Five on Friday

one. Yasso Toffee Crunch Candy Bar

So I have this love of toffee. Like, I could eat it all day and all night. I love the sweetness to it, it crunch to it, the stickiness when it gets in my teeth. What I don't love about it is the sugar content. But y'all I have discovered this toffee crunch bar and not only is it toffee, it's ice cream (ok it's greek yogurt but you can't tell), dark chocolate and caramel all wrapped into one bar. Best part: 150 calories, 12 grams of sugar and 4 grams of protein. They are gluten free and Kosher. I even have my healthy husband digging in. Yasso makes a full line of greek yogurt ice cream bars and all of them are tasty. 

two. Emerald Sky is having a FLASH SALE

Everything....I mean everything....is on sale right now at Emerald Sky. They are selling out fast! And on top of it all....they are offering 20% off of already marked down items when you use the code JULY at checkout! GO GO GO! Like now. Go. Order your favorite shirt, like mine below, and then come back to the blog to see what else is in my Five on Friday! 

three. Wonder Women trailer

Comic-Con was last week and they debuted this trailer. Words can not describe how excited I am to see this. I think Gal plays a beautiful Wonder Women. 

four. Justice League trailer
Again, another trailer that was released at Comic-Con that I am super excited about.

five. Chobani Meze Dip
Y'all.....after you read this, you're gonna wanna get in your car and drive to the grocery store and get all 4 flavors. I kid you not, this is probably one of the best dips I have ever had. And wait till you hear about the nutritional facts! So for 2 tbsp: 25 calories, 1 gram fat, 2 grams carbs, <1 gram sugar and 3 grams protein! It's gluten free, Kosher and vegetarian. It comes in Roasted Red Pepper, Three Pepper Salsa, Chili Lime and Smoked Onion and Parmesan. Bobby and I can't stop eating them. We get fresh veggie sticks to eat it but if you wanted to add your favorite chip, you can cause you won't feel guilty about it. I am a late night snacker, it's my downfall in my eating, but this comes in handy then. They are also awesome for parties. Check out this really cool, helpful chart I got! 

Don't forget to go follow Amber Massey and her blog PB&J and check out her Five on Friday. 

Out with the old, In with the new

Dear Diary,

Ever since we moved into our home last year, I have had problems with my dishwasher. It doesn't wash properly. Everything comes out spotty or wet or simply still dirty. And I have switched soaps, I have tried liquid, I have tried tabs, I added a higher dial of Jet Dry. Nothing!

Fact about me: I am EXTREMELY picking on how my dishwasher is loaded. I refuse to have anyone load my dishwasher. Bobby has tried to help me (especially after having Brody) and I would go behind him and fix it. It's where my OCD comes in. It's honestly the only thing really I am OCD about. I won't even let my mom load it when she is at the house with Brody. 

Ok...back to story. So Bobby was helping me put dishes away one night (that he can help with) and he asked "Are dishes supposed to come out like this?" Finally he noticed! I said "I am sure you have heard me bitch to you about this but I guess it took you seeing it for yourself to understand." So he said we could look into getting a new one. My birthday was in about 2 months so I told him that I would find the one I wanted, find where it was and ask for gift cards/money to go towards it. Win Win. 

So I did just that. Usually when people ask me what I want for birthday/Christmas, my response is usually either nothing, I'm good or I don't know, just whatever you want to get me. But this year, I said "Lowe's gift card please. I am getting me a dishwasher!" 

When I went to Lowe's, the sales guy asked me what I was wanting and I told him: Bosch. He asked me why? I said I had done my research and that was the one that seemed to fit what I was wanting. He then asked me what was I wanting in a dishwasher?....I told him: I KNEW I wanted a third rack for utensils and baby items. That was a must for me. I also KNEW I wanted something that dried well. I hate pulling dishes out and they are still wet. I KNEW I wanted stainless steel. I KNEW I wanted it to be quiet enough to not wake Brody (he's a light sleeper). I KNEW I wanted the buttons to be on top/hidden because a certain 11 month old likes to press the buttons I have on the front and turn my dishwasher off half way through. 

He said that Bosch is a great brand but it is air dry, not heat dry so I was going to have the same problem as I was before. That European models do not have heat dry. 

So I was back to square one. He pointed out a few others to me but kept referring me back to a particular KitchenAid one. He said for everything I am wanting, this is the best on the market. And one of the quietest with only 39 decibels (most dishwashers range from 42-46 decibels). I loved everything about it. Then I saw the price tag. And my smile went away. 

And Bobby saw it disappear too. Then he looked and shook his head and asked the sales guy what was the best deal he could get us for it. They were having a July 4th sale still going on and so Bobby knew there had to be something he could do. And that's what the guy did. He was able to work something out for us. We did pay more than I had anticipated but Bobby said to not hear me bitch anymore was totally worth it. 
Hahahahahahaha :-) Win Win in my book! 

Out with the old: Bye Felicia 

In with the new: Hello Gorgeous 

I thought I would show you how it looks loaded so you can see how much stuff I got in. The bottom was only filled about half way so I could have added even more. 

