Where Did The Week Go?

I have no clue! I woke up and it was Thursday!

First of all, Happy Birthday to the most lovely girl ever. She knows who she is! I'm still trying to decide if she is keeping it a secret or not. So let's see if she reads this.. lol

Key things to note about the week.

1. Hot chocolate is always better in pairs. And it is especially indulgent when drinking it at work with a throw away cup. This is seriously the only way I've been making it through the days here at work.


I should really be using my mug I have at work. I know!!!!!

I also tried something new this week. Yummy tasty. Simple and easy to make! I'm a frequent stalker of the fabulous Mama Pea who always has delish recipes up. A couple of weeks ago I saw a recipe for quionoa up and she described it as tasting just like Spanish rice. YEA YUMMY. You all know by now, I'm a Latin Lover.
Of course, I de-veganized it by adding shrimp. I finally used up the last of a huge bag of shrimp! Whoooo..




I guess my goal of posting every other day is not happening right now.. I will be trying to do better next time! We have some crazy stuff coming up this weekend! Well, not really, but hey one can dream right?!
So far this week it's been dramatic personal life wise, so I am hoping that things can calm down over the weekend and go back to normal. Normal is relative though isn't it? I have to remember my mantra, "remember the source!" and keep repeating that to myself.
Hope everyone is having a LOVELY week so far!

Back to The Grind

Hey! Happy Monday everyone..

More bad news! It looks like I have to "log in" when I want to read blogs that aren't on blogspot or wordpress (like... if you have your own domain and not a .wordpress or .blogspot blog). And since I already used Facebook and "logged in" I can't do it again. It's definitely not a technical Blogger problem, it's a work problem! I swear they are out to get me!

I'm trying to figure out what to do though about my schedule; Christina you are SO right, it is the fear of the unknown to not provide a more flexible schedule. Why DO I have to be chained to my desk? I have routed my phone calls through my home phone many times before. And I can work just as hard at home as I do here. I already don't chat much with my co-workers, and yea maybe I would end up talking to my cat more.. but at least I would be home! Haha! We'll see what happens!

Well I don't have too much to offer you, the weekend was a slow one. Friday night the Peanut and I ate diner together and stuffed ourselves into bed and watched TV. I fell asleep by 10. Hmmmm. Wow! I'm so awesome!

But here is what we ate:

Sweet potato fries and popcorn chicken.

Sweet potato fries were all natural, low sodium, lightly seasoned, high in Vitmain A, etc, plus super yummy!
The popcorn chicken was the complete opposite..... BUT they were yummy! So who cares?!

Saturday I had a moms night out with Jessica. We went to Havanna night club in Cambridge which is where our dance class goes to party it up all the time. So we went! It was awesome, I danced a lot, good thing the atmosphere is like a big dance class and not like a club!
It was fun to get my groove on with my SIL. We had so much fun...
Here are me and the Peanut before I left to go out.

She took a picture of me, but it came out dark and scary.. lol Just know that I looked cute ok?!

Well back to the drawing board for me. I want to be able to read all your blogs today! We'll see how that works out for me!!!

When You Have Been Failed

Part of my mental health makeover was to revamp my work schedule a little bit. You know, try to spend more time with the babies, since I don't get home usually till about 6:30 or so..then it's bed time at 7:30.. my company should try and support me in my efforts to be a better worker/mom right?

WRONG. THANKS A BUNCH WORK!

I didn't ask for a reduced work week, or reduced hours, and still I get shot down to accommodate our current goal of meeting certain metrics. The people who came up with these metrics either have spouses who stay at home, or are business women who are not married or have children. Go figure right?

So I am back to square one to figure out how I am going to spend more time with my daughter. Any suggestions besides calling in sick more and making up excuses to leave early?

And moving onto food..
I have almost a full days worth of food for you guys to see! GASP!

Breakfast! I had a Glutino bagel w/ Tofutti "Better than cream cheese" Holy toledo, this was my first time having the Tofutti cream cheese, it was pretty darn good! It was pretty close to the real stuff. Cheese fiends.. this is no sub for Laughing Cow cheese wedges, but it is right up there with the taste and wow factor for creaminess! I loved it!

