thursday's ten or so: the january goals edition

so i've been a little lax on the blog this year, but that's ok. i've been formulating a new plan for what i'm going to be doing this year in terms of goals, and i've come up with a fun way to combine one of my favorite things (making lists) with another favorite (pinterest).  this year instead of having random goals that i can't really "track" i'm trying to do ten things a month that fall into the categories of:

1- try new recipes (because we all know i love the cooking)
2- improve overall health
3- do something creative
4- invest in relationships (God, husband, friends, co-workers, etc)
5- have FUN
6- organizations/improvements in general

so, i'm creating a board for each month (not all of them exist yet) of things that somehow fit one or more categories.  here is january's list

1 - start a "blessings" jar for 2013. more on that as it comes {creative, fun, relationships)
2 - create a vegetable soup recipe that both anthony and i will enjoy. i hope. {recipes, health}
3 - try the meat/egg in muffin tin recipe {recipes}
4 - recipe for tortellini spinach bake {recipes}
5 - recipe for hashbrown quiches {recipes}*
6 - get in a routine of exercising in the mornings {health}
7 - recipe for balsamic carrots {recipes, health, relationships (because it's mainly for A)}
8 - recipe for blt pasta salad {recipes}
9 - reorganizing the kitchen utensils/counters/drawers {organization}
10 - trying the mint tin storage solution {organization}
this month it's a bit recipe-heavy. hopefully the months will even out a bit...this was just my first attempt at a monthly goals board.  we're a little over halfway through the month, and i have done a few of these already! i'll post pictures/give an update at the end of january or beginning of february along with feb's goals! i think this is going to be fun :-)

*swapped this one for another salad type recipe that i realized i'd rather have in warmer weather! perhaps the low 20s this week made me reconsider!

join me?
or at least share some of this year's hopes/dreams/goals with me!

thursday's ten or so: a week off

we're out for "summer break" this week.
and here's what's been done so far


on the completed or in progress list
re-organized the closet in our room (it.was.insane. and it's not done yet.)
painted my nails in the spirit of the fourth of july

played a super competitive game of spoons with anthony, his two sisters and his sister's boyfriend (blood was drawn. more than once.)

cleaned the kitchen. and again.
finalized the menu for the month of july
baked cookies. was thankful that they tasted good.

attempted to catch up to the laundry monster that has taken over our entire upstairs (see first item and add 1000% to the insanity)
bought a new pair of toms that i LOVE (finally used my birthday money...yeah, from march.)

(they say "let love rule", which is pretty much me to a t) 

taught 3 piano lessons on a holiday
prayed for thunder rumbles to turn into rain. repeatedly.
thought about exercising
reached my first weight loss goal of the summer...and not stopped. (operation get healthier is in full swing around here!)
snuggled with emi

 watched (lots of) tv with the hubster
changed my facebook profile pic to this one 

still to do?
set up the hammock
hang out with one of my bff's tonight (yay!)
host our first night of movie lead-ins to dark knight rises...we're showing batman begins at our house friday night
more time with emi
and a whole lot more cleaning
and hopefully another blog or 5.


i've got to admit that being on an academic calendar (even though it's REALLY modified) is quite nice.  a free week off over the fourth of july? anthony and i are talking about trying to go somewhere for the fourth next year (like dc or boston, maybe san diego, even nyc) since it'll be "free" vacation for me and he gets more vacation days than i do!  and then we can still take an anniversary getaway later in the year.  just speculation for the moment...but how about it? anybody have a recommendation for the PERFECT place to spend the fourth?

hey, it's ok (2.21)

hey, it's ok


...to take a day off when it's handed to you (rather than going into the office of your other job even for just a couple of hours)
...to alternate bouts of productivity with moments of rest 
...to keep the kleenex box next to you at all times (today that's not just ok it's necessary!)
...to reorganize a kitchen cabinet 3 times in one afternoon
...to be likely to organize said cabinet again in the near future
...to not have blogged in a long time (oops)
...to have discovered that we really like annie's boxed mac and cheese on occasion
...to be sort of addicted to juicing
...to wonder if the laundry will completely overtake us one of these days


(go visit amber's amazing blog and join up with your own list!)

