Make this. Now.

Mike and I have been pretty busy lately and haven't gotten to spend much time together lately. So last night we decided to have an at-home date night where we cooked a fancy dinner together and watched CSI all night.

I love fancy dinner nights. I love picking out what we're going to eat and then I really love being in the kitchen with Mike as we're making it. It's romantic... in a productive sort of way. I came across this recipe at one of my favorite blogs and it truly one of the best things I've put in my mouth.

So drop what you're doing and make this. Now. Seriously.

EDIT: I made this again using chicken instead of shrimp and it was just as good. Yum yum yum!

Recipe of the Week

For 23 years, I had gone without knowing the joy of pesto. I never tried it because it looked weird and just assumed I wouldn't like it. After finding a recipe that called for a pesto sauce, I decided to be brave and try it out. And boy am I glad I did. It has quickly become a favorite in our house... an easy peasy meal that tastes delicious!



It is made of basil, garlic, olive oil, and parmesan cheese. Tastes good but it looks gross.

Anyways, here's the recipe. It's sooo quick and easy!

Presto Pesto Chicken Pasta

4 chicken breasts
1 package of your favorite type of noodle
Jar of pesto (it's in the spaghetti sauce aisle)

So you cut up the chicken into bite size pieces. Put 2 T (give or take) of pesto right on top of the chicken pieces. Coat evenly. Throw the chicken in a pan with a little bit of olive oil and saute it until it's nice and brown, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, boil the noodles until they are al dente-ish. Drain the noodles and add in an additional 2 T of pesto in the pasta and stir, coating the noodles evenly. You can put as little or as much pesto as you want in the pasta... do it to your liking. Serve the pasta in individual bowls and add pesto chicken on top, or just mix it all together and serve. It literally takes like 20 minutes to make and is goo-oo-ood!

Bugzilla!!!

Ahh! Bugzilla attacked us! It was enormous! It kind of flew at me and chased me out of the kitchen. Thankfully Mike protected me and took him back outside. I only got close enough to snap a couple of pictures. Then Mike was a jerk and teased me with it until I screamed.

It never rains, but it pours...

Oh rain.

My flowers desperately needed it. But unfortunately in these parts a steady downpour will knock your power right out. Instead of an afternoon spent watching CSI, surfing the internet and eating ice cream on our glorious couch, I sat in a dark house... for 3 hours. I ended up taking some pictures around the house, playing with the dog, and reading a book that is just so-so right now instead. And I did still have the ice cream. Then I went over to my church's little cooking class and sampled some yummy camping food. Now I have a few ideas for our own camping trip in a couple of weeks (which I may or may not be dreading). So a nice little day off despite the power outage... I'm just thankful our basement didn't flood!!

Here's another view of those gloomy clouds. I had to sneak out between rain showers to snap this shot.

Interview update

Well the interview is over and I can breathe easy again. After days of dread, I can say that it all went pretty well. I was interviewed for four potential jobs. They asked the questions, I gave the right answers... without putting my feet in my mouth or sounding mentally unstable. I was kind of twitchy and used my hands way too much when I was talking, but overall I think I made a positive impact on those who were interviewing me. The main thing is that I stayed true to myself and tried my best. It's out of my hands now...

Now I wait until Oct 4 to find out the good news/bad news.

Getcha Head in the Game!

Wanna hear the song I picked for my drill team to dance to? It's the pop version of a song from "High School Musical," the "IT" movie at the moment for all you teenyboppers out there. Don't mind the orangey blurs on the video. Just imagine 15-20 slightly awkward 6th grade girls dancing to the song.




I wrote 90% of the dance today. The rest will have to come together once I meet the girls and their mad skillzzzzz, hahaha. I'm kind of excited about it all, I just hope it doesn't look totally stupid. I still need to work on the tryout fliers, permission forms, and t shirt designs, etc. Practices don't start until October, but my plan is to have all of that stuff done so I can concentrate on the girls and their routines when that time comes. So for now, after listening to it about 100 times, I just gotta getcha getcha getcha song out of my head!!!

Another job interview

Another job opportunity has rolled around, this time its for me! I have an interview on Tuesday for an aide job at my favorite school. The school I sub at almost every day. The school in which I am coaching the dance team. So if I don't totally blow the interview, I'd say I have a pretty darn good chance at getting the job. But then again, you never know. But at least I got an interview! So please bust out those wonderful prayers of yours... I really really hope this is the one! Thanks!

It's here!

It's here! It's here! I never thought I'd be so excited about a piece of furniture!



Absolutely fabulous.

Most of the living room work is done. The walls are painted and most of the physical labor is done. We rearranged some things and got rid of some clutter. We still need to get curtain, better wall art, other non-ghetto furniture, etc. but all in good time.

Here's a before and after.


Before. What a sad sad white little room.



After! So much better! Notice Scout has already claimed her spot by the window.

We're in the works of doing the kitchen too. We put in a new ceiling fan and painted in there too. I'll post pictures of that once it's finished. But for now, I am going to lounge on the couch and watch CSI. Ahhhh, feels good!

Our couch comes tomorrow!

Our couch comes tomorrow!

Our couch comes tomorrow!

Our couch comes tomorrow!

I'm so excited... it's like Christmas... in September! YAY!!!!

That is all.

Recipe of the Week

Do you have hungry friends that have stopped by unexpectedly? Do you want something to munch on while you watch the Colts win? Or maybe you just need a snack that requires no cooking? Well I have the solution for you!

Impossibly Easy Bean Dip

1 can of refried beans
1 packet of taco mix
1 block of cream cheese, softened
1 little can of green chilies
tortilla chips

In a bowl, combine the beans and the taco mix. Mix it really well.
In another bowl, combine the cream cheese and green chilies. Mix that really well too.

On a platter (I used a paper plate to complete the impossibly easy theme), spread the bean mixture out until flat and smooth. Next, layer the cream cheese mixture on top of that. Smooth it out until flat and smooth. Voila! Your bean dip is complete. If you want to fancy it up a bit, throw some black olives, tomatos, or green onions on top. Yum yum!