April Favorite Things and 13 in '13 Update

Wow! Is April over already? Where is the time going?

If it's the last day of April, that means I'm linking up with Dancing with Ashley for Favorite Things.

Spring is finally here! That's reason to celebrate.

#1- Beautiful flowers were blooming this month and the temperatures were pleasant.

#2- I read a really great book, Orphan Justice, which I will review tomorrow.
 
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#3- I participated in the NC Blogger Buzz Spring Meet-up. This was my first time meeting fellow bloggers.

 Swag Bag from various sponsors courtesy of Dancing with Ashley and Head to Toe Chic.

#4- I began working to cut out a lot of processed food this month. Overall, I'm proud of how I've done. I'm snacking a lot less, I'm more conscious of ingredients, and I'm making healthier choices.

#5- I've really gotten into The Voice this season. Most of the other seasons, I watched the blind auditions and then a couple of episodes of the battle rounds. Then, I just lost interest. This season, however, I've made it further than ever and hope to watch the whole season. Something about this season has kept my attention.

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I am also giving an update every other month on how I'm doing with my goals for 2013. You can find my goals below with my updates and comments in red:

1. Make my blog more about me and less about "what everyone else is doing." {Read details here.}

I feel like I'm continuing to do well with this. I'm posting less, but I feel like my posts are better quality. Unfortunately, my number of comments has gone down a lot which makes me kind of sad. I love interacting with all of you. But...I'm trying to not worry about it and just blog because I enjoy it.

2. Cut down on excess in my life. I will be reading Seven: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker and I would like to participate as I read. {Read details here.}

I feel like my new eating habits are helping me a lot with this goal.

3. Read through the rest of the New Testament. {Read details here.}

I'm still not doing very well with this, but I am participating in a Bible study so I have been reading my Bible for that. It's just not out of the New Testament.

4. Read a chapter from Psalm and/or Proverbs every Friday. {Read details here.}

I'm not doing very well with this either. Work has kept me so busy lately and I'm ready for the school year to end so I can restart these habits.

5. Plan each month's meals in advance. Look for new recipes and cook a variety of things. Eat out less! {Read details here.}

This has become more difficult as I'm trying to eat better. I still plan our meals in advance, although recently I've been planning a week at a time.

6. Write a letter every other month to the children we sponsor through Compassion, Alan and Malaiyarasi. {Read details here.}
I wrote to them in February so I needed to write to them in April, but I haven't done it yet. I need to do this soon. 

7. Read at least 40 books. At least 10 of those books should be nonfiction. At least 5 of those books should be classic novels. {Read details here.}
Overall, I'm doing great with this goal. I'm almost halfway there with total books read. I've read several nonfiction and have several more on my list to read. I'm having a hard time with classics. 

8. Get healthy. Exercise at least 4 times a week. Make healthier food choices. {Read details here.}

I'm doing a lot better with making healthier food choices. I'm not working out as much as I'd like. I prefer working out in the morning, but I don't have time right now before work. Then, I'm exhausted when I get home.

9. Create the budget with my husband and stick to it! {Read details here.}

This is probably the goal I've done the worst on. I still haven't sat down with my husband to help plan the budget. He does it a lot of times when I'm at work.

10. Go on at least 2 intentional dates a month. Have 2 nights a month that are technology free. {Read details here.}

We still haven't sat aside technology free nights, but we are using technology a lot less. We have also been on a few dates. I haven't done a good job of keeping count, though.

11. Do at least 10 things that I pinned on Pinterest. (Read details here.)

I did much better with this than last time. Of course, I was tracked out for a couple of weeks in March which is when most of these projects were done. It's amazing how much time you have for projects when you don't have to work. 

I pinned several things about pantry organization. Then, I organized our pantry.

I pinned this idea for a personalized Camelback bottle, then I made my own.

I pinned this idea for a framed chalkboard and I made my own.

I pinned this recipe for lasagna roll ups and I tried it recently. It was pretty good. My husband would have preferred tomato sauce rather than alfredo sauce, though.
I pinned this recipe for raw cookie dough bites and made them. At first, I wasn't crazy about them, but they grew on me. I now have the ingredients to make another batch. 
So, I've now completed 5 things that I pinned on Pinterest. 

