tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616237291905360152024-03-12T19:12:32.776-04:00Courting Contentment{"But godliness with contentment is great gain." 1 Timothy 6:6} So this is my journey to finding contentment in life through all the little lovelies God gives us.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18081191605080532652noreply@blogger.comBlogger210125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2261623729190536015.post-76477317400413213382015-01-17T21:55:00.000-05:002015-01-17T21:55:20.257-05:00A Simple SaturdayWell... when I woke up this morning, I definitely could not have predicted how this day was going to go. I was planning on doing some laundry, cleaning, doing the grocery shopping, and generally being productive. And welp, absolutely none of that happened today. Because when I got out of the shower, I pulled a muscle in my neck (for the second time in a few months). And it is debilitating. Mer.<br />
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So, the pain put me on the floor, and then I couldn't get myself up off the floor. Double mer. So, I've mostly sat around today doing things where I don't have to use my neck muscles to hold my head up (mainly binge watching "Criminal Minds" on Netflix). Thank goodness it's not as bad as the first time I pulled it, but it's still pretty painful.<br />
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But thankfully, My hubs is wonderful, and he is very sympathetic toward my low pain tolerance. When I was feeling a bit better, we grabbed some lunch out and then went to a movie (another thing I can do without having to hold my neck up).<br />
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We decided on "American Sniper". And it was incredibly interesting. Going into it, I had heard of Chris Kyle and that he was "the deadliest sniper in American history", and I also knew that he was killed after he came home. But, beyond that, I didn't know anything about who he was or what he had done. And I don't know if the movie accurately portrayed his life or not, but it was very enlightening. I enjoyed it. I certainly covered my eyes a few times, and teared up a few as well. It definitely reminds me that there are so many people out there that have given more than I can possibly imagine for the freedoms I enjoy and take for granted. And I am very grateful to those people, not just the soldiers, police officers, etc, but also their families and friends. Truly, thank you for your service and your sacrifice.<br />
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And now, I'm back home, doing more Netflix binge-ing, working on a gallery wall for work, and desperately wanting a snack. Happy Saturday night! Lol!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18081191605080532652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2261623729190536015.post-31904804980449195132015-01-13T22:04:00.000-05:002015-01-13T22:04:55.168-05:00Hello 20152014 is gone and now 2015 is well underway. I know I owe a few updates... I'm not sure I know where to begin.<br />
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I can not wait until Thomas and I buy a house. I got some more fantastic kitchen stuff for Christmas, and I am so excited to have a kitchen to put all of it in soon! We're finally getting the process started, but who knows how long it will end up taking. I'm so excited though. I can't wait to get to pick out my own paint colors and design the rooms. Yay! My biggest struggle is definitely my impatience. I just need to keep myself in check and try to enjoy the process and not just the end goal.<br />
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Thomas also got me an amazing Christmas gift that speaks to my inner geek and book lover. You see, in my perfect world, whatever house I had would have a "old world" style library (no matter the style of the house). It would have books from floor to ceiling, so much so that you'd need one of those fabulous rolling ladders to reach the books on the higher shelves. There would be a huge fireplace and old red leather high-backed chairs. And one wall would be filled from floor to ceiling with antiqued maps.<br />
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So for Christmas, Thomas added to my collection with a beautiful map of Narnia. It's a beautiful shadow-box, and the map has beautiful color and detail. Here's the photo from Amazon.<br />
<img class="image-stretch-vertical" id="igImage" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51RM7ESVR0L.jpg" style="left: 0px; max-height: 415px; max-width: 500px; top: -13.013px;" /><br />Of course, I know that our house won't have a magically fantastic library in it, but I will have enough walls to hang my growing map collection!<br />
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So long for now!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18081191605080532652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2261623729190536015.post-66914737011099225232014-12-07T17:19:00.000-05:002014-12-07T17:19:19.869-05:00Woah!So... it seems that I haven't posted in almost two months. Woah. It's been a lot different since we moved to Missouri, and I seem to have a hard time turning my computer on. It's not that I don't want to blog... I just don't feel like I have much to blog about. If you follow me on Instagram, you'll usually see the high points of my life in photo form, but otherwise, I just have a pretty routine life right now.<br />
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But, here are a few updates from the past two months.<br />
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We've been enjoying our two lovely kittens. Lo is returning to her normal calm and happy self more everyday. And Luna is as rambunctious and ridiculous as ever. She feels the need to be attached to me almost every minute of every day. She is not the most graceful cat in the world. And she's gotten in so much trouble in the last week for trying to eat all of the Christmas decorations. I took this photo about two minutes after hanging some of my paper snowflakes on the door, and she had already mangled one. About 10 minutes later, two others would be destroyed. And in between murdering snowflakes, she'd run over and try to eat the tree. She's driving me crazy, but at least she hasn't done any real damage yet.<br />
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Speaking of Christmas decorations, our "apartment" is about as festive as it's going to get. I just love the glow of Christmas lights!<br />
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We had our first snow in November, and a couple of frigid days with some flurries and ice since then, but it's certainly not looking wintry white outside yet. In part, I'm happy for temperatures that are too warm for snow, but on the other hand, it's still really cold so another ten degrees lower so that we could have snow would be nice.<br />
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Thomas and I have seen a couple of movies recently. I can't think of all of them right now, so I'll have to do a review post soon. But two of them are Big Hero 6 (adorable) and Mockingjay (wow). So, look out for that post.<br />
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We also went to a Blues game a few weeks ago, and it was a really good time! There were a few very amusing fights, and the game went all the way to a shoot out! The Blues lost, but it was still a really good game! <br />
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I've got almost all of my Christmas shopping done. Thomas is getting a killer gift this year! I'm so excited about it, in fact, that it's wrapped and safely tucked away at my parents' house so that I can't lose my patience and give it to him early!<br />
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Well, that's all for now! I'll try to make it less than two months before I blog again! Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18081191605080532652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2261623729190536015.post-72782210857294511192014-10-10T21:59:00.000-04:002014-10-10T21:59:45.728-04:00Work Work WorkThis has been a crazy week! I'm super glad it's Friday night and I've got a weekend of hanging out with my hubby ahead of me! So, I'm at home, sitting in bed in a comfy new sweater watching some "Criminal Minds" and typing away!<br />
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I got some new responsibilities at work this week. And I can be good at multi-tasking when I'm prepared, but when I'm not, I get overwhelmed pretty quick. So, getting used to my new responsibilities took quite a bit of brain energy. I'm glad I have the weekend to get my head around it more, and then I get to start next week fresh and with a plan!<br />
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Thomas and I are going to see <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0829150/?ref_=nv_sr_1">Dracula Untold</a> tomorrow. I'm not sure how good it will be, but getting to hear Luke Evans talk for two hours will make sure a good movie! He has one of those really great speaking voices, you know?! And I am definitely interested in a story of how a good man decided to become Dracula.<br />
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Then we've got plans with my family to cheer on the Cardinals. I know it's pretty much a crime to not be a huge Cardinals fan when you live in St. Louis, but I'm not. I will watch parts of the game with Thomas when he wants to watch them, but I don't really care about baseball. So really, I'm going for the food and the company, but don't tell the rest of St. Louis that. Lol.<br />
