Ghetto? Not Ghetto?

So, as you all know, I have recently relocated

On top of that...I am now living {gasp} with a boy!

Much has changed in my world....

...we have moved into a teeny tiny apartment, a spacious 650 {at its max} square feet. Fortunately, we kinda like each other, so it hasn't been much of a problem...

well, since we have had to toss most of our belongings to make room for us!

The two of us each have one {or four} of everything so we have had to downsize.

We decided that we didn't need 12 plates, since there are only 2 of us here and we don't need 6 sets each of silverware--at least for now. Not to mention the fact that our kitchen it the size of my pinky-toe-nail, we simply just don't have the space for it all.

So we have made a huge giveaway pile!

Even with this huge giveaway pile, we have accumulated, through the move, more stuff with even less space for it all.

Last week, I came up with the most brilliant plan...

Ghetto? Not Ghetto?

1) We have a mini dishwasher. We ran it once and it didn't even clean the dishes. Since there are only 2 of us here, we also decided not to use the dishwasher because we will just clean the dishes after we use them.

So, what is my genius plan, you might ask?

We store the plates and glasses in the dishwasher to make more cabinet room for the pots and pans!

It is just wasted space if we aren't using it, right?!

What do you think?

Ghetto? Not Ghetto?

{I think that it is just resourceful, if you ask me :-D}
Sweeter thinks its ghetto..haha!

2) I baked cookies last night. We don't have a cooling rack. We have a toaster oven. 

Instead of keeping the just baked cookies on the baking stone, I decided to utilize the toaster over as a cooling rack.

It's better than using the over, right?!

What do you think?

Ghetto? Not Ghetto?

I sent Sweeter a picture text, since I made these when he was on duty and he replies with:
"was the dishwasher full"
ha ha, he thinks he is soooo funny

Haha, that is all that I have for now...I am sure that I will have more Ghetto-Fabulous updates on how to save space as the months pass!

Until then, enjoy and I hope you got a good laugh...I know that we did!

I Survived!

I survived my first night in our new apartment...alone!

Before the holidays, Sweeter was told that an NCO was going to have to stand duty from 8AM to 8AM on the 28th. Most of Sweeter's team is on leave for the holiday so there are not a lot of guys around. I have the sweetest Sweeter and he offered to split the shift and stand duty from 8PM to 8AM--Boo!

He came home after work yesterday, I made us some dinner and we ate by candle light!

{it was exciting because for Christmas, Sweeter's parents got us a blu-ray player that has wi-fi}

During dinner we also listened to some classical music on pandora through the blu-ray player!

It was pretty neat!

We feel so tech-savvy!

We also set up a netflix account-look at how hip we are

After Sweeter left for work, I put on Julie & Julia and made some Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

{I felt that it was most appropriate}

Santa brought me a pampered chef stone and these cookies had the honor of being the first dish I made
Super exciting!

I just love Meryl Streep!
{have you seen Death Becomes Her? if you haven't, rent it right now! it is totally worth it}

It was a good movie, and I would definitely recommend it..It is making me want to cook--a lot

I just may have to go out and buy her cook book and make the famous beef bourguignon recipe!

I cleaned up from my cookie fiasco and then I went to bed...I am an old lady who needs her beauty rest!

Today, when Sweeter gets home we need to clean up and run errands

He is off work for the rest of the weekend for the New Year, which is super exciting!

I wish you all a Happy Hump Day!

My Drug Test

I got a job that starts on January 3rd! 

I am super excited about it!

It definitely made my move a lot easier knowing that I was going to have something here.

One of the pre-employment requirements was for me to get a drug test.

Yesterday, I finally went...well not finally, I was busy last week and I had to get it done at a specific place which I couldn't have done before the move.

Anyway, last week, before the holiday I called the office to ask about making an appointment as well as how long it would take.

The woman on the phone made me feel silly about asking these questions, not in a bad way...I have never had to take a drug test before...so it is new territory for me!

She told me it was just a walk in kind of test and that I should prepare to be there at most an hour.

So I go to the address I was told to go to and it is a nice looking hospital.

I walk in and the security guard can tell that I am obviously not sure where to go and tells me that I am in the wrong place and that I need to go down the road to a completely different address

I was thinking to myself..."oh great, this seems fishy...why didn't they put that address on the sheet if that is where I am supposed to go?!"

I started walking over there and then decided it was too far and walked back and drove

I found the place and got inside this big building with a lot of medical offices and I had to call because I wasn't sure in which suite they were located.

I walk in and I fill out my necessary paperwork and I sit and wait about 10 minutes when a nurse comes out and says:

"Is it, LA-TA-CHI?"

(ok imagine that being phonetically how she said it)

I thought to myself:

Great, this is going to be a long visit

And I responded with:

"It's LA-TOSH"

(again, imagine that being phonetically spelled)

I walk in and I had to put my purse in a cabinet along with my jacket

She told me to walk to the bathroom and that she would follow behind me

She gave me a cup, told me to wash my hands then to pee in the cup

and when I was finished not to flush or wash my hands and open the door so she could examine the room

I did what she asked

I followed her back to a desk where she sealed it in my presence

And then I was on my way

See...I can only speak for myself, of course, when I say that I was thoroughly uncomfortable.

