How Do You Start Your Day?

Breakfast is interesting to me because so many people skip it. Also, those of us who always eat breakfast often eat the same things over and over.  While I would never eat the same foods day after day for lunch or dinner, my breakfast choices aren't all that varied.  My "rotation" of brekfasts include:

1. Plain Greek yogurt and I add blueberries or raspberries and some Splenda. I cannot stand fruit flavored yogurt or that "fruit" on the bottom stuff. 
2. I mix Kashi Honey Sunshine and Kashi Go Lean Crunch in a Tupperware cereal container so that it's ready to go without much hassle in the mornings; while I don't like to miss breakfast, this girl isn't getting up early to make it! I throw a few berries in with that and voila!
3. If it's really cold outside I will eat oatmeal.  I prefer to do that on weekends because I like steel cut oats but that takes forever to cook so on work days I usually go for some kind of instant.  I just try to choose one with the least amount of sugar and the most amount of fiber.

That's pretty much it, those 3 things over and over again and I never seem to tire of them.  Of course I always bring a thermos of coffee to work with me.  Once I get to work my trusty mug is filled up and doctored with my creamer du jour'. I can sip on the same mug all morning.  I don't mind cold coffee so I rarely do a warm up, you try leaving 23 2nd graders to fend for themselves while you trek to the lounge to heat up your coffee.  Most times, the cold coffee goes down easier than what I may come back to.

Hidden Talent

So who knew he could cook?

No big deal, just a lilttle bacon, onion and chorizo filling.

He may end up being sorry he let the cat out of the bag.  Drew sent me a text at work asking if I would mind if he cooked dinner.  UMMMM, no. I made a quick stop at the store to pick up the necessary ingredients for his menu. He made this Inside Out Burger (minus the ketchup) and these fresh cut fries. Both are recipes from Guy Fieri, his favorite chef on Food Network.  The food was delish and it was fun to play around in the kitchen with my boy. 

Thanks DMAC, let's do it again...SOON!

Double Fried French Fries, double good!

I Simply Cannot Wait

I cannot explain it. 

 There really is no  rhyme or reason. 

I love Russell Brand. 

I already have a date with a fellow Russell groupie.

Is there anyone that you are embarassed to love?

Thanks Sis

There are so many cute blogs out there, I see so many that I am impressed with and that make me wonder how I can hop on the cute train. Luckily, my daughter just got a new computer along with some sweet software that I forced asked her to use to make me a new blog header. She came through for me in a big way!  I love what she came up with and I'm really proud to show off my new look.  Hope you like it as much as I do.  Thanks Sis!

The Best Thing I Ever Ate...this week

This week we had lots of leftovers that were "re-purposed".  One of the ways I used leftover chicken was in this Tamale Casserole.  I'm not sure where I got this recipe, but I know it was from the blog world.  I saved it on my phone a while back and just now got around to making it.  It was quick and easy for a weeknight dinner.  We love tamales and this casserole did taste like the real thing.  I didn't use the egg substitute, I just used an egg, and I probably wouldn't use the milk next time.  There was plenty of moisture from the corn and the green chiles (which I didn't drain). 

Photo from Cooking Light

I had some fresh cilantro that I chopped up and put over the top of each serving along with sour cream and salsa.  I think this would also be yummy with taco meat, pulled pork, or leftover roast that you could shred up.  

Your Dad is What?

I was thinking TALL may have been a better choice of words.

But, in looking at the drawing, I'm not so sure...notice dad's do-rag. 

Thirsty Thursday

Don't worry, I haven't started yet another "day of the week" post.  I just wanted to share this drink with you and it just happens to be Thursday.  A friend invited me for girl talk and cocktails a couple of weeks ago. Don't cocktails make the girl talk so much more interesting?  It was fun catching up with my dear friend, and I added this new drink to my repertoire.  I'd call it a successful evening! The drink you ask? The Moscow Mule.  She first heard of it on Oprah, here's the original recipe from the show.  She made it as this recipe reads, substituting the sugar syrup with agave.  I had never had ginger beer...think root beer with a bite.  It was spicy and delicious! The agave kind of rounded out that bite.  As a rule, when I make mixed drinks I always use calorie free mixers, especially important when I knock back several sip more than one cocktail.

