Wow

Wow, it has been so long since I've written anything.  I still need to post birthday pictures and since my last note, Dustin and I went on a trip to Spokane, WA, Seattle, WA, the Oregon coast, and Portland, OR.  It was a lot of fun.  I'll have to put up some pictures from the trip.

I am going through recipes and figuring out Weight Watchers points for them so I can go grocery shopping.  Dustin and I will be getting back up with Weight Watchers.  We did a vegan week lately and I lost 3.2 pounds just in that week.  I ate like a pig, but just cutting out milk and eggs really helped things.  I really don't like the taste of some vegan products, but others were great!  So, Dustin and I are going to eat vegan as much as possible.

This week, I want to concentrate on drinking enough fluids.

Last Wednesday, I got a call from Dustin at work that he had passed out while in an attorney's office.  I picked him up and took him to the doctor.  He was nauseated and while waiting started to get tingly and numb on his right side.  The doctor sent us to the E.R.  It was so scary, because nothing like that ever happens to Dustin.  It really shook me up and I was having a hard time staying calm about it all.  Once we got home from the hospital, Dustin just slept for hours and I kept going and checking on him.  I was really worried and scared about him.  I hated seeing him so miserable.  I laid with him for a little while while he was sleeping and just cried.  Then, I cooked him fettucine alessandro, which is basically fettucine with a pureed corn sauce.  It is SO good.  He didn't eat much, but I wanted to make him something he really likes.  Dustin is fine now and the next day we even went rafting in the river.  Taylor stayed with us for a while and we rafted three days in a row.  It was so fun!

That's pretty much everything that's been going on.

XOXO
Whitney

Birthday!

Tomorrow is my birthday!!!!  I have so much to write about, but I have a lot to do today.  For short, we had my birthday party this weekend.  It was Alice In Wonderland themed.  It was amazing!  I had such a great day.  We'll see if anything great happens on my real birthday!  I am so thankful for my family and especially my husband.  My Mom and Taylor worked so hard making the food and decorations and Dustin even wrapped his presents into decorations!  I'll put up pictures later.  I just am so excited about my birthday.

Dustin donates blood tomorrow, so I am going to make some bran muffins.  I'll write more later!

XOXO

Cupcakes and Manicotti

Last night for dinner I made spinach stuffed manicotti with homemade white sauce.  They were so yummy!  I ran out of sauce though, so I did a red sauce on the rest of them.  Then, I decided I wanted to try to make healthy cupcakes.  So, I made bran-brownie cupcakes.  They are delicious!  You mix 3 c. bran with 2 1/2 c. water and let it become a batter.  Then mix a brownie mix as directed and combine the bran and brownie batter.  Then you add 1 1/2 t. baking powder and I added additional cocoa.  I then attempted to make cream cheese frosting with splenda.  It's good and acts more like a glaze, but it doesn't thicken up.  I ended up having to add powdered sugar to make it thicken.  Anyways, they are delicious!

School's Almost Over!

The semester of school is almost over.  I am so tired of homework, not being able to do fun things/spend time with Dustin, and just school in general.  I have 2 weeks left of 2 classes, and only 1 week left in my other 2.  Today, I think I'm going to bust out my super homework skills and get a lot done.  The house is also a disaster, so I wish I could get that clean, but I think I'll do homework.  When school is out, I can get the house more organized.

On the weight loss side of things..... I'm at 12.4 pounds lost!  From before the wedding, I'm at 23.4 pounds lost!  I'm super excited about it, but I am unhappy about it, because I don't feel any lighter.  I don't see a difference at all.  

Anyways, I'm going to get ready for the day since with the new medicine, it has made me sleep in lately and I don't like that.  At least I'm not waking up needing to throw up anymore!

Strawberry Chocolate Pancakes

So, I decided one morning to cook some pancakes.  I was craving chocolate and strawberries, so I made these.

Make a pancake batter from a mix.  I made whole wheat pancakes.

