A vacation.....sort of

Well folks I'm heading home to KY for a little bit. I cant really call it a vacation because I'm going to be super super busy the entire time I'm there but I am going to try to keep updating as much as I can while I'm there. I have so many activities to do while I'm there I just hope I can get it all done!

Here is my schedule:
Friday: 10 hour drive (pshew) and going shopping with my mom for food
Saturday: My bridal shower (YAY!) and makeup trials for 2 of my bridesmaids
Sunday: My first makeup trial
Monday: Homework and maybe a hair trial
Tuesday: Doctors appointment and more homework
Wednesday: Another makeup trial and a hair cut maybe
Thursday: My boudior photo shoot (oober excited about this one) so that means a full day of hair and makeup and taking pictures whoo hoo!
Friday: Driving back home! (boo!)

So as I said I'll try and take as many pictures as possible and keep updating as much as I can! If I dont have time I'll up date on Saturday (probably Monday)after I get home!

Have a great weekend/week everyone! And pray for me as I travel this long distance back and fourth!

Betty Crocker I am not...

But a beginners cook I am!

I have never cooked a fancy-fied meal in my life! I have just recently began to learn how to do things from semi-scratch. I have gone from a pizza out of the box into the oven girl to a take something out of the box mix it together with something and it becomes a meal. One of these days I really do look forward to being able to make things from scratch like my STB Mother-in-law and my grandmothers have both done.

So I give you my first recipe! Insanely easy Quesadillas!



Chicken & Cheese Quesadillas
Ingrediants:
8-10 large burrito sized soft flour tortillas
1-2 cans of canned chicken (shredded)
1 tomato diced
1 bag of mexican style cheese mix (I perfer Kraft)

Dippings (if perfered):
Sour Cream ( I perfer this)
or
Salsa (the boys perfer this)

Instructions:
1. Heat up a large skillet to about medium high heat
2. Lay out one tortilla at a time and sprinkle cheese on one half of the tortilla along with chicken and some tomatos.
3. Fold over the other half of the tortilla to make a sandwich like effect
4. Toss into heated skillet
5. Leave in until golden brown
6. Flip to other side
7. Repeat number 5
8. Do directions 1-7 again until you have your dresired amount of quesadillas
9. With a chefs knife cut into quarters
10. Serve and enjoy!

Now see how easy that was!

A word about the pictures: You will never (most likely) see my own pictures displayed with my recipes because well the one time I did take a picture of something I made my FI laughed at me and still makes fun of me for it to this day so the only way I'll ever get pictures of my own food is 1. If he'll stop making fun of me or 2. I can do it in secret which right now is't possible!

I'm bringin sexy back.....

Image courtesy of Leah Stafford Photography

OK now I have to admit that 1. that is not me in the photo and 2. I have never considered myself to be "sexy" and 3. I really wish I was sexy.

You know that you wish you could look as good as those Victoria secret models do in the catalogs and you think you could never have the guts to take pictures like that. Well let me tell ya I HAVE always wanted to look like that and I am a BIG FAT CHICKEN but I thought there was no better time to get over that then for my wedding and my future husband who I know will enjoy these pictures immensely. So I thought I would give you a rundown of what I'm going to wear.

Outfit #1: I wanted to go for something classic and timeless and I've always loved black lingerie and pearls so I got a black lace garter belt, black lace thigh highs, a simple black lace bra that I already had and black pumps for accessories a long pearl necklace and diamond stud earrings (the earrings will be in all the pictures)

Outfit #2: I wanted to go with something more bridal so I bought an ivory lace bra and pantie set at VS, and I'm in the process of looking for a gold necklace. I probably wont wear shoes for the rest of the pictures.

Outfit #3: I wanted something playful so I got a pair of light blue ruffle butt panties which I may also wear under my wedding dress the day of (even though I already have my something blue which is my garter which I LOVE ♥ ) I haven't decided what to do for a top yet I may just go with a white tank top

Outfit #4: I found boy short undies with your new last name "Mrs. New last Name Est. Wedding date" in crystals and thought I could make them myself which I am in the process of doing! I'll probably wear his dog tags with this one.

