Pinterest Pick: Pintester

Okay so my pick today isn't actually a recipe or a home idea.  It is a blog!

She is the self proclaimed Pin tester.  She actually tries out the pins that she... well pins... 

But you have to understand that she does not always test the pin according to the exact recipe or process provided by the pin.  She gets creative when she doesn't have all of the ingredients.  So most of her pins don't turn out very well.  However, she seems to test them in such a way that a normal person would.

Like, you are trying to decide what to do for dinner and you search Pinterest and find a recipe but you don't exactly have all of the ingredients.  You decide to make it anyway.

And I totally think that is how I would test some of my pins.

Regardless she is a hilarious story teller and her pictures are priceless.... and mostly embarrassing.

So you should check her out!

Oh and me?  I am still sick.  My glands hurt.  Trying to take it easy and drink.  Water! I mean water! ;)

Food Friday: Turkey Hummus Wraps

I have a great recipe for you today.  Nice and easy and a great snack!  Let's get on to the show.

You will want to gather the ingredients.  I also happened to have a super awesome boyfriend who cut up my cucumbers perfectly.  BTW the super awesome boyfriend isn't a required ingredient but it makes it much nicer. ;)

First you want to start with the turkey.  I laid mine out on tin foil for easy clean up.

Second you want to slather on some hummus.  I didn't put on too much because I was not sure how messy it would end up being.  Feel free to put more.

Now place the cucumbers.  I felt that two was the perfect amount because I wanted to still be able to fold the turkey into a roll.

Next put the red peppers.  I love red peppers so I decided to put on a handful.  They were also sliced fairly thin to allow for the aforementioned folding.

Now the final veggie is the green bean.  I know it seems silly to add in green beans but I really like them.  Cooked, steamed, raw, whatever.  It will add a little bit of crispy crunch.

The last step is to roll the turkey up.  I also cut mine in half so they were easier to handle when eating.

And here they are in their packaged glory!  Don't they just look so delish?!  I have to say they were very very good.  It was the perfect "I am hungry but not hungry enough for a meal".

I did notice that after they sat in the refridge over night they became a little watery.  I am not exactly sure which component was responsible for the wateriness.  It might be a good idea to place them on a paper towel.  Or to completely solve that problem, you could just eat them right away. :)

Enjoy the ease of a yummy snack!

P.S. I made it a whole week of postings!!!!  Yay maybe I can make it two!

House Drama

So it appears that the house getting will not occur until next week.  BIG BUMMER.  Some last minute changes to the termite report and what not is causing some more last minute changes.  Now it looks like a day next week will be the day.  I know that Jon was very much hoping to get the keys on Friday so that we could get in there and start painting.

This also pushes back the timeline for everything else... hopefully everything will start asap so we can move in without any further drama.

I am ecstatic that I can no longer say we have no appliances for the house.

First Jon's parent surprised him (and me) by finding beautiful kitchen appliances.  They could almost pass for brand new!  The fridge drawers pull out and the freezer space is so much larger than what we have now!

Second my neighbors from home happened to have a washer/dryer set that they were hoping to sell.  In an act of huge kindness they decided to give them to Jon and I.  AND deliver them!

I am completely touched by all of them for helping the transition into home ownership easier and I am very blessed to have such wonderful people in my life.  I feel much better about everything now because I know that we will be able to cook food and clean our clothes.  Even if we don't have A/C in the place yet. :)

In other news being sicky feeling yesterday allowed me to come home and spend some cuddle time with the kitten.  It just so happened to storm pretty badly for a while and I knew the kitten was glad I was home with her.  I am feeling more sicky today and I really hope that resting today will kick it out.  Plus I am hoping all of the water and tea I am drinking will just flush whatever the sicky is out.



Other than that not much is going on.

You know, except that it is Friday tomorrow!!!

Gluten-Free Food Review - Pei Wei

I recently decided that Jon and I would go eat eat Pei Wei.  I have eaten there before and kinda knew that I should avoid but this time I decided to ask for the gluten-free menu.  (Tip - don't bother with the online gluten-free menu ask for the complete allergy listing they have in the store - that's where I found out they have rice noodles).  Well I am glad I did because there were only two dinner meal options listed.  I am not freaking kidding.  And of course most of the other items had chicken (which I also am lucky enough to be allergic too).  Yea I am awesome.

So I ended up picking one of them and letting the girl know it was the gluten-free choice.  The Sweet and Sour Shrimp with gluten-free rice noodles.

Jon and I went to the table and I was very super excited.  There was even one of those red hot sauce mixes already on the table.

Jon enjoyed a fortune cookie while I watched and then he left me "open" my fortune and he ate the cookie.  I know I was being so super good.

The food arrived and it looked awesome.  Especially the rice noodles.

However, when I took my first bite of shrimp I thought I felt a distinct crunch.  No not a shell kind of crunch, more like a "this has been dipped in wash then flour and fried" kind of crunch.

Oh no right?  Yea. Totally oh no.

