New Year: New Resolutions

Happy New Year! I'm a little late, but let's just say our New Year got off to a rocky start. The hubby and I rang in the new year in sweat pants, hooded sweatshirts and wool socks...with fevers...yeah, not ideal! So, I'm trying to regroup and get my life together a few weeks after the rest of the world!

The Hubs and I had an amazing 2012! We watched many of our friends tie the knot, we traveled to Italy for our anniversary (2 years!), and we did some MAJOR work on our yard. And the best part...it sounds like 2013 might be even better.

We have got so much to look forward to this year! We're planning a trip to Ireland (we've already bought the plane tickets!!!)!!! We're about to start renovating our kitchen (the first step is knocking out a wall) and we're going to continue working on our landscaping in the front yard.

Adam has decided for his New Years Resolution this year, he is going to cook dinner one night a week, Wednesday night to be exact. He's been working on his cooking skills and thinks this is a great way to 1. help his wife and 2. work on his talent in the kitchen (he really is talented...). He started last week and prepared a wonderful meal. I was so proud!

I, on the other hand, am struggling to figure out what I want to resolve to do in 2013. I have a lot of thoughts and options...and I'm trying to decide whether or not to narrow my list or tackle them all! Here is the list:

1. Exercise more often. I do exercise regularly, but I tend to do what I want and not challenge myself. In 2013, I want to focus on doing the things I like, like running, while also incorporating some strength training to become more fit and toned. 

From Theonewithana.tumblr.com via Pinterest. 

2. Be more "gourmet" in the kitchen. I LOVE to cook and I've grown up cooking. My mom did a great phenomenal job of teaching my sister and me how to cook. However, though I love to cook, I've let my creativity and courage in the kitchen slump. I chalk it up to "working full time", but let's be honest, I've just been lazy. So, this year I want to try the awesome recipes I've been pinning for two years!!! Thank you, Pinterest, for the inspiration!

From Dashandbella.blogspot.com via Pinterest

3. I want to work smarter this year, both at work and at home. I have so many friends who seem to juggle so much more (like pets and children!) and yet I always feel like I never have enough time to get things done. So, this year, I want to be better at multitasking and working "smarter".

From Idreamofclean.net via Pinterest

4. I want to get away more. The hubs and I get stuck in this rut of doing yard work every weekend (and don't get me wrong, I LOVE those weekends) and never just taking off. We have access to a beach house (FOR FREE!!!!) and yet we rarely seem to make it there. I want us to make a point to visit more often. It's the perfect place to relax, ride bikes, stroll on the beach, read a book, and eat some great food! And, we could go there and maintain a relatively low budget.

Not our beach house...
From Panoramia.com via Pinterest

5. FINALLY, and by this point I've actually decided that I need to tackle all of these resolutions, I want to be better about appreciating the things I have. I think we are all guilty of this, but sometimes you have to step back and realize that your life is awesome. My life is awesome, and I need to be better about remembering that and thanking God for that every day!

So, after this, I guess I should thank all of you for listening...I think putting all of my resolutions to paper...or computer screen, made me realize that these are all good, healthy things to tackle (well maybe not the cooking...but maybe my gourmet needs to have a healthy focus!). So now, two weeks late, I'm diving in!

First things' first...Body Pump (weight lifting class at my gym...) 5:30 AM!!!!

New Years Resolutions

First off, let me apologize yet again, for being a blog slacker. I know I always complain about not having enough time, and to be honest...it's true...I could totally use a couple more "non-work" hours in each day. Hell, a couple in a week would be nice!

But, I digress...

Let's talk about New Years Resolutions. We've just celebrated the New Year and of course it's time for everyone to reflect on the past year and make their resolutions. Somehow it seems that during these first few weeks of January the gym fills up, the diets begin and then a month from now, we've all returned to our old ways.

