2011 NYR's and their progress

1. less soda/coffee/caffeine
Eh, not so much. In fact, I think I've increased the coffee by 3.

2. stop saying "like" so much

I'm pretty sure this one was a success.

3. start my flipping business already(which needs a new name)
Yeah, that didn't happen. The stress of possibly moving kept us up in the air and I couldn't do it.

4. write a new knitting pattern every week
This didn't happen. I did write a few though, which is better than none.

5. get a REAL website for my knitting stuff with adverts and all that jazz.
This didn't happen. I did set up an etsy shop though. I've made 1 sale.

6. start treating my body like I'm going to be getting pregnant (because when I was doing that last time I felt wonderful all the time!)
This didn't happen.I tried.

7. keep the kitchen table cleaned off
This got a lot better.

8. figure out where to move!
We have a pretty good idea about where we want to move, and where we should move. which are different places.

9. make millions of dollars by playing the lottery...pwahahaha. ok, jk.
ha. the lottery. lame.

10. potty train Vi!! (yikes, scary)
THIS DEFINITELY HAPPENED!!! WOOOOOO!

11. possibly join a running team (those cost money though...)
 Another one I couldn't do based on us possibly moving.

12. join a gym? I dunno. Still skeptical about those things...and they're dirty. yuck.
Even better, we just bought an Xbox Kinect! I started Lindsay Brin's bootcamp and did P90x a couple times. 

13. try not to be so sensitive.
 I'd have to say this one went pretty well. I'll always be sensitive though. I think the problem is other people realizing that I'm sensitive.

14. try to look for the good in people.
I'm definitely getting better at this. I think this is one I"ll learn with age. 

15. try not to over think peoples actions/comments
This one, which goes hand in hand with the last 2, was a problem. People suck. And I need to deal with that. 

16. keep up with the 5 new recipes a month(cuz that one rocked!)
 This one I didn't do for most of the year because of Violet's terrible food eating habits. But for the past few months I've been trying different things. I have a bunch of new spices in my cabinet as proof. 


All in all, I'd say I did fairly well. Considering there are 16 resolutions here and I completed a few of them. Its better than having a small list and not completing any! So this year I've learned to make my NYR list bigger than I could imagine, knowing that there's no way I could possibly finish it, and being content with finishing only a few. 

Time to make my 2012 NYR list.

Chinese Spaghetti and Meatballs

http://rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=4271
Here is Rachael Ray's recipe. I sort of used it. but not really. Here's what I did, following her steps basically the same...

IN A BOWL:
1lb ground chicken
salt and pepper
chinese five spice
grated: onion, ginger root & garlic
handful of breadcrumbs(I had Italian and couldn't tell)
1 egg yolk
sesame oil drizzle

Mix these ingredients and roll in to small balls.
Bake at 400F for 15-18 minutes (until center registers at 165F..because they will cook in the soup too)

IN A POT:
veg oil drizzle
1 leek
1 carrot
5 ginger slices (coins)
Chili Pepper flake

saute these up for a few minutes until soft

ADD IN POT:
3 C water
3 C chicken stock
1/4 C low sodium soy sauce
1/2lb wide lo mein noodles

cook until noodles are soft.
Add in chicken meatballs and serve. (maybe keep a kleenex near by, because you will cry when you taste how good this is...ok not really, but its pretty good!)

Twenty-Eleven Will Cost Us Thousands.

Justin and I are working on a plan to spend as much money as possible pay our credit card debt off, fix up our house so we can put it up for a sale within the next twelve months, eat MUCH more healthy (like when I was pregnant), join a gym and build muscle mass and get Violet involved in some activities with other children her age so she can get used to "mean" kids before school starts. (Because there are some MEAN kids out there. Thanks bad parenting)

Hopefully everything will fall into place, though I am expecting to have some rough patches. (like the summer when Justin doesn't get Webster money)

So, if we tell you we're going to stay home and all that..dont be offended, we're spending thousands of dollars that we usually leave for fun weekend stuff/eating dinner out.


Our goal is to move the hell out of this neighborhood/house within 1 year. I really wanted to move out at year 5, and we've just hit year 6 this month! :( I can wait another year if it means we'll make more on the house at the sale and so we can pay off more credit card debt.

A small list of things we need to do to fix the house, that we're willing to have help on if you want to:

Fix the stairs/top part of our back deck
Seal the outside basement walls of the house
Seal the inside basement walls
paint the basement floor

touch up (paint) the whole house
make-over the bathroom
fix the back door and frame
fix the broken front window
replace the fascia around the house
trim some big branches of the tree
remove the swing set
get our ducts cleaned
maybe replace carpet? (we're debating on this one)

haha, did I say SMALL list? Yeah, this is why its going to take us a year. And we're still talking about everything that needs to be done. Oh well, one small step for this house gets us into a better school district! :) and Violet's education is worth it!

So, once again, if anyone wants to help us out let me know! We plan on fixing up the bathroom first, which should be pretty easy/quick. (provided there isn't too much mold in the walls)

So, that's what's up. for now.

Spinach Artichoke Chicken Alfredo Bake

Spinach Artichoke Chicken Alfredo Bake

1 box noodles (macaroni or penne); cooked and drained

EVOO

Medium onion; chopped

A few cloves of garlic; chopped

2T flour

1C chicken stock

2C milk

1 box frozen spinach; thawed and drained

1box frozen artichoke hearts; thawed and drained

S&P

Nutmeg

3C cheese (whatever….I used Mozzarella feel free to use combinations!)

1lb Cooked & cubed chicken

1.  cook onion and garlic in a little olive oil until soft

2. add 2T of olive oil and 2T flour (let cook for a minute)

3. whisk in  1C chicken stock

4. whisk in 2C milk

5. Add in spinach, artichokes, chicken cubes and S&P and nutmeg to taste.

6. Melt in 2 C Cheese

7. Add sauce to noodles in a 13x9 casserole (or slightly bigger, if you can)

8. sprinkle 1C cheese on top and bake at 350F until cheese is brown.

**this is based off of Rachael Ray's Spinach Artichoke Mac N Cheese. (its just a cheaper version...)

Resolutions

I haven't decided on any resolutions, and frankly I'm just too busy right now to really think about it, so here is quickly put together list.

So, my "goals" for this year are:

1. Get the whole family eating healthy again

2. Find a better job

3. Be happy

4. Grow another 6" of hair

5. Drink more water


1-3 are the most important things to me this year. Last year Justin and I started eating like crap again, I never started my business and I was depressed all year. MUST END!!

I can also admit, there were days that I didn't even have so much as a sip of water because I drank so much coffee/tea/soda. bleck.

So, lets go ahead and change that and get back into health!

I didn't add exercise because I really dont want that to be a "resolution" I want it to just be a lifestyle choice. Though, I do need to get back in the swing of pilates because I've been having major neck/back issues this year.

So, Cheers to 2011! Please OH Please, bring me some happiness!