quick update

So I think that 2012 is going to be an amazing year. Since I believe this one of my New Years Resolution will be to work hard at blogging atleast once every day. Even if it is HI!

Not much going on. Just gave blood - I am seriously becoming a pro at this!

I have been staring at these shoes since they made their appearance this fall. I love Michael Kors but never splurge on anything. I got these $150 for $75 in the clearance rack. I am in love.

Matt sent me flowers at work the other week - our 3 anniversary from the day he proposed to me. He is wonderful! He also remembered that Tulips are my favorite!!

off to go eat a hearty meal - HEY I was ordered by those who took my blood!

Pictures I took Wednesday!

I attended a luncheon the other day. Fancy Schmancy!

don't mind my odd look! One of my new GAP dresses!

I had to file all those suckers at work the other day.

I made pumpkin pie from an actual pie pumpkin. I really am not a fan of pumpkin pie but my family members absolutely loved it!

really? This is news?

See Title...

First: Who cares about Demi Lovato going to speak

Second: Brinkley is on there twice

Third: REALLY...REALLY....KATE GOSSELIN BEING SORE IS NEWS!?

way to go KTRK!

I miss being a foodie blogger. I really loved the people who I blogged with. I don’t miss the attitude I had during the whole time. I was in a crappy place and was just unhappy. I am so happy now and want to blog about food and get back to talking with my food blogger friends again. So I will start back up!

Unfortunately today I ate nothing good. I don’t think I actually had a meal today. I snacked. Now a days...I don't care for food much.... have lost around 8ish lbs since July. I never want to eat anything…don’t feel like making any food for me….and don’t really think about food. That was COMPLETELY not me in 2010.

I’ve been trying to decide what to eat tonight….tacos or this chicken I got from Tarjey. We have a friend staying the night with us so if he is going to be here for dinner it will be tacos.

BTW: TRADER JOE’S IS COMING TO THE HOUSTON AREA. I almost peed my pants when I heard this. Oh all my money will be going to this store!! COME ON SPRING 2012!!!

I always loved writing in a blog. I wrote in one back in high school – so sad that I deleted it – and throughout college. I recently read my blog from 2010 and realized how stressed out I was, how depressing I wrote. I was lame to be around.

Flash forward a year and I feel a lot better. I won’t go into what we worked on (with me) but I feel better and I am a lot happier!

My husband and I are in such a good place! We paid of a lot of our debt and are finally thinking about houses (not anytime soon) and so much other stuff.

I have a brand new job and I love going to work!

I am finally in grad school and am enjoying it! I currently have 100s in both of my classes. KNOCK ON WOOD _ LET’S KEEP IT THAT WAY!

I am taking a 4 day class on Introduction to Petroleum Management in January and just decided to take on 9 hours of grad school in the spring. This means I will full time. One class is online, another is one day a week in The Woodlands and the other will TBD – my professor is working with me since I work fulltime. She told me there are two other students who are fulltime and are working with her. So I will be taking 9 hours which means by the end of May I will have completely 15 hours towards my 36 hour Grad Degree!! I hope to be able to take some summer classes (which will be difficult considering I have an odd major) but this could mean I could graduate in 2.5 years!

Funny thing….I have been off of facebook for about a week. I’ve gotten on one time in the past week only because I was so bored. I was on for about a minute and got off. I received this in my email today.

Creepy. They know I haven’t been on facebook…AND they are trying to lure me in. NO! If someone wanted me to know something important they would have texted/emailed/called me if they wanted to. Or probably not – no one does that anymore.

gobble, gobble

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-upscale-turkey-20111123,0,7474573.story

By long-standing tradition, the centerpiece of Thanksgiving dinner has been purchased rock-hard, frozen and cheap.

That's starting to change. Turkeys are going Godiva.

The same passion for eating that brought us gourmet food trucks and swelled ratings for TV cooking shows has boosted demand for top-drawer turkeys with fancy names and even fancier price tags — up to $150 for a prized Bourbon Red heritage variety.

"People want a bird that has a name, a provenance, a pedigree — a bird you can brag about," said Kathy Gori, a 60-year-old screenwriter who splits her time between Sonoma and Santa Monica.

Heritage Foods USA, which sells turkeys online and ships via FedEx, said it sold out of all 6,000 of its heritage birds, despite a $150 price tag for a 22-pounder.



