He's baaaaaack!

My husband that is.

Gregorian has been away traveling this last week and finally came home last night., YAY! For some people getting a break from your spouse for a lil' while is like a gift. For me that was not the case. I do not like to be home alone at all really and yes, having Kelso does help but it's not the same. And really there is nothing that I love more than spending time with my hubbs.

Yesterday, I was driving to the airport and I actually got butterflies in my stomach. I think after he got in the car I was permanently smiling from ear to ear. A week is not that long to be away from someone but for G and I that is probably the longest we have been apart in years, at least since we have been married. Luckly, It was not as bad as I thought.

I kept myself busy while he was gone with going to visit my family, working a few days, talking to Kelso, having friends over for dinner and watching a lot of reality TV. I have to give a big thank you to my bestest pal, Amy, for staying with me and keeping me from going looney living alone. It's always wonderful to know that you have great friends who you can count on to be there for you.

Today Greg and I did nothing but lay around and watch movies in preparation for The Oscars. Speaking of, The Kings Speech I would really recommend seeing it. Uggghhh.... I can not even tell you how nice it is to have him home. He's my daily dose of comedic relief, nightly dinner date, cuddle pal, sounding board and absolutely my best friend. Thank God, that he is home safe, sound and healthy.

I blew a fuse.

This post is coming to you from McDonald's, home of the golden arches, in Pittsburgh and there's more... 

I'm typing on my phone and it's taking for ever. All a little strange, right? 

I was in the 'burgh visiting my cousins over the weekend. Then we got a crazy snow storm so I stayed an extra day because I didn't have to teach the last 2 days. We went shopping (no sales tax in PA, yay!), watched movies and I got to play with my lil' cousins. It was much needed time spent with my family and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Everything was going swell until I started my trip home. My check engine light came on as soon as I startes my car. Dud! I called my friend  Dave because he is a car guru. He said it's probably no big deal, most likely an electrical thing and I'd be ok to drive home.

All was well until I was on the road and my phone beeped saying that there was only 15% left of the battery. No big deal, I just plugged it into the car charger and kept on crusin'. 10 minutes later... beep, beep, beep- 10% left. I looked at the charger and noticed that the light wasn't on... which means that it wasn't charging. Uggghhh Oh! I connected the dots and I'm guessing that the check engine light is probably telling me that I blew a fuse and that fuse just had to be the charger fuse.

The next exit had a McDonald's and so I got off the highway. I wouldn't have been so concerned about my phone dying but the weather wasn't the best, my check engine light was on and I was driving alone. I figured it was smart to charge it.... ya know, just in case.

So here I am 40 minutes, a large coffee and my first blog entry written on my phone later finally charged up and ready to get back on the road. 

Walk a mile in my shoes...

... if you can find a pair to fit these boats!

For Christmas this past year I asked for Nike Frees and I had to take them back. Why you ask? Well, because... they didn't fit. They were too small.  I have monster feet. I mean not freakishly huge feet but I wear anywhere from a size 9 1/2 to an 11, which makes it hard sometimes to find shoes. I wear a 10 in all of my other athletic shoes... so my mind was boggled as to why these didn't fit.

I need a size 10 1/2 and the shoe stores do not carry a half size past a size 10. Wonderful! You have to order them on-line. However, every website that I have looked on for these shoes are also sold out. Week, after week, after week! Now, here we are 7ish weeks past Christmas and I still have not been able to get my shoes.

Until today... I got on-line for my daily search and low and behold... dunnn, daaaaa, daaahhhhh! 

The Nike gods are smiling down on me! I finally got to order my shoes and now I just have to wait 3-5 days for them to arrive in a nice bright orange box at my front door- YAY!

I could have gotten other shoes but I hear that the Nike Frees are top notch for running. Greg has them and he really likes them a lot. We go to the gym pretty regularly and I usually do light weight training, cardio and a spin class here and there. I don't really like to run that much but, I think if I get shoes that are good for my "running style" then I'll feel better about it and run more often. At least I hope so. These shoes are super light and are supposed to be feel like you are running barefoot. I can not wait to get them, seems like I've been waiting so long. I really hope that the wait is worth it! 

