Christine's stuffed peppers :)

So, in yesterday's blog I mentioned making stuffed peppers for a healthy, tasty dinner...Chase likes them, so they're guy-friendly too!! Here's some photos:

Fresh, boiled bell peppers

Stuffing mixture: brown rice, lean ground hamburger, chopped onions/tomatoes/garlic

The stuffed peppers before being cooked 

The final product with some cheese sprinkled on top!

State of mind, expectations, & company for a few days

Soooo, I've been awake since Chase's alarm went off at 7:55am this morning (despite attempting to go back to sleep after he left.) I got a LOT done this morning/afternoon such as cleaning the kitchen & living room, finished the laundry, took the trash out, & returned emails. 


One of the emails I had to send involved me looking back at some photos I took from last years Sea Gal auditions- from what I wore to pre-audition workshops, to my full makeup'd face for finals, to my photo for actually making it to the finals that was used on the Sea Gals website.

It got me thinking what a great state of mind I was in during that two week process. My skin was clear, I had the perfect tan, I was in GREAT shape, my hair was beautiful, & my makeup rocked. Which has made me think: If everything was so great, why didn't I make the cut for the team?! 

I don't have a concrete answer from the Coach or the other judges, but what I've been thinking the past few weeks is that I EXPECTED to make the team from the very first audition. Not because I thought I was better than everyone else that auditioned, but because I had SO MANY PEOPLE telling me I was going to make it & that I was a "shoo-in" for the team because of my dance experience & confident attitude. Now, I don't blame people for telling me what they did...it was their opinion & they were sharing it with me as such.

This year I am blessed with an opportunity to work with other girls that all have a similar goal, being coached by a former Sea Gal in fitness, makeup, & all aspects of performance. I am 7 lbs heavier than I was at my audition weight. I don't think losing that will be difficult, but I would really love to be down 10-15 lbs by mid-April for this years auditions. 

It's hard for me to get an actual workout while I teach my fitness classes because my body is already so used to the routines & workouts, so Chase has offered to workout with me at our apartment's fitness facility & to only suggest fast food options 1x/week for dinner. Last night, he made Chicken Tagine, which is chicken, tomatoes, onions, fresh cilantro, & lime juice all cooked together IN a Tagine :) It's soooo good and a really healthy idea for lunch or dinner. 

I'm thinking about walking to the grocery store (yes, it's still snowing here!) for some more ingredients to make stuffed peppers. We're going to be having company for a few days...one of Chase's co-workers lives on a sailboat and needs a warmer place to stay while this awful weather is going on. We have a spare bedroom & a queen sized air mattress that isn't being used. I'm glad we have the means to help someone that needs it. Hopefully Apollo doesn't invade his space too much!

Apollo's- Apollo sized bed :)

Today, Mr. Apollo received an AWESOME belated Christmas present from his Aunt Gina over in Afghanistan :) It's a personalized Apollo-sized bed!! He's been lounging on it ever since I took it out of the box.

Being sick over the weekend doesn't mean all news is bad news

As some of you know, I have been sick the past few days with what I thought was the 24 hour flu...but hasn't exactly subsided in 24 hours. I'm feeling 90%, but I still have a headache & a cough :-(  Apollo has also been a little under the weather since having been to the vet & being prescribed 10 Cephalexin pills per day for his infection :-( It's making his tummy feel sick, just like mama.

Besides being on the mend this weekend, I received a text from one of the friends I made at the Seattle Sea Gal & Bombshell auditions. She was offered an amazing opportunity that will help her in the upcoming Sea Gal auditions this coming April/May. (She shall remain nameless unless permission to use her name is given)
She asked if I would be interested in the same opportunity to help me in the upcoming Sea Gal auditions. I (of course) jumped at the chance and am just now waiting for more details :) 


So though this weekend was full of coughing, headaches, &body aches, I had a bit of exciting news :)

Me before last year's Sea Gal audition

Did you bake YOUR boyfriend a pie on his birthday?!

