Survey Says....

I LOVE these things! ☺

01. High heels or boots? LOVE Both
02. What time did you get up this morning? 6:00
03. Diamonds or pearls? LOVE diamonds, but starting to like pearls
04. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? A Chick flick with some girl friends. I think 27 Dresses was the one we saw last.
05. What is your favorite TV show? My all-time favorite is The Young and the Restless, but I am also a fan of The Bachelor/Bachelorette and I like when I catch Private Practice on Thursdays.
06. What do you usually have for breakfast? I always have coffee with 2 blue packets and a shot of sugar free French Vanilla. I am also trying to make myself eat something and that is normally a granola bar or banana.
07. What is your favorite physical trait about yourself? This is a hard one b/c I am very hard on myself, but I do like my skin tone :o)
08. What food do you dislike? Tuna Fish. And it used to be a favorite, but after a 24 hour stomach virus and tuna was the last thing I ate....Well, you get the point!
09. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Don't have one. All I have been listening to lately is KLOVE.
10. What characteristic do you despise? Lying
11. Favorite Clothing? jeans, T-shirts, lounge pants, flip flops ☺
12. If you could leave for vacation tomorrow where would you go? A tropical island somewhere or a CRUISE or DISNEY
13. Are you an organized person? Somewhat and trying to be even more so.
14. Where would you like to retire to? The Beach
15. What was your most recent memorable birthday? My last birthday was nice.
16. What are you going to do when you finish this? going to bed
17. Something people may not know about you? I have a skin disorder on my lower legs
18. Do you remember other's Birthdays? Yes, I think I am pretty good at remembering friends and family birthdays
19. Are you a morning person or a night person? NIGHT OWL and wish I wasn't!
20. What is your shoe size? 7-7.5
21. What did you want to be when you were little? Dancer or dance teacher
22. What is your favorite flower? LOVE sunflowers because they remind me of my mom (that was her favorite flower), and I love day lilies and Gerber daisies!
23. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Our vacation. Just don't have THE date yet, ha!
24. What was the last thing you ate? a wrap with ham, cheese, lettuce, and mustard!
25. Do you wish upon stars? Can't say that I do.
26. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? PINK or multi-colored..ha!
27. How is the weather right now? breezy night
28. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My SIL
29. Favorite soft drink? Have always LOVED coke, but have converted to Diet coke
30. Favorite restaurant? Joe's Crab Shack in Destin, FL and Newks
31. Hair color? brown with highlights
32. What was your favorite toy as a child? Barbie
33. Summer or winter? BOTH
34. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate
35. Coffee or tea? Both, please.
36. Favorite food of all time? A good ole hamburger with all the fixins!
37.When was the last time you cried? A few days ago when I found out a blog friend was pregnant!
38. What did you do last night? read post below, ha!
39. What are you afraid of? grasshoppers, bugs, etc..
40. Salty or sweet? both
41. How many years at your current job? almost 2
42. You miss_____: My mom
43. Positive or negative? trying to be completely and 100% positive...no room for negative in my life!
44. Pet peeve? The kids are bad about putting the empty tea pitcher back in the fridge... ☺
45. Anywhere in the world you want to go that you have never been to? DYING to go to NYC in the month of DECEMBER, any tropical island, Disney, and I'm sure that is not all.

Teenagers....

Today I received the weekly email from Andrew's Algebra teacher with his grades. I was not too happy with what I saw so I sent him a text. Below is our conversation through text messages...

Me: Andrew, put you phone in my room when you get home. I am not happy with your grades.

Andrew: But Mom, I benched 135 today.

Me: Great job! You are now grounded for 135 days!

Needless to say, I didn't hear back from him after that!

But seriously though, he is comparing his Algebra grade to his football/workout period. I don't think so! :)

And here is proof that he is working on bench pressing more than Algebra 1...

Teenagers. and to think I have two more right behind this one!

Meet Jillian...

