Shutting it down...

I've neglected this blog, it's true. And now the email account that this is tied to is about to be null and void. And because Blogger is so great, it won't let me use my new email address as the primary email. So, I'm shutting this blog down. Jonathan and I have started a new "family" style blog. Which is kind of boring, I'll admit, because we have to keep it clean for the kids. And maybe for the parents, too. Anyway, if you are interested in our new married life, feel free to visit here from now on.

Toodles!

Where have I been??

So, it's apparently been a month and a half since I've last posted. Where am I, you ask? I'm busy counting days:
- 14 days --> Last presentation ever for my MBA!
- 17 days --> I become an official Junior League of Plano member!
- 20 days --> Day to meet my goal weight...scary!
- 46 days --> The day I get married!

As per usual, I start blogging again the minute I start dieting again. Not like writing has really helped me in the past but I am hoping for a different result all the same. Can anyone remind me what the definition of insane is again?

So, as I mentioned in my last post, I started a new job about 7 weeks ago. I love it here! The team I work with reminds me of my old team from my first job and the work is steady and busy and fun. One thing that's going to help me with this diet is the cafeteria. I know, sounds lame and like crappy, fattening food but they have some good health options. And the price can't be beat. Yesterday, I had a salad for lunch. Those who know me know that I despise salad. But, they have a salad bar where you can customize whatever you want and then they weigh it. My huge salad that I couldn't finish came in at a whopping $3.47. And it was good, too!

Today, I mixed the American side with the Korean side and made my own meal. From the American side, I got steamed broccoli, peas and carrots. From the Korean side, I got a fillet of tilapia with chili sauce. It was all phenomenal and I am beyond stuffed. Hopefully tonight I can stick to my dieting with a decent meal despite having a group meeting to work on our paper right after work. We'll see.

But, I have drive this time. I started looking through old pictures from 4 years ago...when I was super skinny. When I first met Jonathan. When size zero was huge on me. I had willpower back then and I would literally eat until I was just full enough. Today's lunch, while healthy, proved that I am lacking that willpower still. So, I have to make it up with dinner. Which is fine, that should be my lightest and lowest calorie meal anyway. I guess we shall see what the scales say tomorrow!

Anyway, just to embarrass myself, here's the facts. I was 136lbs. yesterday and 134.8lbs. today. If I can keep that up, I'll meet my 20lbs. in 20 days goal. It's a far-fetched goal that many will say is super unhealthy but I have to remind myself that I will be so happy and proud of myself if I can come near that. And why 20 days? Because all the parts of my dress have been made and are waiting on me to do a fitting before they can be sewen together. Then after they are sewen together, I'd like to do one more fitting. Plus, the super short and tight party dress I designed for after the wedding that will NOT hide a single roll? Oh yeah. That. And once I do the fitting in 20 days, I will still have 26 days until the wedding...which will be the time I lose whatever is remaining on my 20 pound goal.

And before you ask...no, I haven't been running lately. I was injured and will be starting again this week. Plus, I'll start my running classes again on August 17th. But, I have to take it slow and basically start from scratch again. Boo!

Big News!

I am starting a new job on June 7th! I'm extremely excited about this new position, although everyone I interviewed with was very honest in letting me know it's a bunch of work. So, since my current job is on a reduced workload schedule, I will probably be easily doubling my hours at work within the first week or two. That part stinks, but it's such a good step (or leap) in my career that it was hard to pass up.

Also? The benefits are by far the best I have ever had! The pay is great, there's a bonus every year that's paid out over 4 quarters (so like a mini-bonus every 3 months!), the insurance is great (and cheap!) and the PTO and vacation time rocks. Plus, I'm going back to the technology field so we get discounts on cool stuff. :) I think Jonathan is most excited about that part.

Of course, my timing is impeccable as always. I start this job the same week I start my final class for my MBA. A class that is going to be very intense. I start this job just 3 months before my wedding. And also, just 3 months before my first year of Junior League ramps up. Great timing, Amie. So, if I didn't already think that 2010 was moving at the speed of lightening before, then I sure as hell do now!

It's been a huge year with a lot of changes, that's for sure. But all are great changes and I'm so excited and nervous at the same time!

Oh yeah, also we had our engagement party this weekend and I wasn't expecting gifts, but OMG I love all the gifts!!! It's going to be so hard not to use them until after September. My pots, pans and knives are fabulous!!

9pm - 9am

Please excuse me for this rant...I am exhausted and the coffee hasn't kicked in yet.

I grew up in a very strict household with lots of rules. There is only one rule that I can think of right now that I have carried over into my adult life. It's a rule that I feel is exceptional and should be followed by everyone. It's the 9pm to 9am rule.

