Tag Archives: moms

Five Pins from Pinterest

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Mama's Losin' It“Are you on Pinterest? Share the last five items you pinned, choose one and let it inspire a blog post.” – Mama Kat’s Losing It

Just five?

Yesterday, I pinned my Love My Abs button to encourage others on Pinterest to join me in the February challenge.  I’m so proud of my little bloggy button.  Isn’t it cute?

To help with the challenge and mix it up a bit, I pinned this.

Then, there are all the yummy recipes I’ve pinned this week, like the Honey Lime Tilapia. I can’t to sink my teeth into that one!

Forget Valentine’s Day!  I’m already thinking about St. Patrick’s Day and baking these Guinness Butterscotch Brownies.

But the item I am most proud of this week are the magazine files in my pantry, which was inspired by this pin.

I found a pair of magazine files at Ikea for $6.99.  Target has similar ones, but they are sold separately for a tad bit more money.

The magazine files look so great in my pantry, but I especially love that I’ve stopped an avalanche of food storage items from happening on my head. Boxes of cling film and sandwich bags are no longer rolling all over my shelves or falling and hitting my in the face when I open the pantry door.  And like Martha Stewart always says, “It’s a good thing.”

Now, I just need some help with the rest of pantry, but it needs to be cheap affordable and practical.  Got any more bright ideas Pinterest?

Allana’s Compassion in Action

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“Look, Mom!  My shirt matches the sign!”  Allana proudly exclaimed when she spotted wings on the Angel Crossing sign.

A few days before Christmas, Allana and I volunteered at the Metropolitan Ministries Holiday Tent.  It was a wonderful learning experience for her as she saw firsthand how our donations to the food bank help others.  Allana enjoyed helping the families and throughout the evening she often commented on the graciousness and cuteness of the children.

A couple weeks later, I realized just how much the experience impacted Allana when my friend made some remarks about her high school students’ poor their hygiene.  I didn’t know Allana had heard my friend’s comments until she chimed in, “Well maybe they’re homeless and they don’t have any running water.  Maybe they live in their cars.  You really shouldn’t judge, because you just never know someone’s situation.”

Our short time volunteering had a big impact Allana but at that moment, I learned something too.  My daughter is growing into a truly beautiful, compassionate human being.

A Run DMT Year in Review

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January – The F Word

In 2011, the number 40 was more than milestone.   At the beginning of year, I proclaimed a goal to run 40 miles before my 40th birthday and my desire to be fit at forty all with the emphasis of the f-bomb.

During the winter break, we built Florida Snowmen with Auntie Kirsten and Meghan which produced some fabulous photos.

February – My Air and Water Diet…Not so Much

Although there was enough love in February to sustain a city, it would take more than hearts, love notes and valentines to keep this mama going.

In a funny vlog, I share a pile food I ate and still lost 18 pounds, ‘cause mama loves to eat which is why I run.  When you watch this crazy long vlog, count how many times I drop another f-word. Fantastic.

March – Education

March was a time of reflection and education.  It started with a random act of kindness and which led to Lucy joining our family.  Then, a Gallery phototheme had me hunt down an old photo from my teaching days.  Those students taught me more than I ever taught them.

Also, spending more time with my niece, Meghan has educated me and made me more sensitive to epilepsy.  Since March is Epilepsy Awareness month, we recognized it with a spontaneous purple picnic.

April – What Tomorrow Will Bring

In 2011, Liam and I showed our determination and fortitude to reach the finish line.

In April, I waited with bated breath for the NYC marathon lottery selection, which didn’t happen for me.  Watch the NYC Marathon video and you’ll understand why I’m applying again this year.  Applications for 2012 NYC Marathon lottery open at noon on January 2, 2012. God, I hope I get it. Keep my fingers, toes and shoelaces crossed again.

May – Run DMT’s Top 10 of Summer Don’ts

With May, came lots of  sunsets and summer, my favorite season.  I heart summer almost as much as I love writing lists.

June – Airplanes

Sometimes my youngest daughter, Emmalynn, has her head in the clouds sometimes and I love her for it.  I can totally relate.  During the summer months, my head is usually there too.

July – Loving You for Your First Birthday

Although we have three birthdays in July in this family, two of those birthdays were milestones this year.  First, our little Tiny Cool, Emmalynn, turned six.  Then Little Lion Man turned one and I hit 40.  In our first Music Monday vlog duet debut, Little Lion Man and I share our best Minnie Riperton impersonations to recognize his first birthday.

August – Get the Party Started

In August, I blogged a lot of back to school posts and summer coming to end stuff.

But we ended the summer on a high note when we celebrated my 40th birthday in August and it ROCKED!  Plus, I met my goal of losing 40 lbs and 40 miles before my 40th birthday.

