why joy in the journey...

 new post on the new blog...

i hate to keep meeting like this...

my stories of living in the momdom and trying to make it among the craft-nation generation are over on this other blog.

be sure to follow me so i can stalk your blerg too!

come on over, come on over baby....

the new blerg is over here. 

www.bigredclifford.com

and its not really new, its just a different name. same ole blerg with all the same stuff. 

just prettier and only 1 instead of like 22 that you have to keep track of. 

{cause i know you were...}

and be sure to follow me & let me know you are so I can follow you too!

cease to exist

in case you forgot, and you have one of those thingies that tells you i just posted something on this blog, this might remind you that this blog is no longer....

no fear, we are still here. all in one now, so you can clean up your sidebar.

bigredclifford.com

come follow me there and let me know you stopped in so i can follow you too!

"new mom" things i choose not to live without

i am sure you all already have this figured out, but i learned a few tricks after the fact...

i'll start here:

i have a million blankets, and keep collecting more as gifts, but i rarely swaddle my kid up in anything but this swaddleme. especially now that he is turning into Houdini baby. i used 3 when he was new new, and now just one. {now that he doesn't wet the bet twice a night...} i have the bigger size too, but we are starting to wean him off of swaddling. he love it lots and now starts to fall asleep once he's wrapped.


and this:

at about 5 or 6 weeks, we had a snot factory on our hands. B was not happy and we weren't much help. the little snot sucker they give you at the hospital only took us so far. the nose frieda may look gross, but it's genius. and no, you are not sucking snot into your mouth. not even close. but i am sure it is something your husband will cringe at. mine sure does. wuss. i use a little saline first sometimes and it goes a long way...


and these for breastfeeding moms:

happened upon washable breast pads one day when we were out shopping and i felt so muggy and gross.  i am all for breastfeeding and i deal with what comes with it, but smelling like a milk factory is where i draw the line. not fun.

we were at my favorite little baby store in san luis obispo and i figured they would have disposables. alas, they had these, and i love them. they hide better, stay dryer, and hey - a money saver. i'm in! {pictured the phillips aveda brand. not the first kind i purchased, but i like them.}

and this for techno moms:

baby timer app.

i have literally tracked every feeding. i can't stop. its just good to know what side i'm on and how long he eats... cause new moms are getting a brain back. and its slow... and it really helps with the schedule. if it has been about an hour-ish since he ate, and he fusses, i know he's getting tired. when its been 2.5-3ish hours and he's waking up, i know he isn't just waking up to wake up. makes my life really easy.

they say that babies go through growth spurts every 3 weeks or so, and now that the app has graphs, i can actually see when they are!  cool.

and last but not least:

OOPS!

from stuphfromsteph.

i love these and have one in my hand pretty much all day long. they are high quality, and uber cute. make great shower/baby gifts too- so go order some. i hope she gets so many orders she has to expand and make a bagillion more... tell her i sent you too.

amazon mom vs couponing

i know i usually post lots about tv and good movies and all that,

but it might be time for a serious change-up.

regardless,

this is a must-do.

my cousin taught me of this amazon mom gig a while ago, and it just might be my new favorite thing.

you sign up for amazon mom {no cost} and you can order "subscribe & save" items that they deliver right to your door. free shipping, and at a pretty good discount.

• and just for being a member you get 3 months of amazon prime {free shipping on lots of other mom stuff.}

• and, every time you order up to $25 dollars of mom stuff {or not mom stuff i guess} you add a month to that prime subscription.

• this means you can order anything that you would normally go pick up on a monthlyish basis {usually in a large costco trip that ends up $200 more than you wanted to spend}: all your diapers, toilet paper, paper towels, detergents...etc. anything you buy regularly, you can get for like 30% less! yes please!

• and you can change those subcriptions anytime or stop them. {i.e. every 2 months...etc.} that way you actually know how often you use them too!

i priced out paper towels to find out which was the best deal, and they had an 18ct double roll pack for $14.02 - that's $.78 per roll!  no need for 18 coupons there and cheaper than the costco brand!

