It's my BIRTHDAY!! - High FIVE!!!!

Wow...it's been 10 days since I wrote anything here. Sorry guys. It's been busy.

ONE.
     It's my BIRFFFDAAAYYYYY!!! Today I turn the big 3-0!! So many of my friends are upset about it, but I'm actually looking forward to it. Plus, I don't look a day over 29 anyway...

TWO.
     It's the first week of school. I know, I know. I'm not exactly "excited" about having my birthday during the first week of school every year, but....I'm excited to get back into this routine. Although the drive could be a little shorter.

THREE.
     This weekend is Yellowbullet, the biggest race in the country. Of course we will be there allllllll weekend and I bitch and complain every year that my birthday weekend is spent doing everything my husband loves...but truth be told it's kinda fun. As long as it's not hot as hell and I can get my drank on. Then we're golden. But don't tell my husband that...

FOUR.
      My niece just got done her first official week of Kindergarten!!! I called her on Monday to see how everything went and she was super cute. "It was soooo much fun Auntie!!!" were her exact words. She's growing up so fast and getting more and more beautiful by the day.

FIVE.
     I have a long weekend this weekend for Labor Day!! That means I don't have to wake up early for 3 WHOLE DAYS!! This getting up at 6am thing is killling me. I really enjoyed my sleeping in the last few weeks. But Monday is a day all to myself and I can relax and maybe even lay out a little by the pool?!?!

 

Recipe: Easy as 'Ish Baked Ziti

So this is the easiest baked ziti ever and it's really delicious. Why I haven't posted it before is beyond me, but it's Tuesday so.....here goes!!

Sorry I forgot to take the picture before, so this is the frozen one. haha.

INGREDIENTS:

1 box ziti pasta, cooked according to box

1 lb. ground beef, browned

1 jar pasta sauce

1 15 oz. container of ricotta cheese

1 package italian blend shredded cheese

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, divided

reserve 1/2 cup pasta water

Preheat oven to 350º. Cook pasta according to box and brown ground beef. Don't forget to reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

Mix all of the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Save some of the shredded cheese for on top. Spoon into large casserole dish. Top with remaining parmesan and shredded cheese. Cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes. Take off foil and bake an additional 10 minutes or until heated through.

Enjoy!

My favorite thing about this is I split into 2 different casserole dishes and freeze one for another meal!! Plus, the whole thing is too much for just the two of us anyway and that means one less night I have to cook!!

My last day off!!

Now that's my kind of back to school sale!!

Is it just me or has this summer totally just flown by. I'm sure everyone feels the same way, but it seems faster than ever this time. Grrr...However, that means fall is just around the corner and fall and spring are my favorite times of year!!

So I'm heading back to school on Wednesday. We have meetings alllllllll day long and boo, that usually just drains me. I'm thinking, however, that since Mike is off tomorrow, my last day, that we could do something fun.

Here's where you come in. I am the most indecisive person on the entire planet. So....HELP ME!!

Last time we decided we were going to do something we totally got drunk the night before and betched out, only to stay home and be lazy all day. Which isn't exactly a bad thing, but I should have taken advantage of the day off.

Here is my list...tell me what you would do!

Beach Day // we all love a beach day!! Requires an hour and a half drive there and back and spending money on lunch. Maybe some drinks!

Dinner and a Movie // A wonderful choice as always, but...we do that all the time which kinda takes away the excitement.

Washington DC // It's on my bucket list, but it requires a lot of work. It's so much fun, however!! But it's a little bit nicer to do in the spring or fall when it's not so hot. Another cheap option, though!!

Sushi // OK, so any excuse to have sushi is awesome to me, but there really isn't anything to do around our favorite sushi place. So sushi might be able to be combined with another option?? Or..any other thoughts that involve sushi?

I'm also open to any other suggestions. We have a lot around us but we don't want to spend too much money or too much time in the car. We also would rather not stay home and do something. We want to get out!!

Recipe: Grilled Chicken Tostadas

I have had this recipe for a while and keep forgetting to post it. At least I think so...I've looked back and can't find it so, if it's a repeat.....get over it.

These were so good. They were kinda annoying on the grill but I think we might have it perfected by now. If it doesn't work out for you, you can always do it in the oven, or on a pizza stone, or....any other way you can think of.

Grilled Chicken Tostadas

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. chicken breast, grilled, cubed

chicken taco seasoning

1/2 red pepper, diced

1/2 green pepper, diced

1/2 red onion, diced

1-2 roma tomatoes, diced

1 can black beans, drained

1 can corn, drained

cilantro

tortillas

Toppings:

salsa

sour cream

DIRECTIONS:

Cook chicken with taco seasoning. Preheat grill or oven. Spray the bottom of each tortilla and place on sprayed cookie sheet. Option 1: Mix all ingredients except toppings together in a bowl and pile on tortillas. Option 2: Layer all ingredients except toppings onto tortillas. Top with cheese. Pull tortillas off cookie sheet and directly onto grill. Close top and let cook through. When tortilla is crunchy, pull off grill, top with toppings, and enjoy!!

Guardians of the Galaxy

OK, I have to admit...this looked like a pretty stupid movie the first time I saw the trailer...however, after watching it a few more times it started to grow on me.

And...after hearing all the hype about it being one of the best Marvel movies yet, I gave in.