I wanna' get away.

Ever since I've come back from Boston, I honestly look for trips probably every day. That darn travel bug! I want to go on a vacation, so bad! I am not totally sure why either.  I don't know if it is because this winter has seemed like had been going on for 6 months or every store you walk into already has swim suits out for sale. Whatever the reason all I want to do is pack my bags with sun dresses, swim suits, flip-flops and sun screen. Oh, and my tooth brush- can't forget that! Then, just sit on the beach and soak up the sun and maybe read a book.

Doesn't this all seem so wonderful? I can close my eyes and picture it now.

The big problem with taking a vacation, are vacation days. Not for me, because well I can have whatever day off I want to. Greg only gets a certain number of days off of work every year. When it comes to planning vacations we really have to plan well. We have to plan for the time we take to visit his family in Florida during the year as well as going on a family trip with my side and you can't forget the days that he will actually use when he is sick.

Really, more than anything I want to go on a vacation just Gregorian and I. We do go on quite a few little trips here and there on the weekends. But they are all places within driving distance like under 6 hours. I would love to go on a cruise or to the bahamas. Nothing too long, maybe 4 nights and plan it over a weekend so he only needs to miss 2 days of work. We haven't been on a trip just the two of us since our honeymoon almost 3 years ago when we went to Key West. We had such a great time just the two of us bee-bopin' around the island, snorkeling and just enjoying each others company.

I can honestly say that I am very caught up in "the now" and I want to spend time going and doing things that we are able to do. You never know what can happen in a year and change our chances for going on a trip then. I don't want to put it off and then in the long run be bummed out that we didn't just go.

I've got my optimistic pants on and this year I'm hoping that with wonderful planning we will be able to make it all happen... trips with families as well as going somewhere just the two of us.

The Beetles said it best...

... "All We Need is Love"... 

Hope that your day is filled with love from spouses, family and friends! It might be a "cheesy greeting card holiday" to most but take some time to tell your loved ones, who ever it may be, how grateful you are for them in your life. Accolades are always appreciated when they are given by someone genuine and caring. 

Spread the love! 

My husband hacked my Swiffer.

My husband reads a lot of "bloggy type websites" and every once in a while he will send me articles that he think I'd find interesting. This article might be one of the top 3 that he has ever sent my way. The website this article came from is called Lifehacker and I would have to say that this one of his favorites to read.  Last month he found an article about the Swiffers Wet Jet. He shared it with me and now I want to share with you all. It's great!

I love my Swiffer and use it a lot! It's so convenient. Just take it out of the closet, spray and mop...badda bing- clean floors! This morning I was in cleaning mode. I had already swept and vacuumed and now it was Swiffer time! I got it out of the closet and then realized that I didn't have any cleaning solution in the Swiffer bottle and I didn't have another one to switch 'em out.

Then I remembered the article, Refill Your Swiffer Wet Jet; No Special Tools Required, that Greg had sent to me about how to "unlock" the Swiffer bottles to fill it with your own cleaning solution. You probably already know this but, the Swiffer cleaning solution bottles have the caps locked on so that you have to keep buying the refills made specifically for the Swiffer when it runs out. These refill bottles can range in cost from $5.00 to $8.00 (for the larger size refill). The steps in the article are easy to follow and it takes about 5 min to do.

I highly recommend reading it and then immediately following the steps to "unlock" your Swiffer.  Not only will it save you money but it also gives you the option to clean with products that you like. I know some people who prefer to clean with "green" cleaning solutions and this gives you that option while still  being able to take advantage of the convenience of the Swiffer Wet Jet.

If you are looking for another way to save a little cash when it comes to cleaning there are also sites out there with tutorials about how to make your own reusable Swiffer cleaning pads. I found a good one at Craft Gossip. In this article, Reusable Swiffer Wet Jet Pad, they tell you how to make your own cleaning pads from towels. It seems pretty simple and doesn't look like it will take much time. But, it defiantly will save you money... refill boxes of the cleaning pads range from $8.00 to $15.00, depending on the amount that you buy.

