As 2013 comes to an end, I look back and think about everything I did this year. This year has to be one of the best yet. Here are some of my top 4 moments of 2013.
1. Tony and I moved in together.
This was a huge step in our relationship. We'd been together a year in March, so we felt we were at a good point in our relationship. We had our low moments and not everyday has been perfect but we've been able to learn so much more about each other along the way.He's messy, I have OCD, and we've been able to balance each other out. It's been such a great experience so far. Plus, I get to see him everyday!
2. Vegas with the family.
This was my 5th time going to Vegas (2nd time this summer). I have to say, we did it BIG for Grae's 40th birthday and this trip was hands down one of my favorites. This was Tony's first time to Vegas, and it was a lot of fun to show him the strip. It was a great weekend spent with my cousins and I feel closer than ever with them!
More travel plans in the future, please?
3. Traveling to Chicago.
This trip was lots of firsts. My first time traveling alone, first-timer in Chicago, and my first time bouncing from one city to another. I spent three days in Chicago for an event conference, then I flew directly to Vegas for an accounting marketing conference for another three days.
I fell in love with Chicago and I fell in love with traveling alone! I felt a sense of independence and in my free time, I ventured around or sat in coffee shop if I felt like it. While in Chicago, I did lots of site-seeing and met several people from all over the world who I have contact with today. We all had one thing in common - passion for event planning.
I can't wait to visit this beautiful city real soon!
4. Getting older rocks.
I've noticed as I get older, there are far more important things in life that I used to take for granted. This year I was able to spend more time focusing on myself to become the person I wanted to be.
I learned the less friendships I have, the more quality they are, which meant threading out the ones that brought me down, and spending more time with the ones that mattered the most. I learned the value of money and if I save and spend wisely, I have the freedom to do something new a couple times throughout the year. It's taken several years to get to this mentality (trust me!) and it's awesome.
Life has been good so far and I really can't complain about what I have. I have a wonderful boyfriend, a great career, a loving family, and friendships I truly cherish. I'm definitely looking forward to what 2014 will bring to myself and others around me. Life can only get sweeter!
Cheers to 2014 and Happy New Year to you and yours!
I was never much of a dog person. Well let me rephrase, I liked dogs but not near as much as if they were my own. Tony and I discussed getting a dog for several months, and one evening when we went out to do some Christmas shopping, Tony drove me to the Humane Society to look at a couple of dogs he had seen on the website that morning.
We looked at a pup named Coal and we instantly fell in love with his cuteness. He is a 3 month old, border collie/lab mix and came in as a stray. Tony and I slept on the decision and the next day, we adopted him.
Meet Dexter
We decided to name him Dexter since Coal was his temporary name and I didn't like it spelled like a 'lump of coal'. He's 23 pounds right now but the Humane Society thinks he will get up to 65-70 pounds. His paws are already pretty big for his size!
Life with Dex has been great (I say that now) the last couple of weeks! Tony and I are working on our "parenting skills" and it's been so fun to have him around. We have him 95% potty-trained with only a handful of accidents in the house, he doesn't whelp or cry at nighttime which we were afraid of since he's a puppy, and we're working on kennel training.
I don't mean to brag, but he's one of the most fun-loving, carefree, energetic pups I've ever met. I'm completely obsessed with him and I treat him like he's my own child. I know we made the right decision to rescue Dexter; who knows where he will be if we didn't. He's definitely going to be spoiled with love and joy from us!
I finally got the courage to make a lasagna recipe in the crock pot. Recently, I've been feeling like everything I've made in the crock pot hasn't turned out as good as I hoped (I didn't post my latest wild rice soup recipe), and I follow every direction. Sometimes.
This lasagna came out perfectly! I have to say, it tastes better than the time we made it in the oven...and it was way easier to make, and less of a mess.
Ingredients:
* 1 lb. hamburger meat, thawed
* 2 - 16 oz. jars of your spaghetti sauce
* 12 - 14 oz. lasagna noodles, uncooked
* 1 can diced tomatoes
* 12 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
* Grated Parmesan cheese
* 1 tsp. parsley
* 1 tsp. oregano
* Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. In a large skillet, brown the hamburger meat; drain.
2. Add sauce, diced tomatoes and seasonings; cook on medium heat.
3. In a large crock pot (I used a 6 qt.), cover the bottom with some of the meat sauce.
4. Break the lasagna noodles in half and layer on top of the sauce.
5. Spoon 2 cups of the meat sauce on top of the noodles and sprinkle mozzarella and Parmesan.
6. Repeat with sauce, noodles, more sauce, and cheese until you've used all of your meat sauce. Just be sure the top is covered with lots of cheese - it's the best part!
7. Sprinkle the top with more seasonings if desired.
8. Cover and cook on low for 5 - 6 hours.
Enjoy!
This month has been absolutely crazy. Reason #36 I haven't found the time to sit down and post what has been going on recently.
Work has been very busy finishing up year end projects and gearing up for the office to be closed for a week. And between shopping, activities, and holiday parties, it sure seems like every evening is planned.
I love this time of the year but with the hustle and bustle of everything that surrounds Christmas, it's hard to focus on the real reason we celebrate this wonderful holiday. I'm certainly looking forward to enjoying the next week spending time with those I love.
Just a few things I've been up to this month...
Tony and I LOVE pork chops. We like to cook them on the grill but obviously neither one of us want to stand out in the cold, so we've came up with different ways to cook our chops on the stove or in the oven.
During my trip to Colorado last month, I purchased a pork chop seasoning from one of the local spice shops in Fort Collins. I've been waiting to use this new seasoning, so I found a recipe on Pinterest that I'd thought would be good to spice up a bit.
Ingredients:
* 3 thick cut pork chops, thawed
* 1/4 cup brown sugar
* 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
* 1/2 tsp. paprika
* 1/2 tsp. Long Peak's Pork Chop Spice (Savory Spice Shop)
* Salt and pepper to taste
* 2 tbsp. cooking oil
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine brown sugar and seasonings in a medium bowl.
2. Rub the brown sugar seasoning mix on both sides of the pork chops.
3. Heat the cooking oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the seasoned pork chops.
5. Cook on each side about 5 - 6 minutes until brown. Remove from heat.
6. Transfer the chops to a cooking sheet with foil. Place in the oven for 8 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and serve.
Enjoy!!
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