My Current Wish List

As I have very little to talk about right now, I figured I'd toss out my current wish list! And, by wish list, it would be AWESOME to have these things, many if not all, by the end of the year! Hee hee. I know, I know, expensive and crazy...but with money management and patience I can make my dreams come true! (and save money, too!)

A House: Ok, for anyone even half-assed reading this blog for the recent past, you know this is obvious. I should be calling a highly recommended real estate agent today to hopefully get some balls rolling on this!

A Digital SLR Camera: So the picture below is not necessarily the one I'd want (I have a lot of research to do before I figure out which would be best...and talking to my dad about it), but I want one. Why not just stick with old trusty? (my Canon digital camera) Even though I love it, and I think it still takes wonderful pictures, I'd like to have the versatility, quickness, and higher quality photos for special aspects of my life! When we go to my brother's medical school graduation in May, my dad won't be pulling out his old trusty, he'll be pulling out his Nikon with his fancy lens (I don't know if I'll need the super fancy lens just yet), and attempt to catch awesome pictures of my brother, even if we're in the back of the auditorium. Because the digital SLR cameras can do that...old trusties can't. (at least not mine.)

High efficiency, front loading washer & dryer, with stands: Once again, the brand I'm not sure of, but I REALLY would LOVE this style of washer and dryer. I'm not really into being green (at least not yet), but I LOVE making efforts towards being so. (Don't think I won't be pricing tankless water heating systems once I buy a house. We may not afford it immediately, but it's on the "some day I want" list.) Even though I currently use only the most generic washing choices there are, I still alter things some when I do my laundry. If I have enough, I have an entire load (probably small) of delicate laundry that will end up being air dried on whatever surface or hung in whatever spot I can. There are a handful of clothes I wash for color protection (how ugly would a police uniform be if it faded fast? yuck!), and others I wash as hot as I can, with bleach if I'm not worried about the color, to ensure ultimate cleanliness. Some clothes I won't dry, some need extra drying. Sometimes I forget my clothes in the dryer and have to dampen a sock or something, spray a ton of Downy Wrinkle Releaser, and run damp dry to lose the wrinkle. I think I could definitely fall in love with some of the new and fun options these systems contain. Like the Steam function! OMG! That would thrill me. No more Brandon getting frustrated about his work uniforms being wrinkly...STEAM THEM! And about the stands...remember, Brandon and I are kinda tall. If you're at Best Buy or Sears or Fry's, or whatever place sells home appliances of this type, walk by them. Take note of the ones on stands and the ones off stands. Not only do the stands place the washer and dryer at a more convenient height (which I could foresee being a problem if you have low shelving to be concerned about), but they also provide neat and convenient storage! Detergent, softener, bleach, dryer sheets, etc, all neatly fit into the drawers that smoothly slide in and out. The current set up as it is...much of this crap ends up sitting on top of the appliance, which inevitably makes it sticky and dirty. I know these are more on the expensive side, but they should use less water and energy, thus, not only saving in utilities, save on the cost on the earth (hopefully). And color? I'm sure pricing will be the primary drive in what color I get. I'm not sure I really care...who the hell is going to see/judge my home on the color of my washer and dryer? Really? I didn't think there were websites out there called Project Washing Room to see who was the most creative/cost effective/interesting in how they decorated and arranged their utility room. Whatever.

King sized bed! Oh my gosh, this is the thing I dream about most often, probably. Sure, I'll have to buy some more stinking sheets and such (but I did find some, so far, super awesome sheets on Amazon at not bad price for what they're advertised as, so at least I have that resource). Not only would it fit Brandon and my big bodies better, but, on the occasion that we invite our dogs to hang with us in bed, it'll be a little more forgiving. Not roomy, because, as anyone who owns a dog and invites him or her into bed with her would probably know, the dog snuggles up close to you no matter what. The only catch is, did you manage to secure enough blankets that you can turn over any which direction and not have your bum exposed because you can't yank more covers from under the dog? Because, you know, moving the dog is close to impossible. If the dog doesn't growl at you, like my JJ does, the dog plays as if she's a hippie, like Bella, and insists on being passively aggressive in not giving up the comfortable niche next to you she so carefully plopped into. Or, the dog could be like Ribby, and jump off the bed and pout next to the door, refusing to rejoin you on the bed because you'd already, obviously, let him know he wasn't welcome, just because your butt was cold and you pulled more covers out from under him. Either way, a king would be more forgiving...more covers, more room to maneuver...hopefully. And more room to stretch out when you're big like me and Brandon. And a pretty bedroom set wouldn't suck, either. :) Picture is just a random example...

