Pinterest

So, I decided to join the dark side by signing up for Pinterest! Actually, I had to submit a "request for an invitation to join" and the email says I'm on a "Pinterest waiting list". That part I don't get, so if anyone wants to help me out with an answer that would be great. I haven't wanted to join mostly because I thought it was just taking pictures and grouping, or pinning, them together. But after browsing the site for a while I've realized how WONDERFUL the site will be! I've already seen a lot of neat DIY projects, etc. that will be GREAT for baby showers, birthdays, weddings, Christmas, and anything in between. So, needless to say I'm feeling creative and excited to have a place to actually "hold" my ideas.

Sidenote, I only made it through half the day today :( I don't know if it's my medications or what but I couldn't go past 2:15. So, I've been hanging out, on the sofa, debating a nap (now it's too late to take one anyhow) and watching 'Home Alone' now. Man, I just can't wait to get rid of this stuff, I HATE being sidelined even if it is just slightly.

What I'm "appreciating" Wednesday!

Hello World :) It's Wednesday and regardless of how much is going on I promise myself I will not abandon my precious blog...if you noticed, Anything But Average got a makeover. Me gusta! I want to do more with it but for now it will be what it is. I had to take an astronomy test today, it went something like this: "A sounds good, so I'll circle A. Hmmm, did the professor say this word or this word when she was talking about this?" Yeah, I don't know if I did too well on that test but I decided to take the course as a pass/fail so it doesn't even matter anymore. word. I've been getting to take approximately 8 friggin' pills a day. Not comfortable and not an easy task. I know I said "recipes" in my previous blog, but I will add those on Friday. not that I think anyone cares.
Monday night I swung by Target and found some great deals...not like I really needed these at the moment but I'm glad I picked them up! I found a box of  50 "Thank You" cards on sale for $4.98, regularly $10.99. I thought this was a pretty good deal since A) I'm graduating in May and I know these will come in handy soon and B) I like to send out 'Thank You's'. I've also been looking for a food chopper to make my recipes "go" better. I found one on sale for $5-ish! And as I continued browsing the aisles I found an adorable pillow with a bow on it for half off $14.99 making it $7.48. another good bargain. Now, all of my money is being saved for Christmas presents for the family that I love :)

My YELLOW mums are turning PURPLE! At first I freaked thinking that something was staining them...yeah, I know. But they're actually turning purple. They look so pretty right now!

I also have a plant that I got at the beginning of summer thinking it would stay nice and comfy in the pot I had. It is sooooo overgrowing right now. It almost died in the summer heat but it came back. Any suggestions on what to do with this plant? Do I need a bigger pot?

And of course I have to leave you all with a picture of Max getting his tan on :)



Happy Wednesday :))



What I'm Loving Wednesday

Happy middle-of-the-week. I don't think every Wednesday will be a "What I'm Loving..." post. I think I'm going to change it up with "What I'm...missing, hating, liking, not understanding..." You get the idea! There are a lot of thoughts that have popped into my mind by Wednesday and it's not all about love :) Also, my procrastination schedule is getting pretty hectic so I may only get to post once or twice a week sometimes this semester. Happy thoughts of *almost done*almost done* 11 weeks to go!

I realized quite a while after actually living in Kansas that we are the "Sunflower State". Last Fall while driving to Oklahoma I noticed that sunflowers were practically lining the Kansas turnpike. I found it endearing. I mean, Oklahoma is the "Red Dirt" state. That doesn't look quite as cool while driving the highway. So, the first thing I'm loving this week are Sunflowers.

There is a sunflower patch right in front of my apartment! I noticed them a few weeks ago and decided to go snap some pictures :))

That's right! Holiday Barbie 2011 is out! I was browsing the aisles of Target looking for a birthday present and ran into this. She's so pretty (but I think some of the older ones are a little better). Fun Fact: I have been collecting Holiday Barbies for 22 years. When I own a home I really, really, really want a designated 'Barbie Room'; painted a fun color of pink with the Barbie's on shelves. I still have my Barbie Dream House that I got for Christmas when I was 3...and I still remember getting it! The Dream House will of course be in the Barbie Room!

