A Day Off

It's 9:00 on Saturday (insert Piano Man instrumental here) and I finally took a shower! I didn't have to go to work today since the store was closing early, however, I was rather productive today!

This is probably the most embarrassing picture I have ever posted on my blog. Really, I'm a bit OCD and like things to be neat and clean and smelling like lemon Clorox wipes til the "big clean" takes place.

This friends, is what my closet looked liked at about 2:00 today:



And this is what it looks like now! Ahhh, happiness!



You see, I live in an apartment and the majority of the things I own are either stored in this closet, under the bed or in the 5 case bookshelf that I got at Target on sale for $26 dollars and spent 3 hours putting together a few weeks ago. My closet did start out neat and tidy, but once I came back from Christmas and didn't really allow myself anytime to reorganize, things got ugly! You could say I'm short of space...it's ok. I'm aware. But I survive and am blessed to have a roof over my head!

After I cleaned out my closet, I made another "Megan Crock Pot Meal" that wasn't form a recipe. This time, I cooked some chicken breasts (of course in the crock pot and yes, they cooked while I cleaned) after they were done and my closet was organized, I cut up the chicken, added a can of tomato sauce, some enchilada seasoning and let it cook on low for a few hours. How many hours? Maybe 3? But I couldn't rightly say. Anyway, as soon as it was "done" I scooped some in a bowl and topped it with cheddar cheese and some pieces of a flour tortilla. Really, I wish I used tortilla chips for crunch so maybe I'll do that tomorrow for lunch. I don't think I should take full credit for this creation because I did somewhat follow the back of the enchilada seasoning packet, minus the ingredients boiling, oven baking, tortilla rolling, sauce dividing, 15-20 minute oven baking and cheese bubbling. But you understand!

After that, I made "Lemon Melt Away Cookies" for a friend. I'm not certain if we'll still be friends tomorrow because they are certainly not like the ones my mama makes....they tasted ok but the presentation is lacking. Oh well!

Fear not, I didn't stop there! I also put together a "Honeycombed Coffee Cake" and put it in the fridge for breakfast tomorrow!!! All I have to do is add the butter, lemon juice, bake it and then add the honey! I am so excited! HCC was a staple for breakfast in our house on the weekends and whenever we weren't in a rush to get out the door and I haven't made one in so long. I'm excited to enjoy it tomorrow morning but sad that they cancelled all of the church services for tonight and tomorrow. It's just so icy!

I did leave the apt for about 5 minutes today (in my pj bottoms of course, with my winter coat and gloves) to bring a bag of trash to the dumpster and the snow was just covered in ice. Crazy!

Hope everyone had a great day! It's snowing again here...yay!

Winter Weather

I admit, this picture is ugly. This is the view from the "balcony" of the apartment. Really, this is the backside of the complex so it's a parking lot and a wooded area. If I was devoted, I'd walk to the front of the apartment complex and see the pretty sights....but I'm not that motivated!

Anyway, that means that it actually snowed here in the QC! Really though, I've got a feeling that it's more of an icy-sleet-freezing rain kind of thing that we've got going on. But it is nice to see the white stuff!

Hope everyone else woke up to pretty snow! And lots of it!

Almost Wordless Wednesday!

This is "Fancy Nancy" and today is her 3rd birthday!

Really, this is K, one of the 3 adorable children that I spent everyday with for a year and a half! It is so hard to believe that she is 3 years old today! I took this picture when I went home for Christmas and this is the outfit she wore to Story Hour at the Library. It was adorable! She is definitely all girl, which is fitting since she has an older and younger brother. I absolutely love her and her brothers and miss them terribly!

Happy 3rd Birthday K!!!!!

Sick Computer

Last Tuesday, my computer came down with a "virus"...or so I thought. It was a BUSY day at work, I came home, heated up dinner (remember last Monday and that random crock pot meal I made...it was super yummy) and turned on my laptop so I could eat and work on a few projects for work.
Or so I thought.
My computer decided to flash many bad messages and breach of Internet security blah blah blah. So, I ended up going back to work to finish a few things. I had a really busy Wednesday to Saturday so by the time I got home each night, I was so tired I didn't even feel like turning on my laptop.
I was off on Sunday, so I headed out of town to meet a friend and her fiance for lunch, did some shopping for the week and came home and cleaned.
Today, I decided to give my laptop another try. I turned in on and wa la! It works! No threatening messages, no bad pop ups.

I'm thankful for a working laptop but at the same time, I think it was Gods way of saying "Megan, take a break, it's a busy week, just take a break from online." And I did. And although it was weird to be disconnected from the online world, it was nice.

