Guns & Stuff

I am not much of a Gun Person, but my husband is really, really interested in getting a 9mm, for self protection. I would rather something that we could hunt with, as in times of trouble, that will put food on the table and deter possible dangers. However, he feels that a 9mm is the best option to start with. I am still on the fence.

But, I am playing the good wife and getting dragged along to gun stores to look at Glocks, Rugers, Colts and Smithfields, blackhawk holsters, hard-sided plastic cases and gun safes. I have test fired a 9mm Taurus, Glock and Ruger and found that I HATE shooting 9mm's. I just don't get the satisfaction out of shooting them that I do from shooting a 22. The 9mm's kick harder and for some reason, the brass likes to come right back at me.

So far, we have only purchased a nice gun safe, which is now installed in our basement. I am liking that it locks and keeps the kids out and I now have Mom's guns locked safely up inside of it. But as of yet, he has not settled on a hand gun. He still wants to test fire the Smithfield, I think. But before long, you can probably bet, that I will be the proud new owner of a gun that I hate. LOL

I just might be getting old?!?

Ok, really, I'm not that old. Early thirties, but I look in the mirror and I see the fine lines appearing, starting right around my eyes, and I don't like it one bit! So shortly after I begin seeing these small signs that I am getting older, I get a text message. It reads something like this...

Hi, My name is Kendal. I am a friend of Angie's and she gave me your name. I am a Mary Kay consultant and I am trying to earn my directorship. I am trying to do one hundred facials in 30 days and I am about 20 faces short so I am resorting to contacting complete strangers. Would you be willing to help me out?

I think, humm..... Mary Kay? The last thing I need is overpriced make-up. I seldom wear makeup as it is. But wait! Don't they have some of the best wrinkle creams? So I agree to a facial. But I took my 11 year old daughter along for moral support! (Am I the worst mother ever, or what?!?)

It's a Saturday afternoon and my little girl and I set out to get ourselves a facial! We show up to this really cute gals house and get started. It involved all your regular objectives... cleanse, exfoliate and moisturize. It was great for little Ladybug. She learned alot about taking care of her complexion. Then came a surprise. Mary Kay calls it Satin Lips, I call it oddly wonderful! It's exfoliation for your lips followed by a luxurious lip balm. My lips were all sorts of tingly afterwards. Ladybug didn't know what to think.

Then we started with the makeup. Kendal sorts through her sample size makeup and hands Ladybug and I each a set. I start with a mineral foundation, followed by a creme eyeshadow, lip liner and gloss and finish it off with a bronzer. Needless to say, I LOVED IT! It was exactly the look I have been looking for. Ladybug was a little more hit and miss. I loved the clear gloss lipgloss and light pink lip liner, but the mascara was too much for her.

I walked out of that house with a new friend, a lighter wallet and lots of new product to play with. I have since called her back and placed 2 more orders (this was a month ago!) and Ladybug is doing a great job of taking care of her skin everyday. Over all, I'm glad that those little lines showed up and made me try something new.

I went to the gym!

As sad as it is, that really is an amazing thing. While I struggle to keep weight on I am not exempt from getting flabby and lazy and way, way out of shape. I have always been pretty active and with 5 kids I stay pretty busy. I have never really had a need for a gym membership. But then my doctor diagnosed me with a chronic illness and that all changed. First, I knew why I felt crappy all the time but second, I was "allowed" to feel crappy, I had a reason.... and so I did. I felt yucky every day. I would sleep in late, go to bed early and sit on the couch all day.

It finally culminated one day when I could not get out of bed at all. It was after noon, my preschooler was hungry and had been entertaining herself all morning and I was still in bed. My whole body ached, I was tired and I just could not bring myself to get out of bed. Finally, those teary little blue eyes, peering over the edge of my bed were enough to motivate me. I rolled myself out of bed and on to the floor and I laid there until I was so cold that I had to go get in the shower to get warm. That was the day I decided "enough was enough". I was not going to let this control me!

The problem was, I had lived with it for so many years that I didn't know how to change it. I had been through 3 jobs in the interim, all of which were desk jobs. Long gone were the days of trying to keep up with the guys and hauling large boxes and hitches around. My job now consisted of getting to work and sitting in a chair for 6+ hours per day, snacking on whatever treats I had in my desk (and believe me! I had plenty!). I am still very thin, almost sickly looking most of the time, but the muscle I did have has long since turned to fat and that "baby muffin top" that I acquired after numerous rounds of childbirth, had just not gone away.

I have since changed my thinking. I will not let my illness control me. I get up every morning and I go to work and now I am getting myself to the gym. I am by no means ready to win any sport trophies or anything, but I am taking back my life, taking back my body! So today, for the second time this month, I went to the gym!

The Day After Christmas Treats...

The frenzied unwrapping, running from house to house to visit family and friends and loading vehicles with piles and piles of presents is now over and if you are anything like me, all you want to do is sit and relax. The Tony Hawk shoes and rocawear boots are tucked in the closet with the new Abercrombie clothes and the sweater Aunt Edith made you, the toys are scattered throughout the house and the kids are, at least temporarily, entertained. But now it is dinner time and everyone is going to be hungry soon, and you don't know what to fix. Dinners for the last few nights have included hams and pies, gravy's and casseroles, rolls and butter... all the fixin's. You want something light, healthy and most importantly, easy! Here are some yummy ideas to get you out of the "Christmas Food Funk."

Quick & Easy Kid Munchies:

Turkey Quesadillas:

6 Large Flour Tortillas
1 1/2 Cup Leftover Turkey (shredded)
1 Cup Shredded Cheese (cheddar & mozzarella)
4 oz. Cream Cheese
4 oz. Sour cream
3 Tablespoons chunky Salsa
1 Tablespoon Butter

Melt 1/2 of the butter in a skillet over medium heat and add turkey, salsa and cream cheese. Mix until the cream cheese is melted. Remove from heat and add the sour cream and shredded cheese. Melt the rest of the butter in a frying pan and lay one tortilla in the skillet. Spoon 1/3 of the turkey mixture onto the tortilla and spread around to cover the whole tortilla. Top with another tortilla and flip over. Fry until the cheese is melted and remove from heat. Cut and serve immediately.

Warm Up and Relax:

Butternut Squash Soup

2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 medium potatoes, cubed
1 medium butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and cubed
32 oz chicken stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Melt the butter in a large pot, and cook the onion, celery, carrot, potatoes, and squash 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Pour in enough of the chicken stock to cover vegetables. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 40 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender.
2. Transfer the soup to a blender, and blend until smooth. Return to pot, and mix in any remaining stock to attain desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

Cooking for the Health of your Skin?

Believe it or not, chocolate is not the worst thing you can do for your complexion. There is far more to it than that. The foods you eat, the air you breathe and even the sleep you get are all major factors in the condition of your skin. Much more so than eating chocolate. Drinking plenty of water will help your body flush toxins that would otherwise be eliminated through your skin. Eliminating your exposure to inhaled chemicals such as gasoline vapors, paint fumes and even make-up removers will decrease your chances of a breakout since these kinds of chemicals put stress on your liver are are ultimately released through your skin.

Eating a diet low in sugars, msg's, artificial colors and flavors and preservatives will also help your skin. Our body can not process these unnatural additives and will therefore eliminate them through the skin, causing an acne breakout.

Treating acne is not an exact science, but more a way of life. There are hundreds of acne remedies out there from diet to exercise to chemical treatments and beyond. Personally however, I prefer to be more careful about what I put into my body because what goes in, has to come back out.