Sometimes you can't help what happens to the budget ...

So I'm sitting here watching the Ellen show.  I'm pretty obsessed with her show.  She's SO kind.  I think she sends such a wonderful message.  At the end of each episode she says "be kind to one another."  That's about the #1 thing I would want others to try and do and it's something that I've been trying to get BETTER and BETTER at everyday: just being KIND to people.  It's even something as small as saying "hello, how are you?" to someone if they look lonely, or complimenting a student that I can tell is having a rough day.

Anyway, I'm sitting here watching the show while Liliana takes a nap because truth be told, i needed a BREAK.

I got a great workout in this morning and rushed home to shower so that Liliana and I could bring Daddy lunch while he was at the hospital. 

While in the shower, I noticed Liliana messing around the bathroom, like she usually does.

And when I got out, I was going to text Evan that we were nearly leaving the home.  I couldn't find my phone!  I asked Liliana if she had been playing with it and she said "yes."  I asked her where it was and she said "I don't know."  Hmmm ...

I emailed Evan (from the computer) and told him to call so I could find it.

10 minutes later, I couldn't hear it and couldn't find it.

Suddenly I thought "oooo dear ... no .... "

I lift up the toilet seat.  Lo and behold, there is the phone.  Sitting in the toilet.

I rushed to Sprint.  I don't have insurance on the phone.  Turns out, i'm screwed.

SO, $200 later I ordered a refurbished one on Amazon. 

Sometime's you just can't control what happens to the budget!!!

I decided I was done spending money for weeks.  We'll eat PBJ for 2 weeks to make up the difference of my Mommy stupid moment.

But, like I said ... I was watching the ellen show.

And she had on these guests that slid in to a frozen river and the Dad got out and was trying to get his children out of the car.  10 STRANGERS ended up saving 3 lives!  THREE children!  It had me in tears (c'mon, I'm 13 weeks pregnant, I cry lots). 

SO, not 5 minutes after I had promised not to spend money, I spent $30 buying two of these:

Here is the link.  I STRONGLY encourage others to buy this!  Even if you dont' regularly drive over water.  You NEVER know what might happen and it's worth $14.95 to save your life and anyone elses. 

This is a hammer to break the window of the car and a knife to break your seat belt off.  In two days, these will be in our glove boxes and god forbid we ever have to use them, but at least it will let me know that we did what we could BEFOREHAND.

Like I said ... sometimes you just can't help what happens to the budget.

New Years Resolution

Last year, I made three resolutions: (1) read 10 books (check!  I read 18 I think), (2) to bake more (check big time!  My bakery will definitely open soon!), and (3) to live for today (in other words, stop thinking "what if" about the future ... that one is a KINDA check ... I was still a huge worry wart too often).

THIS YEAR, I didn't come up with three resolutions.  This upcoming year is going to be very busy for us.  With Evan still in his first year as a surgery resident, I know that we can't plan on much.  But, one thing has been on my mind lately: MONEY.

I know that Evan and I are responsible with our money.  However, the first four years of our marriage happened while we BOTH were in law school and medical school.  There was NO income and TONS of money going out.  To make it work, we took out an exorbitant amount of loans.  Truth be told, we were actually really reasonable about the amount we took out.  We never took out the maximum amount that they offered and never got close.  But student loan interest rates are absolutely SHOCKING.  And they've already accumulated SO much.  Four years of that really added up.

After living in Little Rock for 2 months, Evan and I went through and looked at our bank statements coupled with pay checks.  We came up with a plan.  We thought we were set.

But for some reason, I still don't feel content enough.  I want to make sure we're smart about this all.  Yes, we've had a college fund set up for Liliana since she was ONE month old.  Yes, we have a savings mutual fund account that we contribute to every single month.  But, I'm a Type A Personality and I want to make sure we're doing this the right way.

 We don't really waste money...we don't own any "new" technologies (no ipads, touch pads, new ipods), we don't own ANY designer clothing because quite frankly I think that's rather dumb and Evan does as well.  Liliana wears Target and Old Navy and I wear whatever store I have major coupons to.  But like I said, I want to feel like we're doing our job as parents to make sure we're planning enough for Liliana and future children.

THEREFORE, the Type A in me and the wonderful patience and support of my husband lead me to purchasing this on Amazon tonight:

I know it's kinda corny to buy these books, but I'm hoping this gives us a feeling of "peace" through the next few years while we handle a resident and educators salary. 

