Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Weight Loss Wednesday

       Welcome to my first Weight Loss Wednesday. From now on, on ever Wednesday, I will post weight loss related things. Like different healthy foods, exercises, etc. I will also post my current stats. IE: each Wednesday I will weigh myself, measure myself, and take a picture for every 10 lbs I lose. I have also created a "page" for these posts. It can be found at the top of the blog next to my "About Me" and "Recipes" pages. The links will be there for each Wednesday's posting that way they can be easier to locate later on.

        So here is my first WLW. Enjoy. Because I may not hehe.

**These are my more current pictures. I haven't changed much(if at all) from the 4 weeks one**

**EDIT** Weight: 195 Sorry, forgot to put this on here on Wednesday =)

        Measurements:
                 Neck: 13 1/2in
                 Arms: 12 1/2in
                 Chest: 44in
                 Waist: 41 1/2in
                   Hips: 46 1/2in
               Thighs: 24in
        Phew, I survived that hehe. Okay, my workout for this week will be my Turbo Jam videos. The original Turbo Jam, not the Turbo Jam Fire or whatever it is now. I am going to try and do it either during the boys' nap time or when everybody else is getting ready for bed at night. If I don't do that then I will at least try to do some push-ups, sit ups, and jumping jacks. And whatever else I can think of to get moving and get my heart rate up.
        I'm not going to include it in my workouts because I am not technically doing anything. But breast feeding burns about 500 calories. So that is always an added bonus. Not only am I providing for my son but I get to sit there and do nothing and still burn that many calories. Win? Why yes I think so! hehe
        My recommended "healthy food" is Overnight Oats. I have shared the link/recipe for them before on my Weekly Review. I think it was my first Weekly Review. I may also try a detox drink. This Zero Calorie Detox Drink is super easy to make and is only a few ingredients. Plus, I really need to drink more water and hopefully this will help since it is flavored.
      Please check back in every Wednesday and see how I'm doing. Of course there will be bumps in the road. The usual highs and lows that go along with weight loss. But I am hoping that having this will help me push through and do it. I need to. Not only for my own health but for my boys. They need to learn healthy eating habits(though I swear Daniel is already a rabbit with all the fruits and veggies he eats lol) and to be active.
       
       

Monday, August 27, 2012

Manic Mommy Monday

        It's Manic Mommy Monday time again folks!  This is number 2 for me. Don't forget to go check out the others or even post about your own here.
 
 
        Well, last night we moved Gabriel into his own room. I wasn't quite ready. Still not sure if I am. But the Hubs is so we tried. It didn't go too bad. He nurse around 8:30, had a bath then laid down with us, then went into his bassinett in his room around 10:30ish. Laying in bed I could see his bassinett perfectly which was nice. He slept until about 1am and wanted to eat. Then he slept until about 4, came in bed with us, ate again around 5, and then we slept until about 9. So, again, not too bad.
 
        Hopefully he will start to sleep longer once we can get him into the crib. Going to have to see if Daniel's toddler bed mattress will fit in the crib. Daniel is currently using the crib mattress because it is waterproof, the toddler mattress is fabric. If it doesn't fit then we will most likely have to buy another mattress.
 
        Another reason for moving him into his own room was because the bedroom got rearranged yesterday. I only sort of helped. I was messing around looking at geneology stuff(the Hubs and I are both addicted now!) and then the Hubs came downstairs and told me he had started rearranging. I then went to help hehe. I had to see what had been done. It actually doesn't look too bad. We are hoping to get our computers into our bedroom to get them away from the animal hair. The cats aren't allowed in the bedrooms and the dog is only allowed in there at night. My poor computer went out a couple weeks ago and we think it was because it got overheated from the hair. We also need to open them up and clean them out more often.
 