I'm sure most of you know trainer, Jillian, from the show The Biggest Loser. I do not watch the show, but I have heard she is one tough lady, and after tonight, I can totally vouch for that!

I don't seem to make it to the gym as much as I would like to. Unless I go at 5:00 in the morning, I just do not have the time. And in order to go at 5:00 a.m., I have to be up by 4:45 a.m., and when you don't go to bed till midnight, well, that just ain't happening!
At night, I come home and get dinner ready, spend time with the kids, sew, clean, do laundry, yada yada yada. and not to mention the kids being involved in sports. Maybe those are all just excuses of why I don't go to the gym as much as I'd like, but it's the truth.

I've had several people tell me that the 20 minute 30 Day Shred was a good workout so we decided to give it a try. I thought surely 20 minutes would be a breeze. WRONG!

I did my first 20 minutes tonight and O to tha M to tha G....that was the longest, hardest 20 minutes of my LIFE! :o) I had an audience. Wade and the kids were all sitting back on the couch cheering me on. I think I even heard Wade say a few times, "baby, this is a 20 minute video, not 5 minutes. Baby, keep going, you can't give up! Baby, nobody said it was going to be easy." And I think I probably snapped a time or two and told him to shut-up and he needed to get up here and join me if he thought it was so easy. WHEW! I made it through the 20 minute video alone, but not without moans and groans and sweat and almost tears! Yes, she is that hard! And I am only on level 1. There are 3 levels. So, after I finished my 20 minute work-out alone, Wade and the kids were giving me a VERY hard time. Practically calling me a wimp. SO, I challenged the four of them to do the workout and I would WATCH. hahahahahaha!!!! It was HEEElarious!!!! Wade was complaining and whining about 7 minutes into it and by the 10 minute mark, he was sitting on the couch and didn't get back up. LOL!!! None of them made it through the whole 20 minutes. :o) But, ABS really liked the end where you are cooling down and stretching. :o) My favorite part too! Anywho, if you are looking for a good, want to feel pain and sweat, hard, challenging workout, I HIGHLY recommend Jillian! She's da bomb!

I'm sure I will not like her after a few more days of this, but hopefully I'll LOVE her in 30 days!

Lemon Cupcakes and a new addition!

Do you know what you get when you mix one box of cake mix with a diet soda???

24 wonderful little cupcakes! YES, you read that right. ONE cake mix + ONE 12 oz DIET soda= 24 YUMMY little cupcakes. No eggs, No oil, or No water...just a canned diet soda! :)You see, I am on Weight Watchers. I have always struggled with my weight. I am only 4'10" so 5 lbs on someone else looks like 15 lbs on me :o( I have said for the last several years that I am going to do something about it, I am going on a diet, blah blah blah. Well, I would lose 10 lbs or so and then gain it back. Lose 10, gain it back...so on and so forth. WELL, I am ready to lose 10, and then lose 10 more, and so on.... :o) I am determined! :o) I am excited! I am ready!

So I guess you can imagine my excitement today when I found out that I could make cupcakes and there are only 2 points in each one. In weight watchers, that is a BIG deal! I have been eating lots of fruit, veggies, etc, but sometimes you just need something sweet! I seriously didn't think these little jokers were going to be any good, but they were DELICIOUS! Wade actually thought I made them for him and the kids and that I was "cheating" on my diet when I had one tonight. ha!!!! Yes, they are that good! Even if you are not on WW, this is a "healthier cupcake"! :o)

I dusted a little powdered sugar over some for them. And actually, as little as I put, it is not even enough to make a point in WW! I don't think I will have any left by the time I get home from work tomorrow as Wade had THREE of them tonight! UGH! Wish I could eat like he does! ha!!!

I hear you can use a chocolate cake mix with a diet Dr. Pepper and those are quite yummy! Really just use your imagination. One cake mix and one diet 12 oz soda! The possibilities are endless! :o) This was the first one I tried tonight and I am impressed!

