Two Boos- A Year in Review

January- did the same thing I do every year. Attempted to lose some weight and failed miserably.

February- Started eating healthier and experimenting in the kitchen more. I found that I loved cooking and trying new recipes out.

March- I started getting super excited about our wedding! We took Andy's parents to see our wedding venue.

I also started doing observations at a local middle school and started to think about the possibility of teaching middle school English.

Started doing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred videos. (Which I still do occasionally.)

April- Had my exit interview at CSUN and got on track to graduate college.

Observed some high school classes.

Did boot camp with Sam and posted about eggs. Eggs I still think of Sam everytime I make eggs in the morning.

Had a fun weekend in Sam Diego

May- Andy and I celebrated our 4th dating anniversary (And last as we are married now!)

I graduated college!!!

Went to a fun Wedding planning event. The food at our wedding was fabulous and it was fun to go sample it beforehand.

June- Barely blogged. Thought about the wedding nonstop.

My friends and family threw me an awesome bridal shower Oh and my mom's dog bit my niece. FUN TIMES.

Had an amazing joint bach party in Las Vegas with our closest friends. Singing in a limo on the top of our lungs while downing tequila is still one of my favorite memories. Sorry if that makes me a creep.

July- GOT MARRIED! Went to Italy on our honeymoon! Our wedding turned out absolutely perfect. I was originally upset that I wasn't able to lose the weight I wanted for the wedding but realized in the end that my wedding wasn't about how I looked. Instead of being depressed, I just enjoyed having friends and family around. I have never felt so loved. Andy and I still feel so blessed to have such great people in our lives.



August- I went with Andy to a teaching conference in Redondo Beach.

We went to Las Vegas again and ate at Serendipity 3. I still want to try a frozen hot chocolate though

We moved into our current apartment.

September- I started having issues with my blood sugar. I'm not diabetic thankfully but I am very sensitive to sugar. I started to watch my sugar intake.

October- I turned 26. I trained for a 5k that I didn't run.

Saw Blink 182

November- Participated in the November food spending challenge.

Went to the Foodbuzz festival.

My lovely husband turned 27

Went to Bend, Oregon for Thanksgiving and spent time with family.

December- Started preparing to go back to school to get my teaching credential. Got a new job (which I will post about soon!)

Went to North Carolina with Andy and his parents for a funeral.
Celebrated Christmas with my family and Andy's family.
Went to Disneyland!
Went to Vegas again. We went 3 times this year!

And tonight we're celebrating 2009 in style. I hope 2010 is just as good!

Did you do a year in review post? let me know!

As for resolutions...I just want to be happy, get started with school, enjoy my new job and appreciate my life. I hope to get myself into better shape as usual! And I definitely want to cut back even more on sugar, red meat and dairy. We'll see how I do in 2010!

Home!!!!!

I haven't had a chance to read any blogs or to post any blogs. Let me break it down for you....

Andy and I have been to Virginia, North Carolina, San Diego (twice), Las Vegas, Disneyland and are finally home after way too much travelling. Our trips went well (for the most part...funerals are always hard.) Right now we are just trying to get back into the swing of things. I'll post more soon!

I look forward to reading your posts!

Sad news

Andy's grandmother passed away today. So we will be going to North Carolina with Andy's parents on Saturday. I'm thankful that I was able to meet Andy's grandma a few years ago. She was a lovely woman and I know that Andy and his family will miss her.

Please keep Andy and his family in your thoughts. Obviously I won't be posting much while we are away but all of you will be on my mind.

I love Andy and his family so much. :(

Crazy week ahead!

Hey everyone! I've got a crazy week ahead of me and I'm way too excited about everything that's coming up!

1. Today my sister's and I are going to make cookies, Cake balls, Pretzel Treats and some other goodies for me to take to Andy's parents house tomorrow night!

2. Tomorrow night Andy and I are driving to San Diego. (Andy's from San Diego.)We are going to spend a few nights at Andy's parent's house with Andy's sisters, their significant others and Andy's nieces and nephews. I guess that makes me an aunt! :) We're going to have Christmas a few days early with them which is going to be a blast! Can't wait!

I am also really excited that Andy gets 2 weeks off to spend with me. Being a teacher is awesome.

3. Monday we're going to....

Disneyland! With our friends Brett and Adina. I'm pretty stoked as I love Disneyland around the holidays. Andy and I used to have a season pass but it expired last year and we haven't renewed since.

4. I'm excited for Christmas with my family. Hands down. It's always a good time. My youngest sibling is 8 this year and it's still magical to him. So I really love being able to watch him get excited about presents and the tree and etc.

5. Then after Christmas, we're going to VEGAS with Andy's parents. YAY!

Pretty much BOMB.com. I definitely need some excitement in my life.

