10/10 CREAMY PASTA

 10/10 Creamy Pasta

I used angel hair noodles, cooking completely and set aside.

Chop fresh garlic cloves and a quarter of a yellow onion. 

Sautee in olive oil till brown, toss in some chopped cooked chicken, after a minute add in heavy whipping cream, ricotta cheese, sour cream and a little lemon juice, mixing well. 

Season with Nature's Own or a simple seasoning mix and parsley. 

Once mixed well, add in drained noodles, mix and enjoy!

This was a quick throw together past and one I'll be making again.

**I also used deboned rotisserie chicken to make it easier**

Let me know if you make this and what you think. I didn't measure anything, just chopped, poured and scooped lol.

Yummy Recipe

CHICKEN PASTA SALAD

Dressing:

2 Cups Mayo

1/4 Cup Sour Cream

1 Tbsp Dijon

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

2 Tbsp Relish

2 Tsp Garlic Powder

1 Tsp Onion Powder

1 Tsp Salt

1Tsp Parsley

Dash Pepper

Mix:

1 Bell Pepper Chopped

1 Cup Chopped Carrots

1 Cucumber Pealed and Chopped

1.5 Cups Shredded Chicken (I used a rotisserie chicken)

.5 Cups Shredded Cheese

1 Box Bowtie Pasta (or any style) 

Mix dressing together and then add everything else. Enjoy Right away or later once cold.

Contentment

Are you content with where you are in life or are you trying to find more? 

Is it for a good reason or out of anger?

Recently Derick and I tried moving back to Louisville, KY and nothing went the way it should. Every door was closing in our faces and we still broke them open...that not how it should work. lol 

It's something that we believed to be best for us, but in a way I think it still was because we found out we had actually been happy where we were, we just couldn't see it. 

I recently went to a coffee shop to get a bible study done and as I got my pen out of my bible where I wasn't doing my study, one of my notes stood out to me;

"PONDER EVERY THOUGHT THAT MAY DISTURB CONTENTMENT"

That was written long before this move happened, we had even had some people tell us we should be content and we didn't listen. 

We are blessed! Last night we found out that Derick's childhood bestfriend and soon to be wife will be moving into the house in front of us and we are so excited! The Lord works in mysterious ways!

We are grateful even through this past weeks trials, in a way it brought us closer to each other and the Lord.

 For that we praise him.

 

Life.

 How's life going for everyone?

For me life is going quite well, I now work at an amazing cafe/restaurant. We have a coffee bar, a bar bar lol, an amazing (clean food) kitchen which is gluten free that also pops out amazing pastries and on the go snacks that are vegan! The two amazing owners whom I get to work with everyday are some very special people! I have learned so much from them and am so grateful they took me, Native Kitchen is where I have needed to be for a very long time! The people, the environment, the customers, the food has all been so good to and for me. I'm not in a high stress environment like I have always been in, the customers are all so nice, patient and understanding.

I've even gotten to go to the gun range with my boss...how cool is she??

I get to photograph food everyday and it always posted for people to see, everyone loves it! I get to make charcuterie boards and they look great lol. And because of Native I've tried so many things I didn't think I would have tried, like all the different cheese and meet we put on the boards. Was just telling my boss that the other day too.

I've made so many new friends, so many people bring a smile to my face when they come in to Native!

We live in an actual house now, yes we are still renting, but it's a house! lol we just surpassed our year mark here and I finally bought some pictures for our walls and had Derick hang them for me...still looking for the perfect living room rug. You know those beautiful antique deigned ones? But I am looking for navy-ish blue and grey...why spend money on a rug for the time being just to have a rug? Why not wait till you find the ONE? lol I seem to do that with a lot of things, not find a place holder just to have something.

Ooh, since we moved here I finally decided I'm buying plants, I'm not just going to think about it. I did buy them...lots actually. I've had a bunch die too, buts thats what happens when you are still learning and are new, but I have some that are thriving, some propagations too. My grandma gave me a bunch this year too, one is a beautiful and big snake plant or a mother in law plant as some call it. When I went to Homegoods recently I found a cute and tall wicker basket that the plant fits down into and it's so cute!! 

