Polishology's One Year Giveaway

I absolutely love this blog! She's doing a one year anniversary of her blog giveaway.
Head on over and check her out!

Polishology!!

L'Oreal Studio Secrets Base

I'm always on the look out for a new primer/base. I almost refuse to buy the really expensive ones but I think that's the direction I'm heading in.

The older I get the worse my face gets. Damn hormones. So I was looking for a new primer to try to smooth everything out. I had read quite a few reviews on makeupalley.com and they were pretty good. Why not? I'll give it a shot. Can't be that expensive...

I hit up Kroger for my weekly groceries and I remembered I wanted to try this. It was on the bottom shelf with a little baby price tag on it. $10.86. Hm, kinda expensive IMO. Then I picked it up. $10.86 for this little bitty jar?!? Seriously it better be a little slice of heaven in a jar. It better make my skin scream "I'm healthy and glowy like 20 year old!" I threw it in the buggy and got out of there.

Of course I got home and ripped open the package and looked at it. Very silky and smooth looking. I touched it to test it out and it was literally like silk sheets in between my fingers. At least it would feel good going on.

I tried it out a few days later (I don't wear make up everyday)and I wasn't exactly pleased. I got it on and let it sit for a minute to absorb and applied my foundation. My foundation was not happy with it. It's like it sat on top of it and tried to clump (?) up? I'm not sure clump is the right word. It didn't sit on my face like it normally does. I'm assuming I didn't let it 'dry' long enough. OK, lesson learned. Next time wait a little longer.

I also noticed that my foundation looked a lot lighter. A lot. I almost wanted to put another layer on to see if I could darken it up. I looked ghostly. That doesn't make me happy. At all.

When you first apply the base, it does lighten you up, but I was thinking it would more even me out not make me look like I just saw a ghost. I tried it again today and got the same results.

Another flaw, because it is so silky and smooth, it slides right off your face through out the day. I put my make up on around 8 this morning, at 2:30 I just looked closely at my face and my make up is almost gone off my nose.

So all in all, I would not purchase this again. I'm very disappointed. I can say that I'm not breaking out with it like I have with some others in the past so that is a great thing. That is the only good thing about it.

I'm going to continue to wear it and play with it to see if it can get better.

Showfest

Showfest is a huge truck/car show that has been around since about 1996. I've heard nothing but good things about it. We decided we'd take the trip this year and go. It was May 13-15 in Tunica, MS.
With the Great Flood of 2011, we honestly didn't know if we would be able to make it. Showfest moved it up a casino or two and it was on!

We were seriously excited. We had only hear great things about it. How bad ass it was. Um...These people are liars or they have very low expectations. I was NOT impressed. There were hardly any vehicles there that wasn't your every day lowrider you can see on the streets.

Here are a few pics of the ones that did stand out. I promise this though, unless something drastically changes, we won't be making the trip again.

My Luck Turning Around???

I don't have good luck. I'm not one of those people that good things just happen to. I have to work for pretty much everything in my life. (Some things are easy, I can't lie about that)

In the past 3 weeks, I've won two contest.

My first contest was for a Sigma brush. A travel sized E25. I can not explain how wonderful this brush is. Applies the product perfect and effortlessly.
*I would link back to the blog that I won this from but for some reason it is now gone. :(

Then I follow iPhone AppStorm on twitter. They were having a contest, giving away a free OtterBox Defender case for the iPhone. Well, guess who won!!??! Yeppers!!

I love it! Maybe I should hit the casino?!?! Kidding!!!

We've Decided

We've been talking a lot lately about what the future holds for us. We knew this wasn't our forever house but with the economy absolutely bottomed out, we honestly didn't think we could sell.
And honestly, we still aren't sure if we can sell or not.
But...we are going to give it a-go.

We talked to a mortgage guy and were actually thinking of just refinancing. He told us we really just have to stay here 6 months after closing. That would save us some money, but really not enough to tilt the scales in that direction.
When we bought this house, we got a pretty damn good interest rate. (when my mom bought her first house after the divorce, I think her interest was like 19%. can't imagine)

After getting the numbers back from mortgage guy, we talked it over and decided to let him run our (K's) credit to see what we could get approved for. I was seriously nervous about this one. With them being so strict on the mortgage rules, you just never know what they will say.
He text me Friday and said let's set up a meeting and discuss the numbers. Um...What?!?! Holy shit! I honestly, don't know if I was hoping he'd say "at this time, I think it's best you stay".
Now my nerves are fully shot. We have *so* much left to do to get this house on the market. Of course, my husband begs to differ but he doesn't look at all the little things like I do.

