A Little Something Sweet on Sunday

The month of July was busy, busy, busy! Packing and moving five hours away from home takes a lot of energy! We have been official residents of NWA for a week. I have been battling a summer cold most of the week. I finally felt better when I got up this morning, so I thought I might put our new kitchen to use! I have a serious love of pecan pralines. Especially the ones from TaMolly's in Arkadelphia. Since I couldn't just hop in the car and drive five hours to get them, I thought I would try to make them myself. I used this recipe:

Pecan Pralines
2 cups brown sugar (I used golden brown)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup evaporated milk
2 1/2 cups pecan pieces
2 tsp vanilla
3 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into pieces

Combine sugar, evaporated milk, and water in saucepan. Heat to boiling while stirring constantly. (I did this over medium heat). Cook until mixture reaches soft ball consistency (235). Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla, butter, and pecans Drop by tablespoons onto wax paper.

I did not have a candy thermometer, so I used a cold bowl of water to test the consistency while cooking. When I thought it had heated enough, I dropped a little bit of the liquid mixture into a bowl. It formed a soft, flexible ball. I took it off at that point. I am going to buy a candy thermometer soon, since I don't like guessing! The pralines turned out very well. Sweet, soft and melt in your mouth yumminess. They are very sweet, so I can only eat one at  a time.

Cheers to a sweet finish to the weekend! Tomorrow I start my new job. Any one else make candy this weekend???

30 Before 30

Hello all! My 28th birthday is coming up in August. While packing, I have been looking through a lot of things that I haven't seen since high school. I graduated ten years ago! One of the things I came across is a Bucket List. With only two years left in my 20s, I decided it would be fun to compile a list of things I want to do before I turn 30. Here we go:

1. Go on a cruise.
2. Go sky diving.
3. Go on a weekend trip out of state.
4. Don't eat out for a whole month.
5. Cook new recipes every night for a week.
6. Go see Britney in concert.
7. See a musical.
8. Take baby O to the zoo.
9. Write a book.
10. Work on learning a new language.
11. Be fully lisenced in my field.
12. Go on a family vacation to the beach.
13. Go fishing with hubby C.
14. Continue blogging about our life.
15. Do a zip line.
16. Take baby O to the fair.
17. Take mom to Branson.
18. Go to a Christmas tree farm.
19. Learn to shoot a bow accurately.
20. Win a game of pool.
21. Host a game night with friends.
22. Run a whole 5k race.
23. Complete a half marathon.
24. Enlarge our family of 3 to a family of 4.
25. Visit another country.
26. Go skiing.
27. Get a new car.
28. Go on a picnic with hubby C and baby O.
29. Take family pictures.
30. Ride on a boat.

There is my list. I have a little over two years to complete these items! What's on your bucket list?

Cheers to the fun I will have trying to do all this stuff!

(Last) Weekend Happenings

We had a super busy weekend, which is why it has taken me nearly a week to get a post together! Hubby C was in an art show. He was in Little Rock all weekend with the Arkansas Sculpture Guild Invitational. Last week he was preparing for the show around the clock. He got up early with me and went to bed very late. He got it all done Friday morning and headed to Little Rock to set up. Friday night we all went up and stayed at the Double Tree hotel. My mother in law came with us and kept O at the hotel while we went to the opening night. O loved the hotel. The closet had mirrors for doors, and she spent a lot of time kissing the baby in the mirror.

We have hardwood floors at home, so I am sure the plush carpet was a nice change for her tumbles. She is still learning speed control with walking. When she gets excited, she starts running and gets ahead of her balance a little. The Double Tree also has an awesome view of the river.

While O was running around like a wild thing, hubby C and I went to his show. Little Rock was having a gallery walk that night, so there were a ton of people coming through. I walked around and looked at all the different sculptures while C talked to other artists and people viewing the show. I always feel a little awkward at shows because I am not an artsy person. When people ask me questions, I usually just say I think it looks pretty. As the night wound down, I went over to stand by C and some other artists. One of the ladies came over to me and straight up rubbed my belly. Of course I immediately thought she was trying to say I was pregnant...who does that? I would never go up to someone I don't know and rub their stomach! Not cool! Anyway, C said that he saw me give the lady 'the look' and jumped in to change the conversation. You know the look right? The one where the temperature goes down about 30 degrees, your head spins around on your neck, your hair stands on end, and you shoot flames out of your eyes at someone? No? Just me? Okay, moving on. After the show, we went back to the hotel. We were both hungry, so we ordered a cheeseburger from room service. It cost $17 and was really good. (For $17, it sure better be one good burger!)
On Saturday, my mother in law, O, hubby C and I went back to the show. I got a cute picture of baby O and hubby C with one of his outdoor, large sculptures. C stayed at the show all day.