In a microwave safe bowl, microwave some frozen strawberries until they are warm.  Add some splenda and water and cook until it is a syrupy consistency.  I don't know if syrupy is a word.  If not, I just made it up.  You could add sugar free syrup to the strawberries instead of splenda if you like.

On a greased frying pan, pour some batter and spread it evenly.  Place some chocolate chips in the batter.  Push them in with your finger or with a skewer so the chocolate doesn't burn when you flip it over.

Flip the pancake!

To assemble, place a pancake on a plate and top with the strawberry mixture.  I dusted it with powdered sugar.  

They are easy and yummy!

Mom's Birthday

Here are the pictures of my Mom's birthday.  Most of the pictures are of her quilt room after we gave it a makeover!

These are the two paint colors.  The lighter color on the right was on three wall, and the darker was only on this wall.

We rolled up fabric arranged by color groups in these crates, hung up cork board and peg boards.  

We arranged things on the shelf.  Here, you can see the peg board better.

We  mounted her tv on a moving arm.  Under the cutting board table, we have her scraps of fabric organized.  We hung her thread organizer.

Another view of the cork boards and how we decorated.

Peg board on the other wall.  They will both be painted white.  It was too windy outside, so we couldn't do it.

Mom's "inventory control" quilt she made, that shows what her room used to look like.  We hid it behind the door.  :-)  

Meeting Randy Fenoli

Here are the pictures from when Taylor and I went and met Randy Fenoli.

Sick

Well, I've been sick.  I am running a fever and have cold/flu symptoms.  It's horrible.  I haven't written in a while and I don't have much to say.   I met Randy Fenoli from Say Yes To The Dress last Thursday.  He was really nice.  Dustin complained that I hadn't blogged lately, but I haven't felt good and I don't have much to say.  So, I hope I get feeling better soon so I can write something interesting.

Happy Birthday Mom!

It's my Mom's birthday!  On the menu, potato halves stuffed with cheese, California Garden Panini, Two Cheese and Tomato Panini, Mozarella Jalapeno Panini with Garlic Mayo.  Oh, and lemon bars.  I can say this now that my Mom is on her way and there's no way she'll see it, but the theme is DAVID CASSIDY!!!!!  I printed pictures and hung them on the walls, made signs with quotes from songs by David Cassidy or from the Partridge Family.  I am also playing a cd with songs of David Cassidy and The Partridge Family.

For her gifts, I got her a bunch of little things, but the main gift, my sister Taylor and I teamed up and we are giving her quilt room a makeover!  We are painting, organizing, putting up peg boards, etc.  It is going to be awesome!

I love my Mom so much.  I hope that I can make her day amazing.  :-)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!

Mom's Birthday!

Tomorrow is my Mom's birthday!  Taylor and I have a lot of stuff planned, but I'll talk about it after my Mom knows about it, or I may ruin the surprise!  I have been cleaning all day to prepare for the birthday party because it's at my house.  We are having panini's for lunch, so I am making an assortment.

Dustin's car wouldn't start this morning.  There's always something else that gives me anxiety.  ALWAYS.

I just wanted to write a quick note.  I'm going back to cleaning.

XOXO
Whitney

The week is halfway over!

Today, I got a lot of homework done.  I also got some planning done for my Mom's birthday, which is on Saturday.  I am so excited for it!  I didn't eat much today.  I don't have much of an appetite lately.  So, I haven't really cooked.  Anything I have cooked, has been really fast.

I did do some crocheting today though!  I went to church early to sit in quilt group and talk/listen and I work on a blanket that I started when my Uncle Bill died almost 3 years ago.  I think it's 3.  It's either 3 or 4.  I started it when I went to Denver for the funeral.  I worked on it at the viewing, the meal after the funeral, sitting with family, every where.  It was a really devastating time for me.  Anyways, I put the blanket away for a long time once I got home.  I have gotten it out every once in a while between then and now.  It is still hard for me, but it's kind of a healing process I guess.  So, I am working on the blanket and I am going to finish it.  It will be for Dustin's and my first baby girl when/if we have one.  We'll see how I feel about it though.  I'm rather attached to it and it's a lot of work, so it may end up being mine.  It won't have as much meaning to any one else, than it does to me.

