Lazy Girl’s Creamy Chicken & Potato Soup

Let’s be honest. I’m pretty lazy these days. I clean, all of the time and work part of the time. However any type of movement that I attempt ends up feeling like I ran a 22 mile marathon while carrying 13 gallons of some liquid… what I’m saying is, I get tired easy. Annnnd I’m pretty lucky, because the truth is that… Josh does most of the cooking y’all. By most, I mean all. Except on rare occasions when I show my random bouts of domestication. Tonight was one of those nights. On a minor level. Since Josh smoked a whole chicken Sunday night, obviously we had leftovers (I may be pregnant, but I CANNOT eat a whole chicken.) I wanted to make chicken pot pie- but with a picky man who doesn’t like veggies, that was out of the question. So I decided to make my mom’s easy potato soup, but with my own lazy mom-to-be twist to it! Add some buttered biscuits, and enjoy this! 

[Makes about 5-6 large bowls- and I do mean preggo lady large]

• 3 cans of Campbell’s potato soup
• 1 bag of frozen corn
• 1/2 bag of frozen french cut green beans
• 2 cans worth of heavy cream
• 1 can of non-fat milk
• 1 & 1/2 TBS butter
• 1/2 of a smoked chicken (you can use rotisserie to cut time, Josh used his smoker the night before to smoke a whole chicken; or sub it with vegetarian chicken!!!)
• Garlic salt; Basil; Parsley; Ground Black Pepper; Pink Himalayan Salt (or regular); celery salt if you like it—> all of this to your taste! 

*Mix all of the ingredients (except the green beans)  in a medium/large pot. Cook on med-high heat, stirring frequently. Once it tastes yummy and is creamy like a chowder, add in the  frozen french cut green beans. Reduce heat to a little under medium, let it cook for about 5-7 more minutes, keep stirring. Total time cooking should be 20 minutes or less. By the time you cook those delicious homemade Pillsbury biscuits, the soup should be ready! *

Viola! I’ll tell ya, I love this stuff! Growing up in the south you learn that everything is better with a little butter and heavy cream!!! I could eat this soup for days, it tastes homemade but cooks at lazy girl speed. Best of both worlds!! 🙂

 

Gender Wives Tales & My Predictions!!

SOOOO being that we are ONE WEEK from finding out if we are having a boy or girl, I figured that I’d do a little old wives tale gender prediction! I’m going to answer %100 honestly, and see what the good old wives of the past think that our little turkey baby is! Since being pregnant, I’ve been DYING to know what this little bundle is, so I’ve gone legally insane (otherwise known as pregnant) and looked up every form of prediction. For the sake of time, I’m only going to do 20 of the crazy tales, and tally them up at the end! 

If / when y’all get preggers, give them a try! If anything you know it’s a 50/50 chance of it being right and  it’s good ol’ silly fun- since wine and trampolines are temporarily out of the question.

So I’m going to do these by answering with the gender that is appropriate. 

Here they are… the wives :

• Breaking out like a teenager (yes-girl; no-boy) : BOY
• Extra Dry hands (yes-boy; no-girl): BOY
• Heartbeat (>140- boy; <140-girl): GIRL
• Chinese Gender Chart (calculated online): BOY
• Is daddy gaining weight (yes-girl; no-boy): GIRL -Josh swears he’s gaining
• What does the mom think (supposed 71% right) – BOY
• Meats and cheese-boy; sweets- girl: BOY
• Baby on the right- girl; left- boy: GIRL
• Constantly dry hands (yes-boy; no-girl): BOY
• If your legs get big- boy; stay lean- girl: BOY
• Carrying low- boy; high- girl : BOY
• Crazy vomiting- girl; smooth sailing- boy: BOY
• Dreaming of a certain sex is actually the opposite: BOY
• Moodiness-girl; happiness-boy: GIRL
• Clumsy- boy; not- girl : BOY
• Side you sleep on the most Left- boy;  Right- girl: BOY
• More headaches yes-boy; no-girl: BOY (boy oh boy my first migraine.)
• Ring on a String test; put a ring on a string and hold it per your uterus/bump side to side- boy; circles-girl : BOY

BOY: 14 

Girl: 4

** When you do these, remember it’s just for fun! You have a 50/50 chance either way. I’ll let y’all know  the results the weekend of June 18th!!! 🙂

🎉BIRTHDAY FREEBIES🎉

 

 

As the Beatles famously sing “You say it’s your birthday, well it’s my birthday too.”

