Friday, November 27, 2009

It came.......IT FINALLY CAME

Ladies, I have been a bad blogger.....and i'm sorry.

I have decided (for reasons you have probably assumed) that I'm putting Little Rhody Girl on hiadus for a week or two, to help somebody settle back into his home. Into our home. No worries. I definately will be back, I have about 5 recipes to back post, and that doesn't include my three day long bake-off which is scheduled for next weekend.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday

THIS is what I have to be thankful for....


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It finally came, it's finally over......
Thank you, all of you, for all of your support. He's home with me, and I couldn't be happier!

Friday, November 20, 2009

Oh My.....Freaking Fantastic

It

was

AWESOME

Yes I am 23, yes I am married, yes I was the one saying "ok, ok we are ALL excited but your girlie screaming is making me go deaf" but I really REALLY enjoyed New Moon. So much better (like 10 million times better) that the first movie. Check this out. According to the LA times New Moon is expected to gross 70 million dollars TODAY (btw, the movie cost 50 million to make) Pretty good!

I might go see it again while it's still in theaters, yes I mean it....


I'm Team Edward ALL THE WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Twilight
::sorry, I'm drooling a little::

Monday, November 16, 2009

What Happened to Thanksgiving?

Does anyone else feel sorry for Thanksgiving? It TOTALLY got skipped over this year. Christmas commericals and sales and everything else started right after Halloween. I myself have already started making gift lists, planning for cookie baking and making cards

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!

But I do feel sorry for poor Thanksgiving, it is definately the second string holiday this year....

Sunday, November 15, 2009

My Boys

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-This Photo was taken in RAW format and edited in Photshop, can you tell the difference? Cuz I sure can!

Next Week

So much is happening next week just thinking about it is causing my congested head to explode.

1) KYLE'S HOMECOMING!
2) First shifts on days (not to mention a full work week)
3) Jared's birthday
4) Thanksgiving

I am having so many emotions surrounding that week, busy, overwhelming, happy and exciting just to name a few. However before I think about next week there is all of the things I need to do this week to prepare.

First off there is a bunch of housekeeping things that have to get done before Kyle's return, like clean the house (haha). I have to get his cell phone turned back on and his car insurance re-instated. I also want to get his car looked at (ever since that incident with kyle's car I haven't driven it much, even though I got 4 new tires on it. I think it's a mental thing) by a mechanic to make sure it's in good shape and I need to menu plan for his homecoming meal!!!!!

All fun things to do...I already know what I'm going to make for him and what the plans are for meeting him on the pier, but I can't tell you, because he reads the blog too

so shhhhhhhh.....he might be listening! ; )

Sick

So I guess for the last few weeks I like to do lots of posting all at once, so I apologize about clogging up you google readers with all of my back posting, but serisouly this time I have a good excuse,

mainly because right now I am SICK AS A DOG!

I started to get a tickle in my throat at work on Thursday night. I immediately had the H1N1 sirens going off in my head but I don't have any of the traditional flu symptoms, no fever, no body aches, nothing like that, so I think I'm in the clear. But that doesn't mean I don't feel like hell either.

Friday I woke up with a huge sinus headache and congestion with a dry cough, saturday the congestion got worse and the couch turned productive. BAH! Today I do feel a little better but I still have a headache and a runny nose. My mom really wants me to go to the doctor tomorrow and I think I will if I still feel sick. The call out from work remains to be seen and will be determined based on how I feel tomorrow.

I just hope I am 100% healed before Kyle gets home next week!!!!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Veggie Burrito Wraps

I am constantly searching for things that I can make ahead, freeze, and grab them to take to work with me in my lunch bag that is

1) easy
2) yummy after nuking in the microwave
3) relatively healthy

This recipe really fits the Bill. This base recipe is very easy to adapt to suit your own tastes. I wrapped each one in a paper towel and froze them in ziplock/foodsaver bags in groups of 5. I got 15 burritos from this recipe. Don't forget the sour cream and salsa, YUM!!!!

