Why are all my favorite things CHEESY!

Prepping for the holidays have been a lot more enjoyable now that we have every kitchen gadget known to man!  Thank you for all your fabulous gifts, I am enjoying every minute of being in my kitchen! This year we are headed to Brian's parents where my sister and her husband will join us along with Brian's brother and his girlfriend... Then of course a bunch of Brian's extended family. 

Let me just say, holy cheese!  Everything I made tonight includes cheesy goodness!

Cheeseball...In the awesome new blender/food processor combo...best with wheat thins!

Clam Dip, my grandma's recipe.  Which I need to hide from Brian because he could eat it all before I get to serve it to everyone!  Runs in the family as my mom and dad can barely get the dip out of the food processor because of the "testing" process! Perfect with Ruffle potato chips.

Lastly, 7 layer salad, which in reality, should be called 10 layer salad....  Not much more to say, except, they all include cheese!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

CHRISTMAS!

Every year I make myself wait until the day after Thanksgiving to indulge on anything Christmas related!

Well, that was a big FAIL this year! How, why, which, where you ask?? ALL OF THE ABOVE!

First - I try to keep as healthy as possible and order a sugar free vanilla, nonfat latte throughout the year. AFTER thanksgiving, I drink as many peppermint mocha's as humanly possible. This year, I changed the rule to when Starbucks gets the red cups in... Which already happened! :)

And then tonight as I was searching for something to watch...I came across the Hallmark Channel, come to find out they have already started their Christmas programing. Karoll's Christmas was my first movie of the year and it was cheesy and wonderful all at the same time!


Tomorrow, I fully intend on listening to 103.3 on my way to work as it's rumored to have xmas music on already.


I will refrain from getting out the Christmas decor until after Thanksgiving. I can't wait to get our tree! Here are the last two trees we've had...this year will be even better! Totally excited that Kari and I bought our wrapping paper from Costco back in September!

And the holiday weight gain has already begun...Thanks to the fun I'm having with my Kitchen Aid mixer.

Black Friday Virgin

I have never gone shopping on Black Friday. In fact I think I have voluntarily worked the Friday after Thanksgiving in order to avoid the retail world craze.

Not this year, I will be in FULL participation! Angi asked me if I wanted to go last night and I think I flew off the couch in excitement! I love out of the norm adventures! I can't wait!

I will be mapping out every Starbucks location as I haven't stayed up all night in quite a while!


If you hear of any awesome unbeatable sales, I'm all ears... I am sure Target and Toys R Us will be a priority!

New Obsession

YO CREAM! Best business idea EVER! Line up twelve different types of soft serve frozen yogurt and eighty toppings... freaking yum! First, I try all the new flavors of the week from sample cups (basically full by the time I am ready to fill my bowl)and then, being the creature of habit that I am, I get the same thing every time! Let it be known I will drive out of the way just to get my yo cream!

Brian prefers fruity pebbles and butterfingers while I like mini chocolate chips with gummy bears. Ho. Ly. smokes I might drive 30 miles to go get some dessert now.

This blog entry is completely blamed on my buddy Angi who got me started! And her daughter Addie, who introduced me to the gummy bear yogurt combo! My thighs and butt thank you both...did you see that? They just waved at you.

IT'S COMING!!!

Only 2 months and 2 days until I can kiss my life goodbye for 19 months!



As most everyone knows, I will be starting nursing school at University of Portland in January. This program is by far my first choice out of all seven schools I applied to this year. UP is a great school with a great reputation and better yet, I get a BSN after 19 months of schooling. Oh wait, even better... I earned a scholarship through Providence which pays my tuition to this pricey school, in return, I will work for Providence at least 3 years after graduation! Although, after being a Providence employee, I can see myself working for Providence for many years to come.

Some things I worry about?
* Not seeing friends because I have no life
* Slacking on keeping a clean house
* Not playing softball with Brian next summer
* Sleep deprivation
* 85 miles round trip driving everyday
* Losing my "adult" life
* Not going to my parent's house in Texas as often as I like
* Finding balance

Some things I am excited about...
* Going into Portland everyday and being close to Starbucks and Target
* FINALLY learning about things that excite me
* Living my dream of becoming Ashleigh McKenzie, BSN
* Making a nurses wage!
* Meeting new friends who have the same goal
* Not having to go through the application process this year!

