Quote of the Day

A respiratory therapist who smokes is like a dietitian who is overweight.

Job Recap...

Interesting First Day:

1. After looking at my desk for 30 seconds my boss took me to Office Depot to get supplies...Okay sure. So we get there and he grabs a cart and proceeds to ask me what I need? How do you answer this I've been on the job less than an hour not really sure at this point???

2. We headed to UNMC (University of Nebraska Medical Center) to provide lunch for the respiratory department. I got a map and my boss pointed out places and buildings that I will come to when marketing the enteral program. THEY HAVE MAPS!!! SUPER EXCITING. There were NO maps at Vanderbilt and I think it took me 3 months to sort of kinda know where I was going (and I spent every day there)

3. I learned the main aspects of a sales call.
--Introduce
--Statement of Intent
--Open Ended Questions
--Features/Benefits
--Closing/Follow-up
After learning this I was then informed that this would never occur like this but its good to know. OKAY

4. LOTS OF PAPERWORK

5. A Post-Employment TB Test (Which reminds me I need to get this checked tomorrow)

6. Meeting lots of people that I now feel bad that I can't remember their names today...

WHEW!! What a First Day!!

Today:

I went to Atlantic, IA with my boss to do a lunch and some sales calls. I think he was surprised when I informed my in-laws lived there. We did some mock sales calls as we drove. I guess we used our time wisely.

SO....Things I've Learned Being on the Job 2 days:
--It is National Respiratory Week and since the company I work for primarily does respiratory I've had to do a lot of smiling and nodding (I know NOTHING about Respiratory)

--I'll let you in on a little secret....The SMILE and NOD theory. I keep saying I should write a book on the Topic it has gotten me far in life. Here's the key concept if you don't have a clue or aren't interested what someone is talking about smile and nod. It works great

--You would think that if you worked with patients that have to be on oxygen because they've smoked their whole lives that it might be motivation to quit or not to smoke....Apparently not...AND does smoking around oxygen make sense...I DON'T THINK SO!! I will never understand how people in the healthcare field can smoke. Okay I'll get off my "smoke" box (haha)

--FREE PARKING at UNMC....YES!! and its easy to get a spot!

Well I'm exhausted...I did get up to exercise at 5:30 today...but I'm paying for it now. Gotta spend some quality time with the hubby now!

First Day...

Well...I have officially joined the club. I got a big-girl job. I had a great first day. At times it was overwhelming which I'm sure happens with any new and/or first job but I'm really excited to get started.

I am super tired tonight and I HAD to watch the Biggest Loser....yes I cried tonight. I'm getting up at 5:30 tomorrow (hopefully) to work out since I am volunteering after work at the after school program. So on top of paperwork from work I was working on my game for the kiddos so I didn't JUST watch TV.

Plan to write more about my first two days tomorrow! Check back tomorrow night...

Last Day as a Stay-At-Home Wife....

Yes that is what you think its is! I start work October 27.....THAT IS TOMORROW! I also bought a planner yesterday...I don't know why I felt that I needed to wait till I got a job to buy one but I did so off we went yesterday to purchase one of my favorite things. Seriously I'm obsessed with planners....Eric really doesn't get why I'm so entralled with them.

Top 10 things I'll miss about being a stay-at-home wife

1. Unable to exercise at anytime of day

Today I'm going to BOSU which I'm sure I'll make my neighbor beneath me go insane with the noise but oh well I'll be gone tomorrow! I need to cherish my last day at home and not care what others think.

2. No more No Makeup days

I didn't think you'd want a picture of this!

3. Less Beauty Sleep!

So...I might have been getting about 10 hours of sleep the last few months. What can I say I went to bed at 10 with Eric and got up around 8. If I woke up earlier I got bored during the day!

4. I can't spend my sweet time at the grocery store in the middle of the afternoon on a week day.

Eric was appalled when I told him that I might not do as much of my shopping with coupons....so I took him to Target yesterday and showed him how long it takes to do what I do. However, he got hooked on it. I even got a fist bump as we rolled our cart out of the store. We saved $9.75 with coupons. Nothing compares to the feeling as your checking out and you wait to see how much you saved... :-)

5. There will be no choice about facing the frozen tundra of Nebraska....I will have to leave the house when its cold and snowy.... GROSS!