This year, I, like everyone else, have made the resolution to be more conscious of what I eat and to get back to the gym (y'all I've been a spotty gym goer over the past few months...I'm trying to get back into it...wish me luck), but I've also decided that I need to seriously work on something. And I need to make a real "Life Resolution". I've got to work on my patience. Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I'm a Type "A", high strung, control freak in some aspects of my life. Now, in other aspects of my life I'll say I can actually be what some might call "Kind of" laid back.

BUT, as you can imagine, this is not about my being "kind of" laid back...but about my control freak, high-stress nature. I've got to work on my attitude and my stress levels. I like things done a certain way, and I'll be the first to admit that I think that MY WAY is always the RIGHT WAY. I don't like to procrastinate, I despise being late. In school I didn't like to turn assignments in on time, I liked to turn them in early...yeah I'm that kid.

So, what do you ask, is wrong with that? (Aside from the fact that it has a tendency to drive other people crazy) when I encounter procrastination, lateness or just people/things that are working like dogs to the last minute because he/she/it procrastinated I tend to get a short temper. I know that subconsciously I grit my teeth, I scream REALLY UGLY, SCARY words in my head and I tense my back and shoulders and become a less than pleasant person to be around. Herein lies the problem. I need to relax, I need to let it roll right off my back, but I can't. SOOOO this year, I'm working on figuring out how the hell you deal with people and things that don't do what you want them to without FREAKING OUT on a daily basis. Anyone got any pointers?

I'm trying to make a life change, an attitude change. I want to make a change that will last...not something that I'll stop making an effort to change in a few weeks when I get tired of going to the gym! And now, I'm going to pour myself a glass of wine, and cook a wonderful dinner for my amazing husband and try to relax. Try to let it go...

SLACKER

Okay, so there is no better way to say it...I have been a blogging SLACKER. I feel like my life just got put on fast-forward...and here we are in AUGUST. Now, I know...I know...excuses, excuses, but I have decided that I need to get better about this. I need to LOVE blogging like I love Pinterest or as a dear co-worker of mine calls it, P-interest. Let me just fill you in on what's been up in our busy busy lives for the past two...yes, two months.

Let's start with weddings. We have been invited to a dozen weddings, literally. We're over-joyed for all of our dear friends and family members who are getting hitched...but it does tend to rule your social life, not that we have much of one without weddings. We have traveled far and wide this year...which means we've been on some great vacations...Mexico...Denver...and a little weekend getaway in Greenville, SC! We've got a couple more weddings to go and we're really looking forward to them! Now, moving on from weddings to what has really ruled our weekends...we have been busy little bees working on our sun room.

Some of you already know all about our ongoing project, but for those of  you who don't...it's probably our biggest project to tackle on our house. Our sun room, was once an open car port. Sometime during the life of our "fixer-upper" the owners closed in the carport to create a sun room. They then put up that really cheapo wood "paneling" that isn't actually paneling, but rather "fancy" plywood. To top it all off, they put down knock-off Berber carpet...themselves...which means raveling seams and all sorts of lovely issues. The heating and air system for the house, which is fairly new, had a bad connection to the sun room, leaving it hot in the summer and WAY chilly in the winter. From day one, Hubs and I have known that at some point we would have to tackle that room. We decided that we would take our time, and maybe over the course of several years, the room would finally be in working condition.

Weeellll, fast forward 8 months, and the room now has perfect heating and air, there is sheet rock over the old wood paneling. We built a wall to create a nice sized storage closet and every door and window has new trim. We added new crown moulding and new baseboards. We put up a new door into the room from the house, and a new door out of the room to outside. We ripped up the old carpet and my wonderful Hubs and some really good friends laid tile. Our trusty electrician friend pulled new wires and installed a new light fixture and here we are, 8 months later and the room is almost finished.

We couldn't have done it without help from our friends, and most importantly our dads! Both of them jumped in there ready to use some power tools, get their hands dirty, and give us a little O-J-T (for those of you who don't know my dad...that means On the Job Training). Our moms have helped us paint, clean, and even grout tile! They are some seriously awesome ladies who aren't afraid to get their hands dirty! Sooo...the only thing we have left to do, is finish building our built-in shelves. The frames are together, we just need to attach them to our brick wall, and then trim them out to make them look all fancy-schmancy. And then, we'll have an awesome and very empty sun room.

