Are You Watching The Bachelorette?

I’m not usually a watcher of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette.  But I did watch the season with Brad because I thought he was SO cute.  Well I loved Emily from the very first moment she stepped out of the limo and she was my pick to win his heart.  She also stuck in my heart because of her story.  In 2004 she got engaged to the love of her life.  Later in the year he was killed in a plane crash on his way to a race, he was a race car driver.  The next Friday she found out she was pregnant with their child.  She has been raising her little girl and it just broke my heart to hear of her lost love. Well I was right that Brad proposed to her but was so sad when it didn’t work out.  Now that Emily is the Bachelorette I thought I would give the show another shot.  I don’t usually like this stupid drama, over the top stuff but this one seems like it will be really good.  So, I thought it would be fun to share who I liked and who I think Emily will end up with! Also, there are a ton of guys from TX!!!

Right now I have a three way tie for my favorite!  My first gut instinct was Nate.  He is just so cute and it seemed like they had a connection from the start, especially when she reached out and asked for his hands and told him he smelt good.  They just seem like they GO together! When he walked away she said “so cute”.  Great sign!  He is a little younger than Emily but that has worked out for me. ;)

The other guy that I really like is Doug.  He is a single dad and 33 yrs old.  I thought he was pretty cute as well.  What really touched me (as well as Emily since she gave him the first impression rose) was that his son, he’s 12, wrote a note for her about how great his dad was.  It was SO sweet. 

My next favorite is Arie.  He is 30 yrs old and he’s a race car driver.  He really made an impression on me when he talked about how concerned he was that she would be upset with his occupation since it was the same as her fiancé's.  He didn’t want to bring up those bad memories for her and that was very thoughtful and sweet of him to take her feelings in to account.  During the party he sat her down and layed it all out for her but she was completely OK with it.  She said he would be HOT racing a car!

Here is the remainder of my top 10 list but I don’t think they will all make it very far. 

• Jef – 27yrs old, CEO of a water bottle company (I think).  He rode in on a skateboard which was cool.  He looks like he would be a lot of fun (even if he does look 17!) but I don’t think he will be the one.
• Kalon – 27yrs old, Luxury Brand Consultant.  He looks very wealthy, arrived via helicopter.  From the preview of the season it looks like he is the guy calling Emily’s daughter Ricki baggage. Whoever it is she tells him to get the F*** out. I actually liked him even though he seemed like a snob but if it is him saying this then hit the road buddy!
• Sean – 28yrs old, Insurance Agent in Dallas TX.  Not only is he from my state, work in the same field as me, but he’s pretty nice to look at.  It seems like there was a connection. (With Emily … not me!) ;)
• Chris – 25 yrs old.  He told her he asked his dad for advice before coming to the show because his dad had been married and in love for 35 years.  His dad told him to follow his heart.
• Ryan – I thought it was so cute when he got out of the limo and told her he had something for her.  Then he lifted up a note, on the back it said “You’re So Beautiful”.  He flipped it over and it said “I’m so nervous”.  CUTE!
• Michael – He was a little awkward but I liked him
• Charlie – Not a big impression but I did like him

What’s up with the CRAZY though! There was a guy dressed like a granny, a guy with an ostrich egg, a guy that carried in a boom box and danced, and a guy with a glass slipper.  Some of these dudes are gone already but she kept around ostrich egg guy. Loco!

Who is your pick to win Emily’s heart?

Show Us Your Find

I LOVE when I get a great find on a Wednesday morning!! Because then I can immediately share it with Janette’s link party and I don’t have to worry about forgetting what it was or waiting to share a great discovery!

As I have mentioned before my favorite cake blog is i am baker.  Well today she posted something that I can’t wait to try!!

 

Doesn’t this look SO yummy!!!!!!!  I made a rose cake when I was doing my cake classes last year when i am baker posted the very first rose cake tutorial.  I have been in love with this design ever since. 

(This was before I knew how to get my buttercream really smooth so it doesn’t look nearly as pretty as hers)

I love the Neapolitan spin on it both in flavor and coloring!  I haven’t tried her version of buttercream yet but next time I do a cake I’m going to try it.  It looks so rich and gorgeous and I bet it tastes delicious! 

This weekend I will be making a from scratch german chocolate cake.  I haven’t done so well with from scratch cakes (I usually use a box) so we shall see how it turns out! Fingers crossed! :)

Poor Baby :(

One day I will figure out that life never slows down and is never not crazy.  It’s all about figuring out how to find balance and stay on top of things so you don’t get overwhelmed!! Right now I’m somewhere just above overwhelmed and haven’t gotten that far down yet.  Last week I was finding my way again after Liz left (co-worker).  I think I’m managing and staying on top of things at the moment.  I didn’t really take any time last week for extra stuff like blogging, chatting, or even returning emails. 

