Friday, December 13, 2013

Google Goodies

Fun Google Goodies from a user group meetup.  Who doesn't love freebies!!

Google Goodies

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Snow :-(

We have gotten a healthy dose of snow over the past couple of days.  I do NOT like snow whatsoever but it is something I just have to deal with.

Let me tell you what... I ordered the Sorel Caribou in 2004 from Zappos for a whopping $39.30.  Best investment ever.  These boots do not fail and knowing what I know now I would easily drop the going rate of $140.00 for them.  My feet have never been cold or wet in them.  They are my go to for shoveling snow or being in the cold for prolonged periods.

Snow 2013

If you got snow, stay safe out there.  The roads will be slippery and no doubt there will still be dummies trying to drive as if there was nothing on them.





Sunday, December 8, 2013

Shoe Haul- Zappos

Can you truely ever have enough black shoe options in your closet?
Boots, and booties, and heels oh my!  With a small clutch to add to the purse section of my closet as well.


Zappos Haul


Boots- Jessica Simpson Audrey
Booties- Jessica Simpson Aggie
Heels- Nine West Rocha
Clutch- Big Budda Adriana

Reviews to come.


Sunday, December 1, 2013

Live It Up!!



It has been quite a hiatus and I have missed you all.  No guarantees this will be back to the days of old where I was posting more frequently but I just wanted to drop in.  I miss the outlet of blogging.  It is like a mini vacation during the day where I can just zone out of everything and write about whatever is on my mind.

What is on my mind.  Thanksgiving has come and gone.  Black Friday has come and gone.  And here we are at the 1st day of the last month of the year.  What a year it has been.  The goal for this month is try and pack as much awesomeness into December as possible.  Spending time with family and friends.  Trying new things and living life to the fullest.  Truth be told that should be the goal every month but sometimes we lose sight of what is important.

My November photo recap!!

November 2014

1- Thanksgiving deserts
2- Cute Turkey cupcakes made by my niece
3- Mashed potatoes!!!
4- Pens for Holiday Mail For Heros
5- Awesome tea when I was sick and coughing beyond belief
6- Granola in a bowl + Driving = FAIL
7- Another driving fail
8- Wiping off the dust..again.
9- Turkey chili recipe from a friend.  Better the 2nd day.


Well Happy December everyone.  May you have an enjoyable month and holiday season.

Monday, July 8, 2013

July Crafty Project- Butterick B5450- Part 2

The plan for last week was modified.  Modified in that I decided to make a muslin instead of cutting my fabric.  I also forgot to get a lining so I still need to do that.

So how did my plans for last week go?  Let's take a look:

Day 1- Pick the project.- DONE
Day 2- Decide on fabric.- DONE- kind of, narrowed down to 2 but making muslin
Day 3- Prep fabric- wash/dry- holding off until after muslin
Day 4- Prep fabric- iron- I did iron out the muslin so DONE
Day 5- Cut pattern out- DONE
Day 6- Pin pattern to fabric- to muslin DONE
Day 7- Cut fabric- muslin DONE


Not bad since I did change the plans some.

You know when you haven't done something in forever because it takes you twice as long.  Then you have a few "oh yeah" moments.  I started cutting with scissors and then it dawned on me I had a rotary cutter.  Those little markings all over the pattern weren't going to magically transfer themselves to the fabric either.  

For the muslin the lining was skipped as well as the zipper.  The bodice fits fine however I think I am going to adjust the seam allowances at the bottom piece to make it a little more comfy.  Come to think of it I may just use a 4/8" seam allowance for the neck and armholes as well. That will give me a little bit more room.

Butterick 5450 Muslin
So for this week I am hoping to do the following:

Day 1- Prep fabric- wash/dry (pick up black lining)
Day 2- Prep fabric- iron
Day 3- Pin pattern to fabric 
Day 4- Cut fabric, transfer markings
Day 5- Sew bodice (fabric and lining)
Day 6- Sew skirt 
Day 7- Insert zipper

Hopefully next week you will be seeing pictures of a finished product!!!  Baby steps, baby steps, baby steps.


Friday, July 5, 2013

Paleo Pancakes- The Attempt, Fail, and Recovery

I have been desperately trying to eat Paleo and this is one of the quickest recipes I saw.  Paleo Pancakes with a whopping to ingredients, a banana and an egg. Mush it, mix it, smash it up in a bowl and put on the griddle.  Not to difficult right.  I used egg whites since we rarely have whole eggs and the ones in the refrigerator had expired.  Finding the right tool to mush and mix the banana was interesting.  What proved most successful was the thing we use for the juicer to push the fruit down the chute.

Paleo Pancakes 1

Once it was all mixed up off to the griddle it went.  FAIL!!!  It did absolutely nothing but stick to the griddle which was coated lightly with olive oil.  I wonder if using a whole egg would have made a difference here.  It was a mess.

