~Brunette on the Run~

For the Love of Hair

2012-01-27T21:52:00.000-08:00

So this morning I woke up early to make something for our "breakfast party" at work. I ended up making a recipe from Betty Crocker which was "eh" in my opinion. So I had a lot of time to get ready.

I decided to curl some of my hair. Just with a few cute curls. Definitely not my entire head or that would take forever!

My hair isn't really this slivery ugly color. My camera is a POS. Enough said.

I was half way done with the back, and I have to make my curls super tight because they fall out within seconds. So this is pretty much this morning's hair with a few touch up curls afterwards.

This is done for me. I did notice that my hair was super flat on top because I didn't wash it right before. I am still mastering that skill. But it was good enough for the day. Oh and again my POS camera takes an "orange" picture. I really don't know....

So by the end of the day my hair was pretty much flat with a few waves of curles. Again with the odd color of hair but you get the point. One day I will buy a smancy camera, and it will show my true colors! Pardon the pun.

and

the

end

the

night

you

get

this

This is what you call my lazy bun.

This Weekend I am Going to

2012-01-27T20:43:00.000-08:00

Hang out...

Kick It...

...and Relax

Life and its Crazy Ways

2012-01-26T14:35:00.000-08:00

This morning I started out by waking up at 7:15. This is pushing it for me since work is 15 minutes away, starts at 8:00, and I had to.... (takes a deep breath)

Take a shower
Find clothes to wear
Find the keys
Take the dog out
Put on makeup
Brush hair
Eat breakfast
Make lunch

All in 30 minutes. Just as I was entering work thinking that I pulled it off I got a call from H. "Do you have the keys to the car?" OMG I did. Sitting in my purse from last night and of course we don't have a spare. So I pulled into work, ran up the stairs, and clocked in. Then I ran out (running because H had to be at work at 9:00am) and drove back home. Keys were dropped off, and I was on my way again to work. Whew! What a morning. Glad I had a little breakfast.

I have actually discovered something healthy that I love.

I have always stayed far away from V8. I dislike the smell, texture, and taste. H brought this home, and told me to try it. I believe we have the tropical orange. It is soo good, and made with 100% fruit. YUM. So I sipped on that this morning along with a toasted egg sandwich. The only reason I got to eat breakfast this morning is because of H. Thank you babe!

After work I have to stop by the grocery store (yuck) and pick up a few ingredients for this week's dinners. Hoping I follow through. Tonght I'm going to make Beef Stroganoff over noodles. It is so very very good. My mom gave me the recipe. Here it is!

Beef Stroganoff

1 Large Round steak (tenderized and cut into strips)
2 cups Sliced Mushrooms
16 oz Cream Cheese
16 oz Sour Cream
2 tbs. butter
1 cup beef broth
1 package of beef stroganoff mix (I buy McCormick)
1 tbs of parsley
Egg noodles

1. Cut steak into strips (or you can request meat depart. to do this for you). Brown in skillet over medium heat over a little bit of oil.

2. When lightly brown, add butter, mushrooms, beef broth, salt, and pepper.

3. Lower heat, cover, and simmer for about an hour or until meat is tender. 1/2 hour before it is done add the package of mix.

4. When done, turn off the heat and add the rest of the ingredients.

If it is too thick add a little milk, and if too thin add a little bit of corn starch.

Serve over noodles. Add a couple pinches of parsley.

A Couple of Favorites

2012-01-25T08:43:00.000-08:00

There have been a lot of up and coming actors lately. Here are a couple favorites~

Emma Stone

Her personality is what makes her HER. She did go blonde for a while but I think she is definitely a redhead. She is like a breathe of fresh air.

How cute is she? The first time I noticed her was in The House Bunny. I loved her in that even though she wasn't the main attraction.

Then I think everyone started to really notice her in Easy A. It was a cute movie, not the best I think but cute nonetheless. I think what really set off her career was The Help. She did a great job in that movie. I also loved her in Crazy, Stupid, Love. Again not the main start but way cute with Ryan Gosling who is also getting way popular.

Zooey Deschanel

I first noticed Zooey in Failure to Launch. The character she plays is hilarious! Then she played in Your Highness which is a pretty stupid movie, but again hilarious. More and more I have been noticing her, and I know she recently came out with a new show call "New Girl" which I haven't yet seen. I just think she has a certain beauty about her that has a quirky and strange look. She totally pulls it off!

Leah Remini

I have been watching King of Queens lately, and it is so relatable I love it. Cary is hilarious, and I just love her spunky personality. I also love that she can pull off most any outfit, and she's not stick skinny but has the pretty curves!

The Lucky One.....Not So Much

2012-01-22T14:55:00.000-08:00

So Friday night I went gambling with my H, mom, dad, and grandma. My dad gave me some money, and so did grandma for gambling. It was a blast. I think the funnest I had was with my dad teaching me the machines. The ONLY time I was really winning anything was with him.

When we got there it was stormy, and windy (My kind of weather ;)) We went in, and started playing the slots. I won some cash here, lost some there but was staying pretty balanced. I walked over to my grandma who was playing a slot, and she had me sit down for her and pull the slot. Well on lucky pull #3 I won $550. KABAAM! Lucky right?! Ehh for grandma was. I got $40 out of it. Anyways as the night went on we got some food. We were standing in line at the buffet (massive line mind you), and H whispered to me "I'm going to go over there, I'm not hungry." I already knew this was a lie since he uses this one often. I called him out on it, and he said I don't really want to get pushed around for food. So then I convinced everyone to go to the Cafe. I knew my dad really wanted the buffet but we'll go there without grandma, and get some during day. :)

So after a few hours of losing money everyone decided to call a quits....well everyone except grandma who was pushing 100 dollar bills in the machine as quickly as she was losing them. We rounded her up, and split.

It was definitely a good night.

The next day H signed up to enroll in the Police Academy, test for it anyways. He passed his physical, and won't know his written test results until 2 weeks pass. I guess they haven't opened up the testing since a few years back so we were pretty lucky to come across it. He came home around noon yesterday, and after we went to Sam's Club. LOVE IT THERE. We were pretty well trained to keep our noses out of the stuff we didn't really need, but wanted. We got out of there for $70 with a bunch of fruit, snacks, and healthy stuff. After that we came home, and relaxed the rest of the night.

I made the stuffed chicken breast with cream cheese and olives. I was not impressed. It didn't really have a flavor so it blended with the chicken. i probably wont be making it again, but it didn't turn out badly. Just too much work for and "ok" meal. I served it with chicken rice, and overcooked green beans.

He went to work at midnight, and I slept. Oh boy did I sleep! I just woke up today at 2pm. I feel like a teenager again! So I have started today with a much needed shower, and a bowl of oatmeal with fresh blackberries. YUM. Oh and of course a hint of sugar. We shall see what today holds.

A Sweet Ending to a Great Day

2012-01-20T04:22:00.000-08:00

So today is my 21st birthday. Well technically it is 2AM in the morning on the 20th so yesterday was my birthday. The point is I had a pretty good day. I am a very very impatient person so when I came home from work on Thursday, and saw a present sitting on the table. It was screaming to me "open me now!"

I knew it was from H, and I walked in gave him a hug, and ran to the bathroom. (My bladder is about the size of a peanut so this is a regular routine thing.) So he told me I could open it after I asked over and over again. So look what I found......

Sooooo gorgeous! I was really excited, and love it! I am not too much of a "pink" girl so he definitely did a good job. He usually does.

....and not only did I get a stunning necklace....

I also got a pair of matching earrings that I so desperately needed. I am pretty cheap when it comes to buying earrings so the ones I do have turn my ears green. Gross! I usually only like the stud kind since I have this fear of me wearing dangles, and someone ripping them out. I know, so gross but that is the thought that comes into my head when I see those type of earrings. Anyways before I opened the present he said "Well one will need to be returned because it is broken." Well he bought me some blue stud earrings that matched the necklace perfectly. The little stone fell out however.

So the next day we went to the store, and he went off and returned the earrings on his own. He came back to where I was clothes shopping and said "Well the lady tried to fix them, and I think they look bad." I checked them out, and you could tell that it was super glued, and the metal placement was smashed against the stone. I was slightly relieved when he said that we should exchange, or return for a different pair of earrings since they didn't have replacements for the ones he originally bought.

So we came out with these.

My camera could not grasp the concept of clarity tonight. You get the gist though. They are exact same color of the necklace. What I really like about them though is that I have 2 piercings in each ear, and sometimes get tired of wearing 4 earrings. These I only pinned to my second hole at the top, and the bottom half covers my other hole. Tada!

