Our Own Ordinary

First & Last

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Tue, 31 Dec 2013 20:53:00 +0000

Now there is no way that I could go through the whole year without blogging at least once, right? There's no time better than the last day of the year. Or something.

So, hi!

I always wanted to get back into this whole 'blogging' thing, but then it started to feel like a job, so I stopped (I wasn't getting paid after all). I was forcing myself to post, and search for content, when I didn't want to blog at all. So I just started ignoring the whole blog completely. I still read blogs, but even a few months ago I stopped doing that.

Anyway, for multiple reasons, I'm back!

2013 was a huge year for me, us. C and I. I mean WE GOT MARRIED. Remember the wedding I didn't think would happen? Happened. And we wouldn't change a thing. Ok, maybe we would, because he started planning our vow renewal on our wedding night, but still. We made the memories.

That was the biggest, and BEST! moment of 2013.

Sure, there were other things that happened, like I ran my first 5k in May. I still haven't ran an 'official' one. But I know I can do it. In July I ran a 10K. Then it got to hot and I didn't try that one again. But the point is, I did it, and I know I can and will do it again.

When I left this little blog last December, I had just stopped Weight Watchers. Well, I did what I wanted until April, gained 15 pounds, and started it back up again. I hit my lowest weight on my wedding day. The holidays are always going to be a struggle for me, but I'm getting myself back together, and I'm getting rid of these last 20 pounds in 2014.

Speaking of 2014...this may be the year that we become Californians. I mean, C has an interview in two weeks. So, that could really be happening. We are ecstatic! So, here's to blogging a bit more regularly (especially if he gets the job) in 2014!

Rosemary Roasted Chicken & Vegetables with Bacon

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 15:30:00 +0000

Just a heads up-I HATE this meal for a weeknight meal. It's a lot of chopping/slicing/dicing. But? If C is home to help me? I don't mind. It's worth every minute it takes to prepare it! So tasty.

Rosemary Roasted Chicken & Vegetables with Bacon

Serves 4

What you need-

2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

2 red bell peppers, sliced

1 large leek (I use yellow onion), sliced

2 tsp olive oil

1 tbs chopped fresh rosemary

3/4 tsp salt

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces

2 slices bacon, coarsely chopped

What you do-

Preheat oven to 425. Combine potatoes, peppers, leek (onion), oil, 2 tsp rosemary, and salt in a large shallow roasting pan, toss to coat and roast for about 20 minutes.

While that's roasting, sprinkle the chicken with the remaining rosemary. Spray a skillet with non stick spray and brown the chicken, it takes about 5 minutes.

Put the chicken on top of the vegetables and roast, stirring occasionally, for about 20 more minutes (or until chicken is cooked through and veggies are tender).

Meanwhile, cook the bacon and drain it on a paper towel. Once you take the chicken and vegetables out of the oven, sprinkle the chopped bacon over the chicken and veggies.

The serving size is 1 1/4 cups, and it's 7 PPV. Yep, another WW recipe.

I usually serve mine with something green, a salad of some sort.

Spend It Like We Got It

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 15:57:00 +0000

I'm sure you all remember the whiny wecan'treallyaffordawedding post last week? Well a week or so before C proposed, he took me on a shopping spree of sorts. You see, I'd been begging for chairs to match our dining room table since...well since I bought the dining room table back in 2008 (it was a steal at PB Outlet okay? I learned my lesson-don't purchase a table sans chairs). I know, right?! Anyway the day started out with us going to look at chairs.

Okay, so I'm not a good window shopper. I know this. Somehow C managed to finagle 4 chairs in his smallish car. And yes, he strapped them in. He'll be such a good daddy some day. ;)

Ahem.

And then I couldn't stand looking at our dinky TV stand one more minute. Truthfully, I'd been begging for something, anything! to get rid of that thing.

If I were pregnant, I would have called this nesting. But I'm not so I didn't. I just called it, 'Ashley's Spoiled Rotten Weekend 2012'.

So I had to get something. Pronto. Off to Ikea we went.

Once again, C made large boxes fit into his smallish car, and I nearly had to take a taxi home because there wasn't any room for me in the back seat!

The next day...

Yep, I just had him slap that bad boy up in the middle of the wall and I didn't move another piece of furniture. A month later, and it's still like this. I need to do something with those shelves...I did get more wicker baskets to fill out the bottom of the entertainment center though. Progress, people.

Oh, but the cherry on top?

He then took me to buy this...

OMG I'm so rotten.

For the record, we'd been using a 6 ft tree for the last 5+ years. I'd gotten my $20 worth, mmk? I'd been begging for a 7 1/2 foot tree for a couple of years now. We just recently moved into a place where we had enough space for a tree that large to make sense.

