Catchup

A little catching up for this blog. {albeit a bit scattered}

I got my nails done last week, see :) it's been many many years since I've gotten acrylics, probably since high school.


However.... I learned today that spray on sunscreen and nail polish do not mix... it melts the nail polish so I had to take it off because it became sticky and every lint bit was sticking to it :(

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Little girls on my mind :)

I made these two caps/hats w/some hand-dyed handspun yarn that I've been holding on to for a while.



I decided to try out Big Cartel, since I've seen more and more people on FB using it. The store I opened there is called RougeEden.


Rouge Eden, is what I ideally want to name my daughter if I have one :) {hoping, praying, wishing...} With the basic package I can only have 5 products on there, but we'll see how it goes. I haven't advertised it, so haven't gotten any views, LOL. When(EVER) I open my website completely, I'll put in yet another section for these, which will consist of handmade items for babies/children and photography props.

Speaking of little girls, I made this little dress, the first dress I've ever sewn, for one of my BFF's little girl. I love it! Now I want to make more. I plan on making a matching head-kerchief for it.



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On March 12th, my friend and I hosted a party. It was an interesting {to say the least} combination of 3 themes. She had been selected to host a Durex (condom) party through houseparty.com, I was selected to host a Philly Cooking Dilemma {Cooking Creme} party through houseparty.com as well and a Passionista Martini Gold party through American Beverage Co. So we combined these three into one, for a wild little shindig at my place, LOL. I have pics, just waiting to get them from my friend as my camera wasn't cooperating that day. I do have some product pics, not the condoms though.






It was good fun w/good food, great drinks (my lovely mom was the bartender), and some interesting games - Dirty Minds, a he said/she said game via Durex, and the I've Never... game.

I love having parties now, I used to be so apprehensive about having people over, but I've been working on it and have progressed far, IMHO. It is, however, A LOT of work!!! The next party I throw will be more G-rated :) for my little bug who will be turning 11 in May. Unless I get chosen for the Weight Watchers Ice Cream party :) I really wanted to get the Tapena's Wine & Tapa's party, but didn't get it. :(

Lastly... we're moving, not until the end of the year, but still :(

Photoplay

Just messing around with some photos and textures (these were taken about a month ago at JF Gregory Park in Richmond Hill, GA; since they were previously edited, the textures were applied on top of the edits.)

For Texture Tuesday using Kim Klassen's warmsun texture:

Hard Light @100% w/mask


Hard Light @50% and desaturation w/mask


Hard Light @50% w/mask


Soft Light @100%


This is one of my favs! :) Tiramisu, yummy...
Overlay @100%

Egg in my hair

[I borrowed the photo from google]
My hair has been thinning so badly :( very very upsetting and embarrassing. So naturally I want to try to do whatever I can to help thicken it and slow down hairloss to encourage new growth. So today I tried egg and vinegar. I cracked the egg in the shower. It was comical trying to keep the egg in my hand before it dropped into the tub and then once I smashed it onto my head most of it still managed to plop down. It wasn't as icky as I thought it would be. I massaged it into my scalp then shampooed like regular. So then it was time to vinegarize. I diluted about 1/4 C of white vinegar with warm water and slowly poured it over my hair. Then rinsed it off and gently put in some conditioner.

I get out of the shower and fluff it a little with a towel, then start brushing it... egg whites... yep, some decided to cling in clumps. So I had to pick those out. My hair still smells a little like vinegar, but not too bad. Overall, I guess it went OK, I'll let you know when it dries whether it helped thicken it any. I can say it is soft, but I have never really had a problem with my hair being soft.

The other night I was in one of those weird moods and decided to cut off 8" of my hair. For the most part I got it even :) It is lighter weight-wise and I think it helped a little, less weight on my scalp means that the hairs have a chance to have a little body.

