One Week.

I'm writing on hopes of passing time and making this rather slow passing day move more quickly so that I can go home sooner. Plus, it's been a while since I've written and what better thing to do to procrastinate working? Yeah, I thought so too.

Anyway, my work schedule has changed for the next month and I'll be getting two days off in a row. None of my hours have changed or hours been cut, just different days off. Why? Because William was given an opprotunity (sp?) to work on a special project at work that requries him to work Wednesday through Sunday. This not only gets him off the phones, and if anyones worked telemarketing or customer service then they know what a big deal this is, and not dealing with rude customers all day long. He will also be getting paid more since he will be there until 2am, after 6pm it goes up and then increases at 12am again, and won't be leaving for work until 5pm. Yes, this means that he leaves for work a hour before I come home from work. We will still be able to have dinner together though so that's a positive. And I'm glad my boss was able to change my schedule to fit his so we can have our two days together. Now I will really have to get used to falling asleep before he gets home because there is no way I can go to bed at 2am and wake up at 8am, some days even 7am, it just won't work and I'll be a grouch. I am glad this is only for a month though because we hardly get to see each other as it is, now it will be even less, but this was a great opprotunity ( sp? ) for him and looks good to the company so I supported him 100%.

I didn't get the chance to shop on Black Friday, and I'm glad because I don't like dealing with crowds, nor did I shop on Cyber Monday but I will be christmas shopping soon. I have some extra money this pay check so I'd better start shopping now before I'm unable to. I really want to go shopping for our Christmas Tree, it will be our first one together, and decorate it as well. But I'll have to wait until next Monday because I work 7 days in a row, hence the blog title.

 Sorry for now finishing the blog sooner I updated while I was at work and it cut me off and I haven't had time to finish it until now. Now I have no idea what else I wanted to write about. 

Give Thanks.

This Thanksgiving was my very first one, ever, to spend away from my family. Normally, when my Grandmother was alive, we would all spend Thanksgiving together at my Aunts. That tradition hasn't happened for a few years now, I'm sure they still spend Thanksgiving together but we aren't invited or spoken to, and my immediate family has made a tradition of their own. But this year was different, since we spent last Thanksgiving with my parents we decided to spend this year at his Mom's and we will rotate each year, and I have to say it was a lot of fun. Although we were about 3 hours late, because apparently we can't be anywhere on time, and accidently slept in but we made it while it was still light out. I was going to make some sort of dessert, or bring the wine, but my expenses decided otherwise so I showed up empty handed. His Mom ended up making a turkey, of course, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, cauliflower and cheese, home made stuffing, rolls and deviled eggs. That's all I can remember off the top of my head, anyway. I've never had cauliflower and cheese before but it was delicious, I'm not even sure how she made it most likely she baked it, and maybe I'll snag the recipe from her. My other favorites were the green bean casserole and the home made stuffing. As we sat around the table making jokes, laughing, and eating until we were miserable I was thankful that I was able to fit into William's family so well. For most "wives" their in-laws are always seemed as a bother but with his family I'm comfortable and I get along with them really well so I'm glad for that. Plus I think being able to get along with your soon-to-be husband makes things a lot easier later on down the road and the fact that they welcomed me into there home and they like me so much. Anyway, after eating until we could no longer stand it we moved into the living room and talked for a bit, well they talked while I started the laundry, and just sat around and visited for a while. The boys, and his little sister, also played guitar hero but everyone soon tired of that. After a while we ended up having some Pumpkin Pie, that his little sister made, and sat around the table talking and laughing and cracking jokes at each other. Between all this I finished our laundry, which was a small four loads, and joined in on the conversation. We had a few drinks, wine coolers, and then headed home. Overall it was a great Thanksgiving and I wish I would have whipped out my digital camera and snapped pictures like I had planned on doing. The best thing is that we now have left overs, and a pie, in our soon-to-be bare refrigerator. Now I guess I'll do the typical "What I'm Thankful For This Year" in bullets. 

