Looking forward to the weekend!

I am sooo glad its Friday! I worked this morning and I just spend my afternoon working on homework. I have to go back for a meeting and then I will be done! After work I am going to go shopping for some new jeans...Jon hates this, but I am obsessed with buying jeans. Anyway my favorite pair finally wore out in the knees yesterday (I spend 90% of my day crawling around on my knees and sitting on the floor). Thus I feel I have earned a new pair (plus I get paid this weekend).

Tomorrow one of my best friend's from college is coming to visit. We haven't seen each other in awhile since we are both so busy but when ever we get together we can always just pick up where we left off. I think we are going to spend the day/night relaxing and making crafts...I have gotten some great ideas from the craft blogs I have been reading and I can't wait to try them out. I will post some pictures when I am done.

So everyone on Facebook has been doing their list of 25 random things...I finally broke down and wrote one yesterday so I am going to share it on here as well.

1. I'm starting to get into photography and I love it.
2. I love making crafty things for my house.
3. I love being married.
4. The perfect Friday night would involve staying at home and watching a movie.
5. I used to not like wine, but now I have a glass almost every night with dinner.
6. I hate feet...I mean HATE them.
7. I've never cried in a movie...not even once.
8. It rained at our outdoor wedding and it didn't ruin a thing.
9. I enjoy my alone time.
10. I can't relax until my house is clean and the dishes are done.
11. Target is my weakness.
12. Lighting candles will instantly improve my mood.
13. I have a tattoo on my foot that matches my sister's.
14. I read every night before I go to sleep.
15. I watch way too much TV.
16. I don't cook but I love to bake.
17. I will stay up all night working on digital scrapbooking.
18. My middle name is named after a ship in Galveston (Elissa).
19. I can touch the tip of my nose with my tongue...skills!
20. I don't like talking on the phone.
21. I have only had 3 different jobs but I have worked since I was 15.
22. I add things I have already done to my to-do list just so I can cross them off.
23. I just started using a calendar...I used to keep everything in my head.
24. I'm scared of the dentist.
25. I like to travel but I get homesick for my bed.

Have a good weekend!!

Think Thin Thursdays

Its that time of the week again. I think I have done pretty good this week. I have been drinking more water. I have slacked a little on the walking due to the weather but I have been logging minutes on my new wii fit.

Goals for this week:

1. Do 30 minutes of something (walking or wii fit) everyday.
2. Continue eating healthy snacks.
   
3. Stop finishing everything that's on my plate.
   

Nothing too interesting

I was going to update about my week so far but it has been pretty boring. So I thought I would post some funny quotes that I hear on a daily basis (Monday and Thursday mornings I shadow a little guy in a preschool class and Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday mornings I shadow a little girl in a 1st grade class)

Today in first grade:
girl 1 "um hey (friend) can you see my cleavage?"
girl2 "what is cleavage? all I see is your shirt."
girl 1 "cleavage is this line in the middle."
girl 2 "oh the buttons on your shirt, ya I see those."

First of all why are 1st graders talking about cleavage!?!?

Yesterday at preschool:
4 year old boy: "well (girl's name) used to be my girlfriend but she is not anymore."
teacher: "oh why not?"
boy: "well she just got too old, you know when they get too old you have to get a new one."
teacher (trying not to laugh): "how old is she now?"
boy: "um I don't know maybe 5."

Check out Jon's new blog!

Jon came up with this great idea and decided to start a blog...check it out and leave him a comment.

Austin living...on a budget

He just started it tonight and its a work in progress but eventually I think it will be a great resource for people in Austin. Who knows maybe he will let me post a time or two. :)

Baby Shower Pictures

This afternoon my small group threw a baby shower for one of the girls in our group (her name is Lauren too). It was so much fun and I think everyone had a really nice time.

The cake

The table of food

The diaper game - we melted different kinds of chocolate candy and put them in diapers. Everyone had to guess the candy in each diaper.

The sock game. We put 20 pairs of baby socks in a basket and everyone got a turn to see how many they could match in 30 seconds.

Our small group.

Lots of things

This week as been incredibly busy so I feel like I have been slacking a little bit with my blog posts...this is my attempt to catch up.

