xoxo, Trina

Oh, for Peeps' Sake!

xoxotrina@live.com (Trina) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:18:00 +0000

Last week when I got to stay home with the kids, I took Xander to get a treat after school. He picked out the blue Peeps for himself and we got Sissy the pink ones to surprise her when it was time to pick her up.

But he couldn't wait to try them...

Chomp! Chomp!

"See? I bit his ears off."

Hmmm....sugar!

"Let's see if I can pick his eyes out..."

Mission Accomplished.

The verdict?

"Mommy, it has marshmallows in it. I don't like marshmallows. You eat it."

So I did. The things I do for those kiddos.

Gettin’ my tan on

xoxotrina@live.com (Trina) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:15:00 +0000

I’m at Chic Critique today talking about breaking free of my tanning bed addiction.

Head on over to see what product I used to get these results:

P.S. Its really hard to take a picture of your arm and leg in the same photo without contorting yourself into a pretzel. But I did it for ya’ll. That’s love. You’re welcome.

A Day In the Life of Me

xoxotrina@live.com (Trina) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:25:00 +0000

I’m late to the Blog Party for Kelly’s “Show Us Your Life” post about our typical day, but it’s better now than never I suppose.

Most of you know I’m a working momma. Unfortunately. I mean, I’m blessed to have the job I do have, but I would much rather put my work life aside until my babies are grown, but for many reasons, can’t.

So with that said, this is what my typical day looks like:

Alarm is set for 5:45. I usually hit snooze 1-4 times (but 4 is the norm, I am not a morning person). Then I hit the shower. I’ve been trying to get up when the alarm goes off to get in a cardio session but it doesn’t always happen. Today it did. Yay me.

Once out of the shower, I wake the kids up and get them breakfast. I leave them to eat while I get dressed and dry my hair. I have to constantly check on them though to make sure they are eating/getting dressed because they are easily distracted by the TV.

My father in law arrives just before I have to leave for work to take the kids to school for me. Yes, I am blessed. On weeks I carpool with my mom, I leave around 7:05. When I drive myself, I leave at 7:15 ish. Heavy on the “ish”. Ha!

On my way to work, around 7:30, hubby usually calls me as he is getting off work. We are like ships in the night, only we don’t actually physically pass each other.

I work 8-5 doing riveting accounting work. Try to not be jealous. I’ve got a relatively stress free job so it’s not all bad. I do have some downtime during the day to read blogs and catch up on Twitter. During my lunch breaks I usually watch Youtube videos (makeup related for now), read articles, do some online shopping or watch a show I’ve missed via Hulu.

After the 5 o’clock whistle I head to get the kids from my in laws house getting there around 6pm.

Daddy is usually up when we get home. We eat, do homework and daddy gives the kiddos a bath. All in about 2 hours. I don’t have as much time as I would like between getting home and the kids’ bedtime. Bedtime is between 8:30-9:00pm and Daddy usually lays down with the kids until they go to sleep, then he leaves for work. While he’s giving them baths and putting them to bed, I straighten the house, fix Rayna’s lunch and check Farmville on Facebook. What? Yes, Farmville, I’m a nerd. What of it?

Anyhoo, after the kids are in bed and hubby leaves for work, I might blog, check email, play some more Farmville or other random stuff on the computer.

I try to be in bed by 11pm but sometimes its more like midnight. I’m such a night owl, I have to make myself go to bed. Once in bed, I read my One Year Bible, etc then its lights out.

As you can tell, hubs and I don’t get a lot of time to ourselves so we try to take one night out of the week and have a date night.

And speaking of nights of the week, Mondays I do grocery shopping, Wednesday is Jonathan’s small group night, once a month on Tuesdays we go to the Basement and once a month on Thursdays I have Bunco.

Needless to say, I relish sleeping in on Saturdays.

Fifty-Two New, Week 9: Rainbow Blondies

xoxotrina@live.com (Trina) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:42:00 +0000

This post was supposed to go up yesterday but we had a little setback. I had to stay at home with the kids because my daddy(-in-law) daycare caught the dreaded stomach bug. But I’m not complaining. I thoroughly enjoyed my day with the kids, although bittersweet. You see I wish I wasn’t confined to enjoying those days only when the FIL is sick or can’t otherwise keep them. I wanna stay home with my babies. I wanna take them to school and pick them up. I miss so much as a working momma, but there are so many obstacles to me staying home. I’ll end this here, because I could go on and on. And if you follow me on Twitter, you heard all this yesterday anyway.

So on to the purpose of this post!

As I mentioned Monday, I did some baking while I was confined to the house with a sick child on Sunday. (She’s 100% better now though, proof at the end of the post, ha.)

A while back I stockpiled a bunch of baking chocolate I found at Publix in the clearance bin for 50 cents each.

