Changing it up a Bit...

Why hello stranger.... As you can see I have been MIA for a few weeks.  This new schedule has left me with very little free time at all, so of course as much as I love blogging I have to admit I love my fam a bit more as well as sleep (sorry gotta be truthful) so in stead of apologizing every few weeks I've decided that I am going to take a break.

I really want to focus on being healthy and losing the rest of this weight (and the extra 10 I've put on this year).  I also want to spend some good family time with the kiddo and hubs, and I resigned with group training so I have no extra time yikes.

I am not just vanishing though... I will be posting things on Facebook and Instagram,they are much easier and quicker and it requires much less time sometimes it's all about instant gratification. But don't worry I will not abandon it completely,  I'll be Poppin' by and posting updates, recipes and randomness :) just not as frequently or on any set schedule. 

So please follow me on Instagram and Facebook and keep up with me and keep me honest!  

Love ya, Alma 

Oh Hey 5 on Friday…Moments

Thank you all for your sympathy it really is appreciated.  Though it is hard it just reminds me to never take a single day for granted and to make the most of every moment.

So here a few great moments that have happened. This week:

{one} 

Last week was also my Moms birthday.  It was great spending the day with her and planning our next half marathon. Yup we are doing it again the OC half in May! 

{two}

Spending some one on one with my big girl she also has a birthday next week.  I can't believe she is turning 21 where has the time gone.  I love her so much and am so proud of the woman she has become. Beautiful, fearless, kind. 

{three}

Moments like this are my favorite.  Just some quite time (after a run) sitting down enjoying a cup of coffee at my own personal zoo otherwise known as my backyard.  

{four}

And now my zoo is finally paying it back. We got our first egg yesterday.  Was it writes that I was so excited!! DQ wants to keep the shell so I will blow it out tomorrow and make a scrambled egg out of it. Hope it's all that it's cracked up to be. Sw what I did there lol I'm so funny. 

{five}

I love when I find a Pinterest recipe and it really is as good as it says and looks. This is a Pesto Caprese thingy <--- thats a word right?  Any way its a whole wheat roll split in half with about a tablespoon of pesto spread then topped with mozzarella tomatoes (you are supposed to add basil leaves but I didn't have any) a bit of Parm then put it under the broiler for 3-5 minutes and drizzle with balsamic glaze.  

What's your favorite Pinterest find lately?

A Little Late...But I'm Ready

 

Hello??   Anyone still there?....

 

Well if you are,  thank you :)  seems Christmas came in and everything else went out.  I had all these lofty goals of what I wanted to get done on the blog, around my house, at the gym.  Instead it was a lot of family time.  So really it was great!  I may not have done everything I wanted but I spent so much time with my family and friends and who can complain about that.

 

I'm a little late to the recap party but I'm gonna do it anyway.

Christmas was great, very low key I had the family over for Christmas eve dinner then it was just the Hubs DQ and myself on Christmas day.  We watched movies played with our new toys and enjoyed each others company. 



Saturday after Christmas we drove to the California/Arizona border to pick up Ash so she could spend the week with us.  Always a long drive but so worth it we love having her she is such a sweetie and DQ just loves her.

 

We did a lot of fun things while she was here unfortunately the hubs had to work the first few days so my mom and I took the girls out and went ice staking in Old Town Temecula.

the next day we went to the trampoline park were we all jumped for two hours straight.  Even grandma.  Holy cow was I sore the next day, but still so much fun, and not to mention a great workout.

 

New Year was low key as well, we invited our friends over to just hang out, snack and play a little Cards Against Humanity (seriously the funniest and most inappropriate game ever) while the girls played Just Dance and watched movies.  None of us made it to midnight seeing as we are so old. We called it a happy new year at 10:00 and I was asleep by 11:00 such a party animal.

 

This weekend we wrapped up our break by taking Ash all the way back to AZ.  We left a day early so we could spend the weekend with our friends in Phoenix  (the husbands have been besties for like ever... seriously like high school forever)

 

They also have girls DQs age so they loved playing together and we sat around a caught up on life.  We used to go out a visit them almost monthly, but life gets busy so now we are only doing 3-4 times a year. 

Caught in the act, even though they may deny it boys take selfies too!

 

And even though I didn't work out nearly enough over the break I did get in a run with Amy (she just ran her firsk 5K non stop!!) so proud and now she is thinking of running a half...and I'm thinking if she does I may go out there and do it with her. 

 

and like I said I didn't work out or hit the gym as much as I wanted, but I wasn't a total couch potato. I went on a few hikes and runs, made it to the gym once and I also played with my awesome at home resistance band work out gear that the hubs got me.  I also found this cool fitbook at Target while doing some after Christmas shopping.

So now I am reved up and ready to go for the new year!!  Watch out.



Stormaggedon

Hey all, sorry about missing Friday. It was our annual Christmas program at work so it was a whirl wind of a day and not to mention it was apparently "stormaggedon" too.  We here in So Cal are such babies that the littlest bit of rain puts everyone in a  panic. 

