Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars

So remember when I said I ate like crap all week a week or so ago? Yeah. These. They were so good. Thank goodness I gave all but three of them away!

This is yet another recipe from Pinterest. I can't take any credit for this one, I followed this recipe to a T. 

So so good. 

I did find that I had to cook mine closer to 45 minutes to get rid of the "jiggles". And I let them cool, wrapped them in foil and stuck them in the fridge overnight. I let them sit out on the counter about 45 minutes and then cut them into bars. Keep them in the fridge until ready to serve.

I will definitely be making them again. 

One Step Closer

C has interviewed three times for the same job in the last two years. Three times. The same job. I would have given up after that first time. Not him.

I guess the third time is a charm.

He got an offer e-mail on Tuesday. He knew he wouldn't be at work when the offer, or non offer, came in so he had his work e-mails forwarded to his personal e-mail. So? The offer came in around 3 Tuesday afternoon.

Yay for getting the job! I'm so glad for him. He's worked his tail off the last three years and he deserves it.

And no snarky comments about his shirt. It's actually a shirt that he was given at work. Nearly everyone at Apple has one. 

According to C, this is a big step in the right direction for him. And me. If he gets what he wants/works his ass off for, some big changes could will come.

I told him the only problem I had with that was that I didn't want to watch pre-recorded TV! Because even though the Grammy's were hosted in LA, LA didn't get to see them till way later. LAME.

Priorities, yo.

So that's where we are now. One step closer.

Fun Sweets

I kept seeing these little gems all over Pinterest, so I decided to whip some up to take to my aunt's 50th birthday party.

What you need-

1 bag pretzels

2 bags Hershey's kisses

1 bag M&M's

Preheat oven to 325. Throw the pretzels on a baking sheet with one Hershey's kiss per pretzel. Stick them in the oven for about 2 minutes. Take them out and squish an M&M into each pretzel. You can stick them in the refrigerator so they harden up.

So so easy. And I have a feeling my dad would like these so I need to remember that!

We're Still At It*

A month to the day after I (we) started this whole 3 miles 4 times a week thing, I posted this picture...

This was as of February 14th. There were a couple of times that I didn't use the app so you can add about 6 miles to this. 

Ask me how I celebrated the consistency of working out for A WHOLE MONTH?

By not working out but twice last week. I know. I suck. And I tried to blame it on the weather. It sleeted/snowed for goodness sake! But? The truth was that I just didn't feel like doing it. And I ate like crap. So. Yeah.

I'm stuck at the seven pounds lost. I guess seven pounds in a month isn't bad, and I know I could've done more to see better results but I didn't.

The point is, I'm back at it. I went on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and I don't care how tired I am, I'll go today as well. 

I've pinned a lot of stretches/exercises on Pinterest, so I'm thinking I'll give those a go on the days I don't walk. 

On the upside, it's been over 50 days since I've had a soda. I can't believe it myself. Also, when I went to the doctor last week, the nurse noticed I'd lost a few pounds, that made me feel good. And? Monday on the trail, an older lady and her dog totally cheered me on. It felt good to get support from a total stranger.

Baby steps.

*And C is kicking butt as well. He's losing more weight than I, but don't guys usually do? 

We Can't Have Nice Things

Honestly? I bet C would let me buy new living room furniture if we didn't have Jaycie. She sleeps 98 percent of the time, eats another percent of it, and the last one percent? The only word I can think of to describe it is RAMPAGE.

She usually takes out all of her energy on our couch. She loves no toy we buy her as much as she loves our couch. 

And then?

One afternoon last week C and I were sitting at the dining table eating and she went on a rampage. She didn't even try to hide it. She climbed the curtains. She's never done that before. And you know exactly what happened...

Curtains. In the floor. I don't care about these curtains too much, and I looked and I didn't see any rips, but really? REALLY?! And I didn't even mention the hole she left in the wall.

I can't really imagine when we have kids. Are they going to be as destructive as our fat cat?

At least she's cute. But I still want a new couch...

Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake

We aren't eating much pasta around here these days. But? I figured a month and a half without making any type of pasta was a little intense. So I did it. And it was good. Original recipe is found here. I tweaked it a bit.

What you need-

Half a pound of pasta. We used rigatoni.

1 tbs. butter

1/2 tbs. onion powder

1 10 oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach (thawed)

3 cups cubed chicken breasts

1 (14 oz) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, drained

1 (10 oz) container Philadelphia Cooking Creme Savory Garlic flavor
Pinch of salt and pepper

1½ c shredded mozzarella cheese


Can I just say that initially the thought of the cooking creme made me want to vom? Just try it, you'll like it.


