I think that no matter how old you are or how much experience you have, you always get nervous on your first few days of something new. Whether that is a new job, a new relationship, starting new classes, or moving someplace new you always get those little butterflies and wonder if you made the right decision.
I started a new job on Tuesday and it's not a hard job by any means, but like any new venture there are a lot of things to learn. I know that within the week I'll be more comfortable and all the butterflies will be gone, but in the mean time I'll continue to have a case of the "First Days."
Friday, April 2, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
A Great Meal
I absolutely love pasta. I can't get enough of it. If I could, I'm pretty sure I would have some kind of meal that includes pasta in it every night, however that is not so waist friendly. Once a week or every two weeks is ok, right? Hello? Right!!?
I recently discovered a great and very easy bolognese sauce. It's a Kraft Food recipe and soooo delicious (I'll include the actual recipe below). Normally we just have the spaghetti and call it quits, but since I was feeling very generous today and Z got a job, I decided to indulge in some homemade garlic bread!!! Yay!
As I type there is a scrumptious italian bread loaf sitting cut in half lengthwise with melted butter mixed with roasted garlic spread all over it!! I roasted the garlic with olive oil and S&P in a 325 degree oven for 50 minutes. Then, I mixed it with some softened butter. I was a little eager and just threw it all together and then mashed it up, but I would suggest mashing up the garlic first before mixing it up with the butter. Then I just spread it all over the bread. It smells so delicious!!
Just look at all those chunks of roasted garlic!
To start this scrumptious meal, you will cook some Zesty Italian dressing with a small chopped onion until the onion is nice and tender. Then add in a pound of extra lean meat.
Cook until the meat is browned and add in a can of tomato sauce and a can of diced tomatoes.
Mix it all up nicely and bring it to a boil. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Place the bread in the oven.
In the meantime, hopefully your pasta water is boiling so you can cook the spaghetti according to the directions on the package. (Please don't judge me by the quality of my photos, I haven't quite mastered the whole cook with one hand and take pictures with the other!)
Once the pasta is al dente, drain it and then sit around and wait a few minutes until your husband comes home from the driving range.
Take out the garlic bread from the oven (I cooked the bread in a 400 degree oven for about 8 minutes and then I turned off the oven and left it in there to keep it warm without it getting too brown.)
With the heat on low or off, mix in the cream cheese and parmesan cheese. Once the cream cheese is completely melted and mixed in, add the spaghetti and mix it up.
Serve with some garlic toast and you could even serve it with a side salad if you wanted to pretend to be healthy!
This is one of my most favorite meals and I hope you enjoy it too!
Spaghetti with Zesty Bolognese (6 servings):
Ingredients:
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup Light Zesty Italian Dressing
1 lb extra lean ground beef
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
3/4 lb (12oz) spaghetti (we use whole wheat)
2 Tbsp Light Cream Cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
How to Make it:
Cook and stir onions in dressing in large skillet on medium heat until crisp-tender. Add meat; cook on medium-high heat until browned, stirring frequently. Stir in tomato sauce and tomatoes. Bring to boil; simmer on medium-low for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, cook spaghetti as directed on package.
Remove sauce from heat. Add cream cheese; stir until melted. Drain spaghetti and place in large bowl. Top with sauce and parmesan.
Enjoy!
I recently discovered a great and very easy bolognese sauce. It's a Kraft Food recipe and soooo delicious (I'll include the actual recipe below). Normally we just have the spaghetti and call it quits, but since I was feeling very generous today and Z got a job, I decided to indulge in some homemade garlic bread!!! Yay!
As I type there is a scrumptious italian bread loaf sitting cut in half lengthwise with melted butter mixed with roasted garlic spread all over it!! I roasted the garlic with olive oil and S&P in a 325 degree oven for 50 minutes. Then, I mixed it with some softened butter. I was a little eager and just threw it all together and then mashed it up, but I would suggest mashing up the garlic first before mixing it up with the butter. Then I just spread it all over the bread. It smells so delicious!!
Just look at all those chunks of roasted garlic!
To start this scrumptious meal, you will cook some Zesty Italian dressing with a small chopped onion until the onion is nice and tender. Then add in a pound of extra lean meat.
Cook until the meat is browned and add in a can of tomato sauce and a can of diced tomatoes.
Mix it all up nicely and bring it to a boil. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Place the bread in the oven.
