30 Minutes of Wonderful

my backyard I live in south Louisiana and grew up on the bayou. It was literally my back yard...named after my family & flowing along the 18 acres my grandfather owned. Lots of great adventures there over the years, but this one stands out in my mind.  I was 15, a sophomore in high school. There was a huge square chunk of concrete in the water, right along the bank, that had a smaller square on top of it. It was a perfect seat for reading. I spent a lot of time out there, book in hand or just watching the water. On this particular day, I sat reading while my German Shepherd, Sasha, wandered along the levee. The property across the bayou from us was a small farm. They had goats, sheep, and ducks. I saw a mama duck & about a dozen ducklings drop into the water for a swim. I smiled at how cute they were and went back to my book. Then something else caught my eye. An alligator popped up behind the ducks. Mama Duck went into a frenzy, trying to get her ducklings to safety. The

This was my first month to receive an ipsy bag.Overall, pretty impressive! First off, I love anything chevron-patterned these days, plus red/white/black are a favorite color combination of mine. The bag was an instant win. I was also excited about all of the products.  The Coastal Scents eyeshadows are great. I love the colors (set #6) and the quality was surprisingly good. I'm a self-admitted Urban Decay snob when it comes to shadows. However, the CS palette blended easily & the pigmentation is wonderful. The Be a Bombshell eye liner in onyx is like a felt-tipped marker. I've never tried one before, so I'm curious to see how easy it will be to work with. Sad but true, I only learned how to use eyeliner in plain old pencil form a couple of years ago, and I'm almost 32!  I also got theBalm "What's Your Type?" mascara in "the body builder". It's black, which is always a winner. I've used it a couple of times now and I rea

So I got an e-mail on Tuesday of last week informing me that my Birchbox  had shipped. And then later in the day, I check my mailbox and find said Birchbox in it. Because it actually shipped on the 6th. No complaints, though. I was excited to have it so quickly! I resubscribed last month for the first time in over a year. Last month's box was pretty good.  It's just "meh" this month. I got: beautyblender sponge (full size=$25.95 for a pack of two) Chantecaille Brilliant Gloss (full size=$33) DDF Wrinkle Resist Plus Pore Minimizer (full size=$85) Marie Veronique Organics Anti-Aging Oil+ (full size=$80) Lifestyle Extra: LUNA Lemon Zest (full size=$18.75 for a pack of 15) I've been curious about the beautyblender for awhile, and nearly bought a knockoff at WalMart last week, so that's kinda cool. I've been using it & I really like it. I wet it first and it blends my foundation nicely. Tried the LUNA bar. It wasn't terrible, but

I took advantage of nap time today to tackle a crafty project I've wanted to do for awhile now. Saw this on Pinterest awhile ago and thought it'd be perfect, since I can't get rid of cards! It's nice to go back later & read the sentiment. Of course, I can't find the pin now to link here, but it's simple enough. You'll get the general idea! So today, after Owen crashed, I popped Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince into the DVD player, brewed a fresh pot of coffee, and settled on the living room rug with my hole puncher, ribbon box, book rings ($1.88 for a pack of 8 (4 small, 4 large) at Walmart) , & a pile of cards. I sorted them first, into 4 piles-baby shower 1, baby shower 2, baby's arrival, & 1st birthday. (Yep, I was very luck & had two showers--the first by my in-laws in north LA and the 2nd by my parents here at home.) Then, I punched a hole in the top corner of each and put the book ring through. To finish it off, I knotted a

My Wednesday started off with a funeral. My great-aunt passed away on Monday at the age of 85. She had been sick for awhile. I'm glad she isn't suffering anymore, but I'm sorry that my great-uncle and cousins now have to go on without their matriarch. My dad, my son, & I went show our support this morning. Owen was incredibly well behaved and friendly. Being a toddler, I'm never quite sure how he'll react to a bunch of relative strangers. Sometimes he's Mr. Social and sometimes he's hiding behind mommy. But today he was happy to greet everyone & give high-fives.  I don't believe in sheltering children from death. It should absolutely be handled in an age-appropriate manner, but I think that the earlier children know about death, the less scary it will be for them. Owen is two and has been to a few funerals already, although today was the first time he ever went up to the casket. I expected him to ask if Aunt E was asleep, but he said nothing. H