I started school on Tuesday...I am in an Advanced ABA class Tuesday nights and a Research class on Thursday nights. I think both are going to keep me busy for the semester. However this is the lightest load I have taken since starting back last year so hopefully it won't be so bad.

Yesterday I planned to meet up with my friend Jesse at Town Lake to walk our dogs. When we got there it was sooo cold we decided we would have to try again next weekend. Friday I was wearing a t-shirt and capris and yesterday I needed a coat and gloves...only in Texas does the weather change that fast!

Jon had to work yesterday morning so I was productive and got most of my studying done. When he got home he surprised me with this...

We have been talking about getting one for awhile but every time we get serious about it they seem to be out of sock everywhere! Jon stopped by Frys on his way home yesterday and they were finally in stock so he picked one up. It is sooo much fun. He wanted to get the Wii Fit also but they were out. Luckily I went to Target last night and guess what I found...Wii Fit is amazing! It analysed out weight and BMI then it helps you set goals for yourself. It tracks how many minutes you exercises and it has fun balance games. I love it! This is going to be the perfect addition to my weekly walks. :)

Ok I think I covered enough thing for one post. I need to go get my house ready for the baby shower that will be here at 3. I'll post pictures tonight.

Think Thin Thursdays!

I can't believe its already Thursday! Yikes, were did the week go?? I have so much to post about but for now I will do my updates and goals for this next week. Remember Think Thin Thursdays?

Update of last weeks goals:

1. Stop drinking Mexican Coke (Jon insisted on buying a case last time we went to Costco and it is soo hard not to drink one with lunch when he is drinking one).

This one was hard but I did it! Jon and I had lunch together almost every afternoon last week and he kept asking if I wanted a coke. I started buying some sparkling water at the grocery store and I think that has been my saving grace...I feel like I am drinking a soda but I get all the health benefits of water.

1. Replace the coke with water and add more water throughout the day...I would like to refill my water bottle 3 times per day.

I did drink more water (thanks again to the sparkling water) but I still need to be drinking more...see new goals.

1. Walk the 2 mile loop around Town Lake at least twice during the week and the long loop (4.5 miles) at least once on the weekend.

I did it! I even did the small loop 3 times. Sunday rolled around and I still had not done the big loop so I forced myself to do it and it felt great!

New Goals for this week:

1. I am going to try to drink a glass of water with every meal (with the exception of breakfast because I love my glass of orange juice). Jon and I both like to try new beers with dinner but I am only going to do that on the weekends, M-F will be water.
   
2. I will snack healthy this week. Now that I am back in school I feel like I am eating more snacks...I am going to make sure they are healthy ones only from today on. Now I need to research some ideas for healthy snacks.
   
3. I am going to add a weights routine into my walking routine 3 days a week. I have a set of 5 pound weights so I am just going to add some exercises in while I am watching TV at night.

Next post preview: Nicki from The Kenningtons tagged me with The Honest Scrap Award!


Thanks! I'm so excited, Nicki's blog is great and we are both working off our "happy pounds" with Think Thin Thursdays! I will post more about it and tag 7 more people this afternoon.

A complete day off

I had the whole day off today with nothing on my to do list! It was great!! Jon had to leave town early this morning and doesn't come back until tonight so Hiro and I have just been laying around all day. I just now decided I should take a shower and change out of my pjs. I start school tomorrow so I know I will not have another day like this for a while.

I talked Jon into getting us cable again. We he got rid of it a few months ago because you can get pretty much anything free over the air or web. But when he goes out of town I enjoy watching my silly shows on TLC, Lifetime and HGTV. So the cable guy came out this morning. The first guy that came brought the wrong stuff but the second guy that came out got everything hooked up perfectly. It took me awhile to get all my season passes programed back into TIVO but I think I managed to remember everything.

Now I am editing some pictures from our vacation and trying to decide which ones I want to get printed off. Then I am sure I will go back to my cozy spot on the couch and watch some more TV until dinner time. :)

A good punch recipe

I am throwing a baby shower next weekend along with a few girls from my small group. I am in charge of cleaning my house (since we are having it here), getting crackers, dip and making my punch. Its actually my mom's punch recipe that she has passed down to me. She made it for my high school graduation party for the first time and it was a huge hit (Steven this is that punch you loved so much). She has made it for every bridal and baby shower since and now this is the second shower I will be making it for. Its nice because you can make it ahead of time. Here is the recipe:

• 4 cups of sugar and 4 cups of water: bring to a boil and stir until sugar is dissolved. Set aside and let cool.
  
