call me crazy

I'm that crazy dog lady you hear people talk about. You know, the one that babies their dog, and pretends they are actual children! That's me

I have always thought that I would have babies by now. The fact that I'm single, have no babies and my clock is loudly ticking away is making it impossible for me to not baby Izzie. I've treated her like a child from the moment I got her, the silly voice, the abundance of dog toys, and the fact that she sleeps in my bed, under the covers with her head on the pillow. All of this screams BABY!

Here are some photographic examples

Example 1. Birthdays aren't complete without a birthday card, accompanied by a birthday cupcake (with no frosting), and gifts. It sometimes includes a party hat/crown

{turning 3}

{turning 4}

{turning 5}

Example 2. If a store allows, Izzie sometimes comes shopping with me

Example 3. Clothes. What girl does not have clothes? So far for Halloween, Izzie has been a bunny, an inspector, and a cow. She also has other clothes

{raincoat}

{winter sweater}

Example 4. Transportation. Izzie enjoys luxurious car rides where she is in her doggie hammock in the back seat or sits on my lap while watching traffic

Example 5. The last example. When it's time to go night night, she circles around, pushes the covers up with her nose and snuggles really close to me...I love it! {now all I have to do is find a guy who won't mind!}

{she is clearly living the life!}

I don't care that people think I am crazy for treating Izzie the way I do. Frankly, dogs are pets, they love people. What is the point of having a dog if you have him/her chained outside all day long? I don't think there is anything wrong or weird about the way I treat Izzie. The way I treat her will somewhat change when I have a child, and I'm ok with that. I'm not sure if Izzie is, but she would love a baby, she loves all children. 

I love my dog, and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Tex-Mex {vegetarian} lasagna

I decided to share this awesome recipe with you guys! My mom was really helpful in finding new recipes after I decided to become a vegetarian. I love my moms original lasagna, but it has ground beef in it. She found this recipe in a 'Good Housekeeping' and I love it!

{ via }

What you need is:

2 tsp. vegetable oil (I use olive oil)
1 small onion, chopped
2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
1 16oz jar of salsa
1 cup fresh or frozen corn (I use canned)
1 tbsp. no-salt added chili powder
1 8oz can of tomato sauce
6 oven ready, no-boil lasagna noodles (I use 8)
1 can fat free re-fried beans (I replaced this by using 2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed)
8 oz shredded Monterey Jack or Cheddar Cheese
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves

This might seem like a lot of ingredients, but it is honestly such a simple, delicious recipe!

1. Heat up the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray your pan with cooking spray (I use olive oil Pam).

2. Heat the oil in a big pan (I needed to switch mine to a bigger pan half way through!). Add the onion, and after 2ish minutes, add the zucchini, salsa, corn and chili powder. Cook for 3 minutes, stir occasionally. Remove from heat.

3. Spread half of the tomato sauce on the bottom of your sprayed pan. Lay 2 lasagna noodles on top of the tomato sauce (or 4, as I did, it's kinda up to your own preference). Add 1 can of black beans, or half the can of re-fried beans. Top that off with half the vegetables. Lay more noodles down, and top with half of the cheese. Top off with the rest of the tomato sauce, noodles, beans, and vegetables. Top it off with the rest of the cheese.

4. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and back for another 15 to 20 minutes. Top with cilantro after letting it cool for about 5 minutes. 

This recipe has about 365 calories per serving (less when using fat free cheese and black beans). It is a perfect dinner and from what I have seen there were no leftovers for the next day...it disappeared very quickly :)

Enjoy! 

FF - denim on denim

Barely making it in time for it to still be Friday! Today was a busy busy day. I had a job interview that was followed by a job offer, which I gladly accepted!! After that I became a volunteer for the Red Cross, and I ended the night in the ER with my brother in law who got a hockey stick to the face and broke his nose.

But, none of that is an excuse for not posting a FF!! I threw this outfit together the other day and was surprised how well the two colors of denim went together. I wouldn't have normally put the two together but I'm glad I did! Adding a pop of color made it feel like a fun outfit.