Veggie Burrito Wraps
Source: adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients
2 cups uncooked brown rice
4 cups water
olive oil
1 green pepper
1 onion
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans
2 (15.5 ounce) cans pinto beans
1 (10 ounce) can whole kernel corn (I used mexicorn)
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes and green
chiles (a.k.a. Rotel tomatoes)
1 can low fat refried beans
16 (10 inch) flour tortillas
2 cups shredded pepperjack cheese

Directions:

1. Combine rice and water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes, or until tender. Remove from heat, and cool.

2. Place black beans and pinto beans into a colander or strainer, and rinse. Add corn and diced tomatoes with green chilies, and toss to mix.

3. In a large skillet, heat two turns of olive oil over medium high heat. Add onions, peppers and brown sugar, saute for 3-5 minutes or until caramelized. slowly add in the corn and tomato mixture and stir to heat thoroughly. add cheese and rice and stir until thoroughly heated and cheese is melted.

4. Divide the mixture evenly among the tortillas, starting with a layer of refried beans, and roll up. Wrap individually in paper towels, place into a large freezer bag, and freeze. Reheat as needed in the microwave for lunch or snacks.

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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

11 November 2009

So many things to be thankful for today.

Thank you, Husband, for keeping me safe.

Thank you, to all our armed forces, for your service to this country

Thank you....




and Happy Birthday Mom!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, November 9, 2009

Shirmp Fried Rice

Do you ever have those moments when everything just seems to, you know, work out?

Well I'm not talking about anything major, I'm just talking Dinner here.

Last night at work I was thinking about what I wanted to make for dinner tonight. While I mentally went though the contents of my pantry/fridge/freezer I suddenly remember that I had a package of shrimp and scallops that I needed to eat before Kyle gets home (since he is allergic...poor baby!). Well at the same time I was going through my Google Reader in my iphone and literally the first post I saw was for Shrimp Fried Rice, YUM! sounds good! Oh, I already have ALL the ingrediants? Sweet! Easy to make? Even better.

Like I said, I love it when things work out

Shrimp Fried Rice
Taken from Annie's Eats

Ingredients:

1 lb. raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tsp. kosher saltFreshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. cornstarch2 tbsp. vegetable or canola oil, divided
3 eggs, beaten
2 stalks green onions, minced
4 cups leftover rice
¾ cup frozen peas and carrots, defrosted
1 tbsp. soy sauceFew drops sesame oil


Directions:

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the shrimp, salt, pepper and cornstarch, and toss well to coat the shrimp. Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Heat a large skillet or wok over high heat. When a drop of water immediately sizzles and evaporates, the pan is hot enough to add 1 tablespoon of the oil. Swirl to coat the pan well.

Add the shrimp to the hot pan and quickly spread them out so that they are in a single layer, and all touching the pan surface. (You may need to do this in two batches to ensure even cooking.) Let them cook untouched for 30 seconds, then flip over (tongs work well for this) and let cook for 30 more seconds, so that the shrimp are about 80% cooked through. Remove to a plate and set aside.

Lower the heat on the pan to medium. Add the eggs to the pan and stir quickly, to break up and scramble the eggs. When the eggs are almost cooked through but still slightly runny in the middle, remove from the pan to the same plate as the shrimp.
Use paper towels to wipe the pan clean and return the pan to high heat. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, swirling to coat. Once the oil is very hot, add the green onions to the pan and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the rice to the pan and mix well to combine with the green onions. Spread the rice out evenly over the pan and let cook without stirring, until you hear the rice grains sizzle, about 1 to 2 minutes. Toss the rice a bit with your spatula, and again spread it out over the cooking surface.

Drizzle the soy sauce all over the rice, and toss again. Add the peas and carrots, the cooked shrimp and eggs, and the sesame oil to the pan. Toss to combine all the ingredients well with the rice. Let everything heat back up again until the rice grains are sizzling again. Add additional soy sauce to taste, if needed. Serve.

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Saturday, November 7, 2009

17 Days

There are 17 days before my husband gets home.

this is HUGE!!!!!

I have lived the last 7 months alone, solo, solamente a mi, meaning just MYSELF.

