I’m Back!

So I stopped blogging for a while and i’ve missed it so much. My life has been flipped turned upside down and I need to start this back up for my own mental health. It will be slow and I’m not sure anyone even reads any of this but it feels good just getting it out so here I am.

The Gym

So today I went and joined a gym. Apparently, Planet Fitness is made for poor people like me as it is only $19.99 a month for the gym, unlimited tanning and unlimited massage chairs. Now, I am not really the kind of person to tan but did someone say unlimited massage chairs because I think that alone is worth the money! I would like to to tell you about my experience today preparing and, eventually, going to work out.

1. Going to the gym to get the membership.
   1. Now this was pretty simple. I walked in, signed some consent form, handed over my money and took a tour.
2. Go to Wal-Mart to get appropriate clothes.
   1. This part was actually slightly complicated. I have no idea what people work out in and when I went to the work out clothes they were all so expensive!
   2. After looking around I was able to find a while tank top (the gym did give me a free shirt so I figure I can use that  one too) and two pairs of mid calf leggings.
   3. I also went ahead and got a backpack that was on sale to put everything in and a super cute water bottle so I can stay hydrated in style.
3. Take the children to my dad so I can I can be child free so I can work out.
   1. I want to point out that if working out gets my dad to keep my kids for a few hours this is reason enough for me to go.
4. Go to the gym and work out.
   1. Find the girls dressing room (they are the yellow ones…. and can I just say that I love how they have the men’s room in purple and the women’s in yellow… way to be gender neutral!)
   2. Find an available locker… this was pretty simple. My issues with the locker was that I really didn’t think when I got my lock and I got the kind with a key and I couldn’t figure out where to put the key while I was working out. I finally did find a tiny key ring that I was able to put the key on and attach to my tank top strap.
   3. Change my clothes. This was also easy as they provide private changing rooms to change in so I wasn’t getting dresses with people that aren’t all flabby.
   4. Put everything away and actually head into the gym.
   5. Fill up water bottle and work out.

After everything was said and done I think I did a really good job considering I have terrible social anxiety and I didn’t go with anyone and I didn’t see anyone that I knew so I was totally solo. I have never been to a gym before so I really didn’t know what I was supposed to do or what to expect or how to use all the different machines but I figured some stuff out and I cannot wait to go back.

Workout Routine

Spend a total of 2 hours at the gym

Worked out a total of 90 minuets (including the relaxing massage)

• 20 minuets in the stretching room using crazy machines that stretched me out.
• 25 minuets walking on the treadmill using the heart rate setting and then cool down.
• 5 minuets on some arm machine
• 5 minuets on some leg thing
• 20 minuets in the ’12 minuets abs’ room (yeah go ahead and laugh it up)
• 15 minuets using this water massage bed thing

 

The Dentist

So did you know that you can be a great mother to one child and a total failure as a mother to the other? i sure didn’t but when I took my kids to the dentist today I learned.

My daughter is six. She has been obsessed with her thumb since the day she was born. I can remember being in the hospital and her wanting her little tiny thumb over that tiny pink binky they pass out. Fast forward six years and you have a child who is still obsessed with her thumb. Her jaw is not right, her bite is way off and she will defiantly need braces when she gets to be a little older; these are all things that I learned at the dentist today.The one good thing we were told was that her teeth are in perfect condition; not one single cavity. I remember thinking to myself ‘YES! I got this teeth thing down!’

My son is four. Now to be fair, he has had this one cavity on one of the front teeth for a while now and I have taken him to get it filled twice now. Every time the filling lasts about a  month and then it falls out and I just leave it because he doesn’t complain about it bothering him. Today we went to the dentist and I got horrific news, news I was just not expecting. He needs two fillings and three crowns with one of the crowns covering the tooth in the front. This is when you know that you failed at this teeth thing.