Paleo Pancakes 2

All hope was not out the window.  After a moment of thought I got out my trusty microwave omelette maker and that was the ticket.  Once they were done back on the griddle to brown.

Paleo Pancake 3

YUMMY... banana is such a potent flavor.  Of course the consistency is not that of your traditional pancake but they were a win in my book.  A second attempt is well deserved to see what happens when using a whole egg.  I just need more bananas.


Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Visitor

Today when I walked in my office we had a little visitor.  Isn't she adorable.  My coworker couldn't leave her home so she hung out with us all day.  How fun!!  She curled right up under my desk and took a long nap.

Bear



Monday, July 1, 2013

July Crafty Project- Butterick B5450

I like the idea of being able to craft my own garments yet every time I sit down to do it I get pulled away, messed up, fed up or something else.  Clean slate for July.  I am giving myself 1 month to do this Butterick B5450 shirt (View A) which is deemed a Fast & Easy pattern. To me this means an experienced sewist could whip this up in 1-2 hours.  Then there is me.  The not so experienced sewist. Me who is scared to mess up so every little thing is analyzed again and again and again.  One month.  One month I am giving myself for this.  No pressure right.

July Sewing B5450
Here is the game plan for the week.  Itty, bitty, teensy, tiny baby steps.

Day 1- Pick the project.- DONE
Day 2- Decide on fabric.
Day 3- Prep fabric- wash/dry
Day 4- Prep fabric- iron
Day 5- Cut pattern out
Day 6- Pin pattern to fabric
Day 7- Cut fabric

Somewhere between day 1 and 7 I need to check and see if I have a zipper and if not get one. While writing this I changed my mind on the fabric or at least I'm not 100% sure on the one I selected.  We'll see.  That will be decided tomorrow!!



Sunday, June 30, 2013

Photo App Fun- PicsArt

This weekend I discovered the joy of playing with your photos on my S4 with photo editing apps.

Here are the apps I downloaded:

PicsArt
Aviary
Photo Grid
PicCollage


PicsArt has a ton and I say a TON of options.  To the point I was/am a little overwhelmed!!
With menus in menus in menus and more choices within those menus there has got to be everything you are looking for in here.  Don't quote me on that because I haven't scratched the surface with this app.  Navigating through the app takes a moment just because there are so many options but once you get the hang of it, it is a breeze.  I haven't found anything so far I don't like about this app.  It is just a little intimidating because of the magnitude of options.

PicsArt.com

As I play with it a little more we'll see what I come across.

Stay tuned for my 2¢ on the other apps and see how they compare.  What are your faves?


Tuesday, June 25, 2013

New Phone

Finally...a new phone for me!!!  And so far it is AWESOME! 

Have you seen the commercial for it?  I have been able to set up most of the features that are shown in the commercial.  I liked my Samsung Infuse but the Galaxy S4 I have noticed does not drop as many calls.  There is a very specific area I drive and there was a noticeable difference in the amount of dropped calls I have had in that area.  Very happy about that.  The speaker on the phone is just so-so.  It seems like my Infuse got louder with better sound quality.  Maybe I just need to clean my ears though.

The process of installing apps has been slow but I didn't want to load up the phone with a lot of apps I didn't use anyway.  Slowly but surely I will get it exactly where I want it.

I have had it for a little over a month now and I can honestly say I do not have any complaints.  No issues whatsoever and the battery life is fine for my daily usage.  Granted  I have a charger at home, in my car, and at work maybe a true representation of the battery life is lacking.

It's a keeper!!!

Monday, June 24, 2013

Weekly Workout

This is my ease back into it week.  Or at least that is what I thought.  The xFinity App on my tablet has a fitness channel.  There is a variety of workouts that vary in length so it is nice to select something based on the amount of time you have.

This week I am going to be doing one of the walking workouts.  What is considered a walking workout is more what I know as aerobics.  Since the beginner level was fine a few weeks a go I upped it a notch.  A walking workout, easy peasy right.  Even moving up a step it shouldn't be to bad.  WRONG!!!  Have you all noticed I am wrong a lot!!

Yesterday sucked.  For real.  As I was working out my body began to feel every motion.  The first 5 minutes were the worst and that was just the warm up.  Admittedly I am severely out of shape so surprise was not an emotion that even surfaced.  But my goodness.  Anyhow,  the good thing is I finished and I plan to be back at it tomorrow.

justfinish

Yep, I took that first step and even though I am not a workout rockstar yet my mantra for the week is JUST FINISH.  I think that is what counts.  Off to take my measurements so I can have reference point to see how I am progressing.


Sunday, June 23, 2013

Paleo!!

