What I'm Obsessed with (Wednesday)...

Yes, I realize it's Thursday... but better late than never right?! :)

So here's what I'm obsessed with this week...

1. Gender Reveal Parties-

I organized this small "Gender Reveal Party" for my best friend, Jana, and her husband Josh who are having their first baby. The party was last night (part of the reason why I didn't have my post ready yesterday).

It was awesome! I wish my hubby & I would have had one when I was pregnant! It was a WONDERFUL way to include the whole family & all our friends in this huge surprise gift from God! It made me realize even more how special a new little baby is for EVERYONE involved, not just the parents, because this new little person is a BIG part of all our lives and it was a wonderful way to celebrate the newest little member to our "extended" family!... (P.S. Its a boy! Go Team Blue!).

We did a "Varsity Theme" and everyone dressed up in their "team" colors... To reveal the sex, I didn't want to do the normal (colored cake filling reveal). So we had their dr make a CD of the ultra sound and played it for everyone to watch. (Kinda like a football game, everyone was standing up surrounding the TV like it was 4th & 10 and your team was 1 point away from winning the game... The energy was electric!)

At the end of the CD, the words "BOY" were spelled out on the screen and the entire room burst in cheers/hugs/high fives/ laughter/crying... it was SUCH a special moment! I was so happy to be a part of it!

I hope to post more pics of the party when I get them back from everyone, so stay tuned! :)

2. My friends-

So last night at the party my amazing girlfriends gave me an early Birthday gift... Do you remember this "What I'm Obsessed With" post a few weeks back were I wrote about these beauties...

Well my thoughtful girlfriends got them for me to wear for my Birthday dinner (which to my surprise they are organizing with my equally wonderful husband).

They went ahead and gave them to me so I can start planning my outfit for the night! (they know how obsessive I am about needing THE PERFECT outfit for all special occasions! LOL) ... How freakin' awesome is that!? I can never say enough how blessed I am to have these women in my live & how wonderful each of their friendships are!

*Thank you my loverlies! I love you more than I can ever express! :)

On a not so snappy note, my next obsession...

3. Loreal Elnett Hairspray- $15

So I'm the kinda girl who if she has a bad hair day, it can ruin my whole mood... (I'm a Leo, what can I say?!)... but I'm also the kinda girl who doesn't like to spend a ton of money on hair products... go figure... so when I bought this $15 bottle of hairspray, it was a bit of a stretch for me.

*Hubs-don't completely freak out about the $15 hairspray! It was on sale & I had 2 coupons so technically I really only spent about $9... I know you're still a little freaked I spent $9 on hairspray, but I LOVE it so GET OVER IT!)...

*Ok, now that I got that little one way argument with my husband out of the way...


This stuff is WONDERFUL!! It has slightly changed my "hair" life! I had always heard about it & seen it on TV and now I know why! I am a devoted Elnett user & I will forever buy it whether I have a coupon or not! (and my sweet husband can just get over it! ;-)

Well that's all I have for this week's obsessions!... I'll try to be on time next week!... I know y'all are just on the edge of your seats! ha ;-)

It's a jungle out there!...

Oh my sweet bloggie friends... It's been a very trying day for me... It all started well and normal... me & baby girl went out after breakfast and ran some errands and were headed home before lunch time... we were in our subdivision & started to pull onto our street when I saw a lady, who I always see walking her dog. I gave her a friendly, neighborly wave & she flagged me down... and that my dear bloggies friends is where it all goes downhill...

She proceeds to tell me that her neighbor told her that there IS A PYTHON LOOSE IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD!!!!!!!! WTF!?!?! 1) Who the hell keeps a python as a pet and 2) how the hell did it get loose???? WTF!? Were you walking it & it got loose from its leash???? Seriously!

I AM DEATHLY!!!!!! AFRAID OF SNAKES (eeeewwwww, I can't even type that word without getting the shivers)... :(

So me and the neighbor talk in the middle of the road for a good 10 minutes as I have a panic attack!... I pull into my garage & if anybody was watching me get out of the car, I'm sure they had a jolly, old laugh because walking from the car to the kitchen door in the garage you would have thought I was a lunatic walking on hot coals! I needed to get out of the car, get my child, and all our stuff from the car into the house before the "on the loose python" attacked us!!!!!... It was quite comical looking back on it now...

Once we were safe in the house, I immediately called our Home Owners Association to get the 411 and make sure this just wasn't neighborhood gossip.. well to my dismay it was completely TRUE!!!!! (GOOD GRACIOUS!) I spent about 30min talking to our HOA manager... She tells me they have already contacted 3 different wild animal capture agencies and the last time this thing was spotted was on Friday!... Which only means one thing in my mind, "Oh shit! It's gonna come out of one of my toilets! That slimy bastard is probably lurking in my pipes!" (PS. sorry for the foul language but this is a ON THE LOOSE PYTHON we're talking about & I am FREAKING OUT!)

