Dear followers, please know that I am not, yet again, slacking on my blogging duties. My old and {usually} faithful Mac has died, leaving me with only the iPad, which refuses to cooperate with blogger.com and the work computer, which is a slow-as-Christmas Dell that I'm not allowed to blog on :(
I will figure out how to remedy this. In the meantime, drop by my two favorite blogs:

Www.caraloren.blogspot.com-----adorable new mom, and faithful fashion blogger.

Www.mylifeinflashes.blogspot.com-----my best friend, Cheyenne's blog! Conservative news and opinion that may even be featured in an upcoming documentary!

Baby Shower Special Edition!

I'm on a roll, y'all! And hopefully I'll be able to keep it up! Look out! 

Now, I bring you my most recent and proudest achievement, hosting a baby shower! A few weekends ago, I had the privilege of hosting a baby shower for my "sister-in-law" Margie for her new baby boy, Wren. I hosted along with Ely, who is Brian's mother, and their next door neighbor Janet. She is responsible for most of the amazing treats you'll see below but these babies in a blanket are all me! Well, Ely's idea and my execution :) 

They are really simple. You roll the mini sausage in the crescent rolls, just like if you were making pigs in a blanket, but you place the mini sausage in the top corner of the larger side of the crescent roll dough. You can make the dough cover more if you will press it out flat as you can and wrap it tight and then use the excess for another baby in a blanket. Then you take a edible marker (from Michaels or Hobby Lobby) and you draw little faces on them! Simple and Quick as that! 

These little gift boxes were made with a kit Ely bought. We spent a while putting these puppies together. Cute idea and possibly worth the work, but I'm still not convinced. 

These were deviled egg turtles, made by Janet. The eggs and "deviled" part are dyed with food coloring, the head is an olive, and the legs are dyed noodles! She is so creative! 

This is the little turtle that Janet made for baby Wren's nursery. 

And these are little jello turtles in a blue jello pond. Adorable! 

And this is the funniest thing I've ever seen. It's a baby in a buggy, made of fruit! Janet is incredibly talented, and so sweet to open up her home for a baby shower AND be willing to work her butt off in the kitchen. 

We served sweet tea and green punch. The punch was really easy, but I didn't really use a recipe. I just mixed it as I saw fit until it tasted good. Sprite, pineapple juice, green food coloring, and orange juice concentrate. Et voila! Frothy green goodness! 

This was baby Wren's present table. He really racked up the gifts! 

This was a gift paid for and from my mother and father, but bought and arranged by yours truly. This is a great way to give a gift for any type of shower of event. I got some essentials {diapers, wipes, baby shampoo, baby lotion, baby books, etc.} at reasonable to low prices and/or bought with a coupon. Then I bought a high quality canvas bin at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I filled that bin with all the goodies I bought. This idea is both super cute AND eco-friendly. You're not wasting wrapping paper that will be thrown out with the garbage, you're giving the person something they can use. This bin would be great to store diapers, outfits, shoes, or even towels! 

And this is what baby Wren got from his Aunt-Tay and Uncle Brian! I am so stinkin' proud of this Target haul! Please notice the adorable, Uncle Brian-esque baby button ups, the super cool skull shorts (for my little rocker nephew!), and the onezies with hilarious sayings on them. The top blue one says "I'm the New Guy", the bottom blue one says "My Uncle is Rad" (this one made Margie cry for some reason!), and the orange one says "Caution: Lady Killer". Too cute! 

And no blog is complete if there are no pictures of my super cute dogs, am I right? 

Just to brighten your day, here are the babies of my house, MaKenna and Hercules, doing what they do best, being adorable and sleeping. 

Back in Action with Ritzy Chicken!

Hey y'all! It's good to be back after another vacation from blogging. Between house sitting and the fourth of July, things have been crazy but I'm happy to be back, sounding off again. I recently found a blogger that I love to keep up with, and she has really inspired me to be better at this. i'm sure she gets paid, and she's a house wife, so she is better at making time to do this sort of thing. I want to be better at it, but at this moment, I'm not. So bear with me. When I'm training to be a doula, living with my Air Force man somewhere far, far, away and this is my way of keeping up with family and friends, I will commit to a schedule but I'm much too young and free spirited to be tied down to such a thing right now.


So here's one of my regular "catch up" posts...

