Day Twenty-One. - Project 365.

Day Twenty-One. - A Typical Housewife. - Since I had the whole day off, and I was by myself, I spent my after noon cleaning our apartment. Since we were almost out of clothes to wear I decided it was time to do laundry as well, hence the reason my Living Room turned into a Laundry Room, and because I'm OCD about it I had to sort it out into separate little piles. And since apparently TiVo knew I was cleaning, and being a housewife, it turned on the good ol' Soap Opera's for me. After looking at this picture it made me chuckle a little. But, let me just say that cleaning a apartment by yourself is so much harder then having William help me, it literally took me all afternoon. Oh well, at least everything is cleaned to my liking now.

Wordless Wednesday.

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Day Twenty. - Project 365.

Day Twenty. - Hello, Sunshine. - After about a week of grey skies, fog and rain it was a nice change of pace to see the sun come out this particular morning. I am rather surprised about how well this photo came out, though, since I was sitting in my car when it was taken. After I finished snapping the photo I turned to the other side and the sky was black and blue as the storm and colder weather was rolling in. Looks like I caught the sun just in the nick of time.

Day Nineteen. - Project 365.

Day Nineteen. - Grumpy Old Men. - Of course I've been religiously following American Idol from state to state as they pick out their candidates for the Ninth Season on air. Simon always has the most shocking, honest, opinions out of all the judges. Although, Randy, has been being a little brutally honest this season as well. Perhaps they are just grumpy old men and I know most of America has a love/hate relationship with both of them.

Day Eighteen. - Project 365.

Day Eighteen. - Energy Boost. - Per my morning routine I've recently starting take my Vitamins, again, and I've noticed such a difference during the day. I've quit caffeine so I need a little pick-me-up during the day and I've found a healthier way to do so. Plus, since I don't always eat the right foods this makes up for it. Win-Win situation all around.

Day Seventeen. - Project 365.

Day Seventeen. - Grey Morning. - First of all, let me just say, that I am so pleased with how beautiful this photo turned out, except for the huge square in the middle. On this day William and I woke up early and wanted to splurge and buy McDonald's breakfast. When we finally made our way out to the car there was a fog, which has been normal around here, and it was pretty thick. When I was taking this photo I literally could only see two inches in front of where I was standing, in a field behind our apartments, and figured the photo would be terrible. As we were driving to McDonald's it almost felt as if we were driving through clouds on the ground, which is just a hint of how bad the fog was to drive in.

Day Sixteen. - Project 365.

Day Sixteen. - Something New. - A new Mongolian Grill opened around the corner from our apartments and since it was always packed we assumed it was really great food. As we drove over to the resturant we had to make our way into a parking lot since the place was packed, per usual. When we finally walked into the place it was packed and there was people lined up on the back wall waiting for a place to sit. We headed over to the bar to see what we needed to do because, obviously, we were getting our food to go. We paid and then got in line to get our food, which took about 45 minutes to get through. If you have ever been to a Mongolian Grill then you know what it consist of. We had to pick out our own food from their fresh stock and then one of the guys grills it up for us in the middle of the resturant. Anyway, we finally get through the line and they grill up our food and we leave the resturant. After we get home we find out that our little take-out boxes are only half full. Needless to say we will not be going back there again, though, it is good food but the price for what you get is outrageous.

Day Fifteen. - Project 365.

Day Fifteen. - A Green Life. - This was a gift for Christmas for William's Mom and I'm so glad she got it for me because I love it. Since one of the main ingredients is PepperMInt Oil it leaves my face feeling tingly-fresh, unlike most cleaners where it burns so you "know" it's working. It has also cleared up my skin really well and I've only have a few breakouts every now and then. Obviously, I recommend this to anyone who wants something natural to keep their skin looking beautiful. Yeah, I sound like a commerical, but it really does work.

Day Fourteen. - Project 365.

Day Fourteen. - 'Suds Up. - After coming home from the mall, and buying this adorable jacket on sale for ten dollars, I put it in the wash so I could wear it the next day. Recently, we had bought new laundry detergent and I found out it is Super Concentrated so I only need to use half of it and it lasts longer. I poured the cap about 3/4's full and watched to see if it really did make a difference. Obviously, it's true in what they say; A little goes a long way. 

