Random Tuesdays! And a Bonus Recipe for Protein Mango Smoothie

Hello everyone!

I am super late with this Tuesday post! I still have a few minutes of Tuesday left on the East Coast at least!

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I have a late Psychology class and I am so tired on Wednesdays and Fridays. Last night after class I cooked a bunch of homemade sausage(I made these on Friday night and froze them) for easy breakfast for the rest of the week, I did my workouts, got the kids stuff ready for school, and did other little things around the house. I was super tired by the time I was done at 1am!

This morning I woke up, packed the kids' lunches, threw on some booty shorts and a sweatshirt ha!

My goal was to finish Week 4 Day 2 of my Couch to 10K run! I can't do it tonight as my husband is working the late shift. The kids and I (only my oldest 2) walked to school and then I went for a run. I started pretty well and then I started getting really hot. Damn sweatshirt. I wanted to take it off (i had a regular workout shirt underneath), but I didn't want to carry it. According to my RunKeeper App I burned more calories today than I have on any run I've done so far this year. I was a sweaty mess when I was done, and I was so happy to be done! But as I made my smoothie, I was so happy that I did run though I was dressed the part I didn't feel the part.

I prepped some dinner, made breakfast for my youngest, made/drank my smoothie and then took a nice nap.

That's why I am so late with the post. It's already Wednesday afternoon here, I usually do the daily posts the day after (here).

So let me share with you all a quickie recipe for the protein Mango Smoothie I made today! It's soooo good!

Serves 2

I didn't really measure so I guessing based off feel here LOL. I did take a picture of the ingredients in the blender so that kind of helps me get a feel.

3/4 cup frozen mangoes

1/3 cup cottage cheese

1/3 cup or one container of vanilla greek yogurt like chobani or yoplait

about 1/2-3/4 cup coconut milk

and a splash of vanilla extract

It's so good and filling!!!! Try it after your workout or breakfast….lunch…dinner

Have a great day!!!!!!

Random Thoughts

HELLO EVERYONE!

I cut my finger pretty bad last night. I was chopping green peppers for stir fry and SLICE. It hurt more than normal and bled a lot more than normal. I put the chunk of fingernail back on and the husband bought me some band aids--he was out when it happened. He brought home about 12 different bandages. He's such a sweetheart. My kids kept their distance as they get woozy pretty quick. They usually place a band aid and neosporin on a cut for me but this was too ugly for them lol. They are too funny to me. So I am typing with my middle finger instead my index finger lol. I type with two hands so it's no big deal.

Didn't take a pic, but here's a pic of my cute little man :)


I am addicted to soundcloud. I found so much great indie music there and mainstream music i never heard. I discovered Kendrick Lamar there. I've read several status updates with people talking about him, but I never heard his music before. I am happy to have discovered him. Looking forward to buying his album now. I also discovered The Stuyvesants, Akira Shelton and a few others. Actually the last two I discovered watching natural hair videos on youtube with their music played in the background. So I did my own research which lead me to soundcloud and now I am addicted to the site. And I am definitely supporting these artists on iTunes. Check them out. Here's a great song from Akira Shelton feat Jasmine Jones:


I love love lovvvve make up lol. I don't wear it all at once but in the last few months i've learned a lot and gotten better. Thanks to youtube. I follow so many beauty gurus there it's crazy. Look out for make-up posts here soon. Not tutorials, but stuff I am loving. Was thinking about having make-up mondays.

I am homesick for Europe. Not just Germany but Europe. But I LOVE it here in Japan so far.

If you don't follow me on youtube,  instagram or facebook I froed out my hair last week. Just for a day and I loved it. I gotta find a heatless way to do it. http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_L-mfPV_hYyZ6j1-wHMNaQ

I GOT MY IPAD BACK. I haven't really used it since I got it back, but I am looking forward to using it for editing vlogs etc.

Random Tidbits about Moving and Recipe Links

Hey y'all! It's the month of MAY! I am sure you all know that as it's the 7th, but what this means for us is that it's our last month full month here!

This month will be spent selling, donating, throwing away a lot of stuff. This is my first international PCS. I came to Germany with 2 suitcases. Exciting and stressful.

I am always walking around asking random people if they want/need something. I probably look crazy, but I call it hustling. If you're friends with me on Facebook, I stay asking folk if they need such and such as well. Just trying to give first dibs!

