Number 4

Notice how I changed it to "Number 4" instead of "Day 4"? Well I clearly am just going to post 30 times rather than try for 30 consecutive days.

Today's topic is Top 10 Pet Peeves. I'm changing it to 5 Pet Peeves and 5 Favorite Things though. I found myself getting more and more angry and negative as I thought of pet peeves so I wanted to end on a positive note.

1. People who use flowery vocabulary in everyday speaking and/or writing. I think I'm a pretty smart person with an okay vocabulary but I think people who use big words just for the sake of using big words sound pretentious and rude. It comes across as arrogant and I check out from the conversation every time. I also can not stand people who are condescending. I'm neither stupid nor am I a 5 year old child. Please don't speak to me like I am. We had a guy come to the door the other day trying to sell insurance. This was odd because living way out where we live, we don't get many door to door salespeople. Anyway, he started out by giving me a dead fish handshake. I was done right then. Come on buddy! You aren't flattering me by being gentle! Have you seen my hands? These man hands can handle a real shake thankyouverymuch! Then he goes on to ask if my husband is home so he can ask him about our life insurance. I felt like a little girl who was asked if my dad was home. I know our insurance situation thanks. Leave now sir. Just leave. Did I mention I was taller than him? *sigh*

2. I don't like having things pointed out to me. For example, if I have a cold sore on my lip, which happens more than I'd like, chances are I did notice it that morning and am well aware of it's existence. You know it's there and I know it's there so can we please just carry on now? Or when I'm saying something and you get what I mean, you don't need to correct my sentence for me. Thanks though... **Side note, i was gonna post a picture of a cold sore but that's gross. You're welcome for refraining.**


3. I am not a fan of the new policy that everyone is a winner. Everyone is not a winner! Unless you have tiger blood and Adonis DNA, you are not a winner unless you have in fact won something. If you are trying to get a job as an adult, they don't hand out jobs to everyone who applies. Why then do we give all the kids a "participation" medal or trophy these days? How do we teach kids to be good losers? Like my dad said, the olympics must be really confusing for kids to watch.


4. Space invaders. Everyone has a bubble of personal space. Take your bubble and double it...that's how big my bubble is. When I'm standing in line to buy groceries or buy movie tickets I can not stand it when the person behind me is all up in my business. You will not get through the line faster by stepping on my heels and breathing on my neck. This can also be applied when driving. Seriously back it up.


5. I get annoyed when people say "I'm in a million per cent." or "you are an eleven out of ten." I exaggerate all the time but for some reason when there is a specific cap put on a scale, exceeding that cap annoys me! If it is out of ten, then ten is all you get! Randy from American Idol drives me bananas! He ALWAYS says "a million percent yes, a million percent!" Ugh! I'm happy you're excited but please. Just stop.

Now let's be positive! Things that make me happy:


1. I love when people let someone go ahead of them in the grocery checkout when the other person has one or two items. It's not hard to be nice!


2. I love when people wink. A wink and a smile seriously gets me every time.


3. I think the biggest compliment someone can give me is to compliment my kids. If you think my kids are great, I think you're great.


4. I love when people get my jokes. I joke around a lot. But I don't like to explain myself so if you didn't catch it the first time, just move along.
5.


If you get this picture then I like you. That is all...

Location:Purple Springs,Canada

Insane in the membrane

Have I told you about the "bet" RJ and I made? Let me enlighten you.

Last year was a junk year. All the way around, we were so glad to see 2010 in the rear view mirror.

Since it was a stressful year we did a lot of emotional eating, according to our scales. So we decided to make a weight loss challenge. I know that men lose way faster than women but really? He has seriously kicked my butt. Since January, he's down 25 lbs and I'm down ..... Wait for it....



7 lbs... Wah wah wah....

7 measly pounds! Whatever.

We didn't really decide what the winner gets but I'm thinking I'm not in the running anymore, which is fine. Although, Ryan is starting to work on the farm lots so his gym time will be drastically cut. I may have a chance yet! Cross your fingers!

As you saw by one of my recent posts, I have been doing lots of fun classes. Well yoga is now over because it's a community learning thing since we have no real gym for that any kind of regular classes.

