Wordless Wednesday ~ 43/52

November is over and a lot of people have used this month as an opportunity to list things that they are thankful for. I am thankful and grateful for so many things in my life, but none more that this:

And this:

And especially this:

Tasty Tuesday ~ Hot Wing Lettuce Wraps

This is one on my most FAVORITE meals! We have at least once a month becuase it is super tasty and super easy! It only takes a few pantry ingredients, a few fresh vegetables and chicken breasts. It is also a really easy recipe to increase/decrease the amount you need to make. My numbers are what I make to feed to adults and 2 kids.

Indredients:

• 3 chicken breasts, cubed
• 2 Carrots, peeled and shredded
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1/2 cucumber, sliced thin
• 1 head Bib lettuce
• 1/3 cup Franks Red Hot Sauce
• 1/3 cup Honey
• 1/3 cup Lime juice (fresh if you prefer)
• Blue Cheese dressing of your choice

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in in a large skillet. Add and cook cubed chicken until done. While chicken is cooking; combine honey, hot sauce and lime juice. Add sauce mixture to chicken and cook over med-high heat, stirring occasionally until sauce has thickened and reduced by about half.

Place a spoonful of chicken, celery, carrots, and cucumber in a leaf of lettuce and drizzle with blue cheese. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Besides being tasty, this recipe is easy to increase or decrease. Just adjust the amount of chicken and veggies accordingly and since the sauce is equal parts, adjust as needed to accommodate the amount of chicken being cooked.

I also will just toss everything in bowl and eat as a salad if we have leftovers.

Blogger Ad Swap

I saw this on another blog and thought it was a FANTASTIC idea!

Let's swap blog badges/ads! 

It's really simple and a great way to get your blog out and around the web!

If you are interested in swapping blog ads/buttons send me an email at thelungosblog at gmail dot com with your ad/badge (150x150) and I will place in my sidebar. Then you grab my badge and do the same. 

For December, I will be swapping through the 3rd.

Easy peasy lemony squeezey!

It's Party Time

We traveled to Milwaukee (for 24 hours) this weekend to attend the wedding of Marissa & Wiley. Hubby and Wiley have known each other forever and he really wanted to be there.

It was an AWESOME time! I have never been to a Jewish ceremony and I thought it was wonderful, especially the Sheva Brachot or 7 Blessings. It was also really cool to yell "mazel tov!" at the end  when Wiley broke the glass.

The bride was beautiful, the groom absolutely handsome and I have ZERO pictures because we were running late leaving town and forgot the camera, although I was so in to the ceremony that I would have forgotten to take any pictures.

The Pfister Hotel where the ceremony was held and where we stayed was beautiful.

The reception rocked. It was at a fabulous bar and restaurant called the Hinterland and it was amazing.  Cocktail hour (open bar) with signature drinks, wines and beers and awesome apps. Then plated dinner. I had the steak and it was unbelievable.

After dinner the revelry began and the open bar continues and the DJ started up the music. There was much dancing and bally-hoo. And I mean serious bally-hoo. A few minutes after the first dances, these guys showed up.

 Image from here.

If you are a baseball fan, you know who these guys are. For those of you who don't, they are the Milwaukee Brewers Racing Sausages. Wiley is a sports guy and actually interned with the Brewers this year and somehow managed to get these guys to show up at the reception. It was hysterical and awesome.

About half-way through the night, I realized that I didn't have a picture of me all dressed up and I felt really pretty, so I ran into the restroom and snapped this.

Black Sheath Dress with Side Deatil ~ JC Penny (on clearance for $4.97! 2 years ago)

Brootch on Dress ~ my stash

Earrings ~ my stash

Missing from the picture ~ cute crop cardi from Charlotte Russe and bright pink pashmina wrap.

I had a blast with my make-up and stepped out of my comfort zone by actually wearing it. It is hard to see, but I managed a pretty great smoky eye with help from YouTube and lovely false eyelashes and by this point in the night, I obviously didn't care about my lipstick. I also had a  pretty, sleek and simple up-do courtesy of Pinterest.

It was a quick trip but really fun. Congratulations to Wiley and Marissa, we are super happy for you! Wishing all the best in your future life together!