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Man, am I missing my Florida lately. It's been getting colder and super rainy this week. I miss my sunshine and warmth and my friends. Missouri certainly has its high points, but this week their not as easy to see.<br />
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I'm going to get started at my weekend started! Enjoy yours!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18081191605080532652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2261623729190536015.post-54875626522855449652014-10-04T17:48:00.000-04:002014-10-04T17:48:38.048-04:00Kittens and Hair-dosWe've had our adorable little kitten for almost three months now. She is every bit as adorable, obnoxious, inquisitive, and persistent as the day we got her! The only difference is that she's getting bigger. We love her to death but still don't trust her one tiny bit! I'm looking forward to two weeks from now when she'll have her front claws taken out so that she won't accidentally spear me when we're playing. But I will miss her fantastic climbing skills. Here are some pics of my babies!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH8nC_9r4impmOis8xnhv6FMz3ULxDpl2rjkQEVXi9eyPTs8RP7kzDG1O9Wesj7Vi4SHAuGc06T-1tGhsBRw8KI4aySROLN-NXZfxZv-egjh-uZoHlpO73pztAkZWeKo7taburg_iMeJy3/s1600/IMG_1436.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH8nC_9r4impmOis8xnhv6FMz3ULxDpl2rjkQEVXi9eyPTs8RP7kzDG1O9Wesj7Vi4SHAuGc06T-1tGhsBRw8KI4aySROLN-NXZfxZv-egjh-uZoHlpO73pztAkZWeKo7taburg_iMeJy3/s1600/IMG_1436.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ceiling fan was on... This is the face I got. Not to mention the fact that she's laying in my jeans.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6mRZ2ZiMdeT6vKIwE2gNN2_e8QpK4eqdvORd12zEoUFKU8IrSiw0ijux-SScrKw_pSvbNDj3sII5nRQ12G-PVlF1Z11lR42WMTI0Ga3oaJEn5ADN5EugWu5vIbHl4ja3VpE9Iawi5aG7K/s1600/IMG_1455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6mRZ2ZiMdeT6vKIwE2gNN2_e8QpK4eqdvORd12zEoUFKU8IrSiw0ijux-SScrKw_pSvbNDj3sII5nRQ12G-PVlF1Z11lR42WMTI0Ga3oaJEn5ADN5EugWu5vIbHl4ja3VpE9Iawi5aG7K/s1600/IMG_1455.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Both cats seriously love this box.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVhabUWQmVcoBxRoOrxADTAnByX_qiaesL6NJj1mF142YOm69Tbgm3phU4flfpsv_TiBbHLpY7xGP7R3U2EcDXdRsbJcungQWdnUGETB6g3tECvC_pFFRd63U95nw3RhmO7vJVe7gFK9e7/s1600/IMG_1287.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVhabUWQmVcoBxRoOrxADTAnByX_qiaesL6NJj1mF142YOm69Tbgm3phU4flfpsv_TiBbHLpY7xGP7R3U2EcDXdRsbJcungQWdnUGETB6g3tECvC_pFFRd63U95nw3RhmO7vJVe7gFK9e7/s1600/IMG_1287.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"If I fits, I sits." -Lolo</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil8f08emhNsac9XWXChQpMWuhC-ki7r4nBCDW04ncgX281HQ6K5bcDC_9ep5BFUUDAsBBRWfSx-IX8bNtMKfHVUjT2FhqnhYc7hqeOvA_Jz9A2gERPlT7IDBaVBEIhGgci1hMPofK5oSCh/s1600/IMG_1297.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil8f08emhNsac9XWXChQpMWuhC-ki7r4nBCDW04ncgX281HQ6K5bcDC_9ep5BFUUDAsBBRWfSx-IX8bNtMKfHVUjT2FhqnhYc7hqeOvA_Jz9A2gERPlT7IDBaVBEIhGgci1hMPofK5oSCh/s1600/IMG_1297.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My slippers are really soft and fuzzy (and hideous, Thomas says).</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgtc1azoqkv-i7vAet-Ggr7i2ET3owqaUEbJan3SFMoKLRzkPmnzhLg8aDEKmY4gcM9FbicGAx6Tu0jirhcOG_OhzaaZCEEone-wRT4e2ud6vtUzkSFMQRZaL7GmHx17cn_jffVoF_CUp-/s1600/IMG_1313+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgtc1azoqkv-i7vAet-Ggr7i2ET3owqaUEbJan3SFMoKLRzkPmnzhLg8aDEKmY4gcM9FbicGAx6Tu0jirhcOG_OhzaaZCEEone-wRT4e2ud6vtUzkSFMQRZaL7GmHx17cn_jffVoF_CUp-/s1600/IMG_1313+(2).JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was watching a cat video, so she came to watch with me. She kept pawing the screen and pausing the video. It was so adorable.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheRDU7dxup2g49d0gFPFCWHiLCXbEd0te26QBRYACoybb-BARc1wknqjrUf94865r2i9OviLvMuT65A3D4fKODAuyDbLxmM7IwU0KwBAcSOMU16mzSXqRWkIIiyTjAUuEvr19Pp_2HIbl4/s1600/IMG_1327.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheRDU7dxup2g49d0gFPFCWHiLCXbEd0te26QBRYACoybb-BARc1wknqjrUf94865r2i9OviLvMuT65A3D4fKODAuyDbLxmM7IwU0KwBAcSOMU16mzSXqRWkIIiyTjAUuEvr19Pp_2HIbl4/s1600/IMG_1327.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lolo has been obsessed with towels that have outside smells on them right now.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixq8g2VBLMxyASfeZYOatAZXGwjNtFPoQLbEoQfkBGMzNY4Xv85nXPzVxGm2UztK3jzZE60AowWqoC3lWfhlwYBw_MWUJlPA1alkK-NWPv3eE_ElU5KrcDMqo476hIDOntWbRwWWDtY29W/s1600/IMG_1332.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixq8g2VBLMxyASfeZYOatAZXGwjNtFPoQLbEoQfkBGMzNY4Xv85nXPzVxGm2UztK3jzZE60AowWqoC3lWfhlwYBw_MWUJlPA1alkK-NWPv3eE_ElU5KrcDMqo476hIDOntWbRwWWDtY29W/s1600/IMG_1332.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luna loves to nap with me. She totally hopped up and laid with me like this all by herself.</td></tr>
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She and Lo are getting along much better. They're definitely still not best friends, but they are warming up to each other. Luna is working at keeping Lo young and fit by playing with her constantly, and Lo is making up for it by eating most of Luna's food. Lol.<br />
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What can I say... I love them!<br />
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I'm also totally still loving my hew hair cut. I've been playing around with different styles. And today I wore it in a ponytail for the first time. Lol. Pony tails used to be my go-to, everyday style, but in the past year or so I just haven't been wearing them hardly at all. Weird. I'm more into the braids and more "interesting" styles nowadays. Here's the original pic (blowdry only) and straightened and curled, all of which take so much less time to do than they did with hair that was almost a foot longer!<br />
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Happy Saturday!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18081191605080532652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2261623729190536015.post-87797365631773598562014-10-01T16:47:00.001-04:002014-10-01T16:47:53.099-04:00Surprise Date DayThomas is super awesome, so he informed me on Friday that he had made plans for us on Sunday. He knows I love surprises, so he wouldn't tell me anything except how I should dress.<br />
<br />
Even when we were in the car driving to our destination on Sunday, he still wouldn't tell me where we were going. It wasn't until we were two miles away that I saw a sign that gave me a clue.<br />
<br />
He knows how much I love history, so he took me over to Illinois to the Cahokia Mounds. For those of you who aren't huge history fans, the Cahokia Mounds are a bunch of hills that were created by Native Americans. There's a really cool museum with a ton of information about how the tribes lived and what the mounds were used for, and then you can walk the grounds and climb the biggest mound.<br />
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It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and we had a great time! Here are some pics from the day!<br />
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The tribes built pretty big walls around some of their dwellings.</div>
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The mounds come in a bunch of different shapes and sizes.</div>
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Another reconstruction of one of their walls.</div>
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The biggest one, called Monk's Mound, is over 100 feet tall.</div>
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You can climb to the top of Monk's Mound via a lot of stairs.</div>
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And from the top, you can see downtown St. Louis.</div>
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A photo op at the top of the mound.</div>
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It was an awesome day! Afterward, he took me for a BBQ lunch. He's pretty awesome! Here's to you, honey!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18081191605080532652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2261623729190536015.post-8252024351053276142014-09-23T15:05:00.000-04:002014-09-23T15:05:20.216-04:00Apple Cinnamon SquaresFall is here. And every year with fall comes all things apple. And you know I just absolutely love apples. So last week I whipped up a batch of these delicious apple cinnamon squares.<br />
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These are a super yummy treat that are easy to make! You don't even need a lot of apple, and this recipe uses ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen.<br />
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<b>Apple Cinnamon Squares</b><br />
Adapted from: <a href="http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Apple-Squares/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Thumb&e11=apple%20squares&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page&soid=sr_results_p1i1">Allrecipes.com</a><br />
Makes: a 9x9 pan<br />
<br />
Ingredients:<br />
1 cup all-purpose flour<br />
1 teaspoon baking powder<br />
1/4 teaspoon salt<br />
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon<br />
