High Five for Friday

So this week has been super busy.  I've realized working five days instead of four really does take a toll on me and unfortunately the blog has suffered because of it, and the exciting things that usually happen during my week.  This week I had to use items from the weekend before because my week was pretty uneventful.  But either way TGIF.

1.  We went over to our friend's apartment on Sunday evening to watch the Sunday paper view of WWE Wrestling.  Kara and I were curious if those lock holds were really effective as they were shown on TV, so Danny and Chad showed us how painful these lock holds were.  I tapped out immediately.  Kara was braver than I was as shown in this picture I captured.
2.  Over the weekend, my parents came up from Columbus to visit us and we had such a great time playing Euchre and Trivial Pursuit.  I usually am not very good at Trivial Pursuit because my mom, dad, and Danny are all trivia maniacs, but I was surprised with how many questions I did get right.  It was a lot of fun and we shared a lot of laughs.  I can't wait for the holidays with everyone.
3.  Danny and Chad went to Monday Night RAW in Cleveland.  They are huge wrestling fans and they were excited that they were in town this week.  I did not capture this picture, so I have to give photo cred to Danny.
4.  While Danny was occupied with wrestling on Monday night, Yogi and I had a Puppy/Mommy bonding night where we watched our typical teen pregnancy shows like every Monday night and then went to bed, exciting I know.
5.  My in-laws came down from Pennsylvania to have dinner with us and my parents this weekend.  They always bring Yogi a new toy (he is spoiled, I know) and they always bring a toy for the cats too so they don't feel left out!  They brought this electronic toy that plays with the kitties and they loved it!

Hope everyone is had a good week.  As always, I'm linking up with Lauren.

High Five for Friday

Happy Friday friends! So today marks my first official real Friday (I usually work Sundays through Wednesdays).  This week was my first week working Monday through Friday permanently.  It's hard to believe I finally have a normal schedule and I could not be happier.  Danny and I will have the same schedule for the first time, so it will be nice to be able to spend time with each other all weekend as opposed to part of it.  This weekend we have my parents coming to stay with us and I could not be more excited!  I miss my parents a ridiculous amount and I am so happy to have them here with us this weekend.  Now on to High Five for Friday!

1. Danny and I went to our local bar to watch our favorite teams that aren't so local.  Our teams are far away, so we have to go to a bar to watch them, but we made a day of it and dragged our friends along too.

2.  I went to Target to go grocery shopping this week.  It's the second week of our meal planning and it's going great.  I even made a spreadsheet with the various grocery stores around us and the prices of each item we buy. So far, Target is by far the cheapest and I have really enjoyed shopping there.  They also have a Gardein section which is a form of fake meat which I discovered on our trip to Denver.  I was unable to eat it in Denver, but if I prepare it myself, I might trust it more.  I will have to try it out soon.

3.  This post needed two pictures of some very adorable kitties.  I am cat sitting these adorable babies, Lily and Daisy.  We like to joke that they are Rosie's long lost sisters because they all three look the same and they are all named after flowers.  I have so much fun with these babies and they remind me of how amazing it is to have a kitten.

4.  This week I gave blood for the first time in a few years.  It was also special to me because the blood drive was on 9/11.  With all of the thoughts and memories of that horrid days, it felt great to make a difference, hence the sticker I received.

5.  I don't talk about work a lot on my blog, but I work for a company that loves insurance and has a crazy spokesperson named Flo.  Like I mentioned before, I started my Monday through Friday shift for the first time in three years and was officially named Lead of my team this week.  I am so excited to have this opportunity to expand my skills and pursue an important step for my career.

Hope everyone had a great week!

High Five for Friday

I apologize for all of the food in this post.  I find myself taking lots of pictures of food throughout the week and then when it's time to put together my High Five for Friday post, I only have food pictures to show for it.  Danny and I are on a plane to Denver right now for our labor day weekend plans, so confession time, I wrote this post a day early on Thursday. Sorry friends.

1. Yankee Candle finally got to me and Danny this week with their fall collection.  Fall candles are probably my favorite for the amazing scents and because I get so excited for fall after summertime. This spiced pumpkin candle was perfection as we wound down from a busy work day this week.

2. Danny and I went to Burger-Fi this week.  Burger-Fi has healthy alternative options to the typical, greasy burgers you can find at fast food joints.  They have a great veggie burger and have an option called, "green style" which means instead of a bun you can get crisp lettuce.  It was delicious and I highly recommend it.

3.  Teddy in the laundry hamper while I was doing laundry this week.  Need I say more?

4. I made fruit salad this week and we discovered Moscato grapes.  I've always loved the taste of sweet Moscato wine, so these grapes resembled the same great taste.

