{what's going on?}

Glad you asked! Well, where has the past week gone? Time is seriously flying. Todd and I went out for a late night dessert treat on Valentines and it was worth every bite. I'm still attempting to log in to my fitness pal because I certainly eat way better when I do.

I finished my graduate assistantship this past week. It will be so weird not working there everyday but I'm excited about the opportunity of getting my taste as a school librarian. Until I start that job, I'm frantically working 9-5 days at the public library in order to get all my internship hours in (120 total). Now do you realize why I have been slack at blogging? In the midst of that I have two other classes.

Last night my in laws came to visit us and spent the night. We always have a good time together. I helped Carol start her first blog. She wanted one to display all her creativity and journal her life. Go check her out at The Blue Blossom and follow her. Carol and I are very similar and after looking at numerous backgrounds we both thought the same one I have suited her page best too. She has always loved blue hydrangeas (you should see her front yard in the spring...it's beautiful) so the header and her profile pic are perfect for her. I can't wait to see some of the projects she does!   

As for Todd, he is busy with school and doing an internship as well. He is still training for a half marathon he will run in March with his brother. We are still reading through the Bible in a year; we start Judges today. I've never got this far or been this consistent. Todd is so great about being faithful and I can always count on him to ask me if I did my reading for the day. 

On a side note, anybody else lovin' the longer daylight? I seriously think that is one question that everyone would answer with: YES.

xo,

Sara

  

{roasted veggie pasta}

Hey Ya'll! I'm back today to share a great recipe that we love. I first discovered how to make Roasted Veggie Pasta while watching Charlotte Today. I wasn't so sure Todd was going to like it considering the pasta sauce is from hummus. So if you're looking for a somewhat healthier pasta dish then give this a try. My friend Kristen asked if I would share how I roast veggies which is the first step in this recipe.

1.  Cut up veggies of your choice for roasting. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Begin cooking pasta (bow ties) as normal in boiling water.

2. Place on a pan. Toss in Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper. Place in oven for 30 minutes.

(The smell is amazing while cooking!)

3. In the meantime, place some spinach or salad mix into the bottom of a bowl. Not too much and not too little. Don't ya just love my precise recipe instructions ;)

4. With about 10 minutes to go until veggies are finished, add fresh parsley (totally optional).

5. While the veggs are finishing up, measure 1/2 cup of hummus. Add Paprika for extra kick.

6. Before you drain, measure out 1 cup of the hot water and place in hummus to create sauce. Drain pasta and place on top of mix. You want your mix to wilt down from the heat. (This is a great way to sneak in lots of GREEN for your family or guests.) Now stir your sauce up real good.

7. Dump your veggies on top and pour sauce on top. Mix with a large spoon. 

8. Serve and Enjoy! (PS: We add even more paprika and red cayenne pepper on top of our individual bowls because we like things spicy!)

I'm sure you can add chicken to the mix if you wanted but we like to take meat breaks around here. The pasta is so filling that you won't even notice. Keep an open mind while making this because you aren't going to taste that thick alfredo goodness. The sauce is more "runny" but remember, it is way more healthy than alfredo. The veggies are my favorite part. Yum.

When Todd gave the thumbs up for this the first time I made it, I almost fell out of my chair (he is always honest). We now roast veggies all the time and pair them with chicken breast. I could seriously eat roasted veggies every single day and be one happy lady.

Let me know if you give it a shot or add any variations. I still think it is super cool that you can make sauce from hummus!

xo,

S

{random stuff}

Is it only Monday? My life these days consists of working on an action research paper that will ultimately determine if I can graduate. I'll present it all in late April. This project is driving me nuts. I put lots of pressure on myself but it is only because I want it to be good great. So I'm doing lots of researching, reading and writing these days on top of two other classes. Whooo, and lots of deep breaths in between.

For fun, I got a haircut. I took the bang plunge and so far I'm loving it much more that I thought I would.   Here is a little peek taken with my iPhone. Big thanks to my stylist, Jennifer!

I went home for my haircut and in return I got to hang out with my amazing family including this kiddo. I love Miss Annlyn so much. Let's just all "ooOOoo" and "aWwW" for just a moment.

It's those fun and sweet things in life that make the not so grand things (school!) worth working hard for. I love weekends.

Only four more days til' I can breath a little easier and I'm excited to celebrate love with my man on a hot date. Another first for us...marriage + vday = memories.

xo,

Sara 

{Seriously!?}

We have had a crazy week. In the midst of being swamped with school we discovered we have a few uninvited friends at house aka mice! Just typing the word makes me cringe. About a week ago I discovered some really weird dark stuff on our closet floor. I tried to pretend it was just dirt but Todd confirmed a few days later that indeed it was a mouse as he saw one dart into the closet under the door. 

Yuck. Our maintance man, Blaze, came over (such an epic name) to save the day. Well sort of. He put lots of poison around. I'm paranoid so our door currently looks like this: 

I still was in disbelief like maybe we don't really have a problem so I decided to set traps. Well the trap got me instead! It was terrifying at first but then my finger went numb. I couldn't believe such a thing happened so I had to document it.

Well, we caught two. Now, please don't think we have a nasty house. Even Blaze commented on our clean house. I'm just annoyed the mice chose our house to invade. Why not our boy neighbors???

Our next idea is to try steel wool around the pipes in the closet (our water heater is in there) to try to keep the ugly things out. I can't believe I'm even sharing all this on the blog. It's so random yet so gross all at the same time. I'm sure nobody cares or wants to hear. Blogging today for me is like therapy and I just have to get it out there that I WANT THEM TO LEAVE!

Know any tricks???

Thanks for listening! 

:)

Happy Weekend!

-S