What you do-
Throw the butter in a skillet with the chicken and the onion powder. Brown it up. Boil the pasta. While that's happening, take the thawed spinach and get out as much of the liquid as you can. I squeeze it all between some paper towels. You also need to preheat the oven to 350. Drain the cooked pasta, and throw it in a large bowl with the spinach, cooked chicken, cooking creme, salt/pepper, and tomatoes. Mix it up really good. Spray a 13X9 dish with cooking spray and add the mixture into it. Top with the cheese and throw it in the oven.


I let mine cook for about 30 minutes, then I turned on the broiler for a couple of minutes to brown the cheese.

Thank you Pinterest for another yummy dinner! 

It's Back

It. As in, C's baby fever. Yay.

All thanks to this little peanut...

His parents stopped by this morning on their way home from the visiting family. So I finally got to meet him and catch up with his mama! He's adorable.

C talked about the whole baby thing for a while after they left. In his defense, he's also been talking a lot about the ring thing, so I listened.

In other news, our cat is the size of a three month old baby.

Oh dear.

Someone May Get Lucky

C threw away half of his Valentine's gift from me on Sunday. Yep. Threw away. In the trash. It's long gone.

The dark chocolate that was never even opened.

The super nice comfy socks. This guy goes through socks like I go through strawberries.

And the mushy card from me to him.

I am sad.

Some dumpster diver may get lucky. 

Apparently he threw everything, but the shoes (the only gift from me to him that didn't get thrown away) into the empty shoe box. Which got thrown in my empty gift box. Which got thrown into the trash. I just assumed he'd put everything away. No. And you'd think since he was the one who threw it all away, he would have remembered that he threw all that stuff in the box he was currently carrying to the dumpster.

Men.

All he was thinking about were the awesome new shoes on his feet.

I did good.

He did good too-

It turns out, e-mailing him my Amazon wish list was the way to go. I love my new Epiphanie bag.

I still can't believe that half of his gift is in a landfill somewhere.

Valentine's Day gift fail.

Tease

We had about 30 minutes of "snow" this afternoon. Just enough for me to jump off the couch, grab my camera, run out onto the patio to hit record, and yell at C to come see!

I'm a Texan, we get excited about the white stuff ok? Even if it is lame and doesn't even stick to the ground. 

I Haven't...

I haven't bought a loaf of bread all year. So? The craving for a grilled cheese the other night, didn't happen.

I haven't had a hot! shower in the last four days. Something is up with our water heater. Chris does fine with a cool shower. I need HOT water. Scalding. And it's not happening. It's day ruining, let me tell you.

I haven't given into my loaded baked potato craving. Yet.

I haven't had strep throat this winter. I get it every winter, and now I feel like something is brewing.

I haven't filed my taxes yet.

I haven't read one. single. book. this year. What is up with that? I love to read.

I haven't picked up my camera nearly as much as I thought I would since I got it. This makes me sad.

I haven't had a soda since December 31, 2011. I go days without thinking about it now. 

I haven't been able to keep up with many of my favorite shows this season. I really wish Chris would just let me get a DVR!

I haven't been blogging regularly because I just don't feel like it. 

What have I been doing?

I'm Not Gonna Lie-

Chris had to drag me off of the couch at 2 yesterday afternoon to go exercise. I might have even faked sleeping. And he knows not to wake me while I'm sleeping.

I don't know why. I'm seeing/feeling the results of all of this, yet this weekend, I had no urge to exercise. 

None.

But he made me do it. He told me (and is 100% correct) that if I missed one day of this, I wouldn't get back into it.

So I got off the couch. After I huffed and puffed and begged that we take a nap instead. Anything. I just didn't want to walk/run. Or sweat. And my knee hurt. And the laundry wasn't finished. And the only workout pants I had were too big and I would have to hike them up every five seconds if I ran, SO YOU CAN'T MAKE ME RUN. And my shoes wouldn't stay tied all day! Any excuse I could think of. 

IT DIDN'T WORK.

So we drove to the park and walked. And in my head because you know I won't hold a conversation while trying! to! breathe! I bitched and moaned the whole first mile. I did.

 And then the second mile I just walked/ran really fast and tried to get it over with.

Then the third mile I realized I was almost done and sucked it up because I needed to do this. 

After we were finished, I told him about the whole first mile and how mad I was. He knew, of course. But whatever. It was done. 

He's backing me up 100% in whatever I do. And holding me accountable. 


I love him for that, and 197,549 other reasons.

But those stupid pants were pissing me off. Not even kidding. I think my favorite yoga pants, which I've basically lived in for the last 4 years will have to be retired to the PJ drawer. 

Dangit.

I think I'm still a little ticked that I was dragged off of the couch.


 I should be psyched that PANTS! ARE! TOO! BIG! but it's more irritating for me than anything right now. 




