New Year and Meeting the Bloggers!

Well it's a new year and I'm hoping it will be full of many exciting things for me!

I'm sure many of you follow Skinny Runner.
Her laid back humor always brings me back to life and helps inspire me to run. Well she was in town, along with a whole boatload of others, for the PF Chang's Rock n Roll Marathon and setup a get together in Phoenix while she was here.

We met at Seasons 52, (all the girls ran except me, boo for me being too down n out to run) for some healthy dining. I have to say it was a beautiful restaurant with great dessert!
It was so nice meeting everyone! It was my first blog meet up...and hope it's not the last.
Have a great evening ladies.

I'm In the Southwest Again

Well I'm back in Az...for good. I have been wanting to move back here for some time now and I couldn't handle the harsh Midwest winters anymore. I was lucky enough to come across an opening with my company here in Arizona so I jumped at the chance. I won't go into much detail on anything else at this time but I'm excited to take on a new chapter in my life and see what the future holds. My blog name will change here soon but I haven't decided what to call it...

Happy Father's Day

Today is Father's Day and I don't get to take many pics with my dad, especially with him smiling naturally (men hating smiling on cue, I don't know why) so I thought I'd share this pic from--well you can figure it out. I wish I didn't live so far away from you...I love you!
In honor of my dad, I'm using my palm sander and wood putty on my desk I'm painting. I wouldn't know any of this power tool stuff without him and I can't go into a Lowe's or Home Depot without thinking of him :-)

Oh and thanks to everyone who follows me...I have made it to the big 100!

PHX is The Place to Be!!

Since I'm so good at blogging it's going on two weeks now, B and I went to Phoenix to visit my parents and friends for Memorial Day.
One of the things B has been really into is clay/sport shooting...whatever style-- he's into it.

We went to the Ben Avery Shooting Range in the north valley and it was quite the place. They have all kinds of things you can do there, every kind of shooting scenario...it's available. I mean check out this map!I'm all for showing the best first and this is my favorite pic of my dad. If you look closely you can not only see the clay blown to pieces, you can also see the shell shooting out of the side of the gun. So lucky to catch that shot!
Is it wrong for a Coach purse to be on a shooting range? Only in AZ :-)
Here's my mom and the instructor who was awesome! He really helped us improve our style, or lack thereof.
And of course b-man had to get in some action. Yeah our newest addition to the family was his Benelli shotgun! Before I left, my mom and I were able to get some fun shopping time with my best girl Ondrea. We've been friends since freshman year of high school and she's great.More pics from Vegas!

Memorial Fiesta and a New Baby!!

So B and I are headed to the Valley of the Sun, or as I like to refer to it...HOME. My dad wants me to bring my new baby--Ruger!
This isn't my real gun...I'm too lazy to take a pic of it, but it looks just like this. I should be getting my conceal and carry permit any day now and I needed a gun I could use for concealing. I have a 40 cal S&W M&P compact. I do like it but it's not very portable for me (maybe Rambo). Hence "baby Ruger", I also refer to it as my "running gun". I'll need to get a special holster for running but at least it won't pull my shorts off while I'm going down the trail. I'll be damned if I'm going to get violated out on a trail running with my dog by some creeper. Move over pepper spray there's a new kid in town!

Did I ever tell anyone I love my new job and my new boss? This job makes traveling more conducive. Well since we're going to visit my mom and dad for Memorial weekend, we thought we'd squeeze in some Sin City as well.

I'm excited to once again stay a the Flamingo Hotel...
I love that place. It's in the middle of everything. We also reserved the new Go Room...
Well maybe I'll post some pictures of my new car next time!! Hasta luego!!

3 Days and Counting!!

Only three more days until I'm on a flight to visit my family and friends in the beautiful state of ...

Yes. ARIZONA!! I can't wait to not have to salt my driveway just to get up inside the garage or bring my snow boots to work-ugh! Why do I live in the Midwest? I have no idea...

I couldn't get up my ice rink driveway last night so I decided to get a little sun the good ole fashioned way...

well it's not like I'm getting any outside?

When I was done, Hubs came home and skated my car into the driveway after a rigorous salting. I don't help with any of that. I don't want to deprive him of the joys of why we live at the North Pole...not one single moment. ;-) Hey I gotta hold to my Diva in the Midwest title right?

Easy Jalepeno Poppers

My co-worker grows jalapenos in her backyard for her bird, knowing I'm from the great state of Arizona and love spicy things, she was gracious enough to bring a some for me one day. Not knowing what to do with them (since hubby is a wuss when it comes to spices), jalapeno poppers 'popped' into my head. After a while of searching online for a good recipe, nothing really caught my eye. They all seemed to involved or fatty because they were fried, so I just came up with my own. This obviously isn't very detailed but it's a guide more than a recipe. I hope you all enjoy!

• Jalapenos
• 1/3 fat cream cheese
• shredded cheddar cheese
• old bay seasoning
• rice crispies cereal
• butter or margarine
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375°. Cut each jalapeno in half and remove seeds. (I'd suggest using gloves for this since jalapeno juices can be irritating for your skin and eyes). Mix the cheeses and sprinkle a little Old Bay Seasoning (be conservative, a little goes a long way), salt, and pepper into the bowl. Stuff the jalapenos full of the cream cheese mixture. In a separate bowl, mix the rice crispies with a little melted butter for flavor. Press the cheese filled jalapenos in the rice crispies/butter and place on a baking sheet and bake until bubbly brown. I checked the bottom of the jalapeno to see if they were starting to brown and I removed them soon after and they were perfect.

