Hey Dolls,

So after much deliberation and thought I have decided to have another admin for this blog. I'm so excited to introduce you to our new blogger Aliana Arabella! She will be doing most of the posting, while I am focusing on my studies. I will always be on the blog but I will be doing most of the background stuff while Aliana is doing a lot of the posting. I would love to have guest bloggers so if anyone is interested in doing that please message us!!! You can also comment here instead if it's easier also.

-Angela Nallely

Hey Dolls!

So if you haven't noticed I changed my blog template! It's taken nearly a week to set this up so I hope you guys like it. I actually paid for my old blog template but after having it for nearly a year it felt like it wasn't girly enough. I loooove this new template and I think it was worth the time that was spent on it. I will be updating a lot more now since my internet is working. I had a virus on my entire home network that was disconnecting my internet. I'm going to be posting a lot of makeup and beauty stuff since lately that has taking over my life. My SO is super tired of hearing about Sephora lol. If you want to hear about anything or want me to review something just let me know!

Lots of Love,
Angela Nallely

Just a cute picture I thought I'd share with y'all!

There are a lot of reasons why someone would want to take an online course. Sometimes you don't have time to go to an actual campus because of work or family, maybe you have a disability or just don't have a school near you with the courses you want.I found community college not for me. I tried going to other online schools and ended up at Academy of Art University which I have to say is A M A Z I N G!!! I loved it there and wish I could go back but just for summer courses I paid about $4000. Ouch. I'm still in debt but I can say that those 2 courses taught me more than I've learned over 5 years! I tried to go to the Art Insitute Online but found that their financial aid and advisors seemed to have no idea what they were doing. I knew more then they did and would frequelty correct them. -___-

So on went my search for a good education. I should note that my major is Graphic Design. I actually heard of Penn Foster searching web design online schools. I tried googling to find any type of review on the programs and found next to nothing. The only thing there was were the Penn Fosters own forums which can be somewhat biased. I was really hesitant to sign up but since they had a $1 down payment and you could work out payments I thought what do I have to lose I can cancel whenever I want. Of course I looked over everything I could on the site: the courses, descriptions, accredidation, etc. The courses seemed what I was looking for so I took the plunge. I was honeslty surprised.

So as soon as you pay for the downpayment ($1 as of 6/27/2012) you'll get the info to log in. You choose the username & password and log on. Since I've been to a couple different online schools I've seen user friendly designs as well as some.... not so user friendly. I was worried that it would be hard to navigate through the different courses or connect with your teachers. It wasn't. Everything is laid out for you pretty simply as you can see. The 1st pic is the Penn Foster web site showing the down payment option of $1. The 2nd is the log in screen. The 3rd shows how your courses would be listed. You do them in sequentual order and can't move on unless the first one's done. I didn't have a 4th pic so I just put that one up lol.

So I should note here that instead of actually starting immediately I put it off. I didn't mean to I just got side tracked. During that time (like a week) I had a friend sign up for the Veterinary Technician course. She was HUGELY disappointed. While it is accredited and you CAN get a license if you pass your tests, the way it's set up you need to be extremelly focused! They send you something kind of like a packet and then quiz you on it. That's it. No books, no video's, not much help on the forums at least not so far. Just a lot of pages and a quiz at the end.

So after she told me that I was even more nervous. Yes, I can always get my money back but I didn't want to have to search for another school. Again. I had already logged on and did some courses, I just had to patiently wait for my first shipment. I was a little scared they would just send me a lot of pages and quiz me like my friend.

So the day I got the shipment I was so nervous. It didn't seem that big but it was in a cardboard box. It didn't weigh a lot so I got scared. But no worries they sent an actual textbook! Not some random book "DIY guide" an actual education textbook. The unit was called Color Theory and the book went very in depth. It wasn't huge so I didn't get nervous about having to read it but it is more than a couple of pages lol. It came with a study unit to help make sure you learned what you read and some activities. I've actually taken a color theory class before and loved it and actually found this almost as informable as the semester class I took. My next shipment is almost on it's way and I'm so excited.

