A few changes here and there...

So to be quite blunt, I don't really give a shit what the thermometer says the temperature is outside. I also don't care that when I look outside my big living room windows I see HUGE piles of snow that look as though they are never going to go away. Nope, I just don't care about any of that. In my mind, I have simply decided that IT. IS. SPRING. DAMNIT!!! :) That being said, I am ready for SPRING STUFF, such as
1. Spring Cleaning (Okay, I'm actually not quite that excited about this one, but I know it needs to be done)
2. Planting my garden-- I will be starting this tonight after I'm finished with this blog post, more on that later ;)
3. HOME IMPROVEMENTS!! I love this time of year when I just point to things that I want changed and magically they just get done (yeah....riiiiiigggghhhtttt)
4. Ryder's birthday-- the big #4!
5. Shopping -- my list wouldn't be complete without it, I am over bulky winter clothes and always have so much fun shopping for the new seasons for Ryder each spring, summer, fall, winter...
6. Running/Walking outside again -- what a difference this makes!
7. Being able to spend some time outside again with my horse -- and testing out my new saddle!
8. MONTANA trip the last week in March --so excited for this!! Can't wait to see Joe and Kate and just to be in Bozeman again.

Okay, there are probably tons more but I'll stop. One thing on this list which we have been able to get started on is the home improvements. Of course, the basement project is well underway, this coming week/weekend we will be picking out paint and getting started. After that (so I'm told) will be painting all the walls, staining/putting up the trim, then flooring/carpeting. It is finally all coming together! BUT..... We've also been busy making our upstairs the way we want it as well. Since our house was finished a couple years ago (has it really been that long already??) we have HATED our paint situation in the kitchen. Since our living room is called "RED DRAMA" --(love it) we wanted something a little brighter for the kitchen to lighten up the space so we went with a yellow... However, it was the wrong yellow, definitely wrong and we have pretty much hated it ever since. Finally, we have started painting it over and wouldn't ya know it, we decided to continute with the "RED DRAMA" that is in our living room. It makes the whole room flow so much better and yes, it will be a little darker in the end, but we like dramatic and we like bold, so why not?? So far, we love it. Although as I speak Max just started another section of the kitchen so at the moment, half my kitchen is pepto bismal pink (puke!) because of the primer. We are also planning on putting a backsplash up eventually also which will add alot as well... We also made some changes in garage (and by we, I obviously mean Max). He built me a new cedar step/deck thing in the garage so that we can now keep all of our shoes and stuff out there, and not in the mudroom/entry way which so far has kept my house a lot cleaner! After all this is done, we want to do some more painting touch ups in our master bathroom, and also the laundry room but all of that is pretty minor...
So, most of those home improvements and the beginning of spring cleaning is what we spent most of our weekend doing! In addition to that, we were able to hang out with family for my nephew's 2nd birthday party on Saturday, went grocery shopping in Hutchinson (because I am SO FED UP with shitty fruit/produce from Walmart), and Max and I also got to go see a movie together-- No Strings Attached (very cute movie!) Today was more cleaning (blah) and building things (max) and now time to get ready for the week!

A boy and his snow fort... :)

Seriously Lazy...

This freaking snowstorm is making me ridiculously lazy! After church today, we hung out for a while and Ryder was picked up by his daddy for the day, which he was really excited for, because it's been a while.... So Max and I did what most parents who get a break from their little ones do...NAPPED! :) Ahhhh it was amazing. (And long) Then we just kind of continued to couch it for the day... Don't get me wrong, I did some cleaning, I prepped some veggies for meals for the week, and as always, did some laundry, and Max did some work around the house too, painting, etc -- but mostly, we couched it :) Then Ryder came home and we played about a million rounds of UNO MOOO! So that, my friends was my incredibly lazy day, and no, I'm not ashamed... At least, not about the laziness --I am, however, a little ashamed at the fact that I was really craving chocolate chip cookies and my ever so loving husband made me some at 9:30pm tonight and I've already had a couple! :( Oh well...back to the gym tomorrow!
Speaking of tomorrow -- School is cancelled which means NO WORK for this girl! Seriously, does this day get any better??

So much for sleeping in...