I'll be sure to do a review of the book once we're getting in to it!  For now, I'm glad to feel like I'm well on my way towards accomplishing my new years resolution! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard: Book Review

I haven't done book reviews in a long time and I met my New Years Resolution goal ... I've read 11 books!  Since I last did a review, I've read Baby Proof, Sex and the City, Carrie Diaries, Summer and the City, Freedom, AND most recently, A Stolen Life: A Memoir by Jaycee Dugard.

One of these days, I MIGHT get around to reviewing the other books.  I DO want to add... Summer and the City was my overall favorite book out of the above mentioned list.  It was cute, whimsical, simple, and yet thought provoking.  Really enjoyable.

Right after I read that book, I jumped into A Stolen Life.

I'm sure you all know the story of Jaycee Dugard.  She was kidnapped at the age of 11 and held in captivity for 19 years.  It's VERY difficult to give this a review because it's the story of her LIFE and so what if I wanted to read less of one area and more of another?  This was HER choice and nobody can say what she should have or should not have written.  I will try to be as neutral as possible while most importantly stating that this woman is one of the most remarkable women I have ever heard of.

A Stolen Life

By: Jaycee Dugard

Grade: I don't feel right grading this book...she flat out gets an A+ for bravery.

How Long did it Take to Read: I read this book in about a week.  It actually isn't THAT short but I just could NOT put it down!  I wanted to read how she prevailed through everything that he put her through.  I wanted to try to understand what she had been through.  Again, she was remarkable. 

why I Read it:  This is a good question ... it's difficult to WANT to read about how she was sexually abused for 24 hours STRAIGHT sometimes.  It's difficult to WANT to read about how she was tied up for DAYS and had to pee in to a bucket that usually was full of feces.  But honestly what I wanted to read about?  Her role as a mother.  I wanted to see how she made it.  How did she know to teach her children math, social studies, science, and english?  She had a FIFTH grade education!  I wanted to read about the legal process and how 60 parole visitors did not catch her.  That was a BIG part of it too ... the lawyer and the educator in me wanted to read those things.

Plot: Jaycee starts the book off by writing about her life BEFORE the kidnapping.  She mentions things that SEEMED like a big deal BEFORE it happened. How trivial things would seem afterwards huh?  After that, she goes through her 19 years of captivity.  There are quite a few journal entries from her stay there.  The MAIN thing she focuses on?  What really helped her through these years?  Her pets!  She loves kittens and although the Garrido's purposefully kept killing the animals that Jaycee adored, she would get so attached to them...probably because these animals were the only true companions she had for 19 years.

At the end:  At the end of the book, I finished it feeling angry with the world.  Angry that for some reason we decide the Garrido's should still be alive.  We let men like this go out on the streets and do NOTHING about truly checking up on them.  I finished this book furious with the legal system.  Furious that nobody caught this girl until she had lost so much of her life.  Garrido had to wear an ankle monitor for YEARS during her captivity.  The monitor shows that he went into the "secret" backyard where Jaycee was multiple times a day ... yet out of the 60 parole visits, they NEVER went to check in the backyard.  It's purely disgusting.  So yes, that's the way I felt.  I was angry and SO upset for this girl and her 2 daughters.  By the way... Jaycee?  She specifically says she doesn't hate him.  She is, like I've said multiple times, remarkable.  She doesn't waste her time with those kinds of feelings because she says that would waste time.  I could learn things from Jaycee.  I think everyone could. 

Why no grade:  Jaycee wrote what SHE wanted to write.  Who am I to say that she should have written about how much of an ass this guy was?  She didn't write much about the education lessons that she taught to her daughters, but that's probably because to her that was motherly instinct and nothing interesting to write about (obviously, I disagree.  She's fascinatingly intelligent to have had the instinct to look up lessons for her girls until they reached the age of 15).  She barely talked about the parole officers reckless disregard for their duty.  But like I said, she said it's a waste of time to focus on what "could have been."  Therefore, I can simply say this ... i am GLAD I read it.  I am GLAD there is someone as strong as her out there talking about what happened.  Good for her.  Truly inspiring.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

SO much is going to happen in the next week.  In EXACTLY one week, my husband will be a Doctor.  We have about 26 people coming for the event and we have been REALLY REALLY busy packing and preparing for two parties.  The second party you ask?  In a short 8 days, my tiny sweet little baby girl will already be AN ENTIRE YEAR OLD!

