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FITBF

August 31, 2012




1.  Over this labor day weekend I will be     heading back home, hopefully to electricity   .

2.  With the political debates going on right now, my thoughts are   that I could care less. I vote, but can't stand all the crazy people with their insane political agendas   .

3.  Today    I am in serious need of a leg shave (tmi?) but I didn't pack my lotion. I am also playing with a crazy toddler and hoping the weather is nice enough to get out and do something. I haven't worked out all week and I have cabin fever  .
4. The best thing I've cooked recently was    this roasted red pepper and goat cheese alfredo pasta .


5. The last thing I bought was    soup and some broccoli .

6. The best movie I saw this summer was   What to Expect When You're Expecting, because I can't remember what else we saw.

7.  The best book I read this summer was   Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness, and I am still reading it   .
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Emotional Eating is Totally Acceptable During A Hurricane

Update***
A friend of our's sent this pic of the outside of our apartment today. No damage and my wreath is still in place, score! He said their fridge is still cold even though we've been without power for days. 

Very promising.

Apparently our grill didn't even budge. 
...........................................................

Just so we're clear.

When the Entergy outage map looks like this (all that red is no power):
And has for oh...3 days straight. It is totally acceptable to self soothe with this:

Call me a crazy, but I was so ahead of my game Saturday and made a huge trip to Sam's and Walmart and stocked us up like I do every few months. 

I'm talking about 20lbs of chicken and 6lbs of hamburger on top of our regular weekly eats. 

I spent about $200 between the two stores. 

And lest we not forget money doesn't flow freely here in "My husband is in graduate school land." 

It seriously makes me sick to my stomach to think about the amount of money going down the drain right now. The meat in the freezer usual lasts us about two months. That is two months worth of grocery money thrown to the wind. 

Jeremy isn't too worried about it. He seems to handle things well.

I on the other hand, as you have probably noticed from 4 years of blogging, am a worry wort. 

I am also a cheap-o and have to save money to make myself feel better. Essentially I am mentally preparing for some massive crisis. 

But Isaac, we didn't think it would be this bad. Then again this is our first hurricane living so far south. We didn't pack up the groceries and bring them with us, or put away the grill and other things laying around outside. I brought enough clothes for 3 days. And we only brought one car with us. 

How many days have we been evacuated? 

5

5 days. 

If they can get our power turned on early today I am hopeful our stuff will be okay. 

I just can't wrap my head around the idea that I would have to replace an entire fridge worth of food. If anyone knows how long an unopened packed fridge will last let me know. 

How were you effected by Hurricane Isaac? 
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Well this looks nothing like the picture...

August 30, 2012

Since we are on a boil water notice and have not had power for several days (at our house in South LA, remember we evacuated) let's look at some recent Pinterest fails.

 Because every good thing from Pinterest is met by an equally not so good thing. 

 Fail #1 The Poached Egg Trick


How it's supposed to work: 
Prick a hole in the flat end of the egg with a needle. Boil for 20 seconds. Remove and crack into simmering water to continue cooking.

 What actually happened:
I really thought I would crack the egg pricking it. Instead I made it to the cracking stage and found half of my whites were stuck to the inside of the shell. So much for that. Mine looked nothing like the picture. I think I'll just stick to my regular poached eggs. 

 Fail #2 OMG Chicken


How it's supposed to work:
You spread mayo and bread crumbs over the chicken and bake for 20-30 minutes. 

 What actually happened:
It cook through okay, I was afraid it didn't though because it was still so white. My only issue was that is was so so bland. I need more flavor than mayo in my food. 

 Fail #3 The Unnamed Chicken



 How it's supposed to work:
According to a pinner - You put the chicken in a crockpot with brown sugar, soy sauce, and pineapple. Cook away and enjoy. 