So today, I got up and cleaned my ass off. K has to work all weekend (and late tonight) so I'm thinking about breaking out the steam cleaner and/or the paint tomorrow. Ack!!!

BTW, (if there is anyone reading this, I realllly need an answer) should I repaint my 'office'? It's a bright ass sunshiny yellow. It's fresh-ish paint from the previous owners. I'm thinking I should, but good gawd, I do not want to paint an entire room right now. But, I will do what I have to do.

So that's where we stand now. So much to do. So little nerve pills to get me through it. :P

♥

Peanut Butter Dream Bars

Serves 8
Calories per serving 157

1/2 cup low calorie thin chocolate wafers, finely ground
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbs unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup creamy reduced-fat peanut butter
1 1/2 ounces reduced fat cream cheese, room temp.
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 Tbs semi sweet chocolate chips, melted

Line a 9x4 inch loaf pan with wax paper
Combine the ground wafers, oats, sugar and /4 tsp salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the butter until everything is evenly moistened. Stir in 1 Tbs peanut butter until mixture forms large clumps. Transfer mixture to lined loaf pan and press an even layer. Refrigerate until firm. about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat cream cheese on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla, remaining 3 tbs peanut butter, and remaining 1/4 tsp salt and beat on med. speed until pale and nearly doubled in volume, about 7 minutes. Transfer to the loaf pan and spread in an even layer over cookie crust. Freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.

Spread the chocolate in a thin even layer over the chilled peanut butter layer. Refrigerate until firm, about 10 minutes. When ready to serve lift bars out of the pan using the wax paper overhand. Cut crosswise into 8 bars and serve cold.




* Cook Yourself Thin pg 200

Sigma Dry n Shape

Sigma Beauty has just released a revolutionary drying system for you make up brushes. I can not wait until I get my hands on one. Having to wait over night for you brushes to dry ends now! You can now have them dry in 4-6 hours.

Dry'n Shape from simone oliveira on Vimeo.

STEP 1:
Wash your brushes using a mild shampoo or brush cleanser.

STEP 2:
Gently press the bristles to remove any excess water. Place the clean, damp brushes into the Dry’n Shape using the smallest band the brush will fit into. Make sure that all bristles are firmly compressed.

STEP 3:
Wait 4 to 6 hours and your brushes will be completely dry and ready to use! In addition to being completely dry, the bristles will be reshaped to their original form. Your brushes will be perfect for your makeup application!

What a Nutritionist Eats

So I was flipping through my Marie Claire (don't judge me it was a free subscription) magazine last night and came across this article, "I'll Have What She's Having". They ask the top 5 nutritionist to keep a food journal. This is what one of them eats on a regular day.

Natalia: 5'7" 117lbs
Breakfast: lemon tea with fresh, raw grated ginger, a squeeze of lemon and Stevia to taste. Mountain valley spring water.
Lunch: nothing
Dinner: one small watermelon, 2 cantelope, 2 bananas, smoothie (pineapple, avocado, kale, alfalfa spouts, coconut water, mint)
Dessert: box of Salud macaroons

Are you kidding me?!?!? So what she doesn't eat all day except fruit at night then pigs out on box of macaroons?!?! Which could just be small handful in the box. That's not the point.

How is this healthy!??! She charges up to $850 for her personalized programs. She then goes on in the article to say she doesn't recommend her diet to beginners. Really!?!?

The next girl is the same height but 147 lbs. She eats all day (healthy) and consumes the same calories as the one I just described. I think I would trust her a heck of a lot more than the stick that only eats fruits.