I still remember a story I saw on the news a few years back were a snake was loose in a subdivision about 45 minutes away from here & it showed up in some one's camode!!! I WOULD LITERALLY DIE! I have remembered that news story ever since (and occasionally still think about it when I'm going to the bathroom because that IS one of my worst nightmares!!!... and now its coming true! Sweet Mary, I'm gonna have a heart attack just thinking about it!)... I can barely go to the restroom in peace between my toddler & my husband, now I have to REALLY worry about a python biting me on the bottom!!!...

Oh my stars! You better believe all day, I have barely even let my bottom touch the seat! I need to be prepared to jump off in a jiffy!... Oh, I need to calm down because I'm going to give myself a panic attack! (Please Jesus, please don't let me ever come face to face or bottom to face with a snake!!!!)

So in conclusion, you will no longer see me outside... Bye, bye my lovely veggie garden (hubs will have to take care of you now)... Bye, laying on a beach chair getting sun while baby girl plays in the pool... Bye, taking my daughter to the neighborhood playground... You are right beside the pond & we all know how much those slithery creatures love the water... Let's be honest, I doubt I'm even going to get the mail!

Oh and to top it all off, if killer snakes weren't enough to keep a gal indoors, the killer mosquitoes will!... A big ole boy attacked my face the other day & I have a whelp the size of Texas on my forehead!... Geez Louise, it has not been my week with the wild animals...

Playing in the Rain & Friendship Bracelets...

Happy Sunday Eve Bloggie friends!...

Well the weekend has past and my predictions from this post were correct... By golly, we hadn't even gotten out of the bed on Saturday morning and ALREADY my wonderful, sweet, loving, (and particularly LOUD) husband & baby girl were already getting on my nerves!... And honestly, I'm sure I got on they're nerves this weekend just as much ;-)

but we had a great weekend overall...

Saturday morning, Hubs went to Lowe's after breakfast to get some of the "to-do's" marked off his list (that have been there for months, I'd like to add!)... I'm happy to report, my garbage disposal is no longer leaking & the guest bathroom toilet handle flushes like a dream... :) God Bless America!

While he was out, me & baby girl had craft day...

This girl LOVES to do "artworks" *as she likes to call it ;-) ... Our newest favorite thing is to cut pretty pictures out of magazines & glue them on paper... I think I had just as much fun doing "artworks" as she did! :)

When "da-da" got home from Lowe's, she was SUPER excited to show him her masterpieces! *too sweet ;-)

Then hubs took baby girl out side to play in the rain...

She HAD A BALL!!!... :-)

As for me, I stayed in the house and watched from the front door window... I was in ratty pajamas & didn't feel like getting dressed or putting a bra on... call me lazy... =) but glad these two crazies had fun!...

I did get a wild hair and decided to make these yummies I saw on Pinterest...

They are frozen chocolate & peanut butter bananas with coconut sprinkles!!! THEY ARE HEAVENLY!! You can find the recipe here... It calls for vegan chocolate chips, but I just used regular... I also put mine on lollipop sticks to make them a bit more easy to eat. =)

Then Saturday night while hubs and I were sitting on the couch cleaning out the DVR, I made a friendship bracelet!... Do you remember those...

Well they're making a comeback & I am over the moon about it!!!

I made a small chevron one in green, pink, navy & white... You can find directions on how to make it here...
I left it on the couch when I was done with it & this morning sweet baby girl snagged it and I have no clue where she put it... I'm sure it'll turn up in THE MOST random place in about 6 months, but no fear, Joann's Fabric Store had this thread on sale (buy 3 get 1 free) so I am FULLY stocked & ready to make a new one... I also plan on making several for my friends... they are friendship bracelets after all! I'm SUPER excited! :)

Well that's all I have for now folks... I'm throwing my bestie, Jana, a party this week so I've got to get busy on that... Stay tuned for pics on that later this week!... Her & her sweet hubby are having their first baby & we're doing a gender reveal party! I can't wait!!!

Hope you have a great week! :)

Food for Thoguht...

Happy Friday friends! Wow this week has flown by! Has it for y'all too?!

I am SUPER excited for this weekend because for once in a LOOOOONG while, hubs & I don't have to be anywhere or there aren't a million things going on or to-do's jam packed in there! I LOVE weekends like that!... I can't wait to just relax, cook for my family & hang out with my sweet baby girl & husband at home all weekend! (p.s. I am fully aware I will be somewhat irritated & sick of my family and ready to get out of the house by Sunday afternoon because that's usually how it always works for me... but for now, I'm looking forward to family time! ;-)

To kick off our weekend family extravaganza, when sweet baby girl woke up from her nap today I had a special surprise treat waiting for her...