The intro to graphic design had a lot of good info and was very easy to read. I soon finished the orientation part and was ready to get my first shipment. Your courses are one at a time which is kinda good it lets you focus on one so you don't get overwhelmed. You can't move on to the next unit until you finish the first. Once you complete it (or sometimes after you do a certain amount of quizes) they'll ship the next unit.

xoxo, Dimples

*Note this is my own personal opinion, I was not given any type of compensation of any kind. BUT I'm not opposed of the idea ;)

What did you have for dinner? As a WAHM I'm going to be honest and say that I don't really even cook dinner anymore. I'm sure those moms that work outside of the home have no idea why I wouldn't. And the moms that are fellow WAHM's know exactly what I mean lol. I'm so tired of being home all day AND working here, that if I have to cook dinner too sometimes it can get to much! I literally work all day till about 5pm. So when hubby gets home it's his turn to cook lol. Thank God he doesn't care (he's going to school to be a chef!)

*Edit: I actually re-read what I posted and I don't mean to sound as if moms that don't work outside the home have it easier! I'm just so tired of seeing the kitchen since I'm here all day lol.

Anyway, so my first dinner call of my blog is by him! My hubby made broiled chicken with bell peppers and vegetables!  It was soooo good lol. He marinated it in lemon herb juice and I made some rice to go with it and that's what we ate tonight!

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Jan Gautro

Here's the recipe we used as requested!

Ingredients

• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided 
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided 
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 
• 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breasts 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided 
• 1 cup thinly sliced onion
• 2 cups thinly sliced red bell pepper 
• 1 cup thinly sliced yellow bell pepper 
• 1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth 
• 1/4 cup lemon juice or 1/4 water and lemon herb mixed

Preparation

       1. Preheat oven to 450°.
       2. Get a large bowl or casserole dish. Combine 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder, and lemon herb mix or lemon juice. Add chicken, brush with mix; cover and let sit in refrigerator for about an hour.

       3. Arrange chicken in an 11 x 7–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until done.

      4. Heat remaining olive oil over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers, and onions; sauté 3 minutes. Stir in broth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high. Stir in vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Serve bell pepper mixture over chicken.



So super easy! Takes about 10 mins to get everything cut up 5 more to mix everything and then let it sit while you take a nap ;) lol okay maybe not that! So quick and easy once you have everything prepared. Any thoughts?

Okay so again, it's not really dinner. Who cares I love these! Great for parties believe me these will be a hit! If not you can come back and slap me ;)

Ingredients

• 20 whole Fresh Jalapenos, 2-3 Inches In Size
• 2 cubes Cream Cheese, softened
• 1 pound Thin (regular) bacon sliced into 1/2

Preparation Instructions

Tip: If you have gloves wear them! Remember you're going to be messing with jalapenos!
  
      1. Cut jalapenos in half, length-wise. 

      2. With a spoon, remove the seeds and white membrane (If you  want them spicy skip this step altogether or just take a little out!).

      3. Smear softened cream cheese into each jalapeno half. 

      4.Wrap jalapeno with bacon pieces (1/2 slice). If you haven't already cut the bacon do so now! Secure by sticking toothpick through the middle. 

      5. Bake on a pan with a rack in a 450-degree oven for 20-25 minutes. You don’t want the bacon to shrink so much it starts to the squeeze the jalapeno. 

      6. Your done! Enjoy!



Credit for the photos used above goes to http://www.pioneerwoman.com. Recipe was modified by me!

By Joanna

 

Pot at the end of the rainbow snack This cute snack is so easy to make, really!

Pot at the End of the Rainbow St. Patrick’s Day Recipe Ingredients

• Rainbow Twizzlers
• Rolos
• Clear treat bags
• Green ribbon.

Yep, thats it! I was actually surprised how inexpensive this snack was to make. The rolo candy was the most expensive item but hey, they taste so good. I purchased all my candy from Walmart and the rainbow Twizzlers were $1.88 a package, Rolos were $3.28 a package and the clear treat bags were $1, the green ribbon I had from another project so it was FREE!

This St. Patrick's Day Treat is easy peasy plus so CUTE!

