It's OK that I...

... have a sparse Christmas tree, with ornaments that say " Christina's first Xmas". I refuse to buy ornaments that mean nothing.

... have no time line for life.

... buy something for myself every time I make an online purchase for a Christmas gift.

...fear becoming a 100% vegetarian because I.Love.Steak.

...think a hot bubble bath solves all of life's problems.

...cannot wait until The Bachelor, even though I am not a fan of Brad.

...consider bed at 10:30 to be late.

...Feel a little pain when I come home from work and my husband's car isn't in the driveway.

...Only dust my blinds when I am expecting company.





...think Houston ain't that bad.

...

list of wants

Yesterday, a student told me her birthday was coming up. When I asked her when it was, she replied "November 28"....which is my birthday, too! After she guessed how old I will be (seven years old), she told me everything that she wants for her birthday...which got me thinking about what I would like.
I really do not care about birthdays or gifts. Of course I appreciate them, but I am fine if I receive nothing. I am usually a frugal person and I just do not like having a bunch of things that clutter up my house. Unfortunately, my list this year is rather extensive ...much thanks to my knack of losing and breaking expensive things. So, without further ado, I present you with my birthday/ Christmas wish list for 2010!

I really love this gym bag! It is cute how it has a holder for a yoga mat. I usually go to the gym right after work and just stuff my clothes in my purse....I think this is much more practical!



Best Christmas movie ever!

Cute, matches my dishes. Something I would never buy myself but would like receiving. Would be useful to use during a party!
I dropped my macbook and now the screen is all messed up...I can still use it, but there are areas on my screen that are cracked, making it hard to see the images. No wonder Daniel's computer is password protected and he won't let me in on what it is!

Ok. I am not normally a leather jacket wearin' gal, but I would like one in lieu of a motorcycle jacket. I could spend a lot of $$$ on a motorcycle jacket that wouldn't be too cute and that I would only wear while I am riding with Daniel...or I could spend a smidgen more and get a jacket that I can wear everyday. Daniel had a little motorcycle crash yesterday (not a big deal, but he got skinned up on his way to work) and now I really do not want to ride with him unless I have proper protection. I might not be able to wait until November 28 for this purchase!
Remember my whole knack of breaking and losing all things expensive? Yes, I spilled a 32 oz water bottle in my purse, and in turn ruining my second iphone in 3 months. I feel really bad asking for a new one, but I promise to be more careful!
I have had my car since I turned 17. It has been fun, but now that I am older, I would like to have something larger. It sucks grocery shopping or traveling with the dogs in my little 2 door VW convertible. Not to mention it currently has a hole in the door from a bow and arrow and a hole in the bumper thanks to Daniel backing into a fire hydrant.


I am embarrassed by how much money this list totals to....I know I will not receive the majority of these, it's called a wish list for a reason!

Happy Monday!

Brie and apple quesadillas- made this for dinner tonight! Click the picture if you want the recipe (I didn't use arugula). Daniel said it was more of a snack, but we both really liked it.



Perfect for after dinner dessert- Blue Moon's pumpkin ale, Harvest Moon. I love everything pumpkin, including pumpkin beer!

Today has been pretty productive. My friend Kathryn and I started training for the Houston 1/2 marathon last week, and I have been finding myself running everyday. Before, I would run 2 or 3 miles about 4x a week, but now that I am making more of an effort, we are running 3-4 miles about everyday (either together or alone). It feels great, and there is something about running RIGHT after work that just makes the rest of your day productive. After our run I took the dogs to the park, helped Daniel with the lawn, and even cooked dinner. Feels good not being a lazy vegetable after work!

I love fall. Love it so much that I have a nasty sun burn to prove it. We spent all day outside yesterday, between Daniel's soccer game, running, and taking the dogs to the park. We have had our windows open 24/7 and it feels refreshing waking up at night a little chilly! I cannot wait to go to Cedar Creek and sit outside with some fried pickles and a Blue Moon- perfect weather for it!

Ok, that was a bit of a hodge podge, but at least I updated!

