Exhaustion

Today was a lot of fun. Exhausting but fun. Here's a recap.
Woke up.
Read.
Watched "The Price Is Right"... loving Drew Carey, he's a lot nicer to the contestants.
Read some more.
Hayden came over.
Talked to Amanda.
Amanda and Leigh Ann came over.
Went to lunch with them and baby Jackson.
Headed to pick up Ansley with Amanda at her school.
Took Ansley back to my house to play with Hayden for the day.
Decided to take Ansley and Hayden to Chuck E. Cheese.
Spent hours at Chuck E. Cheese.
Mastered "Skee Ball."
Went next door to Petland.
Played with a cute puppy that loved to bite. The kids got scared.
Went through McDonald's drive through for ice cream sundaes.
Drove home.
Layed kids down at 4:30 attempting a nap.
Ansley went home.
Watched Spongebob with Hayden. I love Spongebob.
Gave Hayden a bath.
Hayden went home.
Cleaned downstairs.
Now here I am with my love D-Lo and the computer.
I love kids but they wear me out! It was fun being the cool aunt today. It was also great spending some time with good friends. Today was wonderfully tiring!

Six Days of Bliss

I will be off from work for the next six days. I'm so excited because I just worked a long stretch of days to get here. It is nice to just rest. I've scheduled nothing but I am up for anything. I want to be spontaneous and available. Here is a general idea of some things I may be participating in.

-Cleaning and laundry
-Hang out with my hubby
-Spend time with my family
-Catch up with friends
-Head up to Universal to buy some tickets at Hard Rock
-Sleep a lot
-Go get a ManPed (what my sister's and I call Manicure/Pedicures)
-See a movie with my mother-in-law
-Contact some of my clients (my freelance work)
-Go to the Yves Saint Laurent company warehouse and trade some labor to get new FREE makeup (I love my boss... she hooks me up!)
-Set up a photo shoot to update my portfolio
-Finish reading Mark, move on to Luke in my bible... reading in general
-Go to church on Sunday (I'm so excited about the new series, "Dirty Little Secrets")and have lunch with my FOUR friends that will be coming for the first time!
-Watch some Tyler Perry/Madea stuff... the best plays and movies ever!
-Sleep a lot
-Update my facebook
-Blog
-Surround myself with positive, uplifting people, things, and activities
-Visit my friend Miss Amy
-Sleep a lot
-Force myself into the gym
-Look into trading in my car if I can get a deal
-Strategize my future goals
-Love my time and enjoy every minute
-The thing I'm most excited about... CU at C3!

I'm ready... let the fun begin. I just hope it doesn't fly by too quickly!

Mi Familia Loca

I had the privilege of spending the day with my crazy Colombian family. Darrell and I went over to my uncle's house for a Labor Day barbecue and we had a great time. Let me take you there.
Setting: My uncle and aunt's house with a newly broken A/C. We hung out in their new sun porch though. It overlooks the lake in their backyard so it was breezy and beautiful.
In Attendance: Five out of six of my mother's siblings, their spouses, and children. Darrell, myself, my mother-in-law, my sisters Brittney and Cassie, Brittney's boyfriend Eric, my nephew Hayden, my grandmother and some friends of my aunt and uncle with their child as well, and a partridge in a pear tree.
Food: Hamburgers, hot dogs, ribs, and veggie burgers (I have a large vegan/vegetarian population within my family... they are converting more and more by each passing year.) We also had salad and baked beans... oh, and cake. Typical barbecue dining.
Ambiance: A lot of joking around and cutting up. Football was discussed on more than one occasion and there were many cuts made on other's teams. I caught up with my cousin Aislinn, who is a senior in high school. I had to get the dish on what's been going down in her life. It's all good. We danced to really, really, really loud salsa, merengue, and pop music. (This is always my favorite part of any family gathering. I love to dance and I love that everyone in my family loves to dance because they all do it so well... I get it from my mama!)
I love my fun family and the time I get to spend with them. It seems like we only get together with my extended family on the major holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. I'm thankful for the bonus family day today!

Happy Cooking!

Okay, so everyone who knows me knows I'm no Martha Stewart - but just to be rebellious and feel better about my domestic abilities, I took pictures of my dinner a couple of nights ago. This is mainly because it's my favorite easy dinner, and it actually turned out okay...meals like this always turn out because I make up the recipe as I go along, so no one can tell me I did it wrong! So here it is...

Ground Turkey Breast seasoned with organic tamari, vidalia onions, and sweet bell peppers - with steamed broccoli flowerets on top.
French Cous Cous with pine nuts. (not from a box)
Field Green Salad with crushed almonds and a honey balsmic dressing.

easy dessert: Sliced Strawberries and Blueberries (not sliced - that would be insane!) with unsweetened heavy cream.

The best part about the way I cook is that I only make things that take less than 30 minutes - I'm way to much of a procrastinator to do anything else. So I just throw a bunch of things that I like in a big pan and cook away until the smoke alarm goes off! As long as I keep healthy staples in the fridge and freezer, it's easier to make simple healthy meals than intricate ones that require a lot of ingredients and...well, actual cooking.

So, be encouraged and inspired - find the way that you do things and do them that way, without worrying that it's not as good as "Martha" or anyone else...only you can be you and that's what living is all about! If you have fun in the kitchen (or wherever you're working) and put in lots of love, it will always turn out perfectly because love is the best ingredient and fun is a great recipe! Happy "cooking"! Peace.

At Home with Amanda

Just wanted to add another quick tip on making your home feel more "homey". I'm sure most of you already do this, but it is my favorite fake-out to make people think my home is actually clean.

I always say a home that smells good smells clean, so I always have either a candle burning or fragrance oil in an oil burner from The Body Shop. These are especially strong and they have lots of good scents to choose from! I have one by my front door and it makes the entire house smell good. Right now I have Golden Apple burning....it smell delicious!

At Home With Amanda

Let me just start this blog by saying I am not, nor will I ever claim to be, in any way, shape or form, Martha Stewart. However, over the years I have learned (stolen ideas from others) a few shortcuts for cleaning, organizing, or cooking that have made these chores more manageable. Because really, who has time to do ALL of these things? I just want people to THINK I have it all together!

So, I will in this and other blogs with the same title, divulge some of my secrets on shortcuts to these chores. I am no expert, but hopefully you will be able to use some of these time-saving tips when preparing for company.

Cleaning Tip: Purchase a bottle (or two) of Fabuloso cleaner. You should be able to find this at just about any grocery or drug store around. It is the cheapest cleaner on the shelves and smells wonderful. 5 - 10 minutes before company comes over, I pour some in each toilet in the house and in the kitchen sink. I also wipe down the handle of the front door. As soon as people walk in they are hit with the fresh scent. It smells like you've been cleaning for hours!

There you have it...my secret is out. I haven't spent the entire day cleaning- it just smells like it. Just don't look too closely at the corners of my floors - then again, my secret is out now, so go ahead, judge me...like I said, I'm no Martha Stewart!