They really satified my craving for this appetizer without all the needless fat.

Girly Scottsdale Weekend!

A good friend of mine from college is getting married at the end of May in Puerto Vallarta and as much as I NEED some beach time, I'm too much of a chicken to travel to Mexico right now. My perfect solution was to just go to Phoenix for her shower instead. (Yes I know I was just there about a month ago, I love it).

While I don't have the best pics of the shower to post yet, I do have some out on the town with my "bestie" Ondrea. We decided to make it a girls night out in Scottsdale.

We're at Jackrabbit here...

Sara, Laura and On at Cream

On and I at Jackrabbit again

On the flight home last Monday, I watched Bride wars on my iPod. What a sap I am. I got teary eyed just watching a movie about girls and their friends...I miss them so much!

My new blog design!!

Hey everyone, check out my new blog design. Isn't it cute? I'm so glad it turned out well. I have been on vacation and then completely swamped this week at work...I'll be posting again this weekend. Don't forget about me.

Fun Weekend Planned

So as everyone already knows, it's Superbowl Sunday this weekend and we are having some friends over to cheer on the Cards (or the Steelers;-)). I've got a lot of work to do. I've pretty much planned my menu:

Cheddar ale dip with soft pretzels
Rolled Chicken tacos served with sour cream
Beef Taquitos
Potato Slabs
Veggie tray and dip
Peanut butter cookies
**some other dessert, possibly cheesecake squares**

I still have some cleaning (guest bedroom and bathroom are spic and span), laundry and cooking. Any other suggestions to the menu are welcome.

Hey there Little Mama!!

I just love sweet smelling things, but I also don't like a lot of preservatives either. Well these soaps are just the cure.

Back in at least 2003 (I've lived in the 'balmy' Midwest since 2004 when I took a TV reporter job in Lincoln NE...another post, another day) I was at the Tempe Arts and Crafts fair when I came across the cutest booth with best smelling soaps and lotions in the world! The place: Little Mama Products. Being the non-impulsive buyer, I just purchased some chapstick. It's the best chapstick ever, I mean you just can't get enough of it. So I decided to try the bar soaps since the chapstick was so good. I never buy bar soaps, in fact I hate any other bar soaps. They leave a nasty film on my skin and toe nail polish. Well these soaps are the exception! I love the way they smell and since they're from AZ, I love them even more. The Arizona ones really make me feel at home.

Sue, the woman who owns and makes these soaps is the sweetest ever! She makes them in her home in the Arizona Foothills and they are simply divine. Look she even sends them to me 2k miles away and they still look cute!

I've tried nearly every scent of her soaps, scrubs, and body butters and I've never been disappointed by any! If you want any suggestions on favorites or product recommendations or reviews, just leave me a comment and I'll answer. Oh and P.S., there is no bad scent, all are wonderfully fragrant.

Autumn Apron

I am just loving my new sewing machine and I've been making everything I can't find out in the shopping world.

Healthy Tostadas!!

In case you haven't learned, I just love Mexican food. I have a high tolerance for it as well as high expectations of what it should taste like. The bad side to Mexican food is that it's usually pretty high in fat and calories and here in the Midwest, good Mexican food is very hard to come by so I often resort to making it from scratch...well almost scratch.

Tostadas are one of my favorite Mexican dishes and since DH doesn't like Mexican food, I thought I'd make tostadas for dinner since he's out of town on business!

FYI: I make my own beans that are very good, very simple and you don't miss the 'refried' part at all. I'll share in detail on another post next time I make them.

2 corn tortillas
1/2 cup homemade unmashed pinto beans (or good canned ones if you don't make your own)
green leaf lettuce, shredded
lowfat mexican cheese, shredded
1/2 avocado, sliced
hot sauce or salsa (not chunky kind)
salt
2 tablespoons light sour cream (optional)

Keep in mind this recipe is very open to add whatever you like on your tostadas. I just grew up eating bean tostadas so that's what I like.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place corn tortillas on a cookie sheet and spritz with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Just as the tortillas are starting to crisp, flip halfway through and spritz with olive oil again and sprinkling with salt. Bake until tortillas are crisp.

Heat beans and spoon a thin even layer on each tostada shell. Top with lettuce, avocado, sour cream, cheese, and hot sauce.

Just say yes to yummy, and no to booty!

Prada Me!

Okay, I know I am not the most diligent blogger but hopefully I'll never put up a crazy dumb post. This one is definitely not crazy dumb, well maybe crazy...

In order to hold true to my blog title, I feel I need to share some of my diva ways. So lets start from the beginning. Before I moved to the Midwest, I had some shops in the Phoenix area I grew quite fond of--actually they're stores I can't live without, so whenever I'm home I just HAVE to visit these places. While I was visiting the family, my mom and I took a venture to one of these shops and I found not one but two great pairs of shoes!!

Yes I found these oh so cute signature Coach slides...

and these super cute Prada mary jane, wingtip, heels!

So what's so special about these? Well I contribute their "specialness" to many different things:

1. They're gorgeous
2. They're brand name
3. I got them for WAY less than retail.
4. THEY WERE BOTH IN MY SIZE!!!!

So let this post kickoff the Fashion tag