 What actually happened:
Towards the end of the cooking process I decided to go on The Undressed Skeleton's blog and look this recipe up. What we had in our crockpot looked nothing like the photo. Turns out she marinated her meat in this concoction and grilled it. Whoever had the bright idea to pin this and give it a new recipe had lost their minds. I ended up having to seperate the meat and liquid so I could reduce the liquid down. I took a lot more brown sugar and soy sauce before it looked even sorta like her picture. It tasted okay, but goodness it was not worth the effort. 

 And finally...a few things that worked as well as promised! 


Seriously we had been having issues with sewage backing up in our neighborhood, which had left us with the stinkiest towels ever. This completely cured it! 


It tastes just like the best rotisserie chicken I have ever had! 


Slice off both ends of the orange and make a slight slit between two sections, unravel and your orange is peeled! Takes away so much time wasted standing their peeling off bit by bit.

 And this little gem below...it totally makes the prettiest curls ever:)
  

What is your favorite pin on Pinterest? 
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Lessons in Child Raising - From the Aunt

August 29, 2012

I've often wondered how Moms walk dogs and babies at the same time. 

I think I've figured it out. 

Allow me to share a graphic example of how you to can walk the dogs and baby at the same time: 
Notice all the key parts of this photo.

#1 The toddler is holding the dog leash with two hands. 
       - because one hand isn't safe, we figured this out when he let go of the dog                           
#2 Dog happiness is of utmost concern. 
       - when your 6 year old 12lb weenie dog quits walking no one wants to carry that...so you put it in the basket under the stroller. 
#3 The aunt who looks so chawed because the neighbors said something to her about this...as the lead dog dragged the strolled off the road nearly crashing us all into a pristine flower bed. 
       - There were two other "adults" with me, they walked behind me cackling. 
#4 If you are going to use a weenie dog as a sled dog it is best the dogs understands some commands. 
      - It may look cute to teach the 2 yr old to yell mush (while it only draws more attention to the already ridiculous situation), it is more crucial that the dog understand commands like stop when approaching oncoming traffic. 

Realize I didn't tell y'all how to do this without getting funny looks, or without causing a scene. I also should have mentioned this is best done in a neighborhood where the local Garden Club members aren't present. I think they cringe when they see my dogs coming. 

Don't for a second think I am exaggerating this one either. The only thing that would make it more comical would be partaking in this activity today...while Hurricane Isaac hits. Because a wind blown baby and an insane weenie dog would be much funnier in your flowerbed. 

What is your funniest or most embarrassing moment as an aunt, uncle, or grandparent so far? 

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September is Blog Month at Compassion

August 28, 2012

Well, August is coming to an end...and pretty quick. I wanted to take a minute to let y'all know about Blog Month at Compassion. 

For the month of September I will be participating by blogging on different topics for Compassion. 

The goal for this month is to sponsor 3,108 children between Sept. 1 and Sept. 30.

Each Monday in September you'll see another post from me encouraging you to sponsor children! If you do sponsor a child during this month or already sponsor a child I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment telling me about why you decided to sponsor a child, or anything else you would like to share. I would love to have a sponsor or two guest post for me about their experience during September. 

Also I want to encourage fellow blogger to sign-up and blog for a cause! By blogging about this even you can help rescue children from poverty in one huge blogging effort. 

Join the Compassion Blogger Network

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Because Raggedy Is A Legit Meteorology Term

August 27, 2012

Updated***
We decided to evacuate. They finally cancelled work for me through Wednesday, I am hoping they cancel it for Thursday as well so that we don't have to drive back in the brunt of the storm. We aren't really worried about anything happening except maybe some power outages and flooding. The flooding probably won't get into our house, considering Thibodaux is so much higher than Houma, and Schriever where we technically live is high (in the Louisiana sense) as well. But even with minor road flooding and power outages we would be stuck if we stayed. 

I died laughing yesterday when my sister sent me a text saying people in North Louisiana were freaking out about the storm. I am only a few miles from the end of America and the Cajuns are planning to ride this out like it is any other thunder storm ha! 

Such is life. Y'all stay dry!
.................................................................. 

