Home Improvement: our Office

 My office WAS a MESS. Seriously. It was a disaster and since I hadn't taken the time to get settled it was becoming a dumping ground fast. With school coming up I HAD to do something about the mess, so I took to the internet for inspiration and then took to my office space to take over.

In my before photo I had already started the makeover by adding the clipboards. Our living room decor is all in U of U stuff, and with our office being a part of the living room, I wanted to add that theme to it.

Since it was near impossible to find U of U scrapbook paper to cover the clipboards in, I actually used folders. After having them up, I found it was actually really useful, because then I can store stuff INSIDE of them and no one will ever know!

Then there was UNDER the desk. GAG. You all know how that goes, a million cords, wires, the works, and you really can't do much with it. I HAD to fix it.

In the after photos, I got a new lamp FREE of all the "storage space" that college lamps come with now. I found two small buckets for pens and markers (the silver one from Ikea, the red one from Target) and cleared the desk, leaving a LOT of room for books, my laptop, and notebooks.

In the second after photo, I had to jerry-rig it, but I came up with a way to get the cords out of my feet while I'm working at the desk. I put them up, and then zip tied them into a bundle and tucked them against the wall. To create the basket I had to go to Wal-Mart and buy a small basket. Bubba installed four hooks to hang them from, making it easy to slide in and out if I wanted to add or take out a wire. For easier access, I cut the slats in the basket facing the opposite wall and flipped the extension cord sideways. It took some effort, but I can totally tell the difference. My chair isn't getting caught on cords, my feet aren't drowning in them, I LOVE IT.

Home Improvements: Bedroom photos

Lets be honest. We've been in our town home for almost a month now. It's really time to get unpacked and settled. I spent some time this week getting things unpacked and asked husband to get to hanging up the photos in our bedroom. 

I was too big of a pansy to do a "real" gallery wall, but I did a "mock" one, and I LOVE it! Almost all of our frames are black anyways so I can build onto it should I get daring later in life. I love our photos, and since they weren't in the same rooms before, I know some of them are duplicates, which means I can take or get new photos to hang up in their place. 

This next one is VERY special to me. Ever since I hung up the Proclamation to the family in our old apartment, I wanted to add a very nice family photo to go with it. The first group of family photos we did in March, Brayden was too little and after we did our new ones this month I KNEW I had to use one of those. I love that I can see both at the same time.  

There you have it. A few small photos from our new bedroom. More to come once it gets perfect! 

Seasoned Shrimp

This recipe is one my husband actually did after HE (yes, he) found it on Pinterest. Let me start by telling you a secret to Pinterest. Once a week I let Bubba look through all the "Food and Drink" pins for about an hour and "like" all the ones that he thinks look tasty. Then during the week I try out a recipe or two that worked. This is one of those recipes, but he ended up cooking it, not me. 

What you need:

Shrimp.
Lemons/Lemon juice
1 stick butter
Italian Seasons seasoning packet.

Melt butter, add lemon juice and shrimp. Cover in seasoning and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. It is seriously THAT easy. 

How to make a mock-Wendy's Frosty - Hospital Style

Believe it or not, in every unit of the hospital, there is someone who knows how to make good food, with the crappy ingredients the hospitals provide. Luckily for me, after a few shifts in Bone Marrow Transplant, Chemotherapy and Med/Surg (CF specialty), I'm that person.

So, when you're loved one or yourself is in the hospital and hankering for a frosty, here is the recipe;

1 Chocolate Ice Cream Cup
1 Vanilla Ice Cream Cup

Let sit for about 5-10 minutes, until soft. Place in a sturdy cup (plastic is best, Styrofoam breaks too easily!) and stir very well until blended. Add milk if the ice cream isn't soft enough, it'll help melt it and blend better. Then... ENJOY! It is REALLY that easy!

I made these nightly for my patients and to this day I get approached by patients that recognize me at the grocery store that tell me that made their stay that much better! Don't convince yourself that hospital food sucks, you can make it great!

My Angry Tumor: How I healed myself.

I was four months pregnant and crying on the floor of an empty patient room. My boss hovered over me, scolding me about my behavior and about how I should be better, blah, blah, blah. She wasn't there, she had no idea how stupid this whole mess was, but there I was, acting guilty and sobbing. 

A nurse from another unit had asked me to take her patient outside so she could go back to her unit and I quote "put her feet up." I was pregnant, had food in my hands and mouth and hadn't eaten all day, so I told her "no, I'm eating." This caused her to loose her mind, leave her patient sitting there and run to my managers office so she could gripe about me. I took care of her patient and to this day the same thought still crosses my mind, "How petty."

