Flip Flop Follies

Reflection

By Amy | Published: January 26, 2012

Tonight I had to go back and remember when Elliott was a newborn.

{3 weeks old}

Back before the word “NO!”, the sassiness {and I’m not talking about the good sassy, either}, the resistance, the “I hate you’s”, the storming upstairs, THE SPELLING TESTS.

Homework this week has been bad ~ especially THE SPELLING TESTS.

Yes, I am a spelling nazi and yes, I want a 100%…but at what cost.

Flying off the handle because she still can’t spell {immigrant} correctly after 4 nights is not the answer.

I need to do LOTS of praying to get through the next 11 and a half years of homework.

And I mean LOTS.

Posted in Faith, Family, Flashbacks | 2 Comments

Attack Of The Coconuts

By Amy | Published: January 25, 2012

I love coconut.

I think I lived on a tropical island in a previous life.

Here are some of my faves…..

I recently discoverd Silk Vanilla Coconut milk…

{delish in coffee and cereal! today I made blueberry steel cut oats and added a splash of this and a tablespoon of grated coconut ~ yum!}

I recently spotted these, too…

{no, I did not buy one, but I was tempted}

And, of course, Pinterest has oodles of sweet and savory recipes featuring coconut and coconut milk.

: SWEET :

{coconut pancakes ~ perfect for summer!}

{quadruple coconut layer cake ~ I’ll be making this for my birthday}

: SAVORY:

{oven roasted corn in chile coconut milk!}

{skinny coconut shrimp}

Not to mention coconut cheesecake, coconut macaroons, coconut chicken, coconut rice, coconut ice cream, coconut curry…..

My mother-in-law makes the best macaroons and dips them in chocolate ganache ~ like a fancy Mounds!

OK, all this coconut talk is making me hungry….better get my mind off it and go vacuum.

Happy Humpday!

*****

If you’re also hooked on coconuts, what are some of your favorite products or recipes?

Posted in Float My Boat, Food | Tagged coconut | 1 Comment

The {Rite} Kind Of Weekend

By Amy | Published: January 23, 2012

Another great weekend…

Even though it started out with coughs, sneezes and runny noses {me}, it ended up fabulously and just what the doctor ordered.

On Saturday I went to a retreat with my RCIA class to prepare for our Rite of Acceptance yesterday. I loved, loved, loved spending time with my sponsor Rhonda who is also Elliott’s catchiest on Thursday afternoons. She is like a long lost twin sister….there were two breakouts where we were given a time to report back to the main room and BOTH times we were the last ones in there with everyone waiting for us! The first time they had to send someone out to find us ~ we were too busy chatting it up and didn’t notice the time. I love that…it means that she was brought into my life at the perfect moment to come along and share this journey with me and I could not be happier. In the short time I’ve known her, I am proud to say that she is already a dear friend and I cannot imagine how close we will be in a year from this Easter when I go through the sacrament of baptism. So excited.

After the retreat I took Elliott to the mall for a self-arranged play date with her little classmate, Ashley. They arranged all by themselves to meet at Claire’s at the mall at 3:00 on Saturday afternoon and have their ears pierced together! Each day at pick up Ashley would excitedly run up to me with more details as the week went on ~ Monday it was that she wanted E to come to the mall to get her ears pierced on Saturday. On Wednesday it was that we were going to meet at 3pm and then on Thursday it was that we were going to meet at Claire’s. Boom. Done. I sent a note to Ashley’s mom confirming the ear piercing party and sure enough she had it on the books, too and was glad that I confirmed because she was going to do the same thing. Ha!

{smiling their toothless smiles BEFORE getting two holes in their ears}

{getting the purple marker dots}

{All done…another rite of passage}

{Elliott & Ashley and their two cheerleaders in the background}

{cleaning solution and care instructions!}

So fun….the mamas were joking that we hope the next first grader arranged play date isn’t at the tattoo parlor!

*****

Sunday morning was my rite of passage…we went to the 10:30 mass where the candidates {me} were received.

Here are Rhonda and me waiting to go up and answer a couple questions from the priest…

What do you ask at this time from God?

{I ask for his strength when I am weak, his grace when I do not deserve it, and to always feel his loving arms around me}

What do you ask of the community of Blessed Kateri?

{I ask that it provide, with open arms, a sacred place to gather with my brothers and sisters in Christ on our journey to glorify God}

*****

It was a beautiful, faith-filled weekend with a couple very special rites of passage ~ one for Elliott and one for me!

Couldn’t have been more perfect.

Posted in Faith, Friends, Fun | Tagged acceptance, ear, piercing, RCIA, retreat, rite | Leave a comment

Fritos & Veggies Living In Perfect Harmony

By Amy | Published: January 21, 2012

Jay listened to this podcast and immediately requested Frito Pie for dinner this weekend.

