Hold All My Calls....

Tonight is 31 Cent Scoop Night at Baskin-Robbins!!!
From 5pm-10pm, small ice cream scoops will be only 31 cents with the proceeds going to America's Firefighters.
I will be smothered in Rainbow Sherbert and Chocolate Peanut Butter by 5:02pm.

They're Here!!!

These guys are in town for the week and I couldn't be happier!

Translation: I don't think I will be blogging again until Sunday.

Enjoy the week!

Two Big Events For Olive

#1. She met "Pincess Awora", her new favorite princess.


#2. She started her "Ballet and Tap for Tots" class on Saturday.
She loved the "ballerina dwess", but hated the tights. So, we opted for her striped Cinderella socks with her ballet shoes.


A star is born.
Or, maybe a class clown.
Or, a stylist.

Thought This Was Interesting.....

I read this and was grossed out then hungry for the "alternatives". Being that I am currently ruled by my ever-changing cravings, I will keep this info in mind before my next binge at the mall food court. Enjoy!

"Eat This, Not That"
By David Zinczenko, with Matt Goulding Provided by: Men's Health Magazine

Pizza

Eat This:
2 slices Domino's large cheese pizza with crunchy thin crust
360 calories
19 g fat

Not That!
2 slices Pizza Hut large cheese pizza with thin 'n cripsy crust
560 calories
24 g fat

Save 200 calories and 5 grams of fat!

In the world of mass-produced pizza, nothing beats Domino's crunchy thin-crust pie. Eat pizza just once a week, and you'll save more than 10,000 calories this year - which is a nice down payment on a smaller waist size.

Turkey Sandwich

Eat This:
Subway 6-inch Turkey Sub with provolone cheese
330 calories
8.5 g fat

Not That!
Panera Bread Sierra Turkey
840 calories
40 g fat

Save 510 calories and 31.5 grams of fat!

Don't sweat the meat in the sandwich: turkey, roast beef, and ham are all lean cuts. But Panera slathers its turkey with a thick layer of chipotle mayo and slides it into a heavy, oily wedge of focaccia, so that turkey is a porker. A Subway 6-incher not enough to quell your raging lunchtime hunger? Double up on meat for just 50 calories more.

Cinnamon Roll

Eat This:
Au Bon Pain Cinnamon Roll
350 calories
21 g sugars
12 g fat


Not That!
Cinnabon Classic Cinnamon Roll
813 calories
55 g sugars
32 g fat

Save 463 calories, 34 grams of sugars, and 20 grams of fat!

OK, there's absolutely no nutritional value in a cinnamon roll. We said it. But when you just have to have one, take comfort in knowing that Au Bon Pain's restrained rendition more than halves the calories, sugar, and fat found in the Cinnabon catastrophe.

Doughnut
Eat This:
Dunkin' Donuts Glazed Donut
230 calories
10 g fat
12 g sugars

Not That!
Dunkin' Donuts Glazed Cake Donut
330 calories
18 g fat
18 g sugars

Save 100 calories and 8 grams of fat!

Both are cloaked in sugar, but their original doughnuts are light and airy because they're made with yeast, and cake donuts are heavy and dense because they're made with cake batter. Remember: Cake is not a breakfast food.

Fruit Smoothie
Eat This:
Jamba Juice Power Mega Mango Smoothie
420 calories
97 g sugars

Not That!
Dunkin' Donuts Large Tropical Fruit Smoothie
720 calories
142 g sugars

Save 300 calories and 45 grams of sugars!

This sickeningly sweet concoction from Dunkin' has an ingredient list straight out of a chem lab and more sugar than seven Häagen-Dazs vanilla-and-almond ice-cream bars. So this tropical excursion will be bad for your equator. The Jamba version is 100 percent fruit, so there's a huge caloric discount and big antioxidant payload.

Thank you so much to everyone who made my birthday so special!
It was a wonderful, memorable day.
Actually, a wonderful and memorable couple of days!

WOW....

32 has never looked better.

CRAVINGS!!!

They are back and stronger than ever!
I can't watch t.v. without salivating over every commercial pushing various snacks, cereals, dinner items, Restaurants, etc. Even zip-lock back commercials catch my attention because I want what they are storing inside. Lucky for me, these days fresh fruit is a must, especially strawberries. Which brings me to the first item.

#1. Strawberries and fruit dip

My fingers are permanently stained red from all the strawberries I have been eating lately. Sarah gave me the tip of buying them from the Thacker Farm's strawberry stand, and I am telling you, they are the sweetest, juiciest strawberries I have ever had. Too bad Rob and Olive have yet to partake in this mouth-watering phenomenon because I refuse to share.
And those strawberries with this fruit dip is out of this world!