Emmy faves

I totally planned on just watching the red carpet before the Emmy's....award shows are boring and I would rather just read the results online the next morning. However, the opening skit got me HOOKED- it was hilarious! I was wishing that they would have had more TV stars be in that opening. I loved the Modern Family skit with George Clooney, too. I might have to watch more award shows- very entertaining! Anyways, here are the best dresses, in my opinion.



Um, she could have been in a paper sack and still looked beautiful. I still cannot believe the transformation she has gone through in the past few years. She looks incredible.


Love the pale pink and the little ruffle on the top of the dress.
Don't think this fits wonderfully, but I still like the dress.
I love Tina Fey. This is her best look ever. Although I do not care for Glee much or this actress (yes, she has a wonderful voice...just not my favorite actress), I love her dress and I think that she looks perfect in it!

Who do you think was best/ worst dressed?

Simple Pleasures

I love....
...coffee on a weekend morning. I always wake up first and it is just so relaxing sipping my coffee on my big comfy chair while cuddling with my kitty.

...when Daniel and I find a new TV show and become obsessed with it. This weekend has been a Modern Family Marathon. Sometimes I prefer this to going on a "real" date.

...having a clean home. Between episodes, Daniel and I made our home spotless. I am lucky that I have someone who shares the chores with me!

...being excited to go to work tomorrow. I have a great class, but a couple of challenging ones students. Is it weird that those challenging students are the ones that motivate me the most to wake up at 6:15 am and do my job?

...Groupon. Yesterday I got 1/2 off tickets to the Houston Wine Festival...CANNOT WAIT!

...Bubble Baths. I have taken one everyday since school started on Monday. I take my book and sometimes a glass of wine or my pomegranate/ peligrino concoction and stay in for hours. I am worried about our gas/ water bill for this month!

...Yoga, which I am going to now. Since work started, I have gone from practicing 4x a week to only 1-2 times. I went yesterday (first time this week) and my butt and arms are so sore! Whoever says Yoga is for wimps has never taken a power vinyasa class.

Namaste!

What's been going on

1. Foam rollers
Ever since I got new running shoes, I have felt intense pain in my left quad basically 24/7. I have been running since high school and have never really experienced above average muscle pain. It is so weird that in this situation, it is ONLY my left quad/ IT band....has this happened to any of you? I am hoping that I will not have to buy new shoes, after shelling out $115 a mere two weeks ago for new ones. ANYWAYS, I am taking a few days off of running, and last night I went to "Yoga Bootcamp". After telling us that the class is nothing like yoga and more just stretching for athletes, the instructor has us get foam rollers. I'm feeling pissed at this point. I went expecting an intense yoga class based on cardio and strength (like a power vinyasa flow) and instead it was just going to be stretching? I stretch everyday! So, I begrudgingly use the foam roller on my quad...and OMG, tears come to my eyes it is so painful. I literally feel the lactic acid bubbles popping in my muscle. I am SO going to buy one of those foam rollers...although my quad still hurts, it feels a million times better. *fingers crossed that no running + foam roller will heal my quad*

2. Door
My father-in-law gave us his old door a few months ago, and it had been sitting in our garage ever since. Our old front door, which resembled a rectangle of cardboard, was quite an eye sore. A few weeks ago, my parents paid about $800 to refurbish their front door, which made me want to refurbish the door we had sitting in our attic. My husband didn't care to do it, but loves me so decided to work on our new-old door anyways! This door was a MESS- old hornet nests still connected to the wood, totally scratched up and discolored...but I could see the potential. Well, between sanding, staining, restaining, and sanding some more, and sealing, this little "project" took us over 2 weeks to accomplish! The prep work wasn't difficult, just time consuming b/c we could only do one side at a time and had to always wait 24 hours for the layers of stain and sealant to dry. So, Sunday was the big day...the door was finally done and we could hang it up! 5 trip to Lowes and 6 hours later, this darn door was finally up. Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong. The door was too long and we had to saw off the bottom 2 inches. The door was too wide so we literally had to whittle the side with a knife to make it fit. Couldn't get the dead bolt to work. Our alarm kept going off. I have to say that the hard work was worth it...wish I had a before pic, but oh well!
3. Two really yummy, vegetarian, and FAST meals...