Up next.. LUNCH! I don't typically post up pictures of my lunch. Why? Because they are boring. Same thing everyday. "Fruit salad"

And some kind of soup.
I know this is difficult to see anything, but there are beans, tomatoes, onion, potatoes, and turkey sausage. Oh yea and some beef stock. My mom made it! I would have added a few more spices and a little salt. She has high blood pressure though and doesn't add salt to anything!


And then usually I round it all out with a little cracker love.

These are the Mary's Gone crackers. I *heart* Mary's Gone. Why did they name them Mary's Gone? From the sounds of the "story" found here; I think it was because she was always running out of them! Good thing they are mass-produced now!
Because I've been so short on time and energy lately I've been doing wrong and turning to my favorite combo. Rice mix and some kind of extra veggie or protein. In this case: Goya Mexican rice and shrimp. It takes 20 minutes and the most pain in the ass thing is taking the shrimp tails off the cold shrimp. My fingers always freeze.
I know these things have a lot of sodium, but I don't care. They are so good it's worth drinking the extra water and doing jumping jacks to sweat it all out!
One package of the Goya rice usually gives me 2 meals worth of food. So I can pre-make dinner for the next night too!

Well that about rounds up my day of food! I try to make sure I have dessert too- usually in the form of hot chocolate and a Luna bar. Sugar shock before bed I know! Ha!

Hey all, Happy freakin' Friday! Hope you all have a great weekend!

When It All Falls Down

Well I hope everyone had a good long weekend. Or at least a relaxing day at work if you did have to work!
I had Friday off. Then did not have to work on Monday, so I was completely confused as to what day it was, last night I flipped on the TV expecting a Criminal Minds Sunday night marathon and found Intervention on A&E. That show makes me want to hurl sometimes! I have a love/hate relationship with it- the drug use totally grosses me out and makes me really glad I never tried anything like that in my life! Did anyone else read the series "Sweet Valley High" and remember the one where Regina tried coke and had a heart attack because of some unknown heart condition? Anyone??
*cricket**cricket*
So getting back to more important things..

The GOOD NEWS is. Rony's family is OK! I'm very happy for him!!! He has a lot of brothers and sisters and extended family- and they were all ok. It's miraculous because entire families are being wiped out down there and there are going to be thousands of orphans who have no families. I'm hearing that orphans who have U.S. ties will be allowed to come here and stay here, which I think is a good thing. But keep doing whatever you are doing to help raise money for Haiti! Every little bit helps. The Peanut's school is organizing a clothing drive through the Red Cross and even though they are asking for money now- these people who survived with only the clothes on their back will need new clothes. So I cleaned out my closet of some stuff that I was looking to sell- and put it in the pile to donate. Capris, shorts, and little tank tops that will never fit me again. It's hot down there, so anything I can give will be good. I was thinking I would give away some bras- since I have a million of those, but... I'm not so sure that's a good idea!

Alright, some other news. FOOD. FAMILY. In that order. I stayed home on Friday and putzed around the house. I made this for lunch. Isn't it nice I can still have a grilled cheese sandwich?! Never mind it's gluten-free bread and rice cheese that has a slightly grainy aftertaste... It's comfort food!



I served it with soup. What better way to spend the day than with a grilled cheese, soup, and tea.. and my laptop?

I know you don't care too awfully much about what I ate, you want to know what I DID. Well, we had the kids all weekend. All of them. All 5 of them. 6, if you count the baby. My two, Jessica's three, and one from my brother in law. Talk about an estrogen fest! All the kids look so different too, that I think if we WENT anywhere, we would either look like we were running a day care; or we were super skanky. "Different fathers.." lol.



Melo is 8 months old and my little man is almost walking. He talks alot more now, moves a lot more. He said "mama" and Jessica almost cried. He's the sweetest little thing ever! And he loves me, Titi Amy. AWWW!!
It was a good weekend of chicken nuggets, fries, coffee, diet pepsi, cookies, and girl talk. Oh and some games thrown in there. I think I gained a few pounds! And I didn't get to clean out my bedroom- having too much fun where I was! I'll do better next time!

Well I better get back to work over here. Enjoy the day people! Love ya!