        Well, that is all from this Manic Mommy for today! Enjoy your week everyone!
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 


Sunday, August 26, 2012

Weekly Review 3

 
        Okay, for this Weekly Review I only have one picture. Sad day. hehe The rest got eaten before I could remember to get a picture in. But here is a listing of what you can look forward to...
  1. Lazy Day Casserole
  2. Cucumber Salad
  3. Pan Roasted Chicken with Lemon-Garlic Green Beans
  4. Parmesan Crusted Chicken
  5.  Homemade Bread 
 
 
 
1.    Lazy Day Casserole. It was absolutely delicious! I added two different kinds of sausage because I didn't think the 4 sausages(cut in half) looked like enough. And unless you like the flavor of licorice I suggest leaving out the fennel. You couldn't taste it unless you bit into it, but it was quite a surprise when we bit into what we thought was a piece of onion and it turned out to be fennel hehe. It took a little time but was definitely worth it. In fact, not only will we be having this on a regular basis, but I am going to start doing my veggies for pot roast this way!

2.    Cucumber Salad (pictured with the Lazy Day Casserole) was extremely easy to make and very tasty. Daniel absolutely loved it. We will definitely be making this one in the future. Nice and light and healthy. I used dried dill so I added a little more than the recipe called for.

3.    Pan Roasted Chicken w/ Lemon-Garlic Green Beans is such a long name but such an easy delicious dinner. I have made it twice and we liked it both times. The second time was better because I didn't use as much lemon as the recipe calls for. If you really like lemon then try it out with what it calls for. But I think just using the juice of 1 lemon was more than enough. And we might even try it without the lemon next time. Nice and healthy and super fast to put together.

4.    Parmesan Crusted Chicken was so deliciously simple. I already keep all of the ingredients in my fridge/pantry. I don't even need the recipe after having made it a couple of times. I just throw the stuff together. I make a little more than what is called for of the topping. But that is just my preferrence. You could easily put less if you wanted.

**Bread about to be cooked**

**Bread after cooking and about to be devoured!**


5.    I made homemade bread last night and it turned out amazing. I didn't get the recipe from Pinterest, I got it from a friend. The recipe can be found on my "Recipe" page. It made 2 loaves and I think we will start making this instead of buying bread from the store. It was super easy to put together and I didn't need a bread machine! If you love bread you have to try this out at least once.





Friday, August 24, 2012

Donations and giveaways

        Okay, so I have a few things to talk about. First being our military men and women. How awesome are they?! And how blessed are we that we have people sacrificing so much so we can be a free country. A big thank you to them all. On that note, everybody should go check out Project Keeping Cadence's Facebook Page. This lady is seriously awesome. She makes cooling scarves and face scarves for our military members. Seems like such a small thing. But I'm to someone deployed overseas in that great and vast sandbox, it must be a God send. Please go check out the Facebook page and at least give it a like and share it. Spreading the word and getting donations is the least any of us can do. If you can donate then that would be such a great big help.

        Next, I have created a Facebook page for the blog. As of right now it is for giving up dates about the blog to those who wish to receive them and for spreading the word about giveaways that other blogs are having. There are a few cloth diaper/cloth diapering related ones and a breast feeding one going on. Go check them out! All it takes is a second of your time and you could win an awesome prize! One of the more current giveaways going on is at Diaper Junction. They are giving away a Rumparooz diaper cover!


        And lastly.....chin sucking. It's the new thing to do hehe





 

Thursday, August 23, 2012

A bottle of wine and some ice cream...

        That's what I need. But sadly, won't get. At least not right now. Why? It's just been one of those days. I mean, it started off good. And then nap time came around. My wonderful nap time. I look forward to it everyday. But today, once it was over. I regretted it. I woke up feeling useless and a failure at everything. This seems to happen on a regular basis. I blame hormones and the feeling that I should be doing something more with myself. Like finally losing all this weight or doing like the rest of the people my age. Finding out what I want to do with my life and getting a degree for said thing. But I can never decide what I want to do. There are so many things I enjoy doing. But I can't decide. Partially because I don't want to leave my boys. I won't leave my boys. Not now. I just don't want them in daycare. And I plan on homeschooling them later. So how would that even work?

