Shows of the week

Linking up



If you haven't watched then don't read...I'm not responsible for spoilers.

Hell's Kitchen FINALE
Meh, I'm kind of over the show. It's not interesting any more. It's a bunch of chefs that are stuck on themselves getting knocked down a few pegs...that was fun for a few seasons and now it's just old.

Survivor
I'm really getting burnt out on reality shows. It's just the same thing season after season. At least when Russel was on (his first time) he was original...and that Physics teacher that won that season was awesome too. No one sticks out for me this season.

America's Next Top Model
It hasn't become a drama fest yet. I'll be glad when Alexandria leaves. She's just as whiny as before. I'm sad that Laura has become a background piece. They rarely give her camera time. I like her.

Ringer
*sigh* I'm going to say something that will get me kicked out of every Buffy circle on the planet....
Sarah Michelle Gellar just isn't that great an actress.
There, I said it, and you can stone me if you want...but it's true. It's Buffy without the hardcore butt kicking.

Blue's Clues
My son loves this show and I almost regret introducing it. There's an episode where Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper let Steve and Blue take care of their "kid" Paprika...I decided several things during that episode:
- Steve is an idiot...or has the worst vision ever.
- I should have called CPS...Steve was put in charge of a kid and had to ask OTHER KIDS what to do?
- Steve, the only people that write you ARE YOUR FRIENDS!!! My 2 year old knows that! Stop being surprised.

Glee
I'm over it. SO OVER IT. The first season was cute and silly and each season it gets more and more sexual. I take issue over "high school" girls gyrating around like hookers. Yes, I know that girls "really dance like that" but it doesn't mean I want to watch it.

Modern Family
Cute I guess. It's not my favorite show. It does make me giggle from time to time.


I haven't watched CSI (any of them), Big Bang Theory, or Supernatural (it comes back SOON!!!!!) but those will be on the list soon enough.

The Price of Love

My boys!!!

You see those boys up there? I love them more than anything. My heart aches when they're sick and hurt. Jonathan has started getting his first teeth and I've cried FOR him because I want to take the pain away.


Which is why this verse cuts me to the core:
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.


It's one of those verses that you learn, it's popular to quote, and you never really THINK about it. 


Now that I have kids, I THINK about it. 


If someone told me that I could save a friend from eternal damnation by offering my son to be tortured and killed while I watched I'd tell them they were crazy and walk away....probably to file a restraining order. If you told me it was for a stranger you'd get the same response. And for someone that had been hateful to me? Forget it! There's no way I'd do that. These are my babies! I want them to avoid pain and hardship; I couldn't purposefully put them in front of something like that.

But God did.

To save me, to save you, to save that guy that was rude to you last week...


What verses have you glazed over lately? Go back and really read them...THINK about it!

Barbecue Beef Cups

I made this last night!

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup barbeque sauce
• 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
• 1 (12 ounce) package refrigerated biscuit dough
• 1/3 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease the cups of a muffin pan.
2. In a large heavy skillet over medium heat, cook beef until evenly brown. Drain excess fat. Stir in barbeque sauce and dried onion. Simmer for a few minutes over low heat.
3. Flatten each biscuit, and press into cups of the prepared muffin pan. Make sure the dough comes to the top of the pan. Spoon a portion of the meat mixture into each dough cup.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 12 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese, and bake for 3 more minutes.

Well, with a few minor changes...I chopped a bell pepper and onion (enough onion to match the amount of bell pepper) and cooked those through before adding 1lb of beef. Then I added the BBQ sauce and seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, and cayenne to taste. I also used crescent dough because it's dairy free! AND I mixed the cheese right in instead of sprinkling it on top...

So I guess it's not really the same as the original recipe after all!

I only made 8 of them (one roll of dough) and wish I'd made more!! They were REALLY good!! This recipe goes on our "do again" list.

Does this sound like something you would try?

Phone Fun

Our Reverse Osmosis filter!!! We also got a water softener installed.

My Challenge wristband!

Actual retail price (before sales or coupons or ECB): $20.08
What I spent: $3.99

One piano is not enough

Happiness is adding this to my coffee

We got to play outside!!

