So many adventures. So few times.

My photo
My life is pretty dull. I play with a toddler, watch a lot of Yo Gabba Gabba and experiment with the crock pot. I have no bed time and I find humor in Laffy Taffy jokes. Conan O'Brien is my anti-drug.

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Old Navy Tees for all! and other adventures


This last Saturday, we had quite the busy day. It started as so many pre-Easter Saturdays do: with an egg hunt. It was Emma's first, and she kind of loved it.


Anywho, post-hunt we hit the road and met my beloved friend Tiffany at Old Navy. I had been selected by Crowdtap to get two free tees for myself (AND two for a friend! SCORE!!) Tiffany met me in the middle and the whirlwind shopping trip began!


Of course, my faithful companion, E was along for the ride. She was only mildly interested in the trip as she was coming down from a sugar buzz, was late for lunch and needed a nap like the Sahara needs rain.
We started grabbing some stuff to try on besides just our tees of choice because, HI, summer is coming! 


Emma was still only mildly interested.


Mildly interested.


So, the tees. Tiffany and I both selected vintage tees in varying colors (we both picked the hot pink and while my other choice was a heather gray, Tiff opted for a dark heather blue hue). These shirts are SO soft and SO reliable - I still have one from being selected for a sample & share a year ago via Crowdtap and Old Navy! Despite the lack of railroad mouth in this picture, I pinky swear I was ecstatic.


On a seperate note, I also bought this stripey dress (below) and FELL. IN. LOVE. I wore it to brunch today with a bubble necklace and a yellow belt with nude flats and felt SO chic and yet comfy! When I got home, I took off the accessories, threw on black leggings and I feel like I could sleep in this thing. Highly recommend. 


On another separate note, as E and I drove home, I rolled down the window because it was 60+ degrees outside. 60+ degrees, I say! Practically summer!!


I received the Old Navy vintage tee pictured above for free. If you are interested in getting things like free clothing, products from brands like Woolite, Durex, Marc Jacobs or Verizon for free and connecting with other amazeballs brands please click here and check out Crowdtap.com.
PLEASE feel free to ask me any questions!




Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Buffy's reduced everything jalepino bites. And shoes(!!)

First and foremost, happy first day of spring! It's currently about 20 degrees and the snow is nice and heavy. Yay lingering winter! However, with that magical day in March comes a sense of renewal, invigoration... and for me today, extreme excitement. I'm going to a girlfriend's house tonight for a girl's night and Magic Mike viewing party! Appetizers, half-naked men, wine... it's going to be pretty much the best night of my life.

So, appetizers. I decided to make my amazing and amazingly simple jalepino bites.


What you need:
* 1 tube of crescent rolls. I like to cut caloric corners where I can, so I always go for the reduced fat Pillsburghy
* 1 box of cream cheese/Neufchitel, softened
*1 decent-sized jalepino pepper
* 1 teaspoon brown sugar

 ----->

Ya know how I said amazingly simple? Yeah. Preheat your oven to 375.

Dump everything (minus the crescent rolls) into your food processor. Moosh it all together.




Unroll your crescent rolls and smooth out the perforated /'s so you have four rectangles

Divide up the cream cheese mixture and spread it out onto your four rectangles. 


 --------------->                     
Start rolling up each rectangle so you get a little log. Continue with the remaining gooey/creamy rectangles.


Once you have all your little little logs rolled up, start slicing with a sharp knife so you have little 1 inch rolls.

Pop them into the oven, set the timer for 13-15 minutes, and wait. 
... I decided to peek into the oven.
And then I decided to scrape the bowl to eat the last remnants of spicy cream cheese and sugary goodness.
No regrets.
Did I mention shoes? E and I ran into Nine West today during a BOGO50 sale and I got both pairs for $35 total! The brown ones are soooooooo comfy and retro-chic. And the blue ones... sigh. Up close, they are kind of amazing.



So, the oven then goes off and you take the little jalepino bites out of the oven and then you take them off the baking sheet right away and HOLY CRAP. Amazing. 


Don't tell the Girl's Night crew I stole one pre-party. Whatever! I had to make sure they were edible!
(They were.)








Friday, March 15, 2013

Railroad Mouth - the Self Esteem Issue


I recently got braces. Ya know, the metal things they glue to your teeth for an absurd amount of money with the end goal of straighter teeth or a healthier jaw alignment or to correct a problem that could even affect your digestion. Yeah. I got braces. And I'm having a seriously bad time with my self esteem.
I already have issues with my weight. It's the truth. Since having my daughter, I've lost a little over 40 pounds. But when I look in the mirror, I see myself 40 pounds heavier than when I started. I joke with my friends and probably come off conceited with my appearance, but really I have issues with how I look. I hate the way my hips flare out. I hate the way my muffin top floats around even when I'm not wearing too-small pants. I hate my larger-than-average calves.
But I'm working on it.

I was getting better. I swear, I was. I was starting to see myself as a beautiful woman. I was starting to see myself as an athletic, strong woman as much as a mom and a wife and a friend and a doggy mommy and everything else. I ran the hell out of my treadmill. Jillian Michaels wants a piece of me? Okay, cool. Let's do two videos back-to-back.

And then I got these things. My chompers hurt like a dirty word, and the idea of running even a week and a half later makes me cringe. Cringe, I say! I'm eating more than soup now, but I don't even have motivation to eat healthy. I want to shove as much chocolate ice cream into my face as my gut can hold. While wearing yoga pants. Three day dirty-yoga pants. 


I don't even like complaining audibly, because look at all the 12 year old monsters who are going through the same oral torture and aren't even letting out a peep! I might as well be 12. I hate my appearance about the same as I did then. Oh, and did I mention that I'm suddenly getting acne?! Sexy, I know.


So, my question to my readers: How do you boost your self esteem? How do you look in the mirror and see your face as a beautiful one? How do you see yourself naked and not shudder with disgust? I want to be a strong woman for my gorgeous little girl. I want to teach her to love herself, to not doubt her appearance. 
I'm not looking for pats on the back, I just want to love myself again. 
When I look at my picture, all I see is teeth.