A Personalized Video from Santa! (for all you mommy's out there!)

I had to just quickly share this awesome site for a personalized video from Santa!

Portable North Pole TV!

It is the cutest thing and so realistic (I was honestly impressed)!  You customize the message from Santa and it includes the child’s name, age, certains events, a couple pictures, etc.  You can even choose if Santa will deem them naughty or nice (haha).  I learned about the site from a co-worker and her children were in complete awe that Santa sent them their own message and saw them on their special days (the picture you upload) – very cool!  

Thought it was worth sharing...ho, ho, ho! ;)

"This, the Spirit of Christmas..."

Our Christmas cards are officially in the mail, but I didn't want to leave my blogger friends out. :)

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, from our family to yours!

FAVES

Just a little post about my favorite things right now as a follow-up to my last posting (so long ago!).

1.  OPI's The Muppets Collection (Part 1 & Part 2)

Oh.my.goodness.  Just in time for the holidays, OPI releases these pretty little numbers in all their glitter-glory!  I seriously love just about every color in this collection!  I purchased "Meep, Meep, Meep" and got a mani/pedi yesterday that I just love!  Next on my list is "Designer…De Better!"

2.  Loving my new ULTA Tinted Lip Balm in "Bloom".  It is the perfect daily color for a quick touch-up.  Love it!

3.  Since it has been so long since my last "favorite things" post, I have since gotten new gym shoes and love these even more than the last pair - light as a feather! 

(*Note: I do not recommed me these for running as there is very little ankle support,

but great gym show overall)

4.  My Erin Condren Life Planner!  I am really hoping I can put this to good use in 2012. :)

5.  Love, love, love cropped skinny jeans right now.  Want them in every color! 

Yay for faves!

Wine Bottle Flowers

I really wish I remembered where I saw this idea so that I could give credit, but honestly I've been saving these wine bottles since before my wedding (thinking I might use them as decor on our picture table) so I just cannot remember.  Regardless, here is my pretty little wine bottle flower arrangement for the holidays.

The flowers can be easily changed out for the season.  Cute idea! :)

Happy almost December!

One Year Wedding Anniversary

Oh wow...how has it been a year?  This weekend marks our one year wedding anniversary!

One year since I became a wife...

One year since I married my best friend in this whole world...

One year since I was blessed to marry the man who makes me happiest in this world and can always bring a smile to my face...

One year full of love, growth, enjoyment, and learning to be a husband and wife to one another. 

November 6th, 2010

I feel so blessed every day when I think of our marriage and this man who is my husband - and how each day is more fulfilling because I am living my life with him by my side.  I love, respect and admire him more and more each day.  (and I really, really love being his wife in every way)

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In honor of our anniversary, here are a few of my favorite (and much overdue) pictures from our wedding day:

We're off to San Antonio, Texas for a 4-day anniversary vacation... excited to celebrate us and our very special marriage!

Baby Benjamin Update

Hello there!  Here is a little photo update on our nephew Benjamin... 

Just a couple [stolen] photos:

Love this idea for a newborn; taken by Sarah Burkhart (see below)

Look at that sweet little face - love him.

Me with sweet Benjamin :) 

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Here is a link to Ben's 2nd auntie's (and might I say, very talented & awesome auntie) photography blog so that you can see a few more of his precious newborn pictures. 

Sarah Sue Photography

In my opinion, I see a bit more 'May' in him right now.  His face somewhat even reminds me a little bit of Jeff (if you're reading this Jenny, I hope you don't think I'm crazy haha - his little nose and eyes somewhat look like his uncle right now to me and I love it!)  Of course who knows how this handsome little boy will grow and change.  We love you Benjamin!

What Are You Doing Today?

Well today, I am leaving Rio de Janeiro - Brazil to go back home to Texas, my husband and my sweet pup.  I cannot wait to see them and be home.  Ahhh, home - I love it.

Before I leave Brazil this evening, I will be visiting Cristo Redentor (in English, Christ the Redeemer) atop Corcovado mountain; one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.  This truly is a once in a lifetime experience that I feel so honored to have the chance to do.  I mean, just look at all the beauty in this photo...I can hardly contain my excitement, thankfulness and a little bit of sadness that Jeff can't be here to experience this with me:



Photo Courtesy: Wikipedia



I will be blogging in more detail about my trips here to Brazil so stay tuned.

