Update on life!

My idea was to blog once a week, but that totally hasn't happened. It's not like I don't have the time I just forget to do it.

So here is a little update on what has happened in the last few months:

April: I turned 29 and had a wonderful birthday! Aaron got me a pair of diamond earrings and they are the first diamonds anyone has ever bought for me! We also went to breakfast with my dad and our best friends the Callis family and then they came over for dinner and Cj made me a cake! I am so lucky to have such wonderful people in my life.

May: May was such a wonderful month. I got to meet my nephew Bradyen for the first time and I got to spend his first birthday with him, which also happened to fall on mothers day. Mothers day is usually such a sad day for me, but not this year. This was the first year that I was actually happy and didn't miss my mom too much. My Dad and I flew out for a 4 day trip and it was the first time all 3 of us had been together in about a year and a half and it was such a wonderful reunion. Memeorial Day weekend was spent with the Callis family and also with Carlie and Henry..we BBQ'd, swam and had a wonderful time.

June: Our first vacation away together was when we
went to the river the first weekend of June with CJ,
Nathan, Madi, Brent, Laurie and Time. It was soo
much fun and although we were really only there for 1
full day. 2 weekends ago I went to San Diego with a
couple of friends and we danced our butts off for 4 hours
it was sooo much fun to get away for a night and have fun
with the girls. I also got a new car that weekend. A Oldsmobilie
Intiruge. Its so different from my truck and I am so grateful for my dad
for helping me buy it. Last weekend was fathers day and we ended up going to lunch with
Aaron's parents and my dad and it was also our 9 month anniversary weekend
so we went to dinner and a movie-Toy Story 3 on saturday. It was so nice to spend a
wonderful weekend with the man I love.

Overall things have been going sooo wonderfully. I have great friends, a great boyfriend(FH) and wonderful family. I couldn't be happier right now, unless my mom was here to share in all of this wonderfulness! I hope to blog more...if I remember.

I am never drinking again!!!

Ok that is obviously an exageration, but I sure as heck wont be drinking again for a long time. I used to be able to party like a rock star..drink way too much and still be good to go. Aparently I am getting tooo old and since I don't really drink much at all anymore, when I have one too many the outcome is not good.
Last Saturday night started off pretty good, Aaron and I were at home relaxing and watching Snow White. I decided I wanted to have a drink since I had a pretty stressful week and didn't do good on some tests for school. Well 1 drink turned into 3 and the next thing I knew we were headed out to a friends party. The theme was pj's so we got dressed..into pjs and went down the street to Linbrook to hang out with some friends. I ended up having a few shots and some more drinks....sung kareoke...danced with Aaron(which I loved) and by the time we go home 2 hours later I was drunk as a skunk as my mom used to say. I ended up getting sick (I will leave out the details but you all know what I am talking about) multiple times and Aaron was wonderful and took great care of me. I woke up the next day feeling like death...literally. I was useless all day...didn't leave the couch and wanted to die all day because I felt so horrible. I am writing this so that I remember why it is that I don't drink. Although I had tons of fun..the feeling the next day...and the day after is soooo not worth it.

6 Monthaversary

So last Thursday the 18th was Aaron and my 6 month anniversary. We met on Aug 29th and I have to admit I was in love pretty quick. He was everything I always wanted and I was so glad to have found him...after a minor break-up...aparently it took me almost losing him to really be sure he was the one. I missed him every min of every day that we wernt together...longest 7 days of my life. When we got back together we decided that we needed a new anniversary. Sept 1st was our first. Well we had already said I love you so we pretty much just picked a random day that worked for us. Luckily that day was September 18th. We chose the 18th because my birthday is on the 17th(of April) and his is the 19th(of November) so the 18th just fit perfectly. It has been the best 6 months of my life and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with him...of course once he pops the question and puts a sparkly thing on a certain finger!

Shopping...Food..Friends and Sparkly Things!

So today we went to the Citadel outlets and hung out with my sis Billie and my nephew Tommy! It was so much fun. Aaron was so cute with the baby and I was so glad that Billie got to finally meet Aaron and that I finally got to meet Tommy! Aaron got a few shirts and a new sweatshirt which was very exciting because he works so hard and never buys anything for himself. He also bought me some earrings and some bunny hair clips for Madi. We also went to go try on engagement rings, which was so fun and exciting!!! We found some we both really liked...the ones with tons of sparkle were the best! We both got sized and Aaron even tried on some rings. It was a very exciting day because it got me really excited to spend the rest of my life with Aaron. No matter what ring he buys me or when he proposes...it wont matter at all because I have found the man of my dreams and nothing is better than that! After shopping we went and had dinner with the Callis family at Buca Di Beppo. After waiting an hour and a half we were so starving but it was so worth it! Calamari...some pasta thing-e and tons of bread..washed down with some Blue Moon, needless to say we were stuffed. It was such a wonderful day and I am so grateful to have spent it hanging out with some of my most favorite people!

Tommy is sooo cute!

Best Friends

I love this man!

5 lbs down...15 to go!!

So far I have lost about 5 lbs doing Weight Watchers and it hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be to watch what I eat again. I have cut out pretty much all sweets-except low sugar non fat all natural stuff. So basically everything fun is out :(
Aaron has been very supportive although he tells me I am beautiful and don't need to diet which is very sweet, but I am doing it because I want to be healthier.

I am hoping I can keep up the good work!