I think I've mentioned this already, but Liliana's birthday party will be cupcake themed!  I couldn't decide what to give as a favor for all of these people that are traveling from so far away.  I thought about giving each person a cupcake to take home, but then I realized that they'd be cupcaked out!  FINALLY, I realized that people would probably be asking me for all the yummy cupcakes I'm making.  Therefore, I got a sweet lady on Etsy to make me a cupcake recipe card for $1 on a PDF and I wrote out all the recipes.  Each guest will be getting a copy of recipes for: I(1) Macaroni and Cheese Cupcakes, (2) Choclate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes, (3) Strawberry Cupcakes, and (4) Strawberry Frosting.

 The little recipe cards I'm giving as favors.  They're SUPER cutie!

Another view.  I like the way she put Liliana's name on the cards!

Today, I wanted to share with you guys the recipe for ... Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes (quite a few of you requested I post this recipe when I did THIS post so here it is my friends!).

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. all purpose flour                                                                       1 (18.25 oz) box yellow cake mix
1/4 teaspoon baking soda                                                                      1 1/3 c. water
1/4 teaspoon sea salt                                                                            1/3 c. canola oil
1/2 c. butter, softened                                                                           3 eggs
1/4 c. white sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 c. miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

(1) Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and sea salt; set aside.  Beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth.  Add 1 egg and the vanilla extract and beat until smooth. Mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated.  Fold in the chocolate chips mixing just enough to evenly combine.  Form the dough into tablespoon sized balls.  Place on to a baking sheet, and freeze until solid (about 2 hours).

(2) Preheat an oven to 350 degrees.  Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

(3) Beat 3 eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer to break up.  Add the cake mix, water, and canola oil.  Continue beating for 2 minutes on medium speed.  Spoon into the prepared cake liners, filling each about 2/3 full.  Place a frozen cookie dough ball on the top center of each cupcake.

 Like so.

(4) Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the cake portion of the cupcake (not cookie dough portion) comes clean, about 20 minutes.  Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack. 

(5) Enjoy these AMAZINGLY AWESOME treats!!

YUMMY YUMMY!

Home Sick AND Books 4 & 5

Since the middle of March, I've had this sore throat.  Towards the end of march, I completely and utterly lost my voice.  With time, I thought the runny nose and sore throat and cough would go away.  But last night, I coughed a MINIMAL of every 30 seconds until 3 a.m.  So naturally, when the alarm rang this morning at 6:30, there was no way I was equipped to head to work.  I am so incredibly sick of coughing up mucus (gross I know, sorry).

Through all of these nasty boogie Kleenex's I started reading a book ... after all, I need to complete 10 books as part of my New Years Resolution.

Have you seen the preview for this movie?

Something Borrowed is based on a book by Emily Giffin and I HAD to read it when I heard what the plot was about ... SO, I read it, and didn't really put it down.

Something Borrowed

By: Emily Giffin

Grade: B ++

How Long Did it Take To Read: About 4 days.  Hee hee.  It's a QUICK read.  AND, it's pretty addicting.

Why I Read It: I saw the preview and was wondering how the heck she would write this book ... 

First Thoughts: From page 30, I was hooked.  The entire time you read the book you think to yourself, "where the hell is this going?  Am I supposed to like the main character?  I kinda hate her ... is this normal?"

Plot: Darcy is engaged to Dex.  Darcy's BFF (Rachel) starts having an affair with Dex.  The rest of the book explores how Rachel feels semi-bad about the affair, yet keeps sleeping and having a relationship with Dex.  By the end of the book, you wonder if the wedding is going to be called off, if Rachel and Dex are going to end up together, if you want them to end up together, and who really is the big jerk in the equation.

At the end: With about 30 pages left in the book I had the "oh shit" moment.  I DEFINITELY didn't see the end coming.  I thought I had figured it all out and was so very wrong.  At the end though, I realized that nobody is perfect and there isn't ONE jerk in any story.  Everybody messes up ... I couldn't stop thinking that even if so, some mistakes are just unforgivable.  I think cheating is atrocious and especially if you're doing it with a friend.  Can't get over it.

Why a B ++: Honestly, I would give this book an A but feel really silly doing that.  This book isn't a masterpiece and isn't super intelligent by ANY stretch of the imagination.  But, it's entertaining as hell.  It's like Sex and the City in a book.  If you want a fun and quick read, READ THIS.  AND, don't make the same mistake I made ... order the next few ones too.  You'll want to jump right in.

