A Yummy For Y'all!

A Yummy For Y'all

It's been AGES (yes, I'm dramatic) since I've shared a Yummy with y'all. And maybe even longer since I've shared one of my favourite recipes. Today, I decided to combine the two and share an actually yummy Yummy!

(Though, don't be fooled. I'm currently not cooking. Anything. Unless cereal and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, served with a side of Wavy Lays, counts. I should probably be ashamed. Alas, I'm not. I'm lucky if I don't fall face first into my bowl of milk every night. I'm still exhausted. Where is my second trimester energy burst?)

This recipe is from the hilarious Bethenny. Y'all know how much I adore her. I've made these peppers several times. The pine nuts and the feta (though those may seem like unusual ingredients) make these SHINE. And even though I'm still completely adverse to meat, I think I could handle the ground turkey. As long as Hubby Dear browned it for me.

Stuffed Peppers

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

    6 bell peppers

    1 pound of turkey meat

    1 cup of cooked quinoa

    1/2 large onion, chopped

    2 cups of jarred tomato sauce

    1 1/2 tsp. of garlic salt

    2 tsp. of Tabasco

    2 1/2 tsp. of Worcestershire sauce

    1 tsp. of salt

    1 tsp. of pepper

    1 tsp. of chili powder

    2 tsp. of fresh thyme

    1/3 cup of feta cheese

    2 Tbsp. of toasted pine nuts

    1 pinch of parsley for garnish

Steps:

1. Cook quinoa per directions. (Remember: You will only need 1 cup of the cooked quinoa for this recipe. Make sure and do not use the entire pot of quinoa you are boiling. Been there. Done that.)

2. Crumble turkey meat with a wooden spoon over medium heat. Cook until no longer pink.

3. While turkey meat is cooking, chop the tops and bottoms of peppers into pieces and combine with the onion, garlic salt and tomato sauce. Sauté over medium heat and add remaining ingredients, except the feta and pine nuts

4. Combine the above with the cooked turkey, quinoa, pine nuts and feta cheese. (Save a small amount of the feta to sprinkle on the tops later.)

5. Remove the inside of the peppers. Portion the mixture into each of the peppers and place them on a baking sheet. Top with feta cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.

Bon appetite!

Befores and Afters

I would never even pretend to call myself an “organized” person. Ever. My Sweet Hubby (MSH) is, however, extremely neat and organized. Believes that whole “everything should have a place” concept. He's recently decided it’s cute to call me a “hoarder.” He has no idea what a true hoarder is because he’s never seen one of those “hoarder” shows. (I’m pretty sure we’d have to take him to our local Emergency Room if he did. I’m convinced his heart couldn’t take it.) I am not a hoarder, MSH. Or TLC. (She thinks I may be in the "beginning stages.") Nope. I absolutely am NOT.

When I clean, I don’t sort of clean. I really clean. The TRUTH, and NOTHING but the TRUTH? I’m not moved to be a Merry Maid more than once every 3 to 4 weeks. Please don’t get me wrong: I tend to our laundry in a timely manner, keep our bathrooms clean and make our bed—unfailingly—every day. Well, I’ve/we’ve done that all but about 143 days in the last 34 years. Yes, I literally sat here, at my desk, and figured that number out—forcing myself to remember the times I didn’t or couldn’t make our bed because of, primarily, illness and/or surgeries—that I was experiencing or MSH was experiencing. So one—or both—of us was in said bed and it, therefore, couldn’t be made. Yes, Hubby has helped me make our bed—a lot. And he’s made it on his own—without me anywhere around. Here, now, is a picture of the last time he made it. Under it is the example of how I’d prefer it to be made. He now has the second one on his phone. For future reference. He is counting, I can assure you, on the fact that I do my utmost best to make it myself. My way. He's very okay with this.

MSH's Way
Not wrong--just not completely correct

The ELC Way

When I dust, I move everything. I pick up each knick-knack/tchotchke. Not because I like to do this kind of "detail." I unequivocally despise this job. Up on our hill, with the hurricane winds that came to our part of Texas last year and never left, it feels positively useless. When I knuckle down and get it done, I typically do our entire house in two-ish days. Three days later—SERIOUSLY—many things look like I haven’t dusted them in weeks. It’s simply beyond frustrating.