        And to add to the fun, Daniel pooped in his room. Normally not a big deal. He has been taking his diapers off for a long time now and we are now potty training. But, today it was bad. And I mean really bad. He had played in it, stepped in it, and then went bouncing around like Tigger. And I mean that very literally. I heard him bouncing around like Tigger hehe.

        And then the poor Hubs came home from a bad day and had to leave again. He stayed long enough to eat dinner and let me clean up Daniel's room. But the poor guy had to leave and go back to work. And apparently may not be home until super late or even in the morning if he can make it that long. If only I had the stuff to make a chocolate meringue pie(his favorite). But, on the brightside of the last couple of days, I ordered a couple wetbags and a diaper from Alva Baby and a sprayer hose! I'm so excited to get them in. Now, the rest of my night will most likely be cleaning. If I can find the will power that is. It always seems to be there, just under the surface. But it fades pretty fast. At least on days like this. And of course days like this are usually when I really need to do it. But, at least I have two beautiful boys and a wonderful husband. They make days like this worth it.
 
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Fluffy butts and baby carriers

        I think that describes today pretty well. Today I switched Gabe over to cloth diapers. Mainly because we ran out of disposables. But also because I was going to do it anyway. He is now in the wonderful Sunbaby diapers that I bought for Daniel. Still holding out hope that I can buy some Ai2's from Alva Baby! Gosh they have some super cute prints.

        Poor thing also wasn't having a very good morning for some reason. Maybe he just wanted some extra cuddles. So I obliged and put him in the Moby wrap. Which we all love. And of course he fell asleep almost instantly. I was quite excited because he slept for a good while and then when he woke up wanting to eat I found a comfy position to feed him and keep him in it. His butt was in the wrap and his upper half was on my arm.

        I really want to try out a ring sling from Minni Line though. Heck, I want just about everything she makes! I am most certainly going to attempt to talk the Hubs into letting me get a wet bag from her. I mean, we need it for all the cloth diapers right? Especially while we are out and about. Right, I knew you'd agree. =)

        I also have to brag on my other Monkey. Daniel has done an amazing job today with the whole potty training thing. I haven't even talked to him once about going in the toilet. He has done it all by himself. Even pooping twice! Of course, I did have to end up chasing him to wipe his rear. But hey all things in good time. And I'm so happy he is doing so well. Hopefully soon he will be completely diaper free! Our next challenge is getting him to tell us when he poops so we can wipe his rear and getting him to go without a diaper during nap time and at bed time.


        Yesterday we decided to go outside. It was a nice fairly warm day out so why not? It was hilarious to sit and watch Daniel chase Sadie(our dog) around the back yard because she kept stealing the pine cone that he had found. And of course, I had to take some pictures. =)


        Since I joined the Manic Mommy Monday my Wednesday "Adventures in Mommyhood" are going to end. Only one week so, nothing missed really. But, either this Wednesday or next it will turn into Weight Loss Wednesday. I need to do it. Lose this weight that is. So, I thought what better way than here. Where I will feel the need to keep updating and journaling about my progress. I need more motivation and hopefully this will be it. Also don't forget about my Weekly Reviews on Saturdays! I already have a couple ready for this weeks. They are Lazy Sunday Casserole and Cucumber Salad! They were so yummy! Come back Saturday and see how mine turned out and to get the recipes of course!





Sunday, August 19, 2012

Manic Mommy Monday

MMM...Joining in on the fun!


        So, this will be my first Manic Mommy Monday post and it will be a weekly thing now! To join in on the fun of Manic Mommy Monday, head over here.

        So much for a nice relaxing weekend. Mine was full of toddler screams and cleaning. Bleh. Poor Daniel just didn't have a good weekend. But the one bright spot was a new cute thing that Daniel started doing. We are now "fighting" over Jonathan. Which I'm sure he is just so upset about hehe. I will hug Jonathan and say "My DaDa" and Daniel will run and leap at him trying to get in between us and say "Oh no!". Then he will swat me away, grab Jonathan's face, and just go to jabbering away at him. It's one of the cutest things ever.