Cheap chocolate! Can I get an Amen!?

Sorry, chocolate makes me excited. Anyhoo, as I was looking thru what I had, I noticed the white chocolate chips. Perfect for the top of my almond pound cake. Then I spotted the M&M minis and checked out the recipe on the back. Rainbow Blondies.

Hmm, Rainbow Blondies sounded like a colorful and yummylicious party for my mouth….so I got to baking!

{I told my mom I made them for the kids, but who am I kidding?}

Ok, enough rambling, here’s the recipe:

Rainbow Blondies

Ingredients

2/3 cup butter
1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup M&M’S® MINIS® Milk Chocolate Candies
3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F (or 325°F for glass pan). Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy; add egg whites and vanilla extract. Combine flour and baking soda; add to creamed mixture just until combined. Stir in M&M’S® MINIS® Milk Chocolate Candies
and nuts. Spread dough into a greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out slightly moist with crumbs. Cool completely before cutting. Store in tightly covered container.
Makes 32 SERVINGS.

Rayna definitely enjoyed them.

What new did you do?

Show & Tell: Eyeshadow Application

xoxotrina@live.com (Trina) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:00:00 +0000

I feel the need to explain over and over that I am NOT an expert when it comes to makeup just because I’m doing a video on it. I think my fear is that someone will think I think I am and leave me a nasty comment that my makeup looks like a hot mess.

So I’m not. I just do what works for me. Everyone’s eyelids are different so work with what ya got.

Anyway, here ya go:

I didn’t go into detail in the video on what I used for the sake of time, but here are the must haves for me:

MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study

e.l.f. Blending Brush

mark. All Over Eyeshadow Brush

Fluffy brush from Studio 35 (no longer available)

And the pièce de résistance, Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol II.

This particular set isn’t available anymore. They have one out in an Alice in Wonderland theme though, which you can find here.

The other two shadows pictured I use as well. The L’Oreal HIP duo in Sculpted and my MAC quad.

I’d love to hear from you what your favorite eyeshadows and/or brushes are. Leave me a comment!

Sometimes getting dirty is fun.

xoxotrina@live.com (Trina) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:10:00 +0000

Those of you that know me in person know I hate getting dirty. Maybe that’s one of the reasons I’ve never tried pottery before, but boy have I been missing out!

I was one of a dozen bloggers invited to a local pottery studio to check out all Cahaba Clay Works has to offer. After meeting each other and chatting for a few minutes we started out with a quick pottery wheel lesson from Master Potter Tena Payne of EarthBorn Pottery. (And just how cool of a title is Master Potter? It just sounds awesome doesn’t it?)

After watching her take this: to this: …in about 5 mins, all the while talking to us, I was seriously impressed. Master Potter indeed. Making pottery for Tena is like breathing, it just comes naturally. Her pottery can be found at restaurants such as Hot and Hot Fish Club, The Bellagio, The Beau Rivage, and several others.

We also got a quick lesson from Larry whose wheel skills were equally as impressive. Can’t you just see the jealousy on my face? Larry is the man. And I was naively confident I might could do the same. However, as we all soon found out, it is definitely much harder than it looks.

My first go around on the wheel, I needed lots of help. Being left handed kind of complicated the matter for me. I write left handed but do other things right handed so I was confused on which direction the wheel should go. We finally figured it out (clockwise, instead of counter clockwise) and I was able to make something halfway decent. With lots of help of course.

This might make a good chili bowl!

I’m like a proud momma that just birthed her first baby. Only it was pottery, and there were no pesky labor pains.

After our lunch break (graciously provided by Top Notch Catering) I got to do some hand thrown pottery. This part was really fun too. Most of the other ladies were making tall cylinder type things that resembled vases. Seeing that I have a tendency to kill anything living and green I opted to make something I would use more often, like a coffee mug.

And of course, I just had to put my *signature* on it. I used a peacock feather to add some texture to the piece then freehanded the eye of the feather.

Hopefully it will turn out like I picture it will in my head :)

We had some extra time so I was able to try the wheel a 2nd time. But this time around I did everything all by myself!

I was SO proud! I was going for a cereal bowl this time and I think I did pretty good for a newbie.

Tena warned us that this would be addictive and I think she was right. I really want to go back either for a party with friends or a 6 week class.

Our creations:

My mug is on the top row, 3rd from left.

My little chili bowl is the bottom left one.

After being fired, the pieces will have a beautiful glaze finish added like these basic bowls, as Tena calls them:

By the way, I’ll soon give you a chance to win one of those beauties pictured above, so stay tuned!