Or so I thought.

This thing is a beast. The height? Perfect. The girth? OMG we had to rearrange half of the house. It's so...ROUND. I still love it though. Even if we did have to buy over 500 more lights to put on it and if we have to sit in the dining room to watch the TV that's in the living room.

Ha.

So yeah. I'm spoiled. And by spoiled I mean grateful and thankful. C is too good to me. That wedding? I know if I really want it, I can have it, but I just really need to think about it some more. And if one more person asks me on a Monday morning, 'Didya get married this weekend?' I will lose my shit.

Cincinnati-Style Beef Chili

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 16:16:00 +0000

Ok, so another beef recipe. Shoot me. But? A cold front moved through at the beginning of last week and I needed a chili fix. This is not your ordinary chili recipe. We were all pleasantly surprised, and we fought over the left overs too (unheard of)!

Cincinnati-Style Beef Chili

Serves 4 plus leftovers

What you need-

2 tbs paprika

2 tbs cocoa powder (trust me)

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cinnamon (weird, right?)

1 tsp allspice (super weird!)

1 tsp salt

1 1/4 pounds lean ground beef (I used 7% fat)

1 (15 1/2 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 onion, diced

8 cloves minced garlic

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 (14 1/2 oz) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

8 ounces whole wheat spaghetti (this is where it gets good!)

1/2 cup diced red onion

4 tbs shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

I also added another can of beans (I don't remember what kind, and this will also effect the ppv) and garnished with a dollop of light sour cream, oh, and the boys added cayenne pepper because of course it wasn't spicy enough for them!

I realize there are quiet a few ingredients, but don't let that scare you away, it's so simple to make.

What you do-

Stir together the first six ingredients in a small bowl. Brown the meat in a skillet with 3 tablespoons of the spice mixture. Set remaining spice mixture aside. When the meat is browned, add it to a 4 quart slow cooker. Add in the tomatoes, onion, garlic, and vinegar. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours.

About 20 minutes before it's time to eat, add in the rest of the spice mixture and the beans (the cayenne if you want that too). Stir to combine and then cook your pasta until al dente!

Serve 1 cup of spaghetti with 1 1/4 cups chili. 7 PPV, more if you added garnishments like cheese, sour cream, or extra beans like I did.

I should really get my good camera out and snap photos, instead of my phone. Anyway, I was so nervous to try it. Noodles? With chili? But we all loved it!

It's Good To Be Back

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 16:06:00 +0000

I forgot to mention that we finally gave in and got the internet. And by we I mean C. He's super picky about that kind of stuff (speed and all kinds of crap I don't understand) and he finally got tired of me bitching about not being able to use the laptop we just spent way too much money on.

So we got the interwebz and it's decent. Better than what we had (nothing) at least. So that's what all of this random catch up posting is about here recently. A lot of these recipes (photos) and things I posted on Instagram a while back but I'm just now getting around to posting the actual recipe.

I do hate a good catch up post.

You guys! Christmas is just days away. That means? I get to see my dad and brothers who are coming! And almost better than that?!

11 days off of work, PAID.

Yes please.

Also, this Friday, C and I are going to his work Christmas party. He failed to tell me that it's like a dance type thing (WTH C, I DON'T DANCE). But to make it up to me, we're staying at a fancy schmancy hotel downtown for the night.

Bow chicka bow wow.

Just kidding, but I do get to wear my awesome dress that I wore to E's wedding back in September, again.

So that's exciting.

Now just let me get through this week...

N. Family Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 15:58:00 +0000

Thank goodness my sweet family lets me practice my mad photog skillz on them. Here are a few of my favorites from their shoot a few weeks ago-

To see the rest (and better quality) click up top where it says 'Photography'.

Happy Weekend!

Weight...Loss?

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 15:22:00 +0000

It's been a while. But I'm still on the weight loss train. I did cancel my Weight Watchers account. Everyone kept asking me why, so let me explain- I hadn't tracked a single thing since September 14th. Honestly. I was not getting my money's worth as far as eTools and things like that. I was still enjoying the meetings, and weighing in, but it wasn't worth $45 a month (to me).

So I'm going to try this on my own. I'm not counting points really, just watching what I'm eating and being aware of my portions. And I have to keep my movement up. I know what it takes to be successful at this, and I feel like I learned so! much!

I'm still hovering between 30-33 pounds lost since May. I hit my all time low (in years), 169 pounds on Thanksgiving! morning, and no, I haven't seen that number again since then. But I will.