"Customers are much more into food now than they were a few years ago because of food magazines and TV shows," said Theo Weening, global meat coordinator for Whole Foods. "People want to know where the bird comes from, what breed it is, how it's been raised."

Standard frozen turkeys, which are sometimes kept in cold storage for six months or more, generally cost less than $2 a pound. Some supermarkets have even given them away as part of a buying incentive for customers. (and they taste absolutely amazing)

Beyond that, there are four major upscale varieties.

Free-range fowl, which have access to the outdoors, start at about $3 a pound. Next up the ladder are organic gobblers, which usually sell for at least $4 a pound and are certified by the USDA for their chemical-free feed and processing.

Heirloom turkeys are the next rung up, and are a type that date back more than a century to the earliest domesticated breeds.

Heritage turkeys cost the most, at about $6 to $12 a pound. They are comparable to the wild breeds used for the original Thanksgivings and are allowed to live months longer than most turkeys, helping them develop more flavor and dark meat as a result of heavy outdoor running and flying.

Here’s the thing. I am all for organic turkeys, turkeys that are free range, turkeys without chemicals. . . but there is something very silly….

Turkeys that have a PEDIGREE….a bird you can brag about? Oh people are so silly!

I have a sick obsession.

I love taking educational classes.

I absolutely loved college and all the classes I took. I loved it so much that I finally started school again. I am working towards my Masters in Science for Geographic Information Systems! I just started in August. I am taking two classes (could have probably taken more) and am just about finished with them!

They were pretty simple except for the last lab in one of my classes. I suck at this exercise. I am not the best at calculations. I won’t get into it because no one will understand what I am talking about. But this lab is taking forever to finish! Sometimes it is no fun taking classes online. I really need to see my professor during the day to help me with this lab. Yuck.

Anyways – I am signed up for two more classes next semester. One is actually a physical class – yay! It’s only one day a week but my Wednesday will be taken up by work and class.

I ALSO just decided to take a Petroleum Land Management class – it will really help at my new job – I need this so I can understand what everyone is talking about! This class is a little different. It is a total of 4 days. Two Thursdays from 5p-9p and then two Fridays from 8a-4p. That’s it. If I take 6 of these random classes I can get a certificate! WOO!

I am sick. I love classes!! I love school!

//Nerd Out.

I didn’t do much this weekend – spent a butt load of money at Express thanks to my friencd, Blakely ;) Got two cute blouses and a tank top and a dress. Matt got a shirt and a sweater. Effin’ expensive there…that all equaled out to $200 with all of our discounts. I think I’ll stick to Gap 50% off and Forever 21. It was nice to get really nice well made clothes though. I got my sign on bonus on Friday so that was our splurge.

I would rather have gotten a Louis Vuitton but that is saved for when we are fully out of debt! This won’t be long!! Damn you student loans!

heels

Yikes, so I tried to get rid of facebook back in September. Failed miserably because 2 hours later we were robbed and I just got right back on. I don’t know why. But here we are again. I loathe facebook. My profile will stay on but I will not be getting on – I do not care for it at all. I haven’t been on all day. Since I have started my new job I am barely on. WOO!

I think I get tired of blogging because I do not have a schedule of what to write and I try to cram everything into one post. I won’t do that!

Today I will be talking about the new clothes I got for my new job!

I started my new job on Halloween. I wore a Michael Kors dress (most likely last season) that I got from Marshalls. I paid $49 for it - originally $179ish. WOO! I wore brown tights and these red kitten heels that I got from Tarjey.

The second day I wore a dress from Gap! I'm pretty sure it was supposed to cost $70 but I think I paid around $20 for it. I wore these crazy green tights and heels from Macy's!

Here is what I wore some of the other days.

I went to the Gap the other day and had over $245 in clothes and ended up only paying $87 thanks to awesome discounts on clothes and store discounts. woo!

I got this cute dress from Forever 21 the other day. I didn't sit in it. I sat in it today....It CRUSHES my ribs. SO UNCOMFORTABLE! It has a zipper on the side that I undo when I sit. My po' ribs.

I also went to Target this past weekend and found some of those Missoni heels....for 50% off. To all those suckas who fought other women and paid full price...I only paid $19 for heels - btw - I thought I was going to break my ankle walking in them...I am not used to heels yet. This must mean I need to buy more heels!!