The pups, at their favorite spot in the house. They perch here when they think trouble's a'brewin' outside, or when one of us leaves. And some fun dialogue we imagine the two of them having...

The weekend Brian left for Basic Training was admittedly an emotional one. We went on one final date night the Friday before he left to El Sombrero, one of our favorites! This is my handsome man, and this is his super girly dessert! Hehe!

And this is my chapstick/lip gloss/lip stick collection. 

...Yes, I'm addicted, but they all serve varying purposes.

{stay tuned for a "what's in my bag" post in the coming months!}

And we went for pedicures! 

One of my favorite games to play, only with people I know, is Draw Something. I've been playing this for months now, and while I know some of you may be over this game, I still really love it. Here's a drawing of my mother, in a game of Draw Something with my sister. 

Around the office, we have been taking pictures of and sharing our summer reads on our Pinterest page. My summer reading, which is coming along, slowly but surely, is "A Place of Yes" by Bethenny Frankel. I just adore her and the book is so positive and is really helping me day to day. 

My wonderful "sister-in-law", shown below with her dog Duchess, had her baby this week! Warren Alexander "Wren" Williamson weighed in at 9lbs, 13oz, and 23 inches! Big ole boy! I am going to meet him this weekend, so look forward to lots of gushing when I get back. 

When I returned from Sylvania, my dear friends brought me flowers to let me know they were thinking of me. I'm really lucky to have them, especially at this time. 

So, now for the recipe! 

Ritzy Chicken

8 oz. cream cheese

1/2 C. sour cream

1 (10 3/4 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup

1 (10 3/4 oz.) can cream of chicken soup

6 C. diced cooked chicken breasts

1 roll Ritz crackers (50 crackers)

Soften the cream cheese.  

Put chicken into a 9 x 13-inch ovenproof baking dish.

Mix cream cheese, sour cream, cream of mushroom soup, and cream of chicken soup.

Pour over chicken. 

Crush crackers to make topping (you can combine with butter but I didn't)

Sprinkle over chicken & mixture.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

No after photo...it was too delicious! 

Make sure to post a comment if you tried this and liked it, or if you added your own special touches to it. 

Enjoy! 

recipe found here  

In honor of my Airman's first day of Basic Training: Taco Casserole

If you follow me on facebook (which I assume you do, since you're on my blog), you probably know that my boyfriend left recently for Air Force basic training. Today is his very first official day of BT. 

Well, this post is for him.

Two years ago, I wouldn't touch Mexican food. I hated anything other than a cheese quesadilla and there was no way you'd find me anywhere near a Taco Bell, which I now know isn't really Mexican. In October of 2010 (WOW! long time ago), I met a guy at a bar and though most thought nothing of it, I knew this guy was different than anyone I had ever met before. After several days of talking on the phone into the wee hours of the morning, he came to see me and we went on a date. The rest was history. Here we are one year and eight months later, and a lot has changed. We've together through finals, tough times, study sessions, one bad perm, I graduated from college, he joined the Air Force. But probably the biggest change since we've met is that nowadays, I could eat Mexican food every single day of the week and never tire of it. Here's a recipe, that actually has potential to be really good for you (or even vegetarian-friendly) with the right ingredients, and I know he'll love when I get to cook it for him one day. It's also really easy, one of those that I mentally store away for years from now when I'm a momma and need a quick and easy "go-to". 

Taco Casserole! 

You will need: 

• 1 lb ground skinless turkey breast 
• 1 pkg taco seasoning mix 
• 8 ozs taco sauce 
• 2 c fat-free sour cream 
• 1 bag tortilla chips, whole or broken up 
• 1 c low-fat cheddar cheese, shredded 
• 3/4 c salsa (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray your casserole dish. I used this round casserole dish, but I think any shape and size will work. 

In a skillet, cook the ground turkey (or chicken or beef, if you prefer). I took this time to season the meat with some salt, pepper, and garlic powder. 

Add the taco seasoning and the taco sauce and set the meat mix aside. 

Break up some chips and place them in the bottom of the casserole dish. 

Put the meat mix over the chips. 

Then put the sour cream on top of that. 

Then the cheese...

Then more chips. I added some fun and fancy whole chips around the edges to make it look pretty. 

Bake for 30 minutes, uncovered, at 400. You can top it with salsa, if you like. Here's what it looked like all finished, sans salsa. 