I am having very mixed feelings about this entire experience. On one hand, I have done a great job with my daughter and her teeth but on the other hand I have done a terrible job with my son and his teeth. Now my son really does not like his teeth brushed and it is a battle and I will admit that it does not get done like it should. He never brushes his own teeth tho, I always insist that I am the one that does it because I know they do not get done right. My daughter brushes her own teeth almost every time. Every once in a while I will go in and scrub them really well but she normally does a great job.

How much are teeth gentic? When I called my mom to tell her about thisher words to me were, “Well, our family has always had bad teeth.” What does that  mean? Is my son doomed to have bad teeth because his bloodline has bad teeth? I wish it wasn’t like this. I watch what they eat and I do not allow a lot junk or gummy things…. but at the end of the day it really doesn’t matter I guess.

 

The Chili Miracle

Everyone loves a good chili, right? I am here to tell you that no, everyone does not enjoy chili. I have never really liked chili nor am I a fan of hot or spicy foods. With that being said chili was suggested as dinner last night.

Being that I have never really enjoyed chili I really have no idea how to cook it. I know that it is better when cooked all day long and that most people eat it spicy but that is about the extent of my chili knowledge. With that being said, I went to Pintrest.  You can click HERE to follow my page!) I found a few different recipes and asked my amazing boyfriend to pick one and he chose to go with the one that I also thought maybe looked okay.

I got everything all ready yesterday and about 10:30 AM I was starting to cook the ground beef and start adding everything to the crock pot. There are a few things I would like you to know about making chili that I was not aware of; you do NOT add any water and you are supposed to drain AND rinse the beans before you add them to the crock pot.I just want to say that I am so glad that i started early enough for it cook all the way and thicken up the water.

I got a ton of help and suggestions from a group of women on Facebook and I really do not think it would have turned out at all if not for all of their help. So I want to post a shout out to all my Mamma Geeks out there! I Love you all!!!!

In the end it turned out really great and we all, yes even me, really enjoyed it. I did take out about 2 1/2 cups of liquid at about 3:00 PM and added some tomato paste to help thicken it up some but it was yummy and that is ultimately all that matters! I will post the recipe that I ended up using with my changes but to see the original recipe I used click HERE.

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Copycat Wendy’s Chili

Feeds 2 adults and 4 children

Ingredients:

• 2lbs ground beef– I used about 1 1/2 lbs of 80/20 that I cooked prior to adding it to the crock pot
• 15oz pinto beans– I used 1 can
• 16oz kidney beans– I used 1 can
• 28oz diced tomato– I used 2 cans of regular diced and then 1 can of diced with chili things in it. I did not drain any of these.
• 1/4cup yellow pepper– I just cut up an entire smallish yellow pepper
• 1/4cup celery– I cut up about 4 stalks
• 2 small red onion– I am not a huge fan so I cut up half a large yellow one
• 2tsp garlic powder–I just sort of added some in by looks.
• 1/2tsp oregano–I just sort of added some in by looks.
• 1tsp pepper–I just sort of added some in by looks.
• 3tbsp chili powder (I did not use this I used red cyanne)–I just sort of added some in by looks.
• 1tsb salt–I just sort of added some in by looks.
• 1tsb sugar–I just sort of added some in by looks.
• 1tsb pepper–I just sort of added some in by looks.
• 2cups water

Now, I did add the 2 cups of water but I do not really think that it was necessary so I do not suggest adding it. I will say that after cooking in the crock pot for about 6-7 hours everything was soft, cooked and delicious. I decided to made some cornbread using the Jiffy box mix I got from Kroger to go with it and I heard that sour cream and shredded cheese went pretty well with chili so that is how I made mine. I feel confidant saying  that I will more then likely make this again.

 

At the start

After about 4 hours of cooking

So good!

Yummy Tummy

Making my Birthday

So my birthday was last Sunday. I was trying to save money up so I could go get my nails done like I do every single year. Well…. I wasn’t able to get it all together and spend $50 on myself. My birthday was pretty much terrible and I really just didn’t feel like celebrating for myself.

