Graduate School

I did it. I FINALLY took the first steps today for applying to graduate school. My hope is to begin taking courses in August at IUSB and to pursue a Master in Public Affairs degree with a focus on Heatlh Care Administration and Policy. My application is complete, I've collected my transcripts and I'm working on three letters of recommendation. Now, due to my embarrisingly poor undergraduate GPA, I need to take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) and score a 900 or better to be accepted. I wish I would have spent less time focusing on my full-time job as a student report (althought it was an amazing experience that has opened many doors) and more time focusing on my GPA at Purdue. I am NOT looking forward to the GRE - I'm not sure I can still do Algebra! I might need to study a bit before I take the test. Wow...study... haven't done that in years.
I took an amazing position at work that only allows me to be home (not traveling) with Jack and DJ and to work with some really awesome people (holla Laura - I know you read my blog! :) )but that will allow me some flexibility for studying between projects. Also, my new boss is SO great and supportive and has already given me some tips for the application process.
Here's hoping that it all comes together and that I'll soon be a full-time working mom/student. Nervous but also excited!

I have the best family ...

Jack spent the day with my Aunt Dawn and cousin Lindsay on Saturday while I had a shopping day with my girlfriends in Ft. Wayne. Here's a video of Lindsay jumping on the trampoline with Jack at her tumbling class. He had ssooooooooooooooo much fun with them! Can't you tell from the way he's cheesing it up at the end? :) Thanks, Dawn and Lindsay...love you!

Vacuum

I am becoming a domestic dork. Why? Because I am in L-O-V-E with my new vacuum. It's a Bissell Pet Hair Eraser vacuum and it makes my life easier. To give you a litte history, I have been through four vacuums in five years! I'm becomming a bit obsessed about vacuuming - mostly because my dog Tucker sheds like it's his job. WHAT do I love about my vacuum you ask?
-The hose is long enough that I can vacuum ALL of my basement stairs without moving th base.
-It's light.
-It sucks up every last bit of Tucker hair, both on carpet and hardwood.
-The canister is super easy to empty.
-The cord is long enough that I can vacuum several rooms without having to re-plug.

Okay, Bissell, this is my pitch for you. Thank you for making my life and house cleaning a little easier. :)

20 Months

A few pictures to capture my little man at 20 months old!

Rotiserie Chicken Enchliadas

I am ALL ABOUT recipes with five ingredients or less. Last night I made these yummy rotiserie chicken enchaladas, but omitted the cilantro, green chiles, olives and tomatoes. Thought I'd share the recipe with all of you. They were SO easy and VERY yummy! I included the original recipe in case you have all the ingredients lying around or prefer more flare in your dinner. :)

Ingredients
cooking spray
10–12 sprigs fresh cilantro (rinsed)
1 small tomato (rinsed)
1 chilled Deli rotisserie chicken
3/4 cup refried beans
2 (10-ounce) cans enchilada sauce
6 (10-inch) flour tortillas
1 (2.25-ounce) can sliced black olives with jalapeño (drained)
1 1/2 cups Mexican-blend cheese
aluminum foil

Steps


Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 9-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Chop cilantro coarsely, place in medium bowl. Chop tomato finely; set aside.

Remove meat of chicken from bones (discard skin and bones) and chop coarsely; add to cilantro (wash hands). Stir in beans and 1 can of the enchilada sauce.

Spoon chicken mixture equally into center of tortillas. Roll tortillas around filling and place, seam side down, in baking dish. Pour remaining can of enchilada sauce over enchiladas.

Sprinkle tomatoes, olives, and then cheese evenly over enchiladas. Cover with foil and bake 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated and cheese is melted. Serve. (Makes 6 servings.)

CALORIES (per 1/6 recipe) 450kcal; FAT 23g; CHOL 135mg; SODIUM 1170mg; CARB 27g; FIBER 2g; PROTEIN 33g; VIT A 15%; VIT C 6%; CALC 25%; IRON 10%

Sorry...couldn't figure out how to rotate this photo of Jackson at my aunt and uncle's house.

We've had quite a bit going on lately it seems. Last weekend we traveled to Indinapolis to visit our friends Heather and Mike. We had a great time! Jack got to hang at my Uncle Bill's house overnight and he had a blast playing with our cousins Carlee, Kendall and Trace.
This coming weekend should be nice and low key. DJ and I are going to try to go on a date Friday night. Hmmm...wonder where we'll go? I got a great deal through livingsocial.com - two movie tickets for $9!!! Maybe we'll use those up. Saturday night we are going over to our friends' Jared and Angel's house for dinner. They're daughter Charlotte was born six months ago and this will be the first time we meet her! I'm sure Jackson will have a great time with their older daughter Hannah (she's 2).
My most exciting news is that we are going on VACATION!!!! Yep, all three of us are going to visit my family in Ft. Lauderdale. DJ is only able to stay until THursday because he has an annual trip with the boys planned to Louisville. Jack and I decided to stay the whole week! I can hardly wait for some sun and relaxation. Jack needs some Nee Nee, Papa and Uncle Joe time too. Yahoo! We've been working on a huge project at work since Christmas. The project should be complete by the time we leave for vacation so I will be sooooo ready for some R&R by then.

Side Story
Last week we got what was hopefully our last dumping of snow. I think we had 4 or 5 inches. Jack and I went to the grocery store and when I was pushing the cart out to my car to leave, we got stuck. The cart was heavy with all of my groceries and Jackson sitting in the front and I could not move it! This really nice lady came along and said "I'll pull ya" and rescued us from the overwhelming slush in the Meijer parking lot. What would we do without the kindness of strangers? At that moment I was feeling like "oh no, what am I going to do" and she saved me. Thank you nice lady! I have to admit that if I had seen this lady in the store I might have judged her. She had disheveled har and clothes/pajamas on and looked a little rough. Lesson learned by me - don't judge people by the way they look - they might pull you out of a snow bank!