Another thing I accomplished? I completed the 30 Day Shred.

I really really enjoyed it. I felt so great every day when I'd finish. I took my measurements before I started The Shred, but I FORGOT to take my measurements when I was done. I was so mad at myself, I know I lost inches in my upper body for sure because my bra was fitting all weird toward the end. My last day of The Shred was Black Friday, and yes, I did shred on Thanksgiving.

I've seriously had so much support during this whole weight loss journey. My brother, who moved in with us in July, did The Shred with me every single day. C's work schedule didn't allow him to, but T did it with me. It worked because when I didn't feel like doing it, he did and vice versa. I typically don't enjoy working out with another person, but I probably wouldn't have finished without his help.

I was nervous when I did cancel my WW account, but I was prepared. At my last meeting, I bought every single cook book (new YUMMY! recipes coming soon) and a calculator so I can still calculate points if I want.

I only want to lose 10-15 more pounds. But I'm not going to freak out if I don't. I've been hovering around the same weight for a couple of months, and I feel good, and that's what matters to me. Not a number on a scale.

Last week I started the C25K app. I'm scared to death that I won't be able to run the 5k at the end of the eight weeks. I was also scared I wouldn't finish The Shred though too. I am not a runner. I can not run. Can't. I think the most I've ever run without stopping is around 3/4 of a mile. Embarrassing, right? I would pay for someone to teach me how to run. Anyway, we'll see how this goes, and by the end of January, I might be running my first 5k.

Crazy.

Herbed Pot Roast with Carrots and Potatoes

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 16:48:00 +0000

I don't love beef. I usually go for chicken. But sometimes I do crave red meat. It's rare, but it happens. Recently, I tried this new (to me) WW recipe. I changed it up a bit, the original recipe calls for leeks, not carrots, but we aren't fans so I used carrots instead.

Herbed Pot Roast with Carrots and Potatoes

Serves 4 plus leftovers

What you need-

1 2 pound boneless lean beef bottom round roast

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp dried marjoram

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp olive oil

1 pound baby carrots (you can use leeks if you want!)

1 pound small red potatoes (scrubbed and left whole)

1/2 yellow onion sliced

6 cloves of garlic, minced

What you do-

Pat the roast dry. Sprinkle the roast with the herbs and salt. Heat the oil in a skillet and brown the roast on all sides.

Transfer the roast to a 4 quart slow cooker. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook, covered, on low for 8-10 hours.

That's seriously all you do. I'm not going to lie, the first time I made this, I called my grandma (The Roast Making Queen) and asked her if I should put some liquid in it. I was worried it would be dried out. It wasn't! There is a bit of a sauce that it simmers in once it's been cooking for a while.

I served mine with fresh steamed green beans.

7pp per serving!

Can I Just Whine?

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 14:46:00 +0000

Really. I am so overwhelmed right now.

I've never thought about what my wedding day would be like. Ever. Maybe it's because my parents didn't have a wedding? It was never a big thing. No wedding photos around the house or any of that. Heck, I can't even remember my mom ever wearing her wedding ring, or my parents' anniversary date. I think it was in May? Anyway, I can count on one hand how many weddings I've attended. It's just never been something I've thought about. Of course I've always wanted to be married, I just never thought about the actual ceremony and stuff.

A few weeks before C proposed, we'd talked about the whole wedding thing (for the five millionth time). I assured him that I still didn't want a big to-do as far as a wedding was concerned and he was on board. There are a few factors that make a small wedding/elopement make sense for us-

Our moms are both deceased. That takes a lot of fun out of it.

And we have to save whatever money we can for kids. We have to pay to have kids. IVF isn't cheap y'all. And we don't want a house full, we'd be happy with just one.

But of course, I feel like I'm missing out on something if we just go to the courthouse and do it that way. I hate that feeling and he doesn't want me to feel that way either. But spending a lot of money that we don't have (and asking our dad's to help out is basically out of the question) is irresponsible.

I have been doing a bit of research (I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO START!) on a small ceremony and reception but I can't even think of a number for a budget, much less pin down a specific date! The only two dates that have any meaning for us are January 15 (the day we started dating), and November 17 (the day he proposed). I am a date girl. It has to mean something to me.

The last time I checked, January 15, 2013 is just a little over a month away, and in the middle of the week. We could do that-if we wanted to be hasty about it.

November 17, 2013 is on a Sunday, which would work, but do I really want to go down that road of planning/spending money we shouldn't/stressing over a wedding?

People keep asking what we're doing and nearly a month after the engagement we still don't know!

I do know that I keep going back to this photo-

Via

Thanks a lot Pinterest.

