TCOY: Moving Pains

The Move is over.

Everything - with the exception of 3 items - are still at the apartment. Ivy's measurement chart, bin lids, and cleaning supplies. I will pick those up when I clean out the apartment. Which, by the way has busted my vacuum cleaner. It was old anyway.

The Move has caused a problem in my wrist. I don't think I've been specific about it. One day it was fine. Then on a Saturday, we were moving some heavy things and I was feeling fine. That evening, however, my wrist started hurting. This was 10 days ago. It still hurts. 

TCOY, right? I have been trying to take it easy on myself. I kept the heavy lifting to a minimum. I took breaks. I bought a brace. I've been putting an anti-inflammatory gel on it. My wrist feels only marginally better. Now that The Move is over, I can do smaller, less pain inducing things and hope it resolves on its own. If it gets worse, i will visit the doctor. In the mean time, I'm taking it easy.

Wordless Wednesday: Taking a Break

Accomplishment Part 3: Kitchen Command Center

I am not prepared for today's link love. I started my post to do exactly this. But, my wrist still hurts so I have been taking breaks while I write.

I have been thinking about home organization ever since we made plans to search for a house. My Pinterest boards reflect more dedication once our plans solidified. I knew I wanted what some call a "command center" and I saw the perfect spot in the house. Right as you walk in from the garage is the perfect wall. I finally put it up!

Right now, it consists of a dry erase board and a small mail sorter.

At the bottom left corner, I write our weekly menu. We have always used the dry erase board for this. Being able to see it in the kitchen helped us utilize the menu. It won't be quite as visible, but it should still work out just fine. The top right has a list of recyclables. It's nice to live in a city that offers this service!

The bottom right corner is the cleaning schedule. Living in a larger space means this should be managed. A little bit of daily upkeep will keep deep cleaning to a minimum. This was one of my favorite pins on Pinterest.

This is a fairly new, inexpensive investment. I may change how it looks later. I have been wanting a mail sorter for a while. It fit perfectly in the space between the white board and light switches. 

Menu Plan Monday: July 14-20

We followed last week's menu plan by 0%. We have been and continue to be consumed with the move. This week should be normal and back to the menu plan.

It is rainy this week. The temperatures have dropped 30 degrees - from 102 to 72. It is absolutely devine! We have been sitting under our covered patio watching and listening to the rain.

Sunday - nachos

Monday - appetizers (pigs in a blanket, smashed potatoes, and something else maybe)

Tuesday - ranch chicken

Wednesday - Salisbury steak

Thursday - pizza

Friday - chicken enchiladas

Saturday - leftovers (or any day)

For more menus, visit OrgJunkie.com!

Accomplishment Part 2: Living Room

There are no before pictures. I guess I just don't work that way? I guess you could call this all 'before' because we intend to upgrade our furniture in the future.

Everything was lumped here and there. The tall black planks are bookshelves we still need to put together. 

On the left-hand side of the photo, is the TV and entertainment center. We had the TV in our bedroom until all the sitting furniture was moved to the house on Thursday. By the window, boxes of DVDs and electronic stuff. At the red drapes, is one of the recliners (this one was on the opposite side of the room until today). There is a red chair behind the recliner that just hasn't found a home yet. Soon though. If your eyes were to wander to the right of the drapes, you would see the front door. Ryan rolled the rug out today and I closed the room in to make it feel a little more cozy.

Here is the opposite side of the room. The other recliner, an end table, and there's the TV again. There is a fair amount of space between the recliner and fireplace.

From the TVs point of view is the couch. Before the rug was rolled out, it was pushed up against the 'wall'. There is a 2.5 foot clearance behind the sofa now.

An 'overhead' view from the first landing.

You can see there are things that still need to be put away. We are still missing end tables that I want on either side of the couch.

The good things about our move are that 1.) it is local, and 2.) we have until the end of this month to clear all of out things out of the apartment. We can take out time. The bad thing, is that we can take our time. I would much rather have spent one or two days moving everything. We have been in the house for 14 days - well, living in it full time for 8 of those days. I want to get the rest of our stuff over here and not have to worry about anything in the apartment. 

