Domestic Diva Attempt #1

For those of your who don't know; I don't like to cook. I will if I have to but I don't really care for it. Now baking that is a whole different thing. I would bake everyday if I had the time and energy to. Baking is so much fun for everyone involved; not to mention its so yummy. You can't lick the spoon or bowl when you're cooking.... Salmonella poisoning is just not cute.

Any who; I wanted to help the hubby out because he cooks 98.5% of the time and I know he could use a break once in a while. So I have decided that I am going to cook on my days off. While this is not a huge deal for most; it is for me. I usually cooked one every other month. So we will see how this goes. When I do cook I look for fast meals and I like to try new recipes. I have two cookbooks that I use all the time but I want to start venturing out  a little more.

So the other night I was looking on the Kraft Recipes website and saw a recipe for Velvetta Cheeesburger Mac. It looked pretty good and simple so I decided to give it a try.

The ingredient list was very simple:

1/2 pound of Velveeta Cheese

1 tsp of onion powder

2 cups of elbow macaroni

1 pound of ground beef

1/3 cup of ketchup (I was a little thrown off by this)

2 3/4 cup of water

Brown the ground beef

Add the water, ketchup onion powder and bring to a boil.
 Then add noodles cover and simmer until noodles are tender

Add the cheese and stir until cheese is melted and well blended.

finished product

It was very easy to make and only took 20 minutes to prepare. Now for the real test....how does it taste. My daughter loved it (thank God). My hubby on the other hand did not really care for the Velveeta cheese. He had one plate but did not go back for seconds. So I don't know that I would try this again. Maybe with some different cheese. I would rate this dish two spoons (out of five).

Wordless Wednesday:Memories from Summer

This week when the temperature hit  40 degrees; It finally hit me that summer was really over. Here are a few pics from some warmer times:

My poor baby had a huge mosquito bite on her face

Age of Aquarius...Coming to an End

I am an Aquarius and I have to admit that I think that we are one of the best signs out there...yes, I'm a little bit biased.  By nature I have a free spirit and am a very spontaneous person. All this has changed since becoming a mother. Gone are the days where you can just pick up and go. Now you have to find a babysitter, pack the diaper bag, make sure you have all her essential toys, and please don't forget the blankie.

Lately, I have been struggling to get everything done in the short amount of time that I have both at home and at work. Over the last month or so; I have fallen behind in everything. The housework, homework, studying, exercising have all suffered due to my lack of time management.

I have decided that with my next few day that I am going to try to organize my house and my life.I got a little motivation from Wanna Be Balanced Mom. I admire her for her ability to plan and organize (a skill I did not inherit). I am going to attempt to put myself on a schedule; so that I have an allotted to amount of time to get things done. I am even going to attempt to schedule our meals for the week.  I know many people who do this and it works really well for them and helps them to save money as well. The only thing that I am worried about is when something unexpected happens and throws my schedule off. I know me and I know that things like that will make me very frustrated.

We will see how things go. This goes against my very nature but I know that I  need to make a change in order to get things done. Hopefully this will also help to eliminate some of the stress that I've had lately.

Does anyone have any tips or helpful  ways to help get organized and on a schedule?

Diaries of a shopaholic in training

My daughter is only 2 1/2 and I have already passed on my shopaholic ways down to her. Every day when she wakes up and when she gets home from school she will ask to go to the store. She knows about money and understands the concept of not having enough. To make things worse. She has been swiping my debit card for at least a year now...I've created a monster mini-me.

 Well when I finally woke up this morning she immediately told me that she wanted to go to the store. She grabs both her purses puts on her shoes and sunglasses.  Lets not forget her computer and her cellphone (not a real one of course). She stood there by the door telling me that she was ready to go.

After finally talking her out of going to the store we decide to go out side so she could ride her bike. As soon as we get outside she starts walking to the truck.

Me: Kyla where are you going?

Kyla: Kyla (yes, she speaks about herself in 3rd person) go to the store.

Me: Baby, we're not going to the store today.

Kyla: Kyla wants to go to the store.

Me: Baby, mommy doesn't have any money to go to the store

Kyla: Mommy no have money?

Me: No, mommy doesn't have any money

Kyla :*reaches in her pocket* Here mommy.... *hands me a quarter*

Me: No baby, that is your money.

Kyla: No, mommy can have it cause mommy no have money.

Awww...I thought this was the sweetest thing ever. I wanted to take her to the store and buy her three new toys just for being so sweet. It is moments like thing that give me a ray of hope of making it through the terrible-twos.

Oh did I mention that I was 15 minutes late for work that day because she put my keys in her purse?

Meet Me on Monday!! 10-4-10

It is Monday again. Time to tell you know about the little idiosyncrasies that make me special. I love Meet me on Monday because there are time when I have to actually think hard about the answers. So it not only gives you a chance to know me but I get to know myself a little better as well. Enjoy!

