What a wonderful day

I worked this morning, which was actually super productive. I got to play expert on a phone call (they even referred to me as an expert, which is fairly comical), I had a big win at my meeting this morning, talked to my cousin on the phone all the way to the airport, and the highlight of my day was picking my sister up at the airport! Yay! I love seeing my family. Siblings are such a blessing. My sister knows just about everything that has ever happened in my life...time just never really passes. We can always pick up right where we left off.

We kicked off her visit with some delicious Hawaiian food. After a marvelous dinner, we went out for dessert. Guess who sells 7 layer bars, also know as magic cookie bars? Chili's! Yes, they have their own name for it, but either way the dessert was divine! Now we are on to planning her days here.

Our new stove top and dishwasher are being delivered tomorrow! Woohoo! I also have the next few days off of work! TGIF!

Another Day of Discovery

My last "day of discovery" post has a whole list of interesting things. Today I only have two, but none the less, they are little discoveries.

1.) I don't like fried food at all anymore...except buffalo wings and certain types of doughnuts I think I still like those. Today I had a bite of an eggroll at lunch and it grossed me out, it was so greasy. I've never really been a fan of fried chicken or a huge french fries. I much prefer baked fries or baked chicken that has a shake n bake type mixture. It's not even a health concious thing, it's just that I don't like the way the grease feels in my mouth. Crazy, huh? What American doesn't like fried food?! The funny part is periodically I like to think that I will change my mind. For example Monte Cristo sandwiches...I have tried those about five times and NEVER like them. I also feel like fish and chips should be delicious, but texture just turns me away. It's a really random thing to realize I don't like fried food, but at least it makes it easier to order off a menu! I am always overwhelmed by all the choices, haha.

2.) Seven layer bars...I have been craving one of these for days. I realized tonight that no one sells these in town! I even asked the baker at the grocery store and she said she could order a mix in. I told her there was no need for a special order, haha. My sister comes to town on Friday and I'm thinking I just might have to break down and get the ingredients to make a pan. It wouldn't be bad if we shared them and made some cookie plates for people. It all started with a nagging urge to eat a Blondie bar at Applebees. Then I thought of a seven layer bar and have been stuck on it ever since. It's the craziest thing! I know I'm not pregnant, I just want a seven layer bar. I think I'd pay decent money for one. It's insane.

There you have it...I'm nuts over seven layer bars that no one sells here and I don't like fried food. Startling discoveries, I know!

In other news I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I had a very vivid dream that I accidentally hit a family friend with a van. In my dream I felt horrible about the accident and got her to the emergency room. I woke up just after I realized I would undoubtedly get a ticket for reckless driving. I had dreamt that she was standing by the van talking to me. We said good bye and she stepped away. As I turned the van to leave, it just sort of tapped against her knee. At first she wasn't in any pain, but then she had more and more pain. I just couldn't shake feeling bad about it all morning!

The dear husband had a dream last night too. We were moving and there were only two people there to help us move, his parents. I had an apartment and then we also had a house we were moving out of. We were together in the dream, but he didn't know if it was pre-marriage or current or anything like that. He just had a very vivid dream we were moving.

I asked him if it was a sign. There was a job opening in another state that I could apply for at work, but we decided I should wait to apply. We wouldn't move for a couple years. We have to wait out the housing market a little and just keep working on paying stuff off. I looked up what moving meant in a dream and it seemed to be about making changes in life. Perhaps it is our lifestyle changes or all the updates we are doing on the house. Speaking of house updates, the dear husband is going to purchase/order our dishwasher and stove top tomorrow! Woohoo!! We have new cabinets, a new sink, and a new faucet just waiting to be installed. I even have paint for the kitchen. I think it will be so nice when it is all done.

Well, I am off for now to dream about seven layer bars! Good night.

Baby Shower Card

I created a card for the baby shower I went to this weekend. I had a card on hand, but had already shown it to my sister-in-law, so wanted to do something new. Perhaps when the baby comes I will give her the other card. I used the Cricut New Arrival cartridge along with my Design Studio software and cut out the card on white card stock. Next, I laced a nice pink ribbon through. Using the same cartridge I cut out a two layer outfit. I used white card stock for the under piece and distressed the edges with pink ink. Next I used a fun polka dot paper to cut out the top pieces of the outfit. I wish I would've had a smaller print for the top, but the big polka dots worked okay. I have a lot of paper on hand, so am trying to use what I have and not buy new paper. On a side note, I have been thinking of organizing a paper swap. Each person would put like 5-10 sheets of paper together. Then we'd get together and swap by the package. Sort of like a grab bag in that you wouldn't know what you were going to get. I think it'd be fun! Anyway, after I cut out the top piece, I distressed that with pink ink too. I think it just softens the edges a little. I wanted to add a little something to the outfit, so I used a brad to add on a flower. I love ribbon, especially rikrak. I added just a little to both the top and the bottoms. Now I needed to figure out how to tie this in to the card. I cut out a small hanger and used my silver metallic ink to add just the right sheen to the card stock. After gluing the clothes on the hanger, I added a small silver brad to hang the hanger off of. While the hanger hung really nicely from the brad, I wanted it to be slightly sturdier. I added some foam adhesive to the back of my outfit and voila a baby card is complete!

