where to begin

Ever feel like you've been crazy busy with nothing to show for it? I feel like we've been running, sprinting, hurtling towards these goals that are nonexistant. Bryan still has the same job, I still have mine. We wake up, go to work, work hard, come home, live, eat dinner (most of the time home cooked but I'll admit we like to indulge in a little pizza or teriyaki every once and a while) live some more, go to sleep and do it all over again the next day. 


I'm not complaining, I just feel busy, when in reality, we're really not. Lots on my mind, too much to type and too personal to divulge in one sitting, but I'll start with these thoughts;


I've thought about blogging almost every night. I lay in bed waiting to go to sleep skimming the pages of Pinterest or pouring over another episode of Gilmore Girls for the millionth time, but for some reason it hasn't been so easy to just log into Blogger.


I'm really struggling with patience right now. Patience with myself, life, friends, coworkers, my husband, future plans, family, you name it, I'm practicing patience. And whoever said practice makes perfect can kiss my butt because in no way am I more perfect at patience than I was two months ago. All joking aside though, it's a constant battle.


I feel as though I've been very selfish lately. Part of me pats myself on the back and says, 'Good job kid! You deserve to be selfish!' and the other part of me scolds it's counterpart for being so thoughtless, that I should be thinking of and putting others before me. Which do I choose? Or how can there be a happy medium?


I don't mean this post to just be word vomit, and if you're reading I'm sure you're thinking to yourself I just need to buck up buttercup, but I think it's more than that. It's a quest to be truly happy and content. I've felt it in fleeting life moments, but never for long periods of time. Every once in a while it will creep up on me like it thought I totally forgot about it. I didn't and never do, but it's tough going without it for a while.


Alas, I won't make any promises this time about being back, I catch up on lots of blogs in the wee hours of the morning to see how you all are doing and it brings joy to my heart :) But I did promise some super yummy recipes so I will work on those for sure.


See, my heart and burden already feels a little bit lighter :)

perspective

I'm sitting here, with a warm Mac computer under my palms as I write this, and it feels good.

I'm so glad I decided to slow things down and take time for me lately and appreciate everything I know I have to offer including but not limited to - self love and respect.

In honor of my first entry post-hiatus, I'd like to reflect and entertain my perspective on this last year.

On Friday, the 13th none the less, was my twenty-fourth birthday. Twenty four years of loving, laughing, crying, learning, breathing, stressing, thinking, hugging & kissing, working, earning & spending, reacting, cooking...


And on Friday felt good with myself - twenty four years of me. Amanda Lynn. Daughter. Wife. Sister. Auntie. Lover of all things sunny and happy - happy with myself.
 Who'dve thought? :)


From here on, I will only blog for me. I promise I'm not trying to be selfish (well maybe a little) but I just don't want the warmth and goodness that is blogging, to be lost again. 


I can't wait to share more of newlywed stories, super yummy recipes (because I was totally cheating on my blog with my kitchen - it was heavenly), and your lives with you through your blogs.


I missed you girlfriends!


PS - please stay tuned for the following recipes in the coming week :)

hiatus

I think I first heard that word on Oprah, or maybe the movie 'Casper' - you know that one with a super young Christina Ricci and thensuper cute Devon Sawa. Or maybe it was one of the ghosts who said;

"I feel like Oprah on hiatus." 

I'm rambling...

Either way, it's not till recently that I've truly realized what it meant.

Since September, I've been blogging consistently - pretty much daily. Like I've said before, it's an amazing outlet. It's a place I can come every day, remember to be thankful, tell the ones that are important that I love them, chronicle my cooking endeavors, AND I've made really awesome friends in some of you along the way.

So where am I going with this.

I have been, and am going to be a little more absent than normal, and I can only hope you stick with me like you have in the past through everything else that has happened in my life. 

I'm not hurt, my family is ok, Bryan and I are doing great, but it's just time to take a step back and re-evaluate situations and relationships in my life which may take a toll on my blogging life. I'm finally getting a sleep pattern down and getting my anxiety under control, however, I feel like I'm starting to hold what other people say and think of me in higher regard than what I think and feel about myself - and I'm not ok with that.

On that note, I'll still be around, just not as much for the time being.

You ladies are wonderful, and I continue to look in on your lives every day, I might be taking a minor step back for the time being. Thank you for everything - I really do love you guys!

