Get your snack on ...

Hot dog bun, hold the dog, please. Yes, really. I love hot dog buns with a little bit o' ketchup and mustard. That's it, no hot dog, just the bread.

Popcorn with parmesan cheese, Sour Straws and chocolate milk ... the absolute perfect salty-sweet combo. Anytime, anywhere, l.o.v.e.

What's your favorite snacks?

Get your shop on ...

I heart accessories! Adding pieces of jewelry or a headband to complete a look is always so much fun, however I am HORRIBLE at shopping them out!! I can't tell you how many times I have been to the mall for the sole purpose of finding new additions to add to my collection, only to leave without a single find. It's not like there aren't any cute items - there are lots - I just can't seem to be able to picture myself wearing something outside of my 2 favorite pairs of hoop earrings and an American Eagle chain with pendant that I have had for years.
To help with my issue, I was thinking about hosting an accessories swap ... nothing too spendy (maybe a $15 budget??), just a fun way to exchange goodies. What are your thoughts? If enough are interested, I will post a separate announcement with all the details.
Here are a few faves I browsed online ...

Nordstrom .. $28

Forever 21 .. $5.80

Forever 21 .. $9.80

Forever 21 .. $5.80

Etsy .. $13

Claire's .. $8.50

Claire's .. $6.50

It's Tee Shirt Time !!

Welcome back to the Shore, bitches!!

The drama has already started ... and how could it not with Miss Thang, Sammi, struttin' around thinkin' she's all that. Ugh. Let's not waste time on her.

What do y'all think of Deena? I like the nickname Lil' Meatball ... meatballs are great in an Italian's world, so she's good in my book. Plus, she loves Cherry Vodka. We could be bff's, except for the fact that in her drunken state, she shows off her na-na.

Props to JWoww for looking so.much.better this season. I love this girl, but I hope to see less of her ta-tas. Homegirl throws a mean punch and (while I don't condone violence) Sammi definitely had it coming. I can't wait to see how that fight plays out.

And who doesn't like a little eye candy each week? As long as Pauly keeps his blow-out tight, it's all good! Anyone seen pics of him when he doesn't do his hair? No thank you.

GTL, Baby!
Thursday nights at 10pm on MTV

Whatchya' Reading ?

New year ... new blogs! Hey girls - I am looking for new blogs to stalk love and wanna know which ones you fancy! And, for any followers o'mine that have never commented, let me know you are here so I can come take a peek at your page!

Lots of love!!

xoxo

Hot Toddy

Fighting a cold? Need a soothing pick-me-up after a long day? The hot toddy is an age-old nighttime cold remedy (just ask my gramma), and studies have shown that this little drink (limited to one a night) really does work wonders at helping you recover from a virus. Four simple ingredients, one powerful nightcap!
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Hot Green-Tea Toddy
1 Tbsp. Whiskey
1 Tbsp. Honey
Juice from 1 small lemon
1 Cup steaming hot green tea

Combine in a mug and enjoy! Each cup is 108 calories.

*

Whiskey boosts resistance to five cold strains, reducing your risk of catching one by 65%. Honey taken before bed coats an irritated throat, calming coughs and improving sleep. Lemon juice is high in vitamin C. Green tea contains catechins, natural compounds that have been shown to have antiviral properties.

You had me at free !!

Zoya reached their goal on Facebook, and is offering 3 FREE nail polishes of your choice when you use the code FB2011 at checkout! All you gotta pay is shipping. Hurry ... this offer is only good until January 7th! These are the colors I picked ... which ones will you be ordering?

Happy New Year !!

Hello friends!!! It feels good to be back to blogging after my little break away. I feel refreshed, and thanks to some amazing and sweet comments, I am encouraged to continue on my merry little way here on dot...dot...dot...
The holidays went by so fast!! It's crazy to think we are in 2011 already! I am really thrilled that my new year resolutions are not revolving around my diet or weight gain issues. I've impressed myself throughout the last month by watching what I've eaten, increasing my water intake, and actually hitting up the gym a couple times a week. Yes, I work at a gym. And yes, I get free use of the club as a perk, but I am so not into strenuous activities. Breaking a sweat and feeling muscles burn is not my idea of a fun time. However, we just added 3 Zumba classes to the schedule each week. Holla!! I adore Zumba ... such a fun way to get cardio in and it can burn up to 800 calories in one class. Word!
So my resolutions this year are less depressing. Learning that I can control my bloating and energy levels through (gasp!) exercise and (gasp!) staying away from junk food no matter how badly I crave it, has been an awesome and uplifting revelation. Sad that it has taken me so long to figure this out, but whatever.
Goals this year are way funner, like finishing the Sookie Stackhouse book series. I am almost done with book number two, and I think there are 10 all together. I am going to start couponing to save $$ on our grocery bill. I won't be all crazy-psycho about it, but it will be fun to see just how much I actually save this year. Being more frugal in general is a good goal for me to have. Hubby and I were finally able to get all our credit cards paid off this last year (woop woop!!), so staying away from debt will be our main focus!

What are some things you are looking forward to? Any resolutions you have made? 2011 should be an amazing year ... lots of things to celebrate and so much to be thankful for! Thanks so much for all your love and encouragement here on my blog, and cheers to a Happy New Year!!

Where my girls at ?