Graduation Invites

Well, I have finally finished my sister's graduation invitations, except for the wording inside. Her school colors are black and red. So I decided to use a black card stock as a base. I cut one side a little shorter and added fleur de lis sort of print paper. Next I needed some texture, so I took my white card stock and ran it through the Sizzix Big Shot. The swiss dots embossing folder by provo craft worked wonderfully to add just a little oomph to my white card stock. Next I added a strip of red ribbon all the way across my card. Finally, I needed to make it personal. I jumped on my Cricut and used my Design Studio software to spell out my sisters name. I did a black shadow and a red lettering inside on her name to really make it the focal point. Finally, I cut out the year of her graduation. To give the card just a little sparkle we added a rhinestone to dot the letter "i" in my sister's name. I am happy with the final product and think it will be something we can tie in to her reception in May. Hope you enjoy!

Spaghetti Squash Pizza

One of my favorite ways to prepare Spaghetti Squash is in pizza! I am a thin crust pizza gal, so I love that I can make a nice thin crunchy crust! I also like that I am slipping vegetables in when most people expect carbohydrates. Okay, here is the recipe.

2 Cups Spaghetti Squash
2 oz. shredded mozzarella
1 egg white
1 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning
Olive Oil
Garlic

Toppings:
Assorted Chopped Veggies
12 oz. Turkey Breast Sausage
1 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning (Optional)
4 oz. Mozzarella

I start by pressing out the moisture in the spaghetti squash. I layer paper towels or dish towels and press as much water out of the squash as possible. Next I mix the egg white with the mozzarella and Italian Seasoning. I always feel a little defeated when I mix my moist egg with my now slightly dry squash, it just seems to completely counter everything I just did! Haha, oh well. Now I spray my pan with cooking spray and press in my squash mixture. This gets squashed in VERY thin. Brush olive oil on the crust and sprinkle with fresh garlic. Next I put the pan in a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees for about 5 minutes or until slightly brown on the edges (just slightly).

As soon as my pizza crust comes out, I am topping it. I love a variety of vegetables like mushrooms, spinach (sometimes pre-tossed with a little olive oil so it doesn't get dry and crunchy), bell pepper, green onion, or tomato. I also use turkey sausage. I make my own turkey sausage in advance, but you could use any sort of sausage, pepperoni, chicken, etc. Finally, I top my pizza with mozzarella. I love having cheese on top of all my other ingredients because it keeps everything slightly more moist. If I order pizza, I even try to remember to ask for the meat under the cheese! I top my pizza and throw it in the oven for another 5-10 minutes. It really depends on what toppings and how many toppings you have on your spaghetti squash pizza. Once my cheese is melted and bubbly, I pull the pizza out. Generally, I make my pizza into four servings. Which brings this recipe in at under 300 calories! It's tasty pizza with a healthy spin!

TGIF

It's finally Friday!!!!! Yay!! I worked a half day today and went shopping this afternoon with my mother-in-law. We were on a mission to purchase our baby shower gifts for my sister-in-law this weekend. I decided that we should purchase a rocking chair. We set off to Cracker Barrel to try out various rocking chairs. I am so excited to give it to them! I think I will make a box on my Cricut and put a picture of the rocking chair inside. Jason is working on a quilt too, but we will wait until the baby comes and take that to the hospital. My niece should be born in about a month. I am so excited to meet her.

This weekend is full of cleaning house, grocery shopping, and of course the baby shower. A week from today my sister will be visiting. I am just so happy to have a fairly quiet weekend ahead. So watch out for a craft project and another spaghetti squash recipe!

The week so far

Okay, you may be relieved to know that in the hypothetical situation, I have hypothetically calmed down. Thank God there is another staff member who is just always there to pitch in and get the job done. Not to mention, I got such a sweet card today. I love real mail, hand delivered or sent to me with a stamp, it's all wonderful!

I am slightly overwhelmed with work at the moment. I also have my final paper due on Friday at 9 in the morning and haven't carved time out to write it. Today I was leaving my house to drive out of town, my supervisor was in the car ready to go. As I walked toward my car, I slipped on the icy, wet, snowy grass. Fortunately, doing the splits did not hurt too bad. I did have to go change clothes. My knee and thigh are sore, but I took Ibuprofen and am fine. My supervisor was very nice and jumped out of the car to help me up. I so do not like falling in front of people. Oh well, such is life. I have two late nights down and two left to go. I just did not like leaving on a hypothetically angry post, so had to let you all know I'm fine. Hope you are having a fabulous week.