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Another thing on my mind today as I wrap up my work here is a bit of reflection on my time here, time at home, and everything that I've been blessed with thus far in my life.  Do you have those moments?  Where you just sit back and think, 'wow - I really have so much to be thankful for'...I try to think about this as often as possible so I can be sure to be glad in it all.  It brings me a lot of peace to think like this and choose to take time out ot acknowledge my blessings.  And with that, I wanted to share this quote with you all:

When asked “What thing about humanity surprises you the most?", the Dalai Lama answered:

“Man.  Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money.  Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.  And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.” -Dalai Lama XIV

*Warning - getting a bit preachy...* I am in support of avoiding this cycle and this quote encompasses many of my views on life in a few short sentences.  Don't let this happen to you - take care of yourself, your health, your family.  Do not be anxious, but be thankful and happy (happiness, many times, is a choice & you can control your thoughts), look to the future with hope & peaceful curiousity (do not fear or have doubt in a future that has yet to come), but enjoy the present and count your blessings.

Off my soapbox now...off to meet Christ the Redeemer!

Lots of love,

Rani

Our Sweet Nephew, Benjamin

My beautiful sister-in-law, Jenny, gave birth to her first son (and our first newphew), Benjamin last Tuesday - October 4th.  Benjamin was over 9lbs and is the most perfect, beautiful baby I have ever seen (I know, I am biased of course).  He is such a blessing to our whole family and the fact that he came into this world so healthy brings peace to us all and we can't help but be so thankful. 

Unfortunately Jeff and I went out of town the first weekend Benjamin was home and then I came here to Brazil for work on Monday and will be here until the 21st...so I have not seen his sweet face since his first and second days as a newborn or been able to get more pictures of the handsome little guy.  Right now, I have just these few...

Holding baby Benjamin at the hospital the day he was born.

Day 2 after he came home - look at the hair, I love it!  He is so precious!

Jeff had dinner with his sister last night and sent me this picture of our nephew.  (and of course Jeff and his witty self titled the photo "Ben Jammin" haha, love my husband). Look how much he has changed in just over a week!

We love this little boy so much already and couldn't be happier for the Burkhart family!

*Random side note*

I get asked here and there if being around friends and family with babies makes me want to have a baby of my own.  My answer to them is that yes, the thought of having children with my sweet husband brings me so much joy and curiosity (what will they look like, what will their sexes be)...all that exciting stuff.  But Jeff and I are just coming up on one year of marriage and intend on waiting to start family (so long as it is in our control) at least another couple years.  We still have lots of places to go, things to see and do, etc before we devote our lives to our children - we're both a little selfish right now and need to enjoy being able to be selfish/only focused on each other for a while.  We both are also getting to points in our careers that will really impact our standard of living (in a positive way) if we keep working hard to excel in our jobs; and ultimately this is important to us and the standard of living we'd like to have with our future family.  I certainly enjoy looking forward to the day when we move out of central Houston to a slower paced suburban area (Jeff is not so much excited about this...yet...haha...he will come around) with great schools and neighborhoods where we can start our family...it is always great to have something to look forward to.  And for right now, I relish in and am thankful for our nice life in the city, our busy work lives, our awesome first home we've now had together for almost two years, our sweet puppy (my baby), and the fact that Jeff and I can just focus on each other right now and build a strong marriage that is key for having a happy family in the future.

Here's to blessings, babies, (future babies), and being thankful for the life you have right now. :)

Pinterest

I don't know about you, but I love this site!  A virtual pinboard/scrapbook (whatever you want to call it) where you can save all the things you love is brilliant.  And talk about a great way to find a good idea, tip, fashion source, etc...it is all there and I just can't get enough!  Check it out!

If you haven't signed up, you need to get someone to invite you who has already signed up; certainly let me know here by leaving a comment with your email address and I'll send an invite your way!

Pinterst = love for me right now! :)

Dandy Idea...

Just giving a little love to Danielle over at Just Dandy (love her blog!) and her super cute ideas for storage.  Love the candlesticks for bracelets as well as the toothbrush/silver cups for make-up brushes, etc. 

Wanted to pass this cute idea and blog along...
Just Dandy

Well, Hello!

...that is if I still have any readers... ;)

It is obvious that I am truly a terrible blogger.  As much as I love the idea of blogging and enjoy reading blogs, I just can't seem to make time post on my own blog!  I have no excuses really beyond the fact that our lives are very busy with work, family and fun and honestly when I have down time, the computer is the usually the last place I want to be. 

That being said, I do not want to say goodbye to my blog.  I am going to attempt to continue to blog about things I enjoy, places we go and give small updates on what is going on in our lives.  I even gave my page a refreshed "look" in hopes that will inspire me to post more often.   We shall see...

And with that...here is one of the photos I love from our photosoot with Ashley at Countrygrown Images.  We did this session for some updated photos of Jeff and I (and our new puppy Max).  I also plan to use one of the photos for our Christmas card (love the holidays!).  A couple of them are so great, we may blow one up and hang in our stairway (I've got several decor projects in stow that I hope to share). :)

Homemade Protein Bars

photo courtesy Google

So the other day leaving the gym I spent $4 on a Muscle Milk Light protein shake.  I had a pretty hard workout and was already so hungry afterwards - so after the initial price shock, (seriously, $4 24-Hour Fitness? ...robbery!) I checked th calories, checked the fat, checked the protein, fiber and sugars...and they were all "acceptable".  I wanted the extra protein, but you know it really bugged me all that other stuff in the ingredients that one, I just didn't understand, and two, probably didn't really need.