That's right... me & my sweet little girl sat down & watched MY favorite Disney movie together...She has never seen any of the Disney Princess movies (never ANY movies for that matter) and I thought it was HIGH TIME!... Surprisingly, she already knows most of the Disney Princesses by name without watching any of their films but today when we were running errands, I put on a Disney Princess music CD in the car and she was in heaven! (I was too, I'm not gonna lie! :)

So at that moment this morning, when I saw the look on her sweet little face as we drove down the road (and I sang every word to the songs!), I knew the time had come!...

I tried to make it as special as possible & put pink Sixlets mixed in with the popcorn (P.S. why have I never combined these two before is beyond me because the salty/buttery goodness of the popcorn with the chocolaty morsels were BEYOND WORDS DELICIOUS! This is my new FAVORITE snack!!)

I think she enjoyed it too... :)

But as with anything in life... a good thing only lasts for so long (an hour in this case)... before my "sweet" little girl got antsy & dumped out her popcorn onto my freshly vacuumed & steam cleaned carpet to "pick out" all the pink Sixlets... *sigh* we were just about to my favorite part too when Sebastian sings "Kiss the Girl" while Ariel & Prince Eric sail into the blue lagoon... :-(

Oh well... it was good while it lasted...

In other food news...

Tonight, I made this for dinner... (that pretty yellow tomato is from my garden!! And it was delicious! I'm so proud!! :-)

It's "Grilled Fish with Gremolata"... I got the recipe from Publix a couple weeks back & had a little sample while I was grocery shopping & it is YUM-O!... I'm always looking for easy grilled fish recipes & this is a good one- especially since it mainly uses stuff I keep on hand! (I don't however suggest making this for a 1st date because you will have garlic seeping out of your pores when you're done!!)

Ingredients:

Zest of 1 lemon

1/2 bunch fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped

5 gloves garlic, finely minced

4 fish fillets such as snapper, orange roughy or tilapia (1 1/2lb)... *I used salmon because that's what I had already*

1 cup Italian-style panko bread crumbs

1 teaspoon chipotle hot pepper sauce (I used Frank's cause that's all I had)

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon Greek seasoning (I didn't have any of this either, so I just sprinkled a little salt, pepper & lemon juice on the fish before i cooked it & it was fine..)

Steps:

1. Combine lemon zest, parsley, garlic, bread crumbs, pepper sauce, & 2 TB olive oil. Mix well, using fingertips, until blended; set aside.

2. Brush both sides of fish evenly with 1 TB olive oil, then sprinkle with pepper & greek seasoning (or in my case- fresh lemon juice, salt & pepper). Place fish on heated grill & grill 2-3 minutes on each side until 145F (PS. I baked mine in the oven at 350 for about 20min)

3. Transfer fish to plate & top each fillet with a generous portion of herb-crumb mixture, Drizzle with remaining 2TB olive oil; serve. (I also squeezed a bit more fresh lemon juice over top of mine before I served...)

On a different food for thought note...

I read this on Pinterest the other day & it really struck home with me! I hate to admit it, but I get so wrapped up with the stresses of daily life that so often I forget to just STOP and thank the Lord for all his blessings!... For the ones I CAN see, as well as the ones that mask themselves in trials!... Thank you! :)

I also read this and I hope to do a little of this this weekend...

I hope you all find the time this weekend to do something just for you! I also hope you take the time to thank God for whatever that "something" is...

I also hope I "find the time" this weekend to get rid of this annoying rodent!

SERIOUSLY! This squirrel is a PAIN IN MY SIDE!!... Look what these little creatures are doing!...

It is DRIVING ME BANANAS!!! Several times a day I catch these pesky animals eating up all the bird food & leaving a HUGE mess on my deck! Too many times a day, I run out from the back door, BIG plastic soup ladle in hand, screaming at the squirrels! (oh, my poor neighbors have to get a kick out of watching me because it is quite comical!)...

I am probably more scared of these rabies-infested rodents than they are of me, but without fail, everyday I come barreling out of the door, banging my ladle & screaming at the squirrels on the deck! I've even got my child involved! Several times, I've turned around to come back in the house to see my sweet daughter with a flip flop in each hand & smacking them together saying "GET SQUIRREL! GET!" lol ;-) Precious! ... But as angry as I get, I just try to remind myself, God is probably putting them there to get happy full bellies so they stay away from my veggie garden... right?!

Anyhoo, that's all I have for now bloggie friends... Nite Nite!

What I'm Obsessed with (Wednesday)

Can you guess what it is I'm OBSESSED with?!... :-)

Seriously, someone stop me before I buy another STRIPE anything!!!