WELL since it’s your birthday, WE’RE GONNA GET SOME FREE STUFF!!!!

I have spent the past week or so researching, signing up for, and hellaciously submitting/subjecting  my poor e-mail address to a billion restaurant, beauty, and more ‘sign-ups’. Meaning…I am about to get bombarded with their advertisements, just to see what goodies we can celebrate our births with! Now, I’m solely in it for the FREE FREE FREE items. So I’m compiling two lists. One of the “FREEBIE GOODIES”,  and one of the “SOME OTHER DEAL THAT ISN’T FREE”. So now let’s ceelllleebrateeee good times, come on! …and also get as much free stuff in honor of our birth as possible. Because since adults don’t always get kick-butt Ninja Turtle birthdays and Pretty Princess parties, we should at least get a free burger and root beer float.

FREEBIE GOODIES

• Sephora: My first and favorite! You just sign up online with an email, and to CHOOSE between to awesome freebies. This year you choose between Fresh Soy Facial Cleanser and Moisturizer OR Marc Jacobs Lipstick and Eyeliner duo. AMAZING! And worth at least $30.
• Starbucks: Sign up online with an old or new starbucks gift card, and get a free coffee of your choice! Any size! Any Latte!
• Biggby Coffee: I think this is an East Coast only thing, but it’s still MY favorite coffee shop. Since I’ll be visiting home in less than a month, I have my free coupon already lined up at my mom’s house. The best part of Biggby? They never forget you (they send the coupon via mail.) AND they don’t bombard you with emails, only coupons for BOGO, Free Coffees or $$ off! LOVE!
• Dutch Bros.: This is definitely the Biggby of Oregon & Washington. DUTCH BROS is legit the best coffee around here, in my humble hyper-caffinated opinion. Dutch Bros. is awesome because they’ll give you a free coffee for your first time at a Dutch Bros (honor system, y’all) AND you get a free coffee of any size or flavor on your birthday! My friend Maddie recently went to 4 different Dutch Bros. on her birthday and filled up a cooking pot of free Dutch Bros. coffee. THIS PLACE. I highly recommend!
• Bare Minerals: Sign up online, receive a free gift of their choice for your birthday! I don’t think you could go wrong here, considering they are awesome! P.S. They do a survey when you sign up to see what you’re interested in!
• Aveda: Another free gift with email sign up- my fingers are crossed for a solid hair product!
• Denny’s: No tricks here, and no sign up either! Just bring your valid I.D. into the restaurant the day of your birthday, and get a free GRAND SLAM breakfast!
• Red Lobster: I’ve added this baby simply because my pregnancy cravings have consisted of crab and seafood. Since my birthday dinner is here (yay cheesy biscuits!) I registered and got a choice of FREE dessert or appetizer! Hellllloooo shrimp apps! ha!
• Krispy Kreme: Sign up online and receive a free donut for just signing up. Then you get a free donut of choice AND coffee on your birthday! WHAT?! HEAVEN- IS THAT YOU?
• IHOP: What’s better than pancakes? FREE PANCAKES! Not only do you get a free meal for your birthday, you also get it for just signing up AND for their anniversary! Free meals galore! Simply put in your birthday and email.
• Red Robin.. YUMMM: FREE burger on your birthday! HOLY COW – haha see what I did there? Yup. No gimmicks! Just put in your email for this deal.
• Dairy Queen: I scream, you scream. We all scream for FREE EYEEEE SCREAMMM. Just sign up with your email for a special treat.
• A&W: Can I get a root beer float?! Why yes, yes you can. FO FREE! on your birthday! Just sign up. These nice dudes don’t bombard you either!
• Redbox: You want Zac Efron for free? Okay! What about Mila Kunis? Why not! Your pick of a FREE MOVIE and you watch whomever you’d like! Just sign up online and Redbox gives you a free movie on your day!
• Disney: Sign up for Disney rewards and get a FREE MOVIE on your birthday (of their choice) The catch? You have to agree to a lot of weird stuff. Like they can basically give affiliates your email.
• CVS: Unfortunately, this is only an East Coast thing, as far as I know. HOWEVER if you register with your email and phone number, you’ll get free $3 CVS bucks! Which you can use on ANYTHING (basically three free dollars.) It’s good if you want a discount on makeup, pens, or just $3 of free CANDY! GO NUTS… or buy some nuts!
• Victoria’s Secret: Signup for their birthday mailing list, get free pair of undies! Also, get a coupon for $10 off your purchase of $10 or more! The last isn’t “free” per say. However, if you find some makeup, sale undies or bra that add up to $10.45 then you only pay .45 for some awesome VS gear. SIGN ME UP!  
• Firehouse Subs: Show up with a VALID I.D. on your birthday, get a FREE FREE medium sub! Now that’s smoking’! (hahaha! because it’s a firehouse!)
• Coldstone Creamery; Ben & Jerry’s; Baskin Robins: Sign up online for these sweet spots and get a sweet treat on your day of birth! (it may or may not be ice-cream, but who’s sayin!)
• Jamba Juice: MMMMMMMM FREE SMOOTHIES!!!! Get your health on after all that ice cream, and treat yourself for a healthy smoothie of your choice! Just sign up online. You’ll also get $3 off your total purchase just for signing up! YES PLEASE!
• Dunkin Donuts: Again with the coffee? If anyone has thought or said this whilst reading my blog… you better not think that or else! DD offers a free medium coffee drink of your choice anytime in your birthday month! Just sign up with a gift card, similar to Starbucks!
• Local Restaurants: Almost ALL local eateries will sweetly surprise you with a birthday dessert, usually something delicious that costs too much to pay for! ASK! I do!