So I remembered my friend Kaci wrote about a homemade protein bar recipe on her blog.  You can find her original recipe post here.  I had been thinking about making them and finally did after realizing having the extra protein without the high price or excess ingredients was pretty cool.

So I generally followed her guidelines, but here are some changes/choices I made:

*I did not use flavored protein powder.  I used plain soy protein powder that I already had on hand for my green monsters (Bob's Red Mill - love their products).  Since it was unflavored, I added...
*Mexican Vanilla - I just poured it in, but I estimate I used about 2 tsp
* I chose to use dried cranberries, ground pecans, and slivered almonds
* I sprinkled in cinnamon (again, didn't really measure, just until it tasted right) and a dash of nutmeg for spices
* I omitted the salt since I used...
* All natural, fresh ground peanut butter (I thought it was plenty salty on it's own)
* Although I am not a huge fan of artificial sweeteners, I do use Splenda Brown Sugar here and there in certain recipes.  I used it here and thought it was good choice to cut down on the sugars and calories.
* I had never used the silken tofu before, and if you are in that same boat, don't be afraid.  It was easy to mix and I think helped keep the bars nice and chewy/soft.
* I didn't use the parchment paper because I didn't have any on hand, but turns out mine came out just fine by...
* Spraying a non-stick metal baking pan (yes the one with barely and edges) with EVOO cooking spray (I then used a paper towel to evenly coat the pan and soak up the extra oil)
* I spread the batter evenly across the whole pan - it was maybe 1/4" thick.  It didn't rise much while baking so do not worry about overflow.
* Then I added a little extra goodness with a quick drizzle of honey and cinnamon on the top before placing it in the oven.

Pre-bake photo:

Then after baking per Kaci's instructions I removed the pan, cut it into 4ths (for easy transfer) then transferred it to the cooling rack.  I let it cool completely then cut into bite size rectangles.  So easy!  Like she said to, I refrigerated them and we've ate them as needed all week!  The flavors I chose I think turned out yummy and were a safe choice since we know we like those things - they do taste like protein bars, not too sweet and with the overall soy protein taste.  I do plan on trying to change it up and try new flavors next time.

So I hope that some of you guys are able to make your own as well!  I don't know how to measure the nutrition values in this recipe, but if I could I think that would make it perfect so then I'd know not only the homemade ingredients, but also the nutritional value side.  Anyone know how to calculate that all out?

Happy Baking! :)

San Tan-tonio!

Just a follow-up on my OPI Nail Polish Swap post...

Here is a pic of the awesome San Tan-tonio polish on.  I think it'll look a little better once I have a nice tan, but I do love the dark camel color! :)

All this talk about Texas and today is a special day here in the lonestar state and Houston...

Happy Go Texan Day y'all!  Yee haw ;)

(this day signify's the start of the Houston Rodeo, cook-off and trail riders!  You can read more about it here. It's a big deal 'round these parts (said in my best Texan accent). ;)

the BEST Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Original recipe courtesy of Mel's Kitchen (love this blog!)

So if you know me, you know I am the queen of substitutions and making baked treats "heathy".  Well this, my friends, is NOT one of those recipes ...unless you count the whole wheat flour which I guess is still a health "upgrade" :).  This cookie (according to Jeff) was the best I have ever made.  Now, that is coming from the guy who enjoys and prefers my healthier treats, so he may be a bit out of touch with how normal cookies taste, haha.  But regardless, he seriously loved them and friends at the office also concurred they are super yummy, so I thought they were worth sharing. :)

Ingredients:

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla (I used Mexican vanilla)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)
2 cups whole wheat flour (or your preferred baking flour)
2 3/4 cups oatmeal
2 cups milk chocolate chips (I used these this time and loved 'em!)

Directions:

Cream together the butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy (at least one minute). Add baking soda (I always use fresh baking soda to ensure the best baking results), baking powder, and salt (if using unsalted butter) and mix. Add flour, oatmeal and chocolate chips. Mix with wooden spoon until combined (nice little arm workout). Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Tips:

• The batter is very thick.  I washed my hands extra well and "molded" each cookie into the shape I wanted it to come out as (so if you roll it into a ball and bake it, it'll come out as a ball - so I balled them up then flattened them a bit into the size I preferred).
• I use the air cookie sheets and after removing from the oven, let the cookies sit for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.  Because I like the inside of my cookies soft, I bake mine only until slightly golden on the outside - but that means the inside sometimes is a bit soft.  So letting it sit lets it harden up on the outside.  You may get a gooey, falling apart cookie if you transfer too soon.

