This Week's Meal Plan or "I Can't Live Without my Crockpot"

     School is back in session which means I get up and leave for work before the sun is up, and I don't arrive back home until the sun is setting.  This means that at 5:00 pm if given a choice between cooking or starving to death, I would probably choose starving to death.  I am that tired when I get home from work.  

This is a problem people.  

     So, my solution is simple.  I use my Crockpot on a daily basis.  This will be the second week that I have prepared all meals ahead of time so that I can just dump all the contents from a gallon Ziplock bag to my Crockpot in the morning before I leave.  I usually plan about 4 meals because we believe in leftovers in this house.  Food is too expensive to just throw it away at the end of the night.  On to the menu:

     All menu items can be found on my Crockpot Pinterest board here. 

Mushroom Stroganoff  

Chicken Enchilada Soup

Salsa Verde Chicken

Italian Crockpot Chicken

     I will post pictures later as the week goes by and we actually eat a dinner that doesn't involve processed and powdered cheeses.  Not that there's anything wrong with mac n cheese....  Of the choices on my menu I have to mention that the Mushroom Stroganoff and Salsa Verde Chicken are repeats.  They are that good.  I'm already craving them and I just had them a few days ago. The Salsa Verde Chicken tastes just like a creamy chicken Marie Calendar's frozen dinner I bought all the time when I was pregnant with Josh.  It was my crack.  And then they stopped making it, or selling it in very many places at least.  Now I have found it again, and no one can take it away this time!  (Insert evil laugh). 

       Oh, and to avoid confusion-these recipes are not my own invention.  When you find them on my Pinterest board you'll be taken to the creators of these amazing concoctions.  Okay well that's all for now, not really a new idea, but I want to reiterate that without our Crockpot we would all starve to death in this house.  So therefore, it truly is a lifesaver.  







     What are some of your go-to Crockpot recipes?  Share in the comments!

Our Fun-Filled and Family-Centered Summer

Summer is coming to a close, and with that in mind I wanted to share what we were blessed to be able to do.  I wanted to spend as much time as possible with Andy and the boys this summer.  Last school year was my first year of teaching and let's just say I was slightly busy for 10 months.  My men (Andy and the boys) were a huge support to me all school year long but I worry that this placed a strain on them a bit too often.  There's a few changes that we're making this school year because of that.  Nathan (my 6 year old) will be going to school in my district this year instead of in the district where we live.  I have about an hour commute to work, and initially I felt this would be too much for him.  However, after realizing his days last the same amount of time either way, Andy and I both felt it would be better if Nathan was with me during the day.  This means that instead of finally seeing him for the first time that day at 6 pm, I will now see him in the morning before school and immediately after school.  I  think anytime a parent is more involved in their child's life that child's quality of life goes way up.  

June

Anyway, in the spirit of making some quality family memories we had an absolutely amazing and fun-filled summer.  First off- California visiting family and Disneyland.  

Nathan and I rode the Dumbo ride together.  He's not as much of a fan of selfies as Josh is.  

One of my absolute favorite pictures.  We're going to have to get a frame for this one.  

Josh was a trooper even with the full day of activities.  This storybook boat ride and its gentle rocking was too much for him.  

Nathan has been transformed into a Star Wars fan after this trip to Disneyland.  I'm ecstatic about this since I'm a big fan as well.  

My selfie king!  I can always count on Joshua to give me the goofiest faces when it comes to selfies.  

In case it's not completely obvious we had an amazing time!  Andy and I hadn't been to Disneyland since our Honeymoon in 2007 and it was such a great experience to share our favorite places and rides with the boys.  I was surprised at how much we were still able to do with younger kids.  They boys were real troopers too, they never complained and nary a tantrum to be had in the happiest place on earth.  We only had one day to spend there and boy did we make it count!  If you're ever in Tomorrow Land I highly recommend the make your own lightsaber station.  That was by far Nathan and Josh's favorite souvenir.  They were able to customize everything from the handles to the colors.  

We did have one scary moment in Disneyland that occurred right after we exited the Buzz Lightyear ride.  Disneyland is oh so crafty with their marketing and manages to conveniently have their patrons exit this ride directly into a gift shop.  Well played Disney, well played.  So as the boys, Andy, and I are looking around at all the nostalgic Disney paraphernalia we manage to become separated.  This is where we made a horrible and scary mistake.  

Andy assumed I had Josh, and I assumed Andy had Josh.  I finally decide I'm finished looking around and exit the store to find Andy and Nathan waiting for me.  "Where's Josh?" I ask.  "I thought he was with you" Andy replies.  My heart instantly falls into my stomach.  I go back into the store to confirm what I already know, Josh is not in there.  I walk back up the exit towards the ride and ask  the employees standing there if they've seen a three year old boy.  No such luck.  By this time, it feels as though an eternity has passed.  I'm pushing back panic because I know that won't help anyone.  I calmly walk back down the ramp and inform the  employee at the counter that I have lost my son.  