Also while I was browsing around in the store I found a pair of jeans that were on clearance that were a size to small. I figured "Hey why not?" since I had time. I tried them on and guess what? They fit perfectly! I was SOOO happy. Nice to know that my 10lbs that I lost previously paid off. That was my many of "happy moments" of the day.

Then for my birthday MIL bought me a Sam's club card. I only went to Sam's once or twice when I was little so I don't really remember it. H and I were both extremely impressed with the sizes of food you could get for the price! We went down every isle examining prices of food, and stuff we typically buy. We will definitely be shopping there when we get some money honey.

So today is payday and I have to admit that we were behind in a couple bills. Well guess what?! Not anymore. We just paid off 2 of our latest bills, and one more to go. It is such a huge relief to get it over with. I get so excited when I can pay them off. This is one of the reasons I am currently awake at 4a.m. right now. H is working a graveyard shift so we have been texting, and trying to keep awake.

Tonight was a lot of fun though. We went out to pizza with MIL & FIL, and Sandy. Sandy is a co-worker of mine, and she is such a sweet woman. You can tell she has a good heart. Anyways we had a good time, and I stuffed my face with pizza, and chicken wings. Soda too that I am not supposed to have but hey if any day to have soda I guess if should be my birthday! Also FIL made me a birthday cake. A specially requested Tres Leches Cake. It was soooo yumm! He followed the Alton Brown recipe and oh was it gooooood! Here is the link if you want to check it out. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/tres-leche-cake-recipe/index.html

So tomorrow (really today) I will be sleeping in MAJORLY since I decided to be so ~~diligent~~ crazy to stay up and write this post. I am meeting my mom, dad, and grandma for dinner tomorrow. Still don't know where we are going but maybe some gambling will be involved? We shall see.

Off to bed with me! Goodnight~

A Banana a Day Keeps the Doctor Away?

2012-01-18T10:59:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been trying to just eat healthier without dieting since the last diet fueled a kidney stone to pass with all of the protein I was eating. Instead of my daily snack at 10am of crackers, chips, chocolate...I replaced it all with a banana. H has been really liking them too. They are cheap, and good for you. So I am hoping that I at least maintain my weight, or even lose some! I used to not like bananas, and a lot of other things but I have decided I need to open up my fruits and vegis, and I have been doing a lot better of a job at being less picky. Still picky...just less picky.

Tomorrow is my birthday, and I am finally turning 21! Woohoo. Tonight H and I are going to my grandma's. She wanted me to stop by and pick up my birthday card, and bring her In & Out.

Now how good does that look?!

Now if you are not from California then you are definitely missing out. In & Out has pretty much some of the best burgers around. At first I was hesitant because my grandma has diabetes, and needs to lose weight. But who am I to tell her what to eat? She is an adult, and can make her own decisions. We have persuaded and told her, but she doesn't listen. Anyways back to me, tomorrow I have the day off and will be meeting MIL and FIL for pizza. Then on Friday my parents and other grandma are meeting up, having dinner, and going to the casino for the first time. Well my first time anyways. I'm pretty excited.

And nooo no alcohol for me. I just don't like the taste, and why drink it if I don't like it? I think it is more of a glorified "thing you do when you turn 21" then actually do it. I am excited that I do get to finally buy whatever I please now. For Christmas H wanted Bailey's Christmas set so I went to Target. I put it in my cart and while shopping around I realized..I can't even buy this yet!
Also on Saturday I will be trying a new recipe. It is olive and cream cheese stuffed chicken breast. I'll let you know how that one goes. Never stuffed chicken before so we'll see. :)

Swedish Meatballs in a White Cream Sauce

2012-01-14T10:58:00.000-08:00

By no means am I a good cook, or a cook at all for that matter. Sometimes I will try out recipes just for fun, but usually it requires motivation.

But can you say yum? I was a little hesitant at first but they turned out pretty good. I made some egg noodles so put the sauce and meatballs over and it was delish together. I modified the recipe slightly fitting it to the needs of my pantry.

Meatballs
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup 2% Milk (I forgot to add this but the meatballs came out pretty good anyways)
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup Quaker oatmeal cook in 1 minute
1/4 cup fresh parsley (I used a little less of the dry stuff)
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef (90% lean)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

First in a large bowl mix hamburger meat with egg, milk, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, oats, parsley, salt & pepper. Crumble beef over mixture and mix with hands. Shape into 1 to 11/2 balls. Sift flour over each one, and place on greased (Pam) cookie sheet.

Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Turn meatballs; bake 12-15 minutes longer or until meat is no longer pink.

Sauce

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram

salt and pepper to taste

1 can (14 ounces) chicken broth (low sodium)

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley (again I used the dry stuff)

Meanwhile, for the sauce, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour, marjoram, salt, and pepper until smooth. Gradually add broth and cream. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Now my sauce didn't really thicken to the consistency I wanted so I added a little corn starch, and water.

While cooking the sauce I cooked my egg noodles that I was going to serve under the meatballs and sauce. I get tired of the same old same old noodles. So I made a little sauce for the noodles.

8 ounces uncooked wide egg noodles

3 tablespoons butter

1 garlic clove, minced (I used garlic powder)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon dill weed

I melted the butter, and then added the rest of the ingredients. I added it to my cooked noodles.

Finally I put everything together on the plate, and added a touch of parsley for the top.

So good! This is one of the few recipes I have made that I will definitely be making again. It was easy with simple ingredients. Also not very expensive if you already have most of the seasonings. I would have preferred a little more sauce so next time I may double the sauce ingredients.

Bon' Appetit!

Updates & a Not So Cold Winter

2012-01-12T10:29:00.000-08:00

This winter has been absolutely horrible. It is completely freezing but bright and sunny. This is the weather I hate the most. Usually by October we have rain that continues right through March. But not this year. I think the most annoying thing is having to use an ice scraper in the morning for my windsheild, and not even having any thunderstorms to make up for it. So that is my rant for today.
Here are a few updates on previous posts:

Diet- Non-existant-I have been eating crappy food, and not cooking. This is a slight issue moneywise, and fatty wise.
Kidney Stones- Diagnosed with 6 on January 4th! (3 in each kidney.) Coninuing to go to Doctors for blood tests. They lost my kidney stone at the lab so they still don't know what the stone is made out of. ~~Yayyy~~ Boooo Kaiser. Anyways the Dr thinks that I have calcium oxalate stones which basically means:

More water, no salt, less tea.

I guess my biggest issue is both the water and the salt. I am okay with quitting the tea (I am allowed to have herbal tea), but I am a salt-oholic. Seriously. I love my salt, and to take it away is just a crime. But I am trying, and I will be going to the grocery store to check out substitues.To solve my drink more water issue my plan is to buy a hugenormous water bottle, and try to carry it around with me everywhere. (Well besides shopping, and stuff cause then that would just be weird.)

Military- H and I made a big decision to not join. Because our goal have changed, and we are qualified for a house we decided against it. Is it a mistake? We don't know but I guess you just have to take chances. H is now working on becoming a Police officer so watch out everyone!

Kids- Holly has been doing great. She is healthy (at least I think) engergetic kitten who plays until her heart's content. Her and Buggas have been getting along great. At first they were a little iffy, but now they are best friends.
Buggas on the has not been doing so great. For the last couple weeks he has been extremely mellow (very unlike him.) When I pick him up he just growles, and screams. At first we thought it was because we gave him and Holly lobster. He did seem like his tummy was upset. After I gave him a little bit of medicine he seemed to be doing better but still grumpy and lazy all of the time. I will be keeping my eye on that boy.
Pyro is his normal self. He has had soo much energy lately that it is impossible to live with him if we don't take him on a walk. Over the weekend I did give him a bath, and a good brushing but he still smells.

Work- Has been extremly and overwhelmingly crazy. I got to see Barb yesterday which was nice. Definitely miss her. My lunches have been pretty crappy this week, and so have H's so I'm thinking we need to go on a much needed grocery shopping trip.

I am planning on posting a lot more. I figured I would get caught up on everything I've missed so I can start from new.

-Katylou

V for Vendetta

2012-01-11T12:49:00.000-08:00

A couple years ago I watched the movie V for Vendetta. I thought it was very confusing, and it was ok. It was on sell for $3 so I thought hey maybe give it another try. I am older now so maybe it will be easier to understand.

It is now one of my favorite movies. The more you watch it the more meaning of the story is portrayed.

