just got back from the japanese market today

Mom gave me a new electric skillet for my b'day and i'm making sukiyaki tomorrow for dinner

yeahhhhh!!!!

and then:

mom got a new car today!  a new used Honda Civic 2008, i think.  kasey helped her.  but the best part of this whole experience was when she started rambling on "IN JAPANESE" while she told me what was going on and who she talked to, etc.  It's happened several times in the last six months and it's usually after she has spent the morning with her sister and brotherinlaw.  it's is just hilarious.  i'm like... "Mom, Mom, Mom..." trying to get a word in because she's going a bazillion miles an hour in JAPANESE.  it's great!

 i really want to move closer to them.

really really

stole this from Kandee but i couldn't have said it better




"I think it's so funny whenever someone tells me that they think I have this "perfect" life...ha ha ha
My life is so far from perfect...it's funny.
My heart breaks for the imperfections in my life...


My life is so far from perfect...it is full of hurts, wounds, and scars...
I know what it feels like to have an aching heart...to feel all alone...to feel like your life is so far from perfect or anywhere near it...that you just want to cry until you have nothing left to cry...that you are in the deep, deep depths of a valley...far from the happy mountain tops!

Please know...that you are not alone. Whatever hurts or scars you have...that is the beauty. The strength that says...I WILL NOT let this defeat me. I won't let anyone ruin my heart. I will make this life beautiful...no matter what gets thrown at me....no matter what things may seem like mountains in my path... I will find away through it.

No one's life is perfect...no one is just happy on the mountain tops all the time. We all have valleys, with low moments of hurt and pain (that's just life)...but it's in those moments of low-ness, when our true character comes out...

Most often...what seems IMPOSSIBLE...is just something that's never been done before. My life has been filled with things that I thought seemed "impossible" to me...
they probably were impossible...
joy in times of sadness...peace when everything should feel like chaos...
I may have tears at night...but I know that joy can always show up in the morning.
Every sunrise is a bright and shining new day...waiting with a little more hope...a little more bits of glimmering sparkles to encourage you on your way.


KEEP HOPE ALIVE....HOPE is what pulls us through....you need the seed of hope to grow that dream to become real!

BELIEVE it...that's the first step.

HOPE for it...and don't stop...second step.

KEEP ON BELIEVING....and never stop...the moment you stop believing...you end the oxygen to your dreams!"


i like the way she wrote this....

today, i am a princess.

the day didn't start out too well

but Jamie to the rescue

late lunch of a cute little slider on a hawaiian roll and steak fries

happy tummy!

Quick and Easy Fried Rice

my mom used to make this for us all the time and when i was younger, i tried SEVERAl times to recreate it.  not until this year have i been successful so we have it at least twice a month.

left over rice, about two cups

you can use leftover rice from chinese takeout

or use the leftovers from last nights meal

3-4 scallions, white and green parts, diced

3 carrots, quartered lengthwise and then diced

3 eggs, scrambled

6 hot dogs, halfed lengthwise and then diced (okay, i know that's weird but you should try it!)  you can also use chicken or pork or any kind of meat you have lelftover

soy sauce

salt and pepper

garlic powder

cooking oil

begin:

scramble eggs and set aside

cook diced vegetables in two tablespoons of cooking oil on medium and start heating those puppies up

add salt and pepper  (easy on the salt)

once the carrots are slightly tender (5 minutes of stirring), add hotdogs (or other meat)

stir, stir, stir

add a touch more oil if things start sticking

now add a tablespoon of soy sauce

stir, stir, stir

you might need to add a touch more but remember it's SALTY

now add rice

i usually do handfuls at a time and make sure it doesn't stay together in balls, crumble if it's sticky

stir, stir, stir

once rice and veggies/weiners are well mixed add the scrambled eggs and....

stir, stir, stir

taste test

and you're done

leftovers are really good

holler if you have any questions.

bon appetit

haven't tried this sweet potato recipe yet but it looked so darn good i thought i would share:

Skinny Sweet Potato Casserole

Just 176 calories and 6 grams of fat

• 3 pounds sweet potatoes (about 4 large), peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup coconut sugar
• ¼ tsp allspice
• 1 cup cranberries
• Pinch of salt

Topping

• 1 cup cornflakes, crushed
• 1/2 cup (packed) coconut sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 tablespoons unsalted organic butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil (virgin, cold pressed), melted

Directions

Sweet Potatoes: Preheat oven to 400°F. Cook sweet potatoes in large pot of boiling water until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain; transfer potatoes to large bowl.  Using electric mixer, beat until smooth. Add egg, sugar, spice and salt; beat to blend.  Fold in cranberries.  Transfer mixture to 8 x 8-inch baking dish. Bake potatoes until beginning to brown around edges, about 20 minutes.

