WWtKW: Food Edition

Good morning, Kitschies!  It's been a BUSY week.  Yesterday went by without me even logging in to Blogger - how does *that* happen?!  Derby practice on Monday night was good - came away with two pretty good new bruises (it's not a successful practice if I don't come away without a new bruise).  Tuesday (was that just yesterday?!) evening was spent getting ready for my trip to Cali on Thursday (tomorrow - eek!).  So much still left to do without a whole lot of time to do it.  *deep breathing*

I'm linking up with the ever-awesome Mamrazzi and Alicia aka Queso for We Want to Know Wednesday.  This week's questions are all food-centric.



1.  What is the one thing (food or drink) that you MUST have every day?
2.  What is your "go to" food when you don't feel well/need comfort?
3.  Is there a dish that you make that people request when they visit your home/a family favorite?
4.  What are 3 foods you have TRIED, do not like, and will NEVER try again?
5.  What's the one thing you love to eat that most people would think is weird/gross?
*the last question is courtesy of Dee at Homesick Cajun


1.  What is the one thing (food or drink) that you MUST have every day?
That's easy: coffee and diet Dr Pepper.

2.  What is your "go to" food when you don't feel well/need comfort?
That's not so easy.  If I don't feel well, I'll go for chicken noodle soup or tomato rice soup.  As for when I need comfort, I'm not really a comfort eater, so I can't really put my finger on one specific thing.

3.  Is there a dish that you make that people request when they visit your home/a family favorite?
When we have office potlucks, people always want me to make dessert.  When we're home and have friends over, they always want me to make sourdough bread with garlic and butter.  Mmmmm!  Sourdough isn't as easy to come by out here in New Mexico.


4.  What are 3 foods you have TRIED, do not like, and will NEVER try again?
Next to the first question, this is the easiest.  Fish, or, better yet, things that live in the water.  Lamb (just gross).  Venison (I want to like it, but no matter what I do, I just don't).

5.  What's the one thing you love to eat that most people would think is weird/gross?
The level of weirdness/grossness depends on the people I'm with, so I'll just list a few things that I love that other people turn their noses up at: artichokes, bleu cheese, feta, olives (any kind).

Thanks, ladies, for some fun questions this week!  I'll be super busy today, but I'll do my best to go blog hopping to visit all the wonderful people who linked up today.

I may not be around much in the next week, but I promise to be back to full force after I get back from visiting my family.

Good For YOU!

Good morning, Kitschies!!  Another new week is upon us.  How did *that* happen?  I can barely remember things that happened last week.  One thing I *do* remember is that my hubs told me I should take a break (it's a good thing) and escape for a little while.  So...I'm taking Mason and we're going on a road trip!  We're headed "home" to visit my parents (and the rest of the family) later this week.  We usually don't do spur of the moment things like this, but for this, we're making an exception.  My mom has ALS and the annual fundraiser walk is this Saturday, October 1st.  The last time I made it out for the walk, Nate was 2, the same age as Mason is now, so it's time to do it again!  I'm so excited!!  I am not, however, looking forward to the drive, but we'll survive.  Somehow. 

I have a great, easy, healthy recipe for you today.

About a year ago, my bestie's MIL told me about quinoa (pronounced keen-wah).  Quinoa is one of those "super foods" you never hear about.  It's a grain that is super-high in fiber (14 grams per 3.5 oz), no cholesterol and relatively low in carbs.  And it tastes good, too!  Sound too good to be true?  It isn't - and here's a great recipe for proof.

Quinoa & Black Beans
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled & minced
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 (15 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
 
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned. 

Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.

Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro. 

NOTES:  I'm not a big fan of cilantro, so I left it out.  I don't think it was missing anything without it.

The hubs and I loved this and it was good even as leftovers.  The kids?  They ate it but I could tell it wasn't one of their favorites.  One time not long after making this, Nate proclaimed: "I love quinoa!" but then quickly responded with: "Wait.  What's quinoa?"  When I reminded him what it was, he was very fast to correct himself.  LOL  

So...if you want a quick, good-for-you meal, grab that quinoa!  I'm not sure of the availability, but I got mine at Sunflower Market (a whole foods kind of store).

