Kids, Food and Fall

Long time, no post

The last time I blogged it was over 100 degrees outside and popsicles and swimsuits were in season. Now, the seasons have changed and I type this as rain falls outside my window. So much has changed other than the weather. I have a new job, quit my old one, begun online classes, taken spontaneous a trip to California, completed (and won!) a dietbet.com challenge- to say the least it seems like something is always keeping me busy. But I like it that way. 

And if you look outside fall is here...

Happy Fall yall 

Sweater weather, baby

My new job is challenging yet rewarding. I am a nanny. Not a babysitter, a nanny. People like to think those two terms are interchangeable. They're not. I'm with the kids Monday through Friday; breakfast, nap time, lunch and on the rare occasion sometimes dinner. With as much time I spend with them, they feel like my kiddos. I just get the pleasure of going home to a quiet house at the end of the day. The little one, 15 months old, Kay, we'll call her loves walks around the neighborhood and being tickled. Her older sister, Rye we'll call her, is 4 years old and 100% girl. She loves, sparkles, cupcakes and everything purple. They keep me busy. I love them. 

On Friday's we always do something fun: bake cookies, make then play with play-dough or use all the blankets in the house to make a fort under the kitchen table. Last week it was making home made instruments.  

Rye with her cereal box guitar. Call her the next T-Swift

On nice days, we like to go outside and play at the park or just play in the driveway. 

Rye letting little Kay drive her beloved Barbie Jeep

This Friday I'll come up with something Thanksgiving themed- maybe a gratitude tree. I'm sure I can go to Pinterest for inspiration. However, this week Rye was sick which means I got to have some time off. Yesterday I cleaned the house and got caught up on laundry. Today, I unexpectedly got the day off again (yay!). To be honest, I don't know what to do with all this time on my hands, I'm not used to it. I actually had time to cook breakfast. Woah. In honor of fall I made one of my favorite, easy (somewhat healthy) snacks/desserts for lunch, well because I can. Dessert for lunch? YOLO (who even says that anymore- yuck). Behold the deliciousness... 

Apples & chocolate

Apples & Chocolate 

it's so simple and delicious i'm embarrassed to share the recipe

1 Fiji apple, sliced (I use an apple slicer)

1/4 C milk chocolate chips (Guittard are my hands-down favorite) 

1 handful of nuts of your choice  

I arranged the apples slices in a wreath form. For melting the chocolate, a double boiler is ideal however, I'm lazy and use the microwave. 11 second intervals with the chips in a glass bowl and stirring every interval.  Drizzle, top and enjoy. 

Guys, really it'a not rocket science. I came up with this years ago and it has been a favorite ever since. Hey, at least I'm eating my fruit. 

That is all for today lovelies, I promise next time it won't be as long. I'm still learning how to manage my crazy, hectic, beautiful life. Do any of you ever feel that way?

Take a break on this Thursday before Thanksgiving and go indulge yourself in some apples & chocolate. 

Hugs & kisses,

The Awe and Wonder

What TODAY is all about...

Disclaimer: My intentions are not to try to preach or be perceived like I know it all- because I don’t. All I hope is to share a little something I believe in and perhaps it gets you a wink more excited about life as you were before reading this. Read on lovelies!

Here is me not knowing it all
{Space Mountain, Disneyland 2012}

A little something I've noticed... 

So often we get caught up in our everyday lives: working, cooking, cleaning, paying bills, going out with friends, waiting for the weekend to arrive, focusing on our relationships, attending church on Sunday, anticipating that pay raise, grocery shopping and oh so much more. That list could go on forever. Well it’s great to be driven, focused and perhaps on a schedule. However, we often miss the world around it and with that it passes us by. We don’t see the beauty in everyday things and soon enough they become ordinary: the mountains, trees, wind, familiar faces, smiles, loved ones, water, the air we breathe, sunshine on our face and just like the other list this one could go on forever as well. There will always be something to complain about but there is also always something to be grateful for- you choose. We have so much to be thankful for, I’m alive today and if you are reading this so are you. Amen to that. We hear it so frequently that everyday is a gift (and most times we shrug it off as just another saying or cliché quote) but let it sink in for a moment….You (and me for that matter) don’t have to be given another day, another tomorrow but we are. Your work is not done, today is not for worrying how the bills are going to get paid or getting in another argument with your significant other or hating your body but it another chance to try and strive for whatever your goal(s) may be. Whoever or whatever you believe in- whether it is Allah, God, Buddha, or the Universe or something else, thank Him, thank them, thank it. You have air in your lungs, love in heart and unimaginable opportunities, for today you are alive. Take today and carpe diem the crap out of it, see the beauty and live in it because none of us are promised tomorrow. Enjoy the awe and wonder today!

