Flashback Friday

~ High school graduation with Grandma and Grandpa Wright ~

Wanna guess the year I graduated high school? Here's a clue...

We Want to Know Wednesday

1. What is the best or worst pick up line you have ever been given?
2. What is your most and least favorite day of the week?
3. How many hours of sleep do you require each night?
4. Is there a song that takes you back in time? What song is it and what memory is it attached to?
5. What is your biggest guilty pleasure?

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1. Pick up line: The worst pick up line ever given to me was after I told the douche bag my name was Bre, "Brie cheese is my favorite, can I eat you?" GAG! 
2. Day of the week: At the moment my favorite day of the week is Sunday. It's the only full day I get to be with my family. My least favorite day is Monday because the Ball and Chain is home from work so I only get half of the day with him before I leave for work.
3. Sleep: I like to point out, require and what I actually get are WAY different. Which is probably like most moms! I require at least 8 hours of sleep. Always have. On a good night I'll get 6 hours of sleep, but normally it's more like 5ish. I work swings so when I get home from work it's the only time I have to myself to get things done without the 3 monsters ruggrats kids getting in my way.
4. Song: I don't even know where to begin! I love, love, LOVE music and there are sooooo many songs that take me back to great memories. "Walk like a Camel" - Southern Culture on the Skids. "Ironic" - Alanis Morissette. "Free Bird" - Lynyrd Skynyrd. "Free Falling" - Tom Petty. "You Shook Me All Night Long" - AC/DC. "Bless The Broken Road" - Rascal Flatts. "I Gotta Feeling‬‏" - Black Eyed Peas. "Boondocks" - Little Big Town. My list could seriously go on and on!
5. Guilty pleasure: I would say a chilled bottle of tequila, but I really don't feel much guilt about that. So I'll have to go with a spoonful of half peanut butter and half nutella. If I'm feeling really frisky I'll spread both in a tortilla and nuke it for 20 secs. Yum! I'd love to get in contacted with someone to market it like Goober. I, along with many pregnant women and potheads, would be in heaven!

We Want to Know Wednesday Q&A is hosted by: Janette, Seriously Shawn, Impulsive Addict and Mamarazzi. Go and join the fun!

Happy Fathers Day

God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so, He called it ... Dad
~~Author Unknown.~~

Blogger "Face Off"

Hey Peeps! Go check out SarcasmInAction's blog post for today, and the rest of her blog since she's pretty damn funny. But first, focus on today's post because I was featured in her blogger "face off" {Click Here To Read} . It's ok to sometimes be self absorbed, right? :) I was paired up with another funny lady, Dawn from This Side of Typical.

Heads up... if you have little eyes reading over your shoulder you might want to tell them to kick rocks. And if you lack a sense of humor then I'm going to tell you this isn't for you and to kick rocks. Did you expect anything less from me???

Happy Friday! CHEERS!

Paleo Diet ~ Week 4

Whoop whoop! Week 4 is over! We made it 30 days, for the most part, on a Paleo diet! I am super proud of my Ball and Chain for sticking to the diet plan and doing his damnedest to change his eating style. This diet really opened both of our eyes and gaves us a new perspective on food.

It also helped the Ball and Chain to lose 16 pounds in 30 days! That was with no exercise and not cutting out his rum and diet cokes on the weekends. I have no idea what I lost because I didn't weight myself in the beginning, but I do know for a fact I lost inches. And that's good enough for me!

Even though we are not going to follow the diet to a "T" anymore, I did buy a new Paleo cookbook. It's called "Everyday Paleo" and the recipes look really yummy. Yes, I bought it because each recipe had a picture next to it. :) The biggest thing for us is that we are going to remain eating healthy. High protein, moderate complex carbs, good fats, and portion control. It's not a diet, but a lifestyle!

We Want To Know Wednesday

 

1. You have been asked to give a 10 minute speech to teenage girls. What is it about?
2. Do you have a pet? Tell us about them. No pets? Why?
3. What is the biggest inconvenience about the place you’re currently living?
4. What do you think is the single best decision you have made in your life so far?
5. What are the THREE "nevers" of your life? (things you would never do or have never done)

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1. Speech: Only 10 mins? That's going to be hard! I honestly don't think I would give a speech on all the things that you should and shouldn't do because we all know it'll just drive them to do it. Instead I would hold an open mic type of deal and let them ask me questions. They need to know the honest truth about sex, drugs, and rock & roll; so what other way can they get that information but from the horses mouth? I'm an open book! I am who I am because of the things I went through; no shame there!
2. Pets: We have two cats, Tigger and Pooh; the Easter Bunny brought them 3 years ago. Yes, you read that right, the Easter Bunny. Didn't you know good ol' Mr. Hippity Hoppity likes cats? And cats like rabbits? Get with it people!
3. Inconvenience where I live: Section 8 (low income/g'ment housing). Hold on! Before you tar and feather me let me explain. I'm all for helping people get back on their feet; I've been there, but handing over keys to a 3,000 sqft home (the typical size in my area or close to) is not realistically helping someone get back on their feet. It's giving them false hope. The kicker for the area I live in, is these homes are beautiful and they aren't being taken care of.
4. Best decision: I wouldn't call it a decision, it was more like an OOPS 8 years ago when I got pregnant with my first ruggrat. The two additional ruggrats rank right up there with Mr. Oops.
5. Three nevers: 1. I will NEVER allow my kids to have a pet spider. I thought when I was a teenage if I watched Arachnophobia for the 2nd time it would cure my phobia. Wrong! 2. I've never traveled outside of the US, but once the ruggrats are grown it's the first thing I plan on doing with the Ball and Chain. Ok, maybe the second. ;) 3. I'll never turn down a good margarita or an ice cold beer. Unless I'm preggers. Duh!