Something Blue

 By: Emily Giffin

Grade: C+

How Long Did it Take to Read: 3 days! I went through this one quickly as well. 

Why I Read it:  I HAD to know how the story continued.  The first book ends without too many things resolved.  I was hoping the second installment would finish with a more conclusive ending, and it did.

First Thoughts: The books are each narrated by a different character and I thought that was a brilliant idea.  It starts with Darcy (the best friend that found out her friend was cheating with her fiance) narrating how her life was continuing when the first book ended.  It hooked me pretty quickly.  Since it was written by a different character, the writing style was completely different.

Plot: I can't say TOO much about the plot because it would give away what happened in Something Borrowed.  But, the book is mainly describing how Darcy handles losing her fiance.  She travels to London to live with a friend so that she could get away and try to figure things out.  While in London she tries to discover herself and get her life in order.

At the end:  There was no big twist in this one.  I saw the end coming about 200 pages earlier than it did.  It ends all happy go lucky.  And in my opinion, it was pretty unrealistic.  But I suppose that's to be expected.

Why a C +: I didn't grade this as high as I did the last book because I wasn't nearly as hooked.  It just seemed like a rather cheap continuation of the first one.  

Conclusion: Like I said above, I knew the ending WELL before the "twist" happened.  But that wasn't really the point of this one.  The point of this book was more of a "discovering yourself" theme and in that sense, it was done well.  Also, let it be known that the THIRD installment is already in the mail!! ; )

Books #2 and #3: Girl with the Dragon Tattoo AND The Confession

I am well on my way towards successfully completing one of my New Years resolutions!  In case you don't recall, I wanted to read a minimum of 10 books this year.  I reviewed The Lincoln Lawyer  a few weeks ago and wanted to review the last two I've read.  The reviews will be a little shorter because, quite frankly I have a CRAP TON of stuff to do.  However, I mainly do these book reviews so that I hold MYSELF accountable to making sure this resolution is a success.

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

By: Stieg Larsson  

Grade: A -

How Long Did it Take to Read: Approximately 3 weeks and I have to admit I read it at a pretty vigorous pace.  This is one of those books that you "can't put down."  I read a lot and often.  I would say if you're a slower reader (because I do read rather quickly) and if you don't have much time to read, it could easily take a month to finish.

Why I Read It: I've had MULTIPLE people recommend the book to me.  It has been on the top sellers for over a year now.  So when a friend let me borrow hers, I had to say yes.

First Thoughts: This book isn't a super easy read.  All the names of the characters are LONG and not familiar.  Therefore, I spent a lot of time going "who the heck is this guy again?"

Plot: This book is about a journalist who just lost a big lawsuit for libel.  In order to get away, and make some huge amounts of money, he takes on a dangerous assignment to find out who murdered a rich man's granddaughter.  This turns in to a really great mystery.

At the end: The main twist of the book takes place about 50 pages before the end.  The twist isn't something I didn't foresee, but there are still quite a few twists THROUGHOUT the book that make you want to keep turning.  It's kind of like the show 24 ... but in writing!

Why an A-: I originally didn't like this book too much after I finished.  But now that I read a couple other books after this one, I had to bump up the grade.  The writing is actually really great and I don't think this author INTENDED for his book to become a movie (a pet peeve of mine).  The plot is complicated and rich.  I didn't give it an A for ONE reason.  The main two characters end up sleeping together.  I SO wish they wouldn't have done this.  The two main characters are polar opposites that range 30 years in age.  I wish they would have had the relationship remain platonic and almost like a father daughter relationship.  I find it endearing and admirable when an author can catch my attention without sex being involved.

Conclusion: This really is a darn good book.  The characters, for the most part, are well developed.  The story line is VERY detailed and although the story is a little dark in nature, you feel accomplished after finishing the book.  I would HIGHLY recommend that people read it.  This is a 3 part series and I've heard (from my Mommy) that the second one is her favorite. I might just have to read it some time this year.

The Confession

By: John Grisham

Grade: C

How Long did it Take to Read: About 2 1/2 weeks.  It's a VERY quick read.  I read it when I had 15 minutes to spare here and there.  I didn't ever really take a prolonged period of time to get through it.  It's a good one to skim through too.

Why I Read It: I've read practically every single John Grisham book out there.  He has impressed me before and has let me down as well, but when my Mom put this in my stocking for Christmas, I had to give it a try.