One of my favorite part in the movie is when V recites this:

"But on this mostauspicious of nights, permit me then, in lieu of the more commonplacesoubriquet, to suggest the character of this dramatis persona. Voila! In viewhumble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by thevicissitudes of fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige ofthe “vox populi” now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of abygone vexation stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal andvirulent vermin, van guarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious andvoracious violation of volition.
The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive not in vain, forthe value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and thevirtuous.
Verily this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply addthat it’s my very good honour to meet you and you may call me V."

I am still trying to get a grasp on all of what he is trying to say since the V words are not really common at all. But I understand the gist.

Hello 2012

2012-01-03T10:43:00.000-08:00

Now I was pretty pessimistic going into 2011. 11 is not a good number for me and always poses as bad luck. However 2011 turned out to be a pretty amazing year. So far we have bought a car, celebrated our 1 year anniversary, learned to deal with money a little better, moved in to a nice apartment, bought a truck and made a life changing plan. I'm sure we did much much more but I don't wont to confuse all my goodness of 2011 with 2010.

So my resolutions for this year are:

Buy a house!
Buy his and her motorcycles
Get caught up with money
Cook more, and make more recipes
Eating healthier & losing weight
See my grandma more often
Pay off my student loan
Do NOT dye my hair

The first goal is my foremost priority. H and I are working out the kinks right now (paying off bills) to get ready for the big one.

So hopefully at the end of this year I will be able to cross off ~~most of~~ the goals on my list.

A Good Christmas

2011-12-27T09:18:00.000-08:00

The last couple years Christmas has been very "EH." Usually could not afford presents or family arguments. BUT...this year was great. Christmas eve we went to my parents house, and ate ham and yummy turkey. I got a nook! I wasn't really interested in them but I have been playing with it for the last couple days and love it so far. I was pretty biased to the kindle just because I would prefer to buy from Amazon rather then Barnes & Noble. What really tripped me out about the nook is that the screen looks exactly like pages of a book. You can't even tell that it is electronic. Right now I'm reading Divergent which so far is a pretty great book. It does remind me of the Hunger Games but it is a little different. I was up reading it late last night. Well late for me anyways.

Nook Simple Touch

Then on Christmas day we went to M & FIL's. We had prime rib, and we were pretty stoked to get an ice cream/smoothie maker. Can't wait to use it. Oh and my favorite....the pasta boat! LOL. Seriously though pasta is a pain in the a$$ to make, and I'm pretty excited to use it. I'm thinking spaghetti for dinner tonight. :)

Yonana!

I also got a set of really pretty bracelets. They are a set of bangles, and they are way cute. H got a nice set of Bailey's coffee liqueur. We tasted it last night in hot chocolate, and it is way yummy. I want to try the caramel next!

I also went shopping with my grandma, and she bought me these boots.

So your probably wondering how the diet is going. Well the last couple weeks of December the diet has been non-existent. H would bring home cookies, fudge, and every baked sugar sweet food possible. So we were defeated. BUT amazing but true I am still losing weight! The last week I have been eating only once a day (which I know is horrible) but I have noticed that I am no longer hungry 24/7. Next time we go grocery shopping we will be eating healthy. I am currently at my 10 lbs loss. Woohoo! Oh and I have a stack of jeans that I have been keeping for years so I can fit back into. Well guess what?! Out of 6 pair I got 3 back. Slowly but surely I will fit into the skinniest ones I own.

Next let me introduce you to the newest member of the family. Meet Holly!

She was my "Christmas present" to H. I got her a few days before Christmas and surprised him after he got off work. She is way too cute for her own good, and right now her and Bugga's have been getting better at being friends. At first he was very mean to her (trying to establish dominance). He was pinning her down and biting her on the neck. He still does this but way less, and now he will let her play next to him. He is slowly getting used to the fact that she is not going away. When I brought her home I noticed she did have fleas. She also obviously had worms so off to the Petco I went. We got rid of the fleas with shampoo. She wasn't infested or anything but she did have a few on her as well as lots of eggs. Now we are working on killing the worms. I have been giving her medicine 3x a day. Hoping it is working. I think it is but we'll see. After the 2 weeks I will take her to the vet for a wellness exam, and all of her wonderful shots. I have some really good pictures at home that I will upload later.

All in all it was a pretty decent Christmas. Hoping next year is just as good if not better.

Happy Retirement Barb!

2011-12-16T09:00:00.000-08:00

So 6 months ago exactly, a wonderful woman by the name of Barb let us know (company at work) that she would be retiring. I have worked along side Barb for about 3 years so I was extremely surprised to hear the news.

She had been working with the company for 18 years. 18 years! Can you believe that? So much dedication. When you would see her in the morning she always had a cute outfit on, and just always cheery. Yes a cheery HR person. Were talking one in a million here. Her personality was off the charts. Fun, and when she had to get down to business.....you could tell she was doing her thing. I always loved her sayings (usually coming from her mom.) I remember a few but one day I was complaining about someone not being fair at work, and her response was "The squeaky wheel gets the grease, but is always replaced first." She definitely gave me a new prospective on a lot of things in life. Oh and I will never forget "YIPPEE SKIPPY"! One of her more common phrases.

Yesterday was her last day, and it definitely will not be the same without her. I always labeled her "Oh wise one" since she was always there when I had a question, or just in general someone you could talk to about anything. I was very bummed to hear at first but I have slowly come around that it is just a new chapter in her life, and I will definitely be staying in touch as I consider her as a close friend. Without her around I will have to man up and figure things out for myself. It was a bittersweet day yesterday. We all brought in breakfast goodies, and yummy treats. Oh and the fun idea my MIL had to bring a wreathe with little bottles of alcohol. It was completely adorable, and she loved it! Then at the end of the day it was just...quiet. Without her around there was a weird feeling, and will be hard to get used to. In the end though she definitely deserves it, and can now go to being a full time grandma!

Happy Retirement Barb! You deserve it.

Her favorite holiday is Halloween

Cheater Cheater Pumpkin Eater...literally

2011-12-13T08:28:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in a while because guess what? I had a kidney stone. Yep another one. Last year I passed a kidney stone on December 15th. I guess I'm just lucky. It has been going on for a couple weeks actually. I would get a few pains on my side so I would just take some Ibuprofen, and that would do the trick. Then the pain woke me up at 2AM on Wednesday the 7th, and would not go away. I tried a previous medication the DR. prescribed me when I last had a kidney stone. Nope...still didn't do it. So then H drove me to the emergency room, and they treated me there. I believe I arrived around 3:30am, and was released around 7am. They put me on an IV, and some pain medicine. I still did not pass the stone when I left so I was up to my head in drugs. Finally on Friday morning I passed the stone, and took the entire weekend to get my body up to speed again. Hoping this time the DR can tell me what is wrong, and why I keep getting these little painful devils. It is unbelievable that a stone the size of a grain of salt can cause so much pain! Anyways that was my fun week.

Oh and the diet. 1 word. Cheater. Yes I am a cheater. When I was sick I didn't eat anything. I barely could get water down me, and maybe a Popsicle. My lovely mom came over to check on me, and brought me pizza. So I did eat 1 slice of pizza. So sinful I know. Let me tell you.....it was sooooooooooooooo goooood. Then I went back to the diet. I did slip up an eat an orange but I figured if it was going to be a cheat, it should be something healthy. Oh and it didn't stop there.

H came home with a dozen chocolate chip cookies, peppermint bark, pretzel clusters, pumpkin cake with glaze, and gingerbread cookies. Tis the season right? What a BUTT! He received it all from work. These were not just store brand either. They were homemade all the way. He ate the cake (CHEATER) and I ate some of the cookies, and clusters (CHEATER.) I am still sticking with the diet more or less. Staying away from fast food, and the dirty processed food. Trying to eat healthier in general. So all in all I have lost 8lbs! WOOHOO. Now if I can keep going that will be a miracle. We'll probably cheat a little more during Christmas but come January we are going strict.

Day # F-I-V-E

2011-12-06T08:35:00.001-08:00

Good morning! Usually I wait to write until later in the day but I thought I would be an early bird today. I started off with a protein drink that is actually pretty good. It is the Special K powder drink mix (flavor is pink lemonade.) I am really craving a Starbucks white hot chocolate with caramel but I am resisting! Moving on with my diet, I am still going strong. Thank you, thank you...I did have the mint episode yesterday but we are passed that. On to a new day! So yesterday I forgot to grab my lunch yesterday so I ended up buying a salad. Bummer :(. So today I remembered my lunch and...forgot my purse. Oy. I'm thinking a check list is in order before I leave the house. So today I was playing with my hair and put it up in a ponytail, and it looked so boring. Then I tried halfway up and it was eh. So this is how I ended up doing my hair. Only took me like 2 seconds, and it looks like it took longer. It is a little messy today because I was running late but you get the gist.

