Pepper Tacos!

Hey Monday! My favorite day as far as TV is concerned.  It's been very lazy.  I did some house work and Brylee took full advantage of playing all.day.long! Another cold front hit so we stayed in and kept warm. 


Due to our lazy day, a really good dinner sounded so good.  Pepper Tacos is an all time favorite around here so I thought I'd share that recipe. 

It's super simple, really good, and low cal (if you're counting)!


Here's what ya need:

Pictured:
3-4 medium sized bell peppers
1/2 cup shredded cheese
1/4 cup Salsa
Taco Seasoning - low sodium

Not Pictured:
1 lb ground beef (I use ground sirloin)
toppings (lettuce, tomato, sour cream)*
2 cups of water (to boil)

-Preheat oven to 350°
-Brown beef in skillet
-Bring water to a boil
-While meat is cooking, cut around stem of peppers, pull stem out and then cut the peppers in half.      Remove the rest of the seeds if desired.
-Place peppers in boiling water for 3-5 minutes (will be slippery and color will darken)
-When meat is finished, add taco seasoning (according to package), cheese and salsa.
-Place peppers on pan and scoop taco mix into it
-Bake for 25-30 minutes
-Top with whatever you'd like, and voila!

We added a side of spanish rice and called it a meal! It was so good. 

*Total calories (without extra toppings): 265 per pepper!

Let me know if y'all make it and what ya think! Have a great week.

Leah :)

Pickles. Football. Coffee. Friday!

Happy Friday! Once again it's time for a 5 on Friday link up with these ladies: Darci, Natasha, Christina and April! Still new at this, but I think this week I'm finally getting the hang of it.

{One}
Can we talk about National Pickle Day?! I absolutely love pickles and didn't even know that was a such thing! Thanks Kathy Lee and Hoda for informing me this morning.

Can't say I love ALL pickles, but definitely Dill and Sour!

{Two}
I have a new favorite K-Cup! Hands down Peppermint Mocha is my favorite all time coffee, but I've been loving the Green Mountain Carmel Vanilla Cream k-cup!

If you haven't already, and you're into flavored coffee, give it a try!

{Three}
Where is fall?! It's like Mother Nature just decided to skip fall and bring us winter! It  went from 80 to 40 in just a day! Not just cold, it was wet and sleeting here! I refuse to turn on the heater because it's back in the 90's tomorrow so we just bundled up.

 Brylee didn't seem to mind.. she played all day.  Tomorrow we are getting a start on Christmas shopping... what!?

{Four}
Football. Season. Is. Over. Well, for Edinburg High at least. Completely bittersweet, but it's been a rough season.  I love football, don't get me wrong, but living a coaches' schedule is hard and adding a transition season on top of that.. wow!

I don't think anybody realizes the amount of time a coach puts it.  Sitting in the stands gets hard sometimes when you have someone bad mouthing your "coach". Yes, a bad call may be their fault, but they also aren't the ones out there playing, your kids are!   If they only knew the passion these guys have for their players and team, I think they would understand just how hard, yet rewarding their job is. Tate truly does love his job and he's so good at it, but it's very stressful!

{Five}
On another note, I got my Ipsy bag yesterday! $10 a month for anywhere between 4-6 products (some trial size) and a bag, I'll take it. I'm definitely no makeup artist, but I do love makeup!

November was 'Girl Meets Glitter' and I love it! The bag was teamed up with Forever 21 (explains the sparkle). Side note: the floor in Forever 21 amazes me; I almost can't fully focus on shopping because I'm intrigued by it! Back to my bag, there's an OPI glitter polish, liquid highlighter, lip crayon, roll on perfume and a liquid eyeliner. I'm most excited about my eyeliner! Mine was discontinued and I haven't found one I really like yet. 





 Link up with the girls for your 5 on Friday post!

 Happy Friday,
-Leah! :)

Mid-Week Check In

Halloween. Bridal Shower. Bachelorette Party. Odessa. Austin. San Antonio.

All in a weeks time that's been my schedule.

And today I've had way too much coffee. My excuse: it's cold and I would rather just stay by a fire. Oh wait, we don't have a fireplace! That's right.Who knew it would get this cold in the Valley?  Maybe I'm just use to the really warm and humid weather and just being a baby. More than likely not.  :)  Anywho, I somehow pulled myself out of bed, got ready (do sweatpants count?), and made cookies. I may or may not have been listening to Christmas music and burning fall candles while doing this. Coffee, cookies and Apple Pumpkin has my house smelling sooooo good! Not to mention I'm about to make some chicken and dumplins! I am taking full advantage of this weather because come Saturday it's back to the 90's! Welcome to South Texas.

While I had so much going on last week, I hardly took any pictures! I guess I was having way too much fun to keep my camera and phone out.  Here are the pictures I do have to catch you up to this point...

Halloween: A witch and a leopard!

My makeup done by Rachel. As for my little witch, it was last minute.  Her hat was super cute if you could actually see it. Like I said, I didn't get many pictures.  She wouldn't stay still long enough and then passed out after 2 houses! ha!