The rest of the pictures will be done in a jacuzzi full of bubbles :) I'm very excited about those! Also probably the most nervous about them too!

I hope to have fun with it and get some confidence in myself from doing these!

How about you did any of you engaged/married ladies do these for your fiance'/husband as a gift for the wedding or what not? What was your experience?

Lesson Learned

***Warning: this post may contain R rated language, a long drawn out vent and is not suitable for children.***

Ok let me start off by saying "I should have known better". Why and what in the heck am I rambling about you ask? Well we MAY have hit a major pot hole in the wedding planning and it is a GINORMOUS one.

Our wedding date.

Here is the back story. Back in March after J proposed I started trying to find a good date for us to get married. I had always wanted to get married in the early spring/summer but knew with him in school and deployment imminent it was not possible to be able to pick a date that we knew he'd be home. So I continued to think and one day while driving home from work Christmas just popped into my head and I started imagining all the pretty christmas tree with white lights and candles everywhere and my girls dress in beautiful red dresses. So I called J when I got home and said "how about we get married while you are home for Christmas?" he said "specific date?" and I said "well how about the 20th of December" and he said "yeah that sounds good I will be home in plenty of time for that!" so I ran off like a bolt of lighting and booked everything within a week and I do mean everything (photographer, ceremony and reception site and catering).

I come down to Alabama expecting to get some dates in writing or atleast from someone who knew what they were talking about as far as when Christmas Exodus actually started. In the beginning no one knew anything. Then we started hearing rumor that it was actually starting on December the 20th (you see where this is going dont you?)

So now we're hearing more and more that it actually does start on December 20th. The rules are that you cannot leave until 5AM on the day that exodus begins. It is a 10 hour drive from Alabama to Kentucky. So if he left at 5AM he would get there at about 3PM (4PM KY time) our pictures start at 3PM and the ceremony starts at 6PM. This also means we could not have a rehersal and if we did it would be without the groom.

J. has been telling me from the very beginning not to worry that they WILL let him take Friday off so he can get home in time. But really folks I dont see that happening. You see, the Army has a tendency to be really BIG assholes. They can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Right now it seems they are the enemy until they proove me otherwise.

I also dont believe they will let him have the 19th off because he "should" be starting his primary aircraft at the beginning of December so he'll be in a class at that point. So he might miss something or lose flight hours, they couldnt fail him I dont believe but from what we've heard it is a pretty intense class.

So here I am left to wonder if I'm even going to have a groom on our wedding day. I mean I can't do this by myself! And I don't want a billion pictures of just me I want him in the pictures too!

Thinking about what could possibly happen that day makes me want to both laugh and sob at the same time. And knowing J. the way I do he will not ask what to do until the very last minute. And I can't do anything or find out anything because well I'm just a fiance' I have no power in the Army world as of yet.

So I wait....

I love....

to procrastinate so if I find something more interesting to do than oh say math homework or reading a chapter of webdesign (even though i actually enjoy this class) I'll take it!

I found this one Newlywedisms by Bryn and thought I'd share my answers.
PS: You should also check out her blog because well she's just fabulous!

Your hair? boring
Your mother? confidant
Your father? enthusiastic
Your favorite thing? home
Your dream last night? forgotten
Your dream/goal? motherhood
Your favorite drink? soda
The room you're in? bedroom
Your ex? loser
Your hobby? lots
Your fear? death
Where do you want to be in 6 years? happy
Where were you last night? home
What you're not? cool
Muffins? yummy
One of your wish list items? Camera
Time? afternoon
Where you grew up? kentucky
The last thing you did? homework
Favorite weather? fall
What are you wearing? shorts
Your favorite book? girly
Your TV? nonexisistant
Your pet? Jake
Your computer? dell
Your mood? unmotivated
Missing someone? everyone
Your car? old
Something you're not wearing? earrings
Favorite store? many
Love someone? engaged
Your favorite color/shade? white
Last thing you ate? sandwich
Your life? blessed
Your friends? greatest
What are you thinking right now? wedding
What are you doing at this moment? breathing
Your summer: hot
Your relationship status: engaged
What do you do when you can't sleep? think
When is the last time you laughed? morning
Last time you cried? recently

now you do it!