I am going to jump over and link up with The Hap's and Steppin' Out Saturday since I actually did dress up and step out on Saturday!

Working With Style {3} ~ A Week of Cardigans

I have a thing for cardigans. A serious thing. Like, I own a cardigan in just about every color, and several styles (v-neck, long sleeve, 3/4 sleeve, etc.)  in certain colors, several prints  and patterns and no less than 7 black cardigans.

It is a sickness really.

But cardigans are so versatile. I can wear them year-round. Buttoned or unbuttoned. As a light jacket. I wore them before during and after pregnancy. They were great for nursing. A co-worker calls the cardi-scarf combo my signature look. I don't know if that is good or bad.

It also appears I like scarves. A lot. I have 8 pashmina scarves in black, white, light grey, light pink, dark pink, light turquoise, dark turquoise, and purple. There is a store here that carries solid color, large pashmina scarves for $5. I pick one up every time I am in there.

This really is an unflattering picture. I look lumpy and bunchy. I hope I didn't look like that all day and just while I was rushing to get a picture in the restroom before someone walked in.

Pink V-Neck Cardi ~ Old Navy

White Shirt ~ JC Penny

Black Skinny Belt ~ Ann Taylor LOFT

Black Wide Leg Trouser ~ JC Penny

Necklace ~ Lisa Leonard Designs

Ring ~ Premier Jewelry

Blue Gem Button Cardi ~ Old Navy

White Tank Top ~ Old Navy
Pashmina Scarf ~ Craft Warehouse

Black Trouser ~Ann Taylor LOFT

Ring ~ Gift

I love yellow/black/grey combos but I couldn't decide which picture I liked better ~ with or without the scarf~ so I posted both. You tell me.

Black Cardi ~ Ann Taylor LOFT

Yellow Tank Top ~Old Navy

Grey Wide Leg Trouser ~ JC Penny

Light Grey Pashmina Scarf ~ Craft Warehouse
3 Ring Necklace ~ Old Nave

Ring ~ Premier Jewelry

Button Cuff Yellow Cardi ~ Old Navy

White Shirt ~ Old Navy

Black Wide Leg Trouser ~ JC Penny

Knit Floral Scarf ~ Old Navy

Ring ~ Premier Jewelry

 Lavender V-Neck Cardi ~ Old Navy

White Shirt ~Old Navy

Denim Trouser ~ JC Penny

Grey/Lavender Floral Scarf ~ Ann Taylor LOFT

Ring ~ Premier Jewelry
 

So, there you have it, one week full of cardigans, and a lot of scarves. I could probably go two weeks of sraight cardigans, but even I realize that I need to mix it up and I have very little fashion sense. Is there a piece of clothing in your wardrobe or a collection of something that you find yourself gravitating to?

Linking up with the lovely ladies over at Liberating Working Moms for this weeks Working With Style. Stop by and say hi and link up with your style.

Pet Peeves

I have lots of pet peeves.

Mostly because I can’t stand inconsiderate, self-centered or stupid people, and they are generally involved in or the cause whatever pet peeve is annoying me at the time.

(Here is where my 4 year old would remind me that stupid is a bad word and we aren’t supposed to call people stupid. I will let her live in that world free of stupid people a little longer.)

This particular pet peeve really gets me going. I even listed in a list of 100 Things About Me because it makes me a special kind of crazy.

What is this special annoyance you may ask?

Non-permitted or placarded people who park in the handicap spots (or in the striped space between, essentially making both handicap spots unusable) at daycare when dropping or picking up their kids make me insane.

Why does this get me so bad?

I am not really sure, but I think it is the sheer laziness or it. Or, maybe the complete disregard for others in their extreme self-entitlement. Whatever the reason, it bugs the holy living hell out of me.

I see it DAILY at our daycare. One parent in particular. If they cannot park there rig in the middle of the 3 spots directly in front of the door taking 2 of the 3 spots up, they park in the handicap spots. And the parking lot at our school is not huge and I have rarely seen it where we have to dive to the side of the building to park. There are usually a few spots always open along the front of the building, although not directly in front of the doors.

Those spots are there for those who need them and I have seen them being used appropriately by those who do need them at the school.