The obvious, a comfy couch, chair, and coffee table. I'll probably go a little more cost effective here, especially on the coffee table (because, knowing Brandon and I, it would also be known as our dinner table many of nights, though I insist on having a dinner table and to eat on it most of the time.) I would probably look for leather because, as much as everyone fears the dogs' nails puncturing the leather, I think removing their fur is easier off leather. And, in college, I had a leather couch and my dog with talons never managed to scratch the leather (plus I kept it well treated, according to instructions.) I don't think we need a whole couch and love seat set...we don't really plan to have so many people over on a regular basis to necessitate that, and a good sized couch and a lazy chair would be fairly sufficient. Just add the kitchen table and maybe some comfy bar chairs (depending on how my future kitchen is designed) that should more than cover having company over. And I'd want a flat, non glass coffee table. Not much would be placed on it, as dog tails and coffee tables seem to be similar heights, thus nothing would really remain ON the coffee table, but I'd like to have an alternate place to play cards, or dominoes, or whatever game we have...should we play a game, other than the kitchen table. Flat and smooth is the way to go. Plus, without ridges, cleaning would be easier!

And, lastly (I hope), a cool refrigerator! I love the idea of the bottom freezer for a couple reasons. Freezers drive me nuts. I end up shoving stuff in them and maneuvering through the levels of crap means it all falls onto the floor, and thus must be rearranged. With a bottom freezer...maneuver away! I'm sure MY freezer will still be a mess, but at least I won't fear for my toesies. Next, you do not have to bend all the way down the the floor to get to the crisper in the fridge! Everything is neatly, hopefully, arranged in the fun levels and drawers all about waist height at the lowest. Also, I'd want the French doors because having one door open out comes out a wide distance (fine, not that wide if you're used to it, but it would also make a difference based on my future kitchen if I had the room for regular doors) and, the one door just seems heavy. The French doors feel lighter. Actually, if I had to pick right now, being somewhat money conscious (and I really mean somewhat, this is still expensive!), I'd want this fridge. But the fridge below is super awesome in person!

I think that's enough, don't you? This year seems as if it will be filled with lots of spending, but these items are mostly capital cost items. These things should last a very long time, and really be once in a ten year time period (or longer!!!) purchases. Now, I'm totally amped up to go balance the check book (which I do weekly). Gonna go see how much of our money I can ear-mark SAVINGS and be ready to spend on some of these pretty things!

Since the last post...

Not much has happened. I have not been sticking to the work out, despite how much I really enjoyed it. Things like getting sick and weather and fatigue and blah blah blah have kept me from going. Oh well. That should change soon!

Valentine's day was uneventful. The Wednesday after we went to The Blue Fish for the first time and had the most amazing sushi. It was so yummy! Especially the Firecracker! Hands down our favorite, but we were spicy tuna roll lovers in the first place. I never even touched the wasabi or the soy sauce. I just thought it would ruin the already perfect flavors. The Lava (I believe that was what our second favorite was called) was awesome as well. Actually, I'm wanting some right now as I type...and sushi hasn't commonly been something I've craved in the past.

I haven't even really taken any new photos since last post. How lame am I? lol.

What I have done is reactivate my application to get my Masters in Nursing. I was deferred this semester because they were "unable to accommodate in required courses due to increased enrollment." Rumor mill says there was a seriously increased amount of applicants this term and not enough teachers for them all. So, maybe next semester! At least I don't have to write any new essays or anything...but I did have to pay the lovely $30 application fee...again. Lame.

I'm still waiting on information about how much my car is going to cost. We're closer though. I'm hoping not an arm and a leg. But I'm really itching to buy a home...so I'm wondering if we can get the Toyota sold if that will mostly cover the cost differences and we can get a move on. As I'm less in love with doing a new home in that one neighborhood Brandon saw, what makes me a little sad in looking at some of the homes online is how they have laminate counter tops...and those new homes had granite. Oh well...I'm being picky!

Since I'm lame, I'm going to list my favorite things of this past week:

Sunshine! I can feel sun bathing weather coming back!