Pot at the End of the Rainbow St. Patrick’s Day Recipe Directions

1. To get started please wash your hands since you will be touching the Twizzler’s to get them in to the bag.
2. I then used the ROYGBV combo to make my mini rainbows and lined them up before putting them into the bag.
3. Cut the purple twizzler on one end to make it look better and more uniform like the rainbow arch.
4. Once the ROYGBV Twizzler’s are in the bag and placed to your liking then just drop in a few gold wrapped rolos .
5. Tie up with some cute green St. Patrick’s Day ribbon (I needed an extra set of hands to help tie the ribbon)! Thanks T-boy!

Here are the Twizzler's and Rolo's all ready to go....Yes, purple is missing, J-Girl was "helping".

We had so much fun making these St. Patrick’s Day treats for J-Girls class, that T-Boy wants to make them for his class too–good thing they aren’t too expensive and difficult to make since I will need 25 of them for this week! :) Although I would love a “real” pot of gold to find this St. Patrick’s Day, I know that I am so lucky to have such a wonderful hubby and two adorable kiddos to do fun things with and love with all my might! Enjoy!

St. Patrick's Day Treats

Check back tomorrow for a cute St. Patrick’s Day Craft idea for your kiddos and us MOMS too! Need a hint?!? Ok, your hint is a pair of thrift store shoes and a can of LUCKY GREEN spray paint!

Okay so maybe not 'Dinner' but an amazing afternoon snack? Maybe? Who cares! I've heard this is called Sin Dip. Idk I found the recipe on a facebook page and she said I could re-use it! So here it is!

• 16 oz of sour cream
• 8 oz of cream cheese
• 1 bag of cheddar cheese 
• 3-4 green onions chopped up 
• 1 cup diced ham
• 1 can of Ortega jalapeños

• Mix all of it together. 
• Get a bread bowl and scoop out the bread and put the dip in the bowl and scatter the bread on the pan also so it toasts while cooking. 
• Put it oven at 325 for about 20 minutes WITH the bread on the pan! 
• The bread is for dipping. Enjoy! :)

        And today's winner of a random weird pic goes to......

This guy lol. -_- I have no words. Is this cute? Or just weird? I kind of laughed when I first saw this but he doesn't look like he's having too much fun so now I feel bad lol. Any thoughts?

So the Super Bowl is officially here! So today's edition of dinner call is of course football themed! Here are some AMAZING idea's for any football party!

 

I have no idea where these actually came from I stole them of a friend on facebook. So I'm sorry if they're yours! There was no credit and they seem to have been going around all over today since it was Super Bowl!

*Sorry there's no actual recipe today. If you want to though request and I will post one ASAP!

Okay you know I had to lol. I honestly have never bought Scentsy. I like candles! I like to light them and see the flame! I know that sounds weird but that's just me. *shrugs* Anyway I just signed up as a new Independent Consultant with a brand new company called Pink Zebra Home!

I'm actually so excited I fell in love from the moment I saw them on a friends page. They have these cute little soy wax "dots" that are very versatile.

According to http://www.pinkzebrahome.com "Sprinkles, [allow] you to create your own personal recipe of fragrance and color without ever getting your hands dirty".

So if you have no idea what I mean by "dots" I'll describe them like this. Remember those little dot candies that we used to eat as a kid (we meaning me)? Sprinkles look a lot like those just in a jar. They come in (now) more than 40 scents and you can mix and match them.

So obviously if they only sold those I would be a huge contridiction to my above statement. No they also sell candles! I was as surprised as you probably are. You can actually top your favorite candle with them to make a unique scent recipe. Or you can melt them in small simmer pots or their large ones without using any flames or create your own candle using our Glimmer Kit you can do so much with them! I'm super excited can you tell?

My favorite is our fragrance of the month which is of course pink. It's called Sweet Pea & Lily. I have been obsessed with that smell overall since I was young. Right now it's on sale for 15% off,  since it's the fragrance of the month. You know I'm going to stock up lol.

XoXo, Angela

Hello my fellow bloggers! I can't believe it's 2012 already! That means it's time to start updating my blog lol. I will definitely have some new recipes and crafts on here I promise. Please share this blog if you can!