Starting Accomplishments: The Food Pantry

Things are starting to come along. The most important room in my home, really is the kitchen. This is the first room that I am concentrating my efforts on. I just started putting things wherever they fit and in the general area I wanted them in. Today, I focused on putting things in their new home, clearing off the counters and the pantries.

There is no before picture. Everything was just all over the place.

Top shelf: our most unused items - Asian sauces, syrups, marinades, baking items and tea.

Second shelf: measuring utensils, and more often used baking items

Third shelf down: common items we use - pastas, olive oil, sugar, flour

Fourth shelf (beneath the common items): bread, chips, canned goods

Fifth & bottom shelf: Ivy's snacks, other snack goodies

These wire shelves were hanging on the door. I assumed for spices, so that's where I put them. No real rhyme or reason there.

Week in Review: July 5-11 Birthday Week!

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, we kept moving small things over to the house. We had just been trying to make it as easy on ourselves as possible.

Monday is when we did some real moving. We picked up a U-Haul truck and started with bedroom furniture. That was really the only furniture we have had for this week. Since I am not used to carrying heavy things, this hurt my wrist and arms even more. I took Ivy to her regular caregiver for the day. Ryan's and I were able to do three truckloads ourselves. This was our first night in the house and it was was troublesome! Ivy took a bit of time getting to sleep. I think she was very excited about being in the house. But once she fell asleep, she stayed asleep. Ryan and I didn't have quite as good a night as Ivy. We were very restless because we were, and still are, in so much pain from moving. And then the light. Oh. My. Word. The light. Some light kept turning on and off about every 60 seconds. I thought it was a motion detector light on the house. I finally got fed up and looked out of the window. It's the street lamp. Oh for the love of! I guess that's another phone call I need to make. So we woke up around 3am. I somehow managed to get back to sleep around 4:30, but Ryan stayed up the whole time.

Tuesday, we celebrated my 33rd birthday. We took a break from moving to enjoy the day and persue as many of my freebies as possible. I opened my cards and presents (candles and fingernail polish) and got ready for the day. The Waffle House didn't work out because I had to print the coupons and we hadn't brought the printer to the house. So, we went to Mimi's Cafe instead. Had I even known about it and registered for their "club" I would have had a free breakfast. Oops! I did get my free coffee from Starbucks though! We went to get lunch at Genghis Grill and I redeemed my free bowl! Yum! I totally forgot about my treat from Panera, but I have time to use that. I realized at some point that I lost my debit card. I had to scramble to cancel it and have a new one printed. Then, we went back home to wait... The fridge was to be delivered between 2 and 6 pm. What a window! We just sat around and waited. I think I unpacked a few things. I ran a couple of errands - one of which was another birthday freebie, makeup samples from Sephora! Around 10 minutes to 6, we still had no word on the fridge delivery. Ryan and Ivy were swimming and I was making phone calls. The delivery person called me back and the got the fridge delivered a little after 6. Oh glorious day, we got a fridge. I ordered supper for us, pizza. Nothing special.

Wednesday it was back to work... Packing up more bags and boxes and then unloading and putting stuff away. Things are nowhere near where or how I want them, but it's in the general area. We also picked up drapes for Ivy's room.

Thursday, my father-in-law and brother-in-law came into town and brought furniture that we inherited. They also helped bring the rest of the big furniture from the apartment to the house.

This week has been brought to you bay the letters B for 'birthday' and the letter M for 'move'. I sure hope you have had a great week!

TCOY: Do what is right

The Move continues! While moving my dresser drawers full of clothes, I seem to have injured my right wrist/forearm. It's most likely just overworked from being in an awkward position whilst carrying heavy-to-me objects. Practically everything I do seems to make it ache. I intend to Take Care of [My 'Injury'].

Today, I want to visit how other people take care of themselves. I present you with links!

• Radical Self Love by Galadarling.com Gala presents the act of loving one's self bootcamp style. The bootcamp is filled with lessons and activities that come at a cost ($100). However, she does have quite a few links and articles that can help you get on your way without the cost. I often tell people that in order for someone to love you, you have to love yourself first. This collection of links that Gala has can get you started.