I love my blog. I love rambling away and sharing my opinions. Most importantly, I love to entertain, which means I love the comments. No joke - comments make my blog world go 'round. I lose pep in my step when I post something and I don't get any feedback. Yes, I am needy. VERY needy!! I am who I am, and I have to feel wanted and loved at all times.
This being said, I have contemplated shutting down my blog. Sad, I know. It breaks my heart to even have such thoughts, but my lil' heart can't take the sadness of peeps not showin' the love. I hate talking to myself and some days (a lot of days lately), I feel like I am in a room full of crickets.
I love hosting giveaways and giving away freebies (whether from fabulous companies or from my very own pocket), but I am not into bribing people to love dot...dot...dot... - that is the total opposite of who I am. Love me for me, or move on. Plain and simple.
So here's my question girls ... what do you wanna see more here on my blog? Are you into the fashion topics, beauty products and reviews, celebrity gossip, or are you simply here for the goodies? I want honest feedback here (I am a big girl and prefer it straight up) ... tell me your likes AND dislikes. I want this to be a fun place for me and for you, and because I am such a comment whore, I need your input!!!! I will hide the comments on this post, so feel free to open up (you can even choose to be anonymous if you wanna).
I am taking a blog break for the rest of the year to enjoy Christmas and New Year's with my family, but I will be back and fresh-faced for 2011!! April Showers already has my deposit for my new blog design, so I will definitely be back!
Thank you so very much for all the time and love and a special thank-you to my regular friends who comment on almost everything I post!! Lots of Love!!!

Holiday Card

Check out the Kardashian family's holiday card this year ... like, whoa! Fancy shmancy ... so glam and gorgeous! Wanna see my fam's pic this year?
Umm, yeah. I didn't do holiday greetings this year. I am not trying to be a Scrooge or anything. The cost of cards certainly wasn't an issue being that Shutterfly is offering bloggers 50 FREE cards when they shout-out Shutterfly on their blogs. Postage could probably cost a little bit, but really nothing major when the cards woulda' been free. I guess I could blame the craziness of the holiday season ... afterall, I have even been struggling keeping my blog posts up (and the decline in comments doesn't help with that motivation either). But really, I keep up with everyone through this lovely technology we have these days. Texting, Facebook, blogs, and emails ... all awesome ways to keep updated throughout the year without having to sum everything up in a holiday card.
Or maybe I am just lazy this year. Ha!
Did you send out cards this year? Did you send them snail mail or email? And how crafty did you get with them??

Boots & Booties

Charlotte Russe was having a great sale when I popped in there on Friday ... all shoes, including boots, were $20!! Say what?!? Oh yeah! I had to snag a couple pairs ...

These over-the-knee hotties were purchased in black, and I love that I can fold them down if I want a little bit of a shorter look.

It took me a little while to warm up to booties this season, but with my love affair with leggings these little cuties are mine. I wore them last night to my company Christmas party.

Aren't we an awesome bunch??
Working at a gym with these fabulous peeps is so much fun!!

All I Want For Christmas ...

Victoria's Secret

Old Navy

Aerie by American Eagle

Juicy Couture

Aerie

Eclipse on DVD

Peace, Love & Juicy Couture

Wake-Up Wednesday !!

Santa Does Email

For those of you with little ones in your life, whether it be your own, or a niece, nephew, cousin, grandchild ... send them an official email from Santa! Portable North Pole is up and running again this year and the program is even better! Customize a message to your kiddo that includes their name and age, pictures and personal tidbits that only Santa would know! Watch your kids eyes light up watching Santa talk to them in his video message! Add some extra holiday magic to their worlds this season! It's free and takes just a few minutes.

Notes to Self

Note Number One ... Never book 3 major events, back to back, on the same day. You are not Wonder Woman and you cannot do it all.

Not only did I host the Housewives Holiday Bazaar at my house (from 8:30am to 4pm), I also had my oldest son's very first Tae Kwon Do testing event (from 4:15pm to 6pm), AND my hubby's work Christmas party (that started at 6:30pm, but we arrived at 7:20pm).

Note Number Two ... NEVER start a 4-day anti-bloat diet in the middle of a crazy busy week! You will need to eat all the comfort foods you can get your hands on to keep yourself from going insane.

Uh-huh. Day 3 of said diet was on Friday. That schedule is noted above.

Note Number Three ... Never EVER dry shave your legs! I don't care if you haven't shaved in a few weeks and some random person at the gym will see your stubble.

This is not a good enough reason to endure burning and itching legs for the next 3 days. Also note the holiday pedicure you missed out on because of the extreme razor burn. Sure, the toes look cute, but no leg massage??? Lesson learned.

Note Number Four ... Just because you washed away your stress at the end of the day with a hot shower and a martini, doesn't mean your hubby has gotten off your emotional roller coaster!

He will be very pissy, and rightly so. Apologize, tell him he is the Greatest Man Ever!! for putting up with such a looney-toon, and promise to never schedule such a crazy week again. Throw in a little extra sumpin' - sumpin' in the bedroom and all will be forgiven.

I can't even tell y'all how happy I am that this last week is over and done with. The bazaar was fun, the diet wasn't worth it, and hubby and I are friends again.

Even with all the stress, the weekend was still full of great times. My 6 1/2 year-old son broke his first board, received a trophy and was awarded a new belt in his Tae Kwon Do class. He has only been doing this for about a month, and we are so proud of him. I got to hang out with my mom-in-law and sis-in-law on Saturday. We shopped and got pedicures, went to a holiday bazaar, and they made me laugh through my crabbiness. Our Oregon Ducks won the Civil War game and are heading to the National Championship Game ... we celebrated with the whole fam by going out to dinner. And Sunday was a family day with me and my 3 boys. Lunch and shopping downtown always puts this girl in a good mood! Then we took the kiddos to see Polar Express at OMSI (OmniMax Theater).

I am definitely looking forward to being less busy this week. Happy Monday!!