6. A need to cut back on the number of TV shows I DVR....

What can I say the TV has been a major form of entertainment for me the last couple of months. I pretty much have it on at all times even if I'm not watching it to provide background noise. It gets lonely in the apartment all by myself....and obviously from a previous post you can tell we aren't making friends with the neighbors.

7. Less blog/facebook stalking....
My goal is to not leave my blog stalkers hanging. Seriusly my plan is to update at least 3 times a week. I'm not going to lie...I have my own blogs that I stalk and its always a little sad when they don't update frequently.

8. Dinner will not be ready when Eric walks in the door anymore....

However, its the perfect season to break out the crock pot and use my fix-it and forget-it cookbook. I'll let you know if I have any HITS!

9. Speaking of Eric...I wish I had a picture of Eric's sad face to show you that he is a little sad that he will have to help out more around the house. Let's be honest I didn't feel the need to have him help with laundry or cleaning the house when I was home all day but things are about to change. But he's being a trooper and even asked for a lesson on where I keep my clothes (aka what drawer does this go in...ect.) My husband is great help when it comes to helping clean up after dinner so I don't want you to think that he hasn't been doing anything around here....

10. Not being bored in the middle of the day. SERIOUSLY, I'm super excited to begin working and feel like I'm accomplishing something during the day. I feel blessed that I found a job where I will be able to help others in a time of need. The whole reason I got into dietetics in the first place. As I was getting off the phone with my boss he said, "It will be a lot of fun...but a lot of work at the same time...." There are definitely some changes in order here in the Ladd household.

WISH ME LUCK TOMORROW!!

EXCITING NEWS!!

My days of a stay-at-home wife are limited BECAUSE I GOT A JOB! Champagne was definitely in order because not only did I get one job offer on Friday...I got 2 within 2 hours!!



I got an offer around 2:00 in the afternoon for the company I've interviewed with 3 times. I told them I had another interview that afternoon and it was something I wanted to think about over the weekend....I mean seriously they made me wait for about a month I thought they could wait a weekend. They were fine with this and I asked when they would want me to start and he said well I was thinking Monday but it could be later in the week. OH WOW! My days as a Stay-At-Home Wife are LIMITED.

I headed to my interview at 2:30 which went well since as I was pulling out of the driveway they called me and offered me the position. The problem with this position is that its temporary. I would be covering for someone going on maternity leave. Lets just say I think I would LOVE this job because I would be a corporate dietitian; however with a permanent position on the table that I also think will be a great experience there really isn't much of a decision to make.

SO.....on Monday I will accept the job with the permanent position that was offered to me from a home medical delivery services company. (I've decided not to reveal the name of the company...not sure why but feel like I need to protect myself...HIPAA laws and all I guess) They started as a Oxygen Home Delivery supplier and have recently broken into the home enteral feeding business. You may ask what does enteral mean? Enteral nutrition is a way to feed someone through a tube placed in the nose, stomach or small intestine. If you would have told me in undergrad that I was going to work with enteral nutrition I would have told you there is no way in....mostly because I didn't understand how to do it; however, during my internship calculating enteral feedings became second nature and really feels like simple math now.

My job responsibilities:
--Managing the enteral nutrition services for the Omaha/Lincoln area
--Doing in-home setups for patients
--Maintaining and ordering formula inventory
--Selling our services to local clinics, hospitals and doctors offices to gain referrals.....YES I am going to be in sales; however, they have assured me that its not like being a car sales person (lets hope)

I will be headed to Alabama the first part of December for two weeks of training. HECK YES you can send me to the south in the middle of winter.

I'm very excited to start a new challenge (not sitting in the apartment anymore) no seriously I think this position will push me and let me grow in a lot of areas that will help me in my career as a dietitian.

Yes I will continue to blog however probably not as much but at least 2-3 times a week. This will be a big adjustment for BOTH Eric and I. So it will take a little time for us to get used to a new routine....

Stay tuned for more updates...

Job Search Update

Well, I'm headed to my final interview with a company this morning at 11:00 and tomorrow afternoon I have a second interview with another company here in Omaha. We will see what happens! I'll keep you updated.....

Last night I taught my nutrition lesson at the after-school program that I volunteer with and we learned about eating a rainbow of fruits and why its good for our bodies. The other half of the class is conducted by a chef and the kids get to be hands on with the cooking. The best part is they get to eat what they make. Yesterday they made Rainbow Fruit Salad. While they were eating one of the girls let out a LOUD belch and a little boy sitting next to her just looks at her stunned. After a moment he says, "I didn't know that girls could do that I thought only boys could."