1/4 cup melted butter <br />
1/2 cup brown sugar<br />
1/2 cup granulated sugar<br />
1 egg<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla<br />
1/2 cup chopped apple<br />
For Topping:<br />
1 tablespoon granulated sugar<br />
1 teaspoon cinnamon<br />
<br />
Directions:<br />
<ol>
<li>Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x9 inch pan.</li>
<li>In a medium bowl, stir the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together.</li>
<li>Stir in the egg and vanilla.</li>
<li>Mix in the dry ingredients until just combined.</li>
<li>Add in the chopped apple and stir.</li>
<li>Spread the mixture into the prepared pan.</li>
<li>Mix the extra granulated sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Sprinkle on top of the batter.</li>
<li>Bake for 25-30 minutes until the center is set.</li>
<li>Allow to cool in the pan and then cut into squares.</li>
</ol>
Enjoy this yummy fall treat! Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18081191605080532652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2261623729190536015.post-13936456419732868662014-09-17T18:18:00.000-04:002014-09-17T18:18:13.702-04:00The Fall ChopIn case you're not on Instagram or Facebook, here's a little peek at what I did today...<br />
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Ok, so technically, all I did was sit in a chair for a while. Someone much more talented than me did the work!<br />
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I got about 9-10 inches off the total length and went with a long bob with side-swept bangs. The stylist just blow-dried my hair, so it's got some bounce and wave to it. <br />
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I can't wait to see how it looks both when it's straightened and curled! Here are two of the photos I found on Pinterest and showed the stylist for inspiration.<br />
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So I'm excited to style it similar to these do's! <br />
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Don't you just love getting a new haircut?! I know I do!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18081191605080532652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2261623729190536015.post-67738864427889735342014-09-16T18:46:00.000-04:002014-09-16T18:46:01.745-04:00Yep...Still BusySo... I keep saying and thinking that I want to blog more again, and then it still falls between the cracks. I guess you'll just have to bear with me or stop reading the blog. Or maybe you'll find the proverbial door number three.<br />
<br />
Anyway... I've got a new dessert recipe to post... Apple Cinnamon Squares... DELICIOUS! I ate one about five minutes ago and could still go for another three... or four... or the rest of the pan. So, I will get that up later this week. <br />
<br />
We haven't seen any new movies lately. I know. Shame. We're working on it.<br />
<br />
Here are some things I'm enjoying right now:<br />
<ul>
<li>The apple cinnamon squares. Seriously. They're awesome.</li>
<li>Getting to wear my new boots (even if that means the weather is getting colder).</li>
<li>Also, my new fake TOMS. They're gray and white, and super cute and comfy... and they were only $12! Woohoo! </li>
<li>How great my past couple of runs have felt since the triathlon. I've never realized how insanely good swimming is for you until now.</li>
<li>Playing chess with Thomas. We just randomly went to Oberweiss for some delicious ice cream on Sunday afternoon and decided to play chess while we ate. So now we're playing chess together. And I'm getting slaughtered. every. time.</li>
<li>I'm also still super in love with my job! It's pretty awesome. And in case you were curious, here's an amazing video they did this weekend! They actually have a package where they will film a wedding, edit it immediately, and then show a video at the reception! Wow! Talk about talent! (And don't think I'm tooting my own horn here, I had absolutely nothing to do with the artistic beauty you see in the video!)</li>
</ul>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/wFbbIUicTbA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Wasn't that video awesome?! I know, right! And I get to work with these people!<br />
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Oh... also. Stay tuned here and/or on Instagram tomorrow. I may have some before and after photos coming up... And that's all the hint you're going to get!<br />
<br />
Toodles! Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18081191605080532652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2261623729190536015.post-32551639392509914692014-09-08T18:04:00.001-04:002014-09-08T18:13:24.310-04:00A Short UpdateI know... it has been entirely too long since I've blogged. I've been a little busy. Even now, I'm debating writing this short update because I only have 10 minutes until I need to be upstairs cooking dinner. But here goes...<br />
<br />
We're into the busy fall season at work (which is one of the main reasons I've been busy), which is great! More hours, more responsibility! Woohoo!<br />
<br />
Thomas and I have seriously been enjoying country drives. They are the main thing I missed when living in Florida (besides my family). There's just something about driving fast down a country road while the sun is setting that makes you feel like everything's alright.<br />
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I have some major house-buying fever... Which totally stinks considering that we're not looking for houses yet. We have a few more months of saving before we get there, so I'm trying to be patient.<br />
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I am almost almost finished with my latest scarf. I'm dying to put the final touches on it this week, but we'll see!<br />
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Oh, and I'm making Oatmeal Cream Pies tonight! Yummy yummy! Hop on over to the <a href="http://courtingcontentment.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html">Recipe Index</a> page to get the recipe!<br />
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Hopefully I will be back to blogging more often as I get used to the busier schedule! Toodles!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18081191605080532652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2261623729190536015.post-3843292138960712812014-08-26T17:45:00.001-04:002014-08-26T17:45:22.185-04:00Chicken Parmesan Meatballs<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thomas and I love love love Italian food. And out of all of the Italian foods that exist, we really really love chicken parm. So when I saw <a href="http://www.bakeyourday.net/chicken-parmesan-meatballs/">this recipe</a> for Chicken Parmesan Meatballs on Pinterest, I just knew I had to make them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXjpudnY6Boii56uVBLE7bKGSYplmfKY7_RIR0yRMQSzsgxyVmgSwx3OygrN3kw2G0zUdCtIQn1A9W_9BmqbANgm9MimqIaYez-EndLoEuDRWwOcPjnSyjpbxA6MbuzC2hpKbm3WY1mg9y/s1600/IMG_1318.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXjpudnY6Boii56uVBLE7bKGSYplmfKY7_RIR0yRMQSzsgxyVmgSwx3OygrN3kw2G0zUdCtIQn1A9W_9BmqbANgm9MimqIaYez-EndLoEuDRWwOcPjnSyjpbxA6MbuzC2hpKbm3WY1mg9y/s1600/IMG_1318.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">And boy, did they live up to my expectations! They were delicious! We served them we some pasta and marinara sauce, a fresh salad, and some garlic bread! Yum yum!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb2_HSvmR-qgQgjcZbSbCIbW0BBA2B9yyLx8YBmtg5W7zdL8dnWVuPGBLZEj9MRvcxKT7MZvZpD8jvuyhaHGCqiMYcqVvFynGgCGWf1eWeRFI8NQuMUrWUyBenLIB-GW2STLVRBLlbh2h_/s1600/IMG_1320.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb2_HSvmR-qgQgjcZbSbCIbW0BBA2B9yyLx8YBmtg5W7zdL8dnWVuPGBLZEj9MRvcxKT7MZvZpD8jvuyhaHGCqiMYcqVvFynGgCGWf1eWeRFI8NQuMUrWUyBenLIB-GW2STLVRBLlbh2h_/s1600/IMG_1320.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Chicken Parmesan Meatballs</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Adapted from: <a href="http://www.bakeyourday.net/chicken-parmesan-meatballs/">Bake Your Day</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Makes: approximately 24</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Ingredients: </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: small;">1</span> pound ground chicken<br />
1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs<br />
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese<br />
1 teaspoon garlic salt<br />
1 tablespoon tomato paste<br />
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning<br />2 teaspoon oregano</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes<br />1 teaspoon parsley </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1/2 teaspoon salt<br />
1/2 teaspoon pepper</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Marinara sauce </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">for serving</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Your favorite pasta noodles for serving</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Directions: </span></span></div>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Heat the oven to 375 degrees and spray a 9x13 rimmed baking
sheet with cooking spray.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mix all of the ingredients (except pasta sauce and noodles) in a large bowl until
combined. I really got in there with my hands. But beware, it's really cold.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Scoop the mixture out and roll into 1-inch balls and place