The lovely ladies I got to spend the day with:

In order:

Cheri from Chez Cheri

Rachel from Grasping for Objectivity and Alabama Bloggers

Wendy (Mama Hen) from Long Days, Short Years

Jill from Jill's Real Life

Jamie from Jamie's Rabbits

Rhoda from Southern Hospitality

Leigh from Tales from Bloggeritaville and Plates and Places

Tammy from Greek GRITS

Beth from Unskinny Boppy

Nanci from Birmingham Mom Online

Me

Jessica from Thoughts of a Bama Belle

Before we left we got a tour of Tena’s studio. coolest goblet ever

More info:

Earthborn Pottery can be found here for purchase. Tena does amazing work.
For the locals, Cahaba Clay Works offers six week classes (a two hour class per week plus unlimited studio use for practice) for $150.
Pottery Parties (like the one we did) are $35 per person, with a minimum of six guests. These can be scheduled at the time of your choice and are two hours long.
Check out the site for contact information on the classes and parties.
Tena is on Twitter! Follow her for specials, coming soon.

Thanks to Tena for allowing us to experience pottery making and to Rachel for facilitating the event. I had the most fantastic time and got to meet some really great people!

A Day at the Park

xoxotrina@live.com (Trina) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:32:00 +0000

I never got around to posting pics of the trip we made to the park last weekend. Last Sunday afternoon was absolutely gorgeous spring weather (after the snow we had the previous weekend) so after church we changed clothes and took the kids to the park.

My brother Dave brought my niece Avery and our friends BJ and Lindsey met us there later with their dog Lexie.

Sassafrass

Bad to the bone lol

Cheese!

Look at me!

Avery's turn...she was nervous.

I'm a pro at it, watch me go at it.

{100 cool points if you know the song that line is from...}

having some issues

I love my cuz

the 3 amigos

Xander trying to walk Lexie

doggy hugs

doggy kisses

a boy and his {pretend} dog :)

We had a great time and the kids got to burn off some energy after being indoors for awhile. That's always a good thing :)

Weekend Wrapup

xoxotrina@live.com (Trina) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:41:00 +0000

I don’t have the pictures from the weekend with me to do an in depth recap, so take this as *hey this is what I’ll be posting about soon*. ha.

First off, I had the BEST Saturday.

I had the privilege of attending a local blogger event at a pottery studio. I met lots of great people and got to make some pottery. I also got to take two gorgeous pieces home with me (which were made by Tena, co-owner of the studio). One to keep and one to giveaway, so look for a whole post on this event soon.

If that weren’t enough, after I left the pottery studio I met up with Jon Acuff, the author of the Stuff Christians Like website, and several other local peeps to talk about his new book which comes out very soon. He was nice enough to give me a copy of the book as a thank you for coming. I can’t wait to read it. If you haven’t checked out his site, do it. You won’t be sorry. Some of my favorite posts are here and here. And just for fun, this one.

After I got home and as Saturday evening waned on Rayna started feeling icky and yep, you guessed it, got the stomach bug that it seems everyone is getting. Poor girl had the throw ups til the wee hours of Sunday morning. Needless to say we had to skip church, so I was forced to do laundry ;)

And when I’m stuck at home for any length of time, I get the urge to bake. So I decided to make an almond pound cake with white chocolate chips on top and in the process managed to drop a handful of chocolate chips into the toaster. Nice. But at least my toaster got a good cleaning. Its all about the silver lining right?

But I wasn’t done there. I also made another sweet somethin’ that I’ll share on Thursday as my New Thing this week.

Hope your weekend was fabulous!

PS I have a Show & Tell vid coming up Friday for those of you that requested one on my eyeshadow application.

Show & Tell: HauteLook Haul

xoxotrina@live.com (Trina) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:23:00 +0000

Hey ya’ll, I’ve got a haul video to share with you! I really like doing these and it’s been awhile since I’ve done, one so I’m excited!

I was still sick with a cold when I filmed this last week, so forgive my nasally voice :)

Here is the link to HauteLook if you want to check it out. It is a referral link but no direct payment is involved. I earn a $10 credit for each new referral that makes their first purchase.

By far my favorite item is the red jacket. I’ve really been enjoying it and it makes me feel really fancy when I wear it. Every woman should have a piece like that in her wardrobe. If you do, I’d love to hear what yours is! Do tell :)

Updated to Add: I’ve had several people ask how to get the items I purchased so I felt I needed to clear up any confusion. HauteLook does a sample sale everyday on different designers and the sales last 2-3 days. After that, it's gone. So unfortunately the items I purchased aren't available anymore :( But there are different sales everyday, so there's a chance you will find something you love sooner or later at a great price. Not all designer prices are created equal so some *sales* are still a little to high for my budget, but some aren’t!

I also want to thank those of you that have signed up (or will!) through my referral link. I was quite surprised to go in and see how many of you did! Thanks so much!

Don’t forget to leave me a comment telling me what item you own that makes you feel fancy! I love hearing back from ya’ll!

