I Love Being Two Months Old!

Two Months is Fun!

*I love smiling, it's my favorite!

*I have learned the art of conversation, I like to talk to my mommy & daddy while they change my diaper, I also enjoy talking to my mom at random times during the day.

*I want to laugh so badly, I need to learn how because I think it would be fun!

*I like to sit in my lounger & move my arms around & kick my legs like crazy.  My mom says that I'm getting good exercise in, I'm not sure what that means, but it's fun!

*I like to take walks outside with my mommy & daddy

*I'm already a "techie"....I like to FaceTime with my Nana, Grammy, Grampy, Tia Leah & my cousins Ryan & Hayden, as well as friends.  

*While I haven't met her in person, I made a new friend this month, Natalie, her mommy has known my mommy since they were in kindergarten.

*People are now starting to say that I look like my mommy

*I'm wearing 3 month clothes now & I'm about to move up to Size 2 diapers

*I found out I have a dairy allergy so my mommy can't have milk or cheese, but she says it's ok & that I should grow out of the allergy.

*I've started to sleep at night for longer stretches, last night I slept for almost 8 hours in a row!  Mommy & Daddy were so very happy :)

*I can hold up my head for about 30 seconds, sometimes even longer, everyone says that I'm very strong

*I'm finally not screaming when I get my daily bath.  I don't think it's fun, yet, but the warm water is nice & relaxing.

*I still love getting swaddled, it's my favorite time of day.  I like to go to my room & my daddy will read me a story while my mommy rocks me to sleep & gives me one last snack in my bottle before I go to sleep for the night.

*My favorite toy friend is a monkey named Rosa, she makes noise when she shakes her head at me

*I just started sitting in my Bumbo seat, it's a fun new way to see the world.

*I like to listen to music, the Disney Pandora station is my favorite but when I need unwind I really like the Pandora Lullaby station.  My mommy thinks it's funny when "Journey" lullaby songs play, I don't get the humor....my mom has an odd sense of humor.

*I met my Grammy & Grampy a few days ago, they were very nice!

*I attended my first Junior League of Collin County Meeting & met Ms. Jennifer, Ms. Suzanne, & Ms. Melanie, they were very nice, from what I can remember, I was pretty sleepy at the time.

*I'm looking forward to making new friends in the next month at my Sip And See and meet more of my mommy & daddy's friends & their kids.

*I also can't wait for the weather to get warmer & spend more time outside of the house!  :)

Baby "Cinderella" is One Month Old!

Hey One Month!

*I enjoy longish naps in my swing

*I'm getting much better at lifting my head

*I actually don't mind "tummy time"

*People are starting to say that I look like my dad, I think I have my mom's eyes though

*I have crazy hair

*My favorite toy is my elephant named "Azul".....my mom says he's the color blue, I don't know what that means or why his name is Azul but he makes noise & he's fun

*Milk is my fave, I'm not super picky with the temperature of it

*I brought in the new year with a midnight snack & then promptly went to bed

*I've outgrown most of my newborn clothes & I'm wearing Size 1 diapers

*I've started to smile on purpose & enjoy looking at the world around me

*It's been lots of fun meeting my mom & dad's friends (Miss Jackie, Miss Michelle, Tia Mireya, Uncle Matt, Tia Lo, & Miss Mel), I'm looking forward to meeting many more!

*Spent Christmas Eve with my Nana & Papo & went to church for the very first time at Stonebriar Community Church

*Sometimes when I'm in my swing & sleeping I startle myself & look like I'm talking with my hands

*I'm the Aggies good luck charm since they are undefeated since I've been born...WHOOP!  

*My favorite book is "Snuggle Puppy"....it's my fave because that's what my dad calls me

*I'm hoping to start sleeping longer stretches at night....I've already figured out how to eat one less meal at night

Dining Room Renovation

The dining room is FINALLY done!  WOHOOOO!  The furniture, accessories, & lighting have been in place for a while, but we just got the painting done!  I'm thoroughly loving the color, it's pretty fabulous, Lake is still warming up to it.  ;)

Dining Room Table & Buffet:  Ashley Furniture (circa 2008)

Mirror:  Not sure, we've had it a while

Chairs:  World Market, these took me FOREVER to find all of them!

Lamps:  Target

Vases, Flowers, Candle Holders, Plates & Bowls:  IKEA

Plate Chargers:  World Market

Chandelier:  Lamps Plus (Plano)

Guest Room Renovation

So this post is a long time coming but I've finally been able to sit down & get this done.  We spent lots of time putting together our new home & we absolutely love it!  One of my favorite rooms in the house is our "official" guest room, I say "official" because it won't change into anything else, mainly because it has it's own bathroom in it.    We went with gray & yellow as the color scheme.

