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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Draw Something

There is this fun little app available for Android and Iphone called Draw Something {it's free!} it kind of reminds me of pictionary. Your friend draws a picture and you have to guess it, after guessing correctly you in turn draw a picture back to them. You earn coins based on the difficulty of the word and can redeem those for additional color choices and to purchase bombs {which are much needed for those hard ones!}. You keep track of how many turns you and your friend have accomplished and even get to watch how fast or long it took them to guess your word. Seriously, it is the funnest thing ever! To wow you in amazement I have included some of my favorites. I have a few friends who could be the next Leonardo da Vinci, and others whom...ummm...well I have pixelated every one's names and pictures to protect their privacy and their works of art ;)

Word: Wakeup


Word: KFC
That is chicken?!

Word: Ape
Although it totally looks like a monkey.
This was one done by me. I could use some improvement!


Word: Britney
Hotest Britney stick figure I have ever seen!

Word: Squirrel
Playing with this person makes me ashammed to send a drawing back.

Word: Sheep
Another one by me, ok, I could use a TON of improvement!

I will continue to capture pictures of my favorites and post them for your pleasure. You're welcome ;)

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Swoon

Over the weekend the husband and I decided we would like to have a "staycation" while everyone was on vacation or camping for the three day weekend {he had to work on Memorial Day so we just had one of those regular weekends}. We got some chinese food, adult beverages and a good movie. Que shock and sounds of gasp here...we had never seen The Notebook! I have really been wanting to see it lately so we put it on the top of our list on Netflix. I had to wrestle with the husband to get it into the DVD player, lets just say that he was not nearly as excited as I was. I said firmly to him "Why don't you want to watch a love story?!" He responded, "Because I am living one!" WHAT?!?! That was the most amazing, heart felt thing I have ever heard! I sure am lucky to have him :) We had an amazing weekend together, I love spending time enjoying each others company and doing whatever we please.




Oh and by the way, loved the movie! I thought it was a little long and slow at the beginning and I totally cried like a baby at the end. Can't believe it took me so long to see it. Sheesh.

Monday, May 28, 2012

Bedrock Bars

By far my most favorite treat! I would love to make these every single day, however my thighs might not like that idea. I ran across this recipe in a magazine.

Marshmallow Pebbles Bedrock Bars

1/2 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cups white chocolate chips
1/2 cup sliced almonds {I left these out}
2 cups Marshmalklow Pebbles cereal.
*The cereal was really hard for me to find. I tried many stores and finally found it at Walmart*


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 13" x 9" pan with nonstick coating spray and parchment paper {I did not use parchment paper because I do not have any and I learned a couple weeks ago that it is not a good idea to put wax paper in the oven, oops!}. Combine butter and graham cracker crumbs, spread in prepared pan and press firmly. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb crust. Layer white chocoalte chips, almonds and ceral. Press down lightly. Bake for 25 minutes or until edges are golder brown. Allow to cool before serving. Cut into bars and serve.



Excuse my lack of pictures during the proccess, I was busy licking my fingers ;)

Friday, May 25, 2012

This week in pictures

Some are not from this last week, most are from throughout the month. Some had been forgotten about or I was just too lazy to blog about them. Please excuse my lack of enthusiasm as it has been a blah week or two and I am drawing a blank as to what I should write complain about. Bear with me as I find my footing and wow you with my comeback.

Thanks,
Management

Our attempt at photographing the super moon on the 12th.

That awkward moment when you're in the shower and see a resemblance to your husband on the curtain.

Doesn't everyone take a picture of their lunch? It has been about three months since we have had white bread! Yay.

Starbucks Frap happy hour! Under $3!

Went to Cabela's for the first time with the bestie so should could get her son a birthday present. There were lots of animals, guns, a little aquarium, camo everything and warm nuts at the door. The end.

Oh, and things like this above you in the isles, scary!

Went on a picnic with the husband this last weekend, tried a new park we found close to where we live. I would love to go back and do that again!

Two more pounds to go to reach my first goal! 267

I even walked on a see through dock! {One of my biggest fears.}

It was nice to stop and smell the flowers.


Until next time...

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Happy 1st blog birthday!

May 23, 2011, was the day I started  my blog something new was my first post  . I cannot believe it has been a year already!




Top five viewed blog posts:

1. A day in the life
2. 52 Reasons I love you
3. Mini lemon pies
4. One year wedding anniversary
5. A real friend


Friday, May 18, 2012

100 Posts!!

WOW! One hundred posts already? Time sure has gone by fast. What a ride it has been to start this blog, I have leared a lot about myself, my feelings and thoughts, documented adventures and expierences and the inner Martha Stweart in me is starting to come out! I can't wait to see what life have to bring me, I think good things are coming, Lord knows I have had enough of the bad. My most favorite part of blogging is being able to go back to older posts and see what things were like at that time. What an amazing way to document your life! Thanks for tagging along on this journey of mine.

