Hey Strangers

March 2, 2012 By

Oh hey there. Remember me? Yeah, I know… I’m a slacker. I’ve posted only once this week! WTF? I didn’t even touch my laptop yesterday! WHAT?!? That hasn’t happened in like 297 years. Yes, I am a vampire and like a thousand years old. So needless to say, I’m way behind on my Google Reader and have no idea what is going on in the blogging world. It’s actually kind of nice to be so oblivious and not worrying about my stats or what to write about next.

So why have I been such a slacker? Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve been super busy with cakes and hanging out with the Bean. I’ve also been really diligent about getting to the gym every Monday-Friday. But my house is still a hot mess. So, really, I have no excuse other than I just haven’t really felt like blogging. Sometimes that happens and it’s okay. I always come back!

Recently I’ve been itching to move. Like, seriously hardcore itching to get the eff out of this condo. Actually, to get the eff out of Northern Virginia. Don’t get me wrong, I love this place. I grew up here and it will always hold a special place in my heart. But I’m tired of the rat race, the traffic and the high price of living. I want to live in Charlottesville where I can have a house and a yard and be close to my mama… and closer to my daddy in SC and my in-laws in NC. Moving there would cut 2 hours off our drive down south when we visit. That’s A LOT of time when you’re facing a 7 hour drive with a toddler. Of course, my sister is still here in DC, but I think I can convince her to move down south eventually. ;)

Do you ever get bored with where you live? Blame it on “the grass is greener” complex, but really… it would be SO nice to just open my back door and let my dog take a piss in the yard… rather than have to suit up, get on the leash, pack up the poop bags and take her outside our building where I have to deal with other dogs and their owners. Or to live on a quiet street where I don’t have to worry about cars hitting me when I take Molly out for a walk in the stroller. Yes, people run stop signs all.the.time.

But, I’m learning a good lesson in patience. :)

taking advantage of a local park

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New Gig

February 23, 2012 By

So remember when I kept talking about that BIG ANNOUNCEMENT I was going to make? Well, I was waiting for it to become official and I didn’t realize that it would take a lot longer than I thought. But now it’s officially official and I can even link to it!

I’M AN OFFICIAL WRITER FOR NICKMOM.COM!

WOOO! I’m so excited to join another awesome team of writers. If you haven’t checked out NickMom.com before you totally should… it’s a hilarious blog for moms. My first post is about how puppies and toddlers are pretty much interchangeable. Believe me, I’m speaking from experience!

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Life

February 7, 2012 By

We are certainly getting spoiled with nice weather this winter. I love it! Today I was able to take Molly to the park. She loved the swings and watching all the big kids run around. Part of me wants her to stay small, but I also can’t wait until she can join in on the fun.

I love moments like these.

I love my Mollybean SO much. She is just an amazing little person.

Filed Under: From Nikki, Parks, Play Tagged With: , , 1 Comment

What I Did Today

January 26, 2012 By

So, it’s 6:30pm and I haven’t blogged. However, I have:

  • made a batch of buttercream
  • iced two cakes
  • taken two separate trips to the airport – one to drop off Ben (I miss him already!) and one to drop off my mom and stepdad.
  • let the dog out twice
  • fed the “baby” (toddler?) more times than I can count
  • went to the cake shop to stock up on supplies
  • watched Sesame Street
  • played with blocks
  • read books
  • scarfed down a salad
  • skipped the gym, yet again, because Molly is still getting over her cold (i’m dying to get back in the gym!!!)
  • caught up on Google Reader and Facebook
  • chatted with two friends via telephone. (I NEVER talk on the phone)
  • done a load of laundry
  • pitched some writing ideas to my new endeavor (soon to be announced!!)
  • fed the dog
  • put the baby to bed
  • cooked my own meal (currently in the oven – salmon in a tin foil pouch seasoned with salt, dill, garlic powder and topped with sliced lemon and a teaspoon of butter… which I’ll eat with a side of veggies that I also fed Molly earlier. YUM!)
  • had a glass of wine

Phew. I’m tired. And I still have to eat my dinner, walk the dog, finish decorating both cakes (Elmo and a monkey), make cookies and prep the crock pot dinner for tomorrow night. Well, I don’t have to do those last two things, but I really want to!

Here’s a sneak peek of the cakes I’m currently working on!

Smash Cakes

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YAY!

January 18, 2012 By

YAY! My site is live! I’m so excited for this new adventure. A huge ginormous thank you to Jessica at Southtown Creative for making this site absolutely perfect! Please, bear with me while I navigate these new WordPress.org waters and add my sponsors back to the site. I’m also switching out my photo since you can’t really see my face thanks to that mason jar filled with yummy red wine. :)

What do you think about the new site?

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Big Announcement!

January 17, 2012 By

Okay all my wonderful readers… today is the last day of NoVa Mom Blog. Starting tomorrow I will officially be launching SuperNoVa Mom!! My wonderful designer, Jessica at Southtown Creative, has been working her butt off to create my new site. I am SO excited to reveal it because I’m totally in love with everything we decided upon. I hope y’all like it too!

We are working on moving my RSS feed so that there are no hiccups, however, if you follow via Google Reader or any other RSS management systems you may just want to update your feed tomorrow. You don’t want to miss out on anything!

I will also let you know tomorrow if you will need to resubscribe via email. Fingers crossed that the migration goes smoothly!

I still plan on my weekly recipe post tomorrow, so be on the lookout for some yummy goodness!

