Becoming a Chef

A few months before we got married, it became really important to me to start cooking actual meals (as opposed to then mac and cheese and hot dogs that I used to cook) So I started trying new recipes and came up with some really yummy keepers that I wanted to share with you guys. 
This first one, we actually just ate for dinner again tonight and it is one of my family's favorites SSSOOO yummmy!

I know it doesn't photograph very well, but it's from a Pillsbury cookbook, it's easy to make and it is awesome! Here's a simple version of the recipe, I'll post the whole detailed version if people actually read my blog! HA!

so in a med. bowl you mix together cilantro, salsa, cumin and diced cooked chicken. Then you get a 8 pack of flaky biscuits and spread them out a little on a cookie sheet. Spread the chicken mixture over the biscuits and top with diced red bell peppers cheese and green onion. Then you bake it and top it with guacamole and sour cream. YUMMMM. Seriously you should all try this.

Next is my super easy version of Chicken Parmesan, that I whip up all the time!

So all I do for this one is get a box of Parmesan Shake N' Bake (haha) throw some chicken breasts in there, shake it up and put them in the over to bake (the directions are on the box) A few minutes before it's done I top it with spaghetti sauce and a slice of either mozerella or parmesan cheese and let it get all melty in the oven. Then I just cook up some spaghetti and serve it with the chicken YUM! BTW I usually have wayyy more sauce over the chicken and pasta then showed in the picture, this must have been like the first time I made it and I didn't know what I was doing ;]

Next up is "get yo' man chicken" a recipe I got from the Food Network show Down Home with the Neeley's. This meal is sooo freaking yummy and sure enough my husband loves it. And I actually have the whole recipe for this one.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 chicken thighs, skinless
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoons pepper
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 tablespoon dried rosemary
• 1 tablespoon lemon-pepper
• Hot buttered rice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions

Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.

Pat chicken dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken, meat-side down first, and turning once, about 4 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate to reserve.

Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of oil from the pan.

Add onion to the pan and saute until tender, roughly 3 minutes. Add the stock and wine and stir, scrapping any brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Turn heat to high and reduce by half, about 3 minutes. Pour in the diced tomatoes and add the dried herbs and lemon pepper. Add the chicken thighs back into the pan.Cover and cook on medium-low heat for 40 minutes.

Remove chicken from liquid and serve on hot buttered rice. Ladle the sauce on top and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.

You should deffinitely try these recipes, if they're easy enough for me to pull off you can probably do them even better! I'll try to remember to take more pictures of the yummy stuff I make so I can post them on here. Tell me what you think!

Decorating Sophia's Room

When we first moved into this new apartment almost a year ago Sophia had a really hard time adjusting. She didn't understand why we needed a new "house" or why she had to leave her old room, and she did NOT like her new room (even though it was much bigger) Our babysitter suggested we buy her some new cute sheets and decorate her room a little so she would feel more at home. So, 2 months before our wedding, with no money to spare...we scraped up some money and decorated our little girls room :] And with some extra purchases throughout the year this is what it looks like.

So obvioulsy it's not the fanciest little girl room you've ever seen, but everything we bought for this room was on sale or just really inexpensive.  I think it is coming together pretty cute, based on our tiny little budget. But there is still alot more I want to do to it, like for example this adorable idea I found on pinterest for a reading corner....

These are plastic rain gutters from home depot, that I would spray paint to match the colors of her room. and I already have a little rug for her! I absolutely love this, she has so many books and I could totally see her sitting there "reading" all day.

OR this one ^

 Unfortunately, we have to wait till we move into a house for this idea (fingers crossed people!)

I also want some more decorations on those walls, or maybe once we move and we can paint them the walls won't feel so blahh.

Then once were done with her room, our bedroom is next because it seriously needs some TLC. None of the furniture in our bedroom matches, which drives me freaking CRAZYYYY, we have no color going on anywhere...it's literally black and white in here :[ and we have ONE decoration on the wall (that I just put up like a month ago) This is pathetic you guys, my room is hideous. 

So I'm gunna go spend a few hours on pinterest until I find some inspiration for this ugly bedroom of mine....

The weekend

So I had another crazy weekend, I'm finding it hard to post everyday during the weekend...I really don't know where the time goes. I worked and worked and worked (I'll finally have a day off tomorrow yay!) Went to my mom's Friday night to watch the opening ceremonies (after work), went out with my brother & sister-in-law and husband on Saturday night (after work) and then had dinner at my mom's tonight (after work) Ya, I'm exhausted. Here's a picture of my sister in law and I... 

