It's November, sofa so good.

I love everything about November.

I love the cool, crisp air.
I love that C.hristmas is just around the corner.
And I love that we are going to get our new leather couches very soon!!

Huzzah!!

For awhile now, I've been wanting to replace our sofa and loveseat. We bought the set together when we got married, about 3 years ago. They were pretty cheap - about $700 for both of them plus a million matching throw pillows (The Hubby sure knows how to bargain).

There's nothing really special about them but they suited our needs perfectly. But since we've moved into our house, I've started to dislike them. They are very blah. And really not that comfortable. And I think the pups have ruined them by digging for imaginary bones.

It took a year for The Hubby to finally agree that they needed to go. Yes!

So about a month ago, The Hubby surprised me by calling me on the cell, telling me that he found a really nice couch and wanted my opinion on it. He picked me up right away and drove back to the store. Unfortunately, I wasn't too excited about it. And after much thought, neither was he. But he explained that he really wanted a sectional with recliners and he wanted real leather.

The following week, when we didn't have anything planned, we went couch hunting but it didn't take long. We stopped by at one place and quickly left. Way over our budget and most importantly, they didn't carry our 'dream' couches.

Then we went to the store next door and 30 minutes later, we signed the papers and have become proud owners of real leather couches!!

I am over ecstatic!

We ended up purchasing the "T.ouchdown S.ectional" from L.ane F.urnishings and went with the following combination (in dark brown): 1 double reclining console loveseat, 1 wedge, 1 double reclining console loveseat instead of 1 double reclining console loveseat, 1 wedge, 1 double reclining sofa as pictured above.

I can't wait! They are so freakn' comfortable and aren't as bulky as some couches we've seen which is a major plus! Our living space isn't very big so the least thing I want is to have our new couches overwhelm the room.

Anyway, we are keeping this a secret from everyone. When they deliver it (end of November or 1st week of December), we will invite our friends and family over and surprise them :D I think they are going to go nuts. We already have 2 sets of theatre seats in our basement where we watch movies 98% of the time. Now we are going to have the same luxury in our own living room!

Sigh, so excited. And we know our little pups will love it too!!! But definitely no more digging!!!

Say cheese.

Did everyone have a good H.alloween weekend?

I sure did!

First, CW and I scored 3rd place at our work's costume contest. I know I should be happy that we won $100 but my competitive side thinks that we should have gotten 1st place or even 2nd. I felt we were more creative and definitely performed the best!! Oh well, there's always next year. I really shouldn't complain since it's the third year in a row that I've won a prize... but I must say, it has been way too long since I came in 1st! Greedy much?

Moving on.

On Saturday night, we went over to our friend's place for a little get together. No dress-up but it was a lot of fun. We ended up watching "R.epo M.en" which was frighteningly horrible! But they had good food so that made up for it :D

The next morning, The Hubby and I went to our favourite breakfast spot then went home and carved our pumpkins. I should have taken photos! My sister-in-law and her boyfriend came over around 3pm. We chatted for a bit and then watched "S.hutter I.sland". Have you seen it? It's a pretty good movie, definitely better than "R.epo M.en".

Towards the end of the movie, we started getting t.rick or t-reaters. The Hubby and I had fun handing out c.hips and sodas to the little guys though we noticed that we've gotten less kids this year! SIL and her boyfriend haven't seen "Z.ombieland" so we popped that in while we gave out more treats. Overall, a fun evening but I wished I didn't have to go to work the next day.

So last night, I made one of the best macaroni and cheese dinner ever! No box included! It was really tasty and not too hard to make.

Macaroni and Cheese with Broccoli and Chicken

Ingredients

4 cups of macaroni
1/2 white onion (finely chopped)
3-5 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp of flour
1 cup of skim milk
1 cup of shredded mozarella cheese
1/4 cup of grated parmesan
broccoli (chopped)
chicken (diced)
garlic salt

Directions

1.
Boil your macaroni. I used penne because that's the only pasta I had. And I don't know if I used 4 cups - I used up whatever I had which was half a bag. And I can't tell you what size the bag was.

2.
I used red onion instead of white. I chopped half the onion into small pieces or until my eyes couldn't take it anymore and set aside.

3.
I did the same with 5 cloves of garlic. The original recipe mentioned 3 cloves but me likes garlic. Set aside.

4.
Take this time to also chop your broccoli. You will need this just before the pasta is ready.

5.
I wanted to add protein to the meal so I used chicken. I diced up some chicken thighs and sprinkled some garlic salt for extra flava' flave. Then on a separate skillet, I cooked it in butter. I should have used olive oil but no one stopped me. When cooked, set aside.

6.
Now back to the onions and garlic. On a separate pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Then pour the onion and garlic. Stir until fragrant - do not brown. Add the flour and keep stirring until the oil and flour are mixed together.

7.
Slowly add milk to the mixture. Use a whisk to get rid of the lumps. The mixture will eventually thicken. Add a little bit more milk if it's too thick.

8.
Then add the mozzarella and parmesan, continue to stir.

9.
By this time, the pasta should be done. But before draining, add the choppped broccoli to the pasta and allow it to cook for 1 minute. Then drain.

10.
Then add the pasta to the mixture or vice versa. Stir until pasta is coated. If you want this to be a vegetarian dish, then stop here. Or add your cooked/diced chicken into the pot. Stir.

If by this time you are hungry and can't wait another 10-15 minutes, sprinkle a little more parmesan or mozarella before serving.

Or, transfer the pasta mixture into an oven dish. Sprinkle parmesan on top and put it in the pre-heated oven (375 degrees) for about 15 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.

And voila!!!

It's so good and 'healthy'.

I used skim milk, low fat mozarella and low fat parmesan and it was still dang tasty, thanks to my best buds: onions and garlic.

Next time, I'll use whole wheat pasta and cook the chicken with olive oil instead of butter.

Well, maybe.

Trick or treat.

Sometimes I wish my thoughts would automatically appear as blog posts.

I always want to post something and instead of 'living the moment' and writing out a thought/entry, I decide to do it later and of course never do! Ayah.

Anyway, remember that cardigan sweater and purple boots I mentioned in a previous post? Well, the store sent me an email and apologized for a mistake. The boots were not available and they shipped the cardigan before I could cancel the order. The cardigan arrived promptly but unfortunately it didn't work out so well. Luckily, I was able to return it with no costs plus they gave me a 20% discount on my next purchase. And yes, I've already taken advantage - I bought these two little gems:

Adorable huh? I bought the S.harp I.mage P.encil S.harpener and i.Phone stand for The Hubby and he thought they were pretty neat, especially the pencil sharpener. He thought the i.Plunge was cool/different but he wasn't sure how often he would use it. So instead, I'm going to give this to my brother as a C.hristmas stocking stuffer.

I know, let's pretend I didn't mention C.hristmas... it's only what? 8 weeks from now?