About a month ago I don’t know what it was, but I had enough and I brought it up with the director of the school. I just mentioned that I was a little crazy and OCD and certain things bother me and the handicap parking was one of them. I told her that I just needed to let the school know I saw it happening (struggling to not point out the one parent in particular by name, although they were parked there when the director looked out the window) and I felt they should address it. She looked at me like I was crazy, but she agreed and I left it at that.

2 weeks ago there was a sign on the check-in computer reminding parents not to park in the handicap spot.

SCORE!

And I haven’t seen anyone park there since. 

Do you have a crazy pet peeve that you’d be willing to admit to? I would love to hear it because it will make me feel a little less wacko.

Wordless Wednesday ~ 42/52

At the Seattle Aquarium ~ we had lots of fun looking at the fishes and animals.

Technical Difficulties

I just noticed that none of my scheduled post for the last 2 weeks showed up and I am trying to fix. Pretty sure it was and operator error.

Stay tuned for an onslaught of new old posts.

Wordless Wednesday ~41/52

originally uploaded by The Lungos.

As many of you know, I travel for my job and lately I have been away from home almost as much as I have been home.

And it sucks.

This is my address this week.

Crash

So, I blew up my laptop today.

AWESOME.

Not really, seeing as it is actually my company laptop that has all my work on it.

I was reading my usual morning blogs and got a wicked error message from out virus software saying I needed to restart my computer and before I could shut down, it all went black.

The Black Screen of Death had struck.

When I was able to to get it back up and running, everything on my desktop and hard drive was gone.

GONE.

I tried not to cry. Or use expletives.

The local IT guy worked on it, but kept throwing out words like "toast" "gone" and "dead" under his breath.

He is gave me a loner that I am working from, but it doesn't have all my stuff on it, so I blog and check email.

He Fed-Exed my laptop back to Corporate and I am praying that the tech fairies help my guys out and get it fixed.

Fingers crossed

I Hate Mondays

I know, lots of people hate Mondays.

But lately, Monday mean getting up extra early to get to the airport and leaving my family for days at a time.

I especially hate these kind of Mondays.

It feels like the weekend went by too fast because I was trying to squeeze in as much family time as I could while also doing the laundry and cleaning house and getting things ready for me being away for 4 days.

My kids cry and whine when I say bye-bye. Hubby looks lonely before I leave. And I usually cry as I climb in the car and drive away.

I especially hate these kind of Mondays.

Working With Style #2

Life has been crazy lately with work travel and kiddos stuff but we are hanging in there.

As far as work style this week, it has been pretty low key ~ sweaters, cardis, scarfs. I did venture out of my comfort zone and made a change to my hair. I had bangs cut. Bangs. I haven't had straight bangs since I was Peanut's age. And I love them. I am trying to grow out my hair again and I needed something I loved about my hair to make me not cut it all off again. Click her to see my last week hair.

Sweater ~ Target

Scarf ~ Craft Warehouse

Earrings ~ Old Navy

Firetruck Sticker ~ Bubba Boy

Cute Bangs ~ Karyssa @ Rain Salon



Linking up with the lovely ladies over at  Liberating Working Moms for this weeks Working With Style. Stop by and say hi and link up with your style.

A to Z of Me

This meme has been floating around for awhile and I am slow and just getting to it, but it is fun so here is me, A to z:

A. Age: 33 almost 34 
B. Bed size: Queen

C. Chore that you hate: Dishes, Definitely dishes. And cleaning the litter box. So I don’t do either.

D. Dogs: Nada.

E. Essential start to your day: A shower and coffee.

F. Favorite color: London blue topaz shade of aqua blue & bright pink

G. Gold or Silver: Always white gold or silver

H. Height: Shorty at 5’2”

I. Instruments you play: i tried to play the clarinet in jr high, but I am not musical. Not at all.

J. Job title: Mama, Wifey, Daughter, Sister and Safety Nerd by day

K. Kids: Marly Jo (Marleah Josephine) aka Peanut and Harlan Chase aka Bubba

L. Live: Beautiful Boise

M. Mother’s name: Mom

N. Nicknames: Mama, Mandy, Manda, Wifey, Cutie-Pie, Sis, Bess

O. Overnight hospital stays: 2 ~ Marly Jo (Marleah Josephine) aka Peanut and Harlan Chase aka Bubba

P. Pet peeves: People who park in the handicap spot at daycare when they are too lazy to walk from the end of the parking lot, people driving UNDER the speed limit on the interstate "regulating" the speed limit,