We Want to Know Wednesday Q&A is hosted by: Janette, Seriously Shawn, Impulsive Addict and Mamarazzi. Go and join the fun!

Flashback Friday

~ Dennis the Menace Park; Monterey, Ca. June 2008~

Yep, that's MY son! And I wouldn't have it any other way!

We Want To Know Wednesday

1. Everyone seems to have a quirky family situation-- what is something unique about your family dynamic?
2. What is the most stressful aspect to blogging (aside from the network going down)?
3. We all end up on a blog at some point in our day, but name your top 3 favorite websites you flock to daily (non blog)!
4. What’s your sign? Believe in it or not, does any part ring true to you?
5. IceCream!! ICECREAM!! We all scream for icecream! Name your favorite flavor/brand! (Its hot here, can't help it)

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1. Quirky family situation: Lets see… my daughters first name is my maiden name. Which wouldn’t be so quirky if I had actually changed my last name when I got married; 7 years ago. No judging people! I don’t judge individuals that don’t change their last names back when they get divorced. So don’t judge me and my last name changing issues. Anyways, so when she was born we got a lot of questioning looks from the nurses wondering why in the world we would name our child Taylor Taylor. Cause they’ve never seen a weirder name then that? The Ball and Chain was very quick to point out to everyone I have last name changing issues and made sure all the documents got the correct last name before leaving the hospital.
2. Stressful aspect to blogging: Where the hell are my followers?? My button has been missing for DAYS! How are people suppose to join my chaotic world if I don’t have the link? And don’t tell me it’s because I’m not cool enough to be your friend. Cause I am! I swear!
3. Websites you flock to daily: Facebook, Yahoo, and Banking. Hello! Gotta sniper people’s pages, bullshit with my favorite peeps to pass the time at work, and it’s a must to watch the Ball and Chains spending. That way I have more funds to online shop. :)
4. What’s your sign: I’m an Aries. Independent. Generous. Optimistic. Moody. Go-getter. Short tempered. Aggressive. Direct. Loyal. Energetic. Confident. Passionate. Impatient. Quick-witted. Love me or hate me; I’m 100% an Aries!
5. IceCream: This could be the hardest question of all time! Or it could  just be hard cause I’ve been on a stupid diet for almost a month. Alright, first one that comes to mind is Ben & Jerry’s Coffee Heath. Then there’s Vic’s Peppermint (local ice cream shop). Can’t forget Thrifty’s Mint Chip (chocolate flakes, not chunks). And I really like Ben & Jerry’s Mint Cookie but that one is hard to find. OH and Coldstone’s Coffee! So maybe I have an issue with ice cream too.

We Want to Know Wednesday Q&A is hosted by: Janette, Seriously Shawn, Impulsive Addict and Mamarazzi. Go and join the fun!

Paleo Diet ~ Week 3

Week 3 is done!! Only one more week to go! This past week was a little harder on me then the previous weeks. Even though I craved carbs super bad the first week, this week it was salt. It may have to do with me starting my running schedule back up. I don't know, but I'll track week 4's carvings with my workouts and see what I come up with.

We did have two meals this week that will for sure be in the monthly dinner rotation; Spaghetti w/Steamed Green Beans and Jambalaya. I'll be up front, I was very hesitant with the Jambalaya recipe because... it's Jambalaya! How in the world are you suppose to eat it without rice? Yum, Rice! But surprisingly it did turn out pretty good.

Spaghetti w/Steamed Green Beans

1.5 lbs ground turkey (ground beef of chicken is fine)

2 tbsp dry Italian seasoning

2 jars spaghetti sauce

1 1/2 cups frozen carrots & peas

Fresh Green Beans (you can use frozen or canned)

~ Brown ground turkey with Italian seasoning. While meat is browning, mix spaghetti sauce and frozen veggies into your slow cooker. Once meat is done, drain excess fat grease and mix cooked meat into the spaghetti sauce. Cook on low for 4 to 5 hours. Clean fresh green beans and cut off the ends. Steam green beans 20 minutes before you are ready to eat. Pour sauce over your green beans and enjoy dinner!

Jambalaya

1 lb spicy chicken sausage - sliced

1 1/2 cooked shrimp

1 green pepper - diced

1 red pepper - diced

1 small onion - chopped

1 tomato - chopped

1 head of cauliflower - finely chopped

2 small cans of El Pato tomato sauce

1 cup water
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp creole seasoning

~ In a large pan saute; green peppers, red peppers, and onions. In another pan, brown chicken sausage. Once the sausage is brown add to the saute pan. Also add tomato sauce, water, cauliflower, tomato's, and creole seasoning. On medium heat bring to a boil. Then cover and reduce heat for 20 minutes. Once ready, add shrimp and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes or until shrimp has warmed. Great with a side salad!

Manic Music Monday

It’s June and here in Northern California we had a weekend full of crappy weather. Press play, close your eyes, and perhaps this will help cheer ya’ll up for the week ahead. Or make you wish it was already Friday and you had a drink in your hand. :)


 

Flashback Friday

Bubba’s first camping trip to Meadow Lake, Ca. Sept 2005.

I Thought It Was June

I was under the impression it was June. Am I losing it? Is it still April? What ever happened to sunny in the mid 80's? Now that's my kind of weather! Rain rain go away, come again another day. Preferably in a few months! :)