Just know, I'm sure as heck not giving up on myself or this blog :)

eleven weekend realizations

1. Find out who your true friends are, sooner rather than later
2. Do not, I repeat, do NOT - use the internet inappropriately at work
3. Inevitably, when you look and feel cute, you won't see anyone you know when you go out on the weekend. But when you look a hot mess and feel like crap, you will see ten people you know
4. The sound of a box fan in the window on a sunny day makes my heart go pitter-patter
5. One day of sunshine in Seattle = six days of rain
6. It's ok to stay in on a Saturday evening to catch up on laundry, do your dishes, and cuddle with your husband who is playing x-box - ps, I make a pretty good grilled cheese sandwich, or so I'm told :)
7. It always feels good to come back to Mom and Dad's house - especially on holidays - food for days!
8. 'Love and Other Drugs' had a lot more sex in it than I was expecting, alas, it was still a really good love story.
9. Pepsi slurpees from AM/PM are not, I repeat, are NOT as good as Coke slurpees from 711.
10. I should've video taped me teaching my dad how to use/download apps on his new iPhone4 - pretty funny
11. New mascara always makes me feel better

Here's to a better/less emotional/up-coming week.

But to be honest, I'm already looking forward to next weekend: hopefully going here and seeing this

Until then just for good measure, I wanted to share this with you, found it on Pinterest this weekend and I kind of love it :)

Wordless Wednesday

Someday :)

Today's Letters Inspired Tuesday

Today's Letters: Dear recipient of my fabulous lunch making skills, I can only assume that because of this text message. Not only am I more confident in my roast beef sammich making skills, but I know that you appreciate the effort - that's even better. Dear Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-Part 2, I start giggling like a school girl and my voice goes about eight octaves higher when I think/talk about you [or so I'm told]. I know, I may be THE biggest HP nerd ever, but I can't help it - I grew up with Harry through each book and I'm so excited to see his last quest come to life on the big screen July 15th. Whoop!  Dear Pam [checker at Walmart], I watched you chat it up with the family two turns in front of me, then with the person in front of me, then it was my turn to hear all about how your sister is naming her daughter 'Reality'. I get that you think it's an awful name, but maybe you should be giving your sister the same benefit of the doubt that I gave you. I sat and waited patiently for you to bag my groceries, and when you were finished, all I could do was smile. You obviously needed someone to talk to about this matter, I'm glad I could be of service :) Dear Bear, you are the sun to my shine, the bon to my fire, and grilled to my steak, can't wait for summer to get here so we can enjoy all of these wonderful things together, our first summer as husband and wife :) Until then, take advantage of all that X-box gaming, microphone talking, electronic male bonding in that you can, because baby, once that sun is out, we are outside. Over and out.

One of the things I want to get better at, especially approaching the summer months, is making our lunches to save money. What's something you're doing to cut costs?

PS - see the inspiration for this post and all my other Tuesday Letters - HERE!

PSS - I have been sadly neglecting "The Pollyanna Project" and my heart is taking a toll. This is me making myself accountable for looking for ONE good thing in everyone and every situation. I believe in myself.

weekend loves

not having to set an alarm


being woken up by him

rolling over [with half still sleepy eyes] to see if Bryan is awake yet


secretly creeping out of bed if he is, time to catch up on my SVU, do the laundry, and have me time


if he is, cuddling between Harley and him, and laughing about our silly dreams during our slumber


pulling the blinds open to let the day shine in, and the sunshine if I'm so lucky


making breakfast burriots, my weekend speciality


lighting candles and turning on the Scentsy to make it smell better than 'sleep'


greeting the day, at about eleven - I'm okay with that


spending time with family, making it a late night of laughing, games and contentment


taking road trips up, up, up into the mountains


picking up dirty clothes that have been strewn on the floor from the day


the weekend'ly trip to the grocery to buy groceries for the coming week


snuggling back into bed, finding the cold spot in the sheets, and ready to do it all over again 


what are the things about your weekends that you love?


ps - HP7 came out this weekend - makes me excited all over again for the second part to come out in July!!! Until then:

what does your home say about you?

You know, you walk into someones house and there are a few things that you notice off the bat. 

1. the smell - every house, in my opinion at least, has a smell. Could smell like yummy candles, or fresh baked cookies, or your pets, or laundry [like my parents] 

2. the mess[or lack there of] - Listen, if any of you were to ever come to my house, you may see 1 and/or 3 things. Clean laundry, because I always put off folding it. Dirty dishes that are soaking, because I hate scrubbing pans right after dinner.