"hummus" burgers- courtesy of Women's Health. This reminds me of falafel...Daniel gave it an 8.5 out of 10 and REALLY loved it....very filling, too!

• Grind 1/2 cup of almonds and a teaspoon of coriander until it is the consistency of flour.
  
• Mash up a can of organic garbanzo beans and 3 minced cloves of garlic until there are no whole beans left. Stir in almond meal, 2 teaspoons of cummin, a pinch of salt, an egg, and 1/4 cup of fresh parsley. Form patties and cook on a skillet (medium heat) with olive oil, about 5 min per side.
• Meanwhile, mix 2 TB of mayonnaise (or nonflavored greek yogurt or sour cream) with a chile (canned, in adobo sauce).
• Put hummus burger in a pita half, along with some spinach and tomato. Add the chile mayo. MMMMM!

Everything-But-The-Kitchen-Sink black beans- I made this tonight because I had a ton of fresh black beans left from another meal.

• Stir-fry 1/2 a red onion and 3 cloves of minced garlic for about 2 minutes. Add 2 chiles (in adobo sauce) if you like spicy, along with about a cup of frozen corn.
  
• Add beans after corn is no longer frozen (probably about 1 lb)
• Once beans are warm, stir in some chopped tomato, the juice from a lime, about 1 TB of cumin and a pinch of salt
• Serve with fresh cilantro, Mexican cheese, and a lot of avocado!

I pretty much just threw in what I had, but if you have some other veggies that you need to get rid of, I think it would work. This was really filling...Daniel had a bite and liked it, but had a huge burger for lunch so is fasting from dinner.

She Works Hard For The Money

Yesterday was my first day back at work, and I must say that I am happy to be back. I am feeling motivated to make this my best year of teaching so far. I got so much done yesterday at work- moved all of my furniture by 8 am, put up all of my bulletin board paper and border, covered 3 of my cabinets, made my Science and Math Word Wall, made some materials for the first week of school, and started on my Peace Corner.....whew! Afterward, I ran 4 miles in 35 minutes, made dinner, and did two loads of laundry!!! I was feeling like Kelly Ripa in all of those Elextrolux commercials, except not nearly as cute. The only downfall was that I was on such a rush that I couldn't fall asleep...

Today I was at work by 7:45, and got up my reading word wall, calendar area, and math area...plus set up my library and organized my materials. I was able to leave by 10:45 to make it to my last Tuesday lunch time yoga class and run. I will post pictures of my classroom probably on Friday...

So, I made a really yummy vegetarian chili tonight that Daniel loved! It took little time to prepare, but about 2 hours to cook. Perfect for someone who has some chores or studying to do at home while it cooks!

First, I cooked a pound of black beans, which has to boil for about an hour and a half (this is the time consuming part). You can just use canned black beans if you have to cook in a pinch, but I try to stay away from canned food when I can. While the beans were cooking, a had time to clean our spare bathroom (aka Doodoo's bathroom) and clean our spare bedroom (aka our dog's bedroom).

Next, I sauteed an onion, 3 carrots, and a red bell pepper for about 2 minutes. I then added it with 8 oz of tomato sauce, 3 cups water, and this package of spices:

I didn't make it like it said to prepare, just bought it because it's a convenient way to make sure it tastes like chili and add the correct amount of spice.

I let that all simmer for about 20 minutes, then added my cooked black beans. It was DELICIOUS and Daniel felt really full afterward (always important for a man's dinner).

Speaking of delicious and filling....

Chocolate Eruption cake from Whole Foods, purchased for my mother-in-laws bday on Sunday. Maybe 1/4 was consumed on the day of her birth with the whole family....the rest has been devoured by Daniel and me these past 2 days. I told Daniel that whatever he doesn't eat of it tonight will be in the trash...I have no willpower to stop eating it, so it has to go!