Well better get in the shower so I smell good for the interview. That's about all I'm going to have going for me since its very rainy here today so I don't know if I will look good....

What's for Dinner

Cooking can be dangerous. Last night I was making a casserole that you needed to grate cheese for. I was busy grating my cheese and let out a yelp. I had grated the top of my thumb. OUCH! But here's the kicker I did it again pretty quickly after that. Eric happened to be home so he offered to finish grating my cheese block to save me from myself. My camera ran out of juice so I couldn't stap a picture of him.

Last night I was watching the biggest loser DON'T WORRY I'M NOT GOING TO GIVE AWAY WHO WENT HOME! After last week I realized that I spoiled the ending for people. OOPS! So from now on I will say spoiler alert in big bold letters if I'm going to give the ending away. (Thanks Eric) Well anyway I was in tears during part of the show and I look over and Eric is watching me and I realize that he has never really watched this show with me until this year. I just think its amazing how much these people are changing their lives. So as we are going to bed last night Eric can barely tear himself away from the computer where he is reading some blogging board about K-State sports (this is a nightly occurrence) and he explains to me how I feel about the biggest loser is how he feels about K-State Basketball being predicted to be really good this year. WHAT??? I asked how does that change anyone's life and his answer well mine......

Well onto what's for dinner...or lunch. When Brian and Jillian were here I made a healthy version of pasta primavera.

Here is another Quick, Easy, and Nutritious meal! It's also Delicious.



12 oz linguine or spaghetti
4 cups frozen vegetable stir-fry mix
1 can (12 oz) evaporated skim milk
2 tsp chicken-flavor bouillon
1 1/4 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
2 T grated Parmesan cheese
2 tsp dried minced parsley

Optional: 2 cups diced chicken

About 40 minutes before serving: In large saucepan, prepare pasta as package directions and drain. Return pasta to saucepan: keep warm. In meantime cook frozen vegetables in microwave until warm. Add to large skillet on medium heat. In 2-cup measuring cup, using fork, mix milk, chicken bouillon, cornstarch and salt. Pour milk mixture into skillet with vegetables. Over high heat, heat to boiling (stirring continuously). Boil 1 minute. Add Parmesan cheese, parsley and pasta, tossing to coat well. Heat through. Yield: 6-8 servings



Nutritional Bites:
--I use whole grain pasta to provide more fiber: whole grain linguine 6 g fiber compared to enriched linguine with 2 g fiber.
--This recipe originally called for fresh vegetables but I like to use frozen vegetables because they don't spoil and frozen vegetables can be more nutritious since they are flash frozen right as they are picked to trap in all of the nutrients and flavor

Well I need to get out and run now because the weather man says its going to get colder as the day goes on and I want to run outside. I also need to figure out what I'm going to teach about for my nutrition lesson in the after-school program that I've been volunteering with....

Crazy Neighbor

Yes the bat has made a reappearance in our house and for those of you who lived with me on Ratone I'm sure you've missed seeing my pink bat that I kept by my bed.

Incident Occurred at 10/17/09 at 9:05 p.m.(Oh yes I did type this up for the front office and I made them sign a copy for our records.....I'm just very through. (I did leave out the comments that I made in parenthesis those are for my readers enjoyment)

HERE WE GO: We had been home from dinner for about 15 minutes and there was loud knocking on the door and there was continued knocking with even louder knocking with the door knocker. I refuse to answer the door to men that I don’t recognize (I have an issue with people knocking on the door from an incident that occurred when I was little where I hid under a desk because someone knocked on the door... when you live in the country no one knocks on the door unexpectedly....it was just a guy who hunts on our land but its not like I knew that at the time and I couldn't stay home alone for a couple of years...yes I know that is sad) SO ON WITH THE INCIDENT and since my husband was in the bathroom he had to wait awhile before he answered the door to a distraught and angry man. He was wearing a baseball cap and jean Budweiser jacket he seemed to be in his mid 40s around 5'7"and was slightly overweight. (That's the dietitian in me being able to estimate height and weight) He then proceeded to yell at us about how much noise we were making all the time and that his wife can’t sleep (Eric is in bed most days well before 10 p.m. and if I don't go to bed then its not like I'm doing my BOSU here in the living room I'm just watching TV) He continued to yell at us about how we aren’t in college anymore and that since we moved in the last 6 months we have been hell for the entire building and that it was all my fault pointing at me. **NOTE I have only been living here for 2 months since our wedding in August (My husband has lived here since June and if you know Eric he doesn't move much if he doesn't have to....its the truth)** During his ranting we calmly tried to ask him what noises he was referring to and where it was coming from because we didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. He refused to answer our questions while continuing to rant and yell at us. He said we could deny it all that we wanted but we knew what he was talking about. Before he left he called my husband a name that I didn't even know what it was and said that he was going to management next time and would call the police.

