#16 Letters for good service

In my opinion, this was one of the most important items on my 30 before thirty list. I've been directly affected by the effects of positive and negative feedback clients and management provide and know that the positive comments do not come around often enough. So, each time I received exceptional service, I've made it a point to write a few words to the company about my appreciation for this. They weren't novels, but just a few words can really make a difference. My goal was to write 3 and I actually wrote a few more than that given that I had a ton of really great nurses during my stay at the hospital after Caleb was born.

#2 Find a church that fits.

You're place of worship is a very sentimental thing. And even of you identify with a specific religion that doesn't mean that the service will be the same at different churches of the same belief. I guess I never realized just how different those services could be until I started to attend mass here in GA.

I've been to many different religious gatherings and have always found it easy to find "my God" even if I didn't identity 100% with the message being delivered. But something seems very different to me now that I'm an adult and looking for a church. I didn't only want to give thanks and pray, but I craved a sense of normalcy that comes with a weekly service and worship.

I did find a church that is close to our house and comfortable for us to go to as a family and am learning more about my husband and his relationship with God each week as we discuss the mass. The church we chose is beautiful and comfortable (they continually refer to the congregation as family) but its not the traditional mass I'm used to. So, while I have established a weekly routine of attending mass each week (with exception of this week since Caleb isn't 100%) nothing will come close to a Monday evening mass at Saint Andrew's in NJ. Just like Dorothy said... "There's no place like home" I guess.

Happy monday! and... it's been a year...

Yep. One year since my first blog post here. If you're reading my blog but not blogging yourself, I would really suggest it. Today, I'm able to look back and see where I was a year ago. I'm changed. Not only am I a mommy now, but I'm stronger and more in control of my own happiness. This blog has been an outlet for me - even if I write long posts and never post them - it's allowed me to relax and have some time to myself to really think about myself. And most of all, it's a document of the past year. because you can't know where you're going until you understand where you've been.

Soooo... here's to another year! Maybe some of my other readers will start their own blogs this year! I'm going to try to catch up on all my "in-progress" posts this week and see what else I can check off my 30 before 30 list seeing as that is approaching pretty fast. Hope you have a fabulous Monday! Here is some motivation for you <3

Happy Monday

Hey look... it's the return of Motivation Monday! Happy Monday, party people!! :)

We had a really productive weekend considering the massive list we set out to accomplish. Household chores... unfortunately really didn't get touched. BUT! We made some major progress with little C's room and I'm really keeping my fingers crossed that one more weekend will do the trick to be... um... FINISHED!

Thirty Before 30: Thursday Update

#5 Recipe: I slacked on June's recipe. I made healthy lasagna but sort of just made it up as I went along. I cut up an onion and sauted it until soft then added in some zuchini and spinach and layered that with the lasagna noodles, sauce, mozzerella and ricotta cheese, and some cooked up ground turkey breast. It was actually, really really good. I used whole wheat noodles as well. The only thing is I guess I didn't need to bake it very long because the noodles on top got sort of... crunchy... so! don't overbake it if you try it. I promise to do better next month with a *new* recipe.

#6 New restaurant x2 - Arelios. They just opened by my job and I tried it out with a co-worker of mine after work. It was so good! Apparently it's a chain, so see if there's one in your area. They serve Chicago style pizza. I had a calzone type pizza (they called it something else), but it was HUGE and filled with spinach cheese and mushrooms. So good! I really wanted to try one of the desserts which was listed as a half a pound of chocolate chip cookie dough topped with ice cream, whipped cream and a cherry, but I was so full after my meal. Next time, I'll know to save room. :)
I hadn't planned on going out to eat at a new restaurant again in June, but my brother-in-law's father (yes, I said that right) was in town visiting us and we decided to grab something quick before dropping him off at the airport so we stopped at The Vortex in Little Five Points. I'm so glad we did because my husband, who has a motorcycle, goes to this biker bar pretty frequently with his friends. It was so good! I had the egghead sandwich (fried egg on a BLT with cheese on texas toast) with a side of plaintains. Everything was SO GOOD. I won't tell hubby because next time he asks if I want to go to bike night, I'm going!

#9 Current mile pace: last months pace 12:58, this months pace 12:20. Actually, I run about 2 miles in each time, and the second mile is much slower. I actual finished the first mile in under 10 minutes! But I would still like to be able to do it with just running the whole time (instead of run/walk/run/walk) So, I'm still trying to get up to that.