Please excuse the red eye.

I'm going to try to make it my goal to write a post everyday, I mean how am I ever going to get someone to read this blog? I'm pretty sure the only one who reads it is my mom haha :] So we'll see how I do, let me know if your out there in the blogosphere reading my blog! I'll have a much longer post tomorrow once I'm all rested....

Ramble

Today was a pretty easy going day, the hubs and I worked then we went over to my mama's house to watch the opening ceremonies for the Olympics. Not gunna lie the beginning performance thing was very strange, but the rest was pretty cool. Then we get home and I tell Sophie to get her jammies on and brush her teeth....and apparently this is what my kid does when I ask her to brush her teeth....

I'm sitting at my computer video taping her... what a crazy child I have.

I've been doing so well with my hair resolution lately, I'm so proud of myself :] here's a few pics...and you can see my ugly clothes in them.

I was about to walk out the door in that first picture, when I remember I needed to document my hair progress. Don't think I'm some weirdo who likes to wear sunglasses around the house or something. 

Still not alot of progress on the makeup side of things, but it's only been a week so I'm not worried about it yet. Plus my mom says I look pretty without makeup on :p (ya I know she has to say that 'cuz she's my mom, but I'll take any compliment these days!!)

Anyways, enough about my hair. I just have to say that I can not WAIT till Christmas, or just the holiday season in general. Last year was so stressful and chaotic because it was right after the wedding and right after we got back from the honeymoon (which I need to post about!!) So this year I'm excited to get some traditions started (since my daughter is old enough this year to really understand everything) and cook all kinds of yummy stuff I found on pinterest. Here's something you should know about me and the hubby, we LOVVVEE Christmas, it's our all time favorite holiday and yes we start thinking about it in July. 

But we've never been able to really go all out for the holidays because, the first year we had just moved out on our own and we were seriously broke, the second year we had broken up and got back together like a few months before Christmas and there was lots of moving in and out and stupid decisions and we were broke again. And then last year...DUHH we just spent $10K on a wedding and we was BROKKKKEE. And even though in September we will most likely be moving into a house (fingers crossed), and that's gunna be a huge step for us financially, I'm still going to make this Christmas special :] We always end up getting great gifts for people and making our baby girl happy, that's not the problem. I want to make memories that she will remember when she's older, start traditions she'll eventually do with her kids one day. I wanna make the whole holiday season as exciting as it has been to me since I was a kid. 

Most of the time I don't even remember the gifts I got growing up, even though I know they were always great (mom always has been a thoughtful gift giver) but it was all the silly fun things we used to do that made everything so special. Like my mom never put the Christmas gifts under the tree until after we went to bed on Christmas Eve. Then she would make us wait in our rooms until she was awake and ready for presents (usually we screamed to wake her up cuz we were so excited) and then she came in our room, gave us our stockings and then after we opened them, she waited in the living room for us to come out and see the tree. I am 21 years old and I still sleep in the same room as my brother on Christmas Eve (yes my hubby and daughter sleep in that same room too) and I still wait for my mom to bring me my stocking. Only now I help put the presents under the tree and wait in the living room with mom to watch my little girls face light up when she sees her presents for the first time.

I love traditions, I can't wait to start all these things with my little cute family. I want to make things homeade, and I want my daughter to tell stories about good memories she had growing up, ones that I made for her. 

I know this post is like a total ramble about random stuff, but that's all the stuff swirling around in my head today. I'm happy being a mommy and wife, I think this is what I'm meant to be :]

Here's another pic of my girl just for fun....

How can you not love this silly little girl?

Adult clothes

I need new clothes. Like badly. I still wear the same clothes I was wearing in high school, which I know was only like 3 years ago....but I'm a different person now and those clothes are a joke. I mean I am a wife and a mommy now, not a skinny, 15 year old trying to be sexy. Everything I own is tight, because that's how I liked my clothes to fit and now it's just inappropriate and doesn't fit my lifestyle AT ALL. I mean can you really chase after a four year old in a mini skirt and a deep V-neck....with your 21 year old boobies filling out the shirt (ya girl your not 15 anymore) And I am ALOT curvier then I was before I had Sophia and got married and packed on a few LB's, not that I'm complaining...I'm actually learning to embrace my voluptuousness . But wearing tight clothes when you have hips and a booty is just ridiculous lately. Every 5 seconds I'm pulling up my jeans, pulling down my shirt making sure the girls aren't about to fall out, I'm just done with it. So I need to get more "mommy clothes". I know mom's can still dress sexy, and trust me I still will...but I need a little more variety, some flowy tops and skirts, shorts that aren't for hoochie mamas....and for god sakes, no more v-necks!


