Giveaway by Shasta Anne ♥

There is a fabulous giveaway over at Shasta Anne's blog for a Forever 21 Giftcard and an Exxon Giftcard. What a great giveaway! Contest ends 4/15/11 so enter now. To enter go here:

http://www.shastaanne.com/2011/03/giveaway-of-all-giveaways-for-my.html

Jewelry Giveaway

The wonderful Janna is hosting a giveaway for a pair of Faceted Grey Quartz earrings made by me on her blog. Be sure to check it out and enter!

http://happinessisajourneyforjanna.blogspot.com/2011/04/my-very-first-giveaway.html

Giveaway sponsored by TodaysMama and GameStop

TodaysMama and GameStop are giving Santa a run for his money this year with a pile of presents that any family could love. Our Wish List Grand Prize includes:

Plus, a ONE THOUSAND DOLLAR GameStop gift certificate so you can fill those stockings with games and accessories.

You may want to serve some earplugs with your hot cocoa on Christmas morning to protect your precious hearing from the shrieks of joy from your family.

Entering this contest is easy and fun. Just answer and post the meme below on your blog and send us the link.

To participate you must include all of the text, including the links, in bold below:

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

TodaysMama (link to: http://bit.ly/tmwishlist) and GameStop (link to:http://bit.ly/gamestop10) are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What is your holiday wish for your family? Happiness and good health.

2. What is your Christmas morning tradition? Opening presents with my kids and parents.

3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be? A Mac Book or a new washer and dryer.

4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money? We love to decorate our home, listen to Christmas music, drink hot cocoa, and make cookies.

5. What games did you play with your family growing up? Scrabble, Monopoly, Hotels

6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood? Just the whole traditional Christmas experience. Leaving cookies for Santa, opening up stockings first in the morning, being thankful for all we have.

7. Where would you go for a Christmas-away-from-home trip? Would love anywhere tropical or filled with snow, but it wouldn't really be special unless we were surrounded by all our loved ones.

8. Check out GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year?

1. Definitely the Kinect

2. Zumba Fitness for the Wii

3. Little Big Planet 2 for Playstation

Stella and Dot Necklace

Fabulous giveaway for a Stella and Dot Necklace. You can chose between the Claire or the La Coco Gold Pearl Strand - both beautiful choices! Head on over to Stylized Existence to check it out. Hurry ends tonight!

Playstation Move

YAY! I signed up to be one of the hosts for the Ultimate House Party for Playstation Move. Yesterday I received an email confirming that I was chosen!! My family is SUPER excited! The PlayStation Move is actually a set of motion controllers kind of like the Wii. So we will be getting those and the Playstation Eye Camera to try out before they hit the stores. Now just got to plan the menu, drinks and food, and figure out some fun party favors.

Blog Giveaway

Awesome giveaway over at 3 men and a 'lil lady for a Small Vera Bradley bag, (2) Opi Nailpolish Colors of your choosing between: 1. Cajun Shrimp 2. Second Honeymoon 3. Rumples Wiggin 4. Big Apple Red, Silver plated monogram key fob from HandPicked, and adorable hair ties. Check it out here.

Mamarazzi's Favorite Things Swap

A while ago I participated in Mamarazzi’s Favorite Things Blog Swap. My partner was Joy at When Does Daddy Come Home. She sent me some really wonderful items. She sent me a big PINK calculator (love it), a cute journal, a water bottle (use all the time), Twilight lotion (FAV), cute socks, purple nail polish, handmade earrings and a necklace, a candle, tealight holder, gum and hot tea. Missing from the picture are thank you notes that she sent that have already been used. We actually sent each other some of the same things! Thanks Joy for being my partner!

If you want to check out what I sent her you can click here

How times flies!

WOW - Cannot believe how long it has been since I updated - YIKES! I have been so busy lately with work, family, exercising, and just living. I have lots to update about and still very much need to do my post from the Mamarazzi's Favorite Thing Blog Swap. I plan to start blogging again regularly.

♥

The hubby and I started The 30 Day Shred; let me tell you it is a serious workout. It only takes 20 minutes but you will be dying by the end of it - especially if you are out of shape like me. We have made it through Day 2 and I can hardly walk! I will be continuing on my mission along with our walking we have been doing. We have this beautiful lake to walk around. We go around twice which makes 2 miles. They have an open field area away from the people where our dog can just go run around - which he loves. Ever since we started taking him for walks, he has started thinking that he gets to go everywhere we do. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I will be updating soon about the progress on our tree house.

Roasted Cauliflower, Chickpeas, and Olives

I got this recipe out of the Cooking Light magazine and made it tonight. It was so good. I had no problem getting my 2 kids ages 10 and 6 to eat it. A little different but delicious. Served mine with Basmati rice and mahi-mahi fish. Best part is it only has 176 calories.

Roasted Cauliflower, Chickpeas, and Olives

Ingredients

5 1/2 cups cauliflower florets (about 1 pound)
24 green Spanish olives, pitted and halved
8 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 450°.
2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a small roasting pan. Drizzle with oil; sprinkle with pepper and salt. Toss well to coat. Bake at 450° for 22 minutes or until cauliflower is browned and crisp-tender, stirring after 10 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley.

Mamarazzi's Favorite Things Swap!

Mamarazzi is having another Favorite Things Swap. I have participated in 2 so far and they were both wonderful. If you are interested hop on over to Dandelion Wishes to sign up.

Brussel Sprouts with Pancetta

I found this recipe in Cooking Light magazine, and made them to take to our Thanksgiving dinner. Man they were yummy! Brussel sprouts are the "in vegetable" right now so there are lots of good recipes floating around. You can use bacon instead of pancetta if you like.

Ingredients
2 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 cup chopped pancetta (about 4 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. Cook Brussels sprouts and 1 tablespoon salt in boiling water 6 minutes or until almost tender. Drain and plunge into ice water; drain well.
3. Cook pancetta in a large skillet over medium-low heat until crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove pancetta from pan, reserving drippings.
4. Cut Brussels sprouts in half lengthwise; place on a baking sheet. Add reserved drippings, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper; toss to coat. Bake at 450° for 15 minutes or until browned, stirring after 10 minutes. Combine Brussels sprouts, pancetta, and vinegar in a large bowl; toss well.

New Year - 2010

Well here we are in 2010 already. Still cannot believe it. Had a heck of a time getting up this morning and back into that school and work routine. Started Day 1 of my diet today....so far so good. But the first couple of days always seem to be the easiest for me. It is the sticking with it that’s a problem. I do know that I have willpower just got to find where it is. My hubby is dieting with me so hopefully it will work with the two of us being there for each other. We quit smoking together - June 2010 will be 5 years, so I know that together we can do it. So the plan is:


Breakfast - Special K


Lunch - we will be alternating weekly between All-You-Can-Eat Diet Soup (just like vegetable soup and actually very delicious) and salads with baked fish or chicken.


Dinner - As usual but with portion control and hopefully some new low cal recipes


I am limiting myself to 1-8 ounce glass of Coke a day and plan to drink lots of water.


So with that being said my goal is to lose 20 pounds by mid March. I will post my weekly progress here. Anyone interested in the recipe for All-You-Can-Eat Diet Soup will find it below. It only has 45 calories per cup! Recipe is very easy and makes 28 cups.


·1 pound(s) carrots, sliced

·3 medium (1 1/2 pounds) onions, chopped

·4 stalk(s) celery, sliced

·2 large cloves garlic, crushed with press

·2 can(s) (28 ounces each) whole tomatoes in juice

·1/2 small (1-pound) head green cabbage, thinly sliced

·3/4 pound(s) green beans, trimmed and each cut into thirds (I used frozen)

·1 can(s) (48-ounce) chicken broth ·6 cup(s) water ·1 teaspoon(s) salt

·1/4 teaspoon(s) ground black pepper

·3 medium (1 1/4 pounds) zucchini, sliced into half-moons

·2 bag(s) (6 ounces each) baby spinach leaves

Directions
1. Coat 12-quart stockpot (or 2 large saucepans) with nonstick cooking spray. Over medium-high heat, add carrots, onions, celery, and garlic; cook 8 minutes or until vegetables soften, stirring occasionally.

2. Add tomatoes with their liquid, breaking up tomatoes with side of spoon. Add cabbage, green beans, broth, water, salt, and pepper; heat to boiling over high heat, stirring occasionally.

3. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Increase heat to high; stir in zucchini and spinach and heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 minutes or until all vegetables are tender.