1. What is the best dish you can make?
Any kind of dessert. I am a baker. I don't really like to cook, but I can make any kind of cake, pie or cobblers. My love of baking is probably not good for my sweet tooth but oh well.

2. How often do you change your sheets?
Honestly we only have two sheet sets for our bed that we switch out with the seasons. We wash them every two weeks though.

3. What is the longest car trip you have ever taken?
The longest road trip I've ever taken was driving from El Paso, TX back to Atlanta, GA. It took almost a whole day to to get through Texas (no state should be that big). The trip took 22 hours. Not only the length of time but driving through the desert isn't the move appealing scenery.

4. What is your favorite fruit?
My favorite fruit would have to be grapes because they make a great snack.

5. Would you rather have breakfast for dinner or dinner for breakfast?
I am not a big fan of eating dinner for breakfast. Breakfast is one of those meals that you can eat anytime of the day. Thank you IHOP and Waffle House.

Five Question Friday

I decided to do another Blog Hop this week and I came across this one from My Little Life


1. Did you have a pen pal when you were little (or now)? Where were/are they from?

I had several pen pals growing up. There used to be a internet service provider Prodigy that had a forum for teen looking for pen pals. I probably had 5 or 6. Most of them were from the United States. I did have one pen pal from Germany. I met her when I went over there and stayed with her family. We lost touch when she started college.

2. If you could do a different job for one day, what would it be?

For one day and one day only; I would like to be a pilot. I would love to be able to fly myself anywhere in the world.

3. Do you remember your biggest fear from when you were little?

One of the biggest fears that I had was swimming in big bodies of water. I could swim but the thought of swimming in a lake or ocean terrified me. My brother helped me get over that by pushing me into the lake while I was standing on the dock.

4. What do you think is a waste of time? Why?

I sometimes think that combing my daughters hair is a complete waste of time. The second I finish she is rolling around messing it up. I'm lucky if there is still a ponytail holder still there when I pick her up from school.

5. What is the oldest item you have in your closet?

 The oldest thing that I have in my closet is a polo shirt that I have had since the 9th grade. People at work always ask me where I got it from. It still looks good... because I know how to wash clothes (unlike the hubby).

Sweet Escape

The last time that I had the chance to go to a spa was when I was pregnant and my husband bought me a spa visit for Christmas. This should let you know that I was long over due for another visit. If any of you follow me on twitter; you know that I have been suffering from daily migraines. Along with the migraines; my neck and back have been killing me.

So I decided to splurge and treat myself to an massage and facial. I was looking forward to this for days. I couldn't wait to get a chance to escape and relax. 

I had a really good time but things did not quite go as smoothly as I would like....go figure. When I go there I signed in and was led to the locker room to change clothes. I really wanted to take some pics to show everyone but my cell phone was confiscated (am I back in third grade?). They handed me a very nice robe and a piece of fabric that I was very confused about. I assumed that it was suppose to fit on like a tub dress but it kept falling down so I figured it was just suppose to cover my bottom half. WRONG!! I totally flashed the lady. I don't know who was more embarrassed. She had to get me a smaller gown to wear and we continued on to begin my facial.

I am always worried about getting facials because I have very sensitive skin. I made sure that I let her know this before she began. Everything was going very good and my stomach started to rumble...not the I'm hungry rumble...the gas one. This couldn't really be happening to me right now. I blame the five pound of broccoli I eat a day. There was no way that I could sneak it out and her not know. I refused to mess up the lavender fragrance that was surrounding me. So what did I do? I tensed m booty up so tight you wouldn't be able to get a piece of dental floss in between my checks.

Whew, the feeling finally went away. She began to do an extraction which is where the remove the blackheads and unclogged your pores. She warned me that it might be a little painful and to let her know if I couldn't take it. Ha....who was she talking to? I have 8 tattoo and I've given birth so I was pretty sure I could handle it. Well, this was my second time being wrong. It was pretty painful and I teared up once or twice but I didn't let her know. I had never had an extraction before and she said she was having a really hard time because my pores were so blocked (ewww). My poor little nose was so red afterwards (Oh, did I mention that I now have sores on both sides of my nose?). We finally got done and I was more than ready for my massage.

I was kinda hoping for a big hunky Swedish man named Schvinn(sp) but instead I got a short lady name Ina. I'm not going to complain because she worked those little hands. She was so good that I started drooling as I was laying there....and she heard me. To put this icing on the cake as I was turning from my front to my back my gown shift and I had a nip slip. Great I flashed  two people in one day!

I had to leave them a good tip to make up for everything. I would totally understand if they did not me come back. Have you every had an embarrassing experience like this?