It's OK (by me)

It's that time again. A time to reflect on what we did a little less then perfect but, who cares!  Shake it off! It's ok! I'm going to play along with airingmylaundry today as I tell you what items/events/activities are OK by me.

Check out her latest post here.

  It's OK  that I just can't wait for another episode of Grey's Anatomy! Bailey better hang in there I love her on the show.

  It's OK that I didn't go to the gym today because I didn't feel like it and I have a headache.

  It's OK that I'm getting more excited to see the commercials for the Superbowl based on the teaser commercials.

  What are you OK with?

Are you Hooked on Tuesday?

  Today on the 30th of January I decided to take advantage of 3 deals.  Now for you I can at least maybe promise 2.  I went out for dinner and dining out is an expense but, if you do it right it doesn't have to break the bank (nor should it).  Welcome to my experience at Bonefish grill.

  I received several birthday treat's via local places and although you don't necessarily get to use all of them; some you definitely take advantage of right out the gate.

  I have enjoyed using a reward here and there throughout the month.  Some treats expire on your birthday, start on your birthday or others are available till the end of the month. Bonefish Grill gives you the month to use your freebie.

  Bonefish Grill offers you their delicious specialty Bang Bang Shrimp or a dessert for your birthday.  If you have ever been to this restaurant you know if your going to eat the birthday reward your going to also enjoy dinner.  There's no way I'm showing up for just that and not a delicious dinner too!

So deal number one!  I hope for your sake today was not the last day because if it is..... I am sorry!

  Hooked on Tuesday was today. I strategically planned to save money and dine out.  The deal gets you a 3 course meal starting at 15.9.  This includes a salad, entree and dessert!

Behold your options:

a house salad
a Caesar salad

Second course for us:


Cod Piccata


Chicken Teriyaki bowl

Final and most important course:
Keylime pie


Jamaican Coconut pie

  Second deal is to sign up for their loyalty program.  On the 4th visit you receive 50% off! Today I did not strike that deal but next trip I will.  Dinners on me! Who wants to come?  Their dining program also includes Carrabba's, Outback and Flamingos. So if you visit any of these places it counts every visit.

 Lastly, your third deal is sign up for that email!  You will get nothing but money saving offers. You will get the special menu notices, as well as a heads up on daily or weekly specials, and a birthday freebie!

  Now what are you waiting for?  Even if you don't have a Bonefish Grill near you, perhaps you have one of the other places instead.  I would start taking advantage of the deals they have to offer.  Even if you only go out a few times a year I'm sure it's at least right around 4 times. That's 50% off!

  I hope I have peeked your appetite.  I had a great dinner and even though it's not quite the last day of the month.  It's close enough to say goodbye birthday month it's been real.

 Disclosure...... I received nothing from Bonefish Grill for this post.  I had a great time and I am just sharing my honest opinion.

Monday Motivation (all about food)

  I like to cook.  I like to bake. I am not a professional but, since we have to eat and sometimes it's an enjoyable experience we do it.

  Today I was super motivated and made 3 things! Now as I stated I'm not a professional so I will also share the recipes of the items!

  I think the one thing I have on my side at least is that 2 of the 3 are healthy.  The bonus is that everything is kid approved.  As a mom of picky eaters that just makes me so happy!

I started my morning with a cup of hot mint chocolate.  This was a fun recipe with its green color and I even choose to make one red in honor of the upcoming Valentines Day! Easy recipe with minimal ingredients and tasty!

Find the cocoa recipe here.

Next up was a healthy spin on cookie dough bites.  I would never try to make cookie dough healthy but, I would try to make my kids eat healthier.  Guess what 1 out of 2 kids fell for it. That's OK thats a start!  This cookie dough balls although made with chickpeas are actually quite good.  I guess there's enough sweet stuff in them to kind of coat the taste.  I thought they were a little dry but, that just means we need a class of milk with our cookies!

Find the cookie dough recipe here.

Lastly we not only needed some chocolate but we needed a dessert.  Enter the chocolate brownies!  Since I was on a healthy role I decided to stick with it.  This recipe makes a nice moist cake like chocolate brownie.  2 kid approved on this one!

Find the brownie recipe here.

  Now I'm not saying get our of hand and make everything on Monday but, I am saying if your going to make something, make it a little healthy and a lot of good!

Week 5 Goals

  I may not do a lot on Sundays but, I set time aside to set my goals for the week.  Last week I did pretty good in the fitness department having attended 6 different classes but missed the goal of 50 miles.  I will not be to hard on myself as I stayed active and discovered some great classes.

