Five on Friday

So it's that time again... 5 on Friday:

 

[One] Over the past few weeks, I have managed to get to the gym at least 3 days a week. Yay me! Now I just need to quit my horrible eating habits... I do the absolute worst... I drink coffee from the time I get up thru lunch time. Then I eat dinner and want to snack before bed... I know it's the worst way to eat and I feed my kids breakfast, lunch and dinner... Why can't I do it for myself? Ughhh! 

[Two] Superbowl is this Sunday and for the first time in I don't know how long... We don't have plans. The kids will be at their dads which leaves us to do whatever we want... But I find myself getting more and more worried about drunk drivers on days like this... I think I'd rather stay home and enjoy the day hermiting with my love. 

[Three] In case you haven't heard, I'm obsessed with the show Banshee... It's on tonight!!! Yay! 

[Four] Our rescue (I am the VP of an amazing non-profit organization called Tazzy Fund, there is a button on the right to check us out) just got the cutest sweetest boy.. He was hit and dragged by a car, mangling his back leg... It's so graphic, I'll spare you and edit the gorey-ness out. He was dumped in someones yard, this good Samaritan brought him to the vet so we could take over his care. Today he will have his leg amputated, be neutered and then sent to a foster home to heal and be loved. After he is healthy, he will be put up for adoption so we can find him his forever home.  So keep in touch if you are in the California area and are interested in this cute guy or if you just want to follow up on his story. 

Meet Scooby

[Five] About a week or so ago, I signed up for 'Galentine's Day' over at Ashten's place. I was assigned a bloggy partner to get to know. We then spend $20 and send each other a 'Galentine' gift. Fun right? So last night I got an email letting me know that my partner is Megan over at Soup of the Day. If you haven't, go check her out!!! She could use some warm ''hellos'' since she is freezing over in Baltimore.

Hope you all have a great Superbowl weekend!!! Stay safe! 

Who Me???? You Shouldn't Have!!! JK, Thank You!

OHHHH EMMMM GEEEEE! I'm super excited because Elisabeth over at My Cup of Sparkle has  nominated me for the Liebster Award!!!! Whaaaaa?

For those of you who aren't familiar with the coveted award... The Liebster Award is an award that you give fellow bloggers that are fairly new to blogging and have a smaller following currently. The blogs that you nominate are blogs that you support and see growing.

Here are the rules...

1. Link back to the blogger that nominated you
2. Answer the 11 questions given to you by the nominator
3.  Choose 11 new nominees with a smaller following
4. Can't nominate the person who nominated you
5. Let the bloggers know that you nominated them
6. Ask your nominees 11 new questions


Here are the questions that Elisabeth asked me...

1. Who is your idol?
If The Pioneer Woman and Fiona from Burn Notice had a baby.... it would be my idol!!!! I love everything about Ree's life and her amazing attitude. Butttttt Fiona is a badass!!! She is ex-IRA (Irish Republican Army). 

2. How did you get in to blogging?
It started because I wanted to document my family and life in pictures... So I started with a Shutterfly photo blog and then it just went from there... I've been blogging on and off for years but since my life has changed so much over the past year (divorce, moves, finding my love, my father passing away etc...) I had a lot to write about. Basically it's the stuff that I don't get out verbally! 

3. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
Well since Tbone already thinks that I have superhuman strength and calls me the Hulk... I'm going to have to choose something different... Hmmmm, I think I would want to be like Mystique from The X Men. She has the ability to shapeshift in to anything. The possibilities are endless!

4. What is your favorite TV show? 

This is hard... Right now I am totally obsessed with Banshee and just blogged about it here. But I think my very favorite over all is Longmire. It's basically a perfect example of where I'd love to live. 

5. What would your dream job be?
As morbid as it sounds... I would love to be a medical examiner. I love anything anatomy/physiology along with puzzle solving. Plus I am lucky enough to not get all gaggy with stuff like that. 

6. If you could go back in time and do one thing differently, would you? And what would it be?
I am tempted to say, not marry the wrong person... but that would mean I wouldn't have my two amazing kids, soooo I can't say that... I'd never take that away. So I would say that I would spend more time talking with my dad before he passed away. I mean, I was there every day but I would actually talk to him and tell him everything that I had on my mind and make sure he knew how he was my best friend. 