them on the prepared baking sheet. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bake in the 375 degree oven for about 20
minutes until golden brown and the chicken is cooked through. The center of the
meatball should read 165-170 degrees.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Serve with pasta and sauce and a fresh salad!</span></span></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">***Freezing Note: I made the meatballs and then froze the leftovers. On the day we wanted to eat the leftovers, I thawed the meatballs briefly and then stuck them in the oven for about 15 minutes to warm up again, and they turned out great the second time too!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I hope you enjoy! </span></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18081191605080532652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2261623729190536015.post-58232731382100475642014-08-23T23:06:00.000-04:002014-08-23T23:06:54.374-04:00My First Triathlon!Woohoo! Today has been a super good day! I completed my first sprint triathlon, and I feel great about it!<br />
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I know yall are probably tired of hearing about my training, and blah blah blah. BUT, I'm going to keep talking about it, because this is my blog! Lol!<br />
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This morning started at a super-dark-and-tired 5am. I woke up, took a little time to gather my thoughts, ate some breakfast, grabbed my bag, and headed out the door to the triathlon site. I had to be completely ready to go and down at the lake for the swim at 7. And before that, I had to set up my transition area, get my timing chip, and get my body marked. I also wanted to walk the transitions a few times to make sure I knew where I was going for each one.<br />
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So at 6:15, as the sun came up, I walked into the race area, took a deep breath and went to stake a claim on a transition spot. I knew absolutely no one there, so I had a lot of time to stand around (looking uber nervous, I'm sure) and watch what other people were doing to make sure I was doing it right. Lol.<br />
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By 7 am, all 750 participants... that's right, 750(!!!) were gathered down by the lake, ready for the start. This allowed me about 45 more minutes of standing around, looking (and feeling) very nervous. But, my super awesome husband and parents ambled their way down to the swim area to watch, so I got to spend the last little bit talking to them.<br />
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My wave took off around 8, so we headed into the water to wait for the horn to sound. And then we were off to start the 1/4 mile swim. I was definitely glad to have the swim out of the way first because it was by far my weakest event.<br />
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After the swim, we walked/ran up the hill to the parking lot to grab our bikes and gear and set off for the 12.3 mile ride. This was by far the easiest event. There were bikers everywhere, and you were constantly passing or getting passed, and so it went by pretty easily and quickly.<br />
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Then we came back in to drop off the bikes and head out for the 2.5 mile run. <br />
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I did walk a bit on the run which I was a little disappointed with, but it started out with this huge hill, and my legs really needed a little break. But after than, I ran most of the way with just a few short walking breaks at the water stations.<br />
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I ran up the last hill and over the finish line, heard my name announced over the speakers as I came in, got my participation medal, and rode the wave of adrenaline of having actually done it! <br />
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My goal time was 1 hour and 35 minutes, and my official finish time was 1 hour 35 minutes and 34 seconds! Woohoo! Never in my life have I been excited about getting a participation award, but today, I reveled in it!<br />
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And a super special thank you goes out to my husband who gave up sleeping in on his day off to help me get there and to support and watch me and take pictures for me as I participated, and to my awesome parents who also braved the ridiculous heat in order to cheer me on! Thank you guys! <br />
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And I can tell you now, this won't be the last time you hear me talking about triathlons. I've caught the bug!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18081191605080532652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2261623729190536015.post-20852167373720876032014-08-17T16:51:00.000-04:002014-08-17T16:51:01.077-04:00A Life UpdateA lot seems to be going on around here, though today I'm sitting at home alone working on some blog posts, watching Netflix, and unsuccessfully fending off a little kitten who just wants to sleep on my everytime I sit down.<br />
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I had swim practice for the triathlon this morning. I can't believe it's on Saturday! I've been working hard on my swimming, though none of it really prepared me for swimming in a lake with a bunch of other people this morning. It was interesting to say the least. <br />
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Swimming is definitely still my weakest area. The breathing is just really difficult to get used to. And of course, you don't get to practice and figure it out in private. No, you have to be at a gym, in a pool with real athletes who know what they're doing, and lifeguards who are watching and probably thinking, <i>Oh crap. This girl is totally going to drown and then I'm going to have to jump in the water fully clothed and pull her out. This is just going to ruin my day.</i> Yeah. Swimming is definitely not my favorite. <br />
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But, I now know a little bit better of what to expect for Saturday. And it was seriously heartening to see the other participants for the sprint distance. I was so relieved to see that I'm not the only person not wearing a professional grade triathlon outfit. I'm not the only one who struggled with staying on course in the water. I'm not the only one who doesn't have a super expensive road bike. So, though I'm nervous about Saturday, I definitely feel much more confident that I'm not going to make a fool out of myself as long as I keep my nerves in check.<br />
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On another note, one of the reasons I'm more nervous about the triathlon than I'd hoped is because I haven't dedicated as much time to training as I would have liked. Moving and then getting a job right away sort of messed up my routine, but I'll tell you what, I wouldn't be surviving at all without that job. It was the one job listing that I was actually, truly interested in when we were looking for jobs while moving here, and I can't believe it's as great as it is. I really love what I'm doing, and I love the people I work with and, more importantly, the people I work for. It's so awesome. And without that job, this move would have been so much harder than it already is on me. So, it is such a huge blessing and relief to have something that I really enjoy doing.<br />
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The cats are getting along better with every day. They really like playing together, which is great because it keeps them both active too. And they've even head-booped and nuzzled each other a few times! We have started leaving Luna out at night (not shutting her in the bathroom), and she's doing pretty well. There are still plenty of times when she gets put back in there because she won't stop bothering me in the middle of the night or she can't keep her face out of Lo's food bowl. But she's learning. Our most annoying problem right now is that they just won't stop eating each other's food. I don't know if it's a competition or jealousy thing or what, but it's ridiculous. Luna is also not very good at self-rationing, so it's hard to regulate how much food she eats because when she runs out, she just eats Lo's. But, oh well, there are definitely worse problems to have!<br />
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We're having our ups and downs right now, but overall, we're doing pretty well!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18081191605080532652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2261623729190536015.post-86020576472617406402014-08-12T21:56:00.003-04:002014-08-12T21:56:39.540-04:00August Julep Box<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv9bf5M0ksCWTzQ4wZuATA7pqUouUJ8cSYsZ65F4Jqi3pzqOl36BR-4eGlWXpMHagI4aAJAYExVKDUGZWu1ErVPLIDutG8YX1D4R9V-VJirjSiR6tYjnsr0TD3PBrZOivfx6reqqghyphenhyphenETz/s1600/IMG_1253edit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv9bf5M0ksCWTzQ4wZuATA7pqUouUJ8cSYsZ65F4Jqi3pzqOl36BR-4eGlWXpMHagI4aAJAYExVKDUGZWu1ErVPLIDutG8YX1D4R9V-VJirjSiR6tYjnsr0TD3PBrZOivfx6reqqghyphenhyphenETz/s1600/IMG_1253edit.JPG" height="400" width="318" /></a></div>
Here's a peek at the contents of my August Julep box!<br />
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First off, isn't this the most beautiful and elegant tissue paper you've ever seen?! I could practically frame it because it's so pretty. (I won't though, because my husband would tease me to no end!)<br />