We had never seen this guy before since we had moved in but as we were leaving on Sunday to go to the pumpkin patch and they were watching us from their windows. SCARY! The bad thing is the stairs that we have to go down to get out of the building force us to walk right by their door.

We went to Management on Sunday during office hours and expressed our concern and also asked if anyone has ever complained about us before. (We don't want to be bad neighbors) She informed us that no one has ever had a complaint about us because they would have called us. They called the people below us and told them that coming to our door would not be tolerated and that the correct thing to do would be to call the police. OH GREAT now we are going to have the police come whenever we walk around because we seriously can not figure out what we are doing to make all this noise they are talking about. Mangament also informed us that they have lived there for 3 years....BACK UP....why would you live in an apartment for 3 years I mean really they have the apartment that is located right next to the door that you get into the building with and its a loud door when it closes I can even hear it sometimes....BUT WE LIVE IN AN APARTMENT I WOULD EXPECT TO HEAR NOISES!! Last night Eric and I were talking about it and we don't know why they wouldn't move to a less expensive apartment to save money so they could buy a house.

Which is why Eric has found the bat in the closet and has gotten it out for me. I am also going to buy pepper spray today to keep on my keychain....

PEOPLE HAVE GIVEN US THE FOLLOWING ADVICE:

-When I go for my daily run I should set up a recording of a baby screaming and let it go for the hour that I am gone

-We should show them what noise really is.....I am torn between really showing them what stomping is to worrying that every step I make is causing the floor to vibrate...I really didn't think I walked that heavily....

-Now Eric and I are in a delima we were planning to have a Halloween party but what do we do know???

-What do you think about we should do? Have the Halloween party? Show them what noise is?

Well...I would like to start house shopping so we can leave but Eric says that it has to happen one more time before we can get a realtor. We do have a place to stay if we really feel like we need to leave...in Eric's co-workers spare bedroom in his apartment. Wouldn't that be fun....

Sorry not many pictures for this post....I was a little shell shocked so I didn't think to grab my camera when the man was yelling at us....oh course he probably would have hit one of us if I actually did take a picture....I HATE APARTMENTS can we move.....PLEASE

Weekend Report

First of all it is BEAUTIFUL here today. The sun is OUT AND ABOUT which makes me a very happy camper!! The temperature is PERFECT! (yes I took a picture of the sun because I haven't seen it forever and I missed it)

I don't even know where to begin when reporting this weekends activities so I guess I'll just go in chronological order!

Friday night Eric and I stayed home to rest for our whirlwind weekend and we rented The Proposal from the redbox. I LOVED the movie and it was so funny that it made me lol. Eric even liked it (okay he laughed a couple of times and therefore I concluded that he like it as much as me :-)
Brian and Jillian showed up around 1:00 on Saturday afternoon. I made pasta primavera for lunch. Don't worry I'll post the recipe later this week but I have to much to report on in this blog to add a recipe! But here is a picture to get your mouth and taste buds anticipating the deliciousness.

After lunch the boys collapsed on the couch and showed no interest in doing anything other than watching college football all day long. Jillian and I wanted nothing to do with that so we headed to the Old Market District to do a little window shopping (okay we did a little more than window shop, but in our defense we did buy a few Christmas gifts :-)




These are a few pictures from Old Market which is located in Downtown Omaha. There are lots of fun specialty shops, boutiques, and restaurants. Jillian and I had a relaxing afternoon and after a quick stop at target on the way back home where we bought some fun socks and some fall candles for our mirrored L.




We went to Uptown Brewery for dinner where Jillian and I had fun people watching and trying to decide where the girls sitting behind us were going. When the boys asked what we were talking about they said, "What girls are you talking about" Oh I don't know the group of 8 girls sitting behind us that are in semi-formal dresses. Oh goodness so glad that I have a sister-in-law!!

We got home around 8:45 and at 9:00 we had a visit from a neighbor that lives below us. I will post later this week about the visit but lets just say it wasn't a pleasant one and I am now freaked out to stay home alone during the day.