This week I would still like to shot for that 50 miles because with a little bit better planning on my part it can get done.

I can cycle 12 miles in 35 minutes so with a combination of other cardio or just 5 days of cycling I can do 50 miles! I can't get miles from swimming but enjoy that and rowing machine just requires me to calculate meters.  It is possible but I need to be focused.

I want to start focusing on setting that time aside to read.  I want to be done with book 3 that I'm still on and done with 4 this week.  So that I can at least start book 5 on week 5!

I did make fudge last week but would like to make a snack.  Something for everyone to munch on during the week.

  I wasn't planning meal prep this week but, I did pick up some spinach so I will plan on salads this week.

So we have:
1. Fitness
2. Book
3. Snack
4. Meal prep
5. I'll clean......the oven. Uggg!

Alright  I'm going to stop there. You know I like 5 things for 5 days!   Good luck with your new week.  I hope your goals are reasonable and you don't become overwhelmed with them and not enjoy life.

Have a good week!

Week 4 Recap

Well I did better in some areas then others but, sometimes goals don't always get met.  When that's the case things just get rolled to the next week.  Hopefully you catch up and eventually if nothing else.

    I attended 6 different classes this week so my miles goal were not met. I only made 38.02 miles for my cardio miles this week. 

I attended boxing, power, and kettle bells classes.  I also took a line dancing, Zumba, and Mixxedfit dancing classes as well.

I did slide in some time with weights and cardio but because I didn't physically get on machine I don't have the miles even though maybe some of those dance classes could have been miles by the time class was over.

I did pretty good with adding an extra water to my routine this week.  By the time summer gets here in should be in a good routine for keeping myself hydrated.

I did meal plan on Monday.  A chicken bowl with carrots, salsa, black beans, corn, couscous and some cheese.

I didn't style my daughters hair other then a braid.  So I'll give myself a half point for that.  I wanted to try something different.

I made a snack/dessert.  It can be eaten anytime so it falls into each category.

Chocolate Peanut butter Fudge!

I was happy picky eaters even liked it. P.S. it had banana in it too!

New recipe goes to the pork lion I made in the crockpot!

I did clean my fridge too. So I'm happy with that.  Now I need to find another spot to clean that I have neglected.

I hope everyone had a good week.  Take tomorrow off to prepare for a new week!

Friday Fun

  Another toy of my youth was Lincoln Logs.  There's something about these logs that are very entertaining. Endless opportunities to build.

  The easiest thing I have found for construction of a log home is to get the pieces assorted.

  I will admit that there was initially a fight to grab all the big pieces because that's a requirement for a house but surprisingly one child took off in a different creative spin.

A rocket was made!

Then all of a sudden I had a parking lot full of cars.    My imagination as a child never went to these two creative spots.

 Let's decide what is going to be built and get building!

The foundation needs to be laid down.

Keep in mind where your property is going to be because you can't move the structure very easily once it's built.

More then one house can be built and located anywhere.  This one was not built under a table it was on a hill under the trees. 

Every town needs a store!

Now I have had these toys since childhood and they have survived.  The kids love when I pull them out because it's a new toy to them and it's fun to build.  Its neat to watch them figure out where to put pieces.  They haven't seen a real log cabin home in person that would be a fun family trip! After that experience they may ask for more logs to build more variations.

Were Lincoln Logs in your home? I think I even seem them in the store so that's nice that they are still selling them!

Color Institute Cosmetics Case review

  I received this case earlier this month as a gift for my birthday compliments of my children. It's not that I wear makeup daily but obviously when I wear it they notice. My daughter is always giving me compliments which is very nice. I'm glad all my hardwork is recognized.

 Well I hadn't broke into it yet and it seemed to bother my kids more then me. So after a lot of begging for a mom makeover I let it happen today. My son wanted to do my makeup and I let it happen.

 His sister has a pretend makeup kit. So he actually knew makeup goes on your cheeks, eyes, lips and eyelashes. He doesn't know the technical names and needed me to guide him in what goes where.

  He started with my lips, then my eyes, then added some blush.  Then he suddenly remembered my eyelashes.  Oh, OK of course you need to do that too.  Enter mascara!

He took his time picking colors.  He applied pink eyeshadow on one side and purple on the other.  He did better then I expected on all areas.  

This is the face of concentration while applying my makeup.

