It's Been One Month!

We arrived July 6th here in our new home ... it's been one month today and I can't believe it!

We went from one empty house ..

to putting our touches on it here and there ... and also got somewhere to sit! :)

I think I said before .. I have a project going for behind the love seat on the wall. I need a paper/photo cutter though to finish it. {I'll make sure to post it when it's done}

 Filled up our counter tops (I'm making THIS tonight)

We've (Jeff has) put up some things on our walls ... (check it out here)

In the past month I've gotten a little more familiar with the area. I know where the commissary, home store, MCX, library, car wash, community center, east gym are all on base. We are best friends with 7-Eleven is in town because I can't wait for a Slurpee every night. I've also been to the Stater Bro's grocery store in town, just to check things out (the commissary is cheaper.). We have two dollar stores in town that I've gone to for greeting cards. Of course I'm familiar with the pool and all the lifeguards there.. I've even met a few nice girls at the pool!

We've traveled a little, down to Palm Springs, Indio (for shopping), LAX (to drop a buddy at the airport), and Anaheim for the weekend (read about that trip HERE and HERE).

It's getting to feel more and more like home.

People say living with your new husband is something to get used to, but really ... it's been great. Living with my husband and best friend is great. Not much to get used to! I'm not even sugar coating it for the blog! haha!! :)

Hopefully that time of being apart at the beginning will help us not to take each other for granted :) We are having a blast! :)

Nothing to say and ABC's

I don't have much to say today... It was a quiet few days around here .. so I figured I'd do this!

Do you remember when we used to do these on MySpace? It’s back! I have to admit .. I love stuff like this ;) Don’t fall asleep …

The ABC’s of Tara!

A – Alone time. I like some alone time, believe it or not. Time to be lazy or time to work on my “to do” list. I enjoy doing whatever I want and sometimes that’s alone.

B – Blessed. Growing up my mom said that we aren't lucky .. we are  blessed .. and I try to remember that every day. We have such a great, great life.  

C - The first letter of my middle name! Catherine. My middle name has been passed on from my Grandma to my Mom to Me. Cool huh?

D – Dad. I’m freakishly close and linked to my parents I think. I was even before I moved out. I wonder if other people are that close with their Mom and Dad. 

Bonus D – Disney. All things Disney = All the love from ME! Mickey especially. Jeff proposed to me in front of Cinderella's Castle <3 

E -  Elephants. Are some of my favorite animals .. along with polar bears and giraffes.

F -  Fruit. I only like three kinds of fruit. Apples, grapes and watermelon. I actually like more vegetables than I do fruit .. who EVER would have thought?! 

G – Grandma. I think about my Grandma Sobie (who has passed) often. I miss her and wish I would have had more time with her. I wish I would have spent more of the time we had with her. I wish I would have put more effort into our relationship and I REALLY wish she could have been at our wedding. Yes, that's me and my Grandma in 2005!

H – Homes. I’ve only lived in three homes in my whole life, including the one I live with my husband in today!
I – Ice cream. Seriously. Can someone mail me some Dairy King, STAT? Because ironically enough, they don’t have ice cream stores in the desert. And no, I’m not kidding.

J – Jeff. My wonderful husband. Makes me laugh every day. My best friend in the whole world. The one person in this world I’m so proud of for all of his accomplishments and I’m so glad he chose me to share his life.

K – Kindle. Jeff got me a Kindle Touch a few years back and I’ve read so many books since then. I re-discovered my love of reading! Book I just finished: "Married by Monday" by Cathierine Bybee ... Now reading: "Tatiana and Alexander" by Paullina Simmons. 

L – List maker. I always have some sort of list going. To Do list .. grocery list .. check on things list … It makes me more productive, I think.

O – Observant. Or at least I try to be. I try to be aware of my surroundings and the PEOPLE around me. I like to anticipate people’s needs and likes ... just like my Momma.

P – Phone. I have my phone on me almost at all times. People know this about me usually. You should worry if I don’t answer, text or call you back almost instantly. See? It's sitting right next to me at the very moment! (and yes I need to shower, I just got home from the gym)

Bonus P - Pop. I don't drink pop! I gave it up almost two years ago and haven't looked back!

Q . Quail. I saw these desert quails and I’m seeing a lot of new kinds of animals (lizards, birds, bugs) now that we live here in the desert. I’m not a crazy animal lover, so it’s surprising how much I’m interested by all these new guys!

R – Rings. I love my rings. I always loved my engagement ring, and now that I have my wedding ring too. I just stare at it all the time! The other thing that has surprised me is how much it means to me to see Jeff's ring on his finger. I always knew it was special and would mean something ... but I just get a glimpse of it at the strangest moments and it fills my heart.

Bonus T – TIGERS. Biggest Tiger’s fans ever. {Jeff and I}

A Saturday Morning Alone

This is how I'm starting my Saturday morning!

Enjoying my living room .. chai tea latte .. Minnie Mouse Mrs. Mug ... and Channing Tatum.

I got out our "Willman" and "All you need is love" signs .. as well as a few lanterns from our wedding ... a nice relaxing Saturday morning. Almost perfect, except my husband isn't here to enjoy it with. He's working today. We should be thankful though, he was supposed to LEAVE for the month the week we got here and that turned into only a few weekends of work :) 

I FaceTimed this little stinker. I absolutely love technology. FaceTime makes being away so much easier. I get to SEE my people, my family ... it's so amazing and it makes 2200 miles not feel quite so far.

I went to the gym in our complex lastnight and did 40+ mins on the bike while I read my book. You would think the two don't go well together but when my mind is busy, I push harder :)  This was my view on the way home. It really is beautiful out here. I can't seem to take a picture that does it justice. Yes they have GRASS near the gym. Sometimes I want to just roll around in it - HAHA! It's a hot commodity around here.

I also thought I would give you an update on unpacking. Our kitchen is looking awesome. I swear I'm not THIS materialistic of a person .. but nothing makes me happier than this cabinet of white plates and bowls.

All our goodies for leftovers ...

...and my little bit of Michigan, here. Our spices from Alden {thanks Mom!} .. and Pampered Chef :)

And the moment I've been waiting for all my life .. aside from our wedding of course: 

Unpacking our very own KitchenAid mixer into our very own home!  EEEeeeeekkkkkk!!!

Thanks for reading up! :) 

A New Recipe, Zucchini Lasagna - WW Friendly

Hey Guys! Are people actually out there reading this? haha ... 

If you are out there - Are you one of those Pinterest People who pin a million things and never go back and look at them? I usually am. I want to work on that.

The other day I was looking through my Food-Drink Board {do you follow me?} and saw a pin I've been wanting to try for a while. I told Jeff about it ... Zucchini Lasagna! 

The pin was linked to {this site} where I found the recipe. 

The Ingredients I actually used vs. what she said:  

• 1.5 lb 93% lean beef
• 3 cloves garlic
• garlic and onion salt
• 3 small zucchini, sliced 1/8" thick
• 7 oz part-skim ricotta
• 8 oz part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded 
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• Barilla Traditional spaghetti sauce
• 1/4 cup Egg Beaters

I used a 8x8 baker instead of the 9x13 she suggested
(fun fact: I've had this baker for like 10 years and used it for the first time tonight ... I've spent about 10 years, give or take - collecting Pampered Chef items that I knew I would want in my own kitchen one day. I knew that I wouldn't be able to afford all at once, and I was going to lots of parties at the time so I bought one thing at at time and have kept them all stored in my parents basement .. Hi Mom and Dad!) 

I really was pleased! I can't even tell you how yummy this was! Don't forget to salt the sliced zucchini and I layered the slices with paper towel .. and grill them all up before placing in the baker as well. Like she says, you need to get out some of the water the zucchini holds :) 

Mine all measured out and then divided in to 4 HUGE slices, made it out to be 13.5 WW points per slice.