Sunday, July 10, 2011

New and better

In the span of only 1 hour, my employment life changed dramatically for the better!!

I interviewed for a position and 20 minutes later was offered the job!

So I went from being an in home caregiver to a background investigator for a great company. Better pay and a Monday thru Friday work schedule!

I have never worked in such an amazing office! So relaxed and so happy. There is literally people singing in the office! Love it!!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Followers times 2

I have two followers!! There are now two people out there who are interested in what I type!

Wow!!

I had better step it up a notch now!

Thanks for the follow Rudee I love your blog too by the way!

Feeling like a nurse

So without giving out any details, and even though I am not in the nursing program for another year, today i felt like a nurse.

I went into a house not 100% what to expect and was shocked at the living conditions that I saw. I then got on the phone with my work, their workers and various other state workers. I don't know if I made a difference, but I will be back there again to do some more work. Lets hope that tomorrow I can do more.

I really felt like I was advocating for my patient today.

I can do this and survive, it will be better. Not everyday at work will make me throw up and cry! January will be here soon!!!!!!!!

Cupcake Sin

So it was the BF's birthday and I wanted to make him something special. So after many hours of aimless internet boredom I stumbled across this recipe for Butterfinger Blizzard Cupcakes. Me personally if I go to the good ole DQ I am getting a M&M blizzard or a hot fudge and raspberry sundae. But the BF he likes the butterfinger blizzard. The cupcakes were for his birthday dinner and then he also requested a blueberry pie.

The cupcakes were to die for!! We went out for Mexican food as a large friend group and the cupcakes pushed us over the edge into food comas. It was a devil's food cake mix that was all tweaked out. Homemade carmel sauce that I turkey basted into the cupcakes as soon as I pulled them out of the oven. I then (witht he help of kiddo) whipped up a butterfinger butter cream frosting. Have I pushed you over the edge into a coma also?? Thought so!!

And just in case you weren't quite over the edge, here is a closeup!

Then his extra special birthday pie. This was a before shot, I never got one after it was baked...and now a mere day later it is almost gone, hmmmmm must have been good!!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Why the Halloween themed meal in June?

Not sure why the author of this book felt the need to theme her daily meals and really don't understand the Halloween themed names tonight. But the recipes turned out OK.

Poultrygeist = B
Spirited Beans = A
Lemonic Pudding = B

Everything is better with butter and bacon I must say!!


The Chicken recipe called for a raspberry vinegar and tarragon, neither of which i had on hand so I used balsamic and rosemary instead. Oh and I had some mushrooms in the fridge so I sauteed them up in the pan drippings.

The beans were sauteed in bacon drippings and then sprinkled with the crumbled bacon! Yum!!



The original menu called for mashed potatoes, but as nobody in my house is really crazy for mashed potatoes I switched that out for a green salad.

The lemonic pudding called for vanilla yogurt but I had an entire huge thing of Greek yogurt that needs to be used up, so the recipe got that instead. The pudding only got a B, because it just did not wow me. It could have used some lemon zest or just anything to give it a little bit more bite.


On a non dinner note. I met up with my knitting/nursey friends today, it has been sooooo long and it was really good to see them all again! They have finished school and will be taking the NCLEX and getting great nursing jobs soon! OK now I am going to go eat some ice cream and wallow in some self pity....

Monday, June 6, 2011

Scuttlebutt, camping, cold tail and tears...oh my

Whew what a weekend!

Three days of camping at the most beautiful location!

I love our annual friends camping trip! Look forward to it all year to be honest, it officially starts the summer for me!! There is nothing better then sitting around the campfire, drinking, roasting marshmallows and playing categories! This year we went to Crescent Lake instead of Fall Creek, and it was a huge improvement! We were right on the water and when we drove up the sun was setting and it was breathtaking!! Everyday was wonderful, fires, shooting guns, fishing (catching twigs!) and just hanging out! Another great trip with friends for the books!

So today's Accidental Gourmet's menu was:
Scuttlebutt Scallops Scored a B
Confidential Couscous Scored an A
Scandalous Salad Scored a C




While camping poor Max Dog hurt his tail! He LOVES to fetch the ball out of the water so we threw it in the lake for him as much as he wanted us too. Turns out that labs can get a condition called Cold Tail. poor baby spent the last day and the ride home in pain and just miserable looking. Good news is I took him to the vet this morning and they gave me some anti-inflammatory drugs for him and then cleaned out his bony poo. I was so glad at that moment that I never followed through on my childhood dream of becoming a vet. So Max had a dx of Cold tail and bony poo. No more steak bones as a treat, he can only have veggies as treats from now on. He is already feeling better! No tail wagging yet, but that should improve in a few days!


