Meatballs with a Side of Catch Up

Sooooooooo....

It's been exactly a month since my last post. Bad, bad blogger. But there has been good reason for my absence. Full time work, softball tryouts, thesis writing er, planning, camping, MY BIRTHDAY, and some laundry sprinkled in here and there has made my days plenty full. I'm making a come back today though... Here's what's been going on:

I'm trying to cook more often and eat healthier. It doesn't seem like it should be so difficult, but I'm away from the house from 5:45 am to 5:30ish pm right now and by the time I get home, I just want to sit down and relax. But one of my goals is to be the best wife and healthiest person I can be. So I attempted to make spaghetti and homemade turkey meatballs. This is what my meatballs looked like pre-oven:

 See the sogginess? Yeah. I didn't know what to expect. They looked ridiculous, but they ended up being pretty good.

I've still been going to the gym every morning with my mom. She's doing a great job! Actually, last week I had to take a little break because my left knee was killing me. It was so bad I thought I had torn a ligament or something serious. But I iced it every night (11 minutes on, 11 minutes off x2) and took a 5 day break and it feels great now! And even on the days I didn't go, my mom still went. I'm so proud of her!

As far as other everyday things go, I'm getting kind of annoyed at work. For reasons I shouldn't just throw out on the internet. The only thing keeping me sane is my own insanity. Like when I saw this:

I wanted to get all Dwight Shrute on my coworker's desk. 

 And then I just start laughing at my ridiculousness and I feel good again.

***********************

In the spirit of catching up, one highlight of the last month was my birthday. Brian took me out to a very nice dinner at Gladstones in Malibu. Right on the beach during sunset. Perfection!

 I love this guy!

Also that weekend, we went camping with a group of our besties. The camping wasn't for my birthday, it just happened to be the same weekend. A weekend that was filled with carne asada, camp fires, s'mores, and bocce ball... sounds like a good time to me!

 See how close we were to the water?? For the last several years, I have had a recurring dream that a wave crashes over me. Sometimes it's been a rushing wave, like what we've seen tsunamis looking like in more recent times. Sometimes it's a tidal wave. Sometimes I'm in the water and I just float through it and sometimes I'll be driving along side of it. It's different every time. But the fact that I have had dreams like this more than once gave me pause once I realized how close our campsite was to the water.

 But we were obviously safe and it was really nice to fall asleep to the sound of waves crashing on the shore.

I took this picture of Brian and my brother because they were both wearing blue shirts, gray shorts, and hats. So cute of them to dress alike. I'm jealous. :)

 On the way home, we went to Ventura for some fish and chips in what has become a tradition to conclude our camping trips. And we had to reenact one of my favorite pictures from last year:

Be still, my heart!

The whole last month hasn't been all fun and games though- the day before my birthday, we actually had a break from all the So Cal heat and there was actually rain. Unfortunately, since it only rains like, twice a year here, any weather that isn't sunny tends to bring out the crazy in drivers. Brian got into an accident on his way to work. He was fine, but his car didn't fare as well.

 The bad news- his Ford Explorer was totaled. But some good did come out of it. We bought a new car. It's our first major purchase together, it was a great find, and although this wasn't how we wanted to go about it, we had been talking about getting a newer car.

Brian loves it and I'm happy that he's safe.

*************************** 

On a creative front, I've been doing some projects around the house. I finally finished decorating the eat-in area of the kitchen.

I went from my usual beach theme to a more world traveler theme. On one wall, I put up pictures that I had taken in Europe two years ago and on the other wall, I just put up some art and decor that I had been collecting. I also took a note from Young House Love and put up a map with pins that signify all of the places that Brian and I have traveled together.

Hard to see, I know. But they're there! And we're planning on adding more!

With the "new" kitchen, I felt inspired to try some stuff in the kitchen. I made some cake pops!

Long story short, they're delicious! Recipe coming soon!

In other creative news, I've made these:

To help keep us organize. I'll let you know if they help.

And this:

It looks better when it's not in cell phone picture form. I'm actually pretty excited about it!

FINALLY, I really want to do this but Kevin needs a costume... what should Kevin be for Howl-o-ween???

Momma's Birthday

Saturday was my mom's birthday and today is actually my brother's girlfriend's birthday, so we spent the weekend celebrating! But before we get to the fun, first things first...

