My Guilty Pleasure...The Bachelor

Most of you who read this blog know that I am obsessed with this season's "The Bachelor". Don't ask me why, I just am. I have never really gotten into the show this much before, but there's something about Jason that seems more real and sincere than the others they've had on the show before. Where am I going with this? Well, since I am anticipating the finale that is airing next week, I have been reading some blogs about theories that people have come up with. I found this blog and it started to make sense to me (with hearing Chris Harrison saying that the 'After the Rose Finale' is going to be super intense and unpredictible). I sure hope it's not true! I really like Melissa, and I'm gonna be pretty upset if this all pans out the way this guy claims it is going to happen.....http://dontbejelly.wordpress.com/2009/02/24/the-bachelor-a-conspiracy-theory/

Anyone out there think this might be the case? I wouldn't put it past ABC and reality TV in general. Okay, I really need to find something better to do with my time...

Top 3 Blonde Moments of 2009 (So Far)...

I can laugh at the fact that I'm a blond, and do justice to my hair color. I pay alot of money to have my hair look like this, and I guess I can handle the 'blond' jokes that are thrown my way every so often. Okay, I'm naturally a dirty-blond people! I guess the rules still apply though. SO.....this got me thinking to my top few blond moments from 2009 (so far). It's not fun if we can't make fun of ourselves, right?

#1. Bringing my wrong vehicle to the emissions test place. Shhhh...don't tell my husband. I would never live this one down. The thing is, I knew it was our truck that needed the emissions test, and I still drove through with my SUV???? Here's what happened (after waiting in line for 20 minutes)...

Me: Hi there! Busy day? I'm glad I made it through before lunchtime!
Him: Hi miss, cute sweater, where did you get it?
Me: Thanks! My mother in law bought it for me! I get compliments on it all the time. :)
Him: Um, miss, can I see your registration? (after he scanned my VIN number on my car).
Me: Here you go!
Him: Miss, this is your insurance card....
Me: Whoopsie daisy! Here you go....
Him: Miss, this is the wrong vehicle
Me: I have the wrong registration in here? Weird!
Him: No miss, you are driving through with the wrong vehicle
Me: Oh my gosh, I'm in the SUV, huh?
Him: Yes ma'am, this renewal is for a 2004 Chevy Silverado
Me: Well, at least I didn't pay yet! See ya.

I will have to find another emissions place in the state of WA to bring the truck to. They probably have my picture up at that Everett location....

#2. Playing an entire song at band rehearsal (with the Pathways Church Band) in the wrong key. I couldn't really hear myself playing, but I knew something didn't sound right, and I can't believe I played the whole thing in the wrong key! I'm currently learning how to read chord charts (instead of playing sheet music the way it's written) so it's been a learning experience for me. Since this was only my 2nd rehearsal, I was pretty mortified. It's bad enough I don't know what the heck I'm doing yet, and I'm sure the guys in the band were like "Um, what in the heck is she doing?". Practice makes perfect. Unless you cannot hear what you're playing (except for small bits here and there).

#3. Trying to pay my Comcast bill over the phone with my Macy's Credit Card (it's the same color as my regular major credit card). I kept trying to pay over the phone automatically, and I couldn't find out why in the heck it wasn't working! Finally, I opted to transfer out of the automated service, and speak with a representative (to pay the $10 fee which I really didn't want to do) but I totally forgot to mail the payment (even though it was ready to go in my mail basket), and the payment was 4 days away from the due date. I didn't want to risk it being late, so I tried to pay it over the phone. Finally, the guy on the phone asked me what type of credit card it was, that's when I saw MACYS written across it. I didn't have the nerve to tell him, so I think I accused them of their system being screwed up, hung up the phone, called back, and paid (automatically, waiving any fee) over the phone with my correct major visa credit card. This is why I don't pay bills over the phone people. I'm pretty old fashioned in the sense that I buy stamps and mail in my check payment every month. For now, I've removed that credit card from my wallet completely. I probably should have done this in the first place.


I'm sure there's a lot more where this came from.

The Other Love In My Life...

In honor of Valentines Day, I thought I would share some of the things I love about the other love in my life...my daughter Ava...and I thought it would be fun to post some old pictures of her, since I didn't have a blog back then. I constantly share things about my husband, and other things that I love in this world...but rarely do I comment on the little things I love about my daughter Ava. Here goes...

I love how she is my little "Mother Hen". She LOVES taking care of other kids and making sure that her daddy and I are doing okay (so cute coming from a tiny little 2 year old).