At work I like to keep my hair up in some form because when it is down it always tends to get in my way so finding ways to get my hair out of my face is a must. I wear ponytails all of the time so its nice to explore. So after a lovely little fight H and I had last night we have come to the conclusion that we need a coat rack. So I was checking out coat racks today, and I don't really like the stand alone ones just because we are tight on space at the moment living in the apartment. So I thought these were kind of nice.

Just something simple that gets the job done, and doesn't take up too much room.

Katylou~

My Buggaboo's and Day #4

2011-12-05T13:26:00.001-08:00

So today is #4 for my diet, and so far so good. Of course I have been having the worst time not eating bread, pasta, etc. I will confess today I accidentally ate a mint. It was completely an accident, and I had no sugar intentions. If I was going to cheat I would grab a piece of bread before I touched a mint. With that said I have been very very diligent at keeping up this diet, and plan to keep going. My scale read yesterday morning.......6lbs LIGHTER..can you give me a hell ya?!? Then I weighed myself this morning and I was at 3lbs lighter, and not 6. So I am definitely doin some major fluctuating. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

During this weekend I did get my haircut. Nothing special just a MUCH NEEDED trim, and a few layers to lighten the load. I will try to post a couple pix later. I was pretty excited when the hairstylist asked if I could stand up in order to trim because my hair was so long. Never happened before so I was like "No problem!" since I have been trying to grow my hair out forever. It definitely feels a lot healthier. She did add in Joico, K-PAK, restorative styling oil. It made my hair a lot softer, and easier to work with. I was tempted to purchase in store but it was $15 and I just couldn't budge it. I will be thinking about purchasing in the future for sure. I also remember the last stylist I went to used CHI Silk Infusion Silk Reconstructing Complex. That also made my hair nice, and light.

For Christmas H and I are considering switching to a new cell phone service. We currently have Metro PCS, which is a cheap service with no contract. It has served its purpose but we are on to newer and better things. We are considering Sprint since H gets a 20% discount with them which comes to a pretty reasonable price. So we'll see. :)

So the wonderful California weather fooled me again this mourning. It is December, and most other places it is raining, snowing, or storming. Well....not CA. Being a CA girl I do love the sunshine but I think I love the rain, and snow more. So this morning I looked out and it was all sunny so I figured "Hey lets throw on some cargo pants, and a tank with some flip flops." When I wake up in the morning I don't put a lot of thought in my clothes even though I should for the soul purpose of sleeping in longer...talk about ~~awesome~~ lazy. So when I walked out the door to go to work this morning, it was freezing! Literally freezing with ice on my windshield. I very much dislike the sunny but freezing weather. Just stupid.

So I probably have mentioned before that I am pretty much obsessed with my cat. Here is the love of my life. He is such a little menace, brat, pain in the ass, but I love him. Of course H hates pictures taken of him, and the dog's eyes always turn out pure red. So that leave me with pictures of my BUGGA BOOS! H also calls him Bouche (Boosh).

The all so cute and innocent stage

His gorgeous blue eyes!

His eyes slowly fading from blue to green

They were friends right away. See what I mean about the red?

Slowly moving into the "teenager" faze

Eyes turning from green to yellow

He would not stop licking himself so we had to make him wear the shameful cone

Sun Bathing with his cone

...and yellow eyes!

He thinks he's boss

Day #1 and a Very Cute Pyro

2011-12-02T09:55:00.001-08:00

So here we go with DAY #1. Last night we totally pigged out knowing it was our last day of sugary goodness. I also realize that I am starting right before the biggest month of the year to eat candy and sweets. I say "Bring it on!"

Okay so maybe my eggs didn't look that good!!

So here is my food plan for the day:

Breakfast
2 Scrambled eggs
protein water

Snack
Small bag of baby Carrots
String Cheese

Lunch
Artichoke
Decaf Green Tea

Snack
Small bag of Celery
String Cheese

Dinner
Grilled chicken breast
Salad

Desert
Sugar free, fat free jello

I am desperately hoping I will keep up with this. As you have seen in previous posts my dinners are not exactly healthy so hoping to make a big change. I was wanting to start on January 1st but H convinced me "Why not just start now!?". I thought hell I need to, and I really don't need to be eating all of the Christmas sweets, and candy. So last night we went to the grocery store and only bought foods we were allowed to eat. It was pretty easy since the book makes it simple that Phase 1 (lasts for 2 weeks), you basically only eat meat, poultry, vegetables, and cheese. Of course lots and lots of water but that's a given. We were slightly on budget so we only bought foods for today and this weekend. On Monday we will be going major grocery shopping since that is pay day, and get a ton of vegetables, cheese, and meats.

To completely change topics I had to post a picture of Pyro. He would make a great Christmas card huh? I'm just too lazy to do it.

Katylou~

The South Beach Diet

2011-12-01T14:56:00.001-08:00

So today both I and H decided we were going to go on the South Beach Diet. It sounds like a good healthy way to lose weight, and that is what we are looking for. I'm pretty excited to start tomorrow (December 2nd.) I will keep you updated on how I keep up. I am hoping I stick with it, and of course have my doubts because like any diet..you stop. But I am hoping to stop once I lose the weight I lose, and not necessarily stop, but learn to eat healthier and be a better cook. The recipes in the book seem somewhat simple, and easy. The number one problem I know I will face is....FISH. I cannot stand fish, and can't stand the smell. Never have. Also the book recommends a lot of tomato juice, and V-8. YUCK. But honestly to tell you the truth I am a horribly picky eater and I have grown up from the kid who "doesn't like their vegetables" to the "adult who doesn't like her vegetables." They say the first 2 days is the hardest so we shall see. We also came up with a plan to rid our cupboards and fridge of all the food that we wont be eating in phase 1. Makes sense right? That way it will be harder to grab something that your not suppose to have. That's my theory anyways. Here is the book:

So wish me luck, and hopefully I can lose the pounds that I desperately need to lose. AND hopefully I go from this:

To this:

~Katylou

1 Weekend, 2 Amusment Parks, 1 Ocean View, and a Great Time

2011-11-29T16:07:00.000-08:00

Almost at the end of the day of a lovely Tuesday...NOT! H is going in to work at midnight tonight to work which I don't mind since I am asleep by that hour. So a couple weeks ago H and I got into a fight. I really can't remember what it was about...something stupid like usual. We went in seperate rooms of the apartment and after several hours H came out and said "Want to go to So Cal?" Of course you would expect my response to be "Are you crazy?!" or "What are you talking about", but it ended like this.... "Sure." So we packed a few clothes, toothbrush, and the norms and headed out the door. We drove through the night, counted all of the cars who were in our way in the fast lane, and finally arrived at a cheap but expensive hotel. Now when I say cheap but expensive I mean the inside of the hotel was cheap, the price was expensive. Don't you hate that? Anyways the next morning we ended up going to the Wild Animal Park which was slightly uneventful. It was not busy and it was nice to see the animals but they were so far away you couldn't really see them. It definitely is a beautiful place to go, and is a "should go at least once" type of place. Since the Wild Animal Park only took half the day we decided to explore more of So Cal. (H is from So Cal so he was a little more familiar with the area.) We went to the SeaWorld. Last time I went I was about 4 years old. Both H and I were very suprised when we arrived. It was so much fun, and all of the animals they

have is amazing. SeaWorld was also Christmas themed which was nice.

All in all we ended up leaving SeaWorld Sunday night, drove the

8 hours to get back home, and I was at work Monday morning at

8am sharp. What a weekend! Sometimes it is nice to be impulsive, and

sometimes it bites you in the ass. I think this time was nice since H

and I definitely needed a mini vaca. Here is a quick picture of us at the

end of the day at SeaWorld before we went home. Afterward we went

to the ocean to check it out. Oh and it was FREEZINGGGGG cold!

