Vacay, Baby! Florida 2013

Ahhhh, vacation. Sweet, sweet vacation. Why does it have to end? We just got back a few days ago from 5 days in beautiful Destin, Fl. So, now I'm gonna tell you all about it. Now, I do realize that most people couldn't care less about my vacation, but, eh, whatev! So here we go, ps. this could be a long post. Okay, let's start about 4 weeks prior to blast off. I started my lists. Yes, lists as in more than one. I am a list maker. An organizer. A planner. So I had a "to pack" list, a "to buy" list, a "clothing" list, a "snack" list, an "entertainment for the car" list, a "toiletries" list, and a "misc" list.  By the way, when you have 3 little girls, you HAVE to be a planner/list maker. Well, I guess you don't HAVE to be, but it sure does make things a whole lot easier:) Back to the "list's." Okay, so for about 4 weeks, I would constantly check my lists to make sure I didn't miss anything, and I would occasionally add stuff to the list. There is one very important thing that I didn't add to the list, therefore, forgetting said item the day we left, and had to turn around after getting about 6 miles from home to get it. Try to guess what it was. I'll tell you later:)
Fast forward 4 weeks. The day was finally here. We were all so excited. Our plan was that we would get up at 2am Monday morning, and drive straight through. It's about 700 and some odd miles. 14 hours. With 3 little girls, 14 could very easily turn into 20, but I was determined to not let that happen. Plus, the hubs just said "I'm driving straight through" and who am I to argue since that meant I didn't have to do any of the driving?! Okay, so alarm is set for 2:00 on the dot. It goes off, I give it the ol' smack, and lay back down. You could guess what happens next. We wake up at 2:50. Now, this really isn't a big deal, unless you are my husband. Then it's a big deal. Ugh. So we get the girls out of bed, put them in the van (that we borrowed from my mother in law, which is already packed by the way) and we leave our house on the way to pick up said mother in law (she went with us, and what a great idea that was, one adult for each kid!!). At this point, everything is crossed off on my list, indicating that it has been packed. I checked this list at least 20 times in the previous 24 hours. I wasn't going to forget a thing. So we carry on, and about 6 miles down the road, it just hits me, I FORGOT MY CAMERA. WHAT?!?!?!? How is that even possible? I'll tell ya how, IT WASN'T ON THE LIST! Now, why it wasn't on the list, is beyond me. Needless to say, my driver, aka, my husband wasn't thrilled. Ah well, you win some, you lose some:) I don't think he felt the same way...
All right, on with the story, we pick up my mother in law, (who also overslept by the way) and we head east. First stop, Truman, Arkansas. We stopped to eat breakfast at McDonalds. While we were waiting for our food, a man walks by our table a throws down a 8 pack of cheese danish, and walks off. Uh, okay....then a lady comes over and explains that he is the local distributor to Wal Mart. So my guess is that he brings a package with him every time he comes into the McD's and gives it to someone. How nice of him. There are still nice people out there! And those bad boys were goooood! Thanks, Mister. Onward!!!
Lunch was in Meridian, Ms. at Chick-Fil-A. No free danish there, but a good lunch nonetheless:) I do want to add that on the way, my middle child ate some trail mix and about 5 min after that told me her tongue was "itchy". She also had hives on her face. Nice. Here we are in the middle of nowhere, Ms. and she is having an allergic reaction. And to something she has eaten millions of times before. Not to worry, I pull out my trusty first aid kit I made, and administer some Benadryl. She was back to normal in about 8 minutes. That was enough adventure for one day.  Fast forward to 7:00pm, we finally make it to Destin! There was still just enough day light to head down to the beach to walk in the sand for a few minutes. It was heavenly.
We walked around for a bit, then headed back up to the condo to go get dinner. We had decided before the trip, we would eat breakfast and lunch at the condo everyday, then eat dinner out every night. That first night since it was later when we got there, we just popped into Five Guys. Holy fabulous cheeseburger. My first time at a Five Guys. So so good! Glad we have one in the 417!
After dinner, we headed back to our home for the week, and got the kids settled in bed, then I unpacked all our stuff and put it away, then went out on our balcony and just sat. It was amazing. We had a panoramic view of the ocean. The sound of the waves, and the smell of the salt water is so hypnotic. I could have stayed there for hours. But I was tired, so I opted for the bed instead:)
So for the next 4 days, our plans were to really do nothing but lay out on the beach. And eat. I'm sure I gained 10lbs that week. We did go the the Science Museum one day, and that was fun, but other than that, it was nothing but sand and sun!!! We went kayaking, and that was fun. Then the hubs had a shark swim literally 3 feet from him. True story. It was about a 5 ft shark, but to me it was Jaws. That was enough kayaking for me. I'll just stick to what I know. Getting a tan. On the shore. Where sharks AREN'T.
We built sandcastles, buried the kids in the sand, and just soaked up the sun. All while wearing SPF 55. Gotta stay safe.
It was just a fun, fun time to spend the with girls, and they loved every minute of it. They didn't want to leave on the final day. But I didn't either. So to soften the blow, we went shopping after we ate lunch at the Hard Rock Café. (get the nachos). That worked. Ready to head home! After about 14 1/2 hours, we.were.home. Sigh. I'm still trying to recover from that drive ride. It's been non stop since we've gotten back! I need another vacation!!! I'll put the camera on the list this time;)