And the tears...today I should have taken my last final of nursing school. I should be getting ready to go out to celebrate right this very moment. And while I am over the moon happy for all of my friends, I feel sick to my stomach that I screwed up so badly. I know that hopefully this time next year I will be doing all the things I should have done today. But it still hurts so bad. I can feel the tears in the back of my eyes. They graduate and get pinned this Sunday, and I am going to go but unfortunately I can only stay for part of it as I have to work that night also. That is probably for the best as I know I won't be able to make it through it without tears!

Friday, June 3, 2011

Followers!

I have a follower!

Love you Carol, and no judging my total lack of writing skills and horrid pictures that I take!!

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

# 3 learn to crochet and finish a project

The other night my late night client talked me through learning the basics of crocheting and had me making a long chain by the end of the night. He sent me home that night with some cheap yarn and a hook.

I was hooked...hahaha...grabbed some of my stash yarn and a pattern off of raverly and made a scarf. Then I decided that the scarf needed a bright pink flower on it. I love it!! I need to find a pretty pin to hold it when I wear it since it is so short. Or maybe I will just give it to my niece this winter. We will see.

Tuesday
Messy Bessies
Slippery Salad
Devious pudding

So tonight was the first night following the Accidental Gourmet.

Turns out Messy Bessies is actually Sloppy Joes.

I added a minced carrot to the Messy Bessies. But it got OK reviews. The salad was oranges, apples and grated carrots over lettuce with a homemade dressing. We didn't make the dessert since my boys made me brownies last night while I was at the ER.


Tomorrow night is an egg dish and a spinach side.

Oh and can I just say how much I long for a camera that takes decent pictures.....sighing with longing.....

Accidental Gourmet

Going through my cookbooks I found The Accidental Gourmet. I forgot I had this. I have never prepared any of the recipes from the book but they sound pretty good. So the book has prepared menus for every week of the years. Each week contains a shopping list for the week, and each day of the week has a main dish, a side dish and a dessert. It even has a time line to get dinner prepared in a timely matter.

So this week's menu:

Monday (already passed)

Tuesday
Messy Bessies
Slippery Salad
Devious pudding

Wednesday
Eggs in a Basket
Finich your Spinach
Cookie Surprise

Thursday
Chicken de Cristo
Albuquirky Beans
Carl's bad Cantaloupe

Friday
Little Whippersnapper
Double or Nothing
Nobody's Biscuits
Ice Creammm


And i am bound and determined to get my own Recipe book put together. So from now, I am going to keep a notebook in the kitchen and every recipe we like is going to go into the notebook. I will then start to organize them into a book form.

Monday, May 23, 2011

#66 The massive hair loss

I did it I cut my hair!!





And I love it!



I loved my long hair too but it was so much work to do anything with! I usually just threw it up in a bun and went on with my day.



But boy was it long!!









And now it is super short!!







My sister was there for support and the hair cut was a mother's day present.



And we went out for drinks afterward.







So now I just need to get all the hair together and ship it off to Locks of Love Hopefully with all that hair they can make one big ole thick wig for some sick kid!

Friday, May 20, 2011

#4

First step to learning how to sew, I bought a sewing machine!!

Went to some garage sales today and found a Singer 900 listed for $25. I talked them into throwing three bags of sewing things in with it for a total of $30. Not bad. It works and everything!!!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Pear Tartin and Roast Beef

Sunday I decided that I wanted a nice family dinner that would taste amazing! So i put together a pretty good menu. Roast beef in the crock pot with baby potatoes and mushrooms, a side of roasted brussel sprouts, a green salad. And then last minute I decided that such a lovely dinner needed a dessert. So I had some pears sitting on the counter and I remembered that I saw the Barefoot Contessa make this lovely cake with plums and i thought she had said that you could use apples, so i thought why not pears. Turned out beautiful and delicious!!

