We're buying a house!!!

So, wonder why I've taken so long to post? Hah. Who am I kidding. Anyways, it's been so long because I've been BUSY!!


First, many people know this already, but here is the official blog mention, I'm pregnant! Yay! I'm excited! I'll do my best to not be obnoxious. At 9 weeks, I haven't actually cried, really, and definitely no emotional breakdowns. I think all my crabbiness is related to being hungry...thus, I'm convinced my blood sugar dumps on me at those times and that is why I'm crabby. Absolutely no vomiting. But, since I usually have more than enough of my own life and happenings to talk about to annoy anyone who reads this blog, I started a second one about all things baby. I actually am currently referring to my baby as my minion (the second definition is my favorite), so my new blog is: I'm Expecting a Minion.  It's complete with 2 posts already and pictures! Enjoy (or ignore, as you see fit!)


Moving on, we've put an offer in on a house AND we're out of the option period, meaning we're total dogs (and not in a good way) if we back out now. My real estate agent said the inspection report on the house has to be the "shortest I've ever seen," which made us happy! We checked with the people we'll have home owner's insurance with and they approved of the roof, so that's a big, GO! (Side note here: If you're like us and checked with State Farm first for a home owner's insurance quote since you have car insurance with them already, please, for the love of God and your banking account, get a second opinion! We got a second from Farmer's Insurance and it was HALF the State Farm quote with amazing coverage! I know this sounds like I'm pushing one company, but the Farmer's guy said that State Farm home owner's insurance is often high, so, on that note, just shop around no matter who you're with or who you get a quote from. Can't hurt. That's my main point.)


Assuming all goes well, closing is scheduled for May 11. I heard a rumor that the sellers would like to close earlier, but they rejected our first closing date which was two weeks earlier, so we were confused. Oh well. They haven't said anything official, so, May 11 it is! I'm told from here on out it's a waiting game, but the big things that are going on is the loan application and the appraisal. We sorted through a 53 page loan application and faxed it in this morning! We locked in a rate of 4.875%! We were excited about that! (if you're curious, its a 30 yr fixed rate FHA loan we're doing). I think the only hiccup I'm worried about is if the house appraises high enough, but I'm told not to worry. (well, that and all the money we're about to dump into this shin-dig, but, hey, I was expecting it, right?)


So, I'll keep ya updated on this ordeal.


My brother got accepted into a really amazing neurosurgical residency!!!  I know he's really excited and it is such a really great school and hospital. He'll do great! Congrats!!!


Work has been overwhelmingly busy, as usual. I keep hoping it'll settle down...but it never seems to do so. :( This adds to my never-ending fatigue. 


My car got the body damaged fixed and, the day after it was out of the shop, it DIED! It wouldn't start on me. We knew the gas gauge was off from the repair, but we thought maybe there was fuel line issues causing it to die like that. So, back in the shop it went. The update on the car, now, is that it's been moved to another shop that is better able to deal with engine/etc problems (it was at a body shop before). Their first guesses is that there are issues stemming from the check engine light that's been on forever now rearing their ugly heads. I compared it to the recent report of Jetta's stalling when you honk their horn and my dad said, "EXACTLY!" So, no matter how much I try to rationalize what's happening with the car...it seems it may be an irrational issue. Time will only tell. Until then, Daddy and I are sharing big brown once again. 


That's it. Hopefully I'll be back to more regular posts and come up with interesting things to say. I know I'm excited about Spring/Summer (lets be honest, Spring is like an afterthought of winter before Summer sets in) and leaving bundling up behind, even though there is no chance for me to get "bikini ready" as many other people will be attempting. I'll just be enjoying what I got!


Here are pictures of the house we're trying to buy, taken by the real estate agent selling it. Yes, the colors seem weird, but, I assure you, it's beautiful!

See the cute front porch? I may have to get chairs or something, but the flowers and bushes are so perfect up front!

Laminate wood floors!!!

Granite counter tops and under-the-cabinet lighting!!!