In the meantime, hopefully your pasta water is boiling so you can cook the spaghetti according to the directions on the package. (Please don't judge me by the quality of my photos, I haven't quite mastered the whole cook with one hand and take pictures with the other!)
Once the pasta is al dente, drain it and then sit around and wait a few minutes until your husband comes home from the driving range.
Take out the garlic bread from the oven (I cooked the bread in a 400 degree oven for about 8 minutes and then I turned off the oven and left it in there to keep it warm without it getting too brown.)
With the heat on low or off, mix in the cream cheese and parmesan cheese. Once the cream cheese is completely melted and mixed in, add the spaghetti and mix it up.
Serve with some garlic toast and you could even serve it with a side salad if you wanted to pretend to be healthy!
This is one of my most favorite meals and I hope you enjoy it too!
Spaghetti with Zesty Bolognese (6 servings):
Ingredients:
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup Light Zesty Italian Dressing
1 lb extra lean ground beef
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
3/4 lb (12oz) spaghetti (we use whole wheat)
2 Tbsp Light Cream Cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
How to Make it:
Cook and stir onions in dressing in large skillet on medium heat until crisp-tender. Add meat; cook on medium-high heat until browned, stirring frequently. Stir in tomato sauce and tomatoes. Bring to boil; simmer on medium-low for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, cook spaghetti as directed on package.
Remove sauce from heat. Add cream cheese; stir until melted. Drain spaghetti and place in large bowl. Top with sauce and parmesan.
Enjoy!
Friday, March 26, 2010
I wish..
I wish that we never had to leave here
I wish we had a house with a view like this
Luckily, I don't need to wish for this
because I have everything I need.
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I wish we had a house with a view like this
Luckily, I don't need to wish for this
because I have everything I need.
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Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Waaaayyyy Tooooo Long!!!
I know, I know, it has been way too long since I posted anything. So, I am now going to make up for it. First off, I did get my hair cut actually at the end of January because Aveda had an awesome deal going where you could get a free conditioning treatment with any service. Isn't that sweet. Anywho, here is the picture:
It looks pretty close to the Heidi cut don't you think? I liked it a lot, however it has officially grown out and doesn't look like this anymore. It doesn't look bad, but its not this good.
Secondly, I did go to Maryland a few weeks ago and it was great to see my friends again. It had been way too long since I'd seen them and I hope that we will keep in touch better until we see each other again. What was also really awesome is getting to see the babies!! Page has grown up so much, she is almost 2 and I finally got to meet Jacob, who is 6 months. Here are some cute pics:
Lastly, it has been a tough few weeks. I unfortunately was laid off from my job because the practice was essentially sold to another practitioner and they didn't need an additional employee. Also, our lease on our apartment is up in May and when we went in to renew it, the shortest lease is through March, which is 3 months longer than we were hoping for. Also, Z and I have both been a little under the weather. Good news is that we are together and things really really aren't that bad. I have two interviews tomorrow and Z had a great interview today with Golfsmith. We have also worked out the issue with the lease, we still have it through March but we figured out some options. And, I'm starting to feel better, hopefully Z will also soon!
So, now I've updated you on my hair, my friends, and complained to you about our silly little issues. I think we're caught up for now!
Love ya!
It looks pretty close to the Heidi cut don't you think? I liked it a lot, however it has officially grown out and doesn't look like this anymore. It doesn't look bad, but its not this good.
Secondly, I did go to Maryland a few weeks ago and it was great to see my friends again. It had been way too long since I'd seen them and I hope that we will keep in touch better until we see each other again. What was also really awesome is getting to see the babies!! Page has grown up so much, she is almost 2 and I finally got to meet Jacob, who is 6 months. Here are some cute pics:
Lastly, it has been a tough few weeks. I unfortunately was laid off from my job because the practice was essentially sold to another practitioner and they didn't need an additional employee. Also, our lease on our apartment is up in May and when we went in to renew it, the shortest lease is through March, which is 3 months longer than we were hoping for. Also, Z and I have both been a little under the weather. Good news is that we are together and things really really aren't that bad. I have two interviews tomorrow and Z had a great interview today with Golfsmith. We have also worked out the issue with the lease, we still have it through March but we figured out some options. And, I'm starting to feel better, hopefully Z will also soon!
So, now I've updated you on my hair, my friends, and complained to you about our silly little issues. I think we're caught up for now!
Love ya!
