About That Time?

I can't believe its been over a year since my last post! I would say its time for an update, wouldn't you?

My last post I was doing the "100 Happy Days" challenge. Well I quit shortly after that post. I'm doing the challenge again but this time its turned into "99 Days of Emma" more than 100 different things.

Q: Who is Emma?
A: Emma is my 5 month old daughter.

I can't even begin to tell you how many things have changed in the last year alone. There have been a lot of ups and downs but can i just say, the ups have been really really good. Actually both the ups and downs have been one extreme to the next. When things were good, they were great. When they were bad, they were horrible.

This time last year my boyfriend and I were living with our parents and I was only working 20 hours a week (weekends only). Now, we have our own apartment, a beautiful baby girl, and we are both working hard to support our little family.

I had intended to update you on whats been going on in the past year. I don't even know where to begin...

#100HappyDays

So, I started the "100 Happy Days" Challenge on July 13th. Today would be day 43.
The objective of the challenge is to find one thing each day you're happy about, take a picture, and post it to a social media site. I missed Day 32 and Day 42. After I missed day 32 I figured I would continue my challenge because I wanted to. After missing yesterday I figure I could still continue my challenge today but, why?

When I started my challenge it was all about noticing one thing every day and being thankful or happy about it. I realized this morning that, even though I missed days, I have fully acknowledged something and been happy/thankful for it. Both of the days I missed I can remember thinking of something I was happy about, thinking "oh i need to take a picture of it later" and then ended up never taking the picture. I fully had something in mind but when it came to the picture I was so wrapped up in the moment that I didnt think "Man, I need to take a picture of this and post it to Instagram/Facebook/Twitter."

This challenge has taught me to appreciate the moments I'm in and be happy and thankful for them. I believe that was the most important thing about this challenge. Its one of the most important things I learned from it. You don't always have to be thankful and the "assigned" holiday. Be thankful for what you have every single day because you never know when its going to disappear.

Call for a Little Update?

I'm attempting to start updating, or even post, at least once a month. We'll see how that goes.

Well well well....where do I start?

I got a new job....again, I guess you could say.
I work at West Coast Ultrasound Institute as their weekend receptionist. Its looking well for me to move to full time, so keep your fingers crossed! The pay is better and the respect that everyone on campus gives you is even better. I felt like I didn't get that from management at my last job.

What else is new?

I can't think of much else. I know my last 2 posts have talked about some mystery guy. Actually I just went back and looked and I guess I vaguely addressed the fact that my previous relationship had ended. I know in my last post I talked about how I complained about my ex in my journal months before I broke up with him. Well in the time line of this blog I broke up with him after that valentines day post.

I don't want to talk too much about the guy (Josh) I'm dating now though. I post about my relationships and I just don't want to jinx anything with this one. Everything is going so well and I just want to keep it that way. :)
He's a keeper though. :)

I haven't really tried very many new recipes lately....I still live with my parents... My car (Perry) is slowly but surely giving up on me. Maybe not....little Perry is a trooper. After all he is 13 years old. Things are slowly going out and I'm slowly fixing them...and by "I", I mean my dad. lol I would learn if he showed me but most of the time the things that need fixing are a one man job. He gets them done faster and easier if my hands and nose aren't getting in the way. Right now Perry's air isn't working. For any of you reading this out there, if you know anything about cars, no it does not need charging. There's a leak somewhere so when we charged it last time it lasted about a day or two and then gave up on me. Thought about trading him in but then I would have a new car payment and I'm quite attached to Perry. (Parents always said not to name anything you bring home haha). On a last note, yes....my car is a boy's name. lol

I think that is all I have to say for today.

Catch ya later!

Just A Thought...

I started writing in my personal journal and I decided to read my last entry. It was from November 20, 2013 and I wrote it at 1 in the morning. (Yes, I put time stamps in my own journal. I tend to write late at night and I like to distinguish whether it was 1 am the 19th or 1 am the 20th.)

Anyway, it's a little crazy... I was complaining about the relationship I was in at the time. I didn't end that relationship until 4 months after I wrote what I did.

Here's a little piece of it:
 "Did Disney raise or make my expectations too high? Am I stupid to want the fairy tale thing? The guy who walks up behind me and hugs me, kisses me on the cheek. Someone who wants to sit next to a fire with me. Where I don't feel like an accessory in his life, I'm a part of it. I just want to be reminded that I'm special occasionally. I want... I want."

Now do you have any thoughts on this? Because I'm just so shocked that I didn't see this then.

The other reason I posted that was because I have found someone who does all of those things. He does walk up and wrap his arms around me. He does randomly kiss me on the cheek. He has sat next to a fire with me. He includes me in all parts of his life and its so incredibly amazing. He makes me feel so incredibly special. We both want to start a new path together. For once in my life, it feels like I'm on the same page as the person I'm dating, not 50 pages ahead.

Comment your thoughts. I know you haven't heard from me in quite some time.

