Monday, August 29, 2011

A Helpful Tip

Have you ever tried to wash pillows but once the process was through they ended up completely deformed and lumpy?
Well have I got a SOLUTION for you!

When looking at the care instructions for some of our bedroom pillows, it had a piece of information I would have never thought of.
It said to dry our pillows with some clean TENNIS BALLS!



I was a little skeptical that it would work and was afraid that the green from the tennis ball might rub off on my white pillows, but let me tell you...I WAS WRONG!

After washing my two pillows, I grabbed my three tennis balls I had from when Andrew and I attempted to play tennis (haha) and just threw them right in the dryer along with the pillows. 

My pillows finished drying, and I pulled them out...THEY ARE GOOD AS NEW!


I don't see any green stains and no pillow lumps are there.

I'm so glad that I found this tip and can't wait to see if it works on all our pillows!
The only negative aspect of this is the noise the tennis balls make in the dryer, however I think it's all worth it if
there are no more lumpy pillows for the Lawrences!

Friday, August 26, 2011

One DESIRABLE Husband

So I've recently found out about the STATS button on Blogger.
Maybe you've seen it here?:


This little button is AWESOME and tells you a TON about your blog.
It tells you how many people are visiting your blog, how they are finding your blog, what they are reading, etc.

I LOVE that they have this option because I always thought no one read my blog, but it turns out, people just don't comment!
I know we all love comments, but at least it's nice to know that people are reading, right?!
That's what I keep telling myself.

Anyways, under the stats option you can also find more details about your blog traffic.



If you click "Traffic Sources" and then "All Time," it tells you your "Referring URLs," "Referring Sites," and a very interesting "Search Keywords."
Now I'm not too sure how the last one works... I can only assume that it takes searches through Google and other search engines and tells you what people searched when they found your blog.
Here is where I don't know if I should be flattered I have a HOT husband or worried I have competition.
You see, my top two search keywords are:


That means at least 21 people (and that's only what the site TRACKS) are wondering if Andrew Lawrence is a married man.
Why oh why would someone search this?
Should I be worried?
Either way I guess I have one DESIRABLE man for a husband. ;]

I mean, I already knew that because LOOK at him:


What's not to LOVE?!
I can only assume that many other ladies just want my man as well...that or...

REMEMBER THIS GUY?


Who now looks like this...


I mean I GUESS they may be looking for him?
It's not impossible that they'd want the actor Andrew Lawrence and I guess I shouldn't rule him out...

Either way I know I'm married to one HOT guy and am the luckiest girl in the world, whether they're searching for the hard working roofer, or the child star. ;]

Do you have any funny "search keywords" on your blog?

Thursday, August 25, 2011

The Many Reasons Why I Love You

Each year since we've been together, when Andrew's birthday rolls around, I center his gift around the reasons why I love him.
When we were dating, and planned a trip to Disneyland I told him 22 reasons why I love him and coordinated each reason with parts of his gift.
I got him a few big things and then a lot of his favorites, each with a reason attached.
To better explain myself I'll just show you the pictures:








Everything all wrapped up.


Us at Disneyland!


LOVED those shoes. These pictures definitely are motivation to get skinny again!


My cute hubby (at the time, boyfriend) on his birthday.


Andrew after our fun day, ready to open his gifts at Grandma Lawrence's house in California.

Andrew LOVED his gift and I loved the way it turned out so I decided I wanted to do the same thing on his 23rd birthday.
This time I did 23 reasons why I love my hubby:


Again, I coordinated a reason with each gift.


My cute husband with his gift.


Us at Mt. Charleston for his birthday.

After I had done this gift twice, I knew how much it meant to both of us and that it was really sentimental. I knew that I wanted to continue the tradition when Andrew turned 24 this year, however Andrew's wish list included many more expensive items that would make it hard for me to buy 24 gifts to go with each reason.
After thinking about it, I decided I wanted a way to keep the tradition alive but also make it so Andrew can look at the reasons all year long instead of once on his birthday and then toss out the papers. (I will say that he kept the 22 reasons while we were dating and put them in his house, but once we got married I didn't expect him to display the reasons in his adventure room).

After brainstorming I came up with: "The Many Reasons Why I Love You" book.


I wanted to do a book this year because I figured, no matter what Andrew wants for his birthday I can always tell him how much I love him. Each year I will add one more reason why I love him to the book and re-wrap it and give it to him with the rest of what I give him.

