Creamy Chicken On Linguine

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons minced garlic
6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (cut in half)
1 box linguine
1 onion diced
5 pieces bacon, chopped (more or less depending on how much bacon you want in the dish)
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
4 Green onion, sliced diagonally into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 pound broccoli (i used fresh but frozen will work just fine)

Directions:*In a large saute pan; heat oil, butter and garlic over medium heat. Add chicken and season with lemon pepper and Mrs. Dash Garlic and herb season blend.  Cook until juices run clear. Remove chicken from pan and let cool.  Slice into small pieces. Tent chicken under foil.

*Meanwhile, cook pasta and drain.  Add a  little olive oil to the pasta so it doesn't stick together.

*In another pot, steam the broccoli.
*Reheat oil in pain, add onion and saute, stirring often, until onion is soft but still white.  Add the bacon to the pan and let cook for a couple minutes, until crisp.  *

*Add the chicken broth and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes.

*Stir in the heavy cream, milk, green onions and Parmesan cheese.  Bring it to a simmer and let it cook for 5-10 minutes to reach the desires consistency you want.

*Place pasta in a bowl, layer chicken over pasta, pour sauce over the chicken around the pasta and add some broccoli.

Fridayyyy :)

All week long I keep seeing this story all over the internet and it truly breaks my heart.

If you haven't seen it, be prepared for some tears to fall. It is truly heartbreaking.

It goes to show just how much pets truly love their owners.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/man-best-friend-mourns-death-175219915.html

Did you cry?

Because I've seen it about ten times and each time it brings tears to my eyes.

I can't help but feel pain in my heart for that poor dog who has truly lost his best friend.

What a truly sad, sad story.

On that note, I'll leave you with some happy pictures on my little kittes.

Marshmellow just being her normal self; a little terror :)

Abby Baby sitting like a bear...not normal. hahah!

God Gave Me You ♥ Blake Shelton

I am in LOVE with this song.

It is absolutely amazing.

It's one of those songs you can put on repeat, turn up the volume and sing your little heart out to.

When I start to feel sad about Chris leaving on another deployment, I just have to remember what he keeps telling me;

God knows we have too much left to do and He's going to bring him home to me.

God wouldn't do that to him or to I.

God gave Chris to me for a reason; to have a long life filled with love, laughter, happiness, children, fighting, making up.

No matter how unsettled I may be feeling about this upcoming deployment, I just have to remember that God gave me Chris and God knows we have so much left to live for.

Six months is just a short time frame in the long life that we have ahead of us.

We've done it multiple times before  and we'll do it again.

We'll strength our relationship and our emotional bond will bring us closer than ever.

But that doesn't mean I like it.

But God gave me you for a reason.

♥

Weather Blog- Like everyone else on the East Coast

As most everyone now knows, yesterday was history in the making.

And if you don't know, I would strongly suggest watching a little more news and playing a little less video games.

Just saying.

An earthquake hit the Virginia area, thus imposing mass chaos.

I'll admit, it was scary.

I'll even take it one step further and admit I was scared.

But was there a need for mass freak outs like it was the end of the world? Most likely not.

Was it funny to watch East Coasters react to an earthquake of that magnitude?

Why, yes it was.

Even better news, my cats survived the horrific earthquake and didn't seem too shaken up by the days events that surely disturbed they're afternoon naps.

Now, if only this hurricane can stay away from us for the weekend it would be greatly appreciated.

I am in desperate need of some quality time with the sun.

I'm looking rather vampire like and I need to fix it before summer turns to fall. :(

Chris and I are heading down to Norfolk on Sunday with grand plans to spend a day at the beach on Monday so I would greatly appreciate it if you could stay away from us, Hurricane Irene.

Leaving on a jet plane

Gahhhh my mom has officially left Leesburg. 

She has officially packed up the little yellow house and headed south.

She has officially left town.

And I'm officially sad.

I love my mom. She's like my best friend. I can talk to her about anything. Anytime I need her, I  know she'll be there.