Glamglow

I admit, I am a sucker for anything makeup/beauty product related. I love it all. And when I read/see/hear about something that looks interesting, I run out and buy it immediately. have to try it. Enter Glamglow. A mask that works wonders on yo face! Now, so I don't have to go into the longest blog post, I've attached a link to another blog (which I love) where I first learned about it. I got mine at Sephora, and if you will go in and ask for a sample, they will give you one so you can see if you like it before you buy it. It is a little on the pricey side, but let me tell you: IT.IS.AMAZING. At least it has been for me anyway. I like to use it twice a week, and it doesn't take very much at a time. I just use it on the troublesome spots. T zone (across forehead, down nose), on my chin and a little on my cheeks. Go get yoself a sample and see if it works for you!! Because blackheads and ugly pores? Ain't nobody got time for that!


http://ivoryandolive.com/2013/01/the-dirt-on-glamglow/

The Here and Now

This post may be a little....well, on the emotional side. A couple of things  happened to me this week, that really got me thinking. Which is usually a little dangerous. Me thinking. Hmmm. No phone calls please, it's not as dramatic as it sounds. Ha. I found a picture of my grandpa, who passed away in 2008. And I really started missing him. I was the oldest grandchild of 5. And I was the only grandchild for about 2 years. Thanks a lot Cheryl. So glad you were born, Cheryl. He used to call me "pooter." I pretty much lived at my grandparents house every.single.weekend. I loved it there. But, what kid doesn't? I have lots and lots of memories of being at my grandparent's house, playing with my cousins, it was just the best time. And so that got me to thinking, those memories are so precious to me, and then I remembered, (like I could forget) I have 3 little girls of my own now, and I want to be focused on making memories for them, with them.
It's so so easy these days to be so caught up in "this life" that we don't slow down enough to enjoy and appreciate the little things. It sounds so cliché, but it really is the truth. We need to be living in the Here and Now. Boy, I sound like I could be preaching on Sunday morning. No thanks, by the way:) And it's not just our kids we need to slow down and appreciate. We need to appreciate every relationship we have. With our spouse, or significant other, our parents, our siblings, our friends. Even our pets. Even strangers. Our life on this Earth is so short. So short. And regardless of your spiritual beliefs, Now is the time to soak up every little thing with those you love. Because it won't last forever. Things happen every day that end relationships. Things that are unexpected. Things that are devastating. Don't live your life with regret. Or with a grudge. This is your one and only shot at living this life. Yes, things are going to happen that make us mad, sad, resentful, hurt, and we are going to have reactions. Human reactions. But, at the end of the day, let's just be genuinely happy, and kind,  and create memories that we want to remember. For ourselves, and those around us. I have a friend on facebook, let's call her "Madge", who has gone through a lot. Ugly divorce, custody, etc, yet she is a shining example of how to live this life and make cherished memories.  I am sure there are times she wanted to give up and say "forget this" but she didn't. She and I weren't the best of friends in high school, just like a "hi" kind of thing when we saw each other, and who would have guessed that 15 years later, she has inspired me by her positive attitude and actions. Funny how things change when we "grow up."  And you know what, she probably has no idea that by just being friends on facebook, she has inspired me. For that, I just want to say thank you "Madge."
So, be a Madge in some one's life. You may never know what kind of impact you will have on them. Love one another, and most importantly, respect one another. You will more blessed than you can ever know by just appreciating the little things and focusing on your relationships with an attitude of gratitude (I'm a poet and didn't know it!! Chris Cross'll make you JUMP! JUMP!, RIP..) :)

New Recipe: Chicken Pot Pie....And it's a good one!

