BEDIM {Day 31}

It's the last day!  I made it...and I only ended up skipping two days!

 

 

Day 31: A vivid memory

 

 

This story took place when I was about 8, which would make my brother 6 years old (older than these pictures show, but it's all I could find!).  We were playing outside, and we wanted in the garage, which was only open about 6 inches.  Sometimes my mom or dad would leave it open just a little so the dog could get in and out.  My brother went to crawl under the door, and I climbed inside my mom's car to get the opener.

 

The garage door was stopped on the way up, so of course when I pressed the button on the opener it closed...while my brother was climbing under it.  It closed on his head, and he was stuck there, laying on the ground with his head being smashed in the garage door.  I promptly opened it back up, and he was able to get out.  He immediately ran crying to my dad inside, who was waiting by the front door for me to come in.  When I saw him waiting there, I ran to the back door.  Probably not such a good idea in retrospect.

 

Everything turned out fine, in case you were wondering.  Andrew was not seriously injured, or injured at all.  To this day, he still tells me that I told him to stick his head under there and that it really did hurt, but I'm not buying it. 

 

As you can see, he (and I) turned out alright...head's not smashed at all!

 

 

 

 

BEDIM {Day 30}

Day 30, Thursday: React to this term: Letting Go

 

 

These are two words that I struggle with every day.

 

"Letting go."

 

I feel like I am in a constant state of stress.  Stressed about getting all of my work done at school.  Stressed about housework.  Stressed about yard work.  Stressed about not getting to do what I want to do, like lay out, garden, cook, exercise, go on dates, spend time with family, take trips, drink wine...the list goes on and on. 

 

I don't even know "real" stress.   I have good health, a great family, great boyfriend, a job, a house to live in.  These are all things that people stress about everyday, and I don't have to worry about any of that. 

 

But I sit hear freaking out because there is this vine-y sh** growing in our landscaping, and I want it gone but haven't had time to get rid of it. 

 

I sit here worrying that I bought an avocado Sunday, and now it's going bad, and I haven't had time to make anything with it.

 

Really?????

 

I struggle with "letting go" of all the little things that don't really matter in life.

 

I have made it my goal this summer, just to enjoy the summer and spend time doing things that I love with the people that I love. 

 

I am 25 and the times are coming when I will no longer be able to take trips all the time and do what I want because I'll be married and have kids.  So really who cares if I have to take off from the salon every other Saturday so that I can go on trips???

 

Not this girl.

 

I am "letting go" and worrying about what really matters. 

 

I feel a summer bucket list coming on...

 

Black Bean and Spinach Enchiladas

Okay seriously...I don't post recipes on here like I used to, but this one was amazing!  A must-post!

 

Black Bean and Spinach Enchiladas
(find the pinned recipe here)

 

They were so good!  When I told Kelly that I was making these, he was not excited about it.

 

"I don't like black beans," he said.

 

"I don't really like cooked spinach," he said.

 

He took one bite and said that it was one of the better meals I had ever made!  ~Brushing the shoulders off~

 

So here's the recipe:

 

 

Ingredients {For the sauce}
3 cups organic low sodium vegetable broth
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. chili powder
Salt/pepper

I actually used store-bought sauce that I found at The Fresh Market.  It was much easier and very good.  I did not feel like messing with all of that!

 

Here is the kind I bought:

 

 

Ready made.  All I had to do was pour it out of the bag!

{For the enchiladas}
15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups corn (I used frozen, thawed)
6 oz. fresh baby spinach
6 green onions, thinly sliced
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
2 tsp. cumin
3 cups shredded 3 cheese blend (or pepper jack, etc.)
8 whole wheat or flour tortillas

 

 

I already had black beans that were leftover from something else.  I already had the frozen and the whole wheat tortillas in the freezer, which made this that much easier!

Directions
Make the sauce: in a saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add tomato paste, flour, 2 tsp. cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and chili powder. Cook 1 minute, whisking. Whisk in broth, bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer, and cook until slightly thickened about 8 minutes. Salt/pepper to taste, and set aside. - Again I skipped this part. 

