my children and God

so i've come to realize something. there is one thing that my children and God have in common. no matter what i look like, or how bad my breath smells, or what i may have done and how silly i act, or if i make a mistake, or if don't have the prettiest smile, or the skinniest frame, or if i'm the best singer, or if i wear the cutest outfits with the hottest new shoes, or if i washed the dishes and cleaned the bathroom, or if i cooked a 6 course meal the night before, or if i met every deadline dished out to me, or if i remembered to do everything that everyone asked me to, or if i returned every phone call or text message or email that i received in a day, or if i attended every event that i was invited to, or if i have a pimple or perfect skin, or if i went to kick boxing class or not, or if i wear make-up or not, or if i have a really bad case of gas, or if i "don't feel like it," or if i'm happy or if i'm sad . . . one thing i've come to realize is that none of these things affect how much my children and my God love me.

They just do.

breakfast yumminess

i went to Panera this morning to get my favorite blueberry muffin and can you believe they told me it would be a 25-30 minute wait?!


ridiculous


so i went where i knew there would be no wait! FARM FRESH!!


not only did get a blueberry muffin but i also took a chance on a "Cinnamon Chip Muffin Top"




i put it in the microwave for 10 seconds and it was heavenly!


Carla applauded it!

MyG (my little Twinkie) said "YUM"!


Go get one!!

the Perfect TEA!!

i have found the PERFECT TEA!! no jokes! real talk!


i have been on the quest for the perfect tea that i can make at home for about . . . my ENTIRE LIFE!! anyone who knows me knows that i am a true tea drinker. don't get me wrong, i love coffee, but there is absolutely NOTHING like a great glass of iced tea, perfectly sweetened. Not too sweet, not too dull and none of that fake artificial sweetener crap! that's for babies! give me real sugar in the raw!


ok, enough with the exclamation points, down to business.


so i really like Chick-Fil-A sweet tea. but there are only really two CFAs in my area that do it right, the one on Coliseum Drive in Hampton and the one on Jefferson Avenue in Newport News. Last summer Starbucks introduced a "Shaken Iced Tea" to their menu board. I was a little skeptical at first, but i manned up and tried it. i immediately fell in love. it's so yummy, perfectly sweetened, perfectly chilled . . . i downed that puppy in like 10 seconds flat. BUT - it was seasonal, so they removed it from their menu at the end of the summer and in it's stead was an Iced Black Tea option. Not the same. I couldn't figure out how they did it, but the Iced Black Tea seemed to be post-sweetened instead of pre-sweetened like the "Shaken Iced Tea."


So i bought a box of the Black Tea, because the barista at my local Starbucks told me that what i purchased was what they were using to make the "Shaken Iced Tea" . . . and i believed her . . . **pausing for effect** well SHE LIED! it was not the same. Black tea has such a rich flavor and it was too strong, it felt like i was sucking on tea leaves! GRACIOUS! so i gave up and just went back to dropping $1.73 at CFA whenever i needed a fix.


Then my friends, they brought it back! Earlier this spring the "Shaken Iced Tea" returned!! GLORIOUS DAY! and along with came this beauty . . .


That's right TAZO released an ICED Black Tea brew! this has been out for a little while, but i wanted to share with everyone what i use to fulfill my desires for sweet tea. it's a lot less expensive than the $2 i drop everytime i need to . .. fulfill my desire . . .


Video Blog soon to come of how i make my tea


Happy Tea Drinking ALL!

What NOT to wear to the Movies

Club AMC is in the HOUSE!

What in the world?


It's Tuesday Night, you can't possibly be hittin' up the club after this . . . you ARE however, going to be sitting in the dark for 2 hours, who is going to see your outfit Miss Lady?

*smh



(PS-those shoes are fierce though)



[have you seen a ridiculous ensemble at the theater lately? if you do, take a picture and email it to me at janseenaiko@gmail.com . . . you might see it on my blog. silly movie outfits must be stopped! only you can prevent cinema wardrobe malfunctions!]

Daddy turned 50 . . .

So my daddy turned 50 on Tuesday, August 4th and it amazes me how much like 50 he DOESN'T look! I have to be honest that I have no worldly clue what FIFTY actually LOOKS like, but I do recall being in elementary school and thinking that 50 was the age that old, wrinkly people turned right before they died. And now look at me, I'm celebrating my dad's 50th and he's so far from death it is amusing. We went to "Fin" in Port Warwick for lunch. Now, I have to admit this was a rebellious selection on my part. I have heard so many bad things about "Fin" . . . seriously I have not heard one person say they like the restaurant, but I have visited the website [finseafood.com] and I know that they are owned by the same company that owns Schlesingers and Opus 9 Steakhouse (both fabulous eating establishments). I wanted to try it, so I suggested it and my family trusts my choice in restaurants, so Fin is where we found ourselves on Sunday afternoon. I ordered the She Crab Soup and Yajima (my sister) ordered the Calamari.





Both were super! Their She Crab Soup, by FAR, is some the best She Crab I have had in a VERY, VERY long time. There was a generous amount of lump crab meat and it was not very bony. I would go back just to have a bowl of that soup. The calamari was also very fresh. My little Ari even treated herself to some of her Auntie Paige's Calamari, and she's a food snob!



Then came the entreé's. Now my mom had scallops and she raved about them and made a happy plate. My dad and G-pa had steak, they said it was good, but they didn't do backflips. My grandma had the world's largest salad. No lie, the hugest salad I've ever seen. Devyn (my son) had a Cheesesteak Sandwich that he left almost fully intact on his plate, but he demolished the french fries. And . . . my hubby and I had the Chicken Topped with Crabmeat with a side of Sour Cream & Chive Potatoes. I had a side of steamed broccoli and Lee had the side of steamed vegetables.



The finishing touch was a free slice of some sort of chocolate decadence. My daddy doesn't eat cake (yes I know, it's crazy, but that's a whole other blog entry) so we passed his birthday cake (free I might add) around the table until it finally made most of it's way into Devyn's tummy (remember he was pretty hungry). So all in all, I was pleased. Maybe it was because my expectations were low, maybe it was because the restaurant really isn't as bad as everyone makes it out. I would return to Fin, for the She Crab Soup, Calamari and they have an amazing glass of brewed Sweetened Iced Tea. These days it is a rarity to find a restaurant that offers pre-sweetened Iced Tea, so that in and of itself was a blessing!

So here are the Magic Three Questions:
Would I go again? - Yes
Would I take a good friend their for his or her birthday? - I don't know, it really depends on the friend, but it doesn't quite rank up there with "special restaurants I must take all my friends to"
What is my final rating? - My final rating is 3.5 Forks!