Tears In Heaven

Please, whatever you do today, please make sure you pray for the people of Haiti and all their families here in the US. For strength, and faith, and hope.

My brother-in-law... my dear brother-in-law, his family lives in Haiti and he has been unable to get in touch with them since the earthquake.

They live in Ville de Solidarite - a part of Port-au-Prince.

I love my brother-in-law and I love my little sister more. They need our prayers to make it through this time.

Consider donating funds to the Red Cross through your place of employment, many companies offer "matching gifts" which doubles any amount you give. My company does.

Anyway, please keep my BIL in your thoughts and prayers today.

Recycle Recycle

Happy Wednesday everyone! I can't believe we are almost halfway through Jan already. Where the hell has the time GONE?! I loved seeing your "good things" from the other day!! And NO that definitely was not me in the pic, I'm not trashy Italian trash!

So as previously stated, I don't make New Years resolutions because I don't keep them. Plain and simple! I know myself, I can't hold myself responsible for losing X amount of pounds, or saving X amount of money a month, or slowing down, or being nicer to people. I'm already a normal weight, am too broke to save, I've been so sick I can't do much anyway, and I'm always nice! What else is there to fix on me?! Nada I say!
However, I do want to do one thing.. and do it soon. I collected a lot of stuff. Clothes, books, crap. Junk. Books. Clothes. Music. Enough is enough. I gotta clean my shit out. I crammed all my stuff in my parents basement when I came back home, sold my living room furniture to my SIL, and packed all our stuff into a space that is no bigger than a dorm room. OHHHHH to be back home again. Over the next couple of weeks I want to get my clothes cleaned out, on ebay or craigslist if possible. Or, on here if I have any other petite ladies who like wearing cute dresses or might need some new jeans? (I have 25 pairs of jeans, I don't think I'll miss any!) I think my life needs a clean out- this will help my mental state too so I don't look around a room full of crap. But I swear it's not actual crap, just a lot of stuff!
Christina gave me the idea of going through my massive amounts of books and hawking them on Amazon. FUN! I'll put some stuff up there too!

This weekend, expect to see a blog post chronicling the massive cleanout. I will need my moms help, I don't think I can do it on my own!

Speaking of cleaning out and recycling.

I took myself out to lunch the other day. $9 dollar entrees be damned! I was craving Thai food after seeing the many other folks who enjoyed fried rice, or noodles, or just any kind of Asian food out there. I splurged and got a Pad Thai with tofu from the local Thai joint. And I made three meals out of it too! Do the math, can't get any cheaper for take out than that!

I ate it plain the first time around and then when I took it home I turned it into a funky veggie filled rice noodle cluster-something. I didn't have any stir-fry veggies, but I had green beans and baby broccoli. In the pan they went!

So did a quick stirfry sauce to liven up the joint.

1/4 cup wheat free tamari
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
ginger (I used powdered..)
minced onion (from the spice cabinet)
garlic salt to taste.
I threw in a handful of shrimp to "fish" it up a bit.





It kind of looks gross doesn't it?????

Hey I'm not complaining! It was cheaper than tossing it and starting over, and I didn't waste and food! Recycle Recycle!

What's one thing you could "clean out" of your life? Too many books, stuffed animals, clothes, movies... boyfriends.. anything that will improve your mental state as well as your wallet! lol

Celebrate The Small Things

Happy Monday everyone! I can't believe we made it through the weekend. I know I said I would post on Saturday, but Saturday came. And went. I'm not sure I realized it was actually SATURDAY until I woke up on Sunday. Hm. Funny how that stuff works.
Friday was a bum night, I did not do much besides stopping at my SIL's house for a few, she mumbled conversation with me for a few minutes and I bounced back home- she was tired I wasn't going to interfere!
Saturday was a different story though... my little sister turned 23 on Wednesday and she decided to have herself a little birthday party. At my parents house. With my parents friends and us. Awwwww! She is truly a little kid inside a 5'5" 23 year old body.
Which brings me to my mental health makeover tip of the day.. Celebrate the Small Things.

I am 27 years old, living with my parents with my daughter while my hubby does what he's gotta do and gets home. It's painful and stressful and there are many times where I wake up and want to cry all day long.