Okay, let's not get too carried away here. Let's talk about H.alloween. Any plans? My coworker (CW) and I are dressing up as D.unkin' D.onuts tomorrow. Every year, our workplace hosts a costume contest: 1st prize $300, 2nd prize $200 and 3rd prize $100. So we are hoping to grab the 1st prize and split. Should be fun! The Hubby sewed my costume for me. He kept reminding me how lucky I am to have him... which is true but I know that he really wanted to sew :D

He's dressing up as a S.team P.unk V.ampire, I'm sure his kids will get a kick out of it. I tried convincing him to dress up as E.dward from T.wilight but he ignored me.

I'm excited because his best friend is having a Birthday/H.alloween bash this Saturday and everyone is dressing up. So it will give us another chance to wear our costumes. And on Sunday, his sister and her boyfriend are coming over to watch S.hutter I.sland and help give out H.alloween candy. Let's pray for dry weather!

Last Minute Fried Rice.

Another slow day at work. Wish I was home, curled up with the pups while reading my book.

I was really good on Monday. I finally made a homecooked meal for The Hubby and I. Lately, we've been eating precooked meals; we buy the 'healthy' kind but nothing compares to eating a meal cooked from scratch.

Last Minute Fried Rice

Ingredients

2 cups rice (I used 1 cup brown rice, 1 cup white rice)
2 1/2 cups of water or chicken broth
2-3 tbsp of sesame oil
2-3 tbsp of soy sauce
5 cloves of garlic
half an onion
1 1/2 cups chopped turkey pepperoni (optional)
2 cups chopped chicken breast
1 can of corn niblets
1/2 cup of chopped cilantro

Directions

The first thing you should do is make the rice. Luckily, I have a mini rice cooker so it was pretty simple. Instead of using water, I thought of spicing it up a bit by using chicken broth to add an extra 'umph'. I don't think it worked because I used 'low-sodium' chicken broth...

While you wait for the rice to be ready, now is the time to start prepping. Basically you can use whatever you want/have. We had a lot of turkey pepperoni on hand (The Hubby bought way too much) and I wanted use it up before it start to spoil. I chopped them in small pieces and set aside. Ham or any other types of deli meat will work too.

Oh, we didn't have any chicken breasts, otherwise I would use that. Instead, we had three breaded chicken burgers still sitting in the freezer. So I baked them. When ready, I chopped them and added to the rice just before serving. I didn't want them to cook any longer since I practically burnt them...

We had a few cans of corn in the pantry so I grabbed one. I rinsed the niblets and set them aside to drain. I learned that this is an important step: rinsing and draining. One time, I drained the corn just a little and poured it straight into the rice mixture. The corn flavour was too overpowering. No thanks. But that's just me.

What else, oh, I chopped some onions. Not as much as I would like to because The Hubby does not care for them.... but that's okay. Because the other half of the onion was rotten. Sssh... don't tell anybody.

I chopped up some fresh cilanto and peeled about 5 cloves of garlic. Instead of chopping, I flattened them with the knife just to let the flavour ooze out a bit.

By the time the rice was ready, I turned the stove on high. You really want your pan/wok to be really hot. Then I put in the sesame oil. You can use any other oil but personally, I think sesame oil gives that 'asian' flavour. Then I added the soy sauce. When the oil/soy sauce starts to sizzle, dump the rice in and quickly stir so that everything is coated. Then I made room on the side for the onions to cook. I didn't want to put the onions first because last time, I burned them.

Anyway, then I added the garlic. Stir. Then the chopped turkey pepperonies. Stir. Then the corn. Stir. Then finally the chopped breaded chicken and cilantro. And I think I might have added a bit more soy sauce. And voila!!! Yummy fried rice!

Super long directions but it's actually quite easy.

I don't think I should ever write a recipe book: there would only be room for 3 recipes, maybe 4.

Save money, then treat yourself.

I've been horrible during the summer, spending way too much money on a lot of nothing. Note to self: just because it's on sale, doesn't mean you have to buy it. So last month, I decided to tighten the purse strings a little bit. It wasn't too hard but there were a couple of moments when I felt liked calling a friend.

Just when I thought I would break, I received my CC statement and wow, I was quite impressed! Every month, I usually spend about $500-$600. And this is just for personal things. The Hubby and I have a separate joint CC that we use for grocery bills, cable, gas, etc. Anyway, this time, I only owed $250! And that included the stuff I bought on our trip to V.egas!

Pretty good, huh?

Well, my streak ended a couple of hours ago.

You see, I've been eyeing this adorable cardigan sweater and delicious boots for the past few weeks. I wanted to buy them right away (online purchase) but I refrained myself. However, I couldn't stop thinking about them so I finally caved. I went to the site and... the boots were sold out! WAH. I guess I could have gotten the cardigan regardless but the shipping price wasn't worth it (better off buying two items).

(You can't tell, but the cardigan is grey with tiny accents of blue, black, purple and mustard yellow.)

I was extremely disappointed. I wanted to find something special to wear for our girls night out this weekend. Yesterday, I went to one of my favourite stores in hopes of finding something suitable. I almost bought a few items but it didn't feel right. I asked myself if I really love the items and the answer was no. They didn't give me the same 'feel good' feeling that the cardigan and boots gave me when I first saw them.

Anyway, moving on.

So today, I went back to the online site (actually, I check everyday) just to see the new arrivals and guess what? They restocked the boots!!!! And you guessed it, I bought them together with the top. I'm so excited! After taxes and shipping, the price was just over $100 and you know what? I don't feel guilty because I haven't purchased anything in awhile PLUS, I know that this was not an impulsive decision. And I think that's how I should approach personal spending. Once in a while, I can 'treat' myself to something special. But when it becomes an everyday thing, I don't think I can call it a 'treat' anymore... it's called an addiction.

Anyway, I really hope my items will arrive in time for the night out but I think it's cutting it too close. I might have to find another outfit (from my closet!) but that's okay, I'm sure I'll find another occasion to wear them! For some of you, the cardigan and boots may not appear as special but I'm a jeans and sneakers kind of gal. To me, those are fancy!

Temper tantrums.

How was your weekend?

The weekend was good, not long enough.

We didn't do much on Friday night because we had a long day on Saturday. We were supposed to take it easy but the night ended up in an argument. I don't want to rehash it because it's done, but in short, The Hubby reacted to my compulsive behavior (self-diagnosed) and in turn, I got pissed off.

I wanted to make sure that every detail was taken care of for the commerical shoot but The Hubby took it the wrong way. He thought that I was nagging and being somewhat negative but really, I just wanted to make sure that everything was taken care of.

The Hubby was very quick to apologize for his temper and I was very slow to accept the apology and to apologize for my reaction. I know, I could have just replied in a nicer tone, "Don't be upset, I didn't meant it that way." But nope, I too, overreacted.