Zumba is over after Wednesday for the same reason. But I did buy some Zumba DVDs and I'm excited to get doing them regularly.

Remember that run we signed up for? Well me and Niki went up to the race and it started snowing/raining. Since neither of us are "runners" we totally bailed. It's fine though. I don't need to run a 6k in snow to build character. We did sign up for another run in June so technically I don't consider it a bail, it's just on hold.

The main thing I've been doing lately? I'm glad you asked!


Insanity is just that. Insane. I am not even kidding when I tell you that I cry during some of these workouts. It is THE hardest thing I've ever done. But I'm improving! Every 15 days you do a fit test and I improved tons in my first 15! And I'm down a size. Oh yeah, and 7 stupid pounds.

Shaun T is a good motivator. But I hate you Shaun T... Hate. You.


Okay, I kind of like you.

Anyway, that's what I've been up to. What are you doing to work out?

Day 3

Name something you crave a lot.

Something I crave a lot....There's lots of things I crave a lot. Let's try to narrow it down to one, shall we?

I crave summer.

To be specific I crave that week or two that can't decide if it wants to be spring or summer. The flowers are blooming, the grass is green, birds are chirping, it's t-shirt weather during the day but you still need a sweater at night....that's my favorite.

Being married to farmer has also made this time of year special. I live riding co-pilot in the tractor with Ryan as he is working the land or planting crops. We have had some of our best conversations in the tractor.

It's more than just a season, it's actually a feeling. There's hope in the air. Yeah yeah, I know it sounds cheesy but it's true. Everyone has had a good winter break to recover from the stress of harvest and it seems everyone is bright eyed and bushy tailed to get the year going.

This year I'm hoping to get some yard work done too. We were going to get some landscaping done last year but we had an unusually wet spring and were too busy pumping water out of the fields to worry about grass. Item number one on my yard list is definitely a garden.


This is my dream garden. Cross your fingers I can talk Ryan into it! Ha ha!

I haven't had a garden for three years because we were either selling, renting, or flooded out... I miss gardening. Stay tuned for updates on that! There's just something so satisfactory about growing a garden....

Location:Purple Springs,Canada

Day 2

Name your celebrity crush and 5 things you'd like to do with them.

I think Justin Timberlake made the cut.



Don't you dare even think about judging me about my choice, you know you love JT too. He isn't on my list because he's necessarily good looking. He has a bunch of weird features by themselves but together his weird lips/nose/eyes seem to work. He's in the same boat as Scarlet Johanson. She has weird features that seem to collectively work.

Here's why he's my pick. He really can sing. I've been patiently awaiting his next album. I was not a fan when he was in N*SYNC. I only became a fan when he brought sexy back. Dude's come a long way from his N*SYNC days. A LONG way.



See? He gets extra points for cutting those frosted tips. Well done JT, well done.

Anyway, five things we'd do together.

1. Sing a duet. Duh. One song my choice and one song his choice. That would be good times.

2. Do a Saturday Night Live skit together. Every time he shows up on SNL I get all giggly. He is just so stinking funny! For a while there he was randomly showing up every week.

3. Double dinner date with Ryan and Jessica Biel. He's still dating her, right? Well she seems super funny too so that would be a fun night.

4. Photo shoot. We'd need a memory of our fun day together. I'm sure he has some fabulous hair/makeup/wardrobe/photographer people that would make some great pictures. I would maybe bring my own wardrobe people...we wouldn't want a wardrobe malfunction. That would be awkward.

5. I'm out of ideas. The other four things would be sufficient. Maybe we'd do an extra SNL skit just for fun. A digital short song. That would be so funny.



Hilarious....

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 1

I'm going to do a 30 day blog challenge. This idea is recycled from Julie. She has good ideas. The end.

Day 1: Name 5 things about yourself that no one really knows.

1) I cry during sad movies. I mean really cry. Hard. We're talking ugly cry. I don't want to talk about it. All I need now is some purple lipstick, right? (sorry, private family joke...)

2)As much as can be the stereotypical woman in other departments, I will actually choose chocolate flavored treats last. Chocolate ice cream and chocolate cake on the menu? No thank you.