I love everything about this except for the cake.

I also like the idea of dark purple accents, and Persian buttercups, and a ceremony in the exact spot he proposed at, and wedding dress shopping (I know right? Who am I?).

Mostly I just want to be married.

Let me throw another curve ball-C has a short term goal of moving us to Cupertino, CA for his job. So that's all up in the air.

I just don't know.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

I'm all ears.

Check Up Update

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 14:02:00 +0000

C had his yearly cat scan/blood work/test results last week.

Everything still looks good and he's still cancer free! I don't think we were as nervous this year for some reason. Maybe it happened so long ago (really only 3 years) that we've forgotten some of the emotions and seriousness of it all.

Anyway, Dr. K told him to go celebrate or something. We never do. We both just exhale loudly and enjoy the fact that we're both healthy!

Check ups are now only once a year for the next two years and then he's done. I told Dr. K that I wouldn't be ready to cut the cord then and he laughed at me. He said that in all of his years of being an oncologist, he's only seen testicular cancer recur 3 times. Everyone else has always been cured.

That's a huge relief. But then, me being me, I just had to know that if the cancer came back where would it come back at? The answer? The stomach, and usually you don't know it's back unless you're having routine blood work/tests. That's a little scary, but we aren't going there.

As we were leaving, Dr. K said, 'It's almost like it never even happened, this whole cancer thing.' I was like, 'Uh, almost.'

In my head I was thinking about the whole wecan'thavekidsnaturally thing. COME ON ASHLEY! Be grateful that your fiancé is alive and healthy! I'm sure when he said that, C was thinking, yeahexceptforthewholemyhairwillbethinandannoyingfortherestofmylife thing.

Cancer sucks!

Our Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 16:36:00 +0000

I know I'm getting all crazy with the whole engagement thing around these parts, but I promise this is the last engagement related post for a while. I just wanted to share a few of my favorite photos from our recent engagement shoot. To see the rest, click up top where it says 'Photography'.

That bench? In the second photo? That's the bench we were on when he proposed. I can't wait to hang these in our house!

An Engagement Q&A With C

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 19:43:00 +0000

I know this is my little corner of the internet and all, but I knew I wanted to write up a post about this soon after it happened. All in C's words. It's more for me than any of you. I just wanted to know his feelings throughout the whole thing. So? I asked him a few questions, and this is what he had to say...

Tell me the moment when you knew Ashley was 'the one'.

One night when we'd only known each other for a few weeks, we were laying down on the floor. Our bodies were lying in opposite directions with our heads nearly touching. Both our arms were outstretched and with one hand each we were slightly touching each other's shoulders and I was playing with her hair. I don't think anything was being said, but I remember thinking at that moment that I really liked this girl. Just that moment of connection, everything felt real.

Tell me what you want everyone to know about the proposal (besides of course the fact that u aren't a douche ((his words!)) who never buys her flowers).
I really wish that I hadn't waited so long. I know in the grand scheme of things it didn't matter, but what if Ashley had decided to move on? I don't know what I would have done without her.

At what point during the night did you start getting nervous? Or where you ever nervous?
There wasn't any one particular time I got nervous, it was every time I realized the culmination point of the night. Thinking about the ring I had, and the act of asking, that's when I felt nervous. Instead, I needed to force myself to think about the current moment.

How did you feel right when you got down on your knee? Relieved that it was about to be over or more nervous than ever?
I was excited! My heard was pounding, I was just so excited to finally be asking "the question". I'm pretty sure I was grinning ear to ear. He totally was.

What was your favorite part of the night?
The most obvious part was when she said "Of course!" and we both laughed. I felt like the luckiest guy on Earth. Then my second favorite was when we were walking down the path before we sat down, just the look on her face when I'd catch her glancing at me.

How long did you have the ring before u decided to pop the question?
Gosh, I'd only had it for barely a week. Something like 5 days. The moment I had the ring, I thought to myself: "I'm ready for this now!"

Was there any point during the evening when you thought she knew what was coming? When?
Actually, I thought she had no clue about the ring part! I knew, she knew where we were eating the night before when Tyler(her brother) said "Bring me leftovers!" and she said "If we go where I think we're going, there will be leftovers". I had no idea she knew about me popping "the question", although I don't know why I was surprised. I'd been thinking about this moment for the last 6 months, so I can only imagine she'd been thinking about it for years.

Why were you so insistent on going to the first park? Why not just go to the park y'all always go to (that you ended up at anyway)?

It wasn't really about the first park, there was nothing special about the location. It was about the moment. I was afraid that she'd just insist we'd go home and my opportunity would be wasted. I was just scared that I would have missed the chance to ask her to marry me.