The fridge isn't staying. Boo. But it seems the dishwasher is the only non-stainless steel appliance in the kitchen. But the water fixtures (and all around the house) are upgraded!

Master bedroom.

Master bathroom. It has the most amazingly huge closet, too!

View of the living room from the kitchen. Behind the cross wall is the study/4th bedroom. The hallway to the left leads to the second bath, the laundry room/garage, and the other two bedrooms.

One of the two bedrooms.

The study! The walls are expertly done in yellow. This will most likely still be used as a study (aka: computer room).

The backyard. The little metal shed is staying. It's not huge, but a place for the dogs to run off some energy and do their potty jobs between the walks we'll need to be doing regularly.

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!

New diet: Paleo

Hey, y'all. It's been about 2 weeks since I posted last. Brandon and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary on the 24th and it was blissful! (well, except the part where I was in the dog house for forgetfully changing my shift from the 25th to the 24th...). We went out to Hibiscus and it was amazing! More on the expensive side, for sure, but so worth it. We'd done a little research before going and knew what most people raved about eating, so we pretty much already had our meal planned. What we did not plan is to find our favorite wine we "discovered" in 2006 when we went to Las Vegas. I had to take a picture.



It's Steele. As we've come to find out, it is not so easy to find in Texas, so we happen to know which 2 stores in the area even sell it.

For an appetizer, we had the Baked Dungeness Crab Dip, which was so yummy. I ate the Texas Lamb Osso Bucco (first picture below) that had polenta and roasted carrots with it, and Brandon had the Prime Strip "Brick", the second picture. Both were delicious, but mine was the best, especially since it was cold out. We also had, as an extra side dish, the Deep Dish Mac Casserole, which is to die for, seriously. I was stuffed full and found myself still eating at it. We really enjoyed the money we spent at Hibiscus, lol.



I've felt like since I last posted my job has been psycho. Work has run me into the ground! Some of our patients have been trying on my...well...patience, and I was actually looking forward to approaching the unit from the opposite side, instead of nursing, being in charge. Well, my first night in charge was HELLISH! The unit was calling for me to no longer charge (a joke, btw) because I had to take two admits myself AND perform the charge nurse functions, never mind you that one of the 2 patients I had to take was so sick we had to emergently intubate (breathing tube placed), perform a bronchoscopy (stick something into the patient's lungs to, in this case, clear blockages), and then transport over to our sister hospital for the CVICU care. What a freakin' mess. Followed by my immediate next shift being in charge, again, and, AGAIN, taking an admission from a rapid response (a floor or rehab patient getting sick enough that he/she needs extra care, and sometimes admission to the ICU, as in this case.) Needless to say, I was T-I-R-E-D. And I still had 2 more days of work left in the week. Either way, when I was done, I went home and slept...and that is pretty much what I've done all weekend. I needed it.

We did run a few errands. Brandon has our tax return in already and it has already been approved. We should be getting some money back, which is nice. Got Brandon's truck some new tires and this Wednesday we're going to take my car to the shop and see why my check engine light stays on now. (I think I know what it is, but I can't be sure. I kinda hope its what I think it is, as it shouldn't be too expensive, like <$200.) We're doing this now because we're very close to our goal money to start looking at houses seriously and want any foreseeable major expenses covered before we dive in to a home. We went out to Denton and looked at a new home construction site. The homes were nice, but the neighborhood, which would have HOA dues, offers nothing to us (as in, no community pool/center, no golf site, that seems popular, etc.), is a bit on the secluded side, and is small. Some of those could be pluses, but, for me, looking at the neighborhood, I wasn't wow'ed or excited. It was, meh. And, for the price, I could get a pre-owned home, bigger and cheaper, with more stuff in the community (pools, ponds, walking trails, nearer to movies, stores, dog parks, etc) with the down side of it being an older home, we have no say in the construction, and it would be a lesser school district (not that I'm currently using that as a huge decider, but I really can't ignore it). Either way, we decided since we're so close, we need to look at some of the houses that on the internet look nice. A couple at church have been raving about the wonderful real estate agent they found so we're hoping to get her name and number and get the process rolling. Not buying yet...but getting closer.