• I'm thankful to still be waking up each and every morning and enjoying my life. To be growing as a person and seeing myself change from a teenager into a woman. To finally be accomplishing goals that I have set out for myself and not give up when things don't go as planned. To realize that life isn't always the way we plan it and to be able to survive the twists and turns that have been thrown my way. 
• I'm so thankful for my parents. Growing up I couldn't wait to get out of the house and never appreciated my parents as much as I have these past few years. They have been there for me numerous times when they didn't have to be. They've been more then understanding and supportive and I can't thank them enough for that. 
• I'm thankful that I have a job, and was able to buy a car, so that I can slightly afford to live on my own. That I have a beautiful apartment, clothes on my back and food in my pantry. 
• Last but not least in the slightest, I'm thankful for William. I would have never guessed that I could be as happy as I am with him. He's so patient, understanding, loving and just way too good to me. He makes me smile each and every morning when I wake up next to him. And though sometimes I may yell or we might argue I couldn't picture myself being with anyone else in the world. I'm so glad that we have grown together as a couple and become closer and stronger this past year. That our love has surpassed what I thought love was like and continue to fall a little deeper each and everyday. He's my sanity, my heart and my missing piece. Here's to spending our second Thanksgiving together and many more to come in the future.

And though this may some incomplete or a unfinished entry I think it's a perfect way to end it. Hope everyone else's Thanksgiving was as good as mine and that each and every one of you has as much to be thankful as I do. 

Southern Cooking.

Chicken And Dumplings.
1 Can Of Chicken Vegetable Soup.
1 Bag Of Frozen Buttermilk Biscuts.


Cooking Directions.
In medium saucepan heat soup to boiling over medium heat. Meanwhile, place frozen biscuts on plate and microwaved 15 to 30 seconds. Cut each biscut into 6 pieces. Place biscut pieces on top of simmering soup. Reduce heat to low ; cover and simmer 6 to 7 minutes until dumplings are fluffy.


My Review.
Although this recipe is incredibly easy to make and takes less then 10 minutes there are a few things I would change about it, and a few things I did differently. Since I forgot to get Chicken Vegetable Soup I had to make some chicken myself. I used about half of a chicken breast and cut it into small pieces and cooked it for about 20 minutes, without using any oil, and let it "boil" until chicken was firm and inside was white. I also followed the directions to a tee, I even put the biscuts in the microwave for longer then recommended, and disliked the outcome of the biscuts. Normally when I think of chicken and dumplings I think of the dumplings sitting on top of the vegetable soup but they were too mushy to do that so I mixed it into the vegetable/chicken mixture. I also think there needs to be two cans of Vegetable Soup, if feeding one person it would work out well but with two people it's not as filling. Next time I make this dinner I plan on cooking the biscuts first and then cutting them into pieces, making sure they are soft, and then place them on top of the soup. And I will probably be using 2, maybe even 3, cans of Vegetables and a little more chicken breast. Now the dinner was delicious despite these things and William seemed to like it a lot but there are some adjustments that need to be made. And I'm sure it would be good even without the chicken. Enjoy!

Is The Week Over Yet?

I've been doing a lot of research online about "natural" cleaning products because hot water just isn't cutting it for me anymore. And I know if I buy something with harsh chemicals and harsh smells then I will never use it so I'm trying to find something that not only gets rid of all the bacteria but is also not harmful. I know I've wrote about this before but it's something that is on my mind a lot. I also want to get a new vacuum, and I really have my heart set on a Dyson, because ours is not only old but it's not picking up as well as I'd like. The sad this is I don't have, nor will I anytime soon, three hundred plus dollars lying around to spend on a vacuum. Maybe if I'm lucky the prices will drop and I'll be able to afford one. A girl can only wish, right?


Speaking of cleaning I actually got some stuff done around the apartment that I've been putting off for weeks. Most of Sunday afternoon was spent lying around in bed and just playing around together but we dedicated a good two hours to cleaning this apartment. Having a clean house makes me feel so much better and instantly boosts my mood. We also bought a a file box and William sorted through, I still have to do mine, all his important documents and bills and then organized them in folders. It was kind of nice and relaxing to have the television off while he sorted papers on the floor next to me as I read my book. Speaking of that book, I've been trying to finish it for a year now and I'm almost finish, I think I have around two hundred pages left. I'm almost sad to be done with it because it's such a good book and I don't know if anything that I read after it will compare. We've also decided to designate Sunday as our cleaning day and hopefully we will stick with it.

Last night we splurged a little and ate Chili's for dinner, which really needs to stop because we spend more money eating out then actual groceries, and it made me wish I could cook mashed potatoes that good. We also watched our previously recorded TiVo shows, The Big Bang, and then cuddled in bed for a few hours before I fell asleep. Now that I'm working I feel as if we never, or at least hardly, get to see each other since we have such different working schedules. I wake up before he does and I'm usually asleep before he gets home. But it's good that we have the exact same days off so that we can spend quality time together otherwise it would be a lot harder.