Brooke is giving away a Fall/Halloween Softlips two-pack on her blog . Go check it out! You can also enter on her YouTube channel  here . And Coley's  giveaway is almost over. Hurry over to Allie's blog to enter, then follow all of these lovely ladies. You'll be glad you did! :)

I've bought a few new polishes lately, because my collection isn't large enough. (Ha!) These were purchased over the past few weeks and all but the Essie were bought at my local WalMart. I got the Essie polish at Ulta. NYC Prince Street, Sally Hansen Forbidden Fudge, Essie Angora Cardi, Revlon Spanish Moss, & Revlon Blue Slate I just recently discovered NYC nail polishes and am impressed with the quality, since they're so affordable! I have 3 other colors + the Matte top coat and I love them all!  I saw the Sally Hansen color on Pinterest and had to have it! It's like someone melted a Hershey bar, added some shimmer, and bottled it up. Amazing. It looks delicious.  Essie's Angora Cardi is a beautiful mauve. Not usually a shade I'm drawn to, but I saw it on YouTube beauty guru Ingrid/missglamorazzi's nail polish collection video and it was so pretty that I couldn't pass it up. It's on my toes now. I'm pretty sure both Revlon

It's Sunday. My son slept over at his grandparents' house last night. My husband left for work early this morning. And I've been up since 5:30. On my morning to sleep in. Go figure. I guess I'm rested enough with about 7 straight hours of sleep. That never happens, since my 2 year-old still wakes up during the night. I did lounge in bed until 6, but then I gave up. Made some coffee, had some waffles, took the dog out, and played on FarmVille. A nice, quiet morning to myself. Now, I've got some laundry going and I'll be putting supper in the crock pot shortly. I'm making Sunday Chicken, a favorite recipe from my "101 Things to do with a Slow Cooker" cook book. Try it. You'll love it! We're having it with mashed potatoes & steamed veggies. Sunday Chicken 4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 2 cans (10 3/4 ounces each) cream of chicken soup, condensed* 1 envelope dry onion soup mix 1 cup sour cream Place chicken in greased*

My husband was out of town for a few days on a hunting trip. I generally don't bother cooking for just my son & I. He's a picky toddler, so quick things like grilled cheese & chicken nuggets are always a winner. But last night, I felt the need for a good home-cooked meal. So, I called up my parents (& brother & his girlfriend) to see if they'd be interested in trying a spinach & sausage lasagna. Of course, they were, so I threw this together & went over to their house. The food & the company was great, and Owen got some playtime with his grandparents. I got this recipe from my mother-in-law. I hope you enjoy it as much as we all do! Wish I'd thought to take a picture, but it's all gone. :) Spinach & Sausage Lasagna 12 lasagna noodles 1 LB ground sausage 10 oz chopped frozen spinach 17 oz jar Alfredo sauce salt & pepper to taste 1 egg 2 c grated cheddar 15 oz ricotta cheese 1/2 c Parmesan cheese 1 c grate

Just a few random thoughts while the boy naps... A box of chocolate cake mix and a can of pumpkin make amazing muffins. I have too many books & not enough time to read them! So glad we're finally getting a taste of fall weather here. Owen's sleeping. Brian is hunting. I should be doing something productive, but instead, here I sit with a can of diet Barq's, reading blogs. Life is good! As much as I hate to have to say goodbye to a favorite tv character (I get way too emotionally invested in these shows!) I am looking forward to tonight's episode of Sons of Anarchy more than most. Opie's funeral. Sigh. Cannot wait to see how the club proceeds! It's gonna be an epic season.

Ashley at  Simply, Ashley.  posted this Harry Potter questionnaire/link-up. I've never participated in one of these, so I hope I'm doing this right. But I love all things HP, so here we go!  1)Your favorite of the 7 books? 2)Your favorite of the films? 3)Which, if any, of the films made you angry for not staying true to the book? 4)Your least favorite female character and why? 5)Your favorite male character and why? 6)What house would you LIKE to be in? now be realistic … which would The Sorting Hat put you in? 7)Which subject would be your favorite at Hogwarts? * Share some of your favorite HP pins, quotes etc … 1. It's a tie between Goblet of Fire & Order of the Phoenix. I feel like GoF is when things took a darker turn, a more grown-up route, and that was really appealing to me. OotP played off of that & set up the rest of the series. 2. Half Blood Prince. It was very deep, character-wise. Gave me a new appreciation of Snape. 3. Oot