Of course, I tried looking for an example picture for you guys and I can't find a good one. I must be learning to adjust myself before the camera comes out.


BUT here's the other problem, #1 I dropped 25 pounds before I got married, and got rid of ALL my fat clothes so that I would never fit into them again. But now I've gained some post-wedding, I'm happy so I don't care pounds and I can only fit into some select clothes. And #2 babies have deffinitely been on our minds lately.... so what's the point of spending a bunch of money on new clothes that I won't be able to fit into in the near future. And also even after those nine months pass my body will likely be totally different and the new clothes might not be what I need anymore.


So what to do??? Wait like a year to get some nice cute mommy clothes so I don't feel uncomfortable every single day?? Orrr get a few nice things that I can hide a baby bump under for a few months, and then shop more after baby??


I'll let you know what I decide!

Family...

I can't believe I have my own family...my daughter is growing up so fast, and I have a great husband whose also a great daddy. I'm pretty freaking happy with my life right about now. I mean sure, tomorrow I'll wake up and complain about my small apartment, or how many errands I need to run and how much my husband drives me nuts. But today I just feel positive, I'm at such a good place in my life right now where all the right things are happening and I really feel happy. This is what I came home to tonight, after a long day at work....

I could look at this little scene forever, their passed out on the couch theirs a pack of new cookies on the table that he obviously treated her with, they were probably watching a movie together and now they are just sweet and innocent and it makes my freaking heart melt. I have a little family :]

On another note I did my hair for work again today! I looked like this....

Please excuse Sophia's fingerprints on my mirror. And here's one of the little cutie pie, just for fun...

Part 3

Is this the longest wedding story you've ever heard yet?? I warned you guys that I was a talker... and I'm even bypassing tons of little stories and just focusing on the highlights. I'm sure you guys could tell some good stories about your weddings too though...

So where were we???? Ohhh crap the rehearsal. So I'm just gunna start off by saying, I know I screwed up and I was rude to some people that I shouldn't have been rude to but I did apologize to those who deserved an apology. 

OK so my bridal party and I arrive at the dinner before my parents and my brother get there, and we decided to order without them since they were sooo rudely late (I know I know I regret all of this) Then my parents and step-grandma come in and sit on the other side of the table and I can't even be bothered to talk to them because I'm so upset (or such a spoiled jerk!) We're all having a pretty decent time, some people were being pretty annoying (but I'm not gunna go into that because they'll everntually read this blog and I would REALLY hurt their feelings) everyones excited about the wedding, all kinds of good energy. And then my brother walks in and I don't even want to look at him so I keep my back to him.


 Randomly a little girl taps me on the back and says hi to me, and I look at her so freaking confused because I can't figure out who I'm looking at, when I realize it's my little cousin who flew in from Florida!!! I look around and see my FAVORITE Aunt everrr and my other little cousin video taping my reaction. I was bawling again, because they are the ONLY family (with the exception of my Maid of Honor, my cousin Kenya) who flew in for my wedding, which I was suppppperrr upset about. I really thought no one was going to show up. Sooo let me fill you in, when my brother had to leave to get these random relatives that I didn't know he was really picking up my Aunt and cousins from the airport, my mom was all sketchy because she sucks at lying and she was helping set up the surprise. So imagine my embarrassment when I realize I flipped out on them for no good reason and I was totally rude to the people that were trying to surprise me and make me happy. Dumb bride moment #4. 


So after that I apologized to everyone and dinner went pretty well :] here's my Aunt Michelle (Titi Shell) and Sophia...

