The book barn, church stuff and movies

Happy Sunday and official end of the first week of October!!

What did you all do this weekend?

On friday, I traveled to Ross with my roommate Nickolina, our nurse and our caregiver Sofie. We then hit Target--I know, twice for me in one week-that's UNUSUAL! You bet I hit the dollar spot again lol...i also got a pair of E.L.F fake eyelashes for $1 for my halloween trial run makeup.

Yesterday we baked  two more cheesecakes based on this recipe; one with yoplait key lime pie yogurt, the other w/chobani pineapple greek yogurt--i tasted that batter and oh my was so delectable!! Then in the afternoon, we watched Dark Shadows starring Johnny Depp. I rate it an odd good movie with a some funny parts as well as couple racy moments. The entire cast was so in character..perfect!

Also, mid-week, i plan on watching/reading some of the General Conference talks that occurred this weekend. Did any of you tune in? what were some of your fave highlights?

One last thing before I leave, as I have my church group coming over for fellowship:

you'd be happy to discover The Book Barn, where Danielle one of my newest kind sponsors reviews fiction, memoirs and biographies! I just discovered in her latest post that she mentally casts characters for movies from the books in her head! So funny, because I kinda do the same thing, like for instance, I totally wished that Judy Greer shoulda played Effie Trinket in the Hunger Games. I mean, look at her nose, face and mannerisms!! Stop by her blog for a book recommendation or leave a comment of your opinion if you'd read any of the same books! And on her personal blog, Daniellesque, she's having a book bundle giveaway, 7 hours left, so hurry hurry!

coffee talk with Natalie Blair

Hi my amigos!

How's your thursday going? 

I am excited because I am CO-HOSTING Coffee Talk with Natalie Blair today!! 

The questions featured for today are from me! Go ahead and read my answers, link up if you'd like (we'd love to know yours!) and go visit Nat for her revealing answers!

Also, just want to let you know that this morning I spilled coffee all over me, my laptop and floor! DOOM & GLOOM! Thank God it wasn't a ton of coffee spilt on my laptop---i did place my laptop upside down on my bed hoping the cafe would leak out..it's working! so far so good!

As you can see, I am about to post this post that I shoulda had done last night and ready to publish this morning, but im not on top of the ball! I've had a bit of pain still bothering from my trache change last week. It's been either my trache or my arm, arm or trache!

So let's get to it:

1. You're at Target or Walmart, what's the first department you hit?

At Target, I totally hit the dollar section first! 98% of the time, i always find something that I want (think gift items!). I love their little 8pk notecards, stick note papers or 2 pack gift bags! After this spot is checked, I usually wander over to junior's clothes OR makeup aisles!!

At Walmart, I usually go to health & beauty departments, then stationary, grocery or the $5 movie bins! lol 

I heart Target clearance clothes!

I'll take $12.48 over $24.99 anyday for the dress above!

2. What are 3 items you always have stocked in your home, fridge or pantry?

Did you know i keep a stockpile of health & beauty items? I do! In a cabinet in my room. I love stocking up on these items when they are on sale AND i have a coupon for them, which means i score them for CHEAP! I always have extras of deodorant, toothpaste and body wash (because i dont want to run out and smell lol)...so if you ever run out, call me!

3. Do you prefer shopping alone or with others? Why?

I like both. I used to go shopping all the time alone (before i got on the vent--and I had more freedom that way), but for the past 6 years I have to shop with others because I can't be alone if something happens, like a part of tubing popping off and i cannot put it back together or on myself. I've learned to enjoy the company and I actually love shopping with my mom or friends. It's not as bad as it might seem, because there are moments where I'll go browse on my own (not too far away from whoever is with me), so that's nice.

4. What's the biggest splurge you've ever made?

Oh wow..biggest splurge? Well i can tell you and (I am embarrassed) that I spent about $25 for DiorShow mascara. I regret that the most because the brush was too dang big for my eyes lol and I didn't like it..it certainly didnt pass MY test of being waterproof/smudgeproof! 

oh my foolish ways! but i love makeup & clothes the most..dang it!

