Chicken Noodle Soup

This weekend has been a long one... and not in a good way. Andy is sick. Very sick. I won't go into details because it wouldn't be pretty. Just know it is bad. Really bad. In hopes of making him feel better and warding of this flu myself, I made chicken noodle soup.

 I found this recipe on allrecipes.com It is called Quick and Easy Chicken Noodle Soup and that is exactly what it is! The great thing about this recipe is that it's fast but still has the freshness that the canned stuff can't hold a torch to!

I mean... the chicken. You control the quality. I used the run-of-the-mill boneless skinless chicken breasts...

The veggies, also fresh and they smell so darn good as they are cooking.

The big cheater moment is the canned chicken broth... I wish I has the time to make it from scratch... actually, I take that back. Even if I did have the time, I wouldn't. The canned stuff is so easy.And the even easier part of this soup is the finale. Throw everything in the pot an let it cook.

It takes a real culinary genius to make this soup ;) Someone wise once told me, don't reinvent the wheel. I didn't. So far, no flu for me and Andy is on the mend.

Let's get real ladies....

I have been accused of wearing granny panties.

I don't think I wear granny panties. I think I wear cute, yet comfortable and practical undies.Like the ones pictured below.

 

 

 

Photo from Victoria's Secret

I guess I was under the impression that these were granny panties...

Photo via Jennifer at thegloss.com

So when they hubby accused me of this, the next sentence that comes out of his mouth is "you should wear more thongs". Hmmmm... I decided to try the thong thing out because of the super awesome wife that I am.  I mean, of course I have worn thongs... but not as every day undies. Only for special occasions or with really tight pants. but I figured I had permission to go buy some new underwear so off I went.

Alright ladies. Help me out here... I have made a pros and cons list for thongs... the list speaks for itself.

Pros

• Andy likes them... 

Cons

• They make it feel like I have a massive grundie ALL day long... OH WAIT! I do!
• They make the car seat feel colder when I get in
• They cost a lot of money for such a small amount of material
• I just don't think a girl my size should be wearing underwear like this... I mean, who wants to see that?! Certainly not me!
• I just don't understand the point! Why even wear underwear at all?!

Help me out here! Am I missing some of the pros?

Honestly, I think Andy should call it a good day if there aren't any holes in my undies. I mean, seriously... we are married and I stopped caring about the state of my under things 4 years ago! Plus, I don't see him going out and buying sexy boy underwear! In fact, I buy his underwear for him... and I go for comfort. Why are the expectations for girls different?

Happy Birthday!

I just want to give a big happy 5th birthday to my furbaby Capone! I know you hear a lot about Dillinger because he is so naughty, but Capone is his mama's baby.

Capone is a true man's man.

Capone is a lap cuddler... and just incase you didn't know. If he had the choice Capone would leave his Mom and Dad in favor of Grandma and Grandpa... I think its all the good food Grandma gives him ;)

He is a thug.. aka guard dog. 

'He's a chewer.

He's a lover of belly rubs.

 

Happy Birthday to Capone!

Button Bracelet

Today I present the button bracelet and a tutorial so you can make these super easy, adorable bracelets as a gift or for yourself (I won't judge... I'm keeping mine!)

 

Here are the materials you need to make these bracelets: 

1 Toggle Clasp and Ring, 2 crimp beads, string ( I used paper jewelry cord), buttons, scissors, and a pliers.

The first thing you want to o after you decide which buttons you'd like to use is put your toggle clasp on one end. To do this, slide one crimp bead on one end of your string. Slide your toggle clasp on and secure the loose end of the cord in the crimp bead and pinch the bead shut, locking your toggle clasp right on the string.

  Start adding your buttons... there is really no rhyme or reason to this. You are just stringing them on! Easy peasy!

Something you might want to think about it as you put your buttons on your string is that you can make each side of the bracelet look different by using different colors! You can see this in the pictures below!

Once you have your bracelet to the length that you are looking for, you need to attach the other end of your clasp. Start by adding a crimp bead, loop the string through the ring, secure with the crimp bead (same process as before!) Cut off the extra string. 

GUESS WHAT?! You are all done! Wear it and be the envy of the block! :)

 

A short rant...

I know hearing me rant is probably the highlight of your day. Isn't that why you are reading this post? HAHA.
The long and short of it is... I don't know who I am more mad at to be honest... my dog (who is 2 years old... old enough to know better) or this boy who lives with me who's last name I happen to share.
Seriously. Can't I go to the gym without coming home to a living room floor that I can see? Seriously. My dog dragged an entire bag of garbage from one room to another... ripped it open and devoured it... along with some other random things that he grabbed off of our kitchen table. How do I teach him that this is naughty when yelling at him doesn't help?