I'm crunching the numbers on what I'm going to be saving by using these lil' tips and I think I just might buy myself something with that extra cash. I'll consider it payment for the cleaning... I'm sure Greg will understand. 

In My Kitchen: Chicken Stuffed Zucchini

Zucchini is one of my favorite vegetables. I love to eat it cooked, raw, chopped then mixed into things like pasta and salads. Today for dinner I tried making something that I've never made before and it was pretty easy to do. A lot of little steps but still easy. In my kitchen today is, chicken stuffed zucchini.

Here are the ingredients that I used to make this yummy dinner: 

- 2 good sizes zucchini's

- 1 red bell pepper, chopped 

- 1/2 cup chopped sno-white mushrooms

- 1/2 pound of chicken, cubed

- 1/2 tablespoon of butter or margarine 

- 1/8 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

- 1/8 cup grated parmesan cheese

- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

- a little drizzle of olive oil 

- spices I used: italian seasoning, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (I just give a few shakes here and there, no exact measurements) 

• First, toss the chopped chicken into a skillet with a little drizzle of olive oil. Add a few shakes of salt and pepper to the chicken for a lil' flavor. 

• Once the chicken is cookin'... fill a large pot with water, add a pinch of salt so it can heat up and be boiling & ready when you need it. 

• After the chicken cooked through add the chopped mushroom, red bell pepper, a few shakes of italian seasoning and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Cook it all together on a medium low heat and until the peppers are tender. 

• Once the peppers are tender turn the heat to low and add the chopped garlic. The later in the cooking process you add the garlic the more flavor you get. At this point start pre-heat the oven to 350* so it will be all ready to bake the zucchini's later. 

• Remember the water you started boiling a few minutes ago? Well, now is when you'll need it. Put the zucchini's into the boiling water for 5 minutes. Take it out, set it on a plate and let it cool. After it has become cool to the touch cut them in half length wise. They should only take a few minutes to cool down. 

• Now, take that 1/2 tablespoon of butter or margarine and spread it around the bottom of a glass casserole dish. Then stick it into the oven so the butter can melt around in the dish. This will help so that the zucchini will not burn or stick when they are baking. 

• After the zucchini has cooled and it has been cut you will need a teaspoon to "gut" them so that they can be filled with the chicken stuffing mix. 

• Going back to the chicken stuffing mix... it's time to add the cheese. 

• Mix it all up. Finally, stuffing- complete!  

• Take the casserole dish out of the oven now that the butter/margarine has melted. Take the "gutted" zucchini and put them into the dish. Now it is time to start stuffing! 

•  Either use a spoon to scoop and fill up the zucchini or use your hands to smoosh it all in. I found it to be easier to fill each zucchini with more of the stuffing when I used my hands. 

• Slide the dish into the oven that is now at a toasty 350* and bake for about 10-12 minutes. Just long enough for the cheese to melt together and to merry all of the flavors together.

• You can serve this with anything as a side. Tonight for dinner we had this with pasta tossed in a little bit of rosa sauce. Any of the extra chicken stuffing mix that fell out in transportation from the casserole dish to the plate... I just piled onto the pasta...

and... WAAAALAAAA! 

I didn't invent this dish but I am happy to say that I didn't use a recipe to make it. I just thought of the food that I wanted to have and put things together that I know work well together. Man, ohhh man was this DELISH! Gregorian is not a big fan of veggies, especially zucchini and I've never seen him eat so fast. He said and I quote, "It was so good! Like expensive restaurant good."

I know that my cooking recap is a little scattered and jumbled but I write how I think. I'm a multi-tasker and try to get more than one thing done at a time, especially with cooking. I cut down the time I spend in the kitchen by having different things going at the same time. It helps me to get dinner done so when Gregorian gets home dinner is ready and we can eat! 

ENJOY!

Summer Job Search

Well, well blogging friends the time has come for me to join the high school and college students all over this great land of ours and being looking for a summer job.