Bed:  Ashley Furniture

Duvet/Duvet Cover/Bedding:  Bed, Bath, & Beyond

Throw Blanket:  West Elm

Frames:  IKEA

Photos in Frames:  Courtesy of our honeymoon in Paris (2008)

Nightstand:  Lamps Plus

Lamp/Chair/Mirrored End Table:  Target

More reno posts to come ;)

When We Found Out About Our Girl

So right before Week 15 we found out that we would be expecting a sweet bouncing baby GIRL!  Yay for bows, ribbons, & sparkles!  If you're wondering how we found out so early (normally if a couple wants to find out their baby's gender they wait until their mid-point ultrasound to "see" the goods...or not, I guess).  At my Week 10 appointment my doctor offered us the option of doing blood work to test for a ton of different things, one of which would be the baby's gender, we thought, why not, we want to know anyway, so that's what we did!  :)

Below you'll find the video we sent to our close family & friends to let them know the big news!  Enjoy!

Oh My Goodness....I LIVE HERE! (and other realizations)

Yesterday, after an incredibly fun morning of volunteering at the Dallas Arboretum, which like seriously, if you've never been during "Blooms"...you have to go!

Spring at the Dallas Arboretum

Anyway, I was driving around doing house stuff (or as my bestie calls it, my foreman job!) and I went to look at a piece of furniture at a store location in Plano (Lamps Plus), when I got there, the piece that I wanted & had seen online wasn't available, but was in stock at their Dallas location.  I asked where it was, they told me & I was like...oh, I know how to get there, cool!  Hop into good 'ol Roxie, start making my way down 75 & of course there's a wreck, because...well, that's life here, so I make an exit around Mockingbird to avoid traffic & get to my location off of Knox....as I'm meandering on side streets to get to my location, I realize that I know exactly where I'm going & no longer need my Google Maps app.  (Side note:  before October all these streets & highways were GIBBERISH to me, so don't worry if you're confused)  As I pull up to the store, I think to myself, when did I become so acquainted with my new home?  When did I understand & remember where streets were in reference to where I am?  It was an odd feeling, it made me super happy & a little sad all at the same time.  Happy because this really does feel like home now, which may be an odd statement to say considering that we've lived here for almost 5 months now & getting to know this city has basically been a job for me.....but on the sad side of things it also made me miss SA, which I know, we don't live there anymore, I need to get over it, but still, I have slight pains at times of missing my former city....just like I still get pings of pain when I miss the Valley.  Moving is a funny thing, it's an awesome opportunity to get to know a whole new place, all new awesome people, but I think, for me, it's also made me appreciate the things about SA & the Valley that I love & when I do get to see those things again, makes me appreciate that time even more!

Maybe I'm being nostalgic because we are about to move into our new house on Tuesday, YES TUESDAY!  This entire process has taught me immense patience & also made me a granite expert, though I'd really rather NOT be!  As we bid farewell to our Addison apartment & say HELLO to our new home in the 'burbs I'm very grateful for all the past 5 months have brought to us, the good, the bad, the frustrating, and the wonderful moments are all apart of this new journey of ours.  I'm really excited to see what this next chapter brings!

Let's do this!

I think my "granite expertise" was well learned!  We
are in love with our new kitchen!

No Bread Pizza

So this is another Pinterest find, but I did change up the original recipe, just a smidge.  Here's where I got the recipe/idea from:  Portobello Pizza Bites

Ingredients:
**NOTE:  I only made this for myself & had a side of avocado, tomato, mozzarella, evoo, & basil salad.  By myself with nothing else, I could probably eat closer to two of these ;)**
**NOTE2:  The list of ingredients is totally up to you & how much stuff you want on your pizza, so apologies for no exact measurements**

1 Large Portobello Mushroom Cap
Marinara Sauce (from the can & proud!)
Fresh Mozzarella Cheese (cubed)
Red Peppers
Turkey Pepperoni
Parmesan Cheese

What To Do:
- Set your oven to 400 degrees, while your oven preheats, start on your mushrooms.
- Take your mushroom & with a damp paper towel clean the top side of the mushroom.  Be really gentle with it, don't run the mushroom under water as they tend to soak up liquid easily & will have a more rubbery texture if you do that.
- With a spoon scoop out the underside of the mushroom, be careful with this as well, the mushroom is "sensitive".  Also scoop out/off the stem.  Toss all that fun stuff & now you have the "bread" for your pizza.
- On a baking sheet lined with foil place your mushroom top side down.  Bake for 7 minutes.
- Remove your mushroom from the oven.  **Mine was a little sweaty so I drained the excess liquid & cleaned it up just a bit**
- While your creating your pizza, turn on your broiler
- Spread your marinara sauce, add your mozzarella & the remaining toppings.
- Once your broiler is ready, put your topped pizza back in the oven for 3-5 minutes, mine were in there for about 4 minutes, just wanted to get it melty.
- Enjoy!!  This is definitely a "knife & fork" kind of pizza, the mushroom wasn't really crispy, so I think it may be hard to eat like a regular slice of pizza

Finished product on the right, good stuff.

Stuff I'd Do Differently Next Time:

I think I'd like to place the mushroom under the broiler for maybe a minute before adding the toppings, just to see if any "crisping" would happen & also maybe season the actual mushroom itself, not 100% sure with what, but this recipe was so easy that I think you can make it your own without really messing anything up.  Also, I want to try these as tiny little appetizers by using the mini portobello mushroom caps, they'd be so fun & easy to make!  

