Tonight I Am Drinking: Pink Beerade

Pink Lemonde Cocktail

renamed Pink Beerade by my SIL and I this evening

Ingredients

1 (12-oz.) can frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed
3 (12-oz.) bottles beer (not dark), chilled
3/4 cup vodka, chilled
Ice

Garnishes: fresh cranberries, citrus slices

Preparation
Stir together first 3 ingredients. Serve over ice. Garnish, if desired.

Cami Perry, Birmingham, Alabama, Southern Living, OCTOBER 2007

Very. Fabulous. I am thinking about modifying it and using Crystal Light to save some calories....

Look what came in the mail!

Yup, I ordered it.

Some Swatches for The Muse

One of my favorite blog finds is Musings of a Muse. She's totally adorable and even more obsessed with new makeup than me! I love reading her posts and seeing her swatches.

Last month, she posted about theBalm's new collection and their fabulous new lip stains called For Keeps Watercolor Lip Stains that I just had to have. You know all about my lip problems- lipstick/gloss tends to run into the little lines around my mouth, so I prefer a stain. I snatch them up whenever I see them.

But this little beauty really had me curious- it brought back a memory of a neat lip product I had back in the late 80s. I think it was Cover Girl, and it was a little compact with a powder lip color on one side, and a clear gloss on the other. It came with an eye-shadow type application to apply the powder (no water was needed), and a little brush for the gloss. I remember that I loved this!

Moving on.... today the Muse posted her swatches and mentioned she was scared silly of the stain that actually looks almost black in the Plum Berry/Brown Sugar compact. Not to worry Muse- it's plum!

I have no idea why it looks so dark in the compact, but it's actually a really nice shade if you like strong lip.

Right Now I Am Listening To

Miranda Lambert - White Liar

Such a great song- I just adore her and anything she sings. Makes me smile!

The One Where I Wish I Had a Sibling

Because

this....

makes my heart melt.

(photo by Trina Gibbins Photography)

Dear ABC,

It's been done before.

crossed with

equals

last night's Bachelor episode. WTF????????

Dinner Last Night: BBQ Chicken Biscuits

Barbecue Filled Biscuits

The original recipe called for ground beef, but I had a package of Tyson Refrigerated Fully Cooked Southwestern Chicken Breast Strips in my refrigerator that I needed to use, so I used that instead.

What You Need

• 1 bag Refrigerated Fully Cooked Southwestern Chicken Breast Strips, chopped up
• barbecue sauce (enough to coat chicken well)
• 1 can (7.5 oz.) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (there's 10 in the package)
• shredded cheese

HEAT oven to 375ºF.

SEPARATE biscuits. Press 1 biscuit onto bottom and up side of each muffin cup. (I sprayed my muffin tin with Pam first.)

MIX chicken and BBQ sauce together and spoon into biscuit cups.

BAKE 10 min. or until biscuits are lightly browned. Top with cheese; bake 3 to 4 min. or until melted

We really liked this and it was a hit with The Politician as well. You most likely needed a side to go with this as they are pretty small, but I was quite a slacker last night and didn't make one. Bad mommy.

Moisturizer Find

Poor WC. She has the worst skin ever. It's so sensitive, and she's very prone to random rashes on her bottom and legs. I use All Free and Clear and Downy Free and Sensitive, but she still has itchy spots and sometimes Cetaphil doesn't cut it. I've been using hydrocortisone cream on some of the worst spots, but I just don't like to do that very often because it can thin the skin over time.

So I was excited when I was contacted by Skin MD Natural a few months ago. They asked if I'd like to try their Shielding Lotion and of course I said yes with WC in mind. I have been using it for about two months now on WC when she gets a rash and have been amazed at how well it works to clear it up. Typically, when I apply Cetaphil to her rashy area, she complains that it stings, but when I use the Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion ($18 value), she doesn't complain at all!

Head over to my giveaway blog for a chance to win a bottle for yourself! Hurry- giveaway ends tomorrow!

Disclosure: I was provided a free bottle of Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion. The value of this is $18.

The General Mood Around Here

Yeah, I know it hasn't been the same. Last week I was taken aback by an anonymous commenter who said....

remember when you used to write about stuff and not just post advertisements? those were the days. i miss your writing!!!

Advertisement issue aside (let it be known that the GDA posts are simply me sharing good deals with my friends- I make absolutely nothing off them, except for a very small percentage off of Amazon click-thrus), I started thinking about it, and yes, I agree I haven't been "writing" much. And I miss my writing too!