My Locket

2011-11-16T16:04:00.000-08:00

So for our 1 year anniversery H got me this locket. I am totally in love with it. It's the perfect size but to fit a picture in there is going to take a lot of skill. Super super tiny.
I thought I would post this before I forgot. Oh and the other day H and I were looking around a store (forgot which one) and we saw a beautiful heart diamond ring that was on sale and super good deal. I did some major hinting so I'm hoping...maybe Christmas? I usually love anything he gets me because not to brag or anything but he has really good taste. So when he does get me something its usually very nice. Anyways almost time to go home :)

~Katylou

Dinner Menu

2011-11-16T15:48:00.000-08:00

So me and H are huge fast food junkies. We both totally suck at cooking (with good intentions), and usually anything we make is "eh." However it has come to the point where we are both completely sick of fast food, and would like to move on to some homemade food. We will be taking a cooking class in the future, but with our schedules it is totally out of the question at the moment. So we checked on some somewhat "healthy" but manageable recipes, and created a menu for this week. I am hoping we can keep to it. Here is what I have so far:

Thursday
Chicken Fried Steak
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Fresh Green Beans

(Ok! Ok! I know you must be thinking that is so not healthy but I did pull it from eatingwell.com so I am sticking with it. Moving on....

Friday
BBQ Chicken Tenders
Homemade Ranch Dip
Fruit
(again pulled from Eating Well, and we have a ton of bbq sauce that needs to be used up)

Saturday
Beef Stew
Cornbread
(My FIL makes amazing beef stew which I got the recipe from so I'm hoping it turns out somewhat good like his)

Sunday
Pork Chops with Apples
Mashed Potatoes

Monday
Sourdough Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Salad
Tomato Soup for DH (Yuck!)

Tuesday
New York Steak
Corn on the Cob

Wednesday
Chicken Parmesan Sandwich OR Cheese quesadillas with fresh salsa and guacamole
(I'm not sure I will like the chicken parm so I am using the quesa's as a backup. ;)

Then of course Thursday is Turkey Day.

A Girl Can Never Have Enough Make-up

2011-11-15T16:08:00.000-08:00

I thought I would post a little bit about the make-up I use. I recently just bought a ton of new stuff so I will show you what my latest findings were. My daily routine starts with washing my face. My face gets really oily so I had to find something that would get rid of the oily face but not completely dry it out. Clean & Clear foaming cleanser seems to be working the best for me at the moment. I was using a Neutrogena face wash but it was discontinued so I moved on to a face wash a little on the cheaper side.

Next I use Covergirl TRUblend. Just a few dabs on my face to cover up the redness. I would say it works pretty well, and most of all...it is not oily! I believe I use the Ivory color but I'm not 100% positive.

Then I discovered a brand of makeup I never had heard of. It is called Physicians Formula. When I was out to lunch with H we stopped by a small grocery store, and they had a lot of mineral and natural makeup. They had a huge huge sail on the physicians formula makeup for $2.99 each. SCORE! It didn't look like bad makeup either.

First I picked up the Bronze Booster Glow-Boosting Press Bronzer. I went home and tried it out. I loved it! The last time I used a bronzer it was dingy and orangey looking so I just stopped looking. This bronzer gives off a natural glow and the illusion that I am tan. LOVE it. So of course I went back for more. I also love the case that included a mirror, and brush.

Next time I stopped by the store I bought a few more items. Here are a few:

Shimmer Strips Custom Bronzer, Blush & Eye Shadow
They say that you can use this as blush, eye shadow or bronzer. I decided I would use it more for eye shadow since I loved the neutral shimmery colors. I am not a big fan of eye shadow and hardly ever use it. When I do it is usually just a shimmer. It stays on all day, and looks very nice. Thumbs up!

Next I picked up another bronzer since I loved the first one. It is called Summer Eclipse® Bronzing & Shimmery Face Powder. I haven't yet tried it yet so I will keep you updated. I just love the cute little sun on it. I think that is mostly the reason I bought it. Oh and it was $2.99!!

Then I picked up this Healthy Wear™ SPF 50 Tinted Moisturizer. It has a good color but way way too oily for my face. I think I will stick with the covergirl. :) I was also using MAC cover-up however I ordered it online, and it was completely the wrong color for me. It was way to light, and made me look extremely pale. I guess I will save that for my "winter look" lol.

I also bought some blush. The blush I was using was Avon which was getting the job done, but I didn't really like the color, and it didn't stay on all day. So I picked out the Mineral Wear™ Talc-Free Mineral Blush. I have been liking it so far. I think I would like a little more pinkish color but it does stay on all day which I am happy about it. It also came with its own brush and mirror. I did also buy some powder foundation that is the Physicians Formula as well, but haven't tried it out yet. We'll see. Usually powder foundations don't really work for me since my skin is a little bit dry right after I wash my face so it shows through. The moisturizer I use which I do use right after I wash my face. (Sorry I skipped that step). It is Neutrogena oil free moisture. I love it, and it does not make my face oily at all. After my face I move on to my eyes. About a month ago I was looking for some mascara. I was using an avon brand that was ok. I found some reviews of woman that loved the Benefit They're Real! Mascara. I checked online, and the prices were a little expensive. Then I found it on amazon for super cheap, and decided to try it. Usually I don't pay more then $6 for mascara but was really wanting to try it. I LOVE this. It makes my eyelashes look long, and full. I was very impressed to say the least. I think it is mostly the brush that makes it so nice. I would definitely recommend this product.

Then to finish it off I use Maybelline Shinesensational lip gloss. I use #55 Tempting Toffee. It gives off a little pink natural color but the taste is amazing. So yummy~

That pretty much covers my make-up routine. Then I move on to my hair which I am not as creative with. That is another story.

~Katylou

Ready Set...Blonde, Red, Brunette!

2011-11-14T19:12:00.000-08:00

So as I mentioned before I have changed my hair color 3 times within the same month. I know..poor hair. Anyways, here are some before and after pictures....

Here is what I started with. It is overgrown highlights, and I was sick of the "goldie" look.

Here is the 2nd look. I bought Clairol natural instincts which I thought well from the picture, and the back it looks like a dark reddish brown. Oh and it took 3 boxes for my hair! Crazy huh? Normally I will dye my hair a couple times a year professionally. There's no doubt that's the way to go. But I had an event at work

and I didn't want to go with the overgrown highlights so I thought "Hey lets just take a chance, and hope it turns out wrong. Well I was totally wrong. As soon as I looked in the mirror after I was done I was pretty much in shock. Seeing my hair flaming red when expecting dark brown was a HUGE difference. I was extremely disappointed and I hated it. I wanted to change it back, or change it right away...but I didn't. I didn't want to completely fry my hair so I did wait a couple weeks. Here is how it turned out! I wanted to cry. I thought it looked fake, and I totally do not pull off the redhead look. I am extremely pale with green eyes but I just can't get past my natural brunette. :) I apologize for the huge mess in the background! The picture actually makes it look pretty light but it was very very very red.

Next down the line after my red mistake I knew I wanted to go more my natural color (light brown.) So I decided to try to get rid of most of the red to go dark brown. I have always liked dark brown so I went for it on a Sunday afternoon. It took me forever trying to figure out what color of brown so finally I came out of the store with this. I almost regretted getting Clairol again with the bad episode I had previously but I really liked the color, and guess what...no red! Another huge reason for choosing this is the new "foam" that they have been advertising like crazy. I have to say that I loved it! With the red dye my husband was there to guide me on what strands I was missing color in and what not. When I was picking out the dye my husband was at work, and I was on my own so I wanted something easier to apply. I must say..I loved it! It gives great coverage and works like a charm. I loved it. It was a little bit more expensive then the other dyes but totally worth it. I would definitely recommend especially if you have really long hair. Also with this it only took me 2 boxes to finish up my hair.

I was very happy with the result, and it came out beautiful. It is very shiny, and the exact color I was looking for. Of course a little bit of red came out but I don't mind a little bit. ;)

....and much better! Sorry for the boob shot by the way. Also every picture is right after I finished blow drying, and after the dying so pardon the frizz. I know I know, I need to work on my tan! I look so horrible in this picture but it gets the hair color across. Also didn't mean to double post but all of my pics are on my home computer that I can't access from work. So that finishes up my crazy hair month of October!

~Katylou

My Cute Lil Spee-i-der

2011-11-14T16:08:00.000-08:00

Hello there. First let me start off by showing you my new car! I am pretty excited about it, and I did go through buyer's remorse (majorly) but have since gotten over that today. I am not so "yay" about the color but did some pricing and figured that it would cost about 2k for a super nice paint job.
Here is my car now:

...and then the paint job I am hoping for:

Would love to have THIS car however I think my cute lil' spyder could pull off that color. Comparing it to a Lotis does NOT do it justice. Just look at the color people! Haven't done much shopping in a long time. Spent everything on the car! lol. My H is also for the purple but I was thinking maybe blue instead? I go back and forth but we definitely pick very unique colors.

