Pay it Foward Contest

Are you as excited about our Group Effort Pay it Forward contest as I am?  Probably not, as I am disproportionately excited about it. It’s just what my summer doldrums have been begging for.

In case you’re not exactly sure what a Pay it Forward contest is, I’ll offer a brief explanation. You enter the contest and if you win, you will get a package from me. Sounds like a regular ol’ contest, doesn’t it? BUT IT’S NOT! If you win, you then have to have a contest on your blog and send a package to the winner. See? You win something and then you Pay it Forward by awarding a prize to someone else who, in turn, has to have a contest on their blog. And it keeps going until we’ve decided enough already! Nifty, huh?

I’ve opted to shop for the winner after they’re chosen, instead of offering a one-size-fits-all kind of a prize. I’d like to personalize it just for YOU when you win : )

Official Contest Rules:

The contest is open until Friday, July 4th at noon edst. I’ll be out of town, but will pick the winner when I get back home on Saturday. Then, we’ll chat via email and you’ll give me your vital stats. Then, I get to go to Target and buy cute things for you!

Your entry will be your comment answering this question: What’s the one indulgence you try to treat yourself to on a regular basis?

Fun Fact Friday: Pictoral Edition

* Maddie had her first hair cut yesterday. It was a spur of the moment decision. She was a champ! The only part she didn’t like was getting her hair sprayed down before the cut. Otherwise, she was totally oblivious to the whole thing. I had a moment of mourning the loss of the mullet, but it was fleeting. She looks adorable with her little bob. However, according to her dad, she looks like a boy. WHATEV, Gerald. WHATEV.

* Back story: Maddie likes to emulate me. Her favorite thing to copy is me leaving the house. She puts her “purse” on her arm, blows a kiss and leaves. Then she comes back and expects a great big “hi!” It’s adorable. Anyhow, we got her a chair yesterday and it’s got a handle on top. Can you see where this is going? She puts her little hand through the handle and blows a kiss and tries to drag that damn chair along with her. She’s completely insane.

* There was a hot air balloon festival in the next town over last weekend. Friday evening, they were testing the balloons for the sunrise rides or whatever, and I got some great pics with my telephoto lens. This is about 15 miles or so from our house, taken while standing in our backyard. Cool, huh?

* Maddie calls me “mama” now. The first time she did it last week, I almost burst into tears. It was the best damn sound I’ve ever heard.

* Speaking of… Maddie also calls things now. She calls our dogs, her blanket, her toys, whatever she can think of. I’m forever hearing “Peh peh!” (Pippin) or “Tig Geh!” (Tigger) or “MMMMM!!!” (Blanket (Yes, she calls her blanket “mmmm.)) It’s very cute.

Are all these facts going to be about my kid?? Sheesh!

* I get a pedicure once a month during the summer. The place I go does the BEST designs. Here’s the one I got last month and this is my 4th of July pedicure. Wicked cool, huh?

* I think I may be addicted to the internet/my MacBook. Therefore, I’m going on a self-imposed detox next week. We’re going to my in-laws on Wednesday and coming home on Saturday. I’m not taking my laptop, so no email, facebook or blogs. I’m pretty sure I’m going to have the DTs by day two.

* My surgery has now been moved to the end of July/beginning of August. The insurance coordinator at my surgeon’s office has her head in her ass. It’s taken her THREE WEEKS to submit my ppwk to the insurance company. And that’s after FOUR calls from me asking WTF is taking so damned long. I’m so frustrated!

* I’m going to a book signing on Saturday. One of my favorite authors is going to be a Border’s in Dallas. I’m going to ask her to sign a copy of one of her books for me. How lame does that sound? Whatev. I’m totally excited about it.

* Um, I’m out of facts. The End.

Yeah… this is sort of the opposite of “fitnessy.”