What other remedies did I find that I could do... cut my hair really short - chin length or slightly longer... dye it very very light... and get it permed. Hmm... IDK. I will have to mull it over. I have reserves though: 1) if I do all that those are chemicals that could make it worse, make my hair fall out even more... 2) would a really light color even look good on me? 3) that short??? my face is already round I don't want to put emphasis on the roundness.

But really, what other choices do I have? I can't afford some of the other options, like transplants, or weaves. I tried clip-in extensions, but I can't put them in the spots that really need it because my hair has gotten so "see-through" that you'd be able to see the seams of the hair where it's sewed to the clip.

So sad and pitiful. I so need to win the lottery...

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Well, my laptop is finally "fixed". I use the term "fixed" loosely because it's not really... I had to go back in and disconnect the OEM keyboard as I was having this very frustrating "invasion of the Vs" with ocassional spacebar interjections. Now that that's no longer an issue, I think I can hang on to this laptop for a little longer. The only con about disconnecting that keyboard is that the function keys on my wireless USB keyboard aren't the same as the ones on the OEM keyboard and there are specific ones on there that I would need to use or disconnect things like the touchpad, the webcam, etc. Hopefully I won't have much need to use it as it's such a SIGH to dismantle the computer over and over again.

Again, another reason why winning the lottery would be really awesome right about now.

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And in continuing the update on my life. The softball we thought we were going to be playing in March, is likely going to be a no-go :( so I returned my glove, ball, and cleats yesterday. I had been both looking forward to it and dreading it. I'm not much of a sports person, but had wanted to stretch out a little from my comfort zone and try it at least. To be honest, though, I was having second thoughts because the idea of having to slide and dive sort of freaked me out, LOL. So now I'm both relieved and saddened that it's not going to happen.

I took my cleats back, however, and exchanged them for these babies:



Yeah, a very unusual exchange, but I like them! Hopefully an event will come up where I can actually wear them, hehe.

and finally here is my bed buddy... He was sent to me by my love during his last deployment. He watches over me as I sleep :)



Ok, I'm procrastinating, I have to get back to working on my taxes, lovely taxes that they are. (O:

Oh, BTW if you know me and you're in the area, my friend Teresa and I are having a party on March 12th. It's a triple themed party... Hit me up on Facebook for an invite.

Happy Valentine's Day!

For my husband, whom I love dearly and wish could be here spending this day with me! Love you babe and miss you very much!



And from the munchkin, in all his handsomeness, LOL



Going to spend this day out at a Luncheon with the 1/76 Ladies at Kobe Japanese Steak House, then dinner here with Teresa + 6, and Amber + 3. :)

Girls' Night Out

Another great outing with the girls - Teresa & Ashley. We went to dinner first at Olive Garden, their house wine is divine!!! Then had time to kill before the movie, so we went to get Teresa something to cover her arms since she was wearing a sleeveless top and it was freezing out. Stopped at Ross, then went next door to World Market, picked up a couple bottle of wine. Then headed to Beverage Warehouse and picked up yet another bottle of wine, LOL. We were actually looking for that Olive Garden wine, but they were all out.

The movie we went to go see was "Just Go With It" with Adam Sandler and Jenifer Aniston. It was a pretry good movie! Funny and tear-jerking. Loved it, I think I need to get it on DVD.

After the movie we wanted dessert so we stopped at Dennys. And we were goofy, see us with our 3D glasses on? LOL



More pics on facebook.

Operation HomeFront/Lifetime Presents Army Wives at Outback

The girls (Teresa, Ashley, and Amber) and I went to an event at Outback Steakhouse sponsored by Operation HomeFront and Lifetime's Army Wives. The event honored "REAL" Army Wives.

It was pretty interesting, exciting, and fun. We all met at the YMCA in Hinesville, dropped off our kids and boarded buses. All the while being filmed. We had to do a few things over again, like walking off the bus and on the bus again. They did spot interviews on the way to Outback, and then had a squad of little cheerleaders, as well as people with signs welcoming us, film crew and news crews to greet us there with a red carpet laid out and confetti filling the air.