And here's the finished, plated project! 

I also made some fun green sprinkle sugar cookies for dessert, but they we're store bought, so that's cheating, right? 

And finally, a cute picture of our dogs, because they're cute. Do I need a better reason? 

Have a good week! 

recipe found at: http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/weight-watchers-points-plus-taco-casserole-2447472.html

Yoga-t to be kidding me!

This week, I've been waking up with my friend Cara to do yoga to begin our day. I'm no pro and sometimes I really want to sleep in, but I really love yoga. I've been practicing by myself and have just recently begun this ritual of waking up to start my day with yoga and a friend.

Not only does this practice help me get my lazy butt out of bed every morning, it makes me feel more alive. I know some of you are thinking "I hate yoga! It's so boring!" but to tell you the truth, well, my truth, I don't exactly do yoga to excite my every cell. 

I practice yoga to soothe and calm my body, soul, and mind.

You know that feeling of having so much to do that you can't focus on anything?

Or how about that feeling you get about mid way through the day 

where you can barely hold your head up?

Or when you get so frustrated about something going on in your life that it's all you can think about? 

When I practice yoga, I'm not focused on what I'm making for dinner, or what I need to do when I get to the office, or the fight I just had with a friend. I'm focusing on my breathing and trying to strengthen each of my poses. I'm focused on the calming music that I play from my iPad, and trying to clear my mind. It's not always easy. I don't always have a clear mind. But that is my goal. 

Yoga releases stress, tension, stiffness, pain, and fatigue. 

It makes me stand up straighter, sit tall, and hold my head high. 

It makes me feel focused, and happy.

It rids me of anxiety, and it's one of the few things that actually can. 

It gives me confidence. 

It makes me more aware of my body and my connection with my body, and when I practice yoga outside, my connection to nature. 

If you're competitive, you may not think yoga is right for you. Well, you may be right. But yoga is is a practice, which means that you are practicing every time, not that you are performing or exercising (though it is). You try to obtain your personal best. 

So, if you're going to start, start slow. I can't stress this enough. You can get hurt if you try to advance before you're ready, or if you don't do a pose correctly. 

Listen to your body! Yoga is not supposed to be painful! 

Know your own limits [advice not just for yoga, but maybe even for life!]

Yoga has been healing bodies, spirits, and minds for over 5,000 years! Its one of the oldest practices in the world. Some studies have even shown that people who practice yoga in groups emit oxytocin, know as the trust and bonding hormone. Here's some yoga lingo, just for you

 [when will you ever need these? who knows?! Maybe one day you'll be on jeopardy and you'll be able to tell Alex Trebek "What is *insert yoga term here*?"]:

yogini: a female who avidly practices yoga and subscribes to the lifestyle and philosophy of yoga

asanas: the poses that you move in and out of while practicing yoga. Ex. downward facing dog, tree pose, cat stretch.

power yoga or ashtanga: also called "gym yoga"is a form of yoga that it a little more rigorous than what you might think of as yoga. It's meant to get your blood pumping

lyengar: yoga using things like block, bricks, and straps to work on precise poses

meditation: I'm sure you know what this means but some people think that if they are Christians, meditation is sacreligious. But i'm here to tell you that you can meditate on anything!  Direct your meditation towards your Lord, be that Jesus, or Buddha, or Allah. Or if you're irreligious, meditate on the blessings you've received in your life, meditate on finding a release of your soul. Just meditate on something. You'll feel better.

mantra: another word you know! I find it helpful to have a mantra or some kind, something you repeat to yourself over and over as you practice yoga, so that you're focused on saying your mantra and breathing and actually doing yoga and not what you need to pick up at the grocery store later. I usually say something like "Breath, Taylor", just so I don't forget. But you can say whatever you want! You can say "I am powerful and beautiful". You can say "I was born this way!". You can say "All good things come from above". Say whatever you want! Whatever makes you happy, inspired, focused, anything! Make your mantra yours.

So try it! you're not too old, or too stiff. There's no such thing! 

Again, it's a practice. You are not "good" or "bad" at yoga. 

You don't have to go to a class. You can buy a video and a mat and do it at home where no one can see. You can do it with a friend who doesn't care if you look stupid. Or you can go to a class! There's a yoga class in just about every town, at the YMCA or local gym.

references: http://www.webmd.com/balance/the-health-benefits-of-yoga?page=2