I am going to be $10k richer!

So... if you haven't heard yet, I am on a mission to save $10,000 in 365 days! Starting April 1 I am going to be adhering to a strict budget to squirrel away $10k. I have planned out a budget, which I hope will be pretty realistic. As the budget goes right now I am going to be able to save just over $8500. My plan is to really pinch my pennies and scrape a few hundred more into the savings. Oh, and sell of some junk I have cluttering my house. And... maybe... just maybe... sell off my hot wheels collection. I know. This all sounds just crazy. But, I am going to do it! I even have a different blog in hopes that the fad catches on. It is in the beginning stages, but I hope to have savings info, cool links to savings sites... you know - the how to for those with no clue. Just like me!

Check it out at http://10kin365.blogspot.com! Wish me luck!

Millet is for the birds...

... and humans! Millet is an ancient grain. It is pretty bland, but done right it can be pretty good. I took a look at a recipe on the back of the millet bag and found that there was a recipe for a millet and corn dish with a sprinkling of gomaiso -which I made myself.

To the millet and whole kernel corn mixture (post cooking) I added a can of black beans, a handful of chopped cilantro, and a bit of gomaiso. I then stuffed the mixture into peppers, roasted it, and sprinkled the resulting dish with a bit more gomaiso and cheese. Yummy! Just needed a bit more heat (spice). James liked it enough to eat millet again with more seasoning.

I forgot to take pictures after the baking process. So you will just have to use your imagination!

Risotto, attempt #1

Tonight I decided to make risotto for dinner. Never made it before. I have never ate it before either! So this was going to be quite the adventure!

The before picture. Arborio Rice and the instrument of torture - the spoon.

Mid way through the cooking process.

Done!

Yes, I realize that this was probably not the healthiest dish to eat, but we made it together and it tasted good. Well, kind of good. The rice could have been cooked just a few more minutes and a bit more liquid. We adjusted the recipe to cut down on the amount of finished product and didn't have enough vegetable stock to get it done. We thought it would pass, but we just needed about 1 more cup for perfection.

Polished it off with fresh grated parm and a bit of butter and voila! C'est fini! Yes, I know there was 1/4 cup of cheese and 1 table spoon of butter in this, but I ate it. I had pizza and cake today at a bday party so I figured that eating some just about "expired" (there was mold on the other end) cheese and 1/3 table spoon of butter wouldn't kill the day.

James liked it. He even said that I should put some broccoli in it next time! YAY!

Grapefruit... My new best friend.

I used to hate grapefruit. I guess every kid hates grapefruit. When I was little I had to smother it with sugar and could only eat a few pieces before passing it on to my dad. Today is much a different story!

I LOVE grapefruit! Even better, I eat it the way it is most flavorful - sugar free! Alton Brown did have grapefruit on his show the other day. He put a thin layer of sugar on the grapefruit, torched it, then sprinkled sea salt on the top. I bet it is good, but not for me. I am really trying to eat food as close to its natural state as I can.

I have found that I can find grapefruit, large grapefruit, for a $1 each at one of my local grocery stores. Due to their size, I eat half of a grapefruit for breakfast - $.50 for breakfast! Yes, half a grapefruit is not a huge breakfast, but you don't need to eat a huge breakfast. I might have a healthy mid morning snack to follow my grapefruit but nothing dramatic (like half of a bagel that I posted the other day).

Cheap and healthy - a perfect match!

Lifestyle changes...

... I forgot to mention that I read a book titled Skinny Bitch on my trip. After reading this book I have decided to cut out as much animal products from my diet as I can. So far I have been pretty successful!

I have been doing research and there are many good reasons to not eat animal products - meat, dairy, eggs, etc. Not only do animal farms hurt the environment, make our drugs less effective, and tolerate inhumane treatment of animals, but our bodies are not designed to eat that much animal products.

It has been just over a month and I sleep much better, think more clearly, expel waste much more easily... and I have even lost about 15 pounds!

I try to eat fresh fruit every morning for breakfast to help keep things moving... but when I am super hungry or for a great mid morning snack (or lunch or dinner) I really enjoy whole wheat (egg free) bagels with hummus and tomato slices! It is filling, tasty, and pretty healthy!


I can't say that I have been 100% animal product free. I had calamari while in PA a few weeks back and I also had some salmon last night. Oh, and I did have some chicken tikka masala. I have learned that Dunkin Donuts does not have soy milk - therefore I have had some milk in a few coffees.

I am committed to trying new recipes and discovering new foods. So far I have done very well. I am proud of myself for my accomplishments thus far. Hopefully I will be keeping up with my challenge and it won't be a challenge any more, it will be normal!

The best vacation EVER!

So far. I am sure we have many great vacations coming our way, including our annual Town Fair Tire trip coming in May. Jamaica here we come!