Define Love

Hey there blogger world. Obviously I didn't stick to my one post a day for a year thing. Things have been a little crazy.

 I want to know what your definition of love is. I'll give you mine.

I think "Love" is a term over used by my generation. I'm sure I'm just as guilty as the next person of using the word when you don't really mean it. I guess it depends on your personal definition though, doesn't it?

I believe most people interpret the word as showing you care for someone. Or even, just liking another person. I personally think "love" is this indescribable feeling. It isn't infatuation. When I look at my parents, I see love. When I look at my brother and his wife, I see love. I don't think you can describe love, you just feel it. Its this feeling that once you have it...you don't want to let it go. Always keep the person who brings you up and makes you feel that way.

I believe I may have found someone who gives me this indescribable feeling....and its an amazing feeling.

Is there an Echo?

So, my new position at work has been going pretty well. Downside, I stay until the last flight gets here. On nights like tonight that means I stay until, at least, 3:20 AM. Plus side, I will never have to worry about getting 40 hours a week. Actually I'll probably be getting more than that. We shall see.

So Crazy blog land. What have you been up to?

Obviously I'm working on valentines day. Zach took me to dinner wednesday and gave me a stuffed hippo though. Its adorable. My parents got me a heart shaped necklace. Thats about the extent of my valentines day.

I hope yours was everything you hoped it would be!!

What? Okay? Lil' John? YEAH!

So first of all can I just say that Lil' John came into my work today. I feel like I never believe anyone when they tell me a celebrity is here. My co-worker got a picture with him. Now I'm not trying to cut her out of the picture. I just want to respect her privacy and I haven't asked her if it was okay that I post a photo of her on my blog. I don't think she even knows I have a blog.

I feel so dumb because as soon as I got to work they told me "You see the guy in the gray beenie and they tan jacket? That's Lil John." I just kept saying quit lying or no you're lying.

Well now that my foot is in my mouth....

I'll talk to you guys tomorrow!

Exhaustion

My new job is going great. I'm just so exhausted!

I get the position I wanted starting Saturday. Unfortunately I have the night shift 2-12:30. Hoping to eventually be able to switch to morning shift and have free time. I'll have 3 days off which is great but my time gap between work days just sucks. First paycheck is Friday. I'm excited because I'll finally have money to spend....on gas so i can get to work. Ah, The vicious cycle.

Thats all for today readers. I'm sorry I've been just posting photos or videos. Its about all I have time for between sleep and work. I miss this little escape. I might not be saying much but it just makes me feel better.

Update

I've been so out of it!

Guys, my new job is kicking my butt. I like it, it's just going to take me some getting used to. At the moment I'm working 8 hour days, 5 days a week. But I'm hoping to get the 10 hour, 4 days position. 

Drake Bell Lyric Video

I actually really like this song. I can't wait to see what else he decides to record.
Just remember to pause my playlist at the top of the page! :)

No words Just watch.

Werk, Wurk, Work.

Okay. So, I'm going to write this while I'm still wide awake!

I just finished day 4 of training. Its going super well!! After day 2 my trainer told me I picked up my job faster than anyone they've ever trained. I go solo Friday! They're wanting to train me in a second job but I'm not sure if they are. Myself and 1 other dispatcher are still in our probation period. My trainer is trying to get the other girl trained elsewhere and then have put in the other department because I am so good at my job.

I'd say things are looking up. I'm hoping they'll keep me in the dispatch area because I'll be working 4-10s rather than 5-8s. Its also more my style. I'm on the phone/radio and doing my own thing. Its very much like a secretary position. Its awesome!

Thats all I had to tell you. I'll try to keep you updated on my job!! I have tomorrow off so I'm ready to relax and catch up on a little sleep.

Work & Sleep.

Sorry to be short or uninteresting with you guys but I'm still adjusting to my work schedule so I've been completely exhausted.

Love You! I'll try to update tomorrow!!

First Day

So like I was starting before I fell asleep yesterday.

My first day at my new job was pretty awesome. Now, many of you know that I have been on/around airplanes since I was 6. But I got to stand no more than 100 feet from a commercial airplane. On the ground. outside of the plane. i had to be one of the coolest things I've ever seen. My trainer even said "I can take your picture in front of it one day so you can put it on Facebook to show all of your friends. Eventually I'll get a photo and put it up. I have to say I really enjoy my job thus far and it seems like something I'm really going to like.

My brother from Minnesota flew in  yesterday also. I went straight from work to my parents house for a barbecue. I ended falling asleep because I was exhausted but I still got to hang out. I went back over this morning for breakfast and I'm hanging out with m family all day. :)

Sounds like a weekend well spent to me.
Back to work tomorrow. :)

Sat-ur-day.

"My first day at my new job was pretty awesome."

thats how far I got before falling asleep while writing this post.

Nose to the Grindstone

Tomorrow I start training for my new job! Monday I start the other training for my job!! Yay! Thats it today.

