I'm thankful

For me it is sometimes easier to focus on the negatives than the positives in my life. With Thanksgiving a few days away it is a good time to slow down on the complaints and really be thankful for what I do have in my life.

1. I'm thankful for my husband. We have been married for a year and together for almost six years. I am  lucky to have a man who loves me for who I am and inspires me to be a better person. All these years later and we are still not tired of each other. Married life isn't perfect, we have our ups and downs, but we make it work.

2. I'm thankful for my family. I love having my parents live in the same city and having dinner with them once a week. They have always been there for me no matter what crazy decision I make. My sister now lives in North Carolina which sucks since I can't see my awesome nephews as much as I would like. But I am learning to really appreciate the times we are in the same city more now.

3. I'm thankful for my current job. They are the first place to give me a chance when I decided to change careers from teaching. I am learning so much about the non-profit world that will serve me well in my new career.

4. I'm thankful for my friends. Some have known me since college like K, and others are newer friends who I met in my days of being a teacher.

5. I'm thankful for my dog Kavalier. He walked into our lives four years ago and filled our house with love. While I don't plan on having kids of my own, he definitely brings out the maternal side of me.

6. I'm thankful for blogging. I had lost touch with my writing side when I was working insane hours teaching English (ironic I know). This blog lets me express myself and I have connected with some great ladies along the way.

Why hello bandwagon fan

Bandwagon fans. If you are at all interested in sports, you know all too well what makes a person a bandwagon fan. What really makes someone a bandwagoner as opposed to a real fan?

Bandwagon fan: 

A person who claims to be a fan of a particular sports team, but had zero interest in said team until the team had a winning record or won a championship.

No level of sports is immune to the bandwagon fan. Major league baseball has the NY Yankees bandwagoners who have never stepped foot in the Big Apple. The NBA has a nation of Miami Heat "fans" who couldn't care less about them prior to LeBron James coming to Florida. I actually have a friend who is born and raised in Orlando who is suddenly cheering for the Heat. Really? We have a hometown team to root for. Granted the Orlando Magic has yet to win a national championship, but damn why jump ship to the rival?  The NFL has different sets of "I only cheer for winners" each Super Bowl. A Patriots fan who has never step foot in New England? Yep that is a bandwagon fan.

My Florida State Seminoles are currently ranked #2 for the first time in 13 years. The last time they had such a season was back in 1999. I of course remember this vividly since it was my freshman year at FSU when they went undefeated and beat Virginia Tech in the national championship game. It was amazing. Then for the past 12 years they have struggled while the University of Florida had Tebow time going on.  All of a sudden Gator fans were coming out of every inch of the state. You couldn't step into a store in Orlando without bumping into some orange and blue t-shirt. It felt like Gator nation had taken over the state.

Now the tide has turned with the Seminoles dominating and looking towards playing in the national championship game. I can't help but notice more and more Seminole flags waving from homes and team shirts adorning people around town. Interesting, where was the love last year? So now my beloved team has bandwagon fans. Guess that must mean we've made it.

Greetings from Kavalier

A big part of my life is being a fur mom to my doggy Kavalier. I thought it was time for Kavalier to take over the blog and tell you more about himself.

Hello! I'm Kavalier, or Kav as my mom often calls me. I was rescued back in November of 2009 after I was abandoned in front of the pet rescue that ended up rescuing me.

                                             This is me on the way home for the first time.

I enjoy being outside and playing in the yard in my happy spot. My mom finds it adorable to watch me rolling around in my happy spot. She is weird like that.

I like to show the love to my mom's team (Florida State) and to my dad's NY Rangers. Sometimes mommy and I both show the team love.

I also love to nap in my old bed. Nothing beats laying around with mom and dad on a lazy Sunday.