Like I said, life has been on fast forward. The next request from one of the readers of my blog(...a Miss AEC...yeah you...) I'm sure will be for pictures...bear with me. I've been promising you pictures for months...and I'll be honest...I keep forgetting. We have some pictures of things every step of the way. Because I have decided to dedicate more time to my blogging, I will promise you that I will post pictures, and a play-by-play this weekend.

Also, stay tuned for news on what Hubs and I are up to this weekend. It involves a furball...any guesses?

Never Ending Recipes

Good afternoon! It's May, and the South Carolina scorching summer is already upon us. Even though I'm back in the "real world" with a "real" 8:00am to 5:00pm job, I still feel like summer is a great excuse to play, just a little more than I might during the "school year". Now some of you who aren't familiar with my blog should know, that I'm not a teacher, nor do I work on a school schedule. However, that being said, I'm just a few years out of college and I still remember how it feels to have a summer break, hence the need for a little extra summer fun.

Herein lies the problem, ideally, I would soak up the summer time with a few new recipes BUT, I'm also trying to keep...or get back...my girlish figure. The injury (here) really threw me off my otherwise excellent, if I do say so myself, workout routine. So, I'm trying to get back into the groove of getting out of bed at 4:55, yes ladies and gentlemen, 4:55...and dragging myself, sleepy eyed, to the gym. AND I'm trying to be healthy and get back in shape.

While summer recipes tend to be a bit more fresh and lite, I just caught an episode of Barefoot Contessa about pasta...and I'm hooked. I desperately need to try all of the recipes that I saw on her show, most importantly, I need to try her Lobster Mac and Cheese. It's beautiful! She uses sharp white cheddar and Gruyere to make the cheese sauce and then she mixes in 1 1/2 pounds of beautiful cooked lobster. So, I've decided that I might have to drop my diet for one evening so that I can try this divine recipe! If you'd like to give it a try, you can find it here.

If you're interested, here is a list of other recipes I'm getting excited about trying this summer: Tomato and Feta Pasta Salad, Tomato Feta Salad, Pesto, and The Barefoot Contessa's Lime Curd Tart. Obviously I'm a fan of Mrs. Ian Garten. She might been my cooking hero. So, as we dive into summer...head first, I'm going to try and use the extra hours of day light to grow some fantastic herbs to use in my new recipes! Happy Cooking!

Cooking is Good for the Soul

As some of you might know, I enjoy playing chef in my kitchen. I love to cook. For me, cooking is an art, it's therapy. No massage in the world could relax the tension in my shoulders like chopping an onion or sautéing mushrooms.

Currently, I'm sitting at my kitchen island, with a glass of wine, watching my French blue Le Creuset dutch oven on the stove. It's a beautiful sight really...the fading French blue against the red wall of the kitchen. But, what's more beautiful than the sight of a pot on the stove is the smell. Oh, the smell. I love the fragrance of white wine, onion, and garlic simmering on the stove. I'm trying a new recipe tonight.

The recipe is from Cook's Illustrated. It's a fabulous, and very fancy magazine. I only describe it as fancy because it is printed on heavy paper...it's what I would call a "keeper". (It is going in the Save Pile after I finish cooking dinner tonight.)

This recipe is for "Almost No-Stir Risotto." It's a combination of some of my favorite ingredients. White wine, garlic, onion, chicken broth, and Arborio rice. I'm also adding mushrooms, just because. Just sautéing the onions brought my blood pressure down...pouring in the white wine relaxed my tense shoulders...and dumping in the arborio rice lifted the weight off my chest.

There are still several minutes before dinner will be served, and yet I'm already feeling the same contentment one gets from eating a satisfying meal. Cooking really is good for the soul...