Topping: Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Spoon topping over potatoes. Bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes longer.

VINEGAR

my new fav friend for everything and anything

for instance:

to shine chrome sink fixtures that have a lime buildup, use a paste made of 2 tablespoons salt and 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar.

Clean counter tops and make them smell sweet again with a cloth soaked in undiluted white distilled vinegar.

Clean and deodorize a drain by pouring in 1 cup baking soda, then one cup hot white distilled vinegar. Let this sit for 5 minutes or so, then run hot water down the drain.

Deodorize the garbage disposal by pouring in 1/2 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup hot white distilled vinegar. Let sit for 5 minutes then run hot water down the disposal.

Deodorize and clean the garbage disposal with white distilled vinegar ice cubes. Make them by freezing full-strength white distilled vinegar in an ice cube tray. Run several cubes down the disposal while flushing with cold water.

Clean the microwave by mixing 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar and 1/2 cup water in a microwave-safe bowl. Bring it to a rolling boil inside the microwave. Baked-on food will be loosened, and odors will disappear. Wipe clean.

and more

Stop insect stings and bites from itching by dabbing them with a cotton ball saturated with undiluted white distilled vinegar.

Soothe sunburn with a spray of white distilled vinegar, repeating as often as you like. Ice-cold white distilled vinegar will feel even better, and may prevent blistering and peeling.

For cuts and scrapes, use white distilled vinegar as an antiseptic.

Get rid of foot odor by washing feet well with antiseptic soap daily, then soaking them in undiluted cider vinegar for 10 minutes or so. Remember that cotton socks aid odor control more effectively than wool ones.

Clean a hairbrush by soaking in a white distilled vinegar solution.

Tone facial skin with a solution of equal parts white distilled vinegar and water.

don't believe me

check it out:

http://www.vinegartips.com/Scripts/

watching the news (MSNBC) and the Al  Jazeera live feed through London on the insanity in Cairo!  Just too scary.  Especially the "kill switch" of all internet access.

with help from my little/little brother, you can sign up on this blog and get email updates!!!

i'm gonna spam ya!

no, not spam but i am going to infiltrate your email box!

Marie Claire February 2011

25 new products that will seriously change your life.

that's what they're saying, so i've picked a few that look promising and won't cost a paycheck:

HAIR

Nexxus Pro-Mend Split-in Binding Targeted Leave-in Treatment Creme

(i wonder how they got all that name on a bottle)

i'm just saying

10 bucks

FACE

Aveeno Positively Radiant Tinted Moisturizer SPF 30

15 bucks

only one choice; everything was too expensive, like 425 bucks expensive!

BODY

Dove Go Fresh Revive Body Wash

4 bucks

L'Oreal Paris Sublime Bronze One Day

11 bucks

Amazing, huh?  I don't buy alot of name brand items anymore and Jamie has taught me that you don't need name brand groceries either.

EXCEPT FOR BEST FOODS

hello?  no substitute for Best Foods

end of conversation

Spent half the day on the phone talking to the Social Worker at California Men's Colony prison.  Excuse me, but what a bunch of  shit!  I didn't find anything out but learned alot of new terms for alot of stuff.

The SW can't be my source contact anymore because Don isn't in the hospital.  With that said, they won't let me talk directly to a doctor, i can't get copies of anything unless Don fills out a form and Don getting someone to get him that form could take days.

"redickulous"

i mean really, how hard to you want to make this?

i met the picture of my new puppy

Don't forget to check out these websites:

one.

http://www.secretsocietyofwomen.com/

Created by Lisa Ling
An anonymous place to talk with woman about everything

two.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/bettysuelaurin

My photo cards and the best website EVER.  You can find anything for anyone and always be remember for that "special" gift they received!

three.

http://www.kandeethemakeupartist.blogspot.com/

Kandee is obviously a makeup artist that I found on youtube first.  Since then I have her Glaminars all over the world, her pregnancy (she just had the baby) and I think she even moved her and her now four kids into another house.  Her sense of humor is contagious and her "how-to" videos on youtube are VERY informative.  I know you will love her, like I do!!! 


http://www.channels.com/episodes/show/11347213/BigTV-Intro-to-Kandee-Johnson

I love her yellow flower ring in the video

great quote:  


"you're more talented than you think, more beautiful than you know and more loved than you can positively imagine."

reading now and must read:

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

to read:

The Paris Wife by Paula Mclain

my newest friend

Weasel

I think I walked a mile today and now, I get to go to the dentist.  What kind of fricking reward is that!!!!

I stand corrected.  Jamie yelled that I only walked a quarter of a mile when I said I walked a mile.  And when I told him there was a bum on my bench, he said I shouldn't be sitting down anyway.

sheeeeeeeesh




Baby Ava 

Baby Jaydon