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This box included my two nail colors, a gel eye liner, and a phone cleaner as an extra perk.<br />
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I really love these two nail polishes. They're right up my alley color-wise. However, maybe I should have selected a different box for exactly that purpose. Here is my collection of teal/blue polishes... so does it look like I need any more? Not really. But, I just really liked both of the colors, so I went for it anyway!<br />
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I have never tried a gel liner before, so I can't give you a very informed review of how good this one is, but I can tell you that I like the color, it goes on really smooth, and it's really easy to smudge for a more natural look.<br />
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And just as a little extra, in case you were wondering, here's a look at my polish collection (pre-August box). As you can see, I have a few brand favorites. And though I have a lot of polishes, I tend to gravitate toward the same color families. So with the Ulta gift card I got for my birthday, it was my goal to find a color that I wouldn't normally buy in order to try something different. I'll give you a peek at what I bought there soon! Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18081191605080532652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2261623729190536015.post-54825658792069676812014-08-09T19:12:00.000-04:002014-08-09T19:12:43.652-04:00Cute Kitten OverloadWarning: If you do not like cute pictures of cats, DO NOT read any farther on this post. There really isn't much content except for me being a typical adorable kitten owner and showing off photos of my babies.<br />
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We've had Luna for a while now, and though she is still having to be confined to a small room while we're out of the house or sleeping, just because she can't be trusted to not get into trouble or eat Lo's food. But, she's doing really well. She has adjusted to her new home and food, and she really seems to like her new sister. Lolo, however, is still taking things slow. She and Luna have been playing quite a lot and greeting each other in the mornings when I let Luna out of her room, but there's hasn't really been any cuddling or loving on each other.<br />
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So here are some cute photos of Luna antics, and the sweet few moments that I happen to capture with a camera.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkm-A9TK1vKCpfDiuo9xPJp5p5A3zX1NakrqEcGNmkjHjKtzuf1O8aWmE0h0J86Wg0gzusmCgZ1ALuuP_Cic4jT7qDfRi37RAuG4Tpb60G-eeAPi6Cf7Zc-Zvy0H8c-Riv0Fw0L965y0F3/s1600/IMG_1227crop.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkm-A9TK1vKCpfDiuo9xPJp5p5A3zX1NakrqEcGNmkjHjKtzuf1O8aWmE0h0J86Wg0gzusmCgZ1ALuuP_Cic4jT7qDfRi37RAuG4Tpb60G-eeAPi6Cf7Zc-Zvy0H8c-Riv0Fw0L965y0F3/s1600/IMG_1227crop.JPG" height="400" width="307" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The girls taking a break from a play session.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlI5A6p4N6WRh63kNMYnFS-OCtASiKxtDQWhjyVLpsqnz4mXssJb353v0n2hC91oJ0NoqIv5ukBEwrjA7BJSvHah5P0LqbSFdjL0x34WmjXJ3Z08fZNBjJEzd9IVQVl1sYOoqJqsnia39a/s1600/IMG_1238edit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlI5A6p4N6WRh63kNMYnFS-OCtASiKxtDQWhjyVLpsqnz4mXssJb353v0n2hC91oJ0NoqIv5ukBEwrjA7BJSvHah5P0LqbSFdjL0x34WmjXJ3Z08fZNBjJEzd9IVQVl1sYOoqJqsnia39a/s1600/IMG_1238edit.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apparently Daddy's belt is fun.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNcHoM3XOgq4nsWZitfdG8TGG7sZKlRCyqO-NKZ-NCK4s7_ZHgCs8bOFtnn2-iBBoW49cIjY9Rgjf4XdGFU36nxx9GEZyVAqn2Z2a7MD4JCoF_qhfAnQG3b_rNcfMOIth_4AZfn0A8Jlon/s1600/IMG_1240edit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNcHoM3XOgq4nsWZitfdG8TGG7sZKlRCyqO-NKZ-NCK4s7_ZHgCs8bOFtnn2-iBBoW49cIjY9Rgjf4XdGFU36nxx9GEZyVAqn2Z2a7MD4JCoF_qhfAnQG3b_rNcfMOIth_4AZfn0A8Jlon/s1600/IMG_1240edit.JPG" height="261" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And Mommy's purse.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0ppUA56YY_yZTdsujScOFbdTP0YvzDLi0hEqnHqsAS5PmxBZjewkhvxzB0U7hcC3HPeHiIAz_8HzL9b3UNhp3R9a_-3udv3deG-581xCMIY5Dk-OALWrHVptlVp48UdnQyJwPF-TGvFS/s1600/IMG_1241edit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0ppUA56YY_yZTdsujScOFbdTP0YvzDLi0hEqnHqsAS5PmxBZjewkhvxzB0U7hcC3HPeHiIAz_8HzL9b3UNhp3R9a_-3udv3deG-581xCMIY5Dk-OALWrHVptlVp48UdnQyJwPF-TGvFS/s1600/IMG_1241edit.JPG" height="323" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luna and Daddy napping together.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsPmrr83UGszn65t5GGXwNJDuDZlczNi0Vu-NUMIyD7bxsPrj-WGLOddLSQW880ZjqnobG531n8ti527aEZBesd9oB5TjwXGtk0UGyWOli_hMatYqTqLSU00xSbwp8DmvMoSy_2MS6vJYn/s1600/IMG_1244crop.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsPmrr83UGszn65t5GGXwNJDuDZlczNi0Vu-NUMIyD7bxsPrj-WGLOddLSQW880ZjqnobG531n8ti527aEZBesd9oB5TjwXGtk0UGyWOli_hMatYqTqLSU00xSbwp8DmvMoSy_2MS6vJYn/s1600/IMG_1244crop.JPG" height="328" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sleeping under a blanket.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVIh0c1QHsIsHhllzZ7_7EvQAc_QjAdD9gGaYecf-JULOj7xo9estr-GBpqZxrixoLQxp8RqrXvC6xdGXQwi9kDuVYImgxd8KqgPG_WWuBU3DkJbx6-I05_6B5TMYVfvBYQJFQ1TVZ5YmD/s1600/IMG_1245crop.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVIh0c1QHsIsHhllzZ7_7EvQAc_QjAdD9gGaYecf-JULOj7xo9estr-GBpqZxrixoLQxp8RqrXvC6xdGXQwi9kDuVYImgxd8KqgPG_WWuBU3DkJbx6-I05_6B5TMYVfvBYQJFQ1TVZ5YmD/s1600/IMG_1245crop.JPG" height="285" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And again.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG4TTIwZSTY0wg3SwTtS18c9RqUtwasolxgvCAPqK3LuKyfhy8xj1wDRnBQla6jAEhD1_lBvzyfBT_V1_szptn2lZXlcJKcNT0QmvNhhJntBWtMewsCosqk_AswMjStOyRlD7S0Q-CkjzI/s1600/IMG_1267edit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG4TTIwZSTY0wg3SwTtS18c9RqUtwasolxgvCAPqK3LuKyfhy8xj1wDRnBQla6jAEhD1_lBvzyfBT_V1_szptn2lZXlcJKcNT0QmvNhhJntBWtMewsCosqk_AswMjStOyRlD7S0Q-CkjzI/s1600/IMG_1267edit.JPG" height="343" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And a very rare moment of the girls napping together!!!</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18081191605080532652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2261623729190536015.post-56307281991731617972014-08-06T17:41:00.001-04:002014-08-06T17:41:19.339-04:00HtTyD 2 and Transformers 4 {Movie Reviews}In June and July, Thomas and I only saw like 2 movies in the theaters... Wow! That's got to be some sort of all-time low for us. However, we've been pretty dang busy since the move, and things just don't seem to be slowing down at all.<br />
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How to Train Your Dragon 2 - This was pretty on-par with the first one. Hiccup is snarky and awkward; Toothless is totally adorable. But this movie had a lot more plot to it... A LOT! There were several different story lines going on simultaneously. In my opinion, it was a little busy and pretty sad at some points, but the amazing flying scenes, music, and the adorable-ness of Toothless made the movie worth it. The first movie was better, but this one was still pretty good.<br />
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Transformers: Age of Extinction - Yeah... This one was not awesome. It definitely was not on the same level as the first three. And it wasn't that Shia LaBoeuf was missing (though I really did like his character). This movie had so many small, disjointed plots that I had no idea what it was really about. Was it about Mark Wahlberg and his family? Was it about fake Transformers taking over? Was it about the humans killing off Autobots along with Decepticons? Was it about mass destruction? I don't really know. It was long, and it felt long. I definitely would not recommend spending money to go see this in theaters (if it's even still out). It wasn't totally horrible, but it was boring.<br />
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Next up on the list of movies to see: Guardians of the Galaxy.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18081191605080532652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2261623729190536015.post-29738267799802669282014-08-03T16:04:00.001-04:002014-08-03T17:09:26.819-04:00July Julep BoxWell, since it's officially August, I thought that I should really get with the program and write a post about my July Julep box. (Especially considering the fact the my August box has already arrived! Lol)<br />
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I was especially impatient for my July box to come because I missed the email that allowed me to view my choices and change my box if I wanted. And as soon as that window closes, you can't even see what the current boxes are online, so I had absolutely no idea what I was going to get!<br />
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And once the box was delivered to my door, I was intrigued by the fact that the size of it was bigger than my previous boxes!<br />
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So here's what I got!<br />
