Fluff

That is what my blog is made of I'm afraid. Someday I hope to change that into something more meaningful than what I want my bathroom to look like (see my last blog lol). I read so many blogs and am inspired by beautiful people writing the simplest of things in such extraordinary ways and it blows. my. mind.
Why can't I be that stinkin creative and intuitive? Not fair.
I have been thinking about so many things lately and I think this will be my semi-private therapy sesh with myself. Here we go.
I am currently going to school at University of Phoenix. (totally expensive but also very convenient)
My major is Elementary Education. My entire life I have pretended to be a teacher in front of a classroom full of kids that looked up to me. I moved all of my furniture in my room to match my favorite teacher's classroom in 4th grade. Her name was Mrs. Hauser and she drank diet coke and was gorgeous.
So I wore pencil skirts and fake glasses and drank diet coke to perhaps steal her coolness factor.
The only problem is I don't know if I am that passionate about teaching anymore. I loved it when I was a kid and I loved teaching dance in high school, but my heart is elsewhere now.
All I can think about lately is photography, graphic design, weddings, and interior design. For a number of reasons:
1. I want to take amazing pictures of milo as he grows up.
2. Making cute wedding invites with graphic design sounds like a hobby, not a job.
3. Who doesn't love the magic of weddings? Planning my own was a fantasy.
4. I'm obsessed with the DIY network. Bathtastic is my favorite show. I love visualizing houses for what they can be.
5. All of these jobs could potentially make a LOT more than an elementary school teacher.
6. I love beautiful, creative things. I want to surround myself with inspiring things that trigger me to be a better version of myself.
Sooo I'm gonna change my major.
To what, I have no idea yet.
I'll get back to you.
:]

Someday...

I will make these for Milo..

And these for his cute legs..

My bedroom wall will look like this.

My bathroom will look like this.

 

I will take pictures like these..

with this camera :]

XOXO, Alecia

3/29/2011

That is when my milk expires.

That is also when Tangled comes out on Blu-Ray!!!

So if I drink my milk super fast, the 29th will come faster :]

That's my theory anyway ;]

Happiness is homemade :]

I am so proud of myself!
I made a really yummy dinner that I didn't steal the recipe from my mom! Woo!
I'm calling them...
Alecia's [AWESOME] Enchiladas <3
I guess I'm not that awesome since I forgot to take pictures! Gah!
Oh well here is the recipe for you cooker mamas out there!
Ingredients:
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast meat, cut into chunks
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 1/4 cups sour cream
1/4 teaspoon chili powder (to taste)
1 tablespoon butter (you can add more to taste)
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
1 (1.25 ounce) package mild taco seasoning mix
1 bunch green onions, chopped
Hint: If you want to know how to chop fresh green onions look here. Don't feel silly, I wouldn't put this link on here if I didn't have to google it myself :]
1 cup water
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
(If you don't have garlic or onion powder, garlic or onion salt still works great! That's what I had to do!)
5 (12 inch) flour tortillas (burrito size)
3 cups cheddar cheese, shredded and divided in half
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives
Directions:
1. Place the chicken in a large pot and add enough water to cover the chicken. (Hint: this isn't where the 1 cup of water goes.) Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the chicken pieces aren't pink, about 5-10 minutes.
2. Shred chicken by placing two forks back to back and pulling meat apart. (Hint: The fork trick didn't work too great for me. If you have tongs and a fork, it seems to work better. ALSO, if chicken isn't finely shredded, it still works.) Cover pot with chicken and set aside, off of heat.
3. Combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and chili powder in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, then turn off the heat and cover to keep warm.
4. Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion. Cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. (I like my onions really soft so I leave it for an extra minute or two.)
5. Strain the water from the chicken. Add the shredded chicken, chopped green chilies, taco seasoning, half the bunch of green onion, and 1 cup of water. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes, then stir in the lime juice, onion powder, and garlic powder. Simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Stir 1 cup of the soup mixture into the skillet with the chicken mixture. Spread the remaining soup mixture on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
7. Fill each tortilla with chicken mixture. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over the chicken filling before folding the tortillas, reserving half of the shredded cheese for topping the enchiladas.
(Hint: I used way more then the suggested cheese and it was divine.)
Fold tortillas over the filling and place seam-side down in the prepared pan.
8. Pour enchilada sauce evenly over the enchiladas. Cover with the remaining cheese. Sprinkle the remaining chopped green onions (optional: I didn't), and the sliced olives on top of the cheese. Bake in the preheated oven until filling is heated through and the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 25 minutes.


