Under the Weather

I have been sick... I mean like laid in bed for five days straight sick. It has sucked and today I am finally feeling somewhat human again. I have had this horrible cough and a terrible head cold for the last two weeks. I has been awful. Today is the first day that I have been out of the house for more than 30 min in 7 days. It has been completely miserable.

This week the animals have not left my side at all. 

I've been in the bathroom a lot trying to create a mini sauna at home with the steam from the shower and I've been laying the the tub a lot trying to get my muscles to quit hurting.  I also wore in the couch and my side of the bed.

Zoe was a little sweety and slept next to the tub while I bathed. 

 Groucho joined the next day when I started using my cough meds. I laid in the tub and watch Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. I love that movie. Groucho couldn't help but watch too.

 This is one of my favorite quotes from the movie "Too weird to live, to rare to  die."

Derek makes fun of me because I always use the subtitles when I watch movies by myself.

 I was coughing so hard that it was giving me a horrible headache. I've been trying not to do the cough medicine very much so I made a mini sauna in the bathroom with Groucho on Sunday. He must have been cold because he jumped up in my lap and sat there for a good 30 minuets with me.

 I love how dignified he looks.

 This picture was from yesterday. I felt so defeated. I tried to go to work but it just wasn't happening. I drove myself but wound up having to pull over because I got light headed. Groucho is such a good cat. He's always by my side.

Last week while I was still only mildly not feeling well we went to Home Comers. We went and ate Chinese food at Golden Gate and then headed up to Main Street.

 Stratton had a blast, as always, on the motor cars. He is such a ladies man...he saw the bike that had the girls on it and went straight for that one.

 I saw a friend of mine there with her little girl Kendall so Stratton of course had to ride around a few times with her. She has grown up so much in the last couple of years!

 I didn't feel great but I'm so glad we all went when we did. It rained another night and then I started feeling crappy the next few days. Even here I look like I don't feel that great.

 Stratton liked sitting in the army truck. He saluted me of course.

 He asked the guys that were there in uniform where the machine guns were.

 I was so proud of Stratton for going down this slide. He is scared to death of heights and the stairs were pretty freakin scary even for me. He went down it three times though! The first two he did by himself and the third time I went down with him. It was so much fun! Even for a 26 year old!

 This was one ride I did not think he was going to like since it was one that went up high. But he loved it. He thought it was so much fun.

 He did the spinning apple ride by himself and Derek and I thought for sure he was not going to like it because there were some older kids in the apple with him. They started spinning it pretty fast so Derek and I got a little worried but every turn that it made we could see him and he had a huge smile on his face. He loved it!

The water boat ride was super disappointing for Stratton. He was mad because the gun on the front of it didn't work. Haha. Of course!

 Before we left we had to get a corn dog of course. Those things are SO good. I can't wait until the SEMO fair to come now so I can get some more fried goodies!

For the last year I have been working on a website for a Christian clothing company called LilyWhite. Designs. The two girls that run it are simply amazing people. Jordan is the main owner and operator of the company and has been so patient with me trying to get everything up and going for her. As a thank you for finally getting the site up and going she sent me a thank you box. It was full of the most awesome smelling and tasting stuff. The bad is one that she made! How cool is that? She also sent me some home made preservative, home made chapstick, some body butter, home made soap, and B&N gift card. All of which are perfect for me. I love the bag so much that I dumped all the contents from my old purse into this one. Thank you so much Jordan for being such a great friend and for letting me make this beautiful website for you. 

Check out the website HERE!

Stratton and I made a trip to Kaleidoscoop last week too. They have new owners now. The owners may be new but the ice cream is still just as good! 

