Get Mortified

I want to share this because it made me laugh so much! There is a new comedy stand-up show of real life people reading from their childhood/teen journals. It's hilarious. Check out "I hate Drake". Hilarious!



For more go to www.getmortified.com

Tita's cupcakes

I was bored today after work. I decided to bake cupcakes. These cupcakes are just like the ones my Tita makes. No frosting. Perfect for a snack or for dessert after that sandwich at lunch. :) I miss her. a lot.



And what is going on? Is N.K.O.T.B getting back together or not? LOL very confusing. I am excited about Paula Abdul's comeback this weekend at the Super Bowl. I think she is going to do awesome. I already downloaded her new song. It's GREAT! :)

Another Snow Day!

Another snow day! But this time, Ronnie and I were able to enjoy it together. Check out the pictures!

Another Snow Day!

Another snow day! But, this time Ronnie and I were able to enjoy it together. Check out the pictures!

Our First Snowy Day!

It's finally here. The snow has fallen. And I never thought how excited I would be! Of course, I've seen snow before. But now I am living with the snow. It's a big difference. The neighborhood looks like a beautiful painting! We woke up at around 5AM to see the snow falling. We looked out to the backyard and it was covered with snow! Ronnie and I watched the news a bit and then I went back to bed and he got ready for work. I finally woke up at around 8:30AM to take some more pictures during the daylight. Just beautiful! My house covered in snow....wow!!! Check for yourself....

Our First Snow Day!

Our First Snow Day!

Our first snow day!

Be A Morning Person

I saw this headline on Martha's website, "BE A MORNING PERSON". "HA!" I thought to myself. "I will never ever, ever, be a morning person." I still decided to open the link because I was interested in reading on how this could possibly work! I began reading. And I got inspired. I mean, it all makes sense. Really! Like this tip: Be consistent. "You don't get two biological clocks -- one for weekdays and one for weekends," says Maas. "That means you have to stick by one." Sleeping late on the weekends to compensate for lack of sleep during the week will throw you off, making Monday mornings even worse than they need to be. While keeping a consistent sleep schedule is ideal, it's not always reasonable or practical. Your best bet is to try to keep your schedule fairly regular (that is, getting up and going to bed within an hour or so of your weekday schedule). How come I thought the opposite? But it's true. Mondays have always been terrible for me. And it's because I put myself in the position of being tired! Enough is enough. It's a new year and I will be a morning person. Read the article, maybe you will be inspired yourself. It's worth a shot. I am always for things that makes us feel better. And I am going to give this a try.
So, this afternoon when I came home, I was soooo sleepy. So, I thought, "I will take a 30 minute power nap. And then I will get to doing some house chores." I set the alarm, washed my face, got comfortable, and got into bed. 30 minutes later, I got up, took a shower, washed my hair, dried my hair and I felt soooo much better. All last week, I took 2 hour naps after work. I would wake up with headaches....all groggy and like hungover. I felt worse after it all. That wasn't good. 30 min power naps work. Period!

Read and get inspired:
Be a Morning Person
Naps 101

Mediterranean Tuna-Noodle Casserole

Happy Sunday! For dinner tonight I made Mediterranean Tuna-Noodle Casserole. It's a Martha Stewart Everyday Recipe. It was fairly easy to make. It calls for tuna packed in Olive Oil, but we couldn't find any at the store. So, we just used regular Albacore tuna packed in water. Ronnie liked it a lot. He usually never goes to get seconds. But tonight he did! I think that means its good! Check out the pics below. And the recipe, too. I will definitely be making this again. :)



And remember that Laundry Sorter I've been dying to get? Well, Ronnie and I went and bought it today! YAY! We still have to put it together, though. But I can't wait to use it!

Have you watched the American Gladiators. Wow! Do you remember this show from when we were kids? The new one is much more intense. It is so much fun to watch. I can't wait for it tonight.

Tomorrow is another day of my subbing job. I am really happy to be able to work for a couple of weeks now. We really need the extra money, too! I am so grateful. And the job is pretty mellow. I get about 5-6 students at a time for about 45 minutes. And I have tons of breaks. The weather last week was great...the highs were in the 50s. Hopefully, it stays that way this week. HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Ingredients

Serves 8
1/3 cup olive oil, plus more for baking dishes
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pound wide egg noodles
2 red bell peppers (ribs and seeds removed), thinly sliced lengthwise
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
5 cups whole milk
4 cans (6 ounces each) tuna in olive oil, drained
1 can (14 ounces) artichoke hearts, drained and thickly sliced
5 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil two 8-inch square (or other shallow 2-quart) baking dishes. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook noodles until 2 minutes short of al dente, according to package instructions; drain, and return to pot.
Meanwhile, in a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium. Add bell peppers; season with salt and pepper. Cook until crisp-tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Gradually add milk, stirring until smooth. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a simmer.
Remove from heat; add mixture to noodles in pot, along with tuna, artichoke hearts, and scallions. Season with salt and pepper, and toss. Divide between prepared baking dishes, and sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake until golden and bubbling, about 20 minutes.

Talk with the Cookie Monsters!

quote of the day!
*on the phone with the boys...*

chachi: "I miss you will all my heart, nando!"

nando: "i miss you too chachi!"

*Nicholas in the background: "HEYYYYY! LET ME TALK TO HER AGAIN!"

Nicholas: "Chachi, I half to tell you sumting"

chachi: "what?"

Nicholas: "I miss you too!"

Refreshing water and a job!

Hey everyone.

I will be subbing for the next 3-5 weeks for a teacher who is having hand surgery. It's a gifted class and I will be working with students from 2nd-5th grade. It sounds fun. I always liked my gifted classes. I will be working with just a handful of kids at a time. So it will be a good experience. I am sure I will have to hit the books myself! HA!



Anyways, lately I haven't been drinking that much water. Being at home it is sometime difficult to remember to drink it. As a teacher, I am constantly drinking water. And I love it. Plus, I need it with all the talking I do. And I know how good it is for my skin and I am a little obsessed with my skin! LOL Here is a tip to drink more water while at home, though. Flavor a pitcher of water by just adding some fruit in it. I like oranges or lemon/lime. I had never experienced this kind of water until the day before the wedding. My mom treated me to a Spa day at the Biltmore. And they had these pitchers everywhere. And I LOVED it. It was so refreshing. I tend to never drink water often because I love having flavor in my drinks. And this way, you can! Believe me! :)

I should take a picture of my pitcher. I have to remember to do it. Anyways, I am sure this drink will be great after working out too! Enjoy....

Go Bayside!

This show will forever own my heart.....(like you didn't know this already?!) I am excited because my favorite show is getting a new generation of kids watching. The show will now be aired WEEKNIGHTS on the N channel! And the people voted for it. (I must admit, I voted like 20 times a day!) LOL Click play. enjoy!

I'm a 2nd Grade Teacher!

Good news, everyone!

I did it! I am a 2nd grade teacher!!!! Wooot! I am so excited. I got the call this morning. I had the interview yesterday. The school is just 20 minutes from my house. It's such a GREAT school. I've never seen anything like it. I am glad I can have my foot in there. The job will start in the early Spring. I will be taking over for a teacher who is going on maternity. But it works out really well. I will be a substitute teacher in the meantime. But I am hoping this job can open a door for next year! YAY!
You can check out the school here, http://schoolcenter.gcsnc.com/education/school/school.php?sectiondetailid=108&sc_id=1169869895

I am so thankful.....:)

PS Are you just as excited as I am about IOWA today? Who will they choose?! LOL

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!

Ronnie and I had a nice new year. We made dinner together and had some friends over. We played monopoly, the dinner was great, and we watched Dick Clark. I was able to speak or text to almost everyone. Dad sent me a bunch of pics of my brothers, which was nice. It looked like they were having a good time! For some reason my phone didn't save these pictures. I will try to reconcile them.

But.....I did save one! My mom sent me this picture from Italy. I know...drooooool! LOL!





Every year I have the same ole' resolutions. Actually, I usually only have one. And that's to eat better. I know, boring. I am usually good at up until about June/July..like summer....then I give up little by little. But this year I have several.


My first New Years resolution is to get organized. I still have about 3 more boxes to unpack in the garage! And most of my pictures and scrapbooking materials are stuffed in other boxes. I reallllllly want to get these boxes from Martha's craft collection and in all different colors. I want to stack them up together, so they look neat in our bonus room. We plan to make the bonus room like an office/guestroom/tv room type deal.
I would love to get my own desk in there to scrapbook. Something like this.

I also need a Laundry sorter. I absolutely HATE to seperate clothes. But if I get something like this. I wouldn't waste soooo much time!!!


Anyways, so that is my first New Years resolution. My second is to walk at least 30 minutes everyday. We started yesterday. But I don't know how well we will follow through with it being 15 degrees outside! But we will see.....I am sure I will come up with more. I just wanted to share what's been going on in Erika's mind lately.

Oh and btw, I had an interview today. I am not getting my hopes up. So, I had an interview. Cross your fingers. It's for a 2nd grade teacher who is going on leave in early spring. But again. We will see what happens. :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR..AGAIN!

Oh I forgot to mention...It's currently 31 degrees in the afternoon!!! ahhh!