        The other bright spot...as always...nap time! I finally got to take a nap with Gabriel while Daniel took his. I wish I could cuddle with them both, but Daniel refuses to sleep with us anymore. He is a big boy and just has to do it on his own.

        And I guess that is my stance on cosleeping hehe. We don't do it through the whole night anymore unless Gabriel is just not having a good night. But in the mornings I usually pull him over into bed with us and cuddle with him. And whenever we take naps, he sleeps in bed with me. It's so nice to have such cuddly boys.

**Had a rough night. So he ended up cuddling with Mommy**

      



Saturday, August 18, 2012

Weekly Review #2

       
        This little bad boy was greatly needed today. For those of you who love Blue Bell Ice Cream, but can't get it. This is the next best thing!! It tastes almost exactly like Blue Bell's Dutch Chocolate and is nice and thick and creamy like Blue Bell. Their vanilla flavor tastes just like Blue Bell's vanilla bean. Needless to say, I was on cloud nine when I found these at the commissary on base! Anywho, on with the reviews!


        So, this week I won't ramble on about 15 different things. Yay you! Here is a list of this weeks reviews(Don't forget to click on the links to go to the original posting to find the recipe!):
  1. Spicy Fall Sugar Scrub
  2. Bacon Ranch Slow Cooker Chicken
  3. Plum Freezer Jam
  4. Wreaths

        1) This is what I've been calling Spicy Fall Sugar Scrub. Because that is exactly what it reminds me of. It smells just like you are making a pumpkin pie or something. Minus the pumpkin of course. It is so relaxing. And it works so well. The sugar ends up makes a sort of a gel like layer that makes your skin extra soft. And the sugar scrubs away the dead skin. Which is a wonderful way to get even softer skin. It was super easy to make and even easier to use! I already had everything in my kitchen, so I'd call that super cheap! I highly recommend making this one.

        2) So, I don't have a picture of the Bacon Ranch Slow Cooker Chicken. But it was pretty dang good! The Greek yogurt and Ranch dressing mix gave it this sort of tang. I added some shredded cheddar cheese to it and it made it even better! It only took a few ingredients, some of which you could very well already have. And it didn't take long to make, which made it even nicer. I highly recommend trying it at least once just to see what you think.


       
















        3) Sweet, kinda tart, and going to be oh so delicious! Plum Freezer Jam was very easy to make. It required some cooking, some patience, and will require even more patience while it sets. But, it was on the cheaper side and the instructions were very well written and helpful. And most importantly easy to follow. I will admit to saving a spoonful after I poured it into the mason jars. And it was a wonderful sweet and tart all at once. I can't wait to make some biscuits and put some on. Or maybe even a PB&J! Going to be oh so yummy. You should definitely give this one a go!




















        4) So easy to make! It took a little bit of extra cash because I didn't have the glue gun, glue sticks, etc. All I had was the slipper on the left and ornaments for the one on the right. But, I am so happy I did it! It took all of about 15 min to make one. And honestly the hardest part was figuring out how I wanted to set everything up on them. I can't wait to make another one! Might do a USA one next!


        See, wasn't that nice? Just a few quick reviews and we were done hehe. Next week I'll actually have the roasted cabbage. I still haven't made it yet. And who knows what other goodies I might have to show you!


Friday, August 17, 2012

Dear sweet coffee...oh how I truly needed you today...

        And I really did. Poor Gabriel had a rough night last night, which meant Mommy got next to no sleep. But, today ended up being a pretty good day! Daniel pooped in the toilet a couple times on his own, actually took his pants off to go peepee in the toilet(both of those are HUGE milestones and I'm so very proud of him!), and I made another wreath!
                                                                                                              

   
 

        Not too shabby if I do say so myself hehe. Not much to report other than that. Just wanted to share and post something. Tomorrow I'll go over the wreaths and a couple recipes in my reviews! And perhaps I'll even have enough time to type out Gabriel's birth story. Could either be very long or...not so long lol. Little stinker sure gave me a long stay in the hospital and an interesting labor/delivery! Hope you all enjoyed your Friday and have a wonderful weekend. Hopefully I will have something interesting to share next time!