When I normally think of chicken pot pie, I think of those frozen Banquet ones. Don't you?? The ones that take forever to cook, and probably aren't even real chicken?? Eww. I shudder at the thought. Having said that, I ate my share of those growing up, because, well I was a kid, and let's face it, kids don't know what's good and what's not!! At least I didn't. It took me many, many years to even consider eating chicken pot pie, let alone making it. Until I came across a recipe on the internet that had a picture with it. You know that saying "a picture says a  thousand words?" Well, this one did. It said "yummy", "creamy", "real chicken".  It probably also said "not the healthiest for you", but I choose to ignore that. I know, get to the recipe already! Well here it is, and after I share the recipe, I'll tell you some of the substitutions I've made.

Here's what you'll need:

• 2 unbaked pie crust (made from scratch or store bought. I make mine. It's easy. Really.)
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves; cubed. I suppose you could also use a whole chicken, but I loathe dark meat, so I go with the breast. I'm a breast girl. Wait...anyway, moving on..
• 1 cup carrots; sliced, diced, or whatever cut tickles your fancy
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 1/2 cup sliced celery
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/3 cup yellow or white onion; chopped
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 celery seed
• 32 oz chicken broth for boiling (reserve 1 3/4 cups for sauce)
• 2/3 cup milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a pot, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery. Add the carton of chicken broth, cover and boil for 15 minutes. At this point, keep checking to make sure it doesn't boil over :o Remove from heat after 15 minutes, drain, (reserving your broth for the sauce) and set aside.
In a sauce pan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir the reserved chicken broth and milk in. Simmer over medium heat until thickened. Remove from heat, and add the chicken and veggie mixture. At this point, you can add more chicken broth if you want a little thinner consistency. Put one crust in a lightly greased dish. I use  a large iron skillet, but any deep dish will work fine. Pour your filling into crust, and cover with top crust. Pinch sides of crust to seal it. Cut 2 or 3 slits in top crust for steam to escape. You may also slather (who thought of that term anyway?) the top crust with softened butter for a crispier, browner crust. Bake in oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until crust is golden brown. Let sit and cool about 7 or 8 minutes before digging in!

Okay, here are the different things I've done with this recipe:
I have cubed the chicken, and also shredded it. Both ways are good, but cubed gives you more of a bite of chicken each time. Make sense? Just depends on your taste.
I usually cut my carrots on the diagonal. I also add one can of green beans (drained) and one can of corn (also drained)  to the mix just before pouring it into the pie shell. I guess you could really add any veggies you like. Or leave out the ones you don't!
When I am sauteing my onion in butter, I also add 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic.
I do not use canned chicken broth. For anything. I make my own with bouillon cubes. I do this because I use the cubes for other things as well, so I always have them on hand, and it's very easy to make. Just boil one cup of water and one cube together, and that makes one cup of broth. When I make it for this recipe, I just add the cubes to the water first, boil them down, then add the chicken and veggies, and then boil for 15 minutes. And as I mentioned, I make my own pie crust. It really is easy. I promise. Someday, I'll post my recipe for that. And one last thing, sometimes, if it's just me and the girls eating, I will halve the mixture, and use part of it, then freeze the other part. It's really nice when you can just pull it out of the freezer and pour in into the pie crust and bake it! And one last, last thing, I have made this where I use 2 crusts, and I have made it just using a top crust. Both ways are good, but if you like crust, go with 2! Oh, ps. I also sprinkle a little salt and pepper on the top crust after I slather (there's that word again!) the butter on!
This is a really good recipe, and my whole family loves it!! You should definitely make it sometime! I've included some pictures of the one I made this week!

 The creamy filling!

All done!!               

oh my goodness, ive created a blog.

Okay, so here it is. My blog. Why? You may ask, well I'm not sure, actually. I've always been a good writer (yes, I'm bragging) and I've always loved to write, and quite frankly, my life is pretty interesting crazy. so I thought id share with everyone (probably, just ONE. thanks, mom.) let me just explain a little about this blog. the name pretty much sums it up. I plan on this being about my life. and what I love. and that is makeup and muffin pans. and everything in between. it will have a little about makeup, a little about baking, a little about my girls. I'll share recipes of things I love, pictures of things I love, and links to things I love. Is that too much love? Eh, oh well.  Some things you should know about me: I am a Christian. I am old fashioned.  I am a slight perfectionist. I love designer things. and I don't apologize for that. Having said that though, I do love a bargain! I don't plan on posting everyday. "Ain't nobody got time for that!" Hopefully, once or twice a week, I can write. So, stay tuned! If you're interested!