5.  The Target down the street from us is now a super Target.  We went there for the first time this week and I stumbbled across these amazing little healthy desserts.  They're raspberry dark chocolate yogurt for 100 calories.  They are so good and the perfect snack for my work week.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! Can't wait to recap the fun weekend ahead on Monday.

High Five for Friday

This Friday I'm up early.  The dog woke me up to go outside at 4:30 am and I could not go back to sleep since I usually wake up around 4:30 am during the work week.  I'm hoping for a nap later today.  Hope everyone had a good week, now onto High Five for Friday

.
1.  Danny and I had a nice brunch on Sunday at one of our favorite resturants, Manhatten Bar and Grille.  Since I had the day off, it was a good opportunity to sit and enjoy a nice meal with Danny.  He even let me sit outside for once, he usually doesn't like to sit outside because he gets too hot. We are complete opposites in that respect.  Plus, I need to take advantage of each nice day in Cleveland before it starts to snow again.
2.  I dusted off my GMAT prep book this week.  I have a big decision in my future as far as career goals and where I want to be with my career, so grad school has been on the brain.  I've always wanted to get my masters which is why I bought this book back in 2011.  I need to evaluate my options and see what's best for me before I decide on my next step.
3.  I snapped this shot of Danny and Rosie cuddling this week.  Rosie is usually anywhere that the computer is (as she stares at me while I type this).  Danny says he enjoys football season with Rosie because he will always have the computer on to keep track to fantasy football scores and she will sit with him all day while he is on the computer.
4. Yesterday, I went shopping with a friend and we stopped by Moochie & Co.  I, of course had to spoil my puppy with some new toys, but I also came across this car magnet and had to have it.  I came home with it and Danny was jealous that I didn't get him one.
5.  Danny and I went to the famous Melt Bar and Grilled last night.  It's one of our favorite Cleveland resturants and it's most famous for being on Man vs. Food.  They have amazing grilled cheese sandwiches with anything and everything you can imagine on it.  Some things you wouldn't think go together, but they turn out very good.  I get the same thing pretty much everytime, Big Popper.  Its jalapenos, cream cheese, cheddar cheese and then deep fried with mixed berry preservatives for dipping.  I didn't say anything about it being healthy, but it is very delicious!

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

High Five for Friday

I'm still winding down from last weekend and trying to get back in my normal routine.  Yogi lost his manhood got neutered yesterday and I pick him up today.  I don't know why, but I actually missed that little runt.  Whenever I go somewhere, no one follows me.  It's too quiet when I sleep, there's no panting puppy.  I didn't think I would miss him for just a day, but I definitely do and I can't wait to take him home today.  Now on to High Five for Friday...   

1.  I bought flowers at Heinen's this week.  I love having fresh flowers on my kitchen table.  Since it feels like Spring is winding down, its nice to get flowers before there won't be anymore like them until next year.

2.  My work challenge has officially started this week.  I received my (free) pedometer in the mail and started keeping track of my steps.  I gave myself a goal of 10,000 steps a day which I've heard is a good goal and I actually have to try to get that many steps.  This was my pedometer from Tuesday.  Its easier to get the steps when I have a 5K race on Saturday and I take it with me on my run!

3.  After watching the documentaries last month with Danny, I've been trying to give up coffee.  I can't drink it black, so I overload it with so many artificial sweeteners and creamer that it's not too good for me. I also want to be able to caffeinate myself naturally.  I don't like relying too heavily on coffee to wake me up in the morning.  It's been going really well so far.  I've cut down my normal once a day coffee to now only once a week.  Its a good start for me and having a Starbucks actually in my office building doesn't make it easy, so I'm happy with my progress.  I feel more naturally energized and I have been drinking more natural teas in the morning to wake myself up.

4.  Wednesday was the first time I wore my jacket to work.  It seems to be getting more and more chilly here and I had to keep myself warm (I admit that I had been wearing sweaters to work prior to this point).  I love fall, but I'm sad to see summer go.  All that money we invested in the pool, will no longer be used and I know I will miss summer so much when winter hits and the snow gets here.  

5.  I was blogging yesterday and discovered I had a following... a following of kitties.  I think they like having their baby brother in the puppy hospital. 

Hope you had a good week!

H54F

Today I actually set an alarm and its my weekend, this rarely happens.  I'm only up right now because we are getting ready to take off for the weekend to Put-in-Bay! We are very excited and can't wait to see what this weekend entails.  For now, on to High Five for Friday!

1. We FINALLY got Yogi in the pool! After much hesitation and three of us forcing him in, he finally caved.  I convinced Danny that he is only going to get BIGGER so we should try to get him used to the pool now while we can still carry him! He did very well for his first "swim", the rest of escaped with minimal scratches.

