2012 Disney movie round-up

These are the movies from Disney coming out in 2012 that I cannot wait to see (so far).

Beauty and the Beast 3D - out January 13th

Brave - out June 22nd

Finding Nemo 3D - out September 14th

Frankenweenie - out October 5th

Haunted Mansion - release date TBD

What's on your list?

Things I learned on Pinterest: crock pot salsa chicken

Crock pot salsa chicken. This was really yummy, especially after mixing the corn in with it!


Ingredients
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup *I used cream of chicken
1 cup salsa *I used picante sauce instead of regular salsa
1 package taco seasoning *I would do a half a package next time; it was a little overwhelming
1 cup sour cream

Directions
Sprinkle chicken with taco seasoning and put in slow cooker. Add the soup and salsa, and sprinkle taco seasoning over that. Cook on low for 6 hours. Remove the chicken breasts and shred, then add back to crock pot. Stir in sour cream and heat until everything is warm and combined. Serve over rice.


I topped with shredded cheddar cheese and avocado slices. Everything is better with avocado. Next time, I'll add corn in for the last hour and possibly some rinsed black beans. I will make it again for sure though, it was really good! If you try it, let me know how you like it.

It's almost Christmas! Are you ready?

I am. All presents are wrapped and under the tree. All we need now is for Santa to grace us. I have a hunch it's going to be a good year, despite the incredibly lower budget than last year.


See this book? It's been filling my life for the last two weeks. I got a new job and I'll be selling renter's insurance. I'm seriously excited! In order to do that legally, I have to get my insurance license. So, I've been studying and taking quizzes and preparing myself for a 150-question, 2.5 hour test that I'll take in a couple of weeks. I remember now why I didn't finish college; I don't do well in a learning environment where I have to listen to someone talk and actually take in what they are saying. Wish me luck!

I have a cold that came straight from the depths of hell and is trying to drag me back down with it. My temperature yesterday was 95.5. Just a touch low. Not a wonder I was cold.

Our lovely heater woke us up this morning at 3 with a truly wonderful screeching, dying-squirrel noise. It was amazing, really. The Husband spent an hour trying to get it to stop. Successfully made it almost go away, enough for us to go back to sleep. Now it's just whimpering. Why is it that when things decide to go out, it's when it's most inconvenient for you?

I leave you with my favorite Christmas song, by Alabama. This song reminds me more of Christmas and being little than anything else. Love it. Merry Christmas!

Finished at last.

I finished the 60-day workout plan. (I actually finished last Sunday but didn't get around to posting until now. I've been busy studying [more on that later]. That's my excuse.) I did every day without cheating. I did every day. That's astounding! I'm proud of myself for finishing and for not cutting corners. I haven't lost any weight, according to the scale, but my pants fit better and my legs don't touch when I walk anymore. That's good enough for me! Although in all seriousness, that last day nearly killed me. 100 jumping jacks, 1 hour jog, 45 reverse crunches and 50 sit-ups. It took me an hour and a half to finish it all, but I did it.

Have you tried this? How did it go or is it going?

I learned that I still don't like running. I get bored too easily. And after about 40 minutes, the bones in my feet start feeling like they are grinding against each other. Is that because I need better shoes?

I'm doing my own plan now. 3 days of cardio/week, 3 days of targeted strength training/week (core, arms/back, legs), and a rest day. I really want to try yoga out but don't really like the idea of going to a gym to do it. Any good DVD workouts out there I could try?

This is GOOD NEWS. And a welcome Christmas present, I would guess.

I always have been and always will be supportive of our troops. It's thanks to them we are all here and alive and free. But that they are coming home, in time for Christmas? That is good news indeed.

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree! How something something are your something.

Okay, I have no idea what the words are. How sad is that? I know you've all been waiting for this, so without further ado, I give you...

My homemade Christmas tree!

Supplies
bailing wire
wire cutters
tough-ass fingers
measuring tape

Start out by measuring four lengths of wire, all the same length. My bottom layer was somewhere between 8 and 9 feet, but that was three days ago, you can't expect me to remember. Then each layer was 14" shorter.