Angel Food Cake

This weekend I set out to make my very first angel food cake from scratch...by myself....no help from any of the women in my family. Just me, alone, with my mixer and a couple ingredients. Just a little news flash for those of you who may not know me: I don't cook, or bake, or make stuff in the kitchen without it coming out of a box. I'm just not Susie homemaker like my Grandma Marge and my sister Casey. I didn't get that gene. I'm trying to learn how to make stuff in the kitchen now a days because that's what wives/mommys are supposed to do...right? I have been told that I make a pretty mean pot roast in the slow cooker (which is about the easiest thing you can make) and I've even got my Grandma B's homemade chocolate chip cookies down pat.

I did a photoshoot with my grandma Marge and all the women in my family about a month ago and we all made the "Famous Angel Food Cake."  We made two of them and they turned out amazing of course.They were super light and fluffy and the crust was just falling off of it. It was amazing.

So here is my attempt at making the infamous cake. 

This is all you need to make an angel food cake. Who would have thought?

Sugar, All Purpose Flour, Vanilla, Cream of Tartar, and a shi... poop ton of eggs

You're supped to start with the eggs at room temperature but I'm really impatient and didn't want to wait the few hours is was going to take for them to warm up so I stuck them in some warm water.

I didn't have an angel food cake pan so I had to use Grandma Marges cake pan. This thing has made many a delicious angle food cake it in so I'm hoping that some of that will rub off on my cake.

I got this mixer for Christmas a few years back and I rarely get the opportunity to use it. Derek was laughing at my because I had to dust it before I used it. That's how much a bake or cook. Don't judge me. I scrubbed down the whole thing and got it clean again and got the right mixer attachment on it.

The next part was the egg white separating part. When we were doing the photo shoot we made a mess of separating the egg whites from the yolk by using the two halves of the egg shell. I especially sucked at separating the two so I googled easier ways to do the job. 

This was by far the easiest way I found to do it. I had to of course video it for my family members to see because I was pretty freakin excited about this. 

I used one bowl to hold the egg while I got the yolk out and a water bottle that I recycled after I drank all the water out of it. Don't worry I rinsed it before I used it. 

All those wonderful egg yolks and no egg white. I felt pretty awesome after doing this.

Here's all that egg white in the mixer starting to froth up.

This was about half way into the egg beating. Haha. I just picture in my head some defenseless egg in a headlock getting beat up on. I'm a dork.

What kitchen is complete without this bad boy?

Once the egg white was all frothed up I added the sugar/flour/cream of tartar mixture. I think this is where I went wrong. I think I folded it too much and made it go flat.

Then I forgot to put the vanilla in so I had to do that last minute and messed it up even worse.

You have to put this thing in the oven for 70 minuets!! Seventy! 

It seems like forever when you're hoping that the recipe that you're working on turned out.

So, this is how it turned out. It was pretty not so tasty if you ask me. The vanilla didn't get mixed in enough and it tasted more like egg than angel food cake.

It looked a lot better than it tasted.

So, the next morning after feeling completely defeated. I woke up and tried again. With 14 more eggs, 2 more cups of sugar, 2 more cups of flour, 2 more teaspoons of cream of tartar and two more teaspoons of vanilla....I finally got something that tasted almost like Grandma's. 

I tried a few things differently this time. I put the vanilla in when I was beating the eggs and I also tried a different spoon when folding in the dry ingredients. 

So, there you have it. The famous angel food cake as made by me. 

I Put my Gi Pants Back On

Last night I finally went back to jiu jitsu. It has been almost two months since I put my gi on; and let me tell you if felt amazing to get back in there. I needed to get in the gym and focus on something other than work or whatever else has been going on this week. It's been so long since I had been in the gym that I didn't stay to roll with anyone. I still remember a lot but I just didn't feel comfortable rolling last night. It felt good to be physical and work with one of the new girls named Bobbi Jo and a guy that has been there for a while named Justin. Justin is great. He's about as tall as I am and he's really good about not being too rough when we practice different moves. We worked on getting out of butterfly guard last night. It seemed ridiculously easy when we were practicing but I'm sure that actually trying to use it during a match will prove to be a bit more difficult.