Today's going to be a busy day but I'll post pics of all of the yummy treats we bake and etc. Afterwards I have my orientation at school. I can't believe I'll be a credential student in 3 weeks!

Taking a serious look at my life

I lost a pound this week. Not terrible but not exactly what I wanted. That means I have three weeks to lose seven pounds. It can be done...but the holidays are RIGHT around the corner. How am I going to tackle this?

My plans are to track what I eat down to every bite, lick and taste. I am going to run today immediately after I hit publish on this post for about 45 minutes. After my run, I'll try some of the weight machines at our apartment gym out. Question: Do you weight train before or after cardio?

As for the eats, I could always do better!



The people over at Vitalicious sent me and Andy some vitamuffins and brownies to sample. (For free, I was not paid to write about their product.)



As soon as the box arrived on my doorstep, I froze the muffins and brownies. When I was ready to eat one, I plopped it in the mircowave for 30 seconds.



Then I topped it with light whipped cream, vanilla ice cream (I actually measured out a proper serving size of 1/2 cup) and some caramel. Including the muffin, this dessert ended up at about 300 calories. I think next time, I'll put only half a muffin with my dessert. I was super full afterwards.



I also received these noodles from the folks at Al Dente Pasta. While Andy cooked the turkey italian sausage, I started boiling the water for the noodles. Once the water is boiling, you throw in the noodles for a mere 4 minutes. Our noodles weren't done until about 6 minutes.



Look, there's no way to make a sausage look attractive. (TWSS!) But I digress, I served up the pasta with some tomato sauce, a turkey italian sausage for protein and some roasted asparagus. The flavor of the pasta was great. I love whole wheat pasta but this didn't even taste like whole wheat. My only gripe about these noodles is that they stick together easily. (Maybe operator error?) Anyway the stats for this meal aren't terrible...about 400 total with tons of fiber from the pasta and the sauce.

I am going to a Weight Watcher's meeting tomorrow so I'll post my weigh in stats from that and let you know how it goes. I think it will be good for me to sit through a meeting right before the holidays start. I'm hoping that increasing my workouts and decreasing my caloric intake works for me. Otherwise I'll be one disappointed girl come January 5th.

So tell me, any tips for me? Remember I'm trying to lose the healthy way. No cabbage soup diet, slim fast or mystery maple syrup drinks for me. Less ice cream might help though!

"She feels like kicking out all the windows and setting fire to this life"

I went through a huge Dave Matthews Band phase in high school. I never really listen to them anymore but I've always had a soft spot for "Grey Street." It reminds me of everything I went through and everything I overcame. I really don't know if I would have survived high school if it hadn't been for great music. I remember lying in bed after a breakup, feeling as if it was the end of the world and listening to sad sack music for hours wishing I could feel better. And I always felt better after a good song. I think music has healing powers. Do you have a song that makes you feel better everytime you hear it?



Yesterday, I made myself a fantastic sandwich using leftover cranberry-apple sauce, turkey, irish cheddar, and a tomato. It was beyond amazing. The sharp cheddar cheese went so well with the slightly sweet cranberry sauce. I love sweet and savory combos.



To prove my weird cravings yesterday. I ate a salty pickle, carrots and crunchy pb and 2 Newman O's with my sandwich. The carrots were boring so I dipped the Newman O's in the PB. YUM!



I also wanted to share some of my Christmas decorations with you. I am obsessed with Snoopy. My parents claim it was one of my first words. "Two-pee," I believe it.



Cute stockings from Andy's mom.



A candy dish



One of my favorite ornaments. My parents got it for us last year when we got engaged.



My aunt got us this ornament. I LOVE IT! It says Amanda & Andrew 11/10/08. Our engagement date.





Told you I liked Snoopy.



Andy's favorite ornament. lol.



My first Christmas card from my good friend Shelly.





I got the book Rose made us! It is beautiful in person with plenty of pages for pictures. I can't wait to fill it up with wedding pictures. Check out Lobster Books and have Rose make you an album or a journal.



I love the exposed spine. This picture clearly doesn't do it justice and just shows you that I was playing xbox instead of working.



And the hearts for Andy and I to put our names.



Also Rose, my dad is obsessed with trains. (In a completely nerdy way!) So this card fits me perfectly. How did you know?! haha

Flashback Friday! In honor of my new blog friend Janetha I have decided to participate in Flashback Friday.



Here's Andy and I at our "first look." We both cried a lot.



I look like a T.Rex





This was way fun!



Hope you enjoyed my flashback friday! Would you guys like it if I posted more wedding recaps? And if you posted a flashback friday post, please let me know and I'll link to it!

Yes, I really do cook.

I'm in a mood. I really wish I wasn't. Yesterday, I did some errands with my mom and did some Christmas shopping. It was fun and relaxing and I finally finished my Christmas shopping for Andy! But for some reason, I am in a funk today.