I bought the above book several years ago. It's a great reference—I highly recommend it. I spent a day reading every word soon after I found it and have turned to it many times in the past seven years it's been in my bookshelf. I can go right to it when I can't remember if you're supposed to vacuum or dust first. (Guess I could be actually cleaning—instead of reading. Hmmm.) I can’t quite remember, but I think she might be one of those experts who tell us We-Wish-We-Weren’t-Called-Hoarders we should never handle our mail more than twice. You know that advice, right? You look at it and then either File 13/Trash it, or put it in a box that requires immediate action, or put it in a box that requires eventual attention—just not immediately. And the key? You keep workin’ those two boxes—constantly and faithfully.

My True Confession:

Probably the area I’m the WORST “Housekeeper/Un-Organizer” is my home office. I let things pile up for weeks. Stuff papers and mail in drawers and my closet. I hold on to the “Life” sections of the Fort Worth Star Telegram for…well…sometimes several months. Never finding those two or three hours I thought I'd find to read them. Then, one day, sometimes without a lot of warning, it happens. I’ll desperately need something I know is stashed in one of my “nooks." When I can’t find it, I throw my own little hissy fit. During this event, I say—to myself—and/or to Teddy Buddy Boo Bear, if he’s awake:

“EEEKKKKKK. That’s it. I’ve GOT to clean this office. Tomorrow. No later than next week. For sure. Period.”

I wanted to make y’all feel really good about your own housekeeping/organizational habits by showing you some pictures I took of my office about two months ago. I took a “before” of my office floor and an “after.” Same with my desk. But, the more I looked at the “befores,” the more embarrassed I became. Let me, instead, try to describe what I had done and how my office looked:

The Insanity that was my Organizing Process started with me literally and deliberately throwing everything I'd hidden, in all the places I hide cards, papers, mail, newspapers, magazines, etc., etc., etc., on my office floor. Kind of in the middle-ish. It was quite disturbing. When MSH saw it that night, I prayed I wouldn't have to give him CPR. I promised him it would look beautiful by 5:00 p.m. the next day. Five days later, I actually got down to work. It took me eight hours. I threw about half of the stuff away and filed a quarter of it in my file cabinets or credenza. Stored the last quarter on a shelf in my closet in a plastic tub. It looked significantly better. MSH was somewhat impressed. I swore to him my desk—the last scary area—would be finished by the next day. At 5:00 p.m. Seven days after that (I'm on the Road to He** with my Good Intentions. I realize this.), I finished it! Took me six solid hours (minus a lunch break). Praise the Lord, MSH said! Honestly, I'm sure he was convinced it'd be months before I got this task completed. I was way ahead of “his” schedule. He was/still is proud of me.

With my own pride, I show you, now, what my desk has looked like for several weeks. It is the BEST feeling, isn’t it, when you accomplish a big task? It’s fabulous for one’s self-esteem.

Go, moi!
Love my TLC Screensaver!!!

Have I inspired you? To go straighten a drawer—or a cupboard/cabinet? If you’d rather, you can sit on your couch and watch something on your telly (something educational, entertaining, silly, mindless, classic, sad—whatever floats your boat) or read a book. You can clean and/or organize something next week. Or year. It’s fine. Promise. I won't be judging you, that is for shizzle.

smooches,

ELC

Stand By...

We have one of our grandkids here at the country casa! He's 3 1/2 and a DOLL. Of course we would say that. Aunt TLC will be arriving from the Big City in about two hours.

We have a post almost ready for tomorrow night . . .OR Monday. At the latest.

Hope y'all will come back to visit us then!

Have a Wonderful Weekend--wherever you are . . .

smooches from
The Leightons

In Conclusion

Baby C and I had the loveliest President's Day weekend visiting ELC, Pa-Dad and TBBB. Our days were filled with laughter, bacon, merriment, waffles, naps, Thin Mints, bacon, relaxation and bread. Basically, I ate. A lot. It was all for the Baby. (Perhaps having bacon for breakfast AND lunch on Saturday was slightly excessive, but what Baby C wants, Baby C gets. I'm just grateful it’s not currently on my "Meats I Have An Aversion To" list.)