Wordless Wednesday.

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Day Thirteen. - Project 365.

Day Thirteen. - Book Worm. This photo was actually taken by William, for me, so I'm cheating. But, hey, it's my Project and I'll make up the rules as I go. After taking this photo my intention was to finish the book that I've now spent a year and a half trying to finish. I only have 40+ pages left to read and I thought I'd be able to finish before I fell asleep. Wrong. I ended up falling asleep while waiting for William to get to sleep, since he's working early morning's now, and did not get to finish the book. At least I got a pretty photo out of it. 

Day Twelve. - Project 365.

Day Twelve. - Minty Fresh. So why the denture cleanser you ask? Obviously neither one of us have dentures but William uses this to clean his retainer. Gross, I know but it works. After we got home from buying this I couldn't stop laughing so I just had to take a photo of it and show the world. 

Day Eleven. - Project 365.

Day Eleven. - Leafy Greens. As I was standing in the grocery store asking William what I should take a picture of for this day, he was no help either, these bright green and red radish's stuck out.  What an adventure the grocery store always is. 

Day Ten. - Project 365.

Day Ten. - Guys, I'm hungry! - Technically this photo was taken at 2:30am on the 20th. But it's still the next day so it counts, right? Right. Anyway, what's a good bar night without some greasy nasty food to eat afterwards. The best part was that we are the only people in the place and were being extremely loud and drunkly obnoxious. 

Day Nine. - Project 365.

Day Nine. - Goin' Downtown. - After dinner we decided to go Down Town for a few drinks with a friend of ours. This is a picture from the car, not the best, as we were stuck in traffic making our way to the bar. As long as I can remember Down Town has always been under construction and tonight was no different. 

Day Eight. - Project 365.

Day Eight. - Abstract Art. - Tonight I spent a better part of the evening researching photography via Google and ended up not figuring out what I had sought out to learn. Instead I grabbed my camera and started playing with the settings and using random objects within our apartment as props. After about 10 photos of various subjects I felt as if I had no have at least one good shot. Although this is not what I wanted the photo to look like, because I couldn't figure out the steps to do so, I am pretty pleased with the outcome. 

Day Seven. - Project 365.

Day Seven. - Home Sweet Home. - Last night after hearing the news that we were approved for our home loan we decided to go look at our lot. As of right now this is it, which doesn't look like much at all, but within about six, short, months we will have a beautiful brand new home. I am more then excited, and anxious, about being new home owners. 

Day Six. - Project 365.

Day Six. - Cleaning Duty. Tonight I decided it was about time I faced our bathroom and scrubbed it down, using the Seventh Generation Free & Clear Product, since it had been a very long time since it has been done. I, also, figured it would be a good time to start our laundry, using the Cheer Free & Gentle Product, so I won't have to do as much tomorrow, which is my day off work. 

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Day Five. - Project 365.

Day Five - Wilted Away Tonight as I was tidying up the apartment I decided to throw away the white and pink baby roses that were bought for me on New Years Eve. Even though the roses were wilted and dry they still gave off the scent of fresh roses but I suppose it was time seeing as how the water had evaporated from the vase a good three days ago. And even though my dining room table now looks bare I'm sure sooner or later I'll be able to replace these beautiful roses. 

Wedding Decisions.