We got to meet Brian Macnamara (Gen. Holden) from the show Army Wives. They rushed us through appetizers, and the entree. And did a rafle for gift baskets that contained wine and gift card to Outback with either b&b stuff or popcorn. Those who didn't get gift baskets got a wine bottle and gift card.



The video above has an interview that Teresa did with WSAV, and you can see us at lesat 3 times in this. If it's not working, go here.

More pics from this event are on my facebook page.

Doing Good

Since my hubs left last week Wed, back to Iraq, I've lost a total of 7 lbs :) (he's a meat eater so we ate a lot of meat while he was back for R&R)


For lunch on Thursday I had Tomato Bisque and steamed asparagus. I changed the tomato bisque up though, the recipe with my changes is as follows:
1 Tbsp light butter (Land O Lakes)
1/2 Med onion + 2 scallions (white portion), chopped
1 Celery stalk, chopped
3 Garlic, cloves, minced
1/2 Roasted bell pepper (jar type in water/citric acid)
5 Med vine-ripened tomatoes, chopped
32 oz Chicken broth, fat free, reduced sodium
2 Tbsp Cilantro + more for garnish
3 Sm bay leaves
6 Pickled okra (Wickles brand, optional)
1 tsp basil, dried
2 T Sour cream, light
Shaved parmesan

Melt butter in a pot over med-high heat, add onions and celery and saute until onions are translucent, add garlic and roasted bell peppers. Cook until garlic is fragrant, approx. 5 mins, then add remaining ingredients, except for sour cream and shaved parmesan. Bring to a boil, stirring often, reduce to a simmer and allow to cook, stirring ocassional, covered for 30-45 minutes. Remove bay leaves, then add sour cream. Use a hand blender, or blender to puree soup (if you use a regular blender, be sure to start of on stir, with the lid partially open before pressing puree, and only fill the blender half way or you'll end up wearing a HOT mess).

Garnish with cheese and cilantro.

4 servings (2 cups each) * P+: 3pts

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Today's lunch...


Ceviche w/Ahi Tuna on Wonton wrappers Note: I fried the wonton wrappers, but was told by a friend that I could bake them, so next time I'll do that. This recipe includes the baked version.

1/2 lb Sashimi grade Ahi Tuna, cut into small cubes
2 Tbsp red onions, fnely chopped
1 tsp, tabasco
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 sm mango, cut into small cubes
1/4 C fresh lime juice
1/2 med avocado, cut into small cubes
1/2 med poblano chile (roasted, chopped)
Wonton wrappers
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350.

Add all ingredients into a bowl, except for wonton. Mix and cover (push the plastic wrap down so that it lays on the mixture with very little air), allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.

Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray, push the wonton wrappers into the muffin pan to form cups. Lightly spray the tops with cooking spray then place the pan in the oven for approximately 8 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.

Scoop the ceviche into the wonton cups, serve and eat!

The ceviche can be divided into 4 servings. 1 serving of ceviche and 8 baked wonton cups = P+ 7

Julie-tarianism

Julie-tarianism: is a practice of a diet that includes anything that Julie wants to eat at any certain given time, including, but not limited to seafood, poultry, and on occasion, red meat. :)

I figure it's much easier to give myself a dietary name than to adhere to any strict guideline. haha. I had planned on going Pollo-pescetarian (seafood, poultry, dairy and vegetables/fruits), but an occasional red meat here and there may be required. I will, however, attempt to find meats of animals grass-fed or free range!

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Yes, my blog has been sorely lacking content. I lay blame solely on my hubby :) as he was back for R&R during the holidays. (Just kidding babe!)

Quickie time-line:
- For TG, my mom came to visit, and we spent the day in Jax with my friends.
- DH came home for R&R on Dec. 20th, we went out for my birthday to a Japanese restaurant in Richmond Hill on the 22nd, and we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas in NC with my parents and brother. It was nice getting together with them all, playing board games, eating, and being a family :) We got a lovely gift of a snow storm on the day after Christmas, the day we headed home so it took us 12 hours rather than 7 to drive back.
- New Years, we didn't do anything special, but it was still nice to be able to have DH home for it.
- Jan 5th DH headed back to Iraq :(... so sad.