So for the roast i went online and googled around until I found a crock pot roast recipe with really good reviews. I don't remember where I found it, could have been on allrecipes.com

Amazingly easy crock pot roast!
1 packet dry brown gravy mix (i used the reduced sodium one)
1 packet dry italin dressing mix (I used the zesty mix)
1 packet dry ranch dressing mix
1/2 cup water
3-5 lb roast (I used a shoulder roast with the fat trimmed off)
Some potatoes
Some mushrooms

Throw the meat in the pot.
Mix all the packets in your water and then pour on and around the roast. My roast was only 3lbs and I used 3/4 water which was too much water. I would reccomend that a smaller roast use 1/2 cups water and for the larger roasts use 3/4 cups water.
Put it on low and let it cook all day.
(My mistake here was I put it on high in the morning and I overcooked the roast, still tasted really good but it was a little dry!)
A few hours before you are ready to serve the roast throw the potatoes in the pot. I don't like mushy potatoes with my roast.
Throw the mushrooms in and make sure they get all in the liquid so they get cooked too.

Serve and enjoy!

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Brussel Sprouts
sprinkle of olive oil
1/2 Red Onion sliced up
Mushrooms sliced
Lemon sliced
herbs de provence

pre-heat to 350
I use my pampered chef red baker, probably my favorite thing ever!!

So throw the brussel sprouts in the baker sprinkle the olive oil over them and then shake so they are all covered with the oil. throw in the sliced up onion and mushrooms and shake again. Sprinkle the herbs de provence on top, lay the lemon slices on top and cover. Put in the oven and let it cook until the sprouts are fork tender.

Now for the cake!

3 pears sliced and cored. (Enough for the cake and for snacking on while baking.)
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing the dish
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Confectioners' sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter a 9-inch glass pie dish and arrange the pears in the dish, cut side down.

Combine 1 cup of the granulated sugar and 1/3 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over high heat until it turns a warm amber color, about 360 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Swirl the pan but don't stir. Pour evenly over the pears.

Meanwhile, cream the 6 tablespoons of butter and the remaining 3/4 cup of granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy. Lower the speed and beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the sour cream, zest, and vanilla and mix until combined. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and, with the mixer on low speed, add it to the butter mixture. Mix only until combined.

Pour the cake batter evenly over the pears and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes, then invert the cake onto a flat plate. If a pears sticks, ease it out and replace it in the design on top of the cake. Serve warm or at room temperature, dusted with confectioners' sugar.



Eat while enjoy a nice glass of red wine!

I am going to cook more like this! I felt so good putting such a put together dinner down in front of my boys!

Friday, May 13, 2011

Dutch Babies

A friend gave me his wife's recipe for dutch babies so I had to try it out.

1/2 stick butter
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
4 eggs
dash of vanilla
dash of nutmeg
dash of cinnamon


Preheat oven to 425
Take a high walled baking apparatus (I used a cake round) and throw that stick of butter in it and throw it in the oven while you mix up the batter.

Throw the eggs in the blender and beat them. Add the milk and make sure it is covered up. Next add the flour and your dashes ( those were added by me and not in the original recipe) Once all mixed up, carefully pull the apparatus out of the oven and very carefully pour the batter in it.


Cook for 20 to 25 minutes.


Put obscene amounts of powdered sugar and some lemon juice on top. Eat. Enjoy!



I also chopped up some fuji apples and put them in the cake pan when I put it in the oven with the butter. The only thing I would change next time would be that I used whole wheat flour and the baby was a little dense. Still yummy but dense.

My Son's picture he took of with his little kid Fisher Price camera.

#72

Today I finally shipped off the hair to Locks of Love. Technically that was almost 15 years worth of hair!!

They should be able to make a nice wig out of all of that hair! Glad that I finally sent it off and am no longer a hair hoarder!!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

#30

I was hired on as a home caregiver. By far not my dream job at all. But it will pay the bills until school starts up again. I am also still turning in resumes and applications for better jobs, but my savings account says that I can not wait around anymore for the perfect job to come along.

Worst part is the only full time position they had is working Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 8am till 8pm. Ugh and ick!!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Knitting

So far this week I finished my Owl hat, started and finished a scarf, and I am now casting on a baby blanket!! Whew!

Pictures will come along soon! Camera broke while in Mexico and once I start getting paychecks I will get a new one. Borrowing my mom's and it is not that good.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

The official 101 in 1001 list!