I am a little nervous about having him home, don't get me wrong I am really looking forward to having someone to fall asleep talking to, to take after dinner walks with, ;-). All of that...But at the same time I am a little nervous about having him home after having so much time of living on my own.

O.K. I need the advice of all the navy wifes out there who are wiser than I. What should I expect, what should I do/not to to help my sailor's transition easier? PLEASE HELP!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Ponderings

My Nursing Career has gotten off to a pretty rocky start. To be honest I never was really quite sure what I wanted to do in Nursing, the hard part is that there is just SO MUCH! The only clinical I didn't really get a lot out of was Psych (sorry mom!) which leaves, oh I don't know, one billion other options? It's hard, especially for someone as indecisive as I am!



I keep feeling restless, it's not that I am not THRILLED to pieces to be in the ER, it's a much better fit for me then the med-surge floor was. What think I mean is that the ER isn't a perfect fit for me long term. I don't see myself working there when I'm 30, or even when I'm 25.



I go back to thinking about what it is about my current job that I like, what it is I like about nursing in general....



I like...the education

I like...the families

I like...babies, I really enjoy getting infant patients, while this usually freaks out the other staff

I like...the chaos!!!...the ED is usually quite busy, which makes me have to multi-task 100% of the time. I LOVE this...

I like...the teamwork

I like....the critical patients mixed in with less critical patients



I think that at my husbands next duty station, which will be next fall. I will make the leap and try again for the NICU, which most of you know I had already considered heavily back in late March. Who knows if my opinion will change or what might happen in the next year. That's what I find so fun about day dreaming.....

But for now, I still go to work with a smile on my face, because I do really like my job.

And I LOVE being a Nurse!

Hello....I'm Fabulous!

Karren at A Bee & His Honey told me last week that my blog is fabulous and I didn't get to post it until today (noticing a trend here? it's because I worked last weekend, obviously!)





Thanks Karren!

I need to think of an award myself to send out into the bloggie universe....hmmmmm

First Christmas Card of the Season

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I call this one "Winter White"
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My Signature and Seal will be on the back of each card.
I made 4 more tonight, each one unique and totally different. I'll post more photos once I have more.

She's Ready for her Close-Up, The Top anyway

I finshed my quilt top last week but haven't had time to post the pictures until tonight. I am really pleased when how it turned out. Tomorrow I am planning on stopping by the quilt store to get the backing and the batting. Hopefully I can find someone to sew it together for me by the 15th so it will be done in time for the baby shower.

Drum Roll please......

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if you guys didn't already figure it out I found the text effects to make my watermark on photoshop...haha!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

1Nov2009

We are, offically, in November. The month my Husband comes home to me!

Okay, I just googled to find an image of a ship comming home to use for this post, and I just found the key-stone piece of my waiting on the pier outfit. I guess I'll just go casual-chiche with jeans and my black military jacket which I wear over t-shirts because I will be wearing THIS under it.

I am already SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

November will be a good month for me, for at least two reasons......

Kashi Veggie Medley

I work nights, at least for the next month when I am on orientation. Working the 5p-5a shifts is MURDER on my sleep cycle, and unfortunately I haven't had much time for cooking.

Usually when I cook I make 2-3 meals for the week and eat leftovers which I brown-bag to work. I always bring my own meals because I am really picky about what I eat (my body my temple and yada-yada). Throught the week there is always one day where I am lazy or running late or I forgot to pack a lunch (or all three) which is why I usually keep a small supply of frozen things on hand to grab and go.

I have a few things that I constantly cycle through my freezer.

1) Lean Cuisine Panini's! This one is my Fav but I like pretty much all of them
2) Amy's Organic Burrito's Quick Nuke = Quick healthy delicious!

Today while Grocery Shopping I stumbled upon the Kashi Frozen Foods and Decided to give these guys a try




I was REALLY impressed 1) By how good these are 2) and by how FILLING they are! They are these veggie pocket things stuffed with beans, zucchini, onion, corn and peppers. If any of this sounds appealing you will LOVE THESE! All this and 10grams of protein for around 200 calories...heck yes!




Any of you have a staple good-to-go product in your freezer or pantry that you can share with us?