Good Day

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Hailey and I had a lazy yet productive day today. The lazy part is that we stayed in our pjs till lunch… while the productive part would be that mommy has the bathroom for the bathroom makeover almost done….woot, woot! Can we say I am down to the wire on this one (I have to post it on Monday)…yikes!

Us girls didn’t even leave the house till tonight when we met daddy after work to have dinner. Yum, yum…we went to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. I actually hadn’t been there before…it was delicious! I had this melt in your mouth filet, but I think the scallops may have been even better. They give you so much food that we definately have enough for lunch tomorrow too.

I can’t believe Hailey wasn’t starving though…she ate a couple fries and that was it…poor little bug is teething AGAIN! Those darn teeth. Thankfully she’s almost got them all for a while cause I think we’re both about over it. BTW, the diagram source leads you to a great article by Philips on toddler/baby teething and when to generally expect those pearly whites.

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Anywho…hope ya’ll are having a great night and a great start to the weekend!

 

 

Tea Nirvana

Teavana is definitely a good name for the place. Once you get in there you never leave…or want to! Hailey just LOVES their Pineapple Kona Pop & Blueberry Bliss Rooibos Iced Tea…they have this blend in the stores right now. Needless to say EVERY time we go to the mall we have to stop there and have some. This stuff tastes like juice instead of tea and its waaaayyy healthier.

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Mommy broke down and bought this mix today in addition to the green tea one I bought the other day. I’m not big on hot drinks, but I do make sure we have iced tea in the fridge at all times. I had already been mixing bagged teas at home for different flavors and variety.  I probably should have known better than to stop in the store. I don’t know about you, but I was clueless to the loose leaf tea. All of them smell awesome! It is so hard to pick just one and I’m sure that’s what they’re counting on.

I don’t know if I could back to just plain ole tea again…yikes! BTW…this is a totally free endorsement for those evil (but really nice) folks at Teavana.

How to make the perfect iced tea:

Tea has all kinds of health benefits…it just depends on which kinds of tea you use. To reap the most benefits you need to use the least processed version, which is loose leaf tea. The normal tea you think of is made from tea bags that contain “tea dust” rather than whole leaves. This kind of tea drastically reduces the health benefits and flavor.

Making homemade iced tea is very similar to making hot tea, but there are a few differences. Follow these steps on how to make great tasting gourmet iced tea:

1.      Double the amount of loose tea that you would use for hot tea (I made a half gallon with the perfect tea maker and used 1 C)
* As an added note, you can leave the leaves in the container and reuse them 1 more time.

Perfect tea maker from Teavana

     2.      If you prefer sweet tea, add sugar with the leaves while the water is hot (the sugar melts and is better incorporated into the tea)

3.     Immediately after the hot tea is brewed, pour it into a glass or pitcher filled almost to the top with ice. The sudden cooling keeps the flavor and scent of the tea intact (I had never heard this before, but it makes sense).

If you guys try the tea at one of the stores…this is the process that they used to make it. I used all my investigative powers to get the dirt on this out of them! It's ok...I won't blame you when you want to say explatives in my direction when you get addicted to it!

 

 

Cute tins we bought at the store for our tea!

Wordless Wednesday - TV

 

She was like....moooommmmm I'm eating and watching tv here (a princess movie of course)....and then grinned at me.

Pics N SPAM

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NO….not pics of spam…he, he (I crack myself up).

It seems here lately I have been getting an ever increasing amount of spam comments. I don’t know if it’s just me or if the rest of ya’ll have felt it too.

What I’m wondering is how much these people get paid to do spam blog posts that don’t even make sense?? Yes, my goal in life is to write ineligible garbled up words on random blogs for a living…how about you?

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I guess having multiple spam comments on your blog is a sign that your blog is doing well…I mean if you find that someone is getting paid to get onto your site. At least I had already changed my comments to where I have to approve them (I learned that one the hard way).

Ok, I could on and on about this, but I’ll save ya’ll the pain. Sorry for the delayed post today, but the little lady and I (with the help of a friend) have been working on getting some beautiful new pics of the girl. I’m so excited….mommy’s been slackin’ on getting some good pics of her. I know, I know I give you guys my measly attempt at pictures.

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My motivation is…

I’m almost half-way through the month….which means that I’m almost half-way to being done with writing EVERY day. Let me tell you it’s A LOT harder than it sounds (especially over the weekend).  I mean…I love ya’ll and all, but don’t get used to this every day thing!