3. the atmosphere - whether it is the photos and/or decals, the movie/book shelves, the general home-yness.

These are past contenders that I absolutely fell in love with, especially the third one:

and just recently I found this one:

so within the next month or so, the challenge to myself and to my readers friends to decide for yourself and your family:

What does your home say about you?

I'd love to check back in a couple weeks to see what you guys have thought of and share with you our home's 'mission statement'.

I hope you all had a fabulous week!

Finally Bryan and I are both getting over our colds and our house is becoming a sick free zone once again. Remember how I talked about smells? I think if someone walked into our home this week it would smell like Vicks, cough drops, and hot peach tea! :)

Happy weekend loves!

XOXO

Today's Letters Inspired Tuesday

Today's Letters: Dear WWF Champ, that would be 'Words with Friends' champ, not 'World Wrestling Federation' champ. I'm pretty sure you're the most amazing wordmaker ever. Reason #789 being your wife is awesome. Dear Xbox, listen - you're new around these parts so let's get one thing straight...I had dibbs on him first. Dear freshly mowed grass, as much as I adore you, I think you may be causing more problems than good. I'm so ready for summer, I'll give you another chance in a couple weeks, pinky promise. Dear father of my future littles, I'm pretty sure my ovaries skipped a beat when you brought Sophie in to sleep between us on Friday evening. She woke up crying, you rushed out to the living room, scooped her up, and snuggled her safely between us like a little sophie-sandwich. I know that our littles are going to feel just as content.


Has your mister ever done anything that's ever made your ovaries skip a beat? 


PS - Please see inspiration for all my Tuesday Letters here - you'll LOVE them!

weekend wrap-up round four!

Good morning!

I trust you all had amazing weekends! I got to sleep in a little, hang out with these lovely ladies AND have a -

sleepover with Sophie!

I spent most of the weekend in bed, surrounded by tissues, sniffling. Needless to say, I'm sicky. However, Friday evening was the highlight of my weekend. I got to pick up Sophia for an evening of Auntie/Niecey fun :)

1. If you can't see, she was picking dandlions for me. How did she ever know they are my favorite?! ;)

2. The our shoes - wouldn't it be fabulous if you didn't have to grow up and just wear princess high heels forever? She walked through 711 and Walmart clicking those little suckers like there was no tomorrow! 

3. In the car singing 'Baby Beluga' and telling me about what letter she learned on Friday at school. It was 'W' by the way, then we proceeded to talk about words that started with 'W' - white, wiggle, waffle, etc. 

4. All snuggled up, full of yummy pizza and juice, watching 'The Legend of the Guardians' - which by the way, is kinda scary for little kids!

I loved every minute I got to spend with her♥

can't wait to tell you my favorite part in tomorrow's Tuesday Letter :)

very pinteresting...

Good morning to you on this Sunday.

As most of you know if you've been following my blog for a while, I have a touch of baby fever. I caught it back when I was born I think, and since Bryan and I got married it's been the topic of conversation with many of our friends and family. Really, we've heard it all.

"When are you getting pregnant?"

 "There will never be a right time"

 "You should live a little before you have kids" 

"You should travel before you have kids"

"You should have a kid so I can spoil it" 

"Babies are a big responsibility"

"Hurry up already!"

really, we've heard it all.

Well, I was poking around on Pinterest this morning and came across this -

and I feel like my world got a little rocked.

We have yet to hear,

"A baby is worth the wait"

I guess whatever the time period for wait is, it will be worth it :)

thankful quickie

THANKFUL

for a good cup of coffee to keep my eyes open

for living next to a lot that makes me think I live in the country

for Bryan being so good at word games

my hair dresser that knows JUST what I like! Back in blonde!

What are you thankful for today? :)

The Holiday says...

Olivia: We never have grownups here that are girls.

Sophie: I know.

Olivia: I really like it.

Sophie: Me too

One of my most favorite movies, and one of the most fantastic forts! :)

 

Happy Wednesday friends!

PS - see my newest recipe post here

Lemon, creamy, chicken pasta & asparagus

Last night was my mother-in-law's birthday so there was an extra special reason to get together and make dinner! Isn't she beautiful?! Love you Kim, Happy birthday!