I am sure you know that P started K this past fall, and he hasn't settled in very well. His behavior has not been stellar, and his poor teacher, who is a family friend, has tried everything she can think of to motivate him to behave better, but we just aren't getting there. He seems intent on being the "class clown" which may be great for a career choice later in life, but it is distracting to the other kids and is causing disruptions in class.

To complicate matters, he was officially diagnosed with a Sensory Processing Disorder, like WC, but his issues are a bit different than hers. Some of his issues cause challenges in class. He's pretty much unable to sit still and keep his hands to himself due to him being a sensory seeker. We started OT visits and listening therapy at home around Thanksgiving, and it's been a rocky road for me. I wonder sometimes (most of the time actually) what I did wrong for both my kids to have these issues.......

I'm super-tired of living in a war zone and waiting for little bombs to drop. I've always suffered from some level of anxiety, but never felt the need to do something about it until we started dealing with WC's issues and now it just seems MORE complicated. I think the Lexapro helps, but I'm tired, I'm fat, and I cut my bangs a little too short last week.

But I'll make it through, that I know. So I hope you can be patient with me while I wait for things to settle and hopefully return to normal.

Ski Trip 2010

I am so glad no one took a pic of me in my ski gear because I am 99% sure I would have passed for the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man. All those layers did nothing for my figure. But I did get some cute shots of the kiddos.

After a 3 hour session of Snow Monster school, P caught on quite well and had a fab time.

WC loved the helmet and ski boots but found skiing to be quite a bit of work. She tuckered out pretty quickly and enjoyed getting Skittles at the snack bar.

Awww... look at that face!

We had a wonderful time at the little resort in Missouri this weekend. It was a great place to take the kids and introduce them to skiing. I will warn you that they have tow ropes on the learning slope and also on the smallest regular slope, and that was a new concept for me and my unmuscled arms. To say it was rough would be an understatement. I just didn't have enough strength to hold on to the rope and make it to the top.

And please please please put helmets on your kids if you take them skiing. One of the 5 year old boys in our group actually got hit in the head by a snowboard, and if he hadn't had on a helmet.... well, I don't want to think about that. Thank goodness he did.

133.0

Yup, I weigh 133.0 today. I need to put it all out there, publicly, if I'm going to do something about it. Isn't that terrible? I know it's all due to the choices I've been making, which have been unwise and have included quite a bit of beer, Buffalo Chex Mix and Aunt Luanne's Christmas sugar cookies, which thank God are almost all gone.

My Weight Watchers goal weight is 109 and by golly I'm going to get there. 24 damn pounds are coming off.

And Jay Johnson is going to help me get there. I posted a few weeks ago about a video of his I had purchased from Amazon and how much I loved it. I loved it so much that I purchased his 9 week home boot camp package.

I paid $79.90 plus shipping and it came in the mail this weekend and I am starting tomorrow (because it's always better to start tomorrow, right?). You get one DVD for each week and an awesome chart that shows you what workout to do each of the 5 days you are supposed to use the DVD each week.

Jay sent me a message on twitter with a code I can offer my readers for 15% off! (Too bad I had already ordered at the full price myself!) To redeem the code enter this coupon at checkout: JJBC15LY9

I'm going to post my progress here each week and I may even post my measurements, as embarrassing as that may be. I don't know about that part yet- I have to take them and see how bad they are.....

Did you know?

That you can snow ski in Missouri????? I didn't, but do now!

Using up the Hot Sauce

Remember the Buffalo Chicken Dip from a few weeks ago? I am so type A that it bugs me to have a half-empty jar of something in the refrigerator with no plans for it. So when I was reading the coupon section on Sunday morning (totally the first part of the paper I read) I ran across a recipe for Buffalo Chex Mix. (By the way, Chex, not unlike Hershey, is slacking and doesn't have the recipe on their list, or at least it's not easy to find).

Moving on.... so I'll post the recipe for you. It's tasty and although it has a kick, it's certainly not too hot. I think my kids will even enjoy it as they like spicy food.