Anyway, everything was fine the next morning, which is good... but I really need to change. I am so stubborn, I annoy myself. And one of these days, he will get tired of it. I really need to manage my temper and say sorry even when it's not my fault ;D

As for the commercial shoot, it went really great! It was a long day but everybody worked hard and it showed. The Hubby did a rough edit and it looked amazing! And hilarious!! I can't wait until it's finalized so that I can show my friends and family and force everyone to vote!!

We didn't go out that evening, we took a break and watched some of our taped programs and had an early night.

The next day (Sunday), I skipped Church (yikes) and went out for breakfast with The Hubby. I love having breakfasts with him. Soon after, we went over to The Mentor's home and proceeded with the pilot meeting. That went on for about 4 hours. Afterwards, we did a little bit of grocery shopping and headed home. We watched a few shows, did a couple of chores and went to bed early again.

Overall, a good weekend but I am really craving for a quiet one.

This upcoming week will be pretty busy too. Girls night out on Saturday!

Almost famous.

Today is a beautiful fall day.

The sky is blue, the sun is shining and the air is cool and crisp. I guess it also reminds me of spring but without the sounds of orange leaves rustling across the sidewalk.

It's Friday and I cannot wait until the day is over. Work isn't so busy, so I've been emailing back and forth with The Hubby and a couple of his friends (I guess our friends).

A couple of months ago, we released the third webisode and did virtually nothing afterwards. The summer started and you know, everyone got busy. A few weeks ago, Paranormal Guy (because I think he looks like the guy in P.aranormal S.tate), called The Hubby and asked if he would be interested in pitching the show to a local network. The Hubby was all for it.

Long story short, they loved it. They are giving us free airtime on their network which is awesome, awesome, awesome. Even though it's a young and small network (since 1996), it's a huge leap for many of us. The Hubby and his good friend The Mentor have put a lot of effort into this and it's crazy to see where one little project has turned into something bigger.

Will it ever hit the big networks? At this point, we are hopeful.

So the past few weeks, we've been busy working on writing the pilot episode. Hopefully by the time we're done, the local network will still honour their offer (there's no contract) and also pitch it to other networks.

Now that it has become a little more serious, the group has become a little more serious. Without going into details, we've experienced a few highs and lows, and a couple of arguments between The Hubby and I. It's very difficult to move forward when everyone is not on the same page.

Anyway, we're taking it day by day. We have our third meeting on Sunday and hopefully we will accomplish a lot. It would be nice to start writing the pilot but right now, we need to discuss our characters and their stories.

Well then, enough rambling.

Have a great weekend!!

Takes two to tango.

I can't wait.

My best friend and I registered in a latin dance exercise class for a total of 12 sessions.

Tonight will be our third session.

I love it because it gives us time each week to catch up. Even though we live very close, we seldom see each other because of our hectic schedules. We used to book dinner dates once in a while but in my opinion, this is a much productive and healthier way of seeing each other :D

The class itself is really fun. It feels like we're actually dancing and I love to dance. I've been to similar classes before but they are usually 70% aerobics and 30% dance. I would say this is the other way around. It's so much fun and thank goodness it comes naturally to me!

So tonight I will pick her up 30mins. before class so it will give us enough time find a good parking spot (gets quite busy at the rec centre) and most importantly, gossip :D

And a little update on the previous post "Boiled crabs."

Obviously I'm feeling much better now. I ignored her for most of the morning. Actually it was quite easy since I didn't see her at all. But after lunch, she came to see me about another issue and we were able to have a good laugh like we usually do. We didn't talk about earlier and I really don't feel like bringing it up. I'm just going to chalk it up to her being in one of her moods. Next time, I'll be more conscious of what I email her. She probably thought I was being bossy or something but I really didn't mean it that way. I just thought any info is good info.

Boiled crabs.

Let's forget that I've been missing in action for a couple of months.

I'm here today because I'm steaming mad.

Let's talk about Crabby Worker. CW for short.

I came to work this morning and played a message on my answering machine. Germs, one of my coworkers, was looking for a document and wondered where it was. I found the document in CW's tray, outside her door. I thought of taking the document and giving it to Germs but thought an email would suffice, especially since neither of them have arrived yet. And also it didn't look like Germs looked at it all, and it was given to her on Tuesday.

I sent an email to Germs and CW, explaining that the documents have already been proofed by Little J and now it's in CW's tray. I also wrote, "CW, when you're done please pass document to Germs."

A little back story on CW. We are like besties at work. Well, not really. We don't have lunch together or anything but we email back and forth everyday. She always visits my office and vice versa and we laugh and talk about everything (well, most things). We get along really great and that's why I'm a little bit hurt right now.

Out of no where, she replied all to the email, "I've been passing documents to Germs for nine years, why is there a need for this email?"

I was a little taken aback. I replied, saying that Germs had been looking for it and soon after, Germs replied the reason why she was looking for it.

Germs called me and we had a little bit of a chuckle. She apologized for getting me in trouble and we both agreed that CW woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

A few minutes later, CW came to see me and asked me why I sent that email, and that I could have just called Germs and tell her that she has it. I told her I emailed her because the documents were not in an envelope and was not attached to any dockets so it was just me informing everybody. The document had been sitting there since Tuesday and I thought maybe she hadn't noticed. Though, I didn't tell her that part because I was flustered at the time.

Anyway, as she was walking away, she proceeded to make an impression that she's stupid, "D-uh, what do I do with this?" She was kind of doing it in jest but also in a mean and rude way. I kind of jokingly say after her, "It's just an email, I won't talk to you today." And she mumbled back, "It really bothered me."

Whatever.

The whole stupid thing is really bothering me right now. I'm feeling a bit better writing about it and now that time has passed a little. But a few minutes ago, I had to fight back tears.

Today I felt that she was acting like a bully.

Maybe I'm extra annoyed and hurt because she's a really good friend of mine at work. It was really uncalled for. Especially since what I did is part of my job. It wasn't like I sent the email yesterday and then re-forwarded it twice or something, because yes that can be annoying. But to those, all you have to do is reply.

Anyway, I've done it before and she didn't say anything then. Maybe she was irritated then and didn't tell me? Whatever, still my job to make sure things are on schedule.

Big sigh. Thanks for listening.

I'm going to try to ignore her today because I'm still feeling emotional about it.

Here we go again!

I just had a delicious dinner with The Hubby, made by yours truly.

Something simple. Baked chicken (w/ bread crumbs & parmesan) and a plethora of steamed veggies: beets, potato, sweet potato, yam, and broccoli.

Yes, we're trying to eat healthier again and I'm hoping this will last a little longer than last time!!

Tomorrow, we'll have the same thing for dinner. We have some chicken breasts leftover and I can easily steam more veggies again. My goal this week is to use up all of our veggies. I'm so tired of throwing rotten food out!

