New Year

With the holidays behind us we now embark on a new year. This is a time when we reflect on all our good times and come up with resolutions to help prevent the bad. All I can say is I feel so blessed to have my family. Dispite a recent outbreak of a stomach bug we have all remained healthy. I have my usual fondue dinner planned ( I will post more on this later), and my resolutions made. I wish everyone a safe night and Happy New Year! 

Starting things off

I know it has been months since I have kept up with this blog but that is about to change. It has taken me some time to get into the balance of kids, wife, school, and me. I finally feel a little more balanced so I have big plans for this blog. 

To start off, I want to tell you about a little of what I have been up to. I recently took a English research class for school ( it still feels so weird to say that in my thirties. Lol) . I want to start off the relaunch of this blog with what I have learned in my research. No worries I am not going to bore you with gruesome details. My goal here is not to be boring but to be fun. 

So I recently had a discussion with one of my doctors about food. This is not a big surprise for those of you that know me personally. I have struggled my whole life with my weight. I have always been pretty aware of what I have put in my mouth.........or so I thought.

I can not tell you how many low-fat, fat-free,or suppose to be so healthy for food and drinks I have eaten or drank over the years. I thought I was doing everything right. So it must be me why I have struggled so much with maintaining a healthy weight. Well, after this discussion with my doctor I learned I had been so wrong. 

My doctor told me about an article in "Time" magazine that he said supported some of his research on foods. So I found this article and have since been on a hunt for more information. This article goes into about what we have been told is the right way to eat. When in reality what we gave been told may really not be the best options for us. We live in a world of man made and processed foods. There are kids out there that may very rarely  see what a "real" vegtable or piece of friut looks like. Really? I find this so sad. With that being said I did promise no boring gruesome details. I am going to start posting about food made with "real food" I will also post Tibets about what are some healthy benefit. My goal has always been to be a certain weight and live a healthy lifestyle . So now, Sunday dinner post will be all about the foods I encounter on this journey to meet these goals. I will keep you posted on my journey and what I have learned along the way daily. So folks, keep coming back to my blog to learn more about what my journey has been and will be and all the fun stuff in between. 

I'm back

I am back.......

Zulily

Groove Book

So I have to admit. I love the show Shark tank. I think deep down I love the idea of being a entrepreneur. I enjoy seeing the passion and drive that these people have. With that being said I saw something about a month ago that totally grabbed my attention. It was called Groove book. You down load the app onto your phone and it allows you to print your pictures. So I went ahead and did this. I am always taking pictures with my phone. Let's be honest while an actual camera gives you a better quality picture it is just crazy to juggle carrying both a phone, a camera, and two kids. 

I was so excited today to get my book. I felt it was really well put together. I paid 2.99 to get 100 pictures. You sign up and receive a book of pictures you choose every month. I love this hole concept. You can cancel at anytime. So my advice is to give it a shot. Here is what mine looked like. 

I should also note this review is entirely on my own. I did not receive any compensation.  

Shopping online

As a mother of two boys going shopping is always a big event. I have become quite a fan of online shopping. I can not remember who told me about this site called Zulily. I gave it a shot and let me say I love it. I have ordered from them a few times. From boots for me to some hard to find educational toys for my kids the service has been consistent. It has always been great. I love the fact that you can track your package from day one. Not just from when it has been shipped. The quality of the items is always great. Nothing has felt cheap poor quality. I recently ordered swim shoes for my boys. I have to say I bought them for 4.99 and they are the same quality as the $20 pairs I see at the stores. The thing I love is the items are limited so you will not see many people with the same ones. My son has gotten a ton of compliments on those shoes. I have included a link to check out their site. Please take a moment to browse I promise you will not be disappointed . Once I figure out howto get a good picture I will post picture of some of the items I have purchased. I have posted a banner above. I am still trying to figure this out. 

It is a 10!

 I wanted to share a product that I absolutely love. I have been a liscenced cosmetologist for over 15 years and I have tried a ton of different products. When I came across this conditioner it was instant love. I loved the smell and loved what it does with hair. This is not the best product picture but you can see what it looks like. 