Maddie loves strawberries. Unfortunately, the berries available at my local grocery store have been less than fresh lately. I purchased two pounds yesterday and after inspecting and hulling, I ended up with one pound of keepers. And the keepers were borderline and needed to be eaten FAST. I chopped some for the baby’s consumption and decided to make strawberry ice cream with the rest. I had some whipping cream left over from Father’s Day that I needed to use, too, so it seemed like a good choice. (I made strawberry shortcake with homemade whipped cream.)

I just put the ice cream in the freezer to firm up and immediately sat down to tell you to MAKE IT, NOW! I have never liked strawberry ice cream in my life, but this stuff is unbelievably good. NOTHING like that pink, massed produced shit you can buy in the grocery store. This is creamy, smooth and so very, very tasty. Perfect for a summer dessert.

Strawberry Ice Cream

Ingredients:

• 1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and chopped (I used more than a pint and it didn’t negatively affect the recipe at all.)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and 1/4 cup sugar in a mixing bowl, set aside in fridge for at least 1 hour.
2. In large mixing bowl beat eggs until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
3. Gradually add 3/4 cup sugar, mixing well. Stir in milk and vanilla and mix well.
4. Add strawberries with juice and mix well.
5. Gently stir in whipping cream just until combined.
6. Pour into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer’s instructions.
   I have the Krups ice cream maker and it took 40 minutes to process. The resulting mixture was still soft and almost runny. Don’t worry, it will firm up nicely after a few hours in the freezer.

One thing I learned was to chop the strawberries very finely. Big hunks aren’t that tasty. They’re frozen and difficult to chew. Next time I think I may even mash them a bit before adding them to the mixture.

Fitnessy Question

I have a question for my fitnessy readers: is it better to walk longer on the treadmill at a less-than-soul-crushing pace, or a shorter amount of time at a pace that makes me wish for death to relieve the shin splints?

Memey Goodness

The concept:

1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr search.

2. Using only the first page of results, pick one image.

3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Big Huge Lab’s Mosaic Maker to create a mosaic of the picture answers.

The questions:

1. What is your first name?

2. What is your favorite food right now?

3. What high school did you go to?

4. What is your favorite color?

5. Who is your celebrity crush?

6. What is your favorite drink?

7. What is your dream vacation?

8. What is your favorite dessert?

9. What do you want to be when you grow up?

10. What do you love most in life?

11. What is one word that describes you?

12. What is your flickr name?

1. Erica, 2. Roasted Cauliflower 24/30, 3. A huge sign!, 4. lunar eclipse, 5. Angelina Jolie, 6. Mojito Power, 7. Reef, 8. Crème Brûlée, 9. Giza, 10. Joy of life, 11. Fun, 12. Erica, a jardineira

Created with fd’s Flickr Toys.

Fun Fact Friday

* I know all the words to Ice Ice Baby.

* Gerald and I have every episode of Futurama on our TiVo. We’ve seen them so many times that we’ve invented a new game to play. We take turns randomly picking an episode (with eyes closed) and then we try to see which one of us can guess the episode first. It’s like that old game show Name That Tune. Yes, we realize this makes us incredibly lame.

* Apparently, I’m an evolutionary success.

* Maddie’s going through what is HOPEFULLY a phase of being very contrary. She intentionally ignores instructions and requests. I am not handling this well, at all. It seems like every time I try to play with her, I end up fussing at her because she doesn’t listen. She immediately runs to whatever off-limits thing she can get to and proceeds to mess with it. I could throttle her when she does this. What is supposed to be fun playing ends up being upsetting for both of us.

* I really, really want to take a family vacation. Unfortunately, Gerald is working three jobs right now and it’s just not possible for him to go anywhere.

* The only place I’ve been that’s out of the U.S. is Canada. I would love to travel to so many places, but I’m too indignant about airlines. I refuse to pay all that damn money and be treated like shit.

* I’m allergic to five different antibiotics.

* After spending so many months on bed-rest, I sleep on my left side more often than not.