And then comes dumb bride moment #5. Kicking my husband out of the apartment the night before the wedding and having a sleep over with all my bridesmaids. Ok I have a freaking 2 bedroom apartment, there was my daughter and I, my 5 bridesmaids and their SIX kids all trying to relax and get rest before my huge day! Biggest fail EVER! I ended up arguing with my hubby most of the night because I felt so distant from him with all this craziness going on around us (we are soooo not used to this kind of stuff) and 4 out of 5 of my bridesmaids didn't even notice I was gone half the night crying in the bathroom and talking to the hubs. It was a complete nightmare, my house was a disaster (which stresses me out like crazy) and no one was concerned about it, my freaking mom stayed till like midnight helping me clean up everyone's mess while they sat and chit chatted on my couch. At this point I was pretty much over it. I wasn't even angry anymore, I didn't yell at anyone I just went to sleep (ha ya right I stared at the ceiling for a few hours, I couldn't sleep for shit)I don't have a single picture of this sleep over because the whole thing was just annoying. 

Day of the wedding:

Yayyy... we're finally here jeeshh this taking forever! So we get up at 8:30, I literally have to drag one of my bridesmaids out of bed. My brother-in-laws come over to help clean up and set up for the wedding-LOVE THEM! We all pile up in my car to head to the venue and my car battery dies. I mean of course it does, this weeks sucks enough already why not pile on more bullcrap. My mom comes over to jumpstart it and were good to go, we get there set up for about an hour and then we gotta leave because my hubby and the groomsmen are coming to set up some more and I can't see him until the wedding (which sucked because he calms me down like no one else can) Then it's rush around pick up last minute stuff, hair make-up, babysit the freaking bridesmaids, drop off sophia, lock myself out of my apartment, stress out, pick up mom, babysit the bridesmaids and hair one more time.

Oh ya...I did hair on my wedding day. Is that picture insane or what?? And this was before my other four bridesmaids came in and crowded up the place, wanting help with their hair... I have never been so stressed out in my life, you guys! But I was calm during it all, I didn't snap, I didn't cuss or say rude things to people I was just in the zone...everything had to get done; this was it. And when I started to put my jewlery on and pull the dress over myself everything was good...this is it.

That's my gorgeous mommy ^

Anddd then I had a makeup disaster where my eyelash was falling out and the only person that could help was the photographer...oh my. Ok it's time to walk down the aisle, my mom comes back to check me out make sure I'm ready... "Where's you bouquet?" F***!!! I leterally left my freaking bouquet at home. This has got to be a joke right? My mom tells me to relax, that there's nothing we can do about it now, that I can't get upset. Ok. OK. And then I remembered the throw bouquet that my friend insisted on making me-THANK GODDD!!! I grabbed that sucker and pulled back the almost tears and I was ready to walk down that aisle.

Of course my step-dad said like two sweet words to be and I was bawling and ruining my make-up, but I don't care I'm marrying my best friend today and he doesn't care about my make-up. And then my hubby gave my daughter a little baby ring (I had no idea he was doing this) and said little daddy vows to her, and everyone in the audience cried along with me....

I still cry every time I watch the video. He is such a good daddy.

 A sand ceremony, exchanging of rings and some vows later we were finally married, and all the drama and stress and craziness was totally worth it.

Really one of the best days of my life, no one messed up like they did in the rehearsal, everyone that was important to me showed up and everything looked beautiful. 

The reception was very minimal drama, we ate pizza (both of our absolute favorite foods) cut the cake, did all the appropriate dances, and I only cried once when I danced with my brother in memory of my daddy who passed away. But we danced and laughed and had a great night :] We don't have any professional pictures because the photographers left after the ceremony but I do have a few to leave you with...

Then End :]

Wedding Day Part 2

So I told you guys about our trip to Florida, picking the venue, the decorations and my photographer mess up. You didn't think I was done with the dumb bride moments did you??? Unfortunately I am not the sharpest tool in the shed and I have a few more stories for you....

So lets back track a little bit to about 5 months before the wedding when we made the decision to make our own invitations. I know what your thinking, lots of people DIY their invitations... but let me just tell you although I like to think I can do all these cutesy DIY projects, the crafting gene clearly skipped a generation and I freaking SUCK at DIY projects! So my awesome hubby makes these freaking intricate templates for our invitations, and after changing our mind about different fonts, colors and papers we finally chose a combo we were happy with and had ourselves a little invitation party.