So I have to think of something in my day that makes me smile. Or something good I did. Or a joke I heard. Or a trashy TV show I watch that makes me laugh and count my blessings I'm not Snooki. I'm Italian, I look Italian.. but thank GOD my hair isn't big enough to hide snacks!

Instead I focus on the fact that they modeled these: booty popper after me...

No, really. lol

The Peanut and I went to Qdoba on Saturday and out shopping. It was pretty fun for Mommy and Peanut time I think! She made out like a bandit at Target. Purple hoodie. New cords.. all from the clearance rack babies!


Small thing... I saw Randy Moss at Yankee Candle. If he hadn't been with some supermodel, I probably would have asked him for a picture. But a girl can gaze from afar can't she?

I celebrated more small things besides Target clearance racks and eating the insides of a burrito the size of my head.

Val's Birthday party!

Pizza shaped like kitties.


Pizza with lots of toppings!
Watching my 23 year old sister open kids movies and "As Seen On TV" items (her favorite kind...)

Hoops & Yoyo bobble heads and cookies.


Playing Family Fued with my parents friends and feeding answers to your 7 year old. They were wrong. She got mad. Ooooops!
Discovering on Sunday morning that said 7 year old lost her first front tooth and now sounds like Daffy Duck.

Hosting a tea party for Felicity. I think she liked how homemade everything was!




We literally didn't do much all weekend, but it felt like a FULL weekend because I enjoyed all the small things I did.

What is one good thing that happened to you today that made the whole day.. worth it in the end?

Mental Health Makeover Day 2...or 3?

Hi All! Happy Thursday! I'm almost loving the posting every other day thing. You like no?? Let's see how long I can keep it up for!

As another part of my mental health makeover, I'm committing to doing 30 minutes of something I ENJOY everyday. EVERYDAY. I love to do a few things, dance, read, workout and read. And yes, in that order! There is tons of research about busy working moms taking time out and having ME time. It's easier said than done that's for sure! How does one take an hour out of the day to make sure they cram in reading, or working out, or taking a bubble bath. I haven't taken a bubble bath since 1994. I feel like I haven't worked out in just as long. I HAVE read some great books though!

I have a busy schedule that doesn't leave a lot of time for working out. Thankfully, my appetite has not increased at all with all the stress piled on. Blessing in disguise that when things get tough I still eat normally- which I think- is saving my waistline from not working out as much.

One thing I still stick with- is DANCE CLASS. Two hours on Monday nights do wonders for me. It's mentally stimulating, I have to work hard during class. Plus it doesn't hurt that there are some cutie pies in the class. One so eloquently nicknamed by me and my SIL- "the buff guy" I have no idea what his name is. But he's a model type and a great dancer. However it is nice when the guys in the class have the same goal as you do- LEARN TO DANCE. No hooking up involved or flirting or anything. Which makes C feel better and me too.

Ok enough about dance class. Moving right along here... so the idea behind is taking 30 minutes out of the day and pick what you want to do. Want to read a book? Go for it! Want to get out a workout DVD or walk on the treadmill? Do that too! Mix it up a little bit for yourself and as long as its YOU time... Don't beat yourself up if you are choosing to read instead of workout. You'll make up for it later. It's the destressing part that is the most important.

My 30 minutes last night was working out. And it was great! But my 30 minutes on Tuesday was reading. I'll workout out again tonight and read on Friday. I cycle. And it's a good cycle.

So what's been going on with my eats you ask?? I finally cooked myself something last night.

*shock* *holy crap!!!!!* *OMG*

I was craving protein and fish. Um yea. TWSS. So I busted out my frozen package of Mahi-Mahi I bought a couple of weeks ago. One tip- I always buy my fish frozen. As long as it doesn't come in a yellow box or already have seasoning on it, I think it's pretty safe to eat and not feel guilty about it. Fresh fish is too intimidating for me. I have to use it right away or else it will go bad. Frozen takes the pressure off. Hence the reason these have been in my freezer for 3 weeks.

I defrosted the fish and wrapped it in tinfoil with the following "sauce" on it:
2 tablespoons of oil, fresh lime juice, cilantro, thyme, and garlic salt.