I worked nursery tonight.  The twins are SO hyper lately!  They are just all over the place!  It's fun though. I love it!

It's March!

So, March means that Scentsy released their new catalog with new scents and warmers!  I love them all!  

March also means that there are only a little more than 2 months left of the school semester.  I can't wait for summer.  If it's going to be cold outside, it has to be snowing.  Otherwise, I hate the cold!  I LOVE snow.  I can't wait to do gardening in the yard, stain the fence, have water balloon fights, lay in the sun, etc.  It is so much fun with Dustin.

Good news!  I lost 3.2 pounds in the last week.  It's hard, sometimes really hard on some days, but I always remember the first week is the worst.  But, at least the hard work showed up on the scale.  I don't feel it, but yeah.

I have to finish getting ready for school.  Night class tonight....  I may have to use the rest of my points on some coffee....

Valentine's Day Dinner

So, I am finally getting to the Valentine's Day dinner stuff. 

These are the beautiful roses Dustin got me and arranged in a crystal vase we got for the wedding.

These are the amazing potato things that Dustin made us.  For the recipe, leave a comment.

Now we go onto making fondue.  This is a swiss fondue.

Shred 3 cups swiss and 2 cups gruyere cheese.  Coat in flour.

This is the dry white wine we used.  It was given to us by the hotel on our honeymoon.

Measure out some wine.  

Put the wine in a large saucepan and boil well to cook out the alcohol.

This is the wine boiling.  You can't really tell.

Gradually add the cheese while constantly stirring.

Mix milk, dry cooking sherry, and some nutmeg.  Add to the cheese and mix until all the cheese is melted.

Pour the cheese into the fondue pot.

Cut up various vegetables, fruits, and breads to dip into the fondue.  

We broiled cauliflower and broccoli and served those along with apples, pears, and italian bread.

It was an amazing dinner.

THANK YOU DUSTIN!!!  I love you!

XOXO

Eggs Benedict

I always let other people's opinions of eggs benedict push on me.  Everyone I knew in the past said eggs benedict is gross.  So, I decided to try it for myself.  I am not making the real hollandaise sauce, as it wasn't very good when I made it.  I made a "mock" hollandaise.  

First, you need salt, pepper, mayo, sour cream, butter, mustard, lemon juice, english muffins, and eggs.

Bring a pot of water to a boil.  This is what you poach the eggs in.  You want the water to be a rolling boil, but not too hard.  It just takes practice to get it right.

In a separate saucepan, add mayonaise, mustard, sour cream, butter, lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Cook on low heat and stir often until combined, creamy, and hot.

While the hollandaise is cooking, put your english muffins in the toaster and toast them.  You need one half for each muffin.

This is what the finished hollandaise should look like.

When the water is boiling you are ready to poach your eggs.  Crack an egg in a cup.  A measuring cup works great.  Put the cup as close to the water as possible and gently drop the egg into the water.  The egg will land at the bottom of the pan and it will fall apart a little bit, but if the water is boiling just right, it should mostly stay together.  It took mine anywhere from 2-4 minutes to finish, but you just have to keep checking.  

Assemble the eggs benedict with the muffin on bottom, egg in the middle, and top with hollandaise.  Serve right away while warm!

Bad Day

Today is not a good day.  I am extremely unhappy, tired, don't feel good (allergies I think), and have homework to do.  I'm also supposed to have night class tonight.  If I feel like this later, I'm not going.  I just hope I don't miss anything important.

On a different note.  Started Weight Watchers today.  I have some really good recipes coming up.  At least I hope they are good, I've never tried them before.  Here is what's to come:

Garden Omelette with hollandaise
Potato Nachos
Ratatouille on Polenta Rounds
Spaghetti Squash Primavera
Healthy Fettucine Primavera
Homemade falafel sandwiches
Vegetables and Quinoa
Spinach and ricotta calzones
Potato and Zucchini Casserole
Pan Fried Oatmeal

The other breakfasts I'm having, every day in two weeks but two days, is fried eggs and hash browns.  Now, I'm sure most cooks know how to cook this, so I am not putting them up here.  Unless someone requests.

