Snow Day! Or not...

I had mixed emotions when I saw that you COULDN'T see the road this morning... yay I don't have to work... then well we could really use the money... then YAY I can travel with T.J. to Syracuse to take a friend to the airport (yes on bad roads)- then I had a wave of ARE YOU SERIOUS when I realized I would be watching kids today ALL day b/c THEY had a snow day... No fun time with T.J. :( just me and the ole kiddos. I'm trying my best to have a positive attitude- I DO love kids, I love the flexibility I have with all the different things I juggle right now.. but... I'm starting to want something a little more stable. This is about the worst time to want that too b/c with so many weddings this summer and people coming out here I need the flexibility... oh but how nice to have ins. paid for with a job :)


On that note! I wasn't going to say anything but I have an interview this Friday. It's at a small doctor's office and I'm not even sure yet if it's something I'll want to do BUT if it's the "perfect" situation, I can't see myself turning it down. I've had SUCH bad luck with finding a "real" job so to be perfectly honest I have NO expectations... at all- but mainly I guess I decided to tell all b/c your prayers on the "right" job for me would be very much appreciated.


Let's hope I can even GET to the interview since we're supposed to get another foot of snow tonight! :)

I wanted to share a couple blogs I love reading in case you are interested as well- I LOVE getting new recipes and these ladies don't ever fail to deliver! The Weight Watcher blog and Whole Family Fare are pretty much always "healthy" (AND GOOD) but all the recipes look DELISH!


Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes


Full Bellies


Reid all about it


Whole Family Fare (great for those organic lovers and vegetarians!)


On another note- please check out my friend Sarah's new blog, they have decided something VERY exciting (I will let you go look) and need as much help as they can get! :)


Alright well I'm off to go drag some kids away from the TV and throw them outside to play in the snow ;)


Love you all!

What's that you say? You want to see a picture of Ace? Okay luckily I have one! :) This is what I walked into the other day- Ace somehow opened up my sock drawer all the way and decided to take a lil snoozer!

Thai food night

It was a success! My friend Claire and I made Thai food for 6 people, and it was a hit! Claire is my SWEET friend that is in T.J.'s dept. at school- luckily for me we've become great friends and share the love of cooking! We had another couple come over (Micah and Heidi- with their little ones, Frances and Lawrence) too- Micah is also in T.J.'s dept. at school- and both couples go to church with us, love them all!

Here are some pics of Claire cooking and then a sweet pic of Heidi and Lawrence and then sweet Frances who I could watch every day of my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The menu consisted of Thai iced tea, fried shrimp, fried spring rolls, coconut curry chicken, Thai fried rice & fried bananas for dessert (which were SO GOOD)- trust me it was a lot of food and I'm pretty sure we ate almost ALL of it- the dogs had the little leftovers and then they paid for it later if you know what I mean! ;)

Thai food ISN'T the easiest thing to make- luckily Claire has a 25 yr. old wok that is awesome so we used that to make most of the dishes.

Here are some fun pictures of our food :) try not to get tooooo jealous!!

I know I wish you could have been there too~ :)

Not Me Monday

I didn't just almost throw my cat against the wall for stepping on my keyboard for the 87th time in a row. I swear sometimes my computer ACTUALLY starts talking to me, which I didn't know was possible b/c of whatever buttons my cats push when they walk across the keyboard!! UGH!


T.J. did NOT find out this week that he can't make one of his best friend's weddings to be the best man... REALLY!? :( NY stinks!!!!!!!!!!


I won't be in NYC in a week with my husband and some amazing friends.... oh wait- YES I WILL! :) BOOOYAAAAH!!!


My landlord couldn't have told me to my face that I've gained weight since moving here... REALLY?!?!?!?! Especially since I really hadn't! He thought this was "okay" since I've lost weight recently... no guys- NEVER OKAY TO TELL A LADY THAT SHE IS/WAS FAT.... Basically Tony's words to me... and no I'm not sensitive about that! ;)

We didn't throw our cats into the 3 feet snow drifts outside :) that would be cruel (they didn't mind!)

