{Little Letters}

So, good news.
I saw a dog today. (Name that movie.)
But really. Today I'm doing a linked up post to Emmy from The Freckled Fox called "Little Letters." I actually first saw it on Casey's blog, The Aslan's Auspicious Albany Adventure. I love this idea, so I might make it a thing! So without further ado, here are my little letters.

Dear doctor's office: I'm so not excited to be visiting you again this week. Sigh. Let's hope you bring me good news, because that's what I want right now, kay? Kay. Dear blog: Oh my great golly gosh, my little bb, you have grown! Nearing the two-month mark of your birth, you already have over a 1,000 pageviews, 15 followers, and 21 posts! With more to come, obviously! Your button has been swapped with multiple bloggers, and you're about to endeavor on to bigger things. I'm so proud of you. Dear Passionfruit: I hope this ad sponsoring thing works out between us. I've never done this before, and I hope some people bite.
Dear sweet tea: Please don't stop being delicious, I love you.

Dear Spring: Please come already, I'm tired of my fingers getting stiff at the keyboard because I'm so cold! But please, keep the allergies.

Dear March: Wow, you're here already? Where did February go? It seems like just yesterday, we were gearing up for Valentine's Day!

Dear Birthday:  All I ask is that you be a good one this year, okay? No nasty surprises or anything, okay? I want super awesome fun time, so no rain or cold. A perfect spring day isn't too much to ask for, right?

Dear followers: I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! Thanks for coming around and continuing to read my blog. You're just the bee knees, guys ;)

{I Won A} Liebster Award!

Liebster Award

Wendy at Love Hylton honored me with a nomination for the Liebster award. How awesome is that?! It is an honor when other bloggers notice you; this is a super huge blog world! The award must go to blogs with less than 200 followers and is a way to help blogs get new followers (which is something I totally need help with).

So, here the are rules as follows:

1. Each blogger should post 11 random facts about themselves.

2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you, then create 11 new questions for the bloggers you pass the award to.

3. Choose 11 new bloggers (with less than 200 followers) to pass the award to and link them in your post.

4. Go to their page and tell them about the award.

5. No tag backs.

11 random facts about me:

1. I really like to talk.
2. I love to listen to music, all the time.
3. I sing showtunes, a lot. Bill has put a ban on them when he's around, hahah.
4. I'm kind of addicted to Solitare and Bejewled. (Seriously. I'm playing Bejeweled right now...)
5. I really like to take pictures.
6. I met the Plain White T's once.
7. I am an internet junkie.
8. I like to write (obviously).
9. Mason jars are my absolute favourite things ever.
10. I spell a lot of words the British way (colour, favourite, honour, etc.)
11. I love American History.

And, now, here are the answers to the questions from Wendy at Love Hylton.

1. What is your number one goal for this year? 
Right now, my main goal is to blog. Blog, blog, blog, and BLOG. I've put a lot of steam into this little baby, and I want to see myself do it for a whole year. That's my big goal. That, and to find a job I really like.

2. What is your most favorite hobby (other than blogging)?
Reading, or making stuff. I like to paint and scrapbook, as well.

3. What is your favorite dessert recipe?
I really like these chocolate and peanut butter chip cookies we have in the house right now that Bill made for me.

4. What accomplishment are you most proud of?
Successfully cooking a dinner that my boyfriend's entire family loved, and winning Most Imporved in Algebra III at graduation my senior year.

5. What life lesson do you find yourself having to learn over and over again?

6. If you had an extra hour in the day what would you do?
I would probably write more, honestly. Not just blog stuff, or creatively, but my recipes. I tell myself every day that I'll get it done, but I don't. That, and read more. I need to seriously dedicate more time to reading.

7. What is your favorite accessory in your wardrobe?
Hmm, I don't think I really have one. I desperately need a new wardrobe, hahah. I wear the same thing like, every day, it seems.

8. What music is in your CD player? 
Wow, I don't even have a CD player anymore... And I don't think there's anything in the car CD player. But when/if I get a car anytime soon and it doesn't have an AUX port for my iPod, you best believe that I'll be burning mix CDs all the time, hahah!

9. What is your favorite scent when purchasing a new candle, what are you most drawn to?
Sweet scents, or fall scents. I love me some Pumpkin Spice!

10. When did you start blogging and why?

I've been blogging on and off for the past four or five years, but just recently became srs~ about it, you know?