At this point I'm sure you've all heard of the hurricane/tropical storm Issac situation. I personally can't help but laugh about it. This time last year our district was making us pack and move to higher ground for Tropical Storm Lee and it did absolutely no damage. We didn't miss school, but everything was covered in plastic. 

Which is why I am laughing so much at this ordeal. You see, they've known this was coming and that is would likely be a Cat 2 by the time it hit the Gulf Coast...and what have they done? Not a dang thing. No email, nothing. I didn't even know we were under a watch until late Thursday and at that time no one that actually lives here had said a single thing. 

My mom on the other hand? She is preparing for a nuclear meltdown in Central LA, while we are acting like it's just another rain cloud only a few miles before the land is no more. 

I live in a parish that is bordered to the south by only the Gulf...the world ends at this point. You better swim. Got me? 

Parishes above us...totally land locked...are having voluntary evacuations and closing school till Wednesday. 

What is Terrebonne doing? Basically throwing a hurricane party. If you are in a low lying area they say that maybe you should come to town. School? Well we are out today, while it is perfect swimming/laying out weather. Have they closed on the days the storm hits? Nope. 

We'll just swim to work. 

That good ole Cajun attitude of riding the storm out, oh it is real. Oh so real. These people don't leave for anything. But I don't blame them, we are expected to get some flooding. Not ideal dachshund weather, but nothing major. 

For your enjoyment allow me to share with you a little snippet from last nights news report straight out of NOLA. This photo makes no sense.
I have no idea what he was talking about, I couldn't stop laughing at the arrows. He was like watching a bad preacher who love to preach hell fire. Basically, he just kept saying "I'm not trying to scare you...but you're gonna die." Hilarious. "As you see the storm is moving this way, but I'm not trying to scare you!" 

I promise y'all the morning reporter is much better. Way less arrows. He just kept calling it raggedy. Because raggedy is a legit meteorology term. 

The hair in this one was killing me. Fox 8 New Orleans needs better stylists. The hurricane wasn't scaring me nearly as much as his hair, maybe he should have apologized for that poor blue hair dye job.

All this to say...
What are we doing today? Oh you know hiding from direct sunlight and having a hurricane party. Which is why at 10am I headed down the street with my coffee cup sans umbrella. Those gale force winds knocked a paper coffee mug straight across the street. It's bad y'all, take cover. You just may get a sunburn!

On a more serious note, here is the latest hurricane tracker, it looks like it has shifted more towards the parish I'm in. As long as we are to the right of the storm we are good to go. A boat captain friends of ours was using the Weather Underground App, I highly suggest it. It seems a lot more accurate than Fox 8's app, and Weather Channel just keeps saying it's raining but fails to mention the hurricane. 
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Meal Pinning Monday

August 26, 2012

This week could alternately be titled "I hope you like gumbo because you will be eating it for a long time." Jeremy requested it, and I only make it about once a year...and we just about have enough to last until the next year.  But let's get on with the MPM post!
[What is Meal Pinning Monday?]
MPM is how I meal plan for our little family. I once spent a lot of time searching the web and my recipe books hunting for new recipes and ideas for what to cook every week. Then, Pinterest came along and made meal planning much easier for me. Every weekend I look over what I have pinned the prior week and decide what I would like to cook and make my grocery list from these recipes. MPM came about as a way to share what I am cooking, and to also see what others are cooking every week to hopefully get even more dinner ideas from other bloggers. If you don't pin your recipes feel free to just share what you are cooking. 


Monday - Paleo Orange Chicken


 Tuesday - Leftovers

 Wednesday - Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps



 Thursday - Leftovers

 Friday -  Gumbo 
I am taking a huge shortcut and using Blue Runner Gumbo Base this time. Hopefully it turns out good, I don't feel like sitting in the kitchen for 5 hours.

 Saturday - Fend for Yourself Friday, except it's Saturday.  

 Sunday - Play it by ear, we tend to go out to eat on Sunday. 

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[Guest Post] Bachelorette parties that won't break the bank.