12. Learn how to effectively use my DSLR camera. (Read details here.)

I have begun working towards this goal. I have read several articles that I found through Pinterest. I watched a little bit of the DVD that came with the camera and I've been on a few outings to test out my camera skills.

13. Create a cleaning schedule (AND STICK TO IT) so that the house gets cleaned little by little throughout the week instead of me having to clean all weekend. (Read details here.)

I've done better at cleaning more consistently, but I'm still being pretty lazy about this. I have the hardest time making myself clean the bathroom. I hate it! 

Guess what?!?

Tomorrow ....

 

My Real Food Journey: First Update

At the beginning of the month, I wrote about how I wanted to change my diet and eat more real food. Today, I want to share with you how things are going.  

As a reminder, I don't think I will ever eat 100% real food. I would like to work towards 75-80% real food.

Below you will find my list of action steps for my first phase towards eating real food. I don't plan on moving on to a new phase until this phase comes naturally. I want this to become a lifestyle change, not just a diet or fad. Along with my actions steps, you will find my updates in red. 

1. Buy grass fed meat. 

I found a farm nearby where I want us to go visit and eventually begin buying our meat from there. That way, we see and know where our meat is coming from. However, we haven't had time to go visit yet. We did find grass fed meat at Target and that's what we've been eating so far. This is an EASY step to take. Again, I know that local is better and that's what I want to work towards next.

2. Eat fruits and vegetables every day.

I've done pretty well with this considering that I don't like that many fruits and vegetables. I've been trying to eat the ones I do like more often and I've been making myself eat others so that I can learn to like them. I've also taken salad for lunch a couple of days a week and if you knew me better-you'd know what a big deal this is. I even had one lunch that was only fruits and vegetables.

3. Switch to whole grain.

I haven't had time to go by the bakery that I found, but I did buy the best whole wheat bread I could find at the grocery store. I also bought some whole wheat lasagna noodles and did a 50/50 mix when we had lasagna the other night.

4. Limit snacks.

I've done much better with this. When I do snack, my processed snacks are limited to pretzels and popcorn (occasionally with M&Ms in them). Other than that, I've tried to snack on fruit or nuts. I also made this recipe that I found on Pinterest and it was pretty good.

5. Eat out less.

Um...we still aren't doing great with this. I blame my husband. When he doesn't like what I plan to cook, he says "let's just go out (or order food)" and I'm usually exhausted from work so I don't need a lot of convincing. On a positive note, I do think we've ate out less in the last few weeks than we were doing in the last few months.

6. Begin reading ingredients labels.
I have been doing this a lot more and I'm more conscious of what's in the food and ingredients that I'm buying. 

I hope you have a fabulous weekend! Next week will hold a recap of the NC Blogger Meet-up, my 13 in '13 update, my favorite things from April, and my April book reviews. 

Can you believe April is almost over?!?

 

 

I Have a Dumb Phone

I guess a dumb phone would be any phone that's not a "smart" phone. If so, that's what I have.

Yep, there it is. Nothing fancy. It makes calls and it texts. It can even take pictures and videos. But that's about it.

Do you want to know why I have a dumb phone?
 

                                    Allan                                                                   Malaiyarasi

 

Ornaments for Adoption

Hill Family Adoption

Give 1 Save 1

 Clark Family Adoption

friends doing short term mission work

Love Help Teach

Children's Hunger Fund

Now, please don't misunderstand what I'm trying to say. I'm not trying to brag on myself or say that if you have a smart phone, you're a bad person. 

Would I like a smart phone? Sure. They make things so convenient. They also have a lot of cool features.

However, God has changed my life and it is no longer mine. I can't live my life for me. God is love and we show our love for God by loving others. More often than not, this requires sacrifice.

At this point in our lives, my husband and I sacrifice the convenience of having smart phones in order to be obedient to His word.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’" -Matthew 25:34-40

Do we still have a lot of technology and unnecessary things? Yes. There is always room for improvement; and as I recently read 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess, I am more aware of and try to not have so much excess in my life. The less excess we have, the more room we have for God and for loving and helping others.