Fifty-Two New, Week 8: Hide & Go Seek!

xoxotrina@live.com (Trina) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:48:00 +0000

Saturday evening we were headed back home from my grandmother’s 80th birthday dinner as the kids sulked in the backseat. They were sad because they didn’t get to go with their favorite cousin back to my uncle’s house to play.

Out of the blue Jonathan says, “That’s ok, we’re gonna have more fun at home. How about we play hide & go seek when we get there.”

That got the kids excited and they were antsy the whole hour drive home, just waiting to play hide & seek.

And I got to thinking. I’ve never played hide & go seek with my kids. What kind of mom am I? {insert guilt trip here}

So we played. We laughed and had the best time.

I learned a few things. #1 It’s really hard to control your breathing when adrenalin is pumping and hiding under a heap of covers makes it worse. #2 Hiding under a heap of covers is a crappy hiding spot when Daddy is doing the seeking. DUH! (I didn’t have time to get to the real place I wanted to hide, in the closet, ha!)

Its the simple things that kids love. Yeah Rayna may like her DS and Xander may enjoy his Leapster, but they love just playing simple games with us too. And I like that.

What new thing did you do this week!?

Happy Birthday Swagbucks!

xoxotrina@live.com (Trina) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:40:00 +0000

The folks at Swagbucks contacted me a last week about offering my readers a code for new referrals in celebration of their upcoming birthday. By now my love of Swagbucks should be well known, so I of course was excited to share this with you.

Swagbucks turns 2 today and along with a fresh new look, they have changed a few things. From Scott Dudelson, the COO:

Starting 02/25/2010, you will notice that your Swag Bucks in your account will be multiplied by 10 (as will the prices in the store. So for example, if you had 45 bucks in your account you will now have 450 SB; The Amazon which was 45 SB will now be 450 SB). NO prices are being raised on prizes (it will all be proportional - so have no fear about that), but what this split of the SB will allow us to do is to award bucks to users in ways that were not before imaginable (such as being logged into the toolbar, and viewing our special offers). So with that said, tomorrow if you are posting a sign up code that is worth 6, it will actually be worth 60 SB. You can find a little more info on the split through this link and more about all the changes here.

If you haven’t jumped on the SwagWagon yet, hop to it. I’ve got a code that will start you out with 60 Swagbucks: TRINASCODE1

The case sensitive code will be active from Feb 25th starting at 6am (PST) and will extend to Thursday March 4th at 6am.

If you are an active Swagbucks user already, I still have good news for you. Starting today (02/25/10) there will be A LOT of Swag Code giveaways through the Swagbucks blog, twitter, and facebook. All you seasoned Swaggers will still have the opportunity to earn free bucks!

I’ve cashed in for lots of free stuff and I’m currently saving up for an iPod Touch. I’m half way there and I have my referrals to thank. Without ya’ll I wouldn’t earn half the ‘bucks I do on a monthly basis. You rock ;)

Xander the Piglet

xoxotrina@live.com (Trina) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:55:00 +0000

I needed a good laugh after writing and processing my feelings through yesterday’s post. I came home physically and emotionally drained and headed to my bedroom to relax.

Before long the kids and hubs joined me and we had a good laughing session when Xander snorted like a pig so loud he startled all of us, including himself. The look on his face at the sound that came out of him was priceless! Even hubs was chuckling out loud.

I didn’t get that on video, but I did get a snippet of his piglet self to share with you.

I laughed so hard I had a coughing fit afterwards.

Those are the best kind of laughs. Well, those and the ones I get to hear from my kids :)

Life’s Too Short, Eat Dessert First….

xoxotrina@live.com (Trina) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:23:00 +0000

and may I suggest a nice big serving of Humble Pie, for MOI.

Even if you aren’t a Christian, please stick around and read this. I think everyone could learn from the message I heard at church yesterday no matter your faith. Our pastor is doing a series on the last 7 statements made by Christ on the day he was beaten and crucified and how we can learn from his example on how to live through our worst days.

You can listen to the whole message here if you have time, if not I’ll try my best to share what I learned. I’ve always struggled with articulating deep and meaningful posts. It’s much easier for me to write “on the surface”. But this really struck a chord with me so allow me to share how this affected me…

This was the 3rd week in the Series, and it focused on this verse:

(John 19:25-27) Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his motherʼs sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

Most of us, if we had been in Jesus’ position, facing a horrifying day, would have been focused on nothing more than our current pain. How bad we were hurting. But of course Jesus, being who he is, thought of others. Thought of his mom. There needed to be someone to care for her when he was gone.

Pastor Chris’ point was to Be sure to take care of those around you.

For example, when we have a bad day we tend to take it out on those we love the most. Our husbands, our kids, our parents. But those that we aren’t as close to get our best.

There were 5 things Chris mentioned for us to Be Aware of, but these two stood out the most to me.