Have a good day anyone that reads this.

If you read this, leave a comment, or follow me!  If I know you, write your name in the comment box, because you have to leave it as anonymous if you don't have an account.

Monopoly City

Well, last night Dustin and I watched movies and played Monopoly City.  That game is so much fun.  We woke up this morning and played again.  He won both times.  Why am I on such a losing streak!?  Plan for today is to make menus, as I'm starting Weight Watchers again.  I also would like to scrapbook some wedding stuff.

Crocheting

Here are a few of the things I have crocheted.  I have done a bunch more, but I don't have pictures of them.

Blanket

Scarf

Scarf

I made this purse from my Great Grandma's yarn

Scarf

Scarf

Scarf

Scarf

Little kid hand bag

Mini Market Bag

Handbag

Market bag

Scarf

Scarf

Nursery

So... tonight I worked nursery.  There were only two older boys.  They are 4 and 5 years old.  Today, one of them asked me, "Where your wedding ring? Can I see it?" so I showed him my ring.  He thinks its so funny that I'm married.  He giggles about it all the time.  Anyways, I then ask him if he is married.  He says, "No," and then waits a few seconds and says, "actually, yeah!"  So I ask, "Well what is her name?"  He quickly replies, "Sally."  So I say, "Where did you meet this girl?"  He pauses and kind of stutters for a long time while playing with toys and finally says, "Jail."  It was so funny.  I then asked him if Sally is nice to him.  He said, "No."  So I ask, then why are you married to her?  He says he doesn't know.  So then I ask if his Mom knows about Sally.  He yells at me and says, "NO!!!!"  He then got really embarrassed and we played with toys.  It was so funny!

Wednesday

I work nursery tonight.  Dustin is sick today.  So we are both sitting here doing homework/resting.

We have three cats, Jaspur, Mahllea, and Bella.  Jaspur used to get on the fridge all the time.  Somehow, Mahllea got on the fridge today, regardless of the dishes on the counter.  We have no idea how she got up there or how long she was there (it was sometime within the last hour), but she just suddenly starts meowing for help to get down.  It was weird.  Anyways, I'm too short, so Dustin went and got her down.

I am trying to think of something awesome to cook for lunch.  We are all out of eggs and they sound so good.  I will have to search around the pantry for something.

Sorry this is such a boring post.  I don't have enough time right now to put up a recipe or picture, but I will sometime!

Long Wonderful Weekend

This weekend was amazing.  Dustin was off work on Friday, and neither of us had school yesterday, so it was a four day weekend.  Dustin and I spent lots of time together, which we really needed.  It is so hard during the week to never get to spend time together.  I hate it.  For Valentines day, Dustin woke me up with breakfast in bed, except the plate, bowl, and cup were all empty.  This is because I hate eating breakfast when I first wake up.  He drew me a menu with food that he could cook and the cost was hugs and kisses, a certain amount for each, except the waffles were $100.  :-)  We actually ended up going out for breakfast/lunch at The Egg Factory.  I highly recommend the country garden omelet topped with hollandaise.  I think that's what it was called.  It was SO good.  Then, Dustin and I came home and put in a movie.  Dustin cooked us these potato halves with chive and onion cream cheese sour cream things.  There were amazing!  The main dinner was fondue.  We had broccoli, cauliflower, apples, pears, and bread to dip with.  I meant to make a cake on Valentines day, but it was SO late by the time I could make it.  So I ended up making the cake yesterday.  It is almost like a molten cake, but it's not really.  It was a two layer chocolate cake with a chocolate glaze, drizzled with peanut butter and caramel sauce.  Pictures to come!

I have school today.  I was sick last Wednesday and Thursday, so I missed school on Thursday.  My Math class was canceled, so I really only missed one class.  I hope every thing will be okay!

XOXO

Sick

Well, I woke up this morning at 4:30AM sick to my stomach.  Needless to say, I got sick.  It's not a cold, but my throat does hurt now, from being sick.  So, I'm debating whether I should work the nursery tonight or not.  I'm exhausted and my entire body is tired.

