Tick Tock, Tick Tock

What is that the sound of?  Time ticking away.  I think it is true what they say about having a biological clock ticking.  I feel like everyone is constantly pushing to the next big thing in life.  Ok, you are married, when are you having kids, when are you buying a house, when are you having baby number two.  There is always something more people want you to be doing.  I know it sounds silly to be pressured into something so huge as having kids or buying a home, but the pressure is on. 

I love all my friends and their kids to death; they are all adorable, but dang people, you're really putting the pressure on.  I feel like Andrew and I are behind in the race of life.  Now that we have been married for a year, the questions are really picking up about when we are going to have kids.  We will have kids when we are ready, and we aren't ready.  We are trying to enjoy being married.  We have gone through a few trials in the first year of our marriage, and I feel like each thing we overcome makes us a stronger couple, which will only make us better parents.  We bought a house, which brings with it different financial worries.  We have now adopted two dogs, one of which we are still housebreaking.  Housetraining a dog has brought out some frustrations and stress.  Housetraining Maya has been all about keeping a schedule.  With weddings and working different schedules, keeping things the same for Maya has been a little rough. 

Sometimes I think we just can't go too long without having something new and "exciting" in life.  We are going to take it easy for a while now.  Our family is complete for now.  Our puppies are our kids, and we love them to death.  I think we are also going to tone it down on the house projects for now.  We have a few smaller things we want to do, but we will be back at it this spring out in the yard.  We have our battle plan for the spring, now let's hope we have the funds to attack our master plan.

Recipe Wednesday!

Do you ever get sick of eating the same old thing over and over again?  I know I have, so last weekend while making the grocery list I set out to come up with two new recipes to try this week.  I generally only make one to two meals per week and they last the whole week.  I tell myself this leaves time for other things, like baking, but that never happens.  Although, in my defense I did just finish making sugar cookie dough to make some delicious cookies tomorrow night. 

So far this week, I have only made one of the two recipes I picked out, so I am going to share that one with your guys.  This was super easy to make and really delicious.  I will definitely be making this one again!  I don't know how I ever planned a meal without Pinterest because it seems that most of our meals are coming from there lately.  Although, I find it funny when there are things on there that my family has been making for years.   

Taco Pizza



• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 envelope taco seasoning mix
• 2 (8 oz.) cans Pillsbury crescent rolls
• 1 (16 oz.) can refried beans (I used the jalapeño kind)
• 2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese or Mexican blend
• 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1/4 cup sliced black olives
• 4 green onions, chopped

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Brown ground beef and drain. Add taco seasoning to the ground beef according to the package directions.
3. Unroll crescent rolls into rectangles. Place in ungreased 11 1/2 inch x 16 1/2 inch jelly roll pan or cookie sheet. Press dough over the bottom and 1/2 inch up sides to form crust.  Bake at 375 oven for 11 to 13 minutes or just until golden brown.
4. Microwave beans in a microwave safe bowl for 1 minute.  Carefully spread beans over warm crust creating a thin layer.
5. Top with cooked beef mixture, sprinkle with cheese followed by tomatoes, black olives and green onion.  Return to oven for 3-6 more minutes until cheese is melted.  Serve immediately.  Makes 12 main dish servings or 48 appetizers

Like I mentioned at the start of this post, tomorrow night I am going to be making some yummy sugar cookies, just like I remember growing up!  Ahh the memories of sneaking dough out of the fridge while it was chilling and my mom was in the other room.  I used to try and fluff the dough up when I was done sticking my finger in it so my mom couldn't tell I had been eating it.  I'm pretty sure she caught on. 

A Puppy Update!

Holy cow, it has been longer than I thought since I blogged.  Sorry about that, things have been a little crazy.  I know it's a sorry excuse, but it is mine. 

This past weekend, we actually had the weekend off from wedding world.  We have one last big wedding this weekend and then we are off until the first weekend in December when we have one wedding left for the season.  The wedding this weekend was supposed to be in outside wedding, but I don't think that is going to happen seeing as winter is going to rear its ugly head before the weekend. 

