It's a Beautiful Day!

Hope you are enjoying wonderful weather!
We had some cable issues and after five days, the cable guy came out to get us back up & running! Thank goodness, my teenager was on the verge of a meltdown what with no internet and all, lol!
We've kept our usual routine going for the most part this past week. Last night we had a yummy meal out at a nearby Mexican restaurant and today I will be back at trying to figure out "what's for dinner". Always a daunting task! We've started our back to school shopping which has been fun. We don't really like thinking about school in the midst of summer but, the clothes are already out there and it's best to buy while there's lots to choose from instead of picking over the remains and getting caught in the crush of last minute shopping.
After a few days of much needed rain, we have sunshine again. I am going to try to get out and enjoy as much of it as possible.
I hope you enjoy YOUR day!

Tea For Health, Beauty & Weight Management

I thought I'd share my tea-votion with y'all...
We have an entire shelf in our pantry devoted to our tea collection. They are the regular kind you can buy in most grocery stores so, true tea aficionados might turn their noses up, but it's our tea, done our way. (Although I do enjoy visiting tea shops for a treat! The fragrances, the textures, the colors, oh my! Buy a little or alot~so much fun!)
I tend to have a couple of cups of coffee to start my day but then I will brew up any of a number of combinations that suit my fancy. Today its Guayake yerbe mate', loose from my health food store, a bag of Stash double bergamot Earl Gray, and a bag of plain ol' green tea. It's steeping right now. I'm fixin' to go pour it over ice to enjoy as I go about getting ready for my day. I don't drink sweet tea but, (shhh...please don't ell anyone...I could kicked outta TX for that!) I do like it iced to keep me cool on these sweltering days.
I use the Keurig to fill a small cup with hot water, plop my tea bags in the cup & walk away for a few. Today I'm using the reusable filter thingy & filled it with the loose yerbe mate'. After I pour my tea over the ice, I refill the cup with the same tea bags and will add that weaker brew to my glass as needed.
I know, I know, not a proper tea ceremony but it works for me!
I will be honest, I don't LOooooVE tea, I mostly drink it for the health benefits. (You get to a certain age & eat/drink things for health sometimes over the siren call of the tastebuds.) And I can't deny, on these hot, steamy summer days, iced tea is mighty refreshing~without sugar that is (; .

And on the subject of tea, one of my favorite quotes is:

"Women are like teabags. We don't know our true strength until we are in hot water."~Eleanor Roosevelt

Stay cool. Be strong. And have a great day!

Typical Tuesday

It's Tuesday!
Yesterday Ari & I went to the mall for a little browsing. We actually left having only bought (and I promptly ate) a cinnamon sugar pretzel from Auntie Anne's! We paid a visit to Marshall's and Ross right across the road. I found a few cute things that I just had to bring home.

Acute top, jean shorts, boyfriend pants and a little eyebrow kit that Ari spotted. She knew I had been looking for eyebrow gel and for $2.99, I got that and a whole lot more! I don't use the brow templates but the gel, powder and brush are being put to work! I haven't tried the tweezers yet. All this for less than $37!

Today my baby girl isn't feeling well so she is in bed with Dollface keeping her company while I run a few quick errands. Post office, Walgreens for some new fingernail polish, and Target to grab some SoBe Pure's before they are all gone (they are at Target for a limited time and don't know if they will add them to the line. We fell in love with them though because they are so lightly flavored and sweetened with stevia instead of aspartame! A while back, they were giving a $5 Target gift card for every 10 bottles of SoBe Pure that you bought so I was able to pay for most of my order with the $15 worth of Target gift cards I had on hand! Plus they have electrolytes added!) I also grabbed a Sonia Kashuk eye liner brush that I've had my eye on~I prefer to use powder shadows for eyeliner since I tend to make a big mess with the liquid liners. Maybe I'll experiment with liquid liners again someday...I just like the softer line powder eyeshadow gives me. I'm at an age where "harsh" makeup doesn't serve me well, lol! Oh, and if you like those Special K cereal bars, they are on sale right now for $2.50 a box (at my Target)! Mike likes to take one everyday in his lunch since they are only 90 calories for a sweet treat~he loves the vanilla.
Today, I attempted a new recipe for dinner:
Easy Vegetarian Black Beans & Rice Casserole
corn tortillas
Tortilla chips (for those of us who like crunch)
salad
The recipe was a little more "involved" than I cared for (I'm all about simpifying these days and cooking as little as possible!) but it ended up being tasty enough that I'd do it again. I used my crockpot to cook the beans and then warm the whole mixture rather than baking it in the oven. I am trying to not turn on the oven this summer to keep from heating up the house~my crockpot and Wolfgang Puck multicooker have been getting quite the workout!
Speaking of workouts, I've forced myself to do a bit of working out the last couple of nights. Nothing extreme but at this point, while dealing with this chronic pain, I consider any exercise a victory. A little stretching, a little weight bearing and a little cardi on the rebounder~it all adds up to good!
BTW, yesterday's Bean Cassoulet recipe was delicious. I preferred it served over brown rice more than over the mashed potatoes, but both ways are yummy and filling! AND I tried the lime margarita drink mix I wrote about yesterday. With three lime wedges squeezed in and an ounce of silver tequila, it was pretty good. And a lot quicker & simpler than the sugar free recipe I was making in summers past.
Well I'm off to make it a great day~you do the same!
Thanks for sharing YOUR day with me!