Yummy Fruit Dip
8 oz. Cream Cheese
1 Jar Marshmallow
2 Tablespoons of Lemon Curd (from Trader Joe's)

Just mix the ingredients together, refrigerate for 1-2 hours, and serve!
This recipe is great for parties or in my case, a party of one.


#2. These heaven-sent peanut butter cookies. They take two minutes to make and are DELICIOUS! Sheena so generously posted this on her blog back in August, and I reference the recipe at least twice a week.

FLOURLESS Peanutbutter Cookies:

1c chunky peanut butter
1c brown sugar
1 egg
1t baking soda
1/2c chocolate chips

Bake at 350* 8-10 minutes.


#3. Hummus dip and carrots.

It's a crunchy, and salty snack that I can indulge and not feel guilty if I eat it all. (maybe gassy, but not guilty!)


#4. An ice cold strawberry lemonade and corn dog from Hot Dog On A Stick.

With lots of mustard. And 19 napkins. And maybe a bib.


#5. To my doctor's dismay, anything chocolate!!!

See's candy, chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream, in fact all the mentioned above covered in chocolate would suffice. I want it, need it, must have it.

I hope, once again, I have inspired my many readers (I think it is up to 7 now) with my cravings for the week. And in return I ask you inspire me by answering the following question....

WHAT ARE YOUR CRAVINGS FOR THE WEEK?

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!!

This morning I received a phone call from this gal


asking when it was a good time to drop off this surprise for me.


I am in...

Chocolate Heaven!

Let's Share Recipes!!!

Yes, it's back!

BLUEBERRY OAT MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup orange juice
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg, beaten
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
2 teaspoons white sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a 12 cup muffin pan. In a small bowl, mix the oats and orange juice together. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Thoroughly blend in the oil and egg. Stir in the oat mixture, and fold in blueberries. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups.

3. Mix 2 teaspoons sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, and sprinkle evenly over the tops of the muffins.

4. Bake 18 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

** I added 1 teaspoon of vanilla and used half white flour and half whole wheat flour. I cooked them in mini muffin tins for
8 minutes. **

I woke up this morning with a craving for muffins and boy, do these hit the spot! They are delicious!
Enjoy!

Meet Our Newest Family Members...

This weekend we bought Olive a fish tank and then she picked out six Fancy Guppies. Here are their names:
Nana, Bruce, Roxi, Shamu, Jingle Bells, and my favorite, Shawna.

Our passes to the Long Beach Aquarium expire next month, and Rob and I decided to hold off on renewing them until Olive's 3rd birthday. We figured having an "aquarium" in our house would satisfy her need to go the the actual Aquarium.

Not the Case.

Since Sunday, she has been asking Rob and I if we can put the fish in "their fishy purse" (the clear plastic bag we brought them home in) and take them to the Aquarium so we can show "the great white sharks and sting rays" our new friends.

I think the days of fooling her are slowly coming to an end...

My Birthday Wish

With only 8 days until my 32nd birthday, I thought I would make this year's birthday wish well known, in hopes of it coming true.

My wish is that I wake up to a knock at my front door by this gal


carrying an In N' Out cheeseburger with no tomatoes, fries, and a large Barq's root-beer.


Along with this cutie


with a two pound box of Soft Centers from See's Candy.


And my big Jackson Tyler


holding a pink box filled with a dozen of these in his sweet, grubby little hands.


Oh what a day it would be!

But, if that doesn't work out, I would settle for an Extreme Makeover Pedicure Edition from this guy.

It's Finally Here!!!

Drum-roll please.....

INTRODUCING.....

THE MOMENT WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR (or, at least, I have been waiting for).....

KASEY'S BLOG!!!


"I GAVE IN!"
Just click on her link under my "FUN FRIENDS"



WELCOME, WELCOME, WELCOME!!

There's Hope For Me Yet.....

I have chronic bad breath.

I know I do.

I'm pretty sure I was born with it.

Because of this well known fact, I carry some form of breath helper such as gum or mints on my person at all times that temporarily disguises the polluted "air" that disturbingly manages to somehow escape my mouth. I brush my tongue and teeth anywhere from 3-5 times a day, use mouthwash, floss, and now see the dentist regularly in attempt to exterminate the stinky bacteria that has a set up a permanent residence in my mouth. Over the years I have bugged my doctor about some type of pill I can take or mouth transplant I can have to cure me of my halitosis which he generally responds to with an annoyed look accompanied by a "you have got to be kidding me" eye roll.