Moving on to the most important, and scary, in my opinion, thing we did so far, is we've signed up with Crossfit Richardson's 45 Day Paleo challenge. Mostly, we'd be doing Crossfit workouts (and we really enjoyed the Richardson location a while back, with John being a wonderful influence and encourager) combined with resetting our diets. The Paleo/primal diet is about eating what, supposedly, our bodies were evolved to eat, like a caveman. No dairy, no grains, no sugars. Meat and vegetables and fruits. And to do it cold turkey. Do it for 45 days, then learn to "cheat smart," which we'll cross when we get there. I'm not sure I 100% buy into the idea that our bodies aren't designed for breads and such, but the foods that are recommended to be eaten are not bad foods in the least. From the nutrition stand point (should I remotely remember my Nutrition training from college at all), is that carbs are quickly spent energies and can be good for you, but, as a whole, most Americans eat too many carbs, and simple carbs at that, and thus the extra energy gets stored as fats. Well, it doesn't look like we'll be eating a whole lot of carbs, at least not like white breads and such which would be on the simpler side. Combined with the intensity of the workouts we'll be doing, we should be doing something pretty decent for our bodies, I think. I'll try to get something set up with our meal plans for the past week and how much I liked/didn't like foods and how full it kept me. I won't be counting calories, but I'll try to include recipes for the stuff.

We bought The Primal Blueprint Cookbook to learn to cook from, mostly because of the awesome pictures it includes (I sound like a kindergartner there, but cook books with tons of pictures are serious scores in my opinion.) We have to watch it because the book still uses butter and cheese in some places, but not many. Most of which are easy to leave out or substitute.

The first Crossfit workout was, of course, painful. I'm sore everywhere, but at least I've mostly regained the use of my arms. I slept very little and, what sleep I did get today, felt like I wasn't asleep at all. Hopefully Day 2 of it all will improve...maybe. Of course the weather is crappy so we'll see. I just really want to go regularly and not feel totally spent (as in no sleep, no time). I really want that for us...to do Crossfit regularly and still function well. We could be so healthy and Brandon already has dreams of SWAT going through his head. We'll see. I can keep at it though. Since it's so early in the process, I don't want to doom myself before I get started.

Anyhow, I'm gonna go work on seeing how I can share my meal plans and recipes, in case anyone cares. Until next time!

It's been cold!

Well, since I last posted, only a few things have happened. It snowed, a friend visited, and I managed to change my work schedule such that I work on our anniversary instead of the day after! Oops!

Which, yes, our two year anniversary is coming up! We plan on going out to a nice dinner the day after (since we can no longer go out on the night of), and that is it. I know I mention money way too often, but we've just about reached our half way savings goal for a down payment plus wiggle room! So, we'll keep on saving, hope to get a decent tax refund, and try to get that Toyota sold (assuming my dad doesn't want it). Either way, I'm excited. We said our anniverary present to ourselves, along with Christmas and birthday crap, is the house. Lots of events rolled into one item...but holy crap. The stuff we'll be buying for ourselves (assuming the house isn't buying something for ourselves as it is) to go in the house will more than cover many birthdays, anniversaries, Christmases, Valentines, and anything else you can think of. We just don't spend that much money on each other...and the both of us tend to get what we want when we want it anyways.

Well, the day my friend drove up is the day the snow decided to start falling and the roads iced over. Go figure. I was super mad because by the time I was supposed to go out to meet him and hang out, since I hadn't seen him in a year, the roads were truly unsafe on which to travel. I was really bummed, but we quickly made plans to try again the next day, which I'm glad we did. Brandon, him and I ended up going shooting guns, then we went out to dinner. His buddy, who was up here with him for the same convention, came out, too, and we had a really nice time. If we only didn't live so many hours away from each other, we could definitely do that more often!