We also got this....

Meet Snow Belle Sparkle. She came while we were in Odessa. This will be our first year with our little elf and I'm excited!:)

As for the bachelorette party.. I guess I had too much fun to take pictures. Someone has some, but not this girl.(;


Chicken and dumplins are calling my name...

so is reality TV. :)

Happy Wednesday, y'all!

-Leah :)

Halloween PJ Party!

Happy Monday! I love Mondays...well for TV at least.  Monday Night Football, The Bachelor (although I have to wait for January for that), Dancing with the Stars and The Voice.  Currently I am watching the voice and since Tate's having a long night, I'll watch my recording of DWTS after.  I absolutely hate when there's a winner about to be announced and they do the whole "and the winner is..... commercial"! Gahh! My favorites are Chris Jamison (Adam) and Beth Spangler (Gwen) so far but someone is bound to surprise me.  As for DWTS, I'm totally Team Sadie!

Now on to what this post is actually about: A Halloween PJ Party Link Up

Here's my Little Witch.. her PJ's have nothing "witchy" but that's what she is for Halloween, so why not?

She was being real cute and posey until she realized she could turn off her light from her bed! Still so cute though. :) She absolutely HAD to have these Minnie Mouse PJ's. I tried to get the skeleton or ghost set but "No Mom, Minnie!" was said about a bagillion times, so Minnie it is!

Oh, and check out those adorable pig tails! 

If you want to link up, go on over to The Good Life Blog, I Love You More Than Carrots, Fancy Ashley or Hello Happiness and join in on the fun!

Have a fantastic week, y'all!

Leah :)

5 on Friday Plexus Style!

Happy Friday! The weekend is here. Wooohooo!  Hopefully everybody has something fun planned or maybe just relaxing...hey that's fun too, right?! My weekend to do list has a few fun things planned.  Tate is going to San Antonio to watch a UTEP game so it's just me and Miss Diva until Sunday night. I thought maybe she and I could go to the park for a bit, I have to find a dress for my best friends bachelorette party in 2 weeks, I need to make B's costume, and then Sunday when Tate gets home we are going to make a Haunted Gingerbread House! :) I think I'm the most excited.

Now for my 5 on Friday Plexus Style.

I am a Plexus Ambassador.  I'll make a more in-depth post about Plexus soon, but for now I just wanted to share my 5 most favorite Plexus products. 

::ONE::

Launched in 2009, Slim was designed for a diabetic study that turned into an amazing health product. It balances blood sugar levels, lowers cholesterol and lipid levels. It helps lose weight by burning fat and not muscle. All you do is mix the individual serving packet with water and drink up!

::TWO::

Boost is an add on to Slim, formulated to energize your life! The thermogenic blend of incredible ingredients helps suppress appetite, increase energy and lose weight . It was introduced this summer and I've been hooked ever since.  It definitely lives up to it's name!

::THREE::

X-Factor is a multivitamin and antioxidant.  There is no other product like this one! When applied topically, aloe heals the body 121% than the body does on its own.  When taken internally aloe finds the root of the issue and takes care of it.  In order for it to be effective there has to be a significant amount of aloe in the blend.  X-factor has 5 times the amount that the FDA requires to be an "aloe product".  I HAD a very week immune system and haven't been sick once since I started taking it.  6 months without even a simple 'head cold' is great to me!

::FOUR::
 

Bio-Cleanse oxygenates the entire body.  It helps detoxify, cleanse and energize the body. Bio-cleanse also aids in weight loss. Did you know your metabolism is greater in an oxygenated body? With 80% of your health coming right from your gut, it's time to clean that gut out!

::FIVE::
The ProBio5 (see BioCleanse picture) features five extra strength probiotics, added enzymes, intestinal flora, B6 and Grape Seed extract  all in one effective delivery system that supports the breaking down of the hostile organisms that negatively impact your health. This is called Candida Yeast Overgrowth. The breakdown of Candida mixed with the bio cleanse will flush it right out! These two products work hand in hand as an awesome combination.   

Plexus also has a pain management line, body cream, breast health check and a BRAND NEW product that I am excited to try myself. 

If you have even the slightest interest in what Plexus has to offer or just simply want to learn more, just send me a message  or visit my Facebook page and I'll be more than happy to talk with ya!

and the obvious, we've moved!

I absolutely love it. Tate did a pretty good job picking out the house all by himself, I'd say.  A month before I moved,  Tate and I came down here to find a house. We looked at so many and so many let us down. They just weren't perfect. Neither of us wanted to move into a house just because we needed one. He stayed down for the start of football season and I had to get back to work, Brylee, and our life back in Odessa until we did find a home.  For weeks I looked online, emailed and text back and forth to a realtor. She and Tate went and looked at some, but no luck. I was beginning to lose hope and Tate was getting tired of staying on an air mattress on a friends apartment floor.  Somehow through talking between coaches, a new rent house was brought up from a friend of a friend of a friend (ya know how that goes) and it happened to be the one! I had to trust Tate on it because it was never put on the market so there were never any pictures of it.  The only picture I had was from google..