 

 

Jeans - Rockstar skinnies by Old Navy (my favorite jeans!!)
Button down - H&M
Purse - Shi by Journey's
Necklace - Belk
Shoes - Sole Society
bracelet - H&M
Watch - Fossil

Happy Friday!

Vegetarian

{ via }

When I went home this past summer and had to tell my oma that I didn't eat meat (including seafood) she looked at me with these sad puppy eyes. I think she just didn't understand why I would voluntarily make the choice to not eat meat. My oma was born during the second world war and back then, you ate what you were fed or else you were going to go hungry. I can see how she doesn't understand that I made a choice to not eat animals. She probably thinks I'm starving because I cut out a major portion in the diet of the average person. (I'm not starving)

I don't know if any of ya'll have seen the videos that P.E.T.A (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has on their website. They are videos that show undercover footage of what goes on in meat/dairy/egg farms. My friend Jonell (the only person at the time that I knew was a vegetarian) showed it to me and it was awful, I was crying not even 5 minutes in when they started throwing baby chickens around like they were not alive, and believe me, they were. 

Growing up, I lived in the smallest of towns (400 people). We got our cheese and eggs from a store that was attached to the farm where they made the cheese and collected the eggs. I for one prefer to have poop and dirt on my egg so I know they are fresh and haven't been touched before I ate it. Our meat came from a butcher that had his own animals before slaughtering them. Buying so fresh is unreal, and something that is not seen anymore. I would love to buy my cheese from an actual farm where they make the cheese, instead of buying it in a plastic bag at kroger. I finally found eggs with poop on them from the farmers market and I love it!

{via}

In June of 2012 I slowly started to take meat out of my diet. I was not a vegetarian, but meat is expensive and I was a poor college student so it just made its way out of my diet. If I was somewhere and meat was served I would eat it, and I would eat a hamburger if I was at McDonalds. In December of 2012, my teacher for some crazy reason decided to show us a P.E.T.A video at the end of the semester. I had my back turned towards the video they entire class, facing my classmates (who might have all thought I was crazy) so I wouldn't have to see it. I could only hear what was going on. And that was enough, just hearing these animals being tortured and in pain was the last straw, and from that day on, December 13th 2012, I have not touched meat since (the people in my class went on to eat pepperoni pizza after that...how they could stomach eating pepperoni after that is beyond me)\

Being a vegetarian has made me feel so incredibly healthy. It has changed me and has given me the opportunity to try so many new things that I wouldn't have tried had I not been a vegetarian. Most people ask how I get my nutrients and there are a lot of ways to get them and I get all of my nutrients and am totally healthy despite cutting out meat. 

I don't judge people that eat meat, but sometimes I feel that those who do eat meat judge me. I think it is human nature to question things that we think are weird or out of the ordinary. Apparently some people seem to think that the fact that I don't eat meat makes me weird. I understand where they are coming from and I don't mind being asked questions about my choice. What I do mind is people questioning me and making me feel like I need to defend the choices I make. They are my choices, ones that I made for myself!
I wouldn't make someone explain and defend why they don't eat sweet potatoes because they don't like them, so why should I be asked to do so?

I'm a vegetarian, not an alien. 

FF - black & blue

When I saw these cute leggings at Wet Seal, I knew I had to have them! They are so comfortable and I can't wait for it to be fall + winter so I can wear them with over sized, chunky, knitted sweaters and boots! (not looking forward to the weather, just the fashion). I paired them with a button-down for summer time, or just a plain old t-shirt.

 

 

 

 

Leggings - Wet Seal

Button down - Mine (found at TJMaxx)

Shoes - Cosmopolitan

Purse - Target

Jewelry - Target, Kay, H&M

 

Happy Friday!

Class of 2013

 

EEK!! This past Friday I handed in my last assignment for my very last undergraduate class EVER! I'm officially part of the class of 2013!

