Love!!!!

Check out my niece, Rena, walking for the first time!!! She is such a ball of fun and love her so much!  She decided to take her first steps on Chris & Emily's 3rd wedding anniversary...what a smart girl!

Recent Recipes

I don't know if you guys have heard, but I'm quite the chef these days. Now that I'm working a regular work schedule, it allows me to take some time on Sunday to plan out meals for the week.  It's so much easier coming home from a long day at work knowing what I'm going to cook (and get excited about it!).  I've been using cookbooks and Pinterest a lot for recipe ideas.  Here are some ones that I think are worth sharing:

Cheesy Chicken Rice Casserole - Easy peasy to make!  Just a few ingredients and it's the classic chicken and rise recipe.  Ryan got seconds.
http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipe/cheesy-chicken-rice-casserole/

Crockpot Chicken Tacos -  Anything in a crockpot is the easiest thing ever.  These were very good and it made a TON! Will definitely make again.
http://mychocolatetherapy.blogspot.com/2012/01/crockpot-chicken-tacos.html

Chicken Fried Rice - Can you tell we eat a lot of chicken in this house? This took some time to make, and Ryan thought it looked like something from Chef Boyardee.  It was gooooood good!  Way cheaper than take out, too :)
http://life-as-a-lofthouse.blogspot.com/2010/09/baked-sweet-and-sour-chicken-with-fried.html

Pot Roast Sliders - My faaaaav!  I made the sliders and it was so good!  I didn't like the sauce, but Ryan did (spicy).  It made a ton, so I froze the rest of it and we plan on eating it again soon :)  NOM NOM!
http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/02/slow-cooker-three-envelope-pot-roast.html

Birthday's and Stupid People

I turned 28 on Wednesday.  There are some days I look at this and think "ugh, I'm really, really old." and then other days I really just think my life has just begun.  All I know is my body can't do things that it could do 10 years ago, that's for sure.

Ryan spoiled me like the good husband he is.  I didn't have any big requests....I just wanted a cookie or ice cream cake and I wanted to eat at Mexico Restaurant.  We did both.  He also got me the new computer I'm typing on now :) :) I haven't liked my Macbook for quite some time and I've had it for about 4 years, so he figured it was time for a new one.  Thank God I have some Windows back in my life!

Num num!

My week was going great until last night.  We had a regional meeting kickoff at Dave & Busters for work on Friday where we got iPads (going to make my life soooo much easier) and had a pretty easy day.  I was driving back to the office to get something where the next thing I know a car slams on their brakes in front of me, which made me obviously slam on mine.

I heard a soft thud and my first thought was "OMG I hit the car in front of me and I hope there isn't any damage and I don't even really know if I hit the car b/c we were going too slow but I thought I heard a thud but maybe it was just coming from somewhere else and I really wish we weren't in the middle of Belvidere St and I hope Ryan doesn't get mad."  (Yes, lots of thoughts go through my mind at one time in this brain of mine.) 

I put my flashers on, get out of my car, and take a big sigh of relief that there isn't any damage on my car or theirs.  The driver doesn't get out of his car so I'm thinking he must be fine with just driving away.  As I get back in my car, he gets out and lets me know that his lady friend in his car got whiplash.

Yes, whiplash. 

From alllllllllllllll that damage:

Are you laughing hysterically right now?  You should be.  If you aren't laughing, you should be crying that some people that live in our society are so ignorant that they feel the need to call 911 and have paramedics come because of their "whiplash", and then refuse medical attention when the paramedics actually arrive. Tax dollars at use here, people.

Here's what the front of my car looked like after that terrible whiplash-causing accident:

I had 4 or 5 cops and paramedics coming up to me asking if I had any injuries.  My response to all of them, "I'm absolutely 100% fine, thank you for asking." and then I would get a little snicker from them.

The cop was super nice and just gave us both an Exchange of Information form.  He even told me Happy belated Birthday. I had to spend an hour on the phone with Geico after leaving the scene of the worst crash of the century, explaining what happened in case the driver decides to file a claim. 

This may sound negative (probably because it is) but I'm just waiting for them to tell me that the passenger woke up with neck injuries today and they're seeking money. 

All I know is that when Ryan and I have children, we will raise them to be honest people who need to work for their money rather than try to make a dime off of someone else.  Our children will not grow up to be like Mr. Kia Spectra and his little lady passenger friend. Hmph.

All dogs go to heaven.

Ryan had a pug that he grew up.  Poochie is 15 years old.  Old.

Poochie has been on the decline with her health the last couple of years.  She's been wearing doggie diapers for over a year now (I think?) and she can hardly see or hear anything.

She loves food, and that's what motivates her to do anything and everything.

Today she went to doggie heaven.  She lived a good life and was lucky to have so many around her to love her.

RIP Poochie Poo <3 You were loved by many and hope you have the time of your angel life in doggie heaven!

Spoiled

Yesterday I was running around with my head cut off trying to get a bunch of things for Paige's bridal shower next weekend.  When I came home, I saw a big Keurig box and a card with "Mom" written on it.

I had no idea what it was, and Ryan told me he didn't know either so I should probably read the card. 

Here's what it said:

Isn't that just the sweetest??? I looooove my Keurig!! Thank you, Zoe :P What a good dog she is.