Here is your break down of this heavenly recipe...

Weight Watcher Cupcakes

1 cake mix (I used Lemon Supreme)

1 diet soda (I used diet Sprite)

Mix the two ingredients well and then fill 24 greased cupcake tins half full (I had just enough for 24). Bake in a preheated oven (350) for about 15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. (I really didn't time it, but they were not in there long).

ENJOY!!!!

And, I will go ahead and give you a little sneak peak of what I am adding to my shop! More information on this later! :o)

And just for kicks.....Look what I caught on camera tonight! Avery falling off of the bar stool! Ha!

and I am not really sure what to call this......BUT, it had nothing to do with my WW Cupcakes! :)

Cracker Jacks, O.C.D., & The Bachelor

I just want you to know that this picture below was taken at 2:13 a.m. this morning. Yes, they are that crazy that they leave and go duck hunting in the wee hours of the morning. And I'm even crazier that I stayed up with them and took their picture at 2:13 a.m....It was quite alright though as I was off work today so me and ABS slept in. :o) And before I knew it, she had consumed pop tarts, chocolate milk, cracker jacks, & a fudge pop all before noon today. :o) oops! Hey, it was her day off. I let her eat junk most of the day! I guess I have been depriving my kids of cracker jacks. I never buy them mainly because I never think about it. Well, last night while I was grocery shopping, I spotted them and thought I would get a few packs. Well, you would have thought I let her loose in Toys R US. Ha! She was soooo excited about opening the cabinet today and spotting them! I think this is her new favorite snack. :o)

On another note, I would not consider myself O.C.D. but, there is something about loading the dishwasher that drives me bonkers. It has to be done a certain way and for goodness sake, all of the utensils have to be grouped together in each slot or I get all stressed out! Whew! I know crazy!!! :o)

Another thing that I am crazy about it the garbage can. I hate a dirty garbage can. We have a white one in the kitchen and I am constantly cleaning the outside of it and at least once a week, I clean the inside of it. We use garbage bags, but still it gets dirty! Are you O.C.D. about certain things in your house?

My favorite show is coming on as I type this so I need to cut it short, ha!!! I LOVE The Bachelor. I don't know why, but I do. I don't watch too much TV, but I have really gotten hooked on this show on Monday nights! Source

Our favorites this season are Tensley, Elizabeth, & Ali. Actually, Wade's favorite is Ali and my favorite is Tensley. We have liked those two from the time they stepped out of the limo! They seem genuine and down to earth. Elizabeth is another favorite, but I am starting to have second thoughts on her. We'll see what Jake thinks, but those are my predictions! :o)

Source

Do you watch the show and if so, who are your pulling for?

*****************************

UPDATE:

So, Elizabeth went home tonight. I guess I could sort of see that coming. She did start acting like a tease and was very wishy washy! :( I guess Jake started sensing that too!

Tensley and Ali are still my favorites! I wouldn't mind seeing him with either one of them. And I think Kathryn & Corrie are pretty cool too! Can't wait till next week!

Just Because Designs

Just Because Designs is now taking orders again. Email me at justbecausedesigns (at) yahoo (dot) com for questions and ordering. I took a little break around Christmas to finish orders and enjoy the season and my family, but I am now up and running. I am working on Valentines Day, St. Patricks Day, Easter, & spring designs. I will be working tomorrow on getting my site updated. Here is just a sneak peak of a few things I have to offer now.... :o)

The "LOVE truck"
The "LOVE" shirtName shirtsThank you all for your continued support of my little hobby. I ♥ my JBD customers! :o)

Wonderful Sunday & a funny!

We have had a great Sunday. Church was great. Our pastor spoke an amazing message this morning. Like the kind that you feel like you are the only one in the church and he is speaking only to you.....Yeah, that kind of sermon. It was powerful! I love feeling God's presence like that though!