 

Even with the rain it turned out to be a great weekend. The hubs and I took DQ to a Winter Wonderland holiday thing at a local park along with some friends.  It was lots of fun they had all different types of activities.

 

 

This is how we do sledding and snow in Southern California lol,

 



can you tell we were totally unprepared.  Poor DQ id in Vans and we totally forgot the gloves.  

 

But she did get to see Santa so that made the freezing hands and wet feet worth it.

 

After that I went out with my girls.  Our work party did not happen this year, kinda sad but no one wanted to host it so it just sorta fizzled out.  we made the best of it and got the crew together for dinner and dancing in downtown Temecula.

 

We are such dorks but we do have fun!

 

Finally after getting home at 1 in the morning my ass had to be up at 6 to get ready for my last holiday shoot of the year. 



It was actually two families that were related I was worried it was going to take forever but it went really smoothly and we were done in just over an hour.  Now I'm just putting some finishing touches on them and will have them out later this week.

 

linking up with Healthy Diva Eats and Life of Meg.



Cookie Monster

This weekend was our annual cookie baking party.  The Grammies, me, my girls and Auntie Bible (a friend and the bible teacher at work so DQ has always called her that) and in the last two years Carrie (who couldn't make it this time) have gotten together to spend all day baking up a storm of Christmas goodies.  

It has been a wonderful tradition that is going 6 years strong now.  The funny thing is the Grammies and Auntie Bible don't bake lol.  I didn't know this when I started it but they all try once a year for me and it so much fun and something crazy always seems to happen. Like one year Grammie C was making rice Krispie treats and just poured in the cereal and marshmallows in all together and made a big burning clump of crispy Krispies.

 

TaTa making some Oreo Truffles yumm...

Auntie Bible and Grammie J make the famous PB Blossoms.

 

and since there was so many cookies happening and of course we had to do some quality control and taste (just a few) TaTa and I decided that between every  batch coming out of the oven, or any waiting time (there were 4 of us using one oven) we would go in the backyard and run, squat, lunge, to the fence and back...that fence was far).  I even got in all 10,000 steps.

We are doing high knees here :) 

 

Then we always exchange small gifts.  This year I made every one a personalized cup.

 

and Auntie Bible gave us the most snuggly blankets ever!!

 

Linking up with Healthy Diva Eats and Life of Meg

WIW...She's Alive..

Why Hello… Yes I am actually still alive.  The Holiday craziness is in full swing and I seem to have not been prepared for it. Between people calling for last minute photo shoots, getting my Christmas craft on and being that mom thing I have not had much time to blog. 

So I will do a quick catch up for you all, before I weigh in  dun, dun ,duunnn

So I started out Thanksgiving day with a beautiful 5 mile run (a slog really but at least I got my butt out there).  It was slow but I really enjoyed it so what ev.

I followed my run with some turkey pancakes lol...

not what you though huh I saw this really cool FB post on this guy who makes all kinds of crazy pancake art, so I thought I would give it a try.  I may not be Picasso but DQ loved it.

Then of course I ate all the carbs

The rest of the weekend was pretty mellow. I did some Christmas shopping (no crazy Black Friday stuff just some get up when I felt like it and browse the store with a red starbucks cup in hand).

Saturday a family that I babysat for asked if I would do an all day thing. We weren't busy and the extra cash is always handy this time of year and DQ loves to play with A.

I did ask if I could run some errands with A and they said sure they'd leave the carseat, but when I got there they had changed their mind and asked if I would mind using their car since the car seat was a bitch to get out...

Ummm hello no problem!! Yes that beautiful car right there was my ride for the day.  Porsche Panamera I think I love you! It drives like a dream (yes that kinda dream lol) and it fit two car seats why you would put a car seat in one though... Any way it was fun being all fancy for the day.

So now it's back to reality (and my Prius)... and of course weigh in time

  So I stayed the same. I actually was up a bit last week (due to my monthly friend) and am back down again. Hey after thanksgiving I'll take that as a win :)

Linking up with

Weekend Shenanigans

Happy almost Thanksgiving.  Can you believe it the holidays are here, I swear it was just summer wait I live in Southern California it was just 85 degrees last week.  Any way the holidays marks the beginning of all the crazy weekend shenanigans, and this was the start for me.

Saturday was my friends Kerry & Dan's wedding.  It was held in a beautiful winery in San Juan Capistrano.  

We clean up pretty good.

the hubs and his best impression of the thug life lol.

and then of course the best photo bomb award goes to this guy who offered to take our picture.

The wedding was so much fun we drank, danced, and did a little more drinking.  

Sunday was my first official photo shoot of the season and it was with one of my favorite families.  Gary is actually my running buddy Barb's brother.  I just love them and their boys are so stinking cute! I want to marry DQ off to little Gary :) 

Then of course I used the rest of my free time making bows and such.  I'm seriously thinking of reopening my easy shop. I just need to build up my stock first.

How was your weekend?

Linking up with Healthy Diva Eats and Life of Meg.