As ELC reported, we had a delish Italian Sunday lunch with 2/3rds of The Crouch Gals. Then Mom and I scooted to the small theater down the road from the restaurant to see The Vow. We shared a box of Pretzel M&Ms—because it’d been an hour since we’d dined.  (As of 6:00 o’clock this morn, I have given ALL candy up for Lent. I'm glad my last hurrah was with those little delights.) What a super sweet show. ELC and I both boo-hooed (we did remember tissues!). We think Rachel McAdams is simply beyond adorable. Channing Tatum? Hunk-a-hunk-a-burnin’-love. Seriously. Swoon. We highly recommend this flick.

(Once back at the casa, I'm proud to say we went for a walk. Okay. We had to make room for the next smorgasbord.)

That evening, My Dearest Dad made us an extra-tasty dinner. It was the perfect end to a perfect day. We had a pasta (you can NEVER have enough pasta—or so we strongly feel) dish (with asparagus, pine nuts and Ricota cheese) and one of my Mom’s famous salads. Dad did a homemade dressing that was YUMMO. Oh, and more bread. I was worried I might be stuffing myself too much for what was planned next on The Agenda: trying on maternity clothes January had graciously loaned to me. This was my text to her when we had completed this daunting—and, perhaps, somewhat frustrating—task (Yes, I say "we" because Mom was a significant part of the “team” effort. January is teeny-tiny. Some of her tops and dresses had to be pulled off of my ever-expanding body by a completely pooped ELC):

Mom and I have been trying on your maternity clothes. Thank you so much for thinking I could fit into anything XS!!! LOL. I've found some items I LOVE and that should work—for a few weeks. I think, however, you have underestimated how much smaller you were (let's be honest—have always been), while preggers, than moi. Even when it comes to dresses. Specifically the pretty dress you wore to your shower at my house. When you were 8 months pregnant. I could sort of get it on my 4ish-months’ pregnant body. But Mom had to pry it off. That was a sight to see!

(No pictures, please.)

On Monday, I woke up to (more) waffles, blueberry yogurt and a bit of melancholiness. Though I was tres anxious to see My Guys, Hubby and Henry, I was tres-er sad to see my mini- vacation come to an end. It's truly like visiting a comfy/cozy resort when I go home. I'll always wish my folks lived closer to me.

Thank you, ELC and Dad! I missed you the minute I drove down the hill to the gate. Let’s do it again—real soon. Have the bacon ready.

Until next time...

Thus Far . . .

It's an All TLC-And-Baby Kind-O'-Weekend! Her Sweet Hubby went to his family's lake house with Henry and she came to our country casa for some R&R, visits with dear friends and pampering.

While she and her Dad watch a show called Chainsaw Ice Sculptors (seriously?), please allow me to share with y’all what has happened, thus far:

About an hour after TLC arrived from The Big City last night, the three of us loaded up in Hubby's ride and headed to the AT&T store in town. It was past time for TLC to cash in her birthday coupon from us for an iPhone 4s. Once this was accomplished (I sat in his truck and caught up on Words With Friends. Please BE IMPRESSED: I’ve now ventured into the realm of challenging Random Players—yep—I’m just that experienced and adventurous.), we went to a FroYo shop and taught My Sweet Hubby (MSH) how to fix his own cup of non-fat yogurt with toppings, weigh it and pay for it. Even though his weighed significantly more than our two put together, he left slightly disappointed because he forgot the caramel syrup.

On the 20-minute ride back home, TLC worried, out loud, about what we were going to fix her for breakfast. She wanted to know every possibility. At a little over four months pregnant, she focuses a lot on what her next meal or snack will be. Bless her heart. She's eating for two, don'tcha know. (And what can I say? I gained sixty (60) pounds with her. Not proud of that. Promise.)

This morning, her Dad happily prepared her request of biscuits with bacon and cheese. She and I then headed to one of our most favourite towns, Granbury, for lunch and a long overdue catch-up with our doll-ing friend, Taylor. She was one of TLC's Matrons of Honor (Almost two years ago? No. Not possible.).  She's drawing close to delivering her second child. She and Her Sweet Hubby have a precious 2 1/2 year-old son and will soon have a second Angel Boy. Woo Hoo! She looked absolutely amazing. I am sooo mad at myself. I meant to get the two Little Mamas' picture as soon as we got to Hank’s, our adored go-to lunch place on the Square. We were completely SHOCKED to find it closed. Like permanently, you ask? Yes, we think forever. That had me so flustered I never quite recovered and flat forgot the photo.