thursday's ten: currently

i ran across this post on one of my favorite blogs last week, and just had to use it sometime.  what better time than for thursday's ten?






currently listening on repeat to
mostly pandora stations, but the new Jesus Culture album gets my attention each time.  may have to be my next purchase with those gift cards i got for christmas!

currently planning to cook
in the next two weeks, new (to me) recipes will include slow cooker Thai beef, a stuffed baguette, gyros, bacon and caramelized onion tart, and some sort of garlic cheesy bread

currently reading
the lost symbol (dan brown)
and a book that i'll be reviewing here soon: close enough to hear God breathe (greg paul)

currently discovering
how incredibly handy my food processor is.  i use that thing at LEAST every other day.  love.it.

currently catching up on the trend of
big bang theory.  we started watching season one on new year's eve and are now partly through season 3. if we didn't have to do silly things like sleep we'd probably be caught up to the current season!

currently organizing
guest rooms and closets.  of course, the pantry/kitchen is ever-ongoing

currently dreading
cleaning out the garage and storage room or as they are known around here the "just put it in the..." areas

currently drinking
the usual suspects of water with fresh mint, daily coffee and the occasional stevia sweet tea, soda stream or diet coke.  we've also discovered the carbonated zevia drinks at whole foods are are liking them too

currently desiring
a juicer...a good blender...more toms...uggs...a north face jacket...and lululemon yoga/dance pants

currently creating
mischief?  i've been more creative in the kitchen than with jewelry or other crafting lately, but i think it's time to make a few fun pieces, even if they're just for me :-)


what's currently going on with you?

thursday's ten: pinterest love

have i mentioned i love pinterest?


today's list is compiled of ten ideas i've ACTUALLY used from the site!  these are the first ten pins i've completed, but i'm sure there will be more editions to come :-)






(1) my very first one was this idea to use magazine racks for pantry organization.  i did this pretty much when i moved in in august.

"pinspiration"

i started with one...

and ended up with a "few"

verdict: LOVE.  our cans are no longer out of control!

(2) i FLIPPED when i saw the idea of the date stitched into hem of your wedding dress so i asked my friend who was doing the alterations if that was a possibility.  she replied that she was already thinking of surprising me with that very thing!

pinspiration

unfortunately, my dress is currently at the in-laws and i can't post a picture of my result...but i'll try to remember to do that later!


verdict: loved making this my something blue, and love it being permanently on the dress!

(3) then i kept seeing a pin for a crock pot breakfast casserole.  tried it one saturday morning...

pinspiration

actuality

even though it went IN looking good!

verdict: one time only.  it was dry and even though it tasted ok, it's nothing spectacular.




(4) then i saw one using spice shelves for organizing the bathroom sink.  since i was frustrated with our medicine bottle organization, i decided to adapt it.

pinspiration

our take on it

verdict: it's not perfect, but it's WAY better than before!






(5) then i saw this one.  it was two dressers back to back to make a kitchen island, but that's not what drew me in.  see, we had repurposed a similar dresser as our entryway piece, and i wanted it not to look like...a dresser!  and i already had some fun bird and branch wall stickers...

pinspiration

result

i love the bird on top :-)

verdict: i really like i, and so does anthony!  it's subtle, but just quirky enough to be "us" AND bonus: it makes the repurposed dresser "fit" more in the living area.




(6) i thought these crescent roll desserts looked yummy...

pinspiration

adaption 

verdict: we loved them and experiment with other flavor combos when we make them :)


(7) i found another idea i thought was brilliant: sheets stored in their own pillow cases.  i decided to try it out.

reality

pinspiration

verdict: it may not look as neat as the original but it definitely makes life easier!

just wanted to prove that the closet as a whole is neater than that shelf!