Why November 17th?

I wish I could say it was for some romantic reason, or that I did it to make it easy to remember, or anything like that. It wasn't. I just one day decided I wanted to pay off the rest of the ring, then the moment I had it I was just too excited and I had to do it... soon.

Name two moments from the whole night that you never want to forget.
There was a candle on our table at dinner and I pointed out that it wasn't lit. Then a while later our waitress noticed the unlit candle and lit it. When I looked up from the candle, Ashley was looking at me and I just stared into her eyes for a few seconds and I felt complete. Then the second moment was after we got to the park and we sat down on the bench. We were talking a bit and it was so romantic (but Ashley was noting the creaking in the woods), I had my head on her chest and we were just holding each other. I didn't want that moment to ever end. It was dark! And I kept hearing rustling across the river. I was a little scared.

I look forward to being able to come back and read this post. None of his answers surprised me really, they did make me tear up a bit though!

Proposal Night-Part Two.

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 15:29:00 +0000

For part one click here.

So we're driving into Austin and he's messing with his phone (maps) to get us where we're going and we're sitting at a red light. He was in the wrong lane, and I told him that he needed to be in the other lane to turn left. Remember, I'm supposed to have no idea where we are going. He just laughed at me. He knew I already had this part of our night figured out.

We finally got to dinner. Maggiano's-

We'd only ever been there once before and I remember telling him that it would be a sweet place for a proposal. So we ordered. He got even more quiet-if that's possible. The food came. We ate. I texted my brother (who text-yelled at me to get off of my phone and enjoy my night. I love that boy). Nothing happened. I just new it was coming. We skipped dessert and then I knew it wasn't happening yet. The check came and we paid and left. Who wants to be proposed to over a huge bowl of pasta anyway?

Ahem.

So we walked back to the car and I asked what else was planned for the night. C acted like he had no plans and he asked me what I wanted to do. I told him I didn't really care (ok, so I was bummed that dinner was a bit uneventful). I was pretty tired and cold and I just wanted to go home and get comfy in my pajamas.

Then he insisted that we drive to a park. I was like, okay, that's fine (nothing too unusual). But he insisted on driving to a park that we never go to. A big one. In the dark. It was 50 degrees out. I was in uncomfortable shoes. I was also tired. During the week I go to bed around 9 because I wake up so early for work. It was past 9 at this point. Old lady right here.

Yeah, this was getting interesting.

After 30 minutes of googling maps of trails in the park and finding nothing, plus it was too dark in this particular park, he said, "I guess I didn't really have this all planned out too well."

And then I knew.

It was happening that night. So I changed my attitude and forgot about my achy feet and cold hands. I finally talked him into just taking me to the park that we always go to. It's closer to our house anyway.

But first I needed something warm to keep me awake and alert. We stopped at Starbucks, I grabbed a drink and went into the bathroom to give myself a quick pep talk. I knew it was close.

We got into the car, he snapped a pic of me with my first red cup of the season and we headed to the park.

As soon as we got there and parked, I was sitting there putting this photo on Instagram-

As I was sitting there ~~looking at the creepy chick in the background of this photo~~ playing on my phone, C jumped out of the car and went to the trunk. He opened my door for me and had these in his hand-

You guys. Six years, ten months and two days later the man bought me flowers. Again, another first. I always gave him grief about never buying me flowers. Also, I knew this is where he had gone* earlier when he told me he was going to 'put gas in the car'. He went to get me these! Then left them in the trunk all evening! So, dinner reservations and flowers in the same night? Big things were happening!

He opened the door and handed me the flowers and I almost started crying right then and there. Thank goodness I didn't though because he wasn't ready to pop the question just yet.

C grabbed his jacket (apparently my ring was wrapped up in it) and we started walking down the trail a bit. It was dark and chilly (I kept telling him to put his jacket on but he wouldn't), but so...us.

We found a bench not far from a light post so we weren't in complete darkness (the light was all behind us). The river was right in front of us and we sat there for a while. Just talking.

This is when C got nervous. He started fidgeting on the bench, and breathing hard. It was so cute. At this point I'm just thinking to myself, 'COME ON C! GET ON YOUR KNEE!'

And then he got on his knee. He talked to me about commitment and a few other things (man how I wish I could have recorded everything he said), said he had something to ask me, then he said it.

'Will you marry me?'

And what did I do?

I started laughing at him. LAUGHING. For. The. Love.

Then I burst out crying and said, 'Of course I'll marry you, YES!'

I cried for a while. I think it was shock. I'm not sure. I was always ready for him to ask me, and I knew it was coming, I just couldn't believe it!

