Kitty Deschanel

If you love boxed macaroni and cheese, but agree that it takes too much effort to make (yes, I am unbelievably lazy) and that it costs too much money, ( cheap frugal too!) this is the Ramen noodle recipe of your dreams. All you need are 4 ingredients...and really, you could make do with only 3 by substituting a second packet of noodles for the baggie of pasta. Cheese Chicken Ramen Noodles Serves 4 1 packet of Chicken or Creamy Chicken Ramen noodles 1 bag of Moderna Vermicelli, 7.05oz (or, if you don't have this, just a second package of noodles - this Ramen tweak makes an already budget-friendly meal even cheaper though!) 3/4 C milk (I've made this with almond, soy, skim, 1%, and 2% - just use whatever's on hand) 1 C shredded cheese (again, whatever kind you have is fine) 1. In a 1.5 qt or larger glass bowl, add the Ramen and vermicelli with enough water to cover. Microwave on high for 6 minutes, stopping to stir halfway through. 2. When the noodl

I don't feel much like blogging today.   Britney 2002-2014

Remember my post about getting our guest bedroom ready? You don't? Oh, I suppose it has been a little while. It feels like 2012 was just the other day though! Here is that same guest bedroom, all tidied up and ready for company. The chalkboard door beckons you to enter. Complete with M&Ms waiting on each pillow. Don't you want to visit me?  We replaced the boring, wood closet doors with these pretty curtains. Want to hear a secret? I took all these photos back when our guests were staying with us in 2012, and the room has changed since then. I'll post the new pictures in 2016.

The larger wet spot is drool from where Pica's head was laying.   And the smaller wet spot? It's from her other end. She's been chowing down on inedible berries in our backyard, resulting in some...leakage. Ew, Pica. Eeeewwwwwww!   Looking guilty. (Rightfully so!)

This dress was only $4! I love its fun, vintage vibe. Isn't the pattern cute? It also turns out, despite having two layers of fabric, that this cute dress is quite see-through. Surprise! I just had to wear the polka dot underwear to work, didn't I? *sigh*

Sometimes I worry Sexy Nerd is too sophisticated for me. He has a real, grown-up career and a plan for retirement. He can teach you about expensive wine, international politics, and architecture laws. He thinks the movies I love, like Harold and Kumar and American Pie, are "stupid", though he supposedly shared my interest in them when we met a million years ago. Over time, he's become more and more of an old soul, to the point that sometimes he simply isn't any fun for me to be around. He often spends entire days tending to cactus alone, patiently pinching aphids from between the needles, knowing he'll never be able to get them all. Who in their 30s does that? I makes me worry...but sometimes there are glimmers of hope. Deep down, though, Sexy Nerd is still the fun guy I fell in love with. I was reminded of this the other night when we were watching the Olympics. The Men's Ski Jumping was on, and it made him laugh. What's so funny about this? Se

I don't need any clothes. NONE. I actually stole a bunch of space from our master bedroom and had Sexy Nerd build me a new, enormous walk-in closet because the walk-in closet our house came with wasn't large enough. That new closet? It's full. In fact, the clothes inside that new closet have expanded into the walk-in closet of our guest bedroom. It's getting full too. Which is why this next image is so concerning: ( ThredUP deals...I was just browsing, but somehow ended up with several hundred dollars in my shopping cart) I knew not to spend so much on clothes, so I whittled down my cart. But as I did that, a funny thing happened. For every shirt I was able to part with, another shirt, dress, and pair of pants made their way onto my shopping list.   This is why two walk-in closets will never be enough. Have I mentioned that we have a 2700 square foot house, for just the two of us? I knew I didn't need to order any clothes from ThredUP , but ho

EVERY YEAR, SEXY NERD?! I THOUGHT YOU WERE A SMART GUY! It's Valentine's Day at 6:31pm and I'm reposting a previous Valentine's Day FAIL because, as of now, Sexy Nerd is setting himself up for another trip to the doghouse. Maybe he has something (anything?!?!?) romantic planned that he'll surprise me with in the next hour or so before bed?! I got out the bottle of champagne that's been chilling in the fridge since before New Year's Eve. He didn't want to open it then, and he doesn't want to open it tonight. He suggests we "save it" for my birthday in April. AAAARGH! Okay, here's that old post. Maybe he will read it tomorrow and remember what he has to do: Did Sexy Nerd sweep me off my feet for our 2nd Valentines Day as a married couple? Well, not exactly. Not at all, in fact. I had told him beforehand that he didn't need to buy me anything - just being nice to me would be a perfect day. Specifically, I wanted him to give m

Let me tell you about my Del Taco visit the other night. Spoiler alert - it was creepy! I stopped in after work to try the new Del Taco Turkey Tacos. 33% less fat? Yes, please! You know, as long as the "all the flavor" part is actually true. The Del Taco near my office serves breakfast 24/7, so I also picked up a couple of $1 breakfast burritos. I'm sure they were low-fat too. I'd been craving one of their ham, egg, and cheese breakfast biscuit sandwiches, but the price has gone up. I'm too frugal and will never be able to purchase my beloved breakfast sandwiches again. It's the principal of the matter.   Not a bad dinner for under $5, right?  Especially after I chopped each taco in half to create 2 meals. (Cue evil, cheapskate laugh - muah ha ha!) Sexy Nerd enjoyed the tacos...and he had absolutely no idea what I'd fed him was reduced fat. ( muah ha ha!)   This was an extra great deal because the cashier gave me a coupon for my next