Also when we moved here we traded in the beautiful Corolla (which I still miss sometimes) for a new Tacoma sport which would fit our needs here better. Being back near family we want to do more outdoors things, make camping easier, buy and use kayaks, be able to haul whatever we need instead of asking a bunch of people to borrow a truck lol

I really wanted to keep up the blog but when the only ones you see are the big blogs with thousands of followers that have the blog game figured out...then you feel inadequate.  I also didn't feel that I really had much to say, was living a normal life nothing fancy and would occasionally take a picture I wanted to post to here, even though it was already on other sites. It felt a bit different, more "speakable" in way, I don't know if that makes and sense. I wasn't just updating a status, I wanted to type things, but did they really matter, was the only person actually looking at my blog my mom...pretty much. But my mom is amazing and always want to hear and know what I think even if she kind of already heard it lol.

Tonight I just had the urge to type, nothing important, sometimes typing is just a good feeling. I have this laptop that just sits here, lonely and I see all these people who have a true need for theirs, whether it be school or their job. Just typing away and I want to be them lol just for the nice feeling of using it, wanting to take it to a coffee shop and type, but type what? My life is practically the same, day in and day out. Does anyone even care to read the monotony of the repetitive day?

This year, in 35 days, Derick and I will have been married 7 years! 

It's crazy that time has flew by like that but also gone so slow, just like the last two years of this pandemic...so many thoughts on that subject, so many thoughts that people condemn you for...I love you all, I want the best for you! One day the truth will come out, one day all this will be over, one day we will finally be in Heaven and will hopefully all be told "Well done, my good and faithful child".

Thanks for listening..until next time.

Clouse Robert Owens

I Have a Nephew!!

Clouse Robert Owens was born July 15th around 2:30 pm at 7 pounds, 19.5 inches long.

He is the younger brother to Ginny Rose Owens who is now a little over 3 years old.

I'm so blessed that I was able to go down to Tennessee for a few days and spend time with the little man who is beyond perfect and to see the rest of the family. Hope (his mother) also let me take so many photos of him that it made my heart happy. 

This is just a few of the photos :) thought yall would like to see the handsome man!

                                                                              -STSL Victoria

Getting The Ball Rolling

Weight Loss Time

So before I got married almost 5 years ago I felt like I was at a decent weight/size, I was happy with the way I looked and I felt great...I was confident. When I got married that changed because of the stress, moving states, moving in with my in-laws and not having a job for a while. I didn't have the routine I was used to and I completely slacked off. I used to go for run/walks about three times a week if not more sometimes, I had been doing Insanity and could tell a change with that. Back then I wasn't working much and didn't have to truly adult lol. 

But fast forward to now and I've continued to let myself go, I don't eat much due to working almost daily and just not being hungry because I've been busy. (That's a part of why I don't lose weight) I don't drink much water because of the same reason for food...still not good excuses! Lately I've been wanting to get into a routine of eating and drinking water more,(I know it shouldn't have to be something I get into a routine with...) but I just haven't I guess had enough mind power...

Now working out...it's hard to want to get my body moving and running or lifting when I get off work because I'm so tired from doing so much walking from work. I'll get bursts of energy while I'm at work and be like hey, I wanna go for a run right now but...I'm in the middle of serving people and I can't do that lol, when I get off and get home I don't have that energy anymore. I know that I won't always have the motivation to go be active and run, that I'll just have to force myself knowing that in the end whether it be right after or a long ways done the road, I'll be much happier. I do have this amazing flat trail about a mile from our home that goes all the way around Louisville that I have daily access to. I've ridden my bike there a couple times and it's wonderful especially when the sun is about to go down behind the trees, it's the perfect temperature and there is usually a breeze. :)

One thing that has prevented me from wanting to get moving a lot is my right foot, I feel like there might be a small stress fracture because if I move my foot weird there is a bit of pain and yes I know I need to go get it checked out!! 

I know I need to definitely eat more fruits and veggies but come on, veggies aren't always that tasty...I have enjoyed making homemade chicken alfredo with spaghetti squash or homemade chicken fried rice but with frozen cauliflower rice(it's actually really good!) I need to look up a bunch of healthy Instant Pot recipes because that thing is so easy and quick!!

If anyone wants to message me randomly though out the day and be like hey! have you eaten anything good today? or hey! have you drunk 8oz of water in the last hour? I'm all game for that! Just a thought :) lol

                                                                -Victoria STSL

And here is a picture of my dog Buster because he is just so cute!!!!

I love his crazy hair! I can't say bed head even though he had just woken up from a nap because it always looks like that. lol

What Should I Do?

Hi everyone!