By this time it felt as though forever had passed, although it really had probably only been five minutes at the most.  This is the amazing and wonderful thing about Disneyland.  Security already had Josh!  We hadn't even reported him missing yet but they had already noticed that a three year-old shouldn't be walking around by himself.  Where was he you ask?  All the way back at the entrance to Tomorrow Land.  He wanted to see the train.  The train, the thing we had already gone on and circled around the entire park.  Apparently he hadn't had enough of the train.  I can't express enough to everyone how much  this kid loves trains.  He obsesses over them.  He will carry around trains all day long and then sleep with them.  I should have thought of this, but I didn't.  

After I finished my crying from relief we continued on with our fun-filled day.  I watched him like a hawk the entire time.  I have never felt that level of panic over anything in my life up to that point.  I cannot imagine what life would be like if anything happened to either of my kids, and those few agonizing minutes brought that idea way too close to home.  I am so grateful to the efficiency of Disneyland's employees.  They are amazing, and they were my superheroes that day.  

Along with visiting Disneyland we got to see most of our family members.  The hardest part about moving to Wyoming (Andy and I both grew up in California) is how much me miss our families.  Our boys got to reacquaint themselves with their cousins, and it was so much fun to see how quickly they became best friends again.  I amount of love and laughter that filled every day will keep me going until we can see each other again.  I hope it is sooner rather than later.  

While visiting family the boys were able to visit a genuine zoo.  While Wyoming has plenty of wild animals for our viewing pleasure, there's not much in the way of zoos close by.  They had so much fun seeing the different animals and they even got to feed the giraffes!  I think one of their favorite parts about the Fresno Zoo was all the animal statues around the park.  They had to stop and pose with almost every single one.  Note the excitement below:

July

By the time July hit we were pretty exhausted from our road trip to California.  36+ hours in the car will do that to a family.  We stuck close to home for the rest of the summer and enjoyed the 4th of July festivities and camped in some of the most gorgeous places on Earth.  

The boys made quite the haul with the parade and all the entries throwing candy for kids.  Our hometown knows how to throw some great parades and celebrations.  

Annnnnd my selfie king is making his appearance again.  This kid loves to make goofy faces.  

Camping in the Bighorn National Forest and West Yellowstone was very relaxing and peaceful.  I don't think camping will every get old for us, we're big fans.  

Poor Dolly was exhausted by the end of a 2 mile hike into the mountains.  She's just not as spry anymore, it brings a few tears to my eyes.  On that note I've seen pictures floating around on Facebook with people putting their dogs into backpacks while they're hiking.  I just may need to do this for her.  You can't judge until your dog becomes a senior citizen.  

True to Golden Retriever nature, both Dolly and Ashlee showed no hesitation in testing out the creek waters.  

Just look at that gorgeous view!  I really can't complain about where I live.  

Happy after a day of hiking.  

The boys are excited about the campfire and the eminent s'mores!  Yes, they are in pajamas while its still light outside. It was already 8:30 pm folks.  The north has daylight for a long time in the summer.  

This was our second camping trip.  This was our campsite in West Yellowstone.  Absolutely breathtaking.  Again, no complaints here.  

Mammoth Hot Springs

Elk in the town of Mammoth.  I got more of a kick out of watching the tourists than I did the Elk.  Obviously a sign that says Danger should be ignored.  Wildlife are not petting zoo animals people.  

Mammoth Hot Springs.  I'm seriously spoiled that this is practically in my backyard.  

I would post about August, but really August is just like one long Sunday night for teachers.  I've spent the last few weeks researching, attending meetings and professional developments, and readying my classroom for my students.  I have to admit, I'm getting pretty excited for another school year!  

So, what did you all do for summer fun?  Do you have any gems in your home state that make you feel blessed to call it home?  Feel free to share!  

Stitch Fix #2 August- I kept it all!

Stitch Fix #2

Okay friends.  I told you my favorite new discovery was box subscriptions, and Stitch Fix is the Pandora's Box.  After searching the web for others who have reviewed their Stitch Fixes as well I've learned about a whole new world of companies that do this.  Golden Tote is the next one I want to check out.  I'm  trying to pace myself.  Maybe I should just stay away from the internet.  Anyway....back to on topic.


If you've never heard of Stitch Fix this is how it works.  

Step One:  Click on the link to take you to their website to sign up. https://www.stitchfix.com/referral/5470373 
  This is my referral link, and this is definitely not a sponsered post. All opinions are my own, and my goal is to share my reactions and thoughts with you.  Clicking on the link helps to feed my habit- you sign up to receive a personal stylist and I receive a small credit to help feed my addiction.  I would be forever grateful!  