I wanted to do a giveaway for every hundred posts I do, but concidering I still have zero followers, I will just post a picture of my awesomely rad hipo watering can I just bought from the Target dollar section. Is he not the cutest little thing ever?? :)


Wednesday, May 16, 2012

A day with the best friend

What do you do when it is 80 degrees outside? Which by the way for us Washingtonians, that is the equivalent to 113 degrees with 100% humidity! Go to the best friends house and bake 340 dozen {ok, it wasn't that much but it seemed like it!} homemade cinnamon rolls! We only got a tiny delirious towards the end after being in a hot kitchen for a couple hours.



After we got them iced and set aside to cool we threw on our swimsuits and went for a dip in the pool. It was a little chilly at first but it felt good to cool down. It was so nice to smell sunscreen on my skin and to enjoy the sun with good company.

"This is what us gingers use!" She said

After our much needed break we had some deep fried tacos. Seriously, the most delicious things I have ever eaten. I cannot wait to attempt to make them myself!



My best friend is better than yours ;)

Monday, May 14, 2012

Weight loss

What a hard journey this has been! When I first thought of writing this blog, I was hesitant on sharing my actual weight, then I figured...why not?? I have nothing to hide! Loosing weight has been really hard for me, I want to be honest with myself and whoever reads this. My whole life I have been over weight. Growing up just me and my mom, we were always on the go and fast food was easy and quick, we ate out a lot. We started rewarding ourselves with food, good grades...out to dinner, helping around the house...out to dinner, pay day...out to dinner. Then it turned into feeding our feelings, being sad...out to dinner, need cheering up? Lets go to your favorite restaurant! I got teased a lot in school. In fourth grade I went through a lot of changes, that's when I found out my dad had cancer, my mom started dating, my sister had a toddler and moved in with us while her boyfriend was on house arrest and top it off my nanny of nine years decided to not want to watch me anymore so I had to switch schools. Needless to say I had a lot going on and it was hard for me to process, I always felt comfort with food. Switching schools was horrible, during lunch we would eat at our desk in the classroom, girls would move their desks around mine and oink while I ate. Bullying about my weight lasted all the way through high school, I would get food thrown on me while sitting on the bus, when I started driving I would go to the parking lot to see food thrown all over my car. I would walk down the hallways and guys would yell "earthquake!!" it was never ending.

In high school my weight got up to 220, I thought I was HUGE! {Well, I was, but not as big as I ended up getting.} I started dating my soon to be husband during my junior year, as our relationship went on, I think I had gotten comfortable and started to pack on the pounds. I always put my weight on the back burner and tried not to weigh myself for fear of what the number would be. I would guess what the number might be but one day that hit me in the face like a ton of bricks. My friends son was having a birthday party at a hotel {2008}, as him and his friends were swimming, we went into the work out room. I decided to weigh myself, I was hoping for 280, but though I was somewhere close to 300. I stepped on the scale....315!!! I wanted to crawl in a hole and die. How did I let myself go like this?! I didn't think I was that big. Right then and there I told myself I was going to try and loose weight for the first time in my life. I got on the closest exercise machine I could find.


Not too long after the Wii Fit had came out. I begged the husband to go buy it for me. When he brought it home I stepped right on the Wii Fit board, as my little Mii ballooned up the TV said out load "YOU ARE OBESE"! I called the husband at work in tears telling him this was the most horrible thing we had ever bought and that I was going to attempt to flush it down the toilet. Of course he responded with how beautiful I was and that he loved me no matter what...blah blah blah! It called me OBESE! There was nothing he could say to make it better. I worked out on the thing so hard! Every single day I would tackle it and challenge myself more and more. The weight came off very slowly, one to two pounds every couple weeks. But I had not changed how I was eating. I would work out and sweat to death and then get something to eat when I was done. This battle continued on for quite some time. When we moved into our new house {a two story}I thought I was going to die every time I walked up and down the stairs, if we had a shower downstairs I swear to you that I would have slept down there. Our wedding was coming up and I really wanted to make a better effort in watching my weight, by the time our wedding came I had gotten out of the 300's! I thought I would never get there, I felt so pretty and was really proud of myself. {Probably from all those damn stairs!}