Some of you are probably wondering how Maya is doing, and Buddy too!  Maya is doing well.  She had her first round of puppy shots last week, and that went well.  She had some yeast in her ears that we are giving her some ear drops for.  She isn't a fan of the ear drops at all, and when Buddy sees them come out he runs and hides.  Maya is doing well with potty training.  We have a few accidents here and there and we still have some excited tinkle, but we are working on it.  We also found out that she does have some mild roundworm issues going on, so we also had to put her on medication for that.  Andrew went to pick up her meds last week and discovered that two pills cost $15, he wasn't thrilled about that.  We still need to get her spayed, which we will be doing before the end of the year.  Right now, she seems really expensive, but most of that is just the start up costs, we had the same things with Buddy.  As for Maya and Buddy, they seem to be getting along pretty well.  We had a few skirmishes to start with, but I think that is improving with time.  They are both establishing their boundaries within the house.  Right now, I feel like I am washing blankets a lot because of the occasional leak from Maya.  Is potty training this frustrating?  It feels like it will never end, but I know it will.  Good practice for kids, right?  

Battle of the Bulge

I know I can't be the only one out there that fights with their weight.  I lost about 25-30 lbs for the wedding last year and now it is back.  Admittedly because I don’t have a purpose for keeping the weight off, I don't try too hard.  I hate working out.  I get bored easily.  I was doing a Zumba class on Friday mornings at work, but then a meeting was scheduled at work every Friday morning for six months, and Zumba went out the window.  I tried working out with a friend from work and then we kind of got off track with that.  My hip started hurting and then my shoulder started hurting.  I was a hot mess.  Needless to say, I haven't been working out and the weight has been finding its way back to me. 

I have cycled through about 3 different clothing sizes and have about four pairs of pants right now that fit.  My jeans are just frustrating.  I don’t think any of them look good.  They squeeze me in places I don’t want to be squeezed or make me look like a stuffed sausage.  While we were on vacation last month, we stopped into a jeans outlet.  What a joke that was, Andrew saw my true shopping colors come out.  I was annoyed from the get go because this store was advertising that they had a new re-designed line that was supposed to fit women better... lies.  Better fit by rear.  First of all, since when do size 0 women have any curves?  Why were the only "very curvy" jeans in sizes 0-8?  No one with those sizes should be wearing anything called "very curvy".  Sorry for those of you reading this that fall into these categories.  I don't mean to offend you, I'm simply expressing my frustrations. 

Prime example here  A friend of mine recently went to buy  a pair of Spanx to wear under a dress for a wedding.  Now, the whole premise of Spanx is to contain things that need to be contained.  The women that are wearing them obviously already think they have something to contain.  The problem I have with Spanx is the sizing on them.  At first, my friend purchased a pair that was for a person about twice her weight... they were too tight.  She ended up with a pair meant for someone three times her size.  How does this help a woman who already thinks she needs Spanx with their body image now really?  It doesn't.  It makes it worse.  What is wrong with these people making these things?

Now for my additional frustrations.  I have an interview on Friday and nothing to wear.  I have a suit that I wore when I interviewed at Principal and now it doesn't fit, sadness.  I think that means I am going to have to go out tomorrow night and buy something to wear.  That makes me mad because it means my lack of working out is going to cost me money to buy some new clothes, but if it means a new job I will do it!    

And Then There Were 4...

Did I fool you, did you think I was talking about a baby?  Sorry to disappoint kids, no bun in the oven in this casa.  As you know from my previous posts, Andrew and I have been looking for a Buddy for Buddy!  This past week I happened upon a litter of oops lemon beagles.  This woman lives on a farm and has a lemon male beagle and a female tri colored beagle.  She was set to have the female fixed this spring but when spring hit early, she went into heat and she couldn’t get her fixed and she got pregnant.  Very much an oops litter, the mom is now set to be spayed shortly.  Normally, I support adoption from a shelter and I do not support breeder puppies, but this was not a breeder situation.  This woman also has a couple of old horses she is taking care of that she can’t ride, but doesn’t have the heart to put down. I could tell from speaking with her she just has a total love of animals, and that I could get on board with.   She wasn’t selling this litter of puppies to make money.  So, on Sunday afternoon, Buddy got a new friend! 

 

 

Introducing Maya!  Maya is an 18 week old lemon beagle (just like Buddy).  Maya and Buddy run around in the yard together and it is just so stinking cute.  Maya is still a little wiggle worm because she is a puppy, so there are times Buddy doesn’t know what to think of her.  He is adapting to sharing his toys, sometimes his bed, and his humans.  Maya is doing pretty well with housetraining.  So far we have only had one potty accident in the house and that was the first day home.  Maya can be a little skittish.  Everything is new to her, but Buddy is doing a good job of showing her the ropes.  Our home is complete now for a while until we decide to add another human to the mix, but that is going to be a while.  Buddy and Maya are our kids for now. 