I can understand all of the precautions that doctors and nurses have to take to make sure that people don't "cheat" on their drug tests

That is soo ridiculous to me!

You obviously shouldn't be doing drugs if you have a grown-up job, or any job for that matter

Maybe that should be a wake-up call to you if you need to be taking a drug test to stop doing them

Sorry for being so judgmental....

The whole experience just really put me out of my element!

Holiday Wrap Up

So, my Sweeter is home for good and I CANNOT be more elated!!

He got home a week before Christmas which made the holidays even more special!!

We are almost all of the way settled in our new apartment! We had everything that we need, minus the couch and the kitchen table...

...picture this...

we eat meals on bar stools...

sitting around the kitchen counter that is maybe a foot-and-a-half square around...

under candle light!

It is so sweet and romantic that he gets excited with me when I light the candles every night for dinner :-)

Last night we bought a couple movies with some Christmas gift cards and we watched our first movie in our new apartment! 

We sat on the floor

wiggling around whenever our butt cheeks got tired

....for the entire movie!

ha! got to love improvising!

We are ordering a living room set soon, so hopefully that will come in a reasonable amount of time!

The first few days that we were here, it rained and rained and rained and didn't let up for almost 5 days!!

We had some issues with the apartment complex and since the rain has stopped the issues have pretty much subsided, which is great!

The holidays were spent running around the Bay Area to both of our parents houses so we could spend time with family!

We drove up Thursday before Christmas and left the day after Christmas to get back to our home.

We spent Christmas Eve at his parents house and Christmas at mine with his family there.

The holiday was spent with great family and fun friends!

I am sad because one of my other girls was there and we didn't take a picture :-(

My Handsome Sweeter

My Beautiful Momma!

Friend!

On Christmas we played the funniest game....

a small gift is wrapped something like 20 times each inside a new and differently wrapped box

you need two dice, a hat, a jacket, a scarf and gloves (or mittens if you want the added challenge)

we played with 8 people and each person takes a turn to roll the dice

If they get a double, they have to put on all of the clothes and start to unwrap the present...

...while the rest of the group continues to roll the dice!

So I could be putting on all of the clothes when the next person rolls a double and then I have to take all of the clothes off and the next person puts it on

You can't start to unwrap the present until you are fully dressed in the outfit!

It was hysterical!

I don't think I have ever laughed so hard!

My tummy was definitely getting a good work out! ha!!!

My mom ended up winning, she made out with a burts bees chapstick! ha! 

one of the many wardrobe changes!

I had just got everything on when my mom rolled a double...I didn't even get to touch the present!

there is the gift...I think in its outter-most wrapping

Mom rolled doubles the most, I think

little bro...hahaa

we were rolling on the floor laughing!

toward the end, he thought he was going to get it...

seeing sweeter dressed in it...I think I peed a little...SOO FUNNY

So fun!!

Can-Do Challenge- Smile Because You Care

As I mentioned a few Sunday's ago, the next few Can-Do Challenges will be coming from a book that I bought as a result of a college class that I ended up dropping and I was unable to part with this book!

I hope that these are as helpful and beneficial for all of you, as they were for me!

Stress Free For Good, written by Dr Fred Luskin & Dr. Kenneth R Pelletier, is a book that has seriously changed my life and how I manage myself :-) I hope that you all have the opportunity to read this book, and if not, please read my posts because they really do help :-)

The seventh life skill written about in this book is: Smile Because You Care

"Try a smile right now. Think of the love you offer, and smile. Hold that smile for about 10 seconds. Every person that we've asked to do this has reported feeling better. In other words, not only do you smile when you feel happy, but you feel happy when you smile! Apparently you can't have one without the other. So if you want to experience a moment of happiness, smile" (156).

Purpose:

~To reflect on the positive reasons you do most of the things in your life
~ To remind yourself that you care about people

Practice:

~Think of something you did today and ask yourself why you did them and when you remember why, smile
~Think about how much you care about the people you do things for-and smile

Tips:

~Remember that often we do things because we want to help
~Reflect on how much you care for all the people around you and how much of a help you are to them
~Smile at people, and they'll more likely smile at you

Application:

~When you are feeling discouraged
~When you are feeling overworked
~When you're being photographed ;-)

Life Skill:

"When you smile, your body and mind move into a healing state of peace and well-being-so care, and then smile" (162).

Again, all of this information comes straight from the book...I have paraphrased and generally it is not verbatim-I only chose a few items that have really helped me, that I hope will help you :-)

Merry Christmas Eve/Merry Christmas to All!

Wow! 

I haven't had internet or TV all week {I feel so out of touch) and since I got it we have just been running around turning an apartment into our home!

I will have many updates for you all early next week! 

And I will catch up with everyone then!

...for now...

I wanted to send some love to all of you and leave you with some homecoming pictures!