Well, Mike and I went to see it this weekend and it was AWESOME!! Definitely better than the trailer. We even contemplated going back and seeing it a second time. 
Mike's former MMA training and love for MMA had him very excited to see how Bautista fared in a comedic role. And the verdict?? He blew that shit out of the park. His dry humor made us laugh throughout the entire movie.
It was comedy, and action, some sci-fi, some fantasy...everything wrapped up into one. And it was fantastic. And the music! You'll be dancing in your seats to some old school. 
If you're on the fence about this movie, don't worry, it's not as cheesy and childish as it seems in the trailer. So jump off that shit and get to your nearest IMAX theater and let me know what you think!

H54F!!

ONE.
     I checked one thing off my bucket list already!! A new happy hour!! Mike has had some kind of stomach bug this entire week so I found someone else to hang out and we decided to go to the Riverfont in Wilmington to hit up a few happy hours. On the way we changed our mind and headed into Main St. in Newark and hit up the happy hours there. There are a ton of great bars right there and since school hasn't started yet all the college kids were still at home.
     We went to about 4 different happy hours and found some new great places to hit up for the future. One of the places had $3 Pinnacle flavors so I looked up a bunch of different cocktails with flavored vodka and went for it. The bartender created her own concoction and it was delicious!! Pinnacle Strawberry Kiwi, Blue Curaco (or blue cilantro, as she called it....hmmm...bartending long?), sprite, and pineapple juice. It was yummyyy!!

TWO.
     Mike and I sat out on the back patio last night and had a drink. The sunset was absolutely gorgeous. Sunsets like that always make me think of my dad. Not like he was an artist or anything, but he loved nature and passed on that love to me. When I see something that beautiful I can't help but imagine dad had something to do with it. It was gorgeous!!

THREE.
     I'm starting to get some things done around the house. I bought a ton of stuff to make me feel better....until I check my savings account...and I think things are really coming along. Now to just get some landscaping done in the back yard and hang up the pictures I bought and all and it will really start feeling like home. Especially when we can get these kitchen cabinets painted so they aren't so hideous.

FOUR.
     I got to lay out for a few days this week. One thing about working all summer is that I wear a t-shirt to work every day. You can't get sun in a t-shirt. And...usually by the time I get home I'm too exhausted and sweaty to even think about going to lay out. I'm thinking about heading to the pool across the street today. It's free this summer and we haven't taken advantage of it. Plus, when I get hot it's much easier to just take a dip in the pool rather than spray myself with the hose. I really want one of those blow up pools for the back yard. Maybe when they go on sale at the end of the summer.
     One of the days laying out I found this little friend...isn't he adorbs??

FIVE.

     I started a new "sexy time" series this week. Actually I'm almost finished with it. The first one is called Losing It by Cora Carmack. Here's the synopsis from Goodreads:

Sick of being the only virgin among her friends, Bliss Edwards decides the best way to deal with the problem is to lose it as quickly and simply as possible - a one-night stand. But her plan turns out to be anything but simple when she freaks out and leaves a gorgeous guy alone and naked in her bed with an excuse that no one with half-a-brain would ever believe. And as if that weren't embarrassing enough, when she arrives for her first class of her last college semester, she recognizes her new theatre professor. She'd left him naked in her bed about 8 hours earlier.

     Yeah...it was good. I finished the first book in about 5 hours. haha. And don't worry, it's not as intense as 50 Shades. It actually brought me back to those high school feelings when I had my first love and it was the big debate about actually "doing it" or not "doing it". I mean don't get me wrong....I definitely felt a little thunder down under, but...it wasn't anything I felt dirty about reading.

     My next choice, however, I hear is pretty intense. I have been thinking about reading the Maya Banks "Breathless" series, but a friend told me she felt like she had to skip a bunch of parts because she didn't feel right reading it.

Anyone out there read it? And what do you think about it?

My "Summer Break" Bucket List

So it's officially my first day off this summer!!! I have two more weeks until we go back to school and I hope to get at least a few adventures in before the 20th. Mike and I have talked of a few fun suggestions rather than just sitting on our asses the whole time. I know...imagine us, actually planning some things!! Of course, everything always depends on Mike's work schedule, boo, but we'll see how much of it we can complete!!

* Beach Day!! (or 2 or 3...4?, maybe 5?) - We're less than 2 hours away from Ocean City, MD and we haven't been there once this summer. We need to fix that.

* Washington D.C. Trip - Mike and I like to go to D.C. every once in a while and just tour all the museums. Hell, most of the museums are free so it's a cheap trip. We usually take the metro in and bring lunch and it's so much fun!! We haven't done it in a while and I took my Horizons kids there this summer and it kind of jump started my interest again.

* Happy Hour in a new bar - We go to happy hour once a week. The only problem is it's always at the same place. Or 2 places. I have been watching Best Bars in America all day and it makes me want to try out some of the places around us. I've been doing some research so it's just a matter of making a decision.

* Cookout! - We just bought a patio set and all the cooking shows have awesome cookout ideas on lately and I have been really wanting to have a cookout. I really want to have it before I go back, but that means I have a total of 2 weekends, one of which Mike works, soooooo...

* Yard Sale! - You might remember about a month and a half ago when I helped Mom clean out her attic. I figured rather than throw all the stuff I'd never use again away, I might as well get some money for it. So...I'd really like to have a yard sale. It was supposed to be last month, but with Horizons and everything I never got the motivation to do it. Now that I have some time on my hands, I can plan and prep and do all that stuff that makes a yard sale successful.

So that's it. You know...not much to do in 2 weeks. But... at least I know I won't get it all done. I'm only making it as a plan. Fingers crossed!!! Wish me luck!!