How I made lasagna for my birthday

Lasagna in pictures !

Pre-Birthday Dinner and more

So, last night my incredibly awesome boyfriend took me out to dinner. I have been craving this Mexican soup from a local place we go to. It's called Sopa Azteca

This is basically what it looks like (thank you google) and it so fucking yummy, I could eat this every single day. I mean, YUM-MY.

I got 1 of 2 birthday presents, this incredibly adorable snow globe of Minnie kissing Mickey, which is so appropriate since I am always kissing on the man. Love love love it. LOVE IT!!

Ahem, the 2nd present I get when it comes in...I know what it is because he told me and it's unbelievable awesome (and so not traditional in any way, shape or form, which is even fucking better!) and I will wait to post about that until I have my hands on it. Fucking Awesome. So excited.

My plans for tomorrow, get up, go to the store, buy ingredients for Lasagna and then go home, make it, make some eggs and coffee for breakfast. Read, nap. Make some cupcakes. Maybe take a shower. Probably clean up the dining room and vacuum around the house. Eat some lasagna. And just enjoy the day :)

Edit: Ok, I will get my ass up early and go to the store, and then come home to get Tiamet since she now has a 9:30 am appointment at the Vet. She needs to get her blood work checked and I need to refill her prescription. Thankfully I get paid tomorrow :) Then I will proceed with the rest of my diabolical plan to relax and enjoy the day!!

This weekend, I have no idea yet, haven't thought that far ahead. The only thing I do know is I have to do post my homework by Saturday. Tonight I am reading my 2nd chapter and if I have enough time to respond to the first question, at least get that one done.

I want more of that soup! SOOOO GOOD :D

Lots of Attempting(s)

I've been wanting to write for the past few days but every time I start a draft I sorta just stare at it listlessly and then shuffle off to pretend to work.

So I am attempting to get past this.

Let's see.

Last night was a pretty good night. Me and the kid did our homework together :) I am somewhat annoyed over the fact he is not doing his classwork in Science and Social Studies (and sometimes English) but I am not in the classroom and have no idea what is going on. I explained, again, why good grades are important. He did say that he liked us doing that together (cranky mommy aside I suppose) and wants to do it again tonight (because, he has MORE stuff he hasn't finished).

I will have to remind him I have a Band Boosters meeting tonight :(

Class started for me, it's different since it's all online. I will be attempting to keep the snark out of any forum replies I think. It's a challenge, let me tell you ;)

This past weekend was good. We are watching Walking Dead since I've never had the chance to watch it. Freaky and awesome!!

While on vacation, I gained a few pounds. Not shocking I suppose! It was only like 4 lbs but I will be happy when I get them back off and then the attempt to go another 9 lbs after that. I am also attempting to cut back in sugar in a couple things. Mainly coffee and tea. So, the coffee is creamer only (I can drink it and I don't gag so there you go) and the tea, well. I haven't even used honey. I can tell you that I am learning to appreciate the actually taste of my teas more - without them having that sweet over taste to things - but it's an adjustment! One of the teas I am drinking is Spearmint tea, it's supposed to help women who have PCOS deal with hirsutism. Which, let me tell you, is not the most fun thing in the world. I am soooo tired of having to pluck daily. Granted, it's not a huge amount (some women get it bad :(  ) but still, you are always wondering - is there a stray whisker or hair some place that that person is staring at????

My period is not due until the 14th at the earliest and more likely the 16th but I have been having fun PMS stuff going on. Breaking out, back pain, sore boobs. Oh the joys!!

I have been having a hard time just getting up in the mornings. My bed is all warm and warm and who wants to go to work when you are snuggled in? Then again, I have Tiamet annoying the hell out of me in the mornings because, damn it, she wants food!! Which she has no problems expressing for a solid 20 minutes. Love her, but I kinda got the point in the first time :)

I think with the season finally starting to show itself (yay, it's been chilly!!) my body is doing this whole wonky dance of things. I have been craving Tortilla soup, for instance. And I want avocados more. I want to get my yard prepped for next spring and take care of some tree limbs before winter sets in fully. Finances are tight though, which is to be expected and I'm not stressing over them, but tight is still tight. Suffice it to say I will be spending more time watching the DVR shows and crocheting!! Oh and more cooking :) I want to learn how to make a good beef stew and some yummy country biscuits and and and. I probably have a wee bit of ADD with this stuff!!