This past weekend I wanted to make the drink at home.  My grocery store didn't carry the ginger beer so I decided to try ginger ale instead.  I then went a step further and chose diet ginger ale.  I didn't use the agave because the ginger ale is sweeter with less of that "bite" than the ginger beer.  Voila, a refreshing cocktail using a calorie free mixer.  This one was easy compared to others I have made.  I am quite the mixologist when it comes to "skinnifying" a cocktail.  Fine when I'm at home, but quite a pain when my cocktail needs to travel.  This version of my new favorite cocktail is quite portable.  Grab these ingredients and bring them to your next get together.  Your girls will love you, and since these are so delicious, I would like to be a fly on the wall as the conversation gets interesting.

 Skinny Moscow Mule:

• Fill a highball glass with crushed ice (I used Sonic ice)
• Add a healthy pour of vodka to your glass
• Top with diet ginger ale unless you have access to Regatta Diet Ginger Beer
• Add the juice of up to half of a fresh lime. 
• NOTES: use a brand name ginger ale (like Canada Dry) especially when using diet, it has less of an artificial flavor. You could muddle some fresh mint in your glass and maybe even add a little fresh ginger if you like that spicy ginger flavor that you just can't get from ginger ale. 

What i Want Wednesday

I wear the same bracelets and rings pretty much everyday. I change up my necklace and earrings based on what I'm wearing, but the bracelets and rings rarely change.  There's my wedding ring and my Mam-mas wedding band, a James Avery wire bracelet on the same wrist as my watch, a James Avery monogram bracelet and a thin silver cuff  on the other. Most days, I wear a silver watch; but recently I also alternate between a white or black rubber watch. With all that said, I'm not usually in the market for rings or bracelets...until lately. I've had my eye on some of my friend's Pandora bracelets. I think of these as a grown up version of a charm bracelet. I do love charm bracelets, I've had mine since junior high. I no longer wear it, but it's fun to have. I recently pulled it out of the bottom of my jewelry box and was flooded with memories just by looking at it. All the charms hold some sort of meaning and are from friends and family that I love dearly. I will say, I was always a bit of a charm bracelet snob. If it wasn't from James Avery, it wasn't going on my bracelet.

 Remembering how fun it was to collect charms over the years; tiny trinkets that represent important events, milestones, or just  things I love, I've been thinking of starting a Pandora bracelet of my own.  Looking at their website makes my head spin though, so many choices that I don't even know where to begin!  Any pointers from you Pandora wearing ladies out there?

Birthday Bash

 

May all your wishes come true, my beautiful boy!



We just celebrated my boy's last birthday in his teens.  Seems like yesterday, he just hit the teen years! The teen years have had their ups and downs and we've hit some bumps in the road along the way, but I'm so excited about the years to come.  I can't wait to see what kind of man my boy turns out to be.  He has an amazing support system and we love him more than words can express, so really, he just can't help but to end up fabulous! He is a charmer with a soft heart and a big personality.

We celebrated with our traditional spaghetti dinner with the family.  Mom made the cutest cake that was in the shape of a giant cupcake, I am going to have to borrow that pan soon!  Of course dad was here snapping all these great photos for me to share with all of you. 

With the guest of honor

Proud Nana and Paw Paw

The kiddos

Mommy

I mentioned our traditional spaghetti dinner.  Dad has made this special spaghetti and meatballs for as long as I can remember.  We only have it on special occasions, but that's okay, because almost all of us request it for our birthdays so we get it a few times a year.  Plus, not having it too often makes it that much more special.  Although this has been a long standing tradition, I had never heard the story behind dad's famous recipe.  It was a good one, as a matter of fact, maybe it's another blog for another day.

 In the meantime, here's a teaser...

Tickled Pink

One of the stops we made on our trip to OKC was to Pinkitzel, a cupcake and candy shop in Bricktown.  Pinkitzel translates to tickled pink, and as soon as I walked in the door I was definatly "Pinkitzeled". The cupcakes were pretty and delicous, but the real treat was the store itself.  Since a picture is worth 1000 words, here you go.