Saute the spinach in olive oil over medium heat for 1-2 minutes until slightly wilted.
In a large bowl, combine beans, 2 cups cheese, spinach, corn, green onions, 2 tsp. cumin, and cilantro.

 

Preheat oven to 375. Lightly spray a 9x13 inch baking dish, and pour a small amount of the sauce to coat the bottom.
Generously fill tortillas with mixture, roll up tightly with ends tucked in, and place seam side down in dish.
Pour remaining sauce over the enchiladas, coating evenly. Sprinkle 1 cup cheese on top.
Bake about 20 minutes, and garnish with cilantro and/or green onions (optional).

 

 

 

The only thing I would change would be to use two pouches of sauce or reduce the recipe.  It was supposed to make 8 enchiladas, which is already a lot, but I ended up with 10, which is really a lot.  One pouch of sauce would be enough for 1/2 recipe, but if you are making a whole recipe I would use two.

 

 

I served it with lettuce and sour cream, maybe a little ranch if you want, and broccoli with hummus on the side.  Broccoli doesn't really go with this, but we just really like broccoli in this house. 

 

I ended up freezing the leftovers, but I am sure we will be pulling them out soon because it was so good!

BEDIM {Day 29}

Day 29, Wednesday: Five songs or pieces of music that speak to you or bring back memories.

I think this is my favorite one so far!

These are in no particular order.

 

1.  We used to listen to this song with my babysitter.  It was apparently her favorite song because we listened to it all the time.  ( I actually teach her kids now which is kind of funny).  Every time I hear this song (which is only when I look it up because I never hear it otherwise) it takes me back to riding in the car with the windows down and days at the pool.

 

 

2.  This song takes me back to freshman year of college.  I discovered this song while watching The O.C. (you know the episode where Marissa accidently shoots Ryan's brother...y'all know what I am talking about right?).  Well when I came to college, one of the girls down the hall from me, Emily (who is now one of my very best friends), somehow knew this song too, and it bonded our friendship forever.  We still sing it at the top of our lungs every time we are together!

 

 

Oh and thanks to Jason Derulo for completely ruining this song.  It will never be quite the same after that.

3.  This is also an Elyse and Emily song.  We made it our goal to memorize the T.I. rap part.  Then one night we were at a party, playing flippy cup, and this song came on.  All eyes were on us as we song the whole song at the top of our lungs.  Cool kids we were.... 

 

 

4.  Jumping back into high-school...I used to go to Young Life meetings and we would always sing songs at the end of the meeting.   Sounds stupid but it was fun!  This was one of the songs that we always sang...It's actually the theme song from Shrek 2.

 

5.  Back to college...This song was popular when I first became friends with Kelly.  He knew every word to this song, especially the Lil' Wayne part.  This is strange looking back because he never sings songs in the car now... in fact I think this is the only song I have ever heard him sing.   Must have been trying to impress me.  ;-)
 

 

There you have it...my nostalgic trip back to the times where homework was my biggest problem.

Oh and I can't forget this song.  Bonus Track!  This one just makes me smile.  I could listen to it 1,000 times (and probably have) and it never gets old.  When we go to our yearly Dave Matthews concert, this is the song I use to measure whether it was a good concert or not.  If it is played, it's a good one.

 

 

See you tomorrow, only two days left of this link up!

Happy Wednesday!

It's the first Wednesday of summer!  Unfortunately, I have not yet got to spend a summer day at the pool, hopefully soon though! I am linking up with Jamie @ This Kind of Love and What I'm Loving Wednesday and Michelle @ The Vintage Apple and Oh How Pinteresting Wednesday! 

 

I am loving that it is summer!

The second official day in fact (well school-wise anyways). 

Yesterday I spent the day in my classroom (cleaning and organizing) and at the gym, but hopefully I will get to the pool soon!

 

I am loving Stitch Fix!  Spend $20 a month, get cute clothes in the mail, keep what you want and pay the difference!  More on that on another day.

 

I am loving that I bought some vegetables to plant in my little vegetable garden!  More to come on that also.

 

I am loving that Kelly and I are getting to go to so many Otters (our local semi-pro baseball team) games!  Baseball and beer? Don't mind if I do!