• WTF - America? Ms. Kate N. took a trip to Paris and came back with this question. She gained a bit of perspective while on her vacation. I agree with what she has to say. Give her little post a read!

• This totally makes sense! Remove stuff from your life.

• Go get a manicure, or do one yourself! I was clipping Ivy's nails and I followed that with a nail polish in her favorite color: purple. And all she wanted to do was to show it to her Daddy. "Daddy! Look how pwretty!" Sometimes, a little something special can make you feel better when you are down. 

Take time to do something to Take Care of Yourself. Do right by yourself. Love yourself, be present, remove what is unnecessary, or treat yourself.

Wordless Wednesday: Birthday Wonders!

He knows me like no other.

I posted a link on Facebook to a list of birthday freebies. Challenge accepted. This was my husband's response. 

"Pretty cool...I've got it all mapped out for you: free pre-breakfast drink from Starbucks, free breakfast at IHOP, Denny's, or Waffle house. THEN a free brow arch over at Ulta followed by 2x underwear goodness from both Aerie & Victoria Secret, because, 'MERCUH! Then a pre-lunch snack from DQ and/or Einstein Bros. Then for lunch we drive up to Denton for a free Genghis bowl and pastry from Panera, on our way back we stop by Cinemark for your free popcorn and Petco to get the dog some free shit. Then we hit up Chuck E Cheese for some sweet free tokens before heading BACK to the mall for a free Auntie Anne's pretzel. THEN we stop by Cane's so I can eat your free fangers and it's on down to Dallas for a free Sprinkles cupcake. We think about going to Medieval Times for the free feast and show, but we ain't got time fo dat, so we drive back up home for supper at either Jason's, Saltgrass steakhouse, Steak'n'Shake ('MERCUH!), or Twin Peaks...ok probably not that one, but free titties! After that we hit up BJ's for a free pizookie and you're so far gone at this point you just say "F it" and we roll on down to Marble Slab for some ice cream. You think that's it, but wait! Little do you know, but I registered for Starbucks myself and put your birthday on my registration! So you get one more free coffee right before heading home where you succumb to a diabetic coma...or vomiting."

Obviously not all of that. Here is what I have in mind:

Starbucks

Waffle House

Maybe DQ

Genghis Grill for lunch. 

Panera if Genghis doesn't give me a free dessert.

Chuck E Cheese so we can play some games with Ivy. She would love that!

Then possibly Marble Slab but my registration is probably messed up.

I sure could use a free brow do but I haven't gotten an email from Ulta.

However... I did get a card in the mail from Sephora for a free Benefit cosmetic super sample duo.

Like I said, he knows me. So that is the plan for my birthday. Oh hey, I'm sleeping in my HOUSE tonight. 

Menu Plan Monday: My Birthday Week

Let's have some coffee. It'll wake me up! How do you take your coffee? I take mine with plenty of cream or milk or half-&-half and sugar. I'm sipping my coffee while typing this on my iPhone and iPad - Ivy likes to use one or the other to play games. I love coffee and it's really strange that I prefer to have coffee in the summer.

Monday, our Internet is scheduled to be transferred to the house so I am scheduling this post ahead of time. The gas should also be turned on. Hot water! Tuesday, we get the fridge. I am so excited!


Menu Plan Monday

• Sunday - Tasty tilapia. We pushed one of our days back and had breakfast for dinner, so that is why it seems we are having it again so suddenly.
• Monday - Sandwiches or leftovers. This is our main moving day. We won't want to cook so who knows!
• Tuesday - It's my birthday! I'm going to find as many freebies as I can! I haven't decided what I want for dinner yet. 
• Wednesday - Chicken nachos. A great standby that won't produce leftovers.
• Thursday, Friday & Saturday - family members are visiting and bringing furniture up so I won't plan anything to eat for those days.

For more menus, visit the Menu Plan Monday linkup at OrgJunkie!