I had my 120 day review, at work, on Monday and it went better then I expected and I will be getting my raise starting next pay period I believe. Although it's not much of a raise it's better then nothing, and it's what they promised me when they hired me, so I'm grateful to be getting it. I'm a "official" employee now and no longer on my "probation". I'm also eligible for direct deposit and getting discounts on furniture purchases. I'm looking forward to direct deposit so that I will no longer have to leave work to run to the bank and put my check in my account, plus I think I get my savings account back so I can start saving up for the wedding.


I suppose I'd better start making the grocery list seeing as how our pantry is bare, again.

Sweet Nothings.

I wish I had a picture for what my boyfriend surprised me with the other night but unfortunately I don't so I'll just have to describe it as best as I can. As I was getting ready for bed he was sneaking around and going into our bedroom a couple of times but wouldn't let me know what he was doing. When I walked into the bedroom he had a few candles lit, along with classical music playing, and wanted to give me a back and foot massage. The massage lasted for a hour, and I almost fell asleep because it was so relaxing, and then we just laid in bed and talked until I ended up falling asleep early. I thought it was pretty damned sweet of him to do that for me.

I tried to update via my mobile device a couple of days ago but there was a error and I was unable to post the entry and I have now forgotten all the things I wanted to blog about. Let's see if I can remember a few things and make this blog worth reading. So I apologize if it's scattered as I'm trying to remember what I wrote last.

William got fitted for a tux on Monday, his best friends wedding is the 17th of this month, since he's one of the Groomsmen. We also spent a hour in Target looking for a wedding present off of their registry. I believe next time we will order online and make sure that it's at least three weeks in advance so that it gets here in time because trying to deal with the crowds at Target is ridiculous. I still think we managed to get the wrong gift but hopefully they will like it anyway, if not they can always return it. I was looking into buying a dress for the wedding but I'm sure of how formal, or un-formal, it will be so I might be better off wearing my new sweater dress I bought recently.

Tomorrow I hope to get some house work done like putting away the laundry we did this weekend and vacuuming our carpet and possibly visiting a friend who is in town for the next week. I've really started slacking on keeping up with the apartment every day but it's difficult when all I want to do after work is sit on the couch and relax. I also need to mop the kitchen and bathrooms and scrub the stove, maybe I'll make a list of everything that needs to be done and try to get it all done by the end of this week. I also need to clean out my car and vacuum the rugs in there since I have done that ever and I've had the car give or take six months.

When William and I went grocery shopping last week we decided to go to the Neighborhood Market instead of the Super Wal-Mart, because we always have a terrible experience there, and see if we liked it better. Of course we did because it's like an actual grocery store and we don't have to worry about the stockers getting in our way. We actually went down every isle and spent about a hour shopping, usually I want to get out of their as quickly as possible, they also have a better variety on all their food and we got a lot of good food. Needless to say we will be shopping there from now on.

We are planning to spend ThanksGiving with William's Mom this year, and she's pretty excited about it, since we spent it with my parents last year. Plus, I think they are going to California to see my brother anyway and there is no way I could get any time off work. So I'll probably be making something to contribute to ThanksGiving Dinner which I'm pretty excited about and hopefully it will edible.

New news on my brother is that he's going to Japan for three years after he finishes his schooling on the Navy base. Which is exciting and scary at the same time. It's exciting in the sense that he will be able to travel and see the world but scary that he will be clear across the world from us. But if we get our passports then we could possibly visit, but I have no idea how much it would cost to fly to Japan... He's doing really good on the Navy base though and likes it a lot better then Basic Training. I'll also be getting the photos from our camera's we took along with us, along with the digital camera, on Friday and I hope they turn out really good. I'm so used to being able to see what I'm taking a picture of that these cameras with view finders are foreign to me.


Well, I guess this entry has gotten long enough and I should probably clean the kitchen so I won't have as much work to do tomorrow but I really don't see that happening. Maybe I'll finish watching We Are Marshalls since I fell asleep thirty minutes into the movie last night.

Enviromently Friendly.

After reading this news article
and lurking around on the Bio-Kleen
website I've become interested in using these "green" products. Though my boyfriend thinks that I'm silly and will only use the products for a few months and then become disinterested with them I believe that if these products were bought and available to use that I'd have more of an interest in cleaning. Since most household cleaning products are deemed unsafe, and give him terrible headaches, it's nice knowing that there is something out there that can get rid of the also harmful bacterica in kitchens and bathrooms without putting toxins into your system.

Per the store locator on the website I found a nearby Sunflower Shoppe that carries the products. I suppose I could always buy online, but what's the fun in that? I suppose, as much as I dread it, that I should try to clean our apartment as best as possible but I'd much rather be out shopping for my newly found way to live "green".