Step Two: Fill out your style profile.  This is where you'll tell Stitch Fix all about your preferences, sizes, and what you're looking for.  On a side note, I just updated my profile today and noticed they're asking about shoes now!  Eeek!  I love it.  I really hope I'll receive some shoes soon!  On your profile you can also link to your social media.  Of all of these I highly recommend linking (and building, if you don't already have one) your Pinterest style board.  Your stylist will check it out to get an idea of what styles you like and what you're looking for.  You may even receive the exact item that you've pinned!  

Step Three:  Leave your stylist a personal note.  This is where you can tell your stylist what types of items you're looking for in the upcoming fix and any special events you have coming up.  


Okay, now for how it works once you've received your shipment.  

Step One:  Open your box and try to contain your enthusiasm ;)  

Step Two:  Try everything on, even the stuff you think is an absolute miss.  This happened to me in this shipment, and I ended up loving the item once I was wearing it.  

Step Three:  Check out online.  You have three days to review your items, decide what you want to keep, and put anything you want to send back into the prepaid shipping bag and send it on its merry way.  It's that easy, and shipping is free both ways!  

Step Four:  Love what you keep!  Oh, I forgot to mention the most important part:  the $20 styling fee is credited towards anything you keep!  This is the fee they charge to send you five fabulous and personalized pieces that they then give back to you when you buy something.  Pretty amazeballs right?  I thought so too.  

Okay.  I'm sure I'll be editing the steps as time goes on and I realize I could have been more detailed on something.  Anyway, on to my review.  

Here is how I received my shipment.  They always do a wonderful job of packing up everything so prettily.  Gone are the days of online orders where each piece is individually wrapped in smelly plastic and haphazardly thrown into an equally smelly plastic bag.  The way everything is packed makes me think of a time gone by where everything you purchased was wrapped and set in a beautiful bag or box.  

I just love it.  It makes me feel like I'm getting a present.  Next, your stylist writes you a personal note.  I asked for Sarah, my most recent stylist again, because I like that she read my requests, checked my Pinterest board, and then sent me some well thought out and interesting pieces.  She also did a good job of getting me out of my comfort zone.  I tend to reach for the same things over and over again, which I want to get away from.  

Hey, being listened to is always a huge plus.  I did a little dance when I saw it  "I was heard, guys!"  Okay, on to the main event, you guys don't want to see me dance, it ain't pretty folks.  

Item 1:   Street Level Kaelyn Laser Cut Two-Tone Reversible Tote- $68.  I had asked for a larger tote to carry all my teaching stuff around with me.  I tend to try and cram everything in my arms all at once in order to make it in one trip and inevitably drop (and sometimes break) things in the process.  Trust me, I have a coffee cup graveyard to prove it.  I had pinned this exact bag onto my Pinterest board so I was very happy to see it in my shipment.  

This was  keeper.  I love the cutout detail with the black side.  My only complaint is that the reversible white side doesn't have a cutout detail as well.  I do love that the inside is white because you can see everything in your purse with the brighter, more light reflecting color.  This purse also comes with a smaller clutch that you can put your cards, phone, or keys in so that you don't need to carry around the larger purse everywhere if you don't want to.  I thought that was a nice bonus.  

Item 2: Le Lis Nene Striped Midi Dress-$74

When I first "cheated" and saw that this dress was in my fix I was a bit underwhelmed.  A black and white dress?  Yawn.  I didn't think I was going to keep it.  On a side note, once your fix has shipped you can "cheat" and see what you're getting.  If  you're anything like me once you've read how to do this you can't unsee it and must do it every time.  Therefore, if you would like to learn how to do this, leave me a comment and I'll share it with you that way.  On to the dress: 

My favorite thing about this dress?  I can add whatever color accessory I want and it looks great!  I also love the waist emphasis and the length, perfect for work.  I may have to find a great set of colorful flats because there's no way I'll last all day in heels while teaching.  This is why you should try everything on and play with the piece by adding other articles of clothing and accessories you already own.  This is the bonus of turning your own home into your personal dressing room.  Gone are the days of saying to yourself "I have this at home, I THINK  it will look good."  Nope, now you know for sure.  Also, if you're a mom like me, then your kiddos can play while you try on clothes instead of running away from you and playing hide and seek in the clothing stands.  This dress was a keeper, obviously.  

Item 3: Market & Spruce Austin Polka Dot & Striped Mixed Material Shirt - $44

This was my least favorite part of my Fix for a few reasons.  1. I had asked for work pieces and this shirt struck me as too casual for work.  2.  I thought it was overpriced for a basic t-shirt.  That being said, I'm a sucker for polka dots.  