 

 

 SOME OTHER DEAL THAT ISN’T FREE:

• American Eagle: If you like clothes and want a discount (who doesn’t ?!) A.E. offers %15 off for your birthday. With an email registration.
• Ace Hardware: This one is for the handy dandy females and dudes! Ace offers $5 off your total purchase on your birthday!! Just sign up online! $5 that could be used on gas…or ice cream… or American Eagle clothes. you pick!
• Old Navy: Sign up online and get a surprise gift (hint, it’s %10 percent off of your purchase.) HOWEVER if you’re a new member signing up, you’ll also get %30 off. Which is equivalent to %40 off! If you find sale items there, this would definitely add up!
• Pacsun: Oldie, but if you have teenagers or are a teenager… get %20 off for your birthday! Sign up! However, you may get too many emails to be worth it.
• Lastly, Facebook: They’ll wish you a happy birthday and remind you of your beautiful decent… even if you don’t want them to. That is why I labeled this last one under “SOME OTHER DEAL…” because it is unwarranted! 😉

Thanks for checkin out this post! I hope these freebies hit the spot for you! I surely am going to utilize them to the max! I’ll probably have so much ice cream, Sunday.. (haha – ice cream sunday.. how puny) that I won’t be able to eat it for another year. Happy teeth rotting and weight gain, y’all! You deserve to celebrate hard on your day of earthly existence ! YIPPEEEEE!

Homemade Fruit Popsicles

So like I mentioned in the video- if this is posted, it was DELICIOUS!!! I would call my first round of healthy popsicles a success. Below I will list what you’ll need and the calories!

• Plastic popsicle holders 
• 1/2 cup organic frozen raspberries (40 Calories)
• 1/2 cup fresh blueberries (30 Calories)
• 1/4 cup organic orange juice (40 Calories)
• 1/2 cup spinach (5 Calories) 
• 6 oz low-fat french vanilla yogurt – I used Tillamook (170 Calories)

Total calories per mix : 285 Calories

7 popsicles = 40. 71 Calories per popsicle!!!