Coolest Wedding Video EVER!

I saw this on another blog it is Mrs.Milkshake (from Weddingbee.com) wedding video. It is the coolest videography I've ever seen and I am jealous of not being able to have something like this. But pictures are more important to me....check it out you wont regret it.


Cheryl + Andrew's SDE - Vancouver from StillMotion on Vimeo.

Morning Pick-me-up

I used to hate coffee (loved the smell hated the taste) until I was a freshman in college and we had Starbucks on every stinking corner of the campus. So I thought to myself if there are this many of these places on ONE college campus then it must be good, so I walked in one day after a VERY cold walk to the classroom building and bought a white chocolate mocha cappucino. It was the first time I actually drank an entire cup of coffee (it could have had to deal with the fact that it was below 30 degrees outside also and the thing cost me $3).

After I moved on from the big university campus to the community college campus (which did not have Starbucks) and moved into my own house (well fiance's house) I decided I needed to find a cheaper alternative than stopping at the starbucks on the way to school every Tuesday and Thursday mornings. So on my quest for some good cappucino that didn't cost an arm and a leg I found several good options. The first I tried was something from walmart in a french vanilla flavored. It started out good but as we kept on buying the stuff it began to take on a funny taste so we had to move on to something new...

That's when I found this...
Folgers cappuccino mix in french vanilla. I thought well it is from Folgers and from what I know they make pretty good coffee so I gave it a try. It is the best I've had yet and I suggest it to anyone who likes cappuccino. You can have it in the morning or at night, you can have it hot or cold (it has a recipe for both hot and cold drinks on the back). It has a light flavor that isn't too sweet and at $2 a can it can't be beat!

Well ok I lied the only thing that could beat that is if someone bought me a cappuccino machine and all the flavorings for a white chocolate mocha....but this will do.

I give it a Yumminess Factor Rating of 4 (5 being the best)

Meal Planning

I've recently been trying out meal planning after reading that it will help you stick to a budget and a list while grocery shopping because I will be the first to admit that I am not one that likes to go to the grocery store and buy whats on the list I see things I pick them up and put them in the cart which ultimately leads me to spending way more than I should have. So I've been giving this a try, it seems to help me stick to the list but it's still not cheap.

You see we get $192 per month in BAS (Basic Allowance for Subsistance aka Food) so we add $8 to make it an even $200 for the month so we break that down by 4 weeks because we shop on Sundays every week and it comes to $50 per week. But most of the time our bill comes out to $70-80 per week which is frusterating. Plus our commissary on base has a surcharge which you never know how much it is going to be we've had it anywhere between $3-$6 it just varies which is frusterating because 1. it's higher than taxes and 2. it always makes our bill higher and makes it worse when we go over and 3. you can't tell how much it is going to be there is no way to tell.

But anyway...here is my menu for the week

Sunday- Tuna Casserole with veggie
Monday- Salmon with pesto and veggies
Tuesday- Fried Steaks with baby potatos and veggie
Wednesday- Chicken and cheese quesedillas with beef rice and corn
Thursday- Baked chicken wild rice and veggie
Friday- Eat out or order in Pizza
Saturday- German keilbasa with stir fry veggies and saurkraut

It's probably because of all the meat we eat that we go over....