Hang in there - Monday is going to be over before you know it!

Purple Flower Power

Happy Tuesday, Kitchies!  It's only Tuesday?  *sigh*  The entire month of September has flown by and it doesn't look like it's going to ease up any time soon.  Between coordinating days off with Nate's school and derby practice and whatever kid party we have on the weekend and quality time with the hubs...there's no time left over!

Enough of the crazy!  On to the pretty.

This mani was inspired by Simply Rins' Butterflies and Flowers mani that she posted in May.  I know I didn't do this mani all the way back in May, but it *was* probably early August.

I started with a base of Finger Paints Heavenly Hydrangea from their Summer 2011 collection.  It's a really pretty dusty mauve/lavender/orchid creme color.

Then I added some shimmer with Nicole Count on Me.  Count on Me was given to my by Frippery Digits in my box 'o goodies - she called it the best layering polish ever and I think I'm gonna have to agree.

After the shimmer, I stamped SH White On using BM11 on the tips.  I should've stamped first *then* used Count on Me but, as I recall, this was the last of a long night of unhappy mani results so once I got to this point, I was done.  LOL

Count on Me is pretty dang gorgeous!  It's so sheer, all it does is add a little bit of sparkle.  And the best part?  The sparkle changes color from pale pink to blue/purple.  So pretty and great over a bunch of different colors.

I suppose I should get back to work.  It is, after all, what they pay me for.  But wouldn't it be awesome to be paid to blog all day?  Yep.  Pretty much!

Friday Confessions: Skate Edition

Good morning, Kitschies!  Can you believe it's Friday already?!  I sure can't.  Nate is feeling better and he's off to school today, but we'll see if he lasts all day.  He had a very low-grade fever this morning but he had a lot more energy and was a lot less whiny.  I just hope he doesn't share whatever it was with his brother.  Or me.  Or his Dad.

I'm linking up with Mamarazzi at *Dandelion Wishes* for Friday Confessions. 

I confess...

I have a new obsession.

I confess...

It's actually something good for me!

I confess...

It's roller derby.  If you've been following my blog for about the last month, that will be no surprise to you.

I confess...

I never thought I'd love roller derby.  I never thought I'd be one of *those* girls. 

I confess...

I was afraid to go to my first practice.

I wasn't afraid of not being able to skate - cuz I knew I could do *that*.

I was afraid that the girls there would be all "Oh...you're the *new* girl..." and give me a hard time, but it's been great.  All the girls are so helpful and willing to answer all my dumb noob questions.

I confess...

I got a little excited when I heard that practices go year-round.

I confess...

My new favorite movie is Whip It.  I love Ellen Page (who doesn't?!).  I recommend this movie, even if you don't like roller derby.

I confess...

I want this hoodie (but in different colors).

photo source

Awesome, right?

I confess...

I probably look like a derp out there on the track, all padded up and a bit wobbly.

But, you know what?  I don't care because I'm having FUN!

I confess...

I'm old enough to be a mom to some of the juniors (which is rather disheartening), but I don't care because I'm having fun.

I confess...

I love the tape I have on my skates.  It rocks.

I could go on and on...but I'll stop there. 


You KNOW you have something to confess!!  Link up HERE and bare your soul for the whole blogosphere to see!

Favorite Color Swap: Red!

The alternate title to this post should be: Better Late Than Never.  *sigh*  It's been a super busy week and I'm finally getting around to posting about my awesome swap with Kelley from Kelley's Family Jewels. 


Ms Mamarazzi did it again!  Another great pairing for another awesome swap.  Really.  She's the best there is at blog swaps.  Don't believe me?  Join up next time around.

Anyway...I got my box full of goodies on Wednesday (after it traveled from Northern CA, to Tennessee and then *back* to New Mexico).  Wanna see what I got?  I know you do...