So much is going on, with the Kid's band, work and life in general. Sometimes I like at the calendar and it's nice to see if full of awesome things. Other times I wonder if I can squeeze in a nap somewhere :)

My birthday is coming up. I will be taking the day off from work. Reading, making lasagna and some form of dessert. A couple friends are going to stop by in the evening. I just want a quiet and happy moment to savor. I feel like re-organizing some stuff too.

I need to put up my Halloween decorations too. Maybe this weekend :)

While today at work...

So not what I want to see at my desk - a stink bug. Lovely

However, these beauties I love to see when I take walks at work! She just had her foal a few weeks ago :)

Smiling

You may have noticed that if I post pictures of me, I always smile with my mouth closed. Today, 1 year from quitting smoking, I started the 2nd stage of getting my front teeth fixed. Now, the first image below was not how my teeth looked daily. This is from after what the dentist drilled off of my teeth today (YIKES) and honestly I was bit freaked out when I felt them in between drillings, because damn, that was a lot drilling!!

This is my teeth after the temporary crowns are in (which was super easy)

And this is my temporary smile until the permanent crowns are done in 3 weeks. Even though the teeth are not yet all the same color, at least I don't have some ugly dead tooth staring at me in every glance I look.

Vacation @ Myrtle Beach

It. Was. Awesome.

We left before the ass crack of dawn on Friday. Got into Myrtle Beach by 11 am. Checked in and headed to the beach. The boys loved it. We all loved it.

The sand between you toes = Awesome
The slightly chilly ocean washing said sand = Incredible

Walking along the shore with your love, hand in hand, beyond happy!!

I don't even remember Friday night. Oh wait! I took a nap while the boyfriend took his kids to the amusement park and my Kid hung out (he was a bit freaked out over the ominous looking seas and sky and yeah it was freaking looking) but he woke me up from my light snooze (bad!) and we talked about it (good). I can totally relate to those eerie feelings about the ocean.

The layout of the room was nice. It had a double bed, a full galley kitchen and a living room with a pull down Murphy bed (that was ours), It had 2 bathrooms that shared 1 shower, which was also awesome. I found out I don't particularly like cooking in a galley kitchen. I felt cramped by that, but otherwise it was awesome :) Being able to get groceries for breakfast, snacks and lunch was pretty impressive with 3 kids :) It certainly made things easier (ok, well except for clean up!)

Since our bed was a pull down, it was magnificent for leaving the balcony door open all night and waking up to the ocean waves - absolutely glorious!!

(Ironically, the boyfriend and I both agreed last night that just sitting on the couch, watching tv - it was way too quiet)

Friday night was eating in and Saturday morning was bacon, croissants and and and yep that's it. We didn't get to the eggs - too excited to get out of the room!!

Saturday was laying out on the beach, listening the kids have fun, finding pretty shells and some shopping. Saturday night we went to the Pirate Voyage, which is like a Medieval Times with water, mermaids, pirates (of course) and sea lions. In other words?? Awesomeness. Preshow was an hour long, had some snacks and beverages (We got to keep the cups, which is good because those drinks were good and yummy and sorta expensive). The food was food, good but not crazy freaky good. The service was really good though. I would totally recommend it to anyone seeing it for the first time :) I am not sure if you want to see that same show a bunch of times in a row, probably a good idea to change it up over the vacations ;) Then it was time for putt-putt golf. Now, I have no played that in a good 20 some odd years. I mean, seriously. I had so much damn fun! I laughed almost the entire time (and score, I got 2 hole in ones!). After that, it was time to relax and sit in the Jacuzzi and then bed :) Beyond awesome, the whole day.

We got up sorta early on Sunday, packed the car, walked the beach one last time (for now) and headed for home. The home trip took a wee bit longer (more stops for food/breaks) and we hit a small snag in traffic. I was a bit cranky once we got back to his house. I think my brain melted somewhere along the road and my filter was not working for a short minute. But, I got my game back in play and loaded my car up and got the Kid home.

Being back home? Nice. Though I will say not so nice that I didn't wish I was still at the beach!! The Kid got his lunch made, I did laundry and then it was just a matter of sorta getting my brain to function until bedtime.

