Oh, let's add to the "Newness"

So, recently I blogged about my new engagement, my new car, and my new hair. Now, I get to blog about my NEW JOB!! I recently accepted a position as a Labor and Delivery Nurse at St. Luke's Hospital in Sioux City, IA. I cannot even put into words how excited I am. Babies were the whole reason I went into nursing and I finally have the opportunity to fulfill my dream. Before I even started or thought of starting nursing school, I was visiting a friend at the hospital after having a baby. I was watching the nursery Rn's feed, bath, and rock the babies and I thought, "what a wonderful job". I never forgot that and as I got into nursing, my interest in OB nursing grew. My favorite rotation was my OB rotation. After helping deliver my first baby, I knew that that's what I was meant to do. There's no other feeling like witnessing new life come into this world. In my new position I will be working in Labor and Delivery as well as postpartum and the nursery, so I get a whole variety. I am so excited to begin this new chapter in my career.

My experience in the ER has been very beneficial to my career. I have learned more than I could have imagined and seen more things than I ever thought possible. I've also seen a lot of things I would have rather not seen as well. Although I learned lots in the ER, it just wasn't my calling. As the rush of being new in the ER wore off, the job just became very stressful, depressing, and sometimes scary. I'm just not cut out for life in the ER. I've taken on everything from sexually abused kids, rapes, shootings, stabbings, car accidents, amputations, psychotic patients, drunk patients, lacerations, emergency surgeries, heart attacks, strokes, and little bitty boo boo's that had no business being in the ER. Although, the job was rewarding and I feel much more confident as an RN, I'm ready to close the ER chapter in my life. I recently realized I've become "desensitized" to things that should bug a normal person and I just don't want to be a person who gets "used to" all those bad things. I need to be in a happy place. I know L&D won't always be happy and it'll be full of stress as well, but I will be doing something I love and that makes all the difference! Wish me luck and until next time... Keep wondering!

Happy Birthday Jared...

So Jared turned 28 on the 4th! For those of you who don't know who Jared is, he's the love of my life, AKA, my fiance'. On his birthday he had his first softball game (they won 24-4, blow out) so we celebrated the night before. I asked him what he wanted for supper and of course he said, "Meatloaf" since I'd never make it otherwise, I'm not a fan. So I made him meatloaf, aspargus, and garlic mashed potatoes and then surprised him with a birthday cake from the Sugar Shack (Delicious) and lots and lots of presents! Who says you're too old for birthday presents anyway!?!? After cake and presents we went on a nice long walk. It was a perfect birthday evening.

That's a lot of candles ;-)

My first ever "Art" painting

So, I had a left over canvas, so I thought I'd get creative. Not sure how I feel about it yet, but it matches our downstairs decor, so it'll hang on the wall for now :-) Be honest and tell me what you think!

Spicy Balls...

Did I get your attention with the title? Haha! Anyway, I made some spicy marinara meatballs and thought I'd share the recipe. They were spicy and delicious! I did substitute the crushed red chilli peppers for cheyenne pepper instead for more kick!! If you don't have a convection oven, I'd recommend turning the meatballs half way through.

Ingredients

1 pound extra lean ground beef

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 small onion, diced

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

3/4 teaspoon dried oregano

3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 dash hot pepper sauce (such as Frank's RedHot®), or to taste

1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup skim milk

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Directions

Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Place the beef into a mixing bowl, and season with salt, onion, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, oregano, red pepper flakes, hot pepper sauce, and Worcestershire sauce; mix well. Add the milk, Parmesan cheese, and bread crumbs. Mix until evenly blended, then form into 1 1/2-inch meatballs, and place onto a baking sheet.

 

Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, 20 to 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 343

Total Fat: 16.8g

Cholesterol: 95mg

 

Until next time, keep wondering...

NEW NEW NEW!

So as of lately, my life has been filled with new things! I am so grateful for the life I live and will never take that for granted. Every day is beautiful and such an adventure. I'm so in love with my life!

So, I got a new hair cut! I know I know! I'm getting married, but I just wanted a new summer do so badly! I am in 3 wedding before my own, so I'm gonna need to research some cute do's for short hair. Up-do's are kinda out anyway! ;-)

New Car!!