This packaged looked all basic and boring, sitting there, all alone on my front porch.  But, don't let it's outside wrapping deceive you!  It was FULL of awesome swap goodies all for ME and all RED.

There was a nice letter on the very top of the goodies.  And just under the note was a little something for the boys.  Yep!  Kelley even included the boys (because it's hard to open a box of goodies for ME without the boys climbing all over me - you know it's true).

I got them to smile *just* long enough to snap a picture and then...

...they tore in to it!  They each got a red Hot Wheels car - and they didn't even fight over who got which car.  Amazing!

Then it was time to uncover MY goodies!!

Each thing was wrapped in red Cars tissue paper and had an explanation of why Kelley chose what she did.

"I started with a theme in mind of doing things for fall; but then I thought, does it even get cold in NM?  The cuteness won me over, so I got it anyway.  (I since Googled weather in NM and see that it in fact, can snow in the winter.  Learn something new every day.)"  Yes, it does get cold in NM...and I'm hoping it doesn't get quite as cold this Winter as it did last.  Love the scarf - I'm starting a mini collection and this one fits right in!

"I always include a favorite food in my SWAP boxes; this is my favorite red candy.  (I like licorice too, but seemed too obvious.)  I loved to sneak this in my purse to movies!  Another big plus, no one ever wants any so sharing is not an option.  Muah-ha-ha ha"  LOVE Hot Tamales!  Nate asked for one and he ate it, but he didn't ask for any more.  LOL  Guess that box is ALL mine!

"Frag-ee-lay"  "This is a little sample of an iconic treat from my hometown (Northern CA) so you remember your swap buddy."  Red wine...SCORE!!  My favorite wine is Merlot.  I am liking Kelley more and more!!

"Now, this is not technically red...but I thought this OVER red would look awesome, especially during the holidays."  Yep.  You're right...this WILL look great over red.  A sparkly red!  Crackle polish is *awesome*.

"This is crucial for any busy mom and another of my favorite treats...There is one for when you are on the move and a second for relaxing at home.  It's a yummy treat either way you go."  Wine AND coffee (no, not together)?  Girl...you have got me wrapped around your finger!  I used my new "at home" mug Wednesday morning and my "on the go" mug this morning.  I am diggin' this stuff!!

Oh!  And one more thing.  Nestled inside the "at home" mug were a couple more goodies!

A fully-loaded Starbucks card and cinnamon mints!  You don't know how hard it was to stay out of the Starbucks drive-thru today!!

Thank you SOOOOO much Kelley!!  You put together a *great* swap package - I love every single thing!!  I think this has been the best swap I've been in so far (except for when I swapped with Mamarazzi, but that doesn't count). 

Wanna see what I gave Kelley?  Check it out HERE.  Wanna see what other people got in their swaps?  Check that out HERE.

Summer Closeout

Good day!  I had yesterday off because of home schedule issues, but I'm back in the swing of things today.  Sorta.  Nate is home with a fever and the hubs is home with him and my doc is out this afternoon, so it looks like I'll have some free time to myself today.  I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be able to squeeze in some skating, but it's supposed to rain, so I don't know if that's gonna happen.  I went to the track yesterday morning, but it was covered in puddles and since skate bearings and water don't mix very well, I had to call it off.  Cross your fingers I'm not met with this scene again today...

 

Anyway...a while back, I decided to try some nail art that I'd seen all over the place.  This time, though, I was inspired by Nail Nerd's Watermelon Nails.  If you've never heard of Nail Nerd, I highly recommend you check her out.  The girl's got serious skillz and she does a LOT of nail art.  I mean a LOT!  And now, since it's almost the end of Summer (September 23rd), I figured I'd better share this with you before it's too late!

Cute, right?  I used Confetti Cherries Jubilee as the base color then free-handed the tips with ChG Watermelon Rind (coincidence?) and did the little seeds with Zoya Raven using a small dotting tool.

I liked this one though I think I should've picked a base pink that was a little lighter and less bold. 

As for ChG Watermelon Rind, it's a gorgeous green glass fleck polish that would look great on it's own, but it was perfect for this mani. 