Dear Santa,

I wear a 7.5 in heels - I like closed toes heels. Any color please!!

Love,

Alex

p.s. I was really good this year...I put up with a really mean Japanese man for 2.5 years at work. I deserve some heels.

My pugs!

so we are adopting another pug! Presley desperately needs a friend - us people are boring him. 

We met Gabby yesterday...!

Gabby!

my love bug, Presley. I have been feeling bad we didn't take more pictures, and am scared that he will think we don't love him as much. I love the pug. so incredibly much! 

um...I am pretty sure that happens to all of us. 

yup. just yup.

We still can't exactly let everyone know what is going on until it is a done deal...just really good stuff finally happening to us! (no, no baby)

For our Family!

Matt and I have been talking about how we want our family to read this blog, interact with us, keep us updated in the comments with what is going on!

I am not a fan of Facebook. I am on it, but I don't like it! It is not personal. at all. At least blogger is more personal. I will only write on here. I will only post on here. You will only see pictures on here. I want our family and friends to stay updated with us. We are speaking to y'all. We have a lot of awesome stuff going on but we want everything to be final before we let y'all know (no no kids). After events have happened we will tell y'all all about it! (after getting robbed we don't show any info until the event has passed)

Baking Adventure 1

Snickerdoodle Pie
adapted slightly from Better Homes and Gardens
Crust
1 9-inch pie crust (unbaked, rolled into a pie pan)
2 tsp butter, melted
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp ground cinnamon

Filling
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature and divided
3 tbsp water
2 tbsp corn syrup
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla extract, divided
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350F.

Prepare the pie crust by brushing the inside of the crust with melted butter. In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Pour into pie plate and turn to coat the entire inside of the crust with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Set aside.

Prepare the filling.

In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter, water, corn syrup and cinnamon. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Once sugar has dissolved, boil the syrup for 2 minutes. Stir in 1 tsp vanilla extract. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together remaining 1/4 cup butter, sugar and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Blend in baking powder, cream of tartar and salt. Beat in egg and remaining 1 tsp vanilla extract, followed by the milk. When mixture is smooth, blend in the flour, mixing only until no streaks of flour remain visible.

Pour flour mixture into prepared pie crust. Pour syrup over the cookie mixture. Do not mix. Carefully transfer pie to the oven.

Bake for about 45 minutes (I baked for 35 - but my oven cooks fast! JUST keep an eye on it), until pie is browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve warm.
Serves 10.

This pie was FANTASTIC! I wish it was cold outside - i think i'd enjoy it even more! Oh this tasted so good! I usually never eat my own baking (don't know why) but I had two small slices...and couldn't get enough! It is really best when hot! 

I like to listen to talk shows during work. If I listened to music I would be fast forwarding the songs all day long trying to find what I like. I listen to this one show in Minnesota and they play old school songs during their show. This song came up and I was sent back to 8th grade....

Tearin' Up My Heart!!!

Do you remember MTV Spring Break?
Do you remember when singers used to rock back and forth when they sang?
Do you remember when guys wore long sleeved collar shirts - open - with a white t shirt underneath

oh those were the good day. such good days.

So Tired

So, another updated without pictures :(

I tried to wash my hands the other day and found out that they stole two of our hand soaps (one was 1 squirt away from empty) and my boscia toner spray and my  brand new bath and body works lotion. They also stole Matt's hair cream. If that wasn't awful . . . .


They stole our checkbooks. I figured this out when a $395.10 check was posted to my account. I called Chase this morning when I found out it wasn't mine (hey - I have brain farts sometime) and the lady who talked to me was actually speechless and kept saying oh my gosh when I told her what happened.

What blows my mind is how Victoria's Secret would take a check without an ID! Yes, someone spent $395.10  at Victoria's Secret.

I just prayed while driving to work this morning...that if they really needed the money then fine, take it, but I don't think they really needed $395.10 from Victoria's Secret. I think I should make a trip to a vickies and ask for an answer as to why they didn't ask for an ID. The scary thing is that my drivers license number showed up...did they steal an old drivers license? I don't think i have any. Oh I don't know. This is so messed up.

BUT WAIT! Did they not even look at the ID if they did show it? SO many questions with no answers.

robbed.

So I WAS going to post yesterday but I got a call around 12:30pm from Matt. He had this incredibly concerned voice and that is always awful - plus no one ever calls me during the day.