I finally got an SUV. Jared and I have looked for quite some time now at SUV's we were interested in and this Saturn Vue was NOT one of them! We came to this dealership to test drive a couple others, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Compass, etc...and we saw this. So we thought, why not? We drove it and fell in love. It has all the bells and whistles (auto start and bluetooth being my favorite) and it had the right, low low miles, fabulous warranty and the rigth price (okay a lil more than planned, but hey, what do ya do?)

I wasn't fond of the color at first, but it's now grown on me and I love it. You can see the white cherokee we were looking at in the back. It was a 2010 and ours is a 2009, but ours had much more to offer! I love driving my new toy everyday.

New Decos!!

I love me some Ikea!

So my previous blog showed you how I made my wall canvases, now you can see how I decorated with them. Well, kinda. This isn't done yet, but you get the idea!! We are so close to having our family room finished. Stay tuned for more pics! We got some great buys from Ikea, the worlds best store!!

That's all for now. Until next time, keep wondering...

My Homemade "Wall Art"

So my cousin, Raelynn, taught me how to make my own "wall art". I thought I'd pass on the fun to you!!

What you will need:

Canvases

Paint

Paintable wallpaper (I found mine at Lowes)

Staples/Staple Gun

And if you want it two toned like mine (I know you can't tell in these pics really well) you can get a colored glaze and cheese cloth to apply it.

First cut your wallpaper to fit your canvases (as you can see I chose to do all differnt sizes, you can do all the same).

Next, you will follow the instructions for applying the wallpaper on your canvas. It's pretty easy, just fill your tub and place the paper glue side down for about 20 seconds. It's okay if the top part (non-glue part) gets wet. Next fold the wallpaper in half for about 15 minutes until the glue is tacky.

After about 15 minutes, apply the paper to the canvas and smooth it out. Keep checking for airbubbles as they will arise. Once you have it smoothed on, it's time to fold up the edges and staple the paper down.

Let the canvases dry over night. Again, make sure to keep smoothing the front to avoid air bubbles. Pull the paper tight before you staple to help prevent the air bubbles.

Next just use a regular brush and paint!! I also found these nice, little, pyramid things that the corners of the canvases can sit on while you paint so it doesn't sit on the ground to dry and you can get the sides easier too.

Let dry overnight...

If you want to make it two tones, you can't quite tell here, but mine have an orange glaze over top the chocolate paint. Again, use your cheese cloth and just blot and smear however you'd like. I covered the whole canvas.

We decided to hang ours kinda funky like this. We are going to put a nice little table in the center here and have a lamp under each of the horizontal ones. I think it'll turn out pretty darn cute. And the best part is, I can say I made them!! :-)

Keep wondering...

We're Engaged!!!!

Well the biggest news in my life right now is I get to marry the man of my dreams!!! We became engaged tonight and here's the story...

Jared and I have decided to have a destination wedding in Rivera Maya, Mexico in February 2011. Well, we are going through Destinationweddings.com and you get your own personal planner...for free!! However, just so that they know you are serious, the require a small deposit of $50 to get the ball rolling (the money ends up going towards the wedding, kinda nice). Anyway, every since we picked our resort (details to come) I have been bugging Jared to just let me pay the $50 to "get the ball rolling" and he insisted we just wait. So tonight, he came home with Mexican food from my favorite place, which I thought nothing of, cuz we have it often. He wasn't acting strange or anything (he had been this weekend) so I thought nothing out of the ordinary. Well most of you know, today was a cold and windy day, so we were freezing!! We decided to fill up the jacuzzi and warm up! As it was filling, Jared and I were complaining about how cold we were. We are doggie sitting for the neighbors right now because they are in Mexico and Jared said, "those lucky bastards are in Mexico right now." I said, "I know honey, but just think soon we will be there and I can marry you." and he said, "you can?" and I said, "Of course I will" and he said, "you will" and I said, "well duh! Why, are you asking". I was honestly kidding, but I looked at him and he had a smirk on his face. All of the sudden he pulled out a $50 bill from his pocket and said, "oh I need to give this to you." I was like, "for what?" He said, "well don't you need it for our Mexician Vacation?" It took me a minute to get what he was getting at and finally I realized it. I looked at him and he was all teary eyed and nervous and then he pulled the ring out of his pocket and I freaked out! We couldn't stop hugging and crying, so he asked me mid-hug and I said "Yes!" Then once we settled down, he looked me in my eyes and asked me properly, "Will you marry me?" and I said "Yes!" Again!! Best night ever! I sure love this man.