Beautiful & Clean Rooms

So today while I was taking a break (procrastinating) finishing school work I made two things. I've been thinking a lot about what to do with our extra bedroom at our home after my roommate moves out in May of next year. I've been talking with J. about it and he said we should just turn it into a guest room/office so I made up an ever so popular mood board for the room today.

I wanted to go for a cozy and comfortable space using neutral colors and greens and browns. So here is what I came up with...



Then I also made a cleaning schedule to help me keep the house always looking presentable because I have someone over nearly every day and I dont want to have to work so hard to get the house clean after I invite someone so here it is....click to enlarge.



I hope everyone has a good weekend! I'm off to have some German food! Yumm!

Make a list & Check it twice

gonna find out who is naughty or nice.

ok ok no not really! This post is not about Christmas or Santa Clause coming to town. It's about lists....ahh yes list. How I love thee!

You see, I have a lot to accomplish throughout the day so to keep myself organized and make sure that I get everything I need to get accomplished done I make myself a list of the daily things I need to do. Between school and taking care of two (or sometimes three) yahoos I have a lot on my plate.

There isn't much to it really but I have a few simple rules that I will tell you about for when I make my "daily list".

1. Do it before you go to bed at night, it helps you not lay in bed and toss and turn thinking about all the things you need to get done tomorrow and trying to make yourself mentally remember all of those things. So instead write it down and litterally forget about it, you'll sleep better trust me!

2. Go find (or buy) yourself a red pen or sharpie. Why you ask? Well ok when I look at my list and I see that I did something that I needed to do that day I put a checkmark by the task, but when I just do it with a pen or pencil I sometimes don't notice it, so I take a red pen and I make a BIG FAT check mark or X by it and that is like saying to myself "tadah look at what you did", it's like a hug or a pat on the back for a job well done! It's an instant motivator.

3. Put it somewhere you can see it and you see it often. I leave mine either on the refridgerator or on my desk because I see both of those things all the time atleast 20 times a day and it reminds me to finish that list.

4. Don't put too much on your plate. Don't be like me and get too ahead of yourself. Sometimes I like to think I can do more in a day than I really have time for and at the end of the day I don't have some of my things marked off I get down on myself and feel like I didn't manage my time well enough that day.

100 Days & My Loot

Well it is offcially 100 days until our wedding day and I tell ya I cannot wait I'm so excited with each passing day the excitement builds. Although I have to be honest there is so much left to do I also start thinking "100 days!!!? 100 days!!? there is not enough time to do all of the stuff I have left to do!" but I know I'll get it all done! Everything will be fine....

*faints*

Anyways as I said yesterday I went shopping today and I came back with some good stuff. And I didnt go into any stores that I didn't have on my list! After I show you what I got I'll tell you how much I spent.

First my new platter. I love it I originally saw this in robin's egg blue at TJ Max a few weeks ago but decided not to buy it then and I went back today hoping to find it but to no avail it was all sold out so I got the white one which to me is just as well it goes with everything!



Next, a new cookbook for the food lover in me. I had looked through this cookbook before and liked it but once again decided not to buy it because it was a bit on the expensive side but when I saw this at TJ Max it was just too good of a deal to pass up!



Now for the clothes....I needed some things for fall so I got a cardigan (in gray because it goes with everything brown and black) a plum lace trimmed cami and an ivory cowl neck sweater.





So how much do you think I spent? Well here is the breakdown:
Cowl Neck Sweater: $18.95
Gray Cardigan: $31.00
Plum Cami: $9.00
Platter: $11.00
Cookbook: $8.00

Grand Total: $77.95

Not bad if I do say so myself!

Go with a mission

I finally got enough school work done to be able to go and do something fun so me & my friend C. are going shopping tomorrow! I love to shop but sometimes, I end up buying way too much. So, I'm going to try something new! I usually do this with grocery shopping and it makes things so much easier. A list! I dont know how this is going to work with clothes shopping but I do have a couple of things on my list that I need such as some earrings for the wedding, some undies, and a few fall tops. I also found this gorgeous platter at TJ Maxx the last time I was there and didn't buy it and I can't get it off my mind so I'm going to go back and get it! If they still have it that is *crosses finger*

I also like to plan what stores I'm going to go to so I don't just wander from store to store that really gets me in trouble because then I find lots of things in each store I like, so I'm going to plan what stores to go in and go in ONLY those stores.