Oh the possibilities.....try 'em out, let me know what you think!  Hope you enjoy!

The Food on Pinterest is Good TOO.....Sometimes...

So just like my clothing pins, I also pin a ton of recipes on Pinterest, it's my "comida" board, that's "food" for you none bilingual folks ;)  Anyway, along with getting fashion inspiration from my pins, I've also decided to actually start making the food that I pin!  I've made a few things before from a recipe pin, some are good, some are NOT!  It's always hit or miss, but I've also become a slightly better cook (slightly), so seeing ingredient combos in recipes I have a little bit better of an idea of what does or doesn't taste good together at least for what myself & the hubs likes!

So here's the recipe, which was originally posted on March 7th 2010 on the blog "i nom things"

Lemon Garlic Chicken Spaghetti – serves 2 (I added the chicken to the recipe)

2/3 lb. chicken breast (cubed, I added this to the recipe)

4 oz dry spaghetti  (no clue how much that actually is, just grabbed & broke in half, twice)

1/4 cup grated parmesan (used a mix of parmesan, fontina, & asiago)
2 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic (used 2 medium cloves)
lemon
2 tbsp pine nuts (rough chopped these guys)
5-6 basil leaves, chiffonaded (I call this making basil confetti, thanks Rachael Ray!)

Here are the ingredients (minus the chicken)...and yes, I do lots of my shopping at
Whole Foods...don't hate!

- Cube the chicken.  In a bowl drizzle Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) over the chicken.  I also squeezed the other half of the lemon on the chicken just to tie together all of the flavors.  Season with salt & pepper.  Sauté chicken until cooked through, remove from heat & off to the side.

- Pour in EVOO and chopped up garlic into a small frying pan and let it cook over low heat, until the garlic starts to brown on edges.  Immediately remove from heat and reserve.  The fragrance from this is so so so good!  While that’s starting up, boil up some spaghetti.

- While the pasta is boiling, chop up your basil like some fun confetti & rough chop your pine nuts.  Let me add, I've never actually had anything with pine nuts, I was actually really liked them, gave the recipe a great crunch!

- In a large bowl pour your garlic oil, garlic chunks and all, squeeze in juice of 1/2 lemon.  Add in your basil confetti & your pine nuts.  Drain your spaghetti & throw it in the bowl with cheese and toss until well combined, don't forget to add in that chicken you set aside a while ago.  Add in some cracked black pepper & plate. I added in another little bit of the shredded cheese to each plate.

Finished product, good times.

The texture on this was crunchy, which sounds odd, but it was good.  The taste is light & tangy, I was a big fan.  The only thing I could think is that I could have had a little more of the garlic oil....maybe I made too much spaghetti, but all in all, a great, pretty easy recipe that I'll definitely be making again!

Two thumbs up & I'd recommend on a summer evening, very light & refreshing ;)

My Closet DOES Have Useable Items

Or at least I think it does have useable items & I have to continue to remind myself of this fact....that YES, I do have clothes to wear & that NO I don't need to shop.....too much.

I pin all these things on my "My Style" board on Pinterest, like a ton & how many do I actually try to "wear"?...not many.  So I've decided to use this awesome resource a lot more & start from the beginning, I have these old pins, some may not be "in style" anymore, so I figure I can spruce them up, or use what I already have to make them work.  So here goes....

Outfit Try #1

I don't own a whole lot of green, but I do love the color.  This is a pretty basic sweater/blouse/jean/boot combination, nothing too fancy & good for everyday wear.  While I don't have a lot of these pieces, really just the blouse & sweater & in that color, I figured a way to make it work....or at least how I thought it could work.

My Take on Outfit #1

 

Since I don't have a green/mint blouse or a green sweater I thought I would put the green on the bottom.  I just bought these pants, which I'm still not sure if I'm cool enough to own but I like them, they're comfy & a darker color so I figure they work & I don't feel like I'm too old to wear them.  Here's the outfit lowdown:

Embellished Blouse - Anthopologie - July 2013
Sweater - Nordstrom - Fall 2011?  (Maybe) - I actually got this in the *gasp* Juniors' section, hey, don't judge, you can still find some gems, no matter the age ;)
Dark Green Skinny Pants - Forever 21 - January 2014 - Again, no judging.
Riding Boots - Tory Burch - December 2013 - These were a Christmas present, Lake did a great job!
Necklace - Maripoza (awesome little boutique in my hometown of McAllen, TX) - cannot remember when I actually got this one.
Earrings - Francesca's - yup, drawing a blank on when I got them but Francesca's always has jewelry like this.

2014 - It'll Be a BIG Year!

That's a bold title, right?!  Well, if the rest of the year is anything like the first couple of weeks, than I completely stand by my statement.