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The two polishes are completely different sides of the spectrum. One is a really bright reddish coral (great for my toes), and the other is a solid nude. They probably aren't colors that I would walk into a store and buy when I've got 100+ nail polishes in front of me, but one of the whole reasons I joined Julep was to branch out a bit, so I'm excited to fit these into my style. (I'm currently wearing the coral on my toes right now, and I like it a lot better on than I did in the bottle.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtGFNa_IwXcM2irQPsVPxIHAkZJKHyBHII3d-5Q9SySMhkgqY6z7rI4CxvL4bcMdjo0dg37OKbIcqw8pf37UpdrqKqbNBxWt7LdV-LA4lJAltIM81A0AxNoJU3ehQhlj17YZ98ljG9X8bP/s1600/IMG_1247copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtGFNa_IwXcM2irQPsVPxIHAkZJKHyBHII3d-5Q9SySMhkgqY6z7rI4CxvL4bcMdjo0dg37OKbIcqw8pf37UpdrqKqbNBxWt7LdV-LA4lJAltIM81A0AxNoJU3ehQhlj17YZ98ljG9X8bP/s1600/IMG_1247copy.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
The beauty product for July was a body lotion. It's a nice, silky lotion with a very light scent. I've got it by my bed so that I can lather a little on before I go to sleep or to moisturize my legs after I shave, and so far, I really like it. One of the main pluses is that the scent isn't too strong, so I can put it on before bed without suffocating in the smell.<br />
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Julep also included some patriotic Tootsie Rolls with the box! Lol<br />
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I've really loved Julep so far, and they've recently expanded their selection of monthly boxes, so if you like nail polish, I would highly recommend joining Julep!<br />
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<a href="http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/765177/"><img alt="" src="http://cdnmedia.julep.com/media/wysiwyg/Julep_Style_Badge.jpeg" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18081191605080532652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2261623729190536015.post-88556246390522996392014-07-22T17:28:00.001-04:002014-07-22T17:28:45.380-04:00Ups and DownsWell! If you'd seen me around my house last week, you would have seen my not-so-awesome self. Last week had some great moments, but it was also stressful and tiring beyond all belief. Here's a little bit of what you missed.<br />
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We have now had Luna for a little over a week. And she is absolutely adorable, but golly gee is she a stinker! Even as I type this, she's on my lap (in Lolo's usual spot) trying to eat all of my shiny jewelry. She can hardly stand when both hands aren't petting her. She purrs like a freight train. She HATES being put in her room when Thomas and I have to leave. She loves to climb her new house. And she's been sick for a lot of the time that we've had her. <br />
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We were thinking that it was just taking her some time to get used to her new food, but we've taken her to the vet and tried several diffferent things and she's still not improving. Thank goodness that she's extrememly well litter box trained. I don't know what I would do if I was having to clean all of her grossness off the floors! (But we haven't had one accident! Woohoo!) So, now we're trying to figure out what to do next, so we'll be back off to the vet again. :(<br />
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Lo and Luna are getting much more comfortable around each other, but we still don't trust them alone together unless we're only going to be gone for a few minutes. Lo is still struggling to get used to Luna's pushiness. And right now we sort of have a "ya snooze, ya lose" situation going on around here which means Lo loses most of the time. But I'm hoping that as time goes on, Luna will get a little more independent so that Lo can catch up on getting attention. One plus side is that Lo has been sleeping with me almost non-stop at night since she doesn't get quite as much attention during the day, and it just melts my heart.<br />
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A highlight of last week was that we bought Thomas' new motorcycle! He's been dreaming of having a motorcycle for I-don't-know-how-long. And now he is in love... Big time! And I am so happy for him.<br />
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Another highlight was that I did a great brick workout on Saturday. I rode almost 8.5 miles and then hopped off the bike and ran 2 miles. And it felt great! I am excited that the race is getting close (just a month away now), but I'm also getting nervous. I really need to work on my swimming. Yikes!<br />
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I haven't painted my toenails in weeks, and it's killing me! But now, I can't paint them unless I want paw marks all over, which is not desired. So, I'm trying to find a time... Sad face. Lol.<br />
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Anyway, those are all of the updates for now. I've got a couple of other posts in the works, it's just about finding the time to finish them up now! <br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18081191605080532652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2261623729190536015.post-11996818017250395802014-07-16T17:40:00.004-04:002014-07-16T17:40:57.948-04:00Movies I Want to See {Part 3}It's a little past time to update you on movies I want to see in the next few months. June slid past pretty quickly, and I was hoping that July would slow down a bit... but that's not really happening!<br />
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We have seen <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1646971/?ref_=cht_bo_5">How to Train Your Dragon 2</a> and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2109248/?ref_=cht_bo_1">Transformers: Age of Extinction</a>, so I'll be posting reviews of those two soon. <br />
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Surprisingly, there aren't a lot of summer movies that I really want to see this year. There's really only one movie in July that I'm even remotely interested in seeing (and that's rare)! But, here's the list anyway.<br />
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<b><u>July</u></b><br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1267297/">Hercules</a> (July 25) - We recently watched <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1043726/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_4">The Legend of Hercules</a> (with Kellan Lutz) and it wasn't bad. But this version of the Hercules myths seems like it will be completely different. The great thing is that there are so many myths to choose from, so this movie with Dwayne The Rock Johnson will be a totally different storyline and genre than the previous movie. I like The Rock, so I'm interested, but I, in no way, expect this to be a spectacular movie.<br />
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<u><b>August</b></u><br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2015381/?ref_=nv_sr_1">Guardians of the Galaxy</a> (August 1) - Ok... This movie looks hilarious. It's one of those superhero movies where the characters only think they're superheros. It's another Marvel film (surprise surprise), so it's bound to be full of action and comedy. If you liked The Avengers or any of the other Marvel movies that have come out recently, I'm pretty sure you're going to like this one too! I mean, come on, Bradley Cooper's a raccoon and Vin Diesel is a tree...<br />
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2333784/?ref_=nv_sr_1">The Expendables 3</a> (August 15) - So I'm not super excited to see this one, but Thomas is just giddy with anticipation. They've pretty much gotten more out of hand with each of these. And this third one has just about every 80's action star you can think of in it. It's going to be so over-the-top cliche and cheesy that it will almost work. To give you a hint: In The Expendables 2, Chuck Norris made a Chuck Norris joke.<br />
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0435651/?ref_=nv_sr_1">The Giver</a> (August 15) - I have not read the book (I know, right? And I'm such a book-lover.), however, the trailer for this movie makes me want to. It's about a "utopian" society that gets rocked when an old man chooses to share what humanity was supposed to be like with a teenage boy. There are some great stars in it along with a few no names. I'm not sure if I'll see this one in theaters (because Thomas probably has no interest), but I will at least watch it when it comes out on DVD.<br />
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2247476/?ref_=nv_sr_1">When the Game Stands Tall</a> (August 22) - I have a feeling that this movie is going to be the current generation's equivalent of "Remember the Titans". It's about a football team that's been undefeated for years and years, and then... they lose a game and break the streak. So they have to deal with the disappointment of being the ones who lost the streak and find their way back. It looks pretty awesome to me.<br />
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<u><b>September</b></u><br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1790864/?ref_=nv_sr_1">The Maze Runner</a> (September 19) - This is based on a series of young adult books (The Maze Runner Trilogy) set in a post-apocalyptic society. It's kind of similar to Divergent. A bunch of teenagers are put into a society with no adults and have to find a way to live life. There aren't really any famous people in the movie, and the books were alright, not incredibly awesome, but I am interested in seeing this one.<br />