*** To get the popsicles out of the holders without breaking them, submerge them completely in warm water for 20 seconds. I used a pot filled with warm water!

Luscious Legs, y’all👌

So, if any of y’all follow me on Snapchat👻(lindsey_marie89); then you know that I was testing out a little formula to slow leg hair growth and make your legs feel lucious and smooth! Hence- “Lucious Legs”!

Unfortunately for me, I’m not one of those girls that are lucky to shave their legs once and it lasts for a whole week or two. Nope. Mother Nature has decided that I have to constantly pay attention to those bad boys to make sure they’re in shape!

I’ve whipped together a little concoction based on what I’ve read on the subject. The best part? It uses all ingredients that you can find in your kitchen pantry!!! Woot!

1. 1 & 1/2 cup white or brown sugar.
2. Organic olive oil- enough to cover the sugar and make a paste.
3. Organic lime juice- a few squirts to mix in.

Mix them altogether to form a thick paste! Once it’s mixed together, jump in the shower or bath and shave your legs once. Then cover each leg in the paste and rinse it off- this will get rid of the dead skin that you are unaware of, and make for a closer and smoother shave. After you rinse the paste, shave one more time!
Repeat as needed!

Viola! XOXO💋

Favorite post-workout yoga stretch & meditation music.

Short blog with links. I love lifting weights, and doing high intensity interval training cardio. This can easily wear you out. I love using quick yoga sequences to stretch down, and following that with meditation to set myself up for a happy attitude. Here is my favorite yoga post workout stretch video, and my favorite 3 hour meditation music loop.

Hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

Quick and Effective full body HIIT workout

This is a workout that I put together, It’s a mix of my favorites.

No explanation needed, really.

If you have questions on any of the workouts, e-mail me on my contact page 🙂

Healthy berry Memorial Day “pie” dessert

Memorial Day. A day for remembering those who fought and died for our freedom, those who lost their lives to protect us. I want to start off by saying a giant THANK YOU to all of the men and women who are, were and are going to be in the service. It is because of you that we have the freedom to be individuals, the freedom to love, and the freedom to choose. Y’all rock! 

With the true meaning also comes fun celebrations with family and friends from near and far. A majority of those fun times includes a tasty BBQ or cookout (depending on what side of the country you’re on, you might call it one of these or both.) Sometimes the foods and desserts at these events can get out of control and throw off your entire food zen, ha! So I searched the internet and found “Taralynn McNitt’s Healthy & Light Berry Dessert” I love her recipes and story, great blog to check out! Since Taralynn and I are on different budgets and have different stores available to us, I adjusted mine a bit!  Here it is!

The Ingredients that I used:

I will insert the link to the real recipe at the end. The original calls for one 6 oz tub of vanilla greek yogurt. I changed mine to low fat french vanilla Tillamook yogurt- because it’s from right up the road here in Oregon, and it’s SOOOOO yummy! I love buying local, as well. I also used store brand low-fat cinnamon grahams instead of the organic grahams just because of the price difference ( we are on a budget saving for baby!)I also doubled the original recipe, because I wanted to taste one of them before I sent the unknown into the hands of innocent bystanders. Lastly, I switched the strawberries for raspberries, also because they are from here in Oregon and in season!

Here is what you’ll need if you want to follow the adjusted version that I used:

• Two tubs of 6 oz low-fat yogurt
• One small tub of light cool whip
• One box of low-fat cinnamon grahams
• Two medium bananas
• One container of blueberries
• One container of raspberries
• Two TBS of Honey (to drizzle)
• Two throw away pie tins

 

Step One:

Break the cinnamon grahams into a big bowl. The only mixing tools you will need is your hands and a cup (I used a glass mason jar- I guess its the South Carolina girl in me). Crush up the grahams with your hands and the mason jar until they are fine but still have a few graham pieces throughout for yummy tasting! Once it is to this consistency, add in two medium chopped bananas. Us your hands and mush them together, like you would home made cookie dough crust.