Thursday, August 16, 2012

Wreaths and interesting finds...


        Well, I made my first wreath today! It's a Dallas Cowboys wreath! I am so excited! I'm going to proudly display my Cowboys pride and hang it on my front door. Later on I am going to make another wreath using ball Christmas ornaments with a wooden cross in the middle of it. Please excuse the angle. I was leaning over a counter haha.      

        Now, let's just hope the hubs likes it =)

       

        Last night I also put up a movie shelf for Daniel. Finally. We have had the DVD rack sitting in our tiny hallway next to the computer room because it is behind a gate there. The little stinker likes to try and put movies in himself. I just know one of these days he's going to break a DVD trying to do it. So, this was my solution. Put the kid movies on a shelf out of his reach in the living room. That way he can still have his movies downstairs and be able to pick one out, with a little help obviously. And the DVD rack can go upstairs into our room so that he still doesn't have access to it but it isn't in the way anymore. And we of course have more kid movies than this, but these seem to be his favorites and there are a couple upstairs in our bedroom already. We have to keep a couple up there for him to watch before bedtime. =)

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Adventures in Mommyhood - 1st Edition


        This week has been...interesting. And not in a bad way. Or at least not all of it. Daniel (left side of picture/my 2 year old) is now almost completely potty trained! And I couldn't be more proud. He started this whole thing off on his own. He just up and decided he wanted to start going in the potty one day. Well a few days ago he started wanting to do it on his own and now he hasn't had any accidents today! He just goes to the bathroom, turns on the light, gets on the toilet, pees/poos, flushes, closes the lid, turns off the light, and shuts the door! He still doesn't tell me if he pooped or not, so have to check and see if he needs his rear end wiped. But hey, I'm calling it good! Hehe and if the expression on his face in the picture above doesn't say "2 yr old", I don't know what does.

        Now Gabriel(right of picture/my almost 3 month old) is such a little ham. He is such a little stinker. He loves the ceiling fans, camera, and kisses. He laughs and smiles at them all. Poor thing is losing his hair though, just like mommy haha. It's all over but especially the front left of his head. It's too cute. He has this one spot that looks like he's balding and the rest is long hair that sticks straight up. The little turkey also loves water. He loves to shower with me and take baths in his tubby. He even fell asleep in his tubby the other night! He was so upset but as soon as he touched the warm water he started dozing off.

        They are both such blessings and I couldn't be happier. Sure there are moments that make me want to pull my hair out. But the good moments far out weigh the rough ones. And hey, they are humans and have bad moments and bad days just like everyone else. It just comes along with the "job" and I wouldn't trade it for the world. This is what I was born to do. I can't decide what I would want to go to college for, never been able to "nail" something down. But this, I've never had a moments doubt about wanting to be a wife and mommy. I had a hard time coming to grips with the fact that I was going to be a mommy to two. I had a lot of guilt while pregnant with Gabriel. But, he's my Mini Monkey and I love him so very much. I love all 3 of my guys with all of my heart and am so very happy that I get to grow old with my husband and watch my sweet baby boys turn into big boys and eventually men.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Cloth...but the poo!


That's what we always hear. Or think if we have never tried it. But, in all honesty, it's no where near as bad as you would think. Especially if you have the special spray hose that attaches to your toilet. I'm hoping to get one. I cloth diapered Daniel for a few months and loved it. Yes, even with the having to scrape the poo into the toilet with an old spatula and then rinse the diaper in the sink. But sadly I stopped when we moved off base and into the terribly small apartment. I was pregnant, having issues with said pregnancy, didn't have enough room for my tub, yada yada yada. I've got excuses for days. But, we moved back onto base, I gave birth to Gabriel, and I...still haven't started it back up. Sad day. BUT I will! I am going to start introducing Gabriel to solid foods at 4 months(still going to breastfeed though, of course) and I am going to start back up then.

