Happy Hour with a Housewife

Keepin' Track of the Kids

2011-07-27T03:01:00.001-07:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of TracFone for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I felt like we were so ahead of the time in High School. I remember the age everyone seemed to be getting a cell phone was 16-18. That seemed so young to me at the time, but I felt like it was fair. I got my first cell phone when I was 16 -- my parents wanted me to have access to it in emergency situations now that I had started driving. I ended up in a horrible accident five months after I got my license, I guess that phone came in handy.

Now it's totally different, who DOESN'T have a cell phone? I have many friends who are teachers who say a majority of their fourth graders, even some second graders have cell phones. One even has an iPhone. REALLY?

This is where TracFone's are great I think. There are many young kids that I think it is safe for them to have phones. Think about the summer, when your kids are home and out and about. It's nice to be able to have access to them and keep track of where they are. You have access to great smart phones with TracFone, or even a simple feature phone that just does the basics. There are simple phones for the simple needs with calling and texting capabilities for under $10.00. There are also great phones packed with so many features like camera/video recorder, web access, app capabilities, mp3 player, and full QWERTY keyboard, for $29.99! With a TracFone you get great coverage and reception and it's easier to monitor your child's usage. You easily can pay online as you need the minutes or you can buy cards to reload the phone at many retailers. It's quick and easy with no contracts, no credit checks, no activation or cancelation. So maybe you only want your child to have the phone in the summer? Perfect! No surprises from the phone company.

Here are some great monthly plan features:

-Pay as you go online or with a card that can be purchased at retailers everywhere.

-1 year service cards give you so much more. You get double the minutes for the life of your TracFone, and 800 minutes, for only $119.

-"Double Minutes for the Life of Your Phone" is a feature that you can purchase separately for $19.99 but some phones already include it.

-Choose monthly plans with 200 minutes for under $30, or 50 minutes for $9.99.

Some International Long Distance Features:

-This is the only wireless service where you can call internationally, for the same price as any other call.

-Call over 60 international destinations directly from your TracFone at no extra cost.

-With the International Neighbors program, you can provide family and friends in Mexico or Canada a local phone number in those countries to reach you at your TracFone in the U.S.

Check out a real TracFone customers...

Adios

2011-07-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

Okay I'm not leaving, leaving. Just Happy Hour with a Housewife. And Blogger in general.

But no worries... like I said in earlier posts I just have a new blog!

I'm back and blogging now at my new blog, MeSooLaLa. You can click on that link or the image above to get directed over there. Be sure to subscribe and get me in your Google Reader because I will no longer be blogging here. Do it now because I might only do one more reminder over here before I'm done for good.

Thanks for makin' the switch!

I Used to Blog

2011-06-28T10:54:00.001-07:00

Many moons ago I was a blogger... I felt like I had a good solid readership and would thrive on the multitude of comments I would get throughout the day.

Then I just started not having much to blog about. So when I did blog, not many were reading. Then I kinda just stopped blogging all together. And I stopped getting to catch up on all the blogs I typically love to catch up on.

It has now been one week without my smart phone, the Geek Squad actually just told me my new phone was in so I am finally back with a smart phone and will feel more part of the world. IT was pathetic how much I realized I rely on that thing. In the morning I check the weather on it. I usually read emails in bed when I first wake up. Send a tweet or two on the way out the door. Now it's like I only check my emails once a day and I feel swamped. I wasn't on Twitter for like four or five days. I felt lost, and when I came back nobody was even responsive.

So then I got sad. I found myself trying to respond to so many people I typically talk to regularly to get myself back in the group and not "feel left out". I seriously felt like I was in jr. high or something. I remember coming back from lunch at work yesterday seeing that nobody had responded to my tweets I had sent out and I was like bummed out. Really Laura??

I guess I realized I really do cherish the people I am friends with in the bloggy world. And I felt like if you don't put in your frequent effort you can be quickly forgotten. Kinda like in real life relationships, if you don't put in effort you drift. Like when I posted last week about my new business venture and a big sale I was having I didn't expect a bunch of people to make purchases or anything (Although a couple did and I'm grateful!) but I at least expected a good luck or something. Not one comment or message. Am I being totally dramatic about this? Absolutely, but that's really how I felt. And I told myself I needed to stop being so silly.

So if we used to talk alot, I still love you - email me.
If we used to gchat, I'm always there so gchat me.
If we are usually tweeting, say hi!
And if you want a new blog buddy hit me up, I'm clearly having acceptance problems. LOL

All I know is I can speak for myself and maybe a ton of you could honestly agree. But I blog for feedback. It's part a diary and venting. But it's hard to regularly blog when you don't feel like anyone is out there reading.

On that note I'm done whining and I'll let you know the latest on my blog update. I have my new blog being worked on right now, and I've been out of town a lot so I haven't been able to do the revisions I've needed to do (Sorry Joy!) but I make an oath to you now. Once I make the blog switch, if you ever so kindly follow me over to the Wordpress side I promise to put in my effort of blogging again, if we can be friends again. :)

Hope all is well with everyone, the Hubs and I have just been so freakin' busy! This past month we visited our best friends in Arizona (who are having a little girl, Reese Michelle!), went to Vegas for the weekend (Sad we didn't meet up Ali!), and spent the weekend in Cambria where I realized I belong living at the beach. Here are a couple of pictures I posted on FB while we were there, we couldn't have asked for more gorgeous, high 70s weather.

Elephant Seals on the Beach

View from a house that was for sale... *sigh*

Vintage Couture

2011-06-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

So a few weeks ago I joined forces with a company Vintage Couture (formerly known as My Vintage Baby). They are very much like a Mary Kay or Cookie Lee in the fact that you are selling their products and you host parties, etc.

Vintage Couture designs all of their own pieces and fabrics and have only a limited amount of each item in every size for each collection, coming out with a new collection for Fall/Holiday and Spring/Summer. Although starting this Winter it will be four collections a year, one for every season.

All of the training I've done and the women I've spoke to has been a great experience and I'm so excited to see where I can go with this company. Besides just hosting "trunk shows" I'm able to host online trunk shows for people where you have typically a 48 hour period where you can host one online if you didn't want to do it in person or we didn't live near each other and you would invite people to purchase during that time so any purchases made by spreading the word you would earn free and discounted items from Vintage Couture.

They started out as a clothing line that was babies only and sold at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and Bloomingdales but once the economy wasn't doing so well they decided to make some changes and went the route of direct sales. Now they have expanded from just baby clothes to chilren, tween, and even some women clothing with expansions planned over the next year to men's clothing as well.

Right now I'm hosting my debut trunk show since the Spring / Summer collection is coming to a close -- that means 50% off EVERYTHING! So for the next 72 hours you can shop starting at 5:00 AM PST on Tuesday, June 21 through Thursday June 23 at the latest. Please help me in my new adventure with not only any purchases you might want for yourself or for a friend or baby shower, but if you could tweet about this post or anything to help me get the news out there that would be great! Also become a fan of my FB page HERE!

There is also the opportunity of hosting an in-person trunk show party or an online trunk show so let me know if that would be something you would be interested in! Last but not least, if you think Vintage Couture is a company you would want to hear more about let me know and I can email you tons of details or we can even meet in person or chat over the phone. Depending on where you are at in your life you might find this is a great way to make some extra money on the side!

So that's the latest in my life at the moment, here are a few of my favorites from the Spring / Summer collection and click the link below to start shopping or to share with friends and family!

START SHOPPING HERE!

Thanks! xoxo

Happy Shopping & Thanks for Your Support!

Curly Hair & Pinterest

2011-06-15T08:57:00.000-07:00

So I'm about to show you some fug pictures of me before I got to bed and when I wake up. So just be warned peeps, aight?

So last week I saw a few people pinning away on Pinterest (Seriously if you aren't on Pinterest yet or we just aren't following each other find mine HERE) about a no heat curl tutorial. Decided to check it out and it looked too simple for me not to try it. Here is the picture I kept seeing pop up on Pinterest...

{ source }

And here is the video tutorial on how to get some no heat curls in a very quick way...

Honestly the video is 15 minutes but I seriously fast forwarded a lot of it just to get the idea and it took me maybe around 2-3 minutes. I currently have a little bit shorter hair though but it is thick, so time can vary. Here is kinda some quick steps with pictures of the process.

Let your hair air dry, I completely forgot to put any product in it but from what I read, some spray in gel, moose, or something like that might help a bit. I went au naturel. Once your hair is pretty much dry you grab one of the sport type headbands and wear it like this:

Once that is done you start wrapping the chunks of hair over the band like shown in the video. I went for larger chunks (probably 8-10 total?) so I could have a lot looser curls then what she ends up with in the video. I would even go thicker next time like 6-8 because they shockingly still turned out very curly. Once you are done with the wrapping your hair should look like this:

Please excuse my burn mark on the forehead.
Don't drink and flat iron. My only Vegas battle wound this trip.

Here is an example what the back should look like once it's done being wrapped up.

{ source }

So I did it right before bed and went right to sleep. It's very loose and very comfortable, I didn't feel like it hurt at all and I never noticed it throughout the night. Actually had forgotten about it until I walked in the bathroom and saw myself in the mirror.

When I first pulled them out of the headband and removed it it looked something like this. Much tighter then I was expecting but still not too bad...

This is the picture I hate showing (gah!) but here it was after a little playing around with it. I really should have done my make-up before taking these. I just didn't want to forget.

Honestly I was really happy with the results. Especially the thicker side that had the majority of my hair. Curls tended to be larger and more flowy while the other side had some tweaked parts. Nothing that couldn't be fixed with a brush or curling iron though. Honestly I'm going to continue trying to perfect the best way to do this because in the time it takes it's a great hair style to have for mornings that you don't want to have to wake up so early to do your hair because in the morning you kinda just fluff and go.

Anybody else find any fun tutorials or recipes they've found through Pinterest that they ended up loving? I've been getting so many recipes through Pinterest lately, I will have to share some with you sometime!

Sponsor: Just Because Your Sick Doesn't Mean You Can't Help Others

2011-06-13T23:01:00.001-07:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens. All opinions are 100% mine.

Walgreens is the hubs and I's go to drug store. Not only for our over the counter prescriptions but for Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products. Being on a budget and trying to save whenever possible we have always tried to go towards the bargains if we feel it is a good fit. For example, last time I had a horrible cold I was told by the doctor to get some Mucinex. Well for a small box it was going to cost around twenty plus dollars or so. After already having to pay for my over the counter prescription I was not looking forward to dishing out another $25.00 so I decided to go for the Walgreens brand which was going to save me at least $10.00. I've also loved their nasal spray for $2.99 when my nose is just too stuffed up to function and that price beats the name brands by a landslide as well.

Not only do you save but you can help others with Walgreen's contributions to the Walgreens Way to Well Fund™. Every Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products purchased goes towards Walgreens annual $3 million contribution which provides free preventive health tests as well as other health and wellness services and education to local communities. Some of those services will include preventive health tests through the National Urban League Health & Wellness Tour and vouchers redeemable in select stores. For more details, visit HERE.

Now for some more good stuff... there are over 10 blogs with giveaways for Walgreens gift cards and you can try your shot on each blog to win! HERE is a list of all of the blogs currently giving away a Walgreens gift card!

I Feel Good

2011-06-08T14:58:00.000-07:00

Well since I last blogged about our new saving and debt pay off plan we have done some serious ass kicking and really gotten the snowball rolling. Talking about it is one thing, but putting it into action is another.

Last night I sold my car, I was actually really sad. I haven't been super in love with my car in a really long time. It was sort of an impulse purchase. Well buying a car wasn't an impulse but buying THAT car was. I went looking for something totally different, the dealer had me test drive that one and since the price was under what I was expecting to pay I couldn't say no. My car payment was $150 for five years after my down payment (what I got from insurance from my bad car accident)! Couldn't beat the price so I took it.

Now I went from being a hip old person, to kinda a sporty still old person. I don't know about where you are from but 97% of the people that drive PT Cruiser's are old. So I was a unique one in the bunch. Now I'm driving a huge Chrysler (have no idea what type) but I kinda like it. It has a sun roof which I've always wanted and has all of the upgrades inside which is nice. It was kinda fun driving it home last night.

I ended up getting $3,000 for my car. Based on what I researched on Kelly Blue Book as well as the Auto Trader for what my car with the same stats $3,000 seemed fair. For my car they private seller was maybe around $4800 and trade in was closer to $4000. I needed some work done to the car and we figured we'd have to put in at least $100 detailing it before trying to sell it plus any money going into advertising it other places besides CraigsList. Rather then dealing with the hastle we thought $3,000 was fair since I had a banged up bumper from the day before my wedding (mom hit my car!) and some other things that just brought down the value.

So last night we made the trip to Carmax and sold the PT. I surprisingly cried. But putting $3,000 into my checking account today felt awesome... and you know what felt even better? Spending it all towards the snowball when I got back to the office!

This is me doing the James Brown dance. We have been doing our snowball plan for a total of eight days now (Started June 1, 2011) and with our starting debt at being around $60,200 with eight debts against us we are now down to five debts against us and have our total closer to about $56,448. We are obviously still a long way from our ultimate goal but that's enough to get me excited and motivated to continue on this journey.

So good... soooo good... I got you! HEY!

Fake N Bake

2011-06-02T15:53:00.001-07:00

Who the hell let me look like this for over a year. This is like in the heart of winter in like 2003 or 2004 I think. Oh lordy... I just found this picture in an old Photobucket account.

Tanning FAIL.

On that note, I just want to make note that I'm not going to an 80's party. This is apparently something I would wear out seven or eight years ago. Someone get me to Jersey Shore, stat.

Talkin' Pooch

2011-06-02T10:50:00.001-07:00

I have to say, this is one video that still makes me give at least a little out loud chuckle. This video was pretty much all over the place, and if you follow me on Facebook I posted this a few weeks ago. But I just saw someone post it again on Facebook and I just wanted to see if at least someone hasn't seen it they must, too cute not to share. Enjoy!

"You kiddin' me!"

Stayin' & Savin'

2011-06-01T14:46:00.000-07:00

Wow have things changed since the last time I've done a serious blog update. In the midst of those three weeks I was in Jury Duty the hubs and I did a lot of discussing and number crunching and researching and we have decided to stay in our townhouse that we currently own.

Why? We want to be debt free.

There is a large number of bills we have that we don't have to have. There is a personal loan that got a little charged up from our wedding and honeymoon. We had two credit cards that slowly have escalated (one was paid off with part of our tax return, woo-hoo!), our car that we purchased in September, two furniture bills from when we bought new bedroom furniture, and then the biggest ones - the school loans for the hubs.

All of that added together is $60,000! That is a freakin' lot of money. Paying minimums on all of this would take a lifetime to payoff. With a little help from our financial mentor and some research with some of Dave Ramsey's programs we have decided that why add in another $2000+ a month payment with a new home while we have all of this to pay off when with a lot of structured and strict hard work we could have that $60,000 paid off in three to four years. Letting us be financially free to purchase that new home and only have the monthly essentials -- utilities, cell phone, etc. We then have a goal to only purchase things when we can save for them -- and without those bills like the car and student loans we could pretty much save for something almost within the month. Just our one car payment and the hubs student loans is $700 a month!

So we have done lots of excel work and number crunching and we have made today, June 1, the day we start to get debt free by using Dave Ramsey's Snowball Plan. I'm about to really through out our debt to you and show you a little of how we plan to accomplish paying off $60,000 in three to four years.

Here is a list of our debt starting from the smallest amount owed (rounded) to the highest:

Furniture Store #1 -- $647.00
Furniture Store #2 -- #681.00
Personal Loan -- $2,422
Credit Card -- $2,950
School Loan #1 -- $7,146
Car Payment -- $16,441
School Loan #2 -- $14,117
School Loan #3 -- $15,738

Dave Ramsey suggests that you find a way to save some money every month trying to do $200 but less if needed. Since we eat out so much it shouldn't be too hard if we make a more strict eating at home plan to save $50 more a week -- it will take some work. He also says if there is anything you can sell - DO IT. Give yourself that jumpstart to paying something off because it will just feel good. So we are going to add in an extra $200 a month to paying off our bills and we have figured out what we will sell to jump start our payoff.

We are selling my car. No we aren't going to a one-car home... that just isn't possible with us. But my in-laws have an extra car that just sits in storage and they have graciously given it to us so I can sell my car. Although it's a few years older then my car it has over 50,000 miles LESS then my car. So we are getting my car all cleaned up, we've checked out Kelly Blue Book, and looked at comparables. We are going to go to Car Max and we have the least we are willing to accept ($1,000 less then what we will sell for privately hopefully), if we can make a deal then great and we won't have to worry about trying to post and sell it on our own. If they won't give us enough we will try to sell it on our own and we will get it detailed and see how that goes. We will then use all of the money we get towards the bills. Let's say we get $5,000 for my car. That will already knock out the first three and start chipping off from the next one.

Furniture Store #1 -- $647.00
Furniture Store #2 -- #681.00
Personal Loan -- $2,422
Credit Card -- $2,950
School Loan #1 -- $7,146
Car Payment -- $16,441
School Loan #2 -- $14,117
School Loan #3 -- $15,738

Dave Ramsey says not to worry about interest rates. So we aren't. What we did do though was call all three loan companies and ask if the hubs is eligible for a forbearance or deferment. All but one gave us one. One is for six months and the other is for a year. So basically once a month there will be the $200 + the minimum payment on the bills and for six months or a year we will add what would be going to that student loan onto that next bill in line as well. So for example- On the credit card my minimum payment is $70 + my extra $200 + the minimum payments for those two student loans is $250. So rather then paying the typical $70-100 I would pay towards my credit card I will now be paying $520. That's a lot quicker payoff for the credit card isn't it? So you are just paying the minimum on all other bills until you pay off the next one. So once the credit card is paid off that $70 minimum payment will now go to my next bill, School Loan #1. Does this make sense? I feel like it might be hard to explain this on the blog. Hope you're up to speed. Here is a little what his worksheet looks like:

I kinda made my own version in excel with some additional columns and some formulas so I could play around with it but that's a good starting point. As long as things go as planned for the most part we will have this paid off in 3-4 years. Of course it can be less because of additional money coming in say from a tax return and it can be more because you never know of a big emergency where you might need to pay for something that you can't help.

I feel like we are being so responsible in making this decision and to think that we would have over $1000 extra per month AT LEAST once this is paid off is amazing. It will be so easy to just save for different things, like a vacation on a whim and we might have a little extra money to not have to compromise as much when we are able to purchase a new home.

Have you made huge sacrifices in order to stay on budget, save, or get something paid off? What are things you've given up?

EMealz Winnnnnner!

2011-05-26T12:01:00.001-07:00

Remember how I'm a horrrrrrrible blogger and I had a giveaway ages ago and I never let you know who won? Well I'm doing that now! I was bummed I didn't have as many entries, I guess either not too many readers anymore or people just weren't interested. I thought it was pretty cool!

So after using Random.Org I popped in the 19 entries and I got entry #4! The entry is from Newlyweds on a Budget! Love her and she has some great budget advice on her blog! Her and her husband are saving machines! :) She said she would try to Low Carb Plan for 2 with eMealz!

I just need you to email me with your Full Name, Menu Plan you want to try, and your email address!

Congrats!

Camera Mail

2011-05-26T11:46:00.001-07:00

If you are on Pinterest {follow my pining obsession HERE} you may have seen something a few of us have pinned about: Camera Mail

What is that mess you say? It is in a nutshell a piece of cardboard with a camera glued and taped onto it with a message to all of the postal workers to take pictures with it on its journey. The website I saw this on got some fun responses, included a mailman who would right little notes and had a lot of fun with it. Because I've heard that the success rate isn't always very high, I thought why not do multiple destinations for the best results.

So after having a few volunteers on Pinterest I thought I would go ahead and open it up to more people. So far I think the two locations it is stopping is Michigan and Oklahoma. A wide variety of states would be great. I think I will do a list that will be included in a secure envelope attached to the cardboard. We can maybe have it go to seven different states and then make its way back to me. So it will start in California and we will move its journey along. If you receive the camera and it's full we will stop the chain and forward it back to myself for me to blog about and share it's journey. I hope to add a place for people to write on the cardboard about where it's been as well.

If you are interested just go ahead and comment below with your location and it will be kinda a first come, first serve kinda thing. I can't wait to see the results! Oh and also give me your email address if I don't have a way to contact you so when I get it organized I can get everyone's mailing addresses!

Mother Nature Sadness

2011-05-26T11:31:00.000-07:00

I know I still haven't gotten back to my blogging, but one thing that made me sad was this tree from my parents house snapped yesterday. It was transplanted to my parents house when my mom moved into it 46 years ago. Their guess is it was at least 60 or 70 years old. It was really knotty and had so many random branches. I remember climbing out on it over the hill as a child, and sitting under its shade in some of its much fuller times. Yesterday half of it snapped and showed no mercy to some of my parents new patio furniture as well as some old steel chairs that my dad and I painted and restored... thankfully it was inches away from flying through a window or landing on the roof (which happened at my house) doing even more damage. Check out some it's damage!

Here is what is left of the tree. You can see the part on the far left is the part that goes out over the hill. My dad thinks the whole tree is going to have to be pulled.

Inches away from busting through the guest room or office. But what you see it did land on is the new gorgeous patio set my parents just purchased.

Here you can see the yellow chair that my dad and I painted after picking it up rusted from an antique place many years ago. It's a gonner.

The table shattered beneath it's cover.

I think that tree had such character with all of its knots. I will say this, it will be a lot quieter, especially in the mornings. The woodpeckers loved this tree and that got so obnoxious after a while.

This post was probably a little boring, but just wanted to share about a tree that I just feel was a big part of the home. The backyard will be so different.

Quatro

2011-05-25T10:24:00.000-07:00

I'm back. Well kinda. Jury Duty is over and today is my first day back at work. Of course that means I'm swamped to the max so posting still might be light this week (although I am going to try to get in my BBAD post!). Jury Duty was a super fun experience for me (I'm sure it helps that I get paid full time to do Jury Duty) and I will definitely blog about my experience. On that note, I decided to take a quick break and saw a couple people had posted this so I decided to do it as well...

Four jobs I have had in my life:

Worked at In-N-Out Burger
Worked for Red Cross doing Concert Blood Drives for one day then quit.
Worked as a clerical student in my current office.
Now an admin assistant in my office.