This week I’m gonna try to put some fun back in my life. :)

BUT for today I’m asking for some prayers.  This sweet girl is in the hospital,

Thursday she started running a temp and it got up to 101.7.  She wouldn’t take her bottle much and started to have blood in her stool.  They had made an appt for Friday morning at her regular Dr earlier in the day when she barely had a temp and just wasn’t feeling well, but they told her if it got up to 102 then to go to the ER.  Well after 8 HOURS in the ER the Dr sent them home with the wrong meds, didn’t do any tests, and her fever was 102.4.   By then it was almost 2am so the went home and basically stayed awake watching her, checking her temp, and giving her Tylenol to help it.  Friday morning at their appt her regular Dr immediately sent them back to the hospital to get checked in so they could start her on IVs because she was dehydrated from having diarrhea (The ER Dr SHOULD have caught this!). Friday her temp did get up to 103 and fluctuated from there down to 99 all day, but they finally got it to break late Friday night.  Saturday she felt so great and was playing and talking to us when we were there visiting. 

They finally got the results late yesterday afternoon on what was wrong.  It’s a salmonella bacteria infection.  It could have come from pretty much anything so they aren’t sure what caused it.  They started her on antibiotics through IV and are keeping her on fluids as well as her normal formula.  She’s pretty much 100% better but they got the news today that they have to stay at least two more days so she can get the antibiotics through IV.  I’m so happy she’s doing better and I know that this is the best place for her.  But please keep her mommy and daddy (as well as her) in your prayers.  They are tired, wore out, and in much need of a good nights sleep. 

She was SO funny when we were there Saturday.  She was in a great mood and smiling at everyone.  Well Adam was leaning over talking to her and all of a sudden she spit out her pacifier and just started blabbering at him, scrunching up her face, and just giving him a talking to.  We think she was telling him all about what had happened to her LOL.  Cam (her daddy) said “Yeah tell him about the ER” and she just let out this wail and just started jabbering away. HAHA! We were all cracking up! She knew Uncle Adam would take care of those mean people poking her. 

Hopefully two days means that they will get to go home tomorrow evening and can get back in a normal routine.  Three months is WAY too soon to be back in the hospital with your little one!

Our Weekend

Our weekend seemed to go by way too fast, but I guess that’s normal with good weekends.  Friday evening Adam worked on his truck until pretty late.  This was the first time he’s used his shop to work on his truck and I know it made all the difference having a concrete floor and shade! Normally he’s having to lay in the dirt, directly in the sunlight.  Well I hung out with him in the shop until around 11.  Once they get done with the interior I highly suggested we get a couch! I could have easily fallen asleep … it felt so nice out Friday with the big doors open and the breeze coming through.

Saturday morning he was back at trying to figure out what was wrong with his truck.  I made some blueberry muffins, so Lexi & I took him some out for breakfast.  Well I let her sniff around for a while because she loves being outside ESPECIALLY when Adam is out there.  I told her it was time to go in and she ran over next to Adam (he was laying under the truck).  I told her to come on, let’s go.  She crawled under the truck, layed on his stomach, licked his face, and then looked back at me with this pitiful face:

Spoiled rotten I tell ya!  Of course she got to stay outside haha!

 

After a while we went over to my mom’s so that Adam could run a phone line for her and I got to pick over some of her garage sale stuff! I came home with two big bags of yarn and some pottery.  Hey, who says you can’t shop at your mom’s garage sale? :)

 
I can’t wait to get started on some new projects with this stuff!

My father-in-law did some harvesting in his garden this weekend and look at these babies!!
 
I have never had FRESH from the garden potatoes!! I can’t wait to cut these up tonight! YUM

Sunday we ended our weekend curled on the coach watching a few episodes of Lost.  Lexi was exhausted! :)
 

 

As if this post doesn’t have enough cute … Love this little girl!

Randomness

Today’s post shall be random … because that’s all I’m capable of at the moment.

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Last weekend Adam and I experimented with a Sangria recipe and it turned out amazing!! We finished it off last night and I’m wishing I had some right now! At work! Maybe I just need more caffeine?

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Life is crazy for some reason right now.  Is it really crazy or is it just in my head?  I’m not sure but I wish things would slow down just a bit.  Tomorrow is my friend and co-workers last day :(.  I’m really sad about this.  I’m gonna miss chatting with her everyday and having her as my backup here at work.  How will I cope without you?? But she’s moving on to bigger and better things and I’m really happy for her! :*(

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Every night before I go to bed I resolve to give up diet soda.  (Last year I gave up regular soda and tea).  Every morning I end up with a diet coke from DQ because it’s only .99cents and it lasts me ALLLL DAY.