This product does a perfect job of conditioning my blonde thin hair without weighing it down. I have used other products within the It's a 10 line and I recommend them all. I really feel these are great for all types of hair. Questions let me know. 

Monday Mania

Usually Mondays are the day of the week I regroup set out my goals for the week, menu plan,and start a cleaning to do list. With the holiday today I am just going to enjoy my boys. Until tomorrow .

Sunday dinner

I thought what better way to kick off the new blog than Sunday dinner. While working in retail I missed Sunday dinners. I always felt it was such a bonding experience for friends and family to enjoy a good meal. In today's world there are so many electronics to communicate sometimes the art of face to face communication gets lost. What better way to bring people together. So Sundays are food days. 

Last Sunday was my moms birthday so of course I wanted to make her a dinner. It is absolutely one of my favorite things to do for birthdays. Ok lets be honest I love to cook and bake give me a reason to do it for others makes it that much more for me.

I decided to grill some sausage on the grill. Nothing really special I just suggest to really keep an eye on it. The juice from the sausage can cause the flames to blacken them quickly. I also decided to do some peppers and onions. This is what I use...

1 green pepper

1 red pepper

1 orange or yellow pepper

1 large white or yellow onion

Sprinkle with Italian seasoning to taste

I slice all the ingredients and put them in a plastic bag. I sprinkle with some olive oil. Shake the bag really good to coat everything .I set this aside and start to heat the pan . Once the pan is heated I add my vegetables. After they have been cooking for about two minutes. I add a shot of white wine. I cook these until the onions start to caramelize. 

Usually I start the pepper first then throw the sausage on the grill and they are done around the same time.

I will add a picture next time I make this.Until then trust me it looks delicious. I usually have a side of greens salad, potato salad, and some kind of pasta salad.

Now, what would be a Sunday dinner without dessert. It being my mom's birthday I really wanted to do something she would like. So I decided to go for this.......

 This is a Fruit Pizza or I like to call it a Fruit tart. It is super easy and it went really fast. 

Here is the how-to.

Fruit Pizza/ Fruit tart

1 pkg ) sugar cookie dough ( I used Pillsbury) 

1 ) 8 oz pkg cream cheese

1) 4 oz cool whip

Fruit of choice

Orange sauce

1/2 cup sugar

Dash of salt

1 tbs cornstarch

1/2 cup orange juice

2 tbs lemon juice

1/4 cup water

1/2 tsp grated orange peel

First cut cookie dough in 1/8 " pieces and place on pizza pan. Bake at temperature stated on package until slightly golden brown. About 10 minutes.

While cookie is baking start orange sauce. Mix all ingredients together in a sauce pan. Cook until mixture is boiling and has thicken. Continue cooking about 1 minute. Then turn off sauce to cool . 

Blend cream cheese and cool whip with hand mixer until blended. Once cookie crust has cooled completely spread mixture on crust. 

 Place your desired fruit on the cream covered crust. 

I choose blueberries, strawberries, raspberries,and kiwi. 

Then drizzle the orange sauce on top.

I placed mine back in the fridge for an hour to make sure it was all cooled and yummy to serve. 

I hope you enjoyed these recipes and will try these for your Sunday dinner or any day of the week dinner.

Xo,

Me for a while 

Restart button

I know it has been awhile. I could give a list of excuses but that will not do any of us any good. When I first started this blog I was just courious of the blogging world. I honestly was wondering if I really could be heard. I was also told by numerous people when becoming a mother/ wife make sure to take time for myself. I have always love to write. So bam here we are. In the past, I have not taken this blog to where I wanted to. I always found an excuse about having time. Well, I know longer want to do that. So with that being said keep a look out for a hole new style of blog. I want to include a variety of things from online shopping , product reviews, recipes, exersise, and probably even some random DYI and things that I just like. I hope this will attract more readers. So until next time. 

Me for awhile 

Off the wagon

Ok, so I have to admit I fell of the T25 wagon a little. I am giving myself until next week to make sure I get my butt in gear. I am no longer on spring break and juggling everyone's schedule brings a hole new challenge to the mix. So Saturday is the restart day. :( 

Ready set go....