I couldn't have teared up in The Bachelor finale last night. LAME-O! And for the record I DIDN'T let a tear fall down.. I was just so sad for Tenley!

I am definitely not freaking out that I can't remember if my interview is at 10 or 10:30 tomorrow... I am not that forgetful!!

Most importantly I WILL NOT beg T.J. to stay up extra late tonight and watch The Biggest Loser. I WON'T UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES get on my knees to request this.

That's it for now!

Tasty Cookies

Looks good right? I made these cookies yesterday and my husband has ate ALL of them- he said it's probably his favorite cookie. This kind of surprised me b/c it is relatively a lot "better" for you then most cookies. You get your sugar fix from the bananas, chocolate and coconut oil that it requests.

I was a little intimidated at first b/c it calls for things like coconut oil & almond meal but these things were NOT hard to find at our grocery store. Of course Ithaca is a little "granola-ey" if you know what I mean so you might need to head out to the health food store if you're in Oklahoma.

This is a great "snack" to bring to someone's house- they are small little cookies too so you don't need to feel bad eating more then 1.

"Nikki's Healthy Cookie Recipe"

You can use unsweetened carob, or grain sweetened chocolate chips, or do what I did and chop up 2/3 of a bar of Scharffen berger 70%. I sort-of shaved half the bar with a knife and then cut the rest into bigger chip-sized chunks. You can make your own almond meal by pulsing almonds in a food processor until it is the texture of sand - don't go too far or you'll end up with almond butter. And lastly, the coconut oil works beautifully here, just be sure to warm it a bit - enough that it is no longer solid, which makes it easier to incorporate into the bananas. If you have gluten allergies, seek out GF oats.

You will need:

3 large, ripe bananas, well mashed (about 1 1/2 cups) (I actually had to use 4 bananas to get 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut oil, barely warm - so it isn't solid (or alternately, olive oil)
2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup almond meal
1/3 cup coconut, finely shredded & unsweetened
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 - 7 ounces chocolate chips or dark chocolate bar chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, racks in the top third.
In a large bowl combine the bananas, vanilla extract, and coconut oil. Set aside. In another bowl whisk together the oats, almond meal, shredded coconut, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks/chips.The dough is a bit looser than a standard cookie dough, don't worry about it. Drop dollops of the dough, each about 2 teaspoons in size, an inch apart, onto a parchment (or Silpat) lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes. I baked these as long as possible without burning the bottoms and they were perfect - just shy of 15 minutes seems to be about right in my oven.

Makes about 3 dozen bite-sized cookies.

Spinning

Believe it or not but T.J. and I woke up at 5:30 am- ate some eggs and oatmeal and headed out to a spinning class at 6:30am! Do you not know what spinning is? If not check it out HERE luckily our room was bigger then this and the lights were off so everyone couldn't see me dying in the back of the room. All I can say is that it definitely was an experience! T.J. was next to me and we just kept looking at each other and mouthing "I'm dyyying"- "it buuuuurns" "oh myyy goooooosh" :) 45 minutes of pure torture is what it is! I still can't figure out what hurts more, my quads or my HINEY!!!!!! I need some of those padded biker shorts! I was bracing myself with a hand on the seat 1/2 the time b/c it hurt so much- how do people do that?! Hahaha T.J. wasn't having the best time with it either! I mean can that be healthy?? ANYWAYS besides almost puking and realizes my leggins were basically see through it was an experience we won't forget... not sure if we'll be back anytime soon though...

Who's glad that Friday is finally here?! MEEEEE! Tonight I'm having "girls night" with 2 girls I love and T.J. will be having "guys night" with the girls significant other. They are going to see Shutter Island tonight NO THANK YOU- scaaaary!!!! It will be good to have some "girl time"! T.J. and I are both so thankful for the friends we have met and gotten to know out here. Sunday night we are having the 2 couples over that we're actually hanging out with tonight! We're going to attempt to make THAI FOOD! :) I'm SO EXCITED.