That afternoon I was told I may loose my job because of this. I was dumbfounded. Never before had I ever told anyone no. I had never had an outburst at work, never done anything to warrant that threat. So in a desperate attempt, I signed up for counseling.

A few days later I was sitting in a cold counselors office. The window was open, the AC on too high and the July air did nothing to help. The smell of cigarettes from three floors down wafted up and into the room and I sat quietly, trying to read into what she was saying and just get through this and get back to my life.

But something else happened.

"What are your goals with counseling?" She asked, studying me. After a few moments I came across a few goals I genuinely wanted to fix.

"I want to be less angry. I want to be able to tolerate people. I want to be happier."

The thing about counseling is, that I'm a medical professional. Aside from my religion, I believe only in science, so the theory of counseling and therapy seemed wacky to me. Seemed almost like a hoax. People claimed they were healed, but maybe all they needed were people to talk to. I had friends. I had family. I could talk to them.

"Have you ever heard of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs?" She asked, leaning into me. Damnit. She was using medicine to talk to me. I nodded. and listened as she spoke to me. "Dani, you're not an angry person, I can tell that by talking to you. You're angry at the moment because you're missing something from the pyramid. We just need to find out what is missing."


I was confused, but understood. I was thinking, my mind reeling. What could possibly be missing?


"So what do I do?" I asked.


"Find the problem. Heal it. Or rip open the wound and let it heal itself. Whatever is best for your situation."


It was so obvious it was painful, the secrets I had to keep for my father, the drunks in my life, the drama with my family (in-law and biological). The health issues that surrounded everyone and there I was, not doing a damn thing to take care of myself or my unborn child. Here I was, being put on bed rest at only 16 weeks, and not giving a crap about myself or my unborn baby. 


There isn't a manual on how to break so many hearts at once. On what to do when your life kicks your butt so fast and so hard. There isn't a nice way to tell someone that their spouse had an affair, or that the person they love is an alcoholic. But that is exactly what I did, and something amazing happened. During all that crap, the "throwing the dynamite into the fish pond" so to speak, something amazing happened.

I took everyone else's problems and tossed it away. I focused on myself, on my baby.

And since then I've continued to do it, and haven't been angry since. I've healed myself, and bettered my life. And I hope that by writing this, that someone, somewhere will read this and make their life that much better too. Being "healed," getting rid of my metaphorical tumor, my life is so much better on so many levels.

Breakfast Quesadillas

Sunday mornings I make breakfast, but the usual routine was getting a little old. You can only make pancakes, eggs and bacon so many times. So today I wanted to share with you my breakfast recipe that hubs and I both loved! Breakfast Quesadillas!

What you'll need:
Tortillas
Eggs (about 2 per quesadilla)
Cheese
Green peppers
Tomatoes
Black Olives

How to do it:
Scramble eggs in a small frying pan, add your olives, green peppers and tomatoes. Once cooked, place tortillas onto a quesadilla maker (we got ours at Target for less than $15), add eggs and cheese and cook! This takes less than ten minutes to make and is really tasty! Plus, you can have veggies with your breakfast - perfect if you're trying to eat better!

Our Week in Photos

Okay, so technically it's been two weeks in photos, but when you've got a super busy schedule, errands and a sick baby, you kind of forget to take photos! That being said - its been a crazy two weeks! 

First row - when I took Brayden to the pediatrician we saw the COD MW3 Jeep there. The irony is, that is all I played while I was pregnant with the little dude and on bedrest, so not only did I find it amusing,  I found I HAD to take photos! Last photo is of daddy and little man snoozing. So sweet - both of em!

Middle row - Sunrise on my commute to work, look at that fire red sky! Little man can now sit up all on his own! He just started doing it - no practice! Last photo is little mans face as I'm taking photos of him sitting up all on his own. I'm sure he's wondering what all the hubub is about!

Last row - He can now also hold his bottle on his own...but being a boy...he's found other ways to eat on his own (see middle photo). Silly baby! Last photo, he can now also ROLL OVER! (he did it for the first time to get to his bottle, and not just back to stomach, it was back, stomach, back and then to bottle!) 

Yep, in two weeks we've mastered holding our own bottle, sitting up on our own and rolling over like a madman. Told ya it was busy. 

What have you been up to these last few weeks? Share below!

Top 50 BEST workout songs

Whenever I start a new workout routine, I make a whole new workout playlist. Getting bored of this I took to the internet, Pinterest, my past playlists and my husbands Ipod and created a list of the TOP 50 BEST, MOST AWESOME, SUPER-DUPER WORKOUT SONGS! 

Full list after the photo! 