Basically, as a way to keep me from bugging other people/neighbors/friends' parents/etc. in the wee hours in the morning, my mom started this rule. I was sort of an early riser as a young kid and my best friend and I loved to call each other the minute we woke up. Neither of our parents were exactly early risers. So, my mom always told me that it was extremely rude to call people before 9am. Seeing as how I never wanted to be rude, I stuck to this rule like my life depended on it! When I started staying up later than 9pm, my mom extended the rule to saying that it's extremely rude to call people between 9pm and 9am. I could see her point. And I stuck to this rule.

Of course, in college, I was rarely up and ready to go before 9pm, so I bent the rule for the time being. However, if I knew someone was staying in for the night, I still would not call them between 9pm and 9am. After all, I didn't want to bother them!

But, undergrad is over and has been over for many years now. When I entered this wonderful world of adulthood and responsibilities, I realized that at heart, I was an early to bed, early to rise type of gal. Even Jonathan quickly adapted to this schedule as it's just more convenient for me. And try as I might to sleep in late on my days off, I am often up by 7am. I thrive only after a minimum of 8 hours of sleep, so many times on the weekend I am still in bed by 10pm.

It's lame.

I know.

The fact still remains that my alarm clock starts blaring at 5:15am Monday - Thursday. So, to get in a full 8 hours of sleep on weeknights, what time does that put me in bed? By 9:15pm.

Again, lame.

I know.

But, it is what it is and until I get a job either way closer to home or one that I don't have to arrive until 9 or 10 in the morning, it's just how it's gonna be. I've accepted it. And everyone needs to learn to deal with it.

If you can't tell, I get extremely irritable when people break the 9pm to 9am rule. Everyone knows it. I've repeatedly told people that I go to bed early and it's best to not try to contact me past 9pm. I don't mind as much if it's a Thursday - Saturday night as I do not have to be up before the sun the next morning on those days. However, I personally think that it is just in good taste to follow the 9pm to 9am rule at all times. I was raised in the south by true southern ladies. We always try to things that are in good taste at all times.

The only exception to this rule is in the case of an emergency. Which is why I rarely, if ever, put my phone on silent at night. I always have my phone on and everyone knows that if there were an emergency, they could call me and I'd be there...no problem. Jonathan completely turns his phone off at night, which drives me insane! Of course, he has drunkard friends that like to text him at all hours of the night and his phone goes off with every.single.email he receives...spam and otherwise. In general, his phone always drives me nuts. And since we are cancelling our home phone today (FINALLY...the contract is up!), someone has to keep their phone on for family emergencies.

So, please. I'm begging everyone out there. Let's act like adults and keep the sacred hours of 9pm to 9am contact-free. I treasure my sleep. I am not a morning person (despite waking up early every day). I get very irritable, even if I am up, if someone tries to talk to me before caffeine has had time to circulate through my body.

It's best for us all to observe the 9pm to 9am rule.

Really. It is.

Gramma

My Gramma passed away this past Friday, April 9th. I feel that I was very close to her. She was really the only grandmother that I knew well enough to show up at her door any time I wanted. She loved me probably more than I will ever know and I loved her more than she probably ever knew.

The past few years have been very difficult. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2006 and unfortunately for us, she was pretty far into the disease when we finally got a diagnosis. But, as morbid as this may sound, fortunately for her, it went quickly. I think she was lucky enough to not go on for years and years without her memories. It was really only this past year when she lost it all. I have known people who have had Alzheimer's relatives that have been living for years, if not decades, with no memories left. I wouldn't be able to handle that if I were put in that situation. So, that's why I say fortunately for my Gramma, she progressed at a fast pace.


In rememberance of my Gramma, I'm going to list my top 10 memories of her from my childhood. They are in no particular order, just what stands out to me in my mind:


1.) Her tight, tight hugs. She knew how to give a bone-crushing hug! They were always so comforting.


2.) Lots of big pink kisses all over my face.


3.) Her rings. She always wore big, chunky rings and they were so her style.


4.) The way she would spoil me. Rotten!


5.) Her perfume. To this day, I have no idea what it was, but if I smell it, I know it.


6.) Shopping. She taught me how shopping can always make you feel better when you are down. When I missed my mom, she would take me to the mall to "mess around" for a little bit and it always seemed to work. To this day, I will spend hours at a mall when I am feeling stressed/sad/upset/etc.


7.) The way she would play Parcheesi or Dominoes with me for hours on end. She never showed any boredom playing with me. Or at least I never noticed.


8.) Being perfect in her eyes. She kept everything I ever gave her (cards, crafts, little toys) no matter what it was and always thought everything I did was wonderful. I guess that's part of being spoiled. :)


9.) Spending the night. I spent many nights at my grandparents' house and loved it. I would ransack their house looking for old treasures and pictures. Nothing was off-limits and she would tell me all the stories behind every little thing I found.


10.) Tea parties! What else needs to be said when a tea party is involved?

