Empowered

My friend once said he went to the movies by himself and it was really an empowering experience. I think that's the word he said, anyway. I thought, "Wow, what a good idea."
A couple days later I drove by the movie theater, by myself, with nothing else to do. I hesitated, wanting to try the experience. I thought it may better myself, if only a little. However, as I imagined people looking at me, sitting there all by myself while waiting for the movie to start I decided I didn't want to be such a depiction of loneliness. What a chicken!
So a couple weeks ago my hubby got a free pass to Hershey Park, a huge amusement park 5 minutes from our home. We were going to get two more tickets, one for him and one for our four year old (and our one year old is still free). Last minute my husband decides it's not "worth it" to buy two more tickets. WELL, I didn't want the ticket to go to waste!
This is the last weekend it's open for the season so yesterday I decided to go by myself. Yes folks, I went to an amusement park by myself. I stood in line by myself and paired myself up with others for the rides, declaring I was a single rider. (It helped me get ahead in line..hehehe...)
It was a much bigger deal than going to the movies, I think, and in the end I feel it helped me not care what others think of me (D&C 30:2), which to me is really important. I had fun, talked to a lot of new people, and was able to do exactly what I wanted to do. It was a life-changing experience, if only a little. ;)

"Anal People"

My friend got me watching "Hoarders" and every time I watch an episode I'm consumed by two things. (1) They excessively flash a screen explaining the problems and (2) I want to shout, "CLEAN UP and ASK QUESTIONS LATER!! My fingers itch, wanting to pick up, and my vocal chords ache to want to shout at them. How could they STAND to live in that mess! CLEAN IT UP! And although it bugs me I think such a project would be fun. I love getting things done, especially when there's a noticeable result. :D
I have the opposite problem, I'm an anti-hoarder. I want to throw things away until we have minimal things to survive. It's easier to stay ORGANIZED when you have less things and I feel it would make me HAPPIER.
So the other night, after watching an episode of "Hoarders" I decided to make this little video. I was in my jammies and everything...and the boys were in bed, hence my hushed voice. :D It sounded like a good idea at the time. ;)
It's dorky, I know...and I'm dorky, it's true. But I hope I can make at least one person smile. :D

Props to Carell and Arnett

I just wanted to say I LOVE Will Arnett and Steve Carell. I appreciate their humor and my dream would be to hang with them both for a day (and their wives, of course). :D
The end.

Gold's Gym

So I joined Gold's Gym in Hummelstown, PA two days ago. They gave me a sweet deal: $20/month including everything (even childcare). SA-weet! :) The place is a little dirty (they only have the locker rooms cleaned 2 days a week!) but otherwise it's a nice facility. My first day working out was yesterday. I did arms and I kept waking up last night from the pain! :D I did shoulders and back today, not looking forward to those side effects. I'm really happy though because it's been almost two years since I was last at a gym working out regularly.

I love to do 20-30 minutes of cardio, weights, then swim some laps to cool down then soak in the hot tub for a few minutes.

I always go focusing on the positive mental and emotional aspects. It helps me to stay motivated and happy. The physical benefits are just a huge bonus. :) I won't miss you, extra baby weight! Get thee hence and come back here no more! ;)~

HERE'S THE GOLD'S GYM WEBSITE

Recipe: Scone Glaze

So back on April 25 I listed a recipe for chocolate chip scones...well PA-LEASE excuse me for not finding a glaze to go with it because it makes a HUGE difference! Super easy and you can whip it up while the scones are baking. Makes the scones that much yummier!

Scone Glaze

1/2 c sifted powder sugar
1 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp milk (plus some)
1 tsp vanilla

Stir powdered sugar, melted butter, milk, and vanilla in a small mixing bowl. Add more milk, 1/2 tsp at a time, until drizzling consistency. Spoon or baste over warm scones. Serve immediately.

Fire Station

So today I took my boys to the fire station and invited my friend, Danielle, and her son who's Christian's age. I'd never taken the boys to a fire station before and they were SO happy! Especially Christian! :D His mouth was wide open most of the time and he said, "Wow! They're so big!" the whole time! :D And he wore his fireman dress up outfit, of course. It was too precious.

Just two hot mamas. :D

They went inside of EACH and EVERY fire truck! HA! :D Cute kiddos.

They were so cute in the fire fighter's uniforms! :D

My cute little pip squeak. :D

I guess some firefighters from the Hershey station went and helped out at ground zero. Here's a piece of the Twin Towers, my friends. A sweet memorial to a not so sweet piece of history...

OCD

Sooooo, I'm pretty sure I'm OCD...at least to a small degree. I always thought I just had an "architectural eye," but being a homemaker and mother has proven it to be a bit more.
The picture above DOES bother me! Everything needs to look nice and be in its place! :D My friends tell me I'm a good homemaker because I like everything to be clean and picked up...which is important to me. I'm happy to have a nice home, but what about the chillin's?
They need to make messes and explore and get into things and I do let them...to an extent. Until I can't handle the mess and have to clean it up. I don't think I'm too hard on them, but I also know Christian loves going upstairs, where they're allowed to take toys out of the toy room and they have soooo many things to play with...Well I may just make a sign that says, "Love me, love my OCD."