So I have some exciting news :) T.J. was awarded a scholarship/funding for his project that he applied for recently. I think only like 45 people in the nation are awarded the scholarship so I was so happy for him! He will have plenty of money to expand his project and do side projects on it. No this money isn't for US it's for the project ;) but now he won't have to apply for any more funding b/c it was a pretty big chunk he received.

Well I never blogged about Valentine's Day! We really celebrated Valentine's Day when we stayed at a hotel in Buffalo before I head out to OKC and went out to a nice sushi place SO we played it low key on Sunday. We swapped cards (of course T.J.'s are always SO SWEET) and I made lunch, FAILED on the mini chocolate moltens... and then T.J. bought me Scrabble... wait I think I DID already blog about this!!!!!!!!! Okay well here are some pics of us playing Scrabble :) and yes he dominated me by winning with like 102 more pts. then me!!!!

And it wouldn't really be a good blog w/o a picture of a pet right? :) RIGHT! Here is Boy hanging out in the sink as I get ready... such a good boy! :)

I think that's about it!!! Miss you and love you all!

OH!!!! In 3 weeks Heather and Brock will be here!!!!!!!!!!!!! We're going to NYC to meet them- stay there for 2 nights, then come back and show them around Ithaca- then WHILE they are here TROY gets here! :) Oh my word- we're gonna have SO MUCH FUN!

Not me Monday-

I didn't write "Febuary" on my dry erase calendar to only notice my mistake 4 weeks later :) Thank you T.J. for letting me look like an idiot!


I couldn't have worn see through leggings to a spinning class! No way! Especially since we walked in front of T.J.'s advisor and wife when we were there.... (BTW I DIDN'T KNOW)


I didn't fall down our staircase. Our staircase isn't wood which means you'd bounce off each step bruising yourself all the way down. I'm way to coordinated to fall down the stairs more then once already. The kids I watched didn't laugh at me either.

I'm not blogging when I should be making dinner for me and T.J. and our landlords family!

I didn't take pictures of all the food that was cooked at my house yesterday! I'm not that proud of it! (I will post pics up later!) ;)

I didn't just post the most lame "Not Me Monday" blog :)

"Lifestyle Change"

Well as a lot of you know T.J. and I have decided to have a little "lifestyle change" this year in regards to our health! We are trying to make healthier choices in the food we eat and cut some out completely. We all know T.J. does not need to loose ANY weight so he is careful to eat big portions and he doesn't really COMPLETELY cut anything out for good! :) But he likes eating healthy too so its fun to be on this little journey together.

Since Jan. 1st I've already lost 8 lbs. This is ONLY from eating better, I don't calorie count but I do try to eat 4-5 meals a day (smaller meals) and for the most part I have cut out white bread, fried foods, fast food, lots of desserts, cokes- you get the picture. BUT I want to still ENJOY life and I still eat at least one small dessert a day and don't deprive myself of something completely b/c what fun is there in that? But I feel A LOT better and love eating organic, healthy food- and I try to get all my food groups in every day!

I will try to start posting some of the healthy recipes we enjoy! We live out of The Biggest Loser Cookbook for families and eatingwell.com. My friend Megan also has some GREAT recipes, you should check out her blog. She inspires me!!!! But don't ever expect an awesome blog of a recipe like she has! :)

Anyways- I didn't have anything that special to say except that you can do it too and all you have to do is make small changes! You CAN STILL eat things you want! :)

Not me Monday

Here's to Not me Monday!

When I asked my husband to "flag" a couple recipes he thought sounded good out of The Biggest Loser cookbook, my husband did NOT flag almost every single page!!!!!!!! (proof below)

I didn't maybeeeeee volunteer my husband to babysit with me on a Saturday night. I wouldn't do that b/c that is NOT a sweet thing to do.