(For part one, click here .) One of my resolutions for the new year was to walk on our new treadmill daily. It's a routine that was easy to keep up with when the NordicTrack was new, (to us) but as soon as the novelty wore off, it sat alone in Sexy Nerd's office all day, every day. Of course, I didn't use the treadmill at all in the days leading up to January 1st, lest I be burned out on my resolution before even beginning. Smart, right? Not at all lazy. Well, 2014 rolled around and I did an excellent job sticking to my resolution. On New Year's Day, I walked so long that the treadmill shut itself off to avoid overheating. On the 2nd, I walked nonstop for nearly 2 hours. On January 3rd, I tried to beat the previous day's record. And on the 4th? I could.not.walk. My left foot had developed a painful case of Plantar Fasciitis. It felt like my heel was going to crack in half! When I had to go out in public, (yay, work!) I hobbled - crazy stares be darned. Toda

After getting my braces off the other day, I decided to treat myself to a little shopping at Cost Plus. It was chilly outside, but warm in the store, so I took off my coat. After meandering through a few aisles with it tucked under my arm, the coat made its way into my shopping hand basket. One of my favorite things about Cost Plus is the little section with coffee and tea samples at the back of each store. I poured myself a cup of scaldingly hot black coffee and continued browsing. There are so many unique items at Cost Plus. At the end of an aisle, I stopped to look at a selection of Sticky Fingers scone mixes. There were so many yummy-sounding flavors, like blueberry and cocoa chocolate chip, and they all looked easy to make. I was entirely distracted, balancing my coffee in one hand and my shopping basket in the other, imagining the impressed look Sexy Nerd was going to have when I served him up a batch of freshly made scones. I was going to knock his socks off! Well, I may ha

My braces are FINALLY off!!! I actually finished up a few months ahead of schedule. When your orthodontist tells you to do something, like clench your teeth, it pays to do it! Here is my 'before' photo, courtesy of my awesome orthodontist: OMG, they were soo funky! Here is my glorious AFTER photo:   Note the midline, in all its symmetrical glory. Although my teeth look better than before, I'm not done yet. I still have to wear retainers for a while (24/7 - I was expecting them to be at night only!) There's a tiny bit of spacing on the side that is driving my orthodontist crazy (it's so tiny that I couldn't figure out what he was talking about until I saw the photo above), which he plans to fix. There's a little cosmetic work to do (nothing major, probably). And a round of at-home teeth whitening might help, especially as it was so difficult to brush and floss (especially floss) with my teeth encased in metal. Most exciting of all though?

Sexy Nerd, who is quite the handyman extraordinaire, purchased a tube of Liquid Nails for one of his many projects. (He's currently building a folding boat, of all things!) The hefty woman scanning his purchase eyed him with suspicion, then said gruffly: "You'd bettah not be huffin' them nails."   High as a kite? (Hmmm...perhaps that's why he didn't notice that his shirt was covered in Pica hair.) Just imagine if he'd tried to buy spraypaint. More Quotes of the Day:  Sexy Nerd Quote of the Day - King of the Grill Sexy Nerd Quote of the Day - What's the Word? Sexy Nerd Quote of the Day - He's a Bully before his Morning Coffee Sexy Nerd Quote of the Day...Err, Night Sexy Nerd Quote of the Day - Big Pimpin' Lamb Quote of the Day - Another Year Wiser (I can admit it!) Boss Quote of the Day - Waiting to Exhale

Have a great weekend, everyone. Sexy Nerd and I are off to celebrate the  TEN YEAR anniversary of our first date! The weekend is off to a good start. Sexy Nerd got up early to pick up surprise Duke City Donuts and McDonalds breakfast burritos for us. Now, if someone would just drop off a surprise Frappuccino for me at work today, that would really be perfect. (Hint, hint, Sexy Nerd.)

...you say "I know! I'll dig out my old Littlest Pet Shop toys and use them to act out my novel!" That's Kara in the center, surrounded by Kevyn (boo!), Brett (yay!), Scott, Lily, her parents, Herman, and Candice. Actually, Kara and Lily's dad isn't in the book. I just like that blue kitty.   It's all coming together.

Pica decided to "help" us by taking down the Christmas tree herself...on Christmas day...while we weren't home. Yaaaaaay. Thank you, Pica! (And, in case you're wondering, our Jack Russell Terrier is exactly why there were no ornaments on the tree.)

We decorated the chalkboard door. I made a batch of Joy the Baker's gingerbread marshmallows to take to Sexy Nerd's grandma's house. I was worried that the homemade marshmallows wouldn't come out of the dish, but...ta da!   (so yummy!) Sexy Nerd also baked up some dinner rolls and a baguette with herbs. He's fancy like that. My parents are spending Christmas with my family in Tucson and we're watching their dog for them. Britney will not let me take a photo of her. Look over here, Britney. Over here!! Biscuit understands how to take a good photo, but Pica is stubborn like you-know-who. Over here, Pica!  Hopeless. Merry Christmas!