Shocking, I Know

Happy Weekend! It was a hot day today over here in NE. I still haven't made it to the beach yet. I'm very upset about that one, I need to tan! I really shouldn't - I'm trying to stay out of the sun, but.. I can't help but love the sun!!!

Well Friday was uneventful. And I mean that. My Pilates workout that I penciled in, I got in at the end of the day. And that's ok by me! As long as it gets done at some point, it's all good! I did eat my weight in fruit salsa and pita chips that my mom made. I really love this!! My mom has outdone herself! Simple! Sweet! Delicious!

My mom made Jambalaya with shrimp and chicken as well for dinner and I helped myself to a nice plate of it. This was easy as well. GOYA (be still my beating heart..) RICE and shredded chicken and cut up shrimp. See? It's easy to cook ladies, even if you have no clue what to do!

My dessert was something that has been sitting in my freezer for a while now-


This was so yummy! A nice little dessert for the end of a hot night!
Saturday was a big day for us, me and Peanut had a lot to do! I started the day by doing a Hip Hop Abs Total Body Burn.. it burned my body, gave me a nice boost!
My breakfast to power up for the day.. yummy waffles with Raspberry preserves and Dark Chocolate Dreams PB. YUM!

Lunch was.... a salad, shocking, I know!

I tried a new dressing, Annie's Raspberry Vinaigrette- it was pretty darn good. I liked it! But... I hate to break it to you, but I ONLY had a salad because for my "real lunch" I was having one of these:

This is a caramel frappacino from Starbucks made with soy milk for an extra 50 cents. I LOVE these things, but I practically have to pawn my belongings to pay for one. But, it was my treat and was worth the trade off for "real food" for a change. And hey, it's the weekend!!
And here, my dears was my dinner! Barbecue chicken and apples sprinkled with brown sugar. I had two pieces of chicken.. it was so good! The skin was crispy and juicy at the same time and the flavor was awesome!

Well tomorrow, there is not much planned. Church, pool, pool, sun, pool, sun. I expect to get crispy and juicy like my chicken. You know, burnt and wet. From the pool!! God guys, what kind of a person do you think I am?! Anyway- have a fabulous rest of the weekend dears, I'll be blog reading soon, tomorrow night, tonight, I NEED to get my laundry done! I'm such a rockstar!!!

When I Grow Up..

I wanna repair panel boards for manufacturing plants through out the United States.

Huh? Did I just say that?? What am I talking about?? Well, today I was speaking with the leader of the repair department in my company- and we were discussing how he was retiring in a few years. We figured that his position needed a replacement and it should be me! Ha! We'll see what happens, I still have to discuss with my boss how a move to another state might affect my team here. They can't survive without me, and I might not make it to the age of 50 here. So I'll be thinking about it hard.. it's an interesting proposition, would be a lot more moolah. And you all know I need that!

So to answer a couple of questions I got. And to comment on a couple of comments. Sophia- go to a matinee! We went at 2:20 and the movie only cost $8.00 for each of us, plus we went to a gas station near the theatre and spent four dollars on candy :)
But hey, you just got back from a 6 week adventure in Asia, so, that beats the movies any day! Haha!
Biz- nutritional yeast TASTES like a powdered version of nuts and cheese. No seriously, it's a wacky way to describe it but it really does. It's not bad and it has a ton of vitamins in it- some I am seriously lacking in, so I try to sprinkle it on a few things a week to get that in there. Why did I put it on my salad though??? After choking it down, I asked myself the same thing!! *shudder*

Well today's eats and actions weren't too bad! I got up early and did yoga, that was nice and stretchy! It felt really good to do that! I'm definitely doing it tomorrow morning too.
My eats for the day mirrored the usual all the way up until lunch time.

Salad! WHAT NOW??? You guys must be thinking I'm sick! No, I just don't want my salad mix to go to waste.

I topped it with some of the above dressing. Lauren suggested that I needed some decent dressing. I must be the only person out there who doesn't really love salad dressing, hence the reason it's hard to eat salad. Too much vinegar, too much garlic, too creamy. I'm not picky about most food, but I am picky about salad dressing! This wasn't too bad, I liked it, but not loved it. So I'll be on the hunt for some decent dressing this weekend for sure!

