Too Red??

Got my hair done today...my aim was for red-brown highlights more towards the dark brown kind with a hint of red. Well, it turned out more as red-red, which I've had before, so it's not a huge deal...but still not really what I wanted. Ah well, I guess the good/bad thing about red... it fades fast, so it doens't matter too much that I'm not in love with it.

Before:

After:

What do you think? Too red? Or ok?

30 day shred

Ok so I'm SICCCCKK of complaining, SICK of not feeling good about how my clothes fit, and SICK of my excuses for not eating as well as I should or not going to the gym.

SO...

On Monday, November 1st I will be starting this insane 30-day shred program by Jillian Michaels. I have heard several things about it before, and was reminded again of it when Erin had mentioned it.




Well I was at Target today, saw the DVD on sale for $10.00 and thought why the hell not...I need to get off my bum and do something!!

Well after seeing multiple before and afters (see here, here, and here) and reading up on how this program works, I'm convinced.

November 1st is the big day! I thought it would be nice to start on the first of the month as a fresh beginning. I will be taking measurements the night before and tracking my progress through this insane program. I will be honest and post my true feelings, so beware of my venting, whining, or nay-saying. I will do this!! If anyone wants to join me, let me know...I could always use a wing-man! (can you have a workout-wingman? Or does that only apply to men who need a friend to help them pick up chicks? Ah well, I'm using it anyways).

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In other news, it was my 3 year anniversary with Dan this past weekend. We went to the melting pot (where we had our first date), played mini-golf, and went to see Jackass 3D (soo funny!). Overall, a great weekend. :)

Now....on to bed. Have a great Monday tomorrow everyone! :)

Recipe: Mediterranean Dip

I'm making this tomorrow for our school's "Munchie Lunchie." It's basically a pot-luck all day lunch made by and eaten by the staff and faculty.

I haven't tried it yet, but I have high hopes!! **Note to reader: I love ANYTHING that's greek/mediterranean styled/involves feta. So it's a no-brainer...it's going to be DELICIOUS!





Prep. Time: 10 min
Total Time: 10 min
Makes: 1-1/2 cups or 12 servings, 2 Tbsp. each

What You Need
1 pkg. (8 oz.) Philadelphia Neufchatel Cheese, softened
1/2 cup chopped seedless cucumbers
1/2 cup Athenos Basil & Tomato Crumbled Feta Cheese
1 plum tomato, chopped
2 Tbsp. finely chopped red onion
2 Tbsp. Kraft Greek Vinaigrette Dressing
1/2 cup chopped spinach

Make It
Spread Neufchatel onto bottom of 9-inch pie plate.
Mix remaining ingredients except for feta cheese; spoon over Neufchatel.
Sprinkle feta on top.
Serve with Wheat Thins or assorted cut-up fresh vegetables.

Double Post Day! Happy Hour Time!

So I'm hosting a Fall Happy Hour at my house this Friday for my work friends and I'm super excited about it! I LOVE hostessing and entertaining!

Here's what's on the menu so far:

*Buffalo Chicken Dip with Chips

*Veggie Tray with Ranch

*Fruit Salad - grapes, bananas, watermelon, strawberries, blueberries

*Pasta Salad- pasta, balsamic vinagrette, celery, olives, tomatoes

*Spinach Dip in Bread Bowl with pieces of bread to dip

*Cucumber Cream Cheese bites (it's a piece of pumpernickel bread with this italian seasoning/cream cheese mix on top with one slice of cucumber...so delish)

*Cheese/Crackers/Pepperoni

*Hummus and Pita Bread

*Possible Deviled Eggs if I have enough room in the fridge

*Bowls of Mixed Nuts

*Tzatsiki Sauce with pretzel chips

*Pumpkin Bread

*Brownies for dessert (possibly cupcakes too)

*Beer, Wine, and a non-alcoholic punch made with sprite and some different fruit juices

I'm so excited!! I'm going to be cooking a lot of this on Thursday night and I actually took a half day on Friday to go home and get it all ready before they come over right after school!

Mmmm it's going to be soo good!! :)

It's been a while!

Ok, I'm still alive! I've just been crazy busy! But I've been having fun too, so it's cool. :)

My birthday was awesome! I had some great family time and some time with my best friends as well. Georgetown cupcakes made a delicious apperarance, as well as Maggiano's wonderfully italian food. :) Here are just a few of the awesome gifts that I received:

Hand-Stamped Teacher Necklace from Etsy :)

Wooden Love Sign <3

A fabulous dress that I ended up wearing to Amy's Wedding

Some fantasticly bright stud earrings from my favorite Etsy Shop


So all in all, it was a great birthday!!

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In other news, the working out early just doesn't work for me. It's too hard and if anything it makes me less motivated. So I'm just going to have to figure it out in the evenings. Which I have been doing pretty regularly lately. I'm still going to my Pilates classes and although I missed the last 2, I will continue going to the Zumba classes. I've also been working out at the gym here and there as well. :)

Hope all is well with you all!