T.J. and I didn't leave Avatar a little depressed wishing we lived on Pandora and were Na'vi people. Who would want to live as a 9 ft. tall blue creature? Not us!

I also ABSOLUTELY did NOT open up a 1/2 gallon of milk in my car and start drinking out of it b/c I was thirsty. Ew! Sick- I definitely waited until I was home to pour myself a nice tall glass.

I probably didn't let the dogs sleep with me under the covers while T.J. was gone 2 nights in a row- I also couldn't have kept the TV on in our room until I fell asleep, I'm not a baby!! My bed DOESN'T have dog hair ALL OVER IT NOW :)

I didn't have a dream I was pregnant and woke up secretly wanting one- I know I DON'T want a baby any time soon! :)

My dog DIDN'T bodyslam me into the floor last night. He's way to gentle! This didn't start with me running down the hallway to "slide" like T.J. though..... Troop didn't jump up on two legs and push me with his other 2 legs at my shoulders to knock me flat on my hiney.

I didn't text in church Sunday... I wasn't bored in church... I am a very attentive girl.

I also didn't throw out my "lifestyle change" guidelines and pig out on Thai food last night. I didn't order fried spring rolls, an entree and a fried banana..... ewwwwww!

I wasn't SO PROUD of myself for making mini chocolate moltens to have this happen... yeah they definitely turned out PERFECT and SO EDIBLE........... noooooooooooooot!!!!!!!!

I also most definitely DID NOT get peed all over when babysitting today. I didn't feel a warm trickle down my leg to see that urine was all over my shirt, undershirt and jeans :) YAY!!!!!

T.J.'s "flagging" of yummy looking recipes (I think all the recipes he flagged had a picture conveniently enough) :)

The horrible sunken gross mini moltens :(

Tams Day

Well I am back from Oklahoma!!! The trip was FAST but FUN! I was able to spend some great girl time with my closest friends and be a part of Tam and Darrens wedding day! Here are some pictures to enjoy...

Tam and Darren on their first dance, "Feels Like Home to Me"- WHICH BTW I remember Tam telling me when we were like 15 this would be the song she would dance to with her husband! :)
Me and Heather

My friend Andrea from SandRidge that I was SOOO HAPPY WAS THERE! :) LOVE HER! She is newly engaged and getting married on my birthday! Hopefully I can be there!

Oh just me and the BEAUTIFUL, GORGEOUS BRRRRRRRRRRRRRIDE :)

Tams wedding was SO FUN. We had a blast dancing the night away!

Mike I just have to thank you again for giving me your southwest ticket so I could go!!!!!!!! And T.J. for driving 3 hrs to take me to the airport and pick me up!

I not only had GREAT WEEKEND with the girls but I was able to do lunch and dinners with my family and see my Papa and Gran, so sweet!

2 hours and counting...

In LESS THEN 2 HOURS I WILL START MY JOURNEY HOME! :)

I'm super excited to have me and T.J.'s Valentine's tonight! We are celebrating early. Since T.J. has to drive me 3 HOURS to the airport we thought we'd get a hotel in Buffalo and maybe try a new fun restaurant... like I said we're leaving in less then 2 hours!

Have I packed? No. Have I gotten ready? No. Do I still need to dry clothes in the dryer? Yes. Do I still need to make lasagna for T.J. to pop in the oven later and for the landlords too? Not gonna happen. Have I made to do notes for T.J.? No. Am I sick to my stomach? Yes..

WHY AM I BLOGGING THEN?! :) I don't know!

Okay so I better go... I bought 2 books at Target today, Dear John & L.A. Candy- they were both on sale and I've kind of been going back and forth if I wanted to read them so hopefully I won't read them toooo fast so I'll have reading material on the way back to NY.

This trip is going to go by WAY TO FAST! :( I'm dreading boarding the plane back to NY already.

Tam here I come! I can't wait to celebrate your wedding!!!!!!!! Get ready family! I LOVE YOU GUYS AND CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU!