8.31.2016

What's Up Wednesday :: August 2016

It's the last Wednesday of the month, that means it's time for our What's Up Wednesday Link Up!

Link up with me, Sheaffer & Shay the LAST Wednesday of each month so we can read about What's Up with YOU!

Here we go!

What We’re Eating this week.....
Monday:
Chicken Apple Sausages & Caprese Orzo Salad :

Tuesday:
Easiest Dinner Ever:

Recipe {HERE}

Wednesday:
Stuffed Bell Peppers

I will blog these soon!!!! SO GOOD!

Thursday:
Leftovers....Back to School Night!

Friday:
Friday Night Pizza Night!

Saturday:
Cheeseburgers, Sweet Potato Fries & Watermelon

Sunday:
Tri-Tip & Greek Tortellini Pasta Salad

I also like to bake a few treats during the week for after school snacks, etc.
Here is what I'm making this week:

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins:

Cinnamon Sugar Applesauce Muffins:

What I'm Reminiscing about.....

I am reminiscing about high school for 2 reasons.

One, last week I did a post on Advice to my High School Self (You can read it HERE & read about my most embarrassing moment in High School.)

I had so much fun looking through some old high school photos when I put that post together. So many fun memories!

Secondly, because my 20 year is NEXT year. WHAT?!?!

What I'm loving.....

Rodan + Fields announced an AMAZING special a few weeks ago and I am LOVING it!
I love that I can offer you guys over $250 in FREE product!

For anyone who purchases a Redefine Amp It Up Special, you will receive an ENTIRE BOX of Acute Care ($220 value, overnight wrinkle filler) for FREE!
Acute care fills wrinkles while you sleep...perfect for expression lines.

This is a CRAZY GOOD DEAL!!!

This is for a limited time, but we all know that these specials go FAST!!!!

And, tomorrow this price of this deal goes up to $300, so get it today while you can save even more!

Plus, if you pair it with the Back to School Special, you can also get a FREE eye cream ($60 value)

I LOVE Rodan + Fields products & love that they have amazing specials like the ones going on right now.

I also love that we have a 60 day, empty bottle, 100% money back guarantee, so that if the products don't work for you, you can return them and get all your money back!!!

This offer is good for NEW and CURRENT Preferred Customers!

Email me to get this amazing deal before it sells out!

melissa_larson17@yahoo.com

All our products come with a 60 day empty bottle 100% money back guarantee, so you have nothing to lose for trying it out!

Many of you love our eye cream, so I am placing a bulk order of it!

Our eye cream helps with wrinkles & feet and it helps with puffiness & bags under your eyes It combines powerful peptides to minimize the appearance of crow’s-feet, helps reduce the appearance of both puffiness and dark under eye circles while noticeably brightening the eye area.
I will be placing a BULK order of our amazing eye cream this weekend!
For my bulk order, you can get it with my discount and it will only cost you $58 and I will cover your tax & shipping!
One jar lasts me at least 4-5 months. I can't live without it! It is hands down the best eye cream I have ever used!

Look at the results with using it on just one eye!

Let me know if you want to order one!

melissa_larson17@yahoo.com

But, if you want the eye cream for FREE, our Back to School Special is still going on, a FREE eye cream for all new preferred customers! Plus $20 cash back and 10% off your order.

What We've been up to.....

August was a BUSY, BUSY, BUSY Month!
We were in Lake Tahoe the first week of August.....

Then it was Luke's birthday & party (see that post HERE)

A super fun Girls Night Out...Cougars on Cruisers! Amazing Race Style!

The week after that school started...my 13th year of teaching!

Then last week Luke started preschool and this past weekend Kevin & I went away to Half Moon Bay celebrate our anniversary!

It was a fun filled month!

What I'm Dreading.....

Now that school has started, I am dreading grading homework & tests.
I am also dreading my kids homework...one of my girls loves homework & one does not.

I'm totally dreading the homework battle everyday after school. UGH.

What I'm Working On.....

Claire's birthday party is this weekend!
Flamingo Pool Party:

With pink & gold as the colors.

I think it's going to be cute!

What I'm Excited About.....

College football starts this weekend (Go Buffs!!)

and NFL starts next weekend! (Go 49ers!)

I LOVE football season!!!!

What I'm Watching........

I did not watch a lot of TV shows in August. I was too busy in Tahoe, getting ready for back to school & reading. But, we did watch the Olympics EVERY SINGLE day.

I absolutely love the Olympics & we stayed up until after midnight each night watching them!

What I'm Reading.....

I read a lot of books in August! Being on vacation for a week helped :)
I have read A LOT of books this month. Almost an embarrassing amount.
I haven't been watching much TV & I was in Tahoe for a week & we don't really have internet there, so I was able to do a lot of reading at night when my kids were in bed.

At the end of June, I read 1st to Die by James Patterson and it was the first book in a 15 book series.
I may or may not have read books 7 through 15 in the series this month.

7th Heaven:

8th Confession:

9th Judgement:

10th Anniversary:

11th hour:

12th of Never:

Unlucky 13:

14th Deadly Sin:

15th Affair:

I haven't decided if I should be proud about this or ashamed....that I read all those books in one month....in the same series. I totally binge read this series...I loved it!