For our lunch tomorrow, I made us gourmet sandwiches and I have to say, they look absolutely delicious!

THE HUBBY'S sandwich: crusted french bread, non-fat mayo & mustard, black forest ham, roasted chicken deli meat, lettuce or 'greens', light cheddar cheese.

MY sandwich: crusted french bread, pesto sauce, fresh roma tomatoes, fresh basil, bocconcini, sundried tomato.

I'm not sure if my sandwich is that healthy. The pesto sauce and sundried tomatoes have lots of olive oil but I didn't use that much: 1 tbsp of pesto and 1 slice of sundried tomato.

Yum.

Power up.

Today, I've taken the domestic life to another level: I scrubbed the bathtub!

And now I am paying for it. I feel some numbness in my back, and I am hoping that it's a normal/common symptom. :D

I admit, that I am not the typical wife that does all the cleaning, cooking, etc. Demonstrated in my previous emails, I do cook but part-time only.

I practically do all the laundry and clean the dishes but in all honesty, it's not an everyday event.

I love that The Hubby doesn't give me any flack about it. Did I tell you? When he asked my parents permission to marry me, the first thing my Mom said was: Are you sure? She doesn't cook or clean. I'm serious! Thanks Mom. Thanks Mom for telling him how it is and thank you Hubby for still wanting to marry me.

So this morning, I felt a little guilty. The Hubby has been working really hard with the yardwork and the daily maintenance of our lawn. While I was on the i.nternet, he asked me what I thought about hiring a maid. He mentioned it before - about hiring someone to do the 'dirty' job (like bathrooms, dusting) for a couple of hours every two weeks or so. He said that he's been busy with the yardwork, he doesn't want to spend his weekend doing any more chores and he knows I feel the same way too. He didn't mean to make me feel guilty, it was me on my own because I knew I haven't been doing much lately. I've been busy but so has he.

So while he was out in the yard, I cleaned my office and when that was done, I still wanted to do more. As I started collecting the laundry, separating the darks, whites and jeans (yes, I only have 3 loads: darks/colours, whites/lights, jeans/towels), our ensuite bathroom started calling my name. Then the rest is history.

I'm happy to say that the bathroom is 70% clean: the floors and toilet need to be cleaned but I'm leaving that to The Hubby and he doesn't mind at all. :D Hey, scrubbing the bathtub was a huge step for me! Baby steps people, baby steps!

So I've taken a shower and in a few minutes, I want to head out to buy some groceries. And I want to get a few things for our bathroom. The Hubby gave me a thumbs up for buying new shower curtains with one exception: if they are on sale.

We have 3 bathrooms and I have decorated all but our ensuite. Why? Well, no one else sees our bathroom so it wasn't my priority.

But now I want to make a couple of changes so that it will motivate me/us to take better care of it. You know how it is, when you enter a pretty bathroom or any room for that matter, you feel encouraged to keep it that way. Well, at least that's what I explained to The Hubby. Any excuse to use our credit card :D

Ta-ta.

Hey June.

Wow, what a busy month! So much to write about, in fact, I'm going to skip the details and move on. Well, maybe I'll jot down a few highlights of the month:

1.

It was Mr. M-Puppy's 2nd birthday on June 5th!

2.

Followed by The Hubby's 35th birthday! We originally planned to have a bbq but the yard wasn't ready and we just got too busy. Instead, we invited a few friends to watch the U.FC fights at our place and ate greasy pizza. And as a gift, I bought him and his friends tickets to see a concert last week.

3.
Film. The Hubby was hired to film a dance recital and he asked me to help him.

4.

Film. I also went with him to document a high school's prom night. Enter big sigh here. The girls were so beautiful in their party dresses/gowns and the boys were equally adorable. When I watched them enter the hotel lobby, I really, really wanted to be in 12th grade again.

5.

And more film. We finally filmed the 3rd episode of our web series. Very excited about it. We still have one more scene to shoot (next week, hopefully) and then it will be done. I can't wait see the final product.

I'm sure I left out a lot but just thinking about them is making my head explode. I'm really quite relieved that it's almost the end of the month. I can't wait to have a fresh start in July - plus, it's my 30th birthday coming up! Woot.

If you asked me a few weeks ago what I wanted to do for my birthday, I probably would have come up with several ideas. But now that the time is inching closer, I'm really not as excited. Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to my birthday. I love celebrating my birthdays - I'm a true (but tamed) Leo. I don't know, maybe because June has been so busy, I'm feeling rather overwhelmed and nothing sounds better than staying at home, reading a novel and not worrying about deadlines. We'll see. I'm sure I'll have something planned but I haven't decided how big I want this to be.

Moving on.

The Hubby is as sick as a dog. Instant cure: hot chicken noodle soup and game night with the guys. Hold on a sec while I shake my head here. Okay, I'm done.

So last night, while The Hubby spread his germs downstairs (well, at least he stayed home), I decided to treat myself and rented a movie: T.he Y.oung V.ictoria.

What a delightful movie. I wouldn't go as far as saying it was the best movie I've ever seen, but it suited my mood perfectly.

Girl time is a good time.

I went to see a movie with my best friend forever (BFF) on Saturday night, and even for a few hours, I had such a wonderful time. Her boyfriend went to Thailand to visit his dad who is working overseas at the moment. Then he is off to visit his family in Israel. Needless to say, she misses him and wants some 'girl time' to not think about it so much. This is good because lately I've been a grump. As much as I adore The Hubby, sometimes I just need a break. Doesn't help that I'm having huge issues with 'little red' right now, hence, the mood swings. So it was really nice to hang out with BFF and just be a girl. I felt a little guilty leaving The Hubby alone as we usually do things together, but it was U.FC night so he hung out with his friends at the pub.

We both win.

Haha, okay I'm chuckling to myself because that was a direct quote from the movie, L.etters to J.uliet.

Have you seen it? BFF and I went to see it on Saturday. We looked at the movie listings and chose one of the most girly movies out there. We didn't choose S.ex in the C.ity 2 because 1) she promised her sister-in-law that she would see it with her and 2) I'm not a huge fan of S.ex in the C.ity.

My time with BFF really took me back to when we were younger. I've known her since 7th grade and I remember many weekends when we would either go to the theatres together or rent a 'chick flick' and watch it at her place - her parents had/have a really huge tv! But now that we are older and have different priorities, it's not often we get to do these things together.

Okay, back to the movie! If you ever have the chance, go see it! I wouldn't say it's the best movie I've ever seen but oh my goodness, the movie was absolutely adorable. Yes, there were some extreme cheesy parts but the unexpected comedy balanced everything out. It's been 3 days and I'm still thinking about it. Definitely left me with 'butterfiles' in my stomach and a huge smile on my face. Probably because I had popcorn all to myself...

Anyway, go check it out!!

I dream of ghosts.

Ghosthunt.