Sunday Social

 4 jobs you have had in your life


1. Fast food- my first job at 16 was at Chick-Fil-A
2. Retail
3. Middle school teacher
4. Non profit

4 movies you could watch over and over

1. The Wedding Singer
2. When Harry Met Sally
3. The Hunger Games
4. High Fidelity

4 places you have lived

1. Orlando, FL- where I currently live
2. Winter Park, FL
3. Tallahassee, FL
4. Worcester, MA

4 of my favorite foods

1. Pizza
2. Pasta in general. I could eat it non-stop.
3. Peril- spanish roast pork
4. Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich

4 things you always carry with you

1. Keys
2. Cell phone
3. Wallet
4. Lipstick

4 places you have been on vacation

1. Ocho Rios, Jamaica
2. San Juan, Puerto Rico
3. Washington DC
4. Las Vegas

Slow cooker meatball subs

One of my November goals is to cook more often and actually meal plan. I'm way late to the crock pot game and luckily got a great one for my bridal shower. Ever since I was gifted my crock pot I have pinned tons of recipes for it, now I need to be better about actually making them.

Ty requested a meatball sub for this upcoming week and I found a great recipe for slow cooker meatball subs.

What you need:

1 pound of ground beef

1 egg

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 jar of pasta sauce

4 hoagie/sub rolls

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Cooking directions:

1.  In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, egg, breadcrumbs, and garlic powder.  Mix with hands until all ingredients are mixed together.

2.  Form mixture into 12 meatballs. Place them in the crock pot and pour the pasta sauce over the meatballs. Cook on high for 4-5 hours.

3. Sprinkle cheese on meatballs and serve.

I apologize for being a bad blogger and forgetting to take a picture of the final product. We were just so ready to eat it. 

Anniversary weekend

Some couples have extravagant one year anniversary weekends where they take a fun vacation, but that is not a financial reality for us right now. That doesn't mean we didn't have a fun time celebrating our first year of marriage. Months ago when I saw that The Book of Mormon would be in town for our anniversary weekend I knew instantly that it would be the perfect way to do something fun for our special night. Ty and I have wanting to see the show since it debuted on Broadway (we are big South Park fans) and I was thrilled that it finally made its way down to Orlando.

I decided to wear my wedding shoes out on our anniversary date. Since I had to wear flats for my wedding (or else I would be taller) I had planned to get multiple wearings out of them. I had not worn since my wedding day.

The Book of Mormon was one of the best musicals I have ever seen on stage. I love me some musical theater and this show really knocks it out of the park. I would recommend it to anyone who is not easily offended by crass language or jokes about religion.

A year ago today

A year ago today I was stressed out and anxiously awaiting my wedding day. I had spent months planning the perfect music for the ceremony, make my book themed table names, and all the little details that come with planning a wedding. Ty and I will celebrate our one year wedding anniversary this weekend and what a year it has been. We made it through my decision to leave the teaching profession in March, his intense summer of finishing up his thesis, and making the transition to husband and wife. Marriage is not easy, but definitely the best thing I have ever done.

November Goals

I figure putting my goals for the current month on the blog is a good way to hold myself accountable, so I have decided to make a goal list for November. Side note, how is it November already? This time last year I was in stress mode and days away from my wedding. This coming Sunday marks my first wedding anniversary which we will celebrate on Saturday night with dinner and going to see The Book of Mormon. I can't wait!

                                                                    (Source)

1. Go to the gym 3 times a week. I am moving more towards going to the gym to build muscle on my lean frame, so the goal is to go no less than 3 times the week this month. I'm tired of just wishing my body looked different and actually need to do something about it. We will see how this goes.
2. Cook at home Monday- Thursday and meal plan on a weekly basis. Last week was the first time in weeks that I did this successfully. I need to continue it and not fall into the buy something on the way home to eat trap. 
3. Read at least one book. The last few months I have not been reading as much as I used to and I want to change that. I collect interesting book titles to check out and just haven't gotten around to reading the books. Less HGTV, more reading.
4. Start researching job opportunities outside of Florida. 

What are your goals for this month?

A concert on Halloween

Last night instead of handing out candy to little trick or treaters T and I went to see Nine Inch Nails in concert. Trent Reznor live on Halloween night?!? What could be better?  I know this kind of music is not everyone's cup of tea, but they definitely know how to put on a show.

I couldn't help but notice how many people at the concert were video taping the concert on their cell phones. Seriously, why not put down the phone and actually experience the music? Do people really go back and watch the video on their phone later? Someone is going to have to explain this to me.