Blog chores + shoppin' & a recipe!

Due to the fact that I have been blog reading slackin'...I have a few things to catch up on! A friend of mine from High School and a Blog Buddy has a couple of chores for me!


1. She currently having a Giveaway going on and I am determined to win!! I have won one of her giveaways before {100 FREE personalized post cards!} and this one, I need! It's a $25.00 giftcard for Amazon and hello...I just got a Kindle Fire! That would be such a nice treat!

Anyways, I will politely give you a chance to enter as well, click here! {or don't, whatev.} ;)



2. She tagged me back in my Tag Game, so I am here to answer her questions!


Diva's questions, Your answers:
1. You have one night. What's your ideal way to spend the evening?

I love nothing more then a night spent at home for some quality time with Brandon. Since he is so in and out with work, I cherish those moments. So, with one night in I would love to spend an hour in the kitchen whipping up a new meal then enjoying it with my husband with a good glass of wine. Then continuing date night playing board games and hanging out with Jax!


2. One movie you have watched more than a handful of times, why?

How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days! That is my favorite go to movie! When I'm sad, stressed, need a place to 'hide', or just looking for a good giggle, this is my fave! I can't even tell you how many times I've seen it!
Kate Hudson + Matthew McConaughey = Pure Genius.

3. What's your go to blog? Ya know, the one you check almost daily?

Who doesn't love The Day Book?
My newest fave is Ashley over at The Christian Wife Life. LOVE her blog! :)


4. Favorite brand name? Yes, you can only choose one...shoes, clothing, purses, scrap booking items...anything. Name one.

Goodwill? Ha, they have it all! All jokes aside, I have to pick:

For the simple fact that it seems like they do everything right, from the start. My iPhone is the most incredible smartest device that I have ever had. I've had it for almost 1 year and I have only have ONE problem with it, and that was it freezing up. Which, was no big deal. A Macbook is in our future, just not priority right now. I know that I will love it just as much as I love my phone.


5. The day you realized what love is. Why? Who what when?

This is tricky.

Who? The Obvious, Brandon Forbes.

This gorgeous man:

Why? As mentioned in Our Story, Brandon and I's relationship is a tad on the silly side. Quick Recap: We went on a date, had a great time and then we kinda both fell off the face of the earth. A few months later we bumped into each other randomly and out of town. Dated for two weeks and the day he left for a 3 month deployment he asked me to be his girlfriend.

When? The day he came home and I jumped in his arms. It was there. And from that point on I knew that there would never be another 'love-r' in my life.


6. Favorite summer time activity? What about winter?

Summer: Being by the pool, lake, ocean. Swimming in the pool, lake, ocean. Soaking up the rays from the sweet sunshine.

Winter: Bundling, layers, the winter wardrobe, and cooking/baking.


7. Number one thing you hate about weight loss/working out?

I love anything and everything about weight loss & working out. It's my favorite past time, well not really a past time I guess. I make it apart of my schedule.

One thing I dislike: Diet. I am strict when it comes to it and I am very dedicated and determined. But when I'm on it, I miss my pizza and ice cream!

8. One day that you will never forget. When and why?

My wedding day of course. It was busy, rushed, and extremely exhausting. But, it was hands down the best day of our lives. I'm sure the day we welcome a bouncing baby into the picture it might tie up with it!


9. Tell me about your very first car. Do you still drive it? Why did you get rid of it?

My first car was a 95 purple neon. Oh yeah! And this girl was proud. I didn't have to pay for it, so that was the best part! I don't still have it, because I rear ended someone and mom and dad surprised me with a new car! :)


10. Are you an introvert or extrovert? Elaborate a little.

I'm an Introvert when it comes to meeting new people or being in unfamiliar surroundings. But, for the most part I'm an extrovert, because I'm ADHD. Love to talk, make people laugh and smile. Love a good joke. Etc. I guess you'd say I'm a fun one to have around. ...is that being an extrovert?


11. Share one of your all time favorite pictures of you. Why is it your favorite?

This was a hard one.

I love this one, because this was a great day we spent together! It rained a little, we played frisbee, and right here I'm holding our new baby pup and waiting for the pizza to come :)

I love this one because it was right after the ceremony. We were officially husband and wife and we were ready to enjoy the rest of the day. The blue flower was my something blue. And I had my big puffy dream dress! I just think this was a great over all shot.

But, I think that this is one of my favorite pictures of me.

In this picture I am in the arms of my daddy. That is where the daddy's girl started. Growing up dad always took care of me, 'babied me', cut up my steaks, pestered me to end, made me laugh, played games with me, spoiled me rotten, etc. I didn't know it then, but that picture definitely is worth more then 1,000 words. I was just created by good ol' mom and dad and here I was to wreak havoc! ;)



Onto the goods...

Verdict from the doc: A+! Stitches out, wound looks great, and he did this to my fingers...

Since the surgery cut is right by the bend of my finger, I have to keep it bent so it won't split open. Fun stuff, huh? Typing is interesting today...


I went to TJ Maxx to see what kinda clearance they had. Man I think I was the only person in there. Well, that's what it felt like anyways. On the weekends it's a madhouse. It was nice for a change to be able to shop without 1,000 other people in my way!

Here are my finds...


I found these two sweaters. Light gray one was $10 and the dark gray was $11. They fit great. Perfect for work!

$7.00 button up for work.

This is the only thing I bought that wasn't on sale, but it wasn't expensive either. The sweater was $16 and the cami was $5. Cute, yeah?

Then I bought this new journal. I'm trying my hardest to start a prayer journal. Step 1: Buy a journal. I did two weeks ago, but I got a tiny one. Well...so small it's not practical to write in. So I saw this one in that looooooong line of junk you stand in waiting for a register to open. $6 I had to get it. Plus it's so me. Love it.

Headed home and walked in the house to this amazing smell. It was heavenly!

Before work I threw some new stuff in the crock pot to make this..

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken

Ingredients:
4-6 chicken breasts {frozen or thawed}
1 bottle of BBQ sauce
1 can of chunk pinneapples {drained}
1-2 bags of 90 sec. rice

Directions:
1. Pour BBQ sauce and pinneapples into the crock pot and stir.
2. Put chicken breasts in and kinda scoop the mixture on top of the chicken.
3. Cook on low for 4-8 hours.
4. Before serving shred chicken, really good and microwave rice.
5. Then serve on your plate and enjoy!


Now... 'Amanda, what kinda BBQ sauce did you use?' I used Great Value plain BBQ sauce. The recipe calls for 'Archer Farms Hawaiian Style Barbecue Sauce'. The recipe says it's from Target. It wasn't at my Target, Walmart, or Kroger. So I stuck with the Great Value and it was incredible. If you can find that Archer Farms, go for it! {AND MAIL ME SOME, THANKS!!} Next time I am going to try a different kinda BBQ sauce, just to play around with it!

This is the blog I got the recipe from. These sisters are some cookin' fools! They have some of the BEST recipes!


After we had that delicious meal we watched the new Idol. I'm not a Idol fanatic, but come on...who doesn't love watching the Auditions!? That's the best part! We have another Idol fan in the house...

He was hooked! ;)