7. What's your favorite social media platform? Facebook? Twitter? Instagram? Pinterest?
It's a tie between Instagram and Pinterest. I love Instagram because you get to see the photos without the drama (most of the time), but Pinterest has given me so many amazing ideas and recipes. 

8. Do you prefer cats or dogs? Or neither?
Well I've always said that I don't trust people that don't like animals... I truly believe that!!! I even took Tbone to our rescue kennel to see if the dogs liked him.. and even the dogs who hate men and have been horribly abused by men, loved him! It just confirmed what I already knew... He is awesomesauce! I am more of a dog person but I do love cats too!!!! I have both! 

9. Who's blog is one of your daily reads?
The Daily Puglet. I love hearing daily from Pug and Dutch!!! Plus her photos are amazing! 

10. Do you have a hidden talent? What is it?
I wish!!!! I don't think I have any hidden talents. 

11. Would you rather be blind or deaf? Why?
I am going to go with deaf.. because you can learn to read lips, read sign language. Being blind would be so hard! 



So here are my nominations...
1. House Full of Boys
2. Kelly's World
3. Oh Hey, It's AJ
4. Kitch Vixen
5. Duh! Danae
6. Beefy Pug
7. Boston Sweet Tea Party
8. A Dash of Quirky
9. The Hopeless Housewife
10. Southern Finesse
11. A Little Leigh Way

My questions are...
1. What is your favorite band?
2. Name your favorite holiday
3. Boys or Girls
4. Dogs or Cats?
5. Coffee or Tea?
6. Favorite movie?
7. If you could buy any car, what would you choose?
8. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
9. Did you play a sport growing up?
10. Name brand makeup or drug store?
11. What would you choose for your last meal?

Barf & Banshees

Well it's a quarantine kind of day over here... Boogs is home sick. She came in to our room about midnight last night and said...

Boogs- "My tummy hurts"
Me- (from a dead sleep) "are you going to throw up?"
Boogs- "I threw up on my floor"
Me- *groan*

These are when your mom skills show up with a vengeance. While still asleep, I threw Boogs in the bath, shampooed her carpet, threw everything in the laundry, got her re-dressed and back in bed. All before Tbone really even knew what was happening. Poor Boogs continued to throw up throughout the night so I slept on her floor in a pile of stuffed animals. Although my brain was able to get me to clean up, it didn't tell me to do the smart thing like take Boogs in to the guest room and sleep in there (there is a queen sized bed)... Nope, it had me sleep on the cold hard floor.

Lucky for me, Tbone got up even earlier so he could run to the store and buy Boogs ginger-ale, saltines and gatorade. He really is the bomb.com! (yep, I said that)

So we are taking it easy today and trying to stay barf free.

Annnnnywho.... on a completely different subject...

Do any of you watch the series Banshee on Cinemax? All I can say is.... OHHHH EMMMM GEEEE!!! Tbone and I are sooo addicted to this show.

We watched all of season 1 and the first 3 episodes of season 2 in the past week. This is hard to do since Tbone literally get's home at 5 and goes to sleep at 9 (he gets up at 3:15 every weekday & sometimes Sat for work). So by the time the kids go to bed at 8, we have an hour to watch tv together. This weekend since he was home sick, and the kids were at their dads...  we caught up on a lot of TV. 

Banshee is from the same people who did True Blood (which I lost interest in about 2 seasons ago). It's about a small town called Banshee in the Amish part of Pennsylvania. It's got violence, corruption, drag queens, Amish, gore and seriously the guy get's more ass that a toilet seat. All the qualities we like in a TV show. LOL 

The cast is great, and we are dying for the next episode on Friday.  I highly recommend it! 

Enjoy your Monday!!!! Hopefully we will be back to normal tomorrow!

Linky Dinky Doo: Beauty Products

So I haven't really had much to write about the past few weeks... I think we are still un-winding from the holidays. So I've been linking up like a madman!!! Sorry if that's a blogger no no.

Today's Sunday Social link up is hosted by Neely & Ashley over at Ashley Lately.