Inferno


Saturday night we went out for a friends birthday. Here is a picture of my buddies Leah and Britt at an Irish pub.

This happened (probably a bad idea to start the night):


Yowza


We ate at a fancy restaurant in Little Rock, Loca Luna. The food was very good. Hubby C got some lamb chops. I split a little pizza with Britt.

On Sunday, hubby C went back to his show while baby O and I rested at home. I am very proud of him for all the hard work he put into the show. He sold a couple pieces and really had a good time meeting all the new artists. I will end the weekend update with a few pictures of his sculptures from the show!


Brimstone



Torn



Cheers to a quickly ending work week! It is almost the weekend! Any weekend plans for anyone? Next week we are headed up to north Arkansas to find a place to live. Wish us luck!

Life lately

Wow, it has been over two months since my last post! I have been very busy with work and preparing to move at the end of July (ahhhhhhhh!) The whole month of June has flown by. I decided to get back on the weight loss wagon after being off basically since Olivia's birthday in March. In March, I was weighing about 165. By the end of May the bad food and lack of consistent exercise led to me creeping back up to 169. When June came along, I started the month off with another ten day cleanse from Advocare. I got the peach and cream flavor this time....and it was oh SO much better than the citrus. I also joined RunninRob's 6 am boot camp at the end of May. I went to work out with her three days a week for four weeks. I made a lot of progress! Over the month of boot camp, I lost the four pounds and gained a lot of strength. At the beginning of boot camp I could barely do a ten second plank. By the end, I could hold the plank for a whole minute! I also lost a bunch of inches. I started out boot camp in a 11/12. While I was going through old clothes and packing up stuff for the move, I came across a pair of size 7 shorts. I decided to try them on to see how far away I was from fitting into them. They slid on and buttoned up without a problem. I went from a 11/12 to a 7 in just four weeks! It is amazing the difference a good workout can have on your body. Here is a picture of me and RRob after our 6 am workout.

Baby O is having a fun summer as well. We bought her a little play pool. She hated it the first time because the water was so cold. I managed to take a couple pictures of her smiling before she threw a fit. Now she will think her first pool experience was a success. Ha.

She is also a little shoe stealer....

And clown wig wearer...

And new HOG lover!

We are moving in a month, and I have so much left to do. I hope to start being a more consistent blogger. How is everyone's summer going so far? Busy? Melting in the heat? Anyone else attempting to do the summer slim down?

Cheers to a fun summer!!

Time for a weekend recap...again!

This year has been flying by for us! I always have good intentions to write for this blog during the week, but I never seem to find the time. After Monday nights, it is like I look up and BAM it is the weekend again. Last week was a very hard week at work for me. I had a migraine pretty much every day. I think it was a combination of stress and the massive amount of pollen in the air right now. Every day when I go out to the car, it is covered in a thick yellow dust. The headaches and low energy left me feeling zero desire to be productive once I got home. We had an eventful weekend. On Friday night, the local Junior Auxiliary met for a girl's night at a local restaurant. I got to eat some seared tuna, grilled asparagus, and sweet potato fries. They always serve it with a wasabi soy sauce that is amazing! I had a fun time hanging out with RunninRob. We made some plans for the warrior dash coming up in May. I am trying to convice hubby C that he wants to race, too. I know I will need someone to help haul my butt over some of the big obstacles.




On Saturday, hubby C, baby O, and I spent some family time playing at the house and eating good food. Baby O is now officially into everything. She never stops moving and investigating everything she can get her hands on. Sunday afternoon we grilled out with RunninRob and her family. Baby O really likes to go visit RRob because she has two boys around O's age. I attempted to contribute a fruit pizza for dessert. It was a disaster. When I formed the cookie dough into a 'pizza' shape, I forgot that cookie dough rises as it cooks.

About ten minutes into baking, I start to see smoke rising out of the oven. The cookie had started dripping off the pan and into the bottom of the oven. The whole house filled up with smoke. Hubby C helped me put a bigger pan under the orignial one, and we just let the oven burn off the rest. We cut off the weird edges. I think it turned out pretty well. I will just remember to leave some room for expansion next time.

I spent the rest of the weekend getting ready for the work week: laundry, dishes, grocery shopping. So much fun I can barely stand it! Cheers to a happy and healthy week for everyone!