With broken hearts, and through pouring rain (we've gotten more rain in our little corner of Texas!), we had to find another place to dine and dish. Taylor had been to a cute one called The Mud Puppy. She drove us there and we liked it—immediately and immensely! We laughed and laughed and never wanted our time together to come to an end.

Bidding Taylor farewell (we can't wait to see her tiny bundle of joy in a few weeks), we headed back to our town so TLC could have a pregnant person's massage. I ran a few errands while she spent an hour in Heaven. We've been home since 4:30—CST. I’ve accomplished little to nothing. She and Baby C had a good nap. When she awoke, we were to work on a post together. First we had to warm up her favourite pizza I picked up for her. Then she had to have some Mint Girl Scout Cookies. Now she’s “too tired” to think. AND she's completely fascinated by the Chainsaw Sculptor-ers. It seems to be a marathon evening about these peeps and their "teams." Yippee.

She’s promised me we’ll work on our next post—sometime tomorrow. After we have lunch with The Crouch Girls (we’ll be the Fab Four, sadly—Lee can’t meet us this time). And after we see The Vow. I’m sure we’ll be able to settle down in my office and finally work on it when we get home from those two greatly anticipated and fun events. Wait, no, first she'll have to nap. Then we’ll have to have dinner (MSH is fixin’ something special for his Baby Girl). She’ll have to rummage around our cupboards and in our pantry for a bit after that. Earlier, before her naptime this afternoon, she told me what she wants for breakfast. Blueberry yogurt and waffles. Waffles aren't on the Dukan Diet. Something tells me she doesn't really care.

(BTW: I'm quite proud of myself and must brag a skosh, okay? Miss iPhone couldn't figure out why her new 4S didn't have Siri. ELC to the rescue! I suggested she check her settings. After several minutes of skepticism, she caved. Problem solved. You’re welcome, TLC. Anytime I can give you technical cellphone advice, give me a buzz.)

Have a SWEET Saturday Night, Friends Everywhere . . .

smooches . . .

Happy Hearts

On this Valentine’s Day, we’d LOVE to share some of the things that make us have Grateful and Happy Hearts:

Our Devotion to Almighty God, Our Lord and Savior, and His Son, Jesus Christ;

Our Handsome, Adorable, Wonderful Hubbies;

Our Love of and Devotion to Each Other;

Our Families and Friends;

Our Hysterically Humorous Pets—Cobbler Kitty, Mortimer Kitty, Prince Henry Puppy and Duke TBBB Dog;

Our Homes, Health and Safety;

And, most of all,

Our INCREDIBLE EXCITEMENT and JOY at the mere thought of our upcoming Baby C!!!

From Our Hearts to Yours…this Day… and ALWAYS,

with Love and Kisses from

The Leightons

xoxxooxxxoooxxxxooooxxxxxoooooxxxxxxoooooo

The Royal Luncheon

A week ago this past Tuesday, I had the privilege of attending lunch at Queen Autumn’s Castle, which, by the way, has a moat! (Well, okay—it’s not technically a moat. She and her King Hubby live on a beautiful canal that comes off one of the prettiest and most popular lakes in all of The Land of Texas. For purposes of this post, it’s a moat. Go with it.)

I’m happy to direct y’all to Out to Lunch, in August of 2011, where I attempted to explain how amazingly talented Autumn truly is. Her home is magazine-worthy awesome. Full of rich colours (fancy spelling), fabulous textures and exquisite design, one find’s oneself grateful to be sitting in her den, gazing out at her magnificent outdoor kitchen, stunning fountain and the aforementioned moat, wishing one never had to leave. Right as we sat down to eat, a pelican landed near their dock. A pelican! They have Ducks, Unlimited. Autumn was, as always, very gracious about the sixty that appeared on our tank in November, but I realize they were like a droplet of water in an ocean to her ducks. They often have geese and cranes, too. It’s a virtual Bird Sanctuary, it is (please think/say this like Bert in Mary Poppins, if you don’t mind too terribly much—should be a piece of scone for our Brit readers).

