Sunday, March 31, 2013

Easter Sunday

Since Paul and I live 3,000 miles away from home, we typically don't get to spend holidays with family :(.  So, today for Easter, since it was absolutely
b-e-a-utiful out (70 degrees!), we decided to rent a boat and take the pups to the lake! The girls love the water, so we knew it'd be a good time had for all.

Before I post any pictures, I have a story for you.  The funniest thing happened on the way to the lake.  Paul has a hitch on the back of his car to tow the boat.  We were on the highway and the dogs were in the back seat.  All of a sudden, Kobe looks out the back window and notices the boat behind the car and has an absolute meltdown. She starts barking and growling and jumps into my lap in the front seat (all 90 pounds of her!) and was literally clinging to me whimpering thinking that the boat was chasing us. Too funny!  I haven't laughed that hard in a while!

When we got to the lake, Paul put the dogs in the boat, backed it up into the water, and went to park the car.  I stayed with the boat and all of a sudden I noticed that the boat was slowly filling up with water! Paul forgot to put the plug in!! So we end up jumping into the water and putting the plug in and then bailing water out of the boat before we could even start our little adventure! 

After all of the chaos, we ended up having a wonderful day::

Beginning our adventure.. right before sinking the boat.. haha!
Kobe and Nala are ready to go!
Me and the girls :)
Love weeping willows! There were some GORGEOUS houses along the way
Little stinker passed out! Too much excitement ;)
Kobe contemplating chasing those ducks
Relaxin'
My cute little snuggler
My other cute little snuggler ;)
The girls were loving this beautiful day!
Captain Kobe
Hey there handsome!
Don't worry Nala, we aren't going to leave you there!
The mountain looking beautiful as usual
Cant get over this weather today!
It must have been a good day- Have you ever seen a pup smile so big?!
Such sleepy puppies!
The best of friends

Happy Easter Everyone!
We hope you enjoyed your day as much as we did!

Veggie Bake

Ingredients::
     2-3 tomatoes (sliced)
     2-3 potatoes (unpeeled & sliced)
     1 zucchini (sliced)
     1 yellow squash (sliced)
     1 onion (sliced)
     salt & pepper
     garlic powder
     oil
     parmesan cheese

Directions::
     preheat oven to 375*
     Saute onions with oil and garlic in skillet until soft
     Place onion/garlic mixture in the bottom of a greased baking dish
     In a separate bowl, toss sliced veggies with salt & pepper to taste and 1-1 1/2 tbsp oil
     Place sliced veggies on top of onions, alternating
     Bake covered for 30 minutes
     Uncover, top with parm cheese (1/2-1 cup)
     Bake for another 25-30 minutes until parm cheese browns

(picture taken before baking)
ENJOY!!

Friday, March 29, 2013

Chicken Francese

Ingredients::
     4-6 boneless chicken breasts
     flour
     salt & pepper
     garlic powder
     2 eggs (lightly beaten)
     oil (I use olive oil)
     10 1/2 ounce can chicken broth
     1 cup butter (1 stick)
     3 lemons
     pasta (I use linguini)

Directions::
     Preheat oven to 350*
     In a bowl, mix together some flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. This mixture will be used to bread the chicken.
     Dip chicken in egg then in the flour mixture. Coat evenly.
     Brown the chicken in a frying pan with some oil.
     In a seperate bowl, melt butter.
     Mix chicken broth and the juice of 2 lemons into the butter.
     Place chicken breasts in a baking pan in single layer.
     Pour broth mixture over chicken. It should nearly cover breasts.
     Slice remaining lemon and place on top of chicken
     Bake covered for 20 minutes.
     Serve over pasta
ENJOY!!

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients::
     1-2 lbs cube steak (cut into 1-in pieces)
     2 cans cream of mushroom
     1 cup chopped onion
     1 tbsp worchestershire sauce
     1 14-ounce can beef broth
     8 ounces mushrooms
     4 ounces cream cheese (softened)
     1/2 cup sour cream
     salt and pepper (to taste)
     egg noodles

Directions::
     In crock pot, combine meat, soup, broth, onion, mushroom, worchestershire sauce, salt, & pepper
     Cook on low 5-6 hours or high for about 3 hours
     Stir in cream cheese and sour cream 30 minutes before serving
     Serve over egg noodles

ENJOY!!