Bean was not amused

He's silly

Yeah...he's supposed to be napping

I'm so creative

That's salt in my crock pot *sigh*

So big

He swore he wasn't tired

Boob Tube Babble

I'm linking up here today:

Warning: There will probably be spoilers...so don't read if you haven't watched!

Survivor

I'm SO over the "bring back the losers" thing...It was funny to bring back the villains, but Coach? Really? He's just plain WEIRD. 

America's Next Top Model

Cycle Nickname: All Of Those Annoying Girls You Hated Are BACK! 

Ugh, really? Are ratings so low they have to bring back all of the drama queens and stick them under one roof? Who wants to take bets on how long it takes to draw blood?

And that most recent vote that was nothing but a popularity contest? That's stupid. What happened to it being based on ABILITY?!

I haven't really watched much else this week...I'm desperately waiting for Fringe, Bones, and The Big Bang Theory to come back!!

Help for the busy...and hungry!

Recently I did a Clean Eating Challenge on my Fitness Page. The turnout was GREAT!

I had a few people ask for help in the way of their eating...
1) Any clean eating tips for a traveler?
2) I need lunch inspiration! Fast and easy and vegetarian (or vegan.)...
3) I need something quick and healthy I can eat while at school. I snack on fruit during the day and try to get enough calories for lunch but I always wind up STARVING by 5pm...

I took these as a personal challenge. I've come up with a few ideas and encourage you to add your own to help these wonderful ladies!

1) Hummus! Personally, I love the stuff. It's really easy to make. I buy a can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drain them (reserve the liquid) and pour into a blender or food processor. I add roasted red pepper or sun-dried tomatoes (or have it plain) and start blending. You can add olive oil (healthy fats!) or the liquid from the can until it blends smoothly. I add salt, garlic powder, cumin, onion powder, and a little red pepper flake to taste. Seriously, you can use this with anything. I love it with pita chips...but it's good with veggies or on pita bread as part of a wrap. It's going to add protein and healthy fats to your diet without you eating a bunch of junk. AND IT'S CHEAP!

2) I know it's not the most "clean" thing in the world...but for those that can eat meat: Jerky. It stores really well (ie: won't get gross if stuffed in  your purse, carry-on bag, or left in the car overnight) This will be a quick way to get protein and calories.

3) Homemade granola bars! There are several recipes on the internet so it's hard to decide which ones are best. You can make your own granola (or buy it...) and then make peanut butter granola bars (see, more protein!) I love Heavenly Homemakers so a lot of the recipe links will be from there: Like this one

4) For an easy breakfast item (that actually reheats well) try Mini Crustless Breakfast Quiches  I made these on a whim one morning with sausage and it was AWESOME. I also ate them for lunch THE NEXT DAY and they were still good. It's something you could make the night before and heat up to eat on the way to your plane or work!

5) Cook Ahead! A few weeks back I spent Sunday making a large pot of chili. I then put 1c servings into ziploc bags and froze them. Each day I would take out a couple and thaw them in the fridge (or in warm water if I was REALLY hungry) I'd finish heating it in the microwave. Quick food. Surprisingly, pancakes also survive well in the freezer. I've frozen a few small pancakes, thawed them in the microwave, and then spread peanut butter on them as a quick snack. Bonus if you toss some quick oats in the batter! So many things can be made in bulk (soups, gumbo, etc...) and reheated.


Is that a good start? Share your ideas and tips below!!

My morning...

I have to write it down so I don't cry...

I woke up touched out. Laying in bed my skin was crawling while Jonathan nursed on one side of me and Franklin held me in a Half Nelson Hold. Ugh. AND I had to pee.

So we got up...Franklin immediately started asking for Fruit Snacks and freaking out each time I said no. (Those are for special instances...not breakfast.) I ran the gamut of "do you want to eat..." and got a NO, FRUIT SNACKS each time.

Things calmed down with the right show on the computer...for a bit.

I decided to make pancakes. We have milk turning in the fridge (that's the beauty of raw milk...you can still use it when it tastes "off") so I wanted to use it wherever I could. Pancakes are fast and easy right?........Right?