Being In Love..It's good for the heart..but bad for the hips

I went to the Dr. today for a muscle strain and as usual they weighed me before checking my vitals. I usually cringe at this part, but as long as I still weighed under 160 lbs I wouldn't have freaked out...I didn't look at the scale, because I had a feeling I knew what it was going to say, but I was still hopeful that the scale would not be my worst enemy that day. When we got into the room I proceded to say to the nurse "Please tell me I am still under 160..." All she said was "Sorry." I was absolutely shocked! I haven't been in the 160's weight wise for almost 8 years, so I was a little sad. I knew I had been gaining weight since Aaron and I had started dating, but I was just so happy and in love that I didn't care. About 6 months before we started dating I went through a bad break-up and lost about 12 lbs and was the skinnest I had been in years. I actually posted pictures of myself in a bikini on my facebook page..something I would have never thought I would do. Now I am totally 100 % in love and happy and boy does it show! Although Aaron tells me every day that I am beautiful and even though I do believe him...I do know that I have let myself go a little too much for my own good and its time to cut back on all of the things that have made me gain weight....Lemon bars probably being my biggest nemesis. Its time for me to become more active again and watch carefully what I eat. I am going to be 29 before I know it and 30 right after that and I know my metabolism just isn't what it used to be. So wish me luck in my endevor to become comfortable in my own skin again...and my skinny jeans!

Little Miss Madisyn

This is little Miss Madisyn

She is the sweetest most beautiful little girl I know! Since the day she was born I have been such a proud Auntie! I am so grateful to have become best friends with her parents when I was young so I could have the privilage of knowing this sweet little girl. As you can see from the pictures of her she is absolutely adorable, but she is also extremely smart and manages to surprise me with what comes out of her mouth everytime I see her. She knows about 60+ sign language words and I have actually learned some of them from her. My absolute favorite thing about her is when she says" I love you Auntie Kristen" and then gives me a big hug and kiss....sometimes she pulls my head over so I make sure I look at her...she can bring me out of a bad day but just smiling or laughing. She also loves Aaron and he adores her which makes me just as happy as can be, because if she didn't like him or he wasn't so sweet with her I would know he wasn't the man for me. Which thank goodness he totally is!

My Nephew Brayden

My nephew Brayden Patrick McNelly is the sweetest little baby I have ever known...and I haven't even met him yet. He is 9 and a half months old and in 2 in a half months I will finally get to meet him! I miss him so much and think of him all the time! I wish I was around to see him grow up, but sometimes life doesn't work out the way you would want it to. My favorite thing about him is his laugh...He has one of those laughs that makes you laugh..just like my mom <3

Just Listen:

My Nephew Brayden Laughing

Lemon Bars

For the past month or so I have been addicted to Lemon Bars. It started when Aaron and I were trying to figure out what to serve for dessert for a mini dinner party thing and he suggested we look in our cookie book...so we found lemon bars and decided that they would go perfect with tacos! We made them from scratch (yes..Aaron bakes) and they were amazing...way better than the box kind. Ever since that day I haven't been able to go more than 3 or 4 days without having one..which means I bake them all the time. At least a batch a week. I may or may not be addicted....I made a batch tonight that is hands down the best batch I have ever made! Crust is flaky, lemon is not too sour..and the Pièce de résistance is the fact that I got a non-stick spray with flour that has finally worked in preventing the bars from sticking to the glass pan. It's the little things like this that make me happy!
Here is the recipe:
What you need: 8" square baking pan-it says to line the pan with foil along the edges and the bottom, but I use a glass pan and I spray it with non-stick spray with flour in the spray..its the thing that has worked the best for me using a glass pan. I have not used a non-stick pan but I am sure it would work as well.

For the crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

For the filling:
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
pinch of salt

Directions:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
2. To make the crust-sift the flour(I don't have a sifter so I have never done it this way), confectioners' sugar, and salt into a bowl and transfer to a food processor(I don't have one of those so I just use a dough cutter..pictured to the right

3. Add the lemon zest and then add the butter(cut into small pieces) a few pieces at a time. If you are using a food processof it says to process until the mixture is crumbly. It takes a while if you are using the dough cutter, but it will work :)

4. Transfer the dough mixture to the pre-sprayed pan and press evenly into the bottom and sides to form the crust.

5. Bake until the crust is golden at the edges, about 25 minutes (I bake it for about 20 mins) It ends up very flaky and delicious!! 

While the crust is baking prepare the filling...

1. Mix the filling ingredients in a med. bowl and whisk until smooth-My mixer has a whisk attachment so it makes it so much easier!

Once the crust is done baking carefully remove the pan from the oven and pour the filling into the crust. Reduce the oven to 325 degrees and place the pan back into the over. Bake until the center is springy to the touch or about 30 mins.

Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely....dust with confectioners sugar to make it look pretty.

The hardest part is waiting for the bars to cool before you eat them, you can eat them warm but they will taste a little tart when they are hot out of the oven.

I always double my batch and use a 9x13 inch pan. It saves me time having to make more because I eat them so fast.

Enjoy!!

Where it all began...

I, like so many people in this world have had a rough life..I have decided though that the tough times I have been through, have made me appreciate the good times so much more. Losing my mom at the age of 23 was the hardest thing I have even gone through in my entire life, but meeting Aaron has made it a little more tolerable. From the day I re-met him (at our 10 year high school reunion) he has been taking care of not only my heart, but my soul as well. He has become my best friend and the man I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with. HE is the only man I have ever been with that I have actually imagined having children with, which according to my dad, is the most important quality I should look for in a man, someone who is great with kids...and Aaron is that man for sure! My friends love him...my dad loves him and even my brother likes him..and he hasn't even met him. He is truly my soul mate and I know my mom is so relieved that I have finally found someone who will help fill the hole in my heart that her death has left. I decided that I wanted to write a blog because I wanted to remember all of the good things that are happening in our lives right now! Hope you enjoy reading!