Eleanor Rose Huddleston McGowan: November 25, 1924 - April 9, 2010

Just Under 5 Months!!

Well, I haven't talked much about the wedding on here, have I? I think it's because in my quest to be the most-laid-back-bride-ever, I've just completely forgotten about the wedding until someone asks me or I want to update my registeries (it's basically shopping!!). I mean "our" registeries! Eh, who are we kidding? Jonathan is about as uninterested in registering as I am in Xbox. Which is why we work so well together...I "shop" and register online while he plays video games. See? We totally have this marriage thing all worked out!

So, today I went to TheKnot.com to get some ideas for hostess gifts. My mom called yesterday asking what I wanted to do for that and I hadn't really thought much about it. I was also feeling really crappy yesterday with a little gremlin stuck inside of me trying to claw its way back out...so, I also didn't care either. But, today I'm feeling better and I need ideas! Oh yeah...so I was on The Knot and I saw they had a wedding ticker maker thing and I thought I should do that. And update the old blog while I'm at it. When I posted it, it said "4 months, 4 weeks and 2 days."

Well...crap.

Less than 5 months to go and now I need to get in shape (i.e., tone my arms and back and lose 15 pounds), find hostess gifts, start making invites, get everyone confirmed for Vegas (...you hear that guys? Book your trips! I'm stressed!), start finalizing some of the details, get organized, get in shape (there's lots to do in this department and I'm lazy)...etc. I did do something productive for the wedding yesterday. I bought shoes! They aren't anything fancy, but I love them. Plus, Zappos is awesome and they are being delivered today! 36 hour turnaround...not too shabby.

I just thought of about 1,000 other things I need to get done and I have 152 DAYS left!! Plus, work and school and ... well, that's all really. I feel like I have more to do but I guess I don't.

OK, I'm off to make a list now!

By the way, click here for our wedding site if you are interested. Which, I've been meaning to update...

Budget-friendly Recipes!

Since this whole financial diet started last week, I've made a couple of great meals that were super cheap for us. Surprisingly, since we started saving money, we have been eating healthier and tastier meals. Actually, that's not surprising because we have not been eating out like we used to just because it was "easy." Now, I'm cooking at home again and I was raised knowing how to cook cheap and healthy! And I must say, I should have never stopped cooking in the first place.


Since I make a lot of pizza and pasta at home, these recipes are just that. I made pizza one night and had enough left-overs of the sauce and cheese to make baked ziti the next night. So, here's the pizza.



First, we have the wine-infused carmelized onions:
1 bottle of cheap-ass cabernet (there's one for $2.50 at Wal-mart)
2 large yellow onions (or if white onions are on sale, get those!)
Enough olive oil to coat the bottom of a skillet
Salt to taste
Timer

Slice onions to desired thickness. I wouldn't make them too thin or else they will just not be right. I like about 1/4" thick. Turn pan with olive oil on medium-high and wait for the oil to heat up. When the oil is shimmering, throw in all the sliced onions. It will look like a lot, but when it's done, it won't be that much. Toss the onions until all are coated with oil. Set the timer for 10 minutes. Pour yourself a glass of wine. Drink. After the timer goes off, lighty salt the onions and stir around. Turn heat down to medium. Set the timer for 10 minutes. Continue drinking wine. When the timer goes off, stir the onions. They should be turning brown by now. This is good. Set the timer for 10 minutes. Drink wine, but slow down! You will need some for cooking. When the timer goes off, stir the onions some more. Set the timer one last time for 10 minutes but drink your wine closer to the stove. You might need to stir the onions a couple of times during this 10 minutes. If the onions are a nice, dark brown color, success! If not, keep cooking until they are. Take the bottle of wine and pour about half a glass worth or so into the pan to deglaze it. Stir the onions until all the wine is cooked down. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, move the onions to a bowl and set aside.

Second, we have to make the meat:
1 package of skirt steak, tenderized if available
1-2 cups garlic marinade (we bought a bunch of marinade on sale a couple of months ago)
1 link of hot Italian sausage (freeze the other links for meatballs or other uses later)

Marinate the skirt steak for a minimum of 3 or 4 hours, preferably overnight. OK, I guess that should have been the first step, technically, but oh well. Hopefully you read all of this first before starting. Put steak and leftover marinade in glass baking dish and broil for 5 minutes on each side. Let rest on top of the oven while you prep the sausage. In the skillet you used to make the onions, still on medium heat, squeeze the sausage out of the skin. Break up into small pieces and cook until brown. Using a slotted spoon, fish out the sausage and leave the oil in the pan. Put sausage in a bowl and set aside.

