Tater-Tot Chicken Maddness

"Hey! Gimme some o' your tots."....Oh how we all, including the beloved Nepolian Dinomite, love Tater-Tots. They are given to us as children and it's one of those foods that we never grow out of. Today the hubs and I have off from work and while there is plenty of food in the apartment nothing was sticking out at me that I could make quickly for lunch. We were out of bread, so sandwiches were out of the question. And all the milk had been gobbled up as well...thus cereal was out of the question. Yes, we are one of those couples that love to eat cereal at other meals throughout the day. Anyways there is one thing I ALWAYS have in the kitchen and that is a can or two of cream of mushroom soup. So...looking around I found a bag of unopened tater-tots in the freezer, grabbed out our leftover chicken we made for Thanksgiving (yes we made a chicken instead of turkey...don't judge), some cheese and two cans of cream of mushroom soup. I inherited my mother's knack for concocting stuff to eat from random things found in the kitchen. Even though I am not exactly a marvelous cook....and am still very much learning....I can at least concoct stuff out of the materials I already possess.

So here is what I concocted...I am sure that this can definitely be revised or 'bettered' but we were too starving to take time on such delicate things.

Tater-Tot Chicken Maddness...(maddness because while it is good were so so hungry we were going mad.)
Half a bag of tater-tots
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
Large handful of shredded-ish already cooked chicken
LOTS of cheese (I used taco cheese because that's what we had...but I think cheddar cheese would go very well with this.)

Mix all those ingredients together and cook in the oven at 450 degrees for 25 minutes. Then eat. No, don't eat...stuff yourselves full! This was actually quite delicious. It could though maybe use some garlic and some corn and some salt and pepper... but that's all to your preference.

P.S. My hubby thought it was amazing...Big Win!

Beauty...or should I say the attempt at beauty.

I happen to be one of those extremely lucky gals who is married to a man that doesn't like much make-up. He is cool with me wearing it because he knows I feel more confident when wearing it, but my normal day to day make-up regimen consists of a little foundation, powder, and mascara. I tend to concentrate more on my skin and hair.
Besides learning when I got married that I didn't have to shave my legs everyday to keep my man feeling attracted to me, I also learned that walking around at night and going to bed in curlers, shiny stuff on my face, ridiculous shabby clothes to keep me warm wasn't a turn off for him...at all. That made me feel...oh should I say AWESOME! So here are some things that I have learned so far...along with what NOT to do...

To achieve beauty-

To Do:

1. Vitamin E oil.
My all-time favorite beauty treatment I have learned in life I have to thank my ridiculous manager at work whom gets under my skin in every way that you can imagine...yet the most annoying thing is she is most always right! It really bugs me...anyways she once mentioned to me that she puts Vitamin E oil on her face at night when her skin gets really dry. So a couple months ago I decided to try it...apparently I got a very pure brand which was great for me! Anyways I tried it and within one day my skin looked glowy, smooth, and just......amazing!
It should've dawned on me before. We all put Vitamin E oil on our fresh scars to help prevent bad scarring. But that also applies to blemish scars as well. That's right. If you have an issue with blemish scarring on your face and you do tons of whack things to try and hide it or fix it, look no more! Because this stuff really does wonders.
It has helped even my skin tone, diminish the look of scars, 'glowified' my skin, helps prevent acne, moistens skin, and quickens the process of new blemishes fading away. I am hoping that it helps prevent wrinkles but that I won't know for awhile...hopefully.

2. Tee Tree Oil.
This one is all me...mostly. As a teenager I first learned about Tee Tree Oil at the Natural Health Store I worked in. This is a natural healing remedy that is great on skin...but do not ever ingest it!
It is a natural disinfectant. I use it on my husband's burns he brings home from work, my scalp, but most of all if I were to ever have a breakout or a ridiculous zit the size of Texas come forth I just rub a little Tee Tree Oil on that bad boy and it immediately starts fighting it. Most always after I do that the zit never gets to the point of yellowing and needing popped...(which kinda stinks cause I am one of those weirdos who likes picking and popping things.)

3. Drink Tons of Green Tea.
I love Green Tea! The first year we moved here everyone was getting sick during flu season at my work...but I never did and I to this day blame it on the fact that I drank so much Green Tea it strengthened my immune system...'cause boy howdy I couldn't have had a super healthy one with all the sugar I ate. Plus the fact Green Tea has soooo many more benefits, google it and you will read what I am talking about.

4. Keep A Good Posture.
Standing up straight will not only make you look five lbs less but it will also make you look taller, confident, thinner and healthier. Have you ever noticed that people who are really sick lean over a lot when walking or standing? So stand up straight!...