As for being in; it feels great...but scary! For so many years I have waited and hoped and had disappointment and now? I'm in...I'm not familiar with the next step!

To start off, I've been busy getting the little stuff done...

Shots...Hep B, Swine, Flu, TDAP...you name it, I got it...



Shoes... What's better than all white nursing shoes? All black nursing shoes. Since I knew I needed to get something boring, I went PATENT, hopefully when I am feeling boring, I can look down and see the spice in my shoes!



Scrubs... Two different brand choices, but only one color. WILD GRAPE. Grape, eggplant, purple pleaser are NOT accepted.



Lastly, the badge must be sewn on meticulously! If only I had a picture on my computer of the actual diagram they sent me.


In the end, I am happy to be accepted to a school where everyone looks the same, and looks clean and professional. It sets a good example and always something I strive for. Just a pain when trying to make sure everything is done and bought perfect to UP standards!

Turning a House into a Home

As most of you know, I moved into Brian's house when we first started dating. Yet it wasn't a house, it was a bachelor pad. What made it a bachelor pad?


* Dirty white walls
* Stained GREEN carpet
* Not so clean toilets
* No blinds or curtains
* Dust and Cobwebs EVERYWHERE
* Dead animals hung on the wall as the only decoration

I love my husband, but he has no interior designing bone in his body. Luckily, he has been pretty open minded with everything I have done so far...and a lot more will be coming... baby steps right? And no, there will be no pitter pattering of little feet around these floors anytime soon. Hardwood floors need to come first :)

Since Brian has been with me, we have installed new taller toilets, new carpet on the upper level, all walls have been painted, new doors and window molding, it always smells good, and finally a huge new addition! It's coming along nicely! Here are a few pictures of our improving HOME.


Here's the loft which used to be the master bedroom and now will be the home office! We are still moving into this area and deciding if we want a spare bed or couch in this room along with our desk.



Here's our new master bedroom. We are still in the move in stage. I hope to put an oversize chair and ottoman in one of the corners. I'm still trying to figure out what color bedding I want....its a big decision!







Here's the toilet and just finished tile work in the new master bathroom.





This picture is a little slanted but I can't believe I got on a ladder and painted this entire house. The peak of this wall is about 25 feet high. I have a feeling our house will be staying "Quincy Tan" for a while!



Here's the 3rd and final color for our kitchen. I had painted it yellow...then red...and finally Norwich Brown to be exact. I decided a neutral color was best as it would go with everything.

A Little Out of Order...

I always say I will be a better blogger... Mostly for the sake of keeping my Texan mother informed of my uneventful life. :) I've decided not to make any promises, but I will try harder. As I get a hold of pictures I will post, because as everyone knows pictures are more interesting than the words written.

Here are a few pictures of our Maui Honeymoon. As temperatures reach 39 degrees, I really wish I could go back to the consistent 86 degree Maui weather.



First stop...My favorite Drink ever! I think I decided to ditch food and live on Lava Flows for half the trip. On the other hand, Brian drank a lot of Big Swell IPA's... Secretly he loved Lava Flows, but he thought they weren't manly enough to drink in public around others.





Here is the view from our room. We were on the 5th floor. We didn't have a view of the ocean but it was ok because we had a pool and koi pond to look at.






This is the view from one of the bars at the Sheridan down the street. We were a star hot member thanks to my sister's hook up. This allowed us to go to any sister hotel of the Westin and enjoy 50% off food...Which in Hawaii equaled normal price! We had a great time watching para-sailors and and people snorkeling at Black Rock. The pool at this hotel also looked fun.





This is the bay where we snorkeled and saw sea turtles, sting rays, and a ton of fish. Brian wanted to touch everything, which drove me nuts. I was sure we would come out of the water with some sort of sea creature connected to Brian's finger. Snorkel pics to come.




One the last night we went to The Westin Resort and Spa Luau... We didn't have a good time and I was upset that we had been talked into going to this one as all the people at our hotel said this was the best. Having been to the Old Laihana Luau before I was clearly disappointed. Hopefully Brian agrees to a do-over next time! Here are the fire throwers, which was pretty awesome.



I couldn't get a great shot of these flamingo's but I loved them! They were at The Weston Resort and Spa.