3)You may or may not know this about me but I am terrified of spiders. To be specific, all bugs that stick to me scare me. Grasshoppers aren't bad in theory, but they don't shake off easily and that is a huge problem. I'm getting better just in the simple fact that I'm realizing if nobody else is around, and I don't squish the spider, it will just run and hide only to pop out again later. And squished spiders always get flushed, no exceptions. That way they can't reanimate and get me later. Common sense. PS yes I have seen Arachnophobia.




4) I was in the Alberta High School Honor Choir. That was kind of a big deal because only 35 kids in all of Alberta were chosen. It is still one of my most treasured memories. (I'm the third from the right on the second row...)




5) Flying scares me. A lot. I love going on trips though and that is usually the only option to get somewhere good. I get major anxiety. We're talking one step away from breathing into a paper bag anxiety. I act like I'm bored but really I'm trying real hard not to think about falling from the sky in a giant fireball of death. I am an actress after all. Never mind that I'm usually doped up on gravol...




I'm going to *try* to blog every day on the new subject. Sorry if you read Julie's blog and get bored of the repeat. I am only a good idea doer, not a good idea maker...

Update

Huh.

I guess I turned into "that guy" with my blog.

Don't judge me, I was busy with school.

School was hard though. And I was only taking two online classes. I'm scared for what life will be like when I'm going to the college full time.

Here's how that went.

I took an Algebra class. It was really hard! I managed to pull off an 85% final grade and I even got 100% on one exam! Yay me!

I also took a Psychology introduction class. That was interesting but I'm not really super great at memorizing facts about names and dates. That was the basics on every test so I didn't fare as well. But I did end up with a 79% in that class. I'm hoping the one good thing about driving into the college will be the simple fact that I will be able to commit more fully. When I'm at home sitting on my computer it's easy for people to bother me. And since I'm easily distracted, that is not a good thing.

I was supposed to drive in a couple days a week (I live about 45 min from the college so the drive in is a bit of an ordeal) but it turns out I don't have to do any more upgrading. I had my schedule all set for the winter semester but when I applied for the actual Nursing program I got a call from the admissions desk. She told me that according to my good math grade and my less-than-amazing high school grades, I could actually come in and write an equivalency test and completely bypass anymore upgrading. So I did and I got 98% on it and am officially accepted into the Nursing program for September.

I decided to do the two year LPN (Practical Nursing) instead of the four year RN program because it was all around a better fit to do a two year program. I don't want to graduate the same time as Katie. Not cool. Maybe we could go grad dress shopping together though? Just kidding. But not kidding about the prospect of going back-to-school shopping in September....

So in other news, we have a new line-up for farm pets. That's big news people. Duke got hit by a truck and I decided to re-home Ruby to a family that is a way better fit for her, especially since I'm going to be gone all the time. We've even gone and visited her a few times and she is much happier.

And the 525,600 farm cats we had have all moved on to a better place. Some had help being re-homed (don't tell Katie) but most just disappeared.

We have a new puppy and she's so fun. Her name is Maisey (get it? Maise = corn).



We call her our Care Bear puppy because she has a perfect white heart mark on her tummy. I'll post a pic of her heart another time.

Remember that one time that this was a cooking blog? Well it might have to turn into a diet blog. All that amazing food I was cooking was not kind to me. I learned tons and loved it, but alas....I don't like the junk it put in my trunk.

Now I'm using all my time on the following activities:


**Healthy eating**.
I'm taking what I learned from Tyler and omitting all the cream and butter. I can make some pretty wicked food and it can still be wicked but healthy.



**Zumba**.
If you haven't tried it, you should be ashamed of yourself and go sign up for a class immediately.



**Yoga**.
I've never done yoga before and I absolutely love it. It makes me feel so relaxed and stretchy.



**Aqua fit**.
I go with my friend to the pool a couple times a week and it is really fun. It is usually a class full of older ladies in their swim caps and I adore them.



**Running**.
I signed up for a 6km run in the middle of March and I don't want to embarrass myself too badly so I have been training for it. And I use the word "training" in it's loosest form.



**Growing my hair out**.
I cut my hair last year and it was seriously the biggest mistake I ever made. Well maybe not ever, that was a bit dramatic, but it was a HUGE regret. I have a habit of growing my hair super long then chopping it off short. I have never been attached to my hair before. But this time was different. I had really great hair. I'm still in mourning from the chop. So what if this is a shallow "activity". Pretty hair makes me happy.