Week in Review: June 28 - July 4

It sure has been an eventful week! Due to my oh-so-brilliant error in ocular-peripheral misjudgment and the procrastination and problems at the auto shop, we stayed with our families an extra week. The car is fixed though.

On Friday, we finally returned home. We took it easy. On Saturday, we took care of necessary errands - groceries for the week, the bank for our closing check, drop off a book at the library, picked up our held mail at the post office, and the pet store for more food for Polly. We also heard from our realtor about the walk-through - we weren't able to attend so he sent us word via text. 

Sunday was another quiet day. We took Ivy to try an see Monsters University in the theater. It didn't go over too well, we left about 30 minutes into the movie. We drove by the house to take a look then we spent the rest of the day at home.

Watching previews and munching on popcorn.

Monday is when things started to happen! First thing, we went to the title company to close on the house! We had to wait for confirmation of funding before we could get the keys, so we just went 'home.' A few anxious hours later, we got the call to pick up the keys! We started moving a few things over immediately - which we have been doing every day this week. A truckload here, two truckloads there. The seller's realtor dropped off a check for our pool repairs.

Ivy helped pack. Here she is buckling in the DVDs for a safe trip. "Buckle! Buckle!"

Tuesday, we went shopping. We found out that the fridge in the house was picked up and we made the decision to buy a new fridge instead of inheriting one from family. Hooray for holiday sales!

It is this beautiful Maytag! 

On Wednesday, we decided on paint colors for the master bedroom. We picked up samples and tested them on the walls. The Lowe's circular is advertising paint and paint supplies at discounted prices. Again, I say hooray for holiday sales! Coincidentally, we have quite a bit of beach themed items like photographs and shells. We agreed that our bedroom would have a subtle beach theme, no cliche or goofy beach stuff. This is extremely exciting for me! I am a beach girl! I absolutely love the beach. 

Here's the inspiration. The blue is brighter and lighter.

Thursday, yesterday, was the Fourth of July - Independence Day! After we moved some more things over to the house, I rearranged our closet. It is an Elfa system which makes it easy to change! Happy with the closet, we went and picked up some fun things - pool noodles and 'fireworks' for Ivy. She and Daddy were able to swim while I did yard work for the first time! I just pulled weeds and grass from the rock garden. Ivy and Daddy popped their fireworks and then we went back to the apartment.

Flying to Daddy!

Popping fireworks!

My first attempt at stained glass Jello - even though I did it wrong, it came out fine. Recipe later!

TCOY Thursday: Real Smooth

Happy Independence Day!

Taking care of yourself should include taking care of your body. I believe I have mentioned we are trying to improve our health. My husband and I are looking into diet alternatives. Our current interest is in smoothies. A proper diet along with plenty of exercise is a sure way to health! Feeling good physically also helps a person to feel good emotionally.

Photo credit: SmoothieIdeas.com

Protein, calcium, and fiber in a glass. Fat free, Greek yogurt, fruit, ice and a splash of juice.

You can choose any base. Yogurt for health or ice cream for a rich dessert.

Fruits, or even vegetables, for flavor, color, and vitamins!

Ice, milk, or juice to blend easier and thin you beverage for "drink-ability."

Peanut butter, eggs, oats, and honey are also beneficial items you can include.

Blend and enjoy!

The following smoothie recipe comes from InKatrinasKitchen.com

A Triple Berry Smoothie fit for the Fourth of July!

Wordless Wednesday: Awwww Yeah!

Breathless

I'm keeping this short and sweet. Too much on my mind!

• They've stolen it. Absolutely No Words - I saw this video on Dooce.com. It just reminds me of the evenings I spent with my dad and brother watching wrestling. Oh my. It was horrible. And I loved it.

• Speaking of Dooce.com, Heather is a blogger I just love. She is an excellent writer and is comical. Her children are adorable and I can only hope that I will one day be as skilled a blogger as she - but without the controversy. 

• I've tried several varieties a macaroni and cheese. My mom's version which is just Velveeta. There was never anything wrong with it but I really like a version that is served at Luby's. Sharp, creamy, moist and cheesy - I knew it was baked. I also really loved frozen prepared macaroni. Yep, that chemical laden frozen dinner style mac-n-cheese. I found such a delicious recipe from Alton Brown but it is time consuming and very involved. Then I found a THIS stovetop recipe at CinnamonSpiceandEverythingNice that tastes similar to Alton's but without the hassel. 