Now, while she's been living in Brooklyn for the past year and a half she's never officially packed up her home in Leesburg so it never felt like she was actually gone.

Until I had to say my goodbyes to her yesterday morning.

Until the house was empty of all of her belonging.

No people, I'm not being dramatic. 

New York is a short car ride away.

Florida is most definitely not a short car ride away.

Florida is not even a cheap plane ticket away.

I don't like not knowing when I'm going to see my mom next.

All the more reason I can't wait until we can move down to Florida.

It doesn't help that Chris is leaving me in about a week either.

I'm a bundle of emotions.

Spaghetti Carbonara

Ingredients:

* 1 pound spaghetti

* 1 tablespoon olive oil

* 8 slices bacon, diced

* 1 tablespoon olive oil

* 1 onion, chopped

* 1 clove garlic, minced

* 1-2 cup dry white wine ( I used a cheap sauvignon blanc)

* 4 eggs

* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

* 1 pinch salt and black pepper to taste

* 3/4 cup heavy cream

* 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

* 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

* In a large pot, bring water to a boil and cook spaghetti until al dente (usually about 6-7 minutes). Drain well and toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Set aside.

* In a large skillet, cook the bacon until slightly crisp.  Remove from skillet and drain onto paper towels.  Reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon fat.

* Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and heat in reused large skillet.

* Add chopped onion and cook over medium heat until onion is translucent.

 * Add minced garlic and cook about another minute.

* Add as much wine as you desire (can be less than a cup or more than 2 cups- can be the whole bottle if that's what your heart desires!) and let it cook down.

* Return the cooked bacon to the pan and add the cooked spaghetti.  Toss to coat and heat through.  Add more olive oil if it seems dry or is sticking together.

* Add the beaten eggs and cook, tossing constantly until eggs are barely set.

* Quickly add 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, heavy cream and nutmeg.  Toss again to mix everything.

* Add salt and pepper to taste

My babies

I just love my cats.  They are our children.  They keep me company when Chris is gone.  Marshmellow keeps me highly entertained but she knows when I'm feeling sad and just need a good snuggle. So she'll snuggle up as close as she can get to my face, turn on her extra loud purr box and just snuggle with me.  Abby is the calm one. She likes to lay down and be  left in peace.  She'll come and lay on my chest for a couple minutes, give me a couple kisses and then go to the foot of the bed and start snoring.  Marshellow is the certified nutcase who, according to the vet is never going to calm down.  She plays fetch and runs around like a lunatic for majority of the day.  These are our children for the time being.  Chris always remarks he knows I'll be a good mother just by the way I treat our cats.  But I can't help it, they clearly love me unconditionally so what's the harm in loving them right back?? Nothing! There is no point in having a pet if you aren't going to spoil them rotten. They get so excited to see us walk in the door at night and so sad to see us leave in the morning; that right there is true love.

 

The Cheesiest Mac and Cheese Ever

Chris and I have been together for 4 years and some odd months.  I have been trying and trying different mac and cheese recipes and he keeps shooting them down because they're "not my grandmas." I'm talking a million different recipes.  Ok, well not a million but you get my drift.  This weekend, I found a winner.  Of course right after he said it was was delicious and he really liked it, he tapped on a "but it's not grandma's" at the end of the sentence.  But hey, I'll take what I can get :)

 Ingredients:

* 1 box elbow macaroni

* 2 eggs

* 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk

* 1/4 cup butter, melted

* 1 tablespoon prepared mustard

* 1 teaspoon seasoned salt

* 1 teaspoon pepper

* 8 ounces process cheese (Velveeta), melted

* 2 cups shredded mild Cheddar cheese, divided

* 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, divided

Directions:

1. Cook macaroni according to package directions.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, butter, mustard, salt, pepper until everything is combined.

3. Stir in the melted Velveeta cheese as well as 1 1/2 cups of each type of Cheddar cheese.

4. Drain the macaroni and stir it into the cheese mixture.  Stir well until all the cheese has melted and the sauce covers the macaroni.