Today is January 13th, not even two weeks have gone by during 2014 & A LOT has happened, A LOT!  Here goes:

On Monday, December 30th we finally found "our" house, we put in an offer on January 1st & it was accepted later that day.  So, if everything goes as planned, we'll be closing on the house on January 30th & then moving in, slowly at the end of February/March.  There's not much that we need or want to do to change the place up, but there's a couple of things here & there.  Ideally, we'd like to have any updates done before we move in.  We have the apartment lease until March 27th, so it's kinda nice we aren't super rushed to get out of here (even though we REALLY want to get out of here!).  The house is everything we said we didn't want, it's fairly new construction, it's in a new neighborhood, it's two-story, & bigger than we need for right now, but we just loved it, so maybe what you think you want, really isn't what you want.  Here are some pics:

 

With all that happening, that would probably make the first couple of weeks of a year seem crazy, right?  Nope, not crazy enough for us.  On Tuesday, January 7th I had a small outpatient surgical procedure to remove a cyst from my ovary, it was an hour long procedure, all is well, cysts were benign, things are looking good.  The recovery has been pretty OK, just trying to take it easy, which is proving to be harder than I expected.  And of course, the weather over the past couple of days has been absolutely gorgeous, which just makes me want to go RUN!  Yeah, that won't be happening until February, I did however go for a nice leisurely walk this morning (1 mile) & I'm just excited that I was able to do that.  It was the first time I'd gotten out to "exercise" since my great trip & fall during my first & only run of 2014, haha, that was quite epic.  But yeah, I'm feeling good & I'm so grateful to Lake & my mom for doing such an amazing job taking care of me & also all of my friends & family who called & texted last week to wish me well & check in on me, I'm very blessed.

So overall, I'm very HOPE-FULL for 2014, lots of things going on, still adjusting to our new home & city.  The move hasn't been the easiest thing but we are definitely getting adjusted & enjoying ourselves & through it all, the best part of it, aside from the new home, have been getting to know a whole new, awesome set of friends.....well, some old & some brand new, but all definitely awesome!  :)
HOPE is "my word" for 2014, rather than make a resolution, which I guess we did, just made a resolution to eat out LESS, Lake & I eat out way too much, so just trying to eat in & with a big new kitchen in our house that won't be too hard....but I also decided on an overall "word" for the year, and that word is hope.  Hope for so many things, some that I've thought of, some that probably haven't even crossed my mind yet.  So, cheers to 2014!  May the beginning of this year be just a glimpse at what amazing-ness is to come for Team Ellis & for all of our friends & family out there!!

   

San Antonio - Top 10 Things I'll Miss

So, as you know, or maybe you don't, Lake & I are moving to the Dallas area in ONE WEEK!  While we're so excited to take on this new chapter of our lives, leaving San Antonio is going to be so hard!  Lake has lived here for the past 10 years & I've been here for the past 8 years.  That's a long time!  San Antonio is our home, so leaving it won't be easy.  So before we say "good-bye" to the Alamo City, I wanted to compile my Top 10 of things that I'll miss about San Antonio.  So here we go:

10.  The Traffic...or lack thereof....

San Antonio is a pretty big city, kinda spread out, but it's nice to just be able to stay in your area without having to travel too far.  Other than when there's construction or when there's a drop of rain, traffic in this city is non-existent most of the time.  I know that I'm going to miss that, A LOT!  I've heard the horror stories of traffic in the DFW area, but I'm mentally preparing myself for it already.  I guess the I-10 construction in the DeZavala/Huebner area is just getting me ready....

9.  Fiesta Texas Fireworks on I-10

On any given evening during the summer, you can catch the Fiesta Texas fireworks display on I-10 heading west around UTSA to La Cantera around 9:15pm.  It's one of my favorite things about SA & about living in Leon Springs.  It's always a nice little treat to see as I'm heading home & BAM, they're the fireworks....I'm going to miss that.

enjoying the fireworks at the La Cantera parking lot
one warm summer night

**Side note:  If you park in the back lot at The Shoppes at La Cantera (around Perry's Steakhouse), you can catch an even better view of the fireworks show.  Show up by about 9:05pm & you can catch the entire show, it starts going really "crazy" around 9:15pm.

8.  The River Walk

I've been visiting San Antonio since I was a little kid.  We used to come up to SA as our "vacation" which I see it now & I'm like, "what did we used to do when we would come?", but the second that I get on the River Walk I remember how cool this city really is!  It's just so pretty & busy & just fun!  We don't necessarily get ourselves down to the River Walk "proper" all the time, but it's definitely the spot we bring out of town guests to.  It's nice to have something like that at our disposal, now I just wish we had taken advantage of it more.  

7.  Distance From The Valley
I can't even begin to imagine how hard it's going to be living over 9 hours away from my parents, grandfather, aunts, uncles, countless cousins & my best friends in the entire world (might as well be my sisters).  Right now, the drive down to the valley is about 4 hours (give or take with traffic & how fast I can get away with).  Now, that drive isn't happening, there's no way I'm spending 9 hours in the car, half of it driving on 35 Southbound.  Luckily, there's a direct flight to McAllen on American or direct to Harlingen on Southwest.  I already miss The Valley so much, losing the ease to get there is going to be rough.  Guess that's what FaceTime is for.....