I was seriously shocked to read that. Just thought I'd share. ;)

WW/Life Update

I had my weigh in Wednesday. I have officially lost 10 pounds. Yay me! It's been a very slow process. There for a while I was ready to give up. Then something clicked. I had my lightbulb moment. (dont you just love those)
I just kind of woke up one day and thought, you know, this shit ain't working. Time to change something.
I had bought a smart water from Kroger the other day since it was on sale for like .50c Best decision I've made in a while. For some reason I'm in love with the bottle. I've been filling it up 2-3 times a day with either water or Crystal Light lemonade. Stick it in the freezer for a little while, let it get good and cold with a little ice and down it.
I've stopped snacking. It's not that I dont want to, it's just that I'm just controlling it. I had originally bought some fireballs to curb the sugar crave. I changed it up this time to jolly ranchers. Just so when I get to absolutely craving something sweet, it'll help me through it.

Exercising isn't going so well. My ankle is killing me. I know I fucked up by trying to do the EA Active Sport 2. There is a lot of jumping and squatting and etc that my foot is just not use to. See, I was born with a club foot. Looking at me you would never know. But, I've been told I walk different. I think because my foot turns in when I walk. IDK. I once ran into a friend from elementary school that told me she recognized me because of my walk. That has stuck with me forever. Do I really walk funny!?!?!? lol
So anyway, ff to now. I'm hurting. I've tried soaking in Epsom salt but that didnt help. I've bought some icy hot that I'm going to try keeping on it to help dull the pain a little.
It pisses me off. When I actually want to get up and exercise I freaking can't. I got on the elliptical the other day and tried pushing through. Yeah that didnt last long. It's like, the bone at the top of my ankle needs to pop.

So, I'm down for now. :(

Other than that nothing much is going on. K has been working the past 2 weekends. Gotta love that over time. :D We're going to go ride four wheelers this weekend. Time for a get away.

BTW, I'm buying myself a happy for my 10 lbs loss. I'm thinking this... Coastal Scents warm palette. I already own their ultra shimmer and love it.

Neutrogena Naturals Lip Balm

I recently received a free sample of of Neutrogena's new lip balm. I'm all about some good lip bal so I was excited to try this one out.

I'm impressed. It has a minty freshness to it but it's not over powering. It's not heavy but it's not greasy. I think it would be absolutely perfect if it came with a smoother head to it. I hate getting new balm in a stick and you have to smooth all of the rough edges out of it.

The longevity is pretty impressive too. I love how it 'naturally' wears off. It doesnt leave a waxy feeling behind.

I definitely would purchase this again.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Laughing Cow Chicken Alfredo

This is the recipe for the alfredo sauce but of course I'm adding chicken that you can make any way you'd like. Just cut it up and add some noodles to the sauce. Easy peasy. :D

Laughing Cow Alfredo Sauce
Serving Size : 4

1 cup skim milk
1 Tbsp light margarine
6 wedges Laughing Cow cheese
1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 Pinch garlic powder

In a medium-sized saucepan, combine all the ingredients until everything is melted and the sauce is velvety smooth, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Weekly Menu

It's Sunday. Grocery shopping day. Ew :(

Here's what I have planned for this week.

Chimichangas
Calzones
Chicken Alfredo
Spinach Lasagna Rolls
Balsamic Chicken w/Veggies
Crockpot Buffalo Chicken

I'll post the recipes for the chicken alfredo later.

Hungry Girl's Denver Omlette In A Mug

If you have never heard of Hungry Girl before I strongly suggest you check out her website. She takes your every day foods and lightens them up.

She also has just gotten her own show on the Cooking Channel. (not available in all areas) But you can get all of her recipes off the website.

One that just just posted/aired was the Denver Omlette. I love me some eggs so decided to try this one. I honestly didnt think that it would fill me up or satisfy me but it did.

Ingrdients
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 tbsp. chopped onion
1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
1 oz. (about 2 slices) 97 to 98% fat-free ham, chopped
2 tbsp. shredded fat-free cheddar cheese

Directions
Spray a large microwave-safe mug with nonstick spray. Add veggies and microwave until softened, 1 - 2 minutes.

Blot any excess liquid from veggies. Add egg substitute and microwave for 1 minute.

Add ham and cheese and lightly stir. Microwave until scramble is just set, an additional 45 - 60 seconds.

Let cool slightly. Eat up!

MAKES 1 SERVING


I'm not even kidding when I say this is so good. You can buy the pre-chopped bell peppers and onions in the frozen veggie section of any grocery store. (that's what I did) Just get out what you need and reseal.