2. There was a sale at Heinen's this week for chia seeds.  After watching our documentaries on healthy eating, I had heard the words, "chia seeds" in pretty much all of them.  The bag makes them sound too good to be true (they call them super seeds!) so I'm hoping all this chia seed eating will pay off.

3. I took Yogi to the vet this week to get a Bordetella shot.  Unfortunately, Yogi's not coming to Put-In-Bay with us and we've decided to board him.  I have to drop him off this morning and I'm not sure how that's going to go.  I feel like a mom on the first day of school, but I have to leave him for 3 whole days!!! I'm going to miss my baby.  Side note: I think his ears keep growing, so I'm not sure if his body will ever catch up, the proof is in the picture.

4. We had our neighbors/friends, Doug and Melissa over for dinner last night.  They are getting married in 1 month and we can't wait to witness their big day! I had given Melissa my recipe for BBQ chicken pizza at her shower, so I decided to make it for them.  Melissa loves kitties as much as I do and even has two little ones of her own (they truly are "little ones", Daisy is still a kitten!).  Whenever Melissa comes over, she loves playing with Rosie and I snapped this picture after they left.  Rosie was exhausted from all the excitement.  Happy kitty dreams.

5. I went to Charming Charlies this week and found this great necklace.  I can spend hours upon hours in that store and still come out with a neutral colored necklace.  I even tried to tell myself not to, but I can't get past the fact that black and white go with EVERYTHING! Hopefully one day I will be more bold in my jewelry selection, but it just didn't happen for me yesterday.

Have you ever tried chia seeds?

Have you ever had to board your pet?

Do you purchase colorful jewelry or stay safe with neutral colors?

High Five For Friday

Happy Friday friends and happy August! Time flies so quickly these days.  I have a jam packed day filled with friends and wine! We are going to the wine festival tonight which is something I look forward to every year.  Hope everyone is having a great Friday, now on to High Five For Friday!

Yogi's picture on the Pet Training Graduates Wall!

1. We went to Petsmart this week to finish up Yogi's last classes since we missed a few.  He learned so much and he is still doing really well.  Since technically his 6 week program ended last week, this week his picture was on the graduate board in the training center! We are such proud puppy parents!

Our Team for Ready, Set, Go 2013!

2. At work this week, there were sign ups for a program called Ready, Set, Go 2013 through Get Active Progressive.  My work does a lot of neat things to motivate their employees to stay heathly and this is one of them.  Starting August 12th, I will compete with members of my team on number of steps, percentage of weight lost, and minutes exercised per week.  This is a friendly competition to get everyone fit and heathly, and boy do I love competition! I created a team and invited my team members to participate with me and everyone I asked, joined in! I can't wait to see what happens in the next few weeks, plus I can't wait to get my FREE pedometer in the mail this week!

3. It is officially August! I made these cute little calenders for Christmas for Danny and I had to have one too! We both keep them at work and it makes me smile at our memories of last year together.  The picture featured for August was taken at our Engagement BBQ we had at Danny's parents house shortly after we got engaged.

Me and Rosie.

4. I swear whenever I have the day off, I am surrounded by two cats and a dog.  As anti-social as the cats can be, I notice when they miss me which is always nice! This is me and Rosie hanging out on Thursday and Teddy happen to be on my lap when this was taken.

Me and Ashleigh.

5. Danny and I went with our friends, Ryan and Ashleigh to a single A baseball game for the Lake County Captains.  It was thirsty thursday and they had 25 cent beer....I love minor league baseball! It was so much fun and I even got a baseball (I didn't catch it, but we were sitting by the scouts, so one of them gave it to me!).  More on this to come!

High Five for Friday

I had a great week this week.  I apologize for all of the food pictures in this post! I guess we did a lot of home cooking/eating this week!

1.  Danny and I netflixed a few documentaries on healthy eating this week.  Now that its been 4 months after the wedding, we needed a push to get back into the healthy lifestyle that we had before the wedding.  One of my favorite documentaries is Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead which follows a man on his journey of going on a "Juice Fast" for 60 days.  This was Danny's first time watching the documentary and now we are beginning our Juice Journey.  We're not going crazy or anything like a juice fast, but we want to try incorporating it into our daily diet.  On Wednesday, Danny grabbed a juice for a snack, it was juiced carrots and apples.

2.  Continuing on with the theme, I made pasta with sun dried tomatoes and asparagus (I added chicken for Danny's).  It was my first time cooking and eating asparagus and I really enjoyed it.

3. I packed my lunch a lot this week and a favorite is this salad.  It had spinach and something new for me, chick peas! I've discovered chick peas more recently for salads because I used to eat them as falafel, but I never really had them raw.  They are very good, although I have to limit my intake since they still carry calories (darn).