But...now I'm off to catch up on the weeks worth of online reading I didn't do.

My Day Off

Today is my day off for the week...YAY! So what have I done so far? Well,

I woke up at 7:45
made an omelet for breakfast (thanks to the awesome omelet maker my grandparents gave me for Christmas)
washed the dishes (thanks to the dishwasher)
did all of my laundry
made candied pecans....yes the recipe follows :)
put dinner in the crock pot!

Really, I completely made up my dinner...I put 2 frozen chicken breasts in the crock pot and put it on high for maybe an hour, took the chicken out, cleaned out the pot, put in half a jar of spaghetti sauce, cut up chicken, some random spices and let that cook on low for a couple of hours, then i added some mozzarella cheese for the fun of it and now it's on "keep warm". Really, it's done but I'm not hungry yet. I think I'll serve it with some noodles and I may run to the store for a veggie and to get out.

I feel pretty productive and it's not even 2:30!

Oh and the pecans, super yummy and super easy!

You will need:
1 egg
cold water
1 lb bag of pecan halves
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt

Beat 1 egg white until it is stiff. Add 1 teaspoon cold water. Pour this over 1lb pecan halves and stir to coat each piece.

Mix 1 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon cinnamon and 1 teaspoon salt.

Pour this mixture over the nuts and stir to coat

Bake at 275* for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Cool and enjoy!

Random Stuff for a Random Dozen

It's Friday night.

As much as I would love to go to bed, I didn't get home from work until 7:30. I made dinner, can't figure out how to turn the tv on (roomie got a Wii and well, it's still set up for some Wii action, not tv viewing and I'm remote challenged) so I thought I'd blog. I don't really have anything exciting to say, so I'm "borrowing" this topic from "Love Being A Nonny" I don't think she'll mind! If I knew how to add her blog address, I would. But I don't. And I have 3 followers, which probably means those same 3 followers are the only 3 people that read my blog, so it's probably not necessary. But thanks for understanding!


The Random Dozen

1. When was the last time you craved a food--what was it, and did you cave?
Tonight! I wanted (and still kind of want) Chicken Teriyaki w/fried rice, broccoli and carrots from Tokyo Express (one of the best hole in the wall places ever)...but I'm over an hour and a half from Tokyo so it's a no go....meaning I did not cave!


2. M & M's or Skittles?
M&Ms! Generally peanut, though I do love the almond ones. I also think the plain minis taste better than the standard sized minis



3. Have you ever read the Bible completely through?
No, but I should and I want to


4. How long does it take you to really wake up in the morning?
Once I'm up, I'm good to go. I wake up, shower and can tackle anything! Some mornings, I set my alarm for 15 extra minutes....but really, it's a tease because I'll set my alarm to wake up at 6:30, the extra 15 makes it 6:45 but really, I wanted to get up at 6:45 anyway! I'm tricky like that!

5. Have you ever been on a cruise?
Yes! In fact, here is a photo. I was blessed to go on a cruise last May with some awesome friends and we had a blast!

This was in Belize...and I had a little bit of an "issue" with the lack of air circulation and the choppy waters. This may have been the best I looked the entire trip and judging by this picture, that is SAD...I dare not show the photo of me with my head hanging out of the very small window.


And here we all are after we got on the boat and we were given the ok to explore!



6. Who is your favorite actress?
Anyone that can make me laugh. I don't really have a favorite but I like Sandra Bullock, Anne Hathaway, Reese Witherspoon, Kate Hudson... really, I don't like Renee Zelweger or Drew Barrymore. Sorry gals!



7. Death too young is something that I will just never understand.


8. How much of a technology junkie are you?
I somewhat understand computers. I can figure most things out. But, I left work today and after sitting in the office for 30 minutes, still could not get the computer and the printer to communicate so I guess I'm not that much of a junkie

9. Do you enjoy selecting greeting cards for people, or is it more of a cultural "have to" for you?
I LOVE to read, pick and send cards! Ahh! I really do love it! In fact, it's my New Years Resolution to do it more, spontaneously rather than just for a special occasion!


10. When was the last time you got a new style/haircut?
It's been a long time....like early November. I used to go every 6 weeks on the dot...but I moved...and well, I haven't found anyone in the QC but I also haven't looked. I have gone back to the old stomping grounds twice to get my hair cut though!


11. What do you enjoy shopping for most?
Food. I find the grocery store to be relaxing and I like to cook/bake. I've also been known to walk aimlessly around Target just for the fun of it. I probably need a hobby. Or need to meet people in the QC.