I wish I could explain more but unfortunately someone is reading my food blog and I do not want that person knowing what's up quite yet. Vague enough for you?



Ok, here are the eats I've created over the last 2 weeks. Green bean casserole. With fresh green beans, ricotta cheese, summer squash and homemade mushroom gravy. It was time-consuming but so worth it. I did include the traditional french-fried onions. They were good!



Turkey burger on whole wheat bread. Boring picture, awesome turkey burger.



Kerrygold cheddar really made these turkey burgers. This cheese is so sharp and creamy. YUM!



Fontina, tomato and asparagus frittatas. I've made this frittata before



Peanut butter, banana and flax toast!



It was a good recovery meal after an intense workout.



Gingerbread latte and starbucks oatmeal. This oatmeal is ok...a little watery for my taste though.



The best butter on the planet.



With herb-crusted pork loin and mashed potatoes. (The butter is in the mashed potatoes. I used 1 tbsp and made 4 servings.)



My mock Thanksgiving day meal. Cranberry-apple sauce, roasted butternut squash with brown sugar, turkey cutlets and a hawaiian roll.



For the butternut squash, I sliced up half a squash into cube shapes and coated them in 1 tsp olive oil, 2 tsp honey and 1 tbsp brown sugar. Tossed to coat and roasted in the oven at 400* for 25 minutes.



For the cranberry-apple sauce, I boiled 1 cup water and 1/2 white sugar. Then added 2 sliced honey crisp apples and 1 bag cranberries. Continue to boil until cranberries pop and release their natural pectin. This sauce WAS SO GOOD! I liked the sauce more than anything else.

So I've got to ask, do you have any cyber stalkers or unwanted guests reading your blog? How do you deal with it? I've decided to let them read and enjoy...maybe they really like cooking?

Also...have you ever heard of Butternut squash (Cucurbita moschata) dermatitis? It's a contact dermatitis from cutting up butternut squash? I noticed in last night when my hands got all dry, yellow and waxy feeling. It's gone now luckily but how weird is that? I googled, "hands feel weird after cutting butternut squash," and found tons of blog posts about it. WEIRD!

Split Peas Please

I have a terrible memory and barely remember stopping at the Black Bear Diner in Shasta Lake, Ca. But I do have photos for proof. Here is Helena and Sarah with a bear.



Andy ordered some chunky chili with red onions and cheese. His chili was insanely thick. TWSS!



I ordered a BLAST. Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado, Swiss and Tomatoes. It was delicious. I am a sucker for BLTs and Club sandwiches at diners. They are usually safe. I got a side of chicken and rice soup with my sandwich.



About 18 hours later, we stopped in Santa Nella, Ca for Split Pea soup at Andersen's. Yes, my mom is wearing a snowflake sweatshirt...



I ordered a big bowl of split pea conjuring up countless jokes about The Exorcist.



And a side salad.



Andy went one step ahead of me and ordered his split pea in a bread bowl. Smart man.



Do you like split pea soup? I love it. It's pretty much my favorite soup ever actually!

P.S. I have had a ton of good luck lately. Some of which I will announce later, some of which I will announce now!

1. Rose made us a photo album! I cannot wait to get it in person! Isn't it gorgeous? And I feel a connection to Rose because I collect crab and lobster things.

2. I won some Chobani love from Janetha at Meals and Moves YAY!

More to come soon!

SANTA! I know him!

Look, I promised you a post about Santa. And I'm giving you one.



Yes, I am aware that I look like a complete freak. My forehead was so cold!



Paige, Rosie, Andy and Helena getting excited for Santa!



Sarah and me.



Obviously we didn't get all that close. Santa, a beaver (wtf?), gingerbread men and reindeers broke through the crowd and moved it to the stage



We broke through the crowd and headed over to my Aunt Margie's house for some turkey durango.



Turkey durango is turkey fajitas/tacos using leftover turkey from Thanksgiving.



My aunt also made a delicious salad with olives and fritos. YUM. (There was more to the salad than that, I'll have to get the recipe!)



Here's my taco/salad/corona combination. Seriously a winner. The turkey combined with cheese, sour cream, and veggies tastes nothing like your typical Thanksgiving leftovers.



I was super excited to find Ruby Red Squirt in the gas station in Sunriver. California (at least my neck of the woods) does not carry Ruby Red Squirt. It was my favorite when I was an overweight teenager. Needless to say, it's way too bubbly and did not sit well with me. I think my soda drinking days are over. Unless it's carbonated italian sodas or carbonated juice.

Does your family have any Thanksgiving traditions? Do you make anything special with your leftovers?

EDITED: I lost 2 lbs this week! 2 exactly? How did I do that? I'm excited!