Abbie Lynn <3

Happy Halloween! Since we celebrated Halloween on Friday with Jace, I didn't even realize until 10am that it was even Halloween today. Whoops! Also, since it's a Sunday today, I feel like most people celebrated last night anyway. Kevin and I went on a date yesterday which is so nice - especially since I finally have a job so I have some extra money - we went to an escape room which was only our second time doing one and it was really unique and fun! I would highly recommend going to one if you want something different. It was only the two of us so we had to work together to problem solve and think through hints. We also went and conveniently saw Halloween in the movie theater. This was the first time we went to the movies in a theater since before COVID. It's been almost two years which was crazy but it was a really good experience. The movie itself was good (we watched about half of it at home so I was prepared to not be *as* scared) and it was nice to be back in a theater

Happy Halloween weekend! I hope you guys have fun plans! Tonight we took Jace to an event on the military base where they had street tacos, a bounce house, a haunted house, trunk or treating and a trunk or treating decorating contest. Jace had SO much fun. He dressed up as a Fortnite character. He asked me if I wanted to go in the haunted house with him. I HATE scary things - scary movies, scary everything - but somehow, he convinced me. Let me tell you....I was screaming every second and I was legit scared. They did a great job, I'll tell you what.  Anyways, it has been such a busy week. With working full-time now, I am still trying to figure out how to better manage my time. It seems like the same thing everyday....but I absolutely LOVE my job. It took me nine months to find so I am super grateful.  I typically cook still 5-6 times per week and this week I made a homemade Chicken Noodle Soup. This was such a perfect weeknight meal because it was a little cooler this week (except

As I mentioned in my previous blog, I was supposed to write this one a few days ago as well but things have been so crazy busy that I barely have time for blogging anymore. This weekend Kevin and I were able to take a drive down to Santa Cruz together which was a nice experience because 1. We never go on dates anymore - just us and 2. We have never been to Santa Cruz together. The last time I was there was when my Dad was alive (20+ years ago) and Nana and Papa were there too. We went to the Santa Cruz boardwalk and I have so many memories and fun times there. I also have photos of us going on the log ride so that was my #1 goal was to go to the Boardwalk and ride the log ride. Unfortunately the log ride was closed :( And we also ended up only staying at the Boardwalk for less than an hour. Parking was ridiculous, prices there were ridiculous and they didn't have individual ride tickets :( They only had a $60 day pass which was outrageous - especially since I only wanted to ride th

I am officially behind by three blog posts this week so I'm going to do my best to get these up soon. Since the weather has been cooler this week (thank goodness!), most of the recipes are going to be soup or chili. I know that I have made a lot of chili recipes but this one was a healthy chili using ground turkey. The original healthy ground turkey chili recipe can be found HERE . We used garlic and onion powder instead of the actual vegetables. We also eliminated the celery, chipotle pepper, and bell peppers. This was an easy, low sodium, healthy meal.  Ingredients: 1 pound ground turkey 2 tbsp garlic powder 2 tbsp onion powder 14oz can low sodium red kidney beans, drained and rinsed 14oz can low sodium white beans, drained and rinsed 28oz can tomato sauce 1 cup chicken broth 1 tbsp chili powder 1 tbsp less sodium taco seasoning Salt and pepper to taste Add all ingredients to a crockpot and cook on high for five hours. Serve with cheese and saltine crackers. 

I have been cooking for years, but more recently the past few years. I cook almost every day. It's been an adjustment with working full-time and having to take care of Jace who is 10, but I'm getting a routine down. I made these Twice Baked Potatoes I think three nights ago. Jace said he didn't want any sour cream in the mix but I decided to have him try it and told him it would be good. He is really good at eating the things that I make for dinner and because of that, he hasn't been too picky. He didn't even know there were green chili's in a recipe that I made the other day - I didn't tell him until after he had eaten his entire plate. I think he also enjoys eating the food more when he helps prepare it. Sometimes he does help me cook dinner but this week has been filled with so much homework - so he has helped eat more than cook with me. The original recipe for these Twice Baked Potatoes can be found HERE . I can't say this is a healthy recipe but we

I started a full-time job two days ago and I'm quite surprised that I have still made the time to cook every night. I am trying to learn more about work/life balance and I have already taken a webinar about parenting and making time to separate yourself from work and focusing on your children, spouse, and others around you.  Although I have still had time for cooking, I have been putting blogging off so I'm going to try and do better. I made this recipe last night and we used the twice baked potato filling (I'll share that recipe next) as a heated up side and it was amazing. If you have read any of my food blogs, you would know that I am very picky when it comes to chicken breast recipes. I tend to overcook chicken and it doesn't end up tasting good so when Kevin sent me this recipe, I was a little hesitant. This chicken is full of flavor and is tender although it is still Oven Baked. The original recipe was pulled from HERE . Since I tend to make more of low-sodium dis

