Part Two: My year in review

9.  Lose 20 pounds.  Wellllll this didn't happen.  I weigh the same as I did pretty much last year, so I guess yay on no gain?  Losing weight is getting harder and harder, and I just can't find the motivation to do anything about it yet.

10.  Host a holiday party.  Well I did it!  I should have taken more pictures I guess.  My sister called me two days before Christmas asking if I would host, so I went into panic mode.  I had to clean clean clean, and I had to buy all the food.

Menu:

Crab dip

Shrimp

Veggies

Cheeseburger Soup

Baked chicken parmesan

Twice baked potato casserole

Breadsticks

Beer and wine.  Lots of beer and wine.

My sister brought a pecan pie and a cheesecake assortment.  It turned out great for the most part!  I was just super tired after planning and cooking.  My mama made it look so easy!

11.  Not buy anything for an entire week.  Lol...next question.

12.  Start therapy.  Next.

13.  Eat at the Melting Pot.  I still haven't made it up there :(   Oh how I would love to dip foods in yummy melty cheese and chocolate.

14.  Hire a cleaning service:  I haven't done this yet.  My biggest battle is just putting shit away, which a cleaning service doesn't do anyway.  I managed to get my house squeaky clean before the holidays, but maybe down the road it would be nice to have someone else clean the bathroom.

15.  Read six books.  I couldn't even do that!  I really need to buckle down and start reading more.  I started several and just never got a chance to finish.  I thought getting them from the library would help push me to finish them, but that just got me an $11 fee  :p

This is my halfway point.  As you can see there was quite a bit I didn't accomplish, but the stuff I did really needed to be taken care of.  :)

Part 1: My year in review.

So the year 2012 is coming to an end, and I am another year older now.  I didn't knock off a lot on my bucket list, but there is always next year.  Maybe next year I will get better about blogging ;)

1.  Travel somewhere I've never been.  I did get to visit Las Vegas twice this year and had a good time both times.  I have been there before tho.  I did get a chance to visit somewhere I've always wanted to go:

Holy cow.  I didn't even buy anything because I was overwhelmed with the coolness.  This store literally has EVERYTHING:  I can see why people are so crazy.

2.  Make a pie from scratch.  I still haven't done this, but I will in time.

3.  Run a half marathon.  Another year has passed where I haven't done this.  We went from two shifts to four at work, and I had to work EVERY weekend since January.  I am hoping now that I am on days during the week, I will get a chance to run one.

4.  Pay off three credit cards:  I can do one better....I paid them all off!  I have a few balances from Christmas shopping, but I am no longer drowning in debt like I was before.

5.  Save and maintain at least $1500.  I did it!  One trick that helps me save it to round up my withdraws and round down my deposits.  It may be just a few dollars and cents here and there, but that really adds up!

6.  Try one new recipe a week.  Thanks to Pinterest, I found some great recipes.  I don't think I made a new one every week, but it did get me cooking a lot more.

7.  Skate in a roller derby bout.  Well, I wasn't able to.  With my crazy work schedule and my mom getting ill and passing away, I had to take a break from the team.  It was a hard decision, but I couldn't let those awesome ladies down.  I was given the opportunity to try out again this fall, and I made the team!

8.  Finish the downstairs bedroom.  It has all new paint and wallpaper!  I'm not sure what I will do with the room as of now, but its no longer an eye sore.  

Old wallpaper and paint

Pretty purple and grey paint!

Flash from the Past....week of October 5th

Coworkers from the present...

Coworkers of the past....

Frankenruby  :-D

Fried Mac and Cheese

My breast friends.....

Talk derby to me....new helmet.  :D

Cheesy Enchilada Casserole

It's definitely casserole weather here in Iowa.  I found this recipe on Pinterest (weird, right).  It was very easy to make, and made my tummy smile.  

What you'll need:

1 pound lean ground beef ( lean)

1 large onion, chopped or season with Onion powder or minced onion

2 1/2 cups salsa

1 can (15 ounces) black beans or red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup reduced-fat Italian salad dressing

Taco seasoning packet

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

6 flour or corn tortillas (8 inches)

1 small can of drained corn, or about 1 1/4 cups of frozen corn (optional)

3/4 cup sour cream  *Note: I used 1/2 cup

2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend or your favorite cheese

1 cup shredded lettuce

1 medium tomato, chopped

1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

What you'll do:

• In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
• Stir in the salsa, beans, corn, dressing, sour cream, taco seasoning and cumin.
• Spoon a generous layer of meat mixture on bottom of 2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
• Place a flour or corn tortilla on top of meat mixture. Layer with half of the meat mixture, and cheese. Repeat as many layers as you like.
• The last & final layer should be a healthy dose of grated cheese.
• Cover with foil that has been sprayed with pam or other and bake at 400° for 25 minutes, or until hot & bubbly.
•  Let stand for 5 minutes before topping with lettuce, tomato and cilantro. Yield: 8 servings.

Mr. Whoa rating:
√√√√

I think it would have been a lot better had I added more tortillas.  

Cheesy Chicken and Rice

Another slow cooker recipe!  This one was tasty, and it was a good comfort food.

What you'll need:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 large onion, chopped 
• 1 -8 ounce box Zatarain's Yellow Rice Mix, cooked according to directions
• 1 cup cheddar cheese
• 1 - 10.5 ounce can cream of chicken soup (regular or fat free)
• 1 -15 ounce can whole kernel corn, drained

What you'll do:

1. Place chicken in bottom of slow cooker.  Scatter chopped onion over top.  Spoon cream soup over top of that.  Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours.  A few minutes before serving, add in cooked rice, corn, and cheese. Stir to combine. 

Tip-  I cooked the rice a night before and put that in a bowl with the corn and cheese.  When I was ready to serve, I pulled the mixture from the fridge and heated it up for about 10 minutes.

Mr. Whoa rating:
√√√√

Ruby prayed that I would drop a little.

Flash from the past....

Week that is.  Flash from the past is a little segment I'd like to add to my already partially neglected blog.  It will feature pictures from the past week/month/etc of some fun things going on in my life.  I can ramble on and on about shit, but pictures are more fun.

I had my nephew overnight this week.  He is a little spitfire, but we have a lot of fun together.

My new wedding ring....$4.95 at Pier One.  ;)

Photo booth on the Mac is quite fun.  Bloom got a kick out of it.

Hello Kate.  Thank you for holding my now empty wallet since I bought you.

Ruby's a piss because he got a bath.  Wahh.

Nerding out in Target

Star Wars Monopoly.  He quit because I was winning ;)

Ice cream waffle for breakfast.  I am the best aunt ever.

TTC!

Tator Tot Casserole

No silly...not trying to conceive.  Tater tot casserole.  Its been quite chilly outside, so some comfort food sounded fantastic.  This used to be a favorite of mine growing up, but do you think I found my mom's recipe after she passed?  I found one on Pinterest that seemed easy enough.

What you'll need:

1.  1 pound of ground beed
2.  One medium onion, chopped
3.  One can of cream of celery soup
4.  16 oz bag of frozen tater tots
5.  1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
6.  Salt and Pepper

What to do:

1.  Preheat oven to 375
2.  Brown ground beef, add salt and pepper
3.  Add chopped onion, cook until tender
4.  In a casserole dish, combine and mix cream of celery soup and ground beef
5.  Top mixture with tater tots
6.  Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes, until its bubbly and tots are golden brown
7.  Remove from oven, top with cheese, return to oven till melted

Mr. Whoa rating:
√√√√

It felt like it was missing something, and my mom always added veggies to hers.  It was good tho.  Nothing leftover!