The Fault in our Stars [SPOILER ALERT] Pt. 2

So I've decided that I'm going to read this book again. I felt like maybe I passed over something. My book is a collectors edition so it has some Q & A in the back from the author. When I read through that I realized I completely missed some of the things he foreshadowed.

[SPOILER ALERT]

Lets start with the fact that when they're on the airplane Hazel and Augustus try to watch a movie "together" by pressing play on their individual TVs at the same time. Augustus' movie always starts first. (I'll revisit why its foreshadowing later.)

While they're in Amsterdam, they're there to visit their idol author(see what I did there?), Peter Van Houten. Van Houten turns out to be the biggest douchey douchbag. Now those aren't my words, it's exactly how Hazel describes him after her encounter with him. Willem Dafoe is playing him in the movie, although I didn't picture Van Houten that way...I think he is a good actor for the role.

Chapter 21 is where I was literally brought to tears. Augustus died. He cancer came back through his whole body. Even though he was really sick, up until he died I thought maybe Hazel would die first. Here is where we get to the foreshadowing. His movie started before Hazels and that means his "movie" would also end before hers. On both flights they watched movies together, they wouldn't sync up his would start before his.

He had Hazel and his best friends write eulogies for him while he was alive because he wanted to hear them himself.

I think that's all I'm going to share about the book... I don't want to give away everything. ;)

The Fault in our Stars [SPOILER ALERT] Pt. 1

When I posted two days ago about the book I had only read between 1/3 and 1/2 of the book. Yesterday after getting at least 2/3 in I was prepared to write about this amazing love story. Today I finished the book completely.

[SPOILER ALERT]

So with as far as I had gotten yesterday I was thinking, Hazel will never get to live life out with Augustus. Hazel is going to die before she has a chance. When I stopped yesterday Hazel, her mom, and Augustus were on their airplane to Amsterdam.

Before I stopped I 'tabbed' two pages to remind myself of what I wanted to talk about to you. The first thing I marked was 125 pages into the book. I hadn't really thought of marking pages before that. Anyway, something John Green wrote that I absolutely loved was "...I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once." I loved this line because its so familiar. Regardless of who you are, you know the feeling of falling asleep. Its exactly as Hazel describes it and it can't be described any better. I feel like that is also an amazing way for someone to say how they fell in love.

My other 'tabbed' page was 137/138. It was more of the content of the two pages combined. Hazel complains about how eggs are just breakfast food. She talks about how you can have bacon on a sandwich but as soon as you put an egg on it, it's a "breakfast sandwich". I think it really shows her personality at this point. I feel like Hazel's personality is so relate-able.

I may continue this post for tomorrow because I actually just finished the book and wanted to get some of my thoughts out.

Prepare for more. :)

The Nothing Post

This is what I'd like to call a "Nothing" post.

Nothing important contained in this post.

I'm reading my book and I'm much to consumed in it to write a post longer than this.....

The Fault in our Stars and Brownie Pans

I noticed on Christmas how well my brothers, actually my parents too, really know me.

One of the things my parents got me was a deep fryer. Ive been wanting one for at least the past year. One of my brothers and his girlfriend got me a "All Edges" brownie pan. This isn't like a "Perfect Brownie" pan like the ones you see on TV. I already have one of those and it doesn't work the greatest. There is one online that does this snake like thing so its one continuous piece of brownie...but this pan isn't like that one either. The pan has 3 individual columns. So I could make 3 styles of brownies in one pan all at once and they'll be the edges just like people like!!

My other brother and his wife got me 2 books. I love to read. One is a cake decorating book that had beginner to expert techniques. Its like a teach yourself book. It'll be really handy for when I start trying to do flowers and other decorations like that on a cake. The other book they got me is The Fault in our Stars by John Green. I had never even heard of the book or author before. As I opened it my brother was explaining to me that they were turning it into a movie too, I hadn't heard of the movie either. It sat on a table in my living room for a couple days, I'm a little weary about trying books I didn't personally pick out. I think books and clothes are some of the most risky things to gift to someone. But after about 5 days I picked it up and read the first chapter. I didn't want to put it down but I was feeling tired, so I did. A few days later I picked it back up and was reading for 4 or 5 hours, until my stomach was louder than my thoughts. I'm falling absolutely in love with this book.

I don't think either of my brothers could've picked out better gifts for me.

Baby Its Cold Outside...

Actually its been relatively nice here in Phoenix. We hit 70 at one point today. Its 51 right now though. The weather is just making me want soups and stew and a whole lot of comfort food! The fact that I watch the food network doesn't help.

I really wanted beef stew and biscuits but settled for pizza tonight.


and then I found 10 dollars....

Life in the Fast Lane

I'm not sure if any of you watched Rachael Vs Guy: Kids Cook-Off, but the little boy who on has to be the most adorable kid I've ever seen. The boy who won, his name is Brandon Scawthorn. If you watched and you're wondering which one he was he's this adorable little guy...