• Blend 5 large bananas in a blender until smooth.
  
• Mix 1 6 oz can of frozen lemonade and 1 6 oz. can of frozen orange juice as directed on cans (I buy the 12oz cans, follow the directions on the cans and then use half of each).
  
• In very large container, mix sugar water, bananas, lemonade and orange juice together with 48 oz of pineapple juice.
  
• Pour into gallon freezer bags and freeze for at least two days (I have put it in smaller bags and made it overnight before).
  
• One hour before serving, take out of freezer and let sit. Before serving, put into punch bowl and pour room temperature ginger ale over it until slushy. Use half the mixture and half the ginger ale at a time. Enjoy!
  

Okay, Jon and I are off to give our stinky dog a bath and then take him for a walk to dry off. :)

Productive Saturday

Even though we did not paint the office this weekend we still had a pretty productive day. I was able to clean the house from top to bottom (including organizing/deculturing the bathroom cabinets). We also took Hiro to Auditorium Shores this evening. Jon did his work out and I walked the short loop. My Think Thin Thursdays goal was to walk the long loop at least once this weekend which means I am going back tomorrow. :)

Jon is working on his computer so I think I am going to go watch a movie and enjoy this quiet night.

Finally

I have been looking everywhere for directions on how to make my own blog background and I finally found the here. I just made my background and I changed up my header (again). I have so much fun trying new papers and elements I feel like I change my header and background on a weekly daily basis. I can't help it, it is fun and addicting! Maybe I will get good enough that people will want me to make them headers and backgrounds...for now I will just keep changing mine up. :) The only thing I am unhappy with is the fact that my header is not centered inside the border...I tried everything I could think of with no luck. Any advice?

I am so excited that tonight starts my 3 day weekend! We have decided not to paint the office this weekend...well more like I neglected to get the supplies and Jon and I are both feeling like a relaxing weekend instead of a home improvement weekend. We'll get to it someday.

Jon came back from Colorado today. He has been gone since Wednesday and in the past Hiro has not handled his absences very well. I can't remember if I have posted about this problem or not so here is a recap.
Hiro is very well trained most of the time. We have been able to leave him inside unattended for several hours at a time (he has a doggie door that he learned how to use when he was only 15 weeks old). The only time we had problems was when we left him at home and it got dark, however if we left enough lights on he seemed to be fine. Then Jon got a new position at Dell that is 80% travel (its not as bad as it sounds). When Jon is not traveling he gets to work from home which means he spends a lot of time here with Hiro. Well, when Jon started traveling Hiro started destroying the couch throw pillows. After replacing the pillows that came with our couch and then replacing the replacements a couple of times I started picking up the pillows hoping that would solve the problem. I was wrong. He recently started to go after the couch cushions! That is something I can not be replacing over and over (well not even once really). The thing is its hit or miss, for example Thursday Jon was gone and Hiro did great while I was at work. Then today I came home to a new hole in another couch cushion and a destroyed pillow, which I started leaving back out hoping that would detract him from the cushions (as I am writing this I am laughing to myself...I mean seriously I am a behavior therapist I should be able to deal with this behavior). So here is the state of our living room furniture: couch = 1 hole in a cushion, loveseat = 1 hole in a cushion, ottoman - holes in 3 of the 4 corners. And next weekend I am throwing a baby shower at our house...perfect.

Think Thin Thursdays

I got this idea from another blog I enjoy reading and I love it! Since my goal this year is to work off the "happy pounds" I have put on since our wedding I am going to join in.

Here are the rules:

• Set a goal for the week and post it in your blog.
  
• Write about your progress on you blog next week.
  

So...my goals for the week...

1. Stop drinking Mexican Coke (Jon insisted on buying a case last time we went to Costco and it is soo hard not to drink one with lunch when he is drinking one).
2. Replace the coke with water and add more water throughout the day...I would like to refill my water bottle 3 times per day.
3. Walk the 2 mile loop around Town Lake at least twice during the week and the long loop (4.5 miles) at least once on the weekend.
   