I'm now waiting to receive that pretty piece of paper in the mail, my bachelor of arts degree in criminal justice with a minor in sociology (sounds so cool!). They better not bend it! :)

Here are some of pictures of my graduation that my dad (the photographer) took. Enjoy :)

{ clearly excited to graduate :) }

{ realized that I made my cap upside down when looking through these pictures!! I'm so bummed now because I wish I would have realized it earlier. I'll have to remember this for when I get my next degree ;) }

{ the fam, ltr: aunt, sister, dad, me, mom, brother in law }

{ these two scare me :) }

 

I will take a picture of my diploma when it comes in, and post it on instagram (@sprinklesontoast)! I had such a great time at graduation, it was over so fast that I forgot to enjoy walking across the stage. Maybe next time when I get my next degree (Master's anyone?) I'll remember to walk slowly, keep my head up, enjoy, and glue glitter on my cap the right way!

Happy hump-day!


{All pictures were taken by Wim van der Stelt and are posted with his permission. Anyone who would like to use these pictures for themselves should get permission from the photographer personally.}

something's gotta give

Some people know from a very early age that they want to be a nurse, or teacher when they grow up. Some people fall into a job or career that they never thought of, but it couldn't be a better fit for them. I have always known I wanted to be a mother when I grew up. Yet here I am, 27 and single, recently graduated from college with no backup plan (almost wrote plan b, before realizing what that stood for and then changed it to backup plan).

It never dawned on me that maybe I should think of something else to do in case I won't be a mom for a while. I have a degree in criminal justice with a minor in sociology and I would love to work in that field, but there seems to be limited jobs and a lot of demand.

Now I'm sitting here, in my sisters guest bedroom where I have been for the past 6 weeks. I have no place to call my own. All my belongings are in storage and I have no access to them (I'm talking about shoes here ladies!). I miss my things and I miss having a reason to get up in the morning, to get dolled up and hang out with friends and work at a job I love / like.

With the freedom that I wrote about here comes a lot of uncertainty. For example, I can go wherever I want to, but that seems to be changing a lot (from NC to AZ, big difference). I can be whatever I want to be, but I don't know what I would like to do. Maybe I'm just overwhelmed and I can't seem to make sense of anything. I am trying to make decisions, but they are not easy ones to make. There aren't many things I know for sure and that is scary.

Here is what I do know: I am practically homeless (not meaning I don't have a roof over my head, but I don't have a place to call my own), I am broke as a joke, I have sent out over 50 applications and so far received 15 rejection emails, I took 1 skills test that landed me in a 'pool of applicants for future openings' (I don't want to be in a pool that doesn't contain cholorine, or a job in the near future), and the Phoenix, AZ area is a frontrunner of possible places to live (where or how I came up with that one I can't tell you. If ANYONE lives in or near Phoenix, please please please email me telling me the ins and outs of the city and surrounding towns. I've never been!)

In my eyes, it doesn't look good, but it could be worse, much worse. There are not enough thank you's in the world that can thank my family for supporting me while I figure this thing called 'life' out. Its no fun, and I'm not enjoying myself. Hanging out at home all day with not a whole lot to do besides hang out with these two manicas

 

Hanging out with these two is a lot of fun...for the first 4 weeks, but its getting old.

 

Frustration and lack of patience are two of my enemies, along with not being able to talk to people during the day (too much thinking time is no good for anyone). Being single with no near future possibilities is making me realize that I should start doing things alone, like possibly buying a house (not right now, but eventually). I don't want to sit around and wait for mr. right or the right job to come along. I need to grab the bull by the balls in this shitty economy / job market.

 

So I guess I'll start p90x tomorrow again. I literally have no excuse not to do it, its not like I have no time! I might as well get a hot(ter) body while being unemployed. I'm not trying to be terribly negative or act as a debby downer (I am fully aware of the many blessings in my life at this moment), I am simply trying to write down my feelings and read back on this once I have a career, a husband and a child!!

 

Any advice for me? I'm sure it is not just me that is struggling or has struggled. Any help with be useful :)