Four movies I would watch over and over:

Mean Girls
Father of the Bride
Old School
The Hangover

Four places I have lived:

Ontario, California (growing up)
Walnut, California (high school)
Ontario, California (my first apartment)
Ontario, California (my first house... I know, I haven't moved areas much lol)

Four TV shows I love to watch:

Modern Family
Big Bang Theory
Big Brother (Come on July 7!)
The Real Housewives of (New Jersey, New York, Orange County, Beverly Hills) (DC, Atlanta, and Miami can suck it. - WORD KJ!)

Four places I have been on vacation

Hawaii (Maui and Oahu)
Cancun, Mexico
Las Vegas (At least 30 times?)
Texas (Austin and Dallas/Fort Worth areas)

Websites I visit daily:

Twitter/HootSuite
Facebook
Blogger and/or Google Reader
Pinterest

Four of my favorite foods:

Pizza
Boneless Buffallo Chicken Wings
A Good Steak with Bleu Cheese
Carbs. In general. :)

Four places I would rather be right now:

Laying on the beach... anywhere... like Tahiti, Fiji, Hawaii... whatever.
Back in bed.
Maybe even back at Jury Duty.
Italy.

Happy Hump Day!

Remember Me?

2011-05-11T10:17:00.000-07:00

I would use an excuse I'm a bad blogger. Which I am... I don't update enough, my topics can lag, and I'm a bad writer. But those aren't the reasons I haven't been around... Maybe for a few days. But I thought I would send a quick update to y'all before I hit your D list and get the ax on the reader. I'm currently serving jury duty and I will be for a couple more weeks most likely. Posting will be light if at all and as soon as I'm released more into the real world I will be back at it along with my eMealz winner. If you haven't tried out the giveaway go ahead and still try! Other then that posting is light or nonexistent on Twitter as well and if we are friends on Facebook that's the only place you will see me. Can't wait to be back in the real world soon but I will admit, this jury duty thing is so interesting. Miss y'all!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Cussing for Chores

2011-05-02T10:09:00.000-07:00

So yesterday the Hubs and I went to church and as we were WALKING TO OUR CAR from the actual service I said a word - I think it was sh-t. But that doesn't matter. What matters is it took me less then 30 seconds to walk out of the holy place before I was runnin' my potty mouth. Now don't think I'm about to get all preachy on you -- although I wouldn't say I cuss like a sailor I do use "bad words" (lol I feel old saying that) frequently. Cursing also doesn't really bother me unless you are a person who starts using it every sentence like it's a freakin' helping verb.

So obviously there are times where I think I can only say what I really feel by saying a nice four-letter word, while other times sometimes the made-up words can be just as entertaining and lighten a mood. So enter the new campaign the Hubs and I started yesterday... as of May 1st, 2011...

The Cussing for Chores Campaign!

That's right, some people put a quarter in a jar, others might come up with some other thing. Ours is going to make our lazy asses productive. From now on, anytime one of us says a cuss word you have to immediately stop what you're doing and do some productive cleaning for five minutes. By the time we got home from church I was doing a solid 20 minutes compared to the Hub's five. But hey, I got the 1/2 bathroom swept and wiped down (mirror and counters) and I wiped down the kitchen counters. Something that probably would not have happened yesterday. The only thing that has yet to be decided is what really classifies as a curse word.

Have you and your significant other every came up with a quirky way to get you guys to do something you might not typically want to do? This makes us hopefully have a little better language (for once we have kids one day) as well as getting some chores done.

How to Put Money in Your Savings & Lose It in 30 Seconds

2011-04-25T15:10:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday may be one of my biggest FAILS to date. I'm almost confident that the Hubs would agree. Here is the story.

On Saturday, the Hubs and I decided we would go play some Bingo since the weekend prior we received some free vouchers when they "thought" they lost my ID but they ended up finding it on the security camera right where I SAID I knew it was. That's a whole other story. But yeah, they gave us vouchers for our "troubles".

We are enjoying our afternoon at San Manuel Casino like always when all of a sudden the hubs is like "Dude, why don't you have 26 daubed?! They called 26! Don't you have a bingo?!" I didn't even look... "BINGO!!!!" I screamed. I was stoked, woo hoo! $1200 coming my way! I already had it all figured out within twenty seconds of where it was going, some to Vegas for the Hubs birthday and the rest into savings.

This is not a joke. If you've never been to Bingo people have their
lucky charms everywhere and troll dolls, etc. We get such a kick out of it!

About thirty seconds goes by and the guy walks back with my Bingo card. He places it on the table and says it's a "sleeper" card. WHAT?! I made him explain. It was a rule I didn't know about but the Hubs swears he had heard before. You have to yell Bingo before the next number is called or it's considered a "sleeper" and your Bingo is forfeited. Sounds like a bunch of crock to me. I took my Bingo card back with my head held low. The old ladies were shaking their head at me. I was devastated.

I wasn't going to accept that. I had to look in the rule book and make sure it was there, because if it wasn't I was going to make sure I got my $1,200. Of course it was there. And after it hit me five minutes later I cried. Yes, cried. I couldn't believe I had finally got my second Bingo at the casino and it was being taken from me.

I have to give the Hubs some credit. He was AMAZING. Knowing him I thought for sure I was going to be signing divorce papers come Monday morning. He handled it great, I'm pretty sure I would have been pissed if he wasn't paying attention and missed out on our opportunity of winning $1,200.

Oh and my mom's response? "It just wasn't meant to be." How was winning over a grand not meant to be? Sounds like a bunch of bull to me.

Giveaway - Subscription to Emealz

2011-04-25T09:37:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure if you read my post yesterday about Emealz but if you haven't, you can do so HERE.

Okay, now that you are caught up. Emealz saw my blog post from yesterday and has offered a giveaway for one of my awesome readers! What a great opportunity to check out Emealz for a month and see how you like it! You will get to choose a plan that will work for you and your family and every week you will receive five meals with their extremely easy recipes along with a shopping list to make sure you are efficient with your shopping. Save you time and money!

The Prize: One (1) reader will receive one free month of meal planning recipes and shopping lists from the meal plan of their choice.

How to Enter:

- Visit their meal plan options here and tell me which plan you would get for a month if you won the one month membership. (Mandatory Entry!)

- Follow my blog on Google Friend Connect on the left toolbar (Mandatory Entry!)

- Follow me on Twitter (@HappyHrWife) and tweet the following: "Enter the giveaway on @HappyHrWife blog for a subscription to @EMEALZ: http://ow.ly/4Hq5A"

-Follow EMealz on Twitter (@EMEALZ)

-Blog about this giveaway and send me the link.

Please leave a separate comment for each and if you don't have your email linked to your comment profile please leave a way for me to contact you. This giveaway will be open until Sunday, May 1 at 11:59pm PST.

Legal mumbo-jumbo: I am not receiving anything from Emealz for this giveaway. Emealz has graciously offered to give a reader a one-month subscription at no benefit to me.

How to Eat on the Cheap

2011-04-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

With TLC's latest craze, Extreme Couponing, I seem to notice a lot of people trying to spend a buck or two. I myself have started trying to do it in a lot smaller dose, I even made my first coupon eBay purchase last week, I am getting 100 coupons mailed to me for $3.20. I'll let you know what I get and see if it was worth it. To me $3.20 might just be enough to make it worth not having to spend the time hunting down coupons and doing all of the clippings... I'll keep you updated.

One person I'm a big fan of is Dave Ramsey, although I haven't done Financial Peace University it is on my 101 in 1001 list and we are just waiting for the program to start again at my church. But there is a company that he endorses and I kinda fell in love with the idea.

E-mealz has tons of programs to offer and at only $1.25 a week it is 100% worth it! Basically what Emealz is, is once a week you log in and download a PDF that has five-seven meals. On two pages it has five recipes with the shopping list for the week. And you can choose the plan that works for you based on the size of your family, the grocery store you shop at, and if you have a dietary restriction. Here are some examples:

Regular Family Meal Plans (Serves 7 meals for 4-6 people) and you chose if you want it to be for Kroger, Publix, Wal-Mart, ALDI, Ralphs, or Any-Store.
Regular Meal Plans for Two (Serves 5 meals for 2 people) and that plan has Wal-Mart, ALDI, Publix, and Any-Store.
Specialty Family Meal Plans (Serves 7 meals for 4-6 people) and this has Gluten Free, Low Carb, Low Fat, Portion Control, and Vegetarian which you can get for Wal-Mart, Publix, and Any-Store.
Specialty Meal Plans for Two (Serves 5 meals for 2 people) and this one offers Low Fat, Portion Control, and Low Carb for Wal-Mart or Any-Store.

For the Hubs and I, I purchase the "Specialty Meal Plans for Two: Low Fat at Any-Store. I was going to do the Wal-Mart to save a little bit of money but I felt that by looking at the sample menus there would be more options possibly, plus the closest Wal-Mart with a grocery section is about 10 miles away while my Albertson's or Stater Brothers is about a half mile.

They also make Meal Plans for holidays! They just had the "Easter Feast" available to purchase for $6.99 and that had a menu to serve 8-12 people along with a shopping list. The menu included a spiral cut ham, mac & cheese, green bean casserole, baked sweet potatoes, steamed broccoli, strawberry pretzel salad, dinner rolls, Mississippi mud cake, and Resurrection rolls. Talk about no hassle and no stress! They also offer it for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.

I can't talk more highly of this company. I know some people take great excitement out of doing meal planning and making their shopping list, and once in a while I get a kick to do that to. But for the Hubs and I it just doesn't happen. We are SO busy all of the time this was the perfect way to take stress out of meal planning.

If you would like to read more, see sample menus and shopping lists, or join just click on the icon and check it out...

Have you used eMealz or are you going to try it? Let me know what program you use and of any great recipes you discover!

P.S. If you decide to make a purchase it will charge you $15 for 3 months of recipes and shopping lists. Use the promo code Dave for $2.50 off at checkout!

Lessons on How You Get What You Pay For

2011-04-20T14:35:00.000-07:00

As many of you know who have followed me for some time, I wasn't overly thrilled with my wedding photos. There was a lot of shots that were missed that I felt were obvious and important, and I just didn't have a huge selection of photos I'm just in LURVE with.

The title of the post saying "You Get What you Pay For" is because I did win this photographer through a contest in the classified on Weddingbee. I checked out his website, everything is legit, and we even had a great experience with him for our engagement session. But the thing is, he still made like $900 off of me. I paid $300 for my photobooth, $300 for some extra shooting time, some other random things, and I paid like $150 for a CD of all of the images.One of the things included in a "package" that I won was an album. He showed me an example of it the first time I went to his office and I was told I got to include 50 images. I wanted a bit larger of an album so I went with making my own which I fell absolutely in love with. After waiting and waiting and waiting I finally heard about the album about 10 months after my wedding and he sent it to me. Many of the pages looked like this:

{ Poor personal cell phone photos. }

That's right. Those photos have people's heads chopped off or people cropped out of the picture entirely. Like that photo of me with the person who caught our bouquet and garter? Yeah Brad is in that picture too. He was cropped out of it.

I was livid. Although I already had an album that I loved, how could someone think this is okay? How could you not take more pride in your work? It's an understatement by saying that my mom "let him have it". She was furious, and not nice with many of her words. I was just in complete shock. How could you put together someone's album, send it for printing, and SHIP it to the bride without taking a look at it. It was like it was "auto uploaded" into a Shutterfly album and not looked at twice without resizing photos as necessary or even having them in any type of order that would make much sense. It was horrible.

He apologized, had his ~~excuses~~reasons, and said he would have a better quality book put together but through the company he would use it would take approximately six weeks. Imagine my surprise when we got back from our anniversary trip and I had a package sitting on our front porch. With not too much excitement I tore into it to find a rather thick album in a black box. I thought the album seemed rather thick for the amount of pix that were supposed to be in the album and since I had also seen the layout. I was thrilled to find one of those albums that most brides dream of but don't want to pay the price. The nice thick cardboard-like, lay flat magazine albums that are more then I could swallow to pay. It's a gorgeous album. The layout is medicore at best (I LOVED my album layout), but the quality was outstanding. I didn't even want a new album from my photographer, I was truly over the whole situation but my mom insisted this just wasn't right. I'm glad she did, and I got a gorgeous album out of it.

Moral of the Story: If you have a budget for your wedding, don't make something you cheap out on be the photographer. Make sure you do the most research and spend the money on this one. It's the one thing from the wedding that you get to take home with you.

One... You're Like a Dream Come True

2011-04-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

Two... just wanna be with youuuuu.

You like that little kick back to some Brian McKnight don'tcha? It's been 365 days, and I can't freakin' believe the time is here. I have been a Mrs. now for a year. A YEAR. Time has flown.

It seems like only a few months ago we rehearsed...

My dad walked me down the aisle and handed me off to my almost husband...

...and we said I do.

All that floor space kills me to post this picture. Gah. Still not over it.

Then we Honeymooned in Florida and the Carribean!

It truly seems like we were...

Happy one year anniversary to my husband that I love so dearly. Nobody knows you like I know you, nobody knows us like I know us. I can't wait to spend another handful of decades with those pretty blue eyes. I love you Boo.

♥ 4.17.10 ♥
_____________________________________

New around here or are just dying to hear about our wedding and anniversary all over again? You can get the whole shebang here:

Wedding Recaps:
I'm On a Boat: Leading Up to the Big Day
I'm On a Boat: The Rehearsal
I'm On a Boat: How I Almost Killed a Hotel Manager
I'm On a Boat: Girls Getting Sexy
I'm On a Boat: Boys Getting Ready
I'm On a Boat: First Look
I'm On a Boat: Family Portraits
I'm On a Boat: The Bridal Par-tay (Part 1 of 3)
I'm On a Boat: The Bridal Par-tay (Part 2 of 3)
I'm On a Boat: The Bridal Par-tay (Part 3 of 3)
I'm On a Boat: Hubby Time
I'm On a Boat: Merci Beaucoup
I'm On a Boat: Ceremony (Part 1 of 6)
I'm On a Boat: Ceremony (Part 2 of 6)
I'm On a Boat: Ceremony (Part 3 of 6)
I'm On a Boat: Ceremony (Part 4 of 6)
I'm On a Boat: Ceremony (Part 5 of 6)
I'm On a Boat: Ceremony (Part 6 of 6)
I'm On a Boat: Let's Seal the Deal
I'm On a Boat: Grub & Speeches
I'm On a Boat: The Important Dances
I'm On a Boat: Tosses & Cake
I'm On a Boat: Photobooth Fun
I'm On a Boat: Detail Shots
I'm On a Boat: Reception
I'm On a Boat: Is That My Car?!
I'm On a Boat: Let's Get Outta Here

Honeymoon Recaps:
Honeymooners in Ft. Lauderdale
Honeymooners in the Everglades
Honeymooners at Sea
Honeymooners in the Bahamas
Honeymooners in St. Maarten
Honeymooners in St. Thomas
Honeymooners with Sea Lions
Honeymooners in Turks & Caicos

The Biggest Blogger

2011-04-15T15:27:00.000-07:00

Being a huge fan of blogging, the Biggest Loser, and Jenna Marbles I had to share with you one of videos that made me crack up. If it's not your humor, whatever.

If you thought that was funny you should definitely check out some of her other videos... here are a couple good ones.

On that note... sorry I've disappeared. I've been really into my latest friend, My Fitness Pal. If you are on there add me as your friend LaLaLewi. I'm tryin' to kick ass another way at losing weight. Started Monday, already down 3.5 lbs. Holla! Have a great weekend everyone, I'm celebrating my first anniversary with the Hubs. Can't freakin' believe it. One year already! We are heading to Catalina Island on Sunday so I'll sure with you our adventures sometime next week.

Designer Bathroom Look

2011-04-11T09:36:00.000-07:00

When I purchased my condo in the summer of 2008 the mirror in my master bedroom was shot. It had a chunk missing in a corner, a crack (uhm dangerous?), and black speckles all over it. I think it was the original mirror when my condo was built in like 1988. You know the standard sheet made to fit your bathroom wall mirrors? I would show you a photo but when trying to google standard bathroom mirrors I'm just getting fancy stuff.

So if your bathroom is just 'eh' I highly suggest doing a very affordable improvement that will make you love your bathroom and make it look very "designer" or that you are at some fancy pants hotel. All it takes is two changes: mirror and lights. Well, maybe some paint too depending on the paint situation when you pull down the mirror. Thankfully when I took the mirror off I painted the god awful purple bathroom so I just painted the whole thing. I wish I had a before photo to show you but when I looked at my "move in" album I only had one of my finished product:

{Personal Photo}

My bathroom actually looks a little different since that photo was taken about 2.5 years ago but you get the idea. Huge difference. Here is a before and after I just recently saw:

{ source }

See what a difference it can make? I find the best place took for frames is Home Goods and Target. They always have large frames on the clearance. The one in my bathroom is HUGE, you see about three-quarters of it. It's at least six feet long I'd say and I think I got it on clearance at Home Goods for $40. TJMaxx, Marshalls, etc. might also be a good place to check out.

The lighting I purchased at Lowe's and was really happy with. I went with something that was on sale and I don't remember what I paid for it. As you can see in the photo we flipped it and have it going upward. The reason for that is because the frame was thick and the lights couldn't be installed where the electrical was located without hitting the frame. Simple fix and it's never bothered me. My dad actually didn't even ask me, he just did it and I didn't notice it until he said something -- so I guess that's a good thing.

Here are some other bathrooms that have opted for framed mirror for a nicer look...

{ source }

What small or inexpensive changes have you made in your home that have made a huge difference? Am I the only one obsessed with framed mirrors? We have quite a few in our house.

The Glamourous. Ooo the Flossy, Flossy.

2011-04-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

In November of last year year there was a Living Social deal (click the link if you've never joined and you get $5 towards your first purchase and I get $5 too!) for a company called "Dockside Boat & Bed" where for $150 we got a night on our own private yacht. The hubs isn't into material things very much, he's into gifts that are us going and doing something. He also likes to always do things that are different or we've never done before so I thought this was perfect for a Christmas present and it let us get away for a weekend. Win-win.

After purchasing the deal I booked the first Saturday I could the next day. That day was Saturday, April 2. Well something to look forward to! It seriously was so much fun! Although the yacht doesn't leave the dock it's like a pimped out hotel room and when you are laying out on top with your glass of wine people think you be livin' ~~Puff Daddy~~ ~~P. Diddy~~ Diddy Dirty Money style!

We got there early in the afternoon, checked out the yacht, walked around a bit, grabbed some cocktails, and spent the rest of the evening besides for dinner on the yacht just people watching, drinking wine/champagne, playing Mexican train, and eating cheese and grapes!

Here are some photos from our weekend...

Okay, seriously the yacht is a lot bigger then it looks! What you don't see is the main "living room" area, the kitchen, bedroom, two bathrooms, and small lower living area.

Here's a small peek at my hair... a few days prior I lightened it and cut off about 4 inches.

Such a stud.

Awk.

The back end of our boat where we hung out the most and played Mexican Train. To the left of the picture that little entry door goes down into the living area of the yacht.

The Hubs in the kitchen/main living area. Right to the left of his head is where the TV comes out of the ceiling so you can watch TV in that area (there was two more TVs with DVD/DirecTV on the yacht as well).

Our bedroom. Not the most comfortable bed I've ever slept in. Something similar to a pull out mattress in a couch or something.

Okay so while we were sitting out there we realized that there was a bunch of young (13 y/o?) girls dancing and being videotaped and photographed. I'm thinking this HAS to be Ark Music Factory. Hahaha... you know, the ones who made those like Rebecca Black famous.

It was so cute, in the morning this was sitting on the back of the yacht. A basket filled with a cute jug of orange juice, fruit, yogurt, and pastries.

We said we would definitely purchase this deal again if it came around. We had a lot of fun and think it would be fun to have some more friends come out next time (my MIL and FIL stopped by this time!). Although it wasn't the most comfortable to sleep in it was definitely just something fun and different then the typical hotel stay.

Paper & Clocks

2011-04-06T09:48:00.000-07:00

I'm sure most of you know this but just in case you don't the "anniversary gifts" for one year are paper for a traditional gift and the modern gift is clocks. I knew when I started thinking about our anniversary gifts I wanted to go this route. It made me get more creative with the gift then just getting something random I know he would like. Since our anniversary is about a week and a half away I thought I would show you what I came up with for our first anniversary.

{My dear hubs, I'm almost positive you never come around here but if you just so happened to today for whatever a reason... SCAT!}

This is to distract him until he leaves.
Gone? Good, moving on.

♥ PAPER ♥

There are two gifts I'm getting him that are in the traditional, "paper" category. Due to saving for other things (like a house) we opted to not buy our season tickets for Angels games this year again (last year we didn't because of the wedding). Because of their 50th Anniversary as a team they are having a special called a "Freedom Package" that you get 10 vouchers for 10 games of your choice from a list for $50. I'm buying two sets of that so I can go or he can take a friend. Unfortunately the big games like Yankees and Red Sox are not included in that but the promo games where I can get awesome things like Wrestling Masks and Floppy hats are so I'm stoked about that.

$100 for 2 tickets to 10 games? You can't beat that. Plus there are more then just the super crappy seats to get tix for which is cool.

Now, for the gift I'm most excited about. Some of you may have seen the awesome photographers, Ohana Photographers. They've shot weddings like my dear friend, Ali from His Birdie's Nest. Well one of the members of this incredible family is an extremely talented artist, after seeing on one of their Facebooks that she drew couples I knew this was it. I would get a drawing done of us to frame and put on our frame wall. I contacted April and after a quick exchange I had this fabulous piece of work sitting in my inbox hardly a week later.

Yup, that's our fam drawn up by April Rosburg!

So freaking cute right?! I'm so excited to get it matted and framed, I'll be sure to share it with you all once it's complete. I just can't wait to show the Hubs, I really hope I can wait a week and a half. It's just so fun and will be a great thing to have over the years!

♥ Clocks ♥

This gift is nothing fancy, just something I know the hubs needs. Many girls go the watch route on this one. Brad has a really nice Guess watch that he never wears so that just wouldn't make sense for me since he's not really a watch guy. He always uses his cell phone for an alarm but that isn't always the most reliable thing, so I got him an alarm clock! He's mentioned a couple times that he wants one and we've also mentioned wanting one that projects on the ceiling. Who likes rolling over to look at the time when your comfy in bed? Well my parents have one that I tested out while I was house sitting and I really liked it so I picked up the same one (it's available on Amazon through Target, I picked it up at my local store).