So here it goes.  I am going to try the Paleo way of eating.  After talking to one of mom's on my daughters soccer team, she had a lot of success with achieving her weightloss goals.  My reasons for doing it are to lose about 10 pounds and then from there maintain a healthy eating lifestyle.  The kicker for me with this eating program is the no dairy.  NO DAIRY.  YIKES!!!!  Seriously, I eat cereal with milk, yogurt, cheese, day in and day out.  This will be hard but I have to get myself together.  This will also allow my to make foods that are healthy that the who family can enjoy.

Today was Day 1 and I made it through.  Egg whites and bacon for breakfast.  No real lunch so celery and carrots and I tried a   Spicy Drumstick Recipe for dinner.  It tasted like chicken (yay me!) but it was not spicy at all in the quantities called for in the recipe.  My daughters still ate it and liked it though so that's a win in my book.

Spicychicken.jpg


Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Volunteer- Maryland Food Bank

What a joy it was to volunteer at the Maryland Food Bank.  It was pretty interesting to see the operations of the distribution center.  There are so many boxes it is amazing.  I got to work on the conveyor belt.  FUN!!! If anyone remembers Laverne & Shirley or the I Love Lucy when she works on the conveyor belt.  Food going past and you have to make sure you grab the right items for your station, package them up, and once the box reaches a certain weight seal it, label it, and start a new box.


I will admit there were some things that circled the belt a few times because I had no clue what they were.  Some sort of potato hash brown meal, borscht, and all sorts of things.  It was quite a food learning experience.  

If you have some time you should check out your local Food Bank.  I am sure there are tons of volunteer opportunities.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Banana Cream Pie

First of all I think I need to say Happy Belated Mother's Day to all the mothers out there.  This mother's day was pretty nice.
My one request was a Banana cream pie.  My oldest made one for Easter and I knew I needed another one.  Perfect occasion. Both daughters slaved away in the kitchen making my pie and pies for some of the neighborhood mothers.  Yummy, yummy, yummy.  I demolished this pie.  It was a total sugar rush.  There were water bottles on deck for me to detox but it was sooooooo worth it.  

I also got new leather handbag. Go figure it is the color I envision when I think of banana cream pie.  It is a Canary Coach Phoebe.  Nice and roomy.  Three separate compartments.  LOVE IT!!!  I only have one other Coach bag but I think I may consider this brand a little more.  Here she is at work with me in her very own chair.  My daughters laugh because I will randomly pick up the bag and walk around.  Awesome gift for a purse lover.


Saturday, March 23, 2013

Organization Challenge

Admittedly I am organizationally challenged.  No matter how many times I clean up and reorganize things so it works for me I always find myself repeating the cycle.  About 6 weeks ago I looked for some organization blogs.  One in particular had a 30 day challenge to recreate one space.  I contemplated doing it but I could not commit to spending 30 days, my attention span is not that great.  Instead I decided to tackle one small area in one short period of time.  This weekend I was supposed to be cleaning out my bathroom closet.  One day of pull everything out, one day of sort, organize, purge, buy storage and the last day dedicated to put it all back in nice and neat.

I guess I got a little over zealous because tonight it all came out, got purged, and put back in.  I have like small bags of trash that I will take out in the morning.  You just don't know how good it felt to get rid of so much "stuff"!!!

Messy Before Picture
Cleared Out
20130322_210417.jpg 20130322_212117.jpg

Top- After Middle- After Bottom- After
20130322_224431.jpg 20130322_224438.jpg 20130322_224444.jpg


Now I am going to crash.  Good night.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Box or....WHAT?

Hmmmm....what can I make out of this (actually I have 2 of them).  A few ideas are swirling around my mind.  Stay tuned...

Juniperbox


Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Quick Dinner- Chicken Potpie Cupcakes

You want something quick and easy to make then this is the recipe for you.  The first time I make anything it takes me forever but trust me the second time around I know this will be a breeze.  This recipe found its way to me via Pinterest however the original is here.

Chicken Potpie  Cupcakes 1

Modifications for next time, use a thinner biscuit and perhaps thin out the potpie broth some.  This will be made again.  Easy to pop in the lunch box on day 2 as well.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Cleaning Day


Yesterday was officially a day of cleaning.  While I didn't get everything cleaned up it was a big dent.  I like things nice and tidy but for some reason it is always like a tornado has whirled through.  My method for yesterday was to spend 30 min in each area.  It is amazing what you can do in 30 min with some focus.  I was quite pleased with the results and plan on doing it like this more often.

There are some charts floating around on the Internet on what to clean if you have 10 min, 20 min, 30 min.  I  may have to revisit one of those an incorporate into my daily efforts.  As I get better I can only hope that 10 min should be the most I need for most things.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

I MUST Be Crazy

Last year of a friend of mine did the Warrior Dash and wanted me to do it.  Thinking it would be something fun for me and my girls to do together we were a little disappointed when my youngest didn't meet the age requirement.  Well, here we are one year later and one year older.  So guess who is all signed up for the Warrior Dash.  I think this will be a lot of fun for me and my girls.


I'll let you know how it goes