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455944/?ref_=nv_sr_4">The Equalizer</a> (September 26) - Denzel Washington... need I say more? No, really though. He's an ex-black ops soldier who comes back out of his quiet life to save a friend who has been kidnapped. Yes, I know this general plot has been done about a hundred times. I still want to see it though.<br />
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So there's the list! Like I mentioned, I've got some reviews to post soon. Other posts coming up will be my July Julep box (hopefully I'll get around to that before August, lol), an update on the kitty cats, and maybe even a new recipe!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18081191605080532652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2261623729190536015.post-25836334825999973042014-07-13T16:23:00.001-04:002014-07-13T16:23:53.185-04:00The Best Anniversary Present Ever!!!!Meet Luna, our new kitten!<br />
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Yesterday we adopted her from the Humane Society, and I could not be happier! She is such an adorable little kitten! She is a domestic shorthair (which is fancy talk for being a mutt), and her color is classified as blue with little patches of cream. She's about 3 1/2 months old and weighs in at just 3 lbs.<br />
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Back story: I just love animals. I'm not just a cat person; I'm an animal person. We rescued Lo a few years ago. She was a stray that we found in the parking lot of our apartment complex on a cold January night. We turned her in to the Humane Society just in case she had an owner, but I had already fallen in love. So as soon as the waiting period was up, we adopted her and moved to a new apartment complex that allowed pets. When we moved to Florida, our new complex had a rule of a $350 non-refundable deposit for each pet you owned. So getting another animal was pretty much out of the question. We kept saying that we would get another pet when we didn't have to pay a deposit.<br />
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So, since we've moved to Missouri, I've been feeling bad about how much Lo is left alone. Thomas and I both have jobs, so she's alone for a good portion of the day. And then soon after we get home, we have to go back upstairs to cook and eat dinner (she's not allowed to come upstairs because Thomas' parents have two 130-pound golden retrievers), so she's also alone for quite a bit of the evening. Thomas has sort of joked/hinted about getting Lolo a sister to keep her company while we're gone, but I never imagined that he'd go pick her out and bring home a picture of her, telling me that a kitten was my anniversary present!!!<br />
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Going in to this , we knew that Lolo would probably have some trouble adjusting since she's been an "only kitty" for her whole life and has never really been socialized with other animals much. She's being pretty difficult, but Luna has such a sweet personality that I'm confident that they will get along great as soon as Lo calms down.<br />
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So far, we've noticed that Luna absolutely loves to play; she's got that adorable kitten clumsiness. She really enjoys climbing up onto our shoulders. And she hasn't really realized that she can jump yet. She also purrs like there's no tomorrow. It's LOUD. And she loves to be petted with two hands at the same time.<br />
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We are so smitten!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18081191605080532652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2261623729190536015.post-18849318860570495082014-07-10T22:44:00.000-04:002014-07-10T22:44:53.383-04:00Twenty-SixI am now officially 26 years old. Officially closer to 30 than 20. Officially over halfway to 50.<br />
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Do I care?<br />
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...No.<br />
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Getting older doesn't really bother me. Yet, at least.<br />
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I had a good birthday. I had a "first" too. Yesterday was the first time I've ever worked on my birthday. I usually have a rule that I ask off work, don't do chores, etc. on my birthday. But this year, I decided to forgo that and just have a regular day. And it was.<br />
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I went to work, where they had decorated my desk with streamers, a "Birthday Girl" crown, etc. So that was fun. And then we had a family dinner at my parents' house with Oreo Pie for dessert! Yummy!<br />
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I'm enjoying my birthday present (my bike) immensely! I've started my brick workouts (riding the bike and then hopping off and immediately going for a run), and they are intense! My legs feel like cooked spaghetti when I get off the bike, and after about a mile of running my calves feel like they've rolled up into one big lump on my legs. But, I'm getting more used to it each time.<br />
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Thomas also got us some starter sets of disc golf frisbees for my birthday. There's a great disc golf course at one of the parks nearby, and we've been itching to play, so now we can! We're thinking of playing on our anniversary and then having a picnic lunch in the park (I've been craving Jimmy John's like no other!), but it's supposed to be 95 degrees on Saturday, so we may just spend the morning or afternoon at the movies instead!<br />
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And Friday, we're celebrating my birthday with Thomas' parents, which means a trip to The Spaghetti Factory! I can't hardly wait! Yum yum!<br />
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It's probably Friday by the time you're reading this! Yay! Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18081191605080532652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2261623729190536015.post-19964412820637219472014-07-04T11:49:00.000-04:002014-07-04T11:49:36.808-04:00Jumbo Chocolate Chip Muffins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I can't believe I haven't blogged this recipe yet! I hopped on the blog this morning to whip up a batch and realized that they weren't on here! I was so sure that I'd blogged them that I had to go through checking for them several different ways before I was convinced enough to start writing this post.<br />
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These are Thomas' favorite muffins. He's a sucker for chocolate chip {anything}. And of course, I don't mind them too much either! ; )<br />
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They are a bakery-style muffin that is designed to be made in a jumbo-size muffin tin. However, if you don't have a jumbo muffin tin, you can make them regular sized.<br />
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These beauties have a little bit of spice in them, a lot of chocolate chips, and the perfect consistency! There's just a tiny bit of crust on the outside, and they're soft and fluffy on the inside.<br />
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<b>Jumbo Chocolate Chip Muffins</b><br />
Makes 6-8 jumbo sized muffins or about 18 regular size<br />
Adapted from: <a href="http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/01/17/bakery-style-chocolate-chip-muffins/">Sally's Baking Addiction</a> <br />
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Ingredients:<br />
3 cups all-purpose flour<br />
4 teaspoons baking powder<br />
1 teaspoon salt<br />
1 teaspoon cinnamon<br />
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg<br />
2 eggs<br />
1 cup sugar<br />
1 cup milk + 1 tablespoon white vinegar (or 1 cup buttermilk)<br />
1/2 cup canola oil<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla<br />
heaping 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips<br />
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Directions:<br />
<ol>
<li>Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Prepare your muffin tins with either paper liners or cooking spray.</li>
<li>In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Toss together.</li>
<li>In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs. Then add the milk, oil, and vanilla, and whisk.</li>
<li>Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir as little as possible with a spatula.</li>
<li>Fold in the chocolate chips.</li>
<li>Spoon batter into the prepared muffin pans. Fill each cup about 3/4 full. </li>
<li>Bake jumbo muffins for 30-35 minutes. Bake regular sized muffins for about 20 minutes. Tops should be very lightly browning and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.</li>
<li>Turn out onto a cooling rack and enjoy!</li>
</ol>
These muffins are super delicious! I hope they remind you of your favorite bakery! Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18081191605080532652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2261623729190536015.post-32810333755227615102014-07-01T21:11:00.000-04:002014-07-01T21:11:00.277-04:00Taking Stock<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSfRMnOHX8RIN4BZAZqRQNSRcsD0FfyZh7GAuiuKpt3I6dCcy6dm49-YVB7MQivMbnnsX_Wk-p2I9j4c8ykPBk8_CkmByxsLwcSVNv3wpKhJyr-CgdKd4RAmup3zDwEq6NJ6LwaynpidMe/s1600/IMG_1062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSfRMnOHX8RIN4BZAZqRQNSRcsD0FfyZh7GAuiuKpt3I6dCcy6dm49-YVB7MQivMbnnsX_Wk-p2I9j4c8ykPBk8_CkmByxsLwcSVNv3wpKhJyr-CgdKd4RAmup3zDwEq6NJ6LwaynpidMe/s1600/IMG_1062.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This is a post I saw on my favorite blog (<a href="http://www.thesmallthingsblog.com/2014/06/taking-stock/">The Small Things Blog</a>). Apparently she got it from the original on <a href="http://meetmeatmikes.com/2013/08/taking-stock/">Meet Me at Mike's</a>. I thought it was a cool idea, so I made my own! </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Making : a new scarf on my loom<br />
