Life Lately via Instagram/IPhone

Anyone else feel like this week has flown by!? Maybe it's because I've been so busy work-wise this week going to trainings off site and meetings, but I am lovin' it! Happy Friday to you all!

Thank you all for your comments yesterday about the Cupcakes I should make for my office. Now, my office only consists of about 5 people (including myself - our other 4 employees work remotely from home in 4 different states!) but thank you, I can't wait to post about my baking experience since I have never really gotten into it before too much besides cookies.

Same thing with crafting, I'm itching to buy a cheap dresser and re do it, and I found one on craigslist this morning for only $20! Might go pick it up :-) Now those that know me know I am not a good crafter, but I also have never really tried to craft. With over 120 something pins about DIY projects, I'm thinking I should give it a shot.

I have some fun random instagrams throughout this week so I thought I'd share!

1. Dinner date with my love Krista, who is the newest ATX Blogger, so I can call it a "blate". :-)

2. Kona Grill California Roll... Yummm

 

 

 Company Lunch @ Mama Fu's

1. Calamari

2. Crab Rangoons

3. Deeeeelicious Iced Tea for me

4. My brown rice, veggies, and beef

 

 

 

 

What a lame fortune cookie!! Although, it was pretty funny. One of my coworkers made a comment along the lines of... "Maybe it means you were once "cramped" at Dell, but now you're free!"

Hahha

 

 

 

 

I love volunteering every Thursday for Meals on Wheels

OOTD on Tuesday when I went to Kona. Love love love this dress.

Rue 21 has some cuuuute summer dresses for only $15-20 right now!

 

 

 

 

1. 90 day mark on 8/1! Yay for having Insurance/Benefits again!!

2. Soo funny catching one of the IT guys snoozin on the job yesterday afternoon! I printed it out and taped it to my boss' door for a good laugh. He snores loud.

 

 

1. My little Bananalee in the Pool (bff's daughter) gosh she is so so cute

2. Cute texts from the boyfrannnnnn <3 love him

3. Funny how Huxley sleeps sitting up against the couch pillows.

 

Are you following me on Instagram!?

Happy, happy Friday!

What are your plans this weekend!?!?

Weekend Plans & Prayer

Hope you all have as much fun as this little guy...

source

Hahah, I can't tell whether he is a frenchie or boston, but it is too funny! Huxley is obsessed with hoses and chases after the water to do this move exactly ^^.. so cute!

Our prayers and thoughts go out to the victims of the Colorado Shooting last night... Hearing it over the radio on the way to work made me cry this morning, what a sad event. The youngest person injured was just 3 months old.

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. - Psalm 147:3

The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. - Psalm 9:9

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. - 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. - Zephaniah 3:17

We have a fun weekend ahead with a House Hunter's watching party, tomorrow Scott and I have a day-date including going to see Batman (!! so excited !!), and an Engagement Party for our friends Mandi and Jason on Sunday... oh and Scott's also excited about a big Golf Tourney on Sunday! Busy weekend!! :-)

Hope everyone stays safe and has a lot of fun this weekend!

Chicken Teryaki Stir Fry

I feel like this week has been so short due to having off on the 4th for the first time!! I am still so glad it is Friday! We don't really have plans as of yet, but I know some book reading and relaxin by the pool with a marg is in my agenda!

Last night, my brother Chris was over and he and Scottie were playin NBA 2K12 (is any other girl's man obsessed w/ this game?! Scott raps to the songs... lol), and I decided to make something new in the kitchen!

I had bought a frozen bag of stir fry veggies about a week ago and I knew I wanted to use them but I didn't know much what for. The veggies included broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, red peppers, water chestnuts, green bell peppers, and onions. So I pulled out two chicken breasts, thawed them, cut them into little diced pieces, and marinated them in a low sodium teryaki sauce for about an hour while I cleaned up around the house etc.