Source

We are going to Catalina Island for our anniversary so I can't wait until we exchange gifts. I'm not sure if we'll do it there or at home. I'm kinda thinking home so I don't have to cart all of this on the boat over to the island, etc. Can't wait to share our trip with you when we take it next weekend!

So what did you get for your first anniversary? Do you and your husband go with the traditional gifts? What are your plans for your anniversary?

Who Doesn't Love a Good Bandwagoner?

2011-04-05T12:11:00.001-07:00

Every blogger under the sun has done this, so here I go...

A. Age: 26

B. Bed size: California King… I couldn't live without it! Whenever I go in a different size bed it's a struggle now because the hubs and I aren't used to it!

C. Chore you hate: Laundry!!!!

D. Dogs: My favoritest creature on earth, Dakota.

E. Essential start to your day: Go to the bathroom and brush my teeth while I read emails on my cell.

F. Favorite color: Pink and Green. For clothing I always go with Browns and Blacks. In my home it's lots of browns with aquas or apple greens.

G. Gold or silver: Silver, I never wear gold. Okay I take that back, I'm about to wear gold because I just bought this necklace off of Etsy last week.

etsy shop: brideblu

H. Height: 5’9ish

I. Instruments: I played Piano from the age of 5 until I was around 11 or so.

J. Job title: Administrative Specialist. Sounds fancy. I'm really just a glorified secretary.

K. Kids: None, yet.

L. Live: Ontario, CA

M. Mom’s name: Carrie

N. Nicknames: Lala and Panda. Back in the day it was Bubz or Bubbles. In softball it was Hollywood.

O. Overnight hospital stays: Not since I was born.

P. Pet peeve: Too many to bore you with. The typical ones.

Q. Quote from a movie: I have so many... many from Old School come to mind.

R. Right or left handed: Left for cutting, eating, and writing. Right for everything else.

S. Siblings: None until I got married. Now I have my SIL and BIL!

T. Time you wake up: Weekends whenever, during the week 6:10-6:20am.

U. Underwear: I buy all of my chones at Cacique.

V. Vegetables you dislike: Not really any, I kinda love them all.

W. What makes you run late: I'm a very on time person. The only time I ever run late would be during hte week and that's because it's hard for me to get out of bed.

X. X-Rays you’ve had: Don't even remember.

Y. Yummy food you make: Mexican Lasagna (See recipe here.)

Z. Zoo- favorite animal: Elephants, Monkeys, Penguins, Flamingos.

Make Yourself Useful: Aluminum Foil

2011-04-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

I thought that my first post was so useful on coffee filters I wanted to do a few more in the series on how you can get more uses out of things that typically sit in the cupboard and might not get as much use. I'm all about getting more then one use out of things!

Today's item I'm going to share with you is Aluminum Foil. Many of us just use it to wrap up some leftovers but there are great things you can use it for as well...

Okay, so maybe the latest fashion statement isn't one of them. Here are a few favorites I've come up or came across:

Crumple a piece of foil, and use it to rub rust spots off car bumpers and shower-curtain rods.

Funnel -- Curl a section of foil into a cone shape, secure it with tape, and start pouring.

Fold a 1-square-inch piece of foil several times and insert it between a battery and a loose spring to hold it in place and complete the circuit.

Place a sheet of foil over a loose self-stick vinyl tile, and press a hot iron over the foil until the adhesive backing melts and sticks to the subfloor.

Fold a sheet of foil several times and cut through it with a pair of dull scissors to sharpen the blades.

Wrap door handles, knobs, and drawer pulls with foil for quick paint-job protection.

Line a glass pan with foil, add several spoonfuls of baking soda, fill the pan with boiling water, and drop in tarnished silverware for a quick cleaning.

Don't have a wire scrub brush? Ball up some foil and use it to clean the gunk off of your grill. Also great at taking off the baked on gunk off of pots and pans.

Use it as a piping / pastry bag. Roll it into a double thickness leaving a tiny hole at the pointed end. You can twist the top closed so nothing oozes out then just toss the mess!

Noticing a lot of static electricity in your clothing? Throw a small crumpled up ball of foil into your dryer with your clothes

For clothing items that can't take direct heat, such as rayon, silk, and wool, you can get the wrinkles out by placing a piece of foil on your ironing board. Put the garment over the foil, and pass 3 inches above the garment several times with the iron, holding down the steam button the entire time. The wet heat from the foil with rid the garment of wrinkles.

The best thing is you can use it for so many things and it's recyclable.

Do you have any other uses for aluminum foil? Share them!

Stubble Time

2011-04-04T17:00:00.000-07:00

I'm just going to say, I am NOT a regular leg shaver. I was blessed with hair that takes forever to grow and when it does it's thin and blonde. So I never made it a habit. So I constantly have to think it out whether I should shave or not. Typically I will shave for your birthday, wedding, beach trip, pool party, or vacation.

I'm Angry and I'm Going to Sleep

2011-04-04T10:30:00.000-07:00

When you first get married you are swarmed with all sorts of advice -- sometimes asked, sometimes not -- and I know there was one that outshined the others. I think it's just a typical answer that many people think of to share with a newlywed, but I also know this is something people always want to do.

"Never go to bed angry."

I say nay-nay. I used to be this way when the Hubs and I were first living together. We would get in an argument, I would storm upstairs, and then I couldn't sleep. I would be so upset over this and I needed something to be fixed before I could sleep. I quickly realized the Hubs didn't work this way, and I would be so frustrated in the morning when I would wake up, still bitter, and he was happy as a clam. WTF, yo?! Did we not get in a big argument last night? It would make me more crazy that he was over it and we never talked about it. After a couple times of this I kinda got used to it, and thought it worked. Of course it was always over silly things, if it's a big deal I wouldn't think it would be okay to just "sweet it under the rug" or you never will solve it if it could be a recurring problem.

Now I'm kinda like, "well I'm hurt, you're hurt, we both need time to deal -- let's sleep on it." This works for us, we don't need to argue it out right then and there. That is good for our personality. We both are stubborn and need to be right which means we will end up in a full on battle and things can escalate to a place it didn't need to go since it started off on who finished the Rocky Road*.

I'm glad I figured this out early. We aren't going to fix it now, and something won't be fixed. And we are 100% good with that. We'll still fight the same 'ol battle when we are 83, whatev. All I know is I've learned the most about myself and the Hubs in our arguing when I've actually rehashed it all in my head, thinking of the situation, and sometimes I even end up laughing. I realize it's silly and it doesn't end up World War 3.

Sometimes you don't need an apology, you just need growth. An apology can be so empty, and a word just to smooth things over in the moment. How many times have you probably said I'm sorry just to shut someone up? But if you see a change? That means something.

How do you and your significant other argue? Do you guys have to stay up all night to figure it out or are you okay with going to bed angry?

*This was not an actual fight, but don't you dare eat my Rocky Road.

Open & Ready for Business

2011-04-01T09:37:00.002-07:00

I'm so excited. On June of last year I decided I was going to open up an Etsy shop. I loved crafting and was always wanting to try new ideas. I opened a shop even though I had no products yet and that was it. Around that same time I had Joy from How Joyful Design Studio design me a logo so I could slab it on some business cards. Business cards? Girrrrrl, you don't even have a business. Well I had a free set from Zazzle that I wanted to use before it expired. LOL

A couple months later I was sitting on an empty Etsy shop and some business cards that I couldn't hand to anyone because well, it would take me to an empty Etsy shop. I went and did some craft shopping and started buying a large range of supplies from different places in the area and plopped on the couch one evening and started some different things.

I'm happy to say that there are a few that just worked when I did it and those are now all posted in my Etsy shop! There are a few things that didn't work and I'm still working on. At the moment I only have hair accessories posted but I will have a wide range of items at some point... some not even relating to each other. I look forward to sharing those with you! Here are a few of the items I currently have in the shop, some of them customizable.

♥ mesoolala.etsy.com ♥

Next plan is to get my hair pieces actually in someone's hair as well as get some items sold while working on new projects to come. I know so many of you ladies have Etsy shops or a lot of experience with Etsy. Share with me any advice you have. The Dos and Don'ts and the things you like and don't like about sellers.

Yesterday was Thursday...

2011-03-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

...and today is Friday!

I'm not sure how far behind I was on the Rebecca Black movement but I kept seeing her mentioned and finally asked my twitter-sphere who the hell this girl is on Wednesday. I got instant swarm of feedback.

I'm pretty on top of the videos that go "viral" so I was surprised it took me so long, if you haven't seen it you can enjoy this jem of a music video...

Horrific right? Some of my favorites I'd like to point out is the real dilemma with where to sit -- the front seat or the back seat? And can we discuss the awkward friends dancing in the back seat? Whatever, I'm sure it was fun fun fun to make.

This was sent to me on Twitter as well when I was asking who she was and this CRACKED me up, check it out HERE.

On that note, have a good weekend everybody! :)

P.S. I’m posting this to enter a contest offered by Brad’s Deals at Sweetney! I want to win the white iPad 2!

Maui Wowi {Part 2 of 2}

2011-03-22T14:15:00.000-07:00

If you didn't read the first half of our trip to Maui you can see it here: Part 1 of our trip to Maui

Don't worry, this one isn't QUITE as picture heavy as the last post... :)

Tuesday, March 1

We decided to wake up early, eat some cereal at our condo, pack some lunches (which included PB&J, Jalapeno Cheetos, Oreos, and Gatorade -- classic lol), and hit the open road. We planned on having this day to do some driving around the island and just stopping whenever we felt like it. My only goal of the day was to pick up some homemade banana (does anyone else have to sing Gwen Stefani to spell banana right?) bread on the side of the road and avoid getting sold some Mary Jane.

We decided to take a way that the Hubs and I hadn't remembered ever taking before so we thought it would be fun to see some new things. Which we did. Until we almost died. You see the road in the picture above? Nice normal road... it started getting narrower, and narrower, and next thing you know it was this:

From the non-steadiness of the photo you might be able to see panic set in. The Hubs started freaking out and this lead into what also became a dirt road and even narrower -- also on the EDGE of the mountain with no railings. I seriously can't imagine how many tourists get trapped here. The problem is the locals have no problem flying through there but there is no way to get out if you come face to face with another vehicle. There are no turn outs so SOMEONE has to back completely out. It was close to a mile before there was a small side of a turnout where the Hubs felt safe enough that he could flip around the SUV. Not knowing how long this road could go for he didn't want to jeopardize it and he was willing to take it as a loss, we saw some pretty things, but we were heading back the other way of the island. They really need some signs, the only sign says "End of State Highway" -- so clearly the state doesn't take responsibility of the upkeep of that road I guess? I don't know. I was hella nervous. But on the drive back I got to snap some more beautiful pictures. This side of the island tends to be very overcast and get some good amounts of rain...

After completely tracing our steps and ending up where we started we headed in the direction that we already knew. Although it wasn't a new drive for us, it of course is still gorgeous and at least we knew we were safer driving that way. On our drive we decided to try to find a place we had heard about but was one place we never had been to, Twin Falls. It's right at the start of the Road to Hana and I had never gone because I thought it involved a little too much hiking for my clumsiness and flip flops. We decided to scope it out and then the hubs would do all of the hard work while I stayed on the trail. Like a good husband he would make sure the climbing / hiking would be something I could do without killing myself. He thought he found a good way to get to won and at the end of the five mile easy hike we found this:

Our own private pool and waterfall! Although another couple showed up while we were there (hello nice couple from Canada!) for the majority of the time we were alone and it was awesome. It was such a cool feeling and it was gorgeous! I wish I could have taken more pictures, I was wet and not thinking most of the time. Besides the Sunrise Whale Watch Cruise we did, this was the other high light of our trip.

Unfortunately, while I would wait on the trails for the Hubs I think I was attacked by mosquitoes, or something that had similar bites. That afternoon I discovered a couple dozen bites on my legs mostly, my arms, and even one on my bum! Those suckers itched and the hubs managed to get through without ONE BITE. Probably because I was the only one just standing around. Oh well, totally worth it and we will definitely do it again.

After leaving Twin Falls it started raining a bit so we sat in the car and ate some of our lunch since we were getting starved. We decided we would stop at Mama's Fish House on our way back for an appetizer and cocktail. This place is pricey but oh my gosh they have the BEST drinks and appetizers. We got an order of their Lobster Guacamole with Sweet Potato chips and we each got a cocktail and I think with tip we paid around $50. Not something we would typically spend but in the moment we thought it was so worth it -- and that Lobster Guac? You would want to lick the bowl. I did, don't judge me.

Here I am with my $15 Kula Lime Martini. Worth. Every. Cent. When my in-laws were in Maui they tried to break down how to make it and I'm pretty sure my FIL has come pretty close. He made them for us at home and I also tried making them while we were in Maui out on our lanai. It will knock you on your keester but it is such a delicious and refreshing drink, try it this summer!

Kula Lime Martini

4 Parts Vanilla Vodka
1 Part FRESH lime juice (Most people can't get Kula Limes, any can do.)
Granulated Sugar to Taste

Put the Vodka and Lime Juice in a Shaker with ice then put in some sugar. How much will just depend on how large of a drink you make. In a full martini shaker I think I did a couple of Tablespoons. I think Simple Syrup might work but at Mama's Fish House we notice the granules in the bottom of the martini glass so we don't want to mess with a good think. Shake REALLY well to get the sugar throughout and pour in a glass.

We started making our drive back and hung out at the pool for a while until the sun got behind a tree and it started getting too chilly. We got ready and then grabbed dinner at one of the local spots.

Wednesday, March 2 & Thursday, March 3

We woke up early, like most need to, if you want to have breakfast at the Gazebo. It's a very small restaurant that has the BEST BREAKFAST ON THE ISLAND. It's first come first serve seating and you just wait in line and they give you a table as they open up.

I had the hubs wait in line while I went and sat near the water on Whale Watch...

We spent this day as well as the next just getting in as much beach and snorkeling time as we could as well as some pool time. We only had those last two days to get all the sun we could so we did lots of driving around finding great reefs and beaches.

On Thursday we went to Fleming Beach which tends to be the best for boogie boarding. We brought out the boogie boards and I decided to sit out since my back had been hurting. The last thing I wanted to do was get a wave to really take me down and hurt it worse since the waves were pretty good that day. I watched the hubs catch a few waves but it was tough going back and forth because I wanted to watch him but there was a baby whale not too far from him that could not stop jumping out of the water so it was really entertaining to watch. Unfortunately I didn't get any picks from here because I kept the camera in the car. So lame.

For our last two dinners we went to Leilani's and Hula Grill which is two great restaurants (owned by the same company). They have great seafood (and other stuff for non-seafood eaters like the Hubs), yummy cocktails, and a fantastic view. Not to mention they both serve the Hula Pie as well haha.

Friday, March 4

We had to be out of the condo around 11 so we packed up and got everything ready that needed to go to the storage unit. Our flight wasn't scheduled to leave until 11:00 that evening so we had the whole day still to go. This is the type of day that I like leaving on vacation. We had amazing weather our entire trip, but sometime in the night a storm came through and the weather got crazy. It would pour off and on, was very gloomy, and extremely windy! I feel like I always have to leave amazing vacations on the most beautiful days. It was easy to say goodbye for once.

We went to lunch at a golf course country club and while we were there we were debating what we were going to do. This was supposed to be our last day and since we didn't have shower access we kinda kept this as our shopping type day. Unfortunately, everything is outside and I just wasn't wanting to walk around in those conditions. After lunch I brought up to the Hubs trying to catch an earlier flight. I decided to call United and see if there was a flight and any fees they would charge, etc.

They had a flight that left in exactly two hours and we were about 45 minutes away from the car return place. They also could only put us on standby once we arrived so it was a huge risk. We decided to take it. We rushed as fast as we could to return the car and get to the airport. They charged us $50 fee per person to change our flight. At first that seemed like $100 I didn't want to spend but we were able to turn our car in a day early which saved us money, plus we didn't shop or spend another dinner in Maui. We realized we probably saved money by leaving early. It was of course sad to end our vacation early but with the weather it was easy to make the decision. Not to mention we got a much better plane home, we were home Friday night so we got to sleep in OUR bed and not do a red-eye. We literally made it to the gate AT BOARDING and made it on the flight. We didn't sit together but we decided it was so worth it.

So that was our trip to Maui! I will be doing one more post that will be kinda my "Dos and Don'ts" of the island for those who might plan a trip or Honeymoon there. Any topics you want me to touch leave it in the comments or if you have any questions about the trip I will cover that as well.

P.S. Please do me a HUGE favor and go to my friend's Make-up Artist page. She is the one who did my wedding make-up and is starting out doing some movie's and stuff. Please like her page and say "Laura Lewis referred me." on her wall... I'm trying to win a make-up pack I'm dying to have! Thanks a millions... GO HERE

Maui Wowi {Part 1 of 2}

2011-03-21T13:45:00.000-07:00

The tan is fading and I'm finally get used to being back from vacation. I have major pity parties when I come back from vacation. Now that I'm over it I guess I should do a little recap of how our trip went and the places we visited (and the yummy places we ate!). We've been to Maui numerous times so I like to think we've found some good spots to share and this would be great for anyone planning on visiting Maui for a vacation or for some of my bride readers who might be going there for vacation! Beware... this may be a picture heavy post. Actually, it WILL be a picture heavy post.

Friday, February 25

We left LAX around 2:00 pm and due to the time change, ended up in Maui around 7:00. By the time we rented our car and made the drive to our condo it was probably around 8:30. And all we wanted to do was eat some dinner since it was 10:30 Cali time.

We decided it would be best to hit one of our favorite spots, Leilani's, which we ended up visiting numerous times since we love their food, their view, and of course you can't beat the enticing bribe to "Bring back your receipt on your next visit and get a free hula pie!"

Hello, sweet Hula Pie.

We opted to call it a night rather early to adjust to the time change as much as possible, as soon as possible.

Saturday, February 26

We woke up and decided to hit up a breakfast place we had never tried before, Sea House Restaurant, what a view! We got to start off all of our whale spottings right away as they were active right where we were sitting. I've been to Hawaii many times and through different times of the year but this is by far my favorite, I love seeing all of the whales! While waiting for our breakfast we decided to split a Macadamia Nut Cinnamon Roll. Cue the hallelujah chorus. Good lord that was delicious.

Not good lighting, but our view at breakfast.

After breakfast we headed into Lahaina (the main tourist town in Maui, we stay in Napili which is a few miles down the highway), where we had scheduled a couples Hot Lava Stone Massage. I had originally wanted to book that for later in the week but I thought a massage would NOT be fun if one of us happened to get burnt so I scheduled it for our first day there. It was FANTASTIC and a great way to relax!

After the massage we decided to head back to our condo since it was early afternoon and decided to just spend the rest of the afternoon at the pool building up a little tan before heading out for Happy Hour and dinner that evening.

We did a quick spot at a bar we spotted when checking out a restaurant. It was 4:50 or so and it said Happy Hour 2-5. I dragged the Hubs in there because I also saw $4 Mojitos on their happy hour sign. Seriously, one of the best mojitos I've ever had. We decided to head back to our hotel and we sit out on our Lanai, played a little Mexican Train, watched for some whales, and waited until we got a little hungry for dinner. Here is a shot of us and our views of the garden/pool and ocean from our Lanai.

Sunday, February 27

We decided to wake up a little early and hit up the beach ASAP. We went to one of our favorite snorkeling spots and hung out in the water for a couple of hours playin' around and doing some snorkeling. We came back in early so that we could get ready and take an early afternoon drive to some of the more country side of Maui on the other side where we went and visited the Maui Winery.

A view on the drive to the winery.

The Maui Winery tasting room. Gorgeous grounds!

Maui Winery is fantastic, not only are tastings free which we aren't used to around our wineries here in California but they are so fun and different. What they are really known for is "Maui Splash" which you can only get from their winery or BevMo's in California. It is a Pineapple wine and so different. Hmm... can you ship wine? I'm thinking about a possible giveaway here!

After the winery we started heading back down the hill and noticed our car was acting a little off...

We were kinda loving our car, it was super comfortable but horrible in tight parking spots. We drive an SUV so you wouldn't think parking would be too hard. The more we drove the worse (worst? sorry grammar freaks) it was feeling so since we happened to be on the side of the island as the rental car place we decided to call and inform them of the problem and they told us to swing by and they would switch us cars. Enterprise had FANTASTIC customer service and we were there and in a new car within 15 minutes. This time they gave us a choice of what we wanted which was cool. I was going to go for the convertible but they were out LOL, so we went with an SUV which is always nice.

Monday, February 28

On Sunday I went online to look up a whale watching type excursion for us to do since that is one thing we always love to do. We typically do one that has a reggae band on board and they have appetizers and free tropical concoctions. The ones we liked to do weren't working well with our schedule so I saw one that was a lot cheaper as well, it was a SUNRISE Whale Watching cruise. Since we were still on Cali time I didn't think it would be too hard for us to arrive at 6am to the harbor and oh my gosh, am I SO GLAD we did this. Please people, if you ever are in Maui and want to do a whale watching cruise - DO THIS. The sunrise was gorgeous and the sky was so pretty, the water was like glass, and the whales were everywhere. The Hubs and I both agreed it was the most amazing experience we've had in Maui and whale watching.

Rise and Shine! Sorry for no make-up.

Sun gettin' ready for the day....

There is a law that if you are in a boat and you have a whale come within 100 yards from you, you must turn off your engine. We hardly had our engine on, we have never had whales come as close as they did. This was a day I regret not having a good camera and the hubs agreed because you have to time photos just right and my camera takes forever to shoot the picture. But here are some photos that show you how close some of these whales came. At one point they were within 15 feet!

We spent the rest of the day getting in some serious beach and pool time and making our first stop of the week at Da Beach House. They do surf board and other rentals as well as having an AWESOME Hawaiian Shaved Ice shop. OMG, right here you have a scoop of vanilla ice cream with three flavors -- coconut, banana, and pineapple. Nothing is more refreshing on a warm, humid day in Hawaii!

That night we went to a place called Canoe's and they have a great Happy Hour so we just did appetizers and drinks for dinner, watched the sunset, and then hung out at our hotel room and rented "You Again" (cute movie!) from the local Redbox.

There is our first half of the trip in a nutshell... check back this week for part 2! Sorry for all of the photos!

Excuse My Last Post

2011-03-20T21:34:00.001-07:00

So this is what I get for scheduling a post. Many of you saw the post I posted yesterday that I had previously scheduled. Well it all didn't happen. So while y'all were wishing us well we weren't actually at the casting call. So here's the story...