 

I do believe that out of all this writing that I’ve decided to increase the number of days a week that I write, but every day is waaaaayyyy too much…besides absence make the heart grow fonder…right?? <<GRIN>>

Anywho…the girl and I had a fun and busy day today. All things she already enjoys (as in shopping and more shopping). I know…I’ve taught her right! Ya’ll are not going to believe this, but the child had another growth spurt and I had to buy her new shoes…AGAIN (I just bought her some right before Halloween…aka her Cinderella shoes)!

 

 

 

 

It’s so much easier taking her shopping in a stroller she actually likes. I got a new BOB stroller the other day and the very first day I put her in it…she didn’t want to get out. Now that is saying a lot. Not to mention she loves that this stroller is pink and has to point that out to everyone.

 

 

 

Hope ya’ll enjoy the pics of the day….

 

 

One too many

Today is one of the days…I like to call it a recovery day (aka not used to drinking), Call me a light-weight if you will and I’m ok with that!

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We went to two great parties last night (with NO KIDS). Can we say a woot, woot to that one? First we went to a wedding reception of some friends of ours. They had this beautiful destination wedding in the Dominican Republic and then had their reception a couple weeks later so those of us not able to go could get a glimpse and help them celebrate. It was in this quaint little restaurant/event location…it reminded me of some small restaurant in the French Quarter in New Orleans. The food was delicious.

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Next we hopped over to my best friend Ami’s house for her husband’s 40^th birthday extravaganza. We had a great time there as well. I knew almost everyone between the years of knowing them and then going to so many activities in their neighborhood. Ami went all out this year…DJ, someone doing drinks and all. Jason was totally surprised. Funny thing was, Ami had a bunch of the same food at her house that they did at the reception (her and her mom are awesome cooks). Thankfully Ami’s mom and co. were there to help out with clean up.

We were so thankful to have someone to watch the kids and actually get out of the house childless for a bit. Trust me I love them….but we’ve gotta have some adult time! I hated having to split time between the two events. Both of these girls are awesome and there was no way I could say no to either one of them.

Hope you guys are having/had a great weekend!

Ode to a busy day...



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I do believe EVERY and I mean EVERY member of this house has something that has to be done today. We started out bright and early this morning where the 13 y.o old had a band concert/tryout.  Then we needed to do the everyday stuff to keep this house running. Not to mention mommy should have had presents for the wedding reception and birthday party tonight all done…did I?...heck no!

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Took Livie for some girl time to get our toes done (daddy stayed home while Hailey took a nap…woo hoo) and then rushed back home so daddy could take Tyler (the 13 y.o) to basketball tryouts. Oh yea, forgot to mention I did groceries this morning and cleaned house.

Siiigghhhh….the day’s not even half over yet. We have a friend of the family coming over to watch the brood so we can go to said wedding reception and birthday party tonight. I think I’m exhausted just from typing all this out.

Wish me luck!

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Fishy business

I don’t know about the rest of ya’ll, but I am CONSTANTLY on the lookout for quick, easy and different meals to make for the fam. I get tired of the same old same old stuff day in and day out. A couple weeks ago I got asked to join a Buzz Campaign for Gorton's Skillet Crisp Tilapia. I said sure…bring it on. We love fish, but it’s not something I go out of my way to make on a daily basis. When I do make it, it’s usually on the grill.

Here’s the low down from Gorton’s:

Every Skillet Crisp fillet is made with Gorton's 5-Star Tilapia^® — only the mildest, flakiest whole fillets are selected and then seasoned with a crisp coating of real herbs and spices in two flavorful varieties: Garlic & Herb Seasonings and Classic Seasonings with a Touch of Lemon. Because the whole, natural fillets are lightly coated, Gorton's Skillet Crisp Tilapia gives you more fish in every bite!

Now on to the all-important taste test:

I do have to tell you I was pleasantly surprised. When I think frozen fish I think miscellaneous pieces of fish mushed to together to make some non-natural shape. Not too appealing to say the least. When I opened the package…it actually looked like a piece of lightly breaded fish. Ding, ding ding…bonus number one.

The cooking time was minimal and EASY! By the time I had everything else ready…so was the fish. No on to the taste… We are somewhat fish connoisseurs around here (I may not cook it much….but we do eat it out a lot). I was a little skeptical.

I served ours with asparagus, homemade seasoned french fries and cheddar rolls….yummy. The flavor and texture was waaaayyyy better than normal frozen, but not quite as good as fresh. I would have to say I could see us eating this again. Good job Gorton’s.