The Future

So K-Bot and I have been looking at houses lately, yet another reminder we are not young teenagers anymore. We haven't really decided much yet other than we want one, and it could possibly be a nice small bungalow like my parents. We don't know how many bedrooms we want, and don't even get us started on how many bathrooms.My parents house for a referance (back in 1988 when J-Potty came home from the hospital, hence the decorations).

So the future is almost here (I hate that it always seem JUST out of reach). So what do I think my future looks like? Well I see a nice 3 - 5 bedroom bungalow, with a nice grass yard, completely fenced backyard, a BBQ is a must, 2 kids (not too picky here, I am happy with any combination), Sugar Petals sprawled out over the bed in the dark cranberry painted master bedroom, and a black lab pup named Bocephus (I am picky here, it will be female). K-Bot sees a small dog, but I say it is a black lab. I could possibly settle for a retriever, other colored lab, a brittany spaniel, or an irish setter, but never a small yappy dog.Me and my black lab Ebony Echo. See how happy I am to be a small child and have a dog?

I have decided to re shoot this picture with Gun-Gun, but he is a little too fast for a picture. I think it would make a cute parallel.

New Year, New Meals

So what is the number 1 way to gain 40 pounds in a bit of a hurry? Eat only boxed foods. K-Bot and I have, for the first 3 years of marriage, eaten a whole lot of packaged foods. We shop every week and go down the same aisle and buy the same things, week after week, year after year. However after seeing how much I gained (K-Bot is more sensitive to how much he gained) we both decided this year we would be better about what we eat.
Boxed foods aren't really the issue with me...ok all the issue. I refuse any dairy since it makes me sick (though since buying 1% milk this is getting better). I won't eat vegetables, and as for fruit....well lets say that markets is all the fruit I eat for the year. So my diet is usually meat and snacks, just as any five year old would have it!
So this year we are cutting back the meat, finding things that will get my dairy intake up, and I made a list of fruits and vegetables that if K-Bot was buying I would eat. Our plan is to shop every Saturday for groceries, and Sunday afternoons we will hang out in the kitchen and make some cool new meals. So far it has been great, other than the obvious tears and tantrum the first week out that I didn't get any snacks at the store, which wasn't true K-Bot got lots of fruit for me to eat. I eat 1 salad a day with my dinner, K-Bot eats 1 with lunch and 1 with dinner. As for dinners we wanted to try some new things; so far that is Joe the Shepherd, Homemade Lasagna, and Jose the Shepherd. K-Bot named the Shepard's Pies, isn't that fantastic?

Here are the recipes (though I work like my father, never with a real recipe and always forgetting what I did right last time).

Joe the Shepherd is simply sloppy joe bottom with a layer of corn and mashed potato top

So sloppy joes, easy enough, brown 1 lbs ground beef, add chopped onion, tomato paste (I water mine down a bit, more sloppy and easier to mix), Worcestershire sauce (to taste), chili powder, paprika, black pepper, roasted red pepper and garlic. Now you can stop here and have sloppy joes or you can toss that in a casserole dish and add a good layer of corn and mashed potatoes. Now K-Bot swears my mashed potatoes are the best, I add milk and cheese to make them creamy. I like mozzarella for this but anything can work. I also add chili powder, paprika, black pepper, french fry seasoning (this is the best), chives or green onions, and roasted red pepper and garlic. Mash and toss on top of the corn. Flatten nicely and top with bacon bits, paprika, chili powder, and roasted red pepper and garlic. Warm in oven at 350 for 20 mins.

Jose the Shepherd is taco bottom with a layer of corn and mashed potato top

Brown 1 lbs ground beef, add taco mix as package requires. Toss in casserole dish with layer or corn and mashed potatoes. See instructions above for topping. Warm in oven at 350 for 20 mins.

Lasagna

2 layers of cooked lasagna noodles. Layer of ground beef cooked with onions, chili powder, paprika, black pepper, roasted red pepper and garlic, mozzarella, shake cheese (I forget the name, we always call it stinky cheese), and sauce (I used Hunts Red Pepper and Chili sauce). Layer of lasagna noodles. Layer of ricotta cheese mixed with green onion and spinach (maybe going to add mozzarella to this mix next time). Layer of lasagna noodles, sauce, and top with mozzarella. Warm in oven 30-40 mins at 350. Have to say this tasted better the next day, I think because it had time to sit and stew.

Last night to make Jose the Shepherd, Lasagna, and a salad it took us 2 hours. However we had the mashed potatoes pre-made from last weeks Joe the Shepherd.

Christmas Gifts **forgot to add link

So it is the new year and the holidays are over, diets have begun, and life is starting back to normal. So what did everyone get? This seemed like a small year to me, not many gifts but all quality gifts (in my opinion the way it should be). So here is my list

~ Clarinet, I played for a year but never had my own till now, so excited to start again!

~ Flannel lined Aero hoodie

~ Aero t-shirt

~ 2 hat and scarf sets (white and purple)

~ purple mittens

~ LARGE metal mixing bowl, we needed one SO badly

~ oven mitts, as the last pair met with some BBQ sauce

~ a set of onyx bird candle holders

~ nativity scene that lights up, kinda bothered me how my other one didn't

~ 2010 cat calendar

~ seasons 2, 3, and 4 of Alf, I had bought season 1 a while ago but the others were too expensive

~ 2 sets of slippers

~ 2 tank top and underwear sets

~ rainbow heart housecoat

~ amethyst heart necklace

~ bamboo mixing spoon

~ Japanese cherry reed diffuser

~ orange body wash

~ pj set from la senza, LOVE it so much I never want to take them off

~ serger with all the items I could EVER need for it

~ 2 sets of socks

~ lots of chocolates, candies, gift cards, and money

I might be missing some things but it is so hard to remember a day that seems to fly by in a second after so many months and weeks of planning!

I also was able to get some boxing *week* sales (remember when people weren't lazy and it was only 1 good day of shopping and the deals were worth going out for?)

~ new duvet cover (link), but I guess it is only new if you had an old one, our duvet has been naked on our bed for a year

~ new curtains for the bedroom, going out tomorrow to hopefully find a new rod for them

~ 2 Aero long sleeve t's

~ mascara and cool color socks

~ our ornaments for next Christmas; mine is a phaser gun, circa Star Trek the Original Series, which is already well used. K-Bot got Swedish Chef from the Muppet Show.

As for new years resolutions? We have a few, the usual, change in diet, save more money, make the next decade amazing. We are already planning out the next projects we will do including chair pads and a matching table cloth (getting good use of the serger).