hello!? anyone there?!

oh my goodness.....these past few weeks have been crazy!! first the kiddo was down with a cold, then hubby got it, then this cold took it's vengeance out on me! i was down for a good week!! they were good only after about 2-3 days max. and now i feel like it's coming back on! on monday i was able to attend a field trip with my kiddo and although it was a great fun day, it was super windy and freezing!!! we were close to the ocean, so we got more wind and it was just bitterly cold and over cast the whole day. we learned that back home it poured and even hailed! so glad that didn't happen on the field trip tho. but now with that cold weather, my nose is back to running, i'm coughing again and just feeling like poo. hopefully it won't fester like that last cold did.

during the past few weeks i've been on a little YA kick in my reading. i've recently read the following books and i do recommend each one! all were very well written and entertaining.

Spirit Bound (Vampire Academy, #5) by Richelle Mead

Beauty: A Retelling of Beauty & the Beast by Robin McKinley

Sunshine by Robin McKinley

Graceling (The Seven Kingdoms, #1) by Kristin Cashore

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side (Jessica, #1) by Beth Fantaskey


these next two books i devoured!!! on amazon.com the kindle editions were $2.99 and $3.99 and i'm so thankful i could just buy the second one immediately because the first one was so great! i didn't have to wait on a library list or search for it somewhere locally or even wait for it to be sent from online.

Inescapable (The Premonition #1) by Amy A. Bartol

Intuition (The Premonition #2) by Amy A. Bartol*

what i love about YA books are how easy they are to read and most of the times you don't need to deal with too much complexity. emotions are high and at times anxisty but still pretty simple. and when they're well written YA books, it makes it even better. but at times the main characters, even tho they are 16-17, they deal with very adult issues.

i'm still pushing through The Games of Thrones, hubby is pushing me to read it faster so he can read it on his ride on the train to work. and i'm really trying....really. it's great! the characters are developing and i'm loving learning about them and looking forward to where they will be going. it's just....so much book!! but i'm getting there. according to my goodreads challenge list, i'm 4 books behind schedule on making my goal this year. looks like i need to get reading again!

in other news.....i've joined my local YMCA. i've started a kick boxing class and tried one other one. so far so good. tho yesterday i think i over did it, so i'm taking today off. i'm looking forward to being able to work my way up to taking other classes.

well, i hope to be back to blogging again! i've missed sharing bits of life with people!

xoxo-amanda

germ warfare

monday started off normal then went kinda crazy. my normal routine of dropping the kiddo off at school then working with my reading intervention kids (i work with them for a 1/2hr mon-thurs to get their reading fluency up to grade level) but not this monday. the computer servers were down and by the time they would actually be up and running and we'd have internet access again, we'd be out of time to be productive, so off to shop for some much needed groceries. finally got home and was STARVING!!! how is it that even when you spend copious amounts of money to buy food to fill your pantry and fridge....THERE'S STILL NOTHING TO EAT!?!?!? ugh!! just as i was settling down to watch a quick episode of season 2 Glee...my phone buzzes at me..."dentist appt at 11am"....crap...so off to the shower i dash to get ready and jet over to the dentist. finally home again and completely exhausted. i failed to mention earlier that i had basically no sleep the night before, just couldn't sleep. then comes time to pick kiddo up from school, homework starts along with a much sniffly and runny nose. uh oh. then a cough slips in here or there.....more sniffles.

tuesday morning she comes and snuggles into my hubby's spot he just left to go get ready for work, and she's burning up. no school for her. she's in zombie mode. really pale, nosing running off her face, can't eat cause the thought of food makes her tummy upset but still really staving, throat hurting, head hurting.....ok gotta make a doc appt. there's strep going around so we tested her and thankfully it came back negative. just rest, fluids, and more rest. so off to be a zombie even more the rest of the day. watched tv snuggled on the couch, coaxed her into drinking some honey laden tea, heated up some chicken broth, and downed some ice pops. not too shabby of a day really if only the sickies were taken away.

i kept her home again today to get some more rest. the fever hasn't come back and her throat is feeling much better already. her appetite has come back which is good. we had a great friend drop off her homework/classwork from school yesterday so she's been working on that and playing and just taking it easy. she's one of the lucky kids who rarely if ever get sick. even as a baby, she hardly ever got sick. we saw the doc about twice a year...once for a yearly check up/shots and once for a mild/kinda bad cold. i'm so so so so thankful she's not prone to sickness. we do our best as parents to ensure she's eating the right foods to stay healthy. i know we slip sometimes here and there, but for the most part, dinners are 90% of the time cooked at home from close to scratch and i like to keep a decent amount of fruits and veggies in the house. yes some junk slips in, i'm in no ways perfect, but i kinda limit how much of it she can eat.

so that's where i've been the past few days. trying to get my kiddo back to 100% and working on things around the house. hope all has been well with you!

xo-amanda

Buffalo Chicken Wraps

there is a restaurant that we go to when we go visit friends that live about 35mins away from us. it's really yummy and my fav dish is their spicy chicken wrap with sweet potato fries. so yum. but...since it's 35mins away, it's not something you can just have on a whim especially when your hubby doesn't get home till 7:45pm every night. so...i decided to start making my own! and now....since these wraps are just amazing....you can make your own too!

you are going to need the following: chicken breasts (i use the extra trimmed thin ones), your fav buffalo sauce, blue cheese dressing, celery, lettuce (i usually use a salad mix with a mix of different lettuce), tortillas, and sweet potato fries

either the day before or a few hours before, marinate your chicken in the wing sauce/hot sauce. this batch marinated for about 3hrs.

when you're ready to cook, start your sweet potato fries first. i cook mine longer then suggested because i like mine crispy. cook the chicken then dice and put in a container to cool down. i usually put a little more sauce in to coat all the chicken a bit more. you can use this the same night, or let it soak in all the yummy sauce goodness in over night and it will be even BETTER!!

slice your celery into thin strips.......and i usually cut more to munch on later :)

then you're ready to assemble: lay your tortilla flat, spoon a decent amount of blue cheese dressing on first. then layer with your lettuce, a few slices of celery, then your chicken. if you really love wing sauce/hot sauce, then pour some more on! go nuts! then fold your sides and cut on a diagonal for a pretty presentation.

serve with the fries and enjoy!!! as another yummy treat, drizzle honey and sprinkle cinnamon on top of your fries. so delish and yummy.

if you cook and eat in the same night, your leftovers (if there are any) will be even more amazing the next day. hope you enjoy and if you make these, let me know how they turned out!

xo-amanda