Dinner was SO good I had to share the recipes! I'm including an asparagus recipe because believe it or not, it's one of my favorite veggies but I really didn't know how to cook it - until now! :)

Lemon Cream Pasta with Chicken
Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 lemon halved
3 tsp garlic powder divided
1 tsp ground pepper
2 14.5oz cans chicken broth
1 16oz package penne noodles
1 cup heavy cream


Directions:
1. Cube chicken into inch by inch cubes. Saute in enough olive oil to cover the skillet, season with salt, pepper,  2 tsp garlic powder and squeeze the juice of one half of the lemon.
2. Meanwhile in a saucepan, bring the two cans of chicken broth to a boil, season with the remaining garlic powder and 1 tsp pepper.
3. Add the pasta and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid is absorbed [or for about 25 minutes]
4. When pasta is finished, pour pasta and the cup of heavy cream into the pan that the chicken was saute'd in and mix together.
5. Add a squirt more of lemon juice, add salt and pepper to taste and heat on low for about 5-7minutes.
6. Serve and enjoy!


My two cents:
-I got the original recipe from Allrecipes.com however, there were many things I changed so I just wrote the recipe as such.
-the whole adding the pasta to the chicken broth thing and waiting 25 minutes totally confused me! I was like, isn't the pasta going to get all mushy? The answer is no, there is more pasta than liquid, so the pasta will in fact absorb the chicken broth! And it's ok if it doesn't absorb it all because whatever is left over will help become the sauce in the end when you add the cream


Oven Baked Asparagus
Ingredients:
1 bunch [about 1lb] of asparagus spears, washed and dried
salt
cracked black pepper
1-2 TBSP olive oil


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400degrees F. Trim the bottoms of the asparagi [that's my plural for asparagus] removing about one inch.
2. Lay out asparagi in a single layer on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with Pam.
3. Drizzle evenly with olive oil and add enough salt and pepper to your liking.
4. Bake for about 8-12 minutes or until tips begin to brown and asparagus is tender. *NOTE - cooking time will depend on the thickness of your spears. Serve immediately.


My two cents:
-my asparagus cooked WAY faster than 8-12 minutes so be sure to keep an eye on it, you will be able to hear the olive oil sizzling.
-make a LOT - it's a crowd pleaser! I actually used two bunches or about 2lb's 

if anyone needs me -

I'll be pretending I'm here.

or possibly here

or here

or maybe here

or even here

Where might you be today?

Today's Letters Inspired Tuesday

Today's Letters: Dear Mr. Sicky, it is on a very rare occasion that you get sick and I don't. Here is to a few of grilled cheese/tomato soup eating, gatorade drinking, Price is Right watching days of you resting up and getting better. Dear Rob Dyrdek, to put it lightly, my husband loves you and may have a slight mancrush on you. Not because you have this ridiculously cool factory where you do freakin awesome things, not because your filthy rich and spend it however you please, but because he thinks you would be a genuinely 'cool dude' and friend. Dear anxiety, you've been quite under control lately which is particularly out of character for you, however I'm not complaining, I'm thankful. Dear Snuffleupagus [that nickname may stick] I love you more than Rob loves Big Black, Paula Dean loves butter, and the entire cast of 'The Hills' love drama - I'm pretty sure you should be feeling a LOT of love right now.

Does your husband have a mancrush? bromance? [Bryan's gonna hate me for saying that LOL]  basically a celebrity that he wishes he knew?

PS - See the inspiration for this post - I love the Loerke's

Happy Tuesday friends!

Javier Bardem says...

[well technically Elizabeth Gilbert says:]

Liz Gilbert [Julia Roberts]:

I'm sick of people telling me that I need a man.

Felipe [Javier Bardem]:

You don't need a man, Liz. You need a champion.

Isn't that the truth, doesn't every woman want a man that is a champion?

I read this book at the beginning of last year and enjoyed it. But to be completely honest, I feel like I may have enjoyed the movie even more - or maybe it was because I fell in love with Javier and Julia's chemistry :)

weekend wrap up round three!

Sunday = Funday

We spent the afternoon at Alki, Pike Place Market, the Seattle waterfront, and ended up on Queen Anne Hill for some fabulous Thai food - whew! It was still pretty overcast and chilly, but one thing is for sure in Seattle, if it's not raining - GET OUTSIDE! 