But, this is about our trip to St. John, USVI. This was my 30fest. And what a 30fest it was! We left NH in cold, wet weather very early in the morning and arrived in paradise in the afternoon. It was totally amazing to see the clouds slowly disappear and have beautiful islands magically pop up from the deep blue water.

I have yet to edit the videos that we took with our Flip camera. But, I know most of you have been waiting to see some video. Once I figure out how to get the video from the Flip program on my computer to connect with bloggert I will let you know!

Wow. I'm 30.

I am 30. At first I thought this was going to be a scary thing, but it has actually been a great event for me!

On my birthday I had the pleasure of inviting my friends and family to join me at the Toys for Tots facility for some volunteer time. We sorted toys and then bagged the toys for distribution. It is so rewarding to help others.

On a "grown up" note I have been able to look back at some major events of my life with a new pair of eyes. I believe that everything happens for a reason and without those major events I would not be in the happy place that I am in today!

I am looking forward to my next 30 years. This is going to be a great decade with lots of joy in store.

Playing Catch-up!

I am sitting in bed trying to sleep, very unsuccessfully. I am transitioning to a few days of overnights at work and the first day is always the worst. Operating on 3 hours of sleep in the past 31 hours has not made for a good day. So, what's a girl to do when she can't sleep? Update her very past due blog! It appears that I have not updated since the beginning of August. Ouch. Here is what has happened since then:

1. We got a new fridge!
2. We went on our first camping vacation! Visiting my VA family.
2a. Took Tomas to Busch Gardens.
2b. Went to the Wright Bros. museum in Kitty Hawk, NC.
2c. Took a stop on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge for a geocache and saw some Naval power.
3. Went to a Nascar race.
4. Attended the Walk for Autism.
5. Went Trick or Treating.

Virginia Vacation Summer '09

James and I decided to do something fun and new for both of us while still enjoying our vacation and being eco-conscious. We went camping! Yes, camping in VA at the end of August is very warm and humid. We stayed at First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach. It is located on the north east side of the city - not far from where you get on and off the Ches. Bay Bridge. This camping trip was so much fun!

Our awesome camp site before we set anything up.

Putting the finishing touches on our home away from home.

Nothing beats breakfast on a campfire!

Tomas and Irina meeting Cookie Monster at the Sesame Street lunch at Busch Gardens.

James and I at the landing spot of the first flight!

We ate at this awesome BBQ place! Funny sign too.

Inbound aircraft carrier, outbound sub. This was so cool.
We did a cache on the way home. I believe it was a park in VA on route 13 north of the Ches. Bay Bridge. These are old ships that are stripped down and used as breakers- there had to be at least 10 ships. This was an amazing park!

Nascar race

Our friend Megan got some free tickets to the Nascar race at NHIS for Sept 20th. So, we took her up on her offer to go to the race. I don't think any of us were super excited to go, but at least we can say that we went... and that we didn't pay for it.

NHIS... this is a big facility.

I would like you all to notice the shirtless man. It wasn't crazy hot so I gues it must be a hick thing.

Walk Now for Autism

October 4th was our 3rd go around at the Autism Walk. We did great! We beat our team goal and I met my personal goal! It was a great weather day and the team worked well together. Can't wait for next year!

My mom and I during the walk.

Halloween '09

Another fun year! It was Anne's first Halloween so we went to the Blodgetts' again. I am just going to show you the picture. I don't think it needs explanation. My mom made Dutch's costume!

I know that this was a long post. I guess I should try to keep up with it on a more frequent basis!

Long time no write...

Sorry. I have been very busy and very unmotivated. Yep, we have done lots of things since my last posting and have lots of things planned over the next few months. But, as of right now I am not motivated to put pictures up, etc. Maybe tomorrow.

Castle in the Clouds

James and I were off on Saturday night and all day Sunday so we headed north to the lake house with his cake. We hung out with the family - my siblings and their significant others, my cousin, and my mom. We had dinner of assorted exotic meats courtesy of Meghan and Bryan Mc. We had elk, wild boar bacon, and some other items but I can't remember what. Elk tasted like very tender beef but I was not a fan of the boar bacon.

James and I decided that we would head north to visit Lucknow aka Castle in the Clouds. I love that place. It is gorgeous, has a pond, and 45 miles of hiking trails. Not to mention the beautiful waterfalls on the property. If I ever won the lottery I would buy a property like that. This location is also on my list of places I would like to get married. So beautiful, out in nature... it is so me.

We did get one geocache in while we were up there. A pretty easy find. That is two caches this weekend! I am getting back into the swing of things.

James and I at the "pebble".

The Falls of Song

James and I enjoying the view.

Time to make the cake...