Next, the homemade tomato sauce:
1 can whole tomatoes (whatever is on sale)
1 can diced tomatoes (luckily, fire-roasted was on sale...my fave!)
1 small can tomato paste (cheapest)
2T Italian seasoning
1/4t. cinnamon
2-3 cloves garlic
1 glass worth of the cheap wine
Salt and pepper to taste

Turn down the sausage fat still in your same skillet to medium-low. Chop garlic and throw into pan...be careful to not let it burn! Open the can of whole tomatoes and dump entire contents into the skillet. Using a butter knife, cut up tomatoes to desired chunkiness. Let these cook for a couple of minutes and then add the can of diced tomatoes, juice and all. Simmer for a few more minutes and then add about 1 glass worth (less if you want) of the wine and the can of tomato paste. Add the Italian seasoning and stir until the tomato paste disappears in the pan. Let everything simmer for a few more minutes. Add in the salt, pepper and cinnamon and stir one last time. Turn to low.



Turn oven onto 425 degrees. Slice steak into 3/4" slices (like you do with brisket) and then cut slices in half.



Now, for the pizza:
1 can Pillsbury pizza dough (my fave!)
Above ingredients
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella (I found the 16oz. bag on sale!)
1 handful of crumbled goronzola
1 handful of shreded romano

Spray cookie sheet with some cooking oil. Spread out dough onto cookie sheet and bake in a 425 oven for about 5 minutes. The bigger the cookie sheet, the thinner you can make the crust...and I like a thin crust. Pull dough out of oven and cover with homemade sauce. I like a lot of sauce but it only took me about 1/3 or so of the homemade sauce to cover to my liking. Then put down a thin layer of mozzarella. Again, I'm not a big cheese person, so I don't like a lot. If you do like cheese on your pizza (I'm a freak, I know), add more. Using probably just under half of the steak, spread out over mozzarella. Using about half of the sausage, spread out over mozzarella. Again, I'm not a big fan of a ton of meaty toppings, so I probably use less than the average person would. You will probably only use about 1/4 of the carmelized onions (and you'll probably snack on 1/4 of them!) and spread those out over the top of the pizza. Then top with gorgonzola and romano cheeses. Bake at 425 for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is golden and bubbly. Pull out of oven and sprinkle some Italian seasoning and a drizzle of olive oil.

This is what mine looked like before the extra Italian seasoning and olive oil was added:

I personally thought it was awesome but of course, there wasn't enough cheese or meat to satisfy Jonathan so he just thought it was OK. Since I had all of the seasonings and oil, counting only the portion of the meat and cheeses I used, this whole pizza cost about $7 or so. And we have left-overs. Normally, the two of us can polish off a large take out pizza that cost us $20, so HUGE savings!

When you are cleaning up, throw all the meat into the sauce and add as much of the carmelized onions as you want (I think I added half of what was left over). Store in fridge until you are ready for the ziti or just a spaghetti night.

OK, the second recipe is so much shorter than the first! I was just playing around and had a craving when I made the pizza...and had nothing else better to do...so that's why that recipe is so long.

Onto the ziti!
1 1/2 cups (or so) of ziti noodles
Couple handfuls of bow-tie pasta (I added this at the last minute because I didn't think we'd have enough ziti...this made for an extremely noodle-y dish!)
1/2 big bag of baby spinach
Leftover sauce with meat and onions added in
Leftover cheeses (you still won't use all of it!)
Salt and pepper to taste

Put leftover sauce in a sauce pan and cook on medium-low. Bring half a pot of water to a boil. Lightly salt the water (I hate adding salt to stuff, so you'll notice that I say to "lightly" salt everything). Pour the noodles into the boiling water and boil until al dente. When draining the noodles, drain over a bowl to save that pasta water! Pour noodles into a casserole dish. Oh yeah! Preheat the oven to 375. Throw about half a bag of baby spinach into the sauce. I like a lot of spinach and I also take the time to rip off the bigger stems. Yes, the pot will be filled to the top with spinach and that's ok! Using about 1/3 a cup at a time, add in some pasta water. Every time you add in some water, stir everything around. The leftover sauce will be really thick (because I like hearty sauce for my pizza) so you want to thin it out. I think I ended up using about 1 1/2 cups of the pasta water when all was said and done. You don't want it runny, but you do want the sauce thinner than before. Also, you are just cooking it until the spinach is wilted. Nothing is worse than over-cooked spinach if you ask me! When the consistency is where you like it, add that on top of the noodle mixture. Throw in a couple of handfuls of mozzarella and mix well. Top ziti with a couple more handfuls of mozzarella, half of the leftover gorgonzola and romano. Bake for about 20-30 minutes or until the cheese on top is melted very well and the sauce is bubbling up. Pull out of the oven and sprinkle with Italian seasoning, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.

I didn't get a pic of the ziti but Jonathan liked it much better. Probably because it had a ton of cheese in it! Or at least a ton of cheese in my opinion.

See? Living on a budget isn't that hard.