I confess. I had, technically, invited myself to The Royal Luncheon. I know y’all must be shocked. You no doubt believe I at least attempt to display impeccable manners at all times. (I’m one-quarter English, for Pete’s sake. Social Graces are in my "Sky" Blue Blood.) I absolutely know proper etiquette. Well, 95% of the time. Okay, 80% of the time. 70% and that’s my final answer. Allow me, now, to explain:

I had to be in Autumn’s general vicinity for some errands. When I realized that, I’d emailed her, arranging to go to meet, for the first time…wait for it…

trumpet announcement please. . .

Princess Kate!

I’ve known Queen Autumn’s Precious Pooch—The Duchess of Clooney, or simply Clooney to her humble subjects—for five-ish years. She's Autumn’s adorable Cocker Spaniel. Named after—well, seriously, I have complete faith you can figure out who The Queen’s favorite actor is, right?

Upon arrival around noonish at Autumn’s Castle (I had my chauffeur stop at a Subway near her Estate so her Staff could have the day off and I could treat her to lunch. It was the least I could do.), I was introduced to the sweetest, darling-est, most yummiest Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy EVER born.

It is with immense pleasure I now share pictures of Princess Kate and Duchess Clooney:

Princess Kate (and her snazzy red bows!)

Duchess Clooney taking a little snooze as Princess Kate poses poshly for the camera.

The Royal Luncheon wore Princess Kate plum out!

MERCI, Autumn, for a simply lovely day at your elegant home. I’m grateful for the devinely delightful memory…

Hugs and Smooches, Pooches,

ELC

Must Love . . . John

Cusack. Of course! Three-ish weeks ago, as I scrolled the Directv guide one evening, I noticed Must Love Dogs would be on later that night. One of his most charming movies. TLC and I had gone to the theater (in 2005—I actually didn’t remember the year—had to research!) to see it. We—DUH—ADORED it.  Hit RECORD on the remote and I had that puppy DVRed—STAT. A few nights later, as I was having trouble going to sleep, I remembered it. Headed directly to the couch.  Although I had to fast forward through commercials (exhausting work—particularly in the wee hours of the morning), I smiled, giggled, laughed out loud and cried for approximately two hours. If I hadn’t finally fallen asleep, I might have watched it again.

TLC and I talk every morning as she heads to work. Sometimes I have notes for myself. Seriously. Seriously sad. But my (and her) reality. Notes about things I want to tell and/or ask her. If I have no notes or profound observations or revelations to share (and, Lord knows, she ain’t gonna talk much—somehow I had a child that is NOT an a.m. peepster like her Mama), I catch her up on the local (Dallas/Ft. Worth) or national news. I can never, ever, EVER scoop TLC on celebrity minutiae. She apparently has a direct phone line to TMZ and People.  Only hours after I'd watched MLD, I reminded her of some of the cute/sweet moments in it. She’d say “awww” at all of the appropriate paw-ses. Tee Hee Hee. I can't be sure she was listening. I can never be quite sure of that. She did bring up another John Cusack movie we treasure: Serendipity. Everyone SIGH. One of our all-time favourite-est movies. Yours, too, I'd bet.

Three other fantastic Cusack movies (two are pretty violent--sometimes I simply have to be tough for the greater good) we've enjoyed immensely with Our Fellas are Con Air, The Thin Red Line and Eight Men Out. Escaped convicts on a crashing airplane (I shudder as I type). War. Baseball. All what I’d call “guy” kind o’ movies. All amazing.

Caveat (isn’t this the fancy way to say BTW?): I probably haven’t seen half of the movies he’s made. There are oodles. Upon poodles. I recommend taking a few minutes to Google, at this point, to be reminded of John Cusack's "works of art." These are six that stand out to me as extraordinarily and fabulously entertaining.

What TLC and I both agree we truly admire about him? He seems to have successfully avoided the trap too many actors/celebrities fall into—the one where they believe they're exempt from being responsible, accountable, grateful human beings. In other words, he seems like he's a truly nice man. Someone you'd have a blast playing Apples to Apples with on a cold, winter’s Saturday night with your family and friends.

TLC and I talked about our precious/silly/cRaZy dogs until she arrived at her job’s parking garage. I'm always sad when it’s time to hang up.

COMING SOON to a LOL website nearest you: The Royal Luncheon. Starring Princess Kate and Duchess Clooney!  

(Puppy) Chow for Now, Y’all . . .

p.s.--Want to visit an INCREDIBLE Classic Movies website? Click on Patti's http://www.classicmoviesnippets.blogspot.com/

Four Yeehaws!

Because it’s the 4^th! Seriously, is it February? Sheesh.

So I’m not one for expensive beauty “regimens.” Not only do I get bored easily, but I’m tres susceptible to the latest/newest ad-campaign “promises.” Plus, I like bargains. Maybe “bargains” isn’t exactly the right word. Maybe I should say I love to spend my budgeted beauty dollars on “value.” Getting the best bang for my bucks.

I want to share two products I MUST have and two I’ve just discovered, but that I already enjoy:

{First, a reminder—like TLC or y’all could ever possibly forget—I am a Senior Citizen. Not a “Foxy Senior Citizen.” Simply old enough to get the Senior Discount at 75% of the places—for those of us 55 or older—I go. Young enough to resent it. I woke up the day after I turned 40 and saw them. Crows’ feet. I woke up the day after I turned 43 and couldn’t read—not a newspaper. Not a book. Nothin’. Not unless I held said paper three feet from my face. I became forced to welcome into my life The Bifocal Decades. The good news was that I could no longer see my crows’ feet. The day after my 47^th birthday? The beginning of Gobble Neck. Lovely. At 53? Saw my first “brown spot.” On my face. Thank you, Lord. Thank you for reminding me that Youth is fleeting and Old Age means a stronger commitment to the cosmetic industry. If I can find a way to “treat” these fabulous “aging” symptoms, like brown spots, with something over-the-counter? Yep, I’m goin’ for it.}

I’ve discovered and have been using, for about five months, Skin Renew/Dark Spot Corrector, by Garnier. You’ll notice ads for this in all the womens’ magazines. Clearly their marketing gurus got to moi—and my pocketbook. Despite my contention there must be a better description/phrase than "dark spots." Yuck. I contend it’s helping mine. In fact, I’ve been doing my own little scientific experiment—watching, specifically, a delightful caramel-colored circle on my left mid-(face)cheek. When I first noticed it, it was the size of a pea. Green. Not English. Now it’s almost gone! Especially if I leave my bifocals off when I look into my 10x magnifying mirror. For what it cost at the drug store, I definitely think it’s worth a try. I intend to buy another tube soon, since I find many companies are determined to discontinue the products I like the most. (And here, now, is an ELC’s Example, mixed in with this Yeehaw: Companies that take away the things we absolutely depend on and must have? UNFAIR. Exactly--one more thing that's wrong with this World.)

I’ve been using Aveeno Ultra-Calming Daily Moisturizer for about three years. The bottle clearly states it is “clinically proven to visibly reduce redness” and “soothe irritated or sensitive skin.” Do I think it’s true? I've used it faithfully. It hasn't made my senstive skin any redder. I like it. Nuff said.

My two new finds:

Skinnygirl Tinted Daily Moisturizer. It’s from Bethanny! The World’s GREATEST Skinny Girl! And it’s located in the Wally World near you. How convenient is that? Head towards the pharmaceutical/cosmetic section and Voila! You should be able to find this at the end of a makeup aisle. I’m thinking there were about six shades. I got “Sand.” Upon opening it, I discovered it has a “brush.” I’m completely hip on/to? foundation/tinted moisturizer brushes. Sponges. Etc. TLC uses them. These devices really get that makeup/tinted moisturizer deep down into one's skin—smoothing out the majority of one’s problem areas.  I actually prefer using my fingertips to apply foundation/tinted moisturizer. I squeezed a small amount into the brush (you have no choice) and then, after applying it to my forehead, nose and chin, used my fingers to finish the process. I liked the almost powdery—though not dry at all—look and feel of this tint. (Do consider waiting to have a Skinny Girl Margarita before applying this, or any other, makeup product).

Y’all might remember how I pushed—I meant to type liked—Revlon’s PhotoReady makeup? Imagine my excitement two weeks ago when I noticed Emma Stone’s television ad for Revlon’s Photoready Airbrush Mousse Makeup. AIRBRUSH? Mousse? PRAISE THE LORD and HALLELUJAH! Finally, finally, at the young age of 57 years, I get to look like a model—and put on makeup I’d consider eating, too! I feel as though I’m sounding sarcastic. I honestly don’t mean to.

