Sunday, September 23, 2012

Books, books, books!

Many of you know that I read lots of books and lots of smut. I have read the series 50 Shades of Grey 2 times and I probably will again before the year is out. I have several others that I love and updates that I get on by fb and email when my favorite authors release a new book. 

I am a complete sucker for a great romance with some sexy time scenes and have fallen in love with some new series.

The latest series that I have read (I started it yesterday) is The Whiskey series from Liliana Hart. There are 2 so far in the series with the 3rd not coming out until next summer. I was not very happy to find out about that but too bad I guess....Any way, Liliana Hart usually writes really steamy (very very smutty) books. She has a couple of romantic comedies but most are pretty hot. I stumbled upon Whiskey Rebellion and it promised many laughs with some romance. Since I got Amazon gift cards for my birthday - I had no problem spending some money on a book that had good reviews. 

Now, I have to say - I have a soft spot for Janet Evanovich - however, I hate that Stephanie Plum dances around sex with Morelli and Ranger. I just wish that there was more sex...come on Janet - I know that Stephanie sleeps with both of them but out of almost 20 books it's only a handful of times. I still love her writing and crack up while reading it. Hubbs often looks at me like I am deranged for laughing about Gma Mazur but come on that old bag is hilarious!

Back to topic at hand - this series is much like the Stephanie Plum series, but Addison is a history teacher turned stripper turned private investigator. It is a hilarious read and there is sex in it - not nasty descriptive sex, but sex like a normal person would have. There are 2 leading men - one a cop and one an FBI agent and she even has an overweight teacher friend who helps her out at times. I absolutely loved the 2 books. In order they go Whiskey Rebellion and Whiskey Sour. Mrs. Hart is writing a third book but it isn't due out until June 2013. That kinda bummed me out, I thought that maybe she could shoot one out every 4 months or so - but I guess not! She does have some really good series out about brothers. She also has another book All About Eve - it's a romantic book and isn't a series. It's nice to just read one book and have it start and end in the book that you are reading!

Anyway - for those of you that like smut - I would love to hear what your favorite authors are. My friend suggested I read Exit to Eden by Anne Rampling (Rice) That is downloaded and I will be starting it tonight! I shall let you know how it goes!!

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Healthier mommy..means smaller pant size!

So, it is September...only 10 days left of it and I have been eating better and exercising since June. So that's 3 solid months of trying to build a better me.

It has been a real battle. Some weeks (period weeks) I eat everything in sight and have such hunger. There have been weeks that I have gained. {which makes me feel like shit sometimes..} I am not going to act like I have lost ever week, because I haven't. The most I gained one week was 2 pounds. There was recently 2 weeks in a row that I gained. It is so incredibly easy to fall off the wagon and start eating junk. I absolutely LOVE sweets...but it's really about portion size. I have been eating a handful of m&ms every night in bed while I read. I still lost 4 1/2 pounds this week. But notice I said a handful - not the entire fraking bag. I could seriously put away food without even noticing!

However, through this wonderful journey of becoming an adult I have found that the better eat, the better I feel.

I wish I would have taken a before and after picture in a tight outfit, but I am too damn busy with wiping kid's asses and cleaning up after fat Corgi's to remember that kind of crap. But here is a picture of me at my heaviest...244 and one of me on my birthday 221...currently I am at 219 1/2 and I haven't been under 220 in I don't even know how long!!!
Before



After

I am currently wearing a size 18 -  I can fit into a 16 but if I sit down I have the beloved muffin top from hell. The green shirt is a large but I still feel comfortable in a XL...It's really hard to get used to wearing different sizes. Much harder then I thought it would be. 

Along for the ride on this journey of healthy living, I have had the pleasure of being with my 2 best friends. Hubbs and Nana have been trying to get healthy along with me. Hubbs started it and then Nana and I grabbed onto his shirt tails after kicking and screaming, while licking donut glaze off of our fingers. They have both done wonderful and I can't believe how different they look!

Hubbs before:

Hubbs after:

Nana before:


Nana after:

I think that all of our transformations have been incredible and I can't believe how fat all of our faces were at one point!! Now we are all looking good and much healthier...so onto a few more pounds to loose and a few more babies to have -well at least for me..Nana is almost at her goal weight and she will work on maintaining her weight and Miguel is still working on losing...I am the only one planning on gaining some back for the time being (don't worry the product will be worth the weight gain...but not until next year!)