 

Today is all about beauty products... If you know me personally, you are probably laughing right now because although I love beauty products, most of my friends see me in yoga pants, a hoodie and my hair up in a bun. Buuuuuut, I'll give you my answers anyway. Just pretend I am a super fashionable beauty queen (riiiiiiight). 

Here we go...

1. How old were you when you started wearing makeup? 

I was kind of a late bloomer... I swam in HS so I didn't bother with makeup. I finally started wearing a little eyeshadow and lipgloss my Senior year in HS.

2. What are your top 3 beauty products?

Cannot live without my babylips in peach (since it's basically tinted chapstick, it prob doesn't count). So, my Brenda Christian eyebrow pencil, Makeup Forever Mat and MAC mineral powder. 

3. What is one beauty product you don't leave home without? 

Sunglass!!! Does that count? Hmmm, if not it would be Babylips... I loooove looooove looooove it! But one of my new years resolutions was to always have on mascara and something on my lips so that is something I am working on. 

4. What is your daily beauty routine? 

Shower, brush my teeth and walk out the door.  My skin is something that I am really starting to take seriously... I have always been really lucky to look young (probably the 1/2 Japanese part of me), but I have def taken that for granted. My sister in law is a licensed esthetician and an RN so she has turned me on to some pretty great products. So in the morning I wash my face with my Clairsonic, then put on my Murad mositurizer. After that... if I am not going to the gym, then I put on my foundation, powder, eyebrows, usually a little blush and contour. If I am not too lazy, I will put on a neutral eyeshadow, eyeliner, & mascara. But.... I always wash my face in the morning and at night... No matter how tired I am. At night I use my Clairsonic and put on Nerium night cream. It's helping the wrinkles that I had no idea I had. 

5. What is your favorite hair/makeup product you have discovered in the past year? 

Probably to use blush and to contour... It really does brighten my face. I really really really want to try out the Nars contour brush. 

and voila! 

It's Time To Back That Azz Up

Friday Friday Friday.... That's right... it's Friday and my kids are feeling better and back to school!!! Woohoo! Except that I am off to the gym after a day off and really really really don't want to go but I know that I have to! So here is a song to get me up and ready to sweat! (yuck). I'm linking up with Whitney over at "I Wore Yoga Pants To Work" for #Backthatazzup Friday

Happy Friday ya'll!!!! Peace out!

Dinosaurs & Tampons:: Five Things

So I decided to copy Kenzie over at Life & Lemons by doing a five things post.

Five Things...

... I am passionate about:

1. Family- If you read my blog regularly, you will know I am very passionate about family (that sounds a little creepy now that I've typed that). But really... family is everything to me!



2. Animals- this means everything from educating people on spay/neuter to spending time at our rescue with pups like Barton who has been waiting for a home for way too long.

3. American Cancer Society/Relay for Life- I have lost so many in my family to cancer. I HATE HATE HATE it! Especially since I just lost my dad this past September to the only cancer that is caused by something outside of the body (asbestos). 

4. Mason Jars- I use them to drink out of, to cook, to decorate and to craft. They are everywhere in my house! 

5. Coffee- I looove coffee! I am not a coffee snob by any means! I don't ask for my coffee to be a certain temp when I go to Starbucks, I don't spend a ton of money for super rare and crazy coffees... I just enjoy my 2 cups every morning and the occasional Starbucks. Since my brother bought me an Aeropress for Christmas.... I am in love with it. It brews your coffee to come out so smooth, it almost tastes creamy!!!! I highly recommend it. 

...You'll Find In My Bag:

1. A dinosaur- no joke, I found a big plastic dinosaur in my purse.. Weird only if you don't have kids. 

2. Tampons

3. Baby Lips

4. Wallet

5. Phone

...Things I'd Like To Do Before I Die:

1. Visit other countries- to this date, the only country I have been to other than my own... is Mexico.

2. Sky Dive

3. Swim with manatees

4. Move to Montana/Wyoming or Idaho

5. Build our dream home.

...Things You Will Find In My Bedroom:

1. Way too many pairs of flip flops. Tbone literally has 3 pairs of the exact same pair of flip flops in the exact same color and I probably have at least 7 pairs of plain black flip flops. 