Why not start now?

Why wait until we start solid food?

Because of the breast fed baby poos. If you have never encountered one then you just don't understand. No, they don't stink worse than formula poos. Actually, the hardly smell at all. But they are super duper runny. And I just don't have enough diapers for that. As you can clearly see by my "stash".....


Sad isn't it? But hey, it was enough for when I cloth diapered Daniel. And they were cheap. I am so hoping to buy some more in the near future. I have a whole long list of diapers and leggings from Alva Baby. They have some super cute..and cheap...diapers and leggings. Which I'm all for cheap. As I've said before, we try to be frugal and live by a budget. But I also have a cheap husband, which makes the frugal part of that even worse hehe. But, once Gabriel is on solids, has some thicker more predictable poos, and we can afford(AKA I can talk the hubs into) some more diapers; we will start again. And honestly I'm getting really excited. About both the food and diaper parts! I really did love cloth diapering. It was easy and it saved us so much money. I'm not going for the "green" aspect of it(sorry folks, but that just isn't me and I'm not gonna lie to ya). But I am all for the cheap, healthy, easy stuff.

Keep an eye out for when we start cloth diapering up again. There will be many cute poofy butt pictures! =)

Purging the garage and spray painting

 
            So, I decided to finally go through all of our junk. We've been slowly going through everything whenever we move. But it is really only to open a box/tub, see if there are any items that go inside the house or that I can put up inside the house, take it out if there is, then close box/tub back up. So needless to say, we have a lot of random junk. At the moment I don't really have anything up in the house, so a lot of the stuff is just sitting in boxes/tubs waiting for me to put up a shelf or something to put it on. But a good chunk of our stuff was stuffed animals. Aboug 3 big tubs worth to be exact. And yes, they were all mine hehe. And again yes, I had refused to let any of them go until yesterday. That's when I came across the stuffed animals pictured above. I've had them since before I can even remember remembering. Actually, the stuffed bunny on the left was made for me by one of my grandmother's if I remember the story right. Sadly, these pictures are all that I will have of them soon. They were all old, dirty, and taking up space in the garage. The poor bunny had some mildew on his bum, so I really had to let him go. But, even though it made me sad to do it, I actually felt good about it after. It is amazing how going through things, making space, and being productive in general can make you feel. I highly recommend it. I do it far too often. As is evidenced by all of the stuffed animals I had hehe.



            I also spray painted the pot in the picture above. I am sure you will hear me say it often, but I LOVE bulk trash night. Or the night before that is. Let me explain. The base that my husband, kids, and I live has a bulk trash pick up day the second and fourth Monday of every month. That means that on Sunday everybody has their stuff sitting out on the curb waiting to be picked up. And who better to go through and pick stuff out that me?! And other people of course hehe. But that means that I got that pot, that usually goes for a good $50 or so, for FREE! All I had to do was buy a can of spray paint to repaint it. And another can here in a couple days to finish it because the first can wasn't enough. I also got a side table for my side of the bed, a toddler bed(just needs screws), and a pallet! I was so excited about my pallet. And I absolutely can't wait to start messing with it. I am also excited because I found out where I can get more free pallets whenever I want. I have so many plans. Almost all of which I got from...you guessed it...Pinterest. Oh how I love that website.

Weekly Review #1

Okay, first I’d like to say a big thank you to the amazing people that I got all these ideas and recipes from. The link to their website is posted after each review.

Now, let’s start off by going over what I tried out this week. Some of these I did a week or two ago. But hey, I’ve got some catching up to do! This first Weekly Review is going to basically be a Pinterest themed review. Heck, most of them will be! But I will post pictures of how mine turned out(most of them anyway) and a link to where I got the recipe/idea from.