Friday we decided we would get a hotel in Santa Monica since we were planning on getting to the casting call around 6 am we would have to leave at 5 and get up at 4. I got the hotel on Priceline and we got hooked up at a great Sheraton for a fantastic price. So after work on Friday we packed up a bag real quick, dropped Dakota off for a night of boarding, and faced LA traffic to make our way down there.

First stop was at an amazing restaurant called C&O which had some of the greatest Italian food not to mention those unlimited garlic knots... Oh yum. During dinner the Hubs mentioned he wasn't feeling to hot but I kinda brushed it off.

After dinner we scoped out the casting call location so we could figure out our parking situation and things like that. Hubs mentioned again he wasn't feeling well and would really like to go back to the hotel as soon as possible.

We got to the hotel and the Hubs got in bed pretty much right away while I stayed up showering, blow drying, and hot rolling so I didn't have to get up much earlier to get ready. Finally got to bed around 11:30 and set our wake-up call for 5:15.

Thirty minutes later it started. While sparing details my poor hubby was up the rest of the night. There was no way he was putting himself together to sit in the cold (and possible rain) and putting out his best for the casting call... And there was no way I would ask him to do that. He was MISERABLE.

So I let him rest and we had to check out at noon so I kept us there as long as we could before making the hour drive home. So yes, we missed our casting call and yeah, maybe the hotel wad a waste but what can you do. In all of that pain the hubs did say, "Hey, video tape me in bed and show our hotel room... It could be a good start to a video for us to still send in to Biggest Loser." So I did.

Unfortunately, the hubs still isn't doing well so the weekend has been kinda a bust. Another bust? My March Madness bracket.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

As You Read This...

2011-03-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

...We are sitting in the cold. Possibly in the rain. Not sure as I write this. After all of the heartbreak from not making it on the Biggest Loser at our last try out I was sure I probably wouldn't try again.

You can read about my journey through casting calls, interviews, and on-camera's here, here, here, here, and here.

To say that I was disappointed is an understatement. I wanted it so bad and I felt like I killed it in all of my interviews. After not making the last reality show that we were told we made and then decided to not go with us at the last minute was a heart breaker. I don't even know if I told you guys all of that story... what a dragged out process that was and I wasn't able to blog about any of it since I signed a contract when we thought we were going to be on the show. That show will be on lifetime in the fall... I'll be sure to share it with you when it airs. Basically we were going to live our day to day lives and it was a weight loss show for married couples and you got a personal trainer and counseling as well individually and as a couple for your weight loss issues, etc. It would have been awesome.

So last week we went back and forth on whether we would be going or not and we thought why the hell not. There is a chance we could get the no again but I will *attempt* to not get too attached too soon and give it a shot. We just decided officially we would do it this week. The Casting Call is at the Boys and Girls Club in Venice so it would be about an hour drive. Since we want to get there around 5:30 we would have to leave our home at around 4:30 am. Trying to get a little bit more sleep I decided to hop on Priceline and try to negotiate a good deal that wouldn't drop us in a bad part of LA. I put in 3.5+ stars and $100 and it popped me back with a fantastic Sheraton right on the beach in Santa Monica -- 2.5 miles from the casting call! Awesome. So now we get to enjoy a nice hotel and we'll grab some dinner and have a mini-date vacay like we did last time for the casting call in San Diego.

So as we sit here in the line waiting for the casting to begin at 10am pray we got a good spot in line, it's not raining (or if it is they got us covered), and that we nail our group interview! Hope y'all have a fantastic weekend.

"Different people medicate in different ways, Mo."

2011-03-16T15:15:00.000-07:00

If you know anything about religion or our dear friend Moses and have ever watched the Bachelor then you must read this. A friend of mine on Facebook posted a link to this and I got a good laugh.

{ s o u r c e }

Yes, it's the dialogue of this guy while watching the Bachelor with Moses. And one of my favorite lines? "Wow, how lucky am I to have chosen the most dramatic episode ever as my first!"

Watching the Bachelor With Moses

Moses: What is a television? And how have you encased such a bright fire into this small glass orb?

Bryan: Okay we get it. You don’t know what electricity, light bulbs, and television cameras are. For the sake of this blog post let’s just suspend our disbelief with that stuff and watch the show.

Moses: Whatever you say Pharaoh, it’s your kingdom.

Bryan: Cute.

Tonight on The Bachelor, our most dramatic and controversial episode ever…

Moses: Wow, how lucky am I to have chosen the most dramatic episode ever as my first!

Bryan: Actually, they say that before every episode.

Moses: So they REALLY DO keep getting more dramatic every time?

Bryan: Nope, they just lie to make you want to watch.

Moses: That’s a blatant violation of the 9th commandment!

Bryan: Get used to it. We should see all 10 violated by the 3rd commercial break.

Erica: Okay, if you guys are gonna talk through this whole show I’m going upstairs to watch. (heads upstairs)

Moses: Clever way to not have to worry about writing dialogue for a third person in this blog post.

Bryan: Thank you.

The Bachelor: “Tonight is a group date with 7 of the girls. I’m so excited to hang out with them.”

Moses: Nice house these people live in. And I thought the Tabernacle was pimped out.

Bryan: It was…

Moses: and tell me this. Why do all these sisters look so different? Are they sisters from different concubines?

Bryan: Well, actually…

Moses: Oh and this must be the father, but wow does he look young. Maybe it’s the clean shaven face throwing me off, but he looks way too young to have fathered all of these women.

Bryan: Yeah, these girls aren’t sisters and that’s not the father. That’s Chris Harrison.

Moses: Why is he here?

Bryan: We’ve been asking that since 2002.

Moses: And these virgins are all here to marry the Bachelor?

Bryan: Well actually I don’t know that these girls are…you know what…nevermind. Yes, all these girls would like to be with him.

Moses: Good for him. He should be able to produce much offspring with this willing group of beauties.

Bryan: Well, he’s only picking 1 of them in the end.

Moses: Just one??? Were the dowries unacceptable?

Bryan: No, he only picks one because in our day and age two people fall in love with each other and commit to being with only that person forever. It’s actually kind of great.

Moses: Then why is this man sucking face with his third different girl in five minutes?

Bryan: He’s trying to figure out which one to commit to.

Moses: Where I come from this is not a great way to find a wife.

Bryan: Well, none of the first 14 Bachelors are with the women they gave the final rose to, so I’d say it still isn’t.

The Bachelor: “Dinner was amazing, and then we all grabbed our drinks and headed over to the hot tub.”

Moses: These women are almost naked. Where is this being filmed, Canaan?

Bryan: Close, L.A.

Moses: Does L.A. flow with milk and honey?

Bryan: Yup. Except we call it “cocktails and champagne”.

Moses: and what do the women do during the day? Harvest the fields or prepare leavened cakes?

Bryan: No, they work on their tans and drink the milk and honey.

Moses: Can I tell you something?

Bryan: Yes.

Moses: These Cheez-its really put manna to shame.

The Bachelor: “This rose ceremony truly is one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever had to make in all my life.”

Moses: Why is he handing out roses. Are these considered currency in your land?

Bryan: In some relationships.

Moses: The girl on the far left is very beautiful. Had I been born 3600 years later I might have welcomed her into my tent.

Bryan: Easy there Moses, this is a family blog. Then again, she is a professional hair stylist. She could do a lot with that mangy mop you’re working there.

Moses: Listen buddy, I don’t care how hydrating the shampoo is. Once you’ve seen a glimpse of God’s glory you can never get that bounce back.

Bryan: Fair enough.

Chris Harrison: “Ladies, this is the final rose.”

Moses: Why did the pointless man tell us there was only 1 rose left. We could clearly see that on the screen.

Bryan: Preaching to the choir, buddy.

Moses: I’ve got to admit, even though I have no concept of romantic love this is all pretty riveting.

Bryan: I know, right? Even though my relationship with my toothbrush will last longer than any bond formed on this show, it’s still hard not to watch.

Moses: Wow, he gave the final rose to the girl in the back row over my girl on the far left! This is an outrage!

Bryan: Woah woah woah. Put the staff down, buddy. You try to get water to flow out of my flat screen and you’ll owe me $1200 in shekels and livestock.

Moses: But what will happen to her? Will she get stoned outside the camp?

Bryan: She might. Or she might get hammered on top shelf Cosmo martinis or just eat a bunch of chocolate. Different people medicate in different ways, Mo. In fact, she might even hire a personal trainer, lose another 10 pounds and come back as The Bachelorette in a few months.You never know.

Moses: Wait, there’s another version of this show?

Bryan: Yup. It’s just as awful and just as great.

Moses: Ummm…do you have room in your backyard for a tent?

Bryan: Hey, isn’t that the sound of your pillar of fire moving down the street? You better get a move on.

Moses: Fine, but I’m taking the Cheez-Its with me. Aaron’s gonna love these things.

Bryan: Thou shalt not steal.

Moses: Really, you want to go there with ME?

Bryan: Fine, take ‘em.

Written by Bryan Allain

Gettin' Dolled Up

2011-03-15T14:40:00.000-07:00

On an average day I can put money on the dollar I am wearing jeans and flip flops. Even for work. I know I under dress for work, and I should probably take a little more pride in how I dress for work. But because of the union laws and stuff that are in place they technically can't tell me what my dress code is. So I continue on with my jeans and flip flops. If it's the weekend and all the hubs and I are doing it's flip flops and some yoga pants maybe in place of the jeans. Sure I try to spice up the wardrobe by wearing cute tops, jewelry, and headbands but it doesn't make me look any more professional. I'm going to need to do some serious shopping if and when I get that next job I'm trying to hard to get.

I'm married, and unless the hubs and I are really going out on a big date night or celebrating something I don't really get ready. My hair takes a LOT of work to do so I don't like taking that 30+ minutes to take to dry it and then flat iron it. So it ends up in pony tails and messy buns very often.

So here is what I'm guilty of and the hubs accused me of it this past weekend. I get more dolled up for my friends then I do for my husband. He didn't seem upset at all, but he did make it a point that "You haven't got that cute for me in a while!" You would think I was going on a hot date or something. I whipped out the hot rollers and a cute outfit and I was going out with some friends. How lame of me. Yeah I'm married but should I feel that I don't need to "impress" my husband anymore? I've decided that at least a couple of times a month I need to actually get ready full blown and take some time to pick out a really cute outfit, do my hair, etc. If anyone deserves to see me at my best it's my husband.

Click for larger image.

Have you ever felt guilty of this? I know by many of you fashionistas you probably don't have this problem but I know there has to be some girls out there that might do the same thing (and not notice until now that this might be you). Any advice?

______________________________________________

On a side note... Happy Birthday to my best friend Kristen!

Give and Get is Here!

2011-03-14T15:36:00.000-07:00

Give and Get is Here!: "Enjoy 30% off from March 17-20 at Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy plus we'll make a 5% donation to a non-profit."

If you need to do some shopping for summer, maybe you need some new outfits for work, now is the time! Get 30% off your ENTIRE purchase at any of these places and 5% of your purchase will go to my non-profit of choice, Feeding America. It's a win-win.

I have tons of invites I'm able to give out so if you would like any extra discounts for yourself or others contact me so I can get them emailed to numerous email addresses.

Thanks!

The Weekend Roundup

2011-03-14T11:50:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a great weekend like I did. Friday night wasn't much, we spent some more time just catching up on the DVR from our Maui trip (recap still to come!) and since the hubs hadn't been feeling well we ended up just picking up some dinner rather then going out like we had planned.

Saturday we SLEPT IN, which felt so nice and wasted now that Daylight Savings has sprung upon us and I feel soooo tired. Although I do like it staying light out later I don't like waking up to it being pitch black out. Saturday afternoon I went to my friend's house who was hosting a "Scarf Party". If you would like to check out her company you basically choose your fabrics and your style of scarf and she designs it for you. She is so sweet and she donates 10% of her proceeds to a local feeding house. It's called Edify and you can see her stuff here. I designed a super cute leopard style handkerchief scarf that is the lightest fabric so I'll be able to rock it in the spring too.

Saturday night I had a "Blind Friend Date". What? You've never had one of those? LOL Let me explain... My best friend's boyfriend has a friend from home that supposedly has reminded me of her ever since he met me. He always said he thought we would be best of friends, this friend lives in Colorado. Well we became friends on Facebook (and My Space back in the day) and have chatted it up via the inter-webs for a good three years or so I'd say. It's almost like I forget I've never met the girl. Anyways, her and her husband came to town this past weekend to do some visiting so since they were all going out in Pasadena they invited me to come along so I could finally meet my apparently long lost friend soul mate. We went to a Mexican restaurant and it was so fun to finally meet her... wasn't awkward and I was totally bummed she doesn't live locally. Can't wait until we are able to meet again. I was a bad blogger though and totally forgot to get a photo snapped of us!

Sunday we went to one of our favorite Breakfast spots, Polly's Pies, they make all of their pies and pastries fresh throughout the day. We share an amazing omelet and their homemade cinnamon roll. Seriously, to die for. After that we drove 25 minutes or so to a new area we've been looking at to possibly move to. While we were in Maui we started really talking about where we want to live, what we really want in a house, that type of stuff. We decided we would like to try to find an area to live in that isn't as expensive (which means moving out of the local area) in order to still do things we enjoy like trips to Maui! The area we have looked at the past two weekends in a row is called Canyon Hills (a little community suburb of Lake Elsinore) and we have fallen in love. Filled with tons of young couples and families all around. We would drive around the areas we were looking at and stop people in their front yard just to ask how they like living in the area and things they love or don't love about it. All positive feedback.

With this area we would be able to purchase a brand new home for $60-80,000 cheaper then what we were originally looking at. This area has all brand new schools, dog parks, pools, bbq areas, fireplace pits, etc. It just seems like something that is very us, and it's up in the hills with amazing views all around. It would require a little bit of a drive for work until I/we find something a little more gas-saving but in the meantime we would be able to carpool since the Hubs works for the family business and his hours are what he makes them for the most part. This is definitely something we are seriously looking into and have been talking to some people and have an email out to a lender asking some questions due to our "unique" situation. Next time we'll head out there I'll grab some photos to share with y'all. Here are a few shots I found online of the community.

The evening was spent at my in-laws house and my mom came over since my pop is out of town. We played the family favorite, Mexican Train, and bbq'd up some carne asada. I tried to get to bed early because of the time change but that didn't happen so this morning I had to make a stop at Starbucks since I had a $5 gift card. I grabbed an espresso filled beverage and rather then taking back a card with hardly a dollar on it I decided to try one of their new additions to the menu, Cake Pops. At a buck fifty a pop it's a little steep I guess but I will say it was delightful.

They have birthday cake, rocky road, and tiramisu. As you can see I tried the Rocky Road. It was SUPER moist with almond bits and mini mallows inside and then chocolate dipped with more mini mallows and almonds. Part of their "sweet treats" they are also featuring is a couple flavors of mini cupcakes, some different "square bars", etc.

{All at less then 200 calories a pop, perfect for a sweet tooth indulgence!}

Sunday Funday

2011-03-14T08:28:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I was contacted by a freelance journalist with the LA Times, Kim Kabar, who wanted to speak with me about my blogs and ask me some questions. She was going to be writing about women who blog / blogged while planning their wedding and the whole wedding blog community. I was really excited about it and eagerly answered a bunch of her questions.

I had kinda forgotten about the article until last Thursday I got an email from Kim saying that my article would be in the paper that Sunday. Sunday morning hit and I woke up to a couple of tweets or Facebook messages saying I was spotted in the LA Times! I made the hubs head on downstairs to grab our paper outside and he flipped through it to find the debut.

{This was the article on the LA Times Website - Click for larger image}

{Quick snap of the article I took to post on Facebook}

It was really excited to see what she wrote about, and really fun to see that two other brides she featured in the article happened to be Mrs. Poodle and Mrs. Stripes! You can see the article here but at one point the article link might get broken so here is the complete article:

When Laura Lewis checked her e-mail on her wedding day, she found her inbox full of good wishes from complete strangers. For nearly a year prior to her Newport Beach wedding last April, the 26-year-old Lewis chronicled every aspect of her nuptial planning on her blog, With This Ring, I Thee Blog.

The e-mails, Facebook messages and Twitter tweets that Lewis received on the day she married 25-year-old Brad Lewis were from her blog readers and fellow bloggers, most of whom she'd never met. A few readers even sent wedding cards to the couple's Ontario home, she said.

"When I first started looking for wedding inspiration, I kept finding myself on wedding blogs," said Lewis, an administrative assistant at Cal Poly Pomona. "I thought it was such a great way to record my journey while helping other brides with [their] inspiration as well."

The latest

For many brides-to-be, blogs have become the go-to resource for wedding planning. Many of these blogs offer instant information, from tutorials on how to create homemade bouquets, invitations and even bridal gowns to suggestions on wedding-day jewelry, hairstyles and shoes, said Lewis, who has since created a blog called Happy Hour with a Housewife, where she writes about being a newlywed.

"When I became engaged I realized that not everyone wants to talk weddings 24/7 if they aren't engaged, too," Lewis said. "Having this online community allowed me to talk about it as much as I wanted with people who cared about weddings as much as I did."

Tabitha Johnson, 30, decided a year prior to exchanging vows with Cynthia Evans, 30, last September to write a blog that she titled Ms. Awesome Weds.

Johnson, who now hyphenates her last name to include Cynthia's last name, began blogging a year prior to her outdoor celebration at the Heritage Square Museum in L.A. In her blog, Evans-Johnson, of L.A., shared the details of how she and her girlfriend, a professional cheese-monger, created their "vintage/whimsical/country-chic" event with handmade, recycled and store-bought creations.

"I think throwing a wedding in Los Angeles for around $10,000 dollars is pretty creative in and of itself," said Evans-Johnson. "In fact, I mostly chose and shared DIY projects, [including our] lino-cut print invitations, hand-painted flags for our guests to wave, chalkboard name stickers so our guests would hang on to one beverage container all evening, hand-sewn striped table runners, and my brooch bouquet, in order to have the fun, stylish event we dreamed of on a pretty small budget."

One of Evans-Johnson's favorite projects she shared with her readers was the creation of invitations on which she drew and carved a heart composed of flowers. She based her design on the vintage enamel brooch bouquet she carried down the aisle. Evans-Johnson then placed each in a vellum envelope closed with baker's twine. She then stamped little pieces of muslin with their guests' names to dangle from the twine.

"[Blogging] made me accountable," said Evans-Johnson, a costume designer/stylist. "I would mention a project on my blog or show a few pictures of a project in the works and then readers would get excited and want to see more. So, I'd actually finish the project just so I could blog about it."

About three months after launching her blog, Evans-Johnson began to also post her blog entries to Weddingbee, a website updated several times a day by brides who share their ups and downs as they prepare to walk down the aisle. Weddingbee does not drive traffic back to the bride's original website, but its large audience allows for many replies to the blogger.

"Weddingbee is a nice online community full of creative, interesting ladies, and a few men I imagine, so you get good feedback and support, and, hopefully, can inspire a much larger audience," remarked Evans-Johnson.

According to its website, Weddingbee.com receives about a million page views each month. The site requires brides and grooms-to-be, who already have their own individual blogs, to complete an application if they are interested in sharing their blogs on Weddingbee's website. Weddingbee looks for brides with excellent writing skills and a willingness to write no fewer than three entries per week.

Once accepted as one of the website's 20 to 25 yet-to-be-married and already-married blogging "bees," Weddingbee gives the blogger a unique moniker to protect her anonymity. Johnson-Evans writes under the name "Ms. Stripes." Evans-Johnson has since dropped the "weds" from Ms. Awesome Weds and now blogs on her new site, www.msawesome.com. She also continues to post her blog entries, now as "Mrs. Stripes," on the Weddingbee website.

"Weddingbee was one of the first wedding blogs that I discovered shortly after getting engaged and was always one of my favorites," she said. "I loved the variety of brides blogging there and enjoyed following along with various bees on their wedding journey."

Reader comments made the time spent blogging worthwhile, she said. "I've gotten some lovely e-mails and comments from readers telling me how inspiring it's been for them to find and follow another gay couple planning a wedding. I love that simply living and writing openly about our often mundane, but also awesome, lives is an inspiration ... to others."

A place for help

Johanna Kelley created her blog, Ken and Joy — A Wedding Planning Story, about three months after her engagement to 25-year-old firefighter Ken Kelley. Within months, the 28-year-old industrial and web designer began sharing her blog on Weddingbee under the name Ms. Poodle.

They married last April on a relative's ranch in Hesperia. The couple used recycled materials for most of the decorations in an attempt to go 'green' while being budget friendly," the bride said. "We are not environmentalists, but we try to respect our planet as much as we can," she said. "When we started planning our wedding we both decided we wanted to recycle as much as possible and cause the [least] environmental impact possible."

The Kelleys used recycled paper for all their paper projects and the bride used recycled materials in her and her bridesmaids' dresses and accessories.

"I blogged about all my ideas and ways to save money hoping I could inspire other brides to try to go green and save money in their weddings with a focus on do-it-yourself projects," said Johanna Kelley.

Blogging brides are providing other women possibly the most up-to-date street trends in wedding design.

"I think blogging was a huge part of our wedding planning and it helped a lot," said Johanna Kelley, who resides with her husband in Crestline, Calif.

"Many times I asked for advice and most readers went above and beyond to help me."

After blogging about her desire to wear purple cowgirl boots at her wedding, she received 20 e-mails from readers with links to purple footwear. Eventually, one link led her to find a pair of vintage cowgirl boots for only $20.

"There were several other occasions where readers helped me and, eventually, I got to know and meet a few of them and we are friends to this day," she said.

— Kim Kabar, Custom Publishing Writer

Thank you Kim for the opportunity and for all of the people that checked out my blog this weekend because of the article. Now I just wish I would have been smart enough to actually have blogged about something interesting last week for people to see when they saw the article and came to find my blog.

Handwriting

2011-03-11T10:11:00.000-08:00

As I've been catching up on my Google reader I've been taking part in fun little things that I missed, this post being one of them. Speaking of my Google reader, after not reading for probably close to three weeks I started on Monday and have been reading off and on all day since while at work. It STILL says "1000+" and not knowing how far past the 1000 is scary. But I'm trying to skim the majority of the posts, and hit up some comments here and there!

One of the things I missed was looking at different handwriting styles. Over the years I feel like my writing has changed especially how I did certain letters in Jr. High, and then a little different in High School, and a few changes after. I at one point went through a phase of writing in all caps I think when I was in Jr High or early high school and that still shines through as depending on how fast I'm writing I often make my R's capital and I NEVER will write a lower case Q.