5. Pour the macaroni into a greased baking dish.

6. Top with the remaining cheese and breadcrumbs.

7. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until cheese is melted and the edges are bubbly.

8. Let sit for about 10-15 minutes and then serve.

Weekend Festivities :)

What  fun filled weekend it was! Friday night Chris and I went to the Redskins preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.  It was a perfect summer evening, not unbearly hot and humid.  Our seats were great and they won.  Which was awesome; I don't like the Steelers for the simple reason that they have one of the ugliest uniforms in the entire NFL.  This is probably going to be Chris' only chance to watch a football game this season (which let me just tell you, he is not too happy about), so it was definitely nice to be able to go and enjoy the game with him.

Saturday, we had some family come into town for a little family BBQ before Chris leaves, and as we always do whenever we are with them, we had a great time.  Nothing but laughter and smiles all day and well into the evening.   I'm glad they were able to come up here for the weekend, and I know that Chris really appreciated them doing so.  I love being able to spend time with my family.  Friends may come and go into your life, but family is the one thing that will be there, no matter what.  They won't judge, they'll only love.  I have such strong bonds with all of my family members and I truly treasure family time.  Especially in today's world when everybody is always on the go and everyone's schedule is always so hectic.  It's hard to find a time to get together when everyone's schedule will allow for it, so when it does happen; I embrace it.

I tried to get a family portrait, but as you can tell our "children" clearly weren't in the mood to have their picture taken.  Guess our Christmas card won't include them this year.

Sunday, Chris and I got up early on what looked to be a dreay Sunday.  We headed into DC for brunch with two of my cousins, Rob and Carly.  We went to this place called Old Ebbitt Grill.  If you ever get the chance to go, you should.  The food was delicious.  Soooo good. But make reservations.  I'm a very picky eater and there were a handful of things from the menu I couldn't decide between, rare for me! I would definitely recommend this place.  After brunch, we headed over to national park and spent a couple hours walking around and just enjoying what turned out to be a beautiful day, the monuments and each other's company.  Once we got home, we were surprised to find that my aunt and uncle were still in Leesburg so we got to visit with them for a little longer :)

Woot Woot!

The results of our 5k have been posted...I ran it in 34:58. WAHHHHOOOO to me! :)

I'm pretty proud of my time for a couple reasons.

1. It was my first 5k. Ever.

2. It was hot and humid and hard to breathe outside. Since it's been so hot outside lately, I've been running inside in the nice air conditioning on the treadmill.  Since I'm a scardy cat and refuse to go run on the bike trail at 500 in the morning when it's still dark outside and the creeps are lurking in the trees waiting to snatch me up.

3. This was  not you average 5K where you run around the warning track a million times until you reach 3 miles. No ma'am. We were running up and down stairs/ramps and all through the stadium.

So, while this time may seem crappy to you; I'm pretty darn proud of myself.  My sister and I are planning to run another 5K on September 10th in honor of 9/11 and I'm also planning on running the Marine Corps 10k on October 30th.

A few professional pictures from the race, clearly they are a picture taken off the picture but it works :)Just a random tidbit of information but a couple months ago I stumbled across this article...
http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/training-day/201104/warm-cardio-then-go-weights-right-wrong
which after I read all the way through I was like hmmm, well even though that seems weird it makes sense.  I used to want to do my cardio first to get it over with, but now I try to work out like that article said because it does make sense.  Truthfully, I feel better when I warm up with a light cardio, get my weights in and then finish up with some intense cardio.  So unless I'm doing a pure cardio day (and even on those days I'll only do about 45 minutes), I'll work out like this article has suggested.


Another thing I've learned in the past few years is that doing too much cardio can have a negative effect on your body.  When I first met Chris, he always told me that doing a ton of cardio would just burn muscle and that in turn would slow down your metabolic rate. While I just continued to ignored him until he started sending me articles which proved he actually did know what he was talking about. Imagine that, a big muscle guy like him, knowing what he was talking about?! :) So these last few months, I've really knocked down my cardio because the last thing I want is to burn off my muscle tone and slow down my metabolic rate! I've also stopped  working out my abs everyday this last year.  I've only  been working them out once or twice a week at the most and I wont do anymore than 200 abs per workout because like with any other muscle group, I don't want to over strain them. I still have the same amount of tone that I used to and they feel just as strong.