We came home and cooked Beef Enchiladas (see post below for recipe), and then we took a Sunday afternoon nap. Ahhh, Sunday afternoon naps are so divine! :o) So divine that our nap went into "overtime" and we almost missed church tonight. ha! We flew out the door and made it just in time though.

As I was taking notes during our message tonight, I noticed Annah Brooke was also "taking notes" (copying mine). :o) Then I noticed a sentence she wrote on her own. It read, "Jesus is my save your." Ahh, my heart completely melted and then I got all giggled. I think she is going to take after her momma in the spelling department. I can't spell to save my life. I use spell check a lot and Google all of the time and I still spell words wrong. Oh, well! :o)

Then towards the end of our message tonight, a gentleman just a few seats down from us yelled, "Amen". :o) ABS jerked her head around to see who said it and then she looked at me and said, "now that wasn't very polite, was it?".....hahaha!!! It really happens all of the time in our church, all through the service, she is just normally in kids church. :o)

On the way home tonight, we were talking about the spelling of "save your". Andrew told her the correct spelling is, "S.a.v.i.o.r". She quickly told him that he was wrong and she was right. She said, "save your. S.A.V.E. and then Y.O.U.R. save your. It's a compound word Andrew". Hahaha...I think she will be spelling it her way forever. :o)

Oh, that child. She really keeps me rolling laughing! Her little funnies were the perfect ending to the perfect day.

I hope you all have had a wonderful Sunday.
Is Jesus your save your?

A few new recipes

I cook a few times a week usually, but over the last two weeks, I have cooked a TON. Mainly because it has been freezing cold here in the south, and because my man has been on 12 hour shifts. I figured he needed some good, warm meals after working that much.

I have cooked veggie soup, chicken n dumplings, chili, chicken casserole, beef enchiladas, and homemade chicken noodle soup just to name a few things... :o) The Beef Enchiladas and the Chicken Noodle Soup were two new recipes so I thought I'd share them with you.

I came across this recipe from Kelly's Recipe Blog. It sounded good so I gave it a go. I did not follow her recipe exactly (just b/c I never seem to follow directions to a "T"), but it is pretty much the same.

Beef Enchiladas

1.5 lb hamburger meat

1 small onion, chopped

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

1 can of Green Chili Enchilada sauce

shredded cheddar cheese (I didn't measure the cheese)

10 flour tortillas

Brown the meat and saute the onions in with it. Drain and then add back to the skillet. Add a few handfuls of shredded cheese (more or less depending on your liking). Stir and let cheese melt. Fill tortillas with the meat mixture and roll up. Combine the mushroom soup and enchilada sauce and pour on top. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.

Serve with Mexican Rice. Enjoy!!!

As you can see, paper plates again....ha!!!

My next recipe is Chicken Noodle Soup. Sharon gave me her recipe for this and my friend, Shannon, gave me her recipe, & then I found a few online that I liked too. So I just sort of made my own version of Chicken Noodle using a little ingredients from each of the recipes. :o) It was so YUMMY. Wade and the kids LOVED it!

Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken (I boiled a whole chicken and then used about half of it)

Large package of Egg Noodles (I think about a 10 0z pk)

1 can of cream of mushroom

1 can of cream of chicken

1/2 lb of Velveeta

half and half (I just poured some, maybe a 1/2 cup)

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup frozen veggies (I had a mixture of peas, corn, & carrots)

Boil chicken and debone. In chicken broth, add noodles and let cook. When noodles are ready add cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, half & half, veggies, shredded chicken, and cubed Velveeta. Add salt & pepper to taste. Let simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes. Enjoy!

**Please note that these two recipes are not weight watcher friendly** :o)

Haiti

My heart has been so heavy after hearing about the earthquake in Haiti. I will be completely honest with you. I had no idea where Haiti was and had to google it. That probably seems so shallow, but I just didn't. I don't know a whole lot about other countries and that is something I am growing a great interest in right now. I have learned that living in Haiti before the quake that life was hard so I can't imagine it now.