*Be aware of what you should do.

(1 Peter 3:8-9) “Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.”

*Be aware of what God will do.

(1 Peter 5:5-6) “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the
humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”

I won’t go into detail, but there is a certain relationship in my life that isn’t the best. I’m not sure what went wrong or how to fix how I feel about this person, but I don’t treat them the way I need to. I don’t treat them as I would want to be treated and I certainly don’t treat them as a child of the living God. I am not sympathetic nor compassionate towards this person. When they want to argue, I’m ready to argue right back. When they need help, I disappear.

I’m ashamed of my behavior. It hurts that I have this ugliness in my heart. I want it to stop. Now. And for good. I know it won’t go away overnight, these feelings have been there for years. I will need God’s grace everyday but the bottom line is:

I need to humble myself and give this person grace. Because when I do, He gives me grace.

{I realized after proofreading this it may not seem to flow or correspond well, but if you listen to the entire message, Chris ties everything together perfectly. I just picked out the things that really struck me.}

We Go Together Like Peas and Carrots

xoxotrina@live.com (Trina) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:12:00 +0000

Rayna loves to draw.

Rayna also loves Veggie Tales.

Put the two together and you get this:

I’d like to point out her choice of hair accessory for her peacock feather obsessed momma. Yep, that would be a feather clip in my hair.

The red and black “shirt” is Daddy’s favorite hoodie (seen here, here and here). He wears it all.the.time.

Just so you know, these were both completely unsolicited.

You and me babe = Peas and Carrots

Fifty-Two New, Week 7: Corn Bags

xoxotrina@live.com (Trina) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:49:00 +0000

Corn Bags?

You may be wondering what in the world those are so allow me to explain.

Corn bags are simply that. A fabric bag filled with feed/deer corn. They can be micro waved or frozen to use as heating or cooling pads.

Back in December there was a handmade sale going on near my work and there was a booth selling these corn bags. I bought one for $5 and have used it religiously since.

Because I’m such a DIY thinker, I got to thinking how easy these were to make if I could just find the right corn.

When hubby got into hunting about a month ago, I asked him to find me some feed/deer corn so I could make a few more corn bags. He found a whopping 40 lb bag (enough to make about 20 corn bags) at Bass Pro Shop for $8.

I had plenty of fabric in my stash to make a few so I picked out some fabric and tore the pieces I needed for the first bag.

Then I ripped the bag of corn open and immediately knew this wasn’t going to be the 15 min project I envisioned.

Apparently not all feed corn is created equal.

The corn was covered in a white chalky dust and there were lots of little flecks of corn bits everywhere.

Not the best scenario for this project but I dove in anyway and spent the next 45 mins sifting the corn and picking out 4 cups of corn kernels to use for the first bag.

Next I assembled the inner bag, added the corn, closed it up and finished the cover. All that took less than 10 mins.

TIP: I used some cotton flannel baby receiving blankets I had for the outer covers. Free, cozy and cute. What more could you want?!

Rayna claimed the first bag as her own, so I did it all over again to make one for Xander.

And here are the fruits of my labor:

The top of Rayna’s bag. It’s wrinkly from her sleeping with it last night :)The bottom of Xander’s bag. If you look closely there is an overlap sewn into the cover. That eliminates the need for a zipper or other closure. It’s basically made like a pillow sham cover.

They’re roughly 8X10 and the outer cover is removable, therefore washable. When micro waved for 2 mins they provide a nice warmth for about an hour (unless you move it around too much, causing the heat to escape faster) or longer if kept under a blanket.

These are so nice to have to warm up the bed at bedtime. I keep it at my feet and they stay nice and warm.

Corn bags are very similar to rice socks (if you’ve heard of those). I prefer the corn over the rice because it smells better and rice tends to dry out a lot faster as well as has a tendency to scorch in the microwave.

I found everything I needed to know about the benefits of corn bags (including why corn is better than other fillers, how to avoid a bug fiasco-see below, etc) and how to make them here. If you’re interested in making your own I highly recommend checking out this site.

Edited to Add: My good bloggy friend Rebecca commented about the possibility of bugs. The website does talk about that and encourages you to use up the entire bag of corn as soon as you open it or store in a plastic tub so in case something hatches it can’t get out. Which is a good idea anyway to keep rodents or other animals from trying to get to the corn. Also, I micro waved the finished bags at least 3 times each before using in order to kill any bugs/eggs and to get some of the moisture out of the corn. If you do that, you should be safe from any bug threat.

What new thing did you do/try this week?

Snow Day 2010!

xoxotrina@live.com (Trina) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Several weeks ago it got bone chilling cold here for a few weeks and there were threats of snow. We don't get much down in these parts but I held on to the possibility. When we do get snow, it doesn't stay long. But with the severely cold weather we'd had, it would definitely stick if it would just fall already.