I guess this goes to show you that no matter how long you have been doing something, you should always keep an open mind to the opportunity to learn something because no one ever knows everything.  The chance to learn something new, it the opportunity to better yourself and I'm always up for that :)

Grizzly Bear

 I saw this story this morning and this bear is such too adorable! Although, I can not believer that leesburg, VA now has bears. I wish he would come visit me and I'll feed him :) I'll bet he'd be a good snuggle buddy! I just want him to come be my new pet, he's so cutttte!!! I know Chris would love him!
http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/news/article/a_grizzly_situation_for_loudoun_residents123/

Friends of Helpless Animals

I had orignally put in an application to be a volunteer with the Loudoun County Animal Shelter and I was accepted.  But then a couple people told me that that specific shelter was not a no kill shelter, so I had to find out.  So I emailed the lady who had accepted my application and sure enough they do put animals down after they are there for a certain amount of time.  Well upon hearing this, I quickly told the lady that I would have to take back my application and that I did not feel comfortable volunteering at a shelter where they don't give every animal a chance at life; as long as it may take.  Many of you know, I have an EXTREMELY soft spot for all animals and if I had still volunteered there I would have ended up with a house filled with animals and as much as I would love to take every single animal home with me and love on them, I know that is just not fair to them.  I can't stand the thought of an animal being put down just because they weren't adopted in a certain amount of time, that  just don't really seem like it's giving them a fair shot at a second chance to know what it's like to have a loving family. So anyways, the past couple weeks I've been researching shelters that are close to my home, no kill and need volunteers and I've finally found one.  It's call Friends of Helpless Animals and I can't wait to start volunteering there.  A lot of the animals in this shelter have been pulled from "death row" at other sheters, other have been saved from an abusive situation.

I've included the link for the website in case you would like to take a look :)
http://www.foha.org/

I love NYC

After work on Friday, my sister and I headed up to NYC for a short, but fun filled weekend in the worlds greatest city. The drive up there was pretty uneventful and we managed to escape without hitting too much beach traffic- lucky us :)
Saturday we drove out to Long Island to the beach, where we spent many of our childhood summers.  My mom grew up in Valley Stream which is located on Long Island and I remember taking many, many trips up there to visit our grandparents.  Each and every summer my mom would pack up the car and up to Long Island we would head.  During the summer, she would pack a cooler filled with snacks, pack the van filled to the brim with beach toys, boogie boards, beach towels and umbrellas and we would head to Long Beach for the day. It was magnificent. On our way to the beach, we took a quick little detour through Valley Stream and stopped by my grandparents old house.

The only thing that is different about the house, is that it used to have a white picket fence along the edge that was so adorable and a rose rush.  And my grandfather standing on the front porch waving at us of course :) But otherwise, it looks exactly the same.  It was so nice to see that whoever bought it has keep such good care of it. It's such a cute little house. My Pops would be so happy at how green and perfect his lawn looks.  He even used to let us have our own little garden in the backyard we would take of when we would come up.  Anyways, off to the beach we went.  Long Beach is a beautiful beach. I know, a beach in New York? But it's true, and it's gorgeous.  It was a beautiful day to just relax on the beach with a good book, which is exactly what we did.  Doesn't this just look perfect?

After the beach we grabbed dinner and headed over to quite possibly the best ice cream on earth, Itgen's.  Another childhood memory. We used to go here all the time when we were little.  It was every bit as fabulous as I remembered.  Across the street from Itgen's is a pizza place called Ancona's, which has the most delicious pizza I have ever tasted, and I've tasted a lot of pizza. My grandfather would always get it for us the day which we drove up to New York.  If you ever get a chance to visit Long Island, I would highly recommend visiting this two places.  They are well worth the drive up. How can you resist these absolutely huge, fantastic worth every calorie ice cream sundae? Delicious!