(source)

As I was preparing my family a hot meal tonight, in our warm home, while my children were playing and laughing it just broke. my. heart. thinking of this disaster. To think I complain and whine about wanting a new outfit, or a new pair of boots, or a bigger house, etc....It really breaks my heart that these people have nothing. Literally. Nothing. And now they don't even have the basic needs to get through the day like water, food, & shelter.

Please PRAY for this country and these people. These are real people with real feelings. Just like me and you. God's children. God loves them as much as he loves us. I know God is bigger than this and he can restore this country.

There are so many different ways you can donate to help Haiti. The easiest ways are to text "Haiti" to 90999 to give $10.00 to the American Red Cross. It will be charged on your next phone bill. You can also text "disaster" to 90999 to give $10.00 to the Compassion disaster relief program. $10 is what most of us would probably spend on eating out for lunch with your friends. You can also go here and sponsor a child through Compassion.

You can visit KLOVE for more information on the Haiti disaster and for more ways to donate to trusted organizations.

Do you back up???

Do I have any readers left??? I am so sorry I have been MIA. As you can see I am still alive :o) and I am trying so hard to get the blog updated. I am back-dating everything just because I am weird like that so there are going to be lots of post so be sure to scroll down. I just want everything in order by date. Sooooo.....

The reason of the absence? Well, I had quite a scare. You see, I sat down one night to start blogging and this little message pops up on my laptop screen that reads, "operating system not found"....Hmmm. I have never seen that before, I thought. I was on the phone with my brother and he didn't seem to think that was a good sign. So I then called my BIL who let out a heavy sigh when I told him....I knew at that point that this was NOT good. My poor little hard-drive had crashed. At that point, I wanted to puke. I had 2 years worth of pictures of my life, my family, my children on my laptop and they were all gone.....I was physically ILL!

Fast forward a few days....I took my laptop to a friend and coworker and he immediately let out that heavy sigh that I had previously heard. He then gave me a little hope and told me not to panic...yet. So I try hard not to stress and then few days later, I have my laptop back up and running and NOTHING was lost!!!!! AHHH! I was doing a happy dance! I assure you! I did have to order a new hard-drive b/c the old one had crashed, but he was able to recover most everything and clone the old one or something...I am speaking way out of my league right now, but the bottom line is I have my pictures and it is time to back-up from now on!!!!

Do you back up your files and pictures? If not, your may want to start! Seriously! I have heard of this happening to other people and they were not so lucky, but it is just one of those things that I thought would never happen to me. Well, it did and I am very relieved and thankful that I didn't lose everything.

So here I am now, trying to get caught up on blogging and blog hopping! :o)
Happy Tuesday!

Happy New Year!

WOW! Two thousand ten, twenty ten, or whatever. What are you calling it? I have been saying two thousand ten...anywho! Happy, happy New Year!!!

We had a very low key New Year's eve and day. We had a few invites for the eve, but Wade and I decided we just wanted a quiet night at home. I do think this was one of my favorite ones yet. I just love me some family time!

I got off of work a bit early, and we made up a few appetizers and literally just hung out. We had "Party Buns", Corn dip, & BLT bites on paper plates! So good and easy clean up! :o) Just the way we like it.Annah Brooke and I ended up watching My Sister's Keeper which was SO good, but sad for sure. We were finishing the movie at 11:30ish sobbing and then put on our "party" face to ring in the New Year. Shortly after midnight, the guys headed out to go hunting. Yes, they leave at like 1 or 2 in the morning. It is about an hour or more drive and then they have to get their "spot" before someone else beats them to it, blah, blah, blah....So me and this princess slept in and then we did a little shopping. This is one time she wanted to stay with me instead of hunting. She had money that was burning a hole in her pocket! lol!

We did get our peas and greens in too.....on paper plates, but hey, that is just how we roll!! :o) HAPPY NEW YEAR!!