I had some rice on the side for some extra carbonation. It was leftover from my lunch on Sunday. I love leftovers!
For my dinner though?? I tried something totally different, and I LOVED IT. Seriously!
This is an Organic Bistro frozen meal. It was new and looked really interesting in the grocery store - so I picked one up to try. This meal is gluten-free and contains no milk ingredients in it, so I felt safe knowning it would end up bothering my stomach later.
I heated this baby up and went to town. The rice had a nice light flavor to it, with mangoes and a little spice. The green beans were a bit bland, but I think it's really hard to make frozen green beans taste delish. The crab cake? OMFG.. This was SO GOOD! The flavor had a bite to it, some parts of it were really spicy- but there were hunks of real crab meat in there. It was totally unexpected, it tasted homemade. For real. The whole meal did. I was blown away.


I had a meeting at church tonight so I had to eat it quick and go there! The meeting went well and I came home and chatted with my lil baby and my other big baby. Now I'm up here, trying to get tired enough to fall asleep. I worked out at 8:30- not a wise idea on my part. I am still working on my dance for a video for you all. It was WAY too hot last week to work on it! So I'm putting everything I can into it now..
But I'm off to brush my teeth and try to fall asleep! Good night all!

Wonder

Memorial Day weekend is a brief memory for me. It seems so far away, even though it was only just the other day. Anyone else have time feel like it's flying by but it's moving at a snail's pace? I suppose.. since it's already Hump Day - the week is half over and I shouldn't be complaining! But I realized that I never posted anyrthing from Mem Weekend.. how can I ditch you like that?! Crazy me!

So for starters, I worked on Monday.. What? That's un-American isn't it??? But it was for a good cause- I was making the OT. I realize that I don't talk about money very often- but I'm wayyyy struggling. So that one day of working, paid for one week of camp for the Peanut. And I will gladly give up a nice holiday if it means she gets a week of learning and fun and excitement. And it was NICE outside! I couldn't believe it!

Let's run down the schedule here.. Friday was the 28th- the 27th was my parents 33rd anniversary. Holy crap! And they are still going strong- even though they drive each other crazy. Well anyway, my grandmother ordered Chinese food for us.. naturally, not asking anyone what they wanted besides my father- who wants IT ALL! So nothing came that I could eat, so I picked at the rice, ate an egg roll and called it a day. My grandmother got upset- but hey- what can you do?

Saturday, I got up early and worked out.. then the Peanut and I went for a long bike ride- it was nice to get out in the bright morning sunshine. She is doing great at bike riding now- trying to do tricks and all that. Meanwhile, I'm behind her screaming STOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!! OMG WHAT ARE YOU CRAZYYYYYY!!!?!??!! Mama can't afford no ER trips!!! This kid is going to have to be in a BUBBLE till she's 18! Mild stroke over and done with and we went shopping!
She needed a bathing suit, new dresses for church, and new shorts. Oh and new sneakers. Got all that and went food shopping. My favorite part of the day! We stocked up on Larabars, fruits and veggies (I buy frozen veggies cuz I'm LAZY) and some new snackies to supplement the cans of tuna and big container of yogurt I have. Here are some of the goods...
(this I am dying to try!!!! I need to find some ground turkey in my freezer- all you do is add salsa, and ground meat.. and DONE! Hamburger Helper.. but GF and DF style.. Yay!!!!!)

I picked this up cuz it was on sale.. I'm not sure I'll like it because blueberries do awful things to my stomach. I'm hoping because they are not fresh I'll be ok! It just looks SO YUMMMMY!

I thought of Sarah when I saw these.. This is nut free.. and tastes yum.. It's a little on the sweet side- so I would use it in plain yogurt- I put mine in vanilla and it was a bit TOO sweet. Still- nutrition wise- this was on par..

I can't wait to try these either. What should I put on them? A veggie burger? A huge juciy hamburger? Chicken????

I think that's about it.. So let's go over to Sunday! Another celebration for my parent's anniversary! We had a cookout and had all the cousin's and siblings over. It was a fun little gathering.. tons of food to be found. Here was my plate..

I was carbo-loading.. we have chicken, beans, and Goya Mexican rice. Gotta love it! Also consumed were some chips, and lots of pink lemonade. No dessert, because the Peanut and I were on our way to a birthday party for Melo.
I won't even get into what happened at the party. Let's go with the good stuff. Or semi-good stuff.

Note to parents.... Bouncy house + 90 degree weather + 20 kids does not = FUN. It was cool for about 5 minutes. But I got some good pictures!
Lissette on the bouncy house- she had wayy too much fun!
Birthday boy. He is crabby cuz he is wearing a Yankee shirt- GO SOX! Nani- one of my nieces, she is too cute!