Thanks to Nail Nerd for the inspiration!  Check her out HERE if you didn't earlier in the post. 

Cross your fingers for no rain today...I really am itching to get out to skate a bit today.  Have a great rest of the day!

WWtKW: Road Trippin Edition

Good morning, Kitschies!  It's just after 4 in the morning here and it's pretty quiet in the house.  The hubs just left for work (much earlier than usual) and after not sleeping well because I was afraid the alarm wouldn't go off, I decided to throw in the towel at 3:45 and just get up.  I took the day off, so I'm pretty disappointed about being up so stinkin' early.  But, with all the things I'm planning on doing today, I'm hoping to take a little cat nap later, so I guess being up before the rooster crows isn't necessarily a bad thing.

I'm linking up with the awesome Mamarazzi from *Dandelion Wishes* and Alicia from aka Queso for We Want to Know Wednesday.  This week's questions come from the newly-returned-from-a-road-trip Mamarazzi.  Join me for a jaunt down memory lane (pun intended).

1.  What are 3 must-haves for a long road trip?

2.  What was the destination for your most recent road trip?

3.  What do you miss most about home when on a trip?

4.  What is the furthest you have traveled on a road trip?

5.  Will you stop for "the largest ball of twine", or are you a "hurry and get there" road trip-er?

Great questions, Mamarazzi!  Since my last road trip wasn't *too* long ago (June), these should be a cinch!

1.  What are 3 must-haves for a long road trip?

Music - for me, the hubs and the kids...individually and together.  Nobody wants to listen to kids' cartoon themes over and over and over for hours.  And nobody wants to listen to Joy Division over and over again.  And nobody wants to listen to whatever I'm listening to over and over again.
DVD player - I know we didn't have one growing up but I can imagine how fast the time would've passed if we'd had one.  I think portable DVD players are a gift from god.  Seriously.
Snacks - I'm a bored eater and who doesn't get bored on the road?!  Snacky stuffs, sweet AND salty alike, are always included on the ride.  And don't forget the soda!
But you can't forget to throw in a roll of "just in case" toilet paper.  Trust me.

2.  What was the destination for your most recent road trip?

Well, there were kinda two destinations.  First was "home": Bakersfield, CA to visit my parents.  Second was Los Angeles for a concert (just me and the hubs).  You can see the post about that trip HERE.

3.  What do you miss most about home when on a trip?

My bed.  Period.

4.  What is the furthest you have traveled on a road trip?

Bakersfield, CA to Seattle, WA-ish (over a thousand miles).

5.  Will you stop for "the largest ball of twine", or are you a "hurry and get there" road trip-er?

I would love to be able to stop at all the fun side-of-the-road attractions, especially now that the boys are older, but we're always short on time (not enough vacation time in the world).  So, as a necessity, I'm a "hurry and get there" kind of road trip-er.  Example:  I couldn't tell you how many times I've been from New Mexico to California.  What's between NM and CA?  The Grand Canyon.  Never been there.  Blasphemy, I know.

How fun were those questions?!  Thanks again to Mamarazzi for another week of fun Q&A.  Check out *Dandelion Wishes* for the linky and other great blogs who participated this week!

You're FIRED!

TGIF, Kitschies!  I'm so excited it's the weekend!!  It was a short work week, but it still feels like it took forever to get through.  Got plans for the weekend?  We do!  Saturday is my bestie's oldest son's birfday and then Nate gets to go over there and spend the night (YES!).  When I drop Nate off, the bestie and I are going to derby practice (practice for me, watching for the preggo) and when I get home, the hubs and I are going to crack open a bottle of wine and veg.  I might have to come in to work on Sunday, but that won't be until after I get to sleep in (the hubs says he'll cover Mason).  I can't remember the last time I got to really sleep in!  We'll see if it actually happens...