6.  My Students!

I've been lucky enough to teach in 3 different districts in the area.  I started my career in Boerne ISD at a smaller school.  I look back fondly at those years & those students & it makes me smile.  I "grew up" a lot during those three years & I'm grateful for the time I spent there.  I ended my San Antonio teaching career at Northside ISD teaching students that I never thought I would teach.  I'm going to miss the pressure & fun of working on a daily "newscast" with my advanced students, I've learned so much over the past 4 years not only dealing with video/photo editing, but also just a lot from my students.  Being a teacher, in my opinion, is one of the hardest jobs in the world!  Career wise, I'm not sure what my future holds, will I be back in the classroom?, will I try my hand at something totally different?, at this point, I really don't know.  What I do know, is that I'm the person I am today partly because of my amazing students, the good & the bad....and I'm going to miss getting a whole new batch of them every school year.


5.  Fiesta!

I can't even deal.  Those days in April every year where the entire city comes together for a giant party are some of my favorite days of each year!  The food, the festivals, the friends, San Antonio knows how to throw a party, that's for sure.  I'm especially going to miss my Shrimp Po-boy from the French Quarter section at NIOSA.  I've said it before & I'll say it again, there's a few foods in my life that I miss, like my very favorite Nutella-Banana crepe from the best creperie right across the street from the Eiffel Tower along the River Siene in Paris....my shrimp po-boy definitely falls into that category!

shrimp po-boy...mmmmm....

 

4.  THE FOOD

Speaking of food....that's one of major things that I know I'm going to miss about San Antonio!  And it's not just the Mexican food!  We've discovered plenty of other amazing restaurants that don't have anything to do with Mexican food.  I can tie lots of memories with food & restaurants & good times, so maybe that's why this ranks so high on my list...

3.  The Junior League of San Antonio

I joined the Junior League of San Antonio (JLSA) during the Spring of 2008.  I joined to make friends, quite honestly.  During my first 3 years of living in San Antonio I was a busy cheerleading coach who barely had time to do anything outside of my job.  So when I left that, I decided I needed to find something to do with my new found extra time.  I joined the league with my friend Kathleen & knew only one other person in the JLSA aside from Kathleen.  Sitting at my first prospective member meeting I felt slightly inadequate.  I was sitting at a table with ladies who all knew each other, I looked at Kathleen & I think both of us were like....ummmmmm, I'm not sure about this anymore.  Fast forward 5 years & it's one of the best decisions I've ever made!  Not only have I made the friendships & relationships that I wanted to create when I joined, I've become a better person!
The JLSA has not only taught me how to be a better leader, but just a leader in general.  I've been out of my comfort zone on numerous occasions, sometimes I was shoved, but in the end, it's always been the best thing for me.  I've learned how to work with a whole array of women & I've formed relationships with ladies that I would never have the privilege of knowing outside of the JLSA.  And throughout all of this self-growth, I've given back to the city that has given me so much, it's really a perfect combination!  I can't thank the JLSA & the ladies of the JLSA enough, I've been changed for the better because of everyone that I've worked/volunteered with, laughed with, or on some occasions cried with (most of the time out of sheer laughter).  SO THANK YOU JLSA LADIES!  Even though I'll be transferring out soon, the JLSA will always hold a very special place in my heart.

2 & 1.  Our Friends & Family

Friends
Short & simple, we're leaving so many amazing people that we've been lucky enough to call friends.  Thinking back to 2005, the only people I knew were Mark & Kathleen.....they thought I should meet this guy named Lake, so we did, the rest is history.  My friend circle grew by one more with the addition of Lake in my life, & I also got his super awesome roommate Andrew in the deal!  Score!  I could go through our "friendship history" in the city but that would take a really really long time.  Over the course of 8 years I've become friends with some of the most amazing people & then those amazing people started having little people, the circle keeps growing!  Aside from my family, my friendships are the most important thing to me & I've been blessed to have such great friends!  There's not much more to say other than, I'm going to miss everyone so much!  VISIT US!

Family
And yes, this includes our friends that I consider our family.  My in-laws live in SA & I'm sad we won't be as close to them.  They throw the best bday dinners & it's always nice to go over to their house & spend time with them & hear about all of their adventures around the city.  I'm also sad to leave my brother, sister-in-law, niece & nephew.  Sure, they'll only be in SA for another year, so this was inevitable, but seeing them on a regular basis for the past 2 years has been priceless.  I've seen Maryn go from an adorable toddler to the sweetest little girl, over the course of two years.  And we met Hayden when he was only 2 weeks old, now he's a full blown 2 year old kid, who seriously says the most hilarious things!  It's been a true pleasure to have them so close, I count my blessings to be given the privilege of being their "Yaya."  FaceTime dates are definitely in order!  Also, M's bestie, Blythe lives in Dallas, so she's pumped I'm going to be living so close to Miss B!

While good-byes are never easy, I know we'll be visiting the area a lot.  I'm very excited to see where this new adventure takes us & who it brings in our lives.  We're very blessed to have called San Antonio our home & I'm really looking forward to creating a new home with Lake.