Next Thursday I will update about my progress. :)

Random things

So far this week has been pretty laid back. I don't start school until next week so for now I am just working part time which is so nice! I am not looking forward to going back to school next week. I have a great schedule right now that gives me plenty of time to get stuff done around the house, run errands and go out to town lake for a nice walk everyday before it gets dark.

Last night I decided to make soup for dinner. I found this recipe in my Southern Living magazine. Its called Southwestern Soup and it was very easy and delicious! Perfect for the chilly night we had last night.

Here's what you need:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 cup coarsely chopped onion (I didn't measure and just used a whole medium red onion)
  
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (I used 4 cloves because Jon and I both love garlic)
  
• 2 (16-oz.) cans light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15-oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (14.5-oz.) can petite diced tomatoes and jalapeños, undrained (I couldn't find this so I used chipotle seasoned diced tomatoes)
  
• 1 (14.5-oz.) can diced tomatoes and mild green chiles, undrained
• 1 (14-oz.) can beef broth
• 2 cups frozen yellow and white whole kernel corn
• 1 (1-oz.) envelope taco seasoning mix
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (didn't have this so I skipped it)
  
• Toppings: sour cream and chopped fresh cilantro

Just brown the meat with the onion and garlic, drain and add everything else plus 4 cups of water (I only used 3). Let it come to a boil and then cook on low for 30 minutes. We loved the spicy taste! I will definitely be making this again.

Jon has to leave to go to Colorado tonight :( He will be back on Friday so it will be nice to have the weekend together. My goal while he is gone is to get all the supplies we need to paint our office. I went by Home Depot and got some swatches today. I think we have decided to paint it a color called Sparrow. Its a gray blue color that will be pretty calm and neutral. I also found a color that I like for our guest bedroom/game room. Its called Granite Boulder and is a light gray green color. I think it will be a perfect neutral for a multipurpose room. Since I have a 3 day weekend I am going to get the office painted. Then next time I have a long weekend or I'm bored I'll tackle the guest bedroom. Once those 2 rooms are done all our walls will be done! I will post pictures when I'm done.

We want to paint our kitchen cabinets and the bathroom cabinets but that will be a big job and will probably have to wait until this next semester is over.

Weekend Update

As another great weekend comes to an end I thought I would fill you in on what we have been up too (not that we are that interesting).

Friday I got off work at noon (yay) and when I got home Jon was cleaning our bathroom. I had complained the night before about how messy/dirty our house was. I was excited Jon had gotten a jump start on our cleaning and I quickly joined in. A word of advice...if you husband ( who is usually very anti-cleaning) starts cleaning on his own don't ask questions just enjoy it! We managed to clean both bathrooms, dust the living room, office and bedrooms, clean the kitchen, sweep, mop and vacuum in a couple of hours. Our house looks great! We took a break to have a late lunch and then headed to Costco where I got to purchase one of the items on my house list. I now own a Shark steam mop. I was so excited that I had to try it out as soon as we got home (even though I had already used our old mop before we left). It is super easy to use and works great. I was amazed at how much dirt it still managed picked up despite my earlier mopping. The best part was I just took off the cloth bottom and threw it in the washing machine when I was done. Friday evening we took Hiro out to Town Lake so he could play and we could work out.

Saturday we enjoyed a lazy morning of sleeping in and making a big breakfast together. Then Jon went to work setting up a new system for watching Hulu (we I decided it would be best if we moved the xbox back into our extra bedroom which we made into a game room just for the xbox). While Jon worked on that I went to target to get some things for a baby shower I am throwing in a couple of weeks. Saturday night we headed up to Round Rock to Jon's cousin's house to celebrate his Grandfather's 75th birthday. Since we were so far north we decided to stop by Ikea on our way home. I bought a great pillow and cover for our bed.