Buffalo Chex Mix

• 4 cups Rice Chex cereal
• 4 cups Wheat Chex cereal
• 2 cups Parmesan-flavored tiny fish-shaped crackers
• 2 cups pretzel twists
• 6 tbsp butter
• 2 1/2 tbsp hot sauce
• 1 packet ranch dressing mix
• 2 tsp celery seed (I didn't use this because I didn't have any)

1. In large microwavable bowl, mix cereals, crackers and pretzels; set aside. In small microwavable bowl, microwave butter uncovered on high about 40 seconds or until melted. Stir in hot sauce and seasonings. Pour over cereal mixture; stir until evening coated. (Note: I used a square Rubbermaid container that was microwave safe- I didn't have a bowl big enough.)

2. Microwave uncovered on high for 4-5 minutes, thoroughly stirring every 2 minutes. Spread on paper towels to cool. Store in airtight container.

Two Giveaways

I am giving away a brand-new tube of Cover Girl Lash Blast Length at Sasha Says Giveaway, and Smoochiefrog has a polish giveaway on our nail blog, Manicure Mommas.

What are you waiting for? Go enter!

Hubbies: Valentine's Gifts!

And really, this isn't just for husbands... girls, you've got to check this out!

Have you heard of Dove Chocolate Discoveries? A good friend of mine, Kristen, just signed up as a representative, and holy cow, this stuff is good! So good, it's not sold in stores- it's better than the stuff in stores! Promise! The Sea Salt Caramel Collection is TDF. I personally know this because I ate the whole box by myself last month. (I guess that's mostly because I hid it from my husband.)

Moving on from my diet transgression.... Kristen is offering a special for Sasha Says readers... 10% off your orders during the month of January. Their best deal right is the Valentine box... it's 24 chocolates in a pretty box, sent directly to your valentine for $39- including shipping.

You can email Kristen at kristen_dennis@yahoo.com or contact her through her Dove site.

One more product tip- I purchased the Mudslide Chocolatini Mix and am taking it on our ski trip this weekend along with Raspberry Vodka to make the best mudslides you have ever had.

What's For Dinner?

The Sashas are having Chicken Cordon Bleu from my new cookbook.

Stay tuned for the results!

Do you have crockpot recipes you love? We are hoping to use our more to make the evenings less stressful. I'd love your ideas!

You Need One of These

Last week I purchased one of these adorable Lego Necklaces from an etsy shop and it came today. How adorb is that?????

And you need one! They are only $6 with $2 shipping and just precious. Many many colors to choose from. I think WC may need one!

Note: If you enlarge this pic you will see a tiny brown spot on the right side of the necklace. I think it was lint because I'm no Britney Spears.

How do I Blush?

A few years ago I discovered Everyday Minerals and started wearing their foundation. I also purchased quite a few of their blushes, which I wore for a while. But I finally realized that they end up turning a very unflattering shade of orange on me, no matter what shade they start out. So I've trashed all my EDM blushes and have collected an arsenal of blushes much more flattering to me and my pretty damn pale skin.

My first love is Benefit Dandelion, which I purchased from Sephora for $28. This rocks my world and lasts forever. Promise. But throw out the brush that it comes with and use your own blush brush. This goes for all Benefit boxed powders.

I also love Benefit Thrrrob, which I also purchased from Sephora for $28. This is a bit pinker and has a bit of shimmer in it, but not too much. Thrrrob appears to be out of stock at Sephora right now.

My newest Benefit fave is Sugarbomb, which is gorgeous! Also purchased from Sephora for $28. Swirling all those colors together turns out to be a perfect flush for me.

A brand-new find for me (Thanks to the Muse) is theBalm Down Boy. This is very pigmented, so you just need a little bit, but it give me a great natural glow. I purchased this for $20 from Sephora.

And this weekend I got in my order from Too Faced and got this beauty- Le Vie En Rose, which retails for $19.50, although I only paid about $14 during their sale. It has quite a bit of shimmer, but I think it's so pretty.

What is your favorite blush?

GDA: Croc Kids Boots

Crocs has a buy one get one free promo for their Kid's Georgie Boots.

2 pair are $15 and then you can use 10% off code C6VMRVKY3ISA = $13.49 for 2 pairs with free shipping.

Note: sizes are limited

And don't forget to go through ebates for 4% back.

Genius I Say!

Friday I was at TRU picking up a birthday gift and saw these adorable reusable sacks for only $1.50 each- what a perfect sack for a present!

There are quite a few to choose from in both girl and boy designs. Isn't that a great idea? I always hate paying $3 for a gift sack that will most likely get mangled and thrown away, but I was glad to pay $1.5o for these.