For you, it may not be a smart phone, but is there something you could give up in order to help those around you? Maybe it's giving up cable. Maybe it's going out to eat less. Maybe it's not going shopping every weekend. 

If God asked you to give up something you want, something that "everyone else has," would you be willing to do it? It's not easy and it's not possible in our own strength. However, I guarantee you that if you are growing in your relationship with Him, those things won't seem so important anymore.

  ^"If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?" -1 John 3:17

Give 1 Save 1

Look over there ------------------>

Do you see those buttons? 

Those are causes I support and want to share with you. It's a new feature here and I want to be sure I not only post the buttons, but let you know what these causes are all about. 

If you missed it, I shared about the 5 Coat Project last week.

This week I want to let you know a little bit about Give 1 Save 1.

Give 1 Save 1 is a set of blogs that shares information about adoption as well as shares adopting families that you can help.

Right now, they have a blog for domestic adoption as well as families and information about adopting from Caribbean, Africa, Europe, and Asia.

Each week, they introduce a new family that you can help. They only ask for at least $1. ONE DOLLAR! Anybody can give that to help give a child a family.

New families get introduced on Mondays, so I'd encourage you to go check them out and consider donating. 

If adoption is something you're interested in, you can also find a lot of great information throughout the week. I've learned a lot by following these blogs. 

I hope you'll check out the 5 Coat Project if you didn't see that last week and I also hope you'll consider supporting Give 1 Save 1.

Have a great week!

5 Coat Project

You may have noticed that I've added some new buttons over there on my top right hand side bar. These are causes that I support and I want to raise awareness for. 

Today, I am so happy to be introducing you to the 5 Coat Project.

 Before I tell you what this is, I have to tell you about the young woman behind the project. 

When I was in college, I grew some very strong friendships with 6 girls from my church. I was the oldest in this group and Jenna was the youngest. 

(Got to love the windblown hair look-I have devil horns.)

I always admired Jenna's passion for the Lord. She didn't just talk about loving God or believing in God. She was out there serving Him. I should have known she'd do amazing things.

I went to a smaller college in Alabama called Troy University which is where Jenna currently attends. She is working with some Christian ministries there to make the 5 Coat Project a reality. I'm going to let her answer some questions to tell you more about it. 

1. What is the 5 Coat Project?
5 Coat Project serves as a coat drive organization for remote areas of Alaska. We send coats to areas that don't have easy access to shopping centers, yet have the coldest winters. We also strive to raise awareness about human slavery around the world. There are currently 27 million people still trapped in slavery and we believe that until everyone knows about it, it will never have a chance of ending.

 First coat from the 5 Coat Project

2. What got you interested in this cause?
I became interested in this on my first mission trip to Alaska this past summer. I fell in love with the people and felt the need to make a difference.

 Jenna with 2 girls who went to Alaska with her.

3. When did the 5 Coat Project start and what have you done through it so far?
The idea started last fall. We kick started everything this April with our first event at Charles Henderson High School here in Troy. We are in the process of going through paperwork to achieve our own non-profit status, but until then Momentum Ministries is our sponsoring organization. 

Games at a Spring Fling Event

 Music at Spring Fling event

4. What can we do to help?
To help we are always taking donations to help ship coats to Alaska. It is a very expensive process. Many people have also become interested in hosting their own Spring Fling or Summer Splash where part of admission is a coat. It is just a fun carnival that can be planned in ones hometown for a great cause! Another way to help is to check out http://enditmovement.com/ and pledge to help us end human slavery! Check out the facts!

 5 Coat Project Booth

 A 21 Campaign which fights against modern day slavery

5. Where can we find more information?

You can find more information at fivecoatproject.blogspot.com. You may also like our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Facebook and Twitter get updated the most.

 Project Leaders

Please go follow 5 Coat Project on Facebook and/or Twitter to stay up to date on this great cause. If you go follow, tell Jenna "hi" and that Megan sent you.

Also, watch my side bar for causes I support and my posts for explanations and more information about these causes.

Get to Know Me: Book Style

Sometimes I wish I had enough to say to make my blog all about books. I love reading! 

 Anyway...I don't... so today I'm just going to link up for Literary Junkies.  