When I was ready to cook, I drained most of the teryaki sauce in the sink and with some oil heated over med-high on the stove, I cooked up the chicken - it already smelled delicious!

Once the chicken was cooked, I added in that frozen bag of veggies, a little more oil to cover, and a little more teryaki sauce and cooked on high heat for abuot 5 minutes...

Quick and AMAZING. I definitely recommend this! If you think about it, the teryaki sauce bottle I got from HEB was only about 1.25, the veggies were 1.15, and two chicken breasts... very inexpensive and I topped this mixture over whole grain rice!

The boys LOVED it! It was veggie-full, filling, flavorful, just great! I will be making this again for sure!

The rest of last night we just relaxed and I started reading a new book that Helen let me borrow. Huxley's favorite place to cuddle up is right next to his mama.

So does anyone have any plans this weekend!!?? I'm posting Mondays giveaway in this post to be easy to get to - 2 days left!! Monday morning  I will announce *8* winners!!

Hopdoddy Burger Bar

Maddie's 2nd Day on South Congress was fun! We didn't do as much shopping because it was sooo hot!! It was fun though, we stopped by a few little shops on the other side of the street, and even visited some cute puppies (They have an Ausin Pet's Alive trailor set up on SoCo with puppies for show for possible adoption). We didn't snap as many pictures as I'd hoped, but OMG if you are in Austin or are ever planning on going to Austin, Hopdoddy is one of the best tasting burger joints I've ever been to... Maddie was in heaven!

{source: Hopdoddy Website}

Maddie anxiously awaiting her burger and fries!

Holy yum. This was a Classic Cheese Burger with their Sassy Sauce (which is a combination of their homemade horseradish, mustard, and mayo with spices). The fries are seasoned with garlic and herbs which makes them so flavorful, oh and to top it off:

a NUTELLA and Pretzel Milkshake! We obviously didn't even finish it halfway we were so full from the burger but it was the bomb.com.

So YAY for Friday!! This week has flown by for me, maybe it's because my sister has been able to hang out with me at work and we are currently jamming out to Dubstep Radio while drinking coffee. So fun. :-)

Have a great weekend, friends!

Huxley and the Hairdryer

I am so glad it is Friday! It has been a long week working overtime and trying to shake a cold! Scottie and I don't have plans for this weekend yet, but we do have good news!

So last year, I moved into the apartment we're in now, but it wasn't the apartment we had signed a lease for. I mean, it was, but it was a handicapped version of it - so doors were wider, the bathroom is probably half of our house (that part I wasn't complaining about ;-)) and the counters were lowered. Because it was move in day, I was so upset but still had to go somewhere. So we moved in on condition that we could have a free transfer at any time with no admin or deposit fees.

Well, the market value for apartments has been insane lately, but finally this past month I found the layout I wanted and the location of our complex. Our complex is beautiful, white picket fences, dog parks, basketball courts, and greenery everywhere. We're also in a cul de sac on our own street. I absolutely love it! We got it at the same rent we're paying now (thank goodness, rents are over $100 what we're paying right now so I am grateful), and we move on my birthday weekend!! (Dec 8-10th) :) Yay! I am so happy we'll finally be in a normal non-awkward looking apartment where I can decorate the way I want to!!!

Anyway, that's really all I have for today. Making some delicious recipes over the weekend that will be posting up next week and a possible guest post so stay tuned!

As I get back to work, enjoy watching Huxley's new obsession. My hair dryer. (sorry it is kind of dark - late at night) - You would think he'd be afraid of vaccuum cleaners and hairdryers, but he is in full force taking this thing on! Haha, it is too funny. (Btw, yes. I'm sitting on the floor playing with a hairdryer with my dog. don't judge me :) hehe)

Of Possible Interest: Here is a fun site my coworker found me it's a visual quiz offered by New York Times Personality Quiz! Are you a trend setter like me? Click [here] the take the quiz!