There were some questions you had to answer to do the writing. I did it twice because I truly have two writing styles. When I'm just jotting things down it's typically the first set, that's what I see most often. It tends to be a mix of some cursive, capital letters, and randomness. The letters also tend to not always be the same based on what letters they might be connected to. Things that other people will see, or if I was taking notes for a class or something I will do the second set. When taking notes for classes that weren't done on my lap top I always wanted very neat and organized. I was none to often re-write notes if I got a little sloppy. I'm anal like that.

Here are the questions that were asked that you have to write:

1) What is your name or name you go by on the blog?
2) What is the name of your blog or your blog URL?
3) Write "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."
4) What is a favorite quote?
5) What is your favorite song at the moment?
6) Who is your favorite band or artist?
7) Write anything you want.
8) Write the names of some people you would like to repost this.

Click image for larger view.

If you did this or are going to do it be sure to post! Have you changed your writing styles throughout the years or stayed pretty similar. I know one friend who's writing has looked identical for the past fifteen years!

Name Game

2011-03-10T11:11:00.000-08:00

I saw this posted on a few blogs as I've been truckin' along on my Google reader so I thought I would take part. I know some people might not like reading these but I enjoy them as I feel it's these silly little things that make me feel like I know someone just a little bit more.

1. How did your parents decide on your name?
My mom's whole pregnancy they didn't know if they were going to have a boy or girl but knew if it was a girl it would be Brooke Frances and if it was a boy it would be Joseph Nicholas VI. Obviously you know the outcome of the sex but you know my name is not Brooke. The day I was born my grandma told my mom she didn't look Brooke and thought when I was older they would call me "Babbling Brooke". Although the amount that I talk it would have been a good nickname my parents changed it to their second favorite, Laura Frances. My middle name is after my mother's dad, Francis (Frank), and they gave me the female version of his name. So my dad's name was no longer able to be carried on.

2. Do your initials (first/middle/last) spell anything funny?
I went from LFK to LFL so yeah, nothing funny. I do have a friend who's an ASS which is pretty funny I'd say. I was always tempted to give her something monogrammed.

3. Did you take your middle name from childhood or did you drop your middle name & take your maiden name as your middle name? (Or if unmarried, what do you plan to do?)
I definitely didn't have a huge attachment to my maiden name. The fact that it was mispronounced more then it was pronounced correctly was enough for me to give it the ax. Mispronouncing someones name already sucks, mispronouncing it as "Cunts" is a whole other story.

4. Are you or will you name your children systematically? (ie, same first letter, same origin, etc)
Definitely not, none of our kiddos names we've picked out are on a system... who knows though once we actually have kids what direction it will go.

5. Did you decide on baby names as a little girl? Did you stick to them or change your mind?
I've changed my mind because I've either gotten over it or a friend of mine has used the name for their own child. The two names I remember loving when I was little was Alexandria and Mackenzie.

6. Does your family have any names that have been passed down through generations?
My dad was Joseph Nicholas the Third. I don't think we will name a son Joseph Nicholas but I will definitely want to at least part of his name a name or middle name if we have a boy.

7. Do you look at the meaning of the name or just the name itself?
My parents obviously didn't. Laura means "Laurel Crowned"... uhm, awesome. I got a plant halo on my head I guess? Anyways, that definitely won't be a deciding factor but just for information sake I'm sure we will research meanings before we make sure.

8. Do you name pets with human names or pet names?
I've only had one pet that had a "pet" name and that was Sneakers when I was little. Oh wait, that's a lie... I've also had Budweiser, Peaches, and Sundance. Unless you're a stripper I doubt you'll never your daughter Peaches. Other then that we've had names that could be for people but not as common -- like Rosie, Dakota, Bentley, etc.

9. Are their any names that you have an affinity or dislike for based on a childhood experience/someone you once knew?
I don't really although I know if someone said a name that reminded me of a childhood experience I would get rid of it. I have said a good amount of names where the Hubs responds, "That just sounds like a douche!" So I'm assuming there is a bad memory there. LOL

10. What are some of your favorite names & why?
I'm not gonna lie, we only share our names with a couple of people and promised we wouldn't say them everywhere. Although we change our mind A LOT the last thing we want is someone we know to take a name they heard us say before we are able to have kids. We're selfish like that.

Comment below if you took part and link it up!

40 Bags, 40 Days: My Attempt at Spring Cleaning

2011-03-09T12:12:00.001-08:00

Confession: I hate cleaning. Like hate it. I love having a clean house, but the process of doing more then a pick up, wipe down, or quick vacuum takes me forever to get the motivation. But damn does it feel good when it's done.

On a blog I saw someone taking part in a challenge called "40 bags, 40 days". They basically start on Ash Wednesday and you make a list of all of the places you will declutterize over the next forty days.

My goal is to not only purge these areas but to do a good thorough cleaning in this specific spot as I purge. For example, not only will I clean out my walk-in closet but I will then organize it and vacuum it out. Cleaning products will be on hand -- I plan on having magic erasers, paper towels or rags, spray cleaners, the vacuum, and the hand vac at all stops along the way. My goal is to literally touch everything making sure that I go through each item and make one of three decisions:

1) Keep it - Put it into an organized fashion.
2) Trash it - Heading straight to the outside trash so I don't second guess anything.
3) Give it - Go into my donate pile that will be taken to Goodwill.

I obviously don't have forty rooms in my house so I broke down everything in fairly small quantities hoping to make it not as overwhelming. A few of them will take some time like my closet but some of my tasks should take no more then twenty minutes if I don't get distracted.

I have a visual in mind. I try to have a visual that what if I had to show my house that very same day to a potential renter or purchaser. Getting a solid clean and purge will not only make it great to have people in the home but also make moving at some point a lot easier. Even if you aren't moving sometimes it's good to try having an eye as if you were a perspective buyer. I know I get so used to my house that I often don't see all the crap and clutter.

So I'm going to share with you my list to give you an idea of what I'm working with. I have 24 tasks on my list which covers every inch of my house pretty much and tasks 25-30 are just cleaning in small increments once I clean out all of the areas.

1. Master Bathroom -- Upper linen closet.
2. Master Bathroom -- Lower linen closet.
3. Master Bathroom -- Vanity and under sink.
4. Master Bedroom -- Walk-in Closet
5. Guest Bedroom -- Both Closets
6. Guest Bedroom -- Laundry Piles
7. Upstairs Hallway Linen Closet
8. Guest Bedroom -- All of the room.
9. Family Room -- Entertainment Nook
10. Office Nook
11. Dining Room
12. Pantry -- Large
13. Pantry -- Upper Small
14. Pantry -- Lower Small
15. Kitchen -- Cupboards
16. Kitchen -- Bar
17. Understairs Closet Storage
18. Cupboards under 1/2 Bath and Kitchen Sink
19. Kitchen -- Drawers
20. Garage -- Laundry Area
21. Garage -- Workshop Bench
22. Garage -- Storage Shelves (Buy and Label Tubs)
23. Garage -- East Side
24. Jewelry Armoire
25. Cleaning -- Master Bathroom
26. Cleaning -- Vacuum & Dust Upstairs
27. Cleaning -- Vacuum Stairs
28. Cleaning -- Vacuum and Steam Mop Downstairs
29. Cleaning -- Downstairs Bathroom
30. Cleaning -- Kitchen

So there is my list, let me know if you decide to participate. I think it is more likely to happen this way then trying to say you will take a weekend to do the whole house. I will keep you updated after I complete my list (or don't? lol) or during my journey of completion.

Sexy Feet! Sexy Feet!

2011-03-09T09:48:00.000-08:00

Saw this video and had to share. I've only watched a snippet of one episode of Toddlers & Tiaras and this was ridiculously accurate to what I've seen on that and clips on The Soup. Not to mention I lurvvvve Tom Hanks... if you have a few minutes and want a good laugh, you must watch!

Make Yourself Useful: Coffee Filters

2011-03-08T11:36:00.000-08:00

Many of you have not moved onto the Keurig obsession yet and that's okay, this list may still be helpful to you. Others who have hopped onto the Keurig train like the Hubs and I might be stuck with stacks and stacks of coffee filters without a purpose. Of course there's a purpose! A few months back I found a list of coffee filter uses and my mom and I even added our own. Since making our list we've both printed it out and put it on the inside of our pantry as a reminder.

These ideas you might realize can come in handy or even help you come up with other uses. I haven't gotten into the habit like I would like to but I notice my mom always using them, especially when my Grandma was still living at home.

So here you have it... making use of a coffee filter for something other then filtering your coffee!

1. Cover a bowl or dish when cooking in the microwave to prevent splatter.

2. Protect China, pans, etc. Place a filter between each dish to prevent scratches or damage.

3. Cleaning windows and mirrors. This is one of my favorites to use them for! Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling without the link that often gets left behind.

4. Ever have a problem with breaking a cork when trying to open a wine bottle? Put the filter over the top (try securing it with a rubberband!) and filter the wine through the coffee filter.
5. If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.
6. Weighing chopped foods. You can place the chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale. Will keep your scale clean, will prevent cross contamination, and you don't have to try transferring items without dropping things.
7. Tacos, sandwiches, etc. My mom used this one for my grandma all of the time. Make a quick grilled cheese during lunch time. Pop it into the coffee filter and you have a nice little holder to help with some mess.
8. We all know it's a bad idea to take the bag of pretzels or trail mix with you to the couch. Pour some into a coffee filter and have the perfect snack size.
9. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.

10. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping onto your hands (perfect for the kiddos). Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter and slide the stick end through the holes.

11. Do you use expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee filters instead.

12. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc. on them. Soaks out all the grease.

13. Keep in the bathroom. They make great “razor nick fixers.”

14. Prevent rust in your cast iron skillet. Place one on the skillet when not in use to absorb excess moisture.
15. Working with nails or screws around the house? Put them in a coffee filter to keep them from rolling off the table while you are at work.
16. Odor absorber. Put some baking soda in a filter and tie it off with string or a rubber band. You can place it in gym shoes, fridge, etc.
17. Spill something on the couch or seats in your car? Use the filter to blot the liquids and it won't leave that bally mess like paper towels do.
18. Use it to clean glasses or electronics -- perfect for iPads and phones!
19. Use it to apply shoe polish.

Do you have any other ideas of what you could use a coffee filter for? I'm thinking of doing a couple more series on random things around the house that you can make useful as well.

Flight Home Entertainment

2011-03-06T21:00:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone... I feel like I haven't blogged in forever. Probably because I haven't. Right now I'm listening to Chronicles of Narnia in the background on the plane praying for smoothness soon so I can get a Ginger ale.

In the meantime I wanted to share that I plan on getting back to blogging next week and I hope to start tackling my reader that must be at 2500+ by now. I'm scared to even know.

Our trip in Maui was nothing short of fabulous and I can't wait to do a little blogging about our trip.

Aloha and talk to y'all soon!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Preparing for Loss

2011-02-21T09:41:00.000-08:00

How can you prepare for a loss? You really can't. I haven't lost any close family members since I was probably around the age of 10 years old. I don't think it had an impact on my like it currently would at my age.

About two weeks ago we got a call from my in-laws that the Hubs only Aunt had something happen to her, she was in the hospital, and all is okay for now. We kept praying for her and things would go up and down. After not even a week she came down with pneumonia and thinks weren't looking great but not quite horrible yet either. On this past Thursday we got a call saying we should probably go visit her soon as they weren't sure how she would be.

The hub's parents got in on Friday evening so we had scheduled to visit his Aunt in the hospital that next afternoon. We got a call that they would be moving her from the hospital to a hospice center so due to the move and everything we decided to wait until Sunday to go.

Sunday came and we headed out there not knowing what was about to take place. It was apparently the one time since she's been sick that just about the entire family was there at one time. We went in and although she was weak and kept her eyes clothes she knew everything we all said and would respond with a few words here and there. After about thirty minutes of visiting and such we all decided to circle around her and pray. This is where I experienced something I never was expecting that day and have never experienced before.

As we gathered around dear Aunt Sharron we told her that we didn't want her to hurt, and that we wanted her to go when she felt ready. Watched her three daughters made it extremely difficult for me as I am very close with my mother and couldn't imagine what they are going through. Once we were done praying the daughters and some others stepped out to try and compose themselves. Brad and I sat on the couch in the room and I just began to comfort him as I watched Brad's uncle sitting there with his wife that he had loved and spent his life with for over fifty years. After a few moments we saw him get up and kiss her and tell her he loved her. Moments later she passed. We lost it.

I've never seen my husband the way I saw him on Sunday. I saw him have a breakdown that I'm not sure he was even aware he could experience. I almost didn't go on Sunday, and how horrible would I have felt if I wasn't there for the first big moment he needed his wife the most?

It was a sad experience but now Aunt Sharron is pain-free and in a better place. We have her services tomorrow so I'm actually out of work sooner then I was planning this week and we leave for Maui on Friday. I'm so excited to get away for that trip! Now it's much needed!

And on another note, if you haven't voted yet if you could please go vote for our proposal story. You don't have to sign up for anything you just click on THIS LINK and press the "heart vote" button and your vote counts... simple as that! One vote per IP address so you can vote multiple times if you are on different computers, phones, iPads, etc. Thanks again!

'Member Me?

2011-02-14T11:33:00.000-08:00

Hellllllo my dear readers. I know I have been the worst blogger lately. I just have seriously been busier then I've ever been at work. So in the little bit of time I have had during the day it has all been dedicated to job hunting and looking for renters.

On the job hunting end I got really into it full swing a couple of weeks ago applying for dozens and dozens of jobs. I got an interview that was supposed to be scheduled for this afternoon but after thinking about it allllll weekend and talking about it with the hubs I just realized it was too much of a parallel move for me. Why waste their time and mine? Since I have a job and don't HAVE to have a new job at this moment I want to look out for the perfect job. Which I've applied for two FANTASTIC positions that I truly hope to hear from really soon. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

When it comes to renting out our place that is a lotttt of work and I haven't been able to dedicate as much time to that as I've wanted to. I'm so scared to rent the condo out and I'm also really picky on who has been inquiring. Also, people are a bunch of flakes! Ugh, stop wasting my time. I'm thinking of just paying the commission fee and having my realtor post it on the MLS website so I don't have to think about getting it reposted on places like eBay classifieds and Craigslist. Anybody have any good advice who have rented a property before? Good places to list things? Thanks!

I have a ton of things sitting in my draft folder and I really hope to try and get into knocking some of those out this week. But after only these few hours so far on a Monday it looks like this is already shaping up to be a hectic week!

Finally, the hubs and I had a story that was chosen for voting for a trip to Costa Rica. I didn't realize our story was chosen until this morning so I'm a little behind already on campaigning (if you are friends with me on Facebook and Twitter you already know lol). The leader has around 130 votes at the moment and I'm in 5th place with around 27. You can only vote once from an IP address... so feel free to use your work computer, personal computer, iPads, phones, etc. and I would love you FOREVER. The hubs wanted to do a $100 gift certificate if we win to the person who votes the most but we have no way of tracking that. So instead I just send you lots of thank you's! It literally takes only three seconds... you don't need to sign up or use an email address just go to this link that has our story and click on the little heart that says vote and you're good!

http://emediamoguls.com/MAGIC/?p=225

Thanks so much and any rental advice or job openings in southern California are welcome! :)

Project: Pioneer Woman - App Attack

2011-02-07T11:02:00.000-08:00

So I had mentioned it a few times on Twitter and it got added to my 101 in 1001 list a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to cook through the entire Pioneer Woman cookbook (ala Julie/Julia). Since deciding we were going to be moving out I've been doing a lot less frequent shopping trips so wasn't sure how many of these I would be getting done in recent time.

When I found out we were going to be attending a potluck super bowl party I knew it was time to bring out the big guns and bring something that would really bring some yum to the table rather then the basics.

I flipped through the book and two stuck out at me and screamed "super bowl food" -- the hot artichoke dip and the BBQ bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers.

Hot Artichoke Dip

You can't find this recipe on her blog but she does have one very similar and sounds mighty tasty, Hot Olive & Artichoke Dip. Pretty much the same process just some additions/changes in the ingredients/amounts.

I prepped the dip ahead of time and kept it in my casserole serving dish with some foil in my fridge until later that afternoon when we headed to the party. I popped it in the oven once I arrived there for about 20 minutes and pulled it out so it would be hot and fresh for everyone. The game still wasn't starting for about 30 minutes and this dip was GONE before Christina Aguilara could butcher the National Anthem.

Pioneer Woman listed it as an Easy recipe with a prep time of 10 minutes. I often don't fall into the prep time category since I'm horrible with time management with cooking. This recipe was as easy as she said and just as quick. I took out the step of the food processor by purchasing my artichokes already diced and I ran another quick knife through them. Less dishes make me happy and the food processor is a chore to clean. I threw all of the ingredients into the Kitchenaid Mixer and poured it into the dish and it was ready to go. The only other change I made to the recipe was using Tabasco sauce instead of cayenne pepper since I didn't have any on hand. I added a good amount and it gave it a great kick.

I sliced up fresh french baguette's from the grocery store bakery and it was perfection.

You can find the Hot Artichoke Dip featured in her cookbook HERE.

BBQ Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

Helllllllo lover. On Pioneer Woman's blog she has "Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Thingies" which is very similar but a lot more simplified version. I would say it is definitely an easy recipe but the prep time was out of this world for me. It took me an hour to prep these bad boys and that was with a little help of the hubs.

Cutting and hollowing out 18 jalapenos is a lot of work! Not to mention I did end up with seeds everywhere. I did wear gloves with cut down on the burning of my eyes later on I'm sure. The mixture was super easy for the stuffing -- I just threw in the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and green onions in the Kitchenaid Mixture and the hubs started stuffing while I wrapped them in the bacon.

I didn't have any toothpicks like I thought I did so I didn't have those to secure them. I thought they actually stayed just fine in the oven though and were fine without them. One thing she mentions on her blog but NOT in the book is to put them on a rack on a pan. Why I didn't think of this I have no idea, so mine didn't have a place for the bacon grease to escape. Luckily they were able to just drain fine on some paper towels but they were sitting on a lot of grease which was kinda gross at first.

These were so delicious and if you are good at hollowing out the jalapeno (making sure there are NO SEEDS OR MEMBRANES) then they are tolerable for just about anyone in my opinion. I did some that had seeds and some that didn't so there were some with a little more kick. Before popping them in the oven the little extra touch is she brushes some BBQ sauce on them. I didn't have any BBQ sauce like I thought I did but I did have some Garlic Steak Sauce that I used instead and I thought gave it a great garlic flavor as well.

One thing PW mentions at the end of the recipe is putting these on a burger. And although I didn't try it, I know damn well those would be delicious on a burger.

You can find the BBQ Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Popper Recipe featured in her cookbook HERE.

Project: Pioneer Woman Completed: 2 of ?*

*Need to get the official count on how many recipes are in the actual cookbook.

Review: CSN Stores

2011-02-04T09:25:00.000-08:00

If you haven't checked out CSN Stores it's a must! I have talked about them a few times on the blog and I've been nothing but satisfied with the numerous purchases I've made through them. With over 200 online stores, you can find everything from stylish furniture, leather messenger bags, or great cookware!

Since purchasing our new furniture I've really wanted to completely redo the room and one of the first decor purchases I wanted to make was some end table lamps for next to our bed. I often keep our fan light on dim when I fall asleep but it would be nice if we both had our own controls next to our bed for reading, etc.

I'm in the process of going through the thousands of end table lamps right now and picking out some that I think will go just right in our bedroom. I can't believe the selection! I will be sure to let you know about my selection and what I think of the product!

*I will be given credit to use towards my purchase for writing a review.

SB Weekend

2011-02-02T05:00:00.000-08:00

Although I've always been much more into college football then NFL, this year I watched a lot more NFL then usual. Being into NFL or not I'm always a big fan of Superbowl Sunday! I love the gambling, the time with friends, great commercials, and some good competition... of course we can't forget the great food and beer that is typically involved! I'm also very much looking forward to one of my faves, the Black Eyed Peas for the half time show!

For the party I'm attending this year I decided I would take two dishes and I would pick something to start my "Project: Pioneer Woman". I'm going to be pulling a "Julie/Julia" thing and cook my way through her cookbook since there are so many recipes I want to try and I will be blogging about it as well... it was the hubs idea and I think he just wanted to guarantee a chance to try every drool worthy meal in that cookbook. The two recipes I chose are her BBQ Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Thingies and her Hot Artichoke Dip (Can't link, it's in her book and not on her blog.)! I went through her book and those seemed like two apps that were definitely ~~Weight Watcher~~ Super Bowl friendly! Last year I made this fave that was demolished! It is the healthier version of the classic done over by Hungry Girl and it's seriously the bomb dot com -- Buff Chick Hot Wing Dip!

What are some of your fave Super Bowl foods? Who are you rooting for on the big day?

Go Packers!

CONTEST & GIVEAWAY: Grab Bag

2011-02-01T11:08:00.000-08:00

Do you have a picture that resembles something it's not supposed to be (ex: As My Junk)? Maybe you are told all the time you look like someone? I'm not going to make any intense rules besides that you just need to submit a funny photo and it has to be your own original photo. I'm basically using y'all for my own personal enjoyment and maybe a good laugh! :) Here was a little of my inspiration...

Is that Joshua Jackson and Carl from Up I see?!

(Thanks for the inspiration, KJPugs & Ambergontrail!)

Accidental photo bombers!

I will get the top picks with the help of the hubs and friends (so I'm not biased and KJ and Amber could still submit if they wanted!) and if they can't narrow it down we will open it up to voting for the top contenders.

The winner will receive a grab bag with a few of my favorite things including a gift card! I promise it will be something ANYONE would enjoy receiving in their mailbox!

So here is what you have to do:

1) Email me a photo to { happyhourhousewife@gmail.com } and include your Name, Blog (if you have it so I can link to it), Your Photo, and any caption or description you feel necessary.

2) Comment here saying you emailed me something so I can make sure I receive all submissions. I will contact you if you comment saying you sent something and I don't see it in my inbox. Gmail can be fickle.

You have until Monday, February 7 to submit your photo goods and I will start showcasing the submissions and start the process in picking a winner!

Purge. Eat. Save.

2011-01-27T16:06:00.000-08:00

Ever since I realized we were going to be moving out of our home in anywhere from who knows -- two weeks or two months? I realized grocery shopping should get limited and no more Costco runs. I have so much stuff I know I could make out of our freezer and pantry I knew I needed to get creative.

