Birthdayness!!

Excuse the no makeup face. But I'm so happy!!!

Tonight I received this beautiful new toy :) from Joey for an early birthday present. This may sound strange to some of you, but this is one of the most exciting gifts I've ever been given. It even tops the Easy Bake Oven I received as a little girl. Now that's saying A LOT! The first thing my mom said was, "Oh my gosh you've wanted one of those since you were little." Haha. I realize this might all make my life sound a little sad, but it's the little things in life that I love :)

I immediately went to the grocery store and bought stuff to make mini blueberry muffins. And they were delicious. 

Might not be the prettiest but Mmmm..

Thanks Joey!!

Life is good

Life is just good…

It’s true. Lately it seems like I am just blissfully happy about every area of my life. And it’s a good feeling. One that I plan on indulging in for awhile.

So let me fill you in on my life the last few weeks. It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything.  Last month I was in my best friend April’s wedding. Joey came to Waco with me to be my date and it is an understatement to say we had a good time. Seeing people I hadn’t had the chance to see since college brought so much joy to my life. In all honesty it was like a college reunion J and it was wonderful. Made me realize how much I miss everyone though. We all had withdrawals from each other for quite awhile afterwards. Haha. Aside from all of that, it was the most perfect wedding I’ve ever been a part of. And it was nice for Joey to finally get to meet some of those people.

Alright, let’s see what else has been happening…well I moved into my very first office last week. I’ve been working from home for over a year now, and loving it. But decided I wanted to be around the wonderful people I work with a little more. So last week I started working from our office in Addison. Same company, but it feels like a new job! I love it here. The people I work with are truly some of the most amazing, hard working people I’ve ever meant and it makes me proud to work for such a great company. So far the office thing is working out for me.

Oh! And Joey and I finally decided where we’re going on vacation this year. I’m indecisive and didn’t want to make a decision, but Colorado it is. Going to do some hiking in the Rocky Mountains, definitely going to check out some brewery’s (New Belgium is at the top of my list), camping, and who knows what else. There’s so much to do in Colorado! This is one of the reasons I love it so much; keeps my ADD-ness at bay ;)

I’m also taking a couple other trips this summer that I’m very excited about. In July we’re going to New Jersey to see the fam. Always a good time.  Jess K. and my cousin Luke and I are already planning some fun times…can’t wait! And at the end of July, Joey and I and a few of our friends are taking a trip to Georgia for a friend’s wedding. Right now I’m mostly excited about buying a new dress for this J but it will be a great weekend too. Joey and I are going to take a few extra days to explore Georgia. It’s a beautiful state. A lot of historical things to see in Georgia, so that will make Joey happy. (Secretly I am starting to enjoy all this history stuff too, but don't tell him. I blame his excessive History channel watching)

Now if the summer will just get here I can start enjoying these vacations! Again, my post has gotten too long... So I will stop now. Thanks for reading!

50 Year Old Roommate

So an update on my never ending search for a roommate. I mentioned in my previous post, I put myself on Cragis List to see what would come of that. As it turns out there are a lot of weirdo's out there! But I have come across a few normal one's too, so there's still hope.

I would like to share a few of the emails I've received inquiring about my roommate search. PLEASE read to the end. I promise you will not be sorry.

1. "I have 1 other roomie, age 45, quite & tame that works at Raytheon.  Both of us quiet, respectul and straight.  I see you are searching for a female roomie. We are 2 older guys, Bob in his 40's & I in my 50's.  We're both tame and respectful.  You would be safe here. You can meet us and decide.

I have wireless internet.  The house is nice, about a 15 year old home.  It is a 3 BR, 2 bath house.  You would share the hall bathroom.  It is sort of in the Country in New Hope, near Princeton, in East McKinney.

It is on 1.5 acres with tall trees.  I am doing some fix-up, but the grounds are beautiful. I rent the home from good friends of mine that moved 3 years ago.

I am a CPA and I work a lot, so I'm usually only here late nights to sleep and some on weekends.

Me, I am a young 57 year old CPA, conservative & Christian. I love golf and cook for fun.  I do not smoke.  Smoking is allowed outside only. I occassionally/socially like red wine and sometimes a scotch late at night, but I am not a heavy drinker.  I am the easiest person in the world to get along with.  Heck, I'm hardly ever here."


Alright, where to start...first of all, if you have to tell me that I'm going to be "safe", is this really a good sign? And secondly, what normal 25 year-old woman is going to feel comfortable let alone safe living in a house with two strange 50ish year-old men. And I would also like to point out that I will be sharing a bathroom with them. Awesome, my dreams have come true!