I was full, satisfied and happy with it. I actually had it for lunch yesterday. ;)

Weight Watchers Update & New Recipe

I fell off. Way off. Deep in the mud and couldn't get back up, off. I took a week off to get my head back in the game. The following week my world fell apart. So honestly, 2 weeks off.
This past week, I tried getting back on. My foot keeps slipping. Like trying to walk on butter. Just almost freaking impossible. But, I'm trying. I refuse to give up. I'm thinking of actually going to a meeting just to have some support. I have none. My husband tries but bless his heart he just doesn't have a damn clue about it.

I did recently come across this recipe that I LOVED! Thought I'd share.

Balsamic Chicken with Mushrooms:

Ingredients
2 tsp vegetable oil
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), crushed
1 pound(s) uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, four 4-oz pieces
2 cup(s) mushroom(s), small, halved *I used shitake
1/3 cup(s) canned chicken broth
1/4 tsp dried thyme, crumbled
Instructions
In a nonstick skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of oil.

In a medium bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of vinegar, the mustard and garlic. Add chicken and turn to coat.

Transfer chicken and marinade to skillet. Sauté chicken until cooked through, about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer chicken to a platter and keep warm.

Heat remaining teaspoon of oil in skillet. Sauté mushrooms for 1 minute. Add broth, thyme and remaining tablespoon of vinegar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are deep brown, about 2 minutes longer.

Serve chicken topped with mushrooms.

**I also sliced up a red onion and added it when I cooked the mushrooms.

Seriously, to die for. K loves it and he's not a fan of anything healthy. :)

Sigma Miss Taylor Brush Review

I was recently sent a Miss Taylor retractable kabuki brush by Sigma for review. I was not paid for this review so it is 100% my honest opinion.

First off, I was so happy when I got for one simple reason: It's Purple!! Yep, I'm that easily amused.

I already own the F80 so I thought I knew what I was getting just in a smaller form.

Although, they are very close they are not the same. Since it is the retractable version, the Miss Taylor brush is more dense. However, that does not alter how your liquid, cream or powder goes on. With the liquid foundation it still goes on every bit as flawless as the F80. Since I hadn't tried applying a powder with my F80, I figured I would give it a shot with the Miss Taylor. I applied my bronzer and at first was a little worried because where I put it was where it was. I thought at first I had messed up. With just a little blending it was perfect, not too much, I didn't have dustings everywhere. It was exactly where I wanted it and it blended right in. Perfection!

Since I usually just throw all of my make up in a bag when I travel, I now don't have to worry about my F80 brush getting messed up. I just throw the Miss Taylor in and off we go. :)

Overall, would I have bought this on my own, probably not. I am not that much of a brush queen to have to have a travel sized, retractable one. I am grateful for it though, since I now don't have to worry about messing my F80 up. :)

Something About Marilyn ~ Sigma

Sigma has their retractable kabuki brush, Something About Marilyn, on sale for 25% off. For today only if you enter coupon code VALENTINES you get an extra 10% off.

Get some Hollywood Glamour! The Sigma Makeup retractable kabuki is the easiest way to apply powder products such as blush, bronzer, foundation, and highlighter on-the-go. Practical and classy, the Hollywood Glamour collection is a must! Featuring the SigMax fiber for high definition application.

Houston, we have heat!

Y'all have no idea how cold it has been in my house these past 3 days.

I came home from the grocery store Tuesday morning, unloaded the groceries and plopped down in front of the computer. I noticed it was a little chilly in here. Then I got to thinking, this air blowing is mighty cold.
I went to check the thermostat and it was reading 63 but it was set to 68 degrees. Uh oh. This can't be good. I turned it off since it was just blowing cold air. It kept blowing. Um....I'm no HVAC service man, but I don't think that is suppose to happen. No matter what I did, it kept blowing cold air. I had to flip the breaker.

K came home that night and got to looking at it but didnt see anything out of the norm. Of course it was too late to call someone to come look at it. I wasn't about to pay an after hours fee.

The next day we got my dad to come look at it. He about had it pin pointed. I googled (I love me some google) and found a guy that had the exact same problem and said it was something else. Well I went with his advice. I shouldn't have. Again, it was too late to do anything by the time we basically got it sorta kinda but not really figured out. Plus it was sleeting/raining/snowing it's ass off. My dad had to haul ass home before it got too bad and K wouldnt make it in time after work.