I’m currently participating in a Day Zero Project. I have set myself 101 goals that I plan to accomplish in 1001 days. That’s approximately 2.75 years. Many people like to create lists of goals for themselves and allowing for a few seasons to pass allows for some greater goals to be placed on the list and allows more time to accomplish them!
The Challenge: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.
The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on your part).

Start Date: 1 May 2011
Due Date: 26 January 2014

For My Hands and Mind


1. Pick 5 new knitting patterns and complete them
2. Finish the random knitting projects around the house
3. Learn to crochet; complete a project
4. Learn to sew; complete a project
5. Read 101 books and write a short review about each.
6. See a foreign film in the theater.
7. Take 5 classes for fun.

Fitness/Health

8. Go running at least 2 a week for 10 weeks in a row.
9. Run a 5K
10. Run a 10K
11. Run a half marathon.
12. Run a marathon.
13. Get bike repaired and child attachment.
14. Reach weight goal of 160 pounds.

Family

15. Get a family picture taken.
16. Take a family vacation.
17. Go fishing.
18. Go camping.
19. Have a family night once a week. (board game and pizza and movie)
20. Go to Wildlife safari.
21. Go to Disneyland.

Foodie


22. Prepare 3 recipes from each cookbook I own.
23. Organize recipes and make a custom recipe book.
24. Pick fruit and make jam.
25. Can pickles.
26. Plant and maintain a herb garden.
27. Learn the basics of wine.
28. Go wine tasting.
29. Eat Vegetarian for one week.

Employment/Financial

30. Get a temporary job until school starts.
31. Volunteer at least 3 times a month.
32. Maintain credit card debt at under $500
33. Start a savings account for Steven.
34. Save as close to $4000 for last two terms of school.

School

35. Read readings from Patho/Pharm winter term.
36. Read readings from Patho/Pharm spring term.
37. Pass nursing course.
38. Gain certification for ACLS.
39. Take WR 227.
40. Graduate.

Home

41. Organize guest room.
42. Decorate guest room.
43. Decorate bathroom.
44. Decorate living room.
45. Organize pantry.
46. Make a freezer, fridge, and pantry list.
47. Decorate laundry room.
48. Get a bed.
49. Get new couches.
50. Plant raised beds.

Steven

51. Teach to write and recognize the alphabet.
52. Teach address.
53. Teach basic math concepts.
54. Teach how to rhyme.
55. Teach how to tie shoes.
56. Go to hiking 5 times.
57. Go to science factory once a month.
58. Swimming lessons.
59. T-ball
60. Karate class.
61. Get into kindergarten.
62. Teach sounds of letters.
63. Volunteer.

Health and Beauty

64. Use teeth whitening kit.
65. Wash face twice daily for 1 month.
66. Cut hair.
67. Perfect the smoky eye.
68. Drink 2 liters of water a day for 30 days straight.

Creativity

69. Make a blog entry for each thing on this list.
70. Take a picture to represent each thing on this list.
71. Take a picture a day for 30 days and blog them.

Philanthropy

72. Donate hair to locks of love
73. Send a care package to Iraq
74. donate $5 for every item not completed to a children charity.
75. Volunteer at the food bank.
76. Volunteer at Volunteers in Medicine.
77. Teach Steven how it is more important to give then it is to receive.

Miscellaneous

78. organize all photos and get rid of the ones that don't mean anything.
79. Label names on the back of all photos that I can.
80. Scan all photos onto the computer.
81. Learn to change a tire.
82. Have a fondue party.
83. Hire a maid service for a day.
84. Buy new camera.
85. Go "off the grid" for a weekend. (no phone, computer, electronic media)
86. Plant a tree
87. Get up early and watch the sunrise.
88. Go to a concert.
89. make Steven a Christmas stocking.
90. Use own bag for groceries only for a month.
91. Organize yarn stash, with patterns picked and printed for all yarn.
92. Compile all birthdays/anniversaries/important dates into a perpetual calender.
93. Downsize clothing; get rid of what doesn't fit or has not been worn in a long time.
94. Downsize shoes; get rid of what doesn't fit or has not been worn in a long time.
95. Make a list of 101 things that make me happy.
96. Donate blood 10 times.
97. Join a book club.
98. Write and mail 5 handwritten notes.
99. See the Northern Lights.
100. Visit the Grand Canyon.
101. Build a bookcase.


Wish Me Luck!!

My list

So the list begins!