Friday, January 22, 2010
2010 Want, Need, Must Have List
Since Z and I are on such a tight budget this year I can't just go out willy nilly and buy or do things for myself or for Z, however everyone needs something to look forward to every month. So, I've created this list of items or events that I will get or do each month. Of course, as we all know, my mind changes a lot so these might not hold true but hey, at least I have something to look forward to!
January: We found a great, fun, cheap place to hang out with a very dear and old friend - Juan Jaime's Tacos and Tequila! It sounds yummy doesn't it, and guess what - it was! Although you might want to learn to say, "No more margaritas!" if you want to get out of there alive! Ha! Z and I went there with a very dear friend of mine whom I have known my entire life. Unfortunately she is leaving us to go to another job in Maryland! But we sure had fun with Tacos and Tequila!!
February: I haven't had my haircut since April, can you believe it!!! So, I have decided to get a haircut and maybe even highlights done this month. I'm thinking something like this picture of Heidi Klum. I could pull it off right?
March: My three bestest friends and I are going to meet up this month for a girls getaway. I'm very excited cause I haven't seen them for over a year!! AND I finally get to meet little Jacob!!
April: April showers bring.....This month I will be rewarding myself with the super luxuriant Kiehls Creme De Corps Nurturing Body Wash Creme - yum, I sense a lot of wonderful showers/baths this month.
May: ....May flowers. I absolutely love having flowers around the house, however when on a budget they are very unnecessary, however this month I'm going to treat myself and our apartment with a stargazer lily bouqet!
June: It's time to get some new running shoes! Maybe these from New Balance?!?
July: The sun is shining and the temperatures are rising! It's time for a new bathing suit just in time for the 4th of July. I love Victoria Secret bathing suits, maybe something like this one:
August: Z and I are going to try to go to Hawaii for a week so that he can pass around his resumes and get his name out there - and just enjoy the island!! However, if we can't do that, we WILL have our very own AZ Luau!
September: I imagine that we may still be recovering from our trip to Hawaii so this month we are just going to enjoy a nice Movie and Dinner date!
October: I'm thinking it might be time for another haircut? Or at least some new hair products from my favorite store, Aveda!
November: Hmmm, I can't think this far ahead. My brain hurts!
December: Well, this is an easy month! Go home for Christmas!!! It has been way too long!
January: We found a great, fun, cheap place to hang out with a very dear and old friend - Juan Jaime's Tacos and Tequila! It sounds yummy doesn't it, and guess what - it was! Although you might want to learn to say, "No more margaritas!" if you want to get out of there alive! Ha! Z and I went there with a very dear friend of mine whom I have known my entire life. Unfortunately she is leaving us to go to another job in Maryland! But we sure had fun with Tacos and Tequila!!
February: I haven't had my haircut since April, can you believe it!!! So, I have decided to get a haircut and maybe even highlights done this month. I'm thinking something like this picture of Heidi Klum. I could pull it off right?
March: My three bestest friends and I are going to meet up this month for a girls getaway. I'm very excited cause I haven't seen them for over a year!! AND I finally get to meet little Jacob!!
April: April showers bring.....This month I will be rewarding myself with the super luxuriant Kiehls Creme De Corps Nurturing Body Wash Creme - yum, I sense a lot of wonderful showers/baths this month.
May: ....May flowers. I absolutely love having flowers around the house, however when on a budget they are very unnecessary, however this month I'm going to treat myself and our apartment with a stargazer lily bouqet!
June: It's time to get some new running shoes! Maybe these from New Balance?!?
July: The sun is shining and the temperatures are rising! It's time for a new bathing suit just in time for the 4th of July. I love Victoria Secret bathing suits, maybe something like this one:
August: Z and I are going to try to go to Hawaii for a week so that he can pass around his resumes and get his name out there - and just enjoy the island!! However, if we can't do that, we WILL have our very own AZ Luau!
September: I imagine that we may still be recovering from our trip to Hawaii so this month we are just going to enjoy a nice Movie and Dinner date!
October: I'm thinking it might be time for another haircut? Or at least some new hair products from my favorite store, Aveda!
November: Hmmm, I can't think this far ahead. My brain hurts!
December: Well, this is an easy month! Go home for Christmas!!! It has been way too long!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Ten of My Favorite Things
Today I am going to write about some of my favorite materialistic things. I've been itching to do some shopping, but I really don't want to spend any money, so I decided to compile this list of all the really wonderful things I already have. Most should have pictures, but for those that don't, "I'm workin' on it!"