He pulled out a white box, which he had wrapped his jacket around (like he thought I would pat him down looking for a box or something, no wonder he wouldn't wear his jacket!) popped it open and all I saw was a sparkle.

Honestly.

It was so dark that I couldn't see the ring. He slipped it on my finger and he came back up and sat on the bench next to me for a while. Finally, I said, 'Let's go walk over under that street lamp.' I needed a good look at the ring after all.

We stood there for forever just hugging. I said to him, 'This is one of those moments that we'll look back on in 50 years and remember vividly.'

The night was perfect. And nothing I expected.

I only told five people that night. One of which was my brother who lives with us. The others were my best co-worker E (she gave me her bouquet at her September wedding), my friend Kim, my dad, and my oldest younger brother.

I sat on this big fat secret for over 14 hours...when we finally told my family. Over a week later and I think they are still in shock as well!

*If you read part one, you might remember that he took off like a lightning bolt when he left to go ~~'put gas in the car'~~ buy me the most gorgeous flowers in central Texas. Literally ran out of the room-he had the RING BOX IN HIS HAND. I was standing in the bathroom fixing my hair. How did I miss that?

Date Night Turned PROPOSAL Night.

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 17:29:00 +0000

I can't believe I'm finally able to post our Proposal Story. I knew it was coming, I just assumed it'd be in December.

We're engaged!

It was kind of a long ordeal (that I loved every second of!), and I don't want to forget a single detail, so here we go...

It started out with a text last Friday evening that C sent me while he was at work-

As soon as I got the text, I turned to my brother T, and said, 'Why is he trying to butter me up? Is he going to propose?!' I was only half kidding.

Let me back up. C has never asked me out on a date. Ever. I'm always the one who has planned everything. Type A say what? Anyway. As soon as I got this text I started throwing every photo I could onto Instagram because I wanted to document this, but if I would have pulled out my big camera, he would have known I knew what was coming.

And no, I wouldn't have felt like an idiot if this wasn't 'it' either because? I was at least documenting the first 'date' we'd ever been on that he'd fully planned. Aw.

When C got home Friday night, I asked him where we were going to dinner (I had an idea, but wanted to see if he'd tell me) and he wouldn't tell me. He only said that I should dress cute and comfortable, and maybe no jeans (yeah, right, C). So, I dragged him to the mall because I needed something cute to wear, ok? This was finally happening after all. He also picked up a few new things, which helped confirm my suspicions.

Moving on. Saturday (ENGAGEMENT DAY!) was a normal day. I did make sure to make time to paint my nails.

Ahem.

Around noon I asked him what time we were going to dinner. He said he wanted to be there around 7. Which in my brain meant only one thing. He'd made reservations. What?! That's never happened. Ever.

The day continued on and by the time I was getting ready for what we were calling 'Date Night', I'd talked myself out of anything special happening. He was acting completely normal. So I put on my brand new jeggings (oh yes I did) and some cute shoes-

C was already ready at this point and I was just finishing up when he said, 'I need to go put gas in my car.' I was like, 'Ok that's fine, I'm almost ready, we can get some on the way.' He wasn't having that, so he insisted on leaving right then (like, he literally ran out of the room) to go 'get gas'. I had a feeling I knew where he was going but I wasn't going to let my excitement get to me. Forty-five minutes later he drives up and I was ready to go! He walked in the door and I expected him to be carrying flowers, but I didn't let the disappointment show on my face when he came in empty handed. We told my brother bye! (he knew something was up, but C hadn't told him anything) and off we went.

But only after snapping this photo-

We got into his car and I expected flowers in my seat, or SOMETHING. But no. Still no flowers. At this point I'm wondering where in the world he went off to for 45 minutes. Oh well. So we start driving South into Austin. I still had 'no idea' where we were going, which I may have tweeted about. I was feeling very nervous (ok and I was secretly writing this blog post in my head). This is around the time C got really quiet. As in, we didn't talk much on the 30 minute drive to dinner, and he let me turn up the radio when Bruno Mars-Locked Out of Heaven, came on the radio. Something was definitely up....

Check back for part 2!

Our Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 17:39:00 +0000

It was a gorgeous day. I started it out by shredding and ended the day by eating my second dinner.

Honestly.

I didn't take a single photo (of people) all day. I always regret it when I do that.

We have so much to be grateful for this year. Health being number one. It's always around this time of the year that we remember three years ago when C was diagnosed. It's also around this time of the year when he goes back for a check up, and my heart starts beating a little faster until the tests are done and the results are in.

I'm certain he feels the same way.