Here are the blogs I am passing the award to:

Amanda at {Rhyme & Ribbons}
Paulina at {Discovering Simply Me}

Ami at {a champagne dream}
Thyme at {In My Own Sweet Thyme}
Jesika at {Somewhere That's Green: Reasons Why I Love My Husband}
Katie at {The Hessian Prince}

Unfortunately, most of the blogs I follow are already over 200 followers...by, like, a lot. So I could only nominate six people~

But here are the questions I'd like y'all to answer!

1. What is one of your favourite quotes?
2. Who is your favourite author?

3. Do you have a good beauty tip?

4. Do you have a favourite quote or saying?

5. What is your guilty pleasure?

6. When did you start blogging and why?

7. What is one movie that you could watch over and over again and never get tired of?

8. If you could be any fictional character, who would you be?

9. What is your favourite joke? 

10. What is a goal that you are working to achieve right now?

11. What do you miss most about your childhood?

{Weekend Recap} + Monday

What a busy weekend! Bill and I have been all over the place, and continued that running around yesterday (but yesterday was considerably less fun in some parts). Sorry the recap is late. Blogging No-no's 101.

{Saturday NIGHT}
Saturday night, we went midnight bowling with Christine and Larren's friends. I had never been midnight bowling before, and I gotta say, it was pretty cool. We had never been to this bowling alley before (Westbrook Lanes). It was okay, but I've been to better bowling alleys.

Myself and Bill bowling! I don't remember telling you this or not, but Bill bowls in a league. He's pretty amazing, actually, with an over 200+ average! My grandpaw was a bowler with tons of trophies and stuff. I hate to say it, but his bowling goodness...it didn't rub off on me. I'm lucky if I'm not cleaning the gutters on every frame! I did a little better this time around, though!

Almost the whole gang... The other girl was bowling, and I obviously was taking the picture...of Larren taking a picture! Wasn't long after these pictures below were taken that the cops showed up. It seems a lot of people snuck other people in the alley and they weren't wearing wristbands like they were supposed to, and one guy got arrested for trespassing! By the time everything was sorted out, our game was almost over, so we just left.

{Sunday MORNING}

After bowling (which was over after midnight, so technically it was now Sunday), Bill and I had a Wawa run! Ugh, yum! Nothing better than late-night Wawa when you're starving. I had a shorti with a half gallon of green tea. How many of you out there don't know what a Wawa is, or don't have one?

{Sunday AFTERNOON}

Sunday we spent a nice, relaxing day at Bill's mom's house. She invited us over for London Broil with a side of fries. I have, one, never had London Broil before, and two, never had steak with fries. Both of these things need to happen so much more often. That was arguably the best steak I've ever eaten. (Sorry Mommabear!)

Right after lunch, Bill's brother Dave drove us all the movie theater, and we went to see Identity Thief. Oh my 'Lanta was it hiarious! Guy's identity gets stolen, and he tracks the woman down who did it and manages to bring her from Florida all the way to Colorado in order to save his job. It was amazingly hilarious, and even had some good action in it! 8/10!

And I know that Monday isn't part of the weekend  but I had a rather busy Monday, so I figured, "Why not include it, too?!"

{Monday AFTERNOON}
Doctors office for bloodwork. Won't know the results until probably my next visit in a week. :/ I hate going to the doctor's in the first place, but what I hate more is being told that the only way to stop the problem is to do things that I'm already doing. It's like... I'm already doing the right things, so what are bad things still happening to me?! Most. Frustrating. Thing. Ever. EVER. So I guess we'll just have to wait and see...

At least I got ice cream from Coldstone afterwards! It was so yummy and made me feel so much better after being STABBED WITH NEEDLES. :X

{Monday NIGHT}
As per usual, Monday night is bowling night for Bill. I always tag along for company and to talk a little with the bowling guys. They're pretty nice, actually! Some of the guys have fun making fun of me...

Bill did okay this week. I've seen better, I've seen worse. Just gotta hope for better next week! And hop that his knee doesn't hurt him at all, either. I guess he needs more than a day of rest between bowling games...



So that's all my news this weekend... OH! I woke up today to a nomination for a Liebster Award!!! I'm going to do a whole post on that tomorrow. I'm so excited about it! My little baby of a blog really is growing up, huh? :')

School Daze...