Now about the makeup case!  It is a 73 piece case.  The sides are snapped shot and there is a mirro.  2 drawers that pull out and a top open compartment.

This drawer consisted of 2 lipstick, 2 nail polishes, mascara,  liquid eyeliner, lip gloss and color correcting concealer.

Next drawer consists of 8 Satin lip gloss colors and 28 various colors of eyeshadows ranging in shades from pop, smoky and rosy.

The top tier does not pull out it just sits on top.    Inside this tray is 12 more eyeshadows, 2 contours, 2 highlights, 4 blushes, 4 bronzes and strobe cream.

There are a lot of colors which I like about this case as well as the case itself.  Even if I can't refill the trays I can stash makeup in here when everything is gone or repurpose it for jewelry!  

This would make a great gift for any makeup lover but what a nice fun gift for a girl whose allowed to wear makeup for the first time.

Couldn't end this post without the great reveal! 

Told you it wasn't that bad.  He may have potential.  If he can master the cats eye he will be my go to, lol. I have to let him use the eyeliner first and I wasn't that brave today.

Wednesday Wishes

Wish List

  I'm going to start a Wednesday wish list.  Because there are a few things in my life that I think I want or need and you guys will help me either by confirming it's a want (I have made it this long) or a need (can't imagine life before you got it).

Disclosure:  All pictures were taken from Amazon but they are not affiliate links they are for reference only.

Kitchen

1. Air Fryer:  I hear how good this cooks but is it really necessary?

2.  Mandolin: I only ever hear about slicing my finger off but, I like the slicers with the container on the bottom that collects the food.

3. Dutch oven:  Do I need a large pot?  I have a tall soup pot.

4. Keurig:  I actually have a Keurig but it is a R-cup (yes that's a real thing; look it up).  Any coffee I drink comes from a restaurant or store.

  When I make my wish list I'm going to keep it short and sweet!  If you can't comment on what I listed I would love to hear what item is your must have in the kitchen.

It's OK (by me)

It's that time again. A time to reflect on what we did a little less then perfect but, who cares!  Shake it off! It's ok! I'm going to play along with airingmylaundry today as I tell you what items/events/activities are OK by me.

Check out her latest post here.

It's OK that I didn't hear my husband ask me 2 questions on Thursday while I watched the new season of Grey's Anatomy.  It was such a great episode and you wait so long for a new season.

It's OK that I actually didn't know who won the playoffs until Monday.  I don't want football regularly so I was a day behind.

It's OK that I haven't bought any Girl Scout cookies yet.  They will be selling for a little while longer and then have tables everywhere.  Then I'll pick up a couple boxes.  

It's OK that I am ready for spring.  We have had 2 snowfalls here and that's enough.  I like warmer weather and all I get right now is warm days and cold days. I want consistency!

  Well there you go that's what I'm OK with!  What are you OK with? 

Monday Motivation

We live in a picture perfect world. 

  I think we survive on motivation. Motivation doesn't just come from within.  It comes from what we see.  What we feel and what we want.

We push ourselves for success. 

We don't have to see the top of that hill. 

We know it's there! So we keep heading in that direction.

Sometimes its for the challenge.  We know we may get dirty.

However we still do what it takes!

It doesn't matter what we are working towards or what drives us.  All that matters is we keep going.  We can enjoy the present but, we will always have the future.

We can't see it and we don't know how far it is but, we move.  We move by motivation.  Motivation to live and survive.

Week 4 goals

 This week as I reflect on my goals. I put into consideration what I want to accomplish and why.

Fitness:

  I want to get in 50 miles.  I shot for 15 last week and that seemed to easy so I need to challenge myself.

  I want to take at least 3 classes!  I'm not a fan of classes but, they give me a different kind of workout. 

Health: 

  Hydration!  I am currently doing so well on my daily water intake that I want to raise my 4 bottles to 5!  This should balance out with the increased cardio.

  I will meal plan hmm tomorrow so that will be 5 meals. Probably my lunch but, maybe my dinner.

  Kids:
 
   I'll style my daughters hair.  Hello YouTube or Pinterest!

Photo pulled from Pinterest and her hairstyle will not be this cool.

  Family:

  I'll make a snack, a dessert and a new recipe!!

Clean:

  I will clean my fridge! Pulling the shelves and drawers out!  Lol, no cutting corners I'll even do the freezer!

  I feel good with this list!!  I'm walking into a new week with an organized plan amongst the rest of my daily routine!