My sad attempt at blogging

So this blog hasn't turned out the way I thought. I was really excited to keep a daily journal but, as with most resolutions, I have trouble keeping the promises I make to myself. I think I have too high of expectations. I expect too much out of my free time, my productivity, my memory, everything.

I expect that when I sit down to write a paper I will knock out the most eloquent piece of literature the professor has ever seen while managing to keep my nose out of Facebook, Pinterest or Tumblr. Yea, right!

I expect that when I make dinner, my pizza is going to be so innovative and delicious the chef's from Food Network are going to come knocking at my door for the recipe. Did you know I'm a perfect mess and can't help but to spill a little bit of everything while I cook? Oh, and I can't make anything without a recipe but I rarely follow all of the instructions. Want to know how many times that works out for me? Not many!

I expect that when I get a paycheck in the mail, I will see the amount equal to the amount of pain it caused me to stand on the concrete floor all day, running back and forth from the back room to fetch Willow Tree Figurines from the top most shelf. It never is. I also expect that paycheck, once in my bank account to continuously multiply so I can buy as many clothes and heels as I desire! FYI, it doesn't work like that, who'd of thunk it!

I expect that when I dress up and put all my fancy make-up on, all the boys' head will turn and girls will be green with envy. Also, doesn't work like that. I consider myself lucky when I get my boyfriend to tell me how beautiful I look.

I guess that, because I expect so much, it hurts more when my expectations don't come to fruition. Don't get me wrong, I don't get all mopey and depressed when the Food Network chefs don't come begging for my egg sandwich recipe. But, not gonna lie, it does sting a little to watch that money flow out of my bank account without multiplying.

I don't mean to give up this blog, really I don't. I want to write every night, I don't particularly care what about, I just feel like I have so much to share and say and not enough time to share it! Not like my life is anything all that interesting at the moment- paper after paper after paper. Oh the life of a grad student!

Welcome to our humble abode Nala

We just got a puppy! And she's precious!! We named her Nala, not because she reminded us of the Lion King, but because we all love Disney and Cinderella is a terrible name for a german shepherd mutt.

Her temperament is wonderful- she loved people, and she's so playful, and learns really quickly! She just doesn't like other animals, which is perfectly fine because we don't have other pets.

But, we've never had any other pets. And we have no idea how to handle her. And I feel horrible. I feel a little like we're letting her down for not raising her properly. Luckily, the people at the vet's office and PetSmart are so helpful and friendly. We've asked so many questions and, most-likely, messed up so many times. But, they've treated us normally and given us so much advice.

Right now, she's asleep. Her world has been kind of turned upside down right now. There's a whole new world that we've just introduced her to AND given her two baths (the second we got home she got bugs in her fur). From here, we're just hoping that she doesn't wake up to be a monster.

*pictures to come*

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

In honor of the holiday, I wanted to make something special! I love coordinating food around a theme and, even though green food can be kind of a turn off, I found a lot of inspiration for this St. Patrick's Day.

First- the internet is amazing! My first stops for planning food were tumblr, pinterest, and food network. Ironically, non of those places helped me! I ended up coming up with the following dishes (mostly) on my own! 

Lime Float

The picture doesn't do it justice. I made a lime float to drink and it was so refreshing! I'm definitely going to keep this recipe for summer! Best part- super easy! Lime sherbet + Sprite. Yum! The end.

Fried Ravioli with Basil Pesto

I don't know how much credit I can take for this one. Similarly to the drink recipe, it's pretty simple. Just store bought ravioli, breaded and fried, topped with store bought basil pesto. I suppose I could have tried harder and made all the pieces myself but, eh, I'm all for making my life easier (especially when it comes to saving me time and money!)

Mickey Mouse Cake-pop

The creme de la creme! Dessert! You can't really tell from the picture but, that is most definitely a cake-pop, with marshmallow ears to look just like Mickey Mouse! My inspiration for this wonderful confection was Disney Food Blog. I love Disney more than anything (after my boyfriend of course- he comes first!) so, I'm going to take advantage of any chance I get to incorporate Mickey into the food I make! Warning! Cake-pops are nothing but sugar! I was barely able to finish mine! (I actually probably shouldn't have but, it was so darn good!) 

