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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Cheeeeeese!

Every time I look back through photo albums from when Nate and I are dating, I am filled with "Man, I wishes":
"Man, I wish my hair would stay that straight in Florida"
"Man, I wish we had snow here"
"Man, I wish I could fit in those jeans"
etc. etc.
But most of all, I really wish that I had that many pictures of these past two years. I used to carry my camera everywhere, but I haven't done that in a long time. I thinks its probably because 1. I don't like pictures of myself  nearly as much as when I was 30 lbs. lighter, 2. I spend 10 hours a day at a desk which isn't nearly as exciting as having picnics with Nate, and 3. If I try to keep a camera in my purse nowadays, it will probably end up broken.
When I saw Fat Mum Slim's February Photo-a-Day Challenge on Shelley's blog, I knew I must participate! What a great way to document everyday life instead of just our special occasions! Throughout the month, I will post my daily photos here so I can look back on them and be glad that I didn't let these days slip by undocumented. Everyone should join me for lots of fun!

Healthy Turkey Chili

Yep, another recipe post. Here's whats on the menu for tonight:
Healthy Turkey Chili!
(Photo from rufflesandtruffles.com)
This chili is sooo good! It's not like traditional chili (at least, not the chili that I'm used to) because it has black beans instead of various red beans, and turkey instead of hamburger, which makes it a lot healthier. It also only takes about 30 minutes to make instead of having to simmer for hours. Nate and I both really enjoy it. The turkey is very tasty and filling. Its perfect with a dollop of sour cream and some shredded cheese on top! Here is the recipe on the original blogger's site and here is the site with the printable recipe. Enjoy!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Southwestern Stuffed Mushrooms

Tonight we made Southwestern Stuffed Mushrooms for dinner. This is one of our most favorite meals. It is quick, easy, extremely tasty, and also pretty healthy! If you leave out the sour cream, it would be low-carb, too. I highly suggest trying these mushrooms! Also, we like to make a double batch of the filling and then freeze the leftovers so that the next time we want to make them, we just have to defrost the filling, stuff the mushrooms, and warm them in the oven. Trust me, you want these for dinner tomorrow night! You can the recipe here and a printable version of the recipe here.

                                                             (Photo from tastykitchen.com)

Bucket List

I figure its about time I make my Bucket List (the list of things you want to do before you "kick the bucket"). I don't want to have to make things up just to have a nice, lengthy list, so I'm going to start with what I've got and add to it as the thoughts come to me.
1. Go to Alaska (preferably on a cruise) and see the Northern Lights in person
2. Ride a tandem bike with Nate
3. Have (and use) one of those little white porcelain cow creamer dispensers
4. Going camping in a tent with Nate
Well, there it is for now! I should probably start saving now for that Alaska trip.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Free Download!

I have been playing with Picnik again! This time I wanted to make a print of a quote from the (most amazing) movie (ever), The Notebook. I was inspired when I saw this craft on a blog I discovered through Pinterest. It only took a few minutes to create and I'm happy with the way it turned out. I plan on framing it and hanging it somewhere in the living room. It is designed to be printed as an 8x10 photo. To download the print, just right-click on it and select "Save As...". You can then save it to your computer and print it at your own convenience. Enjoy!

Friday, January 20, 2012

Marriage Blessings

I just want to say that I am thankful for a great marriage and a great husband. I am so, so thankful that "working" at our marriage has never felt like working but just like loving each other insanely and deeply. Nate makes it so easy to love him and be thankful for him. I hope that I make it as easy for him to love me. Nate's friendship and love is a constant reminder of how I blessed I am and how much God loves me. Nate has truly loved me like Christ loves the church and he is everything a husband should/could possibly be. I couldn't think of a better way for God to teach us about Him than to bless us with marriage.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

A Whole New Level of Picnik Skill

There's no denying that I heart Pinterest, but as its a very useful addiction tool, I'm not giving it up anytime soon. I saw a really cool idea for framing wedding vows there a few months ago shortly after joining Pinterest. Because  I was enamored with all of the other cool things I was pinning, I forgot about the vows. We've recently re-decorated our bedroom (which I hope to share here soon) and I've been looking for ideas for my gallery wall. Obviously, I turned to Pinterest for inspiration. There I found the wedding vow pin and decided to try to make my own. I planned on trying to use Photoshop but I really don't have any experience with it. Luckily, one of my favorite bloggers, Thrifty Decor Chick, posted a tutorial about making printables on Picnik just a few days before I decided to try my own. Using her tutorial, I was able to make my very own copy of my wedding vows on Picnik!

I was surprised by how easy it was. I did have to type each line individually, instead of typing it as a whole paragraph, but it still only took about 30 minutes all together. Now that I know what I'm doing, I could probably make them in about 15-20 mins. I think it would make a great personalized wedding gift. Ours looks great hanging in our bedroom gallery wall!

Saturday, January 14, 2012

You Sneaky Wife!!

My latest song obsession is "You" by Chris Young. Nate laughs at me and shakes his head every time it comes on because I immediately turn the radio up, sing along, and dance in my seat (and believe me, I'm no dancer!). I finally bought it last night and downloaded it to the computer after we heard it on our way home from Wal-Mart because I kept telling Nate that I was going to make him dance with me in the living room. Tonight on our way home from Wal-Mart (yeah, we go there a lot...whatcha gonna do about it?!), it came on again and I was SO excited. Once we got to the apartment, Nate opened Zune on the computer so he could rip a CD and asked, "Who's Chris Young?" when he saw the album cover in his collection. Being the sneaky wife that I am, I said, "Um, I don't know. Play it and we'll see what it is." The second it started, Nate looked up at me and I laughed my most evil laugh. I made him get up and dance all around the living room with me and we both laughed hysterically as we tripped over each other. I learned two important things tonight. One: we are both horrible dancers, and Two: that doesn't matter at all when you're dancing around the living room with your husband. I had SO much fun and I think I love Nate even more, if thats at all possible.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Quote of the Week

I thought I would die laughing when Nate turned and looked at me this week and exclaimed, "Wah! I've raised a bratty wife!". Hahaha! We were both in very dorky moods and I was picking on him about something. I'm so glad I married such a dork even if that means that I've become a "bratty wife"! Ha!