So, here I am, with Altoids in tow, praying to God and the American Dental Association for hope for a cure.

Well according to this article, I could be closer to a non-surgical answer to prayers.

SCIENTISTS FIND BUG RESPONSIBLE FOR BAD BREATH
By Megan Rauscher Mon Apr 7, 6:10 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)

Solobacterium moorei is the organism largely responsible for chronic bad breath, or halitosis, biologists reported Saturday at the annual meeting of the American Association for Dental Research in Dallas.

Persistent bad breath, which can be very embarrassing, is often caused by the breakdown of bacteria in the mouth, producing foul-smelling sulfur compounds that reside on the surface of the tongue. "Tongue bacteria produce malodorous compounds and fatty acids, and account for 80 to 90 percent of all cases of bad breath," said Betsy Clark, a student at the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine. Some cases of bad breath originate in the lungs or sinuses.

In a study of 21 people with chronic bad breath and 36 subjects without this problem, Clark and colleagues found S. moorei in every patient that had halitosis compared with only four comparison subjects. The four people without halitosis infected with S. moorei all had periodontitis, an infection of the gums that can also lead to chronically bad breath.

"As we identify and find out more about the bacteria that cause bad breath, we can develop treatments to reduce their numbers in the mouth," Clark added in a university-issued statement.

As reported Friday on Reuters Health, the same team of investigators has found that brushing twice a day with antibacterial toothpaste and using a toothbrush with a built-in tongue scraper can eliminate chronic bad breath.

Alleluia!!!!
Hopefully.

A Productive Saturday

Since Rob had this Saturday off, we decided to have a "Spring Clean Up Day" by sprucing up the front yard.
I went up to Home Depot and bought some flowers, red paint for the door, and other miscellaneous supplies. When I returned, we changed into our grubby clothes and put Olive, I mean, ourselves, to work.

Olive priming the door grey with paint brushes from her private collection.


While waiting for the first coat of primer to dry, she came outside and helped throw dirt everywhere, I mean, helped me plant flowers.


After a couple of hours of hard work, here is the end result.


The front door and porch:
Before


After


The right plant bed:
Before


After



The left plant bed:
Before


After (The photo refused to rotate, sorry.)


We had a great day with wonderful results. Now, if I can just remember to water everyday...

What A Week!

We're back from our week long trip to Folsom and Lake Tahoe!
We had an excellent time visiting with the Jibsons and enjoying all that Tahoe has to offer.

It all started last Saturday with a six hour car ride up to Folsom.
(I never realized how beautiful I am without make up or brushed hair, fast asleep.... YIKES!)


We spent the first night in Folsom with Kasey and the boys, then the next morning both families squeezed into our overpacked cars and headed to the mountains for some fun. When we arrived, we had a great time exploring the lake.

Rob, Olive, and I on the beach in Tahoe.


Little Riley Scott


The kids pretending to be seagulls.


Us three girls (displaying our incredible posture).


After about 45 minutes of the kids running on the beach, collecting shells, and feeding the ducks, my mom decided it was the perfect time to gather the little rascals for photo with Grandma Kat.
Here is the best shot:

Maybe next year, mom.

A couple of days into the trip, Rob, and Olive made a snowman, careful not to use any yellow snow.


Our "Frosty" in the woods.


Olive in her "position of the day": big smile, arm cocked back with snowball in hand, ready to fire at any given moment. It made for an interesting time, to say the least.


After Tahoe, we once again headed back to Folsom for two days. One night all of us went out to dinner and while we waited for our food to arrive, Kasey and I decided it was a good idea to pass the time by feeding our children limes. Here's how it went:

Jackson and Olive


Riley


After dinner, we spent some time at a great park near Kasey's house.

Olive and Daddy on the "twisty slide".


Kasey lovingly carrying her boys around the park.
She left her double-hip-sling in the car and just decided to improvise.


The next morning while Jackson was at school and Ryan was at work, we decided we would surprise Olive and Riley with a fun outing to Folsom Prison.

As you can tell by the photo, they were in toddler heaven.

Here are the homemade knives that were constructed by the prisoners and then confiscated in the hour we were there touring the museum.


After a fabulous tour of the prison museum, Rob and I left Olive at the prison daycare center and drove to downtown Sacramento for a tour of the Capitol and Old Town.

Rob in front of the Capitol building.


Rob and I in Old Town by the American River.


We had a WONDERFUL trip and look forward to visiting again soon!