Q. Quote from a movie:"It's so fluffy I could die!" ~ Despicable Me

R. Right or left handed: Right.

S. Siblings:  My most awesome younger bro, Morgan
T. Time you wake up: Weekdays ~ 5:30 a & Weekends ~ when the kids get up except when Hubby let's me sleep in, then I will sleep half the day

U. Underwear: Always.

V. Vegetable you hate: stewed tomatoes

W. What makes you run late: Usually myself

X. X-Rays you’ve had: Teeth, chest, ankle

Y. Yummy food that you make: Hubby does a lot of the cooking, but a few things I rock at making like Basque soup, homemade mac & cheese, tater tot hot dish, chicken salsa verde, chocolate chip oatmeal cake and a few others

Z. Zoo animal: polar bears and penguins

Soccer Super Star

Hubby signed Peanut up to play soccer this fall because she aid she wanted to play.

Hubby plays soccer. Like really PLAYS soccer. At one time he played on no less than 3 teams at a time and year year-round when we lived in Seattle. He loves to play and is really really good in my opinion.

Anyway, Peanut said she wanted to play so Hubby jumped on it and signed her up. We ended up with an amazing coach and assistant coach who was really great witht he girls.

Peanut was one of the youngest and smallest on her team. And her idea of soccer was a litle different than Hubby's.

After a few practices and games she got the hang of it, but really wasn't into the fighting for the ball aspect, so she basically ran up an ddown the field behind the other girls because she didn't want anyone in her space. But she had fun, learned a little about soccer and made some new friends, si overall, I think it was a success
.

And she thought it was pretty awesome that she got a trophy at her pizza party last night.

She says she wants to play next spring. We will see isf she actually does once spring soccer weather gets here...

Wordless Wednesday ~ 40/52

For once this is going to be  more of a Wordy Wednesday instead of a Wordless Wednesday.

Dear Peanut,

As of yesterday you were 4 years and 9 months old. Wait, WHAT? You are how old?!?! I truly cannot believe how quickly you have grown into a little person and definitely your own person at that.

You (and your brother) are by far the most amazing thing in my life. I am so lucky to be your mama and all that goes with that title.  I am lucky enough to watch and help you grow up into the awesome kid you are. I have watched you learn to walk, talk, run, jump, climb stairs, dance, read and make your own decisions - all which you excel at.

You are a STRONG personality and a force to be reckoned with in our house. You know what you like and don't like and what you want to do and don't want to do and you share those opinion freely. We often disagree on 90% percent o f the daily happenings in our house - when to get up, what to wear, hairstyle, breakfast, dinner, bedtime - you name it and we have butted heads on it.

I love this about you and at the same time it drives me crazy. I love that you have such a strong, definite, individual personality because I want you to grow up to be your own person but at the same time you make me crazy because you won't do what I want when I want it done and it frustrates me. I am terrified of the teen years.

But you are you. And I love you. I love you so much that sometimes it scares me how strongly I feel. You are my girl, my first born, the one who made me mama.

You are a fashionista, a drama queen, a ballerina, a big sister, an artist, a Disney princess genius, a soccer player and so much more. And you are mine and I wouldn't have it any other way.

NaBloPoMo

NaBloPoMo? Huh? Gesundheit?

No, NaBloPoMo is National Blog Posting Month and I am crazy enough to try and do it. Not because I don't have enough to do in addition to try and write a blog post every day for month, but because I truly want to be a better writer and like they say "practice makes perfect".  And not only and I going to write a post a day, I am going to try and really WRITE a solid post every day.

But, because this is the first day and I am doing this last minute, this is counting as my first post. Please bear with me.

You can still join too! Take yourself over to their site, then fill out the form to link up and get crackin’! It’s so simple, and it’s open to new bloggers till the 5th of this month.