Who was I to deny him.

I chose to make an oven baked version rather than the {street} way ~ cut open a small bag of Fritos, pour in some chili & add some cheese like Pioneer Woman does…not that I am above or would not totally devour it in that form, but I was trying to take a little more of a healthified, sophisticated route.

Here’s how this little number comes together…

1. Sauté a chopped onion, 3 cloves of minced garlic and a chopped red pepper {I used a tri-color pepper assortment that turned out to be about 1.5 peppers}.

2. When those are soft {about 5 minutes}, remove them from heat and pour them into a bowl.

3. Brown about 1 pound of ground beef or turkey {I used extra lean ground beef}.

4. Add one package taco seasoning and about 1/4 cup water ~ let simmer for a couple minutes.

5. Add an 8 ounce can of tomato sauce, a 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes, a drained can of pinto beans {no need to rinse} and handful of shredded cheese {I used reduced fat Mexican blend}.

6. Add in your onion, peppers and garlic mixture and combine together ~ will look like chili.

7. Spray a 9X13 pan with Pam and pour half a bag of Fritos {I used Scoops} in the bottom of the pan.

8. Pour the entire pan of meat/veggie mixture onto the chips and place in a 350* oven for 20 minutes.

9. After 20 minutes, remove and spread 1.5 cups sour cream {I used light} on top followed by a the rest of the Fritos and about a cup of cheese.

10. Place back in the oven for about 5 minutes until the cheese is melted.

{Recipe adapted from here}

I am all about the toppings so we added some cilantro, avocado, Cholula and a squeeze of lime to ours…totally forgot about the jalapeños!

It was yuuuummmy…the bottom layer serves as a kind of crust and gets soft, but there is still crunch from the top layer. I felt a little better about making this by adding the additional peppers and using low fat versions of the cheese and sour cream.

Definitely a keeper!

It makes a TON so would be perfect for Superbowl Sunday!

Who will it be?

I’m hoping for a showdown between the Niners and the Pats…

Niners taking the whole thing, of course.

Posted in Food | Tagged frito, ovenbaked, pie | 3 Comments

Eighty

By Amy | Published: January 20, 2012

A milestone birthday today for my pops {AKA Popsi}.

{taken September 2011}

Thank you for all the times you supported me and for the times you let me know you didn’t.

Thank you for all you’ve taught me and for always letting me know there is so much more to learn.

Thank you for {being there} even when the miles separated us.

We look forward to celebrating with you ~ and oh what a celebration it will be!

The happiest of birthdays to you, Pops{i}!

We love you so, so much!

*****

A man’s worth is measured by how he parents his children. What he gives them, what he keeps away from them, the lessons he teaches and the lessons he allows them to learn on their own. ~Lisa Rogers

Posted in Family | 1 Comment

The Stockings Were {Still} Hung…

By Amy | Published: January 18, 2012

I hated taking down the stockings from the fireplace after Christmas.

While I was out scouring the sales on holiday goodness, I thought about finding some red {or pink. or white.} stockings and transforming them into Valentine’s Day stockings.

I picked up a sparkly “E” ornament at Kohl’s and an equally, if not more sparkly, “H” pin at Target since I knew I wanted to include the kiddos’ initials.

While picking up some more paint chips at Home Depot, I spotted these felt stockings for 2 bucks a piece. I LOVED the scalloped detail on them, but needed the embroidered snowflakes to melt away. Enter Joann’s and a few Valentiney quarter yards of fabric and the flakes disappeared!

I adore the way they turned out…

Several red & pink hued paint chips and some twine and you have your V-day bunting…

I wasn’t very good with advent over the holidays so it’s my goal to make up for it and have a little something special tucked in these stockings from February 1st to the 14th ~ I also wanted to find a little Valentine Fairy of sorts and have her move around the house like our Elf on the Shelf, Ferb. They have been asking about him lately…..

Checking {the big P} for some ideas for fun classmate goodies.

*****

Having a couple stockings and a wreath still gracing our mantel makes the absence of the holidays a little sweeter!

Happy Day!

Linking up over at What I Whipped Up Wednesday @ Sugar and Dots!

Posted in Fabric {My "Crafty" Side}, Feathered Nest | Tagged christmas, day, stockings, valentine's | 2 Comments

The Best

By Amy | Published: January 18, 2012

Last night while watching The Biggest Loser, this guy said something that really resonated with me…

{via}

“Gimme the best version of you today.” ~ Dolvett Quince

I love that.

Give today {and everyday} the best.

So simple.