Okay, on to even better one's...


2. I won't post all of this one because it's pretty generic. But let me just say, that when I asked if they were a female, they went on to inform me that they were NOT a female but a man/woman. Now, no disrespect to anyone out there who's decided this is the best life for them. But I just don't understand what a man/woman is. Sorry. 


And to top all of these off I will leave you with my most recent encounter.


3. "We have a new home in a gated community and are looking for a female live in housekeeper in exchange for free rent and utilities. It is 3400 sf single story and you will have private bedroom w/kingsize bed, private bathroom, satellite tv, phone and internet. We are a white married couple and this is a clothing optional environment, so you need to be comfortable with nudity occurring at times. Ideally you would be comfortable in this environment as well. Cleaning is part time and no daily duties like dishes, cooking, or laundry. Just clean the house, floors, dusting, counters, windows, etc. Sorry we cannot accept any pets, we have 2 small dogs already and do not want the stress or liability for other pets. 

If you think you would be comfortable in this environment we will set up a meeting at the house so you can see what would be expected and see if everything works out for everyone. Send a picture if you like and ask any questions you might have so we can see if the situation would be compatible."

I'm sorry sir, I think what you meant to say was you were looking for a threesome. You may want to check the "casual encounters" section under personals.

Roommate Searching

Alright, so I've lived free of rent now for a little over a year. Saved a good amount of money. And I'm ready to move out! So after talking to my dear friend Tammy Tam about searching for roommates on Craigs List I decided what the heck, it's worth a try!

Now I know what you're all thinking....Brittany nooo only stalkers, creepy people, and whores are on Craigs List. But come on people, not everyone's crazy. There has to be some normal people out there in the land of crazies. Me for instance! (Ok, on the normalish side.) So yes, I posted a listing on there for a roommate. And I've already had a few responses. One seems pretty great actually. Now on the other hand there was a dad with a son looking for a female roommate. Eh....a little weird. Didn't respond to that one. But you have to expect a few odd balls right?

So I'm on the search....if you hear of anyone, who knows someone, who knows another someone who needs a roommate, send them my way!

I Have a Problem *picture me in a self-help group*

So remember how I mentioned awhile back I like have an obsession with, recipe blogs? Well this has turned into more of a problem.

 I mean seriously. It's become my number one distraction from work and anything else important I might need to get done. The problem is there are so many good recipes out there and just not enough time in the day to read them all. Let alone cook them. Another problem with this. I'm spending more money on food than I usually do because I keep finding new delicious things to make. And if it's not the time consumption or the money spending it's the eating. I'm always hungry now!

Anyone reading that last part knows this is a lie. I'm always hungry anyways, this just gives me something to blame it on :)

Maybe I should talk about more meaningful things besides food blogs, but this is what I'm thinking about, so the meaningful stuff will have to come another day.

News!!

I have exciting news! Well it's exciting to me so I'm going to share it in the hopes that you too might think it's exciting. I am going on an amazing backpacking trip sometime in September to Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. Awesome right?!? 

So this all began when I started dating this guy. I think I've mentioned him before. Anyways, so he's really into this backpacking outdoorsy thing, which it so happens I am too. May not seem like that big of a coincidence but he's the first I've found that has this same interest. So anyhow...him and his friends have gone on a trip each year for a few years now, and I'm excited to participate this year! 

Now this aint no wimpy little hike, no sir e. This is a week of intense hiking, outdoor living, no showering, amazingness. And I am ecstatic. 

Now. The only downside of this, is that I am already wanting to buy all kinds of things I probably won't need. Like boots, and jackets, and shirts, etc....Needless to say I may spend a little lot of money on this trip. Let's face it, I already have a shopping problem and this is only fueling the fire!

I will leave you with this gorgeous picture of where I will be this Fall

Food Food Food

I'm noticing a pattern in my posts. FOOD. But I'm ok with this.

So I've been thinking about starting a meal plan for the week, for a few reasons. One, my boyfriend keeps talking about how he wants more protein in his diet. I think this is just a man thing in general to want more meat in every meal, but maybe that's just me. Two, it will ensure that I eat good lunches because quite honestly I've gotten lazy about eating good lunches. So if I plan it all ahead I can have some healthy leftovers!

Not sure if my boyfriend will stick to this, he didn't exactly seem excited about the idea. His exact response, "a meal plan eh?" Although, he tends to be on the skeptical side about a lot of things, but he comes around when he realizes how gosh darn smart I am ;) So we will see how it goes. Anyways, I think it's a great way to be sure you get all those food groups in. And since I'm kind of anal and love making lists, this kills two birds with one stone!