Thursday, March 28, 2013

My First Hunting Trip


Here's a little bit of a backstory for you: 

I didn't grow up around hunting or guns or anything like that.. never owned one, never even touched one until 2009, right after my high school graduation.  My hubby (boyfriend at the time) and I went down to Florida to visit his aunt and uncle.  His uncle is a retired police officer, owns a few guns, and enjoys going to the shooting range once in a while.  Well, when we were down there, we went with him.  There I was, watching Paul and his uncle shoot the targets (jumping out of my skin every time one went off) thinking I would get away with just watching.  That didn't last for long. Of course they wanted me to shoot too. It'll be fun they said.. ;).  So, I manned up and took the gun, pointed at the target, and shot it. Little did I know, the shell casing would pop out the back. Well, indeed the hot shell casing popped out, landed on my shoulder, and within seconds I was screaming and crying in the middle of the gun range because I thought I had shot myself.
I have yet to hear the end of that one...

Here I am after that incident: fake smile, watery eyes and all-

So, now to the real story here:

Ever since we've been in Washington, I've tried to be more adventurous & outdoorsy: hiking, fishing, kayaking, etc. So, when I was invited by my husband and one of our closest friends, Petey, to go hunting with them, I agreed. I have to admit, I was super nervous to be around a gun (especially a big ol' rifle) after my previous traumatizing experience, but I was excited to challenge myself and to be outside of my element.
We hiked about a half mile up a mountain where I eventually took a deep breath and conquered my fear.  I shot the rifle and even hit my target!.. which was a tree...I refused to do any Bambi killing ;)

I ended up having a lot of fun on our little adventure.  We didn't kill anything (which I wasn't too broken up over), but we had a good time hiking and talking and searching.  Near the end of the night, we made a little fire and sat around it, maybe had a beer or two ;), and listened to the coyotes howling (which is really a beautiful sound..and a lot less terrifying than you might think).  This was a really positive experience for me, and I have to say, I'd definitely do it again!

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients::
     sweet potatoes
     olive oil
     salt&pepper
     brown sugar
     cinnamon

Directions::
     Preheat oven to 425*
     Peel potatoes & slice into whatever shape your heart desires.  My mom bought me this really cute slicer that cuts things with wavy edges .. it's the little things in life ;)

     Toss the potatoes in a large bowl with olive oil, salt, pepper, and brown sugar
     Spread out on a baking sheet
     Bake for 25-30 minutes or until potatoes are soft, shaking pan every so often for even baking
     Sprinkle some cinnamon on top

ENJOY!!

An Official 'Safe Place'

Something needed to be done. EVERY SINGLE TIME I move an important receipt, paper, bill, document, etc. to a "safe place" so that I don't lose it, I LOSE IT!!!
I can never remember where that 'safe place' was and it disappears into some other dimension where all of my important things watch and laugh at me as I endlessly search for them.  I have a feeling it's the same place where one of every color of my socks go...
Anyway, I got this idea from one of my girlfriends who got the idea from, you guessed it, Pinterest!
The original post is from a blogger/professional organizer named Leah. This woman's Fabulously Organized Home is..well...fabulously organized. You should definitely check out all of her awesome ideas.
Here is my take on one of them:
This whole project only cost me $20.- which is well worth it to never have to lose my 'safe place' again!
The filing box (which is stackable) was $10.- from Target and the filing folders were from Office Max and were about $10.- for the pack of 25!
My folders are as follows:
Birth Certificates                                                                         
Marriage                                                                                      
Driving                                                                                          
Social Security                                                                              
Medical Records                                                                           
Credit Cards                                                                                  
Taxes
Insurance
Loans
Accounts
Home Contract
Vehicle Info
Warranties
Awards/Certificates
High School Diplomas
Pets
Military
Furniture Invoice
School/Internship
Repairs
Memberships
Instruction Manuals
Receipts
Applications
Moving Info

AND, the filing box is a good size, so there is plenty of room to add more folders & sections!
Now, if I only had a way to keep track of those socks...

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Celebrating Miles Apart

A quick post to honor my best friend, Danielle, on her 22nd birthday today.
Every girl deserves a best friend who knows everything about her and loves her regardless.  This girl has been there for me through thick and thin since we became roommates our freshman year in college. Four years later and 3,000 miles apart, we are closer than ever.
Love you to the moon and back, happy birthday beautiful <3

"True friendship isn't about being inseparable, it's being separated and nothing changes."

Nala

Welp, it has officially been a week since we brought baby Nala home!
Despite the few accidents, and the whining every two hours at night (so not okay!), she has actually been learning the ropes pretty quickly. Paul and I think it's mainly because she mimics her big sister. They keep each other pretty entertained throughout the day which is nice, and have fallen in love with each other::
How cute is that?! 

Paul has taken quite the liking to her also. 
This [stinkin' adorable] picture is too cute to not be published somewhere::
Anyway, it seems as though this little one has completed our family.... for now ;). 
Updates on baby Nala to follow!