Smiles where you least expect it

I tend to get wild hairs up my butt from time to time (where did that phrase even come from??) and I'll decide to paint a random wall in the house, or hang up a bunch of random pictures, or rearrange furniture. Luckily for me, Brian is pretty easy going and just laughs at my randomness. This weekend was no exception. Like 2 years ago- I'm pretty sure before I had even met Brian- I bought this cute cabinet from Bed Bath and Beyond to replace my medicine cabinet. My current medicine cabinet is in the middle of the master bedroom and I think it is so ugly...

My bed is just to the left. Lame.

So on Friday afternoon, I finally decided to switch out the cabinets. This took some more of my magical strength )that I only have when I have no around to help and all the dog can do is laugh at me) as I held the ugly cabinet up while simultaneously unscrewing it from the wall while leaning over the counter that is full of a bunch of crap.

In the place of the cabinet, I found this:

Someone (dad) was trying to be cute when we painted the house! But it brought a smile to my face and on I struggled.

I had to assemble the new cabinet which was both entertaining and mentally draining. (I screwed a couple of parts in backwards. It took a good 5 minutes before I figured out why the doors wouldn't close. Nobody ever said I was smart.)

Anyway, before long, the newer, prettier cabinet was ready for it's debut. Turns out hanging a much wider, heavier cabinet is much more difficult than taking down an old one. But I managed as Kevin supervised...

Success!!! Much more aesthetically pleasing, no?

Nope....

That right there is about 4 inches of open wall. $h&#! F*c%!

So now I don't have either cabinet in the wall. But at least I have Wallson to keep me company.

Get it? Like Wilson? Silly me.

Anyway... 

Mom's Birthday!
Onto the fun! Since mom's birthday was Saturday and Jenn's is today, we combined to have the major celebration yesterday. We went out to dinner and it's always nice when we're all together like that. After ward, we went back to the parentals' house for cupcakes and ice cream. I made the cupcakes... and I was pretty proud of myself.

 Pretty delicious looking, right? Chocolate with chocolate chips and chocolate frosting. Yup.

And now a word about mom...

My mom has always been my best friend. I didn't always want to admit it, but she is always right about everything. She knows me better than I know myself and because of that, she has always given me the best advice- even when I didn't want to hear it. From the boys I dated to my education to what I should wear, she always knows best and she isn't afraid to be brutally honest with me. We laugh with each other because she is so silly, yell at each other because we are both loud, stubborn Italians, and love each other because we are best friends as well as mother and daughter.

And now for the last 2 and a half months, we've been workout buddies too! She has been working out with me every morning, 6 days a week. She even goes on the days where I just can't seem to get myself out of bed. She has made me so proud with her hard work and dedication, and I'm so happy that she is finally making some time for herself after all of these years of spending so much on time on the rest of us. Plus it's been fun getting to spend some extra girl time with her in the mornings! ♥ I love you, mom!!!

And if you're wondering why I am the way I am, it's because of the people I was raised by, raised with, and will raise future me's with:

Looks like poor Jenn is the only normal one!

My monkey butt goes back to school

Summer is winding down and that means one thing... BACK TO SCHOOL!!!

This year, back to school has more than one meaning for me. After taking a year-long hiatus from school to get married (the longest break I've ever had from school- EVER) I'm back to wind up my masters degree in Kinesiology. I only have 3 units left, and it's not even a class- it 3 units of thesis writing. So while I can complete this aspect whilst sitting upon my enormous rump, it's going to be a lot of work, hence, the reason I decided not complete that bad boy and plan/DIY a wedding all at once. Although I'm super psyched about my project and I strongly believe in what I'm writing about, I'm dreading doing the actual writing.

It's all kind of ridiculous because I've already done most of the research. And duh- obviously the act of writing itself doesn't bother me (as I am currently writing...). But sitting down and pounding out a thesis does not sound like a good time to me. Oh well. It'll happen.

Anyway, part 2 of back to school has to do with work. Last night was back to school night for the parents. We just wrapped up our 5th week of school and I really enjoy my kids this year. I got the chance to meet a lot of their parents last night and I really enjoyed them too. So hooray for that!


Before I could make it back to campus last night, I had to stop at my parents' house to feed their dogs. This was complicated because my sweet little Kevin would still be left alone at home after being alone all day. (Brian and I would be missing each other by an hour or so.) But before I left Kev, I played with him and fed him dinner, and he seemed to be okay.

When I got to my parents' their dogs were happy to see me and even happier after they got to eat. Success- 3 happy labradors!

