Random Ramblings

None of these happenings quite warrant their own whole post but combined they made a great random post.

I have been competing in two different Biggest Loser contests at work and one of them ended on Friday.  This was just a contest for people on my floor.  There were about 10 people in this contest and there were 3 of us that had definitely lost some weight but I wasn't sure who had lost the largest percentage.  Everyone weighed in (with just one person monitoring) and when the results were announced I ended up winning.  Woohoo!  Each person had put in $20 to enter the contest and I won all the money!

The other Biggest Loser contest I am participating has more people since it for 3 floors of the building and doesn't end until April 1.  I will let you know how that one turns out!

Over the weekend our much anticipated dishwasher was delivered and installed.

Isn't it so pretty and shiny?  Since there are only two of us and we don't make a ton of dishes much of the time we have only filled it up and run it once but it worked wonderfully.  You can't really tell in this picture but the dishwasher matches our refrigerator and our sink fixtures which is really nice.  Our poor stove is feeling a little left out of this brushed silver party but it is working fine so we have no immediate plans to replace it.

I know our weather here in California is nowhere near as crazy as what much of the country has been experiencing but our weather on Monday was really weird.  I woke up and it was sunny but the weather report said chance of showers.  At 10 AM when I went outside it was still sunny but my lunch time it was pouring rain.  Not showers but full on downpour.  By about 2 it was sunny again and then when I went to go on a walk at around 3 it was pouring again.  It was sprinkling when I got off at 5 and sunny 15 minutes later when I got off the train.  We defiantly need the rain but I would like it to just rain all day or be sunny so I can be prepared!

I think that is enough random ramblings for one day!

St. Patrick's Day Decorations

As promised I tidied up our condo this weekend and took pictures of my St. Patrick's Day decorations.  Since St. Patrick's Day falls on a weekday this year I doubt I will cook a corn beef and cabbage on the actual day but I least I can look at my decorations.

I don't remember where I got this block with the saying on it but I just love it.  It is green and sparkly so it lives with my holiday decorations but if I had a good place for it I would keep it out year round to remind me to just be patient when things aren't going at the speed I want them to be.

We have a very picky HOA so rather than risk problems I have been putting all my holiday signs/wreaths on the door to our washer/drying instead of on the front door.  

My wooden bowl is back again!  This time it is filled with a shimmery shamrock garland.  I bought this this year at Target and it worked out perfectly for what I wanted it to do.

I haven't really put much permanent on the walls of the condo so the wall across from our dinning table is blank most of the time.  I figured it needed some holiday cheer so I hung a shamrock garland on it to add some color.  I am pretty sure these decorations have more glitter than all my other holiday decorations combined!

I put these decorations up the day after Valentine's Day so I would have plenty of time to enjoy then and I am pretty sure I will take them down the day after St. Patrick's Day since Easter come so soon after St. Patrick's Day and I want to have time to enjoy my Easter decorations.  

Favorite Moments of the Week

I started my job nine months ago and there is a nine month probation period so today is my last day of probation.  Woohooo!  Permanent employee status here I come! Monday I get my official business cards and name plate for my desk.
A few weeks ago my fiance got a promotion that goes into effect on Monday so coincidently today is his last day in his old position too.  He is not changing departments or anything quite that dramatic but he will have a new job title and a new type of work to do.  Woohoo!
We are celebrating tonight by going out to dinner and I am so excited.

My other favorite thing from this week was attending the annual Have a Heart for Students Auction at Cal State Monterey Bay.  When I lived a little closer I was on the committee that helped plan the auction but now I am just able to go down the day of to help set up.

My mom is the head of the committee this year so my fiance and I headed down Saturday morning to help her and the rest of the committee get the silent auction set up.  This year the event was in the university library so that was kind of cool.  After set up we headed to my parent's house to rest for a bit and then got all dressed up.  

Along with my parents one of my sisters and a couple of my aunts and uncles were at the auction so we had a good time catching up with everyone and talking about wedding plans.  We bit on lots of stuff during the silent auction but ended up winning a silver ring and six bottles of wine.  We didn't bit on anything during the live auction but my dad did manage to win one of the live auction items.

We don't have anything quite as exciting planned for this weekend but our dishwasher is scheduled to be delivered and that is all the excitement I need.  Yay for not having to hand-wash all the dishes anymore!

Green Shrimp Salad

This salad is really fast and easy to make on a weeknight.  Don't be fooled by the name.  The shrimp is not actually green but pretty much everything else in this salad is.  It is full of green vegetables and a little bit of pesto.  This recipe can easily be made for more than one person but all my pictures are of one serving of this salad.

 3 oz frozen shrimp (about 7 shrimp)
2-3 tablespoons of pesto (divided)
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
2-4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
Pepper
 Half an avocado
1/4 ish of a cucumber
About 2 cups of salad mix or lettuce


I never remember to defrost my shrimp overnight in the refrigerator so I always just put them in a bowl with water to defrost them.  I usually change the water a couple of times and they are defrosted in about 5-10 minutes.

When the shrimp are defrosted if your shrimp have tails on them now would be the time to remove them.

Mix about a tablespoon of olive oil, a tablespoon of pesto and a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar in a bowl with the shrimp along with a little bit of pepper.  Let the shrimp marinate for 10 minutes or so while you cut up the vegetables for the salad.

Slice up the cucumber and then cut those pieces into quarters.  Cut the avocado into little cubes and scoop it out of the skin.

Place all the veggies including the salad mix on a plate to wait for the shrimp.

To make the dressing mix about a tablespoon of olive oil with a tablespoon or two balsamic vinegar together.  Stir in about a tablespoon of the pesto and taste it.  Adjust the ingredients until you are satisfied with the taste and consistency of your dressing.

Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.  When the pan is hot add the shrimp to the pan and cook for about 2-3 minutes per side.

Place the cooked shrimp on top of the veggies and drizzle the dressing over the top. If you like pepper on your salad now is when you would add fresh ground pepper.  Enjoy!

For more fun recipes I am linking up with Andrea for her Recipe Club!

Favorite Things at Target

Good thing I can have have more than one favorite thing at Target because I spend way to much time (and money) there.

Whoever came up with the idea of the Dollar Spot at Target and made the decision to put it right inside the front door is brilliant.  I get sucked in pretty much every time I walk in the door and find something I "can't live without" and I can usually justify spending the money since it is just a dollar.

I always keep my eyes out for fun holiday decor items because if I am only going to use something for about a month a year it doesn't have to be super well made.  The other great thing to look for in the dollar section is little fun things to send to my friends and family as random care packages or cheer up gifts.  Little notepads and stickers and other fun things!


One of my favorite things I have ever found at Target has to be my wooden stand/bowl thing that lives on my dining table.  Target still has this wooden bowl that looks to be pretty much the same as the one I bought last year.  I use this bowl in pretty much all of my decorating so I have definitely gotten my money worth with this one.  Pictures of my St. Patrick's Day table coming next week (or maybe even later this week if I remember to take pictures).

They don't have a huge selection of fresh fruits and veggies at my Target but their packaged food section is pretty great.  They don't have everything but they usually have the best prices on the things they do have so I end up getting random food items at Target.  My fiance has been on a tuna sandwich (yuck) kick lately and after checking tuna prices at all my normal shopping locations (Trader Joe's, Costco and Fresh and Easy) I discovered Target had the best prices.  Not the first place I would head to for groceries but it is nice to be able to grab a few things at Target when I am there anyway.

Friday Favorites-Healthier Food Edition Part 2

Another week down and I am slowly making progress towards losing weight and getting in better shape.

It is no secret that I love pasta (and really most carbs) but eating pasta too often is just not going to help me at the moment.  Zoodles anyone?

Zoodles is just a fancy name for zucchini noodles and it is just more fun to say zoodles than zucchini noodles so let's run with it.  I had read about zoodles a few different places and decided they sounded delicious and healthy so I asked for a spiralizer for Christmas.  Technically you can make zoodles with a mandolin but a sprializer sounded like a much safer method and as I am not the most coordinated person all the time safety is a good thing.

 

I was a little bit concerned about having another thing in our already very small kitchen but it folds up quite nicely into a rectangle so storage is actually pretty easy. Once I ready the instructions on how to unfold and put the thing together it was actually really easy to use.  It is kind of fun to watch veggies come out as little spirals.  I call everything that comes out of my spiralizer zoodles but I have used it not only on zucchini but carrots and cucumbers too.  I am sure there are other veggies you can use it with but I haven't gotten to them yet.  I usually cook the veggies in my cast iron pan with garlic and a little bit of olive oil for just a couple of minutes and then top them with shrimp or sauce of some sort.  Super yummy and easy.

I know I said last week that I might tell you how much weigh I have lost so far so here goes... I have lost 10.5 pounds so far since the beginning of the year.  I am not trying to kill myself but just slowly lose weight and get healthier.

I am linking up with Andrea at Momfessionals for Friday Favorites again this week

Weekend Wrap Up-Valentine and Dishwasher Edition!

Let me start off by saying hooray for not having to move this weekend!  This is the first time in four years I have not had to move in the middle of February.  Oh the joys of renting!  We own our condo so I am actually staying in one place for more than a year.

Knowing that I didn't have to move, that it was Valentine's Day and a three day weekend made this weekend something I have been looking forward to for weeks.  My fiance and I started off the weekend with a celebratory dinner (more details on that later when I am allowed to talk about it) at home.  Yuuummm homemade gnocchi and steak.

Anyone who knows me knows I like to sleep so I lounge in bed whenever I get the chance.  I woke up Saturday morning and my fiance had already gotten up.  I figured he was either in the bathroom or out in our living room on the couch but then I heard the front door open.  This is what I woke up to:

Obviously I have the best fiance ever who is willing to get up early on a Saturday morning to get me flowers and a card with a queen on it.

Card by Emily McDowell

Don't worry I got him a pretty awesome card too and some of his favorite snacks in an Avengers bag.  I think he was more impressed with the card and the bag than the food in the bag.  I found this card at least a month ago and have been waiting and waiting to give it to him.  I ran errands during the day on Saturday and then we had a nice casual dinner downtown to round out a nice Valentine's Day.

My beautiful flowers on display

Sunday one of my sisters was passing though town (sort of) near us so she stopped by and she and I went out to lunch.  We randomly had a Chili's gift card floating around so we ended up going there.   My fiance stayed home to get some things done but we brought him home leftovers.  In fact I think the waiter was flirting with us because when we asked for a to go container instead of bringing us a bag to put our extra chips in he brought us a brand new full bag of chips and a container of salsa.  I guess sometimes it pays to be cute girls.  I did my sisters taxes for her and then she headed home.

We had a bonus day this weekend and I was planning to make it a gym, cleaning and cooking day.  Well two out of three isn't too bad.  The cleaning didn't really happen but we ended up buying a dishwasher instead.  Nothing says let's celebrate our presidents like a sale on appliances but hey if it works it works.  We have been looking at dishwashers for a few months and I declared March as buy a new dishwasher month but the sales were so good this month that we bought it ahead of schedule.  In less than two weeks we will have a new dishwasher installed in our condo!   I cannot tell you how excited I am and don't worry once we have it installed there will be pictures of my shiny pretty new dishwasher that will actually clean dishes.