On Monday I decided first I would clean out the fridge and freezer. I got rid of everything that was past it's prime and organized a little better so I had an idea of what I had. I then started making a list of EVERY meal I could make to get rid of what I had. I wanted to not only be able to save money by doing this but then limit the amount I would then throw away, transport, or donate when the time came for us to do the final move.

When you walk into the kitchen I have a white board that has hooks for our keys and I hang my apron. Typically I write reminders that I forget to look at and lately it's been blank. I decided to list all of the meals I could come up with, with what I had and I was going to start cooking those at least 5 days a week until we run out or move. So far I crossed off Pioneer Woman's Sour Cream Enchiladas (FYI, these are the BOMB!) and Jack Daniels Pulled Pork (This is the BEST for a meal you need in 3 minutes) on Hawaiian rolls!

Now I don't have to think about what to cook and if the hubs wants some input he can look at the list and say what he's in the mood for. This is great for our situation now and it will definitely be something I keep up with once we move into our own place again. Great way to not forget what you purchase and end up throwing out and to get the most bang for your grocery buck!

I'm thinking maybe paint the inside of the pantry door with chalkboard paint and then after every grocery trip I can write in the new meals purchased! Something like this idea:

Just one more way to attempt at saving some money while we move out. How do you keep organized with your meals? Are we the only ones who unfortunately end up throwing a lot of food away?

PSA: Album Deal

2011-01-25T14:42:00.001-08:00

The Wedding album was one thing I didn't want to go cheap on. As much as I wanted to do one of those gorgeous flat magazine albums spending hundredssss of dollars just wasn't in the budget for us. So I know for sure I wasn't going to do just a typical Shutterfly or Snapfish album -- although I've been 100% happy with their work in the past I wanted something that just had a look that was a little more "fancier" looking for the coffee table.

When I saw a Groupon today for Photobook America and it was $35 for $115 towards the site I thought it was definitely worth looking into. I did my parent albums through My Publisher to try them out and was 100% satisfied and thought the album turned out gorgeous but since they are still pricey this seemed like it could be a great deal.

I asked people on Twitter if anyone has used them and I checked out some reviews online and on Weddingbee only to find GREAT things to say about them. It seems like this would be top notch for a wedding album and I purchased my Groupon. This is available for the next three days so if you are interested check it out HERE.

P.S. Then you can also use one of Photobook America's deals they have going on which is if you "Like" their page on Facebook you get 40% off. Love deals.

DIY: Old Skirt Lampshade

2011-01-25T09:58:00.000-08:00

Saw this last week and I just had to share. What a cute feminine lamp you can have hung over a bed or maybe your office desk.

All you need is the lamp shade, a hemma cord set, an old skirt (hit up the thrift store), a glue gun, and a spray paint of your choosing...

Spray paint the inside of the lamp that you will see from below. This one was done with a glitter gold. Then you can hot glue the skirt to the inside rim of your lamp and let it just fall over (make sure your skirt will be long enough - no minis here!) the lamp into place...

Wa-lah... an easy, cute lamp that I think would also be cute in a nursery or little girls room!

{via Ikea Hacker}

Ch-ch-ch-ch-channnnges!

2011-01-24T13:35:00.000-08:00

Boy have things changed in our plans and they will be taking some huge changes in my life. I explained to you last week about some houses we were looking at and talking to our loan officer about what our different options are.

I'm not going to go into all of the details but in a nutshell we are so upside down in our current home (thanks economy!) we can't sell it and we haven't been able to build up enough equity yet. In order to purchase a new home and not have your current home show as "debt" when trying to get qualified you must have 30% equity in the home which we are no where near.

Basically it could be yearrrrrrrrrrs before we are able to sell the house or get even close to having enough equity in the home so in order to not show that debt when getting approved of the loan we need to show 6 months of canceled checks showing that we have been renting out our home and are not wanting to / needing to make TWO mortgage payments. With that, they want us to have an "emergency fund" that they can see that shows hey we have this money for if the renter bails we can pay for it until we find a renter or also that we have money to fix things in the home as a landlord.

In order to do any of that we need to move out of our current home and rent it out. So where do we go? Well if we want to kick ass and save all the money that would typically be going into our mortgage and utilities we move into a place that is F-R-E-E. That's where my in-laws come in.

My in-laws have graciously opened up there home for the Hubs and I to live in for the next six months. Honestly, I'm so blessed to know I really do love my in-laws and they have a fairly large home. Without those two things I probably would never consider it.

By making this HUGE sacrifice we will be able to do some big steps for us that will end up being a blessing. We will be able to spend the next six months spending $1600 that is typically paid on our utilities and mortgage towards an automatic savings for the home we currently have, more to add to our down payment, and even bring our credit card down. We then plan that after six months if God has blessed us with a good renter and all seems well we will be able to finally purchase our "dream home" on our own without the help of anyone else and still own our current home as an investment or to sell once the market picks back up again if that ever happens.

I ask that you guys keep my situation in your prayers and thoughts as I begin the journey of being a land lord and trying to find tenants that seem like a good responsible fit. It will be a big sacrifice and some adjusting but I think it's a small sacrifice for such a large blessing possibly in the outcome.

Blow Up Wedding

2011-01-24T08:56:00.000-08:00

Ever think, wow how can my wedding be different?
Well here you go. Your welcome.

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

2011-01-20T14:59:00.000-08:00

Many of my friends know I have an obsesssssion with flash mobs of all sorts. So now you put one together with a wedding and I'm all over that! I saw this one today and just had to share. It was so sweet to have all their guests participate, and I even love the chuppah that popped up for the ceremony by what seems like it could have been a mom or something. Enjoy!

101 in 1001: The List

2011-01-20T08:54:00.000-08:00

Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days. Tasks must be specific with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (i.e. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days? Many people have credited lists in the past -- frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks.

I struggled after about 80 and decided to take some time away from the list. A week later I went back and was able to add a bunch more. After doing a recount I found that I actually had 117 on my list. I will keep all 117 with the goal that I will for sure complete AT LEAST 101 of the tasks. You can follow my progress once I add a tab to the top of my blog that will have the latest list.

For every task UNDER 101 that I do not complete I will do a "pay it forward" task or make a donation. Every time I do complete a task though I will put $25 towards a credit card that has not been paid off or into a savings. If I complete 101 tasks that will be $2,525 paid off or in savings.

Be inspired. Make your own list! Leave a comment below if you have or will be making your own list and leave the link when you do. I will choose a commenter at random to receive a prize.

_______________________________________________________

Key

Plain - To Do
Italicized - In Progress
Bold - Goal Achieved
Bold and Linked - Goal Achieved and Blogged About

_______________________________________________________

My 101

Start Date: Thursday, January 20, 2011
End Date: Friday, October 18, 2013
Last Updated: 1.20.2011
Current Goals in Progress: 0
Complete: 0 of 101

_______________________________________________________

+ Pay it Forward

1. Volunteer my time for a local charity.
2. Make a donation to a charity.
3. Write {five} handwritten letters via snail mail. ( 1 / 5 )
4. Send flowers to a friend in need.
5. Put together two Christmas showboxes. ( 0 / 2 )
6. Send a random "care package" to {three} friends. ( 0 / 3 )
7. Throw a surprise birthday party for someone.
8. Encourage someone to make their own 101 in 1001 list.
9. Send a letter to the troops {three } times. ( 0 / 3 )
10. Make a homemade birthday cake for someone and do a surprise delivery.

+ Pets

11. Teach Dakota {two} new tricks. ( 0 / 2 )
12. Take Dakota for a walk with Brad once a week for a year. ( 0 / 52 )
13. Get a fur-sibling for Dakota.

+ Hobbies, Learning, and Creativity

14. Buy a SLR.
15. Take photography lessons.
16. Go on a scavenger hunt.
17. Do a vlog {video blog} and actually post it.
18. Watch the top ten movies on IMBD as of this date.
The Shawshank Redemption; The Godfather; The Godfather Part II; The Good, the Bad,
and the Ugly; Pulp Fiction; Schindler's List; Inception; 12 Angry Men; One Flew Over the
Cuckoo's Nest; The Dark Knight
19. Finish a quilt for my mom that I started in high school.
20. Blog daily for {thirty} consecutive days. ( 0 / 30 )
21. Take the Project 365 challenge and complete it.
22. Make a coffee table book of my Project 365.
23. Move my blog to Wordpress with a re-deisgn.
24. Read 10 books. ( 0 / 10 )
25. Make homemade soap and gift to friends "just because".
26. Make a playlist of my top 50 songs.
27. Go to a pottery shop and make something.
28. Refurbish a piece of furniture from the thrift store.
29. Purchase and learn to use Photoshop.
30. Handwrite a blog entry, scan it, and post.
31. Do something with all of our wedding cards. See example here.
32. Frame Brad and I's Diplomas.
33. Watch {three} DVDs that are still in the shrink wrap.
(1) Gossip Girl: Season 1

+ For Myself

34. Complete a devotional.
35. Fast for 24 hours, {three} times. ( 0 / 3 )
36. Write a children's book.
37. Don't complain for a week. ( 0 / 7 )
38. Don't swear for a week. ( 0 / 7 )
39. Go to lunch and a movie by myself.
40. Leave my cell phone at home for the day {five} times. ( 0 / 5 )
41. Try a haircut I've never had.
42. Throw out underwear and socks that are past due. -- I've done the underwear part!

+ Health & Dieting

43. Walk or Jog a 5k
44. Complete the 30 day shred in 30 days.
45. Drink only water for a week.
46. Give up soda for a month.
47. Give up fast food for a month.
48. Wake up and work out every day before work for a week.
49. Bring lunch to work for an entire month. ( 0 / 20 )
50. Purchase Zumba DVDs or join Zumba classes.
51. Go for a ride on my beach cruiser at the beach.
52. Lose 100 pounds. ( 0 / 100 )

+ Friends & Family

53. Host {three} theme parties. ( 0 / 3 )
54. Get in contact with a friend I've lost contact with.
55. Send flowers to my mom "just because".
56. Host a fancy four-course dinner that I prepare.
57. Meet {three} blogging friends I haven't met yet in real life. ( 0 / 3 )
58. Host a swap party with friends.
59. Plan a wine tour with friends & family.

+ Love

60. Write a love letter to my husband {five} times. ( 0 / 5 )
61. Have our first kiddo.
62. Plan a romantic picnic.
63. Design Brad's "man cave".
64. Go on a set date night once a week for a month. ( 0 / 4 )
65. Watch Princess Bride with Brad. It blows his mind I've never seen it straight through.
66. Go geocaching together.
67. Go out dancing together for no reason.
68. Make Brad breakfast in bed.
69. Cook a romantic candlelit dinner with music.
70. Reenact our first date.
71. Stay at an all-inclusive resort.

+ Food

72. Join eMealz and follow it exactly for a month.
73. Try being a vegetarian for a week.
74. Visit {five} new Diner, Drive-in, and Dive restaurants. ( 0 / 5 )
75. Cook for an entire week with items already in our fridge, freezer, and pantry.
76. Eat dinner at "The Restaurant" at my Alma Mater (preferably with Ali & Jason).
77. Make fondue.
78. Cook (and blog!) my way through the Pioneer Woman Cookbook.
79. Make a rainbow cake.

+ Around the House

80. Grow my own herb garden.
81. Set up a recycling system in our home.
82. Introduce myself to a new neighbor.
83. Clean out and organize the garage.
84. Install a home theater system in our home with Blu Ray.

+ Travel

85. Visit NYC.
86. Go to a show in Las Vegas.
87. Visit a state I haven't visited before.
88. Go on a group-trip.
89. Go on a road trip.
90. Take a mother / daughter trip to San Francisco every November. ( 0 / 2 )

+ Organization

91. Clean out my current email and separate my work and personal email accounts.
92. Upload all of my photos on my computer to a Flickr account.
93. Organize my iTunes account and upload all CDs I don't already on my iTunes.
94. Clean out the spice cabinets, pantry, etc.
95. Purchase a filing cabinet and file/organize all important documents.

+ Business & Money

96. Purchase our family home.
97. Start my own business -- big or small.
98. Pay off all of our credit cards.
99. Cut up my Bank of America Credit card.
100. Complete Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University Program.
101. Officially open my Etsy shop.
102. Pay off one of Brad's three school loans.
103. Do an intense "extreme couponing" grocery trip.
104. Get a new job.
105. Turn in cans for trash.

+ Random

106. Watch a sunrise.
107. Be on television.
108. Write a letter to someone I admire that I'm not close with.
109. Take a bubble bath.
110. Go to a taping of The Ellen Show.
111. Make a music video / karaoke video and post it on You Tube.
112. Buy a new car.
113. Listen to a book on tape.
114. Become a member at a new winery.
115. Have a bonfire at the beach.
116. Go spend an afternoon in the library.
117. Learn a random dance {like the Dougie} by watching a how-to on You Tube.

New House?

2011-01-18T16:33:00.000-08:00

So it's been no big secret that I've wanted a new house. Although I've only lived in my town home for about two and a half years I have definitely outgrown it -- especially since getting married. I'm now ready for something to truly call home and something we can make our own and want to raise our family in.

Unfortunately, because of a dumb tax credit I received in 2007 it makes it really hard for me to purchase another home now without paying lots of money real quick or being considered an "investor" which just means I need to always put down at least 25% on a home which uhm, for the housing budget we are looking at would be 65-80k -- yah, we don't have that kinda money and probably never will.

Basically tonight we are going to exhaust all options see what we can do with the both of us on the house, or what we could do if it was just the Hubs on the house. There is a lot to consider and we want to look at all options. We could hear good news, we could hear news that will be sucky to hear. But just a start will feel better then nothing. Right now we basically just look at houses, get excited about them, and that's about it because we haven't taken any of the steps to actually purchase a new house. So tonight is the night we will be doing our pre-qual and we will see what all we can actually do.

If all went well and they said woo-hoo and we said woo-hoo then this would be the house we would be wanting to put an offer in for:

It's a cute craftsman home and isn't old at all (2007 build) with everything I'm wanting. My top things I wanted that I wasn't going to budge on was the following:

A front AND backyard
No maintenance that would prevent us from actually moving into the house.
Large kitchen
4+ bedroom
1900+ square feet

This past weekend we just went and looked at some model homes and we discovered that the single story model was the IDENTICAL floor plan of the home we are looking at. I asked the guy and he said that the area I mentioned was by the same builder from a couple of years ago and they had the same floor plans. It was so fun to be able to see the house actually in model form.

The home is 2200 square feet and I love that it already has a separate study area in the front of the house and I don't have to actually use one of the four bedrooms for an office! Having a dining room and formal living room could be a challenge at first as we won't have any furniture to actually furnish there but I will look forward to having that extra space to decorate as well! I love that the master bedroom is in separate quarters from the rest of the house and that the family room is a part of the kitchen as well which I always love for entertaining. It has a huge walk-in closet which is much needed and dual sinks as well as a separate tub and shower! Also something I've always loved and never had the luxury of having! My last favorite part is that there is an actual laundry room and we don't have to go into the garage anymore for laundry -- just not having to bring laundry up and downstairs any more will be a blessing!

So there is our latest find and the latest on our house search. Wish us luck tonight and hopefully we'll be one step closer in getting our "dream home" in 2011!

Five Goals for 2011

2011-01-13T20:38:00.000-08:00

So I've been wanting to write this post and started drafting it but never got around to finishing it. The bronchitis has delayed a bit of blog writing but I figured as we sit here catching up on some TiVo I would finish this bad boy up. I enjoyed looking back at the goals I set last year so I wanted to write some again.

1. Extreme Couponing.

I subscribed to the Sunday paper as my first step. I want to start clipping for essential items and not junk we don't need. I'm also looking to switch grocery stores to a store that "doubles coupons" which based on my research is only one store in Southern California. I also will start researching more online before grocery shopping and following more coupon blogs.

2. Pay off our credit cards with the help of Dave Ramsey.

We were supposed to start our classes this past Tuesday but due to a current situation that I can't yet discuss *coughrealitytvcough* we are currently putting that on hold for about three months until we don't have this all on our plate... This will not be something we keep putting off though because we were really looking forward to it.

3. Purchase a new home.

So far we've saved $4,000 just by selling our junk and other peoples junk that we are using for a down payment. We have a huge list of things we still want to sell and will be saving part of our tax return as well. We are hoping in the next few months to have another $4,000 saved.

4. Lose my mini-goal weight so we can start a family.

The reality show thing is part of this. Will share more when I can. This could easily be accomplished before summer.

5. Cash only.

We have realized that it is so easy to spend, spend, spend when you are using a card and you aren't as aware of your spending. So when the hubs goes to the bank every Monday we plan on taking out cash for the week. Our food allowance for the week as well as our own personal allowance for things like my pedicures, etc. We also will not use ANY change. All change will be going into our change jug to use for new living room furniture when it's time to move. We've been saving change forever and want to continue now that there will be more of it.

Do you make New Years Resolutions or do you just try to make some new goals and changes in the new year? What are some of yours?

Tasty Tuesday: French Dip Sandwiches

2011-01-11T05:00:00.000-08:00

Today's recipe is brought to you by a craving of a world famous French Dip Sandwich from Philippe's in Los Angeles. This is such a cheap dinner that takes only a few minutes to make (the longest part is boiling up the Au Jus) and was perfect during a football game in my household!
________________________________________________________________

French Dip Sandwich

Ingredients:

· French Rolls (of course fresh baked from the bakery section is the best!)

· Provolone Cheese

· Roast Beef (I would typically get it from the deli counter but ours was closed for refurbishing and I bought just a Hilshire Farms lunch meat pack and it tasted just as good!

· Au Jus Mix (In the section with the packets for taco seasoning, gravy, sloppy joe mix, etc.)

· Hot Spicy Mustard (I use Phillipe’s from the famous French Dip place in L.A… a little goes a LONG way!)

Okay, I would like to take a break from this recipe to speak with you about Philippe's. If you are ever in the area of Downtown LA you must go there (it's right by Union Station). It's a total hot spot here in Southern California. One of their French Dip sandwiches with this Hot Spicy Mustard is yum-o! I actually thought about giving away one of the mustard's but shipping on the website was $10. For one jar of mustard that seemed a little steep to me seeing that it's only a few bucks, but if you're interested you can buy it here. That stuff is hella hot but the best mustard ever.

Directions:

1. Make the Au Jus Mix according to directions – it just uses the mix and water and bring it to a boil. I do it in a large skillet/saucepan so I have room to throw the meat in there.

2. Once the Au Jus is boiling I bring it to a simmer and place all of the roast beef in there to get it hot… only takes a couple of minutes.

3. I then kind of push the meat into the size of the sandwich roll and place two pieces of provolone cheese on top of each one so the cheese melts into the roast beef a little.

4. Once you see the cheese melting I get a spatula to place the meat and cheese on the roll with the hot spicy mustard (be sure to shake a good amount of the juice off or you will have a soggy mess!)

5. Serve some of the remainder Au Jus in a ramekin so you can dip your sandwich if you like it extra juice-ay.

abc

2011-01-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

A is for Age: 26
B is for Beer of choice: I love a Jeremiah Burst from BJs... Jeremiah Red and Berry Cider! Also love Hefenweizen.
C is for Career: Glorified Secretary.
D is for favorite Drink: Mojitos
E is for Essential item you use everyday: My Droid. For sure.
F is for Favorite song at the moment: Dynamite by Taio Cruz
G is for favorite Game: Mexican Train probably. Also love Phase 10 and Catch Phrase.
H is for Hometown: Southern Cali born and raised.
I is for Instruments you play: Played Piano from the age of 5 until 12.
J is for favorite Juice: I like Pineapple Orange Banana (with Coconut Rum you say? SURE!)
K is for Kids: Have a furbaby, Dakota. Hoping to have two kiddos in a couple of years.
L is for Last kiss: Sometime last night.
M is for marriage: 4.17.10
N is for full Name: Laura Frances
O is for Overnight hospital stays: Only when doing a sleep test.
P is for phobias: Spiders and some heights.
Q is for quote: “Opportunity knocks once, but temptation leans on the doorbell.” – Unknown... just heard it recently and it stuck with me. I feel it can go with so many aspects of my life like my faith and weight loss journey (I know it's been a while since you were updated).
R is for biggest Regret: Spending a good four years without my best friend. What a waste.
S is for sports: Angels Baseball and my UCLA Bruins!
T is for Time you wake up: For work around 6:10. On weekends 8 or 9 if we don't have something to do.
U is for color of Underwear: Right now they are black.
V is for Vegetable you love: All of 'em!
W is for Worst Habit: Not doing my laundry in a timely fashion. I need a smaller wardrobe just so I make myself do laundry more frequently. The guest room is not supposed to be my color disbursement room.
X is for X-rays you’ve had: Nose, dentist/teeth, and I think head when I busted it open.
Y is for Yummy food you make: The hubs loves my homemade mac-n-cheese, Mexican Lasagna, and I will say I made some bomb French Dip sandwiches last week!
Z is for zodiac sign: Capricorn

Grouposal

2011-01-06T11:00:00.000-08:00

I always love sharing proposal stories with you! There has been the Twitter proposals...

And the FourSquare proposals...

Apparently he did that "check-in" and then when his girlfriend went to "check-in" at the same restaurant she saw that... and responded with a "Yes" in her "check-in".

Those are all just whatev to me... what I love is a proposal that was done yesterday through GROUPON (y'all know my addiction to Groupons!)

This guy contacted Groupon knowing his girlfriend was a Groupon fanatic and set it up to have a Groupon that would actually go out containing a Groupon with a marriage proposal. It was entitled, "A Surprise for a Dana from a Greg". It was $1 to purchase with a value of $999,999 and I loved the fine print...

The Fine Print

Expires Jan 5, 2011
Nontransferable. Groupon entitled to no less than 15% of your marital bliss. Either party may develop a snoring problem. One or both participants will not always look like a 20-year-old. Good luck, you kids.
See the rules that apply to all deals.

You can see his actual proposal, "the deal" and "What Groupon Says..." on the actual Groupon link that you can find HERE.

I just love these creative proposals!

Christmas Love

2011-01-06T09:28:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas! Mine was great and there was lots of time spent with friends and family... I just wish I could have seen my SIL and BIL too! We always have lots of "tradition" things we do in the month of December. We spend a night with the parents watching Christmas Vacation, spend a day in Lake Arrowhead to shop around and enjoy the crisp mountain air, brunch with all of my girls from High School, lots of looking at Christmas Decorations at houses, soup nights with Church friends, Christmas Eve service at church, the list goes on! Here is a look back at my holiday season...