Since many of us are always looking for cute gifts for our significant other, I figured I'd share how I made this with all of you.

If you want to make one of your own, here is what you'll need:
A scrapbook album or photo album of your choice. I chose to use an 8 by 8 album in black that is capable of having more pages added to it.
A couple of pictures (or a lot of pictures if you choose)
Extra sheet protector inserts (and if you're like me and end up buying one with only one extender piece for the scrapbook, you'll need more extenders)
Cute paper
Markers
A paper cutter
24 (or how ever old your spouse is) reasons why you love them. (You could also do this as an anniversary gift and alter it accordingly).

I recommend starting by planning out the reasons you want to say first.
This year I didn't plan out all my reasons before going to Hobby Lobby and instead let the paper influence some of my reasons.
Either way works, and it all depends on how you want to get your book together.
I went to the paper aisle and started looking at the paper they had to offer.
When I saw paper that reminded me of Andrew, I immediately picked it up. I also had a color scheme in mind when shopping and bought cute paper in blacks, creams, and browns so it would all coordinate.
At first I only bought 24 pieces, but then decided it'd be good to already have similar paper on hand for future years, but it's up to you what you'd like to do.
After I picked out my main background paper, I bought a pack of black paper and a pack of neutrals, got the rest of my supplies and headed home.

When I finally started working on the project I started out by cutting each background piece of paper into the appropriate size (in my case it was 8 by 8).
All throughout doing the project I brainstormed the reasons I wanted to mention to Andrew and started planning out how I wanted my book to look.
Once the main pages were cut, I took a coordinating neutral and cut it into a 5 by 5 square.
I then took white paper and cut 24 4 by 4 squares out so I could write my reasons down.

Once all my papers were cut out I sat down to work on writing out my reasons.
I knew I wanted to write them myself to add a personal touch to the book, however typing them would be really cute as well.
I went page by page and used brown and black markers to write my reasons down so everything looked put together.

At first I didn't think I wanted to include any pictures, however as I got going I decided a few pictures here and there would really make the gift more personal so I decided that every 4 or so reasons I would add a picture.
You can add a picture for each reason if you'd like, you'll just have to buy a scrapbook or photo book to accommodate the amount of paper you will be using.


Above is a picture of my supplies and my work station.
Once I had all my pages planned out, cut, and completed, I got out my hot glue gun and got to work finalizing my project.
I took an 8 by 8 paper, and centered a 5 by 5 neutral on top and glued it in place.
I then took a 4 by 4 white piece of paper with my reason already written on it, and centered it and glued it down as well.
Once I hot glued them all together, I put them in my book and started organizing.

It took a few tries, but I finally organized it the way I wanted it and it turned into a book I LOVE.

Here are some pictures of the finished product (not in any order):




Above are some of the examples of pages I did with pictures as well. I wanted the same paper on the reason page as well as the picture page so I had to plan accordingly.


Above is an example of a page with just reasons and no pictures. Some of my paper relates to the reasoning and some was just really cute.


Here is an example of a page I wasn't planning on having a picture with, but decided to add a picture to later. I need to go buy more fish paper and finish the page.



In the book I was sure to leave the blank pages so Andrew knew this was a work in progress.
I told him that each year I would add another reason and keep our tradition going.

Here is the birthday boy with his present:


*Unfortunately this is the only picture from his birthday because my camera is ruined.
Until I get a new one, we'll have to settle with camera phone pictures.*

I love my husband so much and I'm grateful that each year (and every day) I get to remind him how much he means to me and how grateful I am for all he does.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and it inspires you to do a similar project for your loved one.
If you end up doing a similar project, please be sure to share it with me so I can see your cute final projects.

Please see my sidebar to see the many places I linked my project to. You should link up too! :]

Sweet Moments to Remember

My husband is so sweet.
This weekend I was feeling crappy and had horrid cramps.
I told my hubby I wasn't feeling well so he took me home from church after sacrament meeting so I could lay down.
At home I was REALLY wishing we had a heating pad, and of course we didn't but guess who was willing to go buy one?
That's RIGHT! My sweet hubby went to CVS where he got me all that I asked for and rushed home to the rescue.
He gave me the heating pad, tucked me in, and let me sleep the day away.
It was exactly what I needed, and a small, sweet gesture that really meant a lot.

I'm so grateful for my amazing husband and all he does for me.
I couldn't ask for more and am SO thankful I get to spend forever with him.
I LOVE YOU ANDREW LAWRENCE!