I finished getting ready at their house. Connected to my aforementioned large ass are some pretty large thighs. Thunder thighs + skirt + hot, crowded gym = chub rub... so off I went to find some baby powder in my parents' bathroom.

No baby powder.

Instead I found something better...

Anti Monkey Butt! Is that not the best product you have ever laid your eyes on?? I need to find out where they got it because I want some in my house. I don't even remember if it worked (which probably means it did), but it just feels reassuring to know that the members of my family are no longer suffering from Monkey Butt.

That's a clinical term, by the way. ;-)

Hallway Project Part 2

So I finished the Hallway project weeks ago, but then school started and apparently, I am not a multitasker. But here we go...


Before, the hallway was pretty empty except for some little goofy picture frames that I painted the same color as the rest of the house:

From the bottom looking up (with Supervisor Kevin)

From the top of the stairs looking down

Then with the help of my printer, my hammer, some nails, and of course- our shower gift from Alexis, we now have a more sophisticated hallway that displays some of our favorite memories from our favorite day!...

Looking down

Looking up

 I added the other black shelf to the top of the arrangement. I wasn't going to, mostly because I was afraid we would run into it, but I think it kind of balances out the hall. Plus it's a great way to display my flowers. (I didn't really know what to do with them, but I certainly am not ready to throw them away!)

Also, those birds were on our guest book table and I made that photo strip out of some of my favorite candid shots from the wedding... someone- I think Mike- made us all take a shot of tequila before we went out for the grand entrance. It was the most vile liquid I have after consumed and I knew the photographer was there snapping away. I think she captured the moment perfectly.

Here's a closer up version of the last shot:

My face, Brian's face, and my dad's face (far left) are CLASSIC. I love it! ♥


Anyway, Hallway Project, check!

Thursday Things

1- Brian started a new job on Monday. It's definitely a good change for him and it's a step in the right direction for our little family. Really, the only downside is that he has to take the dreaded 405 to get there, so his commute (which is shorter mile-wise) takes longer and he gets home later.

We lose some together time in the evenings, but it's good because I've been able to straighten up some things around the house, catch up on some grades from work, and check it out- even write a blog post! Plus, his job comes with some pretty sweet perks. (More on those later!)


2- I'm getting really excited about Alexis' birthday. It's still over two months away, but we're going on a cruise and it's going to be so much fun! Brian's never been on a cruise before, so it will be exciting to see how much he likes it. Oh, and we're on a mission to design some really loud and obnoxious shirts. Stay tuned...

3- We had an earthquake today. It was a 4.2 which sounds pretty big, but it didn't really feel too bad. As far as I know, there wasn't any damage anywhere. It happened during 5th period and I was on the track with my class while they were running the mile. They didn't even feel it and I'm pretty sure they thought I was on drugs when I started asking them if they felt it. I was worried about Kevin because  we still have some wedding presents on the kitchen table and I was afraid he would have an imprint of a slow cooker on the top of his head he's never experienced an earthquake.

But when I got home, he was his usual happy, wiggly self. So, everyone's safe and sound... just makes me realize I should probably be more prepared. (And put away all of the potential projectiles that could kill my dog.)

4- I ran 3 miles this morning. Well, ran/walked. I finished just under 36 minutes, so I averaged a 12 minute mile. Kinda lame, but I wasn't going 100% either, so I felt pretty good about it. Like, really good about it. Like, if I actually tried, I might really be able to get faster. There's a 5k in December that I've done 3 times before and I think I'm actually going to race in it this year. I did it 2 years ago and my goal was to run without stopping. I did and finished in 31 minutes. Me thinks I can PR...

5-I feel like I can't catch up. Like at work, they keep changing my rosters so my kids are switching around all the time. And at home, as soon as I clean something, one of the boys will go and poop on it. I feel like I'm one step forward, 2 steps back. Oy.

6- I want to move. But that's probably not happening any time soon. So after I spoke with real estate mom (glance over to the right side of your screen), I decided I should probably just give in already and start doing some of the things I was putting off around the house. They were being put off because don't want to put more money into a house that I don't see myself in forever. But the time has come to either do something with this house or move. So floors and counter tops, look out because I'm going to rock your world.

7- I'm looking forward to this weekend for the sole reason that I don't have to go to work on Monday. We're 3 weeks into the semester...

I think that's all for now. I'm going to whip up a post about the hallway project and then go clear some space for those wedding presents!