A beautiful day in Lake Arrowhead.

Brunch with my girls.

Christmas with my Dad's family. My uncle's tree was two stories high and probably at least fifteen feet wide, hugest tree I've ever seen... who knows how they got this thing in the house!

The Tree!

My Fam!

Some of the girl cousins!

Singing Christmas Carol's with the Hubs family at our new annual "Carne Asada Christmas" -- delicious Mexican food and cranberry margaritas... his dad was playing the Ukelele!

Only in California -- Sweaters and Shorts! :)

My in-laws beautiful patriotic tree!
Oh and the Hubs shirt says "St. Nick World Tour -- Millions of Fans, One Night Only" LOL

The Hubs singing "O Holy Night" - one of my Christmas favorites!

On Christmas day I got pretty spoiled from the Hubs,
he's always great at getting me gifts and this year was no exception.

These are some of my favorite "every day" earrings. I bought a cheap pair once and loved them and wore the hell out of them. So the hubs got me a nicer pair knowing I missed them!

One of the signature scents I've had since high school... it's the one cheap perfume that I can always throw on that I like instead of my nicer ones that tend to me my "weekend" scents.

And of course my favorite... a new Coach bag. He knew I needed a nice big black bag again and he came through! I wanted one big enough to keep all of my typical necessities as well as something my iPad could fit nicely in as well but will still sit great on the shoulder -- I love this new bag!

How did your holiday season go? What is your favorite part of the holidays?

Bedroom Furniture

2011-01-05T09:39:00.000-08:00

So yesterday I randomly started looking at furniture for our bedroom. I've been wanting new bedroom furniture for ages and now that our friends just got a fabulous set I was bedroom envy. We found a set we liked at Costco and decided to base our looking on that... on Facebook and Twitter yesterday I started asking people to give me some good furniture recs. I knew we wanted something that we felt would last a long time and was of a better quality. The majority of the people referred us to Mathis Brothers and they have a MASSIVE showroom only a few miles from our house so we decided to check it out.

After spending a couple of hours looking all around and trying to decide what we did and didn't like about this (and not being able to agree) we finally agreed on one set. One thing I didn't know was that Mathis Brother's carried many items from larger furniture company's (Ashley Furniture being one of their main) that were discontinued or just overstocked items.

Here is what we ended up getting, Ashley Furniture's Diana bedroom collection. We had wanted a very dark chocolate brown or espresso finish and this actually is even a little darker. They called it deep espresso but I think it's so dark it's almost black. We purchased the two end tables, dresser with mirror with nail head accents, and a chest. We loved the bed but for some lame reason they only make it in Queen (we have a Cali King)... because the price was right (all five pieces for $900! Way over 50% off!) and we loved the set we purchased all of the items and figured we could find a bed that would work great with the furniture on our own -- we are hoping for some type of upholstered bed and if we could find one with the matching nail head accents that would be awesome.

Chest

Dresser with Mirror

End-tables

They had some gorgeous aqua accents in the showroom with it and I loved it so I think I'm going to go with that. I would love to find a duvet, would be willing to do a comforter possibly, and want aqua to be the main color. The comforter I had already purchased and another one I had in mind just won't work anymore... so I'm back to square one. Please share any finds you think could work! The pictures don't do it justice... they almost remind me of old vintage trunks or something.

I'm just so excited to finally have a new bedroom furniture set... it's getting delivered and set-up on Sunday, time to move some stuff and clean!

The Big Two Six

2011-01-04T16:05:00.000-08:00

On December 28th I turned twenty-six. I'm now on the closer end of 30 then 20. For my birthday the hubs surprised me with a little trip down to San Diego for a couple days.

On the way down there we stopped at Harrah's Rincon Casino, the hubs gave me some money and I hit up some slot machine's and we played their version of roulette (you aren't allowed to have roulette in CA)... it was called Volcano Bingo Roulette. It was the last bit of cash we had and the hubs won $80 right before we left on it so we took it and left so we could stop at a different casino the next day.

We stayed at a Courtyard Marriott in Old Town San Diego which was nice. The hubs had made us reservations for a new restaurant that opened up in 2010 called Searsucker. It was opened up by a Top Chef finalist, Brian Malarkey and looked delicious! On our way over there I was starving and started drooling at the thought of one of my favorite places to get pizza when we drove by it, Pizzeria Luigi, which we originally tried after seeing it on an episode of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. I told him I wanted some SO BAD. The hubs said, "Well it's your birthday."

So I cancelled our reservations even though we were all set up to spend a nice evening in the Gas Lamp District. Since I still wanted to go out a little bit I came up with a plan for us to go get a pizza, grub on a couple slices, then grab some drinks in the GL District... so that's just what we did. I love that the hubs can be okay with me just wanting pizza for my birthday... definitely saved us some cash there! Haha

After pizza we went and grabbed a few drinks over at Wet Willie's were the hubs gave me a card with something else inside! I thought the trip was my gift... but there was two tickets to Beauty and the Beast which comes to the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood in a couple months and he knows I've been dying to go. I'm so excited and we get to do that on March 22.

The next day we went and grabbed breakfast at another place from Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives that I love (they put cream cheese in their omelet - omggg) then drove to Barona Casino where we didn't win any money but we did get to play Black Jack for a lonnnnng time. It was my first time at that casino too since it's so far out of the way from anything but it's definitely one of my favorites.

Here are a few pix I got from the weekend...

This Saturday I'm doing Birthday Bingo with all of my friends! We have a table reserved at a local casino (I swear I don't have a problem) during open Bingo (last time I played I won $1200!) and then we are all going out to dinner at Lucille's Barbeque. I'll be sure to share some pix from that event!

I Need to Clear Something Up

2011-01-04T08:30:00.001-08:00

I didn't propose to the hubs. I did a mega-fail by saying that in my last post. I guess I just hoped people who thought I did would click on the link to see the original post. But WOW, I got an OUTPOUR of "high fives" and "you go girls" from everyone on Twitter, comments, and even personal emails.

You can read the post if you want, but in a nutshell the Hubs did not have any action in picking out his wedding band. I had designed one based on things he had told me he liked and didn't like. I originally thought about surprising him on our wedding day but once I picked it up I just had to show him. When I heard his car pull up after work the day I picked up the ring I was sitting there on one knee and I "fake proposed" just to be cute and clever to show him his ring. So sorry ladies who loved the fact that I proposed, because I did not.

If you haven't read our proposal story I will copy it from my original post here on my old blog... if you've read it before just ignore and carry on to the end of the post.
_____________________________________________________________

The Proposal
{Originally posted 7.29.09
Warning: 3rd post I ever wrote LOL}

I don't know about you ladies (and maybe a gent or two?) but I DONT like waking up early on my Saturday... at least not at 8:00 am by a test message from the boy until I read what it says:

CLUE #1: Ahead of you is a treasure hunt! Drive to the home where I now dwell... where on the front door you shall see... an unusual envelope waiting for thee!

Ok, so let me backtrack quickly. We have gone ring shopping and already started planning a wedding, so you can't tell a girl that has been waiting patiently for six, yes six months, that there is a treasure hunt ahead of her if there isn't going to be a ring at the end of this. So of course I wake up super excited and get ready more then I usually would for not having an actual plan for the day. I convinced myself OVER AND OVER that I wasn't getting proposed to because I know how disappointed I would have been... but nonetheless I was hopin' for it so I'm off to the 3 minute drive to his casa and this is the first thing I see. *getting giddy*

CLUE #2 - "Behind this door lies a journey through the past! Enter the place where I lay my head, there awaits a special moment on the bed."

CLUE #3 - Across the hall you should seek, another memory just waiting for a peek!

Note: Chilis is where we first met.

CLUE #4 - Now walk into the kitch and try to find, one of the favorite treats of mine!

Also note: Boomers was the nite of our first date as well :)

CLUE #5 - Now giddy on up to another room, to find something Country waiting for you!

Oh wait, another note: So was the Hat :) Mmm Chili Fries!

Now pass through the sliding glass door as you remember these treasured memories, I plan on making so many more. Let's play a rousing game of Mexican Train..."

With each of the clues there was a great poem or story that he told with tons of sweet things just didn't want to type up all of that.

Making a longer story a bit shorter I go outside where him and the fam pop out for some Mexican Train. I still think this is odd but just don't think the proposal is going to be happening yet. Next thing you know I'm dumping out a box of dominoes only to pour out tons of dominoes including a ring box in the middle... this is where ugly cry face begins.

I didn't open the box, I didn't do anything, I just started to cry. I was seriously the happiest I had ever been and didn't know what to do. Brad said some great things and I couldn't tell you one of them and I even was one of the girls that forgot to say yes. Of course I did and his dad popped out the camera to catch some great pix as well.

Startin to make the calls...

Later on in the evening when we got home, I think I was emotionally exhausted!

On our way to Newport Beach where he took me to lunch and I did a Build a Bear to remember our day of our engagement... of course it was a Panda :)
______________________________________________________________

So there you have it, our ACTUAL proposal story. Sorry to let you down with the fact that I didn't propose but I'm all for any of you ladies who have or are considering it! I definitely think that's something probably more common in this day and age.

Do you know any girls who have proposed? What are your thoughts on the matter? I got an email from a reader asking for advice since she is considering doing it... so help a sister out!

In a Nutshell: 2010

2011-01-03T16:15:00.000-08:00

In January I proposed to my husband and got invited to my own bachelorette party!

We also got some more engagement pictures taken.

In February I got to stop freaking out about my wedding dress since it finally came in the mail!

It was way too big and I knew I wanted to drop a few more pounds so we tried Nutrisystem. Hated that.

I was thrown my first shower and the best bachelorette party ever.

Then March came... the month of wedding maddness leading up to our big day!

I was thrown another shower with all of my friends and dad's side of the family.

Then another co-ed shower that was with all of the hubs family and friends.

Then April hit! The month we had truly been waiting for! On April 17th I married the man of my dreams...

Then we honeymooned in the Caribbean and in Florida!

Once May hit we were just getting back from our Honeymoon and settling as Newlyweds. I moved my blog from "With this ring, I thee blog" to "Happy Hour with a Housewife"! I must have been enjoying married life because beside honeymoon and wedding recaps with a giveaway or two I only shared with you my real reason for arm popping.

June we headed down to the Santa Monica pier to retake our wedding photos since we didn't have a ton of us that we were thrilled with -- we loved these results! I also took part in a little post wedding chop.

July we went to San Diego for the 4th of July and our besties came in from Arizona so we could go to the Demolition Derby -- a local tradition around in my neck of the woods.

I admitted to you I had a problem.

...and then made a girls trip to Vegas!

In August I blogged everyday for thirty days and even was brave enough to finally share with you my UCF.

I also started my journey with Biggest Loser and my attempt to get on the show which was a good chunk of the end of August.

By early September we did an on-camera interview for Biggest Loser and about a week later found out we weren't one of the finalist. We did get to buy a new car though and I lunched with some of my favorite Bees and Bloggers!

The last quarter of the year came and it was finally the start of the holiday season! October was a very busy month... I joined Weight Watchers, chatted with Gretchen on Twitter from the Real Housewives of Orange County, visited the pumpkin patch, and dressed up as a Double Dare contestant for Halloween!

Most importantly, I stood by one of my closest friends and cousins on her wedding day!

In November I voted, got addicted to OPI nailpolish, started a casting journey for a different reality show, spent a great weekend Christmas shopping in San Fran with my mom, and decorated for Christmas!

Once December came I tried to grace you guys with my presence every day again by doing #reverb10 but that was a mega-fail. I was sick of the posts and was boring myself. I decided to take the last three weeks off of the year but there was so much that happened... I could share it in this post but I'd rather save it for some posts to come -- Christmas, Birthday, and New Year's Eve! Biggest news that I did share on the blog though? Me FINALLY being a college graduate!

Thank you so much for following along with my wedding journey and life in 2010, here's to another hopefully fabulous year of blogging! Cheers to 2011!

How'd it go??

2011-01-03T14:06:00.001-08:00

Well here were my 2010 "plans"... I didn't call them resolutions because those never work out. So here was what I said was the plan, and here is what really happened...

___________________________________________________________

One thing I will learn: That my relationship isn't only about me. There is another person apart of it. I can be such a flat out selfish bitch and I need to think about Mr. Mojito and his feelings more at times.

FAIL. I think I got better and worse all at the same time. It's something I've been working on more recently and I think I will continue to get a little better.

One place I will go: For sure, Florida/Carribean for our Honeymoon, but the one that's a goal is to make it to visit Miss Pugs in the summer for her summer wedding reception in Indiana!

SUCCESS & FAIL. We made it to the honeymoon! LOL But unfortunately I never made it to meet my sweet KJPugs in Indiana... maybe in 2011? Or you can come out here Kel! LOL

One physical habit I will break: I want to wear my hair down to work at least twice a week. I'm lazy and wear my hair up ALL the time during the week and I get so many compliments when I actually do it. (Miss Pugs, washing your hair every other day instead works miracles! LoL @ John Stamos comment))

FAIL. If anything this was the worst year yet except when I first chopped it off after the wedding. I'm kinda loving my hair right now and I had it down for a week straight... of course I wasn't up early for work though.

One physical habit I will cultivate: Taking Dakota for a walk at least 3-4 nights a week. She has so much built up energy and only has a small space. She needs it, and lets all be honest here... I definitely could use a walk.

FAIL. Do you see why I don't do resolutions? She didn't hardly get walks. Bad mom.

One mental habit I will break: Stop being such a jealous person. Seriously Miss Mojito, the neighbor isn't going outside to take out the trash JUST because Mr. Mojito is out there... or is she??

SUCCESS. I think I actually did good on this one. I still get jealous at times but I'm way better then I used to be.

One relationship I’ll repair: I seriously can't think of one. There was only ONE really important relationship I thought needed repair and that got repaired in the beginning of 2008 and I couldn't love her anymore then I did before our falling out. {I heart you BM-LC}

SUCCESS? I love you Lauren, you really are one of my best friends. And I couldn't be happier that our relationship is what it is. It's like we never had a problem.

One work habit I will change: To actually accomplish ONE work related task everyday. It's so sad how I realize it's 5:00 sometimes and I'm like "Crap, was I really tweeting, facebook stalking, and reading Wedding blogs for the past eight hours?!"

FAIL. I seriously didn't get any better at that. There are still days I don't get things done. For example? It's 2:15pm - haven't done a thing.

One thing I’ll throw out: Stuff in the stacks of boxes that are in the garage that I never opened when I moved into my house a year and a half ago.

SEMI-SUCCESS. We had a yard sale in June and got rid of a lot of things and did some organizing in the house and garage. Still a long way to go though.

A second thing I’ll throw out: The clothes I say "Oh I will wear those again someday!" or "This shirt would be great if I went to a *blank* themed party!"

SUCCESS. I'm proud to say I did some huge purging right before that yard sale and took tons to be donated at the local Goodwill. It was unbelievable how empty my closet looked.

One thing I’ll eat more often: Fruit, I have the veggies down and I love fruit I just don't buy it as much as I should!

Not sure. I went through phases. Someone needs to get me a fruit of the month club. I always forget to buy fresh fruit and eat it. If it's there I would do better I think.

One thing I’ll eat less: McDonalds french fries. Guilty. Bad, bad Miss Mojito.

FAIL. I probably did the same as the year before. Although I haven't had any in a while because I got way sick of fast food in general.

One thing I’ll drink more: Water. I never drink water hardly. I drink a whole lotta Diet Coke.

Semi-Success. I don't drink as much as I should but I definitely did good on upping my intake of water. I carry around a jug with me more often and try to always keep it at my desk at work.

One thing I’ll drink less: I would say wine but that's a silly game plan, so let's say soda.

FAIL. FAIL. FAIL. Love soda.

One resentment I’ll get over: My ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend/roommate cheating on me the last couple months of our relationship. The sad thing is, we didn't even break up because of it... imagine how long it COULD have gone on before I found out. See I'm starting to go all into it and bad mouth the situation some more. Drop it, Mojito. You met a guy 1,000,000 x's better then Ex-Mojito will EVER come close to being.

Succeed. I'm totally over it. I've even had a good, long convo with the ex-best friend about the whole situation and it's been squashed.

One person I’ll treat more respectfully: Mr. Mojito all the way. I can be such a bitch, I said that earlier. And I whine. And I cry. Gosh I'm a pain in the arse.

See first question.

One thing I’ll spend less money on: Food. We eat out SO much. I like to cook, honestly I do. But laziness gets the best of me and Mr. Mojito.

FAIL. And fail some more.

One other change I’ll make in my finances: Once the wedding is over to build up my savings again, that bad boy has been tapped dry.

Succeed. It wasn't until the end of the year but the hubs and I have started getting a good amount saved from selling some things so we can have a down payment on a house when we're ready.

One thing I’ll spend less time doing: Watching Reality Television and instead will be... *see next answer*

Bahhahahahahahah FAIL. If you follow me on Twitter then you definitely know that. I pretty much spend every evening watching reality television. That was a dumb one. I love reality television. LOL

And a thing I’ll spend more time doing: Working out. Period.

FAIL'ish. I hardly worked out, but I DID work out more then the year before. I didn't work out enough to make it worth while though... hopefully this year!

____________________________________________________________

So coming up next... my plans for 2011! How did you do on your plans, goals, or resolutions of 2010?

New Hair

2011-01-03T08:39:00.000-08:00

Had gone lighter for a while now and I was over it... y'all know I get bored with my hair easily! So I went in for my birthday and got my hair done... I decided to do some rich browns and reds with a little ombre color fade making it a little lighter underneath. She also got rid of my a-line that I had been trying to grow out and gave me some layers so my hair had some body... love it!

On that note I hope y'all had a GREAT Christmas and New Year's... I know I took a couple weeks off from blogging but I plan to be back at it in the New Year. I took a break because I was going to make the switch over to Wordpress but I figured I'd keep blogging in the meantime.

Back atcha soon with my recaps of the holidays and 2010!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T05:00:00.000-08:00

I hope you and your family have a
fabulous holiday no matter what you celebrate!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!!

Love♥,
The Hubs, The Housewife, & The Pooch

Inspiration: Southern Wedding Bout

2010-12-17T10:34:00.000-08:00

I saw a new boutonniere that I hadn't seen done before and when I saw it I thought of so many weddings where this bout would have been perfect (and inexpensive!) for the wedding!

How great is that cotton bout? Just perfect for a class look in the south I think and a little different. I just love the look of fresh cotton anyway every since my mom's friend brought us back a bunch from the South that I used in a jar in the bathroom back at home. So soft and natural, just love the look.

DIY: Fancy Pants Gift Cards

2010-12-15T08:50:00.000-08:00

I know many people aren't fans of gift cards. I LOVE getting gift cards and I never think of it as being a "cop out gift", but I know there are some people that aren't a big fan. I do get gift cards for a few people every year and what a great way to put a fun twist on it to show you DID put in some effort...

Helllllo adorable gift card snow globes!

Basically you just need a jar, the gift card, glitter, and water plus any embeloshments that you want to put in the jar or ribbon, etc. for the outside of the jar! See the complete tutorial here.

It's Official!

2010-12-13T16:17:00.001-08:00

After seven torturous years off on, I have graduated college and am the proud new owner of a bachelor's degree!

I started at a local community college right after high school and went there for two years. I finished up all of my general education there as well as soon of my core classes to get my degree in Elementary Education. I thought at the time I was going to move to Hawaii for a while to have some fun and see how I liked it and then I would decide to go to school there or to move back home and go to school here.

After starting to plan a bit and finding someone to move out there with things went to a hault when she bailed. I then decided to just move out of my parents house with a friend from work and enjoy being freshly 21 until the next fall and would then apply to start at the University.

After a year and a half off I started at Cal Poly Pomona and was full blown ready to rock. I wasn't even a year in when I decided I wanted to start working full time so that I could purchase a house. Schooling then became a second priority and I would go from taking 3-4 classes a quarter to 1-2.

So last year I walked in June knowing I had only one class left... parents even threw me a graduation party. You can walk if you have 1 or 2 classes left and I had one. I had saved a class I was dreading taking. And wouldn't you know that fall I didn't pass. You gotta be joking... I didn't want to go the quarter I was getting married and stuff because I was going to be missing for the wedding stuff and the Honeymoon. So I finally took it again this quarter after my life has settled back down and I could actually get into a class. My final was last Saturday and my professor was amazing enough to email me right now to say I passed. It's not a grade I would ever typically be thrilled with but I'm done and I couldn't be more friggin' happy!

Even though it hasn't hit me, I couldn't be more excited to know that there is officially a diploma on my way and I never have to think about taking a final ever again. At least until I talk myself into getting a Masters and making me think that I actually miss school.

Reverb10 Dropout

2010-12-13T15:36:00.000-08:00

Okay, I participated for the first ten days or so. But now I quit. At first I liked them because I thought they got me thinking deep but then as I looked at the past few prompts I missed from this weekend I realized holyyyy cow, I can't write any more of these posts. I either can't come up with something good to write, I don't want to take the time to think of a good answer, and the most popular reason I'm quitting? I'M BORING MYSELF.

So I will continue reading those of you who are participating, but as for me? I'm dunzo. Hopefully I'll think of something clever to write about soon.

Worst to Date

2010-12-10T14:51:00.000-08:00

Okay, this is seriously one of my worst PMS outbreaks to date. I am a wreck while Aunt Flo is in town. The hubs is able to pin point it to the day almost... I just turn into a totally different girl. I am a crier but I just do it more frequently and I'm a raging bi-atch for a few days.

Well yesterday was the day and I hadn't noticed much difference in my attitude so it actually hit me by surprise. I guess the sudden intense craving for Taco Bell wasn't a big enough sign yesterday. Today my mom wanted to get lunch together so she picked me up from work and we went to Corner Bakery.

They have some healthier options and it's a great place to get a yummy fresh lunch for less points. So I was excited to get my super favorite sandwich -- the Pretzel Turkey sandwich. I love that half sandwich for it's delicious 7 points... I'm the BIGGEST fan of pretzel bread!

So I ordered my sandwich and I wait patiently for my food while sipping on a diet Coke and chatting away with my mother. A girl comes over and begins to tell me that they are actually out of pretzel bread and if there is anything else I would want instead. I start to cry. Yup, full on cry. In front of the poor girl, I was so embarrassed. Couldn't I tell her what I wanted and then just cry after she left?! How about not cry at all?? My mom looked horrified and told the girl any turkey sandwich would do and that got her to leave. Once I finally composed myself and my mom asked WTF was the matter with me I then started to get teary eyed again... "I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY POINTS THIS IS NOW!"