I also organized a Tampa Bay Blogher Meetup.  (Another one is in the works for March 2012.)

September – Things Heard at Our Girlfriend Getaway

Summer heat and celebrations were still in full swing in September as well as our annual girlfriend getaway.  You may need to take a few shots of Whipped Pinnacle vodka to understand most of this post, but it still makes me chuckle four months later.

October – Random Thoughts about Tigers, Honey Badgers and Bunnies

In October, I transformed into a bad ass honey badger and Amy Whinehouse and transposed my likeness onto some photos for a funny list of 22 Things I’ve Never Done.

November- Ten Years with Our Soul Sister

When November came, my family and I gave 30 gifts in 30 days and counted our blessings.  My oldest daughter, Allana turned ten and requested her ears to be pierced. Her milestone birthday hit me harder than my own.  Where did a decade go? 

December – A Serendipity Style Date

I’m not sure if blogging and Pinterest is making me a better mom/wife/friend or a worse one.  How can anything that helps plan dates like this be bad?

Of course, there was some of running happening throughout the year too.  After all, I am a Mom on the Run.  All my race recaps from this year and previous years can be found here.

Naptime MomtogMama's Losin' It

PhotoStory Fridayand then, she {snapped}the hollie rogue

Magic Reindeer Food

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The kids and I have been making Magic Reindeer Food as part of our Advent calendar for years now.  At first, the food was a mixture of old fashioned oats and glitter.  Then, I learned how dangerous glitter can be for animals or small children when ingested.  From then on, we made our reindeer food with only edible ingredients.  Of course, oats are still part of the mixture but instead of craft glitter, we use edible glitter like red and green cake sprinkles.

This year, we added a few more ingredients to make it more like trail mix.  After all, those reindeer have such a long journey and they’ll need the extra carbs and sugar to that fuel flight.

Emmalynn, Allana and I had fun searching through the pantry for snacks the reindeer might enjoy.  Along with the oats and edible glitter, we added raisins, dried cranberries, Peanut Butter Cap’n Crunch, Corn Flakes, peanuts, gum drops, mini marshmallows, Cheerios, pumpkin seeds and wasabi peas.  Wasabi peas might seem like an odd addition, but I thought the reindeer might like a little heat on the way back to the frigid North Pole.

After we combined our ingredients, we poured the mix into Ziploc bags and added the how-to poem.  This printable Magic Reindeer Food poem tag can be found here.

On Christmas Eve just before bed, the kids, Auntie Simone and I will sprinkle the Reindeer Food in the yard.  Of course, we always leave carrots for the reindeer next to Santa’s cookies and milk too.

A Northern Sky, a Cool Yule and a Miracle

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Does any else feel like Christmas threw up on them?  That’s the ugly metaphor I’m choosing to describe the Christmas chaos I’m feeling.  You should see the state of my house.  I think the tree is finally decorated, but I still have a gazillion cards to post and a pile of last minute gifts still yet to buy and of course, tons of wrapping to do.

However, all of that will be put on hold, because today I am chaperoning a field trip to Legoland with Allana’s class.  I plan to write some cards on the bus on the way, but with how car sick I get, I could literally puke Christmas.  I may need to rethink that plan.

Anyhow, this Music Monday post will be a little light today because I’ve got so much to do, like blog about our anniversary date in the midst of the Christmas madness.  Yesterday, Allan and I had a fabulously fun Serendipity-style date, but I’ll explain all that in great lengths in another blog post.

While you wait for all the details, I’ll tease you with a movie clip from Serendipity set to Nick Drake’s Northern Sky.

If you didn’t know already, I have this thing for movie soundtracks and I absolutely LOVE the Serendipity soundtrack, so I have to include the song even though it’s not a Christmas song.  It’s a very fitting song for our anniversary because my Allan comes from a northern town in England and of course, like I said, a perfect way to tie in a tease about our Serendipity-style date.

But Christmas music has been the Music Monday (and Xmas Dolly’s Monday’s Music Moves Me) theme for the past month, so I’ll share a Christmas song from Serendipity.

And since tomorrow night is the first night of Hanukkah, I’ll leave you with some Matisyahu.  Besides, it will take nothing short of miracle to help me with all this Christmas chaos.



Visit Xmas Dolly and Hairbows & Guitar Picks for more Music Monday fun.

Our Christmas Countdown

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It’s time once again to dust off our family Advent calendar and start burning myself out counting down the days to Christmas.  You see, our Advent calendar is more than tiny doors hiding small morsels of candy.  Each day leading up to Christmas, our Advent calendar uncovers activities to enjoy the season to the fullest.