And that's what I have for this week!

Do you know of any blogs, websites, or videos I might enjoy? I would love to hear from you!

Menu Plan Monday & Moving

I will preface this post by saying that the next couple of weeks will be inconsistent post-wise. I am hoping that I can schedule some posts ahead of time.

They slapped the SOLD sign on it! Woohoo!

Moving

We will totally be moving! We will move smallish items that we don't really need the first week. Then we will have help with the furniture the following week. We stopped by the house just to drive by and take a look-see. Ivy is pretty excited about her new house! Speaking of ivy...

I was digging around the front landscaping, just to peek and I saw some ivy growing!

Menu Plan Monday

Here is this week's Menu Plan Monday! Since The Final Move is approaching, we need to eat stuff that is in the freezer and the pantry. Why make a ridiculous amount of purchases that are suited to what we want instead of what we have?

Sunday -  Leftover roasted chicken, roasted potatoes, and steamed broccoli

Monday - Salisbury steak, macaroni and cheese, and steamed broccoli

Tuesday - Leftovers and salad

Wednesday - Chicken nachos

Thursday - Mock lasagna and salad

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday - "Tasty Tilapia" and smashed potatoes

More Menus at OrgJunkie!

A word or two about the recipes. We are making an effort to improve our eating habits. It 'sort of' begins this week. You see I've added steamed broccoli and salad to the list. I'm trying to incorporate more vegetables and fruits. I have found a change up for Salisbury steak that changes the beef patties with a half-and-half mixture of turkey and lean ground beef. Um, okay. Gonna give it a try.

I've cooked tilapia with a parmesan/mayo "crust" and that's pretty fatty. 
So I found Tasty Tilapia! 

4 tilapia filets, thawed
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 teas garlic powder
1 teas ground mustard
1 teas ground ginger
1 teas paprika
1 teas coarse salt
1 teas dried oregano
1/2 teas black pepper
1/2 teas chili powder
1 TBSP lemon juice

In a shallow bowl, combine the olive oil and seasonings. Let sit for about 10 minutes to give the flavors a chance to blend. The oil will turn a lovely orange-red color.

Dip each filet into the bowl, making sure both sides are covered. Place on a greased baking sheet. If there is any of the oil mixture left, pour over the filets. Sprinkle with lemon juice.

Bake at 400 degree for 10 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Home Sweet Home

I think I will cross stitch that and hang it.

I had anticipated this kind of thing happening. I don't have much of a Week In Review for this week. There hasn't been anything going on. Just waiting for the shop to be finished with the car. We were told many different things - parts were damaged, parts truck hasn't shown up, we broke a piece. Finally frustrated with everything, we (Ryan) just picked up the car. We will be heading home tomorrow.

Home.

The last time I mentioned anything, we were starting to look for a house. After ten years of apartment living, it is time for us to finally own our own home. We looked at a first round of houses and made an offer on one. Our offer was not accepted. Then we found a house we wanted to look at in the first round, but it was in contract. After we put in that unaccepted offer, the house we originally liked went back on the market. We immediately got the opportunity to look at the house. We made the offer that night.

After a few days of anticipation, our offer was accepted. Then there was the inspection (which led to avoidable drama), a survey, and then the appraisal. There were concessions written into the contract and the sellers were more than happy to have everything that we asked for taken care of. They want us to be happy with our first home. Once we decided to continue with the contract, we set our closing date. All we have been doing for the past couple of weeks was waiting.

Closing is right around the corner... Monday! We will start moving some of our items into the house like small things we don't really need at the moment. Our official move-in date is July 8 - well, the actual day we will have all the major furniture moved in.

We have a house. Our first house. I cannot wait! So much decorating to do and making it OURS. And so many crafty things to do.

And the photos...

Click on "Read more" over on the left... No, you're other left. There! 

Click that and you can see more pictures!