Overall, huge success, awesome vacation. I had such a phenomenal time!!

Day 3 of Mini Vacation - the Drive back

 

Day 2 of Mini Vacation

The Kid found a crab :)

Put Put Golf :)

Another view

Day 1 of our Mini Vacation

We were on the 15th floor :) Awesome views!

Potatoes from the Garden

And yes, they were quite yummy :)

We didn't get a whole lot, but the ones we did get were pretty decent sized! I had basically let the kid do the digging while I tore out the Monster Tomato plant and I don't think he went down far enough. But that's ok :) It's hard work!! I didn't do a lot during the season, you kinda just let these things grow. I did leave a couple baby ones (probably seeds really) in the ground and if they grow next year, awesome. If not, no biggie :)

Next year, we are doing boxes to grow these in. The boyfriend and I will be making 5 boxes for me (not sure how many for him) during the winter for next years garden :)

I can't think of a good title...

I totally hate that up tick in weight when my period comes around. It's like this bloating battle of caring vs not caring...about my weight and what I eat during that time. Today I ate out for lunch so I checked out the website to see the carbs/calories before hand. Annnnnd, I was totally reminded that I have been pretty damn bad lately about what I eat. So. I'm all, fuck sugar. Because really, it's not good for me, at all (I'm insulin resistant and sugar sucks for those of us with PCOS too). I got coffee with just cream. I made hot tea this afternoon, no sugar. I am going to really slim down on that again - poor sugar is going to be out of the picture for a bit. And I will be better (again) with what I am eating. Now, this does NOT mean not eating certain foods, I will just be smart and not eat more than 1 portion type of thing. Yes, this means even cheesecake. Damn it was good. Anyway, I am pretty good on drinking a lot of water for the most part, but I will do better on that end too. Since it's actually starting to get chilly (SCORE!!) I want to start doing yoga/ballet in the mornings before work and cut back on my walks. Which means I need to get bed earlier and get my fat ass up earlier (I like my fat ass, it's not a derogatory thing, it's a nice ass!!)

After this weekend I am going to start decorating for the holidays :) I will need to stock up on candy for Halloween because last year, I was out in about 30 minutes, it was freaking awesome!!

I think I need to take Tiamet in to see the vet and get her blood work done, see where she's at. I think she's doing ok, but I've noticed one of the cats have been going quite a bit of pee lately. Speaking of kitties, I've cut back on their dry food consumption and it looks like Diego and Daisy are losing weight, which is good. I can see a shape (other than round) when I look at Diego!! I do need to give him another bath.

I also need to spray for spiders around the house, I should have done that this past weekend but I didn't get around to it. Ugh.

I think I am just going to rip out my tomato plant. I will try again next year, but doing it from pots and not in the ground. Don't get me wrong, this thing is MASSIVE but once the tomatoes start to ripen, they split and whatnot. I've heard and read about it's a calcium or some other deficiency, I just didn't plan well enough for 1 small tomato plant to monster out on me and then freak out while maturing. So. Planters for that next year. I need to flip my grass I think soon too, with it getting colder. I will need to figure out what I am planting and where next year for that. Something to work on soon :)

My Kid is awesome. Just thought I'd share that :) Some days more awesome than others, though. Yeah...and some days I just don't want to think about ;)

 I think I've got all the residency stuff worked out now for my class :) I will log in tomorrow and see if it is so I can pay for the course. So excited :) I will have to figure out how that will effect my time too I guess.

Wonderful Weekend

This was a good weekend, ok ok let me correct myself, it was an awesome weekend. The Raven's won, I made a great Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake, we watched the first episodes of Walking Dead (yes, I am late to the series, whatevs!) Got to go to the park and have fun and Sunday I got to practice french horn with my Kid.

Today is beautiful outside - I took 2 walks and fed one of the horses an apple. The chill in the air made it really feel like Autumn is finally here. Love it.

Life is good :)

Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake

So the Cheesecake was a hit :) I personally think it was a little heavy on the clove. They did say that it was lighter than most cheesecakes but that they liked it and it tasted good. I will totally admit it was pretty damn yummy.

Yes, I will be making this again, probably for my birthday or something. Yum!