Happy Thanksgiving!

Well if that wasn't a predictable title, I don't know what is :) I'm thankful for so many things today. Thankful for my husband, and the fact that we'll, Lord-willing, be spending Christmas together too. He's even cleaning right now, I'm so lucky! Thankful for our family, I really don't know what I'd do without them. I didn't realize just how important they were until I moved across the country. Which brings me to  the next thing I'm thankful for: skype. So we can see our family even though we can't be with them. Thankful for the heat in our home since its in the 30's outside. I think I could go on and on. God has richly blessed us and I need to remember to be thankful not just today, but everyday. I'm also thankful for those in the military and their families who can't be together today. We appreciate your sacrifice and are praying for you to come home soon and safely! I hope everyone has a wonderful day :)

Etsy

I think I'm addicted. Since I've started mulling over what to get people for Christmas, I've probably been on Etsy everyday. Not great for productivity :) This is my husband rubbing off on me, but I like the idea of getting people gifts that not everyone in the world has (although there will always be a place in my heart for Target). I've bookmarked way too many things in the past couple weeks to post any here, but maybe when I narrow it down I'll list some of my favorite shops. Looking around on Etsy also makes me really want to be crafty! So I'm headed to Michaels today after I clean the mountain of dishes in the kitchen :/ And on that note...I've got to go start on the dishes.

Oops

Well I haven't posted in over a month, but I'm not too worried about it. I guess if I really want to look  back and see what was going on in our lives I should update a little more often. I just got back from a trip to Columbia, MO to see one of my best friends get married. The trip was more than wonderful and I got to hang out with my sister-in-law all weekend. 8 months is TOO long to go without seeing family! Now I'm even more excited about Christmas because it's closer now, and I'll get to see everybody again. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned before that it's killing me to wait until Christmas to see my cousin who is 5 months old now. Thankfully we get to Skype on a pretty regular basis so I can see him.

Also, my husband is wonderful. When I got home yesterday he'd picked up sushi for us and got me flowers...kind of. They were stems with a bunch of tiny pumpkins on them! I'd never seen anything like that and they were so cute :) Sorry for such a short, and probably boring post. I needed to make it quick because I've got to get back to work!

I may be asking too much here

Since I've started working at home, I've noticed my desk chair is not going to meet the challenge of keeping my backside comfy. It was great when I used it 1-2 hours a day, but for 8 hours it's not so good. I just started browsing office chairs online to see if anything jumped out at me. I would like a chair that is comfortable (obviously), but it can't be too big because the office isn't very big, I'd also like it to be aesthetically pleasing (as my husband would say), and less than $100. I'm starting to think something is going to have to give, and I'm afraid it may be the price :/ 

I will now return to scouring the internet for a steal on the best office chair ever!

Hmmm...

Well I've been having trouble coming up with anything to write, so I guess I'll just start typing and see what comes out.

Good news about the weather: it's going to be around 75 and sunny tomorrow and Thursday :) :) *cue angelic singing and clouds parting*

I've already been thinking a lot about our plans for Hubs' class break in December. We're going to get to spend some time with both of our families and we're very much looking forward to it. Both of our families have come to visit since we moved here (except Hubs' sis and bro in law), but it's just not quite the same living 2000+ miles away. I'll also get to see my cousin for the first time in person. I hate that I won't meet him until he's 8 months old, but I'm thankful for Skype since I get to see him every couple weeks. I've already scoped out plane tickets and everything. Now I just have to wait 4 months for it to get here!

Hope everybody has a good rest of the week!



PS-just had an earthquake here. Second one in the past 2 months. On the to-do list for tomorrow - look into earthquake insurance! I meant to do this after the 1st but didn't get around to it, now it will be closer to the top of my list.

I LOVE my husband!

That's about all I have to say. Just feeling madly in love :) and enjoying being lazy at home with Hubs this evening.

Taco Bell, I've got your number!

This week I discoved how to make quesadillas that taste just like Taco Bell's, but they're healthier! I tried it for myself last night, and went on and on to Hubs about how good it was. He believed me, but admitted that he didn't realize just how good they really were until I made him one today for lunch. Now I don't really NEED to go to Taco Bell anymore (unless, of course, I'm craving a Mt. Dew Baja Blast).

In case anyone else would like to know the secret to my quesadilla success, I'll share. :) This is just what I used, if you prefer non-whole wheat tortillas that would probably work too.

• Mission Whole Wheat Carb Balance Tortillas (burrito size)
• Kraft 2% Mexican blend cheese
• Taco Bell sauce (comes in a smallish bottle at the grocery store)
• Oscar Meyer Rotisserie Chicken lunch meat (much faster than actually cooking chicken yourself)

On half of the tortilla I layered cheese, sauce, meat, sauce cheese then folded the tortilla in half and stuck it on our handy dandy George Foreman grill. Flipped it over once while it was cooking, and VIOLA! Out comes a Taco Bell quesadilla Susan style.

