Meatloaf + AMA Round One

Tonight the man demanded meatloaf!

One of Ryan’s favorite dinners is BBQ meatloaf and he was beggin’ for it for dinner tonight. Who am I to say no to such a delicious request?

While I prepped the meatloaf and measured out the spices, Ryan chopped the onion. I cannot chop onions because I look like I’ve just sat through The Notebook by the time I’m done. I tear up like crazy!

Ryan also handled the dirty work and mooshed the meatloaf ingredients together with his hands.

On the side we enjoyed Campbell’s Harvest Select Harvest French onion soup.

AMA Q & As

First, I want to say thank you to all of you who submitted Ask Me Anything questions! Every time I got an alert I was so excited to see what you guys had to say and wanted to know. In case you still have something you’d like to ask, click here to submit an anonymous Ask Me Anything question.

So, heeere we go… the first round of Ask Me Anything  questions:

I love your cheerful attitude to life. You are so bubbly and fun. Is this how you are all the time or do you have days when you are a complete b**tch like the rest of us?? 🙂

Of course I have grouchy days where I feel like I’m in a funk! Fortunately though, I really am a fairly optimistic person and try not to get caught up in negativity and really try not to “sweat the small stuff.” To me, getting angry or involved in drama is exhausting… seriously, it overwhelms me. Whenever I’m faced with something that’s really bothering me, I ask myself this: “Will this even matter in a week? In a month? In a year?” More often than not,  the answer is “no,” and it’s not worth getting upset over.

(Ryan is looking over my shoulder and said I should answer the above question like this: “Yes. I am happy all the time.” He’s a little biased. 😉 )

Have you and Ryan ever “taken a break” throughout your relationship?

No. We’ve been together for a little more than six years… six whole years. Ryan is pretty hard-headed about the “taking a break” issue and though I never wanted to “take a break” from our relationship, I really like his views on “breaks” and have adopted them as my own. 😉 To him (and now to me as well), taking a break really puts your relationship in a gray area. The “rules” are undefined and inevitably someone always seems to get hurt. Every relationship has ups and downs and for us, we were fully committed to communicating and working thorough any issues at hand, rather than waving the white flag. Don’t get me wrong… I know there are couples who take breaks and it works for them… For us, though, it never was really something we considered. A “break” (to me), is a break up and I’ve always like Ryan too much to want a break from that boy.

What took you from Illinois to Florida?  And do you miss the Midwest?

My family and I moved to Florida from Palatine, Illinois after I graduated high school in 2003 because my dad accepted a job in St. Petersburg.

I really miss certain aspects of the Midwest. I think there’s something to be said for “Midwestern values” and, generally speaking, I feel a genuine warmth from people who come from the Midwest. I do not miss the weather (except on Christmas).

What’s your favorite activity with Sadie? (Thank you to VeggieGirl for saying it was you who submitted this question! My curiosity is gettin’ the best of me!)

Sadie warms my heart. Just receiving a question about her makes me smile! J I love many activities with Sadie! My favorite active activity is definitely hiking with Sadie and Ryan. However, nothing beats cuddling with Sadie when she’s tired. She literally goes to bed by 9:30 p.m. every night (she hops off the couch and put herself to bed in our bedroom) and I know that’s when I’ll get my quality cuddle time with my girl.

How do you find out about all of the deals, bargains, and free products companies are doing?

One Web site: Slickdeals.net. Ryan and his cousin introduced it to me and it’s phenomenal!

What has been your favorite part of wedding planning? And your least favorite part?

My favorite part of wedding planning has been seeing how excited my family and Ryan get every time we talk about the big day. I know it’s totally cheesy but I feel so lucky to be planning a wedding to such a great guy who my family loves and adores as well.

My least favorite part is handling the guest list! Right now we have approximately 160 people on our guest list, and we want to cut it to 120 for the sake of our budget… I am not looking forward to that! Ideally, we’d like around 100 guests to RSVP so we can serve the best food. 🙂

What sorority were you in?

I was a Kappa Delta at the University of Central Florida.

What are your favorite clothing stores?

Ah! A thought provoker! 🙂 My favorite stores are J.Crew (thank goodness I live near the outlet!), Banana Republic, Marshalls and T.J. Maxx. I also love RueLaLa.com and Off 5^th (the Saks Fifth Avenue outlet) for great sales on designer jeans.

Do you take any daily vitamins?

I take one Viactiv chewable calcium supplement and a One a Day Essential multivitamin every day.

Does Ryan have any single male friends? 😉

Yes! Do you live near Orlando? 😀

Hi! I love reading your blog and congratulations on your upcoming wedding!!  My questions are: What is your height and weight and how many calories per day do you eat?

I actually received this question multiple times, so I’m just posting the first one since the answer is the same across the board.

I’ll be totally honest, this is the question I was dreading when I posted the Ask Me Anything link, mainly because I’m pretty private about my weight. I don’t blame anyone for being curious because I am curious about others as well, but I think sharing my weight only brings about comparisons and I would encourage everyone to try not to compare yourself to me or any other woman out there. You are your own person and should weigh a healthy weight for your body… not my body or anyone else’s body. 🙂 Okay, I’ll step off my soap box now and stop avoiding the question. 😉

I am 5’6 ¾’’ (aaaalmost 5’7’’) and this morning I weighed 126.8 lbs. (Ryan and I were just talking about weight last night which prompted me to weigh in this morning. Ryan is 6’2” and weighs 190 lbs. in case you’re curious. 😉 ) Like everyone, my weight does fluctuate!

As for calories, I do not count calories, but I have in the past and found myself consuming around 1,800 calories daily… definitely more on the weekends (always!) and more when I do a lot of cardio. I eat 6 mini meals every day, and I’d estimate them to be around 300 calories each. I usually only blog about what I eat during the typical breakfast, lunch and dinner times, which is only about half of my daily meals.

How often do you weigh yourself (if you do)?

I weigh myself a couple times a week just to keep myself in check… usually on a Monday and a Friday.

Have you ever been injured from a sport or exercise?

Yes! I had bursitis in my hip from running and couldn’t run or do any high impact exercises for several months during the summer of my junior year in college. It was honestly a very difficult thing for me to deal with and I was very frustrated by the set back. I met with a wonderful doctor who showed me how to properly stretch my hip (I literally never stretched my hip before this injury), and I now take the time to give the ol’ hip some TLC before and after my runs.

I couldn’t get to all of your questions tonight, but I’ll definitely answer more tomorrow morning! You may click here to submit an anonymous question. 🙂 Thanks to everyone who sumbitted a question!