(pretend there is a picture here, k?)

Take the four lengths of wire and twist them together. Then, form them into a circle and connect the ends. I just made loops at each end and threaded them together, then smashed the loops down.



Keep going until you have all of your layers made. I did 6 layers total, but you can do however many you want. After you've got them all twisted and formed in circles, cut a bunch of 1' pieces to connect the layers. I did 4 for each. Twist them around the bottom layer, then twist them around the top layer. Keep going until all of your layers are connected.

For the top, I cut 2 pieces at 2' long, and bent them in half. Then I twisted them together at their half-points, and twisted them onto the top layer. We also made a star for ours, but you can't see it very well in this picture.



Then start adding lights! I started out by stringing them from top to bottom. It helped the tree hold its shape. I did four strands that way.



Then I wrapped them around the tree in a spiral pattern. Four more strands this way, although as soon as I can find more lights (if I can find more lights) I will be adding probably three more strands like this. The bottom isn't quite lit how I want it to be.



And there it is! My fabulous non-tree that I love and Husband loves so I think it's a total success. It took a few hours for me to twist the layers, and then Husband helped me do the rest. Overall, probably 5-6 hours were spent on this tree, and a total of $7.99 for the bailing wire (we had the rest of the supplies already). But, we can flatten it down and put it in storage to use again next year. We'll just have to straighten the wires out a bit, but it will work just as well.

I absolutely love it! What do you think?

Switched At Birth. The TV show, not me. At least, not that I know of.

I had never really watched ABC Family before, except for their Harry Potter marathons. But one day, I was bored and Switched At Birth was on... one episode and I was hooked. Do any of you watch it? It's seriously good. Just enough drama to keep you watching but not so much you want to throw your remote at your TV. It's about two girls who were switched at birth and raised in very different environments, and when it's found out about the switching, their worlds collide in a violent (not physically, just mentally and emotionally) manner. So good!

Intrigued? Here's a clip:



Want to watch it with me? Season 1 was released on DVD today so go pick it up!

**I was sent a review copy of Switched At Birth, Season 1 but my opinions are all mine and are not influenced by the free copy. I loved this show before the free copy existed.

Christmas. It's officially Christmas time.

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, it's Christmas time. I love the holiday season, mostly for the Christmas lights. I'm usually the person who won't listen to Christmas music until Christmas Eve but for some reason, I've been listening to it for two days. Someone send help, because something is obviously wrong.

This Christmas is going to be a hundred times smaller than last Christmas (what with me not working and all) and for some reason, I am way more excited this year.

I have been busy adding Christmas scrapbook stuff to my shop. If you find anything you like, you can use the code 'FRIENDS10' for 10% off your order! Perfect for Christmas cards. Or just to buy and stack in your craft room like I do. It's too pretty to use, dammit!

I just did 55 push-ups and my arms won't stop shaking. I understand why, but I wish they would stop.

Why is it that the satellite people want to charge me money for their tech to come out and fix a problem with their satellite? If it's their problem, shouldn't they be fixing it for free? Not charging me to fix their problem? I think so.

Trans Siberian Orchestra rocks my socks.

Baskin Robbins' flavor for December is freaking hot chocolate marshmallow. Let me type it again - HOT CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOW! I don't like chocolate ice cream but I had to try it. And it's divine. I am not lying. It's light and chocolatey with a swirl of marshmallow cream and chunks of marshmallow, but it doesn't taste like regular chocolate ice cream. It is very much hot chocolate flavored. Oh my. If they sent me a ten-gallon bucket of it, I'd die happy.

Punk bought me some boots for Christmas and she is so excited to wrap them and put them under the non-tree* but I just really want to wear them! I made her hide them so I wouldn't sneak them out before Christmas. They are SO CUTE.

*We are not having a typical Christmas tree this year - I refuse to pay what the lots want and I am not exactly a hike-in-the-snow type of girl so I can't get my own, and I cannot come to terms with a fake tree quite yet. So I'm making our Christmas tree. And I don't know how to explain it but it's going to be gorgeous, I just know it. I'll take pictures, I promise.