Easy and Healthy DYI Microwave Popcorn

So, I got this idea from my mother in law.  Here is what you will need...

1. A bag of loose popcorn

2. A paper lunch bag (brown or white)

3. A measuring cup

4. Kernel Season's Popcorn Spritzer Butter Flavor (Zero Calories, Zero Fat!!)

5. Popcorn salt

6. A Microwave

Here's what you do...

1.  Measure out about a 1/2 to 1 cup of popcorn kernels. (Depending on the size of your paper lunch bag)

2.  Pour kernels into bag and roll the top the bag closed 2-3 times. 

3.  Next, holding the top of the bag with two hands make a 1 inch tear through the folded part of the bag.  This will help steam escape and also keep the bag closed.

4.  Place the bag laying flat in the microwave. 

5.  If you have a popcorn setting on your microwave you can use it...If you know how long store bought microwave popcorn cooks in your microwave use that time.  For me, my I cook my popcorn for 2 min and 15 sec.  This may be trial and error until you find your perfect cooking time!  NO MATTER WHAT stop the cooking process when you do not hear constant popping, this will help from burning your popcorn.

6.  Take the bag out of the microwave and pour into a bowl. 

7.  Spray with your popcorn spritzer (ZERO CAL, ZERO FAT) and salt to taste

8.  ENJOY!!  This is some of the best and healthy popcorn I have ever had!! LOVE LOVE

Let me know what you think or if you have any questions!

***Just for your info....
According to the Jolly Time white popcorn kernels bag.  1 cup of popped corn (with nothing on it) is 20 Calories. 

SOOO, there is no fat and no calories in the popcorn spritz, 0 calories in the popcorn salt, and 20 calories in 1 cup of popped corn!!!

 EAT, EAT and BE Healthy!!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Today is Christmas Eve and for many mom's with young children today is a special day!! We, as parents, are making sure the spirit of Christmas is alive in our children!  Not only is Santa coming tonight but my husband and I make sure that our children know that this time of year is for love and sharing more than gift getting! We also teach them about the birth of Jesus!  He is the "reason for the season"! 

My kids are at the age (5 & 6) that Christmas morning is still so much fun and special!  I can't wait to wake up and see their faces!  These are the memories that I will cherish forever.

No matter how you celebrate Christmas or any holiday this time of year, I wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, and a Happy New Year!! 

Garnier Ultra-Lift Daily Targeted Wrinkle Treatment Review

So, I just have to rave about about this product!  I have been using this product for a while now and I love the way it makes my face feel and ultimately look.  The Garnier Ultra-Lift Daily Targeted Wrinkle Treatment comes in a 1 fl oz tube and has a pleasant fragrance.  I believe I paid around $13 for one tube.  The treatment is suppose to be used morning and night after you wash your face and before you use moisturizer.  Mornings can be kind of hectic for me so I usually just use mine at night. It can be used on just the spots you need or as an all over treatment. For me, when I apply this product I can actually feel my skin tightening and when I wake up I still have that feeling on the areas that used the product.  I can also see a difference in my forehead 11's.  My skin feels soft and not oily at all.  The Garnier Ultra-Lift Daily Targeted Wrinkle Treatment will definitely remain a staple in my skin care regime. 

***This review is just my personal experience with this product.  I make no claims on how it will work for you and your skin.  This review is meant to be a possible help to those who may want to try the product and you may end up with different results than I had.  I was not asked by any company or persons to write this review. ***