Cooking : different pizza recipes<br />
Drinking : sweet tea… always sweet tea<br />
Reading: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Chanters of Tremaris</i>
trilogy<br />
Wanting: ice cream… every single day<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><br />
Looking: at beautiful flowers growing<br />
Playing: Spider Solitaire on my phone</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Watching: "Doctor Who" reruns on Netflix<br />
Wasting: gas on country drives (though it doesn’t really feel like wasting)<br />
Sewing: the finishing touched on my scarf (once it’s done)<br />
Wishing: to go hiking and to Six Flags<br />
Enjoying: the hot weather<br />
Waiting: for August 23<sup>rd</sup> (the sprint triathlon)<br />
Liking: my new job<br />
Wondering: if I’ll ever get into a pattern after the move<br />
Loving: my new bike<a href="http://www.branchshop.com/"><span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></a></span>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Hoping: the weather stays nice for the 4th<br />
Marveling: at the lovely countrysides and rolling hills<br />
Needing: to sleep better<br />
Wearing: summer dresses and sandals<br />
Noticing: how quickly the days go by<br />
Knowing: I need to work on my swimming<br />
Thinking: I want to make some madeleines<br />
Feeling: very full…very</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18081191605080532652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2261623729190536015.post-23764623185493877412014-06-25T21:56:00.001-04:002014-06-25T21:56:43.698-04:00Recent HappeningsWell, I have felt really busy lately. I'm not as busy as a lot of people, but I'm still just having a hard time adjusting to all of the changes we've gone through since the move. <br />
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Last week, I planted flowers in my mother-in-law's planters. I was pretty excited because I bought most of the plants on clearance, and for the most part, they're perking up pretty well! We've had quite a bit of rain lately, so they're certainly not thirsty! These photos are from just a few days after planting, and they're even starting to look better! Yay!<br />
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I've also had my first Smoothie King since moving back, and man was it de-li-cious!!! Raspberry Sunrise, I love you!<br />
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Thomas and I have gone on a couple country drives so far, and I can honestly say that those are the times when I'm truly happy we're here. The hills and valleys, the winding roads, the sunshine and shade. Country drives are amazing.<br />
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I also went kayaking with my mom over the weekend. It was so incredibly peaceful and relaxing. I got a mondo sunburn from it, but it was totally worth it!<br />
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I am really loving my new job too! The people I work with are so easy-going and fun, and I look forward to getting to go to work! In case you're curious, I'm working for a wedding videography and photography studio. (Of course I have no talent for filming or editing, but I get to do all of the scheduling and office work.) I sort of really love working with artists, because I totally understand the creative side of things, but I get to be the organized calm in the middle of the creative chaos. It's super fun!<br />
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I've been making a few changes to my fitness program, trying to find a new rhythm. I'm getting a bike for my birthday (hopefully <i>before</i> my birthday), so until then, the bike riding is on hold. I also don't have a place to swim on a regular basis, and that's the part that's making me the most nervous. I'm fair at swimming, but I was just getting the hang of the form and breathing of lap swimming before we moved. So, I'm going to have to figure out what to do with that. But the running is still going well. I've changed Wednesdays to speed days where I run a 5k and try to beat last week's time every week, so that's what I did this morning. Mondays and Saturdays are the longer runs now. But that's enough about my fitness routine...<br />
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Oh! I almost forgot that I started a new scarf this weekend! If you follow me on Instagram, you would have seen a preview of that. But now I've got the loom all warped up, and I wove the first few rows the other night, so here's a sneak peek! (The dark blue is the warp; the white is just filler.)<br />
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That's about all I've got going right now. I did bake a batch of the <a href="http://courtingcontentment.blogspot.com/2014/06/gooey-funfetti-cake-bars.html">Gooey Funfetti Cake Bars</a> for everyone to take with their lunches this week, and boy are they good! If you haven't tried them yet, you should! (Ha! That kind of rhymed.)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18081191605080532652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2261623729190536015.post-4870318372137173072014-06-18T16:43:00.000-04:002014-06-18T16:43:28.376-04:00Two Super Great MoviesOk... So I've been neglecting the blog a bit lately. I'd like to excuse myself by saying that it was unconsciously done, but that just wouldn't be true. I've thought about blogging... It's been on my to-do list for a while... I just haven't felt like it. Really, I've been "pretty busy". And that's in quotes because I'm not really <i>that</i> busy. It's just that I'm a lot busier than I was before the move. There are so many changes that have happened that affect the amount of time I have in my day. And those things also affect what I want to do with that extra time that isn't already scheduled for something.<br />
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So anyway... here is a review of the two movies we've seen recently (both of which I <i>loved</i>), and then I will work on a more personal update post for later in the week.<br />
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<b>X-Men: Days of Future Past</b> - Oh! I was so incredibly excited when this movie lived up to my insanely high expectations. The first trailer is to die for, and that made so so anxious to see the movie. And so I am very glad that it lived up to everything I'd hoped for. It answered all of my questions. It dealt with all of the inconsistencies that could have created problems. The acting was superb. The X-Men characters that were chosen for this movie were perfect. Pretty much every single little thing about this movie was absolutely perfect. Ugh, just writing this post is making me want to see it again. If you're a big X-Men/comic book lover, then I'm not sure if you'll have the same feelings about it as I did (it is an original storyline that strays away from the comic books), but you should give it a try anyway. It was superb. And can I just say that the two versions of Professor Charles Xavier were one of my favorite parts. James McAvoy and Patrick Stewart together as the two different ages were amazing. Just amazing. I loved this movie.<br />
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<b><br />Edge of Tomorrow</b> - This movie was Groundhog Day with aliens. Just kidding; but that's the main idea. Tom Cruise's character is stuck waking up on the same day every time he dies. And while he's stuck there, he has to stop a war between humans and aliens. Emily Blunt co-stars in this action/sci-fi flick (don't you just love her?! I know I do.) and does an amazing job. This is the first time I've seen her in a role where she literally gets to kick butt, and she does it! I really loved the balance in this movie. I can imagine that it's difficult to show the same day happening over and over again without getting boring. Of course, the events don't happen the same way each time as Cruise and Blunt's characters take different actions. But they still have to keep coming back to a few key scenes to remind you that this "isn't his first rodeo". The plot was incredibly interesting, and I never would have guessed the ending (if Thomas hadn't leaned over and whispered it to me about two minutes before it happened). I really loved the two main actors and thought that they did a great job on screen. If you like sci-fi types of films, I would highly suggest this one!<br />
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So there are two great movies you could see this weekend. A couple of others that I haven't seen yet but am planning on seeing are: How to Train Your Dragon 2 (of course!!!), 22 Jump Street, and The Fault in Our Stars (I seriously need to read the book too.).<br />
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Like I mentioned, I'll be back later this week with some updates on what I've been up to! Feel free to follow me on Instagram to get more "instant" updates!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18081191605080532652noreply@blogger.com0