A while back, I got a wild hair and asked my hubs what he wanted to see on my nails.  He said he wanted to see flames.  *sigh*  Flames?  Really?  I thought about it for a while and couldn't come up with an easy way to actually paint flames on my nails.  Instead, I thought I'd give sponging a gradient a try.  I've tried sponging before and it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to.  And it didn't really work this time, either, but I took pics so I could share my sorta fail with you.

I started by painting my nails with a couple coats of Sinful Colors Let's Meet (yellow), then I sponged SH Xtreme Wear Crushed (orange) from the middle of the nails to the tips.  And to finish it out, I sponged ChG Vertical Rush on the tips.  The colors are good, but the pattern isn't very gradient.

The lines between the colors aren't subtle enough for me.  I liked the concept, but I didn't like the end result.

It's even more obvious in indirect light.  I wore it like this for a few days, then I posted a question on FB for those in the know.  I got some good suggestions and decided to try it again.

This time, instead of starting with an all over base color, I started sponging the darkest color (red) at the tips.  Then I sponged the medium color (orange), overlapping the red and taking it to about the upper third of the nail.  Finally, I sponged the lightest color (yellow) at the nail bed and out to overlap the orange.  

I am much happier with the way the second try came out.  Maybe I won't fire my fire nails after all!  For added sparkle effect, I added Nailtini Spritzer on top.  Spritzer doesn't stand out too much, so it wasn't all glitter bling in your face, but I like the effect it had - kinda pulled it all together.

You can tell the lines aren't quite so bold this time.  I was pretty happy with this one once it was all said and done.  And the hubs?  He thought it was cool, but he was a little disappointed I didn't actually paint flames on my nails.  I told him he must think I'm a better artist than I really am.


Well...I'm off to lunch!  It's a quick trip to WalMart for me - OH BOY!  Enjoy the rest of your Friday and I hope you have a relaxing weekend.

Pink Wednesday: Zoya Rica

Good morning, Kitschies!  We're almost half-way through another week.  How can the time possibly go so fast?!  *sigh*  It's a little cooler here today, which is nice, but all that does is make me more unhappy when it warms up again.

I don't know about you, but I'm ready for Summer to be finished.  But, that doesn't mean I'm ready to change my nail color yet (even though I'm wearing a decidedly un-summer color today).  I'm linking up with On Wednesdays We Wear Pink today and have a super shimmery, fun summer color to share with you.

I was pretty quick to grab Zoya's Summertime collection when it came out earlier this year.  How can you resist gorgeous glass-fleck cool-toned colors?  I couldn't!  

This beauty is Zoya Rica.  It's a pretty strawberry pink base with gold glass-fleck (shimmer).  The Zoya site rates this as 4 (out of 5) for opaqueness, but I don't think it's quite that opaque.  At 3 coats, there is some obvious VNL with flash in this picture. 

I would *almost* call this a duochrome, but not in the classic sense.  The amount of gold shimmer you get depends on the amount of light.  With flash, there is definitely more pink that gold, but when you get in more indirect light, this is what you see...

I like the pink, but I love Rica even more when she's more gold than pink.  It's glittery but not in-your-face like chunky glitter can be.  Rica is definitely one of my favorite pinks (up among the ranks with ChG Strawberry Fields)!

What do you think of Rica?  Do you have any of the Summertime collection?  Which one is your favorite?

August Reviewed *pic heavy*

Good morning, Kitschies!  Happy Labor Day to my fellow American bloggers.  Happy Monday to everybody else.  How was the weekend?  Mine was pretty good...Saturday night was derby practice.  I took a couple good falls (if a fall can ever be "good") and am super sore today.  I'm working on a couple deep bruises which should make me look official in a couple days.  Sunday, the fam went to the Jemez for a picnic and some fun in the mountains.  It was lightly raining when we got there and it was so nice and cool!!  Once it cleared up, it warmed up a bit, but not so much that it was hot.  It was nice to get out of the city, even if it was just for a few hours.  And the car rides to and from were so quiet!  I don't know what we did different, but there was no screaming or crying in the car - I'd almost say that was the best part of the trip.  LOL

I thought I'd do something a little different today and review our family's month of August...in pictures!  Ready?  OK!