The big day came and all we got were a few flurries. Just enough for a light dusting. Very disappointing indeed.

So this time around when there was talk of snow, I ignored it. I wasn't getting let down again. Because let's face it, I get excited about snow as much as the kids do. Not because I like to play in it, I just think it's pretty. There's just something magical about waking up to snow covering everything in sight.

The forecast said it would come overnight so when we got up Friday morning and there was no snow in sight, the kids and I were sorely disappointed.

About 9:30am Rayna spotted snowflakes and came tearing through the house announcing the news. And then promptly popped the question: "CAN WE GO PLAY IN IT?"

I briefly explained what accumulation meant and told them I'd let them know when we could go out. A few minutes later as they are staring out the window I over hear Xander say...

"Sissy, are you thinking what I'm thinking? SNOWBALL!"

I couldn't help but chuckle at him. He had been staring out that window just thinking about all the fun he'd have.

Finally after about 4 hours of accumulation we suited up. Jonathan was out having lunch with a friend (yes, during the Alabama Blizzard '10) so it was just me and the kiddos. I had a bad cold/sore throat, but I wasn't missing this. Thirty minutes outside wouldn't kill me, so out we went.

Throwing snowballs at Rayna.

Even weeds look pretty when they're covered in snow...

Our hand prints on the patio table.

These pictures crack me up....Finger lickin' good.

So of course Bubba had to try it since Sissy did.

He was talking to the snow saying, "Hey snow, me and you are gonna be good fwiends!"

Later when Daddy got home they went out again (this time with GLOVES! I couldn't find them the first time lol) and built a snowman.

Those are my sunglasses and any guesses on what the nose is made out of??!

A toothbrush. I have to give hubs points for being creative. LOL

It was a super fun day! Most of the snow melted the next day, but our snowman hung on til Monday.

We can't wait for the next snow day!

Scarlett Fever

xoxotrina@live.com (Trina) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:54:00 +0000

We had quite the weekend. Friday I started getting a bad cold and Saturday afternoon Xander started running a fever and getting what I would have thought was a heat rash on his chest.

I’m never one to freak out about fever, especially a low grade one, but my mother in law suspected Xander may have strep because of the rash. I never really knew how high Xander’s temp was because my thermometer wasn’t working right, but I knew he had one. We stayed home Sunday from church and rested and I planned to take the kids to see the doctor Monday morning just to rule out anything. I couldn’t dismiss the fever and rash anymore and Rayna was starting to feel bad herself.

Monday morning I noticed Rayna was getting the same rash on her belly too and Xander’s had spread to his legs, arms and face.

The doctor comes in during our visit and immediately comments on Xander’s face. She said she didn’t even need to swab him, she knew what it was:

Scarlett Fever

{I’m pretty sure she heard me suck in my breath at that point. Because people like, DIE from Scarlett Fever, right?!}

She quickly explained that Scarlett Fever is caused by the strep bacteria and, with antibiotics, should clear up with no problems. But if left untreated or only partially treated could lead to serious (and fatal) heart problems. It was imperative that they take all 10 days worth of the antibiotics.

Oh boy am I thankful I took them both in. I’ve always been the type to let things run their course or assume that it will clear up in a few days. I never wanted to be one of those moms that rushed their kid to the ER every time they bumped a knee or whathaveyou.

Thank goodness for seasoned mommas that know bad symptoms when they see them (i.e. not me, my mother in law).

Xander’s Scarlett Fever

After the visit I treated them to McDonald’s (which I never do but I felt bad they were so sick) and dropped them off at GG’s. It was my turn to see the doctor (who I haven’t graced with my presence for at least 3 years because I stay rather healthy).

Good news for me, I don’t have strep, just a bad cold. But I’ll be sure glad to see it go. It’s been a long time since my head felt this stuffy.

Here’s to all of us getting back to normal!

P.S. I hope to have snow day pics up tomorrow!

P.S.S. Those of you that have requested a video tutorial on my makeup, I’m working on that. I just haven’t taken the time to edit it (ya know I always talk too much and have to trim my vids! lol).

FarmRich Winner!

xoxotrina@live.com (Trina) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:47:00 +0000

Thanks to all who entered my last giveaway. I apologize for being late in announcing the winner, we've had some sickness at my house for the last several days.

So on to the winner! Using Random.org I "pulled a name from the hat" and the lucky lady is:

#9 Sheena @ Sophistishe, it was the tweet that did it!

{Congrats Sheena, I’ll be contacting you to get your address so I can mail you the coupon. I need to hear from you within 3 days or I will have to choose another winner.}

I don’t have any other giveaways scheduled, so this will be it for now. However, Apple, if you twist my arm, I’ll host a review and giveaway for an iPod Touch, AppleTV or maybe a Macbook? I’m not picky ;)

Hope you all had a great weekend! I’ve got pictures to share from our Snow Day on Friday. I’ll try to get those up tomorrow so stay tuned!