Since we have no creepy Santa spy Elf on a Shelf, I bribe my children with Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses and bits of paper.  If they finish all their morning chores, then they can discover what lies behind the day’s door.

This little gem was hidden behind door number one today since I have no earthly idea what my children want for Christmas other than earrings.

Thankfully, Day 1 met Allana and Emmalynn’s approval as evident by their lumpy smiles.

To plan our 24 days of fun, I used a printable calendar to coordinate the days with my moms’ group’s play dates and events happening around our neighborhood.  I also added a few extra activities because you just never know how the weather will be literally and metaphorically.  Sometimes life simply gets in the way of our fun.  So, I’ll swap days around and my kids are none the wiser.

If you’d like to join in the holiday hullabaloo, here is a rundown of what will be doing over the next 24 days

1- Start the holiday season by writing a letter to Santa.

2 – Let’s catch a wave of the holiday spirit at SeaWorld’s Christmas Celebration!

3 – Time to trim the Christmas tree and get the house looking festive!

4- Bake cookies with Grandma and Auntie Simone. It’s sure to be a sweet time!

5 – Go for a Christmas light stroll and count the Santas and snowmen. Graph the results.

6 – Eat dinner at Chick-fil-a on Waters Ave. and enjoy the Christmas lights.

7 – Santa stop here! Let’s make reindeer dust so the reindeer know where to land and have some extra energy to make the long flight back home.

8 – Sip cocoa while watching your favorite Christmas movie.

9 – Dress up in your fanciest Christmas attire. It’s time for a Christmas Tea Party!

10 – It’s a movie day with Grandma.  Now showing: Arthur Christmas!

11 – A reason to be merry! We’re off to Moms on the Go Christmas party at Gator Freds today!

12 – No hard hats necessary just plenty of creative juice for today’s fun! Let’s build a gingerbread house!

13 – Watch the Symphony of Lights at The Shops of Wiregrass.

14 – Create pipe cleaner candy canes while snacking on candy canes.  (We’ll also make this candy cane craft.)

15 – Let’s sip some hot cocoa and toss our cookies at a Christmas Cookie Swap.

16 – All aboard! Let’s take a Christmas train ride through the woods at Crews Lake Park!

17 – Take a drive around town to look at Christmas lights while sipping hot cocoa.

18 – Make wrapping paper and create Christmas cards for our family members.

19 – Find time today to fold up some paper to create Christmas origami fortune tellers for some silly seasonal fun.

20 – Let’s share some goodwill and cheer by caroling for the residents at Carollwood Care Center.

21 – All aboard! The Polar Expressis now showing at Wilderness Lodge. Put on those pajamas and let’s roll.

22 – Make snowflakes and drink milkshakes. (We may also make these snowflakes puzzle ornaments.)

23 – Let’s have a Holiday Pampering Party complete with mud masks, pedicures, make-up and a glittery hairdos. (Inspired by Kristi of Live and Love Out.)

24 – It’s Christmas Eve! Remember to set out cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. Then, sprinkle the reindeer dust in the yard.

25 – Santa arrives! Merry Christmas! xox

 

Some extra ideas just in case!

Jesus is the reason for the season.  Read The First Christmas.

You’d better watch out! Santa has a personal message just for you.  (Idea from Kelly)

All hands on deck! Let’s make paper hand wreaths and other handy dandy crafts!

Buy gifts for family members at the school Holiday Shop.

Let’s rock around the Christmas time with a Christmas music dance party!

Walk through A Winter Wonderland at the Lowry Park Zoo.

Watch a live performance of A Christmas Carol.

Visit a live nativity scene.

Read a story telling of the first Christmas.

Watch a live performance of The Nutcracker.

Celebrate the first night of Hanukkah. Read stories about the Festival of Lights and sing songs. Then, light the menorah, play dreidel and dance the horah. (12/20)

 

*Submitted to*
Mama's Losin' It
“The first of December is upon us! Describe an Advent Calendar or a special way you count down days until Christmas (past or present). (Inspired by Classy Chaos)”

PhotoStory Fridaythe hollie rogue

Good Life

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My life is a good life.

We have a roof over our heads.

And there’s always music and spontaneous dance parties in the living room.

There’s enough food in our fridge to feed a small village. Oddly, sometimes it feels like there’s a small village living here.

Thankfully, Allan has a job that affords me to stay home and raise our small village children.

And our small village home is filled with laughter, from-the gut-laughter that makes us throw back our heads like pez dispensers to release the most boisterous, obnoxious cackles and cause us to fall out of our chairs from laughing so hard.

But I’m so blessed because Allan is a great dad and husband but occasionally he chooses to hit “ignore” on his cell phone while I’m stranded at the gas pump or my car battery is dead, which is not a good thing when I’m PMSing.