Why was there a bag of garbage sitting on the kitchen floor you ask? BECAUSE Andy took it out of the garbage can but was too lazy to bring it outside. Why didn't I bring it outside? TO PROVE A POINT!  Well, that bit me right in the ass didn't it?

Where was Andy when all of this is happening? 1 guess... oh yup! you got it! Playing video games. Do they ever grown out of video games? What if we have kids... will it stop then? Or will I come home to a toddler playing with knives in the living room? Ok. I realize I am jumping the gun and being dramatic. But SERIOUSLY!

Now, they are both hiding out... Andy in the basement (playing video games no less) and Dillinger is in his hiding spot.

I DON'T CARE HOW CUTE HE LOOKS. THIS DOG IS ARMED AND DANGEROUS.

A Simple Reminder

As you know, I have been doing Weight Watchers which has already been quite a journey and I have only just begun! I think going to the meetings is something that is really helping me stay on track. Going to the meetings gives me support, meal ideas, and tips. A couple of weeks ago at a meeting some one said something that really made me think and continues to make me think every day since I have heard it. It has become my mantra. I have turned it into a little picture to hang on my wall to help remind me to check why I am in the kitchen... is it because I am hungry? Or, is it because I am bored, or feeling emotional? This helps me to stay accountable.

Bottle Cap Fridge Flair

So I actually made a bunch of these in the Christmas variety for Christmas presents this year and then I realized that I didn't keep any for myself and I think they are really cool so I made myself some Valentine's Day! I need something to pin up all of those Valentines on my fridge.

These are very simple to make and you only need a few materials: ModPodge 3Dimensional Magic, Bottlecaps, Magnets, Paper, and glue.

 

Ok. So cut out little circles to fit inside of the bottlecaps. I used my Cricut, but you could also use a punch to get the perfect circles as well. After your circles are cut out, hot glue the paper circles to the inside of your bottle-caps (I got my bottle-caps from beer that I drank... lots and lots of beer). But gluing the circle to the inside of your bottle-caps you are making sure that your circles won't float/move when you add the ModPodge.

 

Once the circles are all glues inside your bottle-caps, add the ModPodge 3Dimensional Magic to the bottle caps. Fill 'em up!

Ok. Now you have to be patient and wait for this to try. It takes about 6 hours to get firm. When they are ready to go, they will look like this!

Once the bottle-caps are dry, you can attach your magnets. Now, you can definitely use hot glue to do this but I have noticed in the past that sometimes the hot glue doesn't hold the magnets as firmly as Tacky Glue. Thus, I recommend putting your magnets on with the Tacky Glue.

Let the glue set on the back of the magnet and there you go! You just made yourself some new fridge flair!

Peanut Butter Granola

Ok, first of all, I want to start out this post by giving myself some props. As you know, I am doing Weight Watchers and I had a pretty big week this week! I was done another 4.2 pounds! YAY! I am almost to my 5% (3 more pounds to go) I am hoping that I can hit that milestone with the next two weeks. With all of this losing and exercising I have also been trying some new recipes that I am pretty excited about sharing with you. This one is only 4pts+ for 1/4C. Woo-hoo!

Here is a yummy, yummy recipe that I found somewhere (I'm sorry, I can't remember where) and I have tweaked to yummy granola perfection. This granola is amazing mixed with yogurt, with milk poured over or on top of a bowl of ice cream. Yup. I am pretty sure that's not good for the weight-loss ;) Anyway, let's begin!

The stars of this recipe include: old fashioned oats (4 C),sunflower seeds(3/4 C), honey(1/2C), vanilla extract (1/2 tsp), cinnamon (1/2 tsp) and peanut butter (1/2 C)

In a microwave safe bowl combine the peanut butter and the honey and put this in the microwave for one minute.

Add the cinnamon and the vanilla extract to the peanut butter and honey mixture and stir this all together very well.

Now take a big whiff. Seriously, is this not the best smell that has ever happened past your nostrils? Ok. I am done foodgasming.

Slowly add the oats and sunflower seeds until all of the oats and sunlower seeds are covered... this takes awhile. This also works out the muscles in your forearm (double bonus!)

Spread out this granola mixture evenly on a lightly sprayed cookie sheet. Put this in an oven that has been preheated to 325. Bake this for about 10 minutes, stirring about halfway through.

Notice the amazing golden color? This is the color you want. Brown is not the color you want. Brown means it is burnt, and I will tell you that I have made burnt granola and it is bitter and disgusting, and it isn't even good on ice cream!

Enjoy!