I am telling you....it's a great series! I give them 4.5 out of 5 stars.

They pretty quick reads even though they are over 300 pages each.

The 16th one comes out next Spring. I don't know if I can wait that long!

What I'm Listening to.....

Pandora's Top Hits!
My current favorites are:
Into You by Ariana Grande

Closer by The Chainsmokers

What I'm Wearing.....
Now that school is back in session, I am wearing actual clothes rather than running/workout clothes/swimsuit that I wore pretty much all summer :)

The first 2 weeks of school we have had nice weather...in the 80's! Way better than the 90s & 100 degrees.
I've gotten a couple cute shirts from Stitch Fix

Shirt ( Stitch Fix ) // Jeans // Shoes // Earrings

Shirt ( Stitch Fix ) // Cardigan // Jeans // Shoes // Earrings

I've also been wearing a lot of dresses! I love dresses :)

What I’m doing this weekend.....

Claire's Flamingo Pool Party is Saturday!
We also have a birthday party for one of our neighbors.
I am REALLY excited it is a 3 day weekend!

What I'm Looking Forward to next month.....

Claire's 8th Birthday
Running in the SF Giants Half Marathon
Luke Bryan Concert

What else is new.....

I don't need new running shoes for another 100 miles, but I had a gift card to Nordstrom & THESE special Olympic Edition of my running shoes came out & I just had to get them.

I LOVE them & can't wait to run in them!

Question of the month is:
What is your favorite transition piece for Fall?
I have 2 things... I couldn't just pick one.
First, is THIS denim jacket. I wear it 1-2 times a week.

It comes in 3 shades of denim, the one above (which I have) and these 2 colors:

It is perfect to wear with a cute dress & it is works in any season!
It is great to wear when the weather is chilly in the morning...it's all about layers!

For shoes, THESE booties are also great in Fall, Winter & Spring.
The color is perfect for any of those seasons & they go with a lot....dresses or jeans.
They come in 2 colors....Mushroom:

And Black:

The heel isn't too tall, which is perfect for tall girls like me.
And, they are waterproof. They are SO comfortable!
I teach in them & my feet don't hurt.
I have them in both colors :)

+++++++++++++

If you are new to my blog, thanks for stopping by!

Feel free to follow along!

You can find me on Bloglovin, Facebook & Instagram

Can't wait to read about What's up with all of YOU!

8.30.2016

Pineapple Chicken Luau & Bacon Pizza

As you may know.....pizza is my favorite food.

I could eat it everyday.

At Christmas I got THIS pizza maker.

(It is also on sale HERE)

We have been making pizza for dinner a few times a month since we got it!

I have been experimenting with different pizza toppings/recipes and there have been some REALLY good ones!

Once a month I am going to share a new pizza recipe with you.

You don't need the pizza maker (you can use your oven) but I am letting you know that using this pizza maker gives your pizza an authentic pizzeria taste!

I am planning on sharing a new pizza recipe every month.

Today's recipe is inspired by Mountain Mike's Pineapple Chicken Luau pizza.

Kate LOVES that pizza, so I told her that I could make a homemade version of it for her!

Pineapple Chicken Luau with Bacon Pizza

Here is what you need:

- 2 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded (I use THIS method)

- 3 or 4 slices of bacon, cooked & chopped

- Pineapple chunks/tidbits

- Pizza Dough (I use pre-made dough from Safeway or Trader Joes. I like Safeway's better because it so much easier to work with & tastes better! You can make your own dough, but when the pre-made dough is only $1.50, this is a no brainer!

- BBQ Sauce

- Mozzarella Cheese

- Cheddar Cheese

Directions:

If you use pre made dough, I keep the dough in the bag for 30 minutes at room temperature.

While the dough is sitting out for 30 minutes, I get the shredded chicken ready.

You can actually barbecue 2 chicken breasts, but I have a method that is SO.MUCH.EASIER!

I boil the frozen chicken breasts for about 15 minutes (until they are cooked!)

After 15 minutes I take out one of the chicken breasts & cut it in half to make sure it is cooked all the way through. No one wants under cooked chicken! YUCK!

I put them in my kitchen aid while they are still warm & using the paddle attachment, I turn it on and it SHREDS the chicken in less than a minute!!!!!

Check it out!!!!!

I don't know about you, but cutting up chicken grosses me out, so using this method is LIFE CHANGING.

Yes, LIFE CHANGING. Shredding chicken without touching it is Life Changing in my opinion ;)

Then I take about 1-2 cups of the shredded chicken & add it to a bowl with BBQ sauce:

Add as much BBQ sauce as you need to fully coat your chicken. I LOVE BBQ sauce, so I add a lot.

If using the Pizza maker, I split the dough in half and then roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface & then I put my dough on a piece of parchment paper.

I cook it on the parchment paper for a few minutes because then I can slide the pizza off the parchment paper without messing up the crust or making all the toppings slide off. I like cooking it without the parchment paper because then it gives the crust a pizzeria taste! If I had a pizza peel, I wouldn't need to have the parchment paper because then I would have the pizza peel to transfer the pizza to and from the pizza cooker...but I don't have one of those yet.

Spread some BBQ sauce onto the dough: