Movie Night: Eclipse & food

I've been planning this movie night for a few weeks now. My parents were going to watch the kids. Hubs was able to get the day off from work. Many thanks to LF who covered the last half of my mission at work. Manette, my sis, Hubs and I were going to watch an early premier of Eclipse.

For those of you who enjoy photography, Manette has a blog too.

To make a long story short, Hubs was not able to attend. I'm sure he was sooooo disappointed. None the less, I was going to go and hang out with the girls. Don't worry Hubs, I want to see it again. Guess who is going to take me?

I was the first to arrive approximately 2 hours before show time. The whole afternoon I was in constant communication with Manette and my sis. Nothing else was going to fall through. Hubs already took one for the team.

Of course, there was already a small group of people already in line. If I had to guess, I was probably the 10th person. If it was anything like last year, the line was getting wider and wider from people letting others cut in front of them. This year's movie premier was much more organized. Kudos to those that were involved in the planning of this.

Manette and I waited in line as my sis was bringing us food. Sis did not disappoint. Our first course was pizza. It's from a local pizza joint called Bronx. The pesto pizza is my favorite. You can buy pizza by the slice or the pie. They offer a variety of different toppings. The pizza is NY style. I've never lived in NY. The last time I was there was over a decade ago. I'm not sure how authentic this place is but it's delicious.

Eating pesto pizza in line

If the pizza wasn't enough, sis made it a complete meal by bringing in dessert. Cupcakes from Babycakes. My favorite cupcake from this place is there signature "babies'. It's marble cake with chocolate chips and cream cheese. Unfortunately, sis did not purchase these but brought my second favorite from this place....the red velvet.

Illegal cupcakes brought in using very large bag

One thing I don't enjoy about the red velvet from this place is the actual cupcake part. It's a little too dense in my opinion. The frosting makes up for it. The frosting is a yummy cream cheese base frosting that is creamy and not too sweet. Regardless, the cupcake made me happy.

My contribution was what the girls were calling a chocolate tampon. I handed these to the girls and both hesitantly took it from my hand. The white package speaks for itself. Let me tell you, I didn't hear them complaining once they opened up the package and took one bite of this delicious morsel.

Yummy tampon packaged wafers

Now to the actual movie, Twihards. It was great! The movies get better and better...just like the books. Of course, no Twilight movie would be complete without the crazy fans. There was the usual barbaric yells as the shirtless Jake appeared on the screen. There were some hot make out scenes that left the three of us a little tense and awkward due to the young, innocent eyes that were seated next to us. I think Hubs would even appreciate the action scenes...I'm speaking for him here. The humor between Edward and Jake was entertaining. Charlie Swan had some good lines that made everyone chuckle. The movie will not disappoint.

"@bretterlich: Twilight's like soccer. They run around for 2 hours, nobody scores, and its billion fans insist you just don't understand."

I Heart: Full N' Soft & Lash Blast

While the last ounce of caffeine is starting to make it's way out of my system, I thought I'd do a quick review on some fine and dandy mascaras that I've been loving. They're both drug store mascaras that won't break your piggy bank.

First is Maybelline's Full N' Soft: waterproof in very black. The reason why this one is first is because I've been using it for years and years. It's probably one of the few products in my make-up bag that I've bought time and time again.

It makes your lashes look natural but better. I find it's a great everyday mascara. I prefer the waterproof over the original formula due to it's holding power. I have very straight, short, not-so-full lashes. Basically, everything you wouldn't want your lashes to be...so sad.

After curling my lashes, I apply a few coats and find my lashes to be longer and darker. I don't find it to be too voluminous (or full as the name would imply) even after applying a few coats. The brush is easy to work with. I do find that it does smear towards the end of the day. I only apply the mascara on my top lashes but find a smear at the lower, outer bottom corner of my eye.

Second is Cover Girls Lash Blast: waterproof in very black. Again, a nice everyday mascara that I frequently interchange with the Full N' Soft. I do find this one is slightly more dramatic. My lashes look longer, fuller, and darker. For me, it doesn't smear on my lower eye as much as the Full and Soft. I did feel my lashes were slightly more crispy, not quite KFC extra crispy, but something I was willing to overlook. It took me awhile to get accustomed to the fat brush and short bristles. I'm happy with the results and I've purchased this a couple of times.

Two lovely drug store mascaras that will give you a nice polished every day look.

Fair Day

We took our annual trip to the fair today. Before the day even started, I was expecting to have some turbulence to occur. Most of the time, it's my emotional 3 year old, Princess Ninja. Chubs, the 1 year old, is pretty mellow. As long as he's fed and entertained, he's a happy guy. Well my magic crystal ball made the wrong prediction. Princess Ninja gets an A for today. Chubs gets a D-. I'd give the guy a F if he wasn't my own flesh and blood and so darn cute.

Dada, Princess Ninja, & "D-" Chubs

Yes, Chubs gets a big fat D-. He wanted to have his own Fair Day without the family. He refused 9 out of 10 family activities. He refused to sit in his stroller. He wanted to explore on his own without even holding Mama or Dada's hand. He tried to escape out of all the rides except for a truck ride than went round and round. He was semi-good on the Ferris wheel. I did have to hold him down so he wouldn't fall out of the seat he was supposed to be sitting on. Also, he kept trying to reach outside the seat box. Can you say amputation?

More naughty stuff. Sticking hands in dirty canoe water.

Beautiful view on the Ferris Wheel. That's the ocean in the back.

Mama holding down Chubs

Princess Ninja on the other hand gets an A. She would have had an A+ if she would have taken the $1 toy I won for her. It was a smiling banana. I had to cough up $5 to win her a whale shark. Other than that, she met all safety precautions for riding the rides. She obeyed the simple command of getting in and out of her stroller as needed. There were no major tantrums other than not wanting a smiling banana.

pic of the whale shark that lost the A+ for her

Overall, it was a great family day, minus the fact that Chubs did not want to spend time with the family. I know this is the first of many attempts to try and ditch us, but I didn't expect it so early in life.

One of the other things I love, love, love about going to the fair, other than hanging out with the family, is the food. Fair food always intrigues me even though I know I won't eat it (I don't eat meat).

Everything is fried and/or on a stick! I've come to the conclusion if you can either fry it or put it on a stick, it's probably good! If you can fry it AND have it on a stick, it's golden! The newest creations this year was the fried Klondike bar, fried Pop Tarts, and fried butter.

Can you believe fried butter? Here's a picture of the stand. It's called the Heart Attack Cafe. I like the picture of the nurse with the defibrillator paddles.

deep fried butter stand plus other fried foods

closer pic of the stand

The Texas Tater Twisters intrigued me. It's a hot dog on a stick, wrapped in a spiral potato and fried. It's like eating a hot dog and chips without it being too messy. Fascinating!

what else can they fry and put on a stick?

I did get my hands on some Aussie chips. I have absolutely no clue what makes them Australian. The potatoes are cut chip style so you don't confuse it with the French fry. Let's not get the two countries mixed up. Do you think it's the decorative Australian flag they top it off with that makes them Australian? If there are any Australians out there, please let me know if you guys eat this in your country.

The Aussie chip plate is basically deep fried potatoes with your choice of toppings. You can either get ranch, cheese, sweet chili, and/or sour cream. I choose ranch and cheese. I ate 2 chips and was starting to feel my arteries clog.

I am a little upset I didn't get my hands on Funnel Cake on a stick and my yearly Cheesecake on a stick. The lines were too long and Chubs was already getting a D-. I didn't want to push for that F.

Crazy Morning

My job requires me to start at various hours of the day. When I say various, I mean various. I can be on-call 24/7 on some days/nights. For the most, the main part of my profession, I usually can start somewhere between 7:00AM-9:30AM. Of course, this high demand on me isn't the easiest for my family life. Some days, I can leave before the kids wake up and come home when they're already asleep or just about to. Sniff....I hate those days!

I don't mean to sound FBI, CIA, I love Chuck, but I can't go into any more details. My job involves a lot of privacy, life and death situations, if I told you someone would kill me or you stuff.

I love starting early. AKA before the kids wake up. Yes, it's hard waking up...it always is. If I can get an early start time, I can get ready, sit down to eat breakfast, and enjoy a cup of Joe (or two). It's my one moment of me time before the chaos of the day starts.

Today was not the case. I had a late start time. The kids woke me up before my alarm clock did. Once the kids get up, the day is in full swing....ready or not. As best I could, I try to get them situated with their breakfast and the tv. Yes, more often than not, I use the tv as a babysitter. I try to buy myself time, so I can get ready for work.

I had a bad mama moment. For breakfast, the kids had brownies, cookies, and milk (the one healthy part). I really didn't have time or the energy to argue with them. The bowl of cereal I initially prepared was thrown on the ground by Chubs (the 1 year old). Princess Ninja (who is 3 years old) kept carrying around the little baggy full of brownies and insisted that I open it. I'm definitely not proud of this no-no.

As best I could, I tried to shovel cereal and a banana into my mouth. At the same time, I have the 3 year old sitting on my lap and the 1 year old clawing on my leg. Right before I run out the door, I inhale a cup of coffee.

I hate mornings like these. I'm running around like a crazy woman trying to get everything ready. The kids are crying for my attention and someone usually has to peel them off of my body, so I can leave for work. During the car ride to work, I try to not feel guilty and take some deep breaths to try and relax myself. To top it all off, I'm probably going 25 mph because of all the traffic. By the time I pull into my parking spot at work, I'm exhausted and stressed. My 10-12+ hour work day has yet to even start. I'm begging Calgon to take me away!

Mid-Year Review and Evaluation

I had very high hopes for 2010! After all, it was the beginning of a new decade. So far, I'm only partially impressed.

It wasn't that 2009 was a bad year. It just wasn't a great year. The best thing about 2009 was the birth of my son. With that said, Hubs and I made some very important decisions that we are still working through, as we speak. We knew with the decisions we made, came consequences. We were willing to deal with them, because we knew it was the best thing for our family. Although it has been a stressful period, we still believe, in time, it is all for the better. Slowly, we are starting to see things fall into place.

It's June 2010. Mid-2010. Like most people, every year, I make my New Year's resolution. I think at this point, it has become more of a tradition and a must to do. Regardless, I still like to see how I'm doing with these resolutions and reflect upon them to see how I can make the last half of 2010 better.

First of all, 2010 as brought along a lot of deaths and life threatening illness. I know, it's very depressing. Literally, since January there has been some devastating situation that has popped up. They say bad news comes in 3s. Well, multiply that by 2 or 3. I only hope that it is the end of this very sad and emotional period. I try not to dwell upon this, but these situations have made me realize what is truly important and has highlighted things in life that I should not take for granted. I needed to find the silver lining in all of this.

One of my New Year's resolutions is to take better care of myself. I still manage to exercise (I couldn't survive without my dose of endorphins). Now that I've reached my 30s and the two kids, I'm finding exercise alone isn't good enough. With all the emotional things going on, I noticed that I started eating less healthy. If you follow me on Twitter, those evil french fries have gotten the best of me more than once. No more I tell you!

I'm going to try and get back on track on my healthy eating. I even went to the market after the gym and bought some good for you food. Instead of reaching for that cookie, I started making my Kefir chocolate-strawberry smoothies. I've rediscovered some of my old go-to snacks.

Another New Year's resolution was to spend more time with the family. Between having opposite schedules with Hubs to help eliminate the kids going to day care (which is family by the way) and trying to make ends meet, it has been a challenge. I think when I made this resolution, I didn't really have a set goal and something that I can measure. Evaluating my current situation, I think I've managed to stay on track with this. I truly feel that I'm doing the best I can juggling work and family life. Of course, I can always try and improve this. Quality vs quantity.

In 2010, I also wanted to put more aside in the nest egg. I've managed to set aside more money by decreasing some of the luxuries I've once lavishly indulged in. The trip to the neighborhood Barista has been greatly decreased by brewing my own Joe.

Although, I started seeing the hairdresser again for some highlights, I've managed to find a low maintenance color that I can maintain using my favorite color conditioner. I'm happy to say I'm now going on almost 4 months now. I'm really pushing it though. The root to highlight ratio is at its breaking point and no amount of special conditioner is going to save my hair. I think I'll have to suck it up and make an appointment. Still, I'm impressed.

I've also managed to discover some drug store products that I've been impressed with. It's eliminated some of my more expensive products. I'll have to write a blog on some of my discoveries. One of them is the Neutrogena wipes. I'm still in search of ways I can save and hopefully build that nest egg.

