Day 5: Places you hope to go this year

Day 5: Places you hope to go this year

Salt Lake City, Utah

Totally going to be me this year!

Snowboarding trip!!!  It's an annual thing...and I can't wait!!

Belize City, Costa Maya & Cozumel

We're crusin' for our honeymoon!!!  I'll be spending a lot of time in the water and sun! :)

Smokey Mountains, Tennessee

My parents have a place near the park and we took a trip with a group of friends last summer and had a blast!  Hopefully, we'll be able to make it up there again this year!

Savannah, Georgia

I love visiting Savannah!  I also love eating here:

Mrs. Wilkes House.  It's family style deliciousness!

Those are my goals this year!  Hopefully there are some fun, unexpected trips in there also!!

Chicken Little, a New Governor, Taylor Swift and Chocolates!

I just finished a nice little 4.52 mile run.  I've had stupid allergies because the weather cannot stay consistent down in Florida so it's been messing with my head!  Hopefully my body will be happy again soon :)

Meet Chicken Little

He's been sick for a while now.  I think I've almost revived him!  (Think eyedrops, special cleaners and sulfur dip...) He even ate today.  He hasn't eaten in forever.  He still has some eye problems going on, but they look better!  I'm just so happy he's swimming and eating again that I had to share.  John got me two turtles when I bought my house...one didn't make it, but Chicken Little has survived for almost 3 years now!  Here's to hoping he keeps going strong!

Well, Rick Scott just was sworn in as the new Governor of Florida.  I'm not so sad to see Crist go, but I'm not sure how I feel about Scott.  Only time will tell, as is with every new leader we've ever had.  Hopefully his term will bring good things to Florida!

I finally got the new Taylor Swift cd thanks to a couple of iTunes giftcards I found recently.  I like it...her songs can bring out the old teeny-bopper in all of us!

Last night, I went with John's family to make chocolates.  It was fun!  Here are some pictures!

 John and my loot

 Robin and David (who refused to smile)

 Heck yes! They had Gator molds :)

John's family :)

Tuesday (workday) is almost over for me! :)  Only 3 more days until my spicy chicken biscuit from Chick-fil-A Saturday!!

Day 4: Best Leftover Recipes

Day 4: Best Leftover Recipes

I'm not much of a leftover eater.  I've gotten better, but I could do without eating the same thing twice so close together, unless it's cereal.  Plus, I get paranoid about things being good after they've sat for more than a day. I do however, have a few things that I love leftover...they also happen to be some of my favorite foods.  But really, they do taste just as good leftover.

Chili.

Make it however you'd like.  There are plenty of recipes online.  I would share with you mine, but I'm not sure how I make it.  John and I just throw stuff in until it looks good!  Think tomatoes, spicy chili beans, kidney beans, chili powder and red peppers, onion, ect...You can eat it the next couple days and it still tastes good.  Plus...it's easy the first time!  It can cook all day while you're at work in your crockpot!  Yay crockpots!  There are many variations for chili.  For example, the first night, I had it as a soup with crackers.  The next day, I put it over yellow rice with a little sour cream and cheese and made it a mexican-ish dish, then, chili dogs!  You can make it different, while not cooking too much extra to go along with it!

Beef Stroganoff.

One of my favorite meals of all time.  Seriously.  All time.  John banned me from it for a while since we were eating it sooooo much.   You just can't stop a good thing.  We make ours over rice, but a lot of people use egg noodles.  I'm going to give you the recipe we use for the meat/sauce and you can choose whatever you'd like to put it over!

You're going to need:

1 to 1-1/2 lbs of steak of your choice.

2 cans cream of mushroom soup.

1-packet Lipton onion packet.

1 tablespoons sour cream.  I use fat free because you can't taste a difference and you might as well save calories where you can :)  Note: Very important ingredient.  I may or may not have an obsession with sour cream...

Directions:

Cut up and brown the meat in a pan until is it cooked to your liking, I like mine medium/medium rare because it still cooks after you add in the other ingredients a little more.  Add the Lipton packet and the cream of mushroom soup.  Stir.  Add sour cream.  Stir. Let simmer for about 5 minutes.  Serve over rice/noodle/whatever else you'd like.  Best thing is, if you store the meat and sauce separate from starches, it reheats and tastes just as good the next day.  After writing about this, I'll be having this for dinner this week!

Pizza.

It always reheats good.  It's quick and easy the first time and even more so the second!  Go check out Janae's blog, she recently wrote about a pizza crust that looks amazing!  I'll be trying it soon!

Pot Pie.

I've heard of a lot of people using leftover turkey to make pot pies.  I haven't actually done that, but I can make a mean Bisquick pot pie.  Go here to find the recipe!

Hope you enjoy!  I look forward to seeing what leftovers you suggest.  Maybe I'll find something new I love to eat!!!

Day 3: Favorite Workout Tips

Day 3: Favorite Workout Tips

Let your body rest!