Yesterday I went to the mall with my son and my dad and I had one item in mind that I wanted to buy. I wanted a new lanyard for my keys. The one I had, Joker, I got with my at the time boyfriend in mind and I really just don’t like. I really wanted a Harry Potter one…. Slytherin would be ideal! I would also settle for a Harley Quinn, Wonder Woman or a Doctor Who one.

I went to FYE knowing that they currently have a decent assortment of lanyards and they also have a nice Harry Potter section. (I bought a Harry Potter wallet there last month.) I had no luck at FYE they had nothing I liked so I decided maybe Spencer’s would have something. Spender’s proved to be even worse having only a handful of lanyards and most of them Pokemon.

As a last resort I went to Hot Topic with little hope of getting a new lanyard. How surprised I was when they had an entire section of the store devoted to Harry Potter. I was able to find a Slytherin lanyard and, because everything was buy 1 get 1 30% off, get myself a Deathly Hallows key-chain. I spent just under $15 and am so happy with everything I was like a child in a candy shop.

I am now the proud owner of a Slytherin lanyard for my keys including a Deathly Hallows key-chain and a Hogwarts wallet. So, if you know where to buy a decent sized Harry Potter themed purse let me know because that will complete it all!

This is how a mommy turns a crappy birthday into a pretty great one!

 

Birthdays Stink

This year I will b 27 years old. Tomorrow I will have been on this planet for 27 years. Tomorrow is my birthday. So, why am I not celebrating it? Tomorrow is supposed to be this great day for me. I’m supposed to get breakfast in bed and not have to clean and be able to sleep in and not be bothered. I don’t want my birthday to be tomorrow.

You see, I have to share this day with another holiday. Now, its not a really huge one but its shared none the less. Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. Yes, it could be so much worse. It’s not Christmas…. its  not a national holiday….. its the Hallmark holiday. I probably won’t be getting flowers or chocolate and I’m planning my own birthday party. Now, I have a lot to be thankful for and honestly I have no idea whats going to happen tomorrow. I could wake up to be pleasantly surprised and breakfast brought to me with some beautiful flowers. I’m not really the person that gets all giddy over this kind of stuff but for some reason, this year, I kinda really want it.

But what about them? Is it unfair that I don’t get people presents for V-Day? I have a great boyfriend that has gone above and beyond for me and my kids. Am I still supposed to get him something? Is it a little something or something big? I have no idea. He is the first guy I have ever really been compelled to play into this Hallmark holiday. Is he going to be upset or hurt if he doesn’t get anything? What if he just treats tomorrow like a normal day and doesn’t do anything for me? (I need to add here that I have already got a really amazing birthday present from him!!)  What if I get him something and he doesn’t get me anything? What if he does get me something and I have nothing for him?

So many questions and I literally stress over this stuff. Can we please just skip this day so I don’t have to worry about it?  The only thing I’m not stressing about is the dinner I am making tomorrow and that is just because he has been asking for it for over a week now.

The New Pottermore

  
Have you seen the new Pottermore page yet? As a huge Harry Potter fan I am deeply upset about the new changes. 

Up until a few years ago I had no idea that people still loved Harry Potter. I didn’t publicly talk about my obsession for fear of being criticized and laughed at. My entire life I felt like I belonged in Hufflepuff. My great grandmother made me a scarf that I kept hidden away unless it was cold in the house. So you can imagine my surprise when I found a huge group of woman who are all geeks and they introduced me to Pottermore and told me to get myself sorted. Well, I about died when I got my results…. I am not a Hufflepuff! In fact, I’m nothing like one. The official sorting hat that JK herself helped to create put me in Slytherin. Slytherin! Really? I’m not an evil person…. But the truth is that the more I thought about it and the more I read up on the house the more I felt that this is where I belong. 

I am nothing like that quiet geek that hid all her geekiness. I am proud to walk around with my Harry Potter wallet (and my Doctor Who hat that I made) and when asked I will proudly say that I am Slytherin. 