Fifty-Two New, Week 6: Lipton Diet Green Tea with Citrus

xoxotrina@live.com (Trina) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 11:12:00 +0000

I feel like every week I want to blog about a new product or something food related! LOL Bear with me, these things are deep rooted…

Anyhoo, when I was doing my shopping Monday night I noticed a lady loading up her cart with cases of Lipton Diet Green Tea with Citrus. I immediately looked for the sale tag and sure enough they were BOGO. I commented that they must be good if she was stocking up and she confirmed. She said they were especially good when frozen enough to make it slushy.

I was intrigued. Plus I’d read about the benefits of green tea so I picked up a case.

Verdict: YUMMO! I’ve been enjoying them with my lunch this week but I haven’t gotten it to the slushy stage yet because our tiny office frig doesn’t get that cold. But it’s good without the slush.

I’m really glad I tried this and I will repurchase…when it goes back on sale ;)

What new thing did you try this week?

Crazy About Gemstones

xoxotrina@live.com (Trina) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:50:00 +0000

I absolutely love jewelry. Up until a few years ago I always wore costume pieces or bridge jewelry. Not that there is anything wrong with that, I still buy cute $4 rings at Forever 21, etc when I see them.

But a few years ago, I discovered GemsTV. It was love at first sight. I was hooked and in the first few months of watching those live falling auctions, I had purchased several gemstone pieces for myself. Nothing overly expensive or extravagant. But knowing I had something wearable and beautiful that was made from the earth, God’s creation, felt really neat.

Since then I’ve really learned a lot about gemstones. Which ones are rare, which ones aren’t, those that wear well and those that don’t.

I won’t school you on all that today. I just want to tell you about my absolute favorite gemstones that I’ve grown to love over the last few years. Maybe you’ll find your next favorite.

Zultanite: Mined in only one location in the world, Turkey, this gemstone has been called the most rare gemstone on Earth. With it’s color changing properties based on lighting conditions and its chatoyancy ability, this gem is a treasure indeed. Greens are visible during daylight, while pinks and champagne tones shine under candle light. Truly spectacular.

Morganite: While not a rare stone, Morganite remains one of my favorites simply because of it’s color. With color ranging from blushing pinks to soft peaches it is a beauty to behold. Morganite is often set in rose gold to compliment the pink tones of the stone but looks equally beautiful in yellow or white gold.

Tanzanite: Another rare stone mined in only one part of the world, Tanzania, this gem comes in many shades of blue. The darker the color saturation, the more expensive the stone. Also the darker the stone, the more likely you are to see flashes of reddish purple coming from within.

Some of my favorite cuts are antique cushion, snowflake, round brilliant and oval (but only if set east/west, not north/south).

Jonathan and I are looking to upgrade my bridal set in celebration of our upcoming 10 year wedding anniversary next year. One of these gemstones will most definitely be making an appearance. Not that I have anything against diamonds, but as is typical for me, I want something most people don’t have. Something unique and beautiful. Rare and inspiring. Something totally me.

What about you? Do you have a favorite gemstone? Would you choose a gemstone you love over diamonds to be the feature stone in your bridal set?

PS A note about GemsTV in case some of you hop over there or tune into the show on TV. It’s easy to see these auctions and get caught up in the moment and buy things on a whim. Take the time to learn about the gemstones before you buy them. But I can say their prices are way lower than any jewelry store I’ve been in. You can browse their jewelry store and sale sections to get a feel for what they offer.

Remedy for Dry Itchy Skin

xoxotrina@live.com (Trina) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:49:00 +0000

I’m so excited to share with ya’ll something I found that works for my severely dry skin, specifically my legs.

Not only does this particular product work wonders for dry skin, you can even cook with it. And it’s 100% natural!

Curious?

Head over to my post today on Chic Critique to get the scoop!

Hey, I worked out this morning!

xoxotrina@live.com (Trina) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:55:00 +0000

It seems like ages ago that I made my daily trek to the gym for workouts.

When Rayna started school and hubby got put on night shift all that changed. I was no longer able to leave the house early enough to fit in a workout before it was time to clock in at work. So for the last 3.5 years I’ve grown sedentary.

It has drastically lowered my metabolism and I am so out of shape that walking up a flight of stairs makes me winded.

Last summer I jumped on the 30day Shred bandwagon and fell off after the first day. (Or maybe Jillian called me a pansy and kicked me off. My memory is fuzzy.)

I eventually got tired of making excuses (and it wasn’t helping me get rid of the ‘skinny fat’), so I bought an elliptical.

Meet my new friend, the NordicTrack E5 vi.