First Thoughts: The beginning was actually pretty fabulous.  It started off really making you think: "oooh, I wonder what's going to happen! I wonder if the guy in jail is actually guilty?  What's going to be the twist?!?!"

Plot:  This book is about a man, Donte Drumm who is on death row.  He has claimed his innocence throughout his 9 years in prison and his attorney, Robbie Flak believes his innocence probably more than anybody else in the world.  The day before the execution, Travis Boyette appears in a church and confesses to a minister that he was in fact the real killer.  The question is, will this come out in time to save Donte's life?

At the end: I was thoroughly disappointed.  The first 300 pages of the book were B+ quality.  Then, the BIG question (whether Donte's life will be saved) is revealed and the book DRAGS on for another 120 pages.  Nothing was accomplished.  I kept waiting, hoping, and praying for a big twist to make me say "AH this was the big moment" but it never came.  There was no big "woah, didn't see that coming!" moment.  The only moment that was semi like that didn't affect the story in the slightest.  It was very anticlimatic.

Why A C: Look above. The first 300 pages at least made it pass, but the last 120 were such a bummer.

Conclusion: If you haven't read a John Grisham book before, don't read this one.  Read the Pelican Brief, The Jury, or A Time To Kill.  Those books are fabulous.  I'm not sure that John Grisham really had a PURPOSE for writing this book.  He perhaps had a political agenda (against the death penalty) but it didn't make for a STORY. If he wanted to make a documentary or write an article, I would have respected that.  But just telling me what might happen without keeping me entertained for 120 pages?  Please. My time is too valuable Mr. Grisham.

Book #1: The Lincoln Lawyer

Approximately 2 weeks ago, I blogged about my three New Years Resolutions.  I'm doing remarkably well with two of them: I've been cooking and baking up a storm and have been reading pretty consistently. Admittedly, I have done a pretty horrbile job on my third resolution, but if you guys only knew the kind of anticipation I have building up for a Monday not too far from now you'd understand why I'm a worry wart as of late.

Anyway, as promised, I am going to do a little book review for every book I read.  I also promised to post some of the recipes I've made and those posts are coming ... PROMISE.

Want your mouth to salivate a little in anticipation though?

Cornmeal cheddar waffles with chicken a la king on top.  DELICIOUS. 

Even my husband said he was full because he ate so much of it.  You guys don't technically KNOW Evan, but the fact that he said he was full is beyond amazing.  I think it's the first time he's said it in the nearly 9 years that we've been together.

On to my first book review of the year:

Book Review: the Lincoln Lawyer

Grade: B

How Long Did it Take to Read: I read the Lincoln Lawyer over a span of about two weeks.  It's a relatively quick read and could easily be done in a long weekend if you had the time.

Why I Read It: I wanted to read this book for a few reasons: (1) they're making a movie about it (starring Matthew McConaughey) that will be released on March 18th.  I wanted to read it before seeing the movie.  That way I could be the typical movie goer and say "the book is SO much better."  (2) I'm obviously a sucker for lawyer books.  I always have been. It's part of the reason I wanted to go to law school.  They were always my favorite books to read. (3) I've had the book for YEARS and never read it.  It was time.

First Thoughts: The book starts off pretty typical for lawyer books: theatrical.  This is probably my biggest complaint about it.  I almost feel as though Connelly wrote it with the INTENTION of it being a movie a few years later.  I read it and think to myself "Goodness, I hope others that read this don't think all lawyers are like this."

Plot: The plot of the book is as follows: An Attorney, Mickey Haller, is notorious for being the son of a very famous attorney that passed when Mickey was young.  Mickey tries to be the great attorney in his father's footsteps, however, he usually goes about this in the most unusual of ways by defending drug dealers and gangsters.  In fact, he drives in a Lincoln because it was a fee payment from one of his clients (get the title now?).  The main client in the book however is a very wealthy real estate guru who is wanted for rape and attempted murder.  Pretty quickly in the book (so NO this isn't a spoiler alert) you realize that this rich real estate guru is in fact a pretty messed up man who isn't innocent in the slightest.  In fact, Mickey starts realizing that his client probably was related to past murders he had dealt with.  The main dilemma and plot of the book question how Mickey will handle it all.  Will he still get his client off even though he knows of his guilt?  How will he ensure that his family is safe?  etc.