Back to Reality

Reality has come crashing down hard today. So this  gonna be some what short a sweet or quick and dirty depending on how you like it ;) maybe both?

 After waking up to this every morning

and doing this pretty much everyday...

This plane ride was hard. We are smiling cause we got seats with extra leg room for the last flight home! Score...See sometimes it pays to not here your name called at the gate.

 

The hubs is sitting across the aisle from me don't worry I dragged his ass home with me, if I had to leave so did he.

Actually the whole day was exhausting, the van picked us up from the resort at 10am eastern time and I finally crawled into my bed at 2am Pacific time...that's like 20 hours of travel/waiting around in airports time. (I am NOT a mathematician so it may be give or take a few hours lol) 

Then cause I'm still off a bit time wise, my happy butt was up at 5am so I started to unpack, and start the vacation laundry.  I swear everything in my suit case was  slightly damp.  Nothing ever seemed to dry out there with all the humidity.

So 3 loads later it was off to the grocery store.  We seriously had nothing in the house, except coffee THANK YOU JESUS!  and yes I made sure of it before we left. Failing to plan is planning to fail, am I right? 

Look at all the loveliness.  It is time to get back on track so it was all the healthy stuff ok yes there are chips in there too, a request from DQ but come on I needed the extra mom points I did just go on vacation without her..lol

And then I had to pack again because we are having our teacher in service tomorrow night into Tuesday  and they booked us a room at the hotel.  It's right on the beach so really I guess my vacay isn't quite over.  

Linking up with Katie, and  Leeann.

Crazy Chicken Lady

I don't have a WIW for you guys this week as I am on vacation but
a few of of you have emailed or left a comment asking about my girls...not my human girls but my feathered ones. So here it is everything I have learned about being a crazy chicken lady…so far.

 It was never my intention to trun it the crazy chicken lady and really it happened so fast and painlessly that I didn't even  noticed until I was looking for something on amazon and this came up. 

Ya I also google stuff  I never thought I would either, like "what does normal chicken poop look like",  hey I was worried I thought Xena was getting sick...nope there is a wide range of normal in that area. 

So to answer some question...

How many chicken do I have? 

 I have 3 which technically is a small flock, and the pecking order thing is true.  They all have their  place in even this little flock and they all have very different personalities.  Yes they really do...

 Xena the Warrior Chicken is an Easter Egger 

She is the Big Boss Lady, and also the mama hen she watches out for the other girls but keeps them in line. 

She is also the most friendly and will actually come a cuddle up with DQ when she's out there.

 Princess Shit Head is a Barred Rock,

I added the shit head part cause she is the spoiled teenager of the bunch, and only likes to listen and come to us if we have something for her. She also chases Dobby (the dog) for sport.

 Noodle is an Australorp and the baby of the bunch.

I worried bout her when I first put them out in the coop, she didn't quite have all her feathers and looked so scraggly for the longest time.

Now she is actually the biggest in the bunch.  She is also the one that likes to sneak into the house if I leave the screen open.

 Are chickens noisy?
Not really or at least not that I have heard.  The coop is right outside my bedroom window and I have never heard them.  They do make the normal clucking sounds and Xena will often coo when I'm holding her (I like to think she is talking to me…see crazy chicken lady party of one).  But we also do not have a rooster, they are the noisy ones and are actually not allowed by the city.  Our city only allows up to 5 hens and NO roosters.

Don't you need a rooster for eggs?
Nope this is the question I get most, and no you do not need a rooster for your girls to have eggs.  Chickens will lay eggs no matter what roosters are only needed if you want those eggs to become chicks.

Are you going to eat the chickens?
Ummm NO!  I kinda have a rule that I don't eat anything I name (hey maybe I should start naming my cupcakes lol).  And truthfully I don't think I could do all the stuff that needs to be done before you eat them… Don't get me wrong I still love me some chicken nuggets but I'll just go to the supermarket and pick up some nameless, beak less relatives.

Why?
Well cause I'm a little crazy, I love all animals and DQ is just like me.  Also what other "pet" can give you breakfast!! it's really a win/win.

Are they easy to take care of?
Yes they are actually very easy to take care of. We have a coop that we bought pre made and just had to put it together.  The hubs is pretty talented so he made me a watering system that stays clean and I only need to fill up once a week, and a food one that I need to refill twice a week.

They are in the coop most of the day but I let them out to roam for a few hours when I get home if possible

and then most of the day on the weekends.  Really the only bad part is the poop. I'm talking A LOT of poop and my backyard is mostly concrete, so what I do is before I let them out I sweep all the poop from the day before (so it's dry) into the patches of garden I have (great fertilizer) then let them out so it docent really build up to bad, and I only have to clean out the coop once a week.
I have this big popper scooper thing I made it's kinda like cleaning a giant cat box. but it only takes about 20 minutes once a week.

So, that my friends is some answers to your chicken questions.  I am no expert and am learning new things about my girls everyday  but it a fun little thing we enjoy.