Hubby got it all set up for me and today I tried her out for the first time. She promptly kicked my butt! I did 20 mins, burned 265 calories and I wanted to vomit when I got done. But I didn’t. YAY ME!

It’s the little victories, right?

Now, you know how I always look for the best deal on stuff? Well I waited until I found a great brand, that had great reviews, that was on sale, that I could order online and earn rebates thru my MrRebates account.

I spotted the E5 vi in the Sears ad a few weeks ago for $599, down from $799. They were also having a one day sale online for an additional 10% off. Ordering thru my MrRebates account earned me 3% cash back and I was able to pick up in store.

Man, I love a good deal.

Now I just have to be consistent with using it and I might be fit enough to wear this to the beach in May :)

A girl can dream, right?

Review and Giveaway: FarmRich Appetizers and Snacks

xoxotrina@live.com (Trina) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:29:00 +0000

I get requests a lot from companies wanting to work with me for reviews and such. I don’t accept them unless it’s something that I would really use or purchase.

When I was contacted by the people at FarmRich to do a giveaway and review for one of their products I looked over the website and knew hubby would be excited about this one.

I quickly received my free item coupons in the mail from FarmRich and headed to Publix. There were several great choices but I ultimately decided on the Mini Quesadilla Slices.

I exaggerate not when I say hubby ate the entire package in less than a week. In fact, they were gone before I could even get a picture of the package! He really liked them and they were easy to fix, just pop ‘em in the microwave.

I did manage to try a few myself before hubs devoured them and they were quite tasty. Breaded items can sometimes end up too chewy or hard when microwaved, but these actually stayed soft.

Any of their appetizers would be great for a get together. {A Super Bowl party perhaps?} Something tasty for your guests to enjoy and (BONUS!) you won’t spend forever in the kitchen preparing food.

I’ve seen the FarmRich products on sale BOGO (buy one get one free) at Publix before so I will definitely be buying hubby more of these when I see them on sale again. (Because I have a hard time paying full price for non-staple items lol).

Now for the good stuff! I have a FREE item coupon (max value $7.29) courtesy of FarmRich to giveaway to one lucky reader!

Mandatory first entry: Head over to FarmRich and check out their selections. Come back here and leave me a comment with what yummy goodness you would choose if you won.
Additional (optional) entries: You may tweet or blog about this giveaway. Limit one tweet per person per day, and one blog per person. Make sure you leave a separate comment for each tweet/blog and link to the tweet/blog in the comment.

Copy and paste this tweet:

Check out @xoxo_trina’s #giveaway for a Free FarmRich product of your choice: http://tiny.cc/FarmRich

Above all: Please make sure I have a way to contact you! If you don’t have a Blogger account, leave your email address in each comment you post.

Entries will be accepted through Friday, February 12th and a winner will be chosen via Random.org on Saturday, February 13th.

Giveaway is open to US residents 18 and older.

Thank you FarmRich!

Disclaimer: FarmRich sent me two FREE item coupons (one to use and one to giveaway) in exchange for my honest opinion on the product I chose.

Fifty-Two New, Week 5: Chai Latte

xoxotrina@live.com (Trina) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:27:00 +0000

I’ve mentioned before a place hubby and I like to eat called Smoothie Joe’s. It’s a local smoothie/coffee shop but they serve sandwich wraps, rice bowls and salads also.

For our date night last night we headed to Smoothie Joe’s because I was craving a rice bowl. On a whim I ordered a Chai Latte to drink while we waited for our food. The menu said it was tea, honey, vanilla and exotic spices (and of course milk). Normally I’m a coffee kinda gal, but I was a hot tea drinker before I converted so I figured I’d like it.

The verdict: I loved it!

It makes me so happy when I try new things and discover I like them! I loved it so much I kept raving to Jonathan how good it was and said “I have to tell JT (the owner) how good this is!” LOL

So needless to say I now have a new fav. I can’t speak for any other coffee joint, but Smoothie Joe’s makes the perfect Chai Latte!

What new thing did you try this week?

It’s Been A Long Wait…

xoxotrina@live.com (Trina) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:58:00 +0000

Do ya’ll realize what today is?!

Nope, not talking about Groundhog Day.

And I’m not talking about Shakira’s birthday either. Who, by the way, is 4 1/2 months older than me. I’m just sayin…

Anyhoo, I digress. Back to the super fantastic news.

Anyone, anyone?

It’s the SEASON PREMIERE of LOST!!!!

And this is no ordinary season….it’s the FINAL SEASON.

*sniff*

I know, I know, this is monumental stuff. I’ve been waiting a sweet forever, I’m telling you what.

I had to re-watch the Season 5 Finale yesterday to remember what all had happened, because did I mention it’s been like EIGHT MONTHS?!

So who’s as excited as me!?

What are some of your favorite theories, characters, episodes, etc?

I love talking LOST! Hit me up in the comments.