Yesterday I gave away all of my 220V appliances leaving room for new LOL. Initially, my intent was to buy after we moved, but I JUST couldn't pass this up.

It's a two-tiered digital steamer. I like Hamilton Beach products and it's only 30 bucks on Amazon and now I don't need to buy a rice cooker as I originally intended. I hope it arrives soon! http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-37537-Digital-Steamer/dp/B002SB8LPA

The kids are starting to see that we're outta here soon as more things around the house disappears. Tomorrow the movers are coming by to make an estimate of how long it will take to move our house. hopefully it will not take too long because we have to CLEAN A LOT. The house has to be spic-and-span before we leave. We haven't had much luck getting out deposit back in the past and we're thinking we're in for a losing streak. ugh.

Right now we're shopping for homes.We're debating whether to live on base or off base any inputs will be great. Now that we know where we will be it makes it a bit easier to plan. I will let you all know for sure on June 15th where we will be!  My son's asthma became an issue so we were stuck in moving limbo. So happy to know for sure now and this time I didn't scream it out on the rooftops. Only close friends and family knows for sure basically our parents and siblings a couple friends and my husband's coworkers (of course).

We also planned one more trip probably our last to see my brother and his family in England. So excited to see them again. I am not sure when we will have the chance again. Hoping this trip is better, health wise....we all had a nasty bug the last time we were there. We'll see.

Thanks for reading. I've been making videos a lot so I can not wait to edit it. There's a lot of footage and i have to get a bit more savvy with video editing.

I am sorry i haven't been posting any recipes. But I have been cooking. If you follow me on instagram or my page you see that. Let me know if there are any recipes you'd like. Here's a recap:


Recipe is from Salty Seattle's Bulgarian Buttermilk Biscuits. I didn't use Bulgarian buttermilk LOL. But they were good :)


pork chops, cheesy country potatoes,biscuit and oranges lol


David Lebovitz's Simplest Beef Curry Really good the shallots is so perfect with this


Pan fried Spaghetti with BACON. Inspired by my Parents AND BenjiManTV



Ellie Krieger's Thai-Style Halibut


And Inspired from our trip to Italy

Gnocchi with Gorgonzola. Gorgonzola sauce taste good on EVERYTHING!!!!!!!


I'll try to kick out two recipes before we leave so look in my IG feed or my pictures on my blog's FB for any ideas!!! Thanks for reading

Farewell Germany Pt 2

This is a bit of series: the first. I intended it to be. I am a quiet person, but when I start talking, I don't stop. I'm quite self-conscious of that and prefer to  judge er observe quietly.

Anyway, I left off the last post about my first few years in Germany. Those were spent in the military. I met my now husband in the last few months of my military career.

He's 9 years older than me, and taught me a lot about myself. I was basically going down a downward spiral.  Yes, mom....I am airing some intimate details of my life sorry. But maybe someone can benefit (for blackmail or otherwise) from these tales. I am not going to be all cliche and annoying, but he was definitely an integral part in me creating a new version of myself. Finally learning how to cook, pursuing my dreams of being a June Cleaver wannabe. It was nice and almost overwhelming to have someone support almost everything I wanted to pursue.


I am not going to say that I became this perfect little wife after marrying my husband. I still had my moments that I am certainly not proud of. Like all humans, no marriage is perfect and ours most certainly isn't. But what makes a good or healthy marriage is not giving up on the person. There were times when I wanted to leave and he as well, but we always made the other sit down and listen to the other instead  of talking at one another. Last summer our marriage had an "aha" moment. We finally discussed key factors draining our marriage. And it was so overwhelmingly good. It felt like the slate was finally clean afterwards. Though during the discussion there was a lot of tears, but we learned exactly each others feelings, no longer attempting to predict what they really were.

OK I went off tangent a bit. But this has everything to do with my growth while in Germany. Learning to let go of guilt, mistrust, ego, and other psychology shit.

So like giving birth to my three beautiful children, my husband made a big impact on my life and my love for Germany. If it weren't for us living in the boonies, I wouldn't have known how amazing Germany is beyond the bars and clubs LOL for real. We went to fresh markets, bakeries, got to know our neighbors and was hungry for more culture. We got the wonderful opportunity to stay in Germany but we had to move. That's my next post.

25 Things About Me

Trying to blog more often and this is a pretty good way to keep at it. A random 15 things about me. Some of the questionnaires were a bit juvenile so I am just going to add random facts about myself. It's my blog so it's about me right??