So now, I'm still slowly adding inventory to my website storefront - http://www.Enablerie.com (the B&B section has soaps and perfumes up now :) http://www.dirtyskintonics.com).

I have to get back into the groove of working out and eating right. Briefly contemplated getting back on Atkins, but decided against it. As much as I would love to, that first 2 weeks of eating only 20 carbs a day... Since a couple of my Jax friends are doing Weight Watchers, I went ahead and signed up for it :) They're also doing a group challenge so, I'm hoping that it'll be a good incentive and good motivation for me. The WW, seems promising. I'm still learning about points, but I start an official day today. I have 29 points to work with each day (+49 weekly points), and have decided to do the following meal plan today:

Breakfast- (7pts)
Cornmeal Cake and steamed asparagus w/poached eggs




This was actually a fabulous meal, since I had problems sleeping last night I ended up sleeping in late and this ended up more of a late brunch rather than a breakfast. For the cornmeal cake, I substituted in vanilla soymilk for the milk and wheat flour for the all-purpose flour. It was a smidgen on the sweet side so I think next time I'll try subbing out the sugar for splenda and use less, like maybe 1/2-3/4 C rather than 1 1/2 C. It also took less time to cook, 36 mins whereas the recipe stated 50 mins. It could have been taken out even a few minutes sooner if I had checked, of course this varies depending on your oven, but if you are to make it, be sure to check it for doneness around the 30 mins mark.

The poached eggs on the asparagus with the cheese was delicious! My poaching skills need a little bit of work, but it tasted yummy, nonetheless.

Lunch- (8pts)
Broiled Ahi Yellow-fin tuna w/Mushroom-Shallot Fritatta



Lunch ended up being a very late lunch, unfortunately. I broiled the ahi tuna in the oven, seasoning it with onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, smoked paprika, sea salt and pepper, and 1 1/2 tsp of teriyaki sauce. For the fritatta, instead of using parsley, used cilantro. Tasty, but very filling, especially since brunch and lunch were so close togegther! I ate only half of the ahi and 2/3rds of the fritatta, which means my points are actually less than 8 for lunch.

Dinner- (11pts)



Sauteed Calf Liver w/plum sauce and sauteed baby zucchini, edamame, and fennel

Snacks-
Cool Blue Cranberry Quake Smoothie (blended w/water; 3pt)

Had to skip out on some things that were planned, but it worked out as I added/changed a couple things to dinner.

Daily total: less than 29pts

I think that's an ok start, there's definitely room for improvement. Next time I'll have to adjust points dispersal and hopefully my brain will let me sleep so that I can actually space these meals out more and it won't feel like I'm cooking and eating all day long... Remember that dream scene in National Lampoon's European Vacation where Audrey keeps stuffing her face... eating and eating and eating and her body inflates to the point where the buttons go popping off? I kind of feel like that! Just roll me on over.

On the workout front, the PLAN for today had been to restart P90X... as of right now, it hasn't happened. There are still hours left w/in this day though. So we shall see.

EA SPORTS Active 2 House Party

this was a party that we had a I was chosen from Houseparty.com to host an EA Sports Active 2 House Party. Had a great tme tonight!

The game is pretty good actually, it offers a nice workout and there is even a personal trainer on it that you can utilize to get the best combination of a workout possible. You can also set the duration of your workout and choose what areas of your body you want to concentrate on. The only downfall of this game was that there was sometimes a lag between the sensors and the game, so you had to repeat some movements several times before it would sync up.

We played lots of games, had prizes, and great food! Being that this was the first party that I've ever thrown, I think it was a success. Can't wait for my next party.

For more information on this party and pics go to the party page.

Happy Thanksgiveaway!

