New recipe, make-up organizer & I deserve a Grammy for my song.

Friday night I decided to get a little crazy & attempt a Pinterest recipe... thank God this wasn't a total fail. Sweet potato, Quinoa & onion cakes. I need to play around with the seasoning a little more but overall they were pretty good!

 

Cooked 1 cup quinoa

 

2 Cups sweet potato
(heated in microwave)

 

Sauteed some onions
(Don't worry, I cleaned my stove)

 

Made some patties and placed them in the
pan with some olive oil.

 

I liked the outside a little crunchy.
Total success.

Saturday morning I met a friend at Memorial Park and ran 3 miles then had brunch at Barnaby's Cafe. I got huevos rancheros, which totally hit the spot.

Then I made a pit stop at Home Good's on my way home.

 I found this make-up organizer for 20 bones which I thought was a pretty good deal and I have been wanting one forever so I wasn't too concerned about the price. 

I Love it.

 Saturday night I played the hilarious game of Quelf with some friends.

Overall the game is pretty random with a mix of trivia , pictionary & guesters. At one point I had to go to the bathroom to put water on my face & return singing a song about offshore fishing.

Which went a little something like this...

I skipped in a circle around everyone singing a song I wrote in about .25 minutes.

"I just got back from my fishing trip, the sea was rough and the boat almost sank... but I survived...and the tide was bad so we didn't catch anything..."

I wish someone got this on tape.



Quelf.

Sunday started off with an awesome church sermon about giving thanks to our blesser instead of our blessings. Good stuff. Had lunch with my grandma followed by some laziness.

Cheers to another week! Happy Monday!

Note to self: don't weigh yourself at night.

I downloaded MyFitnessPal 11 days ago and I have been logging all of my food and exercise daily. Its is helping my whole New Year's Resolution thing. I downloaded this app once before and didn't make it past a week so things are already looking up.

When I signed in, I had to update all of my stats and I just went ahead and guesstimated my weight. Last night I did the unthinkable, got on the scale at night. I immediately turned off the light in the kitchen and didn't allow myself to consume any additional calories. Good thing is, I lost 5 lbs over night but I am still 10 lbs over what I guesstimated. Which just sucks. I guess it is a good thing I didn't get on the scale 10 days ago because I don't want to know what that number would have been. I guess weight is just a number right? It is supposed to be all about how you feel and how your clothes fit. Well, I am feeling good but my clothes are a little snug.
Should I keep weighing myself or not? If so, how often?
I am thinking once a week.. or doing it daily may keep me in check. Decisions, decisions!

 

My diary looks pretty good right? Any suggestions for me?

Have the app??!! Let's follow eachother!

Find me >> ashten_leigh@yahoo.com

Also, TGIF! I hope everyone has awesome weekend plans!
It is supposed to freeze here in Houston which means no one will know how to drive and everything will be shut down.

Here is my jam of the week.
I absolutly LOVE Alex & Sierra and I cannot wait for them to release an album.

 

The time I admitted to trying to get on the Barney show.

During lunch today a group of us were discussing our favorite childhood TV shows. I was a Sister Sister fan and always watched Full House. We are all a few years apart which lead to us all having different favorite shows. One of the girls mentioned she watched Barney, faithfully. Which was followed with a comment from yours truly, "I tried to get on that show." Some of the things that come out of my mouth are just embarrassing. My friend, Nicole, says, "What?! That is like the fourth (really 3rd) show you have tried to get on!" So I had some explaining to do....back in 1994 I told my mother that I wanted to be one of those kids who got to play on that awesome play ground and hang out with my dinosaur BFF & sing the I Love You song. So, since my mom is so supportive, we filled out paperwork and sent it in with a cute photo of me, I am sure I was wearing my overalls or something really great. Unfortunately, I didn't get a call back. That did not kill my dreams of getting on TV.

Fast forward to year 2000 when those Family/life Swap shows were a huge hit. I filled out a shit ton of paperwork on line and signed my life away with the hopes to spend 1 week with a different family.
My parents thought they were being hilarious & sneaky when they gave me a letter that "came in the mail" informing me that I had been chosen. They even added a photo of the family I would be spending a week with. I knew it was a joke as soon as my mom started dying laughing. She cannot keep a straight face. I was not falling for it.

Fast forward to 2008 I sent in a bio to Real World with hopes of being one of the 7 strangers picked to live in a house, worked together & have their lives taped.. to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real. I am a little crazy. Well, about 5 months later I got a call back and they requested my presence for round 2 of casting. I wore my favorite outfit and drove my happy ass downtown. They took us into this room 10 people at a time. We sat at a large round table and the discussion began. We were asked to talk about ourselves and some people wouldn't shut up. I was having hot flashes by the time my turn came around. No way was my life is near as crazy as the chick who was a stripper to pay her way through college or a football player who got cut from the team for doing steroids and also claims to hate homosexuals. I was floored by some of the things that were discussed in that room. I started off by saying that I had just graduated from SHSU where I was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha and then I rambled on about where I grew up, which was in Deer Park  right next to a bunch of plants. As in, power plants. Everyone thought I grew up in a jungle and people were super confused. Anyways, long story short, I did not make it past the 2nd round. Damn, so much for 3rd time being the charm.

Well, there you have it. I am a hopeful reality TV star. Obviously none of those venues have worked out hence the fact that I work a 8 to 5 job Monday through Friday.

Happy Hump Day!!!!

I might as well get a 2nd job at Express.

This weekend was pretty great. Friday night I went to crossfit (I went 5 days last week!) then had dinner at my friend's house. Dinner was filled with gluten & tons of cheese. I needed a dinner like that. & I didn't feel bad because I did great all last week.