My Melanoma Story

For mom's everywhere you worry constantly when you are pregnant, especially with your first child.  In September of 2005 I found out that I was pregnant and at around 17 weeks I found out that it was a little girl!  I was so excited!  Now to tell this story I will have to back track to 2003.  I had gone to visit my mom and she noticed a tiny black freckle on my shoulder that had a red ring around it.  I figured that it might be a black head but she said that I had to have it looked at.  Unlike my mom, dad, brother, and sister, I have red hair and fair skin.  So, she always worried about me and the sun!  It probably didn't help that I was born in Puerto Rico.  Anyway, I went and had it biopsied and they told me it came back fine.  No worries!  Now jump forward to 2006.  It was February and my baby was due at the end of June.  I always rubbed the scar from where they removed the little black freckle but on this day I noticed that there were two large bumps there.  When I looked in the mirror I found two black moles growing out of the scar.  Right away I made an appointment with a different dermatologist.  That doctor took one look at them and removed them.  On the same day, he froze a place on my forehead.  About a week later I get a call from the doctor.  He informed me that I had malignant Melanoma cancer.  I stood in shock.  I had cancer and I was pregnant! When he told me that he wasn't sure about life expectancy I almost lost it.  I called my mom right away.  She started to cry and said that she would call me back.  About an hour later, she called me back to let me know that she had made me an appointment at the UNC Melanoma Clinic.  So there began my journey.  I believe it was a couple weeks later that I had to drive 6 hours to where my lives and to the UNC Melanoma clinic.  They took another biopsy and let me know that I had to wait until the baby was born to have the Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy and surgery to get clean borders.  They also told me that they would have to send my placenta off to be tested because Melanoma can travel through the blood, into the placenta, and to the baby.  My biggest worry was now not for my life but that I had given my unborn baby cancer.  Four months later my baby girl was born and two weeks after that I had my procedure.  Since, they put radio active dye in my system I had to "pump and dump" my milk for a week because it would be dangerous to the health of the baby.  Needless to say that after a week of being bottle fed she did not want to breast feed and I was almost dry anyway.  A few weeks later I got great news: clean borders, no cancer in my lymph nodes, and none in the placenta.  Now it is 2012 and remember the place I had frozen on my forehead, well, it kept growing and nothing seemed to get rid of it.  After a biopsy of it, I found out that it was Basal Cell Carcinoma.  Cancer AGAIN!! But the better news was it was not Melanoma.  Now, I have scar on my shoulder, neck, and back of the head from the Melanoma and where they took two lymph nodes and I have a scar on my forehead.  I am currently cancer free but still have to go to the dermatologist every six months for full body check ups.  I am now high risk for more Melanoma in my future if I am not careful. 
If this story can just one person I will be happy!! Put sunscreen on your children and on yourselves.  DO NOT lay in tanning beds or get a bad burn from the sun.  I'd rather be a pale red head than a tan one with cancer and I refuse to die from skin cancer!!

BB Cream vs Tinted Moisturizer

Lately I have been so intrigued by BB creams and if they could fix my skin issues.  I have fair skin with freckles and red hair.  As I am getting older my skin seems to be drying out a little more than it was when I was younger but I still believe that I have combination skin with an oily t-zone.  Not to long ago I was told by my dermatologist that I have mild Rosecea and of course I have a few break outs. 

Normally, I wear a medium to full cover foundation.  I have used everything from Bare Minerals to Tarte to Mary Kay foundations.  All three of these brands I really like.  However, sometimes I don't want to wear a normal foundation and I want something a little lighter.  I wanted to know if there was really a difference between a BB Cream and a tinted moisturizer.  The BB Cream I chose to try is Garnier Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfector in Light/Medium with SPF 15.  The tinted moisturizer that I tried is Mary Kay's Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 in Ivory 1. 

The picture below is pretty scary but it is me with my face freshly washed with NO MAKE UP or other products at all.  You will notice that I have mild Rosecea around my nose, chin, and little on my forehead.  I also have darkness under my eyes. All of these I would love to cover up!

 

The next picture is of me with the Garnier BB Cream and nothing else.  Still SCARY but not as bad.  You can definitely see that some of the redness is gone and my skin looks more even all over.  Let me tell you, I think this product smells so good.  If you don't like fragrance this may not be the product for you.  The BB Cream is super easy to put on and you can build the coverage.  It is thicker going going (like a foundation).  When you want to cover more put more on, if you want less put less on.  For me this product does not feel greasy.  However, I don't think I would want to put a moisturizer on underneath this product unless my face was super dry. 