 

On another note, while I was at Target last night getting a couple of things for the kiddos, I came across this…

 

 

 

Does anyone else have a problem with the Christmas cards and Santa being next to the Halloween signs.  There were skeletons and angels next to each other and I wasn’t having it.  What about Thanksgiving?  Are we just totally skipping over that now?  We are going straight from Halloween to Christmas?  I’m disgusted, can you tell?  

TGIF

Have you ever had a week at work where every day you just wanted to get up and walk out but you forced yourself to stay because you know if you can't you can't pay the bills?  Yeah, that has been my week.  Anything that could go wrong did go wrong at work this week, at least that is what it felt like.  I feel like there are some "characters" at work and I have a feeling there are others that have the same type of "characters".  From speaking with people in other jobs, I think there are the same problem children everywhere.  We have the one who can't seem to show up to work to save their life yet haven't been fired yet.  Of course the response from management is always the same, "perhaps you should address your concerns with this person" or, "we don’t have specifics".  Then there are the people that are at work but aren't really "present".  I love these people just about as much as the ones that just don’t show up because they get just about as much done.  My favorite management response when these slackers are brought up is "it will be reflected in their end of the year review."  Yeah, ok you do that, you address it with them.  I'm sure I will still see them the next day doing the same thing.  Yeah, they may not get a pay increase, or they may get one that is more of a slap in the face than anything else, but the point is that they continue the behavior so the "discussion" they had with management didn't really address the problem. 

Then, you have the butt kissers, and they just drive me insane.  Alright, some might think that I seem to play this role at work, but I like to think of myself more as a pot stirrer.  If there is a problem, I'm not just going to let it go.  Problems don't get solved when they aren't addressed.  I'm sure sometimes people just wish I would keep quiet, but I just don’t feel like I can do that on some issues. 

And what is with the rude workplace behaviors.  Some days I feel like I am in a three ring circus.  We have the person that is notorious for making personal calls at their desk. I am ok if this is a once in a while thing, but I'm talking every day here folks, like I can set my watch by it consistent.  I think that seems a little excessive.  I don't need to hear about the loads of laundry you did last night or what you had for dinner.  I don't need to know about your cousins, boyfriends drinking problem.  I don’t need to know about your plans for Christmas or that you think your brother is worthless.  Also in earshot of my desk at work is the guy that just sounds like a jerk from the minute he gets on the phone.  I'm sorry but if you are just going to be rude all the time and answer the phone like someone in always interrupting world peace negotiations, a customer service job may not be the job for you.  And how no one has said anything to this person is beyond me.  I have lost track of how many times I have heard calls put to our supervisors because of his attitude.  A few spots up from my desk we have captain loudmouth.  He really needs to just go be some kind of sports announcer or be on the radio, but seriously he is loud.  There are times when all of the above mentioned people are on the phone at the same time and I just have to stop and wait for them to stop talking so I can actually think or hear the person I am talking to on the phone.  Oh and then we have my other personal favorite, the manager, yes I said manager, who sits at their desk making hair appointments and nail appointments.  I also get to overhear people’s discussions with said manager and possible disciplinary actions.  None of this seems appropriate to me, does it to you?   

All this in combination with a few sorted pain in the butt people that no matter how many times you tell them something they don’t want to hear, they aren't going to listen, created a pretty terrible week.

Now, tomorrow, we have a wedding.  Said wedding is in the middle of a field.  If anyone in this lovely state has been paying attention to the forecast this week, you know that we are due for some pretty strong storms tomorrow.  Oh what fun this could be.  Me, in a barn, in the middle of a field, with a tornado.  I know what you all are thinking now; this is going to make for an interesting story next week.  Why yes it will, if everything goes like the forecast says it will, but we all know how accurate those can be.  So, for tonight I will leave you with a picture of Buddy who got some new winter gear this week!

Did You Think I Disappeared?

I thought I disappeared.  I'm not quite sure where the last week or so went.  I don't even know the last time I posted on here.  A week ago, I went to a lecture on business ethics with my mom.  I learned a lot, but it also made me question a lot about the ethical practices of big business. 