Happy Summertime!

Sparklers!

Smoke Bombs!

Well, it has been sooo long since I've posted. So much going on within the family and for me, family always comes first.

First of all, I hope summertime is treating everyone well. We've had a drought going on around here, as so many are. Mandatory water rationing-our poor lawn! It was struggling before the drought for some unknown reason, and this has surely not helped!

For the fourth of July, my sweet DD went to a friends for a sleepover and to go watch the fireworks with them. Hubby and I stayed home, ordered a pizza and just enjoyed a quiet evening together. We're starting to feel little snippets of an empty nest. Not sure how that will be when it hits full force.

DD has experienced her first attempts at job hunting! So far, no luck but I don't think it's breaking her heart too badly, lol!

Speaking of DD, I think we have finally figured out that she does not tolerate wheat products well and that may be the cause of all her tummy woes. The g.i. testing she had done showed no physical cause for all her intestinal distress. And for all her assuming that she was lactose intolerant, when she finally bit the bullet and decided to cut out wheat products to see if that could be the culprit, lo and behold she began feeling better. And seems to tolerate dairy just fine. Thank the Lord! This has been so hard on her and us, watching her suffer and not knowing what to do for her. And such a long road to finally finding some relief for her!

About a month ago, we took dear hubby to the emergency room one evening because he wasn't feeling quite right. They ended up keeping him and determined he had had a minor heart attack, found he had 95% blockage in one of his arteries and had to put a stent in. Once home, he said he actually felt better than before in general. He is back at work and doing well now and we are so relieved!

I finally had the last of my four foot surgeries! Yay!!! (oh...no, I don't have four feet~two surgeries on each foot (: ). So happy with the results! Dr. Webb, I salute you and your staff and the surgery center for jobs well done!!!

And my niece Breezi's graduation! We can't forget that! Congratulations BZ!!!

Today, we plan on making a quick trip to the mall, and just enjoying the day and each others company. Of course there's laundry, ironing and a bit of housecleaning to do as well /: .

I thought I'd keep record here of what's for dinner so I can refer back on those days when I just can't come up with any ideas on what to prepare. Because of hubby's heart health scare, and Ari's dietary needs, I have begun to make more meatless meals. Trying to unearth tasty, filling recipes that don't contain meat for a family of carnivores has been quite a challenge! Our breakfasts, snacks and lunches vary from person to person. Mike usually takes basically the same lunch to work each day and Ari & I tend to fend for ourselves or stop in somewhere if we are out & about for a quick lunch. We aren't vegetarian by any stretch of the imagination but every little bit helps.

So, what's for dinner today?:

Three Bean Cassoulet served over mashed potatoes

tossed green salad

Other happenings in the kitchen:

I found this GV Lime Margarita drink mix while searching for the Crystal Light drink mixes that sound like they would make delicious low cal mixed or virgin cocktails that would be perfect for summer sippin' on the patio. So I mixed up a batch and will give it a test run. I like my margaritas frozen with salt. You?

And I'll be slow simmering a fat free veggie broth while I'm out running errands in my new Wolfgang Puck 10 cup cooker. Oh...and ewww...deep cleaning in the fridge.

Off to get ready for the day! Thanks for sharing your time with me!