Monday, September 17, 2012

Sweetest girl, not a baby no more...

Lilliana has changed so much in the past 22 months. She is becoming her own person and learning so many new things. She is talking more and more and it just amazes me all the things that she has learned. Today we were just going over body parts and she has learned almost all the parts of her head and we are starting on the rest of her body.  She is learning about more and more animals and learning to push my limits in the behavior area, but most days she is better then others. She does have quite a short temper and will try to bite me when she is really pissed, but we are working on that. 
However, being home with her all day I usually give nightly duties to her Daddy to take care of. 


Lilliana...brand spanking new..




Tonight, The Voice is on and I wanted to watch it and actually hear how the people sounded. So, I kept telling her to go and give her daddy a hug or kiss. She would oblige me and run across the couch and fling her body on him and hug or kiss him, but then she would come right back and sit on my lap and stare at me. Now, I wasn't getting mad, but I though that it would be nice for her to spend some time with her daddy. I mean she's with me all day...I can't be that exciting can I? So I gave up trying to watch t.v. and read a book with her, tossed her around, tickled her, hugged and loved on her. 

When Hubbs got up to get her in her jammies she got changed and then sat in my lap and I hugged her and I realized that she's not going to be small forever. She has grown so fast in the last 22 months. She just laid there and laughed. I would kiss her and she would just laugh. It made me so sad how fast she has gotten and happy that she is a loving girl. She is everything that I never expected and everything that I wanted out of my first baby. She gives me a hard time and teaches me how to be a better parent each and every day. When she was laying in my arms and I could feel her sweet breath on my face and hear her giggle the world stopped for a minute. I didn't want to hand her off to her daddy because the thought occurred to me that she wouldn't always want to be cuddled close and loved on. There will be times in her life when she dislikes (she will think she hates) me. At times she will think that she is too old for hugs and kisses.  I just held her tight and cried. Tears started falling down my face and I wanted to just bottle up the love that I felt between us all at that moment. With her daddy standing next to us, waiting to carry her off to dreamland and her laying in my lap feeling so completely loved. 

I wish that everyone could feel that...the love between a parent and a child. It's an amazing bond that steals your breath when you least expect it. It's hearing the cry of "Momma" and knowing that you are truly needed, the center of your child's universe. It's a smile when they wake up and the pure innocence in their hearts. They are so untouched and just beautiful!!! I often make fun of Hubbs for all the videos he takes. We watch them all the time and just cry at how both of our girls have changed so much. I feel that the Lord put us on this Earth to be parents. There is no greater gift then a child.....I will remember the feeling of love tonight when I am stressed about bills, cleaning, or up to my elbow in dirty diapers. I will remember feeling of being the center of her universe and all the love that is within our little family. 





Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Using leftovers to their fullest ;)


So, when making dinner - I always try to think, what the hell do I have in my fridge that I can reuse? On Labor Day we had a BBQ at my mom and dad's and I brought baked potatoes as my side dish - hey don't judge! I made chocolate chip cookies and fruit salad - just didn't have time to make another good side dish! So, I took the easy way out and wrapped some potatoes in tin foil and threw them on the grill with the meat. We had about 4 potatoes left over and I took them home, thinking I could freeze them. 
Well, after an exhausting day of chasing around 2 kids, making sure no one fed them something that would have them shitting for weeks - I placed the potatoes in the fridge and forgot about them. 2 days later, I rediscovered them in my search for side dishes for dinner. I came across this recipe on Pintrest (Thank the GODS for that site!) and decided to give it a try with the baked potatoes.
I mixed the spices together, I omitted some of them simply because I didn't have them on hand.  I peeled the baked potatoes and cut them up into 1/8s. I am not going to lie to you - this wasn't exactly easy since they had already been baked, but it wasn't too hard - because I wouldn't have done it then. :0)
My already baked potatoes peeled and cut :)



(Notice my helper in the background!)
I followed the rest of the directions and they turned out GRRRREat! I am for sure thinking about having some of the premixed spices for future use!!

