This week, we tried 2 new recipes and we were going to have a 3rd on Valentine's day but decided to splurge for a heart shaped pizza. Monday, I made this: http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/chicken-white-bean-stew-109200.aspx. It was really good, but next time I think I will season it a little more. I have been trying to get a lot more protein for the calories and this dish has a little over 300 calories and about 35 grams of protein! Then on Wednesday, I made these beauties: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/05/chicken-parmigiana-burgers.html. They were super yummy! But again, next time I make them, I will be adding some more seasoning to the ground chicken. They were just a tad bland for me. I was going to make this last night, but it will have to wait until probably Sunday: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2013/01/crock-pot-italian-sloppy-joe.html. We will see how they are!
I was very nervous about weighing in this week because we had a get together at my grandma's on Sunday and I didn't do terrible, but I didn't do great either. But, I lost 3.0 lb! I was super excited! That makes 16.8 lb total so far. I have also started trying to do a plank a day (thanks for the idea, Heather!) and I like the challenge of trying to beat yesterday's time!
Wednesday this week, I went to Columbus to meet my sister, Kinley, and Cayleb for a date. We met at the Commons indoor playground in Columbus. Kinley and I had a blast 'fwiding' (sliding). She now calls me Fritty, which I totally love! I think that everyone there knew I was Fritty by the time we left because she had yelled it so much! She is so much fun right now and I try to see her as much as I can. Cayleb was sweet, super awake and alert and watching his big sister playing. I called Kinley last night on the way to work to wish her a Happy Valentine's Day and she was so excited to talk to her Fritty :) She told me that she loves me to pieces..it is so fun to be able to call and talk to her on the phone now! Our conversations aren't anything super exciting, but its awesome to know that she knows who she is talking to. She said that next time we get together, she wants to watch cartoons with me :) I have updates 2 weeks in a row! Go me!
Friday, February 15, 2013
Thursday, February 7, 2013
2012 in Photos
Here are the pictures I said I would post...and I actually did it! My goal is to try to post an update at least once a month until our life gets a little more exciting at some point! I tried to post these photos in order, but it wouldn't let me :(
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| My sweet Molly :) 02/2012 |
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| My favorite band, Michael Franti & Spearhead 05/2012 |
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| Michael Franti 05/2012 |
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| My nephew, Cayleb, arrived in October! 10/2012 |
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| Spending the day with Kendra and Cayleb 10/2012 |
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| Kinley, obviously much more interested in the TV than her brother! 10/2012 |
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| Jamaica 11/2012 |
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| Jamaica 11/2012 |
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| Steel drums :) 11/2012 |
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| Check out how tiny that hermit crab is compared to Ryan's bracelet! 11/2012 |
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| Beatiful sunset! 11/2012 |
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| On the flight to LA to see The Ellen Show! 12/2012 |
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| Stopover in Salt Lake City, Utah 12/2012 |
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| Outside of LAX, waiting for the rental car shuttle 12/2012 |
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| Santa Monica Pier 12/2012 |
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| Our fun little rental car 12/2012 |
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| Heading to the pier! 12/2012 |
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| At the pier 12/2012 |
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| We made a trip to Sprinkles Cupcakes in Beverly Hills...worth every penny and calorie! So good. 12/2012 |
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| At the Ellen Show! 12/2012 |
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| Before the show with our VIP passes! 12/2012 |
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| Me, with Ellen...sort of! 12/2012 |
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| Our stuff from the show! Crazy!!! 12/2012 |
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| She is sooo cute! Lunch with Kinley and Kendra! 01/2012 |
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| Trying to get a good picture of a toddler...01/2012 |
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My sister and niece :) 01/2012 |
2011 in Photos
Some photos from 2011!