Sunday morning it was time for our 5K in YANKEE STADIUM! wahoooo!! We were excited to say the least! Now, this wasn't lets run around the warning track 12 times and call it a day type of 5k.  This was run through the entire stadium, including the basement, stairs, ramps, type of 5k.  Yes, we ran around the warning track twice but it was so much fun. I can't wait to go back and do it again next year.  It was such a blast! And, 100% of the proceeds that were raised went to cancer research, which was even more amazing. 

Before our race

Running our race

Wahooo! We made it :)

What a beautiful field

Amen to that.

On a sad note, when I was in seventh grade, I had broken my wrist; my first break since I broke it in second grade (which unknown to me, this would not be my last break) my mom walked home from work one day with a box and gave it to me.  Inside the box was a tiny little kitten.  He was only a couple weeks ago, so small that we actually had to feed him with a bottle and keep in the box at night so he wouldn't get stuck under any furniture or get lost in the house. We quickly named him Tigger and I grew to love that little guy. He was a playful striped, short haired cat with a ton of personality.  While I moved out my father's house to go to college, Tigger stayed there and always loved on me whenever I went to my dad's house and grew rather attached to my father.  He was the friendliest little cat ever, he was a mush.  Such a mush in fact that he snuggled with my dad's American Eskimo dog, and by snuggle I literally mean cuddle buddies.  He would love on anyone and even people who don't love cats would love Tigger.  Well upon returning from New York last night, I learned that Tigger had been hit by a car and died Sunday morning.  This news hit me hard and deeply saddened me.  I hate the thought of my little Tigger dying such a terrible death, all alone in the road like that. He was such a good little cat and I really did love him with all my heart.  I know he's in kitty heaven, but it breaks my heart to think that he was all alone when he passed away instead of  with people who loved him.  But little Tig Tig, I love you and i hope you're in a peaceful place little guy.

Sauteed Green Beans

Warning; this recipe isn't really that healthy but it was deliciousssss so I would highly recommend making it one night if you have the chance! It was super easy and quick to make, perfect for a weeknight.  Plus, you can always make it healthier, I just choose not too.

Ingrediants:
* 5- 7 pieces of bacon
* 1/2 cup slivered almonds
* 1 package fresh green beans (You could use a package of frozen if you want, I just prefer fresh vegetables)
* 3 tablespoons butter
* 3-4 teaspoons minced garlic
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1-2 tablespoons of honey, if desired.

Directions:
* Cook bacon in a large skillet, until browned.  Remove from heat and place on a plate covered with a paper towel.  Drain the bacon grease.
* Return the pan to heat and put the butter on the heat.  Once the butter melts add the garlic and let it brown. 
* Add the onion and let it cook for a few minutes.
* Add the green beans and reduce the heat to a medium low.  Let cook for about 6-8 minutes.
* Crumble the cooled off bacon into little pieces.  Add the bacon and almonds into the pan.
* Add a little bit of honey, if desired.
* Let cook for another 3-4 minutes, until green beans reach the desired tenderness.

In preparation for our 5k on Sunday, this morning at the gym I did the "Sport Training 5K" Option on the Treadmill set on level 6 with the speed at 6.3; this varies the incline between 0% and 5.5% so it's definitely a workout.  I finished the 3.1 miles around 28 minutes, which isn't too bad for 515 in the am.  Hopefully, I won't struggle on Sunday in the heat. :) I think I'll deserve a nice pedicure afterwards though because running sure is tearing up my beautiful feet and making them all kinds of uglllly :(