He won his own web series on FoodNetwork.com called Cooking in the Fast Lane. Its short, most episodes are only about 5 minutes long. But he is still just a kid. At the moment he only has 3 webisodes and I'm not sure how many more he could have. In his first episode he makes a french dip with horseradish sauce. In the second episode, he makes salmon and fried rice. And in his third episode he makes macho tacos. Everytime he cooks for someone and he tells them that he'll have it done in 20 minutes. When he delivers the food, after the person has taken a bite and said they liked it, he hands them the recipe so they have the chance to make it at home. He also reminds them that it only takes him 20 minutes to make!

I know I keep repeating this but he has to be the cutest kid I've ever seen. Plus he can cook better than a lot of people I know! He's only 10!!!!

Maybe some of you would like to try one of his recipes! Let me know what you think if you do!!!

Try To Imagine a Life Without Timekeeping.

What do you think?

Think Geek.

Im actually pretty excited about my purchase. So I got Zach's Christmas present for him, it was an N7 Mass Effect hoodie. He loves it! Now they had this special that if you spent so much you got free shipping. Shipping on his jacket was like $10 and that's about how short I was. I added 1 item and I was 2 cents, 2CENTS!, short of free shipping. So I added the other item and im extremely happy.

I don't have a picture of his jacket but I do have my socks and scarf from portal. I hope you think they're as cool as I do! Everything is from thinkgeek.com. Enjoy!

Life Hack

I found another cool link courtesy of StumbleUpon. It was a quote creator. 

I decided to use this...its a saying I've recently been obsessed with.

If you're using a computer to look at this, you'll notice I got a new music play. This one auto-starts and is automatically shuffled! Luck for you, you wont have to hear the same song every time you read my posts!

All I really have for you today is a "Life-Hack". So here you go!

Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep by Mary Elizabeth Frye

Do Not Stand At My Gave and Weep is a poem by Mary Elizabeth Frye.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not here; I did not die.

I found this poem courtesy of StumbleUpon. I know that its a wikipedia page but stumble upon takes you to a page based on your interests. Some of my interests are writing and poetry so naturally it showed me this.  I thought it was really pretty and I wanted to share it with you. :-) 

Blue Mountains & Green Sauces

Might sound confusing...let me elaborate.

Mountain Dew Voltage and Verde Salsa from Taco Bell.
Its a random topic but less random than you think because i had both with my dinner tonight. I would say I like almost all flavors of Mountain Dew. Original is good but I'm a bit over it. Code Red: still one of my favorites. Live Wire: has to be one of the most disgusting flavors in my opinion, however, my boyfriend loves it. Pitch Black: Although it was seasonal a couple times, its still my favorite. definitely the top of my Mountain Dew scale. I really enjoy Mountain Dew Throwback too. I haven't had the "Game Fuel", "White out" or "Kick Start" flavors.

As far as the sauce seeming random as well, its the first time I've ever tried it. I've got to say it has to be the better tasting sauce. I usually only have the mild sauce but on the flavor profile the verde salsa it way way better.

Once again today was pretty uneventful. I'm waiting to here back from a job I just got. I filled out my new hire paper work and I'm just waiting for them to get my employee number for me. Then I can start working.
Here's to the phone call tomorrow.

^^^Hey Look a Music Player!! (web version)

Sorry I don't know how to make it available on the mobile version.

That's what I spent the past hour doing and now I feel like I'm rushing to type this out!! Feel free criticize my music selection. Or just clickity-click through. There are only like 20 songs. I didn't feel like uploading more. I'm also trying to find a version where I can shuffle the songs so when you come to my page it isn't the same song every time.

Anyway, I made the most fantastic s'more today...in the oven! Let me tell you, it was delicious.

Nom Nom Nom

Here is the New Years Eve picture I was trying to show you yesterday!

So I'm not sure what else there is to say for today. It was pretty uneventful. The garbage disposal busted so there's that problem. Fortunately it is the homeowner's problem not mine!!

Welp...thats it for today! I told you I wasn't sure if I was going to have much (if anything) to say everyday!!

Hello? Is it me you're looking for?

Where to start?

I had convinced myself that I was going to write a blog every day for 2014. Here we are on day 4...blog #1. Looks like I'm going to post until January 4, 2015. That's okay though, right? Its still 365 days. 

Now, I'm not going to promise you that I'll have some thoughtful thing to say every day. But I''m going to try to post every single day. 

So there is my explanation for my blog for the next year.

Now... about my holidays.

Thanksgiving was nice. I went to my boyfriends moms in the morning my parents in the afternoon then the next day my boyfriends dads family.

Christmas.

On Christmas eve we exchanged gifts with my boyfriends dad and had breakfast. Then we went to my boyfriends maternal uncles house with his mom for the remainder of the night.