The Big 2-5!

So I turn 25 tomorrow! Woo! I'm excited about my birthday. I tease my co-workers about how I'm getting "old" but I really don't feel like it. I'm really not worried about it at all and I think that age is really how you feel. I still feel like I'm 18 in some respects, so it's whatever.

Dan will be home this weekend, which I'm really happy about! I haven't seen him in almost a month! He has Monday off, so I took a half day so we can have breakfast together and just have a few more hours together before he goes back to VA Beach.

School has been really busy lately. I feel less stressed about it than last year, but I'm still busy all the time. Ah, well. I'm still enjoying it so I guess that's what counts.

Anyways, I'm off to bed. I don't know why, but I just can't get enough sleep lately!! I'm counting on some seeerrriiouuusss sleeping in this weekend!

Have a great rest of the week!

Early Mid-Life Crisis??

So lately, I feel as though I'm constantly thinking of the things that I have always wanted to do, but have yet to do so far. I'm thinking about several things all at once, and it makes me wonder if in the back of my mind, it's because I know I'm getting older and sooner or later I will get to the point where doing some of these things won't be possible anymore...so I should just do them now.

What things you ask? Well, I just so happened to make a collage to showcase a few of them...

1. Buy myself an awesome diamond necklace. I've never really bought myself something really nice, and I've always thought that it would just be nice to be able to do that for myself. I'm in the market for a heart necklace (big surprise!). For those of you who don't know, I am all about heart jewelry. I'm not really sure why, but hearts have just always been my thing. I've found a possible winner, but I'm still on the lookout for something amazing. I'll probably be doing that in the next month or so as my birthday gift to myself. :)

2. Take a dance class again. I have been dancing all of my life!! I took ballet classes when I was younger, jazz classes as I got older, dance in high school, joined a company in college, and continued dancing through theatre throughout high school and college. I miss it! I miss stretching every day, learning new combinations, working on form, performing...all of it! I've looked into taking classes at HCC before, and I think I may start looking again for this Spring. It's just something that I really want to do again. Last Spring I took a Hip Hop class with a friend through Parks and Rec. That was fun, but I really miss the authenticity of taking a class at a dance studio.

3. Get a tattoo. I've talked about this before, and it's still on my mind constantly. I'm not sure exactly when I will be doing this, but it is for sure now, and will most likely happen before the end of the year.

4. Learn how to play the acoustic guitar. It's just a cool thing to know how to do!! I have always been interested in music (I played the flute in band for 9 years) and the guitar is such a laid back-have-fun kind-of instrument.

5. Learn how to do a back walk-over and/or back handspring. Ok, I know this sounds odd, but when I was younger, I LIVED to do gymnastics. My parents couldn't afford the classes, so I was never really in gymnastics classes, but I practiced and pretended as though I was every day outside in our backyard. I would do round-offs, cartwheels, splits, and of course land with my arms in the air and a smile on my face just like the pros. BUT I never quite learned how to do a backwards walk-over and I've always wanted to!! A back handspring would be even more awesome, but I think for right now a back walk-over would be more realistic. (Google them if you're not sure what I'm talking about, there is a difference). I can already get into a bridge from standing up, so I'm half-way there. PLUS the music teacher at my school is a gymnastics teacher and she said she could help me (yes, I actually asked her...I'm serious about all of this stuff, people!). I'll keep you updated on my progress.

6. Learn how to line dance. I already know a few dances, but I SO want to be one of those people who just walk into a line dancing bar and just chime in oh-so-effortlessly. There's a place around here that gives lessons once a week, and my roomie and I have been talking about going here and there to brush up on our skills.

7. Take a cruise! This plan is already into action. Dan and I are planning on taking a cruise for our 3 year anniversary (which is 18 days from now!) in the Spring, during my Spring Break for school. We plan on going to the Western Caribbean. I can't wait!!

8. Learn how to play the piano. I never had much interest in the piano when I was younger, UNLESS my grandfather was playing. He was the most amazing pianist. He played the piano for 2 hours a day since he was 5 years old, played in all of these well-known concerts, played with jazz bands, etc. It was awesome. Since he passed, I've missed hearing the piano. I'm very intrigued by it and I really think it would be great to play. Dan is interested as well, and we have even talked about having a piano in our house one day to encourage our curiosity. :)

9. Travel the world! Ok, so this goal won't happen overnight. BUT I would like to start somewhere! Other than Canada, I have never been out of the country!! And as far as this country goes, I have only ever been on the East Coast! I personally feel that that is sad! I need to see the world! I want to taste new foods, experience new culture, meet new people, speak new languages and just live! I'm sure my cruise in April will give me the travel bug and influence me to start planning more trips. Europe is most-likely my next out-of-this-country stop. As far as within the U.S., I have been wanting to go to California to visit some family as well as travel through wine country, so maybe that will be my next US trip.

Well, that's it for now. I know there's more, but I tried to keep it to 9 (mostly because that's how many collage pictures I had, lol).

Do you have a yearning to do something special anytime soon?