My Favorites - in the Car and at Home

What I am Watching: Loving new fall TV season. My favorites have returned, NCIS, Big Bang Theory, Castle, Once Upon a Time. I watch Dancing with the Stars in fast forward, love only two or three of the celebrities. And I watch 19 Kids and Counting while I'm doing other things. But I have found a few new shows too! Not that I have time to watch anything else. But I am loving Forever, cute British coroner who can't die, and solves crimes. And I adore Mysteries of Laura, a mix of my favorite things, crime drama, a real mom and humor. Hilarious! Of course, its not getting good ratings, so I hope it sticks around awhile.

There are a few disappointments. I was so excited for NCIS New Orleans, but I don't know if its the fake Cajun accents or bad writing, but its no where near the original series. I have tried a few episodes, but I think I'm giving up. I am still watching Girl Meets World with the boys, but it is very cheesy and hard to watch. There are just enough references to the original series to keep my attention and its good lessons for the kids and something we can watch together.

What I am Listening to: The best CD we have gotten in awhile, Oxygen by Lincoln Brewster.

 

He's been around for awhile, but this CD is so fresh and fun and great worship! We crank it up in the car and the boys fight over which song they want first. I bought it specifically for the song "Made New" but there are so many great ones. We've actually done "Let it be Known" on Wednesday night at Pinelake. So much fun! Highly recommend it!

We also listen a lot to North Point worship, No One Higher. "Can't Stop Singing" is a favorite in the car too, as loud as we can stand it. Usually there are motions going on in the backseat.

 

 

If I only had more time to watch tv and listen to music! But at least the music can fill the time while I'm sitting in the car pool line.

 



More Favorite Things...

Yes, I know I have been doing a lot of these posts, but they are fun to write, and I'm just happy in my life right now, so everything makes me happy. Its a good place to be.

1. Map My Walk... I kept buying cheapo pedometers that were so unreliable and just way off. But then I found this app on my phone and I love it. It maps my route of walking, times me, counts my calories burned and tells me the distance. It really tells me the distance! When I hit one mile, it speaks over my music to tell me that I hit a mile and how long it took me. Its so cool! It is using up my data to have it on, but its worth it. Loving it!

2.

 

Its just a fun turquoise stapler, bought at Target.

 

 

3. Fun new hairdryer. Last week, half way through drying my hair, my hair dryer started smoking and had a nice plastic burning smell. I could not for the life of me remember how long I'd had it. So after it cooled, and my hair finished air drying, I went and bought this beauty at Walmart. Remington. It said on the box that it actually dries hair faster because of some ceramic part in it. I didn't believe them, but it REALLY does dry my hair faster. And for this red head with really think hair, that is a God send. And its a fun color.

My Favorite Things this Week...

1. My IPhone. I got Jason's hand me down last November when he upgraded, and compared to my flip phone it was great. It started telling me to update pretty quickly after I got it, but I never had enough space on it to update. I was going to have to delete my music and I was afraid that I wouldn't have space to put it back on after. And yes, my music is on my computer, so it shouldn't have bothered me but my music is like my babies, I felt bad deleting them. But my tech savvy brother explained I had nothing to worry about and once I updated it, oh my gosh! I LOVE my phone now. It does the coolest things! I'm still exploring all it does, and of course, there is room for even more music.

2. My new Texas stuff. When we lived in Texas I didn't want to have anything Texan in my house, but now that we are gone, I was needing something Texan. So while we were in Dallas I thought I would run by Hobby Lobby and got exactly what I wanted! I'm going to add some things around the big circle star. Love them!

3. My new tote bag! When I started my job last week, I knew I needed a bag of some kind to haul my stuff to work, but I am not a tote bag person. I'm more of a back pack person. So we went to Academy that night (because with three boys we are there quite often), and I headed to the back pack section. But then I found this! Only $15! So I became a tote bag person.

My favorite things right now...

Didn't enjoy my blog the last two days? What? You didn't read it? Didn't you know there is a special code to read my invisible blog posts from the last two days since I am writing 7 days in a row? No, I didn't write them. I did do the other two things on my list which were more personal. My blog is kind of just fun! I have a really good one ready to write, but I have to wait for the right timing. I'm hoping I can before the end of my 7 days.