Last night we had our typical Friday Night Movie Night with Ryder --featuring Toy Story 3, cute movie! After that we all headed to bed and as I was laying in bed I told Max that we should sleep in tomorrow, actually SLEEP IN. I was shooting for 8am. (Pipe Dream!) I thought since Ryder stayed up a bit later than usual it was a possibility...
As usual, my body woke up at 6:50am (I had to pee!) and I was so looking forward to going back into my warm bed and snuggling up to the hubby for another hour or so... Then at 7:05 (like clockwork) Max got up and snuck into the shower (he must not have known that I was awake). I thought to myself, okay... I'm awake and probably not going to fall back asleep but can still enjoy the next hour lounging in bed.
Nope, wrong again. A few minutes after that I heard Ryder scurry across the floor in the kitchen heading my way... He snuck over to my side of the bed with a big shit-grin said, "Mommy, Its not dark outside anymore, time to play!" So much for sleeping in, by 7:10am every member of my house was awake (with the exception of Mickey, because that dog sleeps through anything and honestly hates to be woken up prior to like 8-9am). So up and at em' we were. The good news is that by 9am we had made breakfast, started some laundry, and I was off to the gym while Max and Ryder headed to run some errands in town and then they picked me up when they were done... Now it's 12:30 and we just finished lunch and I am secretly hoping for naptime! (Another pipe dream, I'm sure!) A girl can dream though...
Off to do more laundry!

....the things i love

*my little monster, Ryder Scott
*my husband - I am so thankful for him every single day
*bubble baths
*fleece blankets-- they are my favorite!
*flowers
*great books (I'm currently reading Saving Max and it is amazing!!)
*runner's high
*taking pictures
*raspberry chai tea from cricket meadow --yummm :)
*shopping  -- i love it more than the average person, the good news is that I work hard for my money and am also quite the saver when I want/need to be
*our friends and family
*hot chocolate
*volleyball
*imaginations of preschoolers (sometimes I am so jealous of the world they live in)
*my kindle
*my Mickey dog
*weddings (everytime I go to one, I just want to have another wedding!)
*looking in the mirror and seeing a flush red face, pulled back hair, and sweat --knowing that I just had an amazing workout and am doing something good for myself
*ice water with lemon in it
*summer days at the lake
*baking
*fresh vegetables from the garden
*Starr, my quarter horse (she is such a moody girl, but deep down she loves me :))
*having music blaring, candles going, and a clean house
*sweat pants (seriously, who doesn't love them??)
*my wedding ring - it's obviously my favorite peice of jewelry and I love it and also what it symbolizes

I could obviously go on and on but for your sake (and mine!) I'll stop... Happy Valentine's Day everyone, hopefully you were able to spend it with the ones you love like I did...Nothing like dinner and a game of Chutes and Latters (please notice that this particular game did not make the list of things I love -- worst game EVER!! )

YUM :)

So, I have a new favorite quick/middle of the week/need something in a flash type of dinner that is a big hit with my family.. I just finished some leftovers on my lunch break and thus was inspired to spend the rest of my lunch break blogging about it because... Well, work is slow today and I'm bored. :)

Anyways, my mom had foot surgery a few weeks ago and has been out of work for a while so she gets to pretty much sit at home and watch Food Network Chanel all day long --(so jealous of this)... One day she stumbled upon this recipe, or some variation of it, and shared it with me and it is delicious, at least I think so.. It is the perfect recipe to 'clean out your fridge' and use those leftovers that you want to get used up before they go bad...

 

So anyway, I don't have any exact measurements because you don't need them for this dish, just throw in what you want and it will taste fabulous!

 

Brown Rice Chicken and Veggies:

First I start by baking some boneless skinless chicken breasts. Use as much or as little, but two would probably be plenty. Season them however you like and bake them for about 30 minutes or until done--leftovers work perfectly for this.

Next, make the brown rice. Now, I used Uncle Ben's brown rice steaming packets because you literally stick them in the microwave and steam them for 90 seconds and that is it. (I used two packets)

Then, chop up all your veggies real fine, I used a few carrots, celery stalks, mushrooms, and green peppers because that is what I had. It all tastes good! Saute your veggies in some olive oil and throw some fresh garlic in there as well to add a little flavoring.

Next, combine the chicken and rice in with the veggies, add just enough chicken broth (low sodium version) to make sure the rice is not dry or sticky, and just heat it all up until it is light and fluffy and warm, add salt and pepper to taste. 

So that is pretty much it, it is healthy and delicious! It's also a nice way to sneak veggies in if you have a picky eater, which Ryder can be sometimes when it comes to veggies... Max likes to mix it up and throw some soy sauce on his plate too, but I think it is just fine by itself! :)  --Enjoy!

 

One Fabulous Weekend...