After this hellacious week I needed some me time at the gym. The thing I love most about going to jiu jitsu is that once you walk in the door you're greeted by the nicest people around. They all greet you with a smile or a hug and they really do care so much about you. Even the new people are so eager to ask how you've been and always willing to talk to you about pretty much anything. I go in there and everything that I was stressed out about or sad about or angry about just gets left at the door.

I'm really starting to get out of shape from not going to the gym religiously like I used to. My face after practice pretty much summed up how I felt after I got done with practice.

Tonight I plan on going to the gym and doing my triathlon workout. Three miles on the treadmill, 10k on the bike and swim for 30 min. It sucks but I feel so much better after I get done doing it. Sunday will be filled with Tabata workouts and more running. YAY!

Oswald and Dilly Bars at the Park

My sister and her fiance Marcus have the sweetest dog you could ever meet. (Apart from Zoe of course.) Oswald is such a funny dog. He's a big goof ball to say the least.

 Casey and Marcus were packing to leave on their trip the other day and Oswald just didn't know what to do with himself. I was checking off items from Casey's list while Casey was grabbing random items. Oswald decided he was human and sat next to me on the stairs.

 He kept trying to find just the right position to sit comfortably. He just couldn't quite get it right. 

 Look at how cute that is!

   Such a pretty puppy.

 He did not want to leave the stairs but he was starting to get tired so this was the next position that he decided to try out.

 He even had his knee up on the step to hold himself up. Hah.

 Look at that face.

The other day I actually put some makeup on and decided to send Derek and pretty picture of myself. I thought it turned out kind of neat. 

Yesterday Stratton, Mom, Aunty Pam, Grandma Marge, John and I all went to the Cape Municipal Band concert. They were handing out Dilly Bars! Score! 

 Oswald joined us of course. He wined so much because he wanted to go say hi to the other puppies in the park.

 Stratton loves his Aunty Pam. She always tells him "huggy huggy kiss kiss"

 I love that big ol smile of his. He makes the best chessy face. Strat was getting so mad because his dilly bar kept melting and dripping on his pants.  

 Oswald just had to make his rounds and give everyone kisses...including me.

 My mom and I inhaled out Dilly Bars. You can't tell we like ice cream at all can you?

 Oh Oswald.

The theme for the music was Christmas music. There was also a steel drum band that played. It was so neat to hear all the different kinds of music.

 

 

A Year Ago Today

A year ago today...

I found out that the little bundle of joy that Derek and I were expecting had gone to heaven to be with our Heavenly Father. We drove to the doctor with a fear in our hearts but also a hope that something, some kind of miracle, could happen. We watched as the nurse practitioner searched for a heartbeat unsuccessfully. We watched as the ultrasound technician turned the screen away from us. We saw the face of the nurse practitioner as she had to tell us some of the worst news anyone could hear. We went home and that night Derek and I went through some of the worst pain in our lives. For him it was an emotional kind of pain, for me it was a physical and emotional kind of pain. I have never experienced that kind of pain in my life before; both mentally and physically.

I had the support of my amazing husband as well as our wonderful families to get me through everything. I was bitter and hurt for a long while. I still hurt and carry a little bit of sadness around with me when I think about it. I'm not sure I'll ever fully get over it. It's just something you can't explain to someone unless they go through it. I was mad at God for a while but that too has passed.

I know I have a little guardian angel to protect and watch over me and I'll see that baby again some day.

Made Up Monday

Yesterday I went to Sephora (surprised?) and got a makeup bag that I had been eying for the last month. It's not the actual bag that drew me to it but what was inside the bag that I was wanting. I wear A LOT of browns and golds when it comes to my makeup. I have this weird blue/gray colored eyes and they don't really pop with any other colors. Most of the time people think my eyes are brown because they're so dark. But, alas, they are blue/gray. Anywho, back to the bag.