Joy!

This is one of the big downfalls of substituting teaching. When summer rolls around I try to get a gig babysitting for a family with school age kids in my area. That way I can continue to use the skills that I have as a teacher as well as have fun with kids all summer! I use two websites to help me in getting a job for the summer.

1) Sittercity.com

2) Nannies4Hire.com

These sites are both really good when looking for a gig like I'm in search of. What is really good is that they are free for the employment seeker. The families who are looking for an employee have to pay to view sitter profiles and get contact info. This will be my 4th summer using these sites to help me find a summer job.

I can't believe it is only February and I'm already looking for a summer job, but you know what they say..."The early bird catches the worm." In my case I hope the bird catches a worm that is close to my house and pays well! :o)

I have stumbled upon a gold mine!

Etsy.com, that is!

I know that it has been out there for a while and I'm just late to jump on board. But, man-oh-man, what a wonderful website! I have been browsing it for the last few days and just ohhhing and awwwing over some of the coolest things.

As you know, I'm a crafter so this website has a string tied directly to my heart. We are in the middle of another winter storm and I've also been sick. So-what better to do then spend the days the with some nice warm coffee and perusing the pages of Etsy. I have actually found so many thing that I like that I have created a folder in my bookmarks titled Etsy Finds. 

Just when you think that you have reached the end of looking... check again, because there is more that will catch your eye. 

Here are some of the things that I found that I really, really, reeeaaaallly like!

I'm a sucker for holiday/seasonal decor and I think that this lil' snowman is too stinkin' cute! Snowmen decorations are great because they are more than just for Christmas. They can stay up all winter, which in Ohio can last for like 5 months! 

Etsy read my mind! I have been searching for places to get one of these family name signs made for our house. Looks like I've found the place :o) 

Below is a charm that I think would make an excellent Valentines Day gift, hint hint! I mean the sample in the photo even has the correct initial on it. I'm pretty simple when it comes to wearing jewelry and this is right up my alley. My sister also has charms, similar to this but hers have her daughters names on them. I've admired it for a long time and now I've found where to get one. 

Cross-body hipster bag... sign me up! I'm not sure what it is about this style of purse... but I love them! I have tried other styles of purses and I always fall back to buying this style. I can't stand carrying a purse under my arm or having to hold it in my hand. Not sure why, I just do not like it. Needless to say, this bag and I were love at first sight! 

I thought this was so clever! I have seen casserole carriers like this before. They are usually sold with the casserole dish and are a solid color, made of a quilted material- boring! I must say I've not  seen one this cute! Something you might know about me by now is that I love to cook! We also travel to family gatherings and such fairly often and we are always taking food.  I think this would be a good investment to my kitchen accessories...whatta' ya think? 

Last but not least, I found something for Kelso! Couldn't you see him wearing this adorable doggie bow tie? As an added bonus it's the colors of The Cleveland Browns! Kelso's birthday is coming up and this might just be the perfect gift. 

Well, there you have it my very own personalized, tour de Esty! I really want to encourage you to take some time and check it out. If you don't see anything that you are drawn to on your maidien visit... check back in a few weeks. New vendors are poping up with great things all the time! 

I should start turning my crafty wheels and think of something to sell on Etsy. Let the wheels start rollin'... Hummmm....?

Sick.

I do not remember the last time that I had a flu-like illness. And- oh, my... it is aweful. I spent my day in bed trying to nurse myself back to health...

...by watching TV, eating Cheerios and drinking so much water I think I might start to grow scales.

Whatta' day to be sick too. I got calls to sub starting at 5:04am and it really would have been nice to get a work day this week before the big storm hits. When big storms are coming that means snow days are a big possibility. So, dud on that. But, there was no way I was going to pull myself together enough to make it through the day.

At the same time it was a good thing that I didn't go into work. I had 495 envelopes finish stuffing, addressing and sticking postage on. Good thing I have a king size bed so I could surround myself with everything.

Aaaabugghhh... and it's almost 2:00 I'm ready for some medicine and to snuggle up on the couch for a nap.