Did I mention my mom was coming down for the week of TG? Yay! :) I miss my mom. We're going to go spend the day in Jacksonville with my awesome friends - and they are awesome because I'd probably still be lost in my own shell if not for them.

And it's really strange, lately, I've been craving, excited even, about the aspect of being around people. I'm not much of a people person, I try to be as friendly as I can be though, but am really shy and often feel awkward and like I don't have much to talk about. BUT, I've been wanting to meet new people, to host parties even. Shocking! I know I'll probably be still shy in any of those types of events, but it's the fact that I'm wanting... desiring to be around people that really surprises me. Usually, I'm just content to be by myself in my own cozy world in my house, house-mouse that I have always been. Maybe this is a new leaf for me :) I sure hope it continues and helps me branch out of my shell more.

So I am thankful for my friends, both new and old, both near and far, online and off! And for my family for all of their support and love and care. I love you all!

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In efforts to introduce and launch my upcoming site, The Enablerie, my all in one stop for fiber/yarn, art, bath and body, and more... I'm hosing a monthly giveaway. This first one is what I like to call the "pre-grand opening" giveaway.

Entry period: 10/21-12/4/2010
1st winner will be chosen randomly and announced on 11/22/2010. Winner #1B, #2 & #3 will be randomly chosen on 12/4 and announced on 12/5.

How to enter:
-- Fill out the form at this link, being sure the information is accurate, don't forget to put in your childhood nickname (the winner's nickname may be used as a future colorway), b) after submitting the form you will receive a confirmation email (subject will say: Action Required: Confirm Your Sign-Up and the email will come from enablerie@gmail.com), click on the link provided in the email, if successful you should be taken to the home page of Enablerie-- this part must be done in order for the entry to count. Only one entry via this method. Duplicate form entries will be disqualified. Also only one person per household via this method. You can obtain additional entries from any of the methods below.


-- Refer a friend to enter the giveaway and if they put your name (must match the name you initially entered with) in the referral box, then you get another entry!

-- Link to http://www.enablerie.com via your website or blog using one of the following buttons (right click on the image, save and upload to your server or blog, or use the html coding) or one of your own (must be approved first), and email me at enablerie[AT]gmail.com once you have it up.

<a href="http://www.enablerie.com"><img src="http://www.enablerie.com/images/enablerie.jpg"></a>

<a href="http://www.enablerie.com"><img src="http://www.enablerie.com/images/wantgimmemine.jpg"></a>

For prizes, rules, more information, and entry form, visit http://www.enablerie.com/pages/monthly-giveaway.htm


There will also be another giveaway for December/January!

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Also... if you're a facebook user, I have setup a fan page for the Enablerie.


I'm striving for my first milestone of 50 fans, hope you will "like" me! :) Once I hit 50 fans, I'll randomly choose a fan to be a winner of this bath & body package:



Come join me! :) And if you haven't already, sign-up for the e-newsletter, which will let you know when the grand opening is, shop announcements, giveaways/contests, exclusive discounts, shop updates, and more. There's a tab on the facebook page that starts with "E-Newslette..." (it's supposed to say E-Newsletter Sign-up, but I guess it's too long to fit on there). You can also sign up via the site.

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Speaking of firsts, here's more from my container garden.

My 1st green beans! Aren't they adorable? hehe. Not going to pick them yet as they're still young, they're smaller than they look in the photo:


The 1st bloom of a zucchini flower:


The cold air is starting to take its toll on my poor plants, especially the tomato plant. She's wilting, but there are still tomato babies to develop! So get on with it lady! LOL. Right now the tomatoes on there are about the diameter of a quarter. Also, doesn't look like my winter squash, pattypan squashes, winged beans, or my soybeans are developing. Something has been eating the leaves on both the winter squash and the soybean plant. Pesky pests! Despite my best efforts to ward them off.