Running, Running, Running

For those of you who know me, you know that I love to work out.  Always have, always will. I tend to work out around 5 days a week.  I used to be a competitive gymnast and once I had to quit due to a back injury I started working out and haven't stopped, just because I was so used to be so active all the time.  I wasn't one of those people who started working out once I gained the freshman 15 or once I got engaged joined a gym, or once I got married decided now's the time I need to start working out so I can have a great "before baby boday". Not saying that there is anything wrong with people who join a gym for any of those reasons, because by no means is there, in fact more power to them for getting motivated!! I'm just simply saying, I've never been one of those people who was only working out because of one reason, I've always been someone who liked being active and staying in shape and I probably will always be someone who enjoys working out.  I'm not someone who has to force myself to go to the gym or dreads to go, I actually enjoy going.  I started working out my senior year in high school and just really liked it and have pretty consistently worked out since then.  I love the time I have to myself, either before the workday begins or after my day is over.  I love the chance to get out all my frustrations with people and life in a normal, healthy way.  I love that it's an  hour and a half alone to just focus on myself. More importantly, I love the way it makes me feel. I love being in shape and feeling good about my body (most days anyways! :) )  I love my spin classes; they are an amazing workout and I would highly recommend them to anyone who needs a change in their workout.  I also really love kickboxing and my strength training classes.  But, I do tend to eat whatever I want and I do consume an awful lot of candy, so maybe it's a good thing that I love to work out so much. 

In the past year or so, I have taken up running more than I used to.  I've always had to run before gymnastics practices but lately I've found that I've come to enjoy it more than I used to.  I'm  not really sure why, but whatever it is, I don't really mind :) I've been able to go longer distances without having soreness but I love the feeling of getting a great cardio workout it.  Plus I love being able to get in a workout outside while the weather is still nice.  I'm really hoping run the Marine Corps 10K on October 30th this year and eventually work my way up to a marathon next year, but we'll see. 

Yesterday I was able to do 45 mintues on the treadmill; hills all around the world, speed 6.2, level 5 and I did 4.65 miles. Not too shabby for 5am :)

Beach Weekend

This past weekend, Chris and I packed up our beach bags and headed up to New Jersey with my Dad and step mom, Cindy for a long weekend.  It was my stepsister's daughter's second birthday and we decided to tag along.  Since our honeymoon Chris and I have barely gotten to spend anytime together with his military schedule and with the upcoming deployment creeping up on us, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to seize the day and take a long weekend together.  Besides, who can turn down a weekend at the beach? Not this beach babe.  Although, Chris seems to think he tans much more easily than he really does and never listens to me when I tell him he might want to out on sunscreen and ends up getting burnt the very first day.  All in all though, we had a really great time and perfect weather.  We stayed with my stepsister Jessie and her new husband Justin and their two dogs, Jake and Riley.  It was good to spend a  little extra time with them because we rarely get the opportunity to visit with them. 

Friday they both had to work, so Chris, Dad,  Cindy and I packed up the car and headed to the beach bright and early to catch a few rays and soak up the beautiful sun.  It looked a little stormy outside but turned out to be a beautiful day.  Of course, it wouldn't be a day on vacation with me if I didn't push Chris' button's just a little with a photo shoot :)

Saturday was Maddy's birthday party at the beach club.  The party started at 400, but we headed over to the beach around noon to hang out with the family and hang out on the beach for the day.  It turned out to be another gorgeous beach day.  Chris and I had a really great time, I'm really glad we were able to go up there! And of course, the birthday girl had a fabulous time as well! She's a little princess; her daddy's in for a treat once she gets older!

Sunday morning Chris and I headed to Atlantic City to spend the day/night up there.  Dad and Cindy had booked us a room there as a surprise, which was very nice of them :) I have never been before, so that was really fun.  We had a great time.  We gambled a little bit, walked the boardwalk, walked through a bunch of the big name Casinos.  We went to Carmine's for dinner and then actually went and saw the naked circus, which was pretty entertaining.  They weren't actually naked, more like half dressed, but still entertaining.  All in all a very fun day!

In other news, Abby Baby has gotten her meow back and seems to be on the mend :) Wonderful news in the Price household! It's wonderful to hear her start to talk again after listening to her squeak pitifully around the house for over a month.  It also means that her tumor is not malignant! whewwww!!