Yes, sometimes we may go astray, but we can ALWAYS try.

Make this Wednesday the very BEST.

Posted in Faith, Fitness, Friends | Tagged dolvett, quince | 1 Comment

Drill Sergeant

By Amy | Published: January 17, 2012

It’s 7am…rise and shine!

I was back in drill sergeant mode this morning. It was not fun, but we made it out the door and to school on time.

I had to abandon my coffee and dreamt about a hot cup ALL morning.

It was 35* in the SCV this morning!

I didn’t have time to {put my face on} as my Gam used to say, so it was one of those mornings when we pulled into the preschool parking lot at 8:15 {45 minutes early} and I applied the MAC and Great Lash while Holden fiddled around on the iPod Touch. Usually, before dropping Holden off, I like to squeeze in an early morning errand {like Target or Dollar Tree for unnecessary junk} but I just didn’t have it in me this morning plus I needed my face on since I was volunteering in E’s class at 9:30.

This is my favorite new breakie….

{2 Kashi 7-grain waffles, 1 T peanut butter and half a banana, sliced}

All for under 300 calories and satisfying.

*****

Looks like we’re back to the regular morning routine ~ “Time to get up!”, “Let’s get dressed!”, “C’mon, eat your breakfast!”, “Brush your teeth!”, “Get your shoes on!”, “Please grab your messenger bag and let’s go!”.

Any other drill sergeants out there?

I hope I’m not the only one….

Posted in Family, Food | Tagged 7-grain, kashi, waffles, wafflewich | 2 Comments

Stick With Love

By Amy | Published: January 16, 2012

Today is the official LAST day of winter break.

I told the kids last night that they were going to be fed, bathed, teeth brushed, books read, excuses for more milk done and IN bed tonight at 7:45.

Watch me.

I am NOT looking forward to tomorrow morning…

With that negativity out of the way, I must say that we had a nice, family weekend to say goodbye to the past three and a half carefree weeks.

*****

While my car was being serviced in Lawndale on Saturday morning, we all piled into Jay’s Jeep Wrangler and headed due west to the Manhattan/Hermosa Beach area and searched for a breakfast joint. We settled on Brother’s Burritos and were pleased with the casualness and local vibe at this little place. The kids shared Hawaiian Bread French Toast squares…

I was bad and had the egg, avocado, bacon and jalapeño burrito with spicy salsa. We ended up not eating lunch so I didn’t feel so bad.

After breakfast we let the kids play on the beach for a bit to kill time. Jay shot some great pics ~ it was overcast and a bit cloudy ~ perfect picture taking conditions.

*****

The fam also took a last minute trip into Hollywood for an appointment yesterday afternoon and then ended up at a new {to us} sushi restaurant right in our own backyard here in Valencia ~ Sushi One. Yelp gave it great reviews so we gave it a try. Jay and I shared a Sapporo and some rolls and the kids devoured the bulgogi {Korean beef} and steamed rice! Here they are with their after dinner lollipops…

*****

The kids played dress up and came up with this concoction:

Reminded Jay and me of LMFAO ~ the hair. Love it!

*****

Trying to be better at meal planning…cuts down on a lot of problems like not knowing what’s for dinner at 5:00pm, unnecessary trips to the market and going over budget on groceries.

I decided to keep it easy with familiar/already tried recipes this week since it will no doubt be hectic trying to get back into the swing of things routine-wise.

Here’s what will be on our table this week…

Monday : Half of a grilled beer can chicken {Jay’s off today so he can grill}, zucchini fries and TJ’s Harvest Grains blend {Israeli couscous, orzo, baby garbanzo beans & red quinoa}

Tuesday : Chopped taco salad with spicy sour cream ranch

Wednesday : Moo shu pork burgers w/ fruit salad

Thursday : other half of the grilled chicken in soft taco form with roasted butternut squash

Friday : Leftover moo shu pork burgers & tbd side dish

*****

I hope you had a splendid 3-day weekend {dreaming} of equality and kindness.

“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” ~ the brilliant Martin Luther King, Jr.

Posted in Faith, Family, Food, Fun | Tagged beach, brother's, burritos, hermosa, one, sushi | Leave a comment

Something Blue

By Amy | Published: January 14, 2012

Linking up again today over at Angel Face Designs for another fun Saturday post in Heather’s {Hello, I Love You…} series!

Today the prompt is BLUE.

Hello, aqua piano…

{via}

{Told Jay I wanted to buy an old piano and paint it….he said may not be a good idea because all the paint might affect the way the piano sounds. Uh, your point? Who cares how the piano sounds when it looks this cute? No offense, babe, if you’re reading}

Hello, peep toe pumps with sweet rosette…

{via}