Christmas day, we went to his moms for breakfast and stockings and gifts. About 11 or 12 we went to my parents house and did gifts and stockings also and then had "dinner". Holidays are probably the only days of the year that we eat dinner at 3 or 4 in the afternoon. That would be why I called it "Dinner". After my parents house we went back to his moms and hung out/watched a movie. Then we went home to rest for the night. Our Christmas felt so rushed and busy, it was insane.

The day after Christmas we went to my boyfriends paternal uncle's house and had dinner and hung out with family for like 6 hours. We then invited his cousins back to the house for some guitar hero. Woot Woot.

New Years.

On new years eve we invited some of Zach's cousins over for Guitar Hero, pizza, chicken wings and other junk foods. So we all welcomed the new year together. I was trying to upload a photo we took at midnight but blogger is acting funny and it wont let me.
On new years day we went to my brothers house and had dinner with my parents. Its tradition in my family to welcome the new year together with dinner on January 1st. We usually have black eyed peas, cabbage and ham for health, wealth, and luck. I don't remember which is which....I just know I only ever eat the ham!

Thats it for today. I'm barely going to to make my "deadline"!

Reminder? or Even a Suggestion.

I have so many feelings going on right now...
I'm traumatized.
I'm mad.
I'm sad.
I'm every sad/upset feeling and not one happy feeling.

I witnessed an animal get hit by a car for the first time today. Now for my friends in Minnesota, this isn't like watching someone hit a deer (which I've never seen but heard of).

I watched a motor cycle hit a cat in the center lane of traffic. I was driving on the left, the cat came bolting across from the left. I saw it and hit my breaks. The motorcycle had time to see the cat, and also had the ability to move. He didn't. Now all I can see is the cat after it hit the wheel. I'm not going to go into detail but if anyone has ever seen something similar, I'm sure you can imagine. I'm so mad that this guy didn't even try to brake for the animal.

By no means am I done ranting about this, but I'll stop for now.

I just want to remind people to keep their pets indoors or on leashes, something. If you don't want a pet please, sell it, give it to a shelter, anything. I know there are a lot of animals getting euthanized in shelters lately and I'm not down for killing animals if there's a chance they can get adopted, but I feel like its better than getting run over or for larger animals.

If that cat belonged to a family I feel bad for them because they lost a pet but maybe they'll learn to take better care of their pets. As for the driver of the motorcycle, I'm furious. I get that sometimes animals dart out and yadda yadda, but I had time to react and it crossed my lane of traffic first.

I have no other words. :( Good night everyone.

Blog Name

I think I finally nailed the name for my blog.

If you know anything about Harry Potter then you'll get it.
I had the name as Mischief Managed but I decided to flip the name and the description for, what I consider, obvious reasons.

Anyway, I don't think I'll be changing the name. Well, not for a while at least.
Love you too the moon and back.

Jerica and Lizzie Now Taking Orders

Witty? no? okay.

Well, some of you may know that I do not make cakes by myself. My best friend Lizzie and I make them together.

We made a cake for my dads 50th birthday. First of all my mom threw him a surprise party. My brother from Minnesota and his girlfriend came home, my dad's brother his wife and my dad's parents and were at the bar waiting for my dad to show up. They were also a surprise. He walked in and was completely amazed.

Exhibit A.

He loved the cake and it's probably one that I have spent the most time on. For that Minnie Mouse cake in August being my first cake with fondant I would say that I'm doing pretty well. :)

I painted this by hand.

I see flaws but for my 3rd fondant cake and someone who is learning on their own, I would say it turned out really nice.

We don't have any plans for another cake as of now. I do believe we need to start charging for our cakes though. This was one was definitely time consuming and expensive.

Well, I do believe that is all for today.

Any questions?

What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

I feel like there are times in a persons life where they just want to raise the white flag and say "I'm done." For some people I suppose it can happen multiple times in a month, week or even in a day.

I'm to the point where I just want to scream it. Now, this isn't about any one thing either. Its a general thing. To be completely honest it has nothing to do with my boyfriend. It has nothing to do with my best friend. I has nothing to do with my family. For once, this is ALL me. I just want to give up on hope.

I read a quote today that gave me some hope.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference.

I feel like...
Man I'm 22 and I have no idea what I'm going to do or what I want to do with my life. I feel like I should have had it figured out by now. I feel like I was expected to have this figured out with I was 18...or 19 in my case (high school graduation essentially).

What was the check list, growing up, of what I wanted to be? I can remember wanting to be a Doctor, then even further a craniofacial doctor, to help out babies that were like me. Speech therapist, to help kids who had a speech impediment like me. I wanted to sing professionally but I've never been confident enough in myself, I also know its an insanely small chance I would've been famous. I wanted to act....for a long long time....see "singer" excuse. I wanted to be a chef....and then I wanted to be a professional baker. Cakes to be exact. For those of you who know me personally or actually read this, you know I actually make cakes. but my schooling for that was a joke. I intended on completing school for baking and pastry, but that didn't go as planned. Everything I know about cakes or most of what I do, I figured out or I learned from my friend who got to complete school. I LOVE cooking and making cakes....but its not something I want to do professionally for the rest of my life.