After he stopped yelling at us and left we played a game of Imaginiff before heading to bed.

The next morning Jillian and Brian headed to the zoo while Eric and I headed to Vala's Pumpkin Patch to help serve a meal for Eric's company. (How did I get roped into this I'm still not sure but it was fun and made for GREAT people watching....do you see a theme...) I was given the job of drum roll please.....CONDIMENT CONTROLLER.....I'm not kidding. I was only allowed to give one of each ketchup, mustard, and relish. One lady got so mad at me that she told the lady in charge (yes the lady who instructed me to only give one per person) and the lady came over and was like "Oh you can give them more than one" ARE YOU KIDDING ME! I'm sure I said "would you like ketchup, mustard about 700 times yesterday. No I'm not forgetting relish I only asked those who were older than 15 I mean seriously who eats relish and who under the age of 15 eats relish.




Eric and I taking a break to eat lunch.

After getting done serving we walked around this massive pumpkin patch or I should say pumpkin village. These are two of Eric's work friends who wish to remain anynomous...not really but it sounds like they live exciting scandalous lives :-)


Oh yes this was the barn where you turned in lost kids which I'm sure was on an hourly basis. There had to be at least 10,000 people at this pumpkin patch. If you've ever seen Little People, Big World this pumpkin patch was like their farm only 5 times bigger with 5 times the attractions. When we left there was a line that was at least 5 miles long that wasn't moving. If I had kids and I saw that line I would turn around go to Wal-Mart and buy 10 pumpkins throw them in the backyard and say OH MY GOSH LOOK AT THE PUMPKIN PATCH!! One of the guys who rode with us said he would bribe his kids with McDonalds in order not to go. (Can you tell that none of us have kids HAHA)

After getting home we met up with Eric's parents and Brian/Jillian at a local mall and hung out with them for awhile. We went to PFChang's for dinner and celebrated Drew's birthday. Did I mention that Drew wasn't there. :-)

These are the fun things we got from Alan and Christy....


Are you jealous of our pumpkin ceramic. Well I'm sorry but its one of a kind and Eric made it in 4-H ceramics and its not for sale! Christy brought me a rolling pin that she found at Eric's grandmas. Now I can quit using the wine bottle and maybe drink it instead :-) We also got pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and COUPONS!! SO exciting!

Today Jillian and I went on a walk around the lake and then headed to Eric's work for a tour. I stayed in the car and read the chapter I needed to read for our small group tonight from church....one tour was enough for me.

After Brian and Jillian left I headed to the county treasurer to pay the sales tax on our car and register our car. After getting home I even screwed the plates on to the car....I sure am handy to have around! :-)

Sorry this was so long but I had a lot to report. If you're interested to hear the neighbor story tune in tomorrow!!

Apologies beforehand...

I'm just letting everyone know that I won't be blogging until tomorrow afternoon since our guests will still be here and Jillian and I have walk planned and then we are headed to Eric's work to have lunch with the kid.... BUT oh goodness do I have a LOT to report on from the last two days.

What's to come this week:

--What's for Dinner....Pasta Primavera (Yummy Delicious and Nutritious)
--Crazy Neighbor....SERIOUSLY we have a problem...DRAMA
--Weekend Report...Old Market...Pumpkin Patch...Dinner with in-laws
and much much more!

Check out the blog on Monday afternoon to see which topic I choose to delve into first!

What's For Dinner

LASAGNA and spinach lasagna at that!

Eric wanted lasagna this week. He asked and so he received. I think he was happy since he ate 2 1/2 pieces last night. I guess he was hungry. I had never seen anyone eat lasagna the way he did.

He took apart each layer and spread it out on his plate. Who does that?

Here's the recipe and not only is it quick but its SUPER EASY!!