And of course...as in most situations in life, there's an SATC quote for that:

"After all, things change, so do cities, people come into your life and they go. But it's comforting to know that the ones you love are always in your heart... and if you're very lucky, a plane ride away" 

So...How Are You Spending Your Time Now?

As most of you know, Lake & I will be moving to the Dallas area in the next month.  This past weekend we secured an apartment in Addison, it's within walking distance of where Lake will be working out of for the next few months, then they'll be shifting the office to North Plano, which is where we'd like to end up when it comes to our new home!

Anyway....as most of you know as well....because of this move, I've left my teaching position.  I'm slowly looking for something else, but until we are up there & moved in, my search is very light.  So then...you may ask, what do I do with my time?

Well, on most days, I wake up & go for a quick jog, nothing major, 2 - 3 miles.  I've also become an expert cleaner, house picker upper & laundry doer.  My goodness, keeping the house "show ready" is a full time job...I know those of you with kids are rolling your eyes at me, but in total seriousness....I feel the pressure.  "HOUSE MUST BE SPOTLESS AT ALL TIMES!"  Even though we haven't received on offer on our home...yet, all of the feedback from the showings have stated:  "Home shows like a model, but we didn't like....." So oh well, I know that the right family will buy our home, we just have to keep praying & be patient!  If you know of anyone looking for a 3 bed/2 bath in the Northwest side of SA, LET ME KNOW, Please :)

I've also been able to explore the joys of cooking once again!  And that's always fun.  Trying out lots of new recipes, lots have been from Pinterest.  My fave one that I've found so far has been for a pizza that I made last week, here's the link from Pinterest.  Now, I didn't "shuck" the corn, I opened a can, but for the most part, I followed the recipe & it was GOOD!  I'm trying out a recipe for loaded nachos tonight, seriously...I cannot wait to see how they turn out!

My version of the cherry tomato, goat cheese & corn pizza

Speaking of Pinterest, I've also been doing lots of "utilizing small spaces" searches, as well other home type of searches.  One of my favorite things has been finding different "brews" to making your house smell yummy!!!  Last week I tried one called "Witches Brew" & it made the house, well at least the kitchen & TV Room area smell so good!  The recipe linked above calls for lemon, apple, orange, cinnamon sticks, all spice & cloves....I'm simmering one right now with keys limes, an apple, orange, all spice, cloves & just a sprinkle of cinnamon & it smells just as good!  I've also pinned a couple for a more "Christmas" smell & one for the Spring.  Super easy!

Today's brewing concoction, smells like Fall!

So that's pretty much what I've been up to.  Well that & tying up our loose ends here in SA & just prepping us for the move & watching as much HGTV & Property Brothers as I can possibly watch!  If you get a chance, try the "brew"...it's awesome & if you try a different version, send it my way!  :)

Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad - Say Whaaaaaat?!

I found this "recipe" posted on Pinterest, but couldn't find the actual recipe link....ya gotta love when that happens.  Anyway, I was able to figure out what was in the recipe just based on the picture, so I went for it.  Here's my version....Oh & can I just say, I'm super excited at how it turned out, using 0% fat greek yogurt as the binding agent kinda freaked me out, but it was good!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup sliced almonds (I bought the pre-sliced almonds) - I still gave them a rough chop
1/2 cup golden raisins - chopped (the original recipe called for craisins, but I already had the golden raisins so I figured I should just use those)
3/4 cup green grapes - quartered
3/4 cup green apple - cubed (chop them up as small as you like, they add a nice crunch!)
1/2 cup red onion - finely chopped (you want these pretty small, no one likes biting into a huge chunk of raw onion)
6 oz of Greek Yogurt (0%) - (depending on how creamy you like your salad, you can add more or less)
1 cup grilled chicken breast tenderloins - cubed or shredded depending on how you like the chicken in your chicken salad
Salt & Pepper to taste
Extra Virgin Olive Oil


Directions

In a medium bowl toss your chicken with EVOO (small drizzle - enough to sauté in a grill pan), salt & pepper to taste.  In a medium skillet, sauté your chicken tenderloins until cooked all the way through.  NO PINK in your chicken!

While your chicken is cooking, in a large bowl, mix together the first five ingredients (almonds, golden raisins, green grapes, green apples, red onions).  Lightly toss those together.

Add in half of your greek yogurt & mix gently.  See how you feel about the consistency on whether you want to add more.  Lightly salt & pepper your mixture.  Add in more of your greek yogurt if you'd like.

Once the chicken is done, toss it into your salad mix.  Gently toss together.  Place in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to let everything cool together.

TAAAAAA-DAAAAAAA

It's definitely a sweeter salad, but very yummy.  To lighten on the
sweetness I'd say don't use as many grapes

I used the extra part of the apple as a cracker, it all turned out great & perfect for lunch with left over for a few days.  This could probably even be a nice light appetizer for a brunch  :)

Half of my serving was on thinly sliced apples

Week 4 - Finish It Up in NYC

So this post is a little late, but in case you didn't know, I was able to complete my goal of running/walking 100 miles during the month of July!  And I finished 4 days early!