So I know that wasn't really that simple but it is sooooo worth it. This is Mike's new favorite  meal I've ever made for him. Pretty sweet if you ask me. :]
Some side notes on this recipe:
-If you want more spice, you can buy medium or hot taco seasoning instead of mild.
-You can also add more chili powder to crank up the heat. 
-If you don't like green onions, I think it would taste fine without them because of the yellow onions that are already in there. I've never made it without so I don't know for sure, but hey if you don't want green onions, let me know how it goes!
-Instead of dealing with shredding the chicken (the most time-consuming part), you could cube the raw chicken in smaller pieces and just use them as small chunks.
I hope that makes this recipe easier!

Our little man's blessing!

Yesterday was Milo's blessing and it was such a beautiful & perfect day in every way possible!
I got to buy a new dress, which I actually felt cute in (not common in new moms as many of you know!). I bought it from mikarose, which is my new fave place for nice church/temple dresses! Check it out!
Milo's new little tux made him look like a little man instead of a baby. He captured everyone's heart in that little get-up! :]

Mike was so nervous to get up in front of everyone and still say the right things to Milo, but he did such an amazing job. His words were so personalized and specific to Milo. He told him to choose the right friends because they will help him stay on the straight and narrow. He also told him that he has touched the lives of many with his sweet spirit. He blessed him so he would be able to serve a mission, which was powerful to me. He said a lot of powerful words that definitely sounded like they were coming from Heavenly Father himself. I am so proud of Mike! Not to mention he looked like a total babe ;)
After the blessing (which lasted a total of 2 minutes), Milo had a little blowout in sacrament meeting.. haha AND as if giving Milo his blessing wasn't enough, Mike took him out to change him. You have to understand that first, Milo has the stinkiest poop ever and second, Mike has a weak gag reflex. So he's pretty much a rockstar for volunteering with no ultimatum involved! :)
BUT, Milo didn't make it easy on daddy.. There isn't anywhere to change babies in the men's restrooms (which is lame, because come on moms need a break sometimes!). So Mike took Milo to the car to change him. He couldn't figure out how to take off his tux so he completely slid him out the top. He found out later that there are snaps on the legs just like any baby pjs.. haha Poor Mike! I came out to help and found this in our backseat.. :)

Soooooooo many people showed up! Mike and I have a lot of family in the first place, but the number was huge! I've never felt so blessed and loved and supported so thanks to everyone who came! :)
The weather was beautiful. People were able to go outside on our back patio and hang out while the kids ran around. Totally awesome!
The food was great. The company was even better. And the day was just ultimately perfect for us. :]

XOXO, Alecia

Boys Night Out

Mike's fave band (one of them) and also Mike's current status..
which leaves one bored leesha.
You would think I would have like a thousand things I would want to do but I am in a state of complete boredom right now.
So, I went through my pictures and started with the pictures of Milo in the NICU and progressed through his life as he has gotten bigger and more entertaining. The first picture I have is this one.

Mike's hand really shows how small Milo was when he was born.
Don't even get me going on all of those machines and wires. I get teary-eyed every time I look at this picture or even think about him or any baby being in the NICU.
This was the hardest thing I've ever had to do as a person, but especially as a mother. Looking at this picture brings back all of the feelings I experienced including guilt and anger at myself. I always told myself I could have done something differently that could have prevented him from coming early.
I cried myself to sleep every night.
And any moment a nurse wasn't looking at me.
And every time I had to leave Milo at the hospital, even just to eat something.
I can't help but be overwhelmed when I think of this picture and this time in my life.
But... I am who I am today because of the crucial experiences I had while mothering my "layaway baby."
(I called him that because I felt like he was my Christmas present but I couldn't take him home, so he was my layaway baby.)
Whenever I become overwhelmed with the bittersweet times in the NICU, all I have to do is see him today and how big and beautiful and strong he has become and my sorrows are lifted, my faith is restored, and my hope returned.

How marvelous and mysterious the Lord can be at times.
Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Mosiah 14:4