For two seconds I'm going to remove my modesty and just say- I am a DARN good cook!! All of the food I made was SO good I can barely believe it! I normally don't have that much luck! I'll typically make one dish that is ok, one that is outstanding, and an other that is awful! But, this time, somehow for some reason, the cooking gods were smiling down on me and everything turned out delicious! I would offer some kind of recipe for what I made but honestly, it was a little bit of this and little bit of that, nothing set in stone. And I didn't take any recipes from anywhere online. (another reason to pat myself on the back- this all came out of my own head and I excelled with flying colors!)

Song of the Day:

Nicki Minaj- Super Bass

Spring Break 2012

My last spring break has been nothing like I planned. I've never really had a "real" spring break. I'm not referencing the "Girl's Gone Wild" kind of spring break; just the get-away to a relaxing location far away from home kind of spring break. So, I decided to go all out for my last ever opportunity at a true spring break. The plan was: me + a group of my girl friends + an island off the coast of Georgia (that's about as much as my budget could afford) + lots of sunshine! I was stoked!

Until... our plans fell through. Actually the plans never really made it past the drawing board. We talked about spring break all through winter break and then when spring semester came, nothing. I fell into a studying pattern and spring break fell out of view. 

I'm not gonna lie, I was a little crushed for a while. That was my last chance at something that I had always wanted to do. But, my boyfriend, being the amazing man that he is, came through with a rather fantastic alternative: his home town!

Let me preface with the fact that my boyfriend lives in the middle of nowhere in central Georgia. Now let me repeat that: THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE! Being from the suburbs most of my life and having a fondness for city life, you can say I was more than skeptical of visiting my boyfriend's farm. (yep. farm.)

Well, I wanted a memorable spring break and that's exactly what I got! 

And it was certainly not what I expected! While it certainly is the middle of nowhere, it is more like where my dad grew up in rural Pennsylvania than the spread out, run down, slow town I was expecting (picture South Dakota or Wyoming, or the Beverly Hillbillies for that matter, and you'll be picturing what I was imagining). His house is beautiful and his farm is immaculate. There are so many pecan trees stretching into the distance that when the sun is rising or setting I would even go so far as to describe it as breath-taking! I loved it! And I loved every minute of being there! I even found a house right off the town square that I wanted him to buy for me! ;) 

Here's a quick run down of my trip.

It was:

my first time to his hometown; my first time to his home; my first time meeting his family; my first time trying his mom's cooking (delicious!); my first time riding on a Gator (not the animal kind, the 4-wheeler kind); my first time jumping on a trampoline. 

He showed me everything:

his schools, and the baseball & football fields, and the track, and the oldest State Park in the country, and a couple damns (with beautiful waterfalls), his farm and his sheller (for the pecans). 

We went to a zoo, and to a mall, and a couple sporting goods stores and out to eat, and a botanical garden, and his neighbor's house. 

We played putt-putt, and baseball, and basketball, and pool, and went running. 

And of course there was the normal: talking and cuddling and laughing. 

I never wanted to leave. Ever!

Song of the Trip:

Jay Sean- Down

My boyfriend sings the Lil' Wayne part

Recipe of the Trip:

Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

Life Lately

is beautiful and that's all there is to it.

First of all, I can say that I know the most wonderful, perfect guy in the entire world and that he's all mine. I've known how amazing he is from the moment I met him but, when we first started going out, I would say that I felt like he was too good for me and that I stole him from someone else that would be better for him. Thank goodness I've gotten over that self-pity mess! Now I still say that I stole him but, there is no way I'm giving him back! "Finders, keepers!!"