Sooooo, yesterday was Chase's birthday and I decided that I was going to be even more domestic and bake him a pie :) He has told me in the past that he's a big fan of Rhubarb, so (despite the fact that Rhubarb isn't in season!) I chose that for the filling. I ended up driving around to 4 different stores looking for fresh Rhubarb: Safeway, Trader Joes, PCC, and finally QFC where they had it frozen, but not fresh :-( I decided to take my chances because I didn't have a whole lot time to bake the pie before I had to leave to teach, then off to lunch with Chase during his break. I bought pre-made pie shells, mixed 1 cup of sugar & 6 tablespoons of flour, dusted it on the bottom shell, added the thawed Rhubarb, then put the rest of the sugar/flour mixture in with the Rhubarb, covered & folded the top pie shell. (See below)

 It baked while I got ready, & the timer went off right 5 minutes before I was supposed to walk out the door. Since the pie was extremely hot, I grabbed the IA HAWKEYE hot potato bag Chase's mom gave us for Christmas to put it in. I taught my class & then met Chase at his work & presented him with the pie :) I was honestly really worried that it was going to taste not as great because of the frozen Rhubarb, but according to both of our taste buds (& keep in mind, I'm NOT a Rhubarb fan) it tasted GREAT!!!!!! 

I can now add "Pie Baker" to my life job description ;)

Not an ordinary, but extra-ordinary Christmas :)

I'm so glad my Dad sent me this picture yesterday of him & my Great Grandma Burgett :) She's 95 years old and still such a spit-fire!! 


I missed my family a lot on Christmas, but Chase & I had a very LONG Skype conversation with both his & my family while we opened our presents.
I got:
2 Starbucks Gift Cards
My favorite perfume- Pretty Hot by Elizabeth Arden
All 4 seasons of my favorite show: "The Big Bang Theory"
A pack of 4-Cutting boards with a plastic spatula
A queen size memory foam mattress topper along with a black satin sheet set
Money towards a pair of Triple Bailey Button Uggs (HOORAY!)
A book about how dogs think (with a picture of a Great Dane on the front!)
Homemade Chocolate/Candy covered marshmallows 
And a pack of gum :)

I did pretty well, dontcha think?!


Being a now 3 year tradition, Chase & I went to a movie on Christmas evening. I chose "Young Adult" because I love Charlize Theron & I thought the one movie trailer I saw for it looked funny...but this particular movie was not funny. It was AWFUL and DEPRESSING, actually. Don't waste your money, please!!

After seeing the depressing movie, we went home & finished the 2nd Season of "The Big Bang Theory" to lift our spirits :) We have the 4th Season left, after having already checked out seasons 1 & 3 from the King County Library. 

New Years Resolution

As women, we'll never be 100% with our looks...89% of the time.Whether it be our height, weight, hair color, eye color, nose shape, pore shape, or eyelash length. There are those few days when we get a new haircut, or wear a new outfit that makes us feel better than usual, but other than that- there's always going to be a found flaw when we look into that bathroom mirror (no matter how many times our significant other may compliment us.)


What's even worse is when women compliment other women on how they look when we don't really mean it! We simply want to point out a flaw in them making us feel better about OURSELVES. 
Don't deny it, it's something we've all done.


Getting me to my 2012 NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION(S):


1) Take more Dance/Fitness Classes. Some of you may be wondering to yourselves, "What the hell?! She teaches all the time!!" True...but I would like to be a student in class, learning from someone else rather than being the teacher all of the time.
I live directly across from Westlake Dance Center and since moving here in September, I have NOT BEEN TO A SINGLE CLASS. Dancing makes me feel better about myself, especially when I'm not up on stage in front of a class.


2) Audition for the Sea Gals again, & make the team this time! I appreciated everyone's support last year via Facebook, but this year I'm not going to hype-it-up like I did last year. It was really painful to have to post that I didn't make it & while I love everyone who asked me WHY I didn't make it, I really had no clear answer for you because no clear answer was given at the Finals to those of us who didn't make it onto the team.


3) Find a hobby to do with Chase besides going out to eat & watching television!!


4) Stop pointing out my physical flaws to myself & others. My job as a Dance/Fitness Instructor is to create confidence in my students...if I'm focusing too much on MY flaws, how can they feel confident about themselves and achieving their goals?