 

He sure loves having his picture taken.  He was very proud of himself for having the exact same expression in every picture.

 

I am loving that I had my first sno-cone of the season on Monday...very Memorial Day like!

 

 

Here is what I am loving from Pinterest this week:

(click on the picture to find the original pin)

So cute!

Adult Cherry Limeade...take THAT Sonic!

 

Cute for a BBQ!

 

 

Love this dress!

 

And as always I am loving my life with a cherry on top!

 

Have a great Wednesday!

BEDIM {Day 28}

Day 28:  Only pictures.
 

Just a hodge podge of random pictures.....

 

 

 

 

 

5 for Five Failure.

My weekend of fun is over, and it's time to get back to the real world with Jessica @ Fantastically Average and Jenn @ Party of One!
 

  

Let's see what I accomplished:

  

1.  Put clean clothes away.  Nope.  I started a load of laundry today, but it has not even made it to the dryer yet.

 

2.  Spray/ pull weeds.  Nope.  It rained a lot this weekend so it seemed kind of silly to spray the weeds when it was going to get washed off anyways.

 

3.  Hang décor on walls.  Nope.

 

4.  Get one DIY project done.  Nope.

 

5.  Order part for the grill.  Nope.  I did look up the parts online, but I still have to call the place.  They are only open until 5:00 on Mon.-Fri. which does not fit into my schedule very well.

 

Seriously, I suck.  What happened to this week?

 

Better luck next week!

 

Same goals, same time, same place.

 

BEDIM {Day 24} My faults: Take me or leave me.

Day 24, Friday: Your top 3 worst traits

 

 

1.  I have "disheveled" tendencies.   "Disheveled" is the nice way of saying forgetful and sometimes unorganized.  My dad came up with this term because he is also "disheveled".  It's genetic.  I lose things (like car keys), and I forget to do tasks or forget where I put things.  It is VERY frustrating, and I try to be highly organized by purchasing things to help me stay organized.  Drawers, binders, tubs, baskets, etc.  Siri also reminds me of stuff I have to do every day! 

 

I can't believe I am telling you guys this...Bloggers are supposed to be organized right!?!?

 

2.  I over-commit myself.  Spread myself thin.  I love helping others.  I love working.  I love being on committees.  I love planning and coordinating things. I just love being busy (most of the time).  I have had two jobs since I was a senior in high school, not because I had to, just because I did, still do.  Yesterday I was looking at my calendar, and we have something every weekend until school starts! 

 

3.  I have to be first.  Not like first in line, I'm not five years old, but like first place.  I am highly competitive, not so much in sports, but in life.  I have to be the best dressed.  I have to be the best teacher in my age group (if someone is older then me it doesn't matter so much).  I have to be the best babysitter, best receptionist, have the best and newest stuff that no one else has.  It is exhausting, really.  Kelly makes fun of me so much because of this, but I really can't help it.  Even if I appear to be "not trying", I still am in my head. 

 

Again, I am a little embarrassed to even admit to some of this stuff (especially #1 and #3), but no one is perfect right?

 

BEDIM {Day 23} and Some Good News

Good news first....I got the job!!!!! Praise the Lord I will finally be employed by permanent contract!  That means no more looking for a job unless I want to, which I do not!   I will be staying at the school I am at now and continuing to work as the art teacher!  Words cannot explain the relief and excitement I am feeling....Ahhhhhh.

 

Now to the real reason for today's post:

 

Day 23, Thursday: Things you've learned that school won't teach you

 

 

1.  Greasy food always makes a hangover better.

 

2.  Flushing public toilets with your foot is a must.

 

3.  Skipping coffee in the morning will make you feel like s*** for the rest of the day.

 

4.  How much parents really do help you when you're younger.

 

5.  Teachers probably get more excited about the last day of school than the students do.

 

6.  It's okay to enjoy doing kid activities (like jumping on a trampoline) when your 25.

 

7.  Treat your body nicely.  It's yours forever.

 

8.  Don't stress over little things.  Worry about spending time with your family and friends, not about homework and job stuff.

 

9.  Don't try to be cool.  Just be yourself.

 

10.  Karma is real.

 

These things should definitely be part of the standards!