We had to visit Pike Place so Bryan could get some of the roasted candied nuts we had seen when we went for Valentine's day

[insert numerous extremely immature 'nut' jokes here]

We then enjoyed a stroll down town. I absolutely love Seattle in the spring. Pike Place is booming with gorgeous flowers, fresh produce, and lots of interesting people. But most of all I just like being in the city. I'm not gonna lie, I was channeling my inner Carrie Bradshaw strolling down the cobble streets, arm in arm with Bryan, and cafe latte in hand. Not sure if the 'city life' is for me but it definitely is great for a fun afternoon.

We also marveled the beautiful architecture and again, gorgeous flowers!

And just had so much fun I was smiling THIS big at the Ye Old Curiosity Shop!

I hope your weekend was so fun whether you stayed at home in your jamies or were out on the town with friends and family :)

PS - Please pray for Bryan, he is down with a cold this week :( Also! I have a couple of fun posts in store for this week - stay tuned!

seaglass

Tossed by the sea
smoothed by the sand

it started as something that Bryan and I would collect whenever we went to Alki Beach while skipping class during our senior, but it has turned into something more. We've now collected a piece of seaglass from each beach we've been to including;
-the Washington coast
-the Oregon coast
-the California coast
-Cabo san Lucas, Mexico
-Mazatlan, Mexico


I hope it's something that we can continue to do and can give to our children as a keepsake from our many travels. Not to mention, aren't they just beautiful? Each individually shaped by the waves. I love to think about the places it's been. Our jar is full of seaglass, a few seashells and memories♥

dear future littles

Dear future littles,

This is your future mother speaking. Some people may think this is completely crazy, but not me. I want you to know that it is my will in life to be a mom, and I feel so blessed to be yours. I think about you every day and dream of what you'll look like. I imagine you growing in my belly, laying on our bed and watching you kick, and the day you come into this world. I imagine you taking your first steps, eating your first yummy treat, and what your giggle will sound like.

Will you have my golden eyes? Will you have Bryan's mousey brown hair? Will you have long black eyelashes or short stubby blonde ones like me? Will I be able to breast feed you adequately? Will you be healthy? Will I love you no matter what? Will you love me no matter what? Will I be a good mom like I've thought I would be all this time? Will I break down and cry when I can't get you to stop crying? Will I spend all my time worrying  about the person you grow up to be and wanting to protect you? Will I make some of the same mistakes with you that other mother's have made? Will you be born in time to meet your great grandparents?

I can't wait to watch you play with your cousin Sophie, she will love you so much. I can't wait to spend maternity leave for you, it may not be as long as I'd like, but none the less it will be our time. I can't wait spend quiet nights with you rocking you to sleep and nights soothing your tears. I can't wait to watch you grow, and for the first time I can put your hair in a pony (if you're a girl) or a little stud muffin outfit (if you're a boy). I can't wait to see Bryan hold you and fall completely in love with you because he will. I can't wait to rejoice in every milestone - big or small - because you will be brilliant.

No matter what, I will love you unconditionally.

We both love you and can't wait to meet you someday down the road.
Until then I'm counting down a little impatiently.

Lovingly waiting,
Your mama

girl crush number three

Lauren Conrad ♥

She's so stinkin pretty! And I love how her hair always looks gorgeous! Well done LC, well done.

ps - what are you thankful for today?

pss - what is your opinion on Amway?

psss- what would the letter to your future littles look like? Check back tomorrow for mine :)

Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday!

71. Harley - as much as I want to wring his neck at night when he's bouncing off the walls and won't let us sleep...I just remember this sweet face and his funny relaxing places, and forgive him for being a complete terror...

72. American Idol nights - It's kind of become tradition to curl up on the couch with some pizza and watch AI - we pretend we're the judges. PS - any other AI watchers out there? Is Steven Tyler becoming the new Paula?! LOL

73. Full Throttle energy drinks - this morning I totally remembered why/how those little suckers got me through two loooong years at college. Thanks for the extra little boost in the morning :)

74. Pinterest - a FABulous new site I stumbled across. I haven't quite figured out exactly how it all works yet however, there is something for EVERYone. For example I've found:

[super cute things I want to make]

[Quotes that make me smile

...and giggle]

[not to mention SUPER cute recipes!]

75. My new followers friends! I'm so glad you've stopped by my corner of blogger land :) Welcome! I try to check out your blogs as well, I'm sure we will be good friends :)

What are YOU thankful for this week? 

Sunshine? Hopefully you've got some of that Vitamin D in your neck of the woods! :)