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| Molly and I the morning of my graduation from IU 05/2011 |
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| Dad and I at graduation 05/2011 |
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| Me, Ryan, Dawn, and Bill at graduation 05/2011 |
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| The awesome (and delicious!) cake Ryan got me 05/2011 |
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| Jamaica :) 11/2011 |
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| Jamaica 11/2011 |
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| Before our FREE catamaran cruise! 11/2011 |
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| Jamaica 11/2011 |
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| On the catamaran 11/2011 |
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| Our captain, a typical happy Jamaican 11/2011 |
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| Margaritaville in Montego Bay, Jamaica 11/2011 |
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| Sunset :) |
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| The Monday night beach party 11/2011 |
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| Dessert table 11/2011 |
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| Salad Boat 11/2011 |
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| Salad Boat 11/2011 |
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Let's Try This Again
So I fell off the blogging train pretty bad! I like to be able to keep track of things and life events, but because we don't have a kid or a house yet, sometimes I feel like our life is a little boring! Since I last posted, we have been busy! I am not posting from my computer with my pictures, so I will try to post pictures in the next few days. When I wrote my last post, we were getting ready to go to Jamaica...we had a wonderful time. It was their 30th anniversary celebration, so we got to do a lot of cool stuff for free since we were returning guests! Then we came home and scrambled through the holidays...I hate that because I always want to enjoy them, but there is so much running from place to place involved. When/If we have kids, I would really like to make it a point to stay at our home all day Christmas day and enjoy it as a family. Our families could come over if they wanted, but I think that it would be nice to not have to run around all day! Ryan worked on a congressional campaign in the spring of 2012 and his candidate unexpectedly lost in the primary...that was not cool. At the end of June, he started with a new company in a position that wouldn't really be dictated by election wins and losses (being the financial planner in our family, I love this!). I went with my good friend Katie to see our favorite band, Michael Franti & Spearhead in Louisville at the end of May. It was such a fun time! We were in the front row and got to get hugs from and chat with the band after the show (very cool minus the sweat!).
Also over the summer, we discovered that Kinley has a lot of fun in the pool. I headed to North Vernon when I could to swim with her and she loved for me to bounce with her in the water, count to 3, then toss her up and catch her! She is so sweet, she would look at me immediately after I caught her and say "And 3?!" And I always went again. I am so in love with her, it is so fun to watch her grow and learn new things each time I see her!
When we got back, we celebrated Thanksgiving and did Black Friday shopping. Just before all of this, I had gotten confirmation from the Ellen show of my travel dates and date of the show I would be there for. On December 9th, we flew out of IND to LAX! I was so incredibly excited and thankful for this trip. It had been a rough year for Ryan and I, and I have never been west of St. Louis, plus it was a FREE trip! When we got to LA, it was around noon, so we rented a car and headed to the Santa Monica Pier. We explored and had lunch there, then headed to Beverly Hills to visit the famous Sprinkles cupcakes (which were totally worth the taste and the price!), then we went to try to get a good view of the Hollywood sign (didn't work out :( ), and finally we headed to check into our hotel (which was really, really nice!). The next day was the big show, so we slept in, then got ready and headed to the show! It was such a great time (I will post pictures!). You can see all of our giveaways (and maybe even see us on a clip!) here: http://www.ellentv.com/page/2012/12/11/12-days-of-giveaways-day-7/ . We didn't get out of the show until late, went back to the hotel, then went to a super yummy Italian place for dinner. The next day, we just had time to wake up, field a lot of phone calls from family & friends, then head to drop off the rental car and the airport. We did get to experience an LA rush hour on the way!
When we got home, I had a Christmas party to head to with friends from work and we watched my episode of Ellen! Then it was time for Christmas! I had to work the night before Christmas Eve, went to my Grandma's all day Christmas Eve, stayed at my in-laws' that night, did Christmas at their house, then headed home to get ready for work. I worked that night and we were leaving for North Carolina the next morning to visit a friend. We ended up getting a TON of snow just between 4 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. and we had to stay over at work because of a personnel emergency because so many people didn't make it in to work. Ryan came to pick me up and after a lot of planning and investigation, we decided to make a run for it and try to make it to North Carolina. We left around 11 a.m. and after a very long drive, finally got to Nate's around 1:45 a.m. (It is normally an 11 1/2 hour drive). We had a great week visiting there and headed home on New Year's Day.
On January 7th, Ryan and I both started working on a healthier lifestyle...we both have a lot of weight we can loose (I have gained over 50 lb since our wedding :\ ) We are using the MyFitnessPal app, tracking all of our food and exercise, making better choices, and making substitutions for things. So far, as of today I have lost 13.8 lb! I have also lost quite a few inches and am staying very motivated. Work is hard, there are always a lot of temptations, but I am motivated by my progress. Hopefully we can continue, we have a lot of weddings this year, Ryan's 10 year class reunion, and vacation. It is always a work in progress, but we are trying. My goal is to try to get pictures posted by the end of this week (Saturday), and maybe post an update if there is anything new.
This year I am going to try to at least post photos and small updates even if nothing huge is happening in our lives. We have re-signed our lease for another year, so we are really hoping to buy a home next spring.
Until next time...hopefully someone, somewhere reads this!
Also over the summer, we discovered that Kinley has a lot of fun in the pool. I headed to North Vernon when I could to swim with her and she loved for me to bounce with her in the water, count to 3, then toss her up and catch her! She is so sweet, she would look at me immediately after I caught her and say "And 3?!" And I always went again. I am so in love with her, it is so fun to watch her grow and learn new things each time I see her!