 

What are you currently reading? Tell us about it! I'm currently reading When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor and Yourself. I think the title is pretty self explanatory. It tells about how often time our good intentions can actually do more harm than good. It also gives some advice for how to truly help. Think along the lines of "If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime." I also just started reading Orphan Justice which tells ways you can be involved in orphan care beyond just adopting. This is something I'm very passionate about and I look forward to getting into this book more.

Amazon or brick and mortar? I like to walk around and look in book stores, but most of my books recently have come from Amazon. It's cheaper that way and we're Prime members so FREE shipping! 

Locally owned bookshop or big name chain store? I definitely prefer to support locally owned places. However, the large chain stores usually call to me to at least look around because they have SO MANY options. Although, I rarely buy anything because the books are quite expensive. 

Bookmark or dog-ear? I do both. Usually, I use a bookmark of some kind. I don't have any actual bookmarks. I use whatever I can find: a spare notecard, a gift card, a library receipt.

Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random? We have limited space in our apartment, so I only have my favorite books on display. They're arranged together in their series. I've never arranged by author or title. I arrange books by their size.

Keep, throw away, or sell? I would never just throw a book away. I usually donate or sell it when I don't want it anymore. In an effort to not have too much stuff, I only buy books I really love. I do most of my reading from library books. 

Keep dust jacket or toss it? Keep it.

Read with dust jacket or remove it? I always leave the dust jacket on. The flap makes a good bookmark. I think I've taken it off to read maybe once or twice. They really don't bother me. 

Short story or novel? Novel

Collection (short stories by same author) or anthology (short stories by different authors)? Collection

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? I almost always stop at chapter breaks. It's the slight OCD in me.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”? "It was a dark and stormy night."

Buy or borrow? Borrow. I only buy my most favorite books.

New or used? New

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse? I use a little bit of all.

Tidy ending or cliffhanger? Cliffhanger. Maybe not necessarily a "cliffhanger" but I don't really like neat, tidy endings. They usually seem fake.

Morning, afternoon or nighttime reading? If it's a lazy day and I'm doing nothing, I could read all day. On a normal day, I usually read at night.

Single volume or series? It depends. I usually prefer series because you can get to know the characters better and there's more to the story, but sometimes it can drag on too much. 

 
Favorite series? Harry Potter

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard? I'm picking 2- one book and one series. First, my book is The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough. It's an older book and it's the book from which my mom got my name. The book spans many years and has a pretty complex story line involving a girl and a priest (scandalous!). My series is the Hex Hall series by Rachel Hawkins. If you like young adult books about mythological creatures (witches, vampires, etc.), you'll like this. At first, I thought the first book was super cheesy, but it had a cliffhanger ending so I was hooked. 

Peanut Butter Balls-Recipe

This week, I have something very special to share with you. Jo from Jo, My Gosh! (How cute is that blog name?!?) is sharing a YUMMY recipe. My mom made these at Christmas time and they are irresistible. If you're on a diet, you might want to stop right now. Otherwise, keep reading and pin this for future reference. I know I am!

*   *   *

Hi! I'm Jo! I'm so excited that I'm on Megan's sidebar and that she's allowed me to share a recipe on her space on the web! I blog at Jo, My Gosh! where I'm chronicling my fiance's year-long deployment to Afghanistan, recipes, crafts, care packages, wedding planning, and everything in between. I'd love for you to join me!

When I was in elementary school, our cafeteria would make chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. That was good, but it didn't hold a candle to the lunch that came the next day. Without fail, it would be peanut butter ball day. That's right. Lunch's dessert would be a plastic cup with a giant ball of peanut butter frosting in it. That icing was worth trading Gushers and Dunkaroos for. Yes, it was that amazing.

I found the recipe on Pinterest. It's one of those viral recipes that really have no credibility other than that it's been shared a trillion times, but it looked intriguing, so I just had to try it! I halved the recipe simply because I didn't have enough of the ingredients and it still made almost 40 truffles. I can't even imagine what I would do with 80 truffles, other than gorge myself and give up on fitting into my wedding dress.

But here's the best part: When I tried one, I was back in my elementary school's cafeteria. The taste was exactly the same. Exactly. Try a little bit of heaven and make these for yourself!