We also have a cute new place to call home this Thanksgiving. We are so grateful.

Not to mention my weight loss journey. I'm kicking this weight thing in the ass. Between The Shred and Weight Watchers, I'm winning. But that's a whole 'nother post. I'm so grateful.

More about what else I'm grateful for coming soon...

Oh and? I'm BACKKKKKK!

Weight...Loss?

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 14:48:00 +0000

I just wanted to post a quick update about my weight loss situation real quick.

I'm at 27 pounds lost total.

I had my first week (last week) where the scale didn't move. I was more okay with it than I thought I would be. I'd rather not see it move, than see the number get larger I suppose.

I set a new mini goal for myself- lose 8 pounds by Thanksgiving.

I'm definitely struggling with the plan since I don't have access to the internet, or e-Tools. I haven't tracked in 3 weeks...we'll see how it goes.

I'm still working out 4 times a week. Although, now that C is back to working nights, I'm going by myself after work. I don't mind it, it's not nearly as crowded at that time.

I have to admit, I got pretty ticked off the other day when I put on some pants I bought back in June (on clearance for cooler weather, and in a smaller size) and they were already too big. I rarely buy myself clothes, so to spend money on something that I won't get any use out of makes me nauseous. I learned my lesson though.

That about sums it up.

We Need To Talk

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 15:38:00 +0000

Can I just talk about this photo for a minute? I mean, really.

I walked out onto the back porch Saturday morning and saw this. Actually, his ass was pointed at me, but as soon as he heard me shut the door, he turned around and stared me down.

Really? We have a bull in our back yard? I knew we were classified as 'rural' and all but this is almost too much like where I grew up (which I've been trying to get away from since before I got there).

Anyway.

Apparently the only people that can find us on their GPS is Papa John's. I know, right?

We're too far out in the boonies to get our cable/internet of choice.

We're too far out to get a mailbox key made within a decent amount of time.

We're too far out for the Sears delivery guys to find us.

Honestly. If I would have known this would be the case when living in a newer house, I wonder if we would have jumped into this place so quickly. Probably so.

For the record, we aren't that far out. There are toll roads all around us, and we're only 4 minutes from our old apartment.

I feel like I should be churning my own butter or something though.

I've Got Nothin'

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 18:31:00 +0000

Literally. I've got nothin'. No internet, no cable, no good books to read, and nothing to blog about. I'm currently at the library mooching off the internet. I had a million different blog topics in my head the other night, and now when I have the chance to finally execute?

Nothing.

So here's just another lame photo update of what's been going on around here.

These are tasty. And 4 pp.

We can finally recycle, and guess who is the only one doing it? Me. So I put this little reminder on the trash can last week. I think it's working. See also-the earthy crunchy Montessori school I work at is completely rubbing off on me. Next thing you know I'll be teaching the boys all about compost.

First bubble bath in the new place was pretty sweet.

My brother asked me to bake banana bread last weekend. So I did. And I also ate more than I'd planned, even though it tasted way too sweet. Funny how tastes change when your diet changes. Also, funny story...I'm embarrassed to admit that my baking mojo has left the building. I mixed everything, put it in the pan, threw it in the oven to bake, and then while I was cleaning up I realized I'd forgotten to add in the vanilla! So 5 minutes into the bake time, I pulled it out and added vanilla, all the while crossing my fingers that the bread wouldn't stick to the pan (it didn't!) since I had to kind of move it around. See the Pam for Baking in that photo? I can't live without it. Works wonders.

At 26 years old, I finally feel like an adult. Mostly because our washer and dryer were delivered last week. We're getting crazy y'all.

I can't wait to decorate our front porch for fall/winter, but I could hardly get rid of our beautiful geraniums that we've somehow managed to keep alive for over 6 months. (That's no small feat during a Texas summer). Regardless, our front porch is currently confused. Is it spring? Or fall?

And then this happened. I love this man. I should note that I woke up to a peeled orange waiting for me in the fridge the next morning-he even got rid of most of the white stringy things (bleh!).

Happy Birthday C!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 12:12:00 +0000

Chris turns 26 today. Yay for him!

We're working opposite schedules right now, so I won't get to see him. That's pretty lame. We'll have to celebrate this coming weekend.

I gave him his birthday gift a couple of days early...

I figured he needed a grill for his new backyard, so that's what he got.

Happy Birthday C! I love you!

What I'm Loving Right Now

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 12:20:00 +0000

A post of photos...

This yogurt is really good. And it's 4 pp!

Our new living room curtains.

Empty hangers, which means purged closets! No more 'fat' clothes!

Watering our yard. I sound like such an old person.