1. One Week - Barenaked Ladies
2. Footloose - Kenny Loggins
3. Animal - Neon Trees
4. Blow - Ke$ha
5. Stronger - Kelly Clarkson
6. I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
7. Bulletproof- La Roux
8. Raise Your Glass - P!nk
9. How to Save a Life - the Fray
10. Single Ladies - Beyonce
11. Lose Yourself - Eminem
12. My Life Would Suck Without You - Kelly Clarkson
13. Born This Way - Lady Gaga
14. How Far We've Come - Matchbox Twenty
15. Jump - Van Halen
16. Before he Cheats - Carrie Underwood
17. Young Folks - Peter Bjorn and John
18. Firework - Katy Perry
19. Feel that Fire - Dierks Bentley
20. Party in the USA - Miley Cyrus
21. Dynamite - Taio Cruz
22. Rolling in the Deep - Adele 
23. Call me Maybe -  Carly Rae Jepsen
24. Ready to Run - Dixie Chicks
25. We are Young - Fun.
26. Paparazzi - Lady Gaga
27. Eye of the Tiger - Great White
28. Good Girl - Carrie Underwood
29. Drive By - Train
30. Payphone - Maroon 5
31. Somebody Like You - Keith Urban
32. Telephone - Lady Gaga & Beyonce
33. Dance Commander - Electric Six
34. Your Love is my Drug - Ke$ha
35. Since U Been Gone - Kelly Clarkson
36. Settlin' - Sugarland
37. Bad Romance - Lady Gaga
38. Little Lion Man - Mumford & Sons
39. Stuck Like Glue - Sugarland
40. Come on Over - Jessica Simpson
41. Happy - Natasha Bedingfield
42. U + UR Hand - P!nk
43. Life is a Highway - Rascal Flatts
44. Big in Japan - Alphaville
45. Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol
46. No One - Alicia Keys
47. All I Want to Do  - Sugarland
48. Over You - Daughtry
49. We Run This - Missy Elliot
50. Sweet Child 'O Mine - Guns and Roses

Taco Stuffed Shells Recipe

This is a recipe that combines our two favorite types of food - Italian and Mexican! To be honest, I was skeptical, but it turned out REALLY good!

What you'll need:
1 lb ground beef
1 pkg cream cheese
1 pkg taco seasoning
Large shells
Salsa
Shredded cheese (I used colby jack and fiesta blend)
For the toppings: chips, olives, tomatoes, anything you'd like on a taco.

Step One: Cook shells on stove top. Drain, rinse and add butter. Remove from stove to cool. Cook meat in a skillet, add taco seasoning. Once cooked, add cream cheese and set stove to medium to low and let cream cheese melt. Blend well.

Step Two: In a baking pan, line with tin foil and cover the bottom with salsa. Using a small serving spoon, scoop meat into the shells and set the shells in the baking pan. Continue until you run out of shells or the pan is full.

Step Three: Bake in oven at 350 for 30 minutes. At this time prepare anything you'll be adding to the top, chop olives, tomatoes, onions, etc. Crumble chips in a small bowl. We used Fritos and the new Doritos (the spicy buffalo ones). Remove from oven, add chips, cheese and extra salsa (if you'd like) and put back into oven for 15 minutes.

Step Four: Let cool, add your toppings and serve! They are VERY filling, and quite tasty!

On a different note, Thanks to all of our readers for helping us get to 100,000 page views! That means so much to us! We love you guys and appreciate the love in return!

Brayden - 5 Month Photos

You really ought to check out KeeshaMarie Photography. Keesha is not only a family member of mine, but she's a fantastic photographer who has done all our photos over the last few years and is fantastic at it. My mother in law hired her to do Brayden's 5 month photos, and these are just a few she sent me. 

Brayden, I wish you had any idea how much I love you. You're such a wonderful baby and I am so lucky to be your mommy. You love to smile. You love to swim. You love to laugh. You'll roll uphill just to get to Uncle Cory. You think apple juice is amazing. You will do anything to get into Grandma (and Oma Eva)'s arms.

I love you Brayden, and have been having the most fun watching you grow up, learn, play and love your family and friends.

Stay happy kiddo. Stay strong. Keep loving everyone you meet. 

Independence Day with the Workmans

Photos from left to right (top to bottom)

Uncle Bubba helping Mason pull some leaves off the trees.
Mason, who will never smile for the camera.

Grandpa Cory and Mason, watching fireworks.

Grandma, Grandpa and the Grandkids (Brent's daughters Breanna and Cheyenne, Cory and Amanda's son CJ, our kiddo Brayden, and Steven and Rachel's kiddos Emma and Mason)

Fireworks!
Uncle Bubba and Mason enjoying some cake from the B-day dinner

CJ and Brayden watching fireworks. CJ wanted to hold him.

Me and Brayden (and Chy) enjoying the night.
Grandma and Brayden (geeze he gets around!) watching fireworks. 

Hope you have had a fantastic week and weekend! 