5. What's the best deal you've ever snagged?

 AH deals are my thing!! Just this past weekend I got two nail polishes for .44 cents each! and I've gotten a tee shirt at target for $3. Two dresses & two shirts at forever21 for about $19 total with their B1G1 free sale items labor day sale! Another one that was really money saving was getting Oprah Magazine subscription for only $5 for the whole year!

cherry vanilla cheesecake

Happy Fall!

Happy October first!

Do you have any special plans or traditions once it's October--not including Halloween, because that gets it's own discussion! ;)

Fall time means cooler temperatures--a most welcome event for 100+ degree weather here in Arizona! I love being outside, taking evening or morning walks around my neighborhood, and seeing the leaves slowly turn autumnal colors. and who could forgot pumpkin stuff?---oh that's another separate post of celebrating!

With cooler temps, means I get to bake more often(because it heats up the house)...YAY! I LOVE baking things from scratch for my house people (nurses/caregivers) family and neighbors!

I have a yummy recipe for you today. I made this cheesecake a few days ago. I never in my life used yogurt before in a cheesecake!

I adapted it from Joey's Cheesecake by Jennifer, on Allrecipes.com, however, since we couldn't find cherry-vanilla yogurt, I mixed a little light vanilla yogurt with a full 6oz. cup of light cherry yogurt, with the total amount of yogurt being around 8oz. I also added more vanilla.

Ingredients

• 1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
• 2 (8 ounce) packages lowfat cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar (next time i'm using splenda)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract ( used 1 teaspoon)
• 2 eggs
• 1 (8 ounce) container blueberry flavored yogurt (see notes above)

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C.)
2. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Stir in yogurt. Pour filling into crust.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until filling is set. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving. (the cheesecake needed baking for about an hour). I kept adding  3-5 more minutes of baking time after the 35 minutes was up. I recommend to just keep checking to make sure it doesn't burn. I baked it til the outer edges were turning golden brown and the middle wasn't as jiggly. refrigerated overnight and ate the next night...perfect!!

whatever flavor of yogurt you choose will be the flavor of the cheesecake. next week, I am making this cheesecake again for another one of my caregiver's birthdays, but with lemon flavored yogurt--yum!! Maybe i'll even add some lemon juice!

This recipe was so easy to make, I highly recommend!

no profound words

no profound words.

just simply thankful and happy for my life.

even if there's pain & disappointment,

little things brighten my day and make those sad things less looming.

a letter inside a cheery envelope.

seeing a good friend after two years.

text from my aunt who said she wants to come shopping with my mom and I this weekend.

walking around the block as the sun is setting.

an extended family that loves me & accepts me for who I am.

cheese omelet and warm french vanilla-ly coffee.

I am learning to breathe.

(no pun intended lol).

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Oh and hey! Check out stylish Lena's group giveaway that I am participating in! Two days left to enter yoself! :)

pssst: wanna sponsor BeeLittlequeen in October? Click here for details.

spaces available now.

YOU: Hugs Hugs.

sunshine & rainbows.

my nana bought me a black cat & other news

It's past mid-week and i havent even posted since saturday--who cares!? (pastor yoo would be so proud of me saying that!) 

hahah...so i wanted to tell you all about my LOVELY great weekend and week so far!! 

saturday, i went to oldnavy with my mom, in which i got a couple gift items AND my mom spoiled me with a new outfit!Will try on the pants tomorrow. They are grey sort of skinny jeans with an elastic waist. they are so cute, i sure hope they fit well! I've never in my life owned a pair of jeans other than a dark indigo rinse or medium wash. I am trying to incorporate a few new fall/winter pieces into my closet. I don't really have good, classic pieces that i can mix and match. I am pretending that Stacy and Clinton are coaching me in that department. 

I loved having a relaxed, not-in-a-hurry-no-stress time with my mom. We talked about weddings, Hawaiian bbq that we didn't like and reality shows like the x-factor, american idol and the voice. We were laughing over Doma, who auditioned on the Voice. She is quite the handful and full of herself, IMO. When she introduced herself last week she said something like, "my name is Doma. D to the O to the M to the A" wow!!!! Cee-lo picked her :) Did you guys see that part?