#1 - Knee High Black Boots - They are from the Naturalizer, which I normally would associate with older ladies, but lets face it, we are all getting older and I require comfortable shoes. I have never really been able to wear heels successfully, despite the fact that I am five foot nothing and married to a man that is over six feet tall!! So, when I found these wonderful boots which have a heel and I can wear them around all day everyday, I was very excited.
#2 - Jewelry - I just started wearing real jewelry again, as in earrings, necklaces, etc. There are certain pieces that I have really really been liking lately, so I am going to include them here. First, my pearl earrings, which I have always loved and were pretty much the only earrings I have worn in the past 5 years until recently. I have really loved pairing them with an old choker necklace of my grandma's. It has pearls and rhinestones all over it and I love it! Lastly, these chandelier earrings, which are super old and I'm sure really cheap, but for some reason I'm loving them right now!
#3 - Bath and Body Works Wild Honeysuckle - This is just an amazing scent and I can't get enough of it. It reminds me of Hawaii - I don't really think it smells all that tropical but I started wearing it there so it takes me back - and it smells really really good when mixed with sandy beaches! (It's too bad that we don't have scratch and sniff computers!)
#4 - Candles - I love all candles, especially Yankee Candles because they smell so freakin' yummy!! I love the Vanilla Cupcake candles because they smell like 3000 calories without the guilt! For Christmas time I always try to get a Balsam scent so that it smells like Christmas trees and for the Fall a Pumpkin smell is a must have!! Oh, and word to the wise, do not, I repeat DO NOT go to the Yankee Candle website because you will see all these wonderful scents that they have and you will want to buy them all - I know because I just made that mistake!!!
#5 - Nail Polish - Now that I am no longer in the Navy I can paint my fingernails any friggin' color I want! Ha! Take that Navy! Ok, so now that that little tantrum is over, I just got some new polish from Ulta. They are a brand called China Glaze, which had nail hardeners in it and it provides very nice sheen and coverage. The first color is called Let's Groove and is a deep purple and the other is called Cords and it is a kind of a gun metal silver. Very nice for winter!
#6 - Cardigans - I know, I know, I sound like an old lady, but I do love Cardigans. They are great for layering and can be casual, great for work, and even nice for going out. My favorite one that I have right now is a magenta 3/4 sleeve sweater from Talbots. It is perfect!! I would like to have one in every color, but well, that is just excessive! (I don't have a pic of this one, sorry!)
#7 - Black Velvet Corduroys - Over Christmas break I purchased some great black velvet cords from Banana Republic. They were on sale and I could have gotten more, but I decided that they probably wouldn't be short enough for me and I would either have to get them altered or return them, so I only got the one! Ahh!! After one washing they were perfect length (when wearing my awesome knee-high black boots) and now they don't seem to sell them anymore! Crap! (Don't have a pic of these either, well I do, but it's not very good, they just look like black pants)
#8 - Mix and Match PJs - I love pajamas!! Just ask my Mom! Every year for Christmas she gets my sister and I a new set of PJs and well, this year she went over board and got three sets! But what is super wonderful about them is that they all mix and match!! Two of them are pant sets and the other one is shorts, but the shorts go with the other two tops and the short set top goes with the other two pants! Love it!!
#9 - Nora Roberts and Andrew M Greeley Novels - Lately I've been on a kick of reading books in a series. These aren't like Harry Potter or Twilight series because each book is technically independent of the others and you could probably just read one and be ok, but well, you know me I am a little OCD and I must read them all!! I love Nora Roberts, in particular her Wedding Quartet. It is about 4 best friends who own a Wedding Planning company and each book takes one of their perspectives. The other series I love is the Nuala Anne McGrail series from Andrew M Greeley. There are a ton of them and I've read about 5 of them back in the day, but since then he's put out quite a few more and thanks to my wonderful local library I am able to start reading those again. They are about an Irish couple who solves crimes in Chicago (I know, a little far-fetched but I love them anyway).
#10 - Aveda Hair Care Products - Some of my favorites from Aveda are the Rosemary Mint Shampoo and Conditioner, a mix of Smooth Infusions Style Prep Smoother and Light Elements Smoothing Fluid (two pumps of each) which add shine and controls flyaways, and lastly Brilliant Damage Control which I use as a detangler on my wet hair.
Sorry for the huge gap in posts, I will try to be better, but my life is pretty boring! Love ya!
