic, cayenne, thyme, hot sauce, lemon zest & lemon juice in the food processor. Zap it until it looks like thick oatmeal. Drizzle in the olive oil and process until it has desired texture like hummus.

Eat with veggies, pita chips, or whatever your heart desired. My latest desire is string cheese. Go figure.

Will last in the 'fridge for 3-4 days.

I hope you enjoy the recipes!

The Rules of Friendship....
I have a guy friend who constantly gives me a hard time. Silly messages on my wall on Facebook, goofy e-mails, etc. I give him crap for typing with two fingers. He gives me crap for not trusting him to change the oil in my car when he comes for a visit. I give him crap for the time we were in London and the guard at Buckingham Palace freaked him out so badly that he had to walk away. He gives me crap because I won't drive on a frozen lake.

A few weeks ago on Facebook, his status changed from "single" to "it's complicated" in regards to his relationship status. This is exciting because he swore off women for some time. I knew that this was coming. He asked me to keep it quiet and not say anything. I didn't. I'm good like that. I keep many secrets. That's known as a loyal friend.

Yesterday, he changed it from "it's complicated" to "in a relationship". I was thrilled because it is about time that he accepted the fact that their relationship was going somewhere. However, he failed to say who he was in a relationship with.

I took the opportunity to give him a good ol' ribbing. I commented on his page and said:

You know that you and I can't be in a relationship. I'm engaged now. While you'll always be my boy toy, it's important that you move on. : )

His brother even commented after me with a string of "ha, ha, ha".

Because if you haven't noticed, I'm funny.

My friend deleted it.

Apparently it wasn't as funny as I thought.

I don't know why he deleted it. I will probably never know. And I mean that seriously. My comment was nothing out of the ordinary. The "boy toy" comment is a long running joke between us. And the Big Guy? He has no issue with it. In fact I told him about it last night and he even laughed and said, "that's funny!".

Of course, I never want to hurt anyone--so I sent him an e-mail. I told him that if he was upset I was sorry. But if he wasn't--that wasn't fair to delete my message without a reason.

So, it makes me wonder: when did the rules change? When did it become OK for him to be silly and make jokes regarding me--but when I do it, within 20 minutes it's gone from his page because he didn't want people to see it?

Is he worried what his lady will say? Maybe. But honestly, if she is upset, she doesn't know him. Because he is always like that.

Is he embarrassed? Highly doubtful. I mean, if you read some of the stuff he's written on my wall (that is still there!) you'd see that what I wrote was tame.

He has called me one of his closest friends--and I feel the same way. The friendship will always be there (at least I hope). But it obvious that the rules of our friendship have just changed.

I guess it would have been nice to get the memo.

**Edited to add: What is now interesting are the number of people who have commented on his wall saying "Oh! Congrats" or "I knew you weren't gay!" or worse. Funny how their comments could stay--but mine (and his brother's) didn't. Hummmm....

I Need an iTunes Overhaul....
About 2 years ago, I caved and got my first iPod. I was sort of against having an iPod. I liked the idea of a small device holding my music, but I really was not OK with paying the price. Since I had iTunes on my computer, only an iPod was compatible.

Talking with a co-worker, she shared that she got her iPod shuffle online at the Apple Store in their refurbished section.

What? A refurbished iPod? Really?

At the time, the cost was half of what a new one would cost. While you run the risk of something happening to it because it's "used", that's the risk you take. I'm happy to report that my little iPod has been going strong for 2 years.

Now that I said that, it's bound to crap out.

What I loved about iTunes was that I could export my CD's onto my iTunes and not have 100 CD's lying around the house. Because if you're like me, you bought a CD for one song, and the rest of the songs were crap-tastic.

Note: If you ever export your CD collection, back it up. I did not do that, and well, during Christmas, my computer took a nose dive and I had to have Dell reset my computer back to the factory settings (read: I lost everything including my music. Ugh).

Anyway....I'm always looking for new music. Right now I have quite the range of songs on my iPod. My playlist currently includes (and I apologize if I'm not spelling their names correctly):

Rhianna
Ne-Yo
NKOTB (come on...are you surprised?)
Faith Hill
MercyMe
Matt Wertz
Drew Davis Band
Hootie and the Blowfish
John Mayer (I highly recommend Free Fallin')
Matthew Nathinson
Lady GaGa
Kylie Manogue

and the list goes on. And on. And on.

Therefore, my bloggy readers, I'm asking you to share the comment love and share with me some of your favorite tunes. Because I need me an iTunes overhaul.

My First Not Me Monday (and Probably Not the Last)....

So, I thought I would participate in MckMama’s Not Me Monday. If you haven't been to MckMama's corner of the internet, her blog is great. Read the story about her latest edition to the family whose chance of survival was slim--but is now a thriving, healthy baby!

