Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Fall has arrived!

I am not particularly fond of how quickly it's gotten cold,but I do love fall decor. Today I decorated my pumpkin. That's right, I said decorated. I am not crazy about carving pumpkins, I have actually never done it. I think I am too OCD for that much mess. It was never a tradition in my family.
So here's what I did with my pumpkin:





How cute is that?! I saw it on pinterest. Speaking of pinterest, I am completely obsessed! If you'd like an invite, comment below with your email address and I'll send you one!
The rest of my porch is decorated for fall too of course. I'm not sure when I became the crazy seasonal wreath lady, but it happened. (is that showing my age?)
I got this wreath from sam's club.




I also got this mum plant (more like a bush) from sam's







As much of a summer girl as I am, I do love aspects of fall.

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Friday, July 29, 2011

"Finally."

I've known Ryan was up to something for awhile now, because I can't stand secrets. On Sunday last week we went to have dinner with my parents. I went out to walk the dog, and when I came back in everyone got really quiet. You know the feeling when you walk into a room and everyone shuts up because they were just talking about you? That's the feeling I got. So I was pretty sure Ryan was asking for their blessing, but I kept my mouth shut. On Monday, we were on our way to the Natural Bridge when Ryan got a phone call from an unknown number. Since we were in the car, he turned down the volume on the phone real quick so I wouldn't hear. Lately he's been wandering outside when he gets a phone call. Not to mention he's been very secretive with the computer, as well as his phone lately. Which of course has only made more me curious and suspicious!
On Wednesday my curiosity got the better of me, and Ryan had accidentally left his phone unattended. I checked his email and one said in the subject line "your blue Nile order has shipped." I immediately texted my friend who is also in limbo (living with her boyfriend, impatiently waiting for him to propose), and said "crap! Ryan bought the wrong damn ring! Now what am I going to do??" I followed that up with "don't respond to that, sometimes Ryan checks to see if I've been snooping, so I'm deleting that."
So she facebooked me and said call her, but Ryan kept following me around so I was having a hard time getting a chance. So I told Ryan I wanted to go hang out with her yesterday, because her boyfriends parents are visiting and starting to drive her crazy. We went hiking at back bay refuge in the morning, but I wasn't feeling good so we left. When we got home Ryan said something about needing to go get air filters, and he left in a hurry. Turns out he had the ring fed exed to the same friend that I was going to see yesterday. He was really rushing to her house to pickup the ring before I got there. We just missed each other, and my friend kept me totally out of the loop. Turns out she had helped him pick it out last week when I was taking the RVE. He had planned to propose at the top of the mountain when we hiked crabtree falls, but my ring size is smaller than average and had to be custom ordered and didn't get here in time. His backup plan was to go back to the restaurant we had our first date, Stove. We always go around the beginning of the month since our first date was December 1st. Ryan will frequently say he's going to make reservations and then doesn't until the day before (which drives me nuts!). Being the type A personality that I am, I called and made a reservation myself. Apparently that messed up his other plan. (We all know he couldn't have held out til Tuesday anyways)
So after I got home from my friend's house, I wasn't feeling good. (I may have been sulking a little too, knowing he had a ring and thinking he'd bought the wrong one). So I laid down, playing a game on my phone.
Ryan came and laid down next to me, and wanting to cheer me up but I was ignoring him. He sat there with the ring for a few minutes and I didn't even notice haha! When he proposed, my answer was "finally."
That's our engagement story :)
As far as the ring...I have been panicked the last 6 months, worrying he would pick something I didn't like. I've emailed him thousands of suggestions. I've emailed my friends thousands of suggestions. I shouldn't have worried, it's perfect and I love it. I posted a picture of it already (by request), but here's another from a different angle.




Ryan has much different taste than I do, he likes simple and plain while I like more ornate styles. So I was surprised to see he chose something my style.
Blue Nile always takes a professional picture of their ring before they send it to you, and posts it with the setting under recently purchased rings. Here is the professional picture





Now it's the day after and I've been making a list of possible locations. I'd really like to do the botanical gardens, but we'll see what happens with availability. Neither of us have the most flexible schedule. My OCD is going nuts not having a plan yet, so I think I'll feel better when we have a date and a place.



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Friday, July 1, 2011

I could just pee.