 {sadly, i think these deals change all the time. so i should have purchased that deal a few weeks ago when i was thinking about it, cause now its gone. but i'm on the hunt. i think once you get on one though, you are locked at the price.}

my cheap name-brand box of wipes came to my door a while ago and i was stoked. usually i have to go pick up my packages at the office {apt living rocks.} but they literally left it at my door!

go, do it.
and live happy.

you're welcome.

totally unexpected and redeeming : biggest loser finale

if you are like me, you have been watching what i would say was the best season of biggest loser to date.



the contestants had a little something special about them this time around that is hard to avoid. they have a realness about them. they weren't there to play games, but they all played to win. and they were amazing to watch.

the purple team was one of my favorites from the beginning. hannah is hilarious and spitfires every funny thought that comes to her, and olivia was obviously cut from the same cloth. they both continued to lose weight each week, in odds that were not always in their favor. {then of course they had each other to help ensure the votes were always in their favor.}

olivia was fun to watch because of her story. her husband lost over 113 pounds at home while she lost almost the same. they both looked amazing and it is obvious that they are so much happier to be healthy and feel so great. even better that they have done it together.

highlights:

deni - what?! she killed it!  biggest at-home winner and she deserved every penny. she was so so skinny and obviously did what she needed to at home. i loved that the moment she won, the other contestants swarmed in to hug and congratulate her. see what i mean? the love!

justin - looked ridiculously incredible. he was only 3 lbs away from winning the at-home, and though i am glad it was deni to take it, i was so proud of that guy. he really grew on me and he will do great things.

sarah - seriously? she doesn't even look like the same person!! she was so hot!  so proud of them to get so far on their own.

the mustache twins - holy cow!  maybe its just cause they were on the ranch a short time {comparatively} but they looked like they just walked out of fat suits. tini tini. so proud of these guys- again, they said that they could do better at home- and they sure did.

and jen. need i say more?

at the end of the day, only one of the bite-sized purple sisters could win.
i didn't even care which one!

congrats, olivia. 

bring it on, season 12. i'm ready.

and totally inspired.

anyone else crazy inspired by the color purple?

i am. 

you go girls, i hope one of you takes it all.

{finale is next week.... in case you forgot...}

and then there were four - {BL/90-challenge update}

biggest loser is getting hardcore in the last 2 episodes.
i have to admit, as much as i love jay, i wished we could have seen chia pet {2} to the end. 

there is something about those young four that has been so fun to watch. i am especially happy for the girls to be in the final 4.
i {freakin} love the purple girls, and irene has been at the top since the beginning, so if she didn’t get there – i was going to go full out into my ugly cry. 
and you don’t want to see that.

and, for those who watch, i am happy to see olivia stand up to the “show” of it. she won $10,000 earlier in the week and then was given the chance to trade it for a 1-lb advantage.
she was getting crap for taking the money she earned and still lost 5 lbs!!  eat that.


finale party at my house next week!

{and of course, we watch the voice shortly thereafter…
have to stay up on the battle rounds. man, i love that show.}


90-day challenge update:

we are on day 15 of 90 day challenge today and we are starting to get into the swing of it.

p90x is not for the faint of heart, let me tell you,
but i am not sore anymore and feeling stronger every day.

the workouts are tough, but you can start small. the first workout is just pushups and pullups, but you can use bands and do less reps than they do.  you just set goals and outdo yourself…etc.  we are not following the p90x diet completely but we are definitely eating close to it and eating way healthier.
{i didn't want to jump straight into crazy diet mode anyway for breastfeeding purposes}

results after week one:

chris: 1.5lbs

meg: 0

after week two:
chris:0

meg: 2.5lbs!

what we are eating:

breakfast:
oatmeal/7-grain with agave

mid-morning:
1/2 protein bar- i like zone or clif bars, myself. some of them are barftastic though.

lunch:
either a salad/leftovers or a lean cuisine panini - so good and only 300ish cals

mid-afternoon:
1/2 protein bar

dinner:
some lean meat with steamed veggies.
{we went all out on saturday night and made artichoke. woops.}

{and i don't plan to be too crazy - cause last night we had a honey baked ham.... well, it had to go sometime, right?}

we have only had night so far that we didn’t make it to the work out.
we realized that to have 100% with a newborn is probably a bit unrealistic,
so we decided that we will have up to no more than 5 off days in the whole program.
that way we don’t feel awful on nights like that night when B was ticked at life.
i hope we don't use them all...

so far so good.

monday morning coffee...

you have probably already seen this, but it just makes me smile.

happy monday, all.

90 day goal challenge anyone?

i am having some style dilemmas in my life right now.

they begin with 20ish little enemy pounds that
{hopefully} decide to leave my life for good very soon.

the prob: i have a closet full of clothes that just aren't me. thus, my stack of "you probably shouldn't wear that unless you are really pregnant" clothes and my stack of "ew you haven't worn any of those clothes in years and they are either obviously faded, torn, discolored, or just not cute".  for some- they might not ever have been...

i spend my days wishful shopping on pinterest, dreaming of the clothes i would buy if i came into lots of money. or that i was on what not to wear and had $5000 to spend on recreating my wardrobe so every piece was cute, durable, and felt like me. oh- and fit!!