And while I'm on the topic of food, I might as well expound on the Mission Carb Balance Tortillas. I'm not sure why they're called carb balance, I just know they're whole wheat. We've tried probably every brand/kind of whole wheat and/or multi-grain tortilla out there and this one far surpasses the competition. It's chewy and not dry AT ALL. We use them all the time for wraps, burritos and now quesadillas. Honestly, I hardly notice a difference between it and a regular flour tortilla. So you get all the yumminess of a flour tortilla plus the benefits of whole grain! ....do I sound like a commercial or what? haha

Happy Friday everybody!

"Summer" in Central California

Last night we were looking at some pictures and Hubs asked why I never dress like that here (I was wearing a tank top in the picture). Well because its cold here, which brings me to my rant...I mean topic...of the day. :)

I've only lived in California for 5 months, but I've quickly learned that summer on the central coast does not have the same definition here as it does in 48 other states (Alaska appears to have a similar definition). 

A few observations about summer here:

• You need a jacket when you go outside 90% of the time
• The sun may not make an appearance for weeks at a time
• I don't think they actually update the forecast daily, they just put "Foggy in the morning, partly cloudy high of 62 in the afternoon" every day in the 7 day forecast
• Everyone else in the world thinks you have awesome weather because they're tired of the sun and 90+ degree temperatures

Before you all think I'm completely ungrateful, I do appreciate not sweating the minute I walk outside. I visited TX in May and it was already 'sweat as soon as you walk outside' hot there. And yesterday the sun came out! It was wonderful and I was SO thankful for a sunny day. You have no idea until you go without the sun for 2 straight weeks in the summer. So if you're ever sweltering and wondering where in the world can I go to escape this heat? Think the central coast of California. Here's to hoping for another sunny day...maybe we'll even get over 65 degrees (ha, yeah right!). :)

PS - just so you know I'm not exaggerating, check out the forecast for the next 3 days from weather.com:

Aug 19  Today

Partly cloudy skies. Areas of fog. High 64F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.

Aug 19  Tonight

A few clouds. Low 53F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.

Aug 20  Tomorrow

A few clouds early, otherwise mostly sunny. High 62F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.

Aug 20  Tomorrow night

Partly cloudy in the evening with more clouds for later at night. Low 53F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.

Aug 21  Saturday
Mix of sun and clouds. Highs in the low 60s and lows in the low 50s. Sorry if that came across super grumpy. I really do like it here, I'm just cold a lot...and right now :) Hope everyone has a pleasantly warm day!!

Maybe I'll try this again and shampoo

Once upon a time I thought I'd get into blogging, so I created a blog. I made a couple of posts (literally) and that's about it. I'm thinking I'll give it another try, but we'll see how it goes. I'm still not very familiar with how to get the formatting exactly how I want, so that may continue to adjust.

In other news...

I had a shampoo revelation this week. I've always used cheap (I guess) shampoo and never really thought anything of it. Actually, I didn't really realize that there was such a thing as $30 shampoo until recently.

Lately I've been pretty dissatisfied with my hair. It used to be straight as a board and has gradually moved on to wavy as I've gotten older. Only it's not the sexy beautiful wavy, its the 'oh, did you forget to brush your hair when you woke up this morning' wavy. Anyway, since I'm too chicken to try a drastically different haircut to find hair satisfaction, I decided to try a different shampoo.

I've tried most "bargain" shampoos. This time I bought some shampoo for curly hair, and after only one day I could tell a difference! I was very pleasantly surprised :) It's called Marc Anthony Curl Defining shampoo. My hair was silky, but not greasy and much easier to manage. And just to be clear, it wasn't a $30 shampoo it was only $7.99. But compared to $3.99 I almost didn't buy it. I don't think I could ever buy the $30 shampoo because I'd rather have ugly hair than pay that much haha. So if anyone is looking for a good shampoo, I recommend Marc Anthony if you can bear to spend $7.99 on it :)

Monterey!

Moved to Monterey, its GREAT! Very easily the most beautiful place either of us have lived. We're pretty much settled in now, although our loveseat and my husband's desk were both casualties of the move we're still waiting to replace. I've been feeling very housewifey lately since I haven't been working. I'm still looking for a job, but until then I've been puttering around the house getting things done. On the list today is finishing kitchen curtains. I'm pretty excited because I made one panel last night, with no pattern and no sewing machine. Better get on with my day!

I'm new to this...

Just thought I'd try my hand at this whole blogging thing. I've got a little more time on my hands since I quit my job. My husband is in the Air Force and we're kind of between places at the moment. We'll see how it goes!