* I actually drink the amount of water I’m supposed to almost every day. I don’t understand it when people say that can’t possibly drink that much. How can you not? Aren’t you thirsty all the time?

* I want a pet rabbit. And a kitten. And horse. And an octopus.

Make over goodness

Here’s a pic from my phone. It doesn’t accurately capture the amount of eye make-up I had on. It took FOUR make-up remover wipes to get it off. And the eyeliner is winged out on the sides of my eyes like Amy Winehouse. Srsly.

Reality Check

Last night, I went to a beauty supply store for a make-up class. The store was giving a complimentary Bare Minerals class to people who bought the Masterpiece Collection. I bought the kit a couple of weeks ago and signed up for the class on a whim. Sounded fun and I figured I might learn a few things.

Well, only three of the 20 people who signed up for the class actually showed up. With so few of us, the store cancelled the Bare Minerals “expert” that was supposed to lead the class and one of the girls who works in the store conducted it, instead. The girl, Sarah, was nice enough, but YOUNG. And she wore A LOT of make-up. I chalked this up to the fact that she worked in a beauty supply store, and settled in to enjoy the class.

Sarah started with me. She decided to demonstrate a “night look” on me. She chose colors from which I would normally run screaming. But, hey, I was there to learn, right? Nothing ventured, nothing gained. As she applied, and applied, and applied some more, I watched the other two girls’ faces for hints of how I might look. They kept saying I looked great. Like I was ready to go out! When Sarah handed me the mirror, I was stunned. I looked like Amy Winehouse on her worst day. I struggled to maintain my composure so I wouldn’t hurt Sarah’s feelings. “It looks…. good,” I said, hesitantly.

I looked like a crack whore. There was so much black eyeliner around my eyes that I could feel it. I wanted to rush home and scrub it all off, but instead, I watched as the other girls had their turn. They ended up looking very nice. Not at all crack whorey. I thanked Sarah for her time, paid for the lip gloss I wanted, and drove home.

I came into the house and paused in the laundry room. I asked Gerald if he was ready to see my new look, and I made a grand entrance into the living room. The look on his face was priceless. He was all “Is that what they taught you? THAT’S what they said you should do???” When I replied in the affirmative, he said “Well, it sure doesn’t work for you.” He then went on to say that it seemed to be the style these days, but I was too old for it.

TOO OLD.

I started to get indignant, but stopped because HE WAS RIGHT. I am too old for that look. And you know what else? I don’t need that much damn make-up on. I like my face the way it is. I use make-up to hide flaws, (i.e., ZITS) and bring a little polish to my look. I don’t want to look like I’m wearing a metric ton of eyeliner.

Anyhow, the class was a total bust, but it was fun. I got to spend a few hours away from the stresses of home and play with make-up. It was like a sleepover… but without the toilet papering.

It’s about damn time!

The surgeon’s office FINALLY got all their shit together and is submitting my case to the insurance company for approval. It should take about 30 days to hear back on whether or not it’s approved.

I’m so ready to be done with this, already. By the time I have the surgery, it will have been A YEAR since I first went to the seminar. No one can say I rushed into this, that’s for sure.

It’s on like Donkey Kong

1. New Asics shoes
2. Adidas Performance Socks
3. Arm Band for iPod
4. Gym Membership Key Card
5. Old School Sweatband

I joined a gym. Srsly. I consulted experts and researched the internets and found the best running shoe for me. I bought the shoes and four pairs of cool-max socks. I got an arm band for my iPod and I bought four totally retarded sweatbands.

What?

Are you laughing at me? Listen here, Judgey McJudgerson, I wear contacts and I sweat. A lot. Sweat + contacts = OW. I can’t wipe my eyes, either, without effing up my contacts. So screw everyone who laughs at me. I’m gonna be at the gym, pounding the treadmill, ass jiggling for all it’s worth and I’m going to be wearing a punk-ass sweatband.

Oh, and for the record, Maddie likes her some cool-max socks.