Now get a a cold glass of your favorite milk and enjoy...yum! :)

Favorite Things Right Now

I don't know about you, but I just LOVE getting tips and recommendations on things that other people love.  It is such a great way to share awesome finds, advice, and really anything you love that you think others might love!

So here is my current list of favorite things I am loving right now:

1.  My Nike Lunarfly cross-training gym shoes.  

Story behind this is that I wanted a shoe for the gym when I wasn't running - so for anything else I might be doing at the gym: elliptical, stairs, spin, weights, classes, etc.  I wear the heck out of my running shoes and want to use them for just that...running only (plus they are pretty dirty and ugly after so many miles on the trail).  Nothing a like a cute pair of gym shoes to get you motivated!

2.  Maybelline's new FIT me foundations (my shade right now is 220)

I seem to buy my make-up in cycles...where I go from purchasing high end make-up then reverting back to buying the oh-so-convenient and sometimes surprisingly great drug store make up brands.  This, on my skin at least, is a jewel!  I love the color, it lasts most of the day with no reapplication, not too thick (no cakeiness here) but provides good, even coverage, and looks great in photos!  Cheap as can be and so many shades to pick from!

3.  Paul Mitchell's Extra-Body Sculpting Foam

  

Okay, so I know this isn't a new product or anything, but for me it is.  I am a shampoo and conditioner only type of gal and that is literally all I use in my hair on a regular basis.  I have never been great with styling products, but picked up a little sample bottle of this the other day to attempt for more volume on some of my curling iron styles...and my verdict is A+!  I got the extra body and my hair held the curl for two days (to clarify that statement, I styled my hair on a Sunday evening and it held through Tuesday evening until I went running)!  I also liked it because my hair was still so soft and brushable which is very important to me.

4. Benefit's One Hot Minute "sexy in seconds" face powder

I wouldn't describe this as a bronzer, but more of a finishing powder.  Once I've finished my make-up, I sweep this awesome little number all over my face lightly and focus on the cheeks, nose and forehead.  Basically it gives you that "glow" and I just love it.

5. Eucerin's Calming Body Wash

 Great for that dry, winter weather skin, without an oily residue and without clogging pores (at least in my case).  I have pretty sensitive skin when it comes to lotions and soaps and I love this one (and all their lotions are just as great)!  It actually lathers up as well which is nice. 

6. Twitter!

 Yes, I am loving me some twitter right now!  I love being connected to people of my choosing and being able to post my random thoughts, ideas, and day to day randomness in short little blurbs; additionally I can reply to specific people (almost like tagging them in my blurb) or respond to a group blurb - I think it is pretty cool!  Previously I had been a pretty active user of facebook, but at this point feel like it's a little too much now and have been slowly not using it quite as much.  Twitter really is only fun if you have other friends on it to communicate with - that is what makes it interesting and worth tweeting for! ;)

And those are my favorite things right now!  I'd love to hear yours!

Happy Valentine's Day

"A hundred hearts would be too few
to carry all my love for you."

~Author Unknown

I love you Jeff May with my whole heart and more.

Jeff and I celebrated Valentine's Day a day early on Sunday this year.  I had thought about doing a dinner at home (since this was my year to plan the date for us), but couldn't bear not doing something a bit special for our first Valentine's as husband and wife.  We had dinner at Stella Sola in our neighborhood, the Heights, and it was awesome.  Loved the atmosphere and loved the unique dishes.  I highly recommend it!  We had a lovely evening and I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful husband and best friend.

We celebrated a day early because it is "busy season" in Jeff's auditor world, so we assumed he would be working late on the actual day itself.  Well lucky for us most everyone left early, so we were able to have an at home Vday dinner too!  

Some may deem this a "hallmark holiday", but to me I think it is the perfect time to focus even more on your love for your significant others and family; make those that you love feel even more special and loved.

To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides. 

-David Viscott

2011 OPI Nail Polish Swap!

Meredith over at the Sweet T Family Blog hosted an OPI Nail Polish Swap for Spring 2011!

I thought it was such a great idea and really loved being a part of it!

I was partnered with her sweet sister Megan and sent her my favorite pink right now, Strawberry Margarita!  It isn't too "neon" but still bright and pretty - I love it!  

(It is what I wore on my toes for our wedding/honeymoon because Jeff loves pink on my toes/nails (yes, he does actually have an opinion about those things, haha.  Love him and his eye for detail!)

Photo courtesy Amazon

And Megan sent me an awesome new color from the OPI Texas Edition

San Tan-tonio!  I love it!  An awesome darker tan color, plus I can rep my man's hometown!

Looks like my current manicure needs an update...think I'll know which color I'll be using! :)