I really really.....don't know what I want to do when I grow up.

Input?

Cake and Fitness.

Those don't really go hand in hand do they?

Well, that is because this is a two part post.

First, I made another cake with Lizzie. It was for our friend's going away party. I'll let you guess at where he was going ;) 

It was a harder cake mostly because of the USAF emblem. We actually resorted to printing and cutting out the star so we could angle everything correctly.

Secondly, Fitness. I decided to start working out yesterday (Oct. 8). Let's just say it kicked my butt and I couldn't even finish. Days 1,3,5 are all the same. Days 2,4,6 are the same also. Day 7, we rest. :)

Yesterday, day 1, was.....HARD.

My workout started with a "Run 1 mile", I walked. I still went the full mile though. I knew I wasn't going to get through this full work out on my first day. So, I did the best I could. I decided I want to keep a journal on how I feel after each day too. Who knows, maybe I'll write a book one day. (Not)

Anyway, Lets make a table. What I was supposed to do and what I actually did. 

I don't know how to make a table on here.... so I'll bold what I was supposed to do and italics what I did. If it is in bold and Italics I fulfilled the "requirement". 

Running 1 mile

Push-ups 3 sets of 20 - 10

Pike Push-ups 3 sets of 10 - 5

Handstand Push-ups 3 sets of 10 - 0

Arm Circles - Forward 100 

Arm Circles - Backwards 100 

Handstand Hold 1 minute twice - none

Hollow Hold 1 minute twice - none

Crunches 30 

Crunches – Right/Left 30 - 0

Bicycles 30 - 10

Then I was done for the night. And I do mean DONE. 

I was so unbelievably exhausted. I knew I was out of shape but man, am I out of shape. I found my workout online. It is actually a cheerleaders workout routine. I chose it because when I was it cheer it was the most fit I remember being. If anyone wants it go Here. This is the exact workout I'm going by. I'm hoping to stick to this.

Here is my journal entry for day 1

"Feeling- Slightly nauseous & tired. Hopefully I'll be able to work my way up. I'm feeling a little discouraged. I'm more out of shape than I thought . Tip-Eat Healthier. More water. No soda. Tomorrow-Legs. P.s. You're burping a lot. weirdo."

Well That's all for today. I hope to be posting again soon. 

My First Concert!

Lame, right? I'm 22.

Anyway! I couldn't have picked a better concert as my first concert. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

Megan & Liz and their band: Drummer- Rob Humphreys, Guitarist- Daniel Kalisher, Bassist- Nick Campbell, Keyboardist- Will Herrington. Just so we're clear I think I got the band members correct. I based these on their instagram handles (all linked) and their appearance.

Their entire show was amazing but one of my favorite parts had to have been when they took songs by request. It was completely original.
I can't even fathom their next concert. I WILL be going to that one. I suggest to anyone and everyone I know to listen to them. I've seen feedback from quite a few people that they don't like that Megan & Liz have a band performing with them. I think it gives them a boost and we can't expect these two girls to only sit on stage with stools and an acoustic guitar. I hope that they keep these guys with them from now on. They had amazing on-stage chemistry.
I think of it as becoming something like Selena Gomez & The Scene. 
Megan & Liz and (insert cool name here).
Yeah??

Anyways! Ta-ta for now.

Later Days

Cake, Please?

Let me start off by complaining about a recipe from FoodNetwork.com.

"Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter or margarine, room temperature (use vegetable shortening when pure white icing is needed)
1/2 cup milk, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla or other desired flavoring
2 pounds confectioners' sugar
Directions:
Combine all the ingredients in large mixing bowl and mix at slow speed until smooth. If stiffer icing is needed, or if the weather is very warm, add a little extra sugar. This recipe is enough to cover and fill a 9 by 13-inch sheet cake or 2 (9-inch) layers."

Now this "Basic Buttercream Recipe" sucks.
I left a review telling them too.

My Review: 
"This had to be one of the worst buttercream recipes I've ever tried. First, you CANNOT use margarine as a butter substitute. It simply does NOT come together the same way. In an attempt to fix this after "Combining all ingredients", I used near 4 pounds of Pow. Sugar and I figured it was a lost cause. I finally went to the store, bought more butter and sugar and started my process over with a new recipe. My second recipe turned out MUCH better and I'll be using that from now on."

Pretty much EXACTLY what I'd tell all of you readers out there. Lizzie and I found a new recipe, which we
altered, that turned out amazing. Want it?