So, my favorite things for this week:
1. My brother got me a Target gift card for my birthday. And yesterday I was working on my computer, clicking the buttons on my wired mouse, over and over again to get it to work. And I thought, I am done with this, got my purse, got in my car and went to Target and bought this beauty with my gift card. WHY did I wait so long to get a wireless mouse? Its awesome!

 



2. Listen to the sounds outside my back patio. I am 99% sure its frogs. I am not really a fan of frogs in general but the sound makes me feel like I'm in the country.



3. I have struggled with dark circles under my eyes forever, and found this a few weeks ago. Its done the best job of anything I have tried.

 

 

 4. I love the gas lanterns outside my house. A lot of the houses in our subdivision have them. We don't keep them lit all the time, but we had some people over the other night so we lit them. And the next night when I got home from my walk, I took a picture. They just make me feel so welcome!



My Favorite Things... Tonight

1. I was having a pity party morning the other day, and my momma happened to call. And as momma's do, she wanted to make me feel better. So she transferred me some money to go treat myself to something fun. I fully intended to buy some clothes with it. I even went to a store, bought two things, but returned them the next day. Just wasn't feeling it. But yesterday I went by a friends house to pick up something, and she was in the middle of wrapping a wedding gift, and had the most adorable, awesome whisk. WHERE DID YOU GET THAT? So today, I took myself to Belk and bought myself a new whisk. And hey, the whole line is half off. So I had to buy myself a new casserole dish because just the other day I went to make a casserole and realized my one good dish was sitting in the fridge with leftovers in it. So I NEEDED a new casserole dish, right? I LOVE them! And they made me happy, which was my momma's intention. But I got such a great deal that I still have some money left to go buy some clothes, if I can get in the mood.

2. McAlister's sweet tea... that's just all there is to say about that.

 

 

 3. Tomorrow is my middle angel's 10th birthday. Double digits! But he's already had his party (sleepover, that's another blog), he's already had cupcakes at school and a cookie cake at home, he's not getting any presents because he's going on a trip next week as his present and tomorrow is Easter. So I felt like I needed to do something fun to acknowledge the day. So I'm making these blue cupcakes with orange icing to take to our Easter lunch to celebrate my boy! How fun are these? They make them in four colors that you could stack into layers for a rainbow cake. If I was a better mother who planned ahead, that would have been really fun.

Later...
Ha ha! I put the blue cupcakes with orange icing in the red pretty dish, and I'm bringing them and the sweet tea to Easter lunch tomorrow. They are going to love me! ;)

Favorite Things - Peanut Butter

I went back through my old posts to make sure I haven't already blogged about this one and realized all the titles just say My Favorite Things, and that's kind of boring and hard to find what you are looking for. I need something more creative for that series I think.
But my favorite thing this week is peanut butter. I have had a long love affair with peanut butter. As I kid I ate peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. (yes, I think that's gross now). My favorite snack when I got home from high school was a cup with peanut butter, cool whip and chocolate chips. Of course in college, a jar of peanut butter could get me through all kinds of things. When I was pregnant with Coop I would take a jar with me to work and just eat it all day with a spoon. I still wonder if that is why he's still allergic to it. Now I like peanut butter with banana and honey sandwiches and love the peanut butter fudge milkshakes at Sonic. And up to now, I would pick Peter Pan or Jif and be good. But let me introduce you to my new favorite peanut butter!

White Chocolate peanut butter! I found it at my moms last summer and then I couldn't find it around here. So she brought me 6 jars. I have found it here at World Market, and I've heard HEB has it, but I don't shop there. The website says my local Randalls has it but I've never seen it there. It is so yummy! Apparently it originated at a store in New York City, The Peanut Butter & Co Sandwich Shop! Yes, please! And its good for you compared to other peanut butters. Less fat, less calories, a smidgen more sugar, but it has white chocolate in it, so what do you expect? No corn syrup which is important to me. And then this past week at mom's I found this... wait for it!

Dark chocolate peanut butter! So good! I had it yesterday on a sandwich with banana, oh my goodness! I just saw it today being sold on the Home Shopping network and it was way more then in the stores, so don't buy it from them. Their website is www.ilovepeanutbutter.com, and you can go on there and locate a store near you that has it, so go find it, today!