Before my time is over, I would love to go ghosthunting. I know, a bit ironic huh?

But not guerilla style - like going for a hike in the woods and randomly find an abandoned house and start a seance. No way.

I want to ghosthunt like (and preferably) with T.A.P.S.

I want to work with night vision cameras, EMF detectors, digital thermometres, and people who aren't afraid of paranormal activities. If I ever get the chace to ghosthunt, I definitely want The Hubby to be with me. He's a skeptic but not closeminded. I need someone with me who will keep me grounded, knock some sense in me and who will also lend an arm to clutch on because you know, I get easily scared.

I've never had a true experience except for when my grandpa passed away awhile ago. I felt his presence around but I wasn't afraid, only curious. It was more of a feeling that he was there. Lights flickered, the tv turned on to his favourite show, I knew he was there. Some people chalk that up to coincidences but I disagree.

Other than that, I've never encountered anything paranormal except for maybe in my dreams:

A few years ago, I developed panic attacks in my sleep - as often as 3 times a week. And I hated/hate it. I would be consciously awake, paralyzed and feel extreme shortness of breath. I'd try hard to wake up and when I do, I end up gasping for air and my eyes would shut immediately and repeat cycle up to 5 times a night. Horrible.

I eventually went to my doctor and first, she asked if I was ever abused or witnessed any abuse. I guess this sort of thing is common among victims. The answer is a big no. When she was finally convinced that I have a healthy relationship with my family, she advised me to relax when I get into that state. Either that or go see a specialist. I chose the former.

When the time came, I tried relaxing and reminded myself that I was actually breathing, just as the doctor ordered! I started to feel myself breathe: it was slow and hard but nonetheless, I was breathing! Next thing, I felt a rush of wind in my ear, a tug in my body and found myself sitting upright on my bed. It was really strange. Everything was in slowmotion. I remember turning around and seeing a dark silhouette of myself lying down and that's when I realzed that I was having an out of body experience (OBE).

I wasn't scared at the time. I got up and walked around in my room. And next thing I knew, I woke up back in my bed.

In my next experience, again, I felt the rush in my ears, a tug in my body and this time, I started to spin slowly and floated to my bedroom ceiling. My first time flying. I blinked and ended up flying over a nearby park. It was dark and quiet. I felt the coldness of the wind in my face. Because I was consciously awake, it felt so real, so exhilarating. Then I woke up and I was back in my room, lying on my bed.

The next time, I stayed in my room. I looked out the window and imagined a castle and there it was. Prior to this, I read up on dreams and some described my experience as lucid dreaming: when the dreamer is aware that they are dreaming and where the dreams can be extremely real depending on the person's level of self-awareness.

Cool.

So as a test, I tried to create a world of fantasy outside my bedroom window. I saw a beautiful castle with bright pink skies and a dazzling white horse. Incredible! And then I woke up.

Just when I thought I solved my sleeping problem, my next experience made me think otherwise. Again, I forced myself to relax, felt a tug and surely enough, I was 'out of my body'.

At the time, I was going to University and I thought it would be neat if I could study in my sleep. I know, I'm a geek. So I walked to my desk and flipped through my textbook. It didn't work. I was able to turn the pages but the words were blurry. Darn.

I looked up and noticed that my bedroom door was open and I decided to walk out of the door. Everything is in slowmotion. It was dark in the hallway but I noticed a dim light at the bottom of the stairs. I slowly walked down the stairs and the light got brighter. Then I saw an old man at the bottom looking up at me. I didn't recognize him. I couldn't really make out his face or describe it, but I remember him being bald and having grey hair just above his ears. He didn't say anything. Instead, he held out his hand towards me, palm up and just as I reached over to hold his hand, I woke up.

It was in the middle of the night and I was scared. I was scared because this was the first time I experienced an OBE with anyone, especially a stranger. Who was that man? And what would happen if I didn't wake up? Where would he take me?

From then on, my experiences gotten worse. When I had another attack, instead of hearing a rush of wind in my ears, I started hearing voices calling my name, whispers above whispers. I decided then that it wasn't such a great idea to have an OBE. What if I see someone or something that I don't want to see? I knew how to get into that state of being, but never learned how to get out of it. In all of my 'dreams', I would just wake up.

So I was back to the beginning. Instead of letting my mind and body free, I struggled to get out of the panic attack. And I have to remind you, that it's absolutely awful. Imagine sleeping but your mind is awake and you cannot wake your body. You cannot breathe, you cannot move. You scream and scream, but no one can hear you. The only way to end the suffering is to wake up but the more you try, the more you struggle, the more you panic, the more you can't breathe. And when you finally wake up, your body shuts down again and you repeat the cycle.

Oy.

Sometimes if I tried hard enough, I could just barely lift my eyelids. Not a good idea. One time, I saw a glimpse of a girl standing beside me. White dress, long dark hair, grey skin. The whole works. Another time I saw a spider crawl beside me and I couldn't do anything.

The worst experience was when I saw 3 to 4 dark swirls hovering above my body. I closed my eyes and really tried to wake up but I couldn't. Then I felt someone or something pulling me from behind while the whispers in my ear, calling my name, became louder and louder and louder. Awful. I prayed and prayed for it to stop but it wouldn't. Then it felt like I was being pushed into my bed. I felt myself sinking and sinking. I've had nightmares before but this was different because I was consciously awake. Everything seemed so real.

Obviously after my horrible experiences, I tried to search for explanations. Some articles would label my experience as the "old hag" syndrome, some called it hallucination, some said it was caused by stress and some suggested astral travelling. In other words, there were very many explanations and all they did was scared me even more.

Anyway, I can't really pinpoint when it stopped. I remember just praying and praying and eventually my experiences lessened.

My sleep panic attacks definitely lessened since I married. I still have them but maybe 2 to 3 times a month whereas before, it would be 2 to 3 times a week. In my opinion, I think The Hubby's skepticism helps a lot as he doesn't feed my fear. And knowing that he's there beside me, I truly feel safe. I freak out a bit when he goes away on weekend trips but I can survive a couple of nights without him. Especially because I have my pups and n.eocitron. Kidding, but not really.

Anyway.

Uh, what does this have to do with ghosthunting? Sorry, I got carried away there!

I guess for me, my dreams or should I say nightmoares, are the closest I've ever felt to being haunted. And maybe that's why ghosthunting really interests me. It's like facing my fears head on. And as much as I am afraid, I am intrigued!

I think the best way to do it is to investigate like T.A.P.S.: set up electronic equipment around the location, turn off the lights, spend several hours surveying the 'haunted' areas and then analyze the footages afterwards. I think it would be so neat to analyze EVP sessions (electronic voice phenomena). Nothing is creepier than hearing disembodied voices in an empty room!

I'd rather do this than seances. No way am I ever touching a q.uija board.

I'm even contemplating on deleting that.

I know, I'm terrible!