After weeks of packing and living in a maze of boxes we had a 'move-in date'! It took one whole day, 10 people, and 4 crazy kids to help load up. On August 21 we made the long drive. Normally it would have been about 9 hours, but with a large moving truck and 2 dogs it took almost 12! Talk about a long day! Tate's brother Skyler drove the truck and I followed, both vehicles being packed full!

 

**notice the deer head..it moved the entire time...eek**

After being locked out of the house for over an hour (waiting on Tate) and one of my dogs attacking a neighbor doing his evening walks, I got to see my new home! There was no disappointment whatsoever!  And yes, the neighbor is fine and doesn't hate me.Whew!

So now we're Edinburg High Bobcats living in McAllen. They are doing okay. It's a transitional year with a lot of new coaches.  We only have 2 wins but there was so much improvement in the last game that I have high hopes for the next few.

I love this place! There is so much to do and not to mention we are 2 hours  away from the beach (although we've only been twice).  I am currently staying at home with B. I have a love/hate relationship with it.  I love getting to stay home with her and watching her grow. She is doing so much more everyday and is a very busy girl to keep up with (more on her later). I love the freedom of being able to go to the store when it isn't packed with everybody else, I can run errands and spend 3 hours getting new tires (it's happened), but I'm not sure it's for me. I miss working. I miss having something to do all the time. I miss having that time away from her for me (sounds selfish but it's true).  I miss the look on her face when I do pick her up from my day at work. We are together ALL THE TIME! I know, I know.. some moms would love to do that, but FOR ME, it's much harder than I thought it would be. I will be starting back to school in January and I'm hoping to find a part time job sometime soon and hopefully that will help.  I've been looking into Day Schools here and think I've found one I like and need to take B to visit. I think it'll be good for her too since she loved MDO in Odessa.

As for my thoughts on moving, it was hard! So hard, but I didn't cry! Not even once! I remember at my going away party my aunt kept asking me if I was crying.. nope, never did. I was emotional, yes, but I think it was needed. Tate moved off for college and I never did, but always wanted to. Sure it's tough. I miss my family, my friends, my sister! I miss lunch with the girls. I miss talking with Tate's mom every afternoon when I picked up B. But a change was needed.  Tate was following a dream and I would never do anything to keep him from what he loves. 

'Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay.' Ruth 1:16

I think that pretty much sums up the move.  It's Thursday which means JV games and a late night for Tate.  Brylee and I have errands to run and I need to get ready... oops! And she just woke up from her nap. 

Have a wonderful day!
-Leah :)

Starting over...

 ...with my blog, and I'm diving right in with a 5 on Friday Link up.

::ONE::
It's Friday night at 11:30  and Brylee and I just got home from our first actual Bobcat win of the season! 17-7! Yay! Go Cats. It's a tough transitional year for the players and coaches so a win was definitely needed.  Brylee has a love/hate relationship with the games. She can only sit still  for a very short period of time (I got smart today and brought the iPad), but she wants to run around most of the time.

::TWO::
Brylee and I painted some wooden pumpkins today to add to my small amount of Halloween decoration throughout the house.  We won't be home for Christmas so I wanted to go all out with Halloween and Fall... Looks like Halloween just won't make that cut.

This is all I have other than B's masterpiece. 

::THREE::
Last weekend was Happy Wasted. What is Happy Wasted? Simply put, it's "an annual girls only trip with sisters, daughters, family and friends who meet at the lake house and laugh so hard you're crying, then laugh so hard you can't stand up, THEN laugh so hard you just might pee your pants! LOL Lots of Laughing, catching up and just a darn good time....... "WASTED" by pure happiness!" Taken right off the group page! We always have a blast and are so sad to see the weekend go. 

Yes, we look absolutely crazy, but we always have a blast, no matter what kinds of looks and questions  we get! 

::FOUR::
Pumpkin patches are everywhere here! We went to one in Granbury while at Happy Wasted and the littles had fun! Tate and I are going to take Brylee to the big one here next weekend. Here are a few pics of Brylee, my nephew Jackson,and cousin Marley last weekend. 

Sooo cute, right?! :)

::FIVE::
A few months ago my car was broken in to and at first I didn't think anything was taken.. After packing up one house and unpacking into another I have discovered that yes, some things were taken.  One of my book bags, that someone probably thought my computer may have been in, being it! In that bag were some notebooks for school, a library book and my study bible! I sure hope those punks read that study bible front to back (notes included) and gain something from it.  After realizing that my bible was gone, and searching all over for the perfect new one, I found one! Good thing too because I'm taking part in a 'read the bible in year' challenge. I've read the bible, but never cover to cover! I'm excited and I can do this! 

That's all folks! I hope everybody had a wonderful Friday and a blessed weekend! :)

-Leah