In July, for our anniversary, we headed to St. Louis where Michael Franti & Spearhead were playing a free show that weekend (Hooray for me...not for Ryan!) We had a really great time, we loved our hotel and were able to take Molly with us. Molly never, ever barks and of course on Friday, when we were going to leave for dinner, she started barking...a lot and very loud! We couldn't leave her to annoy the neighbors and stress herself out, so we ordered in pizza and toasted ravioli (my favorite!), which ended up being really great. The next morning, our first stop was at PetSmart to get a bark control collar. We got back to the hotel and tried it out and it worked! So we were able to head out and explore.
The biggest news of the year came in August. I was just starting my shift when I kept getting missed calls (because it was on silence, of course) from a strange number with an 818 area code. I couldn't figure out why the number kept calling over and over, but they finally left a voicemail. The first words were..."Hi, this is Ally, I'm calling from the Ellen Degeneres Show". Holy smokes! She told me to call back. When I called back, I found out that I had won a contest for 2 tickets to Ellen's 12 Days of Giveaways, hotel stay, and airfare for 2! I was wild! It was so incredibly exciting! They told me that I wouldn't hear from them for a long time and that I would find out the date later.
In October, we welcomed a new nephew and celebrated Kinley's 2nd birthday! Where does the time go! She is talking up a storm and is so independent! She calls me Aunt Britty and loves to hang out with me! I try to see her as much as I possibly can. I celebrated my 25th birthday in October and then after the election in November, we headed back to Jamaica :). We love the island so much and really enjoy our vacation there. International cell phone coverage is expensive, so we shut our phones and electronics off for a week and really slow down and enjoy life. We had a great time and actually met another couple from Bloomington there! While there, we booked our trip for next year so we can look forward to it again...and start saving!When we got back, we celebrated Thanksgiving and did Black Friday shopping. Just before all of this, I had gotten confirmation from the Ellen show of my travel dates and date of the show I would be there for. On December 9th, we flew out of IND to LAX! I was so incredibly excited and thankful for this trip. It had been a rough year for Ryan and I, and I have never been west of St. Louis, plus it was a FREE trip! When we got to LA, it was around noon, so we rented a car and headed to the Santa Monica Pier. We explored and had lunch there, then headed to Beverly Hills to visit the famous Sprinkles cupcakes (which were totally worth the taste and the price!), then we went to try to get a good view of the Hollywood sign (didn't work out :( ), and finally we headed to check into our hotel (which was really, really nice!). The next day was the big show, so we slept in, then got ready and headed to the show! It was such a great time (I will post pictures!). You can see all of our giveaways (and maybe even see us on a clip!) here: http://www.ellentv.com/page/2012/12/11/12-days-of-giveaways-day-7/ . We didn't get out of the show until late, went back to the hotel, then went to a super yummy Italian place for dinner. The next day, we just had time to wake up, field a lot of phone calls from family & friends, then head to drop off the rental car and the airport. We did get to experience an LA rush hour on the way!
When we got home, I had a Christmas party to head to with friends from work and we watched my episode of Ellen! Then it was time for Christmas! I had to work the night before Christmas Eve, went to my Grandma's all day Christmas Eve, stayed at my in-laws' that night, did Christmas at their house, then headed home to get ready for work. I worked that night and we were leaving for North Carolina the next morning to visit a friend. We ended up getting a TON of snow just between 4 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. and we had to stay over at work because of a personnel emergency because so many people didn't make it in to work. Ryan came to pick me up and after a lot of planning and investigation, we decided to make a run for it and try to make it to North Carolina. We left around 11 a.m. and after a very long drive, finally got to Nate's around 1:45 a.m. (It is normally an 11 1/2 hour drive). We had a great week visiting there and headed home on New Year's Day.
On January 7th, Ryan and I both started working on a healthier lifestyle...we both have a lot of weight we can loose (I have gained over 50 lb since our wedding :\ ) We are using the MyFitnessPal app, tracking all of our food and exercise, making better choices, and making substitutions for things. So far, as of today I have lost 13.8 lb! I have also lost quite a few inches and am staying very motivated. Work is hard, there are always a lot of temptations, but I am motivated by my progress. Hopefully we can continue, we have a lot of weddings this year, Ryan's 10 year class reunion, and vacation. It is always a work in progress, but we are trying. My goal is to try to get pictures posted by the end of this week (Saturday), and maybe post an update if there is anything new.
This year I am going to try to at least post photos and small updates even if nothing huge is happening in our lives. We have re-signed our lease for another year, so we are really hoping to buy a home next spring.
Until next time...hopefully someone, somewhere reads this!
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