Not really sure what to blog about anymore, I had originally wanted it to be all about photos and then enjoyed typing stuff out, but I'm not really sure what to post. Whether it be just my daily life or something else that interests ya'll...I would love to know. 

I could post more sermons that I enjoy, things from work, or random thoughts. I haven't done much photography lately because I've been working almost everyday, but when I do get the chance to get some more photos, I'd love to post them for ya'll to see. 

                                                                                                        -Victoria STSL

Our Big Move!

So we now live in Louisville, Kentucky. 

Back in November, Derick's friend got him a job being a tech for DIRECTV, so he packed up his stuff and moved in with his friend to get a hang of the job, I would continue to work in Georgia at Applebee's till it was time for me to come up. We had a lot of troubles financially and had to get a loan to be able to move because it was more than we expected but we trusted God fully, we knew this new start would be better than our life was. My mom was the best through this transition! She help drive the Penske truck to Kentucky, help put things away and was an all around best mom award mom. 

Our apartment is so beautiful! It's only a two bedroom but it has a huge walk in closet, a bathroom closet (which we didn't have at the mobile home), a big living and dining room and we have a lot of cabinet space in the kitchen. I love it!
And since Derick works for DirecTV we get it for almost nothing. We haven't had TV since being together, it was an expense we didn't need since we had internet, but we have it now with HD, on demand and everything else. It really makes me happy lol.
I've tried getting a warehouse job because I really didn't want to be in customer service anymore but the job I tried to get filled up right before I got there and they didn't have anything else like it. So I just finished with a interview with Chili's, hopefully they like me and my qualifications. I feel Chili's will have a good atmosphere for me and hopefully have good, happy and possibly Godly employees. Just waiting to hear back from them by tomorrow night.
I always thought I wanted to be a stay at home wife...but it's kinda boring. I'm not always the craftiest person and I don't have any girlfriends to go out and get coffee or go out shopping with. Getting a job I'll have something to do and as I said hopefully I'll make some friend to go out and get coffee with lol.
Since we moved in to the apartment we have had a small roach problem in the kitchen and we are quite sure they are coming from our other wall neighbors. Had Envirosafe come out for the second time, so hopefully it will get rid of them. They also said they are pretty sure they are coming from our neighbors too. I just want them (the roaches) gone because they give me the heebie jeebies!!!!!
Once we get some other furniture and some decorating done I will get some pictures uploaded.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       STSL

You Will Struggle.

So I went to a new church this morning (I just moved to Louisville KY, I'll make another post for that). It's called Hope City Church, it's .2 miles from our apartment, it's a Pentecostal Church of God and I was so excited to be going there, but I was also terrified because I would be the new kid lol. 

I went through the front door and there were so many people in the lobby, but I found the little welcome center and the woman was really nice! I filled out a personal sheet and got a cute Hope City Church water/coffee bottle. 

Inside the sanctuary on the stage they had these big  XOXO balloons, they were starting a four week series on marriage and relationships, I had come at the perfect time. :) They started worship with some very upbeat and loud songs that I knew and loved! 

The pastor and his wife were doing the series together and it was wonderful! They also put a number up on the screen so you could text in anonymous questions with out feeling embarrassed. The questions would be read and answered after the sermon. 

GENESIS 3

Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

They realized they sinned and they saw themselves naked, but God asked them who told them they were naked? Did you eat from the tree?

Adam was quick to throw the blame on Eve, he didn't want to take responsibility for his own actions. 

*Don't go into a marriage thinking that it will fix your insecurities! You have to take responsibility for them now.

Because Adam and Eve sinned God told them;

Eve, I will multiply the pains of child bearing and you shall want to control you husband but he is to rule over you.

Adam, the land you walk on is to be cursed. You will struggle for the rest of your life!

Ladies that control is as simple as his way of folding the laundry or putting the dishes in the dishes washer are wrong. All it does when you go back and fix it the way you want it, is tear your man down. It tells him that if its not your way then it's the wrong way. And sometimes the things you complain about in your husband or what he does is something thing that another woman wishes her man would do. If he helps out with anything, thank him and tell him you appreciate it and him. Give him a parade for his good, hard work. Love on him when he comes home.

(This kinda hit me because I know I nit-pick things, I like it done my way. I've seen the ache or sadness in his eyes when I've controlled something, and I'm going to be working on it!)

Don't make your home life feel like a struggle!

We think there is a destination man. One where we have all these standards, do this this way, do that this way, act this way. But we need to stop this! We need to be thankful and happy with who we love.

