All about flip flops

Soon I will talk about the second part of my vacation and what led me to a crazy thought, but now I want to talk about flip flops.

I love flip flops. I really do, I live in them, have gotten married using them, have asked previous boss if I could wear them to work (sometimes yes sometimes no), I have flip flop magnets, keychains,

wine cups with flip flop designs, you name it. Flip flop rocks my world.

How cute is this magnet??

Or this keychain??


Just to give you an idea I have 1 pair of boots, 2 pair of sneakers, 4 sandals (2 brand new acquired) and over 10 pair of flip flops. I won't admit how many I have because you will be shocked, so lets just say way way over 10 ;)

After trying all kinds from different price ranges, I have narrowed it down to my favorite 3 and I would love to share with you in case you are in the market for a new pair.

3. Havaianas. Stop right now, you are pronouncing it wrong for sure its:  AH- VAI-(like vaio the laptop) ANAS (like the end of bananas).

 How could I not love them?? I am biased considering they are imported from my homeland and that is what everyone back home wears. Total brand pride. But its not just biased opinion, they are really amazing. A brand couldn't have been around for 50 years if they didn't rock everyone's world. Not only are they the cutest ever

Look at the pair I just picked up back home:


They are lightweight and very comfortable comes in various styles and pretty decent priced. Men, children, older adults, they all seem to love them.

2. Rainbows- I am sure I am going to get a lot of hate mail for putting rainbows on the number 2 spot instead of the number 1 spot, but I can't help myself. You see when I first bought my first pair of Rainbows I loved them. They were amazing and made me feel like I made a good investment. It was hard for this cheap ass to drop $50 on a pair of flip flops. But considering I use them so much, its an investment (at least that is what I tell my other half).

Rainbows are awesome. They really are and mine are worn thin. I have used them very much this part year of ownership. They suck in the beginning because you got to break them in so therefore you might get blisters for the first couple days, but after breaking them in, its like stepping on a cloud. They fit nicely on your feet, lightweight (a bit heavier than havaianas but not by much). They don't slip and slide when wet, in fact if feels like they grip on to your feet when wet.  If it wasn't for my number one choice I would definitely put rainbows at the number 1 spot..but..

1. Reefs. I can't say enough about these. More specifically reef fannings. You see I wasn't even in the market for new flip flops. I had my rainbows and was perfectly happy browsing Macys when I saw these :

(don't mind how beat up they are. I get a hell lot of use of them)

I decided to try them on, walked a couple of steps around the store and bought them. At about the same price of rainbows that was total splurge but I was sold on just a couple of steps. They are super comfortable, better for those of us that have wider feet, heavier than rainbows and definitely twice as heavy as havaianas, but don't let that discourage you. They don't feel heavy. At the end of the day even though I wore flip flops all the time, my feet still hurt. I have extremely flat feet (the reason why I prefer flip flops. They hurt less). Well at the end of the day even after walking  10-20 miles or more, I have no pain whatsoever. I got new blisters while in Brazil when I walked a good 15 miles one day from wearing my Rainbows, but no pain or blisters whatsoever when I wore my Reefs. The most amazing thing about Reef fannings is, right underneath each of them there is a bottle opener.


Crazy right!! It seems like a stupid thing and I really laughed at it and dh pointed and made fun of me when he saw it. Except that he tried on my reefs fell in love and bought himself a pair. Who would have thunk it that a couple months later he would be stuck in afghanistan with no bottle opener and trying to drink an old style coke bottle?? Oh yeah he is not laughing now. His reefs came in handy :)

 That is why they are number one in my book :)

I hope I helped you make a decision the next time you are in the market for some new flip flops :)


** Ignore how dirty and worn out my flip flops are. No new flip flops were provided for this review. This is my own thoughts only.
** Sorry if they are upside down, if you were expecting a perfect picture, you are in the wrong blog..lol

Do you have a favorite?? Maybe a new brand I haven't heard of it?? Feel free to share, I am all up about trying new flip flops :)

Love A

Vacation part I

I just got home today, after thousands of miles of driving with 2 kids and their crap and one international flight with a child and all her crap, I am back to the good ol USA and even though we had an amazing time, with memories that will keep us warm until our next summer vacation, I am glad to be back. I am still working through all the laundry and organizing I have now left to do, but all that can wait while I try to summarize our fun time.