Mixing the batter took 5mins longer than it should have because I had a toddler that wanted to help. Why not just let him help? Because his idea of helping is to 1) Stick his fingers in the batter over and over again and spread them everywhere 2) "Stir" the batter...also known as "spoon it everywhere."

I washed the skillet and started it heating up...he was sitting on the couch watching cartoons while the baby played in the pop-up tent. Cool.

He comes back in around pancake #3 and started destroying the already made pancakes. Not eating them, just digging in them with a spoon. I hear the baby fussing in the tent and tell Frankin, "He's stuck, go save him." He runs off......

And then I hear....."Baby pooped!!!"

I think my heart stopped. No, not right now....

I walk over to see poop everywhere. Thankfully (?) it was mostly all over the baby. I scoop him up and run upstairs and drop him into the tub and start rinsing. He stops screaming for the moment. I wash him, drain the tub (That needs to be bleached now) and bring everyone back downstairs to clean up the majority of the mess and save what's left of my pancakes.

I put the baby in his high chair and notice he's still screaming. Well, there's still poop on his hand so that must be it, right? .......Right? Nope, I finally REALLY look at him and notice that there's something in his mouth...yep, HE ATE SOME! I wipe out his mouth (Seriously kid, stop slamming your jaws shut when I'm trying to HELP YOU!!!) and do my best to not gag or scream or just curl up in the corner and cry.

I went over to try to clean up the rest of the mess. The carpet is no big deal...but it was all over the Pop-Up Tent. Did you know there are no washing instructions? You know why? BECAUSE YOU CAN'T WASH IT. Do you have any idea how hard it is to SCRUB one of those things?!

Did I mention that this all went down within 2 hours? I haven't even had coffee yet...

Why I chose Beachbody 5

"I just don't have time to commit to a business."

That's great, because I'm not asking you to work an extra 40 hours a week.

Do you update Facebook about your workouts or your diet? Do you enjoy telling people what workout you're doing when they ask how you've lost weight? Do you find yourself talking to other moms about how hard it is to eat and get kids from X to Y and back again?

Do you want to get PAID for doing that??

If you can say YES to any of the above then you're already doing the work of a coach without the benefits!!

Yes, you can put extra time into it and grow your business that much faster...but it's not a requirement. You can be successful and just keep doing exactly what you're doing now.


So, why are you working without the reward??

It seems so simple...

My son is prone to meltdowns. If you've never experienced a meltdown just imagine a tantrum turned up a few notches.

He has trouble calming down. What we got into doing was handing him a bottle...instant calm. However, at 2.5 this isn't an option anymore. *sigh*

His therapists suggested having him BLOW when he needs to calm down. It's so simple but makes perfect sense...it combines deep breathing and focus.

While he was calm, I had him blow my fingers. We played with it and made it fun...shaking our heads as we blew and making noises.

So...the next time he got upset I let him have a moment of "upset time" and then put my hand out and said "Blow my fingers." AND HE DID!

Now, a few days after starting this technique, he'll ASK to "blow fingers" when he gets upset. He knows it helps him calm down! I've also started telling him that he can blow on his fingers as well...so he can calm down when Mommy and Daddy can't get there immediately.


That's my parenting advice for the day!

2 weeks on my phone

I didn't link up last week so I'm sharing 2 weeks worth of photos!

Playing with ice

We're working on motor skills...and keeping him occupied :)

*sigh* He's 8mo...this was one of the first times he pulled up by himself.

ATTACK DADDY

We had to add locks to the freezer...

My Shakeology Shaker!!! SUPER EXCITED

He ran into a door...really

All better

Eating oatmeal

He likes it!

Standing

So proud of himself

What's in here?

He was laughing at me

This is how he fell asleep

Getting out was difficult...

Ceiling, wall, accent wall.

Super scary fire

The road to my house

My backyard (it got put out that night)

Riding in the stroller at the zoo

It totally attacked him! Like, walked over and pecked him.

You can't tell it probably needed stitches.....

Covered in bananas and strawberries.

"Take picture Franklin!!" Okay baby!

I love this link up!!