Ugh, all was okay. My sandwich was still good, not as good, but good. And it had mayo on it so that got me pissed off again. On any other day the girl would have won brownie points for bringing me one of their fresh chocolate bundt's for my troubles but doesn't this girl know I'm on Weight Watchers?! I was good though, took a tiny bight and then my mom took it home for my dad. The funny part is, when the girl came later to clean up some stuff she said, "I know how you feel, I do love the pretzel bread sandwiches." Okay lady, but not enough to make you cry, let's be real.

Have you ever had a serious breakdown during your lady days that made you look like as big of a nut job as me?
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UPDATE: Thanks Kathryn (@withloveKAA) for sending me this funny clip from Parks and Rec in response to my blog post... thought I would share it with the rest of ya!

reverb10: beautifully different & party

2010-12-09T10:15:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was at an 8-5 meeting all day at work and that was NOT fun. Let me without the opportunity to blog or read blogs so I'm going to post for yesterday's prompt as well since last night I only wanted to blog about my weight loss this week! Woo-hoo!

December 8: Beautifully Different
Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different - you'll find they're what make you beautiful.

I definitely think my personality tends to light people up. I'm not sure how different I really am then other people. I'm just an extremely extroverted, outgoing person that just loves meeting new people. I'm extremely chatty and and don't have a problem making a new friend in a crowd. My husband is the complete opposite... he is much more of an introvert and an "observer" when in crowds. So I'm definitely extremely different then the hubs -- but that's what makes us perfect. I bring him up and out (which he admits can be fun lol) and he brings me back down when it's necessary. I can't say I don't embarrass him once in a while though, that's for sure.

December 9: Party
What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans.

Let's talk about my wedding! Yay, you all aren't sick of my wedding yet are you?! Hahah... fine, fine, fine. I won't talk about my wedding again. Even though that was the social gathering that blew my mind in 2010. So let's pick something else... but of course it's wedding related!

A month or so before my wedding I was blessed with the best bachelorette party ever! My bridesmaids planned a weekend like no other and it was planned out perfectly and I got decked out to the nines! Basically they rented a timeshare down in Newport Beach, California (where my wedding was also held) and they cooked me a fabulous dinner one evening where we stayed in and had a girls night, we went to a brunch in Laguna Beach, did some shopping, took a night on the town, it was just the greatest weekend with a group of the most amazing girls in my life!

I was so overwhelmed with the love of so many of my friends throughout the whole weekend it goes down in history as one of the greatest weekends so far in my life. I wrote a lot about the weekend with my pictures of all the had planned and you can read about them here:

Final Fling Before the Ring: Bridesmaid Bonding {1 of 6}
Final Fling Before the Ring: A Slumber Party {2 of 6}
Final Fling Before the Ring: A Make-up Trial {3 of 6}
Final Fling Before the Ring: Brunch & Shopping {4 of 6}
Final Fling Before the Ring: Cocktail Shower Happy Hour {5 of 6}
Final Fling Before the Ring: The Party {6 of 6}

Weigh-In Wednesday: Week 1

2010-12-08T19:50:00.001-08:00

Halle-freaking-lujah! I don't even know if I spelled that how it should be but I just got back from weight Watchers and I'm so excited! This was my first week in a long time were I made sure I stayed on program and I tracked everyday. I was really excited about the new program but was scared before weigh-in because I just felt like I had so many points every day! Well I'm happy to report.... 4.4 loss people!

The hubs is more into it then ever (he lost five!) so that makes every meal that much easier to calculate and track. Here's to another few more pounds next week!

P.S. Got a call from the producers for the show the hubs and I tried out for recently and they want to do some producer phone interviews before making final decisions. Will have more of an update soon!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

reverb10: community

2010-12-07T09:18:00.000-08:00

Wow, already December 7? Christmas is seriously going to be here tomorrow they way the month is flying by. Plus my schedule is PACKED with fun holiday things going on with friends and family! Plus I have my birthday coming up only a few days after Christmas! Hope your holiday month is kickin' off to a great start. Well here is today's #reverb10 prompt...

December 7: Community
Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011?

Well, this wouldn't be the first time I bring up the blogging community, as I'm sure many people will probably bring up with this prompt. When I think of community, I automatically think of all of you. The people at times I feel like I know most about what's going on in their lives then I do some of my own friends. I read about your lives almost daily, we talk off and on on Twitter, on gChat, Facebook -- all day, every day. I started blogging a long time ago, but it wasn't until probably around February 2009 or so when I REALLY started blogging. Getting engaged was my motivation to take a step into the wedding blogging world and I'm so thankful for it. I have made some genuine fabulous friends through this process and I'm grateful for this community on a regular basis. Once I got married this year I took the blog a step further and that community has grown even more this year.

I believe my blogging community will be growing in 2011 even more, as the hubs and I begin to start talking about starting a family I'm sure my focus will start going towards different types of blogs only giving me the opportunity to "meet" more bloggers. IRL, I hope my community will grow with our involvement with younger marrieds within our church and others. Once the new year starts we will be going to another church to start the Dave Ramsey program, Financial Peace University, which I'm thrilled about. Besides that we are also starting a small group within our church for young married couples. Between those two we hope to be able to surround ourselves with some more couples around our age.

Tasty Tuesday: Idaho Baked Po'tater Soup

2010-12-07T05:00:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite soups is Baked Potato Soup (BPS), and it's one of the easiest things to make with very simple ingredients that you either have or won't be difficult finding. My mom used to make it all the time and I asked her for the recipe because I loved it (and it was great to make a huge pot of it and have it as great leftovers)... you know what she showed me?

Yup, a postcard. I have some family from Boise and this was a postcard my mom picked up on one of our trips out and tried it -- and we loved it. I've seen a few people talking about BPS so I thought I would share this with y'all, hope you enjoy it! So here you go, one of the simplest, heartly comfort food soups.
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Idaho Baked Potato Soup

source

Ingredients:
2/3 cup Butter
2/3 cup Flour
7 cups Milk
4 large Potatoes -- Baked, peeled, and cubed
4 Green onions sliced
12 strips Bacon cooked and crumbled
1 1/4 cup Cheddar cheese shredded
1 cup Sour cream
3/4 teaspoon Salt (or more to taste in my opinion)
3/4 teaspoon Pepper (or more to taste also in my opinion)

Preparation:
In a large kettle, melt the butter. Stir in flour and stir until smooth. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly until smooth and thick. Add the potatoes and onions. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and stir until cheese is melted.

I like having some extra bacon, cheddar cheese, and sour cream to top the soup with as an option. Yum!

Servings: 8
WW PointsPlus: 11 points (using fat-free milk and light sour cream, everything else normal)

reverb10: make

2010-12-06T16:10:00.000-08:00

I love today's #reverb10 prompt. Mostly because it's easy and it took me no thought what so ever since I just caught up on my weekend prompts.

December 6: Make
What was the last thing you made? What is something you'd like to make and would need to clear time for?

If you follow me on Twitter I conquered that yarn wreath I blogged about a little over a week ago. Although the cell phone pix I took make it look atrocious, it really does look great IRL!

That was the pic I tweeted. The green I used was more of a grass/moss green and this is showing up LIME green. I swear it's not. The roses were so easy to make too. The wrapping of the yarn on the wreath took some time and got me exhausted... I did it off and on over a couple hours max of watching TV. The roses took me an episode of Modern Family and Cougar Town. It's definitely a great project if you can plop on the couch with a TV tray and just work on it a couple of nights while you watch TV. You can see my original post HERE which also includes the link on how you can make your own. When I was done I ran upstairs and placed it with the comforter we got for our guest room that inspired the color scheme and it's perfect.

Speaking of the comforter for our guest room... this leads me to my next project that I really need to set out time to do. So when we got married we got tons of stuff that was going to be for the house once we moved. We delayed that until at least the later part of 2011 and now it's a matter of wanting to hold off and fill our guest room with brand new stuff that can go in a new house. Or suck it up and just redecorate our home that we are currently living in.

Part of me says suck it up because it's nice to feel like a home is "complete" and not just a temp dropping zone. But at the same time I have so many great new items that I want to keep "fresh" because you always want new things in a new house. So that's my dilemna, something I need to talk to the hubs about. But if I wanted to take time to "make" something it would be to make my guest room more of a guest room rather then just a bed with bags and boxes of items around it.

reverb10: wonder & let go

2010-12-06T15:30:00.000-08:00

Like I mentioned when I started this #reverb10 thing, I was not going to let this thing stress me the eff out. So on weekends, I most likely won't work on it. But for the most part I will do my best to catch up on the Monday and acknowledge that the prompt did exist. So here are my reverb posts for Saturday and Sunday!

December 4: Wonder
How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year?

I'm stumped. And it's been a long work day. And this is my #reverb10. So you know what? I'm skipping it.

December 5: Let Go
What or whom did you let go of this year? Why?

This one is something that was just days ago, so it's easy for me to think of it and talk about it. I honestly feel good about the whole thing. The hubs doesn't 100% get it yet, but I think he's kinda having the "whatever makes you happy" attitude about it.

I had a best friend from a past job. We became pretty inseparable and even moved in together. We lived together for a little over two years and we had a lot of issues towards the end (you know, the petty roommate stuff). Because of the issues it made it even easier for me to make the decision to move out once my credit card bills were getting too high and it was clear I needed to move back home until I got a better job and my finances in order.

When I moved out she became bitter and we completely stopped talking. She pretty much thought I was trying to ruin her life. For things like wanting to take the fridge since it was mine. Sorry you pay or I take it. I even gave her a month to find a new one. It was just little things like that. During this time I also broke up with my ex boyfriend.

A couple months after I moved out I find out from my ex that he is now dating my ex-best friend. Wow, awesome. It was just a pile of emotions and my mind was thinking anything and everything... was he cheating on me with her this whole time? Was shy lying behind my back? Those types of things.

I've been BITTER for over three years. I talked horrible things about both of them to anyone that would listen or kinda knew them. It was so frustrating to me, more then anything losing someone that was such a good friend of mine. But ever since I got married I've kinda laughed at it, not thought about it as much, and just thought about where my life is now and how much I love it. So I let it go. And when her birthday came around last week I found her on Facebook and just told her that I thought of her birthday and I wanted to wish her a happy birthday and tell her I hope all is well.

I let go. She let go. She wrote me a verrrrrrrrry exhausting, long, heartfelt letter. She's still with my ex and they are extremely happy. I met the Hubs weeks after breaking up with my ex. I guess all of this happened for a reason? Whatever it is, we've chatted back and forth on Facebook a bit and although I told her we will never be best friends again (mostly because I told her I want NO contact with my ex who has said horrible things to me and about me and threatened my husband), I did tell her we could chat and I would even consider meating for drinks or coffee.

All I know is it's so nice to know we've both grown (new word for 2011 remember!) and let go.

Sigh... when are these things gonna stop being so serious?! I need some fun reverb posts!

Sucker for Proposals

2010-12-06T08:59:00.000-08:00

I loved my proposal from the hubs. It was so creative and heartfelt, and I'm a total sucker for cute proposals. I never saw this one but apparently it was a viral video this year since it was nominated for a People's Choice Award for "Favorite Viral Video Star". Wow, can't imagine being this girl, what a huge memory she will have for a lifetime!

I love everything from the "He Love You" tees to the guy snapping their Polaroid photo. That has got to be a classic photo in their house!

What are some of your favorite proposals?

reverb10: moment

2010-12-03T09:44:00.000-08:00

I am so thrilled to be participating in #reverb10. It's getting me thinking more then any blog daily challenge has ever had me thinking before. There are so many of you participating too! And I'm enjoying reading so many of them as well as finding new blogs through the process! Today's might take a while...

December 3 – Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors).

It really was a year of moments. It was the year I got to marry the man I love! How could this not be a year of moments? I never felt more amazing then I did the entire week leading up to my wedding. Although I had everything done that I needed to have done I still took off three days leading up to the day. How perfect was that. I got to visit with family and friends, have lunches or manicure appointments with friends. Got a massage with my mom, so many things that just kept me relaxed, able to breathe, and completely embrace my wedding week.

The night of the rehearsal dinner I had some of the most amazing Italian food and some of the BEST good 'ol belly laughs until I cried with some of our bridal party... I'm sure the Pino contributed possibly, but none the less -- besides my wedding? One of the greatest nights spent with friends and family.

Then the wedding day finally came -- all of the stress and bridezillaness that I thought was going to happen never came. I was as cool as a cucumber. I was loving the day and embracing every moment of it. It had rained a few days prior (and a huge storm came the day after my wedding) but the day of my wedding couldn't be better. I could smell the salt in the air and the sea breeze on that high 70's day was nothing short of perfect.

In front of 165 of our *closest* (that word is stretched) friends and family we vowed to each outher our everthing. And that was my life altering moment in 2010.

DIY: Gingerbread House Mug Decor

2010-12-03T05:00:00.000-08:00

I seriously didn't even know what to title this post. But how cute are these?!

I'm seriously dying at the creative cuteness. How cute on a mug filled with coffee or hot cocoa. Something sweet and delicious to bite into if you dare. I think this could possibly be overwhelming to make a ton... but if you dare, how cute at a small Christmas themed wedding? Definitely something cute for a small Christmas gathering with friends or family. I'm not Martha enough to probably ever want to take on this project (at least not yet since I don't have a reason to) but I had to share them because I know some of you crafty ladies would.

So if you are deciding to try out these adorable gingerbread houses (or birdhouses for a bird house / tea themed shower even?) let me know! I'd love to see how yours turn out.

Find the PDF pattern for the houses as well as the directions and more pictures at Not Martha's blog here.

Weigh-In Wednesday: Week 0

2010-12-02T16:45:00.001-08:00

Week 0? Yes, week zilch.

I'm starting fresh folks. I've been half assing Weight Watchers the past month or so and haven't been taking it as seriously as I should. And I excused it the past couple weeks because of a mix of the holidays and knowing that the new program would be starting this week.

So last night I went to my meeting and it was awesome. I haven't been this psyched for something in a long time! I even got the hubs to come and check out a meeting next week to see if it's something he would want to do. I think he would just be that extra motivated (which then motivates me more) if he actually went to the meetings.

After the meeting I went home and read through a bunch of my materials and familiarized myself with things I eat frequently and just to kinda get an idea. It's going to be hard! I used to be able to look at a food and get a good ball park figure on how many points it would be -- now I don't have a clue. Side note for those not on program: They used to calculate "points" with a calculation of calories, fat, and fiber. Now they calculate them by using fat, protein, carbs, and fiber. So I think it will be the great WW we all have known and loved but better and healthier.

My big change this week is I purchased an actual journal. I used to do all of my journaling on the computer and on the phone but I notice that I just really take the time and pay attention when I physically write it down. So I'm going to try that for a few weeks and see how that goes, I look forward to my first weigh-in next Wednesday on the new program to see how my body adjusted.

Some of the other big changes? ALL fruits are now zero points. A lot of fruits used to be 1-2 points and now you can eat them unlimited for zero points. Nobody ever got fat eating too much fruit right? Because a lot of the point values went up based on the new calculations we now have more daily points as well as the weekly "bonus" points has gone from 35 to 49. Seems like so many but will be helpful when I'm drinking wine at four points a glass on Saturday night watching my UCLA Bruins take on our biggest rival... the USC Trojans *boo hiss*!

Wish me luck folks. I know I've talked to a few of you but those who are on WW what are your thoughts on the new plan? Anything you wanna share that you've discovered? Good luck ladies on your first new week!

reverb10: writing

2010-12-02T10:45:00.001-08:00

Alright I made it to Day 2 of "Reverb 10" folks... today's prompt really got me thinking!

December 2: Writing
What do you do each day that doesn't contribute to your writing -- and can you eliminate it?

I don't know about any of you, but is it possibly to live your life and not have anything you experience in any given day not contribute to your writing? From the moment I wake up... the traffic I hit (I've blogged about seeing random Albuquerque cop cars), the crappy day I might be having at work (You've all heard about my job hunts), the Weight Watcher meetings, the television shows, the meal I cook, the new restaurant we tried... every. single. thing. contributes to my writing.

The amounts of TV I watch and the words exchanged over twitter, phone calls, Facebook, texts, and with friends, family, my husband -- and let's be honest -- Dakota... I can't think of a damn thing in my life, let alone just a single day, that I would eliminate. All of it contributes to my life experiences and what makes my life what it is.

I should never have anything NOT to write about.

What I Loved: November

2010-12-02T10:40:00.000-08:00

1. Extra Dessert Delights -- Mint Chocolate Chip

Have y'all tried this yet? I keep a pack at work and when I'm wanting something sweet I pop a piece of this gum in my mouth. It tastes pretty close to Mint Chocolate chip Ice Cream! They also have it in Sttawberry Shortcake and Key Lime Pie... definitely helps with the sweet cravings while working!

2. CO Bigelow Mentha Lip Shine

I used to use this stuff religiously for a couple of years and stopped. I just ran across a brand new tube in a caboodle recently and it's like I'm living a new life again. It's the perfect gloss and not sticky which I love... hate when things (like my hair) sticks to my lips! It also is mint-infused and keeps your breath fresh! Perfect stocking stuffer and can be purchased at Bath & Body Works and I think Sephora.

3. Time with my mom.

Yes, that is the glorious, multi-story Nordstrom you see in San Francisco. My personal fave. Anyways, taking that weekend trip to San Fran with my mom was seriously one of the greatest times I've ever had. We had such a good time and it was the first time surprisingly my mom and I had ever done a trip just us two -- don't know why we never did it sooner but we decided this is now going to be an annual tradition for sure.

4. WW New Plan

I got to learn about the new program and I'm really excited. I'm doing WW again for who knows after how many times and I think the new program is that extra "umph" to get me motivated again to try something new. And from what I can tell I think this will truly be a healthier way of losing weight. I really love the changes they've made... more on this coming in a post later today or tomorrow.

5. Amazon Prime

Please tell me you have all claimed your right to have Amazon Prime for free. You can claim it here if you have a .edu email address or here if not. I seriously have done 95% of my shopping the past year through Amazon because I get shipping FREE and in two freakin' days. I love it... and since last week for Black Friday and this week for Cyber Monday / Cyber Week I've ordered at least 15 Christmas presents (and maybe a CD or DVD for myself lol)... I've saved tons of money on shipping this year and especially in November with my Christmas shopping!

Alright folks... it's your turn... what did you love? What were you grateful for? Click on "Add your link" and it will link your blog here so others can see your "What I Loved: November" post as well!

A You Tube Love Song

2010-12-01T14:13:00.001-08:00

I'm not sure if y'all have heard about this yet or not as it hasn't had a bazillion hits on You Tube yet. But supposedly this guy lives here in L.A. and his girlfriend left him to go to Duke for her Master's... he came up with an idea about writing a song with his friends band or something, making a music video for, posting it on You Tube, and wait.

Wait for what? He wants to wait and see if it gets to her. He is not going to tell his girlfriend he did this but just wait and see if by all the tweets, emails, facebook postings, and blog write ups like this (maybe she follows my blog? lol) that it will get to her... oh, the power of social media.

So this is where it's getting it's publicity... many You Tube commenters are making a stink saying they are doing this just to get people to download their song. Since under the video there IS a link to purchase the song on iTunes. But what happened to us just thinking it's a sweet gesture and probably a cool experiment to see how long it takes for something to go "viral". I'm sure this will be on Ellen next week.

Personally, I'm going to just think it was a cool idea and a sweet gesture... I know I'd be all geeked out if a guy had done this for me and I'm known as the girl with the long song that went viral before I knew about it. Why must we be sour pusses about it?

So what do you think? A pretty damn good scan to get the iTunes hits or a fun way to show you care?

reverb10: one word

2010-12-01T13:49:00.000-08:00

Okay so I have jumped on the band wagon. I might fail like I did with my November challenge of NaBloPoMo but I'm going to try and go as long as I can. I will be honest and say that I won't be able to do it every day, but if I can find out what the previous days where then I will try and catch up. They only announce the #reverb10 the day of so there isn't the possibility of me scheduling posts ahead of time like I typically would... if you would like to join in on the fun tons of bloggers I know are doing it and you can see all of the information here. So here we go...

December 1 - One Word.
Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you?

2010 . LOVE

2010 definitely was a year of love for me. From the very start of the year was the beginning of numerous wedding showers and the bachelorette party that goes down in the history books. I was surrounded by an overwhelming of friends and family and their out pour of love and support those first few months only to be magnified x10 on April 17th when I got to marry my fabulous husband. Since that gorgeous April day I have only been able to grow in a deeper love and find out what it's like to be a unit with the person you love. I hope it only to grow deeper and stronger and that the love will continue into the start of a family sometime in the future.

2011 . GROWTH

With love there are struggles -- financially, the fights, just the every day issues, etc. So far we've done a great job at anything that has come our way, but not without a little bit of a fight. With every struggle there has been a learning process and I feel like we are growing every day learning from our troubles. I hope that only continues to happen and we will be able to continue learning things daily making us stronger individually and as a family.

DIY: Yarn Wreath

2010-11-30T14:07:00.001-08:00

Last week I saw a wreath on "take heart" that I just had to try. I originally was going to try the book wreath many of us were tweeting about last week but when I saw this I liked that I could make it more personal with getting to chose the colors I wanted in a specific room.

You can find out to do this wreath here.

Here is the wreath I will now be making to go in our guest bedroom. I made the whole guest bedroom around a Martha comforter set we got from our wedding -- different shades of gray, white, lime, and a little black. I'm going to be making a yarn wreath!

On my lunch break I bought all of the supplies and this is going to be a very inexpensive craft that I'm HOPING will look really cute hung in the guest room... here's the price breakdown for all supplies that I purchased at Michael's:

Large Straw Wreath - $3.99, with 40% off coupon $2.39
Grass Green Yarn - $1.99 for something like 250 yards
Felt in charcoal, gray, and white - 4 sheets each (12 total) at $.29 each - 12 x $.29 = $3.48

That looks like it will be somewhere around $7.86 -- awesome!

I'm happy with this purchase and it's always fun to have stuff in the home that you appreciate more because you had a hand in it.

For directions and more photos see the post from "take heart" here. I promise to post the finished product when I'm done, I started wrapping the wreath on my lunch break and I'm thinking it will take me about an hour or so to wrap the whole thing... I know what I'm doing while watching tv tonight!