10 Favorites of 2012

Show
From Criminal Minds to Grey's Anatomy and now American Horror Story has that special place in my heart. AHS is so unexpectedly good.

Online Store
Yesstyle.com. Now I've only made one order this year but it was a good one. Remember?

Image: Stuart Miles | FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Girl Crush
I've been crushing hard on Adriana Lima this year. That girl is all kinds of hot and I wish I could spend at least a day looking like her.

Quote
"Don’t be pushed by your problems; be led by your dreams." -Author Unknown

Image from their channel

People
Judy and Benji of itsJudysLife on Youtube. They are an amazing couple that share their everyday lives with the world. They give me hope, this is what I want my life to be like someday.

Product
NYX HD Photogenic Concealer in Nutmeg. This covers all my dark marks and under eye circles perfectly!

Image: stockimages | FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Decision
Going natural. Meaning I am no longer relaxing my hair with harmful chemicals and I am now planning on growing out my hair with my natural texture. Best decision I have ever made.

Dessert
As far as my favorite dessert that I have made it's going to be my Oreo Cheesecake Bites...as I like to call them. Recipe here.

Image: Sicha Pongjivanich|FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Trend
Big statement, collar, necklaces. I just love it, nothing more to it.

Moment
My favorite moment of 2012 was when I reconnected with my half sister through Facebook, then though phone convos.

Christmas 2011

 

 

So Christmas this year was great. We had the most delicious dinner...as you can see.

We actually didn't get any presents this year since my mom couldn't afford any but the food definitely made up for it. More than made up for it actually.

It was SO good!

Just a disclaimer, we did have a turkey. I just didn't take a picture since the legs fell off. Wasn't too pretty after that...

So starting from the first picture we had a three cheese casserole. The recipe for this came from Tastes of Home magazine.

Second picture, not too sure about this one. My sister made it and I don't know where the recipe came from. It has bacon, tomatoes and onion in it and was thickened with whipping cream.

Third picture is my favorite! This I made myself. I got the recipe from Tastes of Home magazine. The sauce is called "Family's Favorite Pasta Sauce" and I completely agree. It's made with so many spices and flavors that you just want to keep eating and eating.

Next was some simple white rice with a hint of greens. We had gravy to go with it but I didn't take a picture of it.

The sugar cookies are the Pillsbury store bought dough that I rolled out and attempted to shape into Christmas trees. I had a lot of fun icing it but obviously they didn't come out super pretty and "professional".

The gorgeous red velvet cupcakes are from the Wal-Mart bakery and tasted so good! I ate about four of them.

Welch's sparkling juice cocktail are great! This is probably the third or fourth year that we have bought them.

Overall, even without presents, Christmas was amazing.

I think I'm starting to accept that I don't have a perfect life and it's okay to not have as much money as my friends. It's okay that I can't afford Christmas presents. It's no the end of the world.

Christmas is about family and spending time with the ones you love. Not about material things like presents.

30 Day Challenge: Day 20

Favorite candy, food, drink and restaurant.

You already know these are all going to be really unhealthy...

Image: sunshinecity /flickr.com

My favorite candy of all time is a tie between Skittles and Sour Patch Kids. I've loved Skittles since I can remember and I used to always try to save the purple-brown ones for last. Sour Patch Kids I recently discovered a couple years ago but love as well.

Image: jeffreyww / flickr.com

Favorite food is Spicy Garlic Shrimp. I didn't even have to think about it. The first time I had eaten Spicy Garlic Shrimp was when I first moved here from Florida and my Aunt showed us around town. There was this one Chinese Buffet we went to and oh my goodness, the shrimp was amazing! As I grew up, I started to look at the signs at the buffet rather than the food and discovered that it was called Spicy Garlic Shrimp. Ever since that first bite, I've been in love.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net / Keattikorn

Years ago I would have said that Sprite was my favorite drink but now that I've given up soda (for the most part), I'm going to have to say plain ole water.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net / healingdream

Favorite restaurant is California Pizza Kitchen. It takes forever for the food to come but when it does...oh my gosh, so good. The crust is cooked to perfection and their flavor is so intense!

30 Day Challenge: Day 18

Image: evelyngiggles / flickr.com

Something you're craving.

Sex.

No, I'm kidding, of course...