We tried a new to us restaurant this past week. There are a couple locations around, but I really enjoyed Patrizio's. I read some Yelp reviews before we went, and one of the reviews mentioned how the poster enjoyed the seasonal fish option. Well, there was a crab claws appetizer on the seasonal menu, which we ordered, and it was AMAZING! Soooo yummy! I also wanted to try the mussels appetizer, but maybe next time. I went with my safe option of baked ziti with meat sauce, which I always love, and Brandon got the frequently mentioned on Yelp Chicken and Mushroom Lasagna with smoked Gouda sauce. It was pretty tasty, as well. And the prices weren't all that bad either. So, a nice little win of a restaurant find for us.

Since I don't have so much to talk about, lets talk about food when its cold! There is nothing more perfect than having some homemade comfort food, snuggling inside where its warm, and just enjoying it all to your heart's content. Of course, comfort food can easily be fattening food (duh, fat=insulation which is wonderful when its cold, not so wonderful for waistlines, diets, etc.). My mom makes wonderful stew and cornbread (which I put tons of butter on the cornbread and thicken the stew with saltine crackers), and she's been making the most divine chicken noodle soup (which I also put a lot of saltine crackers in). I should get her recipes on those two because they're just so good! And they have meat and veggies all within, so they're one pot wonders. Chili is also a favorite! ...again, saltine crackers are a staple. And Brandon and my mom have both made some tasty chili lately.

However, the Mexican Corn and Shrimp Chowder, although possibly not traditionally a cold weather comfort food (I'm not sure, we never ate it before), is another of my favorites.



Serves: 8
Time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 (4-ounce) can diced green chili peppers
3 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed, divided
1 1/2 cups defatted chicken stock, divided
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated skim milk
12 ounces frozen shelled uncooked small shrimp, thawed bhy
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
Cilantro sprigs (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
In a large soup pot over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the onions, red peppers and chili peppers. Sauté until the onions are transparent but do not brown. Place 2 cups of the corn and 1/2 cup of the stock in a food processor and blend until pureed. Add to the pot. Stir in the milk, the remaining 1 cup corn and the remaining 1 cup stock. Simmer for 3 minutes. Add the shrimp and simmer gently for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the shrimp turn opaque. Stir in the chopped cilantro and black pepper. Serve garnished with the cilantro sprigs (if using).

Ok, so when we make it, we use evaporated milk, not skim, nor do we get the defatted chicken stock, we get just plain chicken stock. And, depending on how Brandon is feeling, he sometimes adds a small chopped, seeded jalapeño and bacon pieces. We also get a loaf of French bread (either fresh from the grocery store or one of those Pilsbury out of the can French bread loaves, which are great) to go with it. Our Dutch oven is perfect for making this and it is so yummy (at least in my opinion) every time I eat it. And, as I almost never eat things right out of the oven (I cook in the morning so I can eat them at night), it's not bad as left-overs!

Just wanted to share some of the food love!

Ok, random picture time, since I don't have any to go with the other stories.



I nearly tripped and fell into our med room at the hospital when I saw this. Who expects to see a Beagle puppy on the walls at the hospital? Not me. But this is so funny, and if you know how Brandon insists random things such as Beagles are the best warriors in the world or how it is a well known fact that Beagles saved humans during the ice age, you could understand how this little flyer about Beagles saving lives is right up his alley. Of course, it has it's purpose, but, wow, I was dumbfounded.



We picked up burgers one afternoon when we were staying up way too late and Bella had gone outside to bark, potty, and do her general dog-like things. Of course she wanted back in, so, this is how she let us know...while we were eating.

And, ok, these next two are dumb. I know. But I couldn't help it! Brandon has already made fun of me.



I'm not sure why an onion was cut in half and left out to dry, but I just COULD NOT get over how much the onion looked like a flower in bloom! The second picture is about how I found the onion...that pepper used to be green but it has dried into a really pretty color. Too bad neither of which were on purpose, and they turned out the way they did because we were careless and didn't properly store or throw away our vegetables. But then we would've missed out on the vegetable art that mother nature gave us!

Happy New Year!

Since my last post, we've had Christmas and rang in the New Year.