New update on the army: H is finishing up some college, and will be done in January. After that he is enlisting, and we have now been looking into the medical field which I love.

I just got back from vacation from work (woohoo week off!). Didn't do too much since we just bought the car. We did go to the zoo which was fun. We went in the morning so most of the animals were either eating or hiding. I still can't decide if I am against zoos. I'm definitely not for this just because the animals just look sad in the cages! You can totally tell on their faces that they are not happy. There are some animals that don't really mind. (Going off my keen animal instincs..heehe.) Back at work today (boo) but my email has been going crazy (IT has been working on it) so I got through pretty fast. Day has been going by pretty fast so that is good news.
I have learned a valuable life lesson this month. READ before signing. That is all.
I also this month have changed my hair color several times. I know, I know! I thought "OMG I'm going to have to change the name of my blog." The first color was a bronzy brown. Didn't like it at all. So I went with "dark cinnamon brown." My hair came out flaming red. It was literally ALL red. I was a little devistated at first but started to grow on me. After about 2 weeks, and ran to the store and picked out some brown. I couldn't stand the red. It looked so fake on me. I am now back to my true color! I will post some before and after pictures hopefully in the next post.
I also tried to cook a spaghetti squash. A little back history on me~ I have never really liked vegis (ohh ya..one of those kids) and I have been slowly, and I mean slowly adapting. So I tried out a spaghetti squash, and ...YUCK. Did not like. I'm thinking I may have overcooked it too but totally gross to me. I was a little bummed since they are suppose to be so healthy for you. With it I did pick up at the grocery store a pre-made salad which had apples, cheddar cheese, and apple vinegrette...YUMM! Success! Anyways I will see ya lata...half hour of work to go!
~Katylou

WHEW!

2011-09-06T11:28:00.000-07:00

So I have a lot going on at the moment. H is still deciding if he wants to join AF or army. I am leaning him towards AF just because of an amazing job that he and I both like. I just found out that Army and Navy offer it too, but we like the location of the AF.It is a SERE trainer. Their basically the masters of boyscouts. lol. Naw their more then that but you get my point. H is starting his second semester of classes. He is taking 2 classes as oppose to 3 which will definitely make it a lot easier. I am really hoping they have the SERE position available when he enlists. It would make life so much easier but I have a sneaky suspicion that it wont work like that. Just because we have that kind of luck. Speaking of luck, even though this is totally conflicting what I just said, I found a $20 bill on the ground. I have only found money on the ground once, and that was $5. I was pretty happy, how lucky is that?!

We are also planning a vacation in November. I get 1 week off, and so does H so we are hoping to go to SoCal. There is a ticket that you buy that includes: San Diego Zoo, Wild Animal Park, and Sea World. The ticket is only $150 each person! So excited. I am hoping that we can actually go on this trip. Saving, saving, saving. The one thing both me and H are horrible about. We have the worst impulsive personalities together. This month we did pretty good with saving so we decided since we did such a good job we should reward ourselves. So we went and bought a WII. I definitely don't commend my decisions, but let me tell you...it's so not worth it to regret it. LOl, and the WII is so much fun.

Oh and the diet fun. I haven't been recording my calories for the past 3 weeks. So bad! I really need to go back to it. I haven't even been watching what I eat at all. Need to work on that. Hopefully next time I write I will be back on it. I lost 6lbs with it! You would think that would be enough motivation but sadly..no.:(

Our 1st year anniversery is coming up. Were thinking of just driving to the Ocean. We don't want to spend a lot of money so maybe ocean, and a nice dinner? Or we were thinking maybe our November vacation can count. :) Lately too I have been having major baby fever! Yuck! 5 more years, 5 more years, 5 more years at least! This is what I have been repeating in my head non-stop. lol Wrapping it up for the day, see you.

-Katylou

RIP our Shrimp

2011-08-16T11:42:00.000-07:00

So on Friday I went to the dentist for the first time in a while. I had one baby tooth that needed to be pulled. I told them to go for it, and they did a filling as well since my mouth was going to be numb for the extraction. Let me tell you...I love the eating habits it has caused. As you know I have been trying to drop a few (ok more then a few) pounds so having a sore mouth does not exactly improve ones appetite. Each piece of food I eat I have to chew a hundred times, and can only eat small quantities. I was a little dissapointed though that they told me that I would have to get either a bridge or an implant. I decided an implant would be the best for me. They said that implants go around 3-5 thousand dollars. Ouch! Not exactly looking forward to breaking the bank but it will be so worth it not to have a hole in my mouth. It is in the back but even so. :(

RIP our french accented shrimp. H was creating a saltwater aquarium, and we bought a red shrimp for the tank first (along with liverock, sand, etc.) Now I say french accented because when my dad came over he decided that he was french. So funny. So yesterday the shrimp was on his back and kicking. H was hoping that he was molting or something but sadly no. He died this morning. Here is what he looked like:

So we are starting over and creating a freshwater aquarium. More on our level of expertise I think. We really don't have the time or money to care for a saltwater aquarium but I do give H credit for trying, and maintaing one for 2 months. Today he is going to PetCo to check out what they have and such. Since my clutch has gone out in my car I have been driving H's truck. So this morning I took his set of keys, and mine by accident. I always leave him a set of keys just in case. He will drive my car from here to there but using it everyday for me to drive to work will be bad. So this morning I drove back home to give him a set of keys. It was nice seeing him anyways since we really don't have a lot of time together with him taking classes, and working full time.

Also our auto insurance is expiring so we were checking out other insurance companies for a better rate. I was so excited that the newest cheapest for us was Geico. I love the little gecko. I have always wanted the insurance just for the gecko.hehe. Isn't he adorable?

-Katylou

The good, the bad, and the ugly

2011-08-10T11:22:00.000-07:00

Haven't been here for a while! Nothing too much going on lately. My kitty is getting fixed on Thursday (Poor baby!) I have a dentist appointment on Friday which I was looking forward too since I have not been to the dentist since I was a kid, but now that it is getting closer I am scared to go. (THE BAD) I have been doing okay on the healthy eating. I am still counting calories so that definitely motivates me to eat healthier. The last past week I haven't been excercising so thats not good. Once I put myself in the situation to excercise I am okay, its just getting to the starting point. My clutch went out in my car so I have been driving around H's big huge truck. It's a little difficult to manuvere but I am getting it down. It's nice in traffic on my way home because it is an automatic. We went grocery shopping yesterday and we were both (me and H) pretty impressed with ourselves since our cart had only healthy stuff. (THE GOOD) If you would have looked at our cart a month ago it would have looked like we never had chocolate, chips, and cookies in our lives and were stocking up for years in advance. Last night for dinner we had chicken breast with some type of package marinade, and cantaloupe. I think I like chicken legs better on the grill just because the breast is kind of plain even with seasonings. Tonight we are using our new crockpot for the first time! We are having beef stew so I'll have to let you know how that turns out. Oh and I have to tell you. It was the most hilarious moment ever last night. H was sitting on our couch, and kitty came up to the top of the couch. He went to poke him to just mess with him, and the cat turned around really fast. He ended up poking him right in the B-HOLE. HAHAH It was so funny. The cat gave the weirdist expression, and we were both laughing our asses off! (THE UGLY!)
Well I'm starving so I'm off to lunch. I am having Mr. Pickles thinking either a turkey cranberry or pastrami. Both are the healthiest meats. I have learned to stay away from cheese and salami since that bumps my calories up to a crazy amount! See ya!

-Katylou

Go Healthy!

2011-08-02T16:13:00.000-07:00

So I found this website that I absolutely love! It is livestrong.com. I have been using the "My Plate" feature which keeps track of all your calories and exercise. I love it. I have been working on losing weight and so far within the last week I have lost 2lbs. Pretty good start I think! I have been working on eating healthier and keeping track of the calories I eat. It hasn't been too hard. I figured out that the more I excercise the more calories I get to eat..hehehe. So there is my motivation! Yesterday H and I went to the lake with Pyro. We took Pyro in the water with us and he was not a happy camper to say the least. I got a huge sunburn on my back. My bathing suit top had extra length in back so it covered half my back. I have a huge white blob in the middle of my back! lol. So I definitely need to hang out by the pool to even that out. I also found a recipe that I really like. It is blueberry oatmeal muffins. They are actually pretty healthy for you when it comes to muffins. They were yummy and way easy to make! Here is the recipe I got from Taste of Home:

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins Recipe

Nutrition Facts: 1 muffin equals 167 calories, 6 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 31 mg cholesterol, 249 mg sodium, 26 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 4 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1-1/2 starch, 1 fat.