Bacon Fudge, yes you read that right! AKa, clogged artery dessert

So I found this interesting dessert recipe online and thought I'd try it. Well I tried a bite and that was it. I think some people would love this, but as a person whose not a big bacon fan, this one wasn't for me.

What you will need:

3 c semisweet chocolate chips

1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1 pinch of salt

1.5 tsp vanilla extract

1 c. heavy whipping cream

9 oz milk chocolate (chopped). I just bought milk chocolate chocolate chips

12 slices bacon ( I used turkey bacon)

1 pinch salt

1. For fudge, melt chocolate chips (semisweet) in sauce pan over very low heat. When chips are nearly melted, stir in the condensed milk until the mixture is very smooth and creamy. Then add the vanilla and a pinch of salt. Pour the mixture into a 9x9 inch pan and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.

2. For ganache topping, place heavy cream and milk chocolate into the top of a double boiler pan over simmering water and stir until the chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and pour ganache over the chilled fudge in an even layer. Return to fridge for at least 2 more hours.

3. Slice bacon into 1/2 inch squares and place in a large, deep skillet and fry until crisp, about 10 mins. I baked mine at 350 for about 20 minutes until crispy. Drain bacon on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.

4. Spread bacon bits over the ganache layer, pressing bacon lightly into the fudge. Return to fridge, chill until bacon is cooled, at least 30 minutes. Cut into squares. Enjoy. 

I actually think mixing the bacon in with the second layer of fudge would be better. Or make this fudge without the bacon, it's yummy!

Indian Crockpot Chicken

So I tried this new recipe today. It was from Blanche's Blog. She called it butter chicken, but to me it had a strong Indian scent and flavor so I renamed it! ;-)

What you will need:

1/2 c. cashews 

2 tsp garam masala (find it with all the other spices)

2 tsp coriander powder (I used the little corriander balls and they have great flavor)

1/2 tsp chili powder

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 tsp sesame or peanut oil

1/4 c. melted butter

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp ground ginger

Pinch of cinnamon and cardamom powder

1 small onion chopped into small pieces

3/4 c chicken stock

1/2 c. tomato paste

1/2 c yogurt or sour cream (I used sour cream)

1 c milk

1/4 c cream

2 tbsp vinegar

1 tbsp sweet Thai chili sauce

1/2 tsp salt

Smash cashews with a hammer and add to large, nonstick frypan (I did not smash mine and they were very soggy).

Add garam masala, corriander, and chili powder to pan, stir and brown nuts and spices until you see a little smoke and then remove. Place in a bowl and set aside:

In the same pan, heat oil on med-high and sear chicken on both sides

Place chicken in the bottom of slow cooker

Then add melted butter, cashew mixture, paprika, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom powder

Then add finely chopped onion to same pan, saute'

Then add chicken stock, tomato paste, and sour cream or yogurt, stir and combine

Then stir in milk and cream

Add vinegar, Thai Chili sauce, and salt

Add pan mixture to crock pot and stir.

For more flavor leave this mixture in fridge overnight. You do not have to do this.

Cook chicken in slow cooker for 6-7 hours on low. 

I served mine with white, sticky rice and soy sauce. Other options are Basmati Rice with some Roti or pappadams.

Enjoy!

Hashbrown Casserole

So this is my yummy hashbrown casserole

What you will need:

10c Frozen Hashbrowns

1 regular sized bag shredded cheddar cheese (I use Colby Jack)

1 12oz tub of sour cream

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 c. milk

1.5 c Corn Flakes (you can crush them or leave them whole)

1/4 c melted butter

2 TBSP melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

add 1/4 c of melted butter to bottom of  9x13 casserole dish

then add 5c of hashbrowns

Mix together soup, sour cream, and milk and add half of mixture over hashbrowns

Add 1/2 bag of cheese 

add remaining hashbrowns

add remaining soup mixture

add remaining cheese

top with corn flakes

drizzle with 2 TBSP melted butter

Bake uncovered for 50-60 minutes

Enjoy!