The herbs, however, are doing well, moderate spotting on the new basil plants, but other than that the cilantro, parsley, green onions are fairing well. Also the chinese spinach and the carrots in my make-shift global "buckets" are doing fine. Instead of using my bioplanter, that I had intended on using, I think I'll let it sit until early spring before planting anything in it. So the fennel and the chinese mustard plants I may just transfer to another make-shift global "bucket", and take them as well as the herbs inside when it gets really cold out.

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Sneaky peak of what I've been working on knit-wise:


Made for the plurk shawlette swap via plurk/ravelry. I hope my partner likes it, she liked the photo, so that's good :) It took a while to complete because I had to rip back a gazillion rows as I was running out of yarn. Which meant that I needed to discard a bazillion rows from my pattern. In the end I had to omit an additional 5 rows because I again ran into an issue with yardage. It turned out nice though, once blocked it should be a fairly decent size, wing-span-wise.

Hmm... what's next to knit? I guess I should be scrambling to knit some Christmas gifts, eh?

Anywho, that's the updated dealio. I have a doctor's appointment today, I'm not going to sweat it, it is what it is and I have today and every day of my life heretofore to work on a healthy me. Can't make me healthy in a day :)

Then later in the day I have to pick up produce again from Savannah! Yay! I like this co-op much better than the local one, though the local one did give me the coveted broccoli leaves this past Friday. I keep meaning to tell them to take me off the produce list, but keep forgetting. I need to though, or I'll be stock-piling veggies and will need a 3rd fridge or will need to consume veggies out of my ears! :)

I hope you, my reader, if you exist, have a fantastic day! Creative types and all, I hope you are filled with inspiration, motivation, and anything else you need to succeed today and always!

Fasting & Gardening

Yesterday I started my 2 day fast. I'm using the 2-Day Fast Formula through Beachbody (the same company that sells the P90X stuff). The 1st day was ok, only being tough toward the end of the day. I did give in and drink some sodium-free chicken broth (was only 10 cals, 0 fat, but has some additives, no sodium and no MSG, but something that sounds like it), but that was my only cave-in, for the rest of the day I just had those 3 shakes and water throughout the day. I lost 3.5ish lbs. Today is the last day, yay! It says I can lose up to 7 lbs in the 2 days, so if I lost 3.5 yesterday, and if I lose another 3.5 today, that'll be pretty accurate! I'm excited!

The shake itself is ok, it doesn't like to blend well with the water, kind of a tad bit lumpy, and I'm too lazy to dump it in a blender, so it'll do. I didn't really crave anything mentally, but physically I think my body was hungry as my stomach did growl at me and snarl

After this I plan on replacing 2 of my meals with a protein shake for 30 days. So it won't be a total leap into eating 5 times a day just yet, that way I don't gain all the weight I've lost right away. Don't worry, I'm taking vitamin suppliments and will be eating a light snack in between "meals" starting tomorrow. I also figured out if I get up at 6 and drink a glass of water every 2 hours from then until 8 at night, then I would be drinking my 8 glasses of water :) And eating every 3 hours will work out good too, 6 - shake, 9 - snack, 12 - shake, 3 - snack, 6 - dinner.

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On the container gardening front, I have babies! Tomato babies, that is, and my zucchini and green bean plants have buds. I'm pretty sure some of those have fallen off of my green bean plant and have tiny green bean babies. I've posted pics of them here on flickr.

Here's some photo updates on my garden:





















I lost all but one fennel and all but one winter squash (who is barely scraping by right now, I hope it survives), then I also planted 2 pattypan squash (incidentally almost as big as that winter squash is, though started much later), soy beans (no pic yet), winged beans (haven't sprouted yet, so don't know), and yu choy (though I might be wrong as I might have mixed up the peat pots and it may be frisse, but I doubt it). I did have some 4 seasons bunching onions, but I don't think they'll make it, frisse I planted twice, but they didn't survive, and a couple of other things that wilted. I have a bioplanter that I need to fill up to transplant some of the ones still in peat pots. I guess I better get it done soon it's way late in the season. Most of this I'm just doing as practice, but still hopeful I can beat the frost. We are in GA afterall.