So can someone please tell me why in the world the new Pottermore sorted me into Ravenclaw?!?  I’m nothing like a Ravenclaw (Ok so apparently Ravenclaw is the next best fit for me but only at 58%).  I have no idea why I didn’t just take back my old information on Pottermore since i had that option but I didn’t. I don’t even want to take the wand test now because I’m so scared of the results. I don’t like change…not one bit. I can’t just change my house because I picked moon and left verses stars and right. 

There are several other issues that have been talked about with this new Pottermore site but they are for another day as I’m still so upset over the sorting I haven’t even gone back to the site to explore more. 

Feel free to comment your thoughts on the new page and what house you belong too. If you don’t know ill post a link to the old sorting hat quiz and the link to the new Pottermore;  be sure to let me know what you think about it!

Click here to go to the new Pottermore page

Click here to go the old Pottermore sorting hat quiz 

Superheros

We have Thor, Hulk and Iron Man. Who will win? According to my son
(age 4) it’s going to be this little tiny action figure of Wolverene. I really don’t see how he’s going to
beat the Hulk but the imagination of a little boy is incredible. I often wish that I could see the world the same way my kids do. I want a pair of those glasses so that I can make sure the world works the way I want it too. I want to be that little tiny action figure that can take on the Hulk and win. I want to have faith that no matter how big my enemy is it will work out. So, for now, I’m just going to sit here and play Hulk and pretend to be defeated. 

Okay Mom

After a stressed filled day I have decided to not care about how I mommy tonight. My goal is to keep the kids alive and half way happy. I just fed them food out of a can and neither of them ate it all. Now they want some candy so I’m about to break into the candy stash.

My daughter is doing my hair. If you don’t have a 6 year old daughter then let me explain how this works.  She is holding her play hairbrush brushing my crazy hair. She then takes some crazy looking pony and attempts to put it in my hair. Now we can’t forget the colorful flower hairclips. Basically my hair looks like a beauty school exploded on my head.

While I am getting my hair done I am playing superhero with my 4 year old son. My daughter is holding my head yelling at me to not move but my son is yelling at me saying that iron man needs to fly way up high. You see Iron Man is fighting Hulk. I don’t see how my guy has even a glimmer of hope of defeating the massive Hulk but I’ll do my best to not let Hulk Smash the potato head Wolverine.

Hopefully my night gets better and I can mommy enough to get bedtime in at a half way decent time. If playtime doesn’t work we will try a dance party and see if we can make the world not so big and scary.

Love

Boyfriends: Why do we need to find that person in our lives that we can’t live without? Why is said person so important to us? Why do we, or more specifically I, need to be jealous of other people?

I’m really not normally a jealous person but when i feel like my current boyfriend hides that he is spending time with his ex and their children it really bothers me. Not that he is seeing his children….. they are at his house more of the time anyways….. but mostly because he is spending time with her. Why would he spend time with a woman that he tells me over and over that he can’t tolerate. Why would he have her in his house cooking him dinner? He did tell me about the first day that he had her some over and cook dinner but I was very upset about it. We did fight about it. Then, when he had her come over the second day to cook dinner he “failed to mention it”. I mean that really almost makes it worse… hiding it from me. Then his mother informs me, thinking that he already talked to me about it, that not only did he have her come over to cook dinner a second night but that she was in his room in his bed with him. I mean really! What in the world happened in the room? Why does he think this is okay? How does he think this is okay? Why cant he see that it hurts me? Todday he got his kids off the bus and brought them inside and then said that the kids were going with their mom and took them outside and just never came back in. I literally had to go outside to know that he had left with them. Its been over two hours that he has been gone. Yes, I have talked to him. He did message me back but it really doesn’t make me feel much better about the entire situation. I really wish I could understand what is going on in his head that makes him think this is all okay and that I shouldn’t be so upset about it all.