1st leg of our vacation took all 3 of us to S Fl to my parents house. Lots of summer days, delicious drinks, lazily lounging days filled of pool and sunshine. The kids both got a nice little tan and lots of love from the grandparents.

Than it was time to pack and repack and organize all suitcases and dd and I hopped on a plane to Brazil (Ds didn't want to go so he stayed behind being spoiled by the grandparents and attending camp) while dd and I made the 9 long hr flight to Rio. It was the first time I have flown internationally with dd and I was pleasantly surprised what a great flier she is. She slept before we boarded, I boarded with her sleeping, and she didn't wake up again until 6am, 2 hours before we were about to land. Easy peasy. Getting 4 70lb suitcases, 1 bookback, 1 purse, 1 stroller and 1 child through customs and security was a whole other mess, but we won't dwell on that. She was a great flier, the plane didn't crash, all good :)

I haven't been home since Ty was 3 years old, so the purpose of this trip was for dd to meet her great-grandparents (lucky child has 3). Well she met them all, got loved on by her cousins, spoiled by aunts, played, laughed, ate so much junk and just had a good old time. Language barrier didn't stop her or them. Somehow she communicated with everyone and everyone just loved on her. She came back thinking she was all that :)

I had tons of fun. This time I had no desire to see any landmarks. I have seen them all a million times, dh wasn't with me, and dd is too young. I had a strong desire to remember how people live and see if this is something we could do in the future. You see I left Brazil when I was 13, there is a golden rule that after 7 years in America, everyone that returns have a really hard time adapting and want to come back to live in the US. For vacation is amazing, to live is a whole other different story (more at part II) so I wanted to experience daily life and see if this is a possibility in our near future. My aunt was more than happy to oblige.

She took me to work, I rode the bus (the majority of Brazillians ride the bus because of cars so expensive and gas prices double of what the US offers (even though we are a huge export of gasoline (don't even try to understand how that works)), the whole country rides the bus. The bus system works. There is a bus every 5 minutes and because you ride the bus you walk. You walk here there and everywhere. Thank goodness because if wasn't for all that walking, I would have gained a good 20 lbs in 20 days ;)

So I rode the bus (standing up because it was packed), paid to go pee (public restrooms are a rarity and at the shopping center you pay 50 cents to go pee), I went to work with her, I went shopping (and carried all my groceries a good 10 miles, than lugged all of them on the bus and than lugged all of them home), I went clubbing, I went to bars, I played beach volleyball, I ate churros filled with dulce de leche from the street vendors, than 5 seconds later I ate a chicken crepe, than a half hour later I ate pork skins and before the end of the day I bought sweet peanuts from a toothless centenarian street vendor. One day I walked so much and so far, I had blisters from my flip flops..lol.

I had an amazing time seeing all my cousins aunts and uncles. I met new cousins that recently joined the family and a couple more that will join the family pretty soon after getting married.
I am the first one to provide grandchildren/great grandkids so therefore to say my kids are spoiled with love is an understatement. 3 years ago they spoiled ds and this time they did the same for dd. They could do no wrong and since there hasn't been a child in the family in a long time, you can only imagine how everyone acted around her.  She was more than happy to oblige. The amazing/scary thing about dd is that she will go with anyone. She will blow kisses to strangers, talk to anyone and let anyone pick her up and love on her. If you have long hair, a plus because she loves to suck her thumb and rub anyones hair. So, she easily got held by everyone all day long. Even strangers on the elevator talked to her, kissed her, and just fell in love with her.

