Yard work day #2

I should be digging, raking, mulching, planting... especially since I only finished about 1/2 of my front yard project yesterday before it got dark (really hate that it gets dark now around 7).  Today, it is absolutely gorgeous outside... I'm talking picture perfect blue skies, crisp fall breeze and eighty degrees- in Syracuse- in October... can you believe it?

I know I know... get off the computer and get outside.  I'm getting around to the yard work, I promise.

I overslept for a 15K that I was supposed to run this morning (I suck... but I think I needed the extra sleep.  Still not quite back to 100% yet).  So... DH is at work and I enjoyed some snuggle time with Lucy.  Now it's off to Home Depot (again) to pick up some more mulch then back to work.

There is absolutely no real point to this post today... just that it is an awesome day and I wanted to share.  :)

I almost forgot... in TTC news, I finally got my crosshairs for this month and they are a day or two past when I was expecting, meaning that I am only 3 dpo.  Guess this 2ww is going to be a little longer than I thought.  Oh well... at least our timing was still looking good regardless of which date Fertility Friend pegged for my O.

Oh... and tomorrow is a holiday (Thank you, Mr. Columbus) AND Kevin has the day off!!!  Woot Woot!!!  We rarely get a day off together... and a holiday?  Unheard of!  We plan to go apple picking, visit a pumpkin patch and a corn maze.  Can't wait!



**UPDATE**  So I finally managed to part from the computer and step outside.  So worth it.  It was gorgeous and I got a lot done.  Kevin came home from work and he helped me to finish up the front yard.  Here are a few pictures...

We are going to pick up some pumpkins tomorrow to place around some of the bushes.  I can't wait to see how it looks!

Don't you just love this pic of Kevin and Lucy?  I absolutely LOVE that this is my home... and my family.  So truly blessed.

I'm a bad blogger

Well... it's been a pretty busy week.  I finished up my last 2 classes- Mental Health and Graduate Bridging.  I passed both with flying colors.  I also started my first night of bridging clinical... which went great!  I have been assigned to the maternal/child specialty- which includes ante-partum, post-partum, nursery and labor & delivery.  My first night was spent in the newborn nursery... so wonderful.

Today, DH had to work and, in an effort to avoid spending the entire day shopping, I decided to tear up our front yard and plant some mums.  I got about 3/4 of the way done and lost steam.  I plan to finish my project tomorrow and post some pictures.  Unfortunately, I didn't bother to get a "before" picture, but I will see what I can dig up.

In TTC news, we are now in the dreaded 2 week wait... although FF has not given me official crosshairs yet.  Looks like we'll be testing at the end of the month.  I would totally LOVE a bfp for my birthday!!  Fingers crossed.

Boredom, bragging and a recipe

Dh decided to take my car to work today, because his... well... the driver's side window doesn't roll up and it was 30 something and raining.  Now you would think this would be motivation to get the window fixed... but in any case, I was nice, I shared.

I couldn't really fall back asleep after he left so I got up and tooled around online for a while, then I cleaned the house and got dinner started... a yummy crock pot meatloaf.  I'll take some pics and post the recipe later (If I remember).  I cleaned a little more... then the boredom set it.

The victim of my boredom??  Poor little Lucy...

Look closely...

Yeah... they're pink.  I'm not exactly proud.

I hope DH learned a valuable lesson today.  I cannot be left home alone (or with Lucy) with no car.

**Update**  So Kevin stopped at the grocery store on the way home to pick up a few things that I needed for dinner (and I was not about to drive his windowless car to go get myself)... anyway... he came home with a dozen pink roses and the new Lady Antebellum cd.

::sigh:: love that guy.  How on earth did I get so lucky.


And now for the recipe... Bacon Topped Chedar Meatloaf

I actually started with this recipe from kraftfoods.com for Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Meatloaf:
  http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/slow-cooker-cheeseburger-meatloaf-115338.aspx
and doctored it up a bit.  I do like the idea of starting it (or cooking it completely) in the crock pot.  Yet another use for my awesome crock pot.

Here is my version...

• 1lb ground meat (I used a combination of frozen leftovers... 1/2 lb ground meatloaf mix, which is beef pork and veal and 1/2 lb of ground turkey)
• 1 cup breadcrumbs (can also use stuffing mix)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• seasonings to taste, I used Steak Burger Seasoning
• 6 slices of uncooked bacon

Mix all ingrediants (except bacon) and form into a loaf on a large piece of foil.  Set the loaf into the crock pot (use excess foil on the ends like handles) and cook on high for about 3 hours.  Take the loaf out of the crock pot and set onto a baking sheet.  Top the meatloaf with the bacon (and extra cheese, if you want) and bake in the oven at 350* for about 20-30 minutes, or until the bacon is fully cooked.