A day a lived in the moment...

Huntington Beach, CA 2013

Do I look worried about the bills I had to pay? Or my future plans? No. The funny thing is on this day I had NO IDEA what I wanted in life, where I wanted to be or what my future held. But I didn't care. I was so immersed in that day and in those moments nothing else mattered. For today, I can't wait to see where the day takes me, for all I know today could be the greatest adventure of my life. Hukuna matata babies!

HUGE

 hugs & kisses,

Meet My Best Friend!

Featuring....Ashley!

In honor of my best friend coming to town I'd like you guys to meet her and I'll take you down memory lane. Now just to be clear, I moved away from my hometown (a small town in Northern California) to Las Vegas 5 years ago and we see each other on average every six months; so this is a BIG deal. I'm giddy like my first time riding a pony!

How it all started...

We met in the 3rd grade in the advanced math class (little nerds, I know).  At our elementary school  we would switch to a different class for math and reading, depending on your level (hence the advance class). Ashley had to come over to my classroom for math and she would race another girl to get to the empty seat next me me. She now admits that "sometimes I let the other girl win on purpose." She's always cautious of other people's feelings, what a sweetheart.

....and as they say, the rest was history.

We grew up side by side, literally. Friends and family started knowing us as "Ashley and Amber" not just "Ashley" or "Amber" but always together. We did everything together, and I mean everything. After school, her mom Aunite Debbie, I call her, would pick us up and we would go back to their house. I practically lived at her house, in fact I did for awhile. I loved it! Her family became my family and we were inseparable (and still are despite the distance!). Mama Debbie started referring to us as Oprah and Gayle because we had that type of relationship- we just got each other. It's still a toss up between who is Oprah and who is Gayle. And throughout the years we have made a lifetime of memories, just like Oprah and Gayle!

Over the years together we have...

• Attended the same school K-8th grade
• Grew up going to the lake every summer
• Rode bikes and made our own riding trails
• Gone on vacation together- L.A. to Nashville
•  Our first concert- Paul McCartney
• Countless birthdays...and many many more!
•  On the same cheerleading team- 4th grade
• Lots of road trips
• Hardships- divorces, deaths, finical stresses, 9/11 and more
• Graduated- same middle school, separate high schools
• Had the chicken pox at the same time
• Went to Prom Junior year
• Encouraged social media- she made me get a Youtube account, I forced her to get a Facebook
• Got our first cell phones
• Countless holidays- Christmas, 4th of July, Easter, Thanksgiving, New Years, etc. 
• Became adults (sigh)
• Encouraged and expanded our cooking skills (we make the best BBQ chicken pizza)
• Crushes, breakups, boyfriends and everything in between
• Moves- from across town to separate states
• Every trend known to mankind- Abercrombie and Fitch obsession, skater shoes, myspace and we loved boy bands
• LOTS of firsts- job, car, bank account, bra, boyfriend, apartment, etc. 
• Had a childhood FULL of memories!

As you can tell we grew up side by side and I loved every second of it. And the best part is this is only the beginning, we still have a lifetime to go! 

Some pictures along the way...

Matching outfits! (we were too cool for school) us around 9 years old

On vacation at the beach in So. Cal

Her family is from Pittsburgh, you could say they like the Steelers

Another summer on the lake, age 16

Junior Prom

We even double dated

I was there to witness her name change. Yay!

Happy and terrified on Space Mountain

Pictures from her visit here! It was great we got to shop, talk and lay by the pool. What more could a girl ask for?

Poolside

This captures our friendship perfectly. Always laughing, holding onto one another

All in all, I couldn't get through life without Ash. Cheers to best friends!

Hugs & kisses,