This weeks listing:
      1) Staining with a coffee grounds/apple cider vinegar mixture
      2) Bacon wrapped/stuffed jalapeños
      3) Watermelon jam
      4) Homemade ice cream
      5) Cereal box star
      6) Caramel(boiled sweetened condensed milk)
      7) Microwave caramel
      8) Strawberry freezer jam
      9) Overnight oats
    10) Sherry’s Aussie chicken
    11) White chicken enchiladas
    12) Cheesy chicken crescent roll casserole
    13) Mod podge picture to canvas
    14) Homemade deodorant
    15) Homemade lotion
    16) Ditching the “‘poo” aka homemade shampoo and conditioner


1) Staining with a coffee grounds/apple cider vinegar mixture. Cheap, easy, and it works. All I had to get was something to stain, I did a shelf with pegs in it and a frame. Everything else was already in my kitchen. Which is always nice when you are doing things on the cheap because you have a budget and a cheap husband hehe. The only thing was that it smelled. Obviously. It was a lot of vinegar so of course it’s going to be potent. And it stained everything it touched. Again, obviously. I will most definitely be using it again. Only thing I will do next time is make sure to wear gloves, use an SOS pad instead if the loose steal wool stuff, and put it in a jar instead of a plastic container. The loose steal wool didn’t really hold the liquid in so the mess was even bigger than expected. And the jar instead of plastic container because it would just hold it better, the plastic container leaked when I tried to shake it together.


2) Bacon wrapped/stuffed jalapeños. Bacon. Cheese. Jalapeños. Where can you go wrong?! Only things I would change is use a full slice of bacon, don’t precook the bacon, and just cook it longer in the oven to cook the bacon through. But they were still delicious!Bacon wrapped/stuffed jalapenos


3) Watermelon jam. So super tasty and do easy to do. Hardest part was getting the seeds out. And I didn’t have a blender at the time so I just used a potato masher. Which left it kinda chunky, but I actually liked it that way. Not super sweet and not quite the flavor you would expect. I highly recommend it and will be making more soon!

4) Homemade ice cream. No machine required! Okay, we’ll a hand mixer was required, but who doesn’t have one of those?! It was super tasty and easy to add stuff into it. I left half plain vanilla and the other half I put in some creamy peanut butter and sliced banana. So super tasty, especially with some watermelon jam or strawberry freezer jam on it!Homemade(no machine required!) Ice Cream

5) Cereal Box or card stock star. Super cute, but not as easy as you’d think. Or at least a small star wasn’t easy to do. Only because trying to get it bent along the score marks was difficult at the points. I made mine out of a Dr. Pepper box and left it with just the Dr. Pepper design. But painting it or using some scrapbook paper would be cute too.

6) Caramel(boiled sweetened condensed milk can). Super easy but time consuming. I did mine for about 3 – 3 1/2 hours making sure to keep the can covered with water. Which meant putting more water in every 15 – 20 min. But, it turned out to be a thick caramel sauce and super tasty. If you have the time and a can, go for it!Caramel(boiled can)

7) Microwave caramel. Oh my. Words escape me when trying do describe this. Only took about 15 min to prepare and then another little while to let it set up. Tasted just like old school homemade caramels! Tastes like the real thing, easy, and fast. Right up my ally and will be doing it again!Microwave Caramel


8) Strawberry freezer jam. I technically got the idea from Pinterest but ended up using the recipe inside the Sure-Gel box. Why? Not because I didn’t like the recipe I found, but because I couldn’t access it. So I had to go with what I could. Still waiting on it to set up, but when I snuck a taste(and snuck some more for my ice cream) it was super tasty! It was super easy and fast to make. No worrying over a pot of fruit wondering I it will turn out. Definitely recommend this one to any beginner canners out there like myself. Strawberry Freezer Jam

9) Overnight oats. So easy and fast to make. Just one time making it and you’ll have the recipe memorized. And so tasty. Our fave is peanut butter and banana. It’s healthy, sweet, tasty, and helps with breast milk supply. Where can you go wrong?! Definitely worth a try.Overnight Oats


*Notice I picked all the mushrooms off of mine =) *
10) Sherry’s Aussie chicken. A must have in your dinner arsenal. Quick to make and tastes do good. Chickeny, bacony, cheesy goodness. Another, “where can you go wrong?”. Sherry's Aussie Chicken