I'm not going to list everything, because I don't think you all really care that much. But if you're interested I'll be happy to tell you. I will say I did include Superbowl food into Sundays meal plan. AKA the entire day is filled with dips and snacks and all kinds of delicious good bad for you things! I may have to share a few of those recipes this week... Very excited about them/to eat them.

Chocolate-Caramel Goodness

So I was feeling a little blah today, most likely because of the gloomy weather we've been having. So I decided to see if this would cheer me up...Keep in mind I'm a little nervous about doing this because as you learned from my previous post I am a frequent follower of recipe blogs. There are some very impressive one's out there so hopefully my first try isn't too embarrassing :)

Last night I made a delicious new creation. Well, I thought they were delicious, I'm still waiting for my boyfriend to tell me what he thinks. Anyways, I got that urge to bake as I have been getting more frequently and found I had a box of Devil's Food Cake that I hadn't used. Now, I don't like cake very much at all. I know what you're thinking...What?! Who doesn't like cake? Well, me that's who. So I got on Miss Betty Crocker's website to see what other creations I could make with this box of cake. What follows is what I found....

Crumbly layer before I put in pan. May have tasted a few bites...

Caramels. Mmm. Tempted to make caramel apples because it came with free sticks :)

The final product. So yummy, You can see the caramely goodness coming out.

Chocolate-Caramel Goodness Bars

adapted from Betty Crocker

1 box of Betty Crocker Super Moist devil's

 food cake mix

3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened 

(I used Crisco because it was all I had. Works fine though.)

2 cups of quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats

1 bag of vanilla caramels, unwrapped

1/4 cup of milk

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, if wanted

(I'm not a huge fan of nuts in desserts so I left these out)

Heat oven to 350 degrees F, and grease pan. In a large bowl beat cake mix, butter, and egg until well blended. Stir in oats until crumbly (see picture). I used my fingers for this step, it's easiest. Now try a taste. You know you want to...Reserve 1 1/2 cups of this mixture. Press remaining mixture in pan.

In 2-quart saucepan heat milk and caramels on medium-low heat, stirring often, until melted. Pour over chocolate layer in pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips and nuts if using on top. Sprinkle reserved cake mixture on top. Bake 20-25 minutes or until caramel bubbles up sides and top looks dry. Run a knife along edges of pan when you remove from oven. Let sit about an hour before you cut into it. 

Enjoy!

My Obsessions

As I sit here eating a Fruit Roll-Up (yes I'm 12) trying to decide what interesting thing to post. It is after all my very first post, therefore it MUST be something extremely profound....so I decided to talk about a few obsession's in my life.

Recipe blogs! My boyfriend can attest to this one, he catches me reading them quite frequently. I have a problem my friends...I won't even try to deny it. On a daily basis I find myself searching through blog after blog reading other people's recipes. Speaking of which, check out these blogs Picky Palate and How Sweet It Is. I secretly pretend that these people are my friends and actually care if I comment on their blogs. And when they respond, it sadly makes my day. So I think it's pretty clear I do in fact have a problem.Which brings us to my next obsession....

Food. I think anyone who's EVER known me, knows that this is an obvious one. I could go on and on about how I love every aspect of it. Thank you God for my fast metabolism and love for working out!! If this were not so, I'm convinced I would be at least 40 lb over weight. Anyways, I love to eat. I love trying new things. And I need to eat often (anyone who's ever known me also knows this is true).

So, on to more obsessions. My boyfriend. Mushy, (I'm well aware of this friends) but true none the less. I mean to have that one person that get's you, even the crazy weird parts of you, is a blessing. And he is just that. Not too mention he knows exactly how to make me laugh even if I'm in the midst of crying. A true talent I'm convinced. Alright, enough about him. I could say more, but I know you're done with all the gushy stuff.

This post is getting much too long...so I'm only going to talk about one more thing. Even though I could go on. (You're welcome.) People watching. Again, I have a problem. But they are just so dang interesting! I will give you a few tips on people watching, because trust me, I'm an expert. My favorite places to people watch are the gym, Starbucks (see above picture), and Panera. So watch out if you spend any amount of time in these places, I've probably been watching you at some point. That was a little creepy...but it's all for the love of people watching! I'm pretty sure that one of these days I am probably going to fly off the treadmill at the gym as a direct result of my obsession with people watching. But thank you to all you interesting people out there, you always make my day.

If you actually read all of this, thank you. Promise it won't be quite so long next time. Got a little excited....