The hardest part is narrowing down what to put on the list! I have to keep telling myself I have 1001 days to get everything done and that it's OK to dream a little big on some of them.

Phew it took forever (well maybe not forever) but I have compiled a list of 101 things that I want to accomplish in the next 1001 days! I am pretty sure that I can accomplish everything on this list! Some will be harder then others but I am confident that I can do this!

Friday, April 29, 2011

Inspiration

Stumbling around the internet I found this great idea that has inspired me.

101 in 1001.

So the idea is that you make a list of 101 goals and then you accomplish them in 1001 days.

Seems simple in a way. But I am torn do I stick to the original idea or should I tweak, cause heaven knows I can't leave well enough alone! I have just over 200 days till I start school up again, and I was thinking about making a list of goals that need to be accomplished before school restarts.

Now to determine a list of items. I must admit I took some list ideas from different sites. Wanted to see how others were organizing the lists and so forth. Google 101 in 1001 and tons of responses come back to you.

So first step is to make a list. My deadline is Sunday at midnight!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Almost 20 days later

So how about that I call myself a slacker and vow to do better and what do I do????

Slack off some more!

Well at least I slacked off with he blog not so much with eh real life.


Lets see the last 20 days....

Job searching
Job Searching
Mexico (amazing)
Job searching
stomach bug that made me lose 5 pounds (now I have to keep it off!)

Did I mention job searching

No really I have done other things too. I finally finished cleaning my side of the office. Needs decorating and bookshelves but it is useful now.

I have been knitting away at my second attempt of the Owl Hat, and I am making great progress.

I am reading a great book.

I got Kiddo enrolled with a new speech teacher.


And I finally have an interview tomorrow!! A work from home position that i think would be perfect for me.

So all in all life goes on!

Friday, April 8, 2011

Slacker

Who hasn't wrote anything in a while.....who.....oh that's right me!

So I am back in the nursing program bitches!! I have to wait till next year and is space available of course. So now here I go being a bad person and wanting people to fail. Sad I know but I am almost 30 and I need to get done with school.

And since I have a year off I have to gain employment. Ick job searching Ick!! I have had one interview so far, with no call back!! But I dropped n application off at the job site where a bunch of my friends work so there is hope there. Then I get to work in an office and wear cute clothes and heels!! I think that I will probably try and get a job at an in home care place also for a couple shifts a week providing in home care on top of the office work. Get me that little extra bit of money and keep my patient skills top notch.

The saddest part of it all is that when I lost my school funding I also lost Kiddo's school grant. So now he has lost his friends, teachers and speech therapy. If I can gain employment that pays enough I am going to put him in the school down the street that looks amazing!!

OK so on to me and what I am planning on doing!

I plan on re-decorating this entire house!! I am going to go through and clean it up first and then take before pictures of every room. I have been scouring the decorating blogs for ideas and I am pretty sure of what I want to do in each room.

I have also stumbled upon the best website ever. It is this amazing place where a housewife in Alaska makes her own furniture and then posts the designs I want to make this media cabinet and this closet storage and this craft table/desk and ultimately I want to make this bed with the BF, how romantic would that be!!

As for my weight loss journey it has been a rough and bumpy (my thighs) road. I gained about 5 pounds during the last couple weeks of school and I have slowly been getting it to come back off. I am back to my weight before finals. I am going to stay strong and use this as a way to encourage me to continue being diligent!

Last night I was goofing off around on the internet, stumbling around. I fell on this website about eating raw. Now I don't think that I can eat raw or give up meat and dairy! But I did have a smoothie for breakfast.

Green Yumminess
1 Mango
1 Fuji apple
5 Strawberries
Handful of Kale
Half a cucumber
6 oz of water

Chop up and throw in a blender and bled till smooth!!


I took a bunch of their smoothie ideas and made what i could with what was in my kitchen. Best part is since it is all fruit and veggies.....a big fat ZERO points!!

Later I am going to breakdown my rooms and ideas for each one. Till then have a good day!!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Salmon and Risotto

This is out of order but I made Salmon with pesto and I served it with a mushroom risotto.

I made the pesto first and I was not to sure how this would turn out. The recipe doesn't use any nuts in it and when I tasted the pesto it was REALLY strong! I added a little water to the recipe, since it was soooo thick. I then spread it on the top of my salmon fillets and threw them in the oven.