We're here...

Loved these light fixtures.

  

Coconut Cream, Strawberry Shortcake, and Red Velvet

Yeah, we liked 'em.

   

Pinkitzel Water to wash it all down.

A cute table set up in the candy shop.

Salt Water Taffy

Such cute displays!

 

A cute arrangement of suckers

Truffles and bon bons.

Don't you just want to sit a spell?
I could have stayed here and taken so many more pics, but I was embarrassing my crew.

  

Making her final selections.

This is a highly recommended stop, the pictures really don't do it justice.



The Best Thing I Ever Ate...this week

Yet another yummy recipe from Kate's Menu Sunday, I really must find a way to thank this girl for doing all the legwork of finding and trying out new recipes for me! This was a really easy recipe with only a few simple ingredients.           
                                        

Find the recipe for 30 Minute Lemon Brown Sugar Chicken here.  I served it with rice with some chopped green onion  and steamed broccoli. I also put a little soy sauce over the chicken and rice after it was done.

The only change I would make for next time is to season the chicken before dredging it in the flour.  Just some salt, pepper, and garlic powder would do the trick.  I used some lemon pepper in with the flour mixture and it was good, but not necessary.  Don't skip the paprika though, it really helps give the crust that great color. I probably used closer to 1/4 c. of brown sugar and the original recipe called for just 2 T.
I think this would also be delicious with orange instead of the lemon, I think I will try that next time...and there WILL be a next time!

Bright Lights Big City

Hallie and I hit the road Sunday afternoon ready for our fun girls weekend in OKC.  We were not disappointed!  I feel so lucky that my 16 year old daughter still likes to hang out with her mom.  Truth be told, she may have just put up with me so that she could visit Mel.  Jeff and Melanie are such gracious hosts and we had a great time.  We got there early evening so we chatted and relaxed then headed out to a local Mexican restaurant for dinner.  We went stratight back to the couch and fired up the DVR (I felt so at home!) Luckily, Melanie and I share a love of quality TV, so we caught up on the Housewives and Teen Moms. 

). 

The next day we started with lunch at The Spicy Pickle.  I will say this may have been the spot where said teenage daughter was rethinking her choice of hanging with mom...and that's all I'm going to say about that (except that I did apologize). 

We spent the rest of the day boutique hopping, shoe shopping, and cupcake eating.  More posts to follow on 2 very special stops.   

.

One stop was a fun little shoe store with this little number right in the center.  I must say, they had some fabulous shoes at some sky high  not so fabulous prices. Let's just say that regardless of this sugary sweet teaser, there really weren't any "sweet deals" to be had.  But is was fun to drool look.

After many more stops, one of which where we picked up these fun bracelets, we headed home for some rest before our evening entertainment, which did include fabulous footwear. 

She loves her mom...even after the lunch incident.

Strike...duh!

Winding up the evening...Bethenny is on after all. 

 Thanks to Melanie and Jeff for such a fun trip.  Bless Jeff's heart for having to put up with us crazy girls. 

This is the face he was wearing most of the trip. 

What i Want Wednesday

My friend Melanie, over at Grand Lake Girl, introduced me to these beaded bracelets. 

They are made by women in Nepal, this is the information that I found as to what the cause is:

 These traditional Nepalese beaded bracelets are handmade by a women's beading cooperative in Nepal, where women have been weaving with beads for centuries. Their highly-skilled work provides them with needed income, assisting them toward self-sufficiency and independence.

Created to help women worldwide gain economic security for themselves and their families by earning fair wages for their handiwork, Global Girlfriend sources women-made, fair-trade imported, eco-friendly products. By supporting long-term partnerships with the artisans, it fosters equal employment opportunities, healthy and safe working conditions, technical assistance, and development strategies to help reduce poverty, one community at a time. Become a "Global Girlfriend" and help build a brighter future for girlfriends around the globe!

Besides all that, they are super cute!  I got mine from this boutique and I had a very hard time just choosing 3.  They are lightweight and comfortable, and fit my smallish wrists perfectly (if only the rest of my body were as small as my wrists!) 

So, in keeping with the theme of the day...I WANT MORE!