Well that is about it! Hope everyone is having an AWESOME week!!!!! I'll be blog reading so look for my comments... ; )

All The Small Things

Good day people! How are you? It's been so long since I visited.. I literally have had a million things I could be blogging about, and the pics to prove it and I have NOTHING to say! Me? Speechless? Is that even possible? I ALWAYS have something to say!
Couple things..

I did not babysit.

I'm not sure what happened, but drama unfolded. I really don't like being compared to homewreckers, hookers, or hoodrats nor do I like dealing with them! At any rate- SIL found someone else to watch the kids, even though despite the drama I was willing to do it and jumped through several hoops to get it all set up. But in the end, it was just me and the Peanut all weekend. Cheaper, quieter, less stress all around. End of story. OK. Enough of me blabbering!

Saturday I used my coupon to Qdoba given to me by one of my co-workers. I forgot to properly thank him, so I will publicly out him and say THANKS FOR THE COUPON MIKE! He donated blood, and I got to eat. Whooooo! And here's what we had!


Peanut's plate: chips, with a chicken taco- hold the guac and the sour cream. She was holding her taco, I was stealing chips..

My plate- I got one of those "pick 2" kind of deals.. tortilla soup (the effing bomb there!) and a grilled quesadilla. I know what you are thinking, CHEESE? FLOUR? GIRRRRRLLLLLL? Every once in a while, I just can't help myself. I'm only happy that my reaction to cheese and gluten merely involves a stomach ache and a mild rash on my right leg. Bizzare yea. Tolerable enough to eat cheese and flour tortilla's once in a while? YEA.

I love this soda.. it has 2 servings of fruit in it- so I was happy!

The rest of the weekend went like this.. bike riding, sleeping, bike riding, sleeping, working out, eating, bike riding, sleeping. Are you noticing a pattern here? I have a child who loves to be outside riding her bike, I can't say no to that! But let's just say if C was home, I'd being saying no to something else becaues my ass feels like.... well. I just won't go there!

I totally have MORE MORE MORE to say, so I might be behind in my blogging a bit- just bear with me.. I'll get up to date and you might see a post from May sometime soon. OK?!

Hugs to everyone, I'll also be working on catching up on my dang google reader.. I feel so lost without you all!

It's Far From Over

I just started and restarted this post about a million times. I can't think of words to say that will rightfully express what I'm feeling right now. I don't think there are any words to describe it. It's a mixture of relief, sadness, happiness, compassion, joy, and finally, a little peace.

Everyday it's a different struggle for me.

Everyday it's a different reason to feel down. To be angry with myself over something stupid.

But everyday I want to smack myself and say, "what the hell is the matter with you???"

Then I remember that there IS something the matter with me. And I can't fix it by myself. It can't be fixed with a pasta dinner. Or a pedicure. Or a book. Or repeating little mantras to myself. This is a deep seeded belief that I don't deserve what I have. That I don't deserve to be happy. Or thin. Or beautiful. Because what I see in the mirror is a reflection of what I think is inside. And that view is a distorted, freakish thing.

I remember meeting Charlie's ex for the first time two years ago, she is tall, thin, hair is gorgeous, skin is perfect. Her make-up was perfectly applied and her clothes trendy, new, and expensive. I literally almost passed out. Here I was, in sweat pants and a tshirt. I had showered but a ponytail held my hair back and I had minimal make-up on. I'll be honest, I was going to visit Charlie after he got arrested- so who the hell was I trying to impress? And WHO was she trying to impress?

She said, "who the fuck does she think she is? Look at her! I'm beautiful and she's fuckin' ugly. Why the fuck do you want her?"

I said nothing in reply, my face must have turned purple in shame. I thought Charlie was going to slap her though. From then on in, I was the ugly white bitch to her. And to me, I never forget words. Words are things you can never take back, even when said in a moment of anger. Charlie defended me, and has everytime she brings that day up to him- he thinks I'm beautiful. He thinks even though she's pretty to everyone else, she is ugly on the inside and I'm perfect. He is proud of me, because I'm everything she isn't. I work, I pay my bills, I'm a good mom, I have a perfect body (his words obviously), and best of all, I treat him like gold. He calls the 6 years he was living with her a prison sentence. But I remember that moment bringing back in the fear that I am not good enough. Why would he want me instead of her? I try to remember who she really is. And it works for the moment. I still get angry when I hear that he talked to her, mainly because, even after all this time, she still thinks I stole her man. Um hello wacko! NO! I'd just like to point out that C and this crazy biz-natch were broken up for 3 years when I met him!