Ingredients

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup (8 ounces) plain yogurt
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. Combine the egg, yogurt and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in blueberries.
Coat muffin cups with cooking spray or use paper liners; fill three-fourths full with batter. Bake at 400° for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Yield: 1 dozen.

My Lazy Weekend

2011-07-25T12:31:00.000-07:00

This weekend was definitely uneventful for me. It consisted of couch, food, bed, couch, tv. I did watch a movie that I absolutely love! It is Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Definitely one of my favorites, and pretty much tops Breakfast at Tiffany's in my book. I also love Unsinkable Molly Brown, and Oklahoma (not the orginal but the newer one with Hugh Jackman)

Update on H: He has been achieving A's in all of his classes. Happy for him since he was looking for a self confidence boost. I think the thought of joining, and traveling is keeping him motivated. Keep going! He is currently attending AMU (American Military University) online classes. He is taking history, econ, and college 101 for his first half of the semester. Beforehand when he signed up his counselor told him that it would be too heavy of a load. This concerned both of us since he has the intelligence however does not like applying himself. He had definitely proved us all wrong. AMAZING!

I also went on my usual walk this weekend with H and Pyro. Pyro is our collie who has been a PITA lately. We were debating wheither or not we should keep him going through the military. We decided that since he is actually a member of family already it would be hard to give him away, and it would not be that bad to move him around from place to place. Here is a puppy picture of Pyro. He was the cutest puppy I have ever seen. When we went to look at him 2 years ago I knew we were going home with him. This is him on my dad's boat. He took it pretty well for being a puppy. He is all around a pretty mellow dog. Just a complete goober!

To the right is a picture of him now. He is wearing one of my shirts right after I gave him a bath. The bathing process is way long and requires a large amount of shampoo! He is an inside dog but somehow manages to smell up the place with his partner in training-Riley our kitty. We call him Bug-A-Boos, and Bouche (Yes sounds like Douche except with a B..this is all H!) ( I believe nicknames were previously mentioned.) Bugga's and Pyro have been really good friends, and work as a team to climb to the counters for food. Usually since Pyro is mellow, kitty will get to the food first and take from him. Poor Pyro! LOL. Here is another pic of Pyro older. When ever we take him on a walk we get tons of compliments about how pretty he is. I swear he should have been born without balls because he is more pretty then hansom! lol

Please note that the timestamp on the last picture is wrong. My camera has the dates not set correctly. This was from last December. His eyes are brown however there are slivers of blue in each eye. Notice that his left eye in the picture is really blue. We think that he does in fact have poor eyesight. When walking he usually doesn't notice someone or somthing until they are right on him.

Sorry to throw you off but I found my ring on the internet that I have had for 4 years. On my 17th birthday H got me this ring. I used to wear 5 rings on each hand. One night we were watching a movie and he slipped this ring on my hand. I absoulutely love the simplicity of it. Also I love silver. For some reason I cannot stand gold on myself. I thought that it was pretty expensive but later down the road he told me he got it on sale for like $15.00. HAHA. I went on Kohls today and it is actually $10 now. Nice! It is more sentimental then anything so I really don't mind. I have been wearing it all day all night since he put it on me. I know, I know cheesy. I also tried looking for the necklace that he gave me for Valentines day when we were first dating but no dice. It is a silver necklace with a heart, and a pink stone on it. Again, probably not expensive but don't care. He is on the not so romantic side so receiving a present like jewelry is so great! He does have really good taste I must say. He helped me pick out engagement/wedding ring.

Oh and I did try something new on my nails this weekend. I admit it does look a little "high schooler" but I like it. I painted them half purple slanted, and the other half silver. It does look better in person that trying to explain. Here is something that looks similar. Just with different colors.

Katylou

Fun Day at the Zoo

2011-07-21T22:16:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I had a vacation day from work so me and H went to the zoo. Here are a few pictures. :) We had a good time .Sorry for the somewhat bad pictures. I bought a new camera so I was trying to figure out the settings. We did miss out on our favorite animal which is the otter. We think they are hilarious, and too cute. They were making his habitat larger so it was under construction.

Snakey-Poo-We chose the reptile place first to get it over with. This is our least favorite place of the zoo.

I believe this is some type of a desert snake

Flamingos!

Kookaburra

This is the cafe we went to

Here is the food we ordered from the cafe. The cafe definitely did not have anything remotely healthy so we went with chicken strip basket, 2 medium drinks, and a cheeseburger basket. Total $24.68. Outrageous! Especially for cafeteria food.

Reaching for some leaves with his longggg neck

Bashful..he started pooping with I was taking a picture..so gross!

Eating

The sad tiger. He was pushed against the glass and everyone was tapping, and trying to get his attention.
He kept crying. :(

This guy walked right up to me. Notice he is missing his horn. Not much of a "Horn bill" but he was definitely the nicest.

The jags. This is when they both noticed us looking at them after they were playing

Just ducks..I thought they were cute tho

Monkey. He turned around right after.

Pronghorn

..I snapped a pic before he went into hiding

Shy zebras. I don't blame them!

Tiger again. He's got big feetsies.

Against the glass

Tiger

Anteater..they are so funny looking!

Cool looking birdie


I gotta say he was one of my favorites. He was missing his horn and he was so sweet. He let me take tons of pictures of him.

All in all it was a great day. We also visited the Train Museum as well as the mall. Train museum pix to come. It was a little hot at the zoo-around 90 degrees or so. We got very lost getting to the zoo but once we did it was nice. Just like a mini vacation. Our next planned trip is the Wild Animal Park. I have never been there but H assures me it is amazing.

Katylou

and the days go by...

2011-07-19T10:52:00.000-07:00

So last night me and H cleaned up our appt like crazy. We are having an inspection today or tomorrow. I have the fact that we JUST moved in, and they did not specify a time. So the appartment is all clean. I was actually suprised how fast we got it done. It wasn't too dirty to begin with. We organized all of our drawers and such. I was pretty impressed with H. He is definitely not a cleaner but he totally kicked ass last night. Missing my kitty! He had to go spend the night at my mother in laws since our appartment requires a $200 fee. Apparently he got a bloody nose from stress. Poor baby! He's fine though he just misses me! LOL. Also looking into jobs in AF with H. I thought one job called a Phoenix Raven sounded pretty cool. I was just looking at the name of course. I think he might be interested in it. Sounds like a fun job anyways. Tomorrow I get the day off! WOOHOO. I don't having any plans so far but I would like to do the following: Rollerskating, go see a movie, hiking, gym, buy a bookshelf, etc. Oh and on Sunday we put our turtle up for adoption. She was too big for the tank we had, and taking up a lot of room in our place. We had tons of repsonses, and we responded to a teacher who wanted her for her classroom. We were really happy we found someone who would take good care of her. Goodbye Ed(na). We are still working on putting together a saltwater aquarium. We have live rocks so far, and the water. We added 1 fire shrimp, and 5 snails. All of the snails died. :( Bummer. The shrimp is still alive..thank goodness since he was $30! The tank is now growing red stuff all over it. I'm thinking its not good since the water is getting cloudy and gross. H is researching on how to fix it. According to my dad our shrimp is french as he has a french accent! lol. On Sunday my dad brought over doughnuts. He stayed for a bit, and left. I enjoy when he comes to visit. My mother and sister are currently on vacation in southern CA. All of her family lives there, and that is the only place she will take a vacation. She is a major homebody unlike myself. I have been completely failing at eating healthy. Being low on $ definitely does not help with the healthy eating. I love to snack on fruit but it is so expensive but so worth it. Sorry for jumping around all over the place. :)

Katylou

Well its about time Friday finally showed up!

2011-07-15T11:40:00.000-07:00

Finally Friday! It seems like this week has been dragging on. I just found out that our apartment will be having an inspection again. They just did it 3 months ago. So cleaning on the weekend for me! Not very fun I know. I also received an email from an old friend today. It was defiitely nice to hear from her since we drifted apart a couple years ago. She is going through some relationship problems but I guess that is life. I think I just got lucky that I found H so quickly, and didn't have to go through all of the heartache to get to the right one. I am still slacking on eating healthy. You would think I would have enough motivation to get in shape since it such an easy concept to grasp. Eat healthy+exercise=lose weight. How hard can that be? WELL...let me tell ya! lol Not much to write today since my tummy is rumbling at it is almost lunch time.