So my list of stores is...
Old Navy
TJ Maxx
Target
Charlotte Russe
Gap
Victoria Secrets
Claires

A great start to the day

OK, I don't know about many of you but there is something about getting up in the morning and going into my kitchen for my breakfast and looking in the sink and it being empty. To know that I don't have to rush to do the dishes before having a meal just really makes me happy and makes my day a whole lot better.


Another thing that really makes me happy in the morning is getting up and making my bed. I love getting into a freshly made bed after a long day. It's just comforting to me; and it feels different.


How about you? Is there anything that really gets your day off to a great start? Something you do in the morning that just makes your day smoother and leaves you in a better mood?

American Pride

OK well the story is that me and J when to see The Dark Knight Friday at the post theatre. I'd never been to an on post theatre before until then and something I didn't know that they did was play the National Anthem before the movie started playing. I was a bit taken aback by this because well I just wasn't used to that happening in normal theatres.

But you know something...I liked it and I think it should be a normal occurrence, not just in military base theatres but everywhere!

Also, now mind you I have heard the National Anthem since me and J have been together but I don't know it was something about being around all of those Soldiers and their families having a good time together that just made it strike me a bit. But really this is what our military personnel are fighting for, not just our ability to be able to go view a movie whenever we want but to see a movie about whatever we want and the ability to do anything and everything we want whenever we want!

If we want to go to the park at 3AM in our pajamas we can, we can ride a bicycle in the rain we can wear whatever we please and speak freely about topics that interest us and voice our opinions.

So the morale of this story is....the next time you realize that you are doing something that you are able to do because of our country's freedom thank our military for keep it that way. Because without them it would not exist

Bridal Shower

Well here is my first post that is wedding related and I'm sure it will not be the last...

My best friend and Matron of Honor and my Mother have graciously offered to throw me my first bridal shower which is on September 27th and I cannot wait! Not only because I'll get to go home and see my family and best friend who I only get to see so often now that we're a bit displaced as of right now (more on that later). But it will more than likely finally make me feel like this is really happening and it will mark the final leg of this wedding planning journey!

My MOH decided on a fall theme for the shower but didnt want it to be like too halloweenish looking or too bridal showerish looking so we decided on a color scheme of browm, gold, cream, orange, and lime green. I think it is a great mix of all the fall colors and it will be really pretty. She asked me to find some pictures of things that I liked as far as decorations goes so I am making this post mostly for her and for anyone else that may need some ideas as far as a fall party goes!

First a color scheme (which isnt pretty but hey I'm learning some photoshop skills):





and here are some of the decorations I like and should be pretty easy to pull off and cheap:



This banner is cute and you could use the fall colors and let it say bridal shower or congrats or whatever you like and looks pretty easy to make, you can also do a regular triangle banner with pretty scrapbook papers and yarn or ribbon I just couldnt find a good picture of one but Martha Stewart always has something like that floating around.





These pom pom things are so popular and over used but darn are they cute looking and thought they would be great to hang maybe over the gift or food table and they are pretty easy to make and cheap too all it is is tissue paper! Look up "tissue paper pom poms" on www.marthastewart.com


You said you wanted some flowers so here it is:




I thought this was perfect for the fall theme using pumpkins as the vase and maybe some white or cream mums or carnations inside them which are always cheap around that time of year :)

Everything else can be plain solid colored napkins, silver wear, plates, cups, table cloths, in the colors that i mentioned above which can all be purchased at any party supply wearhouse or garden ridge!

Well Amber my bestest I hope this helps you and maybe it helps someone else also!