You'll Need: 

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 1/2 cup Rice Krispies
• 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/8 cup melted butter
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• oil to add for melting chocolate

 Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix peanut butter, cereal, sugar, and melted butter until completely incorporated. Add a little bit of extra peanut butter if you need the mixture to stick together more firmly. 
2. Roll mixture into balls and place on a foil-covered cookie sheet. Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes
3. In a microwavable-safe container, mix chocolate chips and about 1/2 teaspoon of oil. Mix and microwave for 30 seconds at a time until chips are completely melted, stirring at intervals. Add oil for a thinner chocolate consistency.
4. Dip truffles into chocolate and place back on tray. Chill in the fridge until chocolate is hardened. 

9 Ways to Help End Hunger

 Solving the world's problems is never "simple." However, there are some simple steps you can take to help out. Today, Crystal from My Ramblings and I want to share with you 9 simple things we came up with that you can do to help end hunger.

1. Donate food

This is the most obvious way to help. Crystal wants to remind you to check with your local food bank to see if there are certain items that they need. You can find your local food bank by visiting www.feedingamerica.org

2. Donate money to a reputable organization.
Lee and I have donated to Children's Hunger Fund in the past. Crystal says that you can use Feeding America to find where you can donate on a local level. If you have a passion for children, there's also No Kid Hungry which focuses specifically on ending child hunger.
 

3. Sponsor a child.

When you sponsor a child, you help ensure that they have their basic necessities, including food. There are many organizations that you can sponsor a child through. Lee and I sponsor through Compassion. Compassion is a Christian organization, but I also found Save the Children as another way to sponsor children.

4. Use your voice on social media to raise awareness.

One of the major advantages to social media is being able to share causes that you're passionate about with others. Between blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and whatever else is out there, we can reach a lot of people. Consider using that reach to help others rather than for only superficial things. Crystal wants to let you know that if you're big on social media, you can check with your local food bank to see if they have a Social Media Ambassador's program-that's what she does! She says that it has really taught her a lot and given her access to a lot of resources. 

5. Petition the government.

If you feel that strongly about something, there are a lot of petitions out there to tell the government that ending hunger should be a priority. You can also always contact your representatives on both your state level and the federal level. Doing this is only a Google search away. 

6. Host a canned food drive. 

Where I grew up, there was a huge football rivalry. So, this made a perfect theme for a canned food drive. People would bring canned food in and put it in the box for their team. Everyone wanted to see their team bring in the most cans. Be creative and come up with a way to make it fun and competitive. Everyone likes a little competition. My school hosts a canned food drive where the class that brings in the most cans wins a prize.  Crystal wants you to know that there are also National Food Drives that you can help with. On May 11 of this year, you can participate in National Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, which is sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers. You only have to leave food for your Postal Worker to pick up as their delivering the mail. For more information, visit Stamp Out Hunger's Facebook page.

7. Coupon

Many of you may coupon already. If you do, use some of those buy one, get one deals or maybe items that you get for very cheap or free as items that you can donate. To see how I've done this before, you can read this post. 

8. Volunteer 

Give of your time. It's an easy way to get involved. Crystal and I both agree that it's a rewarding experience. If you want to know more about volunteering at a food bank, you can read this post by Crystal. 

9. Grocery Shop
Simple enough. Many of the items you already buy can help end hunger. Crystal reminded me that there's currently a campaign going on called Child Hunger Ends Here. It is sponsored by ConAgra Foods and it benefits Feeding America. All you have to do is purchase their products (which you probably already do). These products have a red push pin (picture) on them and a code. After you go shopping, you simply go to their website and enter the code. Every code entered equals one meal for a child in need.

Do you have any tips on helping end hunger?

Have you met Crystal yet? She blogs at My Ramblings.This week, she wrote some awesome posts including explaining what that blue line on black means that I see all the time on people's cars and how she pulled off an adorable last minute baby shower. My personal favorite this week was this heartbreaking story of a life lost too soon. I only hope that by sharing this story, other lives can be saved.