 We invited all the bridesmaids (I had FIVE) to my mom's house and we went to town on these devil invitations. We had to adhere two pieces of pretty paper together, trace the template onto the paper, cut out the invitation, fold the invitations, paste the paper with the words on the inside, glue ribbon around invitations and then tie them. Ohhh but were not done... we then made double sided RSVP cards, threw those in with the invitation, hand addressed all the envelopes (well my mom did) and then FINALLLLYYY sent them out. I think all together we took a good 4 months on these damn things. And I don't even have a freaking picture to show you one! But here is our invitation party...

There were more workers later on, but I never really got a group photo :/ The invitations really did come out nice, everyone who RSVP'd had something to say about them which was nice :]

Thennn came the night of my bridal shower/ bachelorette party, and let me tell you guys my mom and friend Jessica did a freaking FABULOUS job. It was everything you could ever want in a bridal/bachelorette party, including fun games, great friends, yummy food and drinks and even a stripper! Ya you read that right, my mom helped plan this party and she allowed a stripper there...in her own house!!! I was shocked. My mom is hilarious. Here's a few pictures, but I'm gunna leave out the stripper ones to protect the innocent ;]

We started things off at my moms house and then headed off to a club called after.life later on, so I had an outfit change :] There's a huge blingy pink ring on my shirt- how fitting!

OMG I haven't even told you all about my dress yet! So in January, only a month after I got engaged I went dress shopping and bought a dress! I thought it was THE ONE and that was the end of it... here's a picture of the dress when I tried it on at David's Bridal (it was like 4 sizes to big so it looks a little funny here)

Andddd here is a picture of a friend of mine and Johnny's wearing the exact same dress at her wedding (she added sleeves because she got married in the temple)

I didn't realize this until like 2months before my wedding, but needless to say I needed a new dress. Thank GOD David's Bridal is amazing and they let me exchange the dress for another one. The one I picked out was actually like $200 cheaper and I was able to buy my veil, garter, earrings and bustier without paying anything! And I'm so glad I chose a different dress, I don't think the first choice was very flattering on my body. This one is much better....

Now for the infamous rehearsal the day before the wedding. So to quickly summarize how I was feeling by this point in my wedding voyage, we are running around like crazy people trying to plan this wedding with hardly any money, working our butts off to save money, trying to accomodate our freidns and families wishes for our wedding day, make last minute decorations, taking care of a 3 year old, moving into a new apartment planning parties, going to appointments...you know all the fun wedding stuff.

 On top of that, I'm aggravated with everyone which is partially due to me being a beeeotch and partially due to dealing with freaking idiots who care more about themselves then the people who are actually getting married!!! Anybody else with me on this?? I should have just ignored everyone and did what ever the heck I wanted! Haha. So, the rehearsal dinner...my cousin had just come in town and is staying at my apartment with us, I'm sleep deprived and stressed and now I have to host a rehearsal for the biggest day of my life...and oh ya I have no idea what I'm doing. We did a little research of how things are supposed to progress in a wedding, but other then that neither one of us had any actual experience with any of this stuff.

 So we tell everyone what to do, practice like 5 times and people aren't paying attention and their messing shit up. Seriously?? How hard is it?? So I tell everyone we need to practice a few more times because they keep missing the mark when they're supposed to walk down the aisle, come one poeple! Well, everyone's bitching and moaning saying it will be fine, we don't need to practice they'll get it right the day of-which is tomorrow. Ummm no. I might have cussed out a groomsmen or two right about now...but who really remembers? haha.

 I go to my mom for help and she's siding with the groomsmen!! She tells me how she needs to get going to pick up my step-dads mom and he needs to go with her. Ughhh fine. Ohhh wait my brother has to leave too, to get some other relatives of my step-dads that I've never even met. Now, I'm pissed. That's three people from my wedding party leaving! Soooo I might have said some harsh words to mommy :/ Which was followed by getting scolded by the mother-in-law. I was FUMMINNNGGG. So I walked out of my own rehearsal...

 I just walked the heck out of there bawling my eyes out. I get followed out by my big brother Christian who begins chewing me out about how ungrateful I am, and then I freak out! I've had enough, this is my special day and it's being ruined by drama and stupid people and I can't take it anymore! Where are my bridesmaids?? My fiance?? Why isn't anyone on my side? So I scream at my brother, run away and literally hide behind a car crying my little heart out. (Ok sue me, I was 20 years old and I was sensitive) Eventually someone found me and I rode with my girlfriends to Chili's to have an extremely awkward rehearsal dinner.

Stay tuned for more....