If I close my eyes really tight and sit still for a second, I can almost feel myself walk in the bus area door. I can see and feel that same blue carpet that I walked on for ten years under my feet. I can see the wood paneling that hasn't graced those walls for a good two years.

A quick walk through the slightly dark foyer (that isn't dark anymore) with the big chandelier that I once kicked with a soccer ball by accident. Did I mention that isn't there anymore? The chandelier was removed to give way for recessed lighting to brighten up the space. A quick wave to the office ladies as I walk by their offices. I'd be seeing them soon.

A walk down the hallway that seemed to stretch on forever, waving quick hellos to everyone who passed me by, running my hand along the wood paneling that would soon be no more. Being and office aide, everyone seemed to at least recognize my face, you know, with my popping in and out of all the classes.

Walking outside to get to gym class.

The smell of the lunch room. The sound of the lunch room, a-buzz with loud and raucous chatter.

Feeling relief walking down that long hallway one last time to get to the bus to go home. Or to your car in the Senior parking lot. Waving good bye to Brother Newman at the end of the day...

Life Center Academy has changed a lot in the ten years that I was there. So many construction projects have made it what it is today. Occasionally, nostalgia takes a hold of me, and I can remember what old LCA was like. Yes, change is good. But sometimes, it's nice to take a trip down memory lane and remember what, or who, was there.

That's all for today... I'm not feeling too great, honestly. I don't even want to be on the computer (and as an internet junkie, that is a huge thing for me to say)! I've been sick off and on for the past month, getting worse feeling the past week. I have bloodwork on Monday, so hopefully that can help figure things out. It's kind of sad, I'm actually getting excited for bloodwork, even though it scares me. I just want to get better. :/ I wish there was a way that it could be done without hurting me, that's all.

{PREVIEW} The Humble Beginnings of a Homely (in a good way) Housewife

Howdy, y'all! Here's a preview of my post for Cattails & Cardigans!

If you were to take a poll today and ask how many people would want to be a house wife, you most likely wouldn’t get very many answers. Not many people dream of spending their days at home while their man is out all day working. I guess that’s what makes me an anomaly.

Currently, I’m only a housewife in the interim, while I try and find work.  But in the meantime, I’m living it up cooking and cleaning! And while that doesn’t sounds very fun, to me, it is. I’m weird. I love to do the dishes. I spend my days cleaning one room a day (more on that later), dancing around the house to Pandora radio, and working on my internet presence. I’ve found the only way to get things done online (as well as around the house) is to treat whatever you’re doing like a job.

To read the rest, click the picture! The post goes live on the 25th!

Locked Out? No, Locked IN!

Once upon a time, many moons ago (and by many moons, I mean November), I got locked inside of my mom's house with my boyfriend Bill. Bill had brought me home to change for work (and to take me to work). Everything seemed fine until Bill tried to open the door to leave.

I was in the kitchen, saying goodbye to my mom, and making sure that she would be picking me up at whatever time I was done when I heard Bill call out to me that he couldn't get out. So naturally, I go up to the door and think it's just locked and maybe Bill got confused. Nope.

I tug and tug at the door with no give. I even did that stupid thing people do in the movies by putting their foot up on the door and pulling, no dice. Bill had to climb out our front window (which is pretty high up off the ground) and call out to my neighbor, Jamal, who was on his stoop. Jamal thought Bill was robbing the place! (Who in their right mind would rob a place in the broad daylight, wearing a florescent yellow hoodie, and go out the front window? No one, that's who.)

Once Bill explained himself (and I hollered out the window to my neighbor that, no, this man was not robbing us), Jamal got to work helping us. Bill had to piggyback down on to Jamal's back to get out, and then I had to go the same on Bill's back!

Those two tried everything they could while my poor mother was stuck inside. Unfortunately, I had work, so I didn't get to stick around and see the shenanigans unfold. By the time I got home, all was well again! Bill saved the day by getting us a new doorknob and fixing the door up right. He's such a good egg.

That was a fun day. Work that day was pretty dismal in comparison to what I went through beforehand. Anything like that ever happen to you?

Oh, and by the way, I'm writing a guest post on Cattails & Cardigans next week! To be posted the same day of my doctor's office visit. I'm much like an animal when it comes to those—see the vet and run...

Chicken Pot Pie Surprise

Last night was a bit of a surprise—I didn't have to cook! Our friends Chrissy and Larren made chicken pot pie for dinner and invited us over. I guess that was one way to christen their new table ;) Served over biscuits, it was to die for. I can actually still taste it now, and got very hungry...