We were robbed.

Between 8am and 12pm.

They broke through the back door and deadbolted the front door. They two two tv's....two computers, two cameras, our comforter and sheets, a jar with change in it, alarm clock, few pillow cases, head phones, and hair gel. They had two rifles in another pillow case. It looks like Matt interrupted them and they bolted before they had any idea.

My first question was where is Presley. I had heard a horrible story about how robbers have hurt peoples pets and stolen them. Presley was a okay. Thank you, LORD.

We also had bought a new laptop and a new camera last Friday. Stolen.

Hair gel??? stolen. whatever.

stolen jar of money? Take it? all that was in there were nickels and pennies. I took out all the quarters.

I didn't want to go to work today. I have all the blinds drawn - no one can look in our apartment and I don't trust anyone. Luckily our lease is up in November. We really love the complex...just not our apartment - it is the prime area for a burglary to happen. We are moving to the second floor and in the WIDE open.

The shaking hasn't completely gone away. The crappy feeling is just parked in my stomach. I am just sitting here with a glazed look in my eyes.

I got into work at 8am today and found out that our server is down. GOD really wanted to give me a break today. It is 10am and the server is still down. I also told Matt that I really wanted Jamba Juice today - just got  coupons for cheap jamba juice.

He's always here for me. I just pray he gives me the ability to not hate people and to forgive...because that is going to be difficult.

I absolutely love my friends that asked how I was doing. You really find out who your friends are in this time. I'm keeping them close.

So no pictures....they stole them...

all I want to do is sit in church and talk about GOD.


"And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins" (Mark 11:25). "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven" (Luke 6:37). 


Father God, I need your help and your insights. Today I have gained a better understanding of forgiving others and with your help, I fully forgive from my heart. Just as you have freely forgiven me, I forgive them. Father, I ask you to forgive me for hurting others out of my own hurt and to heal my relationships with others. I pray all of this in Jesus' precious name and by whom all forgiveness and healing was made possible. Thank you for loving me in ways I'll never comprehend. In Jesus' name, Amen.



This is going to be a process. long process.

kicked myself off facebook. Expect more updates! I miss this sucker. I really miss my old blog but it was necessary to delete so creepers from work could leave me alone! Expect an update about this weekend later tonight!! :D

Cluster

YIKES!

I have had a tough couple of days. A long time ago I visited a neurologist because I was having AWFUL headaches...he determined it was migranes and gave me meds.

It wasn't migraines. He also said I could possibly have "Cluster" headaches. I still got headaches and gave up trying to treat it.

This summer has been called the headache summer. I got them ALL THE TIME. I just learned to live with it. When I didn't have a headache it was heaven! I started getting them everyday this past week....I decided to google and google and google to try to figure out what type of headache it was so I could treat it because Advil, Aleve, Excedrin, and Tylenol would not work. The headache would be behind my eye a lot of the time and light and noise would make it even worse. Falling asleep wouldn't help. I'd wake up with the awful headache. This was torture.

Figured it out last night while I was dealing with a headache that lasted for about two days.

I DO have cluster headaches.

Good thing: they are benign.
Bad thing: NO over the count meds help AT ALL.

 Cluster headache is one of the most painful types of headache. Cluster headache is sometimes called the "alarm clock headache" because it commonly awakens you in the middle of the night with intense pain in or around the eye on one side of your head.

Bouts of frequent attacks — known as cluster periods — may last from weeks to months, usually followed by remission periods when the headache attacks stop completely. During remission, no headaches occur for months and sometimes even years.

Fortunately, cluster headache is rare and not life-threatening. Treatments can help make cluster headache attacks shorter and less severe.

• Excruciating pain, generally located in or around the eye, but may radiate to other areas of the face, head, neck and shoulders
• One-sided pain
• Restlessness
• Excessive tearing
• Redness in the eye of the affected side
• Stuffy or runny nasal passage in the nostril on the affected side of your face
• Sweaty, pale skin (pallor) on the face
• Swelling around the eye on the affected side of your face
• Reduced pupil size
• Drooping eyelid

The pain of a cluster headache is often described as sharp, penetrating or burning. People with this condition say that the pain feels like a hot poker being stuck in the eye or that the eye is being pushed out of its socket. People with cluster headache appear restless, preferring to pace or sit and rock back and forth to soothe the attack. In contrast to people with migraine, people with cluster headache usually avoid lying down during an attack because this position seems to increase the pain.