At the End: The last ten or so pages of the book are the ones that have you go "oh shit."  There's a little twist that while not completely shocking at least left you saying "huh, shoulda seen that one coming!"  I really did enjoy the book.  I recommend it to someone that wants a legal thriller.  Once I was about 200 pages in, I didn't really put it down until I finished.

Why a B: I didn't give it an A grade because it was simply good, not great.  It certainly wasn't life altering.  I just thought it was an enjoyable read.  The main reason I went as high as a B?  The romance component of the book is endearing.  Mickey has been married twice and one of his ex-wives obviously holds the key to his heart.  The book focuses quite a lot on their relationship and leaves the conclusion of this relationship  unfinished, but in an uplifting way.  I hope they don't leave that out of the movie.  Even though the romance wasn't nearly the most important part, I thought that part of the story contained the most creative writing in the entire book.

Conclusion: Give the Lincoln Lawyer a read when you have a lazy weekend.  I promise you'll be glad you read it.  You won't say to yourself "GOOD GOLLY I'm glad I read that book,"  but you'll definitely say "now that was a fine way to spend a weekend."

To Read, Bake, and Be Happy with Today

I never really make New Years Resolutions. But this year, I got to thinking.  I really thought about some things I wanted to do and things I somehow never MAKE the time to do. 

I'm a big believer in that.  I hate when people say "I don't have TIME to work out (or any other activity)."  I believe, for the most part, that we have time to do anything that we really want to do. 

I haven't MADE the time to do some things that I really do enjoy.

I'm posting my resolutions on my blog because I've found it's a wonderful way to hold me accountable.  Through my journey of losing the baby weight, this blog was amazing.  Whenever I felt like eating something that was truly unnecessary, I would think "ugh, I don't want everybody to know I gave in and didn't lose the weight!"  So, I withheld.  Therefore, here are my New Years Resolutions. 

(1) I will read 10 books this year.

I enjoy reading.  I really do.  My husband LOVES to read (he was voted biggest bookworm in highschool...oooo sexy huh?)  and I love when we just lay in bed and read for a while. 

HOWEVER, law school took all the excitement out of reading. That's all I did...all day.  And I would read 30 pages in 3 hours.  It was a slow process reading those cases.  They're tedious and lordy that font was so freaking small!  But I'm finished with law school now...so why the hell haven't I started reading again? 

I know 10 books isn't a lot.  I want to make sure this is a resolution I can keep.  It's a little less than a book a month and that's definitely manageable.  I'll just have to MAKE the time to do it.  After I finish each book, I'll be doing a book review on the blog. 

My first book: the Lincoln Lawyer.  I have number two and three set out too (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Confession by John Grisham).  The next seven are up in the air though...if you guys have some suggestions for a must read, leave me a comment!

 I'm already 140 pages in to it and it's pretty darn good.  A bit theatrical, but then again, it's being made in to a movie so if the lawyer wasn't completely over the top it would've made for a very realistic and therefore boring movie right?

(2) Cook and bake more.

I love cooking and baking and do it often enough,  but I want to have more fun with it and experiment more.  Sometimes it can be stressful when I get home from work and I don't want to eat at 8 o'clock, so we make simple things.  I think that's the way it HAS to be if you work, have kids, etc.  BUT, what's holding me back from taking some time to do neat things on the weekends?

I started my resolution early: Last night for New Years, we ate the most delicious Shrimp Creamy Garlic Gumbo recipe.  On the side, we had Pomegranate Margaritas.  YUMMY.  On the 30th, we made THIS.  Guys, seriously, make this.  This was the most amazing pasta I've had in a really really long time.

And, as with the books, I'll be posting a few of the recipes we make.  I'll try and post the pomegranate margarita sometime this week, because let me tell you...that stuff was delicious and strong. ; )

 The tomato cream sauce we made on the 30th.  I'm about to eat some left overs...yummy.

(3)  Be Happy with Today

Unfortunately, I can't go into this one too much.  Soon, Evan and I will hear about where we'll be for residency.  We don't know WHAT he'll be doing, or WHERE they'll put us, but either way, it'll make for some HUGE changes in our life.  That is stressful enough already, but in the mix of that is ... what will I be doing?  Everything is up in the air.  And I am the type of person that gets very concerned over things being up in the air.  So, I need to be happy with where I am TODAY because that's the best I can do!  This will likely be the most difficult and challenging resolution to keep, but I have to at least try right?

Happy New Years!  Do you guys have any fun resolutions?