Today has been a super windy and chilly day (it sounds like our house is going to collapse, that's how windy it is!) so this Texas Style Chili was the easiest and perfect dinner. I have been used to 100+ degree weather so it's been nice to have a week of cool down. Hopefully it stays this way for the rest of the year. I am so tired of hot weather! Believe it or not, I had all of the ingredients for this chili already! The original recipe can be found HERE . It is a healthier version of chili. We used way less green chili peppers than the original recipe required, we did not use any bell peppers, we did not use Oregano or Thyme, and added red Kidney Beans.  Ingredients: 1 pound ground beef 1 tbsp onion powder 8 oz tomato sauce 1 1/2 cups water 1/4 can green chili peppers 2 tbsp chili powder 1 tbsp garlic powder 1/4 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp dried basil 1/4 tsp Cajun seasoning 1 can low sodium Red Beans                                        Directions: Place all of the ingredient

Does the stress of life ever just hit you all at one time? I am stressed to the max today but there are two positive things that happened this week - one is I got a job (this is major!) and I start on Wednesday! And the second is that today is Friday and a 3-day weekend so I get to spend some time with my little family.  This whole week has actually been super stressful so last night we had a little bit of comfort food - Chicken Fried Chicken and Homemade Gravy. Jace rated it an 11/10 and Kevin tried to trick me and said he hated it :( And then he said, "Just kidding, I LOVE it!" and he even took leftovers to work today. Jace helped with this one - he is 10 and loves helping me cook. It can be a little messy but he loves it. If you make this recipe, please let me know in the comments below. This one will definitely be on our list to make again! The original recipe can be found HERE and we used apple cider vinegar instead of regular vinegar and added more breadcrumbs than the

How did everyone manage yesterday with Facebook down? So many people were talking about how amazing it was to be off social media and for me, I was all about checking it every five minutes to see if my business post would share :/ I didn't realize that it would be down all day but it's totally OK. I survived the Facebook and Instagram shut down!  Last night Kevin wanted chicken and pasta so we found a few recipes and ended up just making our own. I didn't know what to call this so I just said it was a Chicken and Pasta Bake. It does have spaghetti sauce, chicken, pasta, and a bunch of seasonings so you can choose what you would like to call it.  Ingredients: One box Rigotoni pasta 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks Mrs. Dash Chicken Grilling Blend, Salt-free 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp Italian seasoning 1 tsp Paprika Powder Salt and Pepper to taste 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp butter 1 can spaghetti sauce 1 bag mozzarella cheese Directions: In a cast iron

Does anyone get thrown off when Facebook and Instagram are both down? I think because most of my business is social media driven, it completely throws me off and makes me frustrated at times ;) It's hard to share a recipe or even my glitter tumblers when social media channels aren't working but it's OK...I will survive :) Anyways... Yesterday Kevin wanted Chili Cheese Dogs but since we are eating a lower sodium diet, I decided to make a homemade chili instead of the canned chili. I purchased a Chili seasoning packet and used the recipe on the back.  This recipe was super easy. I used 70/30 ground beef, 1 cup water, 1 can red kidney beans, 1 can diced tomatoes with chilis, and 1 package of the Lawry's Chili Spices & Seasonings Mix. I combined them all in a crockpot, on high for 3-4 hours.  I cooked the hot dogs on the stove initially until they were a little bit burnt. I added them to a cold hot dog bun, put the chili on top and put them in the oven at 350 degrees fo

The best part about living in California, being close to the coast, and not getting snow or extreme weather is that I hardly ever get sick. I think I've been sick maybe twice since I have lived here in the past five years. Well, I think I may have jinxed that because the last two weeks I have been so tired. Not just tired but extremely exhausted. I thought I was low on iron or something (I still have a doctors appointment on the 20th just in case) but I think it's because I haven't been feeling well. Last Friday I had a hoarse voice with a bronchitis-like cough and yesterday I had a hoarse voice, headache and was literally on the couch all day. I guess sometimes our body just needs that break and I'm pretty sure I never give myself a break. My plan was to write this blog days ago but because of not feeling well, I didn't even get on my laptop at all yesterday and now I'm feeling pretty good today so I figured I can finish the blog :)  A few days ago I made these

Does your brain ever just fry? Let me just say that I'm so glad it's almost the weekend. I created nine glitter tumblers and worked on several more in a week's time, I had three interviews on Monday, two assessments yesterday and a 3-hour focus group today. I also worked out twice this week. What a last few weeks! I love what I do in every aspect of life but I am so grateful for weekends. My plan today was to go into town and do some grocery shopping but I literally feel like doing nothing for the rest of the day.  This makes me a little behind on blogs, I am hoping to get through two today. The first one is this Easy Beef Fried Rice. I had beef strips and was originally going to make stir-fry but wanted to do something different. The original recipe can be found HERE from Chef Savvy. This recipe was fairly easy and super delicious! If you make this, let me know in the comments below! We did not use oyster sauce and did not cool the rice beforehand and it was fine.  Ingredi