Potter on the Screen

Happy Wednesday! Today, I'm linking up with some wonderful ladies for My Harry Potter Fix.
If you're a HP lover like us, I'd definitely recommend this fun weekly link up.

1. Which Harry Potter movie actor would you most like to hang out with for a day?
 When I read this question, my first thought was Emma Watson. She seems very down to earth and sweet. Then, I gave it some more thought and decided that if I had to pick one of the actors to hang out with, I'd pick Tom Felton who plays Draco Malfoy. From different interviews and pictures I've seen, he seems like a really fun person. I'll show you a few of my favorites:

First up. Seriously, watch this video. It's less than 2 minutes long and worth it. I always hear Americans messing around trying to speak in British accents, but do the British try to speak in American accents? (Tom's is really good!)

Someone was creative! He should have tweeted her back!

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Bromance :)

via                                                     via

See...he'd be so much fun to hang out with.

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2. Do you think there should be a television miniseries made in the future based on the books?
 As much as I love Harry Potter, I think you can do TOO much. The books are amazing. The movies are pretty good (once you get over the fact that they will never compare to the books). Sometimes, I think people can take a good thing and overdo it. Of course, it wouldn't surprise me if they did because people want to make as much money off of something as they can. As much as I hated when the book series was finished and when the movies were finished, that's part of the fun-to be left wanting more (yet not actually getting more). Does that even make sense?

3. Be honest - do you want to see the movies remade with different actors sometime in the future?
A lot of what I said in the previous answer goes along with this. I wouldn't really care to see a remake unless they're going to really follow the book and I don't think that will happen. I honestly think if they remade it, they'd get more creative with it and the book would simply be the inspiration for the story. I feel like they'd change even more about the storyline. I'd recommend just leaving well enough alone.

What do you think?

Homemade Chips Experiment

Last week, I shared how I wanted to change my diet to include more real food and less processed food. So, I decided to play around with making my own chips.

I kept it simple this time and just made chips out of potatoes, but this is something that can be done with a variety of vegetables.

I researched online and basically found the same directions on every site. So, what I'm sharing with you isn't anything revolutionary or new. But...here's what I did.

1. I bought 3 fairly large potatoes. I didn't buy too many because I didn't want to waste them if this experiment went wrong. Next time, I'm buying smaller potatoes.

2. I scrubbed and washed the potatoes. Next, I had to slice them by hand, but I've added a mandoline slicer to my wish list. I cut them up as thin as I could manage.

3. Then per many tips I saw online,  I soaked them in water for 10 minutes. That water was cloudy and gross after 10 minutes.

4. I put them out on a paper towel and patted them dry.

5. I preheated my oven to 400 degrees and placed the slices single layer on a cookie sheet. Then, I covered them in extra virgin olive oil.

6. I baked them for 20-25 minutes. I like things to be crispy.  So, I kept them in as long as possible without burning them. After they came out of the oven, I sprinkled them with salt. The thin, extra crispy ones were my favorite.

I look forward to experimenting with different veggies and different seasonings.

For now, I know that I can successfully make homemade chips.

Now, my problem is figuring out the best way to store them and what their shelf life is. Any suggestions or tips?

What's Your Guilty Pleasure Song?

Guilty Pleasure- something pleasurable that induces a usually minor feeling of guilt 

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Admit it. We all have them. 

Those things that you're just a little embarrassed to admit you like or do.

*Cough*Cough* Watching every Bring It On movie whenever they come on TV *Cough*Cough*

Today, I want to Skip the Small Talk and discuss our GUILTY PLEASURE SONGS!

{If you missed the previous installments of Skip the Small Talk, you can view them here and here.}

How does it work? 

I'll pose a question and answer it. Then, I want you to answer in the comment section. If it's something you want to elaborate on, feel free to write a whole post on it and leave me the link. I only ask that you link back to me in your post. 

Ready? Let's go!

What is your guilty pleasure song? 

A lot of times 90's pop is associated with being a guilty pleasure. I have no problem admitting that I still jam out to Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, old school Britney Spears, and all the other songs from that time. I feel no guilty from enjoying these songs of my youth. 

So, what am I a little guilty to admit I like? 

Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift songs

You know that scene in the movie Easy A where the main character, Olive gets a card that plays the song "Pocketful of Sunshine" and at first she's like "Ugh. Worst song ever." Then, a few days later she's belting it at the top of her lungs. Well, that's me with JB and TSwift music. If you have no clue what I'm talking about, here's the clip:

I always start off scoffing in disgust. Then, before you know it, one of their songs is coming on the radio and I'm turning it up and singing along. 

Why must these songs be so catchy?!?

See, Regina George made me like his songs. You don't go against Regina George.

This is too funny not to share. Sorry Taylor.

Ok. Now that my "secret" is out, I'm going to let some of my sponsors share their guilty pleasure songs with you as well.
(click the picture to visit their blogs)

"I absolutely, unequivocally love Adam Levine's voice and his music. Forget Bruno Mars or J-Biebs-- listening to Adam Levine sing is like eating an entire tub of Ben & Jerry's in a bubble bath on a weeknight without worrying about going to work the next day. He is that amazing!"

 "I pretty much listen to clean music {or so I tell myself} and not much else...think Christian, Country, and Kiddie channels. But if I'd have to pick a guilty pleasure band or two, it would be fun. and The Lumineers. The songs are just so catchy and fun to listen to. And my daughter loves dancing to them!"

 "Guilty pleasure in music: One Direction. Enough said, hahaha!"

 "Gosh guilty pleasure songs/music? There are so many! I guess to me, guilty-pleasure music would entail anything you wouldn't normally associate with me. You know how the term "goody two-shoes" has a rather negative connotation? Well, that's what I like to consider myself (since I neither drink, nor party [hard], nor do drugs, nor sleep around [or at all, if you get my drill]) BUT to me, it's totally not a bad thing! I actually treasure being good and respecting my values and stuff. To some, I may be "boring," but it's what I enjoy and it's def not boring! I'm very family-oriented, so I tend to be against whatever deviates from that too. That rant (hey, I'm "the ranting Latina," after all haha!) was to say that "guilty pleasure" represents two things the way I see it: 
1) (Kinda goes w/#1) Anything my crazy alter ego from another life would like: Think "Thriftshop," vintage Maroon 5 (which I find more graphic than the watered-down commercialized stuff they have now--still love them though), "Riding Dirty," some Eminem, etc.) I like these b/c they're edgier and they make it so that people can't easily place me in a bubble or think I'm the bad kind of goody-two shoes :)..

2) Another thing that pops to mind when I think of GP music is stuff that I consider so corny/old that I tend to not play in public or at high volumes unless I'm at home doing my stuff: Think Backstreet Boys, vintage Britney, NSync, and even vintage Shakira (whose really old music is sooo good and even better than her recent hits.) Plus b/c I'm from Colombia  (I moved here in '02), I love all the music I used to listen to when I was there (BSB, etc.) b/c it brings back great memories :)."

"I don’t know that I have a guilty pleasure song~I do have guilty pleasure chocolate! Snickers Eggs around Easter time are my weakness and the rest of the year peanut butter M&M’s or Reeses Pieces would be my go-to when I’m working on bookwork and paying bills."
(Also check this shop out from A Delightful Glow)

"I must say that my guilty pleasure singer is most definitely BRUNO MARS! He sucked me in with Just the Way You are video  and his Studio version video of The Lazy Song..he is so stinkin adorable! (Though I'm not diggin' the new 'Do') He is pretty much my No. 1 Celeb Crush and my Prince Charming knows it. He bought me tickets to go see him this June in Philly! I'm SOO excited! Now the guilty pleasure song?? Maybe I shouldn't say...but it's Gorilla (by Bruno Mars) I would never let my kids hear it and I probably wouldn't even listen to it with anyone else around, but all I can say is it's quite visual and makes me want to grab my Prince Charming and lock the door...he he he :) I would say these are both my guilty pleasure songs because he doesn't have the most positive or wholesome lyrics and I won't let my girls hear most of his songs. My Prince Charming and I were talking about listening to KLOVE (Christian radio) the other day and I was saying that I always listen to KLOVE especially when the kids are around. I only listen to Bruno Mars when I'm alone...he said "Oh so you're saying you're only a heathen when you're by yourself huh?" lol..."

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