Everyday there is a new reason for me to be thankful that he's in my life. Whether its how well he takes care of me (without him, I would probably starve) or the little things he brings me to let me know that he is always thinking about me. Or the fact that he'll stay by my side no matter how what. I realize that I can get a little temperamental when I'm stressed but, that doesn't matter. He doesn't leave me or get angry or frustrated. He stays right next to me and lets me cry or steam in a corner for a little bit until I'm ready to be back in his arms (which is always a matter of seconds). Even when I get a little upset at him, he doesn't go anywhere. He stays and talks to me. All the effort he puts into making sure I'm ok is incredible. I honestly don't think there is another guy out there even half as caring as my boyfriend. He's simply perfect.

This was us on Valentine's Day. Those are definitely matching, flashing heart necklaces you see around our necks. Yes, we're cool ;) I bought him those wristbands too. There is one set of red and one of blue. We are both wearing one from each set. 

I apologize in advance for any glaring spelling errors or dreadful auto correct mishaps. I'm writing this entry from my phone since my computer charger has frayed to pieces, leaving my computer lifeless. Sad, I know

I know I've been more than a little MIA lately, I really do plan on fixing that. I just needed to get my random thoughts jotted down somewhere.

I've just had a wonderful evening with my boyfriend. He truly is the best guy on this entire planet. I've always been aware of his perfection but, today for some reason I was exceptionally surprised that he was mine and I was his. How could a man this wonderful exist? And I must be the luckiest girl on this earth to have him for my own, for him to accept all of me (even the parts I'm not as fond of) and love me to pieces regardless.

I told him that tonight. I told him how thankful I was to have him in my life and how I felt blessed for him to love me the way he does. And then we talked and reminisced about when we first met and when he told me he liked me and our first date and our first kiss. It was so sweet. I don't ever want to take this boy for granted, he is the most important thing in the world to me. But, its nice to have those reminders, to sit and talk about where we've been and how we've gotten this far and where we are going in the future. It's a subtle reminder of how much we love each other. I can really describe the feeling um feeling right now, I would say humbling but, its more powerful. It makes you want to stop, smile, and soak it all in. That's the kind of night I just had. That's the way he just makes me feel. I can't help but love him with my entire heart.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

So this is what happens over breaks. I forget about the internet pretty much entirely. I haven't been on Twitter at all, Facebook barely at all. I've actually been on tumblr and pinterest pretty much everyday simply because I love looking at the pictures AND they have food recipes! 

Speaking of recipes, I just got the new foodnetwork magazine! And there are so many light recipes to help people (including me) keep up with their new years resolutions! And for those days when I don't really care about calories, there are always delicious, yummy looking recipes that I wanna try! Today's recipe of the day is one of them!

So, about what has been going on in my daily life, today was pretty relaxed. I'm leaving to go back to school Friday morning so, I wanted to spend as much time with my little sister as possible. She misses me so much when I'm at school and she was my first and closest best friend. 

My boyfriend just came up here for New Year's weekend. That was one of the highlights of my break (the other being Christmas and going to Disney of course)! It was so nice to see him again, he is my world and I hate being without him. He had to leave on Sunday to be with his family which pretty much devastated me. Work later that day was really hard to accomplish; I had to lie to all the people who entered the store and asked me how I was. "Oh, I'm fine, thanks" Actually means "oh, I'm dying inside because my other half is far away but am trying to make it through the day without crying in a corner and listening to depressing music"

I've talked to him everyday though, and I think I've Skyped him most of them too. He's going to a basketball game at Philips Arena tonight and I pretty much freaked out when I found out. I thought he was driving up there alone and it going to be late by time its over and then he'd have to drive back and I was super worried that he was going to get robbed or lost or fall asleep at the wheel. He told me a couple of frantic texts later that he was going with his friend and his friend's dad, who was driving. Momentary worries and possible sleepless night averted!

Now I'm about to watch a chick-flick with my sisters and my mom. I think its going to be Country Strong. I've never seen it and I'm not really a fan of country music so I'm not particularly interested. Again though, its something that will make my baby sister happy so, I'll be glad to do it for her.

Recipe of the day: Italian Wedding Soup

How it looked when I made it: (with lots more cheese)

Song of the day: Baby its cold outside