In early August, the bestie and I went to our first Roller Derby bout and OMG...I was hooked!  As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to do it.  Now, with about 5 practices under my belt, I'm loving it.  I'm sore as hell, but it's a good sore.  I haven't lost any weight, but I *have* lost a pant size!

One morning on the weekend, we decided to head southwest of the city to the dormant volcanoes and go for a hike.  Good thing we went pretty early because it was HOT!!

While on our hike, we saw a collared lizard.  These guys are so cool because they're pretty big (this one was at least 8 inches from head to tail).  The hubs says he used to see these all the time out at the volcanoes, but I've only seen 2 or 3.

Once we got to the top of the farthest volcano, we took a short break to catch our breath, drink some water and have a snack.  You can see how hot it is by how pink the boys' cheeks are. 

The hubs and Nate were a little more adventurous than me and Mason - they went a little higher up.  I took this pic with super zoom...and they're still pretty small.

A little while back, I heard the prettiest little song coming from one of the trees in our back yard.  It took me a while to find it, but I saw a really pretty Lesser Goldfinch hanging out in the tree!

And with the good comes the bad.  I found this ugly guy hanging out in the foyer of our house.  This Wind Scorpion stayed under a small glass bowl overnight and we finally let him go outside.  *shiver*  I didn't like finding that at. all. 

We have some beautiful sunsets in New Mexico, especially in the summer.  This is one of the best sunsets I've seen in a long time.

It was Mr Nate's first day of school!  Nate was so excited to go to school that morning - he kept asking me if it was time to go yet.  Luckily, he's still liking school and he's doing really, really good.  He's growing up so fast!!

And there are some quiet times, too.  If there's one thing the boys will always eat without fail, it would be Otter Pops.  Aunt Chicken might not like them, but Nate and Mason sure do!  Isn't it amazing how these two little guys look so different but look a lot the same at the same time?

That was August...it already seems so long ago!  There are things we did that I don't have pics for (like going to the aquatics center and celebrating my birthday) but I didn't want to bore you with *everything*. 

Enjoy your day!  Relax, if you can, and try to stay indoors where it's a bit cooler.  It's cooling down a bit here in NM - and I am not complaining about that one bit!

Once in a Blue Moon

Good morning, my lovelies!  It's Thursday (and sorta my Friday) and I'm glad this week is drawing to a close.  Nate doesn't have school tomorrow (in service already?!) so he and I are going to spend some quality time together.  I don't know what we're going to do yet, but we'll do *something*.  I kinda wish he knew how to skate so I could get some practice in, but if I were to take him with me right now it would be rather counterproductive.  Anyway...we'll do something...maybe bake a cake...

I finally got my stuffs together and prepped some pics for you.  Well, for me, but I digress.  Let's get to the pics, shall we?

I started with WnW Blue Moon as a base (2 coats, 3 in some areas).  I picked this one up at Walgreens in July when they were on sale for 99-cents.  This is outdoors in filtered sun.

This really is a pretty navy blue with just a hint of shimmer.  And for 99-cents, even like this, you really can't go wrong!  This is outdoors in shade.

But I didn't leave it there.  I really wanted to do a jelly sandwich, but I couldn't find my one jelly polish, so I did something a little different.

I put a coat (or 2) of Milani Gems over the top of Blue Moon and then finished it off with a coat of ChG Matte Magic.  Now, usually I don't care for matte finish.  At all.  But, every once in a while, I find something that works and I like it.  Like this one.  Indoors with flash.

Outdoors, filtered sun.  There's another thing I *want* to love but usually don't once it's all said and done: glitter bombs.  Partly because it just looks like a mess on my nails and partly because I hate the removal.  But, the matte finish really kinda subdues the bling of the glitter and that's what makes me like it. 

I'm sure you won't see this kind of mani on my blog very often, so look while you can.  LOL

I'm gonna get back to work.  I hope it's not too hot wherever you are today and I hope work goes smoothly.  See you soon!