Here you go: 

Original Recipe.Ingredients:
3 Cups Powdered Sugar
1 Cup (2 sticks) Butter softened (NOT Margarine)
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
2 Tablespoons Milk (if necessary)
Directions:
1. Cream Butter in a mixing bowl. Approximately 5 minutes on a medium-low speed. 2. Add powdered sugar. Mix on low. 3. Once fully incorporated. Add vanilla and salt. 4. If it is too thick for you add one Tablespoon of milk at a time to reach the consistency you like.

Now, Lizzie and I were making close to 70 cup cakes and a 12 inch round cake. So we quadrupled the Powdered Sugar, Butter, and the Salt. We didn't need to add any more vanilla! We also did NOT add -any milk. This Had to be one of the best Butter-creams I have ever tasted. AND Everyone at the party LOVED it!!

Our Aftermath.

Well. I have to say that I'm really happy with how Sophia's 1st Birthday cake turned out. Even after all of our complications.... It turned out beautifully.

Later Days.

GUYS! I Have My Lap Top Back!!!

I cannot express how excited I am about this!

SO.... I can finally post pictures from my brothers wedding.

Okay. So, these have to be my favorites. Well, the ones I'm willing to post. I never realized how much of a hassle it was to attempt to post pictures on blogger. I hope in the future they make it a bit easier.

I wanted to make these into a slide show and post them but I don't believe that is possible. Either way I have no clue how to do it.

Thats all for today!!

I'll be posting vacation photos from Fun Valley when I get them from Zach!!!

Happy New.....oh...its April...

Where the heck have I been?

I can't honestly say I even know when my last post was. I do know I started this, and by started I mean I wrote the title, on Feb 24.

December 12! AND I talked of Thanksgiving dinner. Man.... off in my own world I guess.


Well, for starters, my laptop charger broke and is still broken. I'm typing this from my boyfriends computer. I still with the same guy by the way. :) (I felt that was necessary to say) Anyway, thats part of the reason I haven't had a post in 5 months.

My oldest brother got married March 16th. I got to be a part of his wedding and it was absolutely beautiful. My brother's and dad looked extremely handsome and Kari and my mom looked gorgeous. I can't remember a time I've seen Jarred any happier than when he and Kari said their vows to each other. I couldn't be happier either. I've known Kari since I was 13 (I'm 21 now), she has very much been like the sister I didn't have and a great person to look up to. I'm really glad she is a part of my family now (officially). She's pretty much been apart of the family since the beginning. This would be the part where I would post photos except I am not on my own computer therefore I don't have them.

My god-daughter Sophia is getting so big and beautiful. I actually got to see her today and she cracks me up. She'll be 8 months on April 28th. I can't believe she is already that big. If I'm in awe of how fast she is growing I don't know how her momma deals with it. Lizzie and Angel took Sophia for 7 month/family photos and I think its some of the best pictures yet! Once again I don't have them but you'll have to trust me.

What else? What else?

Zach and I approach 1 year together in less than 2 weeks. I turn 21 in 3 weeks.  I turn 22 in 3 weeks. -_- Is this where it starts? Lying about my age lol All of my friends are hitting 21 so that was the number in my head. Does anyone want to take my birthday for me? You can age a year for me and I'll stay 21. Thats how aging works, right? If only.

I have no clue if I wrote about it on here last year but, I'm going to Colorado with Zach and his family again this year. A week long square dancing festival. Its a lot of fun, especially if you actually know how to square dance. I would've been lost if I hadn't learned. Even more so if I hadn't had Zach... apparently I forgot calls and had to be pulled, well yanked, through them. Fun, Fun, Fun. <3


I do believe that is all I can think of right now.
Any questions?

Later Days

Thanksgiving Dinner....

With all the fixins...

Jk...jk

Well I under-estimated the time it would take me to make Thanksgiving dinner. I remember saying I'd be done by 4:30 and I think I may have finished close to 5:30 or 6.

Zach's brother was home for the weekend so he was actually the reason I cooked for the 3 of them. :) 

I cooked a honey ham (they prefer ham over turkey), corn, homemade mashed potatoes, and croissant rolls. Well....gravy and cranberry sauce too!

They all liked it....I think. ;) all of the left overs were eaten except some of the ham and that's because there was just sooooo much of it!

I'm not sure when I'll cook for them again. :) We shall see. Until then...

Later Days. :)

Spaghetti Anyone?

Well, I'm sure you can guess what this post is about, right?


Cookies!

Just Kidding, of course.

Its been like 2 weeks since I made the food I'm talking about.... but I haven't been able to get on to my blog since then. Sorry, peeps. ^_^

I made classic spaghetti for Zach and his dad. I cheated and used a jar and then fixed it. It was all pretty basic. Once again they both loved it (or so I think) they finished all of the left overs again. :) Not much to say about that dinner. Later days :)

Wait...YOU can cook?