The collection is called "Dare to Wear Gold" and includes a 5-piece kit from bareMinerals. I'm always looking for makeup bags that are small enough for my to lug around but big enough that I can throw some brushes in it without messing up the bristles. This little bag is the perfect size. It's just long enough for me to put my bushes in and they don't get smashed up on the sides. Not to mention I can throw A LOT of makeup in it without it weighing me down too much. I love the gold and snake patten on it too. 

The compact that is included in it contains a blush and luminizer in the shades "The Natural High" (blush) and "The Shining Moment" (luminizer). I tend not to use really pink colored blushes but I'm always willing to try something new. I really like the color of the luminizer. It's light and works great for highlighting your cheek bones, nose and under your eyes.

 The main reason why I fell in love with this little bundle was because of the eyeshadow. The colors are "Double Dare" which is a super pretty light gold. This color is perfect to use in the corner of your eye closest to your nose. I also use it right below my eyebrows as a highlighter. The other color is "Wild Thing" which is a gold-flecked bronze color. I would use the "Wild Thing" color to go in the middle of my eye between the "Double Dare"  and a darker brown or black on the outer corner of my eye.

I am a HUGE fan of Moxie lip gloss. They discontinued a lot of the Buxom lip gloss and started to phase in these Moxie glosses. "Rockstar" is the color they included in this collection. It's very nude and really only has a bit of gold/pink to highlight your lips. Super pretty and just enough color to give your lips some highlighting.

It also has that oh so wonderful tingle that Buxom included to make your lips plump. If you're like my sister and don't like that stingy/tingly feeling from the lip plumper I wouldn't recommend the Buxom or Moxie lip glosses. 

The collection also included a "Round the Clock" waterproof eyeliner which I of course forgot at home. But, I'm not much on pencil eyeliners so I probably won't wind up using it very often.

Family Loss and Family Gain

Today has been a roller coaster of a day for me. I received great news today about the birth of my niece and horrible news about my step cousin. 

This afternoon my niece Camile Blaine was born. She weighed in at 9oz 19 1/2" long. She is simply beautiful. Ashley went into labor and progressed SUPER fast. Camile was so anxious to come into this world she didn't let her momma have an epidural. Both baby and momma are doing wonderfully.

I got a phone call from my dad not much after I got the news that Camile had been born. He said my cousin Brandon got out of prison on Tuesday and that last night he had been in a car accident. He was driving his girlfriends car and crossed the median hitting another vehicle. Brandon was pronounced dead at the scene. The other person that was with him is in the hospital. The other car had an infant and three other passengers. The infants parents are in serious condition. 

It's such a sad situation. I wasn't very close to Brandon but I have known him since I was really little. He made a lot of very poor decision that ultimately led to this. I'm so sad for my grandma and John as well as Brandon's mom and sisters. If you all could send some prays and love their way it would be much appreciated.

Friday Confessions

I haven't confessed in a long time! I mean on here at least. I'm not catholic so I don't really know what confessing is all about. I would like to get a few things off my chest.

-I confess that I absolutely hate when I'm with someone and they are constantly on their phone. I'm taking time to hang out with you and you won't put your phone down. Rude.

-I confess that I went three days without a shower. I have seriously had one of those weeks that had me running around all over the place until it was time to go to bed. I showered this morning. FYI

-I confess that I don't really like the taste of coffee. I mean, I like some iced coffee if it's got enough sugar and soy milk in it but come on. It's so bitter! Having said that, I went to that new sporting goods store in cape and got a new thermos mug and have been drinking cappuccino almost religiously. Wow, I never knew how much better you could feel with a little caffeine in your system.  

-I confess that it has been a bit of a vacation for myself with Derek not being home. I get to watch whatever I want on TV. I've been keeping up with the laundry. The dishes are all clean. I don't have to worry about making a huge meal for dinner. It's been awesome. Now, don't get me wrong it'll be nice to have him back home when he gets back.

-I confess that I'm taking a half day at work today because it is simply too beautiful to be stuck in this.