I am so excited!! It is July 2nd. Holy freaking crap. It's almost my Christmas! I am slightly stressed out because I have a bajillion things to do for school and they're all due within the next week. I was also trying to paint the bathroom before Ryan comes home, but it's not looking good.
I keep saying it'll be worth it but sometimes I'm not so sure.
I saw this on someones Facebook today:
If you ever think about giving up...don't. God gave you your life because he knew no one else could handle it.
Sometimes I wonder why other people have had it so easy, and my life has been a crazy roller coaster. But it was worth it. I'm not sure I would have found Ryan if I hadn't hit a few of those hills along the way. I am happier than I have ever been and I am really just so excited he's coming home I could just pee.
When he comes home he gets some vacation time, so we're going to the Shenandoah valley. We're going to visit the natural bridge and luray caverns, do some hiking, and maybe white water rafting. So far I haven't been able to find a company that does rafting trips in Virginia.
We're staying at a Bed and Breakfast that used to be a mill. It sounds interesting. Check it out by clicking Here .
I can't wait! Especially since the last time we went away for a weekend was awhile ago.
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Thursday, June 30, 2011

Tell me you're not getting an enema?

So I have been considering doing a master cleanse for awhile now. I have been sick way too much this past school year, and I want to get all the junk out of my body.
When I told Ryan about it, this was his response "What does a master cleanse mean? Tell me you're not getting an enema?"
After I recovered from laughing so hard, I explained that NO I will not be getting an enema :D...unless it is required  by a doctor. For the master cleanse, you spend 10 days drinking and eating nothing but this lemonade mixture 6 times a day, and drinking regular water in between. If you want to read more about it, click here. My main problem is I don't know if I can actually go ten whole days without eating! I mean I love food. I love cooking. I love the smell. I love eating. I love the first bite when you close your eyes and it takes you somewhere else. And I am going to spend TEN DAYS not eating. What the heck am I thinking??
I'll let you know how it goes and if I am actually able to stick to it.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Deep dish cookie pie

I have been on a major sweet kick lately, so I was super excited to discover chocolate covered Katie, a blog about making healthy treats taste naughty.

You'll need:

2 cans white beans or garbanzo drained and rinsed ( I used garbanzo)

1 C quick oats

1/4 C unsweetened apple sauce

3 T canola oil

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 C brown sugar ( I didn't have brown sugar so I used regular sugar and added a tablespoon of molasses)

1C chocolate chips



Blend everything but the chocolate in a food processor. Stir in chips, and pour into well oiled pan. I used a 10 inch spring form pan typically used for cheesecakes. The recipe calls for baking at 350 for 35 minutes, but I ended up leaving it in closer to an hour, and it's still a little gooey.



I know when I first read it, I thought beans...gross! But I swear you can't even tell. This is a must try! You won't be sorry. I don't joke about chocolate.

So stop drooling over my picture and start baking!















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Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Warning: This post is sappy.

I went to the FRG meeting tonight. For those of you non military, FRG stands for family readiness group. They're pretty much the go between for the families and the ship. I haven't been to many of the events they plan, mostly because they're geared more towards people with kids. Oh and most of the girls are snotty and full of drama.
I did however go to the meeting tonight, because the captain calls into the meetings with updates and this was the homecoming meeting. That's right I said homecoming. It's kind of crazy to think back to the beginning of this deployment and when I thought about X months, I put a smile on my face while my heart was breaking and I was really pondering how on earth I'd make it this long.
Now thinking we have X amount of time left, I can't believe it's almost here and I'm so proud of myself for not falling apart. (the house on the other hand is another story)
I've tried not to be one of those boyfriend obsessed girls. I really have. But as the end is in sight,it's hard to think about anything else. How am I supposed to focus when the other half of my heart is on the other side of the world?
With each day that draws us closer, my heart feels more heavy. I swear it's going to burst by the time he comes home.
So as I crawl into bed, I remember we may not be under the same roof but we're always under the same stars.

Star light, star bright,
The first star I see tonight;
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Have the wish I wish tonight.

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Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Brace yourself...

This recipe is going to rock your world.
Samoa babies. As in the girl scout cookie, but without all the gluten :)
You will need:
1/2 C packed dates
2 T shredded coconut
splash vanilla
scant 1/8 tsp salt
1 T chocolate (at least softened, but I melted mine)

Throw it all in the food processor, and blend. I was going to take a picture to show you, but I ate them all before I could get that far!

There are soooo many varieties of babies...I have tried the Samoas and the original fudge babies so far.
I got the recipe from this AmAzInG blog, Chocolate Covered Katie. Her moto is "Where healthy tastes naughty." Check it out. You know you want to.