What I'm LOVING Wednesday




I'm LOVING that I am so close to having all our laundry DONE! I just have one more load to throw in the washer, and then I'll wash our sheets and trade them out and WOOHOO I'll be done. I guess the sad thing about laundry is no matter what you do, you'll always have SOMETHING in the hamper since you'll have to wash the clothes off your back. Oh well, a girl can try right?

I'm LOVING that I got to spend ALL weekend with my love and celebrate his birthday. We went on two date nights in a row and I just soaked up spending time with him. I LOVE weekends like that.

I'm LOVING that my honey got a lot of gifts he wanted and am loving the gift I made him. 
*Tutorial Soon*

I'm LOVING that I mailed out my Pajama Party invitations and love how they turned out. They are simple but I think they turned out really cute. Here's a picture of one that was left over and not cut out all the way, but you get the idea:


I'm LOVING that along with the laundry, all our dishes are done and put away and I'm finding that working a little EACH night is much easier than waiting a few days for chores. My philosophy is work each night to keep things clean and we'll have a happier, cleaner home. :]

I'm LOVING dreaming about the holidays and decided come mid September...my decorations are going up!

I'm LOVING my wedding photos and need to order some for our house.

And, as always, I'm LOVING my husband and how sweet he is to me.


Monday, August 22, 2011

FREEZING

I LOVE my husband and am so glad I get to spend forever with him.
However, one thing that I hope changes soon in our journey is his night time ritual and our bedroom fan situation...

You see, even when our room is cold enough on its own, my cute husband insists on having our fan on while he sleeps. A fan that he HAD to buy because the little nightstand fan he had was too small.
He claims that he gets too hot at night and that the fan is a must.
Without the fan it simply gets too hot in our room and that cannot happen.
Also, sleeping with just the sheet is also out of the question because that just isn't comfy enough.
Oh my silly husband...

While my husband may think all of the things above, all I see is my sweet husband wrapped up in the covers.
I see him all snuggled up to keep warm and turning his back to that awful fan.
I see myself freezing to death while the fan rotates back and forth and hoping that somehow the fan will get stuck mid rotation and blow on our feet all night.

I can only hope to someday convince my hubby that the fan is not needed.
However, until then here I am lying awake and wishing I had more blankets to snuggle under.

Boy am I thankful we live in Nevada where it never gets TOO cold.
And BOY am I glad it's almost fall and this pesky fan will be put in our closet and I'll get to break out my lovely space heater.
Let's just say, I can't WAIT for fall to arrive and I can't WAIT to hide this fan.

Losing Weight With the Lawrences: Week 4

I'm BACK again with my post for LOSING WEIGHT WITH THE LAWRENCES, and have to tell you that this post will be short. I'd love to tell you that I lost another couple of pounds, but unfortunately I have to tell you that...

I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH I LOST OR EVEN POSSIBLY GAINED.

Annoying right?!
You see, when I weigh in I like to hop on the scale quite a few times.
I like to be sure that the numbers are REALLY correct so I get the most up-to-date results each week.
However, this week when I weighed in I got a TON of different numbers. Not just ranging in .2 here or there, but ranging in 2 to 3 pounds. All within 5 or so minutes.
So, as a result I couldn't be sure of what I really weighed.
I may have gained .2 or so or may have lost 2-3 pounds. (I'd like to hope for the rather, haha).

SO until I go and buy myself a more reliable scale, I am sad to report that I don't have an update for this week. I will, however, be back as soon as possible with results that are not iffy.

Until then, KEEP UP THE HARD WORK ON YOUR QUEST TO BECOME HEALTHIER!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

What I'm LOVING Wednesday



I'm LOVING that I've been cooking dinner all week, but don't love when recipes don't taste as good as you'd hope.

One recipe that tasted REALLY good was this one for Grilled Chicken with Lemon Basil Pasta found here: 



I'm LOVING that my hubby's birthday is Saturday and I get to spend all weekend with him.

I'm LOVING that I got to go to Craft Night tonight and make a cute laundry room sign.

I'm LOVING that I got some of my Christmas shopping done tonight.

I'm LOVING that the holidays are so close.

I'm LOVING Weight Watchers!

And last but DEFINITELY not least, I'm loving my sweet, hard working man.