We have a new manager starting on Monday so I thought I would make him a cake to welcome him to our store. Then I thought I should make a super nice cake with fondant. Then I thought I should see if Nichelle wants to come over to show me how to use fondant! I had so much fun today that I am going to try to master this fondant thing. If you want a cake for any simple occasion let me know because I am willing to make it happen! I met Nichelle when she was working at TRU in Manchester. She is a totally awesome person and I can't wait for her to join game night!

White fondant that is soon to be purple.

Nichelle suggested just getting a plain cake and adding letters. Fondant isn't the most yummy cake topping so this would be easier to cut and eat if it is in the break room.

Because James is such a great boyfriend I decided to make him a cake too! This was the real reason for the cake day. Shhh... it is a suprise! He won't know until he gets home! I am such a sneak. I decided to do black fondant to make everything else "pop". Nichelle is carefully placing the fondant on the cake.

The finished black square cake with accessories.

I was concentrating very hard on my placement of the beads.

The finished product! I texted James to see what his most favorite thing was. He replied "you". But I had to tell him I needed something besides me. He said his car so I made a car for the cake topper!

James just got home as I was finishing typing this entry. He just realized that I was planning this since yesterday... ah, the things I do for my man.

Geocaching in the city...

It was a beautiful day out on Friday and I had to try to stay awake. So, what better way to do that than to go geocaching?!?! I headed out to my parents' house to get Dutch and then to the Blodgett house to pick up my lady friends, Megan and Anne.

This was a multicache located right in downtown Manchester. The task was to visit the parks downtown and to view and gather information on the statues in those parks. The final cache was down by the river. Overall it took us about 3 hours from start to finish, including a stop at Ben & Jerry's on Elm Street.

This was Anne's first time caching and I think she liked it! She wasn't really cranky and she only fell asleep for a short time. What a good cacher!

Getting ready to go!

General John Stark

Casimir Pulaski
Victory Park
Dutch and I. Same park different side of the monument.
Bronstein Park
Veterans Memorial Park
Look, flowing water!
The Mill Girl
The final cache! Yay!
And of course, what commute home would be better than Dean Camin's? 5:30pm, time to go home.

Weekend off...

My hard work is paying off! The store is looking better. I am working overnights this week and am trying to get caught up on some merchandising. Should be on track for getting apparel done this week and infant care completely reset by week's end. I will be enjoying my weekend off, then back to work at 4am on Monday morning. New boss starts on Monday too... yay!

Good news and more questions...

Well, the doc called yesterday to inform me that I had an "abnormal" PAP result so now I need to go in for a colposcopy. Not sure I am spelling that right. Basically it is a color dye test to see what is causing the abnormal result. Hopefully it is nothing, like most people have when they get one of these results of their test.

The good news is that my hormone levels are normal, meaning that I don't have PCOS. But, that still leaves the question of why is my system so off? Oh well, I will just deal with it. At least it will be not as hard to have a baby as I was freaking out about! This is great news!

Summer is here...

... finally!!! After work today I decided to mow the lawn. But, Fritz was watching me prep the yard and he made sure I was aware the he wanted to go out and play (eat lots of grass). Not only was he yelling at me, he was trying to pry the locked slider screen door open to get to his freedom. So, I caved and let the cats romp in the grass before I mowed it.

Two kitties chillin in the shade...

Zee enjoying the weather and long grass...

Fritz finally free outside with a full bell of grass...
Dutch enjoying a frozen cheeze & bacon filled bone...
Oh and look! Finally a normal sized strawberry!
And of course there is video of Fritz on the tail end of the first grasshopper hunt of the day...

Needed life changes

We all like to snack. We all enjoy our favorite foods. We all sit on our butts and watch TV. Well, that life style has finally caught up with me and now I might be paying the price.

Be warned! This post is about girly things so stop reading here if it freaks you out!

Ok, so those of you who really really know me know my periods are like clock work. It is February 1, break out the box of tampons it will be here today. Well... not any more. For the past 4 months my body has been playing tricks on me. How about we freak her out and come 2 days later this month, and then two days later than that next month... oh then 4 days later the following month. Haha, to really get her going let's come a full 7 days late this time! No, I am not freaked out about being pregnant each month for the past 4 months. That would be a blessing. I was freaking out that I had a tumor or something. Why do I always think I have a tumor?

So I finally went to the gyno after having to reschedule it a few times due to unexpected period arrivals. I had an ovarian cyst years ago when I was living in VA. I have been experiencing pain agian in that same ovary for about a year now. So, of course I go to the doc and this month there is no pain - story of my medical life. She didn't feel any cysts on this visit but wants me to call when I have pain so they can do an ultrasound to confirm cysts.