**My house smelled AMAZING while this was cooking!!!**













Oven Roasted Potatoes
http://sweetpeaskitchen.com/2010/07/oven-roasted-potatoes/

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic (I used garlic powder!)
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
  • 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon crushed rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed ( I used baked potatoes that were left over!)
Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
  2. In a ziploc bag, combine garlic, basil, marjoram, dill weed, thyme, oregano, parsley, red pepper flakes, rosemary, and salt. Shake to combine, add olive oil and potatoes. Shake potatoes until evenly coated. Let sit on counter top for 10 minutes. Place potatoes in a single layer on a roasting pan or baking sheet.
  3. Roast for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, turning occasionally to brown on all sides.
I made it with sour cream/parm chicken :)

Protective covers...worth the cost?

Oh, so Hubbs is a HUGE cover buyer when it comes to electronics. Um, me? Not so much. I don't like how they feel and they often obstruct my comfort (what ever the hell that means). That's usually what I say to get him off my back about putting my cover on my phone. (Hence, the scratches on the edges from being dropped outside!)
Any who - Hubbs bought me a new MacBook Air for my 31st birthday (wow - I know AWESOME gift alert!!) I was joking one day that he could buy me one for my birthday...maybe next year I should ask for an R8 (oh, Mr. Grey!) So he bought me this beautiful new toy along with a cover. A pink, satin cover. I love pink or anything remotely girlie. So I put the cover on gripping that it made my wrists uncomfortable when I typed (WHAT?) So, the other day while I was making a bottle, holding baby on hip, and trying to get Lilli a snack I was NOT watching what Lilli was doing at the table. I look over and she has a screwdriver "drawing" on my laptop!!! OMfraking God! I almost shit a brick. But turns out that my cover saved it! I did have to get another cover - but that is so worth the 50 bucks!!! I could have had my laptop scratch all to high hell by my loving and cute (wanted to beat her at that moment) child.
Word of advice: buy the damn cover!

Monday, September 3, 2012

Juicing, Smoothies, and Cleaners - OH MY!

Since I will be celebrating my 31st birthday, in 6 short days - I have decided to start living better - so that I can live longer!
My good friend let me borrow her juicer to see if it was something that I could even work let alone have the time to do. I went to Blocks and stocked up on fresh fruits and veggies - which didn't cost all that much - (hate to see how much the grocery bill is going to be in the dead of winter) thanks to Block's cheap prices!
My first attempt at juicing and making that juice into a smoothie was somewhat trying. The juicer I used was the Black and Decker one. It's around 30 dollars at Walmart. It was easy to use and somewhat easy to clean. (The actual grinder/shredder thingy was kinda a bitch) I juiced a handful of kale, romaine, and 2 apples. I threw that juice into my new smoothie maker machine along with 6 strawberries and a half of banana. The concoction was a dark green with strawberry seed floating. (Oh - I put about a cup of ice in it too - duh smoothie) It wasn't as thick as I thought it should be and I could taste the kale but overall it was a decent first try. That was my lunch. I have decided to juice for breakfast or lunch three times a week. I was full after drinking it and I didn't get an upset belly or anything.
For tomorrow I am going to try something with beets and carrots. My cousin said those were good sweeteners. So wish me luck that I get some extra vitamins and make things that I love to drink. I hope that the girls learn to love this stuff too! Anything to get my girlies healthy and full of energy!

Hubbs went off to work complaining about how oily my body cleanser is, I guess he almost slipped and broke his neck trying to get out of the tub. So I said - hmmmm....my friend April cleans with stuff out of her cabinets - lets see if I can find a recipe. So I found this website:

http://www.crunchybetty.com/the-best-homemade-bathroom-cleaner-ever

And it listed 2 cleaners - one (second one) of which I had the ingredients - well almost all of the ingredients...I used apple cider vinegar instead of regular and table salt as substitute for sea salt. I have to say the recipe that I made which did not require a whole lot of ingredients was enough to make to clean 2 bathrooms. I was able to clean our bathroom and the girls bathroom in no time! I didn't have to put a bunch of elbow grease into it either!! It was actually easier to use then a magic eraser...which is saying a lot because I have somewhat become addicted those things.
I should have taken pictures of this crap and will remember to next week when I clean the bathrooms again! I suggest that you make this and use it because it works great and is super cheap!!!