TCOY Thursday: Create

Create Create Create

I really think that it is important to explore yourself in as many different ways as possible. This helps you to become a more rounded individual.

Sometimes I believe that I haven't achieved anything or that because I am not great at something or lack passion that I don't have anything that defines me. I usually define myself as mediocre. For instance, I like to sew. But I'm not a genius and the things I make are simple and basic. And I guess I'm okay with that. I LOVE to dance, but I don't have perfect turnout, placement or technique - but I guess I'm okay with that too. I suppose all this "mediocrity" or lack of deep passion or perfection in one area opens me up to explore a lot of things. And I'm okay with that too. 

To me, creation is personal expression. You can create anything you want in any form or medium that you choose. So long that you are creating something, you are enriching your mind. As adults, our childhood imagination and creativity has been squashed out of us so that we must conform to standards in society. Being creative and imaginative as adults can help us to succeed in our careers if we have some goofy idea for a product or project. If it's something outside the box, it just might work. 

Take the time to explore different things. It doesn't matter if you're perfect at it or even good at it. You're taking the time to massage those cells in your noggin into creative energy. Just do it!! If you don't like what you make, throw it out, start over, try something else. Repetitive cycle. And if you find something that you absolutely love, stick with it!

Here's my Creative list:
Cooking, knitting, and sewing are my top choices for being creative. I want to learn to crochet at some point. I am currently trying to get into cross stitch. My goal is to start this summer. I have all my supplies, I just need to make something. I have an idea... to make something sassy to go into our guest bathroom but I just cannot pinpoint what I want. I also have a LOT of ideas for other crafty ventures. Seriously, Pinterest is the source for being crafty and creative.

Wordless Wednesday

Cute, Cussing Cocktails

Sometimes you need something that makes you go "*squee!*Daaawwwwww!"
Some times you need a comical pick-me-up.
Sometimes you need a drink.
Maybe all three? Got you covered.

Today's Link Love features websites that don't really need boosting. This is more for me and helping me deal and get myself out of my head. The sites are already popular and have followers like whoa.

You're welcome. Every time. EVERY TIME I think of Keanu, I think of Bill and Ted and WHOA.

Extremely Qte Stuff!

• The first one is Cute Overload featuring terribly adorable animals being their natural, adorable selves. Sometimes I need to see squee-worthy animals and to gigglesnork at their antics. My students brought me animals pretty much daily and they'd get to hear my lovey-baby voice when I was talking to the non-humans. The kids loved it. I love animals. That's all there is to that. 

Seriously, how can a smiling puppy NOT cheer anyone up?!

image credit: Submitted image to CO.com

Cuss Away, Sailor!

• One of my friends Tweeted the link to a hilarious Tumblr - Thug Kitchen - a while ago. Then my husband found it again today. To my surprise, he thought it was funny. Beautiful pictures of beautiful food ... covered in profanity. Plus a the recipe and an additional helping of colorful language. Majority of the recipes are vegan.

image credit: Thug Kitchen of course!

Stick a Pin in it!

• I'm not going to deny it. I've even said it before. Pinterest and I... we go waaaay back, my friend. We all know and have read my posts about finding recipe pins and cooking them up. I am a PinWin. Get ready for Pinception! Are you ready? Ready?? Are you sure? Here it comes!!
• Pinterest Fail - Because people just can't figure out that some of the junk they see (especially foods and recipes) are done by professionals and foods are done by food artists. Some photos are also "doctored." No, women aren't the only objects of photoshopping
• Here's a story. My girl friend wanted to do the Fishbowl drink for her birthday. She saw the PinFail and asked me what I would do to avoid the mishap.
1. Premix the drink - with the exact ingredients.
2. Nerds ahoy!
3. The following in quick succession: Ice into the cups; Swedish Fish between the glass and ice; Pour the premix. 
4. Straw and garnish
5. Enjoy drink.
• Instead of a giant, shared fishbowl, girl friend purchased stemless wineglasses.
• Result?

Why, yes, I am amazing! Image credit: mine. Be jealous!

And that, my friends, is some Link Love! Enjoy your day!