 

Saturday morning I headed to the Woodlands to meet my little, Courtney, for lunch & shopping. Getting my hair done in the mall turns my little hair appointment into a day of shopping.

 

First stop. Express. They had 50% off already marked down items. So the only full price items were this green jacket & leopard top. Plus I had 2 x $15 rewards and $25 off every $75 so my total came out to $130.00 = 5 tops + jacket. I felt really good about my purchase.

 

 

$15.00

These were $5-$10 each. Couldn't pass them up.

& then we went to Forever 21. I have not shopped in this store in ages. But I found a few tops I can layer. I layer everything, every day.



& then my hair appointment rolled around and the shopping came to a halt. I decided to get some red in my hair. I love it. & my straightener is still getting fixed so I have gotten pretty good with my curling iron. It takes me about 10 minutes.

 

Sunday started off with a great sermon at church. I went to a friend's Church that is 3 minutes away from my apartment and I will for sure be going back. I really liked it. >> This week I will strive to rejoice, pray & give thanks daily.

 

Then I took the boys for a walk.

 

Then I went for a little run, jog, walk.
 

 

Then did a tasty experiment with Italian dressing
and almond flower. Sucess.

 

Spaghetti squash + ground turkey meat +
pasta sauce + 2% mozzarella cheese
= lunch this week

 

Then I went to Sarena's & did planks and
headstands while her boyfriend
tried to watch the football games.

 

Their pup "Que" loves me.

Happy Monday!
I hope everyone's week is off to a great start!

Gold-digger-vibe?

Dear Friday,

It's about time you showed up.This week has been a drag.

& on to cooler things in life.

I am still going strong and sticking to my resolutions for this year.

Eat clean - Check.. chicken and sweet potatoes for lunch + fruit + shakes for dinner (minus the sandwich I had for lunch today)
Cook more at home - check & I am already preparing for my meals next week
Crossfit or run 5 days a week - check!!!! < I am pretty proud of myself for this one.
Spend more quality time with family < havent seen the fam since Christmas! I need to change that.
Eat Less Peanut butter... I only ate it 3 this week!

Houston Rodeo line up was released this week... and Usher is performing! I will get tickets. I haven't seen him in concert before and who doesn't love Usher?! And my Pandora station has been set to Usher all week which has played some pretty sweet jams... This song played the other day & I immediately downloaded it on iTunes along with a couple other Nelly hits.


                                               

 

 

People at work seem to be pretty concered about my dating life these days. In the past week I have had 2 people suggest I sign up for sugardaddy.com.

1. Do I give off a "gold digger" vibe?

2. Do I seem desperate for a date?

The answer is No & No. I am totally fine being single, actually.

Tonight I am going to my friend Megan's house for dinner and I kind of really want to make a fake profile to see what it is all about. So look for this post on Monday :)

 

Tomorrow, I am headed to the Woodlands to get my hair done @ Visible Changes which just so happens to be in the mall. And my little, Courtney, is meeting me for lunch and a little shopping before my apt. After my trip to the mall, I will be forced to stay home & do nothing until next pay day.

 

I hope everyone has great weekend plans!!!

 

Also, Happy 1Year Anniversary to these two love birds, Nicole & Joel!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Walmart, I hate you.

Things are looking up.. since today is Thursday and tomorrow is Friday and then the weekend is here!!!!!

Last Saturday, I won $100 Walmart gift card at my work party. I try to avoid Walmart at all cost so I just planned on using the card for gas until I realized the Walmart by me does not have gas. So I looked online and decided to get a Fitbit on Monday evening. I wondered around the store looking for this damn thing until I came to the conclusion that they did not have the one I wanted (and the employees working the night shift were no help). Since they did not have a Fitbit, I settled for a few random items that added up to $100 so I wouldn't have to step foot in the store again. After waiting for almost 20 minutes in line, I left with groceries for the week, a new ceramic baking pan and throw pillows for my couch. See below.

I am not a fan of Walmart for several reasons.
1. I think Walmart is sketchy.
2. If I am going to get mugged, I feel like it would happen in a Walmart parking lot.
3. Baskets are scattered around the parking lot waiting to hit my car.
4. The check-out lines are the world's worst.
5. I had to shop at Walmart during college (because that was Huntsville's one stop shop) and one time I was checking out and the lady handed me $80 cash back... she let me know that I had selected $80 cash back while signing my receipt (which I did not). Well, my college checking account did not have 80 bones to spare which made me over-draft my account and cry.
6. & Target is 4713289132 times better.


Taken before I cut those awful white tags off.

I spy two evil eye pups.

It's Almost Friday!!!!!

The sweet life of a toddler.

They get to wear leggings/jeggings every day.
They get to sit in a car seat which looks comparable to a recliner.
They can take all the naps they want.
They can fall asleep anywhere and everyone gets quiet so they can sleep in peace.
They can eat grilled cheese and macaroni every day if they want (or if parents allow it).
They get carried around constantly.
They don't have to wear a bra.
They can rock pigtails on the daily.
Their clothes are super cute and comfortable.
They are adorable in their non-matching-dressed-themselves-today-outfit.
They pretty much have their own personal chef.
They have their own maid.
They just have to fuss a little to get what they want.
They have no idea what this world is coming to.
They have no worries.
They don't need to save money or pay off credit cards.
They have some pretty sweet toys.
They can rock sequin shoes with every outfit.
They have a pretty sweet life.

& that my friends is why I wish I was a toddler again. Really.