Source: shabbyapple.com via Meg on Pinterest

Source: anthropologie.com via Meg on Pinterest

Source: anthropologie.com via Meg on Pinterest

cc and i started p90x a few days ago, and yes yes, i know, "if i had a dollar for everyone who told me they started p90x..." but i have never been more determined to do anything.

in less than 90 days i will have lost weight, and i will have done a little shopping {even though i have no money}, and plenty more purging {of clothes}. i will keep you posted on my health and style progress... if there is any.

i figure i would rather have 10 things that i love and feel great in {that will last} than the 100 things in my closet that make me want to eat salad for the rest of my life. depressing.

for now, i will be dream shopping and 

praying that i am in some distant relative's will...

so, today {on my birthday} i challenge you...

what are you going to do in 90 days??

biggest loser fairytale - curtesy of tim gunn

makeover week.

if you are a true BL fan, you know it is the best episode of reality tv.
save maybe the finale of the bachelor.

there is nothing like watching a huge transformation of these biggest losers. they start out fat, unhealthy, unhappy, and after hours and hours of work in the gym and learning to eat like skinny people, they finally get to look and feel like them.

the skinny on the skinny:

blonde. maybe not a good idea for hannah {or maybe it is just the style and/or bangs that are too much}, and the dress was only good waist-down, but she looked incredible none-the-less. i love these sisters. they crack me up and they are looking so amazing! its hard to believe they can even lose more weight! it was so fun to watch hannah's reunion with her dad. the father-daughter moment was priceless. she obviously felt like a million bucks. which, in my opinion, is even more important than the makeover.

olivia was spot on and definitely our favorite of the night- great hair, great dress, and a reunion with her newly tightened up husband? yes please. i wanted that moment in liquid form- it was blissful. i love this gown on her, and i loved her hair even more later when she re-did it herself. so cute.



irene was a great transformation.
her j-lo hair and great dress upped her girlyness that she needed to go with her new body.

we loved the dress too- the wrap waist was really pretty perf on her.

and i am so excited that irene won a car, but i will admit i was a little sad she decided to give it to her mom. this girl has flown under the radar the entire season. in fact, we joke every time she is on, "who is that? what is her name again?" she has just been steadily losing weight and been on top every week, she deserved a break! but ok ok, i get the giving...

austin good have gone with a little less hair for me, and jay looked pretty great. its amazing what a shave and some hair color can do for a guy... both of these were fun reunions with family too. i have to admit, this is the best part for me. i can imagine finally seeing family after something like this. big stuff.


and what was tim gunn's big surprise at the end of the show: no one went home!!
thanks, rulon. {well, they had to stay on schedule, right?}

NBC's The Voice already #3 in ratings!

i can't get enough of this show. 
finally, singing auditions we can all stomach while eating.

i love the concept of this show, and since the first artist that opened his mouth, it was clear that the caliber of talent here is miles ahead of american idol. and unlike american idol, it is purposely geared toward slightly more seasoned vocalists. many of them have been trying to get into the business and for whatever reasons, haven't been able to. 

sure, somehow the 16 year old with a young and very mild voice made it through, but she will get some good coaching out of it.

this girl {above} dia frampton, is why i love this show. looking at her, you would never know what comes out of her mouth. sure, she is pretty, has quirky style, and could be an artist, but she isn't a "show girl" in any way. in fact, she reminds me a lot of a young meiko. a fun, raspy, very marketable sound, regardless of how she sells it.

when she walked off the stage, she was quiet and reserved. it made me think of how she might have been received on the stage at american idol. i wonder if miss dia would eventually get told she doesn't "perform" well, or she doesn't "sell it" and then fall to the demise of voters and lose her shot... who knows.

the voice obviously gives a voice to the voiceless, and that is something we love to see. i have a few faves already and i can't wait to watch the coaches do their thing.  another brilliant aspect of this premise is that the young artists get some coaching from a huge star and i hope it is the vocal coaching they need to give them an edge.

ps, if you aren't watching, you should be. apparently the rest of america is.

easy peasy glazed ham for two...

we had our easter meal later since we were dinner guests on easter, 

but last week, we had our own special meal and it was surprisingly way easy!

we made this yummy glazed ham and had grilled asparagus too. yumtown.

1-ish cup - light corn syrup

1/2-ish cup - light brown sugar

1tsp - ground mustard (some used prepared mustard, but we wanted the burnt flava flave.

1/2 tsp - ground ginger (though the real stuff would have worked great!)

a few shakes - ground cloves (to give it that nice christmasy feel)

i don't really measure, so this is just a guess.

we used a small, pre-cooked but uncut ham that we found for pretty cheap. i remade the glaze a few times and added the ham juice...

it was naughty.

monday morning coffee...

i almost couldn't wait till monday.

its just too funny...

hope this makes your monday a little brighter...

"don't punch.......our car."