Zac Brown Band and John Denver

I had three (three!!!) straight days off from work so I did some cleaning and crafting around my apartment with my free time. I went to Hobby Lobby a while back and picked up some canvases and paint and did this project:

I used some masking tape to make the design and put of few coats of navy paint on the canvas. After the paint was dry I removed the masking tape. I did this to three other canvases and hung them in a line above my couch. However on two of the canvases, I didn't wait long enough for the paint to dry and ended up with paint bleed on some of the white areas of the canvas. I lived with it for a while, until walking by them every day and seeing the imperfect lines began to drive me nuts (OCD much?).

So I set out to think of something new to do with the two canvases that were no longer "perfect" in my eyes. I decided that I would paint over the while lines with the remaining navy paint I had leftover. I then found some scrapbook stickers and painted them a caramel/tan color. I had been bouncing around some quotes in my head for the solid color canvases and landed on "country" theme:

 'Drive until the city lights dissolve into a country sky' is from the Zac Brown Band song "Free"

'Take me home country roads' is John Denver's "Country Roads"

And here's the final product with the mixture of both types of canvases:

I know they aren't straight and it will get fixed very shortly as my OCD will not allow this kind of slant!

I made this!!! Without burning the place down!!!

Last night I woke up sweating like a pig for no apparent reason. So I stumbled around to turn on the fan and tried to go back to bed. About twenty minutes later I was still sweating like a whore in church on Sunday, so I caved and turned on the AC. This morning while making my coffee I realized why I was so dang hot through the night...I had left the oven on from night before. The whole night! I literally do not know how I managed to get lucky enough to not burn down the whole apartment complex! Which brings me to the current post:

I decided to try my hand at cooking again tonight, but with the stove this time. Except tonight I utilized Siri on my phone to remind to turn the stove off once I was done...technology is wonderful, I tell ya! But anyway this recipe (found here via Pinterest) is what I landed on for dinner tonight.

 Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps

I altered my recipe a bit based on what I like compared to the original

• 1 cup cooked rice, warm or at room temperature
• 1 cup cooked, shredded chicken (or other leftover meat, like shredded pork or beef)
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 red or green pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup yellow or white corn
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 cups shredded cheese (I use a combination of Monterrey jack and sharp cheddar)
• Sour cream (optional) 
• burrito size tortillas

Combine all ingredients except for cheese and sour cream. prinkle cheese over tortillas, leaving 1/2-inch border around edges, then arrange chicken and rice mixture down the center of each tortilla. (Optional: I like to dollop little bits of sour cream over the cheese before arranging chicken and rice mixture down the center – it makes the wraps delightfully creamy.) Roll stuffed tortillas, leaving edges open and slightly flatten the wraps with the palm of your hand. Spray seam-side of the wrap lightly with cooking spray.

Heat a large non-stick skillet (or griddle) over medium heat for 1 minute. Arrange wraps, seam-side down, in pan or griddle and cook until golden brown and crisp, about 2-3 minutes per side. Cooking them seam-side down first helps seal the long edge so they don’t fall apart. Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining wraps. Serve warm.  

The recipe doesn't call for this, but I also added a bit of queso in the middle of the tortilla before putting it in the skillet. Another addition I think I'll try with the leftovers is to dip in it some salsa that I have around. Sounds yummy to me!  

These were super easy to make (and that's saying something coming from the non-cook that I am!) and only took about 10 minutes of prep work and 2 minutes of actual cook time. So tasty!

• 
  I found this at Hobby Lobby today and thought it was appropriate!

   

 

Obsessed

It's no secret that girls love shoes. I love shoes too, but I specifically love tennis shoes! I prefer comfort over style when it comes to my shoes, so you won't see me wearing heels very often, only when I'm forced to! Lately I've been a shopping spree when it comes to tennis shoes. Where I work is pretty hard on my shoes (kids pick at them, they've had blood, vomit, spit and other bodily fluids wiped on them) so I dedicated my old running shoes exclusively to work and set out to find a new pair of shoes to work out in.

nasty looking work shoes

I searched Nike.com for a pair that I liked for a while but never found any I really wanted in the Free style (I love the Free line, it doesn't feel like the shoe is weighing you down while you run/work out). Then Nike came out with the new version of Free's and I fell in love with the color of these:

These took while to get used as they were slimmer than the previous version of Free's, still working on breaking them in to mold to my feet.

At the same time I was perusing the Nike website, I stumbled upon these for only $45! How could I turn them down?!? I don't use these for working out, just for wearing around...

The kids like these shoes because they say I have "swag" when I wear them!

Since I wasn't completely happy with the Free's above and had such good luck with my work shoes, I started looking at the clearance section for the old version of the shoe and I found these... for $50! It pays to shop the sales!

I use these for running, no breaking in required! I love, love, love them!

The next pair of shoes I stumbled upon while out shopping and just happened to have a gift card to the store, funny how life wants me to have 80 pairs of tennis shoes.

I use these for all other workouts besides running (lifting, biking, etc.)

The next pair of shoes I don't wear for working out, but they are cute and comfy with jeans and I wear them all the time in the fall and spring since I've bought them!

Apparently in my past life I was a gym teacher or something, because I need to have enough pairs of tennis shoes for every day of the week! I've never really tried any other brand of shoes for running because I've had such good luck with the Nike's. Anybody else love and have an obsession with gym shoes?

Booked!

...my flight to DC that is! Dan and I made a plan to meet up in the nation's capital over Labor Day and spend the long weekend together. I'm excited about it already, but a little nervous about flying by myself for the very first time. It doesn't help either that on the flight back, I only have 34 minutes between flights! It should be a fun weekend though, catching up and getting to do some sightseeing together. Only 87 more days!

It's been awhile...

It's been a looooooong time since I've last blogged...oops! But working two jobs (over 70 hours a week!) sleep became a major priority of mine! I don't think I will ever work two jobs ever again...at least not two very stressful jobs where the children beat me! Haha I think I will become a professional dog walker or house-sitter...those are pretty easy to manage.

The last time I blogged back in February, Dan was still out in Virginia! Since then he has graduated from OCS (Officer Candidate School):

a whole bunch of 2nd LT's

Me and Lieutenant Dan

He got to spend a couple months back in Iowa:

a rare decent picture of us before a wedding

we took blaze on his first trip down the mighty maquoketa

and did a little antique shopping (who would pay $42 for this giant plastic ear?!?)

And since it has been so long since I have last blogged, Dan is now back in Virginia again for 6 more months of training! He will have a bit more free time this go round, so I'm planning on making a trip or two out there. I'm excited and a wee bit nervous...I've never flown by myself before! 

Honestly, I'm lame and that's about all I've done over the past couple of months! BUT I did take the plunge and bought an iPhone! I've only had it a couple of days, but I love it already. It's so easy to use and I've already pretty much got it figured out...gotta love Apple products! :) I'm now on the hunt for a cute case to keep my investment protected!

I'm hoping to get back in the swing of things blogging wise, now that I'm back down to working only one job (it's like being on vacation) and being more consistent with my posts...but we shall see!