Today while at work, I had plenty of time to think, it finally came to me what I should do about the wedding and what I actually want to take place. After realizing that it isn't a realistic goal to spend 5-6k on our wedding, as much as I want to, I decided to narrow the budget down a lot. Now our budget is 1-3k which some people think that you can't spend that little and have a beautiful wedding but I will prove you wrong. I've decided, which this might change, that I want a ceremony only which will save us so much money since we won't be hosting a dinner. I've also decided that I want it to be a very small wedding, no more then twenty people, which will feel more close knit and I will have the people that I truly want, and are happy, to see us getting married. We will have our wedding party and of course the mother/father of the bride and the mother of the groom as well as his sister plus twenty other family and friends. Right now all I want is music and photography as our main expenses. We will also have fresh flowers for mine and the girls bouquets and the guys boutonnieres then fake flowers to decorate the pews and isle with. I will also be spending a good amount of money on my dress because that is most important to me. I also decided, finally, who I want to be my Matron of Honor so now I have my entire wedding party picked out. I am torn, though, between my church that I grew up in or William's uncle's church that his family goes to. His Uncle has already offered to let us rent the church fee of charge and now I'm just waiting to hear back from my old church to see what they say as well. But I really think I can start planning now and as soon we recieve our Income Tax check we will be opening a savings account and putting most of the money towards the wedding. I'm actually pretty excited, again, and am going to force myself be glad to make time to plan our wedding. 

Honestly all that matters in the end is that I'm married to him which is why I'm cutting back on all the extravagance. I'm only worried that some members of our families will be offended that they were not there to see us get married but that's where the huge reception comes into the play that we will be having a few months, or so, after the ceremony. 

9 months and counting. I can't wait to be a Mrs'. ♥

I apologize if this is all over the place and not well thought out but I am overwhelmed with excitement and joy. 

Day Four - Project 365.

Day Four - Calgon Take Me Away. After a stressful day at work I decided that a bubble bath sounded really relaxing. Since I got different bath bubbles and salts, plus a neck pillow, for Christmas it sounded even better. As I was waiting for the tub to fill up, which takes a good ten minutes since it's a oval tub, I decided to take a shot of the water. After taking a few shots from different angles and then photoshopping it to my liking this was my favorite. The only bad thing about a bath is getting wrinkled fingers, other then that it was pure bliss. 

Day Three. - Project 365.

Day Three. - Dinner Is Served - All the things that are needed to prepare a meal, ingredients and a recipe. Tonight I made Baked Steak Burritos, steak not shown, and it came out perfect. I am surprised at my love for cooking, who would have thought I'd actually be good at it. 

Day Two. - Project 365.

Day Two - On A Mission. After spending a good forty-five minutes in traffic we finally made it to the mall, which I hate going to by the way, and found a parking spot right near the door. We scurried inside and made our way up to the second floor where are the home decorations, and appliances, are. After browsing for a few minutes we finally spotted what we were determined to find. A new electric can opener. Boring, you say? To me this is very exciting and means I will no longer have to fight with our hand held can opener each time I want to open a can, obviously. It also means that my kitchen is starting to come together and I'm finally get all my appliances for it. I'm also very pleased that we found this at a very reasonable price, ten dollars, doesn't get better then that. 

Cheesy Pasta & Vegetable Bake.

Prep. Time : Fifteen Minutes.

Total Time : Forty Minutes. 

Ingredients : 

Three cups Penne Pasta; cooked, drained.

One jar Spaghetti Sauce.

Two cups of sliced Mushrooms.

Two cups sliced Red Bell Peppers.

Two cups sliced Zucchini.

One and a half package of Cheddar Cheese.

Directions :

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix pasta, sauce, vegetables and half the cheese. Make sure pasta and vegetables are well coated with sauce. Spoon into baking dish and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until heated. 

Day One. - Project 365.

Day One - Keeping Warm. - Since it was pretty cold in the apartment tonight, even with the heater on and sweaters, I decided to make myself some Earl Grey Tea to get warm plus I love the taste of it. I've also heard that it's great for headaches and since I've had one all day I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. And I brightened up my night by using my huge Tinker bell coffee cup that my baby sister-in-law bought me for Christmas. 

Work-A-Holic.

Since our old office manager decided to leave without any notice really, or letting us find a replacement for our part time girls, we have been short handed. Since I'm the only full-time worker, besides our new office manager, I get to pick up the slack on any day shifts that aren't covered. Example, this week we had only one person to work Sunday during the day so I had to come in and work. Sunday is normally my day off so I'll be paid over time, which I guess is good for my paycheck. Maybe working 6 days in a row, with 6 to 7 hours of sleep at night because I keep waking up all through the night, isn't that much to some people but to me it is. I'm drained, mentally and physically, and I'm just plain exhausted. It's nice that we have someone to cover the Office Manager's shift, sure, but it would be nice to find a girl to work part time and cover that shift as well. Such is life, though.