Sometimes, I feel exhausted...some days, I push through it, but other days, I just know I need a break.  The best way to make sure you get rest, is to schedule a rest day, but be sure to listen to your body.  If you've been pushing yourself hard, or not getting enough sleep, it's important to listen to your body.  This could help you from getting an injury.  But seriously: you need sleep!  It helps your body recover!  Don't skimp on it...you'll pay for it later!

Don't let your mind get you down.

There are those days, when your mind tells you that you "can't" do it...even though you know you can.  Part of training is training your mind and learning to beat those little tricks that your head tells you that you can't do.  Your body can do a lot more than your head wants you to think...just be smart about it.

What you eat matters.

My body feels so much better when I'm eating healthy.  My runs are better, my sleep is better, every part of me feels better.  Eating the right, healthy foods makes a huge difference!  Of course, don't go overboard either...ice cream is good for the soul!

Start small, but dream big.

Signing yourself up for too much at first can be discouraging.  Set realistic goals for yourself.  You know yourself better than anyone, so if you know this is something you can't follow through with, adjust your plan so you know it's obtainable and build on it.  If your plan is to train for a marathon and you've never run before, start with 5K's and build on that slowly...but keep that marathon in mind as your goal.

You CAN do it!

Most people assume if they're not a runner, that they can't be.  That's not true.  It's very hard to start at first.  Your training your body and your mind...trying to get used to the strain you are putting on yourself and getting into a schedule.  But, as you build the mileage, it really does get easier. I'm living proof of that.  I went from struggling through a 5K in 2008 to running a marathon in 2010.  This is the same with any workout plan.  It just takes time, but you have to be willing to put the time in.

Happy Monday Bloggy Friends!  We're back on a regular schedule!  As much as I LOVE the Christmas break...I crave a schedule!  Now....back to my regularly scheduled life :)

Day 2: Favorite Holiday Memory

Day 2: Favorite Holiday Memory

My favorite holiday memory is Christmas breakfast.  It's always at my parent's house.  They started it when I was little, so we could be a home Christmas morning.  Both sets of grandparents and most of the family would come over.  I don't have a year in specific that I loved, it's just great every year.  My Granny and Granddaddy used to sit in the driveway to wait until they saw signs of life so they could come watch us open presents.  It was fun to be able to celebrate first thing with all the family...especially my grandparents.

Happy New Year!!!

I'll start with the fact that I've finished two items off my 101 in 1001 list.  First, I've put my clean clothes away for a month.  Yay!  Secondly, I took a bubble bath for the first time in...well...I don't know when.  It was relaxing and I read a book.  I thought about taking a picture of the bath prior to me getting in, but I thought it'd be weird, so you'll just have to take my word for it! Ha!  


Now, onto the New Years Eve party!

Lily thought that if she went to sleep in my arms, we wouldn't leave her to go celebrate New Years.  But, we did have plans, so we went and got ready...and made a cake.

 John was gettin' fresh - ha!

 It was Funfetti!  It doesn't get much better than that!

We went over to our friend's house to celebrate the new year!

Here are some pictures from our night...

 Ashley...eating something green...which is a rarity!

 Tribute to my soon-to-be new last name...er-sort of :)

 The Ladies

 Blogger is being stupid and won't let my pictures come in right, but there were a couple I really liked and needed to include, so excuse the sideways ones!

 My future BIL & SIL!  I love them!

 Fire Pit!

 A couple of my favorites :)

The face!

Lily today-when the world was right and revolved around her once again!

I have to agree with Lily today, because 2011 started off fantastically!  For starters, I slept in.  I got up and realized today, I could wear shorts!  So, I did!  Then the Gators won!  What a great send off for Urban (I'll miss you!)...sorry Paterno.  (Is it just me, or does anyone else feel a little guilty when their team beats Penn State??)  John and I spent the rest of the evening snuggled on the couch with the Lil watching 30 Rock on Netflix!  I'm already lovin' 2011!  Happy New Year!!!

11 in 2011

First of all Happy New Year. It's hard to believe it's 2011! I'm getting MARRIED this year!!!



I'm linking up with Kit for the 11 in 2011.

Day 1: New Years Resolutions

I don't really like these because they're known for not being followed through on. I do however have some goals I've already set.

1. Continue working on my 101 in 1001. I'm slowly chipping away at it. I'm doing pretty good so far, so I'd like to keep it up.

2. Complete two 1/2 marathons minimum this year.

3. Run 1,000 miles minimum this year. That involves more being better at tracking than actually logging the miles.

4. Continue to work on my loving others and letting things go. It makes me more happy and carefree and I like it!

5. Get married and be a loving and supportive wife.

6. This month, I'd like to get back to healthy eating.

7. Save more $$$.

8. Be a good friend to my good friends!

Those are my goals! They're obtainable and things I plan on finish and/or working on. Check out my tab for my 101 in 1001 for the rest of things I'd like to check off.

I hope everyone has a great new year! I can't wait to see what it has in store!!!