Sunday, two great friends came over! Hayne & sung! 

im not a huge fan of caramel, but...

cake pop approved

They are part of my church group and i met them in 2004 at ASU! We had such a fun time chatting over coffee and salted caramel cakepops! sung also gave me roses! so sweet.

"You know it's fall when Starbucks comes out with pumpkin spice drinks!!"----sung hahahaha

you know how i was MIA for a while because of my arm, well two nights ago, it started hurting again!! this time, more of my elbow, tricep area..BOO to that! It was inducing anxiety in me....which made me miss my spiritual direction class via google chat tuesday night. i was bummed! 

I've been TRYING to abstain a bit from being online, which was great for me today, because i went to the movies with Heide. Being gone for over 4 hours was nice, so i wasn't tempted to be online and give my arm a break. We saw The Words. It was not exactly what i expected but was good. It's def a serious movie, sort of bittersweet. The theme to me is that you have to live with the choices you make and how a choice can affect your future as well as, loving something more than what's really important. Out of 5 stars, I give a 3.5. Being out with heide was a nice treat and time to get out of the house.

Oh and if you didn't see what I posted on twitter this morning; my nana bought me a black cat.Yeh, I know it's not even october for Halloween, but my nana likes to buy things just because and i love his bowtie. 

cell phone pic. look at those glowing eyes!

Because I don't own a home, my bedroom is like my little house, my little space, therefore, mr. cat is hanging in my room as decoration. I need to name him. any suggestions? Hayne texted me with Zoro. I like oliver or mr. whiskers. what do ya'll think?

also, just a few more hours left to enter megan's cents of style item giveaway!! hurry!

shaping up to be a mom & with style (a giveaway!)

I am so excited to introduce you all to lovely Megan of Shaping up to be a mom. She has become a dear friend to me! I love her!! After many long emails exchanged, i feel so blessed to know her and share girl talk about pretty much anything!
take a read and get to know her a bit and there'll be a little treat for you at the end ;) as if the title didn't give it away! lol.

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Hi all! I'm Megan, from Shaping Up To Be A Mom, and I'm super excited to be visiting here today!

Shaping Up To Be A Mom is all about how I'm trying to "shape up" in every area of my life! I love to write about family, fashion, and fitness, as well as home decorating, musical theatre, trip reports, and my bucket list.

These little critters make regular appearances of course!

All I've been hearing about in the blogosphere lately is fall, fall, fall, autumn, and fall! And I'm no different...I LOVE fall! Growing up in Maine, I got to see all the gorgeous colored leaves and feel the air get crisper as the year drew closer to its end. I miss that so much. Here in AZ it's still 100+ degrees, and it's still too hot to go outside for very long, not to mention putting on a sweater or boots!

But the weather DOES change here eventually, and I will get to pull out all my fantastic fall fashion pieces! It was about this time last year that I signed up to sell shoes, bags, and accessories for Cents of Style, an online boutique, and my closet has been thanking me ever since!

Here are some of my favorite new items for fall 2012:

I just got the floral heels, and they are to die for! I must have those nude flats, and who needs zebra print when you can get a scarf with the whole zebra on it?!

The best part is the prices! Everything I just showed you is from $14.60-$29.60, and shipping is free to the US!

You can also use my coupon code ("0512") at any time to get 10% off your entire purchase! Make sure to enter my code at checkout and hit "apply coupon."

You can also like my Megan's Cents of Style Facebook page, to stay updated on all the latest products and promotions! I'm currently having a giveaway for a free scarf, once I reach 1000 "likes!"

Today one of Brittany's lucky readers is going to win a free item from the Cents of Style Centsible collection!

Hope to see you over at my place, and good luck in the giveaway!

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 a Rafflecopter giveaway

now isn't she so fun and fabulous!? I wish i could enter!

Hope you entered the giveaway and don't forget you can follow Megan by the following ways:

blog // shop // facebook // bloglovin // twitter