I didn't run too much the week of our trip, got a couple of runs in early on in the week, thanks Ariana for joining me on one of them, but I took it easy after Wednesday.

We flew into New York City on Friday, July 26th.  When we got to the hotel our room wasn't ready yet, so we walked around our neighborhood & then over to Central Park.  It was only a block away.  We were able to get an idea on where we'd be running the next morning, we'd mapped it out already & the plan was to start at the hotel, run to see lots of "sights" in the park during the first 1.5 miles, then finish out the last 1.5 & grab some breakfast at a crepe restaurant off of Columbus on the Upper West Side.

Saturday morning we woke up around 7:00am & we were ready to get running by 7:30, the weather was amazing!  Nice & cool, upper 60s, a little humid, but nothing compared to Texas.  We ran over to the entrance of Central Park at E 76th & we were off!  Our first stop was at the Alice in Wonderland bronze statue, then over to the Hans Christian Andersen statue.  Then to Bethesda Fountain & Strawberry Fields, up north to Belvedere Castle & then, just finishing out the run.  It was such a pretty run, so many people out, doing the same thing, playing with their kids, walking their dogs, running in a marathon!, just being active, it was awesome!  As we finished, we decided to walk along the outer part of the park & I looked up to see how much farther north we needed to go & much to my delight & TOTAL surprise, we had finished the run on W 100th Street!  Totally coincidence, didn't plan it that way, it just happened.  Complete serendipity!  ;)

So, that's it, goal accomplished!  Was it easy?  Well, it wasn't the hardest thing I've ever done, but it wasn't easy either.  Was it fun?  Ummmmm, the encouragement & the sheer look of bewilderment on people's faces when I would tell them what I'm doing was fun.  My knees & lower back didn't think it was so much fun.  Would I do it again?  Maybe not 100 miles, but maybe something smaller.  Like my good friend Ariana, she's running 60 miles this month, like that mileage much more.

Anyway, like with most "physical challenges" it all ends up being mainly a mental game with yourself. Making sure you follow through, doing it even when that's the last thing you want to do, and trust me, I had those moments plenty of times over the month.  Especially with the fact that it's the middle of summer!  So I did it!  #100JulyMiles, DONE!  :)

Thanks to everyone who ran with me or "liked" a run check-in, or status update, or picture or who left me an encouraging word here or there, I appreciate that so much!!  :)

I'll leave you with pics of our Central Park run!

             

   

On This Day....10 Years Ago

So today I turn 31, THIRTY-ONE!  I'm officially in my 30s now, being 30 isn't "in your 30s" it's just 30.....so another milestone reached I suppose.

But this post is more just a quick funny story from my 21st birthday (too long to post as a status update on FB)

10 Year Ago today, I turned that magical age of 21....oh, the big time.  I could now legally drink...that's pretty much it, of course at time, it was a huge deal.  Especially since my birthday is in the summer & I was always the youngest out of my group of friends to turn those big birthday numbers (13, 15, 16, 18, 21...).  I used to be a little jealous of that, now, not so much.

Anyway, I was in Orlando, with my parents for a Disneyworld trip, yup, step off, I know how cool that sounds!  We were at Downtown Disney & for some odd reason, I really wanted to have dinner at Rainforest Cafe, maybe because I'd never been & it looked like fun??  I have no idea but that was my bday dinner choice.  As we sat down to eat, after waiting for almost 3 hours for our table I made the decision to order an "adult beverage"...in front of my parents, woah!  I got some fruity/tropical concoction of some sort, took about 3 or 4 sips, it was good, very sweet, but good...and my mom stops me & with all the seriousness in the world says....."How do you feel?  Are you a little dizzy, light headed?  It's called a "buzz", I think."  I just laughed, said absolutely nothing else & laughed, it was cute & innocent & so my mom, I couldn't help but do anything else.

So 10 years later, hard to believe that 10 years have passed.  10 years ago all I had to worry about were my classes & if I could work during the week at A&F, seriously, those were my concerns.  It's amazing how much you change in 10 years, but not in the obvious ways you change from 0 to 10 years old, or even from 10 - 20 years old.  You mature, you grow up & really do realize that stupid annoying stuff that's bothering you now, probably won't matter to you in 10 years.  That's what I always tell my students....this huge "crisis" that you're dealing with right now, will it really matter in 10 years?  Will you even know some of these people in 10 years?  Normally they roll their eyes because I'm old & I don't get it, but I hope one day, they'll completely understand what I mean.....

So...I've heard lots of people say that your 30s are the best!  So far, I can agree with that.  It's nice to be an age where everything isn't a full blow crisis, though I still tend to freak out often...  ;)

Week 3 - San Antonio & Its Running Trails

So over the course of this "adventure" of running 100 miles, I've had my share of running routes.  I think picking a place to run is half of the battle.  Running the same route over & over again is incredibly boring & that's why I hate running at the gym.  Nothing to look at & you don't change your scenery.