I had a lot of time and many eye openers during this trip to think and rethink about my life. Just to give you an example, the only place I stay is at my aunts place. She is my mothers youngest sister and my favorite relative ever. We are very similar. Well she lives in a 1000 square feet 2/1 apartment and it lives her, her son that is 9, her 22 year old daughter and her parents (my grandparents). There is many other places that I could have easily stayed and had a lot more space, but I decline them all because my aunts place is home. She is the absolute best host ever, last time I went to Brazil with the hubby and ds, I stayed and her place, this time I stayed at her place, and will stay again anytime I go. It was very eye opening for me. In this current rat race that we are for bigger and better (house, cars, toys, etc), to realize how comfortable I feel in very small living quarters and to learn the lesson that being a good host has absolutely nothing to do with the size of your place.

Next time I will talk more about that, I have talked plenty, and will leave you with some pictures.

 The view from my aunts 12 floor. One day I shall live on the 12th floor. Its a great babysitter. I can't even tell you how many hours this child spent just admiring the view.

 Getting love from some cousins!

 The first time this child goes to the beach in Rio and she is asleep. Granted it was 9pm during beach volleyball but still. Don't worry though, she woke up after :)

 Eating sweet popcorn at the park.

Cooking with my beautiful cousin!

After my aunt let her play with water and make a mess, she gave her this makeshift dress in order to dry her clothes!

 Playing with aunties hair!

 Celebrating greatgrandmothers 67th birthday!

Playing with cousins hair!

Love A

Happy 4th!!!

Getting your citizenship, having your husband deployed, loving the USA, etc etc etc just makes celebrating this 4th, that much sweeter.

Happy 4th everyone :)

Wordless Wednesday!!

Someone got upgraded =)

The new old me..

Today I turned 31 years old. I have been having a rough time since turning 30. Age never bothered me until I was 29 than one night I decided to rethink everything I have ever done in my life, every single decision, and asides from being the stupidest thing I have ever done and don't ever do that. I came to some realizations. The main one was many things I have wanted and planned to do it, I haven't done it, but many others that I have never thought in a million years I wanted, were things I accomplished. Someone out there in the stratosphere knows me better than myself. But still turning 31 has been rough. I have more white hairs, lines around my face, some scars that will never fade, there are some styles of clothes that I will never again be able to wear, and to accept all that is not easy. Until finally one night I had a good realization. If I compare myself to others, of course I am never going to measure up but if I compare myself to myself only and use my before to measure up, than I am doing just fine.

In just one year from 30 to 31 I have lost 71 lbs (so far), I am healthier and way more active than I was before. I am calmer, and even tough I have some more lines around my eyes, I also have a lot more wisdom. I have been tested over and over again this past year and have passed every single time. My love for my husband has grown. We are at a good place in our relationship. A really good place. Also lately I feel like I am at a good place in motherhood. I am still learning and making mistakes, but I am way more comfortable in my own abilities and don't judge myself so harshly anymore.

So I guess getting older hasn't been all that bad. Don't get me wrong, its not easy, but because I am married to an amazing man that sent me delicious cupcakes, turning 31 wasn't all that bad.


Love A

Clean all things

I like a clean house, but I am not paranoid.  I don't have floors that you can eat off, if you want that, I will gladly give you my moms address. You can eat off her floors because she is paranoid  a very clean person.

I on the other hand like clean but could care less if my house is sparkling like a hospital. If there is a choice between watching Sons of Anarchy or cleaning my floor, I will gladly pick tv. So usually I try to clean smarter not harder.

One thing I am paranoid about is my floors. You see I walk barefoot 24/7 and to step in little pieces of crackers, rocks, play dough and etc is very annoying. I have been having a hard time keeping these floors the way I like. Clean and shiny. When I rented this place I found out my landlord had gone through a divorce and was living alone. The stains in the baseboards, the dingy floors, it showed. So for the past couple months I been trying and trying and still nothing.