Okay, I've said enough here. Maybe in the future, I'll diarize my dreams. You really have to hear some of them. It's crazy and amazing! This is where movies are born (or pyschopaths)...

Bookworm.

I'm so excited!

It's been a long while since I read a P.hilippa G.regory novel. The last book I read was The W.hite Q.ueen and absolutely LOVED it.

I thought about it the other day and decided to check her site to see when the second book of the trilogy is coming out and hold and behold, The R.ed Q.ueen will be released in August!

I c.a.n.n.o.t wait!

Seriously.

I want to make a day out of it. Just for me!

Maybe, I'll book a day off work (no pun intended). I'll find the comfiest place in our home, eat super cute cupcakes and mini cucumber sandwiches, and sip sweet teas while turning each delicious page. Think English tea party, here. Yum.

(Ha, I can imagine The Hubby asking me why everything is always related to food.)

Anyway.

Have any of you watched The O.ther B.oleyn G.irl with E.ric B.ana, N.atalie P.ortman and S.carlett J.ohansson? The movie was actually based on one of her books. I highly recommend reading it; it has so much more depth and character.

My boss first recommended me the novel. It took me a couple of weeks to start reading it, but I swear, after the first chapter, I was hooked. Soon after, I finished the rest of the series, The T.udors.

I was completely satisfied, yet sad because the journey was over.

Then I saw her newest trilogy, The C.ousins' W.ar.

To be honest, I hesitated because the stories are based before The T.udors era and I loved, love The T.udors! Anne B.oleyn, King H.enry VIII, and Q.ueen E.lizabeth I are stunning and powerful characters. I mean, how can you compete with them?

But you know what? P.hilippa G.regory is such a fluid and wonderful writer, she makes you fall in love with the characters so easily. I thoroughly enjoyed The W.hite Q.ueen and was not disappointed at all.

Enter big sigh here. I cannot wait to add The R.ed Q.ueen to my collection.

Please suh, I want some mo'.

I'm back!

Been gone for awhile, lots have happened (some exciting, some not) and too lazy to write about it!

So I'll move on and write about what inspired me to be on here again.

Cooking.

I basically took a one month break from cooking regular meals and I'm very happy to say that I'm excited to cook again.

Last Sunday, not yesterday, I found one of my recipe magazines that have gone missing for awhile. I found a couple of recipes I liked and started jotting down the list of ingredients required before heading out to the grocery store.

TIP: Shop in your kitchen first! You'll be surprised to see what ingredients you already have and it will save you money!

MONDAY, we enjoyed Pot Roast Steak with Potatoes and Carrots plus leftover cheese bread from the local bakery. Yum.

TUESDAY, I made Ginger and Carlic Chicken with Broccoli and Cashews on Rice.

On WEDNESDAY, I made Caesar Steak Wraps with Cheddar Cheese.

And THURSDAY, I made Chilli Mac' and Cheese with Kidney Beans and Crushed Tomatoes.

Pretty good, huh?

I actually made a vat of the mac' and cheese recipe so The Hubby and I are having it for lunch again today.

Yesterday, I made a really healthy soup with my slow.cooker. It's really easy to make and it's actually really good! Really! I had two bowls of it for dinner last night. The Hubby isn't a fan of soup. He only likes chicken noodle soup (aka. I.chiban), so he had another serving of mac' and cheese. I told you I made a vat of it!

Moroccan Stew

Ingredients:

1 tbsp of canola oil
2 cans of low-sodium chicken broth
1 red onion (chopped)
1 carrot (chopped)
1 red bell pepper (chopped)
1 apple (cored, peeled and chopped)
1 can of chickpeas (drained)
1 tsp grated orange peel
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp of crushed dried basil

Directions:

Chop each vegetable into small cubes (same size as one chickpea or two). Mix all ingredients together and slow.cook for 3-4 hours on HIGH or until vegetables are tender.

Easy huh?? The recipe included chicken but we only have frozen chicken and I didn't feel like thawing, etc.

Yum, yum! I was really impessed with the flavour! Very smooth and tasty. I can't wait to go home today and have another bowl. The best thing is, you can have lots of it and not feel guilty! It's very good for you!

Next time, I'll remember to buy parsnips and sweet potatoes (as per recipe). And maybe I'll add kidney beans. You can add as much or anything you like, just have extra chicken broth ready and increase the spices for more flavour. I've never had moroccan stew before, so I'm curious if the flavour is close to the real thing. Regardless, I love it. Nom, nom indeed!!

Scene 1. Shot 1. Take 1.

Last night, as expected, was a lot of fun!

And it was short and sweet! Well, not too sweet since part of me wanted it to last a little longer.

Since the office (location) was brightly lit, we didn’t need to fuss around with lighting. And that perhaps, made things happen quicker.

Mic was the new person in the group. He has one of the leading roles. I’ve actually met him before; he subbed in a couple of our volleyball games last year. Very nice guy. And he did great!

The rest, I have already worked with in past projects: The Hubby (of course!), Kev, Al and Pet.

Kev is the quiet one of the group (though, others probably argue that I am) – so it was nice that we talked for a little bit. I’m starting to feel more comfortable around him.

Al and Pet were fun as always. Pet is outspoken, ultra-friendly, and very energetic. He is actually Kev’s older brother! And good ol’ Al. We actually graduated together so I’ve known him for a while. We weren’t close but now since we’ve discovered a common interest, I’ve seen him more times than in the past.

So we ended up with a small group but we didn’t really need anymore. Missing in action: Geo, Ant and Car. But that was okay. Al did great with the boom and I helped a little. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to take that many photos but the ones I took were quite good.

We’ve scheduled next Sunday (Mar. 21st) for our next film session. Bright and early at 8:00am! I’m definitely going to make some muffins!!

I’m really looking forward to it because we’ll be working on more scenes, which means more people, which means more snacks!! I know, I’m obsessed with food.

Anyway, it’s Friday and I cannot wait until I’m off work! It’s been a slow day!

I don’t know what we’re doing tonight. Maybe begin watching the 2nd season of R.ome? Tomorrow morning we are helping The Hubby’s uncle. He’s moving to another town. He hired movers but he wanted us to help with his personal belongings (aka. computers, dvds, record player, etc). Should be alright, I guess? My sister-in-law Kel will be there and her boyfriend too.

Then on Sunday night, my Best Friend invited me to dinner with her family!! I’m excited! I’ve known her and her family for almost 20 years and they are fun to be around. Plus, I get to see her nephew (he’s turning 1 in May). Best Friend keeps going on how big he has gotten so I cannot wait to see him! Hopefully he won’t steal my dinner roll.

Have a great weekend!

Oh, nelly!

I’m excited.

This afternoon, we are going to start filming the pilot episode of The Hubby’s first mini-series; a concept created by him and his friends/coworkers!