Step Two:

Spread the handmade crust into the pie pans. Make sure it is evenly spread, and knead it with your fingers to be certain that the crust is flat all of the way around. Once it is, sprinkle a tablespoon of honey onto each pie crust then spread it with a spoon. Put it in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until its a golden brown on the edges. Watch it so it doesn’t burn. ^The photo above is post bake!

While the crust is baking, mix together the yogurt and the whipped topping. Set it in the fridge for the 20 minutes that the crust is baking and leave it in there until the crust is completely cooled.

Step Three:

After the crust is cooled, spread the whipped yogurt mixture across both of the pie crusts so it’s nice and thick. Then add the raspberries and blueberries onto the top. I followed the  original Taralynn McNitt recipe, and put it in a festive circle! You can do it however you please!

FINALLY:

Let it cool in the fridge- overnight is my preference! Then cut into slices and eat it up give it to me to eat!!!

Comment/e-mail with any questions!

xo

Put the food stained sweats on the sideline!

The title says it all. For me at least. I don’t know about y’all other pregnant/former pregnant mommas- but the majority of my daily wardrobe has consisted of the same pair of yoga pants ( maybe for the third day in a row, or mayyybe I switch it up with a new pair of yoga pants..if I’m feeling saucy.) This was mainly due to the fact that the first trimester was like the evil stepsisters from Cinderella were mocking me on a daily basis. It was no fun! Then, when I finally regained my composure-kinda (which was a little under a month ago to be honest) I decided that pregnancy could be a fun fashion experiment! I mean, think about it. For ONCE in my life my stomach would be getting round with a purpose, and not because I had a little too much pizza every time that I saw pizza. So I decided that I would post on here some of the pregnancy fashions that I experiment with and I shall hashtag them #MommaMaternityLooks

 

 

Reminder: Although I try, I am not nor do I have a professional photographer on hand. All of the photos on this blog were taken by everyday folks with a camera and a camera phone. i.e. Me, Josh and any of my family or friends who happen to be in the line of fire!

xo

 

What you should never say to a woman..preggers or not!

1. Are you pregnant? Number one question. Just don’t do it. Someone recently told me that she was asked this by a co-worker when she was bloated and on her period, which made her feel like poo! Just don’t. Chances are, if a woman is pregnant then she’ll offer it up by a belly rubbing, back aching, whining gesture ( I do it all of the time.)
2. Is it that time of the month? ARE YOU TRYING TO DIE A MENTAL AND PHYSICAL DEATH BY WOMAN?! Never. ever. ever. say. this. ever.
3. Calm Down. Okay… now you’ve just released an even more unwanted beast. It’s kind of like opposite day in elementary school…. calm down to a woman does the opposite.
4. Are you going to eat ALL of that? Ummmm…. do you want it in my tummy or in your lap? YES I AM. And I’m gonna like it, too. And probably chomp loud now.
5. You’re Crazy. I haven’t personally heard this one.. yet. But chances are- telling a woman she’s crazy (preggers or not) will definitely AMP UP THE CRAZY! Just wait until you make eye contact after uttering those last words.
6. Have you gained weight? Woah. Maybe I did happen to eat a whole chocolate cake and an entire three cheese pizza yesterday…and last week…and the week before. SO?! I’M BEAUTIFUL LIKE CINDERELLA! TELL ME I’M SKINNY!
7. Is that your real hair? NO! Everyday I wake up and shake my head really hard so my hair becomes a birds nest! Never ask this- even if extensions are a probability.
8. You’re still hungry? ummm.. you’re still talking? Now I’m going to go home and binge watch Netflix while I finish a carton of girl scout cookies.
9. How much do you weigh? That depends… how many brain cells are left in your brain after thinking it was okay to inquire on this outlandish question? Same.
10. No offense, but…. *uurrrrrrrt* Hit the breaks. Stomp em’ hard. STOP. RIGHT. THERE. Starting your sentence out like this probably means there is a distinct possibility that I’m already offended in ten different ways.