Happy 100th Birthday, Oreos!

My husband has been working really hard lately. I'm talking staying late at work and then coming home and working on production issues until late. I am so proud of him and really look up to his strong work ethic. He stayed late at work tonight and then went Sangamon Valley Dot Net User Group meeting and didn't get home until 9pm. Talk about a long day! After my amazing work out tonight, I picked up these oreos for my hunny and had them sitting out for him when he got home.

By the way.. I ran a hard 3.5 miles (finishing up with 7.5mph the last two minutes) & then finished my work out with a 40 minute swim in the pool all to myself... talk about therapeutic! I feel so rejuvenated.

It's the little things in life. :)

DIY painted wine glasses.... Epic Fail

So I found an adorable DIY project off pinterest that involved painting a champagne or wine glass with glitter paint. The ladies turned out really cute and it looked simple & easy, so I figured I'd give it a shot.Well, I tried it today and totally nailed it........ NOT!

I bought 5 wine glasses from the dollar store. I also stopped by Michaels and bought letter stickers, Martha Stewart glitter paint in gold and silver, and Martha Stewart sponge brushes. I already had painters tape and chalkboard paint at home.

My first attempt was a wine glass for my pregnant friend, Natalie. My hope was to have a wine glass that said "Moms Sippy Cup." The lady said to apply the stickers, tape around where you want your paint to be, apply one layer, let dry, and then apply the second. Once it all dries, you peel the tape and stickers off.

Well, I am not very patient, so I may or may not have painted several layers all at once. (Maybe that's where I went wrong) :)

Annnnd.... Fail

Since it already looked HORRIBLE, I snapped a picture for all of you to be able to have a laugh. I also decided to test out chalkboard paint since this was already going in the trash. I liked the chalkboard paint on the bottom of the glass.
So I decided to paint two others with chalkboard paint. One more coat & they'll be ready!

After having a headache of a DIY craft, I just left the last two plain... Maybe I should have filled one up with wine. Ha!

DIY Deco Mesh Saint Patrick's Day Wreath

I love making wreaths, especially deco mesh wreaths. So I made one for my parents.

All you need is a wreath backing, a roll of deco mesh, a roll of ribbon, and any other accessories (I added shamrocks).

Steamed Broccoli

You may think it's simple and self explanatory to "steam broccoli," right?

Well, not for this chick!

I really like broccoli, but my husband doesn't, so I never make it. Well, when we were at our friends house the other week, she made steamed broccoli and it was so good that I went back for seconds! Needless to say, I called my friend and needed to know how to steam... some.. broccoli!

So for all of you folks who are in the same sad boat as I was... here is a simple way to make a delicious side of broccoli!

Prepare your broccoli by washing them under the water and cutting the stems. Fill a pot with 1/2 to 1 inch of water and boil. Once the water is bowling, add the broccoli and cook until tender. The longer it's cooked, the more tender it will be. I cooked mine about 15 minutes and it was perfect. Add 1 to 2 tbsp of light butter and it's prepared. Enjoy!

Roasted Asparagus

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare your asparagus by cutting off the bottom 1/2 to 1 inch. Layer asparagus on a cookie sheet sprayed with non stick spray. Drizzle asparagus with 1 tsp of olive oil and top with 1 tbsp of reduced fat parmesan cheese. Bake asparagus for 10 minutes or until tender.

Skinny Melt In Your Mouth Chicken

While browsing pinterest, I found this recipe for "melt in your mouth" chicken. I then figured how to make a "skinny" version and tried it out tonight.

Ingredients:

*4-6 boneless chicken breasts

*1 cup greek yogurt

*1/2 cup reduced fat parmesan cheese

*a dash of salt, pepper, and garlic salt

Directions:

* Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine yogurt, parmesan cheese, and seasonings in a bowl. Spray a cookie sheet with non stick cooking spray & place the chicken on it. Top the chicken breasts with the mixture. Bake the chicken for 45 minutes & enjoy!

They turned out delicious! I had my husband guess the ingredients, and he guessed that I used regular (not fat free, like usual) mozzarella and feta cheese. Good guess, honey, but not quite. ;)

What are some of your favorite "skinny" chicken dishes?

Birthday Re Cap

I began my day with the morning run with my dad, went to Weight Watchers weigh in/meeting & lost :), and then went to one of our fave breakfast spots (charlie parkers) & got the whole wheat pancake. Sooo Yummy!
Next, my sister's friend put on my side mirror (thank you!!!):

Remember me blogging about how my wonderful husband makes a theme cake every year for my birthday? He gets really geeky about it and gets really excited to surprise me? Well here's the 2012 birthday cake!

Not what you expected, huh? :) I had told him about the "healthy" way to make a cake. Just one box of cake mix & a 12 oz can of diet soda. Well, he did that and somehow and it was super moist and crumbled on him while he was adding the "strawberry mix layer" and icing. So it ended up being my birthday cake in a bowl! Ha! It was really cute and the thought that counts.

He ended up buying a cake & I forgot to snap a picture before we all dug in, so here's the aftermath with my mommas cupcakes, too! Delicious!

We went to dinner & then bowling. My nephew was getting a bit fussy at the bowling alley, so they headed home, but my parents stayed with us to bowl! We all got at least two stikes & had so much fun!! Ryan got 199....... 1 point away from 200, really???

Birthday Pose
Hubby & I at dinner. My sister and I split the ahi tuni and it was delicious!
My adorable nephew & sister. Yes, those are matching jackets :)
All ready to celebrate 26 years of my awesomeness! ;)
I had to share my husbands card to me:
So true:
I got new running shoes!!!
And a coach purse
And a new under armour running shirt & my skinny recipes for the crockpot.... my favorite way to cook!
And one of my favorite presents--- this BEAUTIFUL dress. I tried it on when my mom and I went shopping out of town and fell in LOVE, but I didn't have anywhere to wear it soon & it was expensive, so I passed. Well, my mom talked to Ryan and gave him the idea and he called the store and had them send it. Needless to say, I was super surprised and thankful!
As for a re-cap, all I can say is THANK YOU to my wonderful family; my husband, parents, sister, and nephew. I am so thankful & appreciative for all of you. Each year that goes by, I remember the true meaning to life.... and that's family.

:)