Go figure!!

Today is my last day for my lease for my apartment in Wichita. So, clearly I needed to get all of my stuff out and the place cleaned up. Big thanks to my dad for volunteering to go down Thursday night to meet the movers Friday morning so I wouldn't have to use vacation time at work. However, what are the odds we get snow and ice at the END OF MARCH?!?!? Due to the weather; Bob was trapped in Wichita until Sunday, (not like on the side of the road; he was in a nice hotel with plenty of March Madness to watch!) but thankfully the time period in my life where I have boxes in all different locations is over! Now, everything for the most part is in storage except for what I really need at my parents' house....until I find a house. I have started to look but plan to stay here for a bit, at least until I find a house I really like! Kind of fun to look though; but mildly overwhelming. I will definitely try to post updates with that venture and welcome any tips when looking! :)

Not Super?

Yesterday I made my first trip into Target here since becoming a Topeka resident again and I forgot that we don't have a SuperTarget here....however, I have never been to buy groceries there intentionally unless I picked up a few things because I was there. I have some friends that are totally devoted to Target for their every need but I am more of a Dillons/Walmart kinda gal and converting to being a Hyvee lover as well. I still managed to spend $50 (mainly on hair stuff and a couple greeting cards). Amazingly enough, even though it's not "Super", they sure did have a TON of food items, so maybe it's kinda "Good" Target....I think I will make it without a "Super" status....

Out of order....and I hate it....

I need to apologize for my picture-less blog as of late. My laptop decided (probably just to spite me for being overused) to stop working last Sunday. So...I have been using my parents' computer to write my picture-less blogs. Pretty boring. Not that I couldn't upload pictures to their computer but it seems like a hassle and mine should be back from NFM next week sometime so hold on until then and I am SURE that I will have some SUPER excited pictures to post. Well, not really but there will most likely be pictures...probably of something that I bake. My mom and I have been going through some stuff out of storage as my parents get settled in their new house and I am highly inspired/intrigued by all the cookbooks she has...maybe we will find a decent recipe to cook up and share! Stay tuned!!

Madness...

I just had to share how much I love this time of year...and by that I don't mean spring cleaning, I mean college hoops and March Madness!! The rest of the season I don't watch nearly as many games as I would like to, but like so many other people, I devote LOTS of hours watching the tournament. It embodies everything I love about the game- upsets, close games, cheering for an underdog when you don't even know their mascot (Dayton) and friendly family rivalry in picking brackets. It would be a lot more friendly if I was winnning. Hmmp....maybe I will pull ahead with my picks next weekend! Good luck to all of your teams (too bad KSU isn't in it, huh?!)...

Public Service Announcement....

Thank goodness spring is approaching! I just thought I would clear up a little misunderstanding with a few folks (you know who you are). In the last week I have had a couple people tell me that they weren't going to the gym to work out as it is "cold outside." See, the beauty of a gym is that it is an indoor workout and it doesn't matter what the weather is like outside....since it will hopefully be getting warmer soon, it shouldn't be much of an issue, but I just wanted to clarify that as it seemed to be a confusing issue for more than one person! :) See ya' at the gym!!

Because I clearly really need another hobby....

...I am taking a cake decorating class at Michael's. It is very fun! I have learned quite a bit and tonight we each brought a real cake to decorate with frosting we made and I thought I would post my first finished product. I went with a St. Patty's Theme and drew a shamrock on the cake with some edging. It's definitely not perfect, but a start. I think if speech therapy goes south, I might look into working at Walmart doing cakes! :) Hopefully there are many more cakes to come!!

Springing Forward!!

This weekend I was in Wichita and was there to welcome springtime hours. Yea for more daylight in the evenings!! My parents. sis and I all met up there Friday night as Meg was in town for a college friend's shower and bachelorette party. Friday night we went to dinner at "Abeulo's" and caught up with our southern relative (Meg).

Saturday we went to Jimmie's Diner (so good) for breakfast and then did some packing up and sent home a few more items in my apartment before the movers come at the end of the month. Saturday afternoon I went to spend time with friends and had a good time seeing them, and their little ones, including my friend Kylie's newest addition Graham. It's really fun to see friends as they develop into "mommys"....quite the difference from the time we spent in college, more Mickey Mouse for sure! :) From what I can tell they both are doing well in their roles of mom and their kids are some of the cutest around...See for yourself; here are a few pictures...now I am off to bed to try and catch up on sleep since I was shorted an hour last night!

Country Living...

I would just like to comment on the fact that I feel as though I have been uprooted out of living in a "city" and implanted in the "country." No, we don't drink out of a stream or poo in an outhouse, but I definitely feel as though my parents little subdivision is kind of in the middle of nowhere. Although I am sure many of my true country friends would disagree, I have several reasons why it seems to me I should associate myself with living outside of "town"....

1. At the back of my parents' yard is a tree line and behind that there is a field. I suspect things are planted and grown in this area. Not sure what yet, but I will let you know if I figure it out. I don't know why else there would be a bunch of dirt back there.
2. I drive by hay bales on the way to work, which are clearly destined to go to a farm somewhere.
3. I frequently drive by barb-wire fences....which I associate with being in the country to keep livestock in or out.
4. When I turn off the highway to get to my parents' house, I drive by a sign that points to my parents and says "Topeka- 2 miles"....implying that at that point I am outside of Topeka, in all of it's glory.
And my favorite...
5. I drive by a sign that honestly says, "Stop Disease. Have your farm or ranch sprayed today."
....which I fully plan on doing given the instance that I ever become remotely associated or affiliated with either a ranch or farm. Don't hold your breath on that...with the exception of the farm my mom grew up on....I would not say I have an "active role" on keeping that operation running...

So, moral of the story....it takes 4 minutes to get to "town" and the first thing that you see as you go over the hill and see Topeka is "Chipotle"....which is really how it should be! I don't know how I could live without it.....even though I haven't had it since I have moved here....so maybe "country living" isn't so bad...

Dinner party...

For you other working moms out there, I wanted to share a recipe that I love that I made tonight for my "kids". Kids in my case, really are my parents.....otherwise known as my roommates. Now that I am cooking for other people I can better understand how moms feel when they have to think of for other people to eat. When I lived by myself, I basically ate whatever sounded good, even if it was just a lean cuisine. Not the case when you have other mouths to feed. Fortunately the kids liked what I made....and it's pretty easy.

I made a variation of Diet Coke Chicken, which is a Weight Watcher recipe that I first learned about in college. It's simple, but I add veggies that make it more like a stir-fry. All you have to do is have approximately 4 chicken breasts, or the equivalent to that in tenders, and you cut them up into 1.5" pieces. Put that in the skillet and then put a cup of ketchup and a can of Diet Coke over it....add whatever veggies you choose if you want; I put in onions, peppers, carrots, celery, water chesnuts and pinnapple chunks. Let it cook through and allow the sauce to thicken. I serve this over rice and it's a tasty item for dinner! If you follow WW points, it's 5 pts for about a cup serving, with just the chicken....add more for rice/veggies. Hope you all might try it sometime if you are looking for a tasty and healthy meal for your "kids", whoever they may be! :)