Linking up with:

TGIF

It has been one seriously draining week! I've been working my new 7am-4pm schedule (coming from 10am-7pm is a great difference) and seeing Scott about one hour a day since I'm practically snoring by the time he gets home from work at night :(. I have had a lot of fun this week, but am so so ready for the weekend.

Some things I am proud of accomplishing this week:

1. Took the plunge to healthy eating: Now that I have my new camera *finally* I can start blogging recipes again. Since then though, Scott and I have been very determined to not drink at all during the work week, and eating smaller portions at dinner - also eating EARLIER... With going from a job where I walk and run around all day long being a server/bartender... going to a sitting job is hard. I've definitely gained more weight then I wanted to and not been very motivated to work out or eat better. It doesn't help that we have free lunch at work all the time! I honestly have to say reading your lovely blogs about your workouts and what works for you really encourages me to get my act together and look good for myself, and for my boo of course ;-)



Salmon Salad for Lunch yesterday



Been having one of these for breakfast for added protein and fiber. So yummy!


2. Pushed myself at work to hit some hard numbers at work and won $200 in a drawing! Ahhhhh yeahhh!

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

3. Bought a Camera (technically it was on last Saturday) but I felt like my blog was so empty without pics or videos!

4. Blog Daily: It was pretty hard to blog a lot without a camera, so I have to say thank you to Pinterest for giving me inspiration to keep bloggin', but I realized I was blogging only twice a week and not very timely (I'd post one day at noon and two days later at 8pm...). This week I've been able to post every day in the morning to be more consistant, and it does help that I have so much free time between 7-8am at work.

Some posts from this week:

• New Camera / Huxley Pictures
• Prayer and Encouragement
• Happy Hump Day!
• No Work, All Play

5. More Active with Huxley: This week Hux and I have gone on long walks and he's gettin' so much bigger! Scottie and I have now taught him how to sit! I'll post a video soon! So cute. I love how active and playful he is, it's definitely a huge motivator to get up and out of the house to walk around and excersize.

So these are some goals I would really like to accomplish this weekend/next week.

1. Stay on this healthy eating plan. I need to get on the healthy bandwagon and continue to eat well, but also make time for my gym! I've had a gym membership forever and rarely go there to work out. No bueno! Maybe start running long distance with Huxley since the weather is cooling down...

2. These past few Sundays have been busy or we've been away from home, but this Sunday I want to go to Church. I used to work on Sundays so it was nearly impossible to go, but there is no excuse now that I have all weekend off. I've been wanting to go to Gateway after hearing the numerous amazing stories from my friend Ruthie about it.


source

 3. I want to take a few minutes with Scott this weekend and do a Vlog! Maybe an accent one? I have never done it before, and I told Kristen I would link up for the Blog Outside the Box series, so I'm going to do it. Kind of excited! And nervous.... :)

4. After missing out on all my blogfriends video chat last night, I decided I really need to get a webcam this weekend. Out of all the girls, I have the most outdated computer equipment and I work at dell. I know right?! Time to upgrade, Amanda!


source

 5. Do some crafts this weekend/week. I have seen soooo many fun household things I can make on Pinterest and need to start hanging some frames, decorating my apt! It's kind of hard as the layouts a little awkward, but nonetheless, it still looks like we just moved in... and I would love for it to be a little more homey.

source



source

 Two things I'm extremely excited about:

1. My older brother Chris got a job at Dell! He has just moved back to Austin! SO so excited to have close family here as it's just been me by my lonesome since my family moved back to Louisiana.

2. My mom is taking a trip to Vegas with her boyfriend soon - and it is work related, but she invited him for the fun times after work! I have a feeling something really exciting might come from that. Cough cough.... She promised no Elvis weddings but you have to do something first before getting married ;-)! We'll seeeee!


source

 What are you excited about for this month??
Have you accomplished some goals you've been meaning to lately?

TGIF! Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!