Isn't it beautiful! Who knew a dishwasher could make me so happy? 

Oh me....I knew that. I knew a new dishwasher would make me so happy. 

Love, Me


PS: My old one was an LG and the new one is a KitchenAid 39-Decibel Built In Energy STAR model number KDTE254ESS in case you are in the market.

PSS: You can tell a lot about a person if you open up their dishwasher and see what's in it and how they load it. :-)

PSSS: If you gave me a gift card or money for my birthday....Thank You Thank You Thank You! I love you!

August 2016 Movies

There are 7 movies for August. And one I have been looking forward to for over a year now, the one I will be pre-buying my tickets for, the one I will be getting a babysitter and have multiple cocktails to. Suicide Squad can not get here fast enough y'all!

August 5th

Suicide Squad

Rated PG-13

123 mintues

Starring: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto, Cara Delevingne, Scott Eastwood, Jai Courtney, Ben Affleck, Joel Kinnaman, Karen Fukuhara, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Viola Davis, Common, David Harbour, Adam Beach

"A secret government agency recruits imprisoned supervillains to execute dangerous black ops missions in exchange for clemency."

August 12th

Pete's Dragon

Rated PG

102 minutes

Starring: Bryce Dallas Howard, Robert Redford, Oakes Fegley, John Kassir, Karl Urban, Wes Bentley, Oona Laurence

"The adventures of an orphaned boy named Pete and his best friend Elliot, who just so happens to be a dragon."

Sausage Party

Rated R

89 minutes

Starring: Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader, Michael Cera, James Franco, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Paul Rudd, Nick Kroll, David Krumholtz, Edward Norton, Salma Hayek

"An animated movie about one sausage's quest to discover the truth about his existence."

Warning: Language 

August 19th

Ben-Hur

Rated PG-13

minutes N/A

Starring: Jack Huston, Toby Kebbell, Morgan Freeman, Rodrigo Santoro, Nazanin Boniadi, Ayelet Zurer, Pilou Asbaek,

"A falsely accused Jewish nobleman survives years of slavery to take vengence on his Roman best friend, who betrayed him."

War Dogs

Rated R

114 mintues

Starring: Jonah Hill, Miles Teller, Bradley Cooper, Ana de Armas

"Based on the true story of two young men, David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli, who won $300 million contract from the Pentagon to arm America's allies in Afghanistan."

August 26th

Mechanic: Resurrection

Rated R

100 minutes

Starring: Jason Statham, Jessica Alba, Tommy Lee Jones, Michelle Yeoh

"Arthur Bishop thought he had put his murderous past behind him when his most formidable foe kidnaps the love of his life. Now he is forced to travel the globe to complete three impossible assassinations, and do what he does best, make them look like accidents."

Don't Breathe

Rated R

88 minutes

Starring: Dylan Minnette, Jane Levy, Daniel Zovatto, Stephen Lang, Sergej Onopko

"A group of friends break into the house of a wealthy blind man, thinking they'll get away with the perfect heist. They're wrong."

Source: 

www.imdb.com

www.wikipedia.org

www.youtube.com 

51 weeks

How old? 51 weeks

Likes? Swimming naked. Sunday night we let him get in his swimming pool naked since he had already gone number 2 for the day and he loved it. He felt so free. It just made me laugh the whole time. 

Hates? When he sees us eat something and not give him a bite. He just stares at us like "hello...I am here to. Give it to me NOW". 

Milestones this week? Just getting his walking improved. He just gets excited about it and tries to run, not realizing he hasn't mastered walking yet. 

Sleeping? Oh man has he been sleeping. I think he has hit a growth spurt cause 3 mornings this past week he slept till 10:30am! And the other mornings was in between 8:30-9:30. It was wonderful. One morning I got dishes done and 2 loads of laundry done. It was fantastic. 

Eating? He tried an Uncrustable this week and hated it. I thought he would love Peanut Butter and Jelly but he wants nothing to do with it. I am going to try him on just a peanut butter sandwich and see if it's the jelly he's not likeing. 

Baptized

Yesterday I got to experience something truly special for me. 

You all know I love Kent and I have loved Kent since August 31, 2010. 

Yesterday, he chose to accept Jesus Christ into his life and follow in his ways. Billy nor Kristen made this choice for him. That is what is so special about it. Pastor Ed Lantz did the baptism, outside in a kiddy pool. So many people stayed to watch this 6 year old choose Jesus. 

With everything going on in this world today, this one small decision, this one small act just gives me hope for the future. Kent is a great example for other children (and some adults) and for my child. I love that Brody has Kent in his life to learn from. 

I couldn't be more proud of him. I cried when Ed dunked him and then prayed. It was just so overwhelming and I could just feel God all around us. 

My favorite part of it all....When Ed asked Kent if he has chosen to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour.....Kent screamed "YEAH!!!" 

Kent Samuel,

I am so proud of you. God knew exactly what he was doing when he made you. You are a blessing to me and I am so proud to call myself your aunt. I love you so very much!