What is it about? The show will be a mockumentary on school education with each episode being 5 minutes long. Is that vague enough? Sorry guys, I don’t want to give away a very awesome idea!

Anyway, should be a lot of fun.

Production starts at 3:30pm, unfortunately I won’t be there until 5pm. It takes me a while to get to the location from work. Yesterday, I was contemplating on making muffins for the crew but my laziness took over. Oh well, it’s the thought that counts right? The Hubby bought chips, drinks and granola bars so hopefully that will keep them happy. Hey, we’re on a zero budget! Though, I’m not too overly concerned because the shooting will end at 7pm and most of the crew will be going straight home afterwards. If it was going to be a late night or during the weekend, then I probably would have made a bigger effort on those muffins.

The Hubby said that I can ‘do my thing’ on Opening Night. Last time, after we filmed The H, we had a few friends over (aka. the crew) to watch it for the first time in our theatre room. It was fun! A little casual (it was a last minute thing and people had plans that night) but regardless, it was nice to sit together, enjoy the fruits of our labour and discuss our next project. Kev, one of the main actors of The H gave The Hubby and I a bottle of wine and some gourmet chocolates. It was so unexpected! And so cool!

The Hubby also has another project in the works. And it will be a feature film! I really hope that we can get the ball rolling on that one because it’s going to be great!! I’m really looking forward to it because like The H, the story is created by The Hubby. I know, sometimes I offer a little more criticism than a supportive wife should, but to be honest, I’m quite impressed and proud with the work he has done so far. It’s so neat to see his vision come to life! So yes, can’t wait to start that project and since it’s going to about 30 minutes long (The H was a short film – 10mins), we can make Opening Night a bit more special.

The Hubby emailed me today to confirm that he should have enough crew available for tonight. He was a little concerned because Car couldn’t make it tonight and he is our main boom operator. I offered to help but he really wanted me to take ‘behind the scenes’ photographs. I took a lot of photos while filming The H and through B.lurb, created a really professional photo book. I have to admit, I’m good!! Hehe. So he/we want to do the same thing with all of his film projects. I think it’s just a neat way to show your work.

The good thing about having The Hubby direct the films, is that he always gives me first priority. Meaning, I will definitely be doing the cover for the mini-series and most likely the new feature film. Which is great because it really makes me feel like I’m part of the group. It’s nice to be supportive but it’s even nicer to see your name on the credits roll! Whoop whoop!

Are you feeling blue?

Need a break from the weekend!

I still can’t believe what I have accomplished on Saturday! I finally painted the downstairs' bathroom! I wanted to paint it dark brown but was reminded that anything dark uses a clear base which means at least four coats of paint.

No thanks.

I ended up choosing a not-so-light blue shade “Thunder Bay”. After the first coat, I was a little concerned that the blue was too blue. It looked like the original blue colour that was in the upstairs' bathroom, which I happily painted over. After the second (and last, phew!) coat, the colour darkened a bit and I love it!

The Hubby left all the painting to me. He had his fair share of painting in our first condo and has vowed never to paint again. So I was very pleased and happy when he offered to help a little! He helped unscrew the light switches, towel holder, took down the mirror, swept the cobwebs (yes, I need a maid!). He even helped me paint the areas that were hard for me to reach! While I was painting, he was in his office (which was next door) working on his scripts. It was nice because even though I painted by myself, he was close by.

So, it took me six freakn’ hours to paint this small bathroom! Oy!!!

On Sunday, we hung up a few pictures in the washroom. And we went out and bought a nice shower curtain! We also went to a few places to find a new mirror. We found one but it was $50.00. A bit too much for us to spend right now. We are not desperate so we can wait until the next sale. Maybe I’ll ask The Hubby to hang the old mirror tonight; it feels a bit strange using the washroom without a mirror.

I was also thinking of painting a feature wall in the basement but not sure if I can pick up a brush for another while. It’s a lot of hard work!! Though, I think the one wall is much easier than painting the bathroom. We’ll see, maybe next month.

Fun guy.

Score! A few weeks ago, I tried a creamy chicken slow.cooker recipe and couldn’t believe how much The Hubby loved it.

“The best dish you ever made!” he exclaimed.

Really? Because that was really easy!! Like, too easy!

I made it again on Sunday, except I didn’t use the slow.cooker.

Mushroom Chicken With Corn and Brown Rice

2 large chicken breast, boneless and skinless of course!
1 can of fat-free condensed mushroom soup
1/2 can of chicken broth
1 can of corn niblets
1 1/2 cup of chopped button mushrooms
2 cups brown rice

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 375F for 5 minutes. Then place the chicken breasts on a shallow pan (drizzled with olive oil). Leave in the oven for 20 minutes.

2.Take chicken breasts out and flip them over. Instead of salt, I added my lovely Greek spices. Nom, nom. Leave in oven for another 20 minutes. The chickens were frozen and rather thick so I used up the whole 20 minutes. 40 minutes and the meat was juicy and tender. If your chicken is already defrosted and small, you might only need 15 minutes?

[While waiting for Step 2 to complete, proceed with preparing the sauce.]

3.Chop/slice the mushrooms. The Hubby does not care for mushrooms so I chopped them into little tiny cubes. Small enough that he won't be able to pick them out. Hey, he has a smart wife! You can chop/slice them to any size you want.

4.Heat a large skillet/pan/whatever for 2 minutes (medium heat). When it starts to heat up, melt 1 tbsp of butter. Note: I didn’t add ‘butter’ to the ingredient section above because I don’t want to admit that I used butter.

5.Add chopped mushrooms to the pan and stir fry for 3 minutes.

6.When mushrooms are cooked, add the mushroom soup and 1/2 can of chicken broth. Actually, I think I only used 1/4 of the can. Stir until you get the desired consistency. Add more broth if sauce is too thick.

7.By then, the chicken is ready. Yes, it took me 20 minutes to do Step 3 to Step 6. Sad.

8.Slice the chicken and add the pieces to the pan. Turn off the heat and let the chicken hangout with the sauce. This step is optional. If you want don't want to slice the chicken, you can just pour the sauce on the chicken as is. I added the extra step because that's how I roll.


By the time the mushroom chicken was done, so was the rice! Thank goodness for my rice cooker!

I actually made the dish for our lunches so I grabbed six lunch containers (3 medium, 3 small – we are working on portion control). After spooning the rice and mushroom chicken, I added 1 heaping tablespoon of the corn niblets to each container. Maybe two heaping tablespoons. I didn’t add the corn while making the sauce because I wanted to keep the crunch! And it’s nice to see the bright yellow things when you open the lid. Darnit, I didn’t take a picture!!!

So there you go! A really simple recipe! Just watch out for Step 4, it’s a little dicey.

Har. Har.

Tuna Potato Chip Casserole - FAIL.

I like tuna and for awhile, I’ve been searching for tuna recipes, particularly casseroles.