So far, so good for 2010. I'm still wishing, hoping, and praying that the last half of 2010 will be way better than the beginning. Let's toast January-June away and say, "Welcome" to July-December.

Tiffany Blue Pandora's Box

How would I describe my life?

I like to think of it as a beautiful, Tiffany blue, Pandora's box complete with that silky smooth, white ribbon wrapped around it. Oooolala!!!

Now, now! No one go summa cum laude, Harvard grad, ivy league, top of my class in Greek mythology on me. This is just a metaphor. Work with me people!

We all know and love it! That lovely Tiffany blue box, complete with that semi-shiny, silky white ribbon. Just the sight of it given to anyone of us would increase our heart rate two-fold. I love that shade so much, it was the color of my wedding cake.

That's probably how I would describe my life. I love it! I look at the life that Hubs and I have built together and it brings a smile upon my face. I look at the kids and the sheer joy sends a warmth of love upon myself. The feeling is beyond words itself.

Then there's the Pandora's box metaphor that comes into play. No, my life box isn't filled with the evils of the world. It is filled with so many other thing, but I wouldn't describe them as evil. It's just the everyday concerns of life. Sometimes, I feel like there's so much to worry about and so many things going on. I wonder if that silky white ribbon holding everything together is going to last another day.

There's the minor stuff, for instance, what am I going to pack for lunch tomorrow, will I ever get that laundry room organized, etc. Yeah, something to think about, but it's nothing to really lose sleep over. Even these minor worries can accumulate and can cause some havoc in ones life.

Then there's the major stuff, for instance, is there enough money in our bank account to pay for that bill, hopefully we find a bone marrow compatible for Uncle L, etc. Things that will keep you tossing and turning through the night. They are so beyond my control.

Then there's deeper stuff, for instance, did I really have to get mad at Princess Ninja over that, am I spending enough time with Chubs, am I being a good mom and wife, etc. These are thoughts that I often reflect upon. Things that I can make a conscious effort to improve.

Some how, some way that semi-shiny, silky smooth white ribbon seems to always manage to hold everything in place. There are moments when all the worries of the world seem to be busting out of my box. The perfectly shaped Tiffany box is becoming dysmorphic and the lid is barely on.

Life has a way of working itself out. It doesn't always work out the way we want it to or the way we expect it to. I've learned to take a deep breath, step back, and enjoy the beautiful, Tiffany blue, Pandora's box that I call my life. Of course, it wouldn't be complete without the white ribbon holding it all together by a lovely bow.

Simple Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie

I've been on a kefir kick lately (the last few months). I've been reading more and more benefits to drinking it. For those of you who are unfamiliar with kefir here is a brief description of it.

Easily digested, it cleanses the intestines, provides beneficial bacteria and yeast, vitamins and minerals, and complete proteins.

The regular use of kefir can help relieve all intestinal disorders, promote bowel movement, reduce flatulence and create a healthier digestive system. In addition, its cleansing effect on the whole body helps to establish a balanced inner ecosystem for optimum health and longevity.

Kefir can also help eliminate unhealthy food cravings by making the body more nourished and balanced. Its excellent nutritional content offers healing and health-maintenance benefits to people in every type of condition.

The above was taken from http://www.kefir.net/ for those of you who want to read more. I'm sure there are a million other articles out there for you to Google your little heart out.

Seriously who couldn't benefit from an increased bowel movement? (small childish smirk across my face).

I try to eat healthy. Don't get me wrong, I consume my share of oh so delicious cupcakes and yummy salty french fries. I mean life is short, so I have to try and enjoy it. I know I'm probably cutting my life even shorter by consuming large quantities of junk food. I do try to balance it out. Instead of reaching for that chocolate chip cookie, I've been making myself kefir smoothies. No blender required....meaning no need to wake the kids during those midnight snack cravings. I thought I'd share it with you guys.

For about an 8 oz or so serving:

Fill 1/4 of the glass with strawberry kefir and the other 3/4 of the glass fill with chocolate soy milk (my favorite is Silk). Mix with a spoon and enjoy.

It reminds me of a chocolate dipped strawberry in liquid form. I just had a glass! My kids enjoy it too!

FYI: I'm not a dietitian, nutritionist, or an expert in any way, shape or form as far as healthy eating. It just tastes yummy, so I thought I'd share it.