11) White chicken enchiladas. Not our favorite. I’m not quite sure what I was expecting, but it just didn’t live up to whatever it was. Probably won’t be making it again anytime soon.White Chicken Enchiladas

12) Cheesy Chicken Crescent Roll Casserole. One of those recipes that is better the next day. I ended up having to cook it longer than the recipe said because the bottom of the rolls hadn’t cooked through. But it wasn’t too hard to make and ended up being quite tasty!Chicken Roll Ups


13) Mod podge picture to canvas. First let’s all say it together. Mod podge. One of my new loves. I’m totally addicted to it now. And I can’t wait to try and make my own. This was a super easy, super cheap way to make my own canvas picture. Sure you don’t get the “full” effect of the canvas because it’s just a picture glued to a canvas. But I still love it. And I have many plans for doing some for the house!

And now, ladies and gentlemen, we come to the point in the post when we discuss my newest love and addiction. Coconut oil! Who knew something could be such a multitasker?! I’m like Alton Brown and love a good multitasker and this has to be the all time winner. What did I make with it you wonder? Well let me tell you…

14) Homemade deodorant. Yes! That’s right, deodorant. It works so well, smells so good, and is so cheap! Why didn’t I know about this sooner? Only thing I recommend is being careful when applying after shaving and wet your underarms before applying. Other than that…do it!!

15) Homemade lotion. Again, yes! That’s right, lotion. Sure it didn’t turn into the whipped butter like lotion I was expecting, but I still used it and loved it. It’s truly amazing how well it works.

My next, and last for this week, may make some go “eeww”. But don’t let it! It works well, is super duper cheap, and is healthy! What is it you ask?

16) I ditched the “‘poo”. That’s right, I stopped using shampoo. And conditioner too actually. Or at least the store bought stuff. Now let me tell you, I love my biolage. And I was a firm believer that you needed a good shampoo and a good thick conditioner to get truly clean, soft, healthy hair. But, I’m slowly changing that way of thinking. The store bought shampoo strips your hair of its natural oil and all sorts of other stuff that I had no idea about. I won’t go into detail because you can read it at the original website I found it at. But after using my new baking soda/water “shampoo” and water/apple cider vinegar rinse “conditioner”, my hair feels and looks fuller and softer. And it takes and holds onto being styled better. I’m going through the “transition” phase right now so my hair is on the oily side. But it’s only been a couple weeks and I seem to be on the down slope of it. I highly recommend at least trying it for a week or two. Especially if you have thin hair or are losing your hair like I have been. Thank you Gabriel and having my hormones all jacked up from being pregnant and giving birth lol.

Okay! So there we go. There are others I could have added but I feel kinda bad throwing so many at you all at once. So I’ll leave them for next time. Speaking of next time, how about a brief preview of what I’ll be talking about? I’ll be giving my opinions on…

     1) Bacon ranch slow cooker chicken
     2) Roasted Cabbage
     3) Spicy Fall sugar scrub

      And who knows what else!

Please feel free to leave a comment or question. Heck, feel free to give your own review! And please remember, these are my own opinions. Whatever I post that is someone else’s opinion will be quoted, referenced, and I will give link to said opinion/quote. And if I get an idea or recipe from someone else’s website and post about it here, I will always give a link to that website.

Stay tuned in every Saturday for a Weekly Review of things I tried, saw, did, etc!

Monday, August 13, 2012

Welp. Here goes nothing...

Let’s try this blogging thing out, shall we? My plans for this blog? To have a place to talk and vent. To review different things from things I try from Pinterest, to cloth diapering(going to be starting that up again soon), to everything in between. And who knows what else. Feel free to check out my About Me section to get a feel for what you can expect from this blog. The one thing I will “warn” you about right now is that you can expect to see many pictures, I’m not afraid to give my opinion and will give it often, and I have a tendency to ramble but I promise to try and keep it to a minimum. Now, go grab a snack, sit back, relax, and let’s do this thing!