This morning we got up semi early and went to Town Lake. I meet up with my friend Jesse from school and we walked a big loop (5 miles) around town lake while Jon did his work out. Jesse and I had a great time catching up on whats been going on. We were carpool buddies all semester because we took all the same classes. We spent about 2 hours in the car each week plus all the time in class. Needless to say we had a lot of catching up to do since we hadn't seen each other since school let out on Dec 8th. After our walk Jon and I headed home for lunch. He is still working on the new system and I am relaxing on the couch watching a movie. The perfect way to end a relaxing weekend. :)

My boys

Just for fun

Here are some pictures I took tonight while I was exploring a few of my camera's settings. Tomorrow we are planning on going to Town Lake so hopefully I will get some good outdoor shots there.

My ever growing home wish list

I feel like there is always something new on my mind to buy for our house. But really are you every completely done decorating? Here are a few things that I have been wanting for awhile.

We have this bedroom set in our bedroom. We have the bed, dresser and one nightstand. I really want to get a second nightstand. I am tired of Jon's books being on the floor. Plus I love the look of a lamp on either side of the bed. Now I just need World Market to send me a coupon so I can get it!Our house gets so dirty so quickly now that we have Hiro. I love having Hiro, but I don't love mopping and vacuuming all the time. The tile in our kitchen has little groves that love to hold on to the dirt and mud Hiro brings in. Even though I mop frequently the floor never really gets truly clean. That is why I want one of these...

Its a steam mop with washable cloths on the bottom. I hate cleaning off my mop when I am done. With the Shark I would be able to just throw the bottom in the washing machine. Plus the steam is supposed to help remove more dirt from the floor.

I want to get a new office lamp and another lamp for our living room. I have been looking everywhere but I haven't found anything that I like (at a price I am willing to pay). Why are lamps so expensive?

For my kitchen I would like some of these...maybe a group of 3.

We have a half wall that divides our kitchen and living room and I think these would be a perfect addition for the ledge.

If Jon gets his bonus this year (we are not for sure they will be getting bonuses this year due to the economy) we are going to put in wood floors. We have picked out the look we want in both real wood and a laminate. We both like the idea of real wood the best, but we have heard that laminate is a better way to go since we have a dog (and may get a second one someday). Anyway with the addition of some kind of wood floors (which will put the Shark steam mop to good use) we will need rugs! We are definitely getting wood floors put in the living room, hallways and office. We aren't sure if we will put it in the guest room or our bedroom yet. Jon thinks we should, and I agree that it would look good and it would be easier to get Hiro's hair up when we cleaned. But there is something about getting out of bed and stepping on warm carpet vs a cold floor. If we do get wood in the bedroom we will need some big rugs!

Okay I am sure I got think of many more things that I want for our house, but I should stop. We are going to Costco tomorrow...we'll see if I can talk Jon into buying one of the items on the list. :)

Whirl Wind of a Week

Last week flew by!

The last of our family left last Sunday and Jon had to head back to work on Monday. I was lucky enough to have 1 more day off before going back on Tuesday. I worked Tuesday and Wednesday morning and then I was off again until today.

One of my best friends Amanda came down Wednesday afternoon to spend New Years with us. We decided to check out First Night Austin. Its a cool thing that is set up from Auditorium Shores through 2nd street. There was a parade, and a bunch of booths set up with all kinds of artwork. From there we went to see one of Jon's friends play with his band. They played a bunch of Beatles music and sounded great! We made it home with just enough time to climb up on our roof to take in the fire works to bring in the New Year. Jon and I have made it our tradition to get up on the roof and watch fire works on the 4th and on New Years every year. We can see the ones that are set off from Town Lake as well as ones from Round Rock, Del Valle and Bastrop, plus all the ones that get set off in our neighborhood!

Friday Amanda and I drove back to Plano. I had a great weekend visiting with my family and friends. Saturday I was able to go to lunch and dinner Steven and Ally. They just moved back from Japan and I had not seen them since their wedding 3 years ago! I got to meet there baby boy Jackson who is super cute! I even talked them into starting a blog...yay!

Today was my first full day back a work. It went by really fast! The little boy I go to preschool with had a great day. I was worried it would be rough since he has been out of his normal routine for 2 weeks but he did really well. From there I went to do my last home session with the little girl I work with. We go back to 1st grade tomorrow. :)

When I got home I took Hiro for a long walk around Town Lake even though it was absolutely freezing! He got some good play time in and now we are both relaxing on the couch waiting for Jon to come back home.