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I have new blooms popping up this week!

Knockout Rose

Climbing Rose called ‘Blaze’

Gardenia

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Hopefully I’ll get back to my regular blogging, reading, and commenting ASAP. :)

Who You Gonna Call?

When I logged on to blogger this morning I received a bit of a surprise seeing the new design.  I like change so I’m up for the challenge of figuring everything out! My only issue is … why is it so WHITE? I need some color in my life blogger! Sure I can customize my blog to my hearts content but can I not customize the dashboard page that I mostly look at?  Please give me some color back!!

It’s been a weird week around here.  Tuesday I felt like it should be Friday.  Wednesday I almost turned the alarm off because I thought it was Saturday.  Now I’m back to today feeling like Friday!

On top of my days being screwed up I’ve been having horrible nightmares every night.  Not just the weird ones but ones that seem so real that when I jerk awake I really think someone has died and my life is forever changed.  Earlier in the week I dreamed that the part time girl here at my office was killed in a car wreck.  How horrible is that!! Last night I had a dream that I was married to David Schwimmer (Ross on Friends) and we had a little girl.  Well at the end of our house was a doorway into another dimension.  He was part of a team sent in to see if there were aliens.  He ended up getting killed and we had to hide from aliens.  You know that sound you make when you’ve been holding your breath for too long?  That’s how I woke up.  I couldn’t breathe.  I couldn’t think straight and all I could hear were these aliens screaming and our little girl asking where daddy was.  What causes such vivid dreams like this?

Sometimes I go through periods like this where my sleep is interrupted by nightmares and bad dreams.  I don’t watch anything on TV that is different and I’m not eating anything weird.  My nighttime routine is still the same.  I’m ready for this to be over though so I can get a good night sleep.  I tried taking some Tylenol pm and that does help me sleep better but I still have dreams.  Also it always happens between 3am – 3:30am. 

You know after typing this out I think I may have an idea about what could be going on.  I very firmly believe in the supernatural.  Our property does have a ghost or two.  Not kidding here.  Since my in-laws moved in to their house next to us they have had a lot of weird things happen and we haven’t.  We figured whatever it was moved with them because before it always happened at our house.  Well every once in a while my mother-in-law will remark on how nothing weird has happened in a while and I will always have had something weird going on at my house.  So I’m wondering if my dreams are caused by this??  We have 4 or 5 friends that stayed the night at our house after various parties say they would never stay at our house again because they had terrifying nightmares.

Hmmmm …. writing this all out has definitely given me more to think on.  Any tips? Any experience with things like this? Too bad Ghostbusters aren’t real. ;)

Will you still be my friend knowing this about me? :)

Show Us Your Find

It’s Wednesday (i think) so it’s time for Show Us Your Find with Janette @ The Johansson Journey!

My find today is something I’ve actually been waiting on! Last week my favorite food blogger (i am baker) posted this post about Red Velvet Sugar Cookie Shortcake.  SAY WHAT?!  I was all over that!! Well my mouth was watering while I was reading the post and I’ve been waiting for her to share the recipes ever since.  Today was the day!! Now I have her yummy recipe for Red Velvet Sugar Cookies and the best (her words) Cream Cheese Frosting ever.  I can’t wait to make these bad boys!! When I make them I will share my photos. YUM!

Check out her cookie recipe post to see what else she did with these great cookies!!

Then head over to Janette’s blog to see what everyone else found this week!

Scotts Snap Spreader System!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Scotts® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

 

I've discovered a new product by Scotts called the Snap Spreader System. The spreader is on wheels and you push it through your lawn to help feed your grass and make it beautiful. Instead of bags of fertilizer that you have to pour into a spreader you just snap the bag on top, lock it in place, and GO. Easy!!

Check out their website for great details on this product: Scotts® Snap® Spreader System

Adam is VERY particular about his grass. Even though we live in a very rural area and nobody sees his lawn he is very picky about the products he uses and the look he achieves.  Now is the time of the year where we are really getting in to lawn maintenance and getting things ready for spring!  Although our lawn is usually great I can only imagine how much better it would be with the great system helping us out and feeding our grass better!  In the past he has always used the kind of spreader that you hold in your hands, crank the wheel, and walk back and forth trying to keep in a straight line. Then when he was done if he had some left in the spreader he would have to pour it back in to the bag, causing a mess, and of course the bag didn't seal. It would always get put in the little garden shed we have and end up getting water or something in it causing us to have to through the rest of the fertilizer away.

Well with this new system, not only would he be saving TONS of time but it would also be saving us money! The Snap Pacs just snap right in, no cutting bags, no pouring, and no spilling!! When you are done you just unlock the Pac and it seals itself up and is protected from the elements.