Quick Lasagna

8 oz pkg lasagna noodles (uncooked)
32 oz spaghetti sauce
1 lb browned beef
1 carton ricotta cheese
12 oz mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
optional: 1 cup frozen spinach

Brown ground beef; drain and add to spaghetti sauce. Add defrosted spinach. Grease bottom of 9X13 inch pan with a little sauce mixture. Combine ricotta and mozzarella cheeses. Put 3 uncooked noodles on top of sauce in pan. Layer with 1/3 of sauce and 1/3 of cheese mixture. Repeat layers 2 times. If desired, sprinkle with 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake 30 minutes in 375 degree oven. Remove cover and bake another 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition Bites:

• I choose to use low-fat ricotta cheese instead of the full fat version.
• Buy part-skim mozzarella cheese to reduce calories and fat in this recipe.
• Spinach is a great source of Dietary Fiber, Protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Vitamin K, Thiamine, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Copper and Manganese. (You couldn't even taste it in our lasagna)
  

For DESSERT!! (We definitely consumed the calories that I saved in the lasagna on our dessert)

The maker of this cookie company started making cookies out of her home in Hastings Nebraska. I always like to support local businesses and we heard about these cookies at our small group from church. As I was running errands yesterday I stopped at Bed Bath and Beyond (I swear after the wedding I went at least once a week) and there was a the cookie shop! FATE!! So of course I had to stop in and see what they had to offer.


1 White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookie (Eric's)
1 Frosted Sugar Cookie and purple at that!! (Mine)
(You can see that we couldn't wait to take a picture before taking a bite :-)

Lets just say the cookies didn't disappoint.

Indian Wife!

Eric finds it hilarious that I wear shorts with my slipper socks.He thinks my slipper socks look like moccasins. I usually start with sweats but I get hot sometimes with the blanket that I HAVE to use so I put on shorts that way I can still use the blanket but I wouldn't want my feet to get cold so this is what I end up with. Eric laughs every time I end up sporting this look.

Yes that is what you think it is. It's a miracle. 2 weeks in a row!! I didn't even put the sign out this week.


And Finally What you all Tuned in for this post. What are the big weekend plans???

Brian and Jillian are coming to visit this weekend. YEAH!! We are SO EXCITED and can't wait to spend time with them. Check out Mondays post to see what kind of trouble we got into!

Will the sun ever come out?

So I really need to change my weather.com to Omaha. I forget that it's set to Nashville still and I checked it right before I went to run and it said 57 so I think oh that's a lot warmer I'm going to run outside!! YEAH! Oh no its actually 44 right now here in Omaha and yes I did just run outside. HOWEVER, the news just showed that its supposed to get back into the 60's next week!! PLEASE PLEASE let the sun come back with the warmer weather. The sun makes me HAPPY!

Job Search Update:
Well I no longer have to sit near my phone all day. The person called to set up a time to interview me yesterday and we had a phone interview this morning. I have another interview with the same company this coming Thursday. On another note I have an interview with a different company tomorrow morning. There have been a few jobs in the past week that have popped up in my search and that is encouraging following a time where there for few if any jobs for Registered Dietitians. So I am going to be working on some more cover letters this afternoon to apply for some more jobs.

Today I decided that I should step up my Stay-at-Home Wife game and clean the fridge. I've been thinking about doing it and I decided today was the day. You have to understand though. I can NOT deal with mold. It gives me the heepie jeebies. Eric is my mold checker if there is a suspected mold infestation in a container I hand the container off to Eric and he gives me the okay or disposes of the contents. But I really try to combat this problem by utilizing items that are open into my weekly menu planning. We don't want to throw money away now do we.

I take EVERYTHING out of the fridge and then wipe down the inside of the fridge with you guessed it.

Yes this is the 2nd time that Lysol wipes have made my blog. Can I help it that I am seriously obsessed with them. I bought these on sale and with coupons!

Our nice clean fridge :-)

So I've had a few requests (okay one, but they aren't even related to us :-) for the pumpkin chocolate chip bread recipe I used. So as requested here you are:


Taste of Home: Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups canned pumpkin
• 1-1/2 cups canola oil
• 1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. In another bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips.
• Pour into two greased 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350° for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 2 loaves (16 slices each).

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 slice) equals 234 calories, 13 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 27 mg cholesterol, 123 mg sodium, 28 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 3 g protein.

Jill's Nutrition Bites:

If I was going to make this recipe again I believe I would change 1/2 of the flour to whole wheat flour and change 1/2 of the oil to applesauce. Eric and I are enjoying the bread for breakfast!

As I type this I swear there is someone jumping and running on top of my ceiling. Oh the joys of apartment living.