#1 - Knee High Black Boots - They are from the Naturalizer, which I normally would associate with older ladies, but lets face it, we are all getting older and I require comfortable shoes. I have never really been able to wear heels successfully, despite the fact that I am five foot nothing and married to a man that is over six feet tall!! So, when I found these wonderful boots which have a heel and I can wear them around all day everyday, I was very excited.
#2 - Jewelry - I just started wearing real jewelry again, as in earrings, necklaces, etc. There are certain pieces that I have really really been liking lately, so I am going to include them here. First, my pearl earrings, which I have always loved and were pretty much the only earrings I have worn in the past 5 years until recently. I have really loved pairing them with an old choker necklace of my grandma's. It has pearls and rhinestones all over it and I love it! Lastly, these chandelier earrings, which are super old and I'm sure really cheap, but for some reason I'm loving them right now!
#3 - Bath and Body Works Wild Honeysuckle - This is just an amazing scent and I can't get enough of it. It reminds me of Hawaii - I don't really think it smells all that tropical but I started wearing it there so it takes me back - and it smells really really good when mixed with sandy beaches! (It's too bad that we don't have scratch and sniff computers!)
#4 - Candles - I love all candles, especially Yankee Candles because they smell so freakin' yummy!! I love the Vanilla Cupcake candles because they smell like 3000 calories without the guilt! For Christmas time I always try to get a Balsam scent so that it smells like Christmas trees and for the Fall a Pumpkin smell is a must have!! Oh, and word to the wise, do not, I repeat DO NOT go to the Yankee Candle website because you will see all these wonderful scents that they have and you will want to buy them all - I know because I just made that mistake!!!
#5 - Nail Polish - Now that I am no longer in the Navy I can paint my fingernails any friggin' color I want! Ha! Take that Navy! Ok, so now that that little tantrum is over, I just got some new polish from Ulta. They are a brand called China Glaze, which had nail hardeners in it and it provides very nice sheen and coverage. The first color is called Let's Groove and is a deep purple and the other is called Cords and it is a kind of a gun metal silver. Very nice for winter!
#6 - Cardigans - I know, I know, I sound like an old lady, but I do love Cardigans. They are great for layering and can be casual, great for work, and even nice for going out. My favorite one that I have right now is a magenta 3/4 sleeve sweater from Talbots. It is perfect!! I would like to have one in every color, but well, that is just excessive! (I don't have a pic of this one, sorry!)
#7 - Black Velvet Corduroys - Over Christmas break I purchased some great black velvet cords from Banana Republic. They were on sale and I could have gotten more, but I decided that they probably wouldn't be short enough for me and I would either have to get them altered or return them, so I only got the one! Ahh!! After one washing they were perfect length (when wearing my awesome knee-high black boots) and now they don't seem to sell them anymore! Crap! (Don't have a pic of these either, well I do, but it's not very good, they just look like black pants)
#8 - Mix and Match PJs - I love pajamas!! Just ask my Mom! Every year for Christmas she gets my sister and I a new set of PJs and well, this year she went over board and got three sets! But what is super wonderful about them is that they all mix and match!! Two of them are pant sets and the other one is shorts, but the shorts go with the other two tops and the short set top goes with the other two pants! Love it!!
#9 - Nora Roberts and Andrew M Greeley Novels - Lately I've been on a kick of reading books in a series. These aren't like Harry Potter or Twilight series because each book is technically independent of the others and you could probably just read one and be ok, but well, you know me I am a little OCD and I must read them all!! I love Nora Roberts, in particular her Wedding Quartet. It is about 4 best friends who own a Wedding Planning company and each book takes one of their perspectives. The other series I love is the Nuala Anne McGrail series from Andrew M Greeley. There are a ton of them and I've read about 5 of them back in the day, but since then he's put out quite a few more and thanks to my wonderful local library I am able to start reading those again. They are about an Irish couple who solves crimes in Chicago (I know, a little far-fetched but I love them anyway).
#10 - Aveda Hair Care Products - Some of my favorites from Aveda are the Rosemary Mint Shampoo and Conditioner, a mix of Smooth Infusions Style Prep Smoother and Light Elements Smoothing Fluid (two pumps of each) which add shine and controls flyaways, and lastly Brilliant Damage Control which I use as a detangler on my wet hair.
Sorry for the huge gap in posts, I will try to be better, but my life is pretty boring! Love ya!
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