August 22, 2012


Jessica Stark was awesome enough to share another wedding related guest post with us. Enjoy her fabulous writing and wedding ideas and share this with your engaged or nearly engaged friends! I definitely know how I will be throwing the next bachelorette party I get to host:)

Over the past several years, it seems that weddings have transformed from a special occasion to celebrate a couple's love to a grand, spare-no-expenses event. If you can afford to host this type of wedding and bachelorette party, that's awesome. But not everyone can, and not everyone wants to. You don't have to go all-out to have a memorable, fun event with your friends, and I was reminded of that when I recently attended a bachelorette party at a comedy club.
Being there, watching the bride-to-be have fun with her friends and celebrate the next phase of her life without dropping loads of cash got me thinking about how much these parties have become a burden to other brides-to-be. Sometimes less is more, and the last thing you want is to go into debt before you even say "I do".
Inexpensive bachelorette party ideas
·       Activity-based party theme. If you and your friends enjoy sports, plan your party around your favorite event for a fun-filled, memorable day. Playing 18 holes on the golf course or an afternoon playing Frisbee golf can be loads of fun for you and your active friends. Use discount coupons for a local golf course or other activity location to increase savings.
·       Wine-tasting party. Enjoying favorite alcoholic beverages is often part of a bachelorette party. Have a cozy bachelorette party with cheese, crackers and an assortment of wines for you and your friends to try. You can make this as casual or as formal as you want it to be!
·       Beach party. Pack swimsuits, various beach games, towels and sunscreen and head off to the beach for your bachelorette party. Save even more money by grilling on the beach, instead of going out to eat.
·       Pre-wedding craft party. Many brides-to-be are saving money on wedding decorations and favors by making their own. If your bridesmaids and friends are crafty, too, plan a bachelorette crafting party and enlist everyone's help. Serve your favorite beverages, snacks and cake.
·       At-home spa party. Most everyone loves a trip to the spa, but spa services for your entire party can add up quickly. Plan an at-home spa party instead. Ask guests to bring their favorite nail polishes, facial masks and skincare products. If you or a friend sells these items, you can host a party that allows guests to buy the products, if they like.
·       Dance or exercise class party. Laugh it up and get moving with a dance or exercise class for your bachelorette party. Many places offer group discounts to help you save money on the class.
Different ways to celebrate
Don't be afraid to do something unique for your bachelorette party. Your guests know that this event is all about you, so do something that makes you happy and doesn't drain your bank account. No matter what you decide on, what your friends will remember most is the great company and good times – not how much money you spent. 

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Life Sucks, Let's Look At Funny Things.

August 21, 2012

Because it's Tuesday, and tomorrow is sucky duty day. Let's laugh at a few jokes. 








Source: ifunny.mobi via Kiah on Pinterest




Source: gagthat.com via Cathy on Pinterest

Hope you smiled:) 
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Life Well Lived - Looking Your Best

August 20, 2012

It's time again for another edition of LWL Looking Your Best hosted by BlogHer! This week's question is:

What is your favorite way to style your look so you feel confident and ready to rock your first?

Instead of me just running my mouth how about I show you a couple of looks I love to wear from Pinterest. Because there is nothing better than a photo Pinterest post about fashion!



 Here are a few of my favorite styling looks that I have done a variation of. 

 I wore this look a few months ago but with a black lace dress and a khaki jacket and nude heals.


This is a great maternity look too, but I plan on doing this for fall at work very soon!



 I love this particular look. I have a orange ruffle shirt like this with a white ruffle and I just adore it!




 I have a blue Old Navy dress similar to this. I swear any girl would look good in a burlap sack with a big belt and boots though!



 I loved this look for summer. I didn't notice she was wearing a belt with it until just now though ha! Next time I will have to add the belt. 

I really hope y'all enjoyed these styled looks from Pinterest. I get a ton of great ideas from that give me new ways to wear things I already have...which is great for this phase of broke graduate school like! 

You can follow me on Pinterest here. 

 What is your favorite styled look to wear? What is your go to look?

 Be sure to enter the main post on BlogHer and enter the sweepstakes!


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