Serve with mashed potatoes, gravy and a veggie.  That's some good home cookin'!  :)

Holy October!

October really snuck up on me.  I don't know how, because I am always looking forward to my favorite month... but it really caught me off guard this year, perhaps because I slept in until 11 (what a bum) and awoke to 30 something degrees with rain.  Bleh!

Anywho... this is going to be a good month.  Make that an awesome month.  As such, I feel the need for another Top Ten.

Top Ten Things I Love About (this) October

10.  Graduation.  As it stands right now, I am 64 clinical hours away from being finished with nursing school.  Our graduation is October 31.  Can't wait!

9.  Speaking of October 31... Halloween (duh).  Love Halloween.  I think this year I am going all out.  Maybe I can talk Kev into hosting a Halloween party.  THAT would be awesome.  Then I can do the totally dorky frozen hand in the blood looking punch (Sangria, mayhaps?), and those cookies that look like fingers... and spider cupcakes.  I am over-the-top excited about this already, can you tell?

8.  I love how fall really kicks into high gear.  The leaves change, the temps cool (although it does NOT, repeat does NOT need to hit 30* again for a while.  That was a bit much, thank you).  But seriously... October IS fall.. and I love it.

7.  For some reason, I am thinking this is going to be our bfp month.  No particular reason why... but I just have a good feeling about it.  Thinking positive.

6.  Fall fashion.  I was so excited to break out the Bearpaws (fake Uggs) and skinny jeans and scarves.  I even picked up a new fleece vest and cute scarf yesterday.  I love wearing cute coats that are not your typical Eskimo garb, which is what I normally wear from November-April up here.  Love wearing light layers and maybe a light coat and still feeling comfortable.

5.  Apple picking, pumpkin picking, mulled cider, hot chocolate... all things fall food/drink.  Speaking of... I must find myself a pumpkin martini.

4.  My pellet stove.  We turned it on last night for a little while and I have it on right now.  I love the smell and the cozy warmth.  Next best thing to a fireplace... although with the easy clean up and cheap pellets (vs wood, holy expensiveness) I think I would choose the pellet stove.  Anyway, love it.  I look forward to turning it on every year.

3.  Football.  Yeah... it starts in August/September-ish... but it doesn't reallllly get addicting until now.  The weather, the tailgating, the parties... this is the time of year where it is in high-gear.  There is nothing better than a crisp fall breeze carrying the scent of chili and chicken wings through the air while you have a house full of friends screaming and yelling at the TV and doing imitation touch down dances.  I love fall football.

2.  Jeans to work day.  I know (eyeroll) this is not exactly of Top Ten caliber, but in my little world... it sure is.  There is only ONE day a year that we are allowed to wear jeans to work... and I look forward to it every.single.year.  This coming Friday, October 7, will be the day.  It's the little things... lol

1.  MY BIRTHDAY!!!  Don't tell me you didn't know?  :)  Normally, I hate birthdays.  I don't want to get any older and the idea of "pushing 30" and not having any children yet does not thrill me.  Nevertheless, I am looking forward to this birthday like it is my own personal holiday... and this year like it is going to be *my* year.  Look out, world.

So... that's it.  It's October, officially... and I am super happy about it.  Fingers crossed that this is going to be as great of a month as I am thinking it will.

Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Mac-n-Cheese

As I write this post, I have the most beautiful, amazing, scrumptious glass dish full of deliciousness in my oven right now.  I am so excited that I am practically drooling right now.  Last night on The Bump, on of the ladies posted a link to this recipe on Rainy Day Gal's blog...

http://rainydaygal.com/2010/08/23/buffalo-chicken-mac-and-cheese/

It took every ounce of self control to NOT start cooking right away.  I absolutely LOVE mac-n-cheese... Kevin absolutely LOVES buffalo chicken.  This dish is a match made perfectly for us. 

And now.... drum roll, please... it's done!!!  Ta-daaa!!!

Isn't it glorious?

We followed the directions on the website, but substituted skim milk (it turned out just fine, not runny) and used shredded cheese (vs cubed).   We also used 1/2 pepper jack and 1/2 sharp chedder.  A-MA-ZING!!!

