End of the Week Roundup

This week has been a rough one. For the most part, every bad thing that happened would not have been a big deal if it had happened on its own but when it happens along with a bunch of other bad things, it makes for a bad week. It's during weeks like this one where I am reminded of the song "Lonely Day" by System of a Down when the song ends with "Such a lonely day, and it's mine. It's a day I'm glad I survived". I think I can definitely say I survived this week. 

1. Saturday wasn't all bad. It started out rough with my hairdresser cancelling on me because she was sick (understandable!) and the receptionist at her salon not being accommodating to me at all (not understandable). After she felt better my hairdresser called me and squeezed me in next Thursday. Anyway, not the point of this bullet, I also met up with my cousin and we had a crafting day. We decided to try out the arm knit scarf and I think it turned out great!

2. Tuesday a deer hit my car. Well I should say that a man driving in the opposite direction of me hit a deer which then sent the deer into my car. I cried for the deer. I cried for my car which has never been in a major accident in the 8 1/2 years that I've had it. I cried for the shock of it. Then I moved on. Dave, being the awesome husband that he is, picked up the rental for me while I took his truck to school for the evening. I, being the unobservant wife that I always am, crushed the flowers he left in the truck to lift my spirits by throwing my purse on top of them and not realizing they were in the car until I got to school. I'm an ass, I know, thanks.

3. My Quilts by Nicole page hit 200 likes on Thursday (yesterday). I definitely needed a good boost yesterday morning and that did the trick. I was so happy I held a quick one day giveaway and gave a bear away! Speaking of bears, I also finished the She-Ra bear that I shared with you guys last week. 

4. Also occurring on Thursday: Me catching Squish practicing for America's Next Top Model. 

5. I know it's not the "same" but I kinda know what parents are talking about when they talk about how cute their kids are. This is going to be creepy, but I'm okay with that, but I swear my cats are so cute they could be models. Please judge me silently or behind my back. 

That's it for this week, thank God it's over! How did your week turn out? 

What Would You Do? -Bridesmaid Edition

Today's post is another round of "What Would You Do?" This time around it's the bridesmaid edition.

I've been a bridesmaid four times in my adult life. I've been asked five, but I turned down one girl. I'm pretty sure that's unheard of. Here's why I chose not to be a bridesmaid to the fifth girl. 

This should be part of awkward family photos. 

Being a bridesmaid is a role I take seriously, which I'm sure we all do. Part of that means being a honest, loyal, good friend. It also means taking on all the financial responsibilities that is required of a bridesmaid.

The girl who asked me, asked me at the same time my Aunt Penny did. I knew I couldn't afford being a bridesmaid in both and Aunt Penny would always take precedence in this situation, so I told the girl I couldn't afford to be in both weddings and left it at that.

The catch is that there was a deeper reasoning behind choosing not to be a part of her wedding. Honestly, if it meant enough to be I would have found a way, and the money, to be in both weddings. The bigger reason that I chose not to be in her wedding was because I didn't see myself being her friend in the future. 

I know that most of us usually have one bridesmaid that we lose touch with in our lifetime. It happens. The way that I see it is that that girl was an important part of your life at that moment in time but nothing lasts forever. In short, shit happens. But I believe that if you ask any of those girls at that time if they felt like they'd be friends forever, most of them would say yes. I felt that if I said I would be her bridesmaid while knowing that we wouldn't last as friends, I'd be doing a disservice to this girl and her wedding. 

Photo via Siousca Photography

I know you're probably wondering why I was even friends with someone if I didn't think we'd remain friends. It was a friendship of convenience, we were co-workers and didn't have many other friends in the company. She also wasn't a great friend to me, she was very bossy. It's not completely her fault, I allowed her to boss me around. We stopped speaking shortly after she left the company and she unfriended me twice on Facebook. There was no big blowout, no drama (well no major drama), we just drifted apart. 

 I'm glad I chose not to be a part of this girl's wedding day, not because of hard feelings I hold against this girl, because there are none, but because she won't have to look at a lost friendship when she looks through her wedding photos, which is something I knowingly prevented.

So what would you do? Would you be a part of someone's wedding if you didn't think you'd be friends in the end?

Egg in a Mug

This was previously a guest post on Steph's blog, Life According to Steph. It's too good not to share with you guys!

                    

I love eggs with add ons like ham, cheese, tomatoes, or bacon. The problem is that when I'm at work making a decent breakfast isn't always an option. That's where egg in a mug comes in! 

It's super simple, all you need is egg beaters and then whatever add ins you'd like! I use 1/2 cup of egg beaters (which is the equivalent of 2 eggs) and prefer the Laughing Cow creamy Swiss cheese with some deli ham sliced up. I also highly recommend spraying the mug with some cooking spray before you put the eggs in for easier cleanup. 

Here's how you do it:

 That's all there is to it! Super easy and quick! Please come visit me at my blog, I'd love to hear from you!

End of the Week Roundup

Hello friends! Another Friday is upon us. This week has been slow, which is good for relaxing but tough for weekly roundups. 

1. Take yesterday for example, when a massive snowstorm hit. I stayed home and binge watched Breaking Bad and starting reading You. This is my idea of the perfect day, but most definitely not conducive to a thrilling blog post. You, by the way, is gripping. I hate how cliche that sounds, but it really has me sucked in. 

2. Cold days lead to adorable snuggling. 

3. Tuesday was another bad storm day. While waiting in traffic I decided to see if I could have any of life's philosophical questions answered. I should have known better than to ask Siri. She and I fight often. 

Is she calling me fat?

4. I started another bear this week, this time using She-Ra fabric. This particular fleece is a pain to work with because it's so soft and the fleece sheds a lot, but it'll be worth it for the end result. 

5. Snow days and cold nights leads to this, which is amazing until you have to get up and get huffed at.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

I'm apologizing in advance, I did not take any decent pictures for this post today. Please don't let the lack of nice photography deter you from making this delicious recipe! 

This soup is hearty, like one bowl and you're set hearty. One pot of this could give you soup for four plus another 4-6 servings for leftovers another day (or week!). 

What you need: 

-12 slices of bacon
-2/3 cup margarine
-2/3 cup all purpose flour
- 7 cups milk
-4 large baking potatoes, peeled and cubed
-4 green onions, chopped
-1 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
-1 cup sour cream
-1 tsp salt
-1 tsp pepper

*side note: I normally cook/drink 2% milk, however for dishes like this I prefer to buy whole milk.

What you need to do:

1. Cook bacon in a large deep skillet, over medium heat until browned. Drain, crumble and set aside. 

2. In a stock pot or dutch oven, melt margarine over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. 

3. Gradually stir in milk, whisking constantly until thickened. 

4. Stir in potatoes and onions, bring to a boil, stirring frequently. 

5. Reduce heat and simmer, 10 minutes. 

6. Mix in bacon, cheese,  salt, and pepper. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until cheese is melted. 

7. Enjoy!