5. Suck That Gut In!
This is something I have done since high school even if I don't need to. Sucking in the gut not only works your stomach muscles but it also helps with keeping your posture and making your look even thinner. So add this to good posture and you will look ten lbs less...plus your clothes will fit better.

6. Wear Heals.
I do not wear heals to work or else I'd die...and quite frankly I hate wearing heals. But my husband looooves them (because he's a booty guy and they pop that booty out reeeeeeal nice) but usually to church and on dates I will wear them and bi-golly I swear my hubs looks so stinkin' excited with I come walking out in heals....I think they make his day complete.
Wearing heals not only makes your legs and tooshy look....ummm I guess the word is better. But they also force us concentrate on our posture. They also tell a person that you care about the way you look and take care of yourself. That in and of itself is attractive to a man. A woman can have the cutest little black dress on but if she comes walking down the steps in flats she looks like she doesn't care as much about keeping up her attractiveness. But just switching those flats to heals really makes a difference.


What Not To Do:

1. Do Not Wash Your Hair Every Day.
I used to do this thinking I naturally was a person who couldn't follow that rule because I had oily hair. But that's not the case. A few years ago I had an older woman I worked with just randomly tell me I had dry hair. I had never thought anything of it but once she pointed it out it totally showed true to me. So I started blow drying it less and washing it every other day. Now I only blow dry it maybe once or twice a week and wash it no more than four times a week...but usually it's three.
Plus the fact, when a person has oily hair usually that means they have a dry scalp and are producing more oil than usual to make up for it...a random fact I learned from my hair stylist.

2. Don't Use Opaque Shampoos.
The clearer the shampoo the better. Remember the conditioner is for the restoration of your hair...but shampoo is to clean it. The more opaque it is the more heavy build-up you will gain on your scalp and lovely tresses...which will dull weight it down.

3. Don't Put Your Conditioner On Your Scalp.
What! But doesn't that moisten your scalp helping it create marvelous luscious locks of hair!?! No. It doesn't. Instead that just causes build-up. Just put it on the bottom half of your hair and let it soak in and do it's thing while you wash yourself. Then rinse it out at the very end...and use your fingers or a pick when rinsing it because that helps get it all out.

4. Do No Put Deodorant On Every Day.
Say What? That's just gross. No, that's gross if you don't shower and wash your pits or are an extremely stinky girl. I know that many folks have 'debunked' the notion that deodorant causes breast cancer...but it runs in my family, BIG TIME, so I would not like to take my chances if I can help it. Besides, remember me talking about that gal that I worked for in high school at the natural health place and I learned about Tee Tree Oil?...well she also told me that all the nasty chemicals in that junk goes straight to your stuff clustering up and causing tumors resulting into cancer. Hey, she totally could be wrong. But just in case I'd rather not take my chances...no matter what anyone says. So, unless it is hot out, or I skipped a shower for the day, I do not wear deodorant. I prefer to just shower everyday and give my pits a good scrubbing. Shower every day yes, wash my hair every day...no.

5. Don't Fret Over Your Weight.
I am a total hypocrite on this one. I am just slightly under 5' 2" and very pear shaped...which the hubs loves (no! that is not true that men are lying when they say they are booty guys!)...anyways all growing up I was a very skinny girl. I could eat anything, whenever I wanted, and do nothing, and not gain a single pound. And if I ever wanted or felt the need to lose anything I would just make the smallest change and whamo I'd lose five pounds in one week. But now that I am twenty-five all the bad eating and not always being in shape has caught up to me...I am now, I will admit, 120 lbs according to my scale. I despise that number. But I know that I am okay and I will lose it in due time. I sometimes would fret way too much over it though...cough cough like last night....my husband grabbed me up and told me that he actually likes how I look better now than when we got married. That tickled me pink and changed my entire mood. And either he is an amazing liar or he truly meant it...I believe he truly meant it. It annoys the daylights out of him (and everyone else around you) when I am going on and on about my weight. Just shut up and be happy and healthy. There are way bigger things in life to worry about.

6. Don't Wear Make-up Every Day.
I like to, on my days off, go what I like to call...naked. Just not worry about my head really. No make up. I may put Tee Tree Oil all over my face for the day, and do a Tee Tree Oil treatment on my scalp, and just let my skin breath. My husband actually really loves it when I go make-up free. Thank God!


So that's it for now. I am sure I will come up with more things tonight when I go to bed. But I will save them for another time. I hope these things are helpful/fun for you. Have a great day and remember to smile.