 

 Below is a picture of me with the Mary Kay Tinted Moisturizer.  This product is not as thick coming out of the tube and has no fragrance. The tinted moisturizer is also easy to put on and has a light feel and coverage.  You can still see my dark circles and some of my redness.  However, it is still better than wearing nothing at all.  I love the feel of this moisturizer, it doesn't feel like I am wearing any make up.

 I like both products for different reasons.  The BB Cream for its coverage and the tinted moisturizer for how light it is.  What do you think?




                                                                        

***I was not asked to do this review by any company.  It is just my opinion and products may act differently on your skin.***

Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of the wonderful mom's out there!  Here is a little poem I found on www.coverlayout.com...

What did you make for Thanksgiving the you think is super special?  Mine is my mother's Pecan Tassie's!!!

Loosing the Baby Weight!

For most of us loosing the baby weight can be difficult.  In my case it has been super hard for me to stick to a work out plan and loose the weight.  My youngest just turned five years old and I am officially tired of looking this way. 

I consider myself moderately active but my eating habbits are not so good.  I have been a vegetarian since I was little and I believe this is part of my problem because I mainly eat carbs.  This was ok when I was a college cheerleader weighing 128 lbs and wearing a size 3/4.  Now, I am 33 and not as active as I used to be. 

After I got married I gained about 15 lbs.  So, when I got pregnant with my first child I weighed 145 lbs in a size 6/7.  During my first pregnancy I gain 55 lbs and the week I had her I was up to 200 lbs.  A lot of this was water weight because everything was soooo swollen.  My hands feet were so full of water that I couldn't wear shoes or rings.  After I had her I quickly dropped to 170 lbs and was a size 12.  By the time my daughter was 6 months old I was around 160lbs and in a size 10.  At the same time I found out I was pregnant again.  I was devastated because I hadn't lost all of the baby weight from the first baby and now I was going to gain it all back.  With the second pregnancy, I only gained 40 lbs and weigedt 199lbs when I had my baby boy! 

Fast forward 5 years to present day, my weight bounces from 155lbs to 163lbs and I wear a size 8 and sometimes a size 6 depending on the brand.  My main issue right now is how I look.  I have to tone up, lose the baby pooch, and fat/cellulite on my arms and legs.  Since, I was a dancer and college cheerleader I have tons of muscle, the problem is that it is under all my fat.  I know that I will never again be 128 lbs like I was in college.  However, I refuse to be sad and upset about how I look.   So, I decided that I will give myself a challenge. 

The Challenge:  I will be active for at LEAST 20 min a day for at LEAST 5 days a week!  It doesn't matter what kind of activity it is as long as I am moving.  Hopefully, 20 minutes will turn into more and more time! Now that my children are getting older I will be able to do more.  I will update my progress on this blog as I go!  Wish me luck!!

Welcome!!

Welcome wonderful mom's of the world to my new blog!  This blog will have everything from ways to deal with behavior to crafts to kid friendly recipes and even products that I love! 

A little about me:

My name is Shannon and I am 33 years old.  I have been married for 8 years to an awesome man and we have two children that 6 and 5.  Yes, thats right they are 15 months apart!  CRAZY but awesome!  Not only do I have children that are elementary school aged but I teach elementary school too!  Kindergarten to be exact.  I have taught kindergarten for the last 6 years and love it! 

My life is truly crazy with two young children, a husband, and a full time job!  You ask why all of that and a blog (or 2 :-) ?  Well, I believe that of us busy mom's need a way to vent, relax, and just have time to ourselves.  This will be my way to just that!!  I hope you enjoy my blog!

                                                                                        Peace, Love, & Mommy Time,
                                                                                                    Shannon