Shrimp with Mango=Yummy Goodness

When I find recipes, I write them down on yellow stickys. If I make the recipe and I like it, then I transfer it to an index card and add it to my recipe box. I haven't been a big mango eater in the past, but maybe that will change. This recipe made the recipe box and it was so easy to make. 

• 1 lb shrimp
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 mango (1/2" cubes)
• 1/4 c basil
• 1 tbsp scallions
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Throw spices on shrimp and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Cook shrimp in olive oil for 2 minutes. Add mango, basil, and scallions and cook 2-3 more minutes. Done.

As I sit here doing laundry which I hate, it reminded me of my college days in Austin. I found a laundromat that would do my laundry for me. I paid by the pound. I was working 2 jobs and barely getting by, but having my laundry done was such a bonus for me. Plus, they folded my stuff really nice.  I miss those days.....well and partying down 6th street, going to Barton Springs, Zilker Park, Krause Springs, Hamilton's Pool, Town Lake, the Flats, Oasis......blah, blah, blah. Such a great town for single people....not so much when you are busy raising kids.

Visited my local Lemon Bar for happy hour last night. Nice, big, plenty of TVs, good food and great happy hour prices. Will definitely go back.  I didn't hang around long, but they were going to have a live band with karaoke last night.

I'm patting myself on the back because I've been to the gym every day this week and going again today. Granted, I only stay 30 minutes, but that's much better than 0 minutes which is what I had been doing for the past 6 months.

Looks like we are expecting cooler weather this weekends 80s......be sure to enjoy it while you can.

Working Out Hurts

These are some of Hayley's senior pictures. Obviously, I haven't purchased them yet or there wouldn't be writing across her face.

So Hayley and I missed the Body Pump class on Monday. Let me explain. On the way home from work I saw a cop looking at my windshield and I realized that my inspection sticker expired back in August. Oopsie. Being that we are at the end of September, I thought I better take care of that right away. The evening was not a bust. We arrived at the gym in time for a Cycle class. Hayley had never been to one before. We cycled about 15 minutes when she looked over and asked me how long class was.

The look on her face was priceless when I said an hour.

We stuck it out. I also did some circuit training. Good thing I saved money by NOT buying the cute sweater or getting my mani/pedi. I spent $70 on my inspection....of course, I needed new wiper blades....sigh. Then, after our workout, Hayley and I bought new sports bras, workout pants, and another yoga  mat.

I was so sore last night that I went straight from the gym to the mall to that place that does the chair massages. So tack that onto the budget too. Hahaha. This lady was awesome.

So I'm taking this online course at the University of Pennsylvania: Greek and Roman Mythology. There are 50,000 people enrolled. Yes, no mistake: 50,000. Amazing.

Adult Time Outs

So my daughter who will be 18 years old in a few weeks told me that she was having a really bad day at work the other day. A customer really upset her and then a coworker accidentally spilled hot water on her. She said she just go so upset and started crying. Her manager put her in a 10-minute time-out at the back of the store. I thought that was pretty funny, but probably appropriate for plenty of us.

So my cats just love my white comforter and I want to keep the white, so this was my feeble attempt to keep the cats off the comforter.

I have one of the smallest cars available to mankind, but it was so dirty that it took me 3 hours to clean it this weekend. I thought about replacing my TWO floor mats that were really dirty. I looked them up online to see how much it would cost. $80. WTH?

Needless to say, I found some miracle carpet cleaning product called Folex for $5. My floor mats look like brand new. 

I was way over budget last month, so I'm trying to be good this month...of course I say this every month. Last month, I was 'good' on my budget for 2 days in a row. That's about all I can say about that. There was some good news the month before. For the first time in 15 years, I wasn't charged the $40 toll tag fee. That is a FIRST, but don't worry, I've already been charged this month, so back on track. Last year I paid $120 in tolls for a month or two....I had sold my other car. I thought because I took the toll tag out that I wouldn't be charged tolls. Apparently they link tolls to your license plate so I paid for the buyers tolls for 2 months. And apparently he was blowing up and down the toll a lot.

I went to the mall at lunch. I saved $45 by NOT buying the cute sweater (that was on sale)that would have really looked good with my black leggings and boots. WAAGGHHH. I also did NOT get a mani/pedi on Friday another $45 saved when I really wanted one. I did paint my fingernails a bright blue and they look AWESOME!

I hope everyone has a great week! Me and Hayley are going to the gym to do a Body Pump class tonight. The last time, I did one, I couldn't walk for 2 days.

Yoga and my mascots

Now that the weather is getting cooler again, I rejoined 24 hour fitness. Hayley wanted to join too. So the personal trainer asked me what our goals were. I told him I wanted to sit my big butt in the sauna and steam room this winter and that my daughter wanted to work on getting a bigger butt. He said he could help her out. WTH? Anyway, I think he got the picture that I am not interested in hiring a personal trainer. I want to do a 30-minute workout and hit the bonus rooms to relax.


I love my animals, but it is really hard to do yoga with them in the house. I get in a downward dog pose and there is a cat between my hands and feet underneath my belly and a dog kissing me in the face.

For those of you who don't know what downward dog is....see images below.