If your S/O never changed from who they are now, would you be able to love them for the rest of your life?

Men, your woman just wants to know that she is enough for you! We won't be enough except through Christ.

Going back to where God said the ground is cursed and we shall struggle for the rest of our lives. Your man does what he can through his struggle and he needs to be replenished! BUILD HIM UP!

SPEAK LIFE INTO HIM!

Always be honest and give your S/O a heads up of you have something really important to talk about, try to get to the point quickly.

And lastly it will be hard and there might be tears but the pastor said to ask you S/O

Do I Build You Up Or Beat You Down???

And

What Can I Do Better?

                                                                                 STSL

Thank You!

Thank you all who look at my blog! It is really nice to see how many views I got since my last post yesterday (75). It may not sound like much but it is to me and again I promise to post more, even if it's just about work or the weather. lol

About the weather...there were huge snow flakes today while at work, sadly they didn't stick but it was still pretty. Now everything is all wet and gross haha. 

I ask that anyone who sees this pray for an amazing job opportunity for Derick. We are ready to move from this town and find a better life, hopefully in Tennessee near my family.

I just realized I never told yall that I'm going to be an AUNT!!! I'm so excited! Her name will be Ginny Rose Owens and she is due the middle of march. I cannot wait to see her beautiful face and to spoil the crap out of her. I have already realized my love for shopping for baby stuff when I was getting gifts for the shower(s).

Saturday I'm going back up to Tennessee for the second shower and to take maternity pictures, I was so honored that Hope asked me to take them and then to take new born pictures. Thank you Hope and Brandon for that.

I'm also going through a cold right now which is awful! I can hardly breathe through my nose and all my energy is gone.  

                                                                                          STSL

Where to Begin...? How About I'm Sorry!

Time to Catch Up!

Ok, again it's been a while since I've posted and it's the same story...I don't have much to write and am busy all the time...

These photos are going from most recent to a while ago.

This is our dog Buster. He got a little ear infection and had to go to the awful vet and have them touch his hurt ear :( It was so painful to hear him whining in pain, I just wanted to cry!

He didn't have to wear the cone for long because the medicine they put in his ear made him stop scratching at it. He goes back for a check up this coming Tuesday to make sure he a-Ok!

This is from Valentine's Day (well actually the day after) the day of we went to this great Mexican "buffet" before I had to go in to work and stay late. I was kinda upset that I didn't get anything because everyone else was getting something, even while they were at work (he wasn't sure what to get me, I just told him I wanted some flowers and love). So I went to bed upset...but everything changed when I woke up to a bouquet of roses and a beautiful card! 

So these were fresh out of the oven...who doesn't have a weakness for Krispie Kreme donuts??

Over Christmas Derick and I went to Orlando Florida to see his cousins, we had a lot of fun, lot of laughs and an all around good time. We went down to the beach to fish and watch the cruise ships go out. I got these beauties while walking the beach...no one wanted to walk with me though lol.

I'm absolutely in love with this feather photo, the water drops turned out so clear!

I will try to post things more often, even if it's little to nothing. 

                                                                                                             STSL

It's Been a while...

So as ya'll can tell I haven't posted in a while and that seems to be happening a lot and that's cause I haven't had anything to post and because I've been working on my Instagram account. All the photos on there are coming from my Droid Turbo phone but there might be an occasion where it will be from my Fujifilm camera. I'm just trying to spread the word about my photos!

So today there is/was a beautiful crescent moon that I shot with my Fujifilm...

Ya'll have a great evening/weekend cause I'll be working :)

                                                                                                                STSL

Droid Turbo

Sorry for not posting lately! 

I haven't had anything to say or any picture to upload but recently I got a droid turbo phone that has a 21 mp camera which is better than my actually camera and I've been having a lot of fun with it lately. So here are a few of my photos, the rest are on my Instagram account Miller_STSL Hope ya'll check it out and give me a follow!

                                                                                                STSL

Prayers.

I believe it was yesterday that my right knee started to hurt and today it's swollen a little bit, anytime I have put pressure on it, I start to limp. My knee also hurts when I try to lift it while sitting in a chair. It has me worried because I don't want to go to the doctor, I hate doctors and I don't have the money to pay for an expensive visit, but I also don't want something to be wrong with my knee.

Right now I'm laying in bed with my knee raised and being iced hoping it helps.