So I tried one last night:

Tuna Potato Chip Casserole

Ingredients

1 can of light tuna
1 can of fat-free condensed mushroom soup
1 can of peas (drained)
1 cup of shredded Swiss cheese
1 bag of plain potato chips

(I think the potato chips just cancelled out the ‘light’ & ‘fat-free’ components.)

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350F for 5 minutes.

2.Grease a small/medium casserole dish.

3.Layer with: crushed potato chips, tuna flakes, peas, mushroom soup, and shredded Swiss cheese (in any order).

4.Repeat layer (the dish I used was small and deep so I made two fat layers).

5.Last layer – instead of crushing the chips, I covered the mushroom soup with whole potato chips then layered it with the cheese.

6.Cover with aluminum foil.

7.Leave in oven for 30 minutes, uncover and wait another 10 minutes.


What went wrong? The fishy taste intensified like a millions times and me not like fishy taste. Also, I was surprised that it wasn’t really hot. I thought leaving it in the oven for 40 minutes would burn the darn thing but nope, I didn’t have to cool it before eating.

I suppose the meal wasn’t too bad since I finished 2 servings! I just couldn’t make up my mind about the sharp taste. Was it the fish? The salty chips? Or my dirty hands?

I let The Hubby try and he noticed the fishy taste right away. He didn’t mind it much but suggested maybe next time to try chicken. And I agree! Everything else was yummy except for the fishy taste.

We’re both having it for lunch today (with slices of French bread) so hopefully it won’t be too bad.

And I can’t wait to try it with chicken! Maybe I'll add a few spices – like salt. Is salt a spice? Because I thought was a bit bland. Maybe I’ll bake the chicken first with Greek spice (yummers). That should add mo’ flava!

*****

Update:

The tuna casserole ended up tasting so much better overnight! Even The Hubby noticed that the fishy taste was gone! Still, I don’t think I will make this again. I’ll always remember how it first tasted but just wanted to report that no one go sick!

Greek Chicken and Peanut Butter

The Hubby and I went on a huge grocery run last night. It’s always fun going together and productive! Usually if I go by myself, I spend more time browsing the home décor aisle, etc.

But not The Hubby. He does not like to waste his time.
If we’re there to buy groceries, then we’re there buying groceries.

He's so smart.

Last night was Hubby’s games night with his friends so we planned dinner separately. He made a yummy cheese/meat/cracker platter for himself. I didn’t have anything right away; my tummy hasn’t been feeling so great, probably from eating a lot of crap lately.

I eventually got hungry so I made myself a Caesar salad. Used romaine lettuce, zesty garlic croutons, R.enee’s Caesar dressing and a couple splashes of lemon juice. Yummers.

In between watching the O.lympics and D.estination T.ruth, I made lunches for The Hubby and I, plus tried a peanut butter cookie recipe.

For today’s lunch, I made Greek Chicken With Brown Rice:

Greek Chicken

Ingredients:
1 large boneless chicken breast
Greek spices
Olive Oil
1/2 medium onion (chopped)

Directions:
1. I preheated the oven to 375F for 5 minutes.

2. I drizzled a shallow pan with olive oil and baked the chicken breast for 20 minutes.

3. I took the pan out and sprinkled the chicken with greek spices, flipped it over and sprinkled the other half. I didn’t add any salt because the greek spices already have salt in it. I also added some chopped onions (because I LOVE ONIONS)!

4. And put it back in the oven for another 20 minutes.


By then, the brown rice was done (I cooked one cup of brown rice in my mini rice cooker) and tada! Yummy lunch! And really easy.

Oh, with this recipe, I used frozen chicken breast and it worked out fine. If it wasn’t frozen, maybe I would check it at 15 minutes instead of 20 minutes.

And I also made Peanut Butter Cookies! I found a 3-ingredient cookie recipe that I wanted to try for a very long time. I finally made it last night.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup smooth or crunchy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla (optional)
Chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325F for 5 minutes.

2. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Before rolling out the balls, you might want to put your bowl in the fridge for a couple of minutes for the mixture to harden (makes it easier, and less messy).

3. Roll 1 inch balls and placed them on a greased baking sheet .

4. Take a fork and press each ball. Add one chocolate chip on each cookie.

5. Bake for 8 minutes.

6. Cool before serving.


If you like peanut butter, then you might like this. I’ll have to ask The Hubby what he thinks since he’s a huge fan of R.eese Peanut Buttercups, because that’s what they taste like – texture and all.

It was quite sweet (and I only used 1/2 cup sugar) and found the texture a little soft. Not chewy, but just soft. I left them in the fridge overnight and tried one this morning. It was a bit harder but obviously no ‘crunch’. I don’t know if that’s how it’s supposed to be or because of the type of peanut butter I used – we bought the ‘natural’ kind with no preservatives, etc.

Oh well, I had fun anyway.

I’ve been reading up on recipes and found so many blogs out there showing their food. I think that’s cool! Maybe I’ll start doing that once in a while, need to take pictures… Which means, need to find nice plates... Which means need to go to the home decoration aisle.

Butter is healthy, right?

I’m not sure if I could say that we’ve been eating healthier but we’ve been eating!

I’m actually quite proud of myself because I’ve been really good trying new recipes. Chicken stirfy was sooo last year.

Last week was the first week in a long, long time, or even the first that we had homemade lunches for the whole week. Usually we’ll bring homemade lunches on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays and that would be the end of the streak. Unfortunately, Hubby dear didn’t bring his lunch today. Apparently the prawns looked too scary :S

Anyway, aside from that, we’ve been good. I think it helps a lot that our fridge is really organized. The Hubby used his Christmas money and bought an upright freezer! So last Saturday, we went on a huge grocery run and now we’re stocked with great ingredients!

Even though it's a pain to plan out meals, I've been enjoying it (so far). It helps and really motivates me when the Hubby shows his appreciation. Each time I serve him dinner, he says “Oh boy!” and gives me a kiss. Then after dinner, he will say thanks and tell me it was delicious.

Tonight, hmm… haven’t decided yet. Should I try the pan-fried whitefish recipe or go with chicken something? Whatever I decide, I'll try to use less butter!

Happy New Year!

I just re-read my last post and wow, things have not changed! I celebrated the new year with another 10 lbs! Yikes!

Okay so this time, it will be for reals yo.

The Hubby and I started eating healthy yesterday and hopefully sometime in the near future, I can add exercise activities to my new lifestyle. I still have a membership with C.urves. I know, money wasted but I’ll try again and see if I can kick the new habit into gear.

Any goals this year? Nothing out of the ordinary. I want to be healthier, organized, proactive and I want to work harder on our (The Hubby and I) relationship. We’ve had some really great moments and some bad ones. Unfortunately, the bad ones tend to stick out more. So this year, I want to be a better wife, a better friend.

So here’s to another year!!! Hip, hip hurrah!