The husband and I decided to start slowly watching what we eat, we barley eat out anymore, maybe once on the weekend and that is it, homemade meals every day of the week {we used to go out multiple times a week} We no longer eat white rice or bread, I only drink diet soda and have added a ton more water to my daily intake. I watch my calories and try to stay away from high fructose corn syrup. I was doing water Zumba with my friend once a week until my back thought that wasn't a good idea anymore. Our mailbox is kind of far from our house in one of those locked up community boxes. Road trip is a fifteen minute walk, I try to walk there as often as I can weather permitting. The sun has just started coming out and I can't wait to start walking again! Still a little cold and breezy, thanks Seattle. Throughout this whole journey I have almost lost 50 lbs! I still enjoy my food, but don't go crazy with it, I try to be more active without over doing myself. I have three more pounds to get to my fifty mark. That is my goal for the summer! Although the weight is coming off a lot slower than I would like, they key is that I am changing my life, not just dieting and I am keeping it off! Ever since I started this process the most I have gained back is maybe two to three pounds. That is an accomplishment if you ask me! *patting self on back* Once I reach my fifty goal I would love to loose another forty five to get back to my high school weight. How sad that I thought that was so HUGE, and now I would give anything to be back to that weight... I do not wish to be skinny, just healthy and happy. 200 would be ideal! One-step-at-a-time. Trust me when I say if I can do it, you can do it!



Last time I weighed myself I was 268, only three more to go to reach my first goal! Maybe I should stop making so many cupcakes ;) Someone has to taste test them, right?

Friday, May 11, 2012

Missing Dad

You would think after all of these years that it would be easier and I wouldn't miss him as much. Sometimes Most of the time it feels as though he just left yesterday. I have so much I want to talk to him about, I want to hear his voice one more time, have that shoulder to lean on and most importantly to feel that unconditional love again.

Here is a letter he wrote me. I look at it often, I love seeing his handwriting and picturing him sitting at his desk writing me this letter with a smile on his face.


Dearest Melissa,

I love you and miss you. Do you want to go to the park some day soon? Maybe you would like to help plant some flowers in the flower boxes.

How is school? I'm glad spring is coming and the sun is shining a lot. I can't hardly wait to go fishing in the lake and feed ducks. Call me when ever you want to.

Love Daddy

Every time I read this the tears stream down my face. I am so angry he is gone. I want him to be a part of my life, he has missed so much. I know his passing has made me strong and has shown me that I can indeed get through hard things. But damnit, I would rather have him here than to have had learned those hard life lessons.

As soon as the house was done being built that he and my mother had designed and moved into, he had bought these birds and hung them above the fire place. They are not the prettiest things ever, they scream the 80's and weigh about 20 pounds, but they sure do mean a lot to me. The husband hung them on the wall in the stair case. Every morning when I wake up and walk downstairs I shoot a smile to them.



As time has gone by I slowly am forgetting his voice and his smile. Memories I have of him seem like a lifetime ago. I constantly ask myself if he is watching over me and if I make him proud. Loosing a parent is a hurt that you will never understand until you have gone through it yourself, I don't wish it upon my worst enemy. Cherish your parents, because even though my dad sits on a shelf now, in my heart is where he really lays to rest. Forever and always...


Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Frosting Creations

I recently found some fun new goodies down the baking isle! It is called Duncan Hines Frosting Creations. You buy a can of frosting {side note: I don't necessarily think you HAVE to buy this certain frosting, it tasted like regular vanilla to me} and then you buy a packet of flavor. They had so many yummy ones to choose from. I chose Cinnamon Roll and Cherry Vanilla. Next time I am going to do the Orange Creme and Bubble Gum! It was really easy to make the frosting, the can has extra room on the top so you can stir in the flavor. If you end up buying the regular frosting instead, just throw it in a bowl or even your mixer, mixing the frosting with a blender makes the frosting more fluffier and easier to frost the cupcakes if you are using a bag. You're welcome for that tip ;) I poured in the flavor and stirred away.



The Cherry Vanilla was hands down our favorite! The Cinnamon Roll was good too though. I want to make it my goal to try every flavor packet they have. I think these would also make amazing filling. I used my "go to" yellow cake mix with no filling, didn't want to do anything too fancy that would take away from the frosting flavor.                                        
                                                                  



Happy Cupcaking!

Monday, May 7, 2012

Mother's Day

I made this custom Mother's Day photo card over at cardstore.com!




Enter promo code 99moms at checkout to get your custom card for .99 cents!

Friday, May 4, 2012

This week in pictures

My cute kitty! She is up to sixteen pounds now! I think a diet is in her future...


A day in the life of a housewife...
By the way, I LOVE my Shark mop! Best thing ever.



You know that time when you think you look good so you take a self portrait? Yeah that.
My eyes have always been my most favorite feature.





Do they call it a navel orange because it looks like a belly button? It made me gag a little.





Spent Friday with a good friend, we ran some errands and I tried Baja Fresh for the first time! LOVED it. Can't wait to take the husband there.




Saw this at Target. I liked it :)




And then we stopped by Dairy Queen on the way home to try the new blizzard of the month, Confetti Cake! Yummmm.




SO ready for the weekend, this week seemed really long. Can't wait to have some time to relax and spend with the husband, work on a few projects, look at the big full moon we are suppose to see tomorrow night, watch a movie and squeeze in some reading time. Woot! Happy Friday!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Vote for me!

Please take a minute and vote for my picture!         ---->

Thank you :)