Puppy dogs! Bella is quirky, as usual, and quite proud she knows how to open the doors to the dining room (you just push them out of their clicky spot), JJ is mouthy, Ribby is loud, Hunter is sweet, and Chewy is still just a bad golden! lol

Days off work! I know I shouldn't complain since I had to call in twice this month already (and that is just crazy for me), but we've been so busy I've been DYING for days off as soon as I'm at work! Thank God for days off, though, or I wouldn't have the energy to work at all.

Being my slightly OCD/control freak/psycho self. :) Yay for efficiency!

Ok, a little send off:

Past week = FAIL

So I blogged about our first Crossfit workout, yay. I haven't worked out since. BOO! But, let's start off with happy pictures of pretty snow.









First, I'll draw attention to the right side of the screen where you can find recipes I've cooked and my meal log. I've tried to do my best. It's not 100% accurate...but very close. I even made some notes about some of the days.

The reason I haven't worked out since last Monday is because, primarily, the workout sessions were cancelled due to inclement weather (see above). The secondary reason is because of the inclement weather, but it is more about a lack of time. The weather increased commute times by double at least coming AND going, so that reduced how much free time I had to do things, like work out. On non-work days, thats a seriously crappy excuse, but being clocked in at the hospital for a minimum of 12.5 hours when I'm working, plus a 2 hour commute to and from work during bad weather, I have little time to eat, shower and sleep, much less work out. My third level of reasoning is I didn't try to work out at home because HOLY CRAP I WAS IN PAIN! Ya, I expected to be sore and stuff after the first work out, and I was, but after nervous, stiff driving for a total of about 4 hours or more on Tuesday, including spinning on the highway and hitting the guardrail, I really did a number on my muscles. All the ones that held me in the position in which I was driving were excruciatingly painful to move even the slightest. I practically couldn't move. I worked, and went home and slept it off. I even had to call in sick Thursday because I hurt so bad, was so exhausted from the things going on (weather, earlier wake ups and later bed times, muscle fatigue), and my sinuses were trying to say, "Let's get sick."

On top of that, our diet was not followed! UGH. Come Wednesday, after Brandon picked me up from work since I was too scared and in pain to drive, we didn't make it home until afternoon (really late for us), and just ordered out Italian food. We had no energy to cook or think about cooking or going to the grocery store or anything. So, we blew the diet. We're going to try to reset this week. Hopefully, it will be more accommodating.

Another fail, my very first car accident...EVER. My car has been injured over time, but a friend borrowing it and hitting another car=not my accident. Being backed into=not my accident. Having another car scrape the side of mine backing out=not my accident. Driving down the highway, slowly, hitting a patch of ice under an overpass and starting to skid, skidding in multiple directions, finally not being able to control the slide, doing a 180 and hitting the guardrail facing oncoming traffic (who are all sliding in the exact same spot, may I add)=my accident. It could've been a lot worse. I even prevented it from being a lot worse...when I backed down the highway as I saw a van careening out of control, and eventually hitting the spot where I had just been parked on the side of the highway. That was the scary part. Nothing else was..

The damage:





Called the adjuster yesterday. We'll see how it goes.

I had to cancel plans with a friend on Saturday because I was too scared to drive in the weather and it hadn't melted yet, but, on the good side, I slept so much. I feel so much more caught up on sleep, finally. Hopefully, this week will be much more smooth.

The new recipes we tried were pretty good. The egg muffins and Swiss Chard frittata were good, but the Spicy Beef Bolognese took the cake. It was the best and so yummy. Brandon spiced it just perfect, in my opinion. All Paleo approved. And pretty quick and easy to make.

The egg muffins:



The Swiss Chard frittata, ingredients and after cooking:





Sorry, don't have a picture of the bolognese.

The only thing positive? Since we'll most likely be shelling out some cash we did NOT want to spend on unplanned car maintenance in the near future, we realize that will put us back a month or so. Hopefully no more than that. Now, we're just going to be ok with the set back and plan an Vegas vacation so we can have a vacation in before we lose our money to buying a house. I'm excited about this! We haven't had a vacation (other than just taking a week off for no reason) since our honeymoon and it feels much overdue. We're thinking May, possibly, for the timeline for the vacation, and probably going to look at TheHotel Mandalay Bay. We'll see. I'll keep ya updated.

And, that's it for now. Here's to a better week!