We ended up going to Mai Tai last night.  I don't want to get into food descriptions as it makes me nauseated, so I'll write on that later.

On a happier note, on Monday night, I got the new Scentsy scents!  I love them all!  I will write later on what my favorites are.  Going back to bed now.

Tuesday

Well, I'm all ready for school today.  I don't feel well this morning, so I'm not eating, but I know I'll regret it later if I don't.  I'm exhausted and feel a cold coming.  Yuck.  Let's hope it's not really, so I FEEL GREAT..... yeah right.  School from 12-3 today.  Dustin's Mom, or my mother-in-law, is in town this week, so we are meeting her for dinner after classes.  We are either going to Tucano's or to a vegetarian restaurant.  It's up to Dustin, so I'll find out later.  Either one is fine with me.  I was up late last night reading for my class today.  I still didn't finish.  I still need to read 50+ pages to catch up.

I'm going to go grab some food and throw it in my bag in case I get hungry later.

XOXO

Scentsy

Okay, so I woke up this morning and realized that THE NEW CATALOG is available for me to see in my Scentsy workstation today.  I looked at it and I love SO much in it!  The scents sound like they are going to be amazing and the warmers are so neat too!  Not to mention that I should be getting the new scent testers in the mail today!  They have new packaging too.  I really love Scentsy.  They have so many neat new things.  I know so many people that make a living just off selling Scentsy.  I hope to be there one day.  It may require moving though, since Scentsy is so saturated on the West coast.  Maybe to.... Florida?  or..... Pennsylvania???  :-)  I'm just kidding, Dustin.  Plan for today: homework and class until 9PM.

Have a great day!

Super Bowl Sunday

Yesterday, Dustin and I ran some errands.  He needed new work clothes, so we went out looking.  We won 6 free cookies from RC Wiley.

Dinner at my Mom's was delicious.  We had blintzes with berry compote.  Blintzes are crepes stuffed with a creamy filling.

Dustin and I then went to Footloose by the Starlight Mountain Theatre.  It was very cute.  There is one part where the main guy is "screaming" at the train because he's mad at his father for leaving him and his mom. During this part, a little kid started laughing.  Then the main guy screamed, "I hate you," because it was his line, but the kid started laughing even louder.  It was SO funny.

I guess it's Super Bowl Sunday.  We don't have cable, so we won't be watching it.  Dustin and I canceled cable over a year ago, to spend time together.  We found the tv dictating what we would do together, because we needed to watch shows on the DVR so it would record the ones we really wanted to see.  Without cable, we talk more, spend time together more, and actually do our homework.

I have made a few things to post on here like the soup recipe layout.
So, soon to come:
Macaroni and Cheese
Eggs Benedict

Have a great day everyone!  What are your super bowl plans?

Soup

So, a few months ago, in the summer actually, I made this soup for my old blog.  I am putting it on here now.  I don't remember what it's called, but it was good!

To begin, you need two leeks, 2 stalks of celery, oregano, garlic, salt, and pepper.

Put some olive oil in a pan with some pepper, salt, and garlic.  Let this saute' for a  minute or so.

Next, chop off the ends of the leeks.  Then chop it up into pieces and put into your pan.

Do the same with the celery and about 1/4 of a white or yellow onion.  Saute' until tender.

While the vegetables are slowly sauteing, start working on the green beans.  Buy fresh green beans and snap off the ends.

Snap the beans into smaller pieces and put them in your colander.

Go check on your vegetables, and they may have shrunk an incredible amount.

Next, add vegetable broth and bring to a simmer.

Once simmering, add small shell pasta.  As much or as little as you want.

After you add the pasta, go back to your green beans.  Finish snapping them and rinse them.

Once pasta is almost tender, add the green beans.

Next, add Oregano.

Let it cook until the pasta has absorbed a good amount of the liquid.  This may have happened earlier, so don't worry!

Serve with freshly grated parmesan or romano cheese.