Belated New Years Wrap-Up.

Since I had to work New Years Day we decided to have a nice, quiet, evening at home. Plus, just going to the liquor store to buy champagne was a fiasco, I'd rather not deal with overly crowded bars with drunken idiots. We brought in the New Years in our pajama's watching the ball drop on television. To go with my champagne we bought some strawberries, and I got surprised with a bouquet of light pink, dark pink, and white miniature roses, which I believe is possibly my new favorite drink. After having two glasses and a true midnight kiss I fell asleep in William's lap. Honestly, I wouldn't have wanted anything more then that. New Years was perfect and I can't wait to see what the New Year brings for us. 

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Accomplishments For The New Year.

• To continue to make payments, on-time or early, on my car. I've only make one payment late but I don't want it happen again. I, also, want to pay off as much as I can within a year of having my car since I have an outrageous interest rate. Also I need to take better care of my car and make sure it's cleaned, inside and out, regularly. Right now it looks messy and chaotic, but I need to start forcing myself to clean it more often. 
• To start a online college course, in psychology. Since I'm working full time, 40+ hours, I think it would a better idea to do a online course rather then in a classroom. I really want this to happen and I think after a few months it can. 
• To start eating healthier. I've already incorporated some healthy meals into our weekly meal plan, which is every-changing, but we still manage to go out to eat much more then needed. Not only does it get expensive after a while it's not good for us. I also want to start working out again, as the days get warmer, even it means going on walks once or twice a week. 
• To continue to do well at my job and keep advancing. After working at my current job for almost six months I feel pretty confident that I am doing extremely well and have already received a raise after only four months. I want to focus on my work rather then the crazy things that are happening within the store, and all the gossip, and get the experience I need to further my job opportunities. The plan right now is to stay with the company a year and then move to something that pays better. Don't get me wrong I am making pretty good money right now and am very grateful that I found a job like this with no experience. I would just like to be able to make enough to help out with the bills and such more. 
• To re-open my savings account and put as much money as possibly into each pay check. I'd love to start saving up a good amount of my pay check every two weeks so that I'm able to afford my wedding, or anything else for that matter. This means I won't be able to go shopping or spend money frivolously but I need to start being more frugal and put my money in savings. Plus, what's wrong with a little sacrifice once in a while right? I've gotten much more responsible with my money but now I need to learn how to save it.
• To really start planning our wedding. Or make a decision on how we are going to have the wedding. With a little less then 10 months until our wedding date I have very little planned and even less booked. I need to throw myself into it and start planning and booking things. But I also don't want to get caught up in the wedding drama, and being a Bridezilla, that I forget what this wedding is all about. If we decide not to have the traditional wedding and "elope" then I need to make a decision on that as well. It's time to stop being indecisive and decide, that's all there is to it. 
• To be less messy and more tidy. After working forty hours a week and wanting to do nothing but come home and veg out in front of the television it's very hard to get motivated to clean. But I need to stop being so lazy and such a procrastinator. That way on my days off I can do nothing but relax. 
• To remember not to stress and worry about little things. This one is really hard for me since I stress and worry about everything. Seriously, it's a part of my personality and I can't help it. But I've noticed that when I do stress is makes me rather irritable, go figure, and I just need to let it go. I'm not sure if this one will be attainable but I'm going to try my best. Nothing good has ever come out of stress and worry, right? Only headaches and blood pressure medication. 
  

Well, that's all I can think of right now that I want to happen within the next year. I'm sure I'll think of other things but I didn't want my list to be too long, or ridiculous, so I'll leave it at that. This is more of a look-back-on type of thing for myself so that at the end of this year I can see if I actually accomplished any of these goals I have set for myself. I do, though, already feel as if I have accomplished so much this past year already. I've grown up in so many ways and I feel like a completely different person and I can't wait to grow even more and see how this 2008 pans out.