Holy God I love Mahi-Mahi. I forgot how tender it was, but not flaky like tilapia or haddock. This IS the chicken of the sea. Haha.
I had mine without any veggies though. Rough times I tell you, but I wanted to save my calories for the chocoalte chip cookies. : )
What else have I had lately? Well, one tip for you for beefing up canned soups, when you don't have a lot of time to MAKE fresh soup or you just feel like it needs some spice...
Add canned veggies to your canned soup. Heat and serve. Wow. How was that for sneaking in your veggies?


Don't forget to check out the sodium content on the canned veggies though and drain and rinse them before adding them to your soup! Some add salt. Wal-mart does.. I have no clue why, but I drained and rinsed and we were good to go!

OK before I leave you completely till Saturday, Christina aka my midwestern twin awarded me with a "Beautfiul Blogger" award! Thanks Christina!!

I must also post up 7 random facts about me.

Here it goes!
1. I have 9 tattoos. Yes, 9!
2. I have my belly button pierced but I won't get my ears pierced because I'm too scared.
3. I have traveled by car to every state East of the Mississippi River.
4. I have 13 nieces and 5 nephews. Holy crap!
5. I cringe every time someone says my name. Amy ******. My last name gets butchered constantly, and I'm really not a fan of Amy. "Hi I'm a cheerleader from Iowa!"
6. I have a triplet. No really. I'm Facebook friends with an Amy ****** from NC. And her birthday is the day before mine, same year. No joke.
7. Speaking of birthday weirdness, my step-daughter Joanna and the Peanut have the SAME birthday! How's that for destiny???

I must also tag 7 fellow bloggers..

1. Jessie. My internet bestie. She knows why!!! When she write a memoir, I'll take some credit for pushing her to keep writing.
2. Rebeca. My Dominican sista!!! Rebeca is open and honest with all her struggles which is refreshing (not in a sadistic way either..)- sometimes in the quest to be upbeat and personable we fake it and sometimes just can't take it anymore!
3. Anais- she is lovely lovely! Can't help but be happy for her as she tackles on Law school studies, staying healthy, and looking beautiful at the same time!
4. KBtwood- of Faith Food and Fitness. I just started reading her blog, because she just started reading mine! But she is awesomely encouraging and has a great outlook on everything!
5. Kate from Cooking with Kate Kate is awesome! An East Coast native making her way thru the ritz and glitz of L.A. She rubs elbows with famous people and one of her roomies was on Modern Family. Um, autographs please?!
6. Jenny from PB & Jenny. Holy crap. She is down at the court house right now getting a restraining order against me. Love Jenny! Who doesn't!?! I just can't stop talking about her! lol
7. Throwing that out to everyone else!!!!!!

Happy Thursday everyone! Hope you have a great Friday too!

Mental Health Day 1

Wow, ya didn't think I'd be back this quick huh? Well, as part of my mental health makeover, I think I should be posting on a regular basis now. Probably not every day, but almost everyday. Every other day?

Well, I thought long and hard last night about a lot of stuff and the other part of my goal is to change the way I look at things. I emailed a bunch of times with Jenny. (I think she might block me from her blog soon- all I've been doing is talking about her..lol) She had some crazy anon comments and I advised her to look at the source of these comments and make sure she is not taking it to heart.
I took a lot of things personally and I still sometimes do. I have had a lot of problems with C's baby mama and her mama. Long story short, they are no match for me when it comes to class, smarts, and wits. But I was hurt- why were they harassing me? Why were they trying to hurt me- calling me names and keeping my step-daughter away? Well, jealousy for one.
Fear, was two. And insecurity was three. But I thought they might be right.. was I what they said I was?
I'm not sure why I took everything that they said to heart- but I did. But now I know. I look at them and see jealous, insecure, and fearful people. And I look at myself and see the opposite.

So what's the long story about? Well one of my mantras is going to be from now on:

Remember the source.
When you are bothered by people and you have no idea why; try to remember that person may have insecurities that you don't see. That when they look in the mirror they may see something different. The girl who leaves random mean anon comments may feel jealous that you have run a marathon before and she has not. The guy who yells at you in the parking lot of the grocery store may have just been in a fight with his wife. The person who is harassing you may just very well be, well, crazy. And no matter what you do- you will not make these people happy. So I'm not saying to forgive all people who wrong you. But look in the mirror and ask yourself- DO I SEE WHAT THEY SEE? Remember the source!!!!