I love how she always tells me how proud of me she is (could that be any cuter?)

I love how she snuggles me every night right before she goes to bed....it's like the only time during the day that she actually sits still for 2 minutes.

I love how I see both my husband and myself when I look into her adorable big green eyes.

I love how she carries her blanket into our room around 2am every night, climbs into our bed, rolls over the top of me, and settles in between Josh and I for the remainder of our slumber.

I love how obsessed she is when it comes to washing her hands...and has to do it like a million times a day (just like her daddy).

I love how she tells me how beautiful I am every morning.

I love how she wears my high heels around our house, carrying her purse, and pushing her mini-sized stroller with her dollies strapped into it...

I love how she SCREAMS her head off everytime I touch the bandaid she's had on her elbow for the past 2 months.....the owie is gone (of course)...but she is still dramatic over it because she won't let me remove the bandaid.

I love how her shampoo smells in her hair after she gets out of the tub.

I love how she is such a daddy's girl.

I love how she pretends to play piano with me everytime I'm practicing.

I love hearing her sing songs that she's learned in church or at daycare.....there's something about hearing your child sing....now matter how good or bad they are.

I love how she tries desperately to close her eyes while we pray, but is always peeking and giggling.

I love that God intrusted me with such an amazing little girl.

I Enjoy The Small Things In Life...

I totally enjoy the small things in life. It doesn't take alot to impress me. When you're married, you really come to appreciate the little things that your spouse does for you....and I hope that my husband appreciates that I don't expect a whole lot (I don't need big gifts or fancy dinners to jump-start our marriage). What I need is knowing that my loved one is attentive to my needs, and wants to satisfy them...no matter how small or big that is! One of the things Josh and I bicker about constantly is the fact that he never brings our travel coffee mugs home from work. This totally irritates me! I know, it could be worse, right? Well, yesterday morning when I came down to start our coffee pot...there were a few of our mugs sitting on the counter...washed and ready for me to use. The note read..."These are all for you and all CLEAN baby!" It totally made my day. I love that my husband knows how he can lift my spirits and make me happy. It's all about the little things.



Another thing that makes me happy is when he folds all of our laundry that I've washed. I'm guilty of washing tons of laundry and leaving them all in the basket for a couple of days. But I HATE folding laundry. The other day, I was out shopping with a girlfriend...and I came home to ALL of the laundry I had washed that morning folded and hung up/put away. This meant so much to me!



The final thing that means the world to me is when he'll volunteer constantly to give me a back rub before we go to bed. I usually do not even have to ask. When I was pregnant, I got a back rub every night. He never missed a night. I would say I'm lucky to get them about twice a week now, but I think that's pretty awesome! Especially with the achy muscles that I constantly have.



Don't worry, I pay attention to his needs/wants too. But this post is all about giving my husband props to paying attention to the small things in life that I really appreciate. So, what are the small things that you appreciate in life or from your loved one?

Baked Salmon with Tomatoes, Spinach & Mushrooms...

I absolutely love to cook and try new dishes. Although I'm a full time working mommy, my number one priority when I get home from work is to make sure that there is a hot dinner waiting for my husband when he gets home (okay, not every night but like 90% of the time). It's important for me to keep my man happy....and we all know that the #1 place to a man's heart is through his stomach! So, where am I going with this? Well, since I wake up at 5am and don't get home from work until 6:30pm, I usually have to prepare our meals in advance (or at least prep the meat, defrost items, prepare seasonings, etc...) before leaving for work. I will usually take Ava grocery shopping with me on Thursday or Saturday so we can plan out our meals for the week. And it TOTALLY helps now that I've registered for the Kraft Recipe Website online. It's totally free, and will cater to your needs/likes. I've found some awesome recipes/tips here. It will also email me with new recipe ideas throughout the week. I love this! When you initially register it asks you questions about your likes/dislikes/priorities. I usually need something that can be prepared ahead of time, is healthy, and doesn't take a lot of time to cook. So, now I get emails with recipes that are just what I need! Here is one that I tried out recently, it was delicious and only took about 1/2 an hour to prepare/make. I served it with some brown rice and grilled asparagus. Enjoy!

What You Need
4 salmon fillets (1 lb.) (I used the pre-packaged single serving Costco salmon)
2 cups chopped fresh spinach leaves
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 tomato, chopped
1/3 cup KRAFT Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing

Make It

HEAT oven to 375°F. Place fish fillets, skin sides down, in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.
MIX remaining ingredients until blended; spoon over fish.
BAKE 20 to 25 min. or until fish flakes easily with fork.