Finally I hit a break. First I bought brand new pads for my shark. You see everyone has a shark and those pads are washable, but after months, there is no amount of bleaching that will make them clean. So I went searching for some and hit jackpot when I found 3 brand new pads for my shark for 10 bucks on ebay. That is way cheaper than anywhere around, so look there if you are in the need of some new ones.

Then I began searching pinterest for floor cleaning recipes. After trying many and many trips to the store to buy new stuff, I picked my favorite and its this one :

FLOOR CLEANER

OMG is this thing amazing or what?? I put it right inside my shark instead of a spray bottle like she did and my floor shines. It looks like a brand new floor, not some ugly dingy crap. The difference is huge.

So if you are in need of some sparkling floors get the new pads on ebay for a fraction of the cost and make this cleaner. You won't be disappointed.

Love A

Just a reminder...

For love of country they accepted death... -James A. Garfield

Stay safe, have fun, enjoy all that has been provided for you by our heroes, just don't forget your gratitude!

The downside of weight loss

Don't get me wrong, weight loss is amazing. You wake up with more energy, confidence goes through the roof, shopping is a bit more fun and you don't dread it as much because there is options now. We won't even talk about the health wise benefits, because that is just a given.

But weight loss has a downside. It's not enough to discourage anyone from it , but its there and I want to talk about it so you won't be shocked if it happens to you.

1. Forgetting to eat. When you are fat all you think about is food. Food is a constant thought in your mind, you are thinking and planning your next meal from the time you wake up to the time you go to sleep. When you have lost weight, naturally you eat less and some days you can even forget meals. With more energy you are so busy, forgetting a meal happens. I know all my fluffy friends are thinking "no way not possible, I so wish that could happen to me". I use to have the same thoughts and now that is happening to me, I realize its not good. I can't even tell you the amount of days that by 3 pm and I am ready to pass out and I realize how exhausted/drained I really am because I haven't eaten since 7am.

2.No matter how much weight you have lost or how small you are, your problems will still be there and more pronounced. When you are fat and have size 2 visions, you think "If only I was skinny, I would have no problems" and you think every skinny person got their shit together and are happier, b/c well they are skinny. Newsflash, that is not true o.O. Granted I am not a size 2 yet, doubt I will ever be, but I am 10 sizes lower than what I started so I can commet. I still have the same problems as I had before, life still throws crap in my way, but bc I am not carrying around extra weight, it seems easier to deal with.

3. Skin won't bounce back. You might weight less than what you did in high school, work out like a fanatic, but your skin will never look the same. Things will sag and hang. I actually think my skin looks worse than before, because before it had something to fill it up, but now there is nothing. Picture a month old balloon, its not as pretty as a brand new filled balloon right?? Well that is the same with your skin. Dreams of wearing a 2 piece this summer are rapidly fadding. Unless there is extensive plastic surgery in my future, I won't be in a 2 piece any time soon. That was a big shock and dissapointment. After everything, I still don't have the body to pose nude for playboy :(

4. It costs $100 to resize your rings and you will need to have them all resized because them spinning is very annoying. Same with your watch.

5. Yours once overly confident husband will have doubts and some low self esteem. He might question if after all this weight loss and confidence booster, you will leave him. You will have to continue to reassure him that thats not the case and you are not shallow. Even though every time you pass mirror now (dressed) you smile at your image.

6. Replacing your whole closet and loosing your favorite outfits sucks. It sucks even more that until you are completely done with your weight loss, you can only get a few staple pieces because if not you are going to quickly loose them. Finding new favorite outfits can be a pain (I don't know if that is for everyone or if it only applies to me that don't love to shop).

7. Even the lower sizes, depending on the brands can vary. I can't just grab something and buy it without trying it on. Because I can range between 3 sizes depending on the store.

8. Your favorite boots and some shoes will need to be replaced. Talk about a big shock. I had no idea, but your feet can go down in size and since your calfs are smaller, your favorite boots will just look stupid. I have brand new uggs that I only got to wear 1 season and now won't stay up and my feet are sliding inside of them :(. Same with my pair of "fuck me boots". They were gorgeous high leather boots that I spent a small fortune on and love them. Yeah anyone wants one??