Basically, for Not Me Monday, you’re confessing to things that you did—but really don’t want to admit that you’re confessing to what you did.

Does that make sense?

*raising my right hand* I want you to know that the following did not happen to me (sorta)...

--I did not have sweet cravings all weekend to then give in to those sweet & junk food cravings in the form of a muffin on Saturday, french fries on Saturday evening, a donut on Sunday as well as a cookie on Sunday afternoon. Nope. Not me.

--I did not push the Big Guy out of the house on Sunday to spend it with his best friend, to then hold down the couch while finishing the Twilight series. Which resulted in a house not getting clean. Nope. Not me.

--I did not go to Michael's on Saturday to look at their fake flower selection to then scrap the idea all together for Gerber daisies for the wedding. Instead, I’m going with hydrangeas. This is, of course, after already spending money on Gerber daisies which now, I have no idea what to do with them. Nope. Not me.

There may be more from this last week, but I’m so good at blocking it out that I don’t remember.

Head over to MckMama’s page to check out more Not Me Monday funnies!

Oh, Now Dontcha' Know, Another Minnesota Movie...
So, the Big Guy and I went to see a movie yesterday. While I was out running errands and taking in a little Kelley time, I thought that a movie would be a nice evening adventure for us.

So, I asked him to look into what was playing. He said, "...the only movie that is any good is Taken with Liam Nielsen." I told him I'd be up for that, but wanted to know what else was playing. Once he said, New in Town I told him that was what I wanted to see.

After all, it was set in Minnesota.

Nothing says Saturday afternoon like a theatre filled with a bunch of middle aged Minnesotans, chomping on popcorn and laughing at themselves.

Because really...that what it was. A movie about Minnesotans.

God love Hollywood.

Anyway, I have to point out that it was definitely cute (I liked it, the Big Guy said, "Eh...it was OK"). Defiantly a rental. But here is the best part of the whole movie that had even the Big Guy laughing out loud. Basically, Renee Zellweger's character drives off the road into a snowbank. She's found and is safe. The next day, a few of the local girls made her a quilt with their phone numbers sewn into it so she can keep it in her car (Winter survival kit, anyone?). The clip below takes over from that part.

Click on this link: http://www.newintownmovie.com/#/guide
On the play list, click "Freezing to Death". There isn't a way for me to add it to the bloggy, but trust me. It's family friendly and FUNNY.

I'm All About Sharing the Love....

A few months ago, I shared this post about my super groovy eyeglasses that I got online for $20.

Yes. You read correctly. $20. And that included shipping.

Well, I just got an e-mail this morning from Eye Buy Direct for an upcoming Buy One, Get One 24 hour clearance sale on Monday, February 9th.

Hello? Who couldn't use a new set of glasses and get a second pair FREE.

Here is what you'll need to get your glasses online.

Your prescription and the glasses you have now. Why the glasses you have now? Because on the inside, on one of your bows, is the frame size, bow length, etc. You wouldn't want to order glasses to small or too big for your face, would you?

I didn't think so.

Money may be tight, but it doesn't mean you shouldn't skip looking good.

Oh, Facebook. How I Love Thee....

...except when I'm at work.

I find you so distracting. I'm curious as to what my friends are doing. Who will be tagged next with the "25 Random Things about Me" note. What my camp friend Amy Gitchell will write for her status today. Oh--and put Maddie in that boat too.

But Facebook, I am finding that because of my love for you...you're going to get me in trouble.

Especially when you tell me that a friend has tagged me (again) for the "25 Random Things". I go to read it. And while reading it, something that I've never seen before on my work computer pops up regarding my phone.

So, I go to grab a supervisor to look at it.

She says, "Send me a screen shot."

And when I take it, I realize that in the background is my Facebook page.

Yeah. Note to self: when calling over a supervisor, close out Facebook.

Note: Thankfully, I was smart enough to take a second screen shot--without Facebook in the background before sending it on. Whew!

I'd Would SO Love to be a Cullen....
Hi.

How are ya'?

I know. I know. I've been a little lax lately in the blog posts. I'd like to blame it on work, but that's no good. Work is fine--even though we're in a new building starting on Monday. I may have to print off a map so I can find my way to the restroom or the kitchen.

I could also blame it on wedding planning. But that's pretty much done and after a trip to Vegas this March to firm up the details, we're good to go.

No, my excuse? These guys....

Not sure who they are? Oh....a little family named the Cullen's.

And if it wasn't for that fella in the front, Edward, I wouldn't have spent my the last few days holding down my couch as I've been reading book 3.

Oh. Yes. I. Have.

And I love it.

I already told the Big Guy that if Edward Cullen was real that he'd be on "my list".