^^This little guy...where do I begin?! He's always on my list for something. I took these pictures the other day while driving on our way to the d-o-g park. Max loves leaning out of the window. Sometimes he rests one of his elbows on the window and hangs out. I think he's pretty freakin' adorable!

P.S. I forgot to add that I loved loved loved watching Miss Angola win Miss Universe. She was just so regal and elegant all night. And watching the pageant made me miss my pageant days more than almost anything :(

 

Words Are Futile Devices

 In late 2009/early 2010 I prayed contionously to God that He would bring someone into my life that I could truly love. I was ready to love someone...honestly love someone. God did answer that prayer, and I'm so thankful. However, I forgot to add to the prayer that in return, I wanted someone who could love me just as much, in return. I knew what I was ready for. I knew that I was ready to love, respect, and trust someone. I was ready. Maybe I need to learn to be more specific. After all, this is the second time that I prayed for something, where God literally answered my prayer down to a "tee".
Don't get me wrong, I'm content with where my life is and loving the idea of my potential future, I just felt like I needed to get this out.


Happy Monday :)

A Little Bit Of This And A Little Bit Of That.

Awww, Sunday. I like Sunday's a lot. Unfortunately, this Sunday is the anniversary of the attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. My heart still aches for all of those lives lost. I seriously couldn't watch much of the coverage because even though it's been 10 years, it's still tragic to me. May the Lord continue to heal everyone affected.

I got a lot more accomplished this weekend than I thought I would! Friday, I invested in a new pair of Silver jeans, finally--it makes me feel a little bit better too.
School is still going pretty good too. Amazingly, or by the grace of God, I have not fallen behind in my 21 hours...whew.

Tonight, I made a really good, vegetarian lo-mein dish. I got the original recipe from allrecipes.com, however, I had to make several adjustments to it. You can add in meat or different vegetables if you want. I served this with a side of plain white rice and opted to put soy sauce over the entire plate.

Ingredients Needed: (a 3-4 person serving)

•  8 ounces uncooked spaghetti
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups of fresh sliced mushrooms
• fresh veggies of carrots, bell peppers, chopped onion, minced garlic, green onions or frozen veggies. I chose frozen veggies tonight of asparagus, carrots, peas, red pepper.
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 cup vegetartian vegetable broth or chicken broth. (I am a vegetarian so I used vegetable broth)
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• The original recipe also called for 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger, 2 tablespoons honey (most reviewers chose to leave out the honey because it made the taste too sweet), 1.4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/4 teaspoon curry powder. I didn't use any of these items for a number of different reasons and was very pleased with the taste.

Directions:

• Bring large pot of water to boil. Add pasta. Boil until cooked all the way through.
• Heat oil in large pan. Stir fry mushrooms and vegetables. If using frozen, you obviously need to cook all the way through in this step.
• In a separte bowl, mix in hoisin sauce, cornstarch, and broth. (if using the other ingredients listed above, add those at this time)
• Cook veggies all the way through and add the sauce mixture. Bring to a boil. Mix in soy sauce.
• When veggies and sauce begin to boil, remove from heat. Add to pasta & toss.  
• Enjoy :)

I also made Ghirardelli brownies for dessert. However, I forgot that I threw out my brownie pan. So, I ended up with brownie 'cupcakes'!

The weather has gotten a little cooler, which I don't like one bit. Fall is my favorite season, however, since living in Kansas I have seriously come to loathe the winter. I don't like being cold. That is all. I have been trying to get into the fall mood, even though it still feels pretty early to go all out. Last weekend I picked up some fall mums. I would like to get more, but if you've read my last couple of posts you know that I'm not too keen on buying too much right now in case I have a long move come next May.