For the most part,  our simple little life is a good, good life.



For the next four Music Mondays, I’ll be counting my blessings through song.  Each week in November, I will be singing my praises and giving thanks by sharing a song that symbolizes one of the many blessings in my life.  Come count your blessings with me and link up while you’re here.  What a blessing that would be!

Visit Xmas Dolly and Hairbows & Guitar Picks for more Music Monday fun.

Pssst….Don’t miss my Run TBay Giveaway!

One Bad Mother Baker

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I’m one bad mother baker.  I got made piping skillz, yo.

Check it out.  This is the chocolate chip cookie cake I made for Allana’s class for her tenth birthday.

Iron Chef Allan was pretty impressed. But he better step off, ’cause I’m as smooth as this icing, baby and he can’t touch it.

Then on Wednesday, the kids and I baked Rolled Sugar Cookies for our neighborhood firefighters as part of our 30 Days of Giving.  We used the same vanilla butter icing and the kids each chose a color for the icing.  They did a gorgeous job decorating the cookies and they tasted pretty darn good too.

Like I said, I’m one bad mother baker.

Word.

 
Rolled Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar

1 stick unsalted butter (1 stick), softened

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Directions

Cream together sugar and butter.  The beat in vanilla, eggs, flour, baking powder and salt.

Chill the cough for 3 to 4 hours before rolling.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Use a melon baller to scoop and roll dough into 2 inch balls.  Place cookie dough on a greased on lined cookie sheet.  Bake 7 to 12 minutes. Let cookies stand for 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack to cool. Once completely cooled, decorate as desired.

 

Quick Vanilla Icing 

Ingredients

2 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted

1/4 cup  (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

2 tsp vanilla

Directions

Combine in a medium bowl and beat together on a medium speed.

Photobucket

Now link up to win and to see what If I Could Escape and Gone Bananas are flinging for this week’s Friday Food Fight.


But wait!  There’s more!  The winner of our very first Friday Food Fight giveaway and proud new owner of Joy of Cooking is….

Based on last week’s linky, #11 is The Rickett Chronicles!  Congratulations! A big THANK YOU to everyone who entered a foodie photo! :-)

*Also submitted at*

Fat Camp Friday ButtonSweet Tooth Friday

Snapshot Sunday

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These photos were taken at the end of a very long and fun day at SeaWorld’s Halloween Spooktacular.  You can read all about our fun here.

Today, I’m linking up over at Gone Bananas for Kirsty’s new meme called, Snapshot Sunday.  If you have a photo or photos you ‘d like to share, post it and then link up over there.  (Sorry for the lame poem.  It just flowed out me like that.  I’m a poet but didn’t know it.)

Unknown Mami

22 Things I Have Done

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“Last week we wrote about what we have never done…this week, write a list of 22 things you HAVE done.” – Mama’s Losin’ It

I am forty years old.

And I have:

  1. Ran 53.6 miles in races before turning 40 on July 27.
  2. Ran 2 marathons in the past 4 years and I will run my third marathon (Space Coast Marathon) Thanksgiving weekend.

     

    img_7707

    3.  

  3. Participated in 30 races since I started running 4 years ago.
  4. SCUBA dived to depths of 114 feet.
  5. Fed a stingray while SCUBA diving.

     

    Scuba

    6.  

  6. Watched the sun rise and set in the same day.
  7. Camped in a tent many times and I love it.  (Thanks to our friends, Erika and John.)
  8. Visited the Grand Canyon and camped there.
  9. Camped overnight for U2 concert tickets.
  10. Ice skated in Central Park.

     

    11.  

  11. Been in a fist fight.
  12. Visited Hawaii.
  13. Seen President Obama in the flesh.

     

    14.  

  14. Eaten escargot and ostrich, which were very tasty but probably the two most bizarre foods I have ever eaten.
  15. Taken a road trip with my college girlfriends from the Florida Keys to NYC.
  16. Stood outside the Today Show and appeared on TV…twice, but really three times, thanks to scoring some Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tickets.

    17.  

     

  17. Appeared in the newspaper on several ocassions: as a teacher many times, once to speak on behalf of my moms group’s charity event for Alex’s Lemonade Stand and another time for a town hall meeting with TECO but that was not attractive. (So wish I could find that photo!)
  18. Watched a friend die from AIDS.
  19. Given money, clothes and/or food to the homeless while waiting at a stoplight.
  20. Volunteered at a local food bank, Metropolitan Ministries.
  21. Cried tears of joy when I met my babies for the first time.
  22. Fallen madly in love with some guy I met in a bar in Ybor City on Guavaween night sixteen years ago this Saturday.  And then I married him.

 

 

*Proudly submitted to*

Mama's Losin' It