During health class this week, we've been talking about nutrition and exercise and also watching Supersize Me.

The entire time I was watching the movie I could not stop thinking about McDonald's.

They have my favorite fries of all time...greasy, soft, and DELICIOUS.

I also love their McChicken sandwich. Simple and also....delicious. I've really never ordered anything else from their menu. I guess I have when I was younger but not in the last six years.

I know it's horrible to be watching a movie on why not to eat fast foods (specifically McDonald's) and then wanting it as soon as possible.

But really, if I could have some McDonald's right now, that would be great.

They're deliciously unhealthy.

30 Day Challenge: Day 14

Worst thing you've ever eaten.

Wow, narrowing it down to one will be tough. I could go on for years about all the horrible things I've eaten in my lifetime.

I'm just going to through out a simple one.

My school makes these disgusting hamburgers.

They soak them in water and oil and serve them on a bun. So gross.

Did I mention they are baked?

They don't taste cooked thoroughly and they look colorless--like flesh.

No exaggeration.

I want to throw up every time I see people eating them. They are nasty.

I've had one or two but I don't enjoy them. Normally I only get them if I am insanely hungry and there isn't anything better to eat (I had the last lunch period last year and the year before).

They have ruined hamburgers for me. The ones I see at fast food restaurants look delicious in the commercials but I imagine they taste like the soggy ones at school so I shy away from them.

Maybe someday I'll order a hamburger, but for now I'm just going to avoid even looking at one.

30 Days Challenge- Day 15

Something you crave a lot.

www.faqs.org

Easy. French fries. But only from McDonald's.

Also, we are now halfway through the challenge. I've been doing pretty good so far but we'll see how this other half goes.

30 Days Challenge- Day 2

A photo of something you ate today.

I'm already loving these simple, straight-forward challenges.

Veggie Straws have been my favorite thing to snack on lately. I really love the flavor and the large serving size (38 straws!). I also love the feeling of eating something healthy while being satisfied with the taste--which pretty much tastes like normal chips.

You can buy these at Sam's Club for about $4.00. But I also know that you can purchase these at Costco, and since Costco is about the same as Sam's Club, I'm guessing they are around the same price there.

Thoughts #4- Loss of Control

I feel like I've lost control. Over my body, my feelings, and my life.
I don't ever talk about it, but I feel so pathetic and useless without control.

Control is like oxygen to me.

I keep getting painful calf cramps after I run my workout at track. I feel lost. I don't know why this is happening? I know that dehydration and lack of good nutrition can trigger this.  I haven't been eating well or drinking enough water, but I'm scared that even if I do, it won't work and the cramps will come back.

Then my feelings. Yesterday after practice I stayed for the boys basketball game. I wasn't really paying attention but my eye did go to one person: Derek. (Now if you are new to my blog or just haven't read about Derek. You need to. Click the label at the end of this post.) I had those feeling come back again. I don't want to feel them and I refuse to acknowledge them.

You don't have to tell me for me to know that I have lost control over my life. I don't get to decide how or when I am going to do something. I don't get to decide how much money I will spend today because it depends on how much money I even have. If I need something, I can't ask and expect to get it soon. I will have to wait. I asked for my own room when I was in the 5th grade. It's been five fucking years and I still don't have a room to myself. I never have and probably never will unless my siblings go off to college. My life is on it's own road, it's just dragging me with it.

Last night, I came home and I cried. I've been holding back all this anger and sadness and telling everyone that I am okay. But I'm not.

Independence

The Fourth of July was great! I had a lot of fun barbecuing and eating with my family, watching movies, and just having a great time! When you're surrounded by people who love and care about you..it just feels great. Sure we had to ride around town for a couple of hours, trying to find my uncles house. But it was worth getting to spend my day with my family.
Aside from that, the fireworks were beautiful! The colors were so pretty. I'd never do fireworks, but I'm always glad to see them.
Happy belated fourth of July everyone!

Summer Obsession

Lately, Ive been in love with Skinny Cow.
Ive been trying to eat healthy for a while and since I finished track, it's been hard.

Yesterday I went out grocery shopping and I got a TON of healthy-ish food.
Including Skinny Cow Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Sandwiches. Only 150 calories and it's low fat!
Perfect for the hot weather of summer. It is currently 92 degrees, thank God it's cloudy outside.