So tomorrow is the big start day for T25. I have reviewed all the CDs now it is time to try them. I am not going to lie I am nervous. I feel that now is the time though. Time to push through being uncomfortable to reach a goal that I have wanted to achieve off so long. Ready..... Set......... Go............

T25

So this week it is time to get my butt back in shape. I will post my progress. I am going to do this with the help of T25 . 

Speech day

Today is a day I get to go the the college and make a speech for class. I get so nervous. Tonight I decided to talk about the color wheel. I chose this with hopes of actually being able to talk for 7 minutes. Wish me luck ! 

Manic Mondays

Happy St. Patrick's day! I think having a holiday makes the manic Monday feeling a little less. Today we had the sun shining which helped too. Even though it is a little cold still and I have just a crazy amount of homework this week I still managed some fun with the boys today. It is amazing how happy a piece of paper and some stickers can make the day . :) 

Sunday Funday

Now that I have quite my job to concentrate on being a mother, wife, and student. This day now has a hole new meaning. I used to work on Sundays so for years it was a dreaded day. I always thought about everyone spending time with family and friends enjoying the end of their week, and eating a nice family dinner. I always felt left out. Now thanks to my supportive husband, I get to enjoy these days again. The hustle of getting homework done and backpacks packed for the morning, shopping for the week, and eating the family dinner I dreamed about while at work. So on this Sunday enjoy your moments what ever they may be. 

This says it all

So along with me trying to eat healthier I strongly believe it is time for done habbits to change. To get out of this rut. I saw this and said to myself wow this fits my mood today! 

Home made is always better

So I have gotten into a major rut with food. I feel that part of the reason why I have had so much trouble battling this weight is I just do not enjoy what I am eating. I think it is more eating to eat. So with that I have been doing a lot more home made. I have started to eliminate buying pre-made sauces. It is amazing how much better they taste and so far they have been super easy to make. I will post some recipes over my spring break for now here is a picture from last nights sauce.... Vodka sauce. 

Eating Clean

So I know it's been a while school has been super crazy. I have still been trying to get everyone eating healthy and a lot less processed foods. So I was shopping at Target and came across these Annie's homegrown frozen meals. I saw that they are organic. Which for me ment exciting alternative on a day I am racing around. 

At the risk of sounding like a commercial. I received this coupon for a free one to try it out. Now those of you that know us know my little oneis a picky eater and does not like much but I can say had had two bowls of this yummy stuff. Thank you Annie's for making something my kids will eat. 

*** please note that this was received complimentary for testing purposes from Influenster.com 

Taking a different direction

So I have been doing a lot of thinking about this blog. I know it is not seen by many and I wish it would be a lot more so. I am hoping this week to create a few segments to write to help take this place to a bigger crowd. Any thoughts?

Book Exchange!

Do not forget to sign up for the book ecxchange. Time is running out. If you are having trouble please message me below. 

New Semester!

The time has come for new classes and new teachers. I have to admit I was so thankful that my teachers sent e-mails letting us know there is a lot of work involved in the class. I am taking online classes for now so the majority is at a self pace. There are still due dates for homework, quizzes ,and test but no one to push you. I really like this. It makes school more doable for this mother of two. Needless to say I am so nervous this quarter I took some tough classes. So wish me luck. :) 

Finally!

So I have been pondering for months weather or not to read this book. Today when taking the boys to the library I decided to take the plunge. Here it goes........

Gabriel's Redemption

So here it goes my first book review. I  thought in honnor or starting the book exchange I would also do   some book reviews. This being the first. 

To give you a little background. I am a crazy reader. I genreraly read a book with in a week no matter how long it is. If it is good and I can't but it down it will be done in a few days.  To start off the reiew with Gaberil's Redemtion I thought was fitting. It was a popular series. 

The book:  This was a book I just could not wait for it to become available at the library to I went ahead and bought it. I was glad I did. It was in fact one I could not put down and was done in two days. It is a love story book. You defintly have to read the first two books in the series. It is the finally book of the story. I do not want to give away too much for the people that have not read it yet. That is the reason for the briefness  on the story. It is a must read. I did feel it was a little rushed  though. I felt as though it could have been broken into another book for the series. Anybody else read this book? Let me know if anybody has a good book reccomendatioon.