**Relaxing**.
I have a CRAZY couple of years coming up so I'm enjoying my time off to the fullest. And I have a really great bathtub that I do not spend near enough quality time with. Doesn't it look neglected?

So that's the deal. I have lots going on and I'm going to make it a priority to tell you all about it more often. Plus my sister-in-law Julie had a super fun blog idea that I think I'm going to copy. Stay tuned my pretties....

Blueberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

I have not lived until tonight. Tonight is when I made Blueberry Cheesecake Cupcakes. Seriously. They were that good. I say "were" because by the time you read this, they will probably be looong gone. Here's what they used to look like:

So good, right?

Here's how I made them:

First, call your sister on the phone and ask how she would incorporate cream cheese into the cake part of a cupcake if she were to make this particular flavor. *Only do this step if you have the privilege of having a Cake Boss for a sister, which I do.

1 package French Vanilla cake mix
1/2 brick cream cheese
4 eggs
1 1/4 c milk

Combine cake mix, milk, and eggs with room temperature cream cheese. You want little bits of the cream cheese to come through as you eat but not huge chunks. Chunks are gross. Fill 24 muffin cups and bake at 350* for about 20 minutes (or when a toothpick comes out clean). Cool the cupcakes completely.

Meanwhile.....

Reserve 24 blueberries for decoration. Smush one pint of blueberries with 1/3 c sugar. Bring this blueberry mix to a boil and cook for two minutes, stirring constantly. Put in a bowl and cool completely in the fridge.

When blueberries are cold, mix around 1/3 of the mixture with one tub of cream cheese frosting or you could use your own cream cheese icing recipe since the store version turned a bit runny after adding the blueberries. Use the rest of the blueberry mixture for filling in the cupcakes. Use a piping bag with a larger tip to fill cupcakes. Frost with frosting and put a fresh blueberry on top. Now have a good time at the party in your mouth!

Here's what else I've been doing in the six years since I blogged last. Have you ever been to Silverwood? You should go. It's way too fun. Silverwood is down in Idaho kind of in between Sandpoint and Coeur d'Alene. It's a huge amusement park on one side and a water park on the other side. We went down there and rode rides and swam till we passed out every day. And we went to IHOP for breakfast one morning....which was clearly the highlight. Just kidding. But IHOP is always a good time. The highlight was clearly the Aftershock roller coaster.

Let me explain it to you. It's one of those roller coasters that the business part is above you and your legs are dangling. This one pulls you up so you're looking down at the ground then shoots you down and around the loop-de-loops and you get pulled up the other tower backwards so you're now looking up at the sky. Then it shoots you down and you do the whole thing again backwards.

If you look real close you can see my legs dangling, 3rd seat from the top. I dragged three of my nieces with me but to be honest, I was only talking tough and was surprised they agreed. I was kind of hoping they would back down so I could too and still sound brave. While we were waiting in line, Shalyce looked at me and said, "I'm out" and left. Ten minutes later she joined us back in line.

Dang.

Next thing I looked over at Taylor and she was completely white as a ghost.
T - "Amanda, I'm gonna barf. I can't do this."
Me - "Okay Tay. We can leave if you aren't feeling well." (you know, just being the supportive auntie that I am....)
T - "Well, I think maybe I'll be okay. Let's do this."

Double dang.

Torri on the other hand was waiting for the stinking ride to start! I think she was the only one who really wanted to go on it. Did I mention she's only 11?

Moral of the story is, we did eventually get on (after being at the front of the line for about three rounds), and we LOVED it! It was seriously the funnest ride ever. I talked Katie into going on it too and after a minor (MAJOR) melt-down, she decided she loved it too! We'll definitely be back to Silverwood. You should go too!

So in other news, I'm gonna be in a play! Taber Players is doing Nunsense and I'm Sister Robert Anne. She's the sassy, tough-guy, trouble maker nun from Brooklyn. If you don't know about Nunsense, go check it out on Youtube. The Late Great Rue McClanahan is the Reverend Mother on the Youtube version. It's pretty funny and I'm super excited! I'll post more about that later as we've just started and I don't have much to comment about it yet....