I also suffer from this type OCD:


And this one:

heheheeeee...

Green thumb, folks!

So back in June I planted a garden and I was nervous about being able to keep it alive. :D Well, it seems I do have a green thumb (I'm sure the super fertile Hershey soil helped...a little). :D My garden has flourished and the flowers have filled out and grown to mammoth size! Here's a picture of Miles helping water them. :D Such a cute baby.

I was out one morning and saw this big, beautiful butterfly fluttering around my flowers. I was so excited that my handiwork could attract such a gorgeous creature. :D There were also some bumble bees bumbling around and a dragon fly comes by every once in a while. Hooray for nature! :D

Recipe: Taglairini

I have no idea where this recipe came from, but it's been in our family for a while. :) It's very tasty and a good variation from normal marinara sauce. I don't usually like olives, but in here they just go! :D It's a fun, yummy, easy pasta dish. :D
ENJOY!!

Taglairini

1 lb. Hamburger
2 Tbsp butter
1 small onion, chopped
1-8 oz can tomato sauce
1 can corn, drained
1 can tomato soup-1 soup can water
1 can pitted olives, drained
2 c uncooked noodles (I like elbow macaroni)
1 c diced or shredded cheese

Melt butter in soup pan over medium heat and fry onions until tender, about 5 minutes. Add hamburger and cook until done. Add remaining ingredients except the cheese and cook until noodles are done. Stir often while cooking. Add cheese and stir until melted.

Recipe: Mexican Chicken and Black Bean Soup

Mexican Chicken and Black Bean Soup

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 Tbsp butter
1 garlic clove, minced
2 (14.5-oz) cans stewed or diced tomatoes, cut up
1 (15-oz) can corn, undrained
1 (15-oz) can black beans, drained
2 c chicken broth
2 c salsa
1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro
1 tbsp ground cumin

Shredded Monterey Jack or pepper Jack cheese
Tortilla chips
Sour cream

1. Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Cook and stir the chicken until slightly browned and no longer pink. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
2. Add the tomatoes, corn, beans, broth, salsa, cilantro, and cumin; bring to a boil. Decrease the heat, cover, and simmer for 20 min.
3. To serve, place a scoop of cheese in a soup bowl, then tortilla chips, and soup. Top with a dollop of sour cream.
Serve with a green salad or fresh fruit and additional chips and salsa.

Variation: Put cooked chicken pieces and remaining ingredients (butter to cumin) in the slow cooker and cook for 4-8 hours.

It's soooo easy and sooooo good and quite healthy! :D ENJOY!!!!

SIX years

So today is Alan's and my six year anniversary. :D Yipee! :D He scored big points by 1) planning our date and 2) keeping it a surprise. No. 1 has rarely happened and no. 2 has NEVER happened. HA! :D So it was extra special. ;)
We forgot our camera and bought a disposable one on the way, so please excuse the poor photo quality. :D

We went on a topless bus (the bus, not those inside of it) and fed animals that came right up to us and ate out of our hands. :D It was so cool! I'd always wanted to do a safari ride!

This huge elk was probably my favorite. He was SO huge and SO sweet. Look, he's smiling at Alan. :)

Then we hit the zoo. It was small, but perfect! Huge zoos are almost too big and exhausting. This one is perfect for kids! Small, but has all the most important animals. :D Namely, MONKEYS! :D hehehe....we had a lot of fun with the monkeys. They've always been my favorite animal! :D

Here's a baby monkey holding my finger. Sooooooo cute. :D I loved it. ;)

Here I'm getting cozy with an alpaca. :D He was so cute and soft! :D
We had a blast, the weather was perfect (in the 70's) and I'm so glad our neighbors could watch our rugrats so we could go!! :D
I love you, honey!!!!! :D

Fun Times in the Bordon Household

I made some edible playdough a couple weeks ago and the boys LOVED it! :D Here's the recipe I used:
EDIBLE PLAYDOUGH RECIPE
1 1/2 c Peanut Butter
3 Tbsp Honey
3/4 c powdered milk
Mix together. It's not super firm, but it'll firm up if you refrigerate it.

We rode our bikes to the duck pond, Christian was SO proud of himself. It was his first time riding his bike away from the front of our apt. and he was so precious! :D

I watched the kids from upstairs and captured a precious chocolate ice cream moment on the back patio. ;) Notice how dirty MY children are? I love those kids. :D

Naughty Miles got a hold of a Sharpie. HA! :D

My bro, Robert, and his family came to visit this past weekend. Saturday we went to the Elizabethtown Fair and had a blast! Here's Miles and I on the Ferris Wheel. It was our first time!

Here's Miles petting a bunny in the petting zoo area. It was so fun!

Saturday evening we went to a ward picnic. Alan is holding Christian after he (and a large group of kids) got attacked by a swarm of wasps! They were playing near their nest, I guess. One little one got stung 13 times!! Poor little guy!
But the food was great. I made a yummy BLT salad. :D

Here's Christian playing with his cousins outside. We had a lot of fun with them and Christian was heart broken when they left. He said he didn't like our house and wanted to go home with them! :D