Some migraine-like symptoms, including nausea, sensitivity to light and sound, and aura, may occur with a cluster headache, though usually on one side.

Cluster period characteristicsA cluster period generally lasts from six to 12 weeks. The starting date and the duration of each cluster period may be consistent from period to period. For example, cluster periods may occur seasonally, such as every spring or every fall.

Most people have episodic cluster headaches, which means the cluster headaches occur for one week to a year, followed by a pain-free remission period that may last as long as six to 12 months before another cluster headache develops. Chronic cluster periods may continue for more than a year, or pain-free periods may last less than one month.

Want to know how to treat these headaches...extra oxygen and melatonin....lol . . .. There are also different treatments that don't sound familiar....melatonin it is. 

SOURCE

um yuck. Well at least I know now. I had to skip small group yesterday :( I fell asleep at 8pm...woke up pain free....THANK YOU. 

here is to a cluster free day...I sure do hope.

Reading Thursday

Good morning! I hope everyone is having a fabulous day! It is my Friday so I am excited for 3:30pm!!

My hobby - besides cleaning and working on school has been reading. I absolutely love it. I go back and forth about starting the Harry Potter books over...but 

here are random books I have finished in the last couple of weeks...

Dead Rules By Randy Russell

source

Till death

Jana Webster and Michael Haynes were in love. They were destined to be together forever.

Do

But Jana's destiny was fatally flawed. And now she's in Dead School, where Mars Dreamcote lurks in the back of the classroom, with his beguiling blue eyes, mysterious smile, and irresistibly warm touch.

Us

Michael and Jana were incomplete without each other. There was no room for Mars in Jana's life—or death—story. Jana was sure Michael would rush to her side soon.

Part

But things aren't going according to Jana's plan. So Jana decides to do whatever it takes to make her dreams come true—no matter what rules she has to break.

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

source

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker - his classmate and crush - who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah's voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why. Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah's pain, and learns the truth about himself-a truth he never wanted to face.

Awaken By Katie Kacvinsky

source

Maddie lives in a world where everything is done on the computer. Whether it’s to go to school or on a date, people don’t venture out of their home. There’s really no need. For the most part, Maddie’s okay with the solitary, digital life—until she meets Justin. Justin likes being with people. He enjoys the physical closeness of face-to-face interactions. People aren’t meant to be alone, he tells her.

Suddenly, Maddie feels something awakening inside her—a feeling that maybe there is a different, better way to live. But with society and her parents telling her otherwise, Maddie is going to have to learn to stand up for herself if she wants to change the path her life is taking.

In this not-so-brave new world, two young people struggle to carve out their own space.

I will review this books in the future. I really can’t pick a favorite – they are all uniquely different. I did feel like crying when I read “13 Reasons Why.” It also makes me scared of having a kid if this is how school is like these days.

I am currently reading: Across the Universe

I haven't read a sci-fi/space book in quite sometime...it is a bit of an adjustment. Each chapter goes back and forth between two people...Interesting perspective. 

I finally decided to get a library card...all these books were starting to cost precious money. The unfortunate thing is that my library doesn't have all the books I want : (

The cards have not change since I was 4 when I started to go to this library.  

The next books I hope to read: 

Matched

Warm Bodies

The Eleventh Plague

Beautiful Disaster

None of these are available in the library so the list may change.

Previous Reviews...

The Scorch Trials

The Maze Runner

Divergent and The Hunger Games

It's So HOT! Milk was a bad choice

We have had a pretty rotten 9 months - weather wise. It barely rains - if ever - and August had 30/31 days in the cool 100s. 

There was Tropical Storm Lee who brought wind and only wind to Houston. That's when this happened

source

This is a hop - skip - and a jump away from where I live.

8000 people have been evacuated and they were in desperate needs of supplies. 

On Tuesdays, our small group has bible study. Yesterday we decided to help out the victims and the fire fighters. We went to Wal Mart and stocked up!

giving to the victims...look at all those pillows!

At the fire station dropping off 5-hour energy and snacks. All that water is for the victims.

Eric and Whitney

Chris and Marley

I look a little tired...lol

yup...the awesome month we just had! This does not show the "feel like" temps - they were over 110 degrees!