Well I tried to peel off what I thought was the crust (as we will call it).  I couldn't so I kept eating the noodles and what not until I decided what I should do about the shrimp.

I ate another one.  I knew there was something not right.  The crust seemed to be too gluten-like.  So I tried to tear the next shrimp and sure enough a coating of some kind seperated from the shrimp.

Well now what was I going to do.  I doubted that they would coat the gluten-free shrimp in something else to fry them and I was having doubts about how often they actually made gluten-free meals at this location in the first place...

I insisted to Jon that I didn't think it was right... but I didn't mention it.  I know that was super stupid of me.

However, next time I will be sure to ask if their gluten-free shrimp are coated in anything or not...  Until then gluten warriors, beware of the Pei Wei.

Much luck and love.

Till next time,

My Ducks have (FINALLY) Moved In!

So this is what my old office looked like.  Yes, I have a bit of a duck collection.  And no, I did not buy all of them myself.  It started with one that I had gotten from homecoming in 2004.  It was in my car along with a few others that I had aquired over the next few years.

Fast forward to my year teaching.  In Kindergarten all of the teachers had a different animal theme to set them apart from each other and to help the kids.  One of the other teachers already had pandas, so I couldn't go with that.  I had a difficult time coming up with something until I remembered the ducks in my car and decided why not?  It could be cute.

My collection grew that year as the kids would bring in ducks to be put up in the classroom.  It was fun and I now have two duck rugs too.  My career of teaching came to a crashing end due to a bastard of a principal that didn't renew my contract and didn't bother to try to find me a position at another school.  So I had to find another job.

Lucky for me my former boss knew of a job opening and told me about it.  I was the chosen applicant and the ducks came with me.  I didn't have near as many when I started but as my co-workers learned of my collection they starting picking up ones for me.  I moved to a new office and had more overhead space and the picture above is what I had right before we moved to our new location.

The idea of moving did not leave me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.  We were getting smaller desks with only one small overhead.  I knew that a probably wasn't going to be allowed to have my ducks proudly displayed on the overhead.

And I was right.  So I moved everything else into my new space and my ducks home (for the time being of course... I had a plan).  Kinda cramped but I knew my ducks had to come back.  I mean my co-workers were asking when they would be back for heavens sake!  My plan was to buy a bookshelf type thing to place on the left side of my desk.  I wasn't really using that space effectively anyway.

I searched and searched.  Bed Bath & Beyond, Target, Staples, JoAnn's, Michaels - they all had NOTHING.  I was getting upset and realizing that I might have to actually design and build it myself.  Not exactly in my wheelhouse but I would do it.

I was doing just that two Sunday nights ago when I was supposed to be going to sleep.  I realized enough was enough and drowned my thinking out with music.

That following Tuesday I was on my way home when I realized that Jon wouldn't be home until really late so I could check a few other places.  Big Lots was a bust but there was a second hand furniture store next door.  I was worried of the prices, however I went in anyway.

Oh my goodness that place was unorganized.  It almost caused me to walk right back out.  I did not and I am glad I pushed through.  I walked around and around not really seeing anything the right size or shape... until I walked around one of the many makeshift corners and saw this.

It. Was. Perfect!  I immediately took a picture and texted my mom.  I know silly.  I decided the price was worth it and walked out knowing that my ducks would be coming to work with me the following day.

I spend that evening cleaning if off and practicing setting it up so I was ready for the next day.  I didn't want the surprise that they hardly fit at all.

The clean bookshelf traveled with me to work the next morning. Yes, I was just a little bit excited.

Once at work I placed it in my cubicle and it acted as a baby gate the entire morning.  I hate payroll pause days and I hated this one even more because I literally couldn't take the time to set everything up until after the pause time at noon.  It was torture.  However, being baby gated in was highly amusing to me and made the waiting okay.

I probably looked a bit crazy with all of my ducks all over my desk.  But hey, whats new?

 

Once my babies were all set up and felt a huge relief.  I didn't realize just how much work didn't feel homely to me until I got these guys back.  I finally felt that my desk was mine again.  I am at peace at work again.  I didn't even realize how much I missed that until I had it back again.

Word spread the duckies were back and I had many visitors that day.  They all couldn't believe how perfectly the bookshelf fit in the open space of the desk.  I was very proud and glad that I had the intuition to search in that furniture store.

Now I just need to get some wood blocks to raise up the back rows so that you can see them better.  The whole window thing isn't working for me.

Now I just have to decide if I want to take the time to sand and stain it a better color...

I will just enjoy it for now though.

Have a great day!!

What I'm Reading Monday - Blue and Green Eyed Girl

This week I have not been as successful as last week, but I still managed to finish one book!

Again the Alibi in High Heels was on the back burner.  Didn't get much of any reading done.  Ah well, maybe next week.

 I had some chapters assigned in this book.  I have to say it was really interesting.  I think we have a few more chapters to read in this book, but I really am interested in reading the whole thing!  It discussed how McDonald's entered Japan and what was tried and failed.