My Favorite Things This Week...

If you haven't seen the commercial for this yet, let me introduce you to Windex Touch Up.

I had a coupon for it a few weeks ago and thought I would try it out. I was very cynical. "Its just Windex in a cool bottle. I could buy a much bigger spray bottle of the same thing for a lot less. Its just a way for them to make more money." But I LOVE IT! It sits on my kitchen counter right next to the paper towels and I can grab a paper towel, push down twice and clean whatever! And my kids love it. Campbell wants to clean the kitchen table everyday because its fun! I am more than willing to pay an extra dollar for the cool bottle that encourages my kids to clean. I have the blue, but I want the yellow one next for the kitchen and I saw a red one at Walmart the other day, APPLE! Can't wait for that! You're welcome.

My other favorite thing this week is my baby, who is not a baby anymore. He will be 5 in 20 days and I will cry. The two big boys are at preteen camp this week with Granddad's church so its just been the three of us this week. He's been at Preschool Play Days in the mornings, thank goodness, because I don't think I could have kept him occupied. But we've had fun in the afternoons. Yesterday the three of us went swimming and then to the mall and Chick-Fil-a. He's obviously having a growth spurt because usually 4 nuggets is enough. But he ate his 4, one of mine and then took another one from the sample lady. And then he ate all of his fries, a cookie, "forced me" to make brownies when we got home and then leftover chips and cheese.

He is so entertaining though. Wednesday night our friend Holley kept him so J and could have a date night. He didn't want to go but afterwards, told us to go on another date so he could go back. When I put him to bed, he said "You and Daddy have had a bad day."
"Why?"
"Because you haven't gotten to see me much today." :)

The night before we were driving home from somewhere and he said, "Mommy how do you say strawberry in Spanish?"
"I don't know, I don't speak Spanish."
"Well, you can learn. Say Locos Tacos"
 I laughed so hard so he had to repeat his joke for a long time after.

This is my baby last Sunday after Cade's select team had a tough loss in a tournament in Galveston, so we got to have a late lunch at The Spot. He's thoroughly enjoying his hot dog. Love him! 

Some of my favorite things this week

Oh, its been so long! I've been in a funk. Maybe if I force myself to blog some, it will get my creative juices flowing and that will bleed over into the rest of my life and get me moving? We'll see.

I have some new fun things I am loving. Nothing big, but still fun. And you can go get them too!

These are some awesome storage bowls I got at Walmart for $4.50! This is my second set actually. They are great for mixing and storing. They are very durable, unless you let your nephew play drums on one of them. Hence, the second set today.

These are some storage bins I got at CVS this week, 2 for $10. They are so sturdy, with lock on lids with handles. I'm using the smaller one for my coupons and the larger ones for filing. It will be great to keep it downstairs for daily filing instead of the system I was using (or lack there of) otherwise known as piling.

This is a mini strainer spoon that my momma bought for me a while back at Bed Bath and Beyond. Its great for straining the water out of mac and cheese so I don't have to get out the big strainer.

Do you notice what my favorite color must be right now?

Campbell bought these today because he's really into blowing bubbles right now, and these are great because they have a sturdy bottom on them so they won't tip over. He can leave them on the table to dip into and no mess! They were only 97 cents at Walmart.

In action!

A few of my favorite things...

Some of my new favorite things!

I'm back trying to lose a few more pounds, but its much harder to get started again. Per Lysa Terkeurst, I'm upping my fiber and these are my favorite fiber things.

Chocolate Mocha granola bars! Really yummy if you like coffee and chocolate together!

90 calorie brownies, with fiber! When I'm having a chocolate craving, (which is all day, everyday) it hits the spot!

Todd English Green+Life Thermolon Pots and Pans
I have been needing some new pots and pans because after 15 years of marriage things start falling apart (not my marriage, but all the things we received as wedding gifts. I think you should be able to have a shower every 10 years that you stay married to get new things). I didn't want to get regular non-stick pans because I've heard things about the chemicals they put off, so when I saw these on HSN one night, I ordered them! I got a 10 piece set for around $100, and they are the best pans ever! They say they are dishwasher safe, but I have yet to have to put them in there because everything just wipes right off. And they are PFOA and PTFE free for those of you who are concerned about that kind of thing. I think they are sold out of the set right now on HSN, but if you can find these anywhere with a good deal, grab them!