So FF to today. Since K's work decided it was going to be a blizzard, they didnt schedule any cars for today but 2. By 8:30 this morning he was done. He talked to the boss and told him about the heat so he got to leave at lunch. He stopped by the HVAC place and got the part we thought it was. Wrong! He gets home puts it in and voila! Nothing! FUCK ME!

We said screw it and called a service guy out. I wish he would have brought some lube for the fucking he was trying to give us.

Here's the run down.
Service call $72
Part+installation $214
Pick up part $106

Yep, they were going to charge me $106 to go pick up the fucking part! I very quickly declined his service. I will never call these people back out to my house. Fucking ridiculous.

K and I loaded up and headed back to the HVAC place we got the first part from and got the gas valve thingie we needed. We bought that and the plumbers glue for under $40. Came home and K fixed it.

I have heat!!!

The weekends are killing my diet

I do good all week. I cook, log everything, stay conscience of what I eat. Then the weekend hits and it all goes down hill.


This weekend was no different. Friday we had a small ice storm so my husband was off work. The "ice storm" was a dud so we hit the roads early. I did eat a bowl of cereal before we left. Well, thank gawd because that was the only thing I ate until later that night. We headed to my dad, who eats steak and baked potato every night. Friday night was no different. It was so good until I looked at how many points it was. o_O


Saturday was awful. There's no food in his house. He's a single 60-something man. Typical. lol I had brought some snacks (nutty bars) for my husband. Well since I was starving I ate one. Then by 4pm we still hadn't left yet and I was on the verge of getting a head ache, so I ate 2 of daddy's cupcake snacks.


We leave heading home and stop by subway. I thought I was getting a healthier choice until I get home and start logging points. It was not pretty.


I guess what I need to do is buy snacks/food to take to my dads since we are there almost every weekend and it's killing me.


I'm down a few pounds this week and I really don't want to blow all my hard work through out the week every weekend. That's defeating the purpose.

Books

I love reading. Always have, probably always will.

I discovered a website a few years ago called PaperBackSwap.com Basically you post books and earn a few credits to get you started. When you request a book from someone else, as long as you have the credits, it's free. If someone request one of your books, all you have to do is pay shipping, which is only around $3.00. When they post that the book has been received, you will get a credit.

Yes, I know you can go to the library and check out books all day long for free, but if you are like me you just never get to the library. And honestly, as long as we've been in this house, I have yet to step foot in our library.

OK, so now that I've done a small plug for that website, I wanted to tell you about the latest series I've been reading. The author is Gena Showalter. The series is The Lords of the Underworld. Sounds seriously dark, but I promise you they aren't. Well a little but not really.

From her website: Long ago, twelve immortals warriors – each more dangerously seductive than the last -- stole and opened Pandora’s box, unleashing the evil from within. Now they carry that evil within themselves. Violence, Pain, Death, Disease, Disaster, Misery, Doubt, Promiscuity, Defeat, Lies, Secrets, and Wrath. When a powerful enemy returns, they will travel the world in search of a sacred relic of the gods – one that threatens to destroy them all. With multiple New York Times and USA Today Bestsellers this a must read series!

Books in order:
The Darkest Night
The Darkest Kiss
The Darkest Pleasure
The Darkest Whisper
The Darkest Passion
The Darkest Lie
The Darkest Secret (April 2011)
The Darkest Surrender (October 2011)
The Darkest Seduction (2012)

I absolutely got hooked on these books. I'm currently waiting on The Darkest Lie to hit PBS.com And seriously, if it doesn't get entered in to the system soon, I just might have got go buy it.

Gena Showalter is my new favorite author. Her writing style absolutely consumes you. These books are a drug. Once I start one, I can't put it down until it's finished.

Weekly Menu

Trying to find something that I like to eat and isn't going to eat up my WW points is hard. Plus feeding a husband that only likes things with booming flavor and lots and lots of calories, is so damn hard.

This is what I've come up with this week.

Beef Fajitas
Sweet and Sour Meatballs w/veggies (maybe?)
Grilled Shrimp
Pork Tenderloin w/veggies
Calzones

I know the calzones don't sound too damn healthy but I've learned I can't cut out all carbs. I start seriously craving them. Baby steps. But, I am using thin crust pizza, skim milk mozzarella cheese and turkey pepperoni. Lets just hope my husband doesn't notice the difference. lol