-Aunt Dani

Five on Friday

one. Working at the Car Wash

My kid is obsessed with the water hose. He loves it. He could play with the water hose for hours. But we don't like wasting water so we make use of this love. And one of the uses is washing the cars. This is the second week in a row Bobby has done this and Brody loves it. He tries to help. He usually just slings water everywhere and plays in the bubbles but it keeps him highly entertained and seeing him in his Honest Speedo just makes my day #babythighsarethebest

two. Straws

I am so glad he has mastered this. He loves them. Only problem is now, no matter what I am drinking, he wants it to. I use to be able to use a straw and he would ignore it but now that he knows how to do it, he wants mine! He's too cute not to share (except my margarita...he has to wait for that).

three. The CrossFit Games

My gym kept telling us they were coming and all that hooplah and I seriously rolled my eyes at it. Then I went to see what all the fuss was about and here I am...glued to it. They are so inspiring. They have 15 year olds competing and 60 year olds, and every age in between. Individuals and teams compete. People from all over the world compete. I get caught up in watching it on YouTube and TV. Thank God they are only on this week or I would never stop (they end on the 24th). It makes me want to workout harder and keep my body going. 

four. Groovebook

I have been ordering my monthly Groovebook since last October. The reason I started it was because I wanted a way to get photos without paying a lot or having to do a lot of work. This is the easiest, cheapest, fastest way to get my photos. It is $2.99 a month for 100 photos and then if you want an extra book for the month, it's an additional $2.99 for each book. I take a lot of photos so it's nice to have them printed. You can order 100 of the same photos if you wanted. It does take about 2-3 weeks to get it in and they aren't premium quality paper but for $2.99, it rocks! Use my code LEWIS9410 to get your first Groovebook for FREE! 

five. Jessica Jones

So after I finished watching OITNB (in less than one week), I knew I needed to find another Netflix show to watch. It was gonna be Game of Thrones but Netflix doesn't offer it so I searched around and I stumbled across this. I am addicted. There is only one season (second season has been ordered, yay) so you can get caught up really quick. Krysten Ritter plays her and does such a great job. I love everything about her. Her attitude, her abilities (she has superhuman strength and can fly), her badass-ness, her drinking. To sum it up really simply, she is rogue superhero. She is a detective by day that is hunted by a evil man that she is trying to defeat. She is part of the Marvel family. Just watch it. It is for adults just fyi (there is language and sex scenes and scary situations). 

Don't forget to go follow Amber Massey and her blog PB&J and check out her Five on Friday. This was her idea of a blog post that I love so much and decided to do it myself. 

Smoothie Date

Dear Diary,

Lately I have been doing my best to eat better. Not necessary eat less (especially on days I workout), just incorporate better choices into my daily intake. And I have been doing that by adding a fruit, veggie, & protein smoothie into my afternoons. I try to make them an hour and a half before Swink Sweat and I have found that it gives me energy and helps keep my momentum at workout going. 

And because I am loving this so much, I thought I would share with you my recipe. 

Here is the list of ingredients in the order of which I put them in my smoothie: 

• 1/2 cup- Vanilla Almond Milk- I use Silk Vanilla 
• 1/2 cup- Plain Greek Yogurt- I use Chobani (click on the name to see more information on them and all their yummy flavors)
• 1 cup- Kale- I use Taylor Farms Chopped for Juicing 
• 1/2 cup- Peeled Apple Slices- I use Crunch Pak Peeled Sweet Apples
• 1/4 cup- Blueberries- I use fresh over frozen
• 1 cup- Frozen Mango- I use Dole Mango Chunks (I use frozen in place of ice cubes) 

Then I turn the blender on and right after I turn it on I add:

• 1/2 cup- Liquid Protein- I use Premier Protein Strawberries & Cream Shake
• 1/2 cup- Water- If you want to use a protein powder instead, up your water that you use to 1 cup instead of the 1/2 cup

If you make it just like I did, it will make 24oz. So adjust accordingly if you don't want to make as much. 

Nutritional Facts for this yummy smoothie: 24oz serving:

277.05g Calories

2.75g Fat

43.5g Carbs

5.4g Fiber

33g Sugar

21.8g Protein

The reason the sugar is on the high side is because it is coming from the Apples, Blueberries & Mango so it is a natural sugar. Your body can process it much easier than if you were to add raw sugar to it. It keeps me full for about 4 hours, even after my workout. 

And since I don't drink these by myself, I think of it as a smoothie date with my son and that is the best! 

"Here Mom....you can have some if you want!"

Thanks boo

Love, Me

HBD Kara

I just want to say a very Happy Birthday to my wonderful sister Kara.

You are funny, kind and always keep me honest. You always know what to say to cheer me up and you were my best friend growing up. You are such a great aunt to Brody. He is incredibly lucky to have you. 

You are beautiful on the outside as well as on the inside. You are a great wife, an awesome daughter, a fun sister and a fantastic mom. We are so lucky to have you in our lives.

Happy Birthday and I hope you have an awesome 35th year of life! 

I love you!