Yellow Mums in the front walkway

Red Mums on patio

The only thing Fall-ish inside right now. I'm secretly trying to fend off cooler weather :)

When I went to Oklahoma last month, I stopped by my brothers new apartment and fell in love with some of the decor he had. One of those items being a vintage record player. Now, a few years back I was the girl in love with my currently broken  red acoustic guitar, riding a bicycle, sipping sangria everyday, and rarely showering. Living in Lawrence empowered me somewhat...<----that's another post coming very soon :) Somehow I lost that, and I desperately want, no I NEED, to be that girl again. Carefree! I just can't imagine anything making my well-being more complete than if I had one of these fancy little record players that I could listen to Sufjan (be still my heart!!!), Louis Armstrong, Michael Jackson, and Ella Fitzgerald. Yes!

I ran into this pretty little one at Target on Friday, price: only $119.

 

Speaking of Sufjan, we had a date pretty much all day long. Wind blowing my hair while driving and sitting outside in the perfect weather. Winter...STAY AWAY!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Yay! It's Wednesday...even better-tomorrow is Thursday which is technnically my friday. Yeah, be jealous :) And yes, I've finally moved from "Wednesday" to "What I'm Loving Wednesdays"! I decided that every week I actually find things that I'm digging, so why not post about it?!?

This weekend, I picked up a product from It's A 10. I had a previous stylists use some of the product on me a couple of years ago but I really just thought she was trying to get $$$ from me, because these products are hella expensive. Well, I've come to my wit's end with my hair. I cannot find a good stylist here and that's just the way that is. (at least Max finally has a good vet though, right). Last week I was even tempted to chop all of my hair OFF! Exercising makes it disgusting and lately most of the products I had been using seemed to be doing nada for me...just making the situation much worse. So, seeing the $10 price tag I decided that the worst that could come of this purchase is to lose $10 bucks. Nope, now the worst part is that I'm totally in love with the product and will now be needing a bigger bottle! This stuff. Is amazing. My hair looks and feels amazing. Not just one or the other. The product smells nice too. It's lightweight and I actually feel 100 times better about my 'do now. I seriously suggest you try this if you're feeling helpless with your hair! *update: A friend asked me where to find this product and I've searched online at BeautyBrands and Ulta and couldn't find it. You can find this line in both stores. Also, stores like MasterCuts and some salons malls cary the product too. Target & Walmart both sell it(along with other high end haircare products) but I wouldn't suggest buying from them or ordering the product from amazon.com, etc. because the prices on such products are typically priced much higher.

So, I think I'm finally settling in to who 'I' am and the person that 'I' want to be. I want to be a good, selfless person, a great friend, a good listener, a hard worker. The problem? Now my wardrobe needs to figure out who I am. I think I have gone through slumps in the fashion department and now that I'm really starting to pay attention to styles I'm ready to amp up my closet<----code for major closet cleanout. Oh, the other problem? lack of much dinero to help the project along.

Anyways, here are a few pieces I've picked out for the fall:

Toms are sooo comfortable and these black sparkly ones will go great with black pants. Perfect for when I'm teaching and constantly standing/walking.

You know, it gets realllly cold here during the winter. I do not like the cold and wear as many layers as possible. This is a pretty cute way to cover up. (from Buckle)

These jeans are expensive casual. I really need a couple of good pairs of jeans. Right now I'm rockin with two pairs...and I'm not really digging either one.

I like the darker look of these jeans, which I feel makes them a little dressier. No, I'm not a big fan of huge rhinestones on jeans...no matter how many pageants I have done. (silver jeans)

I figure picking out a couple of good pieces now that will last a while is a better investment than anything else I really need right now. *sigh*

Don't You Labor Today :)

Because I know I won't be working too hard. Well, let's face it, I'm over working hard. Which is bad :(
I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! I've been having a great weekend of relaxation because that's just how life should be.

Yesterday, Eric & I went to the zoo. It was his first visit and my third. I discovered that there is a "Tropical Rainforest" that I had successfully overlooked during my first 2 visits. Eric's favorite movie is "The Lion King" so I was pretty excited to show him the lion pride.

Max on a walk :)

'Hope', the giraffe I saw born last July!

'Nettie' the llama

Yup, never seen one of these in person before

These hippos were just precious

Refusing to be the adults that we are

And this fancy mask has a proud new owner. Seriously.