Seriously! Just looking at that picture makes my mouth water. Perhaps it's time for lunch....

Hope all is well with you! Just been working on a bit of design around the blog. What do you think of the new stuff?

Bill Bakes for the Blog!

Don't interrupt me when I'm getting my bake on!

To begin, make sure you have the necessary ingredients.

First, you'll need to add ~1.5 - 2cups chocolate chips, 1/4 cup butter (cut into cubes), and one 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk into a large glass bowl. Set this aside.

In a mixing bowl, add your favorite box of cake mix (I used Betty Crockers Chocolate Fudge here, but have also used Funfetti and Yellow cake mix before), 1/3 cup vegetable oil, and 2 eggs.

Put the glass bowl containing the chocolate chips into the microwave on HIGH for 45 seconds.

Remove the bowl, mix with a non-stick rubber policeman or wooden spoon. Re-heat the mix in 45 second intervals in the microwave until this is fully mixed and smooth. Its very easy to burn chocolate, so stick to short intervals and you should be ok. This usually fully melts in approximately three 45 second cycles.

Time to set the oven to 350F, allow it to pre-heat for at least 10 minutes.

While melting the chocolate chips, start to mix the cake portion by hand. This is best done using a large rubber policeman and folding the batter onto itself. This will eventually form a VERY thick batter. I would not suggest using an electric mixer for this as it will likely get stuck.

And voila! This will be the base for the snack. Continue to fold this onto itself until the resulting batter is smooth (no visible dry cake mix left).

Using a 13x9x2" well greased or non-stick glass/metal pan, place 2/3 of the cake mix batter into it and spread evenly across the bottom.

Next, pour the molten chocolate mixture on top of the batter and try to get it to spread evenly across the top.

Using the remaining 1/3 cake mix, make several "balls" or "disks" to place on top of the chocolate. Try to spread these evenly across the top.

This is the final result before baking. I've used several small balls of dough before, but I prefer the "disks" better as they tend to spread better during the bake. Place this into the oven for 20-25 minutes. This is done once the cake portions on top start to lightly brown.

This is the final result. Aptly named "Can't Leave Em' Alone Bars" they combine the texture of brownies with a smooth creamy chocolate center. Similar to substituting the cake mix, you can also use white chocolate or peanut butter chips (or others...) to yield the same result for an endless combination of flavors! Enjoy!!

--Bill

Mozzarella-Stuffed Meatballs

Monday was one busy day! It started off by me prepping meatballs for our spaghetti dinner. Because I didn't have mozzarella balls, I had to modify the recipe a little bit.

First, we start off with mixing everything together. They are as follows. 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, 1 lb. lean ground beef, 1 egg, 1/2 c. finely chopped white onion, 1/2 c. panko bread crumbs, 1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese, 1/4 c. milk, 2 tbsp. minced garlic, 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1 tbsp. yellow mustard, 1 tsp. hot sauce, 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, 1/4 tsp. garlic salt, 12 to 14 (1-in.) fresh mozzarella balls. I actually didn't use panko because I rather dislike the taste of it, to be honest.



Mix everything in a big bowl.

On our shopping trip, Bill and I didn't get mozzarella balls, because we already had shredded mozzarella at home. I kind of wish we got the balls, because trying to out the shredded mozzarella into the meat in ball form was actually quite difficult. So what ended up happening was this: I just threw a bunch of cheese into the bowl for what looked right for that amount of meat.

The meatballs are starting to take form! And my handy, dandy helper, Andrew helped me get the dish into the icebox while I had meaty hands. He also took the pictures for this post!

While those were in the icebox, I started to make banana bread. Unfortunately, this is the only picture I got of it/the process. I made it for Bill's bowling team, and they devoured it! Everyone said it was really moist and delicious.

Nibbler kept us company in the kitchen the entire time, and we got a quick picture in while I was cleaning up!

Unfortunately, Andrew couldn't stay for dinner. Too bad, he missed something really delicious! The finished products.

Bill got to stay for dinner, though ;). One happy customer, I'd say! He said everything was really amazing, and he hopes that I make these again sometime.

So that's everything I have for you this time. Did you like that there were lots of pictures? Let me know in the comments below! Perhaps next time I'll do a dessert? Or maybe I'll have Bill do a dessert, and guest-blog one day! What do you think of that, sound like a good idea?