This year for Christmas, we didn't get to see many people since we were working. My ICU has been crazy full and busy for weeks now with no hope in sight of it calming down. I know it will...it always does, but sometimes you need the break NOW instead of later. And, of course, some of us in the ICU will go back to "missing" the challenging patients instead of the ones who are there "just in case." (sometimes you just need to be challenged, you know?)

Anyhow, we were able to have Christmas morning breakfast, after work of course, with most of my side of the family. We weren't able to see Brandon's family, which sucked. But Christmas morning was good. Brandon came in from work and the boys just freaked, begging to see his gun. We showed my uncle on my dad's side our rifle, and the next thing you know, just about ALL the men in the house were drooling over the gun. It was quite the scene. If only I'd had my camera out for it. It was like moths to a light bulb.



"Santa" was way too good to us and we loved and appreciate everyone thinking of us for Christmas. My dad even surprised me with new headlights for my car!!! Camaro headlights, as I'm sure other cars as well, have a tendency for the plastic of the headlight to fog over and become more opaque than translucent over time, and my poor headlights suffer a bit at night because of it. We've tried polishing them, with some improvement, but they're still not like they were. I teased my dad that he got them because he'd been driving my car some and he had to get them so he could see at night!



My brother was in town. After Christmas Sunday night at my grandmother's house on my Dad's side, mom, he and I went out to see Black Swan. I liked it. It was different and interesting and, strangely, beautiful at the same time. Definitely NOT for everyone, but I enjoyed it. Brandon and I hope to go see True Grit this week, maybe Wednesday. We couldn't do it this weekend because, after celebrating, we REALLY needed to clean up around the house!

To bring in the New Year, since Brandon and I had been working the past couple years on New Year's Eve, we decided we really wanted to play it low key and stay in, so we did. We had bought some pizza to cook when we woke up (I was super pleased with the DiGiorno Pizza and Breadsticks Supreme combo, Brandon got the Flatbread Italian Sausage and Onions, too). We'd also bought some French bread and got some Brie and English cheddar to eat with it, as well as some super yummy cocktail shrimp (which turned out to be a huge hit with my parents...even though Daddy had to help me quickly defrost it on the kitchen island under the fan since I forgot to take it out of the freezer.) Brandon made Irish car bombs for me and him, everyone had some champagne at new years, and we drank some beer as well. We completely forgot about the "monkey wieners," as Brandon calls them, and BBQ sauce until Sunday, when we ate them as a snack. OH! We also found the most yummy salsa, made in Rockwall. The catch is, oh my gosh it is spicy! But it has such a wonderful flavor you just keep eating it!

My dogs got to come inside after the fireworks started. JJ is deathly afraid of fireworks. He sits in a corner and mopes (and sometimes shakes) with fear of the loud noises. Ribby, he's afraid of them, too, but its more like he's mimicking JJ's fear because that dog can just pass out on the bed with you. JJ? No, he's still scared, even inside. Kinda sucks because we never get to shoot fireworks, but I'd rather have sane dogs...I mean dogs that aren't scared, as mine aren't sane in the least. But they all got New Year's kisses from me. Brandon did, too, he got the first one, then my pups.

Brandon found a new neighborhood in the Denton city limits that we may look in to buy a house, too. It's practically in another city, but still Denton city limits. Not Denton schools, lol. But the houses are similar in size and age to the neighborhood we were looking at, but so much cheaper in price! The neighborhood is also a longer drive for me to work, but thats about a 5-10 minute difference. I won't mind that.

And we hit level 85 on our main characters! Woohoo!!!

Well, that was how we ended 2010. Here are some thing we would like to see in 2011!

Buy a home

Pay off the last credit card debt (may not finish in 2011, but I can hope)

Get accepted to a Master's in nursing program

Brandon get started on bridging to his Bachelor's

Shoot better with the rifle, and shoot more often with the handguns

Get back into raiding (assuming our work schedules don't get all screwy)

That's all I can think of right now...though I'm sure it's not comprehensive of the goals we have for the New Year. I don't do New Year's resolutions, but I wish everyone a happy 2011 and good luck with any resolutions they have made!