I'm also not really sure how to wear this shirt.  I don't really like either pair of jeans I'm wearing with it.  I think I will have to keep playing with it.  I definitely like the idea of it.  Now, I've already told you that I kept everything in this shipment but I just finished saying I'm not crazy about this shirt.  It's not that I don't like it, it's just that I haven't quite figured it out yet.  I kept it because I think it has potential and I wanted the "Buy 5 Discount."  This gives you a 25% off discount when you purchase all 5 items in your Fix.  I don't recommend doing this every time, especially if you absolutely hate something, because it will mess with your algorithm and your stylist will be confused.  I really do like this shirt, I just can't figure out how I want to wear it yet.  

Items 4 and 5: 41 Hawthorn Moni Geo Print & Camisole Blouse-$58 and Margaret M Emer High Waisted Trouser- $98

When I first saw these items there's two  things I thought: 1. $98 for pants, are they crazy????  2. Orange.....I own absolutely nothing in orange and I wasn't planning on changing that.  Oh, and can you guys see my fur baby in the background?  That is my Golden Retriever, Dolly, who I've had since high school.  That is her home defense tactic in its full glory:  lie directly in front of the door and don't let anyone in or out.  It's very effective.  I just love her.  

After trying both items on I knew I had to keep them.  My wonderful and lovely friends gave me a ton of compliments on the orange shirt and the pants fit like a dream.  I can see myself wearing these a couple of times of week.  They are pull on, so there's no fasteners to mess with, and they look great with anything.  I consider this an investment in a great staple piece.  

The blouse also came with a cream camisole which I'm not sure I like.  It hits me a little too low in the chest area, so I may just end up replacing it with one of the gazillion camisoles I already own.  

Okay, so that's my Stitch Fix Review.  What do you guys think?  Did I make the right decision by keeping it all?  I may have to increase the time between fixes if my stylist keeps sending me all this great stuff!  That's one thing I forgot to mention, you can receive fixes as often as you would like, and skip as often as you would like.  There's no monthly obligation which I like.  I'm  also still really excited about the shoe addition, I'm hoping I get some soon!  

Welcome!

Hello Friends!


     This is my first ever blog post!  Blogging is something I've always thought would be a fun and challenging way to further develop my writing skills and style.  I decided to call my blog "Courage Up" because I feel like that is what I'm doing with this new venture; I'm "couraging up."  Within this blog I plan to post about the things that interest me and consume my time.  That means I will be posting about family, marriage, prayer, raising kids, teaching, cooking, fashion, and anything else that comes to mind!  


A bit about me: 

      I am currently a Reading and English teacher for a small town middle school in Wyoming!  This brings me to my "Courage Up" part.  I ask my students to write and go out on a limb all the time, to take risks!  However, I wasn't practicing what I was preaching!  This is my way of taking a risk and going out on a limb as well.  My goal with this blog is to grow everyday in what I learn and take away with me.  

      I just turned 30 so I am officially old ha ha.  I'm just kidding, I still feel very young.  I'm still carded when I buy a glass of wine so that should definitely count for something.  

     The most important part about me?  I have two beautiful boys, ages 6 and 4.  They are my life and my light, my reason for everything I do.  I am also married to my high school sweetheart.  To date we've been together for 14 years and married for 8 years.  My husband is my partner through life, the first person I think of when I wake up and 1000 more times again throughout the day.  He is my accomplice in life's adventures and I don't think I'll ever get enough of the experiences we share.  

     My prayer life is always growing, and I would like for my relationship with God to continue to develop, become more meaningful, and more a part of my life.  I will post thoughts on how I am trying to accomplish the feat of living a Godly life and keeping my faith a positive part of my everyday goings-on.  As this is something I struggle with I hope this blog can make me more cognizant of my goals.  

     As for cooking and fashion:  they are two of my favorite hobbies!  I love to try out new recipes in my never-ending search for foods that my very picky 6 year-old will actually eat!  I also love fashion and shopping (my poor husband) and I've recently discovered subscription boxes (again, my poor husband).  I recently posted a picture of myself on Facebook showing off one of the outfits I received from Stitch Fix, one of my absolutely favorite new discoveries.  I realized how much I loved the feedback my sweet, amazing, and downright lovable friends and family gave me.  So, in that spirit, I've decided to post my reviews on here as well so that perfectly sweet, amazing, and downright lovable strangers can give me feedback as well.  

I plan to post about anything and everything that interests me.  A new hobby I'd like to learn more about?  Photography.  Stay tuned to see if that pans out!  I live in my one of the most beautiful places around, so Photography is just a natural step that I'd love to take and something I've always been interested in.  So, feel free to stick around, please ignore my craziness, it's not polite to point!  Stay awhile and check out any new posts I write in the process of formalizing my ramblings.