(8) natasha and i wanted to make one of the several recipes we have found on pinterest.  we settled (easily) on buffalo chicken tacos.

pinspiration

we did a build your own bar 

Anthony's plate was a work of art!

verdict: we loved them!  definitely a keeper recipe

(9) the idea of wine cork journaling was intriguing to me -- basically you open a bottle of wine and have the guests who are there that night sign the cork.

pinspiration

our ONE example :-)

verdict: it's a great idea, but we don't open wine for every occasion that we'd like to remember...and some wine isn't corked!  so we'll use it when we have a chance :-)

10) menu dry erase board

pinspiration

ours

 verdict: we've just started using it, but so far i'm a fan!


are you a pinterest lover?  have you used any of the ideas from the site?  tell me!

hey, it's ok (tuesday) 11.15

hey, it's ok

...to not put up a post yesterday.  it was going to be another wedding post but i simply do not have the photos uploaded yet.
...to have JUST added to my to-do list: upload wedding photos
...to wish i could show you photos of the cuteness i just captured from baby g.  suffice it to say, she's adorable.
...to be having WAY too much fun with siri on my new iphone
...to be considering putting up a "what i'm wearing" post every week or so BUT
...to then realize that i dress quite casually at least 2 days a week so that would likely be boring for you all
...to feel a sense of accomplishment for getting all my food boards on pinterest organized this morning #dork
...to use hashtags outside of twitter as long as it's not #allthetime #likethis #seewhatididthere
...to be ready to have our crap organized and the house looking GREAT
...to realize that is not going to happen in the next week or two based on our schedules
...to have to be ok with that

please visit this great blog to see the original and link up with your own list of things that are ok!

hey, it's ok (tuesday)

hey, it's ok

...to have found a line of suuuuper comfy sweatpants (bamboo and organic cotton, thank you) that you pretty much want to live in.
...to be planning one full evening of creating tomorrow. here's hoping the necklace i have in my head is as fantastic as i think it will be!
...to be honored that i have been chosen to take over the boss's emails and other duties while she's away. considering i have only been at this job since late july, that's pretty cool...and YAY for extra hours worked meaning extra money for wedding stuff!
...to be nerdily (?) excited about the idea of sitting down with my future hubby and coming up with a tentative monthly budget. now...if only we could find a time to SIT.DOWN. ;-)
...to hope that the 24/7 post office is still in service, since i will most likely need to use it wednesday late!
...to feel a *need* to find your label maker for pantry items and the storage room. because, whats more fun than a crisp and shiny label on stuff?
...to hope that there is a fabric out there that both anthony and i will LOVE to recover the couch in the living room with. i so want my red and turquoise scheme, and that just isn't going to happen with the couch in it's present condition.
...to be absolutely one hundred percent disgusted by the slug you found eating the cat food late last night. what is the DEAL with that anyway? been there, done that...maybe i should find some high-sodium food for emi.

go to amber's blog to link up with your own list of ok things...or just to read some awesomely funny stuff.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

hey, it's ok (tuesday)

hey, it's ok

...to be sooooo sleepy
...to "trap" the baby and yourself upstairs when she decides to climb the stairs, because frankly you're tired of chasing her. either (a) she wants to play upstairs and will be content or (b) realize that she's stuck in the place she chooses if she climbs and not climb as often. either way, we both win :-)
...to be excited about stocking a nice, spacious pantry
...on that note, to be thrilled to be able to move a little at a time.  and YES i know y'all still don't know the story.  it deserves it's own post ;-)
...to be almost a little sad that this phase of the diet is nearly over.  i mean, eating dairy and olive oil again will be really nice.  but i have felt SO.GOOD on this phase, and i know for sure that sugar intake will be MUCH less from this point on
...to really, really, really want to organize your cd collection.  but to realize that it would be pointless since you're going to be merging collections soon anyway...
...to realize that the very nature of moving means that there will be plans needed and organization galore and that means you can be in your happy place for a very.long.time :D

mmmkay, that was a bit boring, no?  sorry...maybe i'll have better things next time around!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

hey, it's ok (tuesday) .8

(go to amber's blog for the original)

hey, it's ok

... to want to reach through the tv screen and shake Haddie (parenthood) for being such a selfish brat

... to get completely excited about the smallest things

... to get a slight thrill about putting away dishes.  there's something about restoring everything to their order...yes, i'm sick.

... to heart oreos.  specifically double stuf.  more specifically, with mint cream.

... to use the word heart.

... to sometimes watch silly old movies and get completely immersed in the stories (three men and a baby anyone?)

... to smile every time you see emi using her christmas present (anthony and i got her a small "cat mat" and she LOVES it)
... to stay up way past your bedtime talking to your love on the phone :)