BISSELL Rewind SmartClean Vacuum
I know this isn't a new favorite for those of you reading about my obsession with this vacuum. But FYI, they have it on sale this week at Target for $89! You won't regret it!

My Cool Christmas Present

My momma got me two great gifts for Christmas. One was a new scale (not sure what that says about me). My old scale was a rotary dial, not accurate at all. The scale I weigh on at work that is my official weigh in is digital to the half pound. But this baby is digital to the tenth of a pound. Ouch! But its cool.
My other cool gift is a Nook Simple Touch. She offered to get me a higher model, but I'm just beginning to consider using a tablet to read books as opposed to the real thing. I love books, the smell of them, the feeling of the pages as I turn them, being able to underline things and dog ear pages. So I wasn't sure I wanted to spend too much money on something that I might not use much. But I really like it. Not enough to go all in, but the pages look amazing, its so light weight, and its awesome to be able to download a book from my library website and begin reading it immediately. I wanted to get a cover for it, so I took a quick trip to my local Barnes and Noble and was disappointed to see now not attractive yet expensive their covers were. So I came home and used good old Amazon and ordered THIS. It came today and it is beautiful! Love it! Just wanted to give a suggestion to anyone else who may have gotten one for Christmas. Don't cave to the pressure of buying a genuine Nook cover. Not necessary. Happy Reading!

Some of my New Favorite "Lifestyle Change" Foods

I'm going through "Made to Crave" by Lysa TerKeurst with some of my coworkers at church. Its a great book, and although I'm not 100% diving in, I am making small changes in my lifestyle. I've realized that by making a lifestyle change to live healthier, it works much better for me than being on a diet. If I'm just living a healthier lifestyle, then when I splurge, its just a splurge, not failing at a diet. So I've been eating lots more fresh vegetables, walking more regularly, and eating healthier snacks instead of sugar. So here are a few of my new favorite "Lifestyle Change" foods.

Some new fun products at my house...

If you follow me on facebook you have already heard that I am now addicted to vacuuming. I bought a Bissell Rewind Smartclean vacuum at Target on sale for $99, and it is the best vacuum I have ever used. It has a light that turns green when your carpet is clean, and it stayed red a long time in my house. I almost burned it up because I wasn't paying attention and the dirt cup was overflowing before I finished my house. I almost burned it up the second day from vacuuming up a sock. Its called "rewind" because you push a button and it rewinds the cord back up into the vacuum. Oh, yes it does! Awesome.


I have also received free from Vocalpoint Downy Unstopables in-wash Scent Booster. Its these little pellets that you put in your washing machine that just adds a fresh scent to your clothes. I probably won't use it on my clothes because I don't like smells, but I have used it on my towels which can't hurt in a house full of boys. You can use as many or few as you like. I used about 10 which smelled really strong when I put them in so I was scared that my towels were going to smell up the whole house. But once they went through the washer and dryer they came out perfect. I could probably use a few more next time.

I just joined Vocalpoint, but I love getting free things. Here is the link if you want to join too!

A few of my favorite things...

Cinnamon Chex - Had a coupon the other day for it, and it is YUMMY! And gluten free for those who might need that.







Ikea plastic bowls and tumblers for kids! They are the perfect size for little Campbell hands, and the bowls are great for my night time bowl of cereal. And they stack really nice in the cabinets and are pretty colors. And cheap!













This one I'm a little embarrassed of, but I love the newer show on the Disney channel, "Good Luck Charlie." So cute. I love the mom, totally relate, only she's really funny. It does have a little bit of girl/boy dating thing, but not as much as some of the other Disney shows I won't let the boys watch. The boys and I love to watch it together, and I'm not bored to death like their other shows. The little baby Charlie is adorable. Highly recommend it, and yes, I will watch it even when the boys are not around. Its better than the adult sit coms with entirely too many inappropriate jokes!




My All-Stars! For those not following on facebook, Cade's team, that Jason coaches, is 9-0! Cooper's team is... trying really hard, but not having a good season. If you could please be praying for his attitude. Its some hard life lessons to learn so young. He's turning in to a really good pitcher though. I am so proud of them both.