Monday, August 15, 2011

Pigs in a Blanket

I know I just posted, but I'm back with another recipe that is both yummy and points friendly if you're on Weight Watchers.
For dinner tonight I made a classic recipe: Pigs in a Blanket!
All you need for this recipe are three ingredients:


Hot Dogs (I used 97% Fat Free Beef Franks) which were 1 point a piece,
Cheddar Cheese (I used cheese that was already sliced, made with 2% milk) which was 2 points per slice,
and Crescent Rolls (I used reduced fat crescent rolls) which were 3 points a piece.

For one pig in a blanket, it's only 6 points which isn't bad at all. Also, make sure you calculate the points correctly if you have more than one, because (for example) 2 crescent rolls were 5 points rather than 6.

Once you have all of your ingredients together, roll out one crescent roll, place a slice of cheese on top, and an uncooked hot dog on top of that:


Then simply roll each one up:


Once all of your pigs are assembled, cook as directed on the crescent roll package (please note that you may want to flip the pigs over so the crescent roll cooks on both the top and bottom. I had to put mine back in the oven because the bottoms were a little doughy).
Once they are completely cooked, this is how they'll look:


These are super yummy, easy, and quick! Perfect for a night when you are in a rush. 

A New Way to Eat Grilled Cheese

Have I mentioned that I LOVE Pinterest?
It gives me so many cool ideas for party planning, crafts, home decor, and recipes as well.
I found quite a few recipes that I plan on trying this week and I can't wait to see if they are as tasty as they look.
One recipe that looked mighty tasty was this one for a Spinach Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwich:




However, after going to the store, I found out that graviera or gruyere cheese is hard to find and that I'd have to make my own spinach pesto if I wanted it. Since I don't have a food processor, I decided I better use a pesto that I could buy.
I remembered that I already had some basil pesto at home and thought that mozzarella would be a good cheese to go along with it, so I bought some mozzarella and headed on home.

To make my version of a pesto grilled cheese sandwich, all you need are four ingredients:


I used Double Fiber bread from Oroweat
Sliced Mozzarella Cheese
Store bought Basil Pesto
and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter

All I did was used 2 slices of bread and spread 1/8 cup Basil Pesto on one side of the bread. I then placed two slices of Mozzarella Cheese on top of the pesto and placed the other slice of bread on top. I used 1/2 TBSP of butter and spread it on both sides of the bread, grilled it and WA-LAH. A delicious grilled cheese sandwich was made.
I loved the taste of the pesto and mozzarella melted together and it definitely smelled delightful.
This sandwich was so easy to make and definitely worth the 13 points.

I hope to someday make the original recipe found on pinterest, but until then this sandwich will definitely do.
Do you have any grilled cheese varieties you'd like to share?

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Losing Weight With the Lawrences: Week 3

It's that time of week again!
I weighed in yesterday and am back with my results as well as a yummy and SIMPLE recipe to share.
I'm happy to say that I now am an additional 1.8 pounds lighter for a total of 5.2 pounds GONE. Not LOST, but GONE...because I hope to never gain them back again.
I was super stoked with my weight loss this week and can't wait to see my results next week.
I love that I'm eating so much better and also eating the right amount of meals in a day.
I actually find myself getting hungry since I'm not over eating at each meal.

When it comes to breakfast, before Weight Watchers, I rarely found myself eating it. I always went to work and didn't eat until 3:00pm or so, which is bad enough in itself. So lately I've really been trying to eat breakfast.
One thing I found that I LOVE is yogurt parfaits. They are REALLY simple to make and only 5 points...not bad at all.
All you need for this breakfast is:
1 Light Fat Free Yogurt
Strawberries (or any fruit you like)
1 Granola Bar

When I make this for breakfast I normally use Yoplait Light Fat Free Yogurt. I normally use ones with Strawberries in them or the Vanilla Yogurt.


To make it easy, I just dump the yogurt in a disposable bowl and get to work with the other ingredients.



I love adding fruit to yogurt so I just take a whole carton of strawberries to work and cut them right there. I try to use a cup of strawberries so I get 2 of my fruit servings in right away. I've used bananas before too, but I really love strawberries in yogurt.


I dump the strawberries in and then get ready for the granola.


For granola I really love to use the Nature Valley Oats 'N Honey Granola Bars. I saw this recommendation on a blog quite a while ago...but unfortunately can't remember which blog. I only use one bar and it is the perfect amount. I just save the other bar for the next day. All you have to do is break up the bar into bite sized pieces and throw them in.


Lastly...stir everything together and you have a delicious breakfast to start your day!

Do you have any simple breakfast ideas you'd like to share?