Warm Wishes

Well, as I am typing this I am in my warm apartment. Yes, I broke down and asked if we could turn on the heat. I was getting so cold during the day while Eric was at work that my feet were starting to go numb. AND yes mom and dad I was wearing socks. (I even had socks and my sock slippers on) I think Eric was willing to turn it on after I told him that since I was cold I decided to go to the mall to warm up! I think after seeing my shopping bags he decided making the apartment warm would be cheaper than me going to the mall every day :-) So Eric won the bet on when we would turn the heater on although he was 10 days off himself. This weekend I was telling Eric on our way home from church when our car said it was 35 out that 35 was about the coldest it got in Nashville last year. No joke! It's going to be a LONG COLD winter for me!



Okay I really did have a reason to go to the mall. I was looking for an interview outfit. I got a second interview with a company and didn't want to wear the same outfit that I did last time. I only had one suit so I decided to head to the mall to see what I could find. I was successful and everything I bought was on sale!!!

The interview was supposed to be yesterday afternoon but they called in the morning and informed me that the area manager couldn't make it so I was going to have a telephone interview with her. I asked when I might expect a call and they couldn't tell me therefore I am scared to leave my phone to take a shower, go workout, ect... However, the longer I wait the more frustrated I get with the situation so I'm not sitting on top of my phone like I did all of yesterday. I went to the gym without it and I'm planning to take as long of a shower as I want here in a minute.

My phone and I hanging out on the couch after a good workout...

They still wanted me to come into the offices to fill out some paperwork and do a pre-employment drug screening and TB test. I have to go back on Thursday to get the TB test read. I thought that everyone knew what a TB test was but when I told Eric that I had one he asked what it was. After explaining to him that they inject a solution right underneath your skin on your forearm to make a bubble he turned a little white. He informed me that smelly fish is the same for me as medical talk/seeing blood ect is for him. What are we going to do when we have kids??? The day before I went to Target and got the flu shot. That sucker hurt not when they gave it but afterward!! My mom says I have no pain tolerance... I feel like I have been a pin cushion the last couple of days.


Last night I got to watch THE BIGGEST LOSER! This is the greatest show ever and I can't wait for Tuesdays to roll around. Its such an inspirational show and even though I don't agree with how fast they get the weight off I think its amazing to see these people drop so much weight and change their lives. HOWEVER, I was not happy that they voted off Coach Mo rather than Tracy. I can't stand Tracy and want to see her GONE!!! I think they are going to regret keeping her around!! Okay there is my soapbox for the day!

I might post later today but right now the shower is calling my name! I made pumpkin chocolate chip bread last night to go with our soup for dinner and it was so GOOD!

Weekend Report

Since we didn't have much to do this weekend I decided we should work on a home or "apartment" improvement project much to Eric's dismay.

Before:

I've been wanting to hang some photos from our wedding and have had the idea since before we got married. I found the idea in a Target ad; however, I didn't buy the frames at Target. :-) I got them at Wally World because they were cheaper! It took lots of measuring and an occasional re-try but an hour and half later we had all of the pictures lined up just so...

After:


Eric had crabs this weekend!! Get your mind out of the gutter...on Saturday we decided to take my readers advice and boil the crab legs that I bought on sale this week! I didn't make it to the store to buy the seasoning packets that the readers suggested so Eric and I rummaged through the spice cabinet and threw in a little of this and a little of that and added it to our boiling water. I was doing good at this point!

We got the crab legs out of the fridge and at this point Eric had to take over. The smell of fish really gets to me and I honestly can't stand it. So Eric had to handle the fish so the smell wouldn't get on me.



Then we (Eric) added them to boiling water! I was at least still in the kitchen at this point.



At this point it began to smell really bad. So we had to open the sliding door so we could try to get some of the smell out. Yes this was the same day that I posted the pictures of the snow.

Eric wanted to dip his crab in lemon butter sauce. So he got out the butter and puts about 3 T in a custard cup and puts it in the microwave for 2 minutes!!! Who does that? We had to have a lesson about melting butter and that 30 seconds is the MAXIMUM amount of time and I usually try 20 seconds. So after putting more butter in the custard cup since the rest of the butter was now all over the microwave he successfully made lemon butter. I took the other half of the lemon to smell.



Eric waiting the 10 minutes it took to boil his crab legs...I ended up having to sit by an open window with 3 blankets on. It worked I couldn't smell the fishy smell that way!

Eric's Feast!

Eric enjoying his crab legs I think it took him 30 minutes to eat them. He said that he was surprised by how much meat was on them. I did not join Eric for lunch on Saturday it took another hour for me to have an appetite again. I hope Eric enjoyed his crabs because that is probably the last time we have them in our house! :-)