Haha just kidding. Anyone who knows me knows that I know at least the basics to cooking. :)
(You know I didn't attend culinary school or anything)
I say attend for a reason haha

So, I decided to make chili for my boyfriend (Zach) and his dad yesterday. Well, actually, I decided to make chili, cornbread, and brownies. BUT I'm here to tell you about my chili. :)

THIS is the original recipe I used. However, when I was finished, it was no longer the same recipe. :)

Insert Jerica's version: (haha)

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef
garlic powder (to taste)
2 16-oz can tomato sauce
1 8-oz can of tomato sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 15-oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 15-oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
Shredded Cheddar, for serving
Sour Cream, for serving
Tortilla chips, for serving
Lime wedges, for serving

Directions:

Place the ground beef in a large pot. Cook over medium heat until browned. Drain off the excess fat, Season with garlic powder. Then, pour in the 2 16-oz cans of tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and salt. Stir together well, cover, and then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. If the mixture becomes overly dry, add 1/2 cup water at a time as needed.

Add the 8 oz can of tomato sauce and/or water to get the chili to your preferred consistency. Add the beans and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with shredded Cheddar, sour cream, tortilla chips and lime wedges.


I served mine a little bit differently. I enjoy eating mine with pasta. Zach and his dad thought that was weird haha.  But I didn't have tortilla chips or lime on the side. I kept it very simple. This recipe originally said to add cheyenne but the men I was making it for don't like anything spicy. I mean anything.  It came out really tasty. The nice thing about chili is that everyone can eat it exactly how they want it. I had mine with pasta, sour cream and shredded cheese. Zach ate his with some shredded cheese. His dad crumbled up his cornbread, added it, and had some shredded cheese in his too.

They both enjoyed it. His dad said, "Jerica this is really good! Thanks."
And Zach went back for seconds. Which goes without saying that he obviously liked it :)

I got lazy with the rest of my meal. haha. I know how to make cornbread but I didn't feel like it so I made the JIFFY corn muffins from a box. The brownies ended up getting thrown out because I did a couple of dumb things. 1. I forgot to grease my pan. 2. over cooked them and 3....well I guess those were pretty much it. I'm awesome at making baked things. But one thing after another and there is no saving those brownies. Next time. haha. :)

Welp.....Thats all for today. :) I need to check in more often. I forgot how much I love doing this, even if I don't have comments....someone somewhere is reading. Right?

Later Days. 

Whaaaa???

Noticed I haven't posted since my birthday.
Where the heck have I been?

Alright so since my birthday....

May- I went to my brothers college graduation.

June- I went to Colorado for a little over a week. I went with my boy friend, Zach, and his family. It was a lot of fun. :)

July- I spent the 4th with Zach :). At the end of the month I went to Minnesota for a wedding. It was beautiful...around the parts where I took my mom to the hospital for a busted lip.

Brings us to now, I still go square dancing every Tuesday. I pretty much spend every moment with Zach otherwise. :) Lizzies baby girl is expected at the beginning of next month. I'm so excited to get to see little Sophia!

Later Days. :)

New Start

I deserve one.....don't I? I haven't done anything "wrong" but I still believe everyone deserves a fresh start. That's what I think I needed.

As crazy as this might sound from the outside looking in, I have been happier in the past 2 weeks than I have felt in a long time. At the end of April I went to Cali. with my parents and best friend. I was there until May 3rd.   It was cold while we were there but it was still nice. I got to go to a Dodgers game....and if you were watching it was the game that Matt Kemp got a walk off home-run in the bottom of the 10th. :) I went to a Padres game as well and they won....I think? I didn't really pay a whole lot of attention to that game.... oops... I still had fun though. :) We went to Downtown Disney (not Disneyland) and I got myself a "Lots-O" pillow pet. He smells like strawberries.....Its pretty epic. We also went to the little shops outside of Knott's Berry Farm. We bought boysenberry syrup....that stuff is fantastic. :) We went to the beach one day and we also went and saw my parents old high schools and stuff like that. It was pretty cool.

Friday was my 21st birthday. I went to dinner with my family, my best friend and her boyfriend and my boyfriend. Yesterday, my boyfriend took me bowling and....not to toot my own horn...but ah....."toots magoots". I won 2 games AND I got the best score that I've ever gotten, 165. :)

Like I said, happier than I've been in a long time and....I deserve it, regardless of what other people may think.

Later Days.

New Blog...Again

The past is the past. Now, to look forward to the future. :)

I'm not even 100% sure what I'll be posting in this new blog. But I need to have a positive out look on things. Everything happens for a reason right? So things go a certain way, you have a Cause & Effect. Some thing caused (x) to happen and the effect was (x).

For those of you who have read my past blogs, I'm hoping this one will be different. I may not post every day, every week or even every month, but I will be posting. I haven't known what to do with out being able to write a blog for the past week. I got in the habit of doing it every day. I wanted to come home and type and tell you about my day but I didn't have anywhere to write.

So here it is. My new chapter. I don't know where it will lead me.....but it feels like it's going to be a good one.
Thanks for keeping with me. Love you all!

Later Days. :)