1. I am still in denial about my dad's passing. This is so hard to get over. Perhaps because the death is so close to my brother's passing. It literally gives me the chills every single day.

2. I dream about my daddy every single night. It's so weird. Like he wants to pass something to me. Something just seems unfinished, not with our relationship but other aspects of his life. Or perhaps it's how I keep him with me all the time?

3. I listen to old school jams my daddy played all the time when me and my brothers were kids. It makes me sad and happy.

4. I am always wanting to get away. Everyday I go online and look at beautiful places I'd love to travel to. Living in Germany really made me appreciate what the world's got to offer.

5. I watch food-centric movies when I am cooking.

6. I think way too much into some things. I wish I didn't. 

7. Scrubs ALWAYS makes me cry as much as it makes me laugh.

8. I collect aprons from different cities. I just started this after we went to Paris.

9. My hair is in the awkward stage of length. I have a mullet. I am trying to get creative with the styles to hide it! It usually takes me a good six months. to reach a bit of normalcy all around. When it gets to a nice length I will trim all around.

10. Me and my mother argue. But always make-up. She said the sweetest thing, you are as sweet as you are beautiful. I never heard my mother call me beautiful, it was really nice. Not in a vain way, but that she doesn't see me as a lil kid, but a woman and I not just her irritatingly defiant daughter :-)

11. Marvin Gaye is my favorite male singer.

12. I am really tall. 6'2 to be exact. But when people look at me say, "you're really tall" irritates the HELL out of me. OF COURSE I KNOW THIS. 

13. I am a ridiculous worrier.

14. I am very impatient. But patient when it really matters.

15. I was supposed to do 25 facts about me but that's too much. I think you guys agree too, amirite?

So here are 10 pictures you may have never seen.....aka throwbacks

Baby girl in 2009

Me and my Friend Tessie in the Eiffel Tower's elevator in 2010 that's not us but I am taking the picture lol

At the zoo in our city! 

DDs first Halloween not to happy with the Hand-me-down

Now he's OK?

Chunky Baby Thighs! I MISS THESE

JJs surgery

DD drove us to Munich

Chris made Amara's cake for her 2nd birthday! Peppa Pig. He tried! Good daddy

My Handsome Man heading to his German Kindergarten

Man looking through these pics made me teary eyed. They grow so fast. Live for now and cherish every moment. Sometimes it seems like it's something so easy to forget.

Thanks for reading!!!!

First of many farewells to Germany

I've lived in Germany for 8.5 years.

Never thought that'd happen.

I dropped out of college and joined the Air Force 9 years ago.

Never thought that would happen either.

I always had expectations of myself. I thought as a child that I would stay in my home state of Maryland and work in a inner city school, helping underprivileged children gain a better education. I always had in my mind that I was going to make a big impact on the world. Pretty ambitious, huh?

Do I think that's in the cards for me now? I don't know. I'd like to hope so. Let's get to the point.

My point is, life throws curve balls constantly. We are currently awaiting notice of where the hell we be for the next four years. This wait is stressful and annoying.

What makes this wait less annoying is the fact that I live in Germany. Meaning, while I wait there is so much exploring and soaking in all the things I love about living in Germany. Whenever I go back to the states, what stands out the most is what I love about Germany. I love the US, but as a military spouse living in Germany, there are so many opportunities for me to live out my dreams. From being a stay-at-home mom while going to school, to being able to go to a different country at least once a month!

I am going to miss living here. I grew up here you can say.

I arrived here Friday, August 13, 2004. I lost my debit card that day and was broke for the first week and a half of my arrival due to lack debit card! LOL.

I partied too much, was the other woman, then befriended the other woman, got my heartbroken a couple times, saw the great and others, and saw the the worst in others but mostly myself, had a baby, found a great group of people who are my friends for ever and met and fell in true love with my now husband. There is a lot more, but my mother reads my blog now. All of that in my first 2 years living here. That's why I can say I grew up here. I experienced a lot in a condensed time.


Never thought I would lead the life of a Maury Povich guest all in my first two years living in Germany. I look back at those days often with a lot of coulda shoulda wouldas but I am not pressed over that.

So I am thankful for the many bad times that plagued my first few years in beautiful Germany. This is the first of a few farewells.

Fortunately I do not have any pictures on hand of that time. And if any of you do, please do not share LOL. Unless it's a cute picture :-)

I tried to access my other photos but my photobucket account isn't working.