I have to go to work tomorrow (I'm a waitress and that requires a lot of walking/fast walking) and I'm worried it will hinder me and hurt it worse. I don't want to have to limp all the way to my tables, and doing that for over eight hours is going to do my knee no good.

So what I'm asking is that ya'll say a prayer for my knee to cease the swelling and the pain. I thank you all in advance!

                                                                                                         STSL 

Lights...Camera...Action!

Ok, so last week I ordered some lights so now my photos won't have a crappy yellow tint to them when they are shot inside. I'm sooooo excited! They are so bright and perfect that my photos will turn out beautiful! I got home from work today and there they were! 

These are the lights and I got the photo off Amazon.

Studio PRO 2 Table Top Lighting Kit

I know it's a short post but I wanted to update ya'll and tell you my exciting news!

                                                                                          STSL

Nature's Beauty

My little friend :)

Not much to write at the moment but this little guy was so beautiful and I thought I'd share him!

                                                                                                            STSL

July Full Moon

So tonight is/was a beautiful full moon. I took my puppy, Buster outside to try out his new collar light (It's this little twist-able light that you hook onto their collar and it's amazing! Specially since he is as black as night itself.)

But I wanted to take a photo of the moon and I wasn't sure if my Finepix camera would do the job so I tried it out anyways! I'm in love with what it did. I know they aren't perfectly clear, but considering how far away the moon is, I think it did a pretty good job!

You can buy the collar lights from Academy Sports & Outdoors.

PetLit LED

The good thing is they are cheap and you can change the batteries inside.

Test Me in This.

Ok, so this one is a little personal. 

Lately we have been struggling a little bit, wondering where some money will come from and it doesn't help that I'm PMSing so I'm crying a little bit extra. But I was talking to my wonderful momma and she reminded me that God wants not only our first but our all. I know that, but it's just hard when you don't have anything extra after bills, food and gas.

So I was laying in bed and got this urge to get out a new journal, kinda make it my struggle journal. If I'm struggling with something and I don't want to talk about, I can write it down, say what I want and what I mean without anyone saying something. My first page is what it feels like to be broke. In short...It sucks! And with that I wanted to look up verses to go along with financial problems.

(This week Derick and decided to tithe the first 10% of our checks, it's not much but it's what we've got. I used to tithe when I was single, but that was also when I didn't have bills and I lived with my parents.)

Well the site I chose has verses that were talking about what I needed and the one I've known all my life hit me so hard!

Malachi 3:10

"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it." 

Did you see that? He said to TEST him. 

It was like he brought out the three snap 'z' formation thing with a little attitude.

I cried when I read that because I'm struggling to give that little bit of tithe but I know that's what he asks for and He is not going to ask me to struggle. He is asking me to trust him, to obey Him. In retrospect He isn't asking for much, but to us it's horrifying even knowing He will protect us. He doesn't want to see me fail, and I know in God we won't fail.

It's hard typing this because I don't want people to think we struggle, but it's the truth in our nations economy now. Almost everyone struggles and I know I'm not alone.

But I will keep praying because God answers prayers and we have to have faith. Cause without faith, what do we have?

                                                                                             STSL

Catching Up!

I know I haven't posted in a while, nothing has really happened around here. I've been picking up some extra shifts at work lately so that's where I've been a lot. I've also had a small cold the last few days. Runny nose and a lot of tissues lol.

The other day I went to the flea market and bought some fresh green beans, they look so pretty.

 

 

I had also bought a big watermelon but it turned out to be bad. I was so disappointed because I was looking forward to a delicious, sweet watermelon.

But at least I got some bright strawberries from Walmart and they are so sweet!

 

 

Oh and I also made a new cover photo/ad for my twitter account

@Miller_STSL

Give me a follow :)

 

 

What do y'all think? Let me know in a comment, I'd love to hear them!

 

 

                                                                          STSL



The New Miller Home.

So, it's official, we are moved into our two bedroom, one bath mobile home. We are so un-believably happy, finally on our own and have plenty of space. I still have quite a few boxes to unpack but I have my kitchen all set up...so I'm good! Today was our second day living here and my brother and sister-in-law brought us some furniture down from Tennessee (my old home) and I made them dinner as a thank you. Usually I take a photo of it but we were all sitting down so I didn't, but it was good! I made Skillet BBQ chicken stuffed with cream cheese, twice baked potatoes, baked beans and rolls. Everyone was so happy and I had enough leftovers to send to work with my husband tomorrow.

 

Sorry for such a short post.

 

 

                                                       STSL