We originally thought about just mixing it all together (vs layering it), but we decided to do as it said and I'm glad we did.  While it does sort of blend together, the bites with chicken have a definite kick to them and the bites with all mac-n-cheese still have a hint of spice, but are mostly just creamy, cheesy and delicious!

Overall, an A+++++++  So yummy!!!

Recipe: Crock Pot Crack Chicken

Two posts in one day--- what?!?! 

I know, I'm getting a little over-zealous with this blogging thing, but I had to share this recipe.  A fellow Bumpie posted this last week and since DH is a HUGE Frank's Red Hot fan, I thought I would give it a shot.  I figured it was the least I could do after his awesome surprise for me.

I present to you... Crack Chicken, in my crock pot.

Ok.  This, my friends, is a terrible picture.  But I can assure you that the chicken tasted about a million times better than it looks on here... plus, it might be one of the easiest recipes I have made to date.

•     2 large chicken breasts
•     1 bottle of Franks Red Hot
•     1 package of Ranch Dressing Mix (powder)

Put the chicken breasts in the crock pot, mix the Red Hot and Ranch Mix together and pour over top.  Let it cook on high for about 2 hours then shred with a fork, stirring the shredded chicken so it soaks up all of the yummy sauce.  That's it!!

We were pretty hungry, so we ate this as-is, but it would taste great in a wrap, burrito or sandwich (similar to shredded pork).

DH loved it so much, he ate it straight out of the crock pot... good thing it was just the two of us tonight!

Best.day.EVER.

So... I thought yesterday was awesome, and it was.  Slept in, hung out with DH, made chilli, watched football.  It was a pretty darn good day, by my standards.

Well, today just kicked yesterday's ass... and it's only 2pm.  :)

We got to sleep in... again... which is always a good thing.  Then, we decided to finally visit the church close to our new house (prior to this, we had been driving across town because we loved our old church)... anyway, the new church, St. John, is great!  We are very excited to find a new parish closer to home.

Then, we went to Panera for a late breakfast... also always a good thing.  I puffy heart Panera.  After Panera, we ran over to TJ Maxx.  Kev dropped me off at the door and said he work park the car and meet me in the store in a few.  I, naturally, got totally caught up wandering around and didn't notice that he was gone for like 1/2 hour.  Oh well... I was shopping, so no big deal.  Oh, speaking of shopping... I scored this super fabulous Lily Bloom purse below for $25- love TJ Maxx!  I just love the bright, fun colors.  I can't wait to use it to brighten up some of my fall outfits.  Oh- bonus... it is made from recycled plastic bottles... how cool is that??

So I had Panera for brunch and found a cute purse.. big deal, right?  I know I know... BUT I'm not finished yet.  Chill out.

So when we got home, Kevin ran inside to let the puppy out while I unloaded my shopping treasures.  Just when I have both hands and arms packed full of stuff, he pokes his head out the door and asks me to grab some towels out of the trunk (leftover from the softball game last week... eww) because they need to be washed.

"Umm.. my hands are full, ya ass" was my eloquent response.  I unloaded my first round and stomped out of the house thinking "what a PITA... he could have grabbed the dang towels"... I opened the trunk and picked up the stinky towels and SQUEEEEEEEEEEE

There was a Keurig hiding underneath!!!  I had asked for one for a graduation/birthday present (birthday is October 30, graduation is October 31)... but he said he knew I would be expecting it then, so he wanted to surprise me early... apparently while I was wandering around TJ Maxx, he ran over to Kohl's and picked this dream machine up.  I can't believe he surprised me with a Keurig!!!  100 awesome hubby points for DH.  100 super douche-y points for me for being such a brat about getting the towels.  So umm... yeah... he's pretty much amazing and I don't know how or why he puts up with me!!

I pretty much LOVE my Keurig already.  Kiss Kiss!!!  I tested it out as soon as I got it out of the package.  Love it!!

First K-Cup of coffee ever.  I'm a happy girl!!  I can't wait to experiment with all of the different varities.  Any suggestions?

I also wanted to take an OOTD pic, because I thought DH and I coordinated quite nicely for church.  I am wearing a brown and white wrap dress (purchased on ebay for... wait for it... wait for it... $3.99!!!) and DH is wearing a brown polo shirt with khaki pants.  Have to brag a sec, but we do make a pretty good pair, don't we?  :)

I'll end with a cute little family pic.  Oh... and Lucy matches, too!!  She is sporting a fashionable white coat with brown accents... compliments of her personal designer.  :)

Hope everyone had as great a weekend as I did!