4. We headed to puppy class this week as our 6 and final week! He learned so much and we are very proud of puppy especially when he didn't make Mommy and Daddy look like fools in class!  We are so happy he graduated and got his own certificate!  It's hanging on our fridge now! (Can you blame us? We don't have children.)

5.  I had dinner with my friend, Kara this week! Her husband Chad is in Colorado for work so we had a great Mexican dinner and of course margaritas at one of my favorite local restaurants.

Hope everyone had a good week!  I'm linking up with Lauren Elizabeth for High Five for Friday.

High Five For Friday

Happy Friday! I am currently at home packing for our weekend at the lake! I can't wait to bring Yogi up to the lake to spend time with us, his Grandparents as well as his aunt and uncle doggies.  Yogi loves playing with other dogs even when they don't want to play with him!  Now onto High Five for Friday!

1. On Sunday, Danny and I went to our friend's place for a WWE paperview.  My friend, Kara's husband and Danny love to watch wrestling.  I'm relieved that Danny has found someone to watch wrestling with besides me! And I love seeing Kara and spending time with her and her husband, Chad.  On Sunday, Kara cooked so many yummy goodies for the paperview.  One of these yummy treats was Oreo Truffles! They were so good, I need to get the recipe!
2. I came home from work on Monday to find our dog like this.  His crate is usually in the dining room which as you can see is a whole 15 feet from where I found him.  We've figured out that Yogi likes to try and "hulk" out of his crate and since it's on the laminate floors, he usually travels. Silly puppy!
3. We spent a lot of time outside after work this week.  I snapped this photo on Tuesday of the light coming through the trees in the evening.  I love spending evenings in the backyard, unless its 90 degrees outside!
4. Speaking of spending time outside this week, Danny and I enjoyed a nice meal outside since we just received our new outdoor tables.  I had a glass table top from our apartment and my dad gave us the great idea of putting it on our deck (since our deck is pretty small).  It worked out perfectly for just the two of us on a weekday night!
5. I had a doctors appointment this week near downtown.  Parking was ridicolous so I had to park on the top of the parking garage.  As soon as I got out of my car, I saw the Cleveland skyline.  I love the skyline and this view made me smile.

I'm linking up with Lauren for High Five For Friday!

H54F: 7/12/2013

Today I get to spend the day with my dad! We have a whole day of swimming and exploring Cleveland planned and then the Indians game tonight!

On to High Five for Friday....

1.  I made Danny Taco Salad with Chicken for dinner on Sunday and it was so good he made it for us for dinner again on Wednesday! We had so many ingredients left over from our fourth of July party that this was an easy week night dinner with very little planning.

2.  I was in training for work this week and I felt like I was in school again.  It was a Relational Data Concepts class which mirrored a class I took in college.  I liked switching up my week and doing something different.  I really enjoyed the class and it was a good end to the work week.

3.  This was a picture taken of me and Yogi this week! He is growing up so fast and even though he looks like a huge dog in this picture, he is still only 35 lbs.

4.  Danny and I went to Winking Lizard for dinner on Thursday for happy hour drinks.  It was such a great day we were able to sit outside and enjoy a great evening. 

5.  Danny and I headed up to the lake on Tuesday night to visit his parents at their lakehouse.  Danny's uncle, aunt, and cousin were visiting so we were able to eat dinner and see them while they were in town.  I was able to head back up to the lake on Thursday while Danny was at work and see this beautiful view while having lunch with my in-laws on the lake! I also got to go kayaking around the lake which was so much fun! We already have plans to go back next weekend to visit them and do some more kayaking!

H54F: Fourth of July Week

Happy Friday everyone!  Today is especially nice for me since I get to spend it with my husband.  He has the day off after the holiday!

I am linking up with Lauren Elizabeth for High Five For Friday!

1. On Monday night, I decided to cook my favorite Chili recipe.  Even though it's summer, I still enjoy this warm, hearty meal.  With only four ingredients and a handful of spices, it makes for an easy weekday dinner!

2. Danny and I spent time in the man cave watching RAW this week.  I am slowly getting used to watching wrestling with him.  Marriage is all about compromise, right?

3. Danny and I made a quick trip to the store one night and came home to this image.  The cats are usually not allowed on any kind of table, so to come home to them like this was funny to us.  We were able to snap this pic before they realized they weren't supposed to be on the table.

4. This is Yogi and I before everyone arrived at our house for our Fourth of July party.  We were sitting on the hammock in our backyard.  He is starting to get used to it and I like spending time cuddling with him on our hammock.

5. We bought a flag and some other patriotic decorations for the Fourth of July party.  I am so glad we have a U.S. flag now that we can put up on our flag pole!