The Johnson crew had a FABULOUS weekend this past weekend (and no, definitely NOT because the Packers won the Superbowl)! Friday night we had "Movie Night" with Ryder and let him pick out a movie to rent... He picked out Shrek 3- we ate some food and watched Shrek until finally Ryder looked over at us and said, "I really need to go to bed now, I'm waayyyy tooo tired!!" (this was around 9pm but without a nap, Ry just simply can't make it up this late anymore!) What a ham... :) So off to bed he went and since I wasn't feeling so hot myself, off to bed Max and I went as well...
Saturday morning Max had to go to work for a few hours so Ryder and I were left trapped in a house full of BANGING and CLATTER! Kyle, Leftie, and Sam were downstairs finishing up our sheetrock in the basement (it is all done now --now we move on to mudding and taping, then trim and painting!) and after a while, those damn boys drove me to shopping.... I just couldn't stand anymore noisy boys/tools in the basement so we packed up and headed to Target and Bath and Body Works in Hutch which is always a good time. Then we headed home and played the rest of the day until Ryder went to spend the night with his Dad and Max and I treated ourselves to some delicious Red Lobster and a trip to one of my favorite places--Barnes and Noble --Does it get any better than that? Why yes, yes it does because on the way home we popped in at Brice and Katie's house where a few of our friends were and got to spend some time with them as well...
Sunday we skipped church (sinful, I know) to work on some house stuff, clean, organize, etc... And finally enjoyed the Superbowl with a couple close friends at our house... One thing I've come to realize: Superbowl= SUPERFAT... I shudder when I think of all the CRAP we ate yesterday (but ohhhh was it delicious!) Superbowl food is the best, but I will most definitely be hitting the gym today, hard...

Time to catch up!

Okay, so I suck.. Reeeealllyyy reealllyy suck! I haven't blogged for a month and a half, what?? In my defense, it was a protest. Okay, not really but in all honesty - I was simply DONE with the holidays and the busy-ness, work has been CRAZY (literally) and I really feel like right now is the first time I have really been able to relax lately because life has been that hectic...

So there. :)

To catch everyone up to speed, we had a GREAT Christmas! Christmas Eve we headed to Church and then to Mark and Cindy's where all the little munchkins ran around and couldn't wait to open their presents, so cute... Christmas day we spent part of the day with the extended Johnson family at Grandma Betty's, and the evening at my parents house with my immediate family. The following day (Yes, day 3 of Christmas activities) we made the trek to Ramsey and spent the day with the Hendrickson side, complete with sledding, a horse drawn sleigh ride (with a delicious brandy and apple cider mix--yum!!), and more good food.. By this time I was more than ready to be OVER the holidays!! Who's sick of hearing about Christmas?? Me too---Moving on...

Again, January has been a blur because my lovely job happens to get crazy in the month of January thanks to TWO huge reports due which basically had me working around the clock. I enjoy working, for the most part, but honestly feel sometimes that I don't ever get to STOP working... I literally dream about my job and find myself waking up first thing in the morning thinking about kids that I am working with and how to handle situations that are coming up. It is never-ending, but I'm thankful to have a job I can (most of the time) enjoy... On a different note, Ryder has gotten to go sledding and snowmobiling this month which makes him a happy camper! He is also still in school on Wed and Fridays and he absolutely LOVES it! He is writing his letters better than ever and is so excited to come home and tell me about his day, it is so fun to see the progress he has made...

In addition to working like crazy and chasing after Ryder, I have even started trying some new fitness classes in addition to my running and am loving them! Every Tuesday, I do an hour long Zumba class which is actually a pretty intense workout! Wednesdays Max and I both play in a volleyball league which we LOVE (our team is a mess, we just love to play, and love to laugh even more), and Saturdays my friend Becky and I have started going to a Weekend Warrior class at Core Studio in Hutchinson. It is LITERALLY 75 mins of hell. No lie. But it works and when you are done, you feel on top of the world! (Except that you usually can't walk for a few days--but if you can get pass that minuscule detail then life is grand!!) So between those classes and spending time at Anytime Fitness and running, it all has given me something new to focus on and to really work towards :) I am so over winter and working out has gotten me excited and energized for SPRING TO COME!! This horrible cold/snowy winter can just be done as far as I'm concerned... This girl is ready for spring cleaning, landscaping, vegetable gardens, flowers, spending time with Star, and just being outside again in general...

I think I heard on the radio yesterday that there is no more '6 weeks of winter left' because that freaking old hedghog decided so and damnit, I am holding him to it, bring on sprrrinnnnggg!!! :)