May Celebrations

There are lots of days to be thankful for this month. Let's start with Mother's Day.

 

Janet Landis (Nana)

Jo Anne O'Dell (Mother in Law)

Jeanette Landis (Mom)

I am so lucky to have each of these women in my life. They have cared and nurtured me, as well as Josh. Because of their constant support, we are who are  and we can never say thank you enough. We love you Moms and Nana. 

Next up was Alpha Delta Pi's founders day. 

On May 15, 1851, Alpha Delta Pi was founded. In August of 2004, I became a member of ADPi. This amazing group of women helped me through college, and I have a great REMARKABLE group of friends from my time in the organization. Our bond is deeper than one could imagine. We have laughed, cried, and laughed some more. I don't think I need to say much more. 

In 1851, we invented the sorority. Your welcome. 

And now for a few birthdays:

My Mom

May 20

My Adopted Big Diamond

Sarah Adcox (McKinley)

May 21

We became friends by coincidence. But we were definitely meant to be. 

My Dad

May 22 

He loves spending time with "his girls".

I love each of you and hope you have/ had a wonderful, beautiful Birthday!!!

Shrimp Jambayala

Please forgive me. I just realized that I never posted about our shrimp jambayala from last month. I don't know how it slipped my mind....but it did. As did getting a picture of it when we sat down for dinner. Oops. But here's a picture of how it is supposed to look, according to my cook book. And it did look sorta like this, just not as thick. But boy, oh boy was it yummy. It could use a little more spiciness for our liking, but man, we ate that stuff up! And it was easy, so even better.

Sorry for the glare. Flash+cookbook= glare. 

SHRIMP JAMBAYALA

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained ( 28 oz)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 pounds cooked large shrimp
2 cups uncooked instant rice (we used 1 bag of rice from Boil-in-a-Bag...or whatever it's called)

Combine tomatoes with juice, onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, parsley, oregano, hot sauce, and thyme in crock pot.  Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 4 hours.

Stir in shrimp. Cover and cook on LOW for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare rice. It suggests to substitute 2 cups of chicken broth for water...but we just made the rice with water like usual.

Serve jambalaya over rice and enjoy!!


See, easy. I love easy dinners. And that makes THREE new recipes last month, not two..and we still have 2 dinners ready to go in the freezer from my mighty mouse day.

 Oh, and by the way....anyone know exactly what "rib celery" is????? We used regular ole celery...it was tasty. Couldn't find "rib" celery in the produce aisle. Never heard of "rib" celery...anyone else???

May Goals

I'm really hoping to accomplish all of this in May...I just gotta have the right motivation...and what better motivation than bright, warm, sunny days, right??? Right. Okay. Ready, Set, Go!

ME:
-Finish The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and read one other book
- Limit to 2 fast food days
-Keep up with my water drinking
-Actually do my work-outs (Someone please help!)

HOME:
-Organize dining room
-Clean out guest bedroom
-Make that dadgum doggie bed
-2 new recipes.

FUN:
-Lookouts Game
-Hang out with friends
-Couples' Night

MONEY:
-Save 25% of each weeks' earnings
-Pay off yet another credit card

The End.
Not to hard, right? Yeah, right.

April Goals

Anybody know what happened to April??? I swear it was just the beginning of April and I had tons of plans for the month. Next thing I know, I wake up one morning and it's already MAY??? Holy man. Well....what did get done?? Let's review.

ME:
-Read more. (I obviously can't get an exact number of books read, so we'll try just reading more this month) 
I have definitely been reading more. Not only did I finish The Carrie Diaries, but I also got half way through  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Hooray for me!! 
-Wake up in the A.M. and get movin'
....ha
-Limit to 1 soda product a day  
Lots and lots of water for this lil girl. Although I suppose that if I have a cup of coffee, a soda, and maybe some sweet tea some days..that kinda defeats the one soda a day purpose doesn't it???? Sssshhhh...don't tell though, it's still just one soda a day! -Start trying to eat better
Sorta kinda...we have been cooking a lot at home lately...but I still have days where McDonald's is my best friend...plus eating at work a whole lot. 
-Work-outs (check back for more about this)
Hahaha...we all saw I only posted one week of work-outs. You can figure this out on your own. 

US:
-Date night with Josh (even if at home)
Since we've been cooking a lot more, that means staying home with each other and just having quality time. It's perfect.
-Be patient with each other
This one was definitely tested this month...he was home for 2 weeks straight. No work. Which meant I worked..and that was the only money coming in...I was really nervous, but we did alright..totally cut back on going out..and Josh really did a lot around the house, and with my Dad. I truly think it was for the best, we learned to communicate a little better..and be patient and helpful. We definitely turned a negative into a positive.
HOME:
-Clean and organize the dining room
-Redo dining room chairs
-Make Lola's doggie bed
I promise these things WILL get done....one day....-2 new recipes
And they were pretty darn good. Check them out! Beef Stroganoff and Apple Cinnamon Pork Chops
FUN:
-Visit Josh's family at the end of the month
-Dinner with friends
All about our fun.
-Lunch with one of the girls

MONEY:
-Save 25% of weekly earnings
-Pay off one credit card
Still doing really well with these. Keeping the bills list down..and debt even lower. Love it. 

Ok, so what...9 out of 16?? I'll take it. 

What We've Been Up To

A couple of weeks ago we had our friends, Katie and Dave over for a cook-out. We made hamburgers and hot dogs and just sat around talked and relaxed. Actually, we sat around and watched the dogs play. Katie just recently got a pug puppy. Charlie came over and met Lola for the first time. We were a little nervous about it, since Charlie is about 10 weeks old, but they got along so well and just played and played and played. Lola was soooo good with little Charlie and even taught him how to jump from the back door step onto the porch. She also tried teaching him how to go down the steps into the yard, but he wasn't quite ready for that quest. It was adorable. I had taken about 20 minutes of video on my phone, but unfortunately my phone likes to make videos and pictures disappear. Maybe one day it will show back up and I will be able to share it, but for now here's a picture of the first meeting and another of Charlie hanging out under my dress, which he loooved to do. At one point I actually had both dogs playing tag around my feet, just so they could be around the dress. Ridiculous.

Last week, after working 6 days in a row, Josh and I went to Helen, Georgia to visit his parents. It was so nice to be able to spend a few days with them, and as an added bonus, Josh's grandfather and his wife were in town too! Josh hadn't seen him in a few years, and I had never met him. He was unable to make it to the wedding due to health issues, so it was really nice to sit and talk with him and show them all our pictures from the wedding. The reason we were all there was because Josh's dad was raised to third degree within his Masonic lodge. I really couldn't tell you exactly what that means, but I do know he is now allowed to wear Masonic jewelry and display the symbol openly in public. It was really special because Grandpa is a 32nd degree Mason, and was able to be a part of the rituals with Jerry. Jerry was also given Grandpa's first Masonic ring and Bible. Something truly meaningful to both of them.We are so proud of Jerry's accomplishments and dedication to the Masons.

Here's a couple pictures of us before we had to head back home.

Me, Josh, Grandpa, and BJ

Josh, Jerry, and Grandpa

So, that about sums it up. Other than that we've just been working, of course. That's all we do. And it's lame. ha. But stay tuned, we've got some changes going on around here and it's going to be very exciting. Hopefully I'll be able to fill all of you in soon. I know you'll anxiously be waiting. Right?