While they baked I started in on the risotto.
Saute the shallots.


Next add the white wine and then the rice.


Then comes the tedious part. Add a cup of the chicken stock and stir it till the rice soaks it all up...and then repeat....and repeat....and repeat....and repeat....and repeat...you get the idea.

I love the colors it is so very springy!! The bright green of the salmon pesto and the salad. And it was delish!! Got a thumbs up from the kiddo and the BF said it was great too!

Speaking of the BF he came home and surprised me with flowers!! He makes me feel so good sometimes.

Finnally a weigh in that I am not ashamed of...

So today was weigh in day and after two weeks of big gains I stepped on the scale with no positive thoughts. And to my surprise there was a 2 pound loss. So I guess that means I am on my way back towards losing.
My lovely breakfast and this weeks little book!
Try to make sure that Steven also has a healthy snack during our meetings!


At today's meeting we talked about how we recover from set backs. I shared that my life has fallen down around me and that for two weeks I gained but this week I was able to turn it around and I lost two pounds. I realized that while I have lost control over my life and future (for the moment) I can control my weight.

Today I just feel down. Feel tired and grouchy and sad and just not good at all.

Yesterday I spent a wonderful day with my nursing school friends shopping for a wedding dress. It was wonderful, I was really worried it would be awkward due to me being all kicked out and stuff. But we had fun, there was laughter and good tears and lunch!


Made pork chops for dinner tonight with mushrooms and shallots. Served with multi-grain bread, salad, and leftover risotto. Super yummy, but just did not really feel like eating.
First I seasoned the pork chops with salt and pepper and threw them in the cast iron for about 5 minutes on each side. Then they went in the oven at 350 while I finished up the sauce.

In the same pan that the pork chops had just been in I threw in a little extra butter adn then one cut up shallot and part of an onion that I found in the fridge. Once they were soft I added a cup of chicken stock and then the mushrooms. This is where the BF came in and started cooking with me. He added some red wine to the mix and was my stirrer.
We took the chops back out of the oven and threw them in the sauce so they could soak up some of the flavor.
What a lovely looking dinner. Too bad I didn't feel like eating....sad face.





Maybe if I go to bed early. I am starting to lose interest in the things that I thought I would spend my free time doing. I have not knitted or read since my test. I did do some organizing today. Started on the guest room and the office. My goal is to get them completely organized and usable and presentable.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Some Food Pictures

I can not wait to get a nice fancy camera that will take pictures that look like this.

Those are my Rootbeer Float Cookies that I made for a fundraiser at school.

Instead my food pictures end up like these:

This is my St. Patrick's Day dinner. It was amazing! Found the recipe over at my favorite skinny recipe website ever! Also found a recipe for cauliflower that I even loved! I am not usually a fan of the cauliflower!

Or even this picture:

This is my breakfast. My goal is to get back on track with weight watchers. Because I am going to have to start doing it on my own without the meetings so I need to get my ass in gear! This is my 4 point breakfast.
oatmeal cooked with frozen berries and just a tiny sprinkle of brown sugar.
Fresh strawberries
Earl Gray tea.

Filling and delicious!

I mean these are taken with a point and shoot digital camera so there is a limit to what I can do with it but what a difference! The cookie picture was taken by my friend Amy and she definitely has an artistic eye! Here's hoping that once I get a fancy camera it comes with the artistic eye included already!!

The new coupon lady!

Now that I am out of school and my main source of income is gone!! Sad day!! I am going to be a coupon clipping, penny pinching, red headed lady! Well hopefully we will see.

I love to shop!! I am not going to lie and keep that hidden, I LOVE TO SHOP!! It is great after a hard to day, or a rainy day, well any day really. But I need to stop using that (and food) as a way to deal with life and stress.

So I started googling around on the internet and found the Krazy Coupon Lady's website. Fell in love!! I printed everything off I needed to start couponing away! Even went to all the different coupon sites and printed off a ton of coupons. Then I came home spread it all out and started clipping away.
Notice the wine, can't coupon without it!

I am now just waiting on the inserts I bought from Ebay to get here and I will put together a coupon binder!! It is surprisingly hard to find those plastic binder pages that kids use to put their baseball cards in. But find them I did!

So once they get here and I can take the coupons out of the envelopes they are in I will take some pictures of my progression. And of course once I do a shopping trip with coupons I will post about that also.