Meatloaf, Me..no way!!

So I HATE Meatloaf! And of course, Jared loves it. So for me to make it would be extremely surprising for him...so I did it! I found a recipe that sounded good and tweaked it a little and I surprised him. He was a happy man!

This is the pre-done stage!

What you need:

1.5 lbs hamburger

2 eggs beaten

1/4 c. Ketchup

3/4 c. of Herb Seasoned dry stuffing mix

1/2 package of dry ranch seasoning (I used a whole pack)

1 6oz can of french friend onions

and I also added 1.5 TBSP of minced garlic

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

In large bowl (or your kitchen aid, if you're blessed like me), combine everything and mix well

Shape mixture into a 9x5 loaf pan

Bake covered loosely with tin foil, for 50 or 60 minutes. Mine too about 80 minutes in a convection oven.

Had to cut the middle to make sure there was no pink. After 50 minutes there was a lot of pink still.

Finish meal! I also made hashbrown casserole with this, that recipe to follow soon.

Now, I am trying to come up with a nice topping for the meatloag and it'd be better. Surprising enough, I liked it!

As of lately...

So if you haven't noticed I haven't blogged much lately and now tonight I am overloading you!! I figured I'd throw in a blog of what I've been doing lately as well!

So mostly, what I've been up to is working working working! This is me and Lindsey at work in the dark hours of the night. You can see the board behind us, it lists all the patients, not names of course, that are in the ER. So you can see we weren't too busy to stop and pose! I've been putting in all my hours, plus some since we have lots of needs from people being sick, people quitting, etc...So I fully enjoy my days off!

So when I do have a day off, I tend to be up all hours of the night because I'm so used to it. So I bake, cook, clean, work out, etc...all in the graveyard hours! Good thing Jared is a sound sleeper!! I can even vaccum when he's sleeping! :-) Above is a picture of some fruitty pebble bars I made the other morning at 3am! YUM! I also made Fet.Chicken Alfredo that night too!! I knew I wasn't going to feel like cooking supper the following night before work, so I just got it all done at 3am instead! As well as working out, cleaning, and cleaning out my freezer, a much needed task to be done!!

Lately, I've done very well with the whole working out/losing weight thing. I decided to splurge and buy a whole lotta cute work out clothes, but only in a size small! Let me tell you, the first few weeks, I wasn't looking so cute in these clothes, but the motivation to look good in them was sky high. Now, 11lbs lighter, I am starting to look better in them. By this summer, I am hoping to be able to wear them when I run outside! I've been running/power walking on the treadmil every day for 45 minutes and doing the Biggest Loser Body Boot Camp...OUCH!! It's been working though and I feel great. I haven't really changed my diet. I don't believe in diets, but I just pay more attention to my portions is all! So far, so good. I'm hoping to get back into a bikini this summer.

Other than that, Jared and I are back to working on the house. We decided we definately are not going to have a wedding this year (no,we're not engaged, yet...) so our priority is our house. We don't want to be stuck at home every weekend again this summer working on it, so we're getting started now and hopefully it'll get done sooner than later. Of course there is always a new project we come up with that we want to do too. Our master bathroom is getting closer and closer!! I'm getting more and more anxious! Then we have to insulate the garage, finish the wiring in the garage, hang the dry wall and shelves, then onto the basement, finishing trim work, the 3rd bathroom (that'll be great to have down there) and then we'll be mostly done, other than small little things Jared thinks he wants to do.

Anyway, now I'm just blabbing! I'm bored at work. I'm not complaining, i'd rather be bored than swamped, but I better stop writing about nothing. I wouldn't be surprised if no one reads these anyway! Ha, but if you do...Keep wondering.

Darius Rucker and Rascal Flatts Concert...

So this year for Valentines Day our present to each other was concert tickets! Darius Rucker (my secret lover) and Rascal Flatts came to Sioux city!

This was the stage for Darius...man, I loved him before the concert, seeing him live, I think we can safely change love to infatuated! ;-) I swear he winked at me ;-)

Rascal Flatts rocking the guitars!

Darius came back out for the Encore and joined RF! Great great concert!