One of my favorite features of the Scotts Snap Spreader System is the Edge Guard.  You put this in place when you are next to a sidewalk so that feed only goes on the grass and doesn't get wasted all over the concrete!!

There are some great testimonials from people who have used the Scotts Snap Spreader System for their lawns:

Not only is Scotts offering a great new product but they are also offering some perks!! Check out the the Scotts Facebook page for great promotions and contests! Snap perks on Facebook

Chicken Tortilla Soup

One of my favorite (Adam’s too) things to have for dinner is Tortilla Soup! I absolute love it.  I’ve been using this particular recipe for a while now and I may have even shared it before but I thought it was worth sharing again if so.  It’s quick, easy, and delicious! (I have no idea where the idea for this came from.  I got the general recipe from a book and then changed it up.)

Ingredients:
3 Chicken Breasts (cooked & shredded)
1 envelope of McCormick Taco Seasoning Mix
1 envelope of Original Ranch Dressing Mix
1 can of Corn, drained
2 cans of Pinto Beans
1-2 cans Rotel (I use 2 cans but only use the juice)
1 Knorr Chicken Bouillon Cube
Water
Shredded Cheese
Corn Chips
Sour Cream

I use Knorr Chicken Bouillon Cube instead of broth because they are CHEAP, tasty, and very easy.  They come in several flavors but I mostly use the regular chicken flavor. 

Cook your chicken in whatever manner you like.  (I cook all of my chicken in a skillet with about a tablespoon of EVOO; healthy, quick, easy, and adds a little flavor.)  While you are shredding your chicken boil 1 cup of water.  When it starts to boil turn off the heat and add in the bouillon cube and stir until dissolved, set aside for now.  Put your shredded chicken in a soup pot along with both envelopes of seasoning.  Add just enough of the chicken broth to wet the chicken and then stir on medium/high heat until seasoning is dissolved and chicken is hot. 

Add in corn, beans, rotel, and remaining chicken broth.  Then add approx 2 –3 cups of water until you have enough water for a good soup.  Taste as you add so that you don’t water down the flavor.  Cook on medium/high until bubbly and then cook on low until ready to serve. Sometimes if we are really hungry this only takes about 10 minutes to cook once everything is in the pot.  But if we have plenty of time or I’m making it early I leave it on low for up to 30 minutes.  It’s even BETTER the next day!

Serve with Shredded Cheese & Corn Chips.  Sometimes Adam’s likes a little sour cream in his but I’m not a fan of that. :)

Tip:
I usually cook and shred my chicken in the morning (or the night before) so that when I get home from work I just throw everything into a pot and go. 

Let me know if you make this and if you make any changes that are yummy!!

Enjoy!!

Show Us Your Find!

I’m linking up with Janette for Show Us Your Find!!

Today I was trying to figure out what I could share because I haven’t really had time to FIND new things lately.  Then I remembered all the drama I’ve been through changing computer this past week.

I know EVERYONE out there has heard of Microsoft Office.  Where would we be without it!?  Last week my computer was being rebuilt (It was 7 so it went in to retirement) and I was using a computer that was temporary.  Well it didn’t have Office on it and I didn’t have a copy of the program at work.  I didn’t know what to do!! So, I called down to the computer place asking how long it was going to take because I MUST have my computer back ASAP since I was missing key programs that I have to use every single day.  My computer guy told me about a program that is just like Microsoft Office but 100% FREE!  It’s called Open Office and you can download it at www.download.com.  It’s ranked #1 in Office Suites and has had over 4 MILLION downloads.

I’m very picky and careful about what I download at work because we have to make sure that privacy is our #1 priority.  This is a website that I highly trust and recommend using if you need to download a program.  Some other favorite downloads: AVG virus protection, Malware, & Adobe.

Ok back to Open Office … You can use this program just like you would normally use Microsoft Office.  It contains a place to create Text Documents (Word), Spreadsheets (Excel), Presentation (PowerPoint), & Database (Access).  It even has options to make drawings and create formulas for your documents.  Now my main concern: Is it compatible with Microsoft Office programs?  Yes it is! When you save a file just make sure to click the drop down menu under where you would type in the file name.  It is says Save File As:. Then just click on Microsoft ____ (Word, Excel, etc) 97/2000/XP (.doc).  90% of people with Microsoft Office will have one of these versions.

If you are like me and watching your budget this is GREAT news.  The Microsoft Office Suite ranges from $149 to $499 depending upon which version you need.  Even the bottom price is expensive to me!  So if you are in need of this type of program or find yourself one day changing computers check this out!!

Now head over to Janette’s blog and see what other finds have been linked up!