A Case of the Mondays

Another weekend has gone by at the Cromer house. My only complaint is that it was way too short! On Friday night, we ate out with our friends Clay and Leah. For the last few years, we saw them a few times a week because we always lived very close. Since we moved out to the country, we see them much less often. RunninRob was our waitress for the night. I got to have a margarita, and it was the perfect end to a very long week at work. For only 4$ I got to have the drink and keep the mason jar it came in! Of course, I totally walked out without my cup. I guess I will HAVE to go back again soon. After dinner, we went to hang out at Clay and Leah's house for a few hours. We talked about how life was going and watched baby O do all her newest tricks. It was good to catch up with our friends. It made me sad to think about the fact that in just a few months, we will be living several hours away. I am still in a sad mood about the move. I have turned into 9 year old Linda..."But I don't wanna move and leave all my friends!" I try to avoid complaining to hubby C, because I know how excited he is to be going to graduate school in the fall. I am very excited for him, too. I think it is okay for me to be a little nervous and a little sad about such big changes. I haven't made any progress on finding a new house or a new job. I have made a rough outline of a new resume. It has been about three years since I have even looked at my old one.
On Saturday, we headed over to our nephew's 2nd birthday party. They did a really cute Sponge Bob theme. We ate crabby patties (hamburgers) and drank out of coconuts. Baby O really enjoyed her cupcake. She decided it was too much work to pick it off the table to eat. She was a fan of the dog chowing down method. She also had her first taste of Cheetos. She is a really big fan. After we went to the party, we headed home to work on cleaning and doing laundry. I am so much fun, I know. I did get to go for a 30 minute walk (with a little jogging thrown in here and there) on Saturday afternoon. My new running shoes fit great, and my feet were much less sore after the workout. Success!

We had a lazy day Sunday. It started with our weekly grocery shopping trip to WalMart (where we bought everything in the store). For lunch, we ate some barbecue at hubby C's grandma's house down the road. She is 90 years old, and still very independent. I hope I will be as healthy and as active when I am her age. We worked on cleaning the pool Sunday afternoon. It turned into a pond during the fall/winter because we didn't keep it running. I was in charge of scooping leaves off the bottom of the pool. It is so gross. In between the slimy leaves are worms and frogs and dead snakes. Yuck! It will be worth it once we get it cleaned, or so I keep telling myself... Hubby C and I also walked down to the pond. I was on the look out for snakes, but I didn't spot any. I probably wouldn't see one until it jumped up and bit me. I am not very observant. We grilled out with the family on Sunday night. Hamburgers, sweet potato fries, and cupcakes. I made yellow cupcakes with a creamy chocolate filling and double fudge icing. They are pretty tasty. As you can probably guess from this post, my diet has sucked since baby O's birthday! I celebrated losing ten pounds by gaining back 5. I know I will eventually get back on the diet bandwagon....I am just not quite there yet. All in all, it was a very relaxing weekend at the Cromer house. I hope everyone else had a fabulous weekend as well!

****Cheers to a quick week and a return to the weekend!!****

Weekend Update...Easter Style

We had a packed Easter weekend. We went up to hubby C's new graduate school for a tour of the facilities on Friday. We ate breakfast at the Little Bread Company downtown. I was nervous about meeting new people (hubby C's professors), and I ordered a lot of food. It was delicious but way too much. When I sat down at the table, everyone stopped and stared at how much I bought. A chocolate croissant the size of my face and a giant poppy seed bagel. I have a complex about not wasting food...so I tried my best to eat most of it.

While in Fayetteville, I bought some new running shoes! I didn't know we were going shoe shopping, so I was not wearing socks. For some reason, my feet stink REALLY bad when I wear flats. (Must be the lack of socks...) They were having a buy one, get one half off sale. I couldn't pass up a good deal. I went to an area of the store where no one else was shopping and put on one of those panty hose things they have in a Kleenex box. Of course (just my luck) a lady and her daughter walked by and the daughter was like, "Oh God, what is that smell?!" It was my foot. It was worth the embarrassment because I got these awesome shoes! I haven't actually worn them outside because it has been wet and rainy. I will run soon, and I just know I am going to be running much faster. Right?

On Sunday, we had Easter lunch at my husband's grandma's house (Gramelen). I made some sugar cookies and a simple glaze icing. They were delicious. Baby O looked really cute in her Easter dress. She did not like the Easter grass, but she did like playing with the basket.

Me and baby O...

Hope everyone had a fabulous Easter weekend! Cheers to a quick work week!