Here’s a little sneak peak of the new site!!!!

button

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30 Day Instagram Photo Challenge

January 13, 2012 By

If you follow me on facebook and twitter you will have seen that I’ve been doing the 30 Day Photo Challenge on Instagram. I am really enjoying it and love seeing what everyone comes up with everyday. It’s so interesting to see how people interpret each challenge.

I struggle with taking great pictures with my fancy camera (Canon Powershot G10)… I blame it on how little time I have to really learn all the fancy functions. So, my iPhone and Instagram make me feel like I have some kind of photography skills.

Here are my first 12 days of the challenge:

Day 1: Me

 Day1_Me

Day 2: Breakfast

 Day2_Breakfast

Day 3: Something You Adore

 Day3_SomethingYouAdore

Day 4: Letterbox

 Day4_Letterbox

Day 5: Something You Wore

 Day5_SomethingYouWore

Day 6: Makes You Smile

 Day6_SomethingThatMakesYouSmile

Day 7: Favorite

 Day7_Favorite

Day 8: Your Sky

 Day8_MySky

Day 9: Daily Routine

 Day9_DailyRoutine

Day 10: Childhood

 Day10_Childhood

Day 11: Where You Sleep

 Day11_WhereISleep

Day 12: Closeup

 Day12_Closeup

Are any of you doing the challenge? Follow me on Instagram!

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Welcome Gracie!

January 9, 2012 By

Who is Gracie? Our new 8-month-old yellow lab pup! She’s currently snoring away on my lap as I type this. Yes, it’s a little awkward, but she doesn’t seem to mind.

sleepygracie

We brought her home Saturday and have been in love since the moment we saw her! So how did we find Gracie? Long story short – my dad called us two days before Christmas with the news that a couple near him in SC was splitting and needed a home for their lab. Ben and I have been wanting a dog for a long long time and we couldn’t pass this opportunity up. On Saturday we drove halfway to meet my dad and pick her up! Okay, so maybe our condo is a little tighter now, but we have a plan in place and hope to be in a much bigger place later this spring/summer!

gracie

Gracie seems to be settling in quite well, however she is not a fan of sleeping in her crate. I think it’s because she is such a snuggler. The first night she only cried for 15 mins and then slept until 4:30am when she wanted to go out (yes, she’s potty trained! yay!). At that point we just let her sleep with us because I do not need our neighbors complaining about a dog crying at 4:30 in the morning. Well, last night she cried for about 10 mins then 30 mins later she started crying again. Ugh! Well we just decided to let her sleep with us. Are we suckers or what? THEN, Molly woke up crying around 1:30am. I think it was a bad dream, but I was with her for at least 45 mins before she went back to sleep.

Needless to say, I am totally exhausted. Buuuutt… it’s a good exhausted. :) If you’re wondering how Molly is adjusting to life with a lovable lab I’ll just let you see for yourself!

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Living Healthy in 2012

January 6, 2012 By

Ugh, I’ve been so unmotivated to work out lately. I think it’s because all the New Year’s Resolutioners (yeah, I made up a word) are up in the gym hogging all the equipment. I always go to the gym around 1 or 2pm because it’s usually pretty quiet. But now, it’s not. And it’s SO ANNOYING! So I’m blaming my un-motivation on them.

Working out is not my problem. I like working out and enjoy going to the gym. It’s curbing my love for food, in particular, my love for sweet things. The fastest way for me to lose weight is to change my diet — in particular, cutting out sugar and carbs. As well as portion control. I WANT TO EAT IT ALL UP AHHHH.

Today I stepped on the scale and my motivation is definitely a bit higher thanks to the number I saw. I typically don’t weigh myself… I just go by how my clothes fit. But because I pretty much live in workout clothes now it’s almost impossible to tell if I’ve put on some L Beeesssss.

When I got pregnant I was trying to lose around 5lbs of winter weight gain… oops. So now, after gaining 30lbs while pregnant, I’m only about 7lbs heavier, which means I’ve got 12lbs I want to lose. BLAH. But instead of doing some crazy diet I’m just going to try to make a few small changes that can make a big impact:

1. Drink way more water – less coffee.
2. No carbs after 4pm. – I need to bust out my South Beach Diet cookbook for some creative desserts.
3. Up the workout routine – harder, fastest, longer.

I can live with those three small changes.

The Momma Bird started a health & wellness series this week and she has some great tips for those of you trying to get healthy in 2012. She even created a printable checklist so you can check off all your accomplishments throughout the day!

The Momma Bird

So in the interest of keeping it real, here’s my “before” picture. Okay, I know I’m wearing all black and that’s cheating, but I didn’t feel like changing just for a 2 second picture. To give you some perspective, I’m 5’4 and have a small frame, therefore the smallest amount of weight gain shows, particularly in my face. And I’m not giving you a side photo because you may or may not think I’m still pregnant (14 months after giving birth).

 

Before

Are any of you making healthy changes this year? If so, what are they?

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Biotin: Before and After

January 3, 2012 By

Happy New Year!!! Today I wanted to share my story about taking Biotin. I know I have raved about it before, but seriously, it has totally changed how my hair and skin look. I just have to share with everyone because not only is it is a tiny pill you only have to take once a day, it’s SO affordable and you will see results quickly.

I have done Proactiv and I’ve been on prescribed skin medication for my adult acne and neither of those worked like Biotin has. SRSLY! Check out the other reasons I love Biotin.

IMG_1459

long hair. yay.

*psst. I do freelance write for Pure Matters, but they do not pay me for product reviews nor do they pay me to post on my personal blog. All opinions are my own.

Filed Under: From Nikki, Health, Vitamins/Supplements Tagged With: , , , , , 1 Comment
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