I am seriously the happiest person on the planet right now!

thank you all for your love upon his return!

it was magical and special and everything in between!

Merry Christmas to all, and to All a Good Night!

The initial sighting ;-)

taking a good look!

ahh! sooooo excited!

kisses for my sweeter!

my fave of the day!

waiting to get off...a long wait...

I am sooo super happy!

Guest Blogger--LivKit from Simply Sunshine and Daisy's

Now for my sixth and final guest blogger:

LivKit from Simply Sunshine and Daisy's

LivKit has become one of my must read blogs

She has a positive outlook on life, that I appreciate!

She is a fellow Marine Fiance

We have become close because we have many things in common

Without further adieu...

LivKit, take it away!

------------------------------------------------------------

Hey everyone!

It is Liv from Simply Sunshine and Daisys!

I recently noticed that La Tache needed some guest bloggers, and so here I am of course! She has done some amazing things for me, and is such a great woman who I am proud to call a friend, so I jumped on this opportunity!

.. Now I know a lot of you probably get enough of me via my own blog.. but for those of you who dont.. I am a 20 something, Military fiance who happens to be battling Ovarian cancer and getting ready to have a hysterectomy ... No I am not handling it ok.. and yes that is why I am still blogging! Well Ill back you guys up a little bit to my being a Mil-Fi.. (I just made that up-- I have no idea if it is used anywhere else...) You can read a little more about us here... (http://kelseylaurenusaf.blogspot.com/2010/12/interview-olivia.html) My Mr came home this month on R.R and I have had the most fun with him so far! Which brings me back to La Tache... She asked me to tell about my working in a college enviroment and all the craziness that goes along with it... but I had the funnies conversation last night (12/14/2010) with the Mr that leads me to explain the title of this post...

(Setting... On our lovely little couch, drinking, and eating popcorn.. Watching TV)

Mr- Babe, What do you think of me ever being President?

Me- (nearly spits out drink) What?

Mr- Do you think Id be a good President?

Me-(looking at him like he has lost it) Well... you do have a good military background!

Mr-(puffs up like a peacock) You noticed that huh...

Me-Honey; you couldnt even make brownies last night by yourself? You might have an impresive military background but you are very LAZY!

Mr-The President doesnt do anything himself...

Me-Well the First Lady doesnt make the President brownies either.. (by this point to the point of falling in the floor laughing at this)

Mr-She would if she was a sweet First Lady... (looks at me trying to be cute)

Me-(Grabs pillow) Well you arent ready to be President then.. nor make a good one!

Mr-What?! (says this like the minion on Despicable Me)

Me-You need a better plan... and a sweeter First lady! (hits him with pillow!)

Isnt he just a bucket of laughs?

Any of you ever had a similar conversation with their Mr's?

Thank you so much La Tache for asking me to do this!

Liv Kit! 

------------------------------------------------------------

Liv, what a funny story! 

Oh boy! 

You two are too cute!

I can't wait to see pictures from your engagement session!

I hope you all are having a wonderful day! 

I hope to be back online tomorrow!

Guest Blogger--Adrienne from AOG Daily

Now for my fifth guest blogger:

Adrienne from AOG Daily

This may sound a little silly...

When I first met Adrienne she was a little intimidating to me..ok, lets be honest, I was totally intimidated!

She was a senior, I was a freshman

She was about to graduate from college, I was just starting

She was on EC as our Vice President Scholarship

She was pretty much the ideal sorority sister!

She was involved-always around

She is beautiful-inside and out

She always made sure to be friendly with me!

I remember talking to her, and really getting to know her at our spring semester retreat!

After getting to know her I was sad to see her go and also excited for her to start a new chapter in her life!

About a year ago, I came across her blog

maybe she posted about it on Facebook...who knows...

And I have been stalking her ever since!

She now has a handsome husband and a beautiful daughter

and I just can't get enough of her family/life/book updates!

She is a special and one of a kind woman and you all should check out her adorable blog!

Without further adieu...

Adrienne, take it away!

------------------------------------------------------------

Hey everyone, I'm Adrienne from AOG Daily and while my friend and sorority sister, La Tache, is enjoying some quality time with her newly returned sweetheart, I'm here to guest blog for her!

One of my favorite things about the holidays is getting Christmas and Holiday cards in the mail. Every year, we always send one out and I always put a lot of time and effort into picking just the right picture and just the right design. But once the holidays are over, these cards get lost in the oblivion of packed up or thrown away Christmas decor. This is why I like to save our cards and keep them in an album so that when my children are grown, they can look back at all the Christmas cards we have sent out over the years. So in the spirit of Christmas cards, here are our cards from the last 4 years...

2007

2008

This card doubled as our "save the date" for our wedding. Our reception was at a vineyard, hence the vineyard theme.

2009

Our first card with our daughter! It was an eventful year for us, so I decided to incorporate a timeline inside.

2010

Let's see your Christmas cards from years past!

------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for your post! 

All of your holiday cards are amazing!

I was thinking about doing a holiday card/save the date...we will see how timing works out :-)

I wish you all a Magnificent Monday!