We also ran into several friends that came down from Sioux Falls too, so it was an extra special night! We did something special before this concert too, but you'll have to wait for future blogs to find out what that was!! Until then, keep wondering...

Family time :-)

So we got to go spend some time with my family this past weekend! It's always so good to see them, but I just hate leaving them. We are seriously considering moving closer to them within a few years!

These are two of my neices, Olivia 9 and Langston 17 months. Langston has learned to smile at the camera now, but at this point she was too entertained by the "Singing Catch Phrase Game".

So Langston likes Beer!! Just kidding, but she does like the cans. Pictures don't get more redneck than this!! It was empty if that makes any of you feel better and we did not let her put it to her mouth. Lil' Stinker!

Here's me and Langston! She's also my Goddaughter, so I have to admit she's got a very special place in my heart! She's just so damn cute! I wish she would have been looking in this picture. It was taken with my phone though and she's not quite sure how that works yet. I did get some very cute ones on the regular camera, you can find those on my facebook page.

This is my newest neice Ella, who was born at the end of November. She's such a little chubber! Her cheeks are as bad as mine were (still are). She's growing so fast!

So Jared and I got a huge dose of birth control on Sunday morning. We agreed to babysit the two babies while everyone else went to church! Unfortunately, both of them are sick and were not happy. Poor Ella woke up screaming, so I got her up, changed her and rocked her back to sleep while Jared was in the shower and Langston was watching cartoons. After that, Langston snuggled up with me on the couch and was very content! Suddenly, Ella began to scream again, since Langston was so content, I yelled for Jared to get Ella. He did so well, but I felt so bad for him. He tried everything I told him to try and she was screamin bloody murder. So, I traded him! Unfortunately, Langston wanted her auntie, so she started screaming when I handed her over to Jared...it was chaos!! Both lil' ones crying their heads off, it was quite the experience, but we finally managed to get it under control...all without screaming at eachother. I'm positive we are not ready for 2 kids so close in age, but I think we can handle one...after the wedding bells ring of course!!

We didn't get to leave Sioux City until about 430pm on Friday afternoon when Jared got off work. I drove, so we made good timing. We got to my Brother's house just before 10pm. My mom and step dad were already there waiting for us too! The older kids did not know we were coming, so we surprised them!! I got the best hugs ever from them! The looks on their faces were priceless. The best part was that morning, Jackson (my nephew) was looking at a card I had sent him recently and then Kari (my sister in law) said he looked sad and she asked him why, he said, "nothing, I just wish we could see Marggie again". Little did he know, his wish was going to come true...perfect timing!! Gosh I love those kids!

So the kids went off to bed and us adults watch a movie and played a game and called it a night!

Saturday morning, Kari, Olivia, and I, went to gymnastics practice in a town about a half hour away (Decorah, where we are thinking about moving, key words are thinking about). It was so good to see Olivia practicing!! :-) We then met everyone at the bowling alley for pizza and bowling. We also indulged in appetizers!! After a few games of bowling (Kari kicking our butts) and lots of food we were off for home. The funniest part is later Jackson said, "I like bowling in Decorah better, they give you free pizza and pitchers of pop!" Yup Jack, it's all free!! Hahaha, to be a kid again!

So working nights definately has its downfalls. By the time we got home, I was spent, so Olivia and I took a 3 hour nap while the boys went hunting!! Kari had invited two of her brothers and their wives out to play some games and have some drinks with us. We played Quelf. If you've never played, I highly suggest doing so, it's hilarious! We had numerous drinks and laughs and then of course, I was tired again, so off to bed I went! What a great night though!

Sunday we babysat in the morning...again, what a great experience! ;-) Seriously, I'd do it all again, I love those little girls!

In the afternoon we met my parents in New Hampton and then followed them an hour to Mason City where we visited my little step sister. She's in a place for behavioral issues right now and it was so good to see her. She's changed a bit and she's growing so fast! I can't believe she's already 12. After the visit, we pigged out on some lunch with my parents (no, this weekend was not good for my diet) and then hit the long road home. Jared drove the whole way and I slept of course!! :-) Fast trip home for me, but he was sure spent when we got home. We watched a movie in bed, The Last Castle. It was so good we both stayed up almost making it through the whole thing and then we were both out!!

So needless to say...grrrrreat weekend!