Ok, so since this is a blog about food apparently and not about mental health... I did try this little do-dab of a breakfast from Ian's Frozen Foods. A Wafflewich - Maple Sausage & Egg :)

Pros: easy to make, heat in microwave, insert in mouth; ingredients are gluten and dairy free. YUM. tasty too, I could really taste the maple flavoring in the sausage.

Cons: Nutrition facts. Very high sodium, too much fat for me to eat at breakfast time. Not that I'm a crazy person about counting calories at B-fast, but isn't there a meatless option for people to have that's dairy free too? I'm not used to eating sausage at b-fast.

Bottom line: OK for a special occasion, but too much salt and fat to make this a staple in my breakfast menu. I felt like I needed to drink a gallon of water and run a mile after eating it! Gina, I hope you read this!!! I always think of you when I look at nutrition labels and check for sodium now!
Another thing, I picked these up in Walmart the other day:

Anyone else try taking Vitamin D? I used to go tanning to be happy and sparkly during the long winter days. Three of my uncles have had bouts of skin cancer (one.. is a severe case) so C told me to embrace my roots and be white. I was cut off from tanning! But I KNOW that the sun makes me happy- all that Vitamin D... nice and warm... so I'm going to try this before I spend $$$ on anything else.. Or try to start sneaking in tanning while C isn't home to cut the brake line on my car to stop me from going.. lol
Enjoy the Day!!!!!

Breakfast of Champions

It's Day 3 of the New Year and I'm already having a lot of trouble with saying 2010. Or writing 2010. It feels like a weird pattern on my keyboard, or more like a password, than the year.
Well over the last week I saw a lot of good posts about reflecting on the previous year, and how much the person has grown or experienced. I won't go back and point any out, I read them all ; )
So why do you ask, do I not have any resolutions up? Or self-reflections up? I'm not sure why myself. I was never good at keeping resolutions I made even during the regular part of the year, nevermind at the beginning of a New Year. Workout more? SURE, I can. Let me just scrape myself out of my home office chair and change out of my PJs. Eat Better? YEP. Got that after I polish off a huge bowl of sugary cereal.
Most of my goals have been lost this year in the shuffle of C leaving, and the stress of moving back home again. All the good stuff from the first half of the year seems like it was a very very long time ago.
And I'm realizing now, that mentally I'm not in a good place. I'm angry where I probably shouldn't be. I'm sad when there is nothing to be crying about. Take charge of your emotions you say! YES I CAN! I say back. And two days later I'm back where I started.

So my only New Years resolution at this point, is to take charge of my mental health, because it is expanding into other areas of my life. A sinus infection I have had since November. Aches and pains that just do not go away with Motrin or rest. Even sleeping is painful. Having little or no appetite. Losing my temper. Crying for no reason. I know on the blog I don't come across as an angry crybaby... do I?? Anons... please... be nice.
Therefore, Houston, we have a problem.

The good news is, this has not affected my twisted sense of humor.

Meanwhile all this mental turmoil is going on- I did get a gift a while back, that I've been meaning to blog about. I won a contest on PB & Jenny. Sheesh, I'm like a freakin' stalker Jenny! It was a big box of Kay's Natural cookie bites! They came directly to mi casa from Kay's... Yippeee! I got a box filled with sample sized packages of cinnamon cookie bites and honey cookie bites.
Let me tell you, from someone who is a fan of cereal. (Huge fan.. its sick.) These were like small bags of Cinnamon Puffins; for those who are fans of that cereal.. rejoice! Here they are in single size bags! Ha!
So how did I eat this delectable little snack- in yogurt! Some nice dairy free, agave sweetened Turtle Mountain vanilla soy yogurt. This little breakfast held me over for almost 3 hours and let me tell you- NOT EVEN oatmeal does that. Yep, in the mornings my metabolism is like a rocket ship. Very strange!
So I dub this little combo- the breakfast of champions! Thank you Jenny!