Wahh!

Key Lime...Cake?!

You read that right. Cake. My aunt and cousin celebrated their birthdays this last week and both requested Key Lime something. My aunt had to be difficult and request a cake. Not the pie I was already eating in my head. But? It wasn't my birthday, so I started researching a Key Lime cake recipe. Something I've never even heard of. And? She didn't want the traditional cream cheese frosting, she wanted a glaze. 

Oh. Geez.

What you need for the cake:

• 1 package lemon cake mix
• 3/4 cups vegetable oil
• 5 eggs
• 1 (3 ounce) package lime flavored gelatin mix
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 
  
• What you need for the glaze:
• 3 tablespoons of key lime juice and a little zest
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• If you'd rather a sweet flavor than a tart, add a bit of milk and not so much lime juice.
• 
  
• What you do:
• Spray a 13X9 dish. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all of the cake ingredients in a large bowl or stand mixer. Mix for 2 minutes. Bake according to directions on cake mix box. After the cake has cooled a couple of hours, mix up the glaze and drizzle over top of the cake.  
• 
  
• Serve with milk. It is definitely different, but good! I'll make it again.
• 
  
• 
  

Broken Record

Working with kids infants, I find myself sounding like a broken record. Everyone knows, consistency is key. So, I thought it would be funny to post a few of the phrases that I say probably 628 times a day. 

You should know that the oldest kid in our class is 11 months, and the youngest just turned 5 months. There are 5 kids in our class, and two teachers.

Things I say to them:

I need some space please.

You just finished eating, please give the table some space.

J, M doesn't like it when you pull her hair bow out. Please give her body some space.

Would you like some milk?

You're resting.

I'm going to help you get a clean diaper.

I need some space please.

Your friends are sleeping. Please give them some space.

Let's go wash your hands.

Two feet stay on the floor, that's not safe.

When you throw you're plate on the ground, that shows me that you are all done.

That's K's work. Please go find another work. (This always refers to either a wooden maraca or the one and only-plastic banana).

J, please don't climb on S's back. He's not a dog. He is telling you that he needs space please.

I hear you M (while she's crying) you're safe.

I need some space please.

Please hold onto the bar (while stand up diapering).

Please don't wipe your nose on my pants/shirt/arm/leg/foot/sock.

It sounds/looks like your gums might be bothering you, would you like a teether?


You can do it.

Things I say to E, my co-worker life-saver:

F spit up again and it's in her ear.

I just stepped in another wet spot.

Could you turn the fan on?

Just hide the banana.

Did she really just say/do/look like that?

I'm not cleaning the outside work AGAIN!

OMG is it 1 yet? I'm so hungry.

Why can't anyone close a door quietly?!

Was he/she just wet?

Can you see a clock from there?

Why is SHE/HE CRYING still/again?!

So yeah, that's happening. EVERY. DAY. And, I'm sure there are some that I left out.

Chicken Teriyaki Stir Fry

A few nights ago I posted a picture on Instagram of dinner. It was a stir fry that's so easy to make.

What you need:

Teriyaki sauce

Mixed veggies-you can use fresh, but I just grab a bag of the steamfresh in the frozen section-the one with the water chestnuts, snap peas, carrots, and broccoli

Chicken breasts

Rice-again, I take the easy way out and grab a pouch of the Uncle Ben's microwaveable 90 second rice-Jasmine or Basmati

Olive oil

That's it. Five ingredients.

What you do:

Cube up the chicken into bite sized pieces. The teriyaki sauce can also be used as a marinade if you want to marinate your chicken. I don't. So, put a tablespoon of olive oil in the pan and brown up the chicken. Throw the bag of vegetables in the microwave and cook. If you're using fresh, wait until the chicken is almost done and add in the veggies. When the vegetables finish, throw the rice in the microwave. When the chicken is completely cooked, add in the teriyaki sauce to taste. I use maybe a third of the bottle. Just depends on how much chicken you use/how saucy you like it/how big of a bottle of sauce you have. Once the chicken and sauce simmer for a couple of minutes, add in the vegetables. Stir and then you can pretty much eat it right away. Serve over rice.

That's all there is to it.

I Did It

I haven't had so much as a sip of caffeine in the last month. I can't believe I did it. Early mornings used to have me counting down the minutes until my lunch time Coke. Not anymore. 

I really don't even crave them. When I do? I know it's just because I'm on the verge of dehydration because I have a hard time drinking enough water. 

My co-worker E asked me if I felt any different since I cut out the caffeine. I do. I sleep better at night, that's for sure. And? I wake up more rested. As in, I'm always up at least 10 minutes before the alarm goes off at 5:45. 

I've been asked if, since I reached my goal, I would go back. 

Heck no.

I'm on a roll.