Katylou

The Kiss

2011-07-14T11:17:00.000-07:00

One more day and I am ready for my weekend. This month was fun for me just because of all the shopping, and all of the stuff I bought. I'm pretty sure shopping=my favorite thing on this earth. Well besides the H of course! Now I'm just getting cheesy. No plans for the weekend yet. I was hoping to try a new recipe. It is homemade mac and cheese. I have been trying to eat healthier so this is like a huge NO NO. I went to the gym yesterday, and was on the elliptical for 30 minutes. I burned 300 calories! Afterwards I thought to myself, well what was that....like 1 french fry!?!? I have been trying to motivate myself to go to the gym more often by keeping a record of what I have been eating. So far, no dice. Once I am at the gym I am okay. It is getting there that is the hard part for me. My H started school on July 4th with AMU (American Military University.) He took up a huge load of classes. I am hoping that he gets through it. I have faith in him. He is a very motivated and strong willed person when he puts his mind to it. I have my fingers crossed. :) Today's hairstyle consists of a frizzed out ponytail..ugg. I wait until the last minute at night to take a shower, and then go straight to bed. My hair in the morning is a crazy mess that I just don't want to deal with. Adding the fact that I am not a morning person what so ever. I have been working on this though. Usually on weekends I only sleep in around 9am IF that. I used to sleep into 11 to 12 which I never really liked because when you wake up the whole day is gone already.

I came across this photo while browsing a website. I just love it. I have seen it in galleries before, and apparently they found the man who is in the photo which I think takes the mystery out of it. Just a beautiful photo all around. Thought I would share some of my favorite kissing scenes.

I also love this photo. The classic Audrey Hepburn. I love her in Breakfast at Tiffany's but who doesn't?

Titanic-Loved her dress in this scene

Rachel McAdams is one of my favorite actresses. I loved her in Time Traveler's wife. That movie just made me cry the whole time. Note to self: Do not watch movie if PMSing. lol

And last but not least...my all time favorite. Myself and H! We were hiking at a place called Hidden Falls. It is a public park open to everyone. After the hike you come across a huge waterfall. We hiked down to the waterfall (you're not suppose to) and kissed in front of it. Very romantic to say the least.

Katylou

Shopping Trip!

2011-07-13T16:13:00.000-07:00

Whew! Thank goodness it is hump day! In this blog I am going to try to improve my grammar. I work with email all day long so I am always using shortcuts and abbreviations. I don't make any promises though. ;) I went on a major shopping trip last weekend and thought I would post what I bought. I usually tend to lean towards the "$5" shirts, and "$20" pants since I am constantly on a budget, but I went crazy last weekend! I bought the $10 stuff and the $40 clothes! Lol. I know pathetic. I bought this cute purple dress from Target. For some reason I have been really into purple.

I also got a cute heart necklace with earring included. I love it. I usually get the $5 necklaces and earring so I can have quantity over quality but the necklaces start to smell really bad! I have no idea why but I refuse to buy them anymore. Then the cheap earrings always turn my ears green so exnay on that! I have been wearing the necklace everyday (I am very boring.) I also went shoe shopping! I seem to always collect a ton of shoes that don't fit me-hand me downs, old shoes that I don't want to depart with that arn't worth fixing, etc. So I went through my shoe closet and tossed many many pairs. I replaced them with tons of Old Navy flip flops which I love. They seem to last forever for me. I also bought some high heels. High heels are spelt out High HELLS for me. I always look look I have a stick up my ass when I walk in them. I have been working on that though so hopefully these will do me justice. I also bought another pair of black heels that are amazingly comfortable. I hope they last forever because I have NEVER ever found a pair of heels that fit me to a T. I bought these shoes from Famous Footwear. I just love the simplicity of these. They were only $25! I was impressed.

I also bought some tank tops from Kohls. I was pretty impressed with Kohls when I went. Usually the lines are crazy long but this time I glided right through. Definitely nice for a change since I lack in patience. Next I stopped by the Galleria Mall which is under construction at the moment. A man walked into the mall with a gun apparently, locked himself in a gamestop, and lit the place on fire. It has been about 6 months and they are STILL working on it. Man is ok by the way, just mentally ill. Continuing with my shopping I stopped by Bath and Body Works. I can't say that I love them but they definitely have some unique smells. I chose to get coconut passion fruit, and Ambur. My H is not a big fan of the ambur but to each his own. I also came home with face illuminator from Forever21. I tried it on the other day, and it didn't seem to cover up any of my blotches or acne. I have mild acne, nothing too bad. I just get sick of looking at it. So I put my regular covergirl makeup over it. OMG my acne dissapeared the next day. The only thing I changed in my normal makeup routine was that Forever21 illuminatior. Bizarre! I also bought some Neutrogena Rain. I have never heard or use any Neitrogina producs. My H insisted I buy it because it smells really good. I thought it smelt okay but I understood what he meant when I washed with it. The scent stays with you for almost the whole night. It also made my skin softer then what I usually use so that was a plus for me. I was a little dissapointed when I bought it from Target for $8 or $9 and saw it at Walmart for that price for the big bottle! I honestly think it smells a tad bit like old people but hey, I can dig it. ;)

I of course did some shopping at Ross. It is one of my favorite stores for clothes, and home stuff in general. I have been trying to do more with my hair as well. It is pretty long, and to get it out of the way I usually just throw it up in a bun. Bad habit I think. H said that he likes braids so I have been working on learning a little bit about braiding. I know the basics but my mom never really knew how to french braid or fish tail so I never really looked into it. Its defitinely more challenging to learn something over a youtube video then watching it in person. For me anyways. I will have to post some pictures in the future to show some progress. I thought this was cute. I would NEVER ever get the courage to do that to my hair. I like my hair natural looking but it is definitely unique. It seems like the reality of things are not as fun as the expectations lol. I would love to meet someone who could pull off that hair color without looking like a clown. I am also curious to see what it would look like not braided.

Well work is calling my name. I hope to post some more pictures or at least ones of the family. I have a camera that I love to take pictures with however I lost the charger. Unfortunately Kodak only sells their chargers online, and I can't just pick it up spur of the moment. I guess I need to suck it up and order the damn thing so I can take pictures when I want. Hopefully when I get home H will be motivated to go to the gym with me. Not fun to go by myself. Here's hoping!

Katylou

Always Say "I love you"

2011-07-13T08:43:00.000-07:00

So this morning I woke up just like usual for work. I crawled out of bed went to the bathroom to wash my face, and I noticed that my eyebrows were a little bit off. So I pulled out the tweezers and started tweezing away when one fell in my eye! It took me forever to wash out my eye, and continue what I was doing. I throw on some makeup because I am already running late. I kiss my husband (H) goodbye, and say I love you. Then i walk outside dressed in a long skirt and a tank top since it has been pretty warm the last few days. So I step outside....it was dark and cloudy with a drizzle of rain. Since when does it rain in July in CA? So I go back inside change to jeans and a short sleeve shirt. I was a little depressed to be changing out of my comfy summer clothes to jeans. I have only ONCE found a pair of jeans in my life that fit me perfectly, and that was in highschool. LOL. I am short..around 5'2, and have crazy hips. So therefore I have to find jeans that are petite, lowered waist, and flared slightly at the bottom. Talk about picky! So anyways I thro a pair of jeans I just recently bought. They are comfy but again to not measue up to my standards. After saying goodbye again to H with "I love you" I head out the door. Everytime me and H depart from each other it is a thing for us to always say I love you. ALWAYS. Except of course when were completely MAD at each other at which point we just ignore each other completey. So here I am at work in my uncomfortable jeans, red eye, and hair that did not wish to cooperate this morning. Well at least I got a starbucks double caramel frap, and an I love you.

Katylou

Intro

2011-07-12T14:35:00.000-07:00

Here are some straight to the point facts about myself. My name is Katy aka Katylou. I am your typical Californian who loves the sun, and loves the outdoors. I am a newlywed in my 20's, and adore animals. I currenlty have a dog (rough collie), turtle, kitty, and beginning a saltwater aquarium. I usually spend most of my time with my husband who i adore, and when ever possible plan shopping trips with my mom, and grandmother. I currenlty live in an apartment perfect for the two of us. My husband is planning on joining the military which looks like lots of traveling in my future. Also to point out the obvious...I am a diehard brunette :)

Katylou