I'm not sure who in the pics has the proper form. I'm going to have to go with the dog on this one.

I can't even begin to tell you what it is like to try and do push ups in this household. All animals have to get the boot outside for that.

So I'm back to cooking. This week was mini spinach quiches, baby back ribs, pork chops in a ginger sauce with wild rice, and chicken in a brown sugar mustard sauce with bell peppers in red wine vinegar. I wouldn't make the ginger sauce again or put the red wine vinegar in with my bell peppers. I think said items are better with some garlic and spices.

So I was going to make a shrimp mango dish tonight, but no mangoes at Kroger and I wasn't about to go on a mango search after the day I had....Me and technology were not getting along which sucks when that is what you do for a living. Also, my commute was slow because of ONE little stalled car. So instead, dinner will be broccoli and cheese, filet mignon and sweet potato.

So American Express offered my 17-year old daughter a credit card today. Hmmmm. I've had AMEX for 14 years now and they've been awesome, but I'm not sure about a 'real' credit card for her at this point. She has one 'real' credit card, but I'm on it with her and it comes out of my account. What to do, what to do??? I want her to get credit so she can refinance her car out of my name one of these days. Advice taken on this topic.

Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful Texas weather. I had to put the heater on in the convertible on my way to work this morning.

Is food wasted if the dog eats it?

I went and saw a few of my old high school buddies. I hadn't seen some of them in 10-30 years. Wow. It was so nice to see everyone.

So Saturday night, I went to FC Dallas Stadium to see Kings of Rock. It was a bunch of tribute bands...Metallica, AC/DC, Guns N Roses, Allison in Chains, etc. The bands were awesome. HARDLY anyone there. I bet there were maybe 200 people and most had free tickets from radio stations. It was downright embarrassing and obviously didn't generate any revenue for Frisco. The tickets were only $10. The concert went from 2:30pm to 11:30pm. It was a fun time. Still shocked no one showed.

So after buying a couple of MyFit Food meals, I decided to go back to cooking. The meals are okay, but when I microwaved some of them to heat it up, it overcooked the food. Fresh food is always good. Plus, I do like to cook. I just need to make the time. So yesterday, I was on a big kick. I made some chicken breasts in a different type of marinade. It was different and smelled good when cooking and it tastes good too.

1/2 cup olive oil

• 1/2 cup ranch dressing
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon Stevia

Then I made a huge salad and made my own salad dressing with apple cider vinegar, oil, crushed strawberries and some other stuff.

On Tuesday, I'm making baby back ribs. I made a marinade out of spicy mustard, ketchup, Worcestshire, lime, Slap Yo Mamma seasoning, and some Stevia. It is spicy and good.  

My daughter and I just can't eat that  much and she refuses to eat leftovers, so I'm cooking two chicken breasts at a time, two pork chops at a time and only 1/2 a rack of ribs. I read that Americans waste a lot of food. Mine doesn't really go to waste as I have a dog that eats our leftovers. Anyway, that got me to thinking. In a survey, is food counted as waste if your dog eats it?

Oh and I still have my beautiful and yummy mini cheesecakes from last week. I froze them. I ate one of them out of the freezer this week and it was really good cold. I also added a dab of whipped cream with some cinnamon sugar sprinkles.

I hope everyone enjoyed our lovely weather this weekend. You can't beat it.

So today's lunch time trip is to Trader Joe's in Plano. Hopefully it won't be too crowded since they just opened on Friday.

2012 Season: Cowboys Undefeated! and Ft Worth Zoo

I was waiting to blog about the zoo until I could add some photos. Here is a sweet little kittie and a crocodile biting my boyfriend's bottom.

The trip to the zoo was lots of fun and lots of walking. They had a baby giraffe and a baby chimpanzee. Both were adorable.  Tatu (giraffe) was only 8 weeks old and was born 6ft tall. He is expected to be 15 ft tall.



We partied at Flying Saucer, went to the Water Gardens and walked around Sundance Square. It was a beautiful weekend. We got some rain and it was breezy. Pretty uncommon for August in Texas.

We also went to the Kimbell Museum. Lots of great artists and wonderful pictures. My favorite is the Torment of St. Anthony. It was Michaelangelo's first painting when he was 12 years old. 

Beautiful yet disturbing all at once. Here is more information if you are interested. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Torment_of_Saint_Anthony_(Michelangelo)

So we think my boyfriend's cat might have been killed by a bobcat or a nice family has taken her in. Several cats have disappeared lately and a bobcat has been spotted in the neighborhood. We are praying for 'nice family'. 

This week my sweet kitties killed a bird. They looked very guilty and left the carcass in my backyard by the storage shed. I picked it up while I was on doggie poo duty. The one nice thing about 100 degree weather is that the doggie poo is petrified and no smell.

Cowboys Rock! I know everyone (in their right minds) were thinking the former SuperBowl champs at home would win. In all honesty, I really thought the Cowboys would pull this game off and they did. 2012 Season: Cowboys Undefeated!!!

So one little rant today. WHY oh WHY do some  people have to STOP the car to make a right turn?

Looks like we are supposed to have an awesome weekend...80 degrees for the high. Hard to believe we are going to drop from 100+ to 80s. What happened to the 90s?