#10 Gym: Awesome! I'm doing great with going to the gym 3 times a week. I've been going 3-4 times a week all month. Even pushed myself one day that I got home late and went at 845 at night to do my cardio and chest workout. I'm proud (and so is hubby :)


#11 Pushups: 6. Don't laugh at me. It's better than last month :)

Thirty before 30: Thursday Update

#5 Here is May's recipe: Stuffed Chicken with Mozzerella and Basil and Sweet Potato Fries.
This turned out to be FANTASTIC and actually kind of easy. I was really looking for a recipe that would pull from all of the herbs in my garden since they are overgrowing and really need to be used. It calls for fresh basil, green onions (scallions), and parsley (hello? Did they write this specifically for me?) The only part I had a hard time with was gently pounding the chicken to 1/4 inch thickness. How does one gently pound a chicken??! I put each peice between wax paper and tried to pound it with a rolling pin and it did flatten, however, the chicken was fraying on the ends... I'm pretty sure that's not supposed to happen. Still, the recipe turned out delicious and right at my skill level.

I made the sauce, too, even though it's not pictured (my husband doesn't like mushrooms) and it was really good as well! I'm usually terrible with gravys and sauces because they don't thicken for me, or get too thick, but this was perfect. I'll definitely save it for another time to make! The sweet potato fries were insanely easy and taste great. I definitely recommend them for an easy side!

#9 Current mile pace: 12:58 (Although I usually run at least 2 miles in one session, I do it pretty slowly because I like to alternate running and walking, so my goal is to at least get up to doing the first full mile running.)
#10 Gym: Awful. I've only gone twice this month (Tuesday and Thursday this week). Ew. But in my defense, I've only been tracking since mid-month. So, as long as I go on Saturday, I should meet my 3 times a week for this week and hopefully that'll start a good trend for me.
#11 Pushups: 4. That's pretty sad. I've included the link here for the program I'm using that will hopefully get me to at least 50 push-ups in a row. My original goal was set at 100, but hubby doesn't think that's possible. (Thanks for the confidence, hun!) Either way, I plan on starting this week to try and increase my strength!
Situps: I'm starting out with 90 every other night. (30 reg, 30 to the left, and 30 to the right).
Random IPod song:  

Shh... Don't tell anyone but...

It's my birthday. Man, they always sneak up on me. I'm 29 years old today and becoming a thirty-something is coming closer every day. Everyone always says time flies but wow, it speeds up as you get older. When you're little and can't wait to do all the things grown-ups do, the time ticks by and you feel like you're moving at a snails pace. Well, now that I'm sitting here as a 29 year old(yikes), my snail has upgraded it's shell for a shiny new race car and we're speeding towards 30 leaving all those childhood dreams behind. So, it's true; life happens whether you're watching or not. It's not that I feel I haven't achieved anything in my 29 years, but that dream of what I will be and what I have become is very different. So, in honor of procrastination I'm taking on a little self-improvement task. This is my 30 before 30 project. I was inspired by another blogger, but the more I looked into this, the more I decided I want to do one for myself. So here's my list. Most of them are self-explanatory, so I'll save you some time and keep the details for later.

1. Start a blog
2. Write 3 letters about good service I've received
3. Visit Savannah, GA
4. Get a tattoo
5. Cook at least one new meal I've never cooked each month
6. Try one new restaurant each month
7. Read one book per month
8. Send birthday cards to friends and family
9. Run a mile in under 8 minutes
10. Stop making excuses for not going to the gym and go at least 3 times a week
11. Do 50 push-ups in one attempt
12. Lose 15 lbs
13. Spend a weekend without Internet or TV
14. Paint at least one room in my house
15. Keep my fuchsia alive for more than one season
16. Find a church that "fits"
17. Teach my dogs to sit and actually STAY
18. Get a job related to my degree
19. Get up to date on my scrapbook (that's been on pause since 2006...)
20. Recreate our wedding montage video (the one that died before being shown at the wedding)
21. Go to a drive-in movie
22. Shoot a gun
23. Try to make a baby
24. Volunteer 15 hours
25. Hit the 300 hoodie's sold milestone
26. Take a photoshop class
27. Learn to apply eye make-up correctly
28. Make a skin regimen to start preventing wrinkles
29. Make a budget and stick with it
30. Go out for New Years

I plan to use this blog to keep myself motivated and will periodically update my progress. I'm also going to make a big effort to post some meaning information here, so I hope you'll stay tuned.

Yay... Happy birthday to me :)