Then she tells me she wants to test some of my hormone levels and asks me if I have had any extra hair growth on my face or chest. Hmmm, is she questioning my gender cuz she just saw it... She is concerned that I may have PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome).

PCOS apparently is a vicious cycle of hormone imbalances - a chain reaction if you can imagine. Ovary produces cysts which cause abnormal levels of one not female friendly hormone which causes something in the adrenal glands to produce another hormone which causes insulin resiliance. So, long story short my hormones are trying to make it very difficult for me to conceive a child without medical intervention. If I do get preggers I will most likely have gestational diabetes, have a 45% chance of miscarriage and a barage of other "bad things". Not to mention that having normal diabetes is pretty much on the horizon.

Now, apparently if I lose weight I will decrease my chance of diabetes and increase my chances of having a baby. So, immediately I have been eating way better. I am starving at night, but it is worth it. I am currently looking for a dedicated gym partner. Any takers?

And let's not forget the other part of this. I have always maintained my view on medical intervention for pregnancy. I do/will not take any medications to prevent pregnancy and I will not drug myself up to get pregnant. I do not belive in medical intervention to get pregnant. If I am meant to have a child it will happen. So, I must do everything I can to get healthy, not only to have a baby but to live a long and healthy life. At 29 I never thought I would hear those words come out of my doctor's mouth.

Beer Can Chicken!

Beer can chicken is my new favorite way to cook the bird. What is beer can chicken? It is basically this:

Open a can of beer (cheap beer that your former roomie left in the mini fridge).

Insert the opened can of beer into the chicken's butt. Yes, put it there and let the chicken rest on the pan like this. I normally shove a plug in the chicken's neck to keep the steaming beer inside. I used an onion here.

Let the chicken cook in the oven at the recommended temp and time for roasting.

The tricky part is getting the beer can out of the chicken butt when it is done. I find it helpful to have an extra set of hands to hold the chicken as you push the can out from the neck part down and out the butt.

This is the most moist chicken I have ever had. I have made it a few times and each time it is so juicy! You don't taste the beer at all... just pure juicy chicken bliss. I rubbed olive oil, salt, and pepper on mine before cooking it just like I would do if I was roasting a chicken without beer can on the inside! Give it a try!

4 day weekend...

My mini vacation is over. We had some great experiences this weekend and I wish I had pictures to show. James' camera broke this weekend and I didn't bring mine with me. Our weekend started out by heading up to Boothbay Harbor, Maine for a visit to James' parents' sailboat. Yes, I did stay on the sailboat. It wasn't bad at all. We were just on the mooring a very short distance from the dock so I felt very safe. We did some geocaching between rain showers, had some yummy food, and were right under the fireworks display. The fireworks were great! I would do this again next year and might actually see about venturing out on the boat with sails up!

Sunday we got up early and drove from Boothbay to my parents' lake house in New Durham, NH - about a 3 hour drive. It was a pretty ride since we took some state routes through the states instead of taking the highway the entire way. It was nice to spend some quality time with James. We don't get to spend much time together while we have to be at work because we both work retail.

Monday we stayed home and did some chores. I had homework to do, James mowed the lawn... fun stuff. I had a dentist appointment Monday evening and then I had to go to school. I got home from school and James had set up the tent in the back yard, put out the citronella candles and set up the fire bowl. We went camping in our own back yard and had a blast! Just me, James and Dutch.

Tuesday we woke up in the tent to some light sprinkles so all blankets and pillows had to be immediately taken into the house. We did more chores on Tuesday and I got my car fixed. O2 sensor paid for by my extended warranty company and while they were fixing that they noticed that my strut was leaking... so the extended warranty company paid for that too! The Blodgetts and Josh came for dinner, we had some yummy food... and KILLER BUNNIES came back out of the closet! We haven't gotten together for games in so long and it was so fun!

Now back to work for a few weeks until vacation time is here. I can't wait until August 23!

Sweet baby James...

My boyfriend is the sweetest and most thoughtful boyfriend I ever had. I got into my car after a long day at work and there were mini roses decorating the interior of my car to cheer me up! Why couldn't we have met years ago? I am glad we didn't meet back in the day though. We were both two completely different people and we both were not ready for the serious relationship we are currently in. I love him and he always keeps me on my toes!

It's been a while...

No, I haven't fallen off of the face of the earth.
No, I haven't run away to live at the lake.
No, I haven't gone insane... yet.

I have been very busy with work and school. What? Yes, this crazy girl is working 11-13 hours a day and decided to take a 3 hour class twice a week. The class is only 5 weeks so it will not be that bad and this class is one that I have wanted to take for over a year. Non-profit leadership! I like the not-for-profit sector and think it is something that I will excel in.

So, I just thought I would touch base with everyone to let them know that I am still here... just crazy busy and exhausted!