Where am I going with all this stuff anyway? Oh yea. I really believe that one of the issues I have is not about my body. It's the reflection of how I feel about the inside of myself- coming out. It's that I'm not "enough". Enough what? Smart enough, friendly enough, good enough, popular enough, pretty enough. And when I feel not enough I turn to the only thing that makes sense to me. Beat up the vessel that carries all these human emotions, tendencies, and weaknesses around. Which is what I find alot of us do. Agree? The hardest thing to do is to believe how strong and beautiful we really are.
Wow, I can't believe I wrote that much.. I didn't mean to get so deep for a day after hump-day. I'll be working on self-reflection and learning to recognize what I am feeling and if I'm feeling that way because of some other emotion. Like am I saying I'm fat because I'm feeling sad about my friends not calling me... ever? Good plan no? Cognitive behavior therapy right here kids!!!!!!!! Change the way you think!

So I promised you food didn't I? I did.. Dinner.. and more dinner. Along with Shaun T, the sexy guy from Hip Hop Abs for dessert.


Here we have Van's gluten-free waffles with Almond Butter and Raspberry jelly. I stole three apple slices from the Peanut's plate.. haha. A smaller dinner because I had a huge lunch and a huge dinner on Tuesday night. I did end up making the rice and sausage mix. I used Al Fresco chicken sausage... holy deliciousness in a sausge and no I'm not talkin' about a man!!!!!


(my sense of humor is obviously still intact...)
Here is Shaun T up on my big screen TV. Look he's trying to give you a hug!!!!!!
I really think he's a little on the gay side, but he can be gay all he wants, as long as he's straight for me!!!!!!!!

Big plans this weekend. It's going to be sunny sunny and sunny. Tan. Tan. Tan. I need a tan! I will be bike riding. I will be running around like a mad-dog. And hopefully, heading out someplace with the Peanut. My goal is to go to Five Guys & A Burger with her, but I'm not sure that will end up happening.. maybe just for some frozen yogurt or something small like that. Let's not push it with burgers and fries!
If you are still reading after all this blabber, thank you, for your heartfelt words of support. They mean more to me than you will ever ever know. We are all in this together right?? *cue High School Musical soundtrack*. You guys rock my socks. :)

Kid In A Candy Store

Heyyyyyy Happy Monday!

Who watched the Super Bowl last night? Sad to say, I did not! I just can't get into football- and since I was "alone" (I'm never really alone.. just no man LIVING in my house) I read a book and fell asleep early! It was a nice relaxing night.

So I loved seeing all your comments about my stupid post! I have some new readers and followers to the blog too- so here's your official WELCOME to my world. OMG you guys are in for a trip, let me tell you! There's always something going on! I honestly have no clue where that last post came from!! (From the depths of my 15 year boy brain...... yea!)

I just wanted to tell you all how easy it is to make lunches. Seriously! I see all these complex salads and wraps- and I know I know- to you they are easy. But for me? When I have about 2 minutes to heat something up or bust. I heat something up in two minutes...
Last week, I went all out and gave into a craving.

Wait .... WTF?! Dunkin Donuts?................
Nope!

Here's what went into it:

From the left.. Boars Head Cooked Ham (it's gluten and preservative free, which means it doesn't bug my stomach out.), Rice "cheese". It's kind of gross, but it tastes like regular processed cheese - you know like the Kraft singles, so I don't complain too much, and a GF/DF bagel.
The end result was a ham & cheese on a bagel. So delish it was ridic. Plus it wasn't laden with heavy gross nasty stuff like the ones from Dunkins.
Ham, Egg & Cheese on Bagel

Nutrition Facts - Dunkin Donuts Ham, Egg, and Cheese on a Bagel
Serving Size 1 Sandwich

Servings 1
Calories 510
Total Fat 16g Saturated Fat 6g
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 215mg 72%
Sodium 1470mg 61% Total Carbohydrates 67g 22%
Dietary Fiber 5g 20%
Sugar 7g
Protein 26g

Amy's D & D Make-Under

Kinnikinnick Bagel: 210 calories
sodium content: 430mg
Sliced Ham: 100 calories
sodium content: 340mg
Rice Cheese: 40 calories per slice- approx. 80 calories
sodium content: 220mg

OK So obviously, I lose some credibility because I did not add egg to my sandwich. But you can see the difference for sure in the sodium content alone! 1470 mg turned into 790mg!!!! No bloat or thirstiness after this little piece of heaven. My only thing is, this had pretty much had no fat in it. A little fat goes a LONG way. But like me, it's not perfect- but it does the trick when I've got 2 minutes to spare and need to grab something real quick. And it FELT like a splurge for lunch because usually I am heating up soup and slurping away in between calls.