Honeycrisp apples that are finally in grocery stores down here.

These photos that are hanging on our fridge right now.

New Construction =

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 18:59:00 +0000

Bugs! Scorpions!

Honestly. I've had to get back into the habit of shaking out towels, shoes, sheets, and clothes. Otherwise? I could potentially have a scorpion crawl down the side of my face like that one time.

Oh, I haven't told you that story? Well.

My brother and I found this hanging around our place on Friday night-

My brother took care of it.

Thank goodness that my brother was around. Since C is back to working nights, I probably would have just left if I would have had to take care of it.

While I was watering the yard on Saturday morning, I found this-

At least that one was outside though.

Alright, I'm off to shake out my shoes now...

Hai!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 23:50:00 +0000

I'm at a washateria. Ew. I mean, okay we need clean clothes and all. And this place isn't grody or anything (free wifi!), but I can count on one ~~hand~~ finger how many times I've been to one.

We moved into our new place on the 15th.

I love it.

Except for the washer and dryer part. We bought a set literally the day we moved in. Of course it couldn't be delivered until this coming Thursday. That means nearly two weeks without having a way to wash anything. Hence, why we had to come to a washateria.

So that's annoying.

Actually, there are quiet a few things that are annoying about our new place. Like? The fact that it's so new that no one provides internet or cable to the area yet. And the fact that we couldn't pick up our mailbox key on the day we were told because it hadn't been made yet, because? Wait for it...the place is too new.

So I don't have internet...for who knows how long.

I don't mind though. I love shiny new things. Like my kitchen.

It's so cute. And way bigger than one I've ever had before? I have to show you guys the pantry. For real. I have empty shelves in there. Unheard of!

Maybe I'll show a house tour sometime. I've got better photos on my big camera. Of course.

For now though, I just wanted to pop in and tell ya that I'm still alive!

She Has No Idea

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 12:37:00 +0000

When we carried in the boxes last weekend she probably knew what was coming. She's been through 3 moves with us after all.

Regardless, she was a lap cat on Sunday. That never happens. She likes her space too much.

You can't tell by the photo, but she was on a pillow (which was on my lap).

Please note the newspapers and boxes in the background. It's a hot mess around here right now.

Until next time...

Cheddar Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 14:33:00 +0000

I can't wait to make this dish again. It was so good, and easy enough for a weeknight.

Cheddar Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta

What you need-

1/2 pound whole wheat penne pasta

4 slices bacon, diced, cooked until crispy

1/2 Tbsp light butter

1 large chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces

1 Tbsp AP flour

1/2 pkg (1/2 oz) ranch dressing mix

1 c fat free milk

1/2 c fat free shredded cheddar cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

What you do-

Cook pasta until al dente.

Fry up the bacon, if you haven't already. Drain all but 1/2 tablespoon of bacon fat. Leave it in the pan.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add butter to the bacon drippings in the skillet. Add chicken to the skillet and cook until done.

Sprinkle the flour and ranch dressing mix over the chicken, make sure all of the chicken is covered. Stir in the milk, and stir occasionally until the sauce becomes a bit thick and bubbly.

Stir in the cheese and half of the bacon. Cook/stir until cheese is melted.

Serve with reserved bacon on top.

This makes 4 servings and is 10 ww pp per serving.

I served mine with a salad. The boys loved it.

Weight...Loss?

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 14:43:00 +0000

I flaked, and didn't post last week. But long story short, two weeks ago I gained 2 pounds, but last week I lost 4.8 pounds.

Total loss? Around 23 pounds. I'm definitely starting to notice a difference in the way I look. Like, in photos. My brother took this one of C and I at the game last weekend-

I feel like my cheeks aren't as chipmunk-y. Ha.

Also, it was an evening football game that we went to, and since West Nile Virus is running rampant down here I wanted to wear jeans. I was scared when I walked into my closet that none of my 'skinny' jeans would fit yet.

I was so wrong. In fact, only one pair wasn't too big!

I can now 'shop my closet'. Things actually fit like they're supposed to, and aren't too big. I never thought that only 20 pounds would make this much of a difference. My goal is still 20-25 more pounds.

I'm half way there.

As far as food choices go/things I've been eating-

I've been eating more fruit/vegetables, and less crap. Honestly a 4 pp package of popcorn just isn't worth it for me.

I'm drinking water to the point that I'm almost miserable, and that's definitely helping my 'I want to raid the pantry for a snack' feelings.

I did have a couple of handfuls of Doritos because nothing is off limits. Totally worth it. Then I ate an apple.

Chipotle and their salads. That place is way too close to my house. Yum.

Yay!