It wasn't until I started running 4 years ago, that I found out just how many running trails San Antonio has to offer.  And even if you run them over & over again, you can still add in slight variations here & there, start at a different trail head, run the other way, etc.  The people running said trails are always entertaining as well.  A good friend of mine have a "weirdest thing I saw on my run today...." ongoing text conversation.  These usually vary from seeing animals, to interesting fashion choices, to used....well, things along a run.  I definitely don't always see "weird" things, but when I do, she's the first one to know about it!  I also appreciate running trails because even though you're in the middle of the city, you always have some major highway just blocks away from you, you still feel like you're secluded, just you & the pavement.  It's relaxing & even therapeutic at times.

So what's my favorite trail?  Well, that's hard to say, but after logging all these miles recently, I'd have to say my favorite place to run is on the Riverwalk.  You can't beat the scenery, the people watching is fabulous & it's just a pretty run!  The only problem is the section between the Houston Street Bridge & Nueva Street Bridge, lots of stairs & more people, but other than that, it's great!  Bravo San Antonio, you definitely keep it interesting!

Now for the weekly numbers.  I completed Day 18 today with a 4 mile walk/run with Lake.  That places me at 80 miles total, so slowly but surely I'm getting there!  Now, according to my math, I should be at 67 miles, so I'm definitely way ahead of schedule.  I won't be running on Friday though & the plan is to run my last 3 miles in Central Park in New York City on Saturday.  We fly out Friday morning on my birthday!  We'll be there until the 30th.  I'm really excited about the route that we're going to run while we're there, should be a great way to finish this all out.  :)

Thanks to everyone for the supportive comments & "likes" on FB, Twitter & Instagram!  Thanks also to Lake & Kristen for helping me get through my miles this week, y'all are the best!  Until next week, when hopefully I'll be typing that I've successfully run 100 miles during the month of July!

Week 3 runs...all sorts of weather fun!

Week 2 - So Why Are You Running 100 Miles in July?...and other questions...

So week 2 is over & done with, I finished the week at 56 miles.  Math calculations show that I should be at 45 miles, so to be 11 miles ahead at this point is awesome!  :)  I am starting to feel slightly "over" running....I'm just kind of in a rut now.  But I'm too close to not finish, so I'm sure I'll get over that...especially as the miles continue to add up!

The popular question to me this week has been...."are you really trying to run 100 miles this month?"  the next has been, "why?"  OH & "are you crazy?"....that one makes me chuckle.

Well boys & girls, my answer is pretty simple....I'm running 100 miles during the month of July because I want to see if I can, I just decided to set a goal & stick to it, plain & simple, no hidden anything.  I thought it would be a good challenge.  I picked this month because it has 31 days & it's completely untouched by work.  I know myself well enough to know that I CANNOT wake up before work & run in the mornings & there's no way that I'll have the energy to run 6 out of 7 days of the week once the school year gets started, that just won't happen.  So, like it or not, that's my answer.  I have been running with my "Charity Miles" app which logs your miles & donates money to that specific charity.  You can pick through several charities, so whatever your "cause", there's an option from you to choose from.  :)

Well, that's my story for the week.  Logged in 27 for Week 2.  I'd like to thank Lake, Leah, Ismelda (my dad's hygienist) & Ariana for the miles this week!  Thank you for the support!!  The goal is to finish my 100 miles in New York City when Lake & I are there the 26th - 30th.  With my calculations, I should have 3 miles left to run the day we leave, so we're planning on running in Central Park either Sunday or Monday morning, I cannot wait!!!!

Week 2 Runs were fun & varied!  :)

Week 1 - The Wildlife is Crazy Out There!

Well, Week 1 of my 100 Mile Challenge for the month of July is now over.  I'm currently sitting at 29 miles for the month, so 79 more to go.

According to my math I should be at 22.5 miles for 7 days in, so I'm ahead of schedule, which is great!

This week hasn't been too bad, I did "two a days" on Monday & Tuesday running 7 miles &  6 miles....the rest of the week was just one run a day & I took a break on Saturday to give my legs a rest.  Today I logged in another 4 miles, which wasn't the easiest run ever, but I could definitely appreciate the break I took yesterday.

During my "nature" runs I've seen 3 roadrunners, 4 bunnies, like 8 or 9 deer (thanks to the Salado Greenway), & a SNAKE!  A really really really scary snake!  It was black, red & yellow, I don't know if it was poisonous or not, I really don't think it mattered, I was scared & I ran really really really fast!  I will definitely avoid that part of the greenway for a while, who knows how many of those crazy snakes are just chillin' in the brush.

Thanks to my very special guests who pushed me this week (Lake, Leah & Ariana), I appreciate you logging in some miles with me!  I'm always open to running with anyone, so let me know if you want to join in on a walk or run.  :)

Other than trying to stay hydrated, this week I need to stretch more & probably ice my knees, they're getting old!  I also have the challenge of running in the Valley, where the wind is crazy, the humidity is ridiculous & the temperatures are relentless, wish me luck!  ;)

Until next week!  #100JulyMiles

25 Miles Worth of Runs - Week 1