Class Update

We had our pole dance class toinght. We only have 2 more classes left and then we shoot the video. I'm not doing the video, but everybody else in my class has decided to do it. The video is done professionally by 3 different camera men and in front of a whole roomfull of woman waiting to film their video. You get a sexy outfit and do the routine by yourself. All the girls are giving the videos to their husbands as gifts at the end. Some of the husbands don't even know that there is a video shoot at the end of class, so they're going to be very surprised when they get their gift. I feel like I've come a long way in that past 8 weeks. It's been hard, harder than I thought it would be. It's not just about memorized some steps, you have to learn moves, some of which are very physically demanding, all while in heels, a man's button shirt and trying to look sexy. It's completely out of my comfort zone but I am so glad I took it. I really look forward to my time with my girls. It's me and 3 other girls from work and we have a blast! After this class ends they will start another class on the same night called "Strip Aerobics" and we've all decided to sign up for that one. It's a more upbeat exercise class whereas the one we're taking now is more of a slow and sexy. Either way, when I'm with my girls from work, I know we're going to be having a great time!

Greg told me today that we're going camping on Friday. It is 11:00pm on Wednesday and we both have to work all day tomorrow and Friday so I'm not sure when I'm going to prepare for this camping trip but I am very excited! I love getting out of the house and doing things. There's showers and toilets near the campsite, so I will be a happy camper. I just need to sit down a make a list of everything we might need and make a quick trip to Target tomorrow after work. I'm really looking forward to this, I've only been camping once and that was several years ago and I enjoyed it then. Also, I'm looking forward to seeing the couple we're going with. We always have a great time when we hang out with them. Hopefully we can get organized and packed before we leave on Friday. This should be interesting. Wish me luck.

Honda CRV

This past weekend we bought a new, silver, 2009 Honda CRV and I absolutely love it. Greg has been thinking that now is the time to buy a car. He wasn't quite ready to sell his car yet but he knew the paint was starting to look rough and maybe he should sell it sooner rather than later. So, Friday night we went to the Honda dealership to look at Accords and civics, but I was not all that excited or impressed. I've been wanting a SUV or truck for a long time now but Greg usually just brushes it off. At the dealership we were able to compare the price between a SUV and car and also compare the differences in gas mileage, and we found that there wasn't much of a difference. The CRV was much roomier both in the front and also in the back. I loved it and after I got Greg to sit in the car, he was hooked. He took it for a test drive and played around in the back with the folding seats and he decided this was the car for us. So, we bought it on Saturday. Greg would have traded in his Accord, but they didn't offer him much so he decided to sell it himself. It's a good thing he did, he just sold it a couple of hours ago to a very nice family who paid him almost what he advertised it for. So, everything worked out perfect. I love my CRV.

Lazy

I've been very lazy about blogging lately, well actually I've been very lazy about everything the past several weeks. I think it was because it was raining so much and was so dreary, it's hard to get motivated to do anything besides sit on the couch and watch "Intervention" on A&E. Well, now the weather is absolutely gorgeous, I can't help but want to get up and do things. The more I do, the more I'll have to write about on my blog.

I'm so excited about the 3 day weekend coming up. Tomorrow night after work, we're painting the laundry room a blue color to match a rug we bought at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Then on Saturday we're driving over to Harrisonburg (about 45 minutes away) to do some shopping, get some lunch, test drive some Hondas, and see the "Star Trek" movie. I'm not ready to buy a new car, but Greg wants to just check out what kind of deals that have going on. Sunday we (and by "we", I mean "Greg") is going to hang the new cabinets in the laundry room and install the wall unit for the ironing board. I'm very excited to see how it's going to turn out. While he's doing all that I'm going to clean and organize the house so it's presentable to guest who just stop by. Then on Sunday we are just relaxing, we may go to the Chris Greene Lake, or just drive around and take pictures of Charlottesville with my new camera, I'm not sure yet, but I'm so excited to have 3 full days off.

I can't wait to post a "Dining Room" link on http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/ for her online house tours. Check back tomorrow to see pictures of that.

Well, I am off to do some online shopping, I need some new clothes, I always need a new purse and I'm trying to find fun party things to get for a bachelorette/lingerie party we're having for a girl at work in 2 weeks.

Florida

We had so much fun visiting my friend Brian in Florida last weekend (April 30-May 3). The weather was so great. We went to the beach and laid out and played in the ocean a little. We went on a tour of the base that Brian works at and just spent a lot of time relaxing. We drank, ate, and slept and it was so nice. It was nice to have a relaxing vacation, normally we try and pack as many activities into our trip as we can so we end up coming home completely exhausted. I didn't take as many pictures as I wanted to, but I did get a couple of pretty shots while I was there.

We have a pretty full weekend coming up. On Thursday, Greg and I have to take off work and take Izzie to Richmond for her surgery. Friday we are going to Sips Wine Bar on the downtown mall to see a performance put on by Shergold Studio, which is the studio that I go to for my pole dancing class. They will have guys and girls strip dance routines and I'm really looking forward to going. Saturday we are going to a bbq at one of Greg's coworkers house. And Sunday I'm going to a Tastefully Simple party thrown by a girl I work with. I feel like all I've done lately is work and hang out around the house, so it's nice to have a busy weekend coming up.

I hope everybody had a nice Mother's Day!

Red Beans and Rice

I got this recipe from one of my favorite blogs, Kevin and Amanda (kevinandamanda.com). I've tried a couple of her recipes and they always turn out delicious. I decided to make a healthy version of this recipe and it actually turned out very well. I used brown rice instead of white rice and I substituted smoked turkey sausage instead of regular smoked sausage. It was so quick and easy to make.

Here's the turkey smoked sausage I used-

Ingredients

* 1 cup of long grain white rice (I used brown rice, instead)

* 2 cups hot water

* 1 tsp salt

* 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

* 1 pkg (14oz) smoked sausage

* 1 can of red beans

* Creole Seasoning

Add the rice, water and salt to a saucepan with a lid. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, then cover and simmer for 15minutes. Meanwhile, thinly slice the sausage and drain the juice form the red beans into the sink. Add 2-3 tbsp olive oil to a large skillet and begin heating over medium heat. Add the sausage, give a sprinkling of creole seasoning and stir occasionally for about 7 minutes until the sausages start to get sizzly on both sides. Add the red beans and stir until warmed through. About this time, your rice should be done, too. Serve the beans and sausage over the rice. Add extra creole seasoning as desired at the table. Serves 2-3.

Poppyseed Chicken

I got this recipe from Kelly's Recipes (kellyskornerrecipes.blogspot.com) I've been wanting to try it for awhile and I'm glad I did. It's delicious. It goes perfect with rice. I went to the grocery store on Sunday and bought enough ingredients to make 3 new recipes this week, so hopefully they all turn out good so I can post them on here.

Ingredients:

* 2 or 3 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into small pieces

* 1 16oz container of sour cream

* 2 cans of cream of chicken soup

* 2 tablespoons of poppyseeds

* Ritz crackers

* 1 stick of butter

Mix the first 4 ingredients and put into a baking dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Cover with crushed Ritz crackers. Melt a stick of butter and pour over top. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 350.