12. What's the last thing you think of before you leave the house?
"Did I unplug everything?"

Fried Pickles

I went to lunch with a wonderful friend the other day, and enjoyed FRIED PICKLES! They were phenomenal! And served with Ranch dressing which I adore!

I'm not big on fried food. I mean I LOVE Chick-fil-A but I don't eat there often. But wow, I think I could live off of fried pickles.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

It's COLD. I think I probably make this at least twice a month, maybe three times. Seriosuly though, it'll last me for 2 or 3 days since I tend to eat it for lunch and dinner.

Chicken Tortilla Soup
(from Desperation Dinners)

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (cooked)
1 cup chopped onions ( really, i just hydrate those dehydrated onions and only add maybe 1/2 a cup)
1 tablespoon bottled lime juice (fresh will work too)
1/2 teaspoon bottled minced garlic (fresh will work too, again i do the whole hydrate the dehydrated)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cans (14.5 oz each) fat free chicken broth
1 cup bottled salsa (i like the wal mart medium but the hotter the salsa the more spice in the soup)
1 cup frozen corn kernels (must be frozen cause they'll cook in the soup)

***You may also add crushed tortilla chips and/or shredded cheddar cheese when you serve it. I also like to make brown rice and eat it together.

1. Cook chicken. Add onions, lime juice, garlic, chili powder and cumin to a pot. Cook for 2 mins.
2. add the broth, salsa, corn. Stir to mix. Cover the pot and bring the broth to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium high and continue to boil 8-10 mins to develop the flavor.

See! I told ya it was SUPER EASY!!! And SO YUMMY!!!

George*

Today, this became my favorite hardware store for various reasons.



I went here, thinking that it was just your typical Ace Hardware and that I would be able to buy a few nails. I walked it and felt like a kid in a candy store! As soon as I walked in I was greeted by the aroma of fresh popping popcorn...complimentary I might add! I walked around and oh my...this place as EVERYTHING! Dishes, napkins, bags, ornaments, cups, cards, soap and of course hardware. It was awesome!

I walked around and finally made it to the big ol nail bin (it probably has an official name, but whatever). As I looked at all of the options (and WOW, there were A TON of options), I found nails that had a head big enough to not fall out of the frames that I want to hang in my room. I found an envelope to put my 6 nails in and asked George*, my new best friend, if I needed any information to bring to the register. Well, George* asked me what was in the envelope and I proudly told him "6 nails with a head big enough for the picture frames that I am going to hang" George* laughed, wrote "N/C" and "George*" on the envelope and told me "there's no cost for this today. thanks for coming and we'll see you again soon"

George*(his name is not George, I'm just protecting his sweet identity)reminded me a lot of my Poppy. Which is pretty cool since my grandparents are celebrating their 56th wedding anniversary today! Funny how things work!

Anyway, I can't wait to go back to my new favorite hardware place. Especially since they employ so many people. Literally, every time I turned around there was someone right there asking me if I needed help.

And yes, after waiting in line next to the popcorn maker, I ended up consuming half a bag...and boy oh boy was it tasty.

Resolutions

2010

I'm not so great at picking a resolution each year.

Originally I thought I wanted to be more spontaneous in 2010 (and I did very well the first 48 hours)...but I'm a planner. Planning seems to be a downfall when trying to be spontaneous. I love to be organized and know what's coming next.

So...

I decided something that would make me (and others) happy would be to become a better friend to the USPS. That's right. The United States Postal Service. I've decided that the written word is dying and I am going to make it my goal in 2010 to send more random cards. more notes. More "hey how are you just checking in". Just more cards in general to friends...not because it is their birthday or anniversary...but just because I want to and I want to brighten their day.

So it may not be much of a resolution, but I'm ok with it.

FREEZE!

When I got home from work today, these signs were around the gate code area:

So. Not. Cool! I mean really folks, if there is going to be a Freeze Warning, there best be some white stuff falling from the sky!

Well, I think I'm off to the grocery store because sitting here listening to the drip...drip...drip of the faucet into the bowl I placed in the sink (don't want to waste all this water!) I may go crazy!

Have a great night! :)

Life is a highway!

When I left my driveway in Delaware, this is what "Chester, my female voice, British accent" GPS said would be my arrival time:



I finally arrived in North Carolina at 7:54pm. Thank you massive amounts of wind that encompassed all of Delaware and Maryland. I had all intentions of taking a picture of Chester when I finally arrive but I was so excited that I forgot.

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I am so excited to be back in NC and back to the blog world!

Guess I should unpack...