I finished up Black Heart and I loved it.  I could see how the author could keep writing books about these characters.  There are so many things they could do.  I actually enjoyed the ending even though I felt it did the 'not all of the stories are tied up' thing.  I think I will have to suggest this book to my sister.  She is going to be doing a lot of driving for the new job she got!  Oh my only complaint is that they cut the CD's at horrible times!  Each one was a cliff hanging in itself!  Gaw!

So that left me with my next book, Graceling.  I was not sure about it, but Kellee said it was really good so I was going to give it a try.  It was made by Full Cast Audio and that made me excited.  As much as I enjoyed Jesse Eisenburg reading all of the characters in the White Cat series I really really like when each character has its own reader.  Anyway, it started right in the action (I know that is how young adult books are written but it throws me every time) and it took me a while to get into the flow of the story.  I am two CDs in and I am enjoying the story.  I like the interplay between the characters - most of them appear to really care about each other.

I have a few more hard back books that I want to start reading but with all of the school reading and the coming house repairs I am not sure how much I will be able to read.

Don't worry I will probably post the second that it is official.  It still seems unreal... soon there will be no denying it!

Pinterest Pick - Shoe Hutch

This weeks Pinterest pick is something that I would love to have for organizational purposes.

Pin

Just take a moment an enjoy the organizational beauty...  I have a shoe rack for the closet, but most of my shoes are not heeled so they constantly fall off.  The shoe rack totally looses its purpose if it can't hold the shoes.

The only problem with my plan is that A. I would have to buy a hutch and B. Jon would hate it.

I guess I will have to take my chances and see if I can find one and then deal with Jon later. ;)

Hope everyones Saturday is fabulous.  I have a feeling that next Saturday I will be helping prime some really ugly walls...

What I'm Reading Monday: Black Heart

I have been reading a bit this week.  Some for fun, some for class.  I felt very successful when I logged onto Goodreads twice to mark books as completed!

 

Nope, this was not one of the books I was able to finish.  I did read about a chapter or so while I was waiting for appointments and what not during the week.  All I know is that after this book I have two or three more in the series to read.  I think it is going to take me forever!

For my class I actually had one of the readings for the week from this book!  Of course the reading was Chapter 5 or something ridiculous.  I very much like to read and do things in order, and this was very out of order for me.

I finished Fables 14!  I enjoyed it up until the last two sections.  I felt like they had come out of no where and didn't really tie into the rest of the Witches part of the book.  It lead me to wonder if it is going to tie in with the next book (which I have pulled and waiting for me but not started yet) or if it truely was just a look inside another part of the Fables world.

I finished this book up and I was guessing who the killer was until the end.  I loved it.  Kellee was right that I would want to start the final book right away.  It stopped at such a cliff hanger that I almost thought I had one more chapter to go on the CD.

 

[Source] 

So the next day I started Black Heart.  I have gotten about an hour into it and Cassel's troubles are starting up again.  This poor kid can't catch a break.

I will be able to meet my Goodreads goal this year.  I can not remember what my original goal was last year but I had to lower it as I would have never reached it.  This year I wanted to read 50 books and I am about 6-8 books away from reaching my goal.  I still have three months to keep reading to exceed my goal!!  Since I have started listening to audiobooks my reading has increased 10 fold.  I no longer feel like I am wasting time driving to work and back everyday.  It still takes just as long but I don't feel like it takes as long as it does.

Happy Monday and hope this is the last full week before Jon owns a house!  I have to keep telling myself that so it will start to feel real.

Pinterest Pick: Dreaming of Home

It has been a while.

This last week or two I have been spending a lot of time on Pinterest.  Mostly because I forgot how great it is.

My pinning focus has been more on house things because hopefully in less than two weeks Jon will be a home owner!

Insane right?!  I still am in shock and not believing it is actually happening.

So there are quite a few things I found that I really would love to incorporate into the house.

  

Pin  

I thought this pin was great because the bottom of closets (when shoes are not involved) is a bunch of wasted space.  And this idea could totally be used for non-kid things.

  

Pin  

I have been in love with the cloth square storage bins for a long long time.  And maybe with this idea I could finally have them!  Using IKEA bookshelves laid on their sides.  I think this would be perfect underneath the windows of the living room in the house.  Plus it would make for extra seating for when company comes!  Because believe me, Jon will want to have plenty of people over.

  

Pin  

The last pin today is how to plant a garlic.  I had bought a bag of garlic bulbs and Jon found the other day that one of them sprouted!  He made a comment how we should bring it over to his parents house.  Well a few days later when I mentioned it again Jon had changed his mind.  He wants to plant it at his house.  Hopefully we can do that tomorrow, yea I know we don't have the house yet, but why not?  Don't worry I will take pictures and share if it happens.

In other news, I have plans to see my friend today to help bake some cupcakes.  I have already planned on bringing my own cupcake so that I am not tempted to eat a gluten-full cupcake.  I can't wait!

  

Plus I got to spend some quality cuddle time with the kitten this morning.  For like two hours.  The. Best.

Happy Saturday!