1. TLC and I adore Emma Stone. If you don’t (and I’m talking to both you men and women), I’m sorry to tell you, but something is off and you might need to get that checked out.
2. I still truly like the original PhotoReady makeup and will keep alternating it in my beauty regimen.
3. This moussier makeup is even lighter/air brushier than the aforementioned product, hence an overall dreamier experience and look. I plan to use it on the days I'm channeling Emma and feel extra wispy.

WARNING: There is a WARNING on the back of the Airbrush bottle.

I got my magnifying glass out to see what was under the scary red fire sign:

CAUTION, it says:

“DO NOT SPRAY ON A NAKED FLAME.”

I can’t make this stuff up and HUH? Who knew there are flames and then there are naked flames? Yikes.

I was a tidbit taken aback when I first noticed the warning—and, yes, it was after I’d put the makeup on (I’ve lived with a man for almost 34 years—I occasionally don’t read instructions first). But then, after having a long talk with TLC about my concerns, we decided there are tons o’ products out there that are “flammable.” FIRST and FOREMOST? Hairspray. Duh. We heart BIG TEXAS HAIR. It’s really quite simple: DON’T hold flammable things near any kind of flame/flames, naked or clothed, you and/or the flames, and everything will be fine.

ELC’s WARNING about this particular product:

There is no need to shake it, like you usually do with most foundations. It doesn’t say to shake it up in the directions—that I could see. With my bifocals. BUT—be extra careful about pressing on the top of the bottle. It semi-pops out like a big, bubbly balloon. I’m not convinced I didn’t use up half the bottle the first time I tried it. I’d suggest Revlon put a warning on the top of the bottle to “press lightly and fast. Do NOT hold down.” The second time I used it I was careful-er (go ahead—use this word three times tomorrow and see how many people correct your grammar—it’ll be interesting) and it worked better-er. It’s like your Mom tries to teach you: You can always put a little more on (this applies to many, many things in life—not just makeup), but it’s harder to put something back into a bottle once it’s out. Amen.

Are you now wondering: WHY doesn’t ELC buy one good makeup foundation product, even if it costs $40 to $100, and be done with it? Wouldn’t she be ahead of her “budget” game? Possibly. You could have a point and it might be something My Sweet Hubby has (patiently) discussed with me. The real question is: Could I have as much fun? Answer: Nope.

BTW: NO ONE pays me for these product endorsements. No one pays TLC and/or me anything for any of our Yummies or Yeehaws. Call us cRaZy, but we don't think we'd ever have the nerve to even ask.

ta-ta for now, Darlings . . .

Mommy-To-Be Musings

1. "Pregnancy Brain" does exist. Yes, yes, ELC, it does. Apparently ELC, albeit gently, speculates I am using this as an excuse to shirk my blog posting duties. If only, Grammy. It's not a myth. And I've got it. BAD. So much so I forgot to put on deodorant and perfume one day last week. TMI? I'm sorry. You can understand why I'm now slightly paranoid – the more pregnant and thus more pregnant-brained I become – I could forget my clothes. That would not be pretty, y'all.

2. Morning sickness is a ridiculous label. I've never been sick in the morning. The evenings? A whole other story, my friends. I think we should just call it what it is – nasty nausea – and move on down the road.

3. Where have maternity pants been all of my life? I don't know how I'll ever go back to wearing "regular” jeans. I’m catching ELC eyeing them with envy.

4. I'm a walking cliché of cravings: sour pickles and a chocolate chip cookie cake. And mustard (no, not mustard on the cookies – not yet, anyway). Potato chips dipped in mustard. And cupcakes. Any kind.

5. I miss my Diet Vanilla Cokes (or "DVCs" as ELC and I lovingly labeled them) from Sonic. I know caffeine is tres bad, so instead I sip on grape juice and Pellegrino. Not quite the same but still pretty tasty and fizzy.

6. Waking up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom (no less than three times in approximately seven hours) is dangerous. I run into the door on my way back to bed, causing me to say words a soon-to-be new Mommy should never get in the habit of saying. I'm now trying to practice my "mummy walk" (pun intended) – arms stretched completely straight out in front of me as I try to locate the door in the dark. Thank goodness no one has videoed that scene yet.

7. Hmmm. I know I thought of something else to list as I was driving home this evening. Now I can't remember what it was. See #1.