Speaking of soup. Today for lunch I had the most amazing soup ever. Ever ever ever. Dr. McDougall lentil soup. Um holy deliciousness. I did not stop to take a picture. I did not think about taking one until after I was done and I said, damn. I should have taken a picture!

Here is the box.
I'll tell you what it tasted like.......

BEEF STEW. But it's vegan you say.

But it tastes like there is beef in there!!!!

Ladies, serve this to your man and see if he notices there is no beef! Or be selfish and keep it all to yourself. Either way, it will be enjoyed.
I'll try and take a picture later on of it.. Cuz.... Imma be eating this for dinner too!
Tonight is dance class. I'm going knee pain or not! I've been doing good with my "non-impact" weights and yoga and even though my knee is still bothering me, I am frothing at the mouth for a little adult interaction time and some booty shaking.
Wow........... that's what she said!

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!

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!

Winter Wonderland

I woke up this morning a little groggy and a little late. My usual weekend wake-up call at 8 didn't happen and for some reason the Peanut let me sleep until almost 9. Love her!
Her eye is doing MUCH better! We went to the derm who gave her an ointment for the skin all around her eye.. it was most definitely exzema. Poor thing!
OK- so yesterday was her recital!!!! To those who know me via Facebook- you saw my plead for her to get better- she came down with this sudden fierce cold. No temp, so I have no fear that it's H1N1, just a cough and a runny nose. But she managed to pull it together in time for her big debut! Which... I wish I could show you but sadly was not allowed to tape! Her dance studio must have made big money on this show. It was held in the studio (which.. they own...) charged $9 dollars a ticket, and $15 dollars if you wanted a tape of the show. There were 3 shows yesterday, with 14 acts in each one. About 5 or 6 kids per class... you do the math. Keep up if you can! Haha!
But my little star did awesome! The tap number was great- plus she was the only ballet dancer who knew what she was doing! Amazing! We were so pproud!
I can at least show you a picture of her hair- it took forever to do!


After her recital we had a holiday party to go to.. my other small group of friends were having a Christmas get together (I get around don't I???) and we were in charge of bringing dessert.
I wanted to make chocolate mousse pie. Then I wanted to make "Pot-o'-Dirt". I ended up with what I'm going to call Snowfall Layer Cake. Warning, this dessert was not gluten-free, dairy-free, or low-fat. But holy moly, it was TASTY!
We started with this mess.
Please excuse the bacon in the background. I swear this dessert was MEAT-free!

I gave the Peanut the perfect job while having a cold since she couldn't lick the spoons! Smashing Oreos!


(ummmm shout out to Biz about the above pic.. she loves snowmen!!!!)
Soooooooooooo the Pot-O'-Dirt recipe that my father is infamouso for calls for whipped cream folded in. I had it in my hands.. and never folded it into the pudding mixture. I had layered almost all the Oreos and pudding by the time I realized it and now had a container of whipped cream to deal with.


I dumped it ontop and pretended it snowed on the pudding.

The party was a sucess, we enjoyed a night of over-indulging in Mexican themed food followed up by present opening and a couple rounds of Wii bowling. The Peanut beat me........... GO FIGURE!


(Aunty Heather.. she won at the bowling game!)
Oh yea, and just to remind everyone about animal safety. I have cats. Not dogs. And every dog I have been around is too big to pick up- therefore... while holding a dog who is smaller than your cat, please remember to place her down gently on the floor when she wants to get down. DO NOT JUST LET HER GO! Cats land on all fours, dogs do NOT!
I dropped this poor little pup last night and she splatted on the floor. Sorry Lily! I think she'll be ok though...

You've noticed I've done a lot of Wii playing lately right? I have, and I have a total case of the GIMMIES over that too! C and I HAD a Wii, who when he left begged me to give it to his daughter for her to play with because she wouldn't be living with us for awhile. As soon as I do my taxes I'm buying another one, I won't last that long without one! I need to get my game on, and beat the Peanut at bowling!!!
I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL Christmas! Or whatever Holiday you celebrate, I hope it will be Merry and Bright!
I think I'll be posting before then, it should be a SLOW week at work! Yay!