9. If someone doesn't like you, now you know its you. When you are fat, you think if someone doesn't like you its because you are fat and fat people disgust them (hey I never said we didn't have issues ;)), now if someone doesn't like you, it hurts even more because you know its about your personality and not your weight.

10. Finding things to eat is a pain. Restaurant eating and fast food is not made for people on their quest of their perfect size. The portions are huge and while there is one or two things in the menu you can eat,   the majority are not made for you. Don't get me wrong, I still pretty much eat whatever I want, just in extremely small portions and I am very picky of how I spend my calories. I don't know if this is just a side effect of weight loss surgery in general, or if the rest of the population on their weight loss quest feels the same way, but there it is.


Now I realize this sounds like a very depressing post and one would wonder why would want to even go through the hassles of it after this?? That was not my intention. Trust me the upside is there. The pros outweigh the cons any day of the week and there is millions of websites and lists that you can find online that will talk about that, but that you already know and don't need me to repeat it. I wanted to post this because no one really talks about it, and as I am going through my journey there were shocks along the way like these and other things that really messed with my head and I wished I was more informed about it, so that is the purpose of this post, just to inform you so your shock won't be as huge as mine.

Love A

OMG she bakes!!!

Yes, yes I do and I love it. After talking to so many people over the years, I have come to the conclusion I am unique. I like cooking and baking. It relaxes me and unwinds me. I will be up at 2am just baking to my hearts content. Sometimes dinner is done by 3 pm and I have to keep reheating. Other times even, I will cook dinner than still have the itch to cook so I will prepare the next days dinner, bake a cake and make muffins.
With my husband gone, I have to really tone down on the amount I bake since there is only so much small children can eat. I do take stuff to the fire department and give it away to friends, but its still not enough and I am sure that secretly they think I am insane. You should have just seen the look the firefighter got when he helped me unload 48 muffins, 2 breads, and 3 cakes that I had baked all for them.

Today I had an urge to just cook to my hearts content. The kids were playing with playdoh after eating this delicious breakfast :

recipe: WRAP

 and I was free to just cook and bake.

Breakfast I have the hardest time. I don't like giving them cereal and I don't have a habit to eat cereal. Its not a brazillian thing ;) also poptarts makes me shudder. I honestly think they are absolute nasty. Hey I said I was unique read weird!!  so they get oatmeal, yogurt, homemade pancakes, homemade waffles, and during the weekends I make eggs or omelets but its still not enough. I get bored after eating the same couple things, I am guessing the kids are the same because they haven't really been wanting to eat their breakfast and since I am trying to wade through the hundreds of pins I have on pintrest, the winner became this yogurt strawberry cake:

recipe :  Cake
 It does take some sugar (that I toned down with splenda and brown sugar) and some buttermilk (that I subbed for milk/lemon juice) but overall its pretty healthy. So I made it and OMG its so good. Definitely a keeper and it would have been wonderful if I stopped at that. But of course not. Since I had everything out I also decided to make some banana bread, pumpkin muffins, pork chops with sweetpotato hash and dinner is sitting in the crockpot already. I am also debating on making a pretzel strawberry torte that everyone keeps raving about it. I am telling you I have issues..lol.

ps. If you have any new ideas that you can share on what to feed kids breakfast please share. I am not a huge breakfast fan (I like breakfast food for dinner) and I am perfectly content with just a cup of ice coffee, but unfortunately kids don't do well with coffee. Darn!!!

Love A

Happy Mother's Day!!!

May your children never embarrass you.
 May your boobs never hang lower than your skirt
 May your life be filled with delicious kisses and hugs instead of tantrums and No's
 May your days be full of giggles and laughter instead of anger
 May everyone that you encounter praise your children instead of making smart ass comments
 May your child learn everything that you have taught them instead of the complete opposite.
 May you never run out of wine or coffee
 Happy mother's day everyone :)