RSL vs. Seattle Sounders - July 4th - Braydens FIRST game!

For Independence Day we went down to the RioT and celebrated with our favorite soccer team! It was a great night for a REAL game and we had a fantastic time taking Brayden to his first game ever! This kid loves soccer and being outside and the RioT was just the place for him! (Not to mention all the girls that flirted with him all night, that he just loved!)

Our photos, in order from top to bottom (left to right); Our family photo from the game. I love the top photo because of Brayden's body language, it's as if he is saying "We are REAL! And tonight, WE RIDE!"

Next row, another family photo, this one a better one of Bubba and I. Opa, Bubba and Brayden, all having fun. Brayden kept sticking his fist into the air, so Opa wanted to make sure it stayed there.

Last row, the RSL sign, and Brayden sacked out on his daddy at halftime. He was so tired!

Now for the video, we had a camera guy come up to our section and a mom was sitting in front of us with five kids. ALL the kids flipped out and the camera crew actually told them "sorry, but we want a video of the baby." They were really upset, but it was so cool for us, because we didn't even THINK something like that would happen. They fed it to the jumbotron AND to television! We wanted to see either one, and couldn't get a copy or see a video to save our lives! 

At work on Thursday a doctor came from the OR and tells me that he saw me on the recap video and that my baby was cute. "Recap video?" He didn't explain, but my phone was BLOWING UP. I checked it out, RSL's webpage had a video, so did Seattles, so did the MLS. All a video that included my little family. 

Well, I finally found a copy of it, and here it is! What a fun and exciting fourth of July!

Upgrade your Plastic Bins

When I was in high school, I bought a few plastic bins to help organize my belongings. I still have those same bins and up until recently, I had no idea how I was going to make these things prettier. Finally, it hit me - COVER THEM IN CUTE PAPER!

I used Mod Podge to adhere the paper to the plastic bin and let it dry by leaving all the drawers open and out overnight. It dried clear and the paper makes it look cute while on my craft shelf. Now I don't have to worry about looking at the messy drawer inside either!

June Media Review

READ

Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins

After reading the first book in the Hunger Games Series I was excited to get my hands on the second book in the series. I read it in less than three days (and being a mommy, blogger, full-time employee and wife that really says something!). All the twists, turns and moments of cliffhanger chapter endings really make me excited to see the movie now, so I can see what the directors do with it! The characters are built so well by the author that you feel like you know them! I really enjoy reading the books AND seeing the first movie, because now I can picture what they want me to picture, as well as read the inner monologue. Now to get my hands on book #3.

How To Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie

This is one of my all time favorite books because I am a quote junkie. I love feel good stories and frankly, I love this book far more than I could have ever enjoyed a Chicken Soup for the Soul book. This book has the best advice for everyone and I read it and re-read it every few months or so as a reminder of what I need to work on. I've taken to my copy with highlighters, sharpies, pens and have covered the book in notes. It is just as worn as my bible and I am glad, because it is a book I suggest everyone read and take notes in.

WATCH

the City - MTV

This spin off from "the Hills" was actually very entertaining to watch and easy to do so on Netflix (32 episodes, 21 minutes each). I watched it beginning to end while a bout of the stomach flu took me down, and really enjoyed watching it. Whitney Port is such a cute girl and I loved her on both shows! Other characters they introduce are definitely more NYC style girls, Roxy, Kelly, Olivia, to name a few. Instead of personal drama like "the Hills" had, it had more career focused drama, lots more fashion and great behind-the-scenes style moments.

Keeping Up With the Kardashians - E!

Yeah, I did. I watched all of the seasons that Netflix offered, including Khole and Kourtney take Miami. Do I feel awkward admitting I watched it? Yeah. Can I now make a better assessment as to what fame whores they are? Totally. My husband even braved it with me and he and I came to a few conclusions. Kourtney is probably the closest thing to everyone's sister, dating someone everyone hates. Khole is hubs' favorite, because shes funny and blunt and "reminds him of me, if I were a really, really tall brunette." And our assessment on Kim and Kris? Fame whores. He did really like Bruce Jenner though and found lots of humor with him. Did I enjoy it? Guilty.

Futurama - Fox

Bubba asked that I watch a television series with him all the way through since usually we watch the series I want to on marathon. I agreed and Futurama was his choice. I've found it quite funny actually, funnier than I expected and the stupid humor is a nice break from our normal day-to-day. It does cover topics from media and politics (a lot like South Park, but toned down), which is funny to see in  the cartoon form! We've really enjoyed watching it together!

HEAR

Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen 

Payphone - Maroon 5 feat. Whiz

The Band Perry- You Lie

Brett Dennen - Heaven (LIVE)

What did you enjoy this month? Share below!