2. My ipad

3. A mason jar of water on my nightstand

4. Family pictures

5. A couple of boxes we haven't un-packed (we moved in October). 

...Quirks I Have

1. I have tryphophobia

2. I have arachnaphobia

3. I cannot sleep with socks on my feet no matter how cold I am. 

4. I am a recovering hypochondriac

5. I get the equivalent of the cat crazies at least once a night. (I get super crazy and hyper and Tbone is left wondering "WTF?"

... Reads I Love:

1. Anything from Kelley Armstrong
2. Memoirs of a Gas Station: A Delightfully Awkward Journey Across the Alaskan Tundra
3. Bridge to Terabithia
4. Chelsea Handler's books
5. Black Dagger Brotherhood


... and there you have it. My list of fives.

 

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

"A picture is worth a thousand words"... This is so true! Today I will share a few of those pictures.

Okay that's enough for now. 

Baked Chimichangas

Ok this past week I tried a 'Baked Chimichanga' recipe that I found on Pinterest. I think it was originally a Weight Watchers recipe. But I added and took out some things that I thought would work.

Here are the ingredients:

*1/2 lb of ground turkey
*1 onion finely chopped (I buy the chopped onions because I have seriously sensitive eyes due to an a Thompson's water seal accident that I will have to share with you all one day).
*1 clove of garlic minced
*2 tsp of chili powder
*1 tsp of dried oregano
*1/2 tsp of ground cumin
*8 oz can of tomato sauce
*2 tbsp of mild green chilis (i used canned)
*1/3 cup of reduced fat cheddar cheese
*8 in fat free flour tortillas (I use the raw flour tortillas that are NOT fat free).


and here is what I did....



Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Spray a non stick oven sheet and put aside.

Now spray a medium-large skillet with non stick spray. I use Pam (she never lets me down).

Add the turkey, onion, garlic, chili powder, oregano & cumin ( I was out so I didn't use this).

Brown the turkey and mix the above ingredients for about 6 minutes or until you think your turkey is cooked.

Now stir in the tomato sauce & chilis. Bring this to a boil (careful it happens pretty fast).

Turn down the heat and let simmer (uncovered) for about 5 minutes.

Take off of the heat and stir in the cheese.

Wrap your totrillas in foil and stick in the oven to warm for a 10ish minutes. I skipped this because I use the raw tortillas from Sams Club or Costco.

Now put about 1/2 cup of the turkey mixture in to your torilla, fold it and put on the oven sheet that you had set aside.

Once they are all folded and placed on the oven sheet, spray the tops of the chimichangas lightly with cooking spray.

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Voila

I also made some Spanish rice and cut up some avocado's to serve with the chimis. Sidenote... my middle brother had a bunny named chimichanga when I was little. Strange now that I think of it. 

The dish was a hit and I will def make this again in the future. Good luck and hope you like it.

Our Cat Dog

Someone seems to be "confused".  I think he's questioning he canine-inity.

"Really mom? I am going through a tough time... I mean, I know I look like a dog but I really feel like a cat, and you have to take pictures of me?" 

"I hope you are happy you dumb lady, now I have to call my therapist!"

There are no words.... So I will leave you with this... 

Let's Be Friends!!!! 

"

Five on Friday

This is my first 5 on Friday. So thank you to The Good Life for hosting this! 

Why? Because my muscles are still twitching from the gym (yes, I am an ex personal trainer turned fat and trying to go back to working out) this morning and my brain hasn't had enough caffeine to come up with anything on my own. So here it is....

#1. yep

#2. I am super excited to see the new Valentine shirts that Hello Apparel will be debuting later on today! They posted a preview of some super cute heart t's. 

#3. Speaking of Valentine's Day.... I love all the cute decor that goes with Vday! I have probably only gone out a handful of times on the actual day because I don't have the patience to wait a billion hours to go somewhere and would rather celebrate a few days later. But.... I love hearts, the sayings, and everything else that goes along with the holiday. 

#4. I have cooked more in the last 3 months that I have in my whole life. (Thank you Pinterest)

#5. Oh and this pretty much me, in a nutshell. 

Happy Friday! Does anyone have any fun plans for the weekend?