Last week/end was a bit insane.  I was on the go with wedding stuff all weekend.  Friday night I worked for a few hours after work getting flowers ready for our wedding in Dubuque on Saturday.  Saturday morning we were on the road at 5AM.  We worked about 12 hours straight setting up the wedding reception and ceremony and then we were back on the road to Des Moines while some of the crew stayed in Dubuque to finish out the night and do tear down.  At 11 PM we had some rentals to take down and I had to finish my florals for the bridal show in Ames.  With the rental pick up, I didn't get to bed until about 2AM, and was up again about 2 1/2 hours later.  We had a bridal show in Ames on Sunday.  I was pretty pumped to talk to some brides who had so new ideas.  No offense if you are reading this and you are planning a wedding and you colors fall into the following categories, but there are some things with weddings I just getting burned out on. 

Gray and yellow is something we have done a couple times this year.  I like it, but I have never been in love with it.  The problem with yellow and gray is that is limits my floral options.  Black and white or black and red.  I have just really had enough of those combos as this point.  I would like to do an all red wedding, any takers?  The other one, and this pains me to say this, is pink and specifically pale pink.  Use some vibrant colors here people.  Now the final color that I just feel like we have seen a TON of this year is purple, every shade of purple.  After the first couple I had seen enough purple for quite a while.  Luckily, I think we might actually be winding down on the purples.  Alright, so who has any new ideas?  I talked to a couple of brides on Sunday that are using turquoise. I was pumped to hear that! 

So, in an attempt to get people on board with something "new" and "different" I made a crazy arrangement for Sunday's bridal show.  I have been looking at these feathers in our design space all year and I wanted to do something with them.  I used some leftover white roses and some white orchids we brought back from Saturday's wedding. 

After much discussion about wedding colors and design concepts, I think I have come to a conclusion about people and their approach to their weddings.  Why are so many people afraid to take a risk, do something different with their wedding?  While there is something to be said about "tradition", I think you can also combine tradition with something a little different maybe even something edgy.  A wedding should show the style of the couple, it should be something that is custom for the couple, not a cookie cutter wedding.  Too many times, people have pictures and want something exactly like the picture.  While that is fine, and it is great to know what you want, there should also be some leeway for designer interpretation, please. 

I know you can't really see in the photo, but I did a couple of boutonnieres with buttons.  They were super fun and way different than anything we have done this year.  I hope someone wants one this next year.  That is it for my schpeal for now. 

Here are a couple more photos from the bridal show.

If you know someone getting married, pass my information along.  I would love to do their flowers. 

What Will Save My Back

About a month ago, a friend at work was talking to me about a device she ordered called the Backjoy.  I thought she might have lost her mind, but when she got and brought it to work she said it really helped her back.  Here are a couple of pictures for you to check out so you know what I am talking about.

Looks a little weird, right?  Last Friday my friend was gone for the day at work so I swiped her Backjoy and took it for a test run.  My back was hurting, so I thought what do I have to lose?  As soon as I sat down on this bad boy I could tell a difference in how my back felt.  Going into this experiment my back and my hip were really hurting.  The last time I had a massage, my massage therapist told me that my hip was slightly elevated.  After a full day of using the Backjoy, my back felt AMAZING. 

The Backjoy claims to relieve neck pain, low back pain and tail bone pain.  It also says it will increase blood flow and circulation, engage your core muscles and help you breathe better.  At this point, I can only attest to the decreased back pain and hip pain, but I will keep you posted if I notice other differences. 

This bad boy runs $40 on Amazon.  If you are an Amazon Prime member, you also get free shipping.  I was able to score it online this past weekend for 20% off!  Today I ran into another coworker who said she also purchased a Backjoy.  I really think they should purchase these for all of us at work because the chairs at work kind of stink.  When you sit on your butt most of the day, wouldn't it make sense to have a chair that doesn't kill your back?  Would this not eliminate some issues with medical claims and lost time at work for back pain?  Admittedly, I have terrible posture both at work and at home.  I doubt I am alone in that, and I'm sure that doesn't help my back pain.  But, I hope my Backjoy can correct all that.  I will keep you posted.  

I’m off to watch the presidential debates.  Lets see how this goes.  Does anyone get the sense that this could get ugly?