9/11

Today is a day that was forever changed. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was a freshman in college and I made my way to my macroeconomics class. It was bright and early at 7 am and upon entering my classroom, the professor was watching tv. We didn't have a real class that day because we were glued to the tv. The planes had hit the World Trade Center and it forever changed everyone lives.

I had new friends who were from NYC who were frantically calling home to see if their families were ok. My father was in the army and we wondered what he was going to have to do following this tragedy. This day brought our nation close together. It changed the way we felt about our nation, our thoughts on our personal safety and made our hearts ache for all the people who died that day.

I can't believe it has been 16 years since September 11, 2017.

My children will read about this day in their history class. It is crazy to think how much we live through and what makes the history books and what doesn't. It doesn't feel like it was that long ago, but we are approaching 20 years.

I visited ground zero several times. I go every time I visit NYC. I went to the memorial site and seen the beautiful Freedom Tower and still to this day, it makes my heart sink and a pit in my stomach.

So take a moment today to remember this day, the people who died during the 9/11 attacks and what our county has become today.

via

Friday Favorites

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I am so excited for the weekend! We have our first football home game and we are all geared up for the tailgate and game. I am hoping to leave on Sunday for my work trip, but it all depends on which way Irma heads. Sending prayers to the south.

Anyways, let's get onto Friday Favorites and Happenings.

ONE. Today my little sister is having surgery on her ankle. It is in the early afternoon, so please keep her in your prayers. Her fiance (still so weird to say that!) will be there with her, so we will just be patiently waiting to hear updates.

TWO. While my sister is having her surgery, I will be getting my microblading done. Finally. I am hoping to document it all so that I can share with you my process. Before photos without any brow pencil to the after and I will even update you all with the healing process which I hear looks kinda crazy. Wish me luck and hardly any pain.

THREE. We finally made a purchase on a new mattress. We went back and forth between another spring mattress, a tempurpedic, a numbers bed and the new foam/gel mattresses. We went to West Elm after seeing they were carrying the Leesa Mattress. We had already tried out the Casper there a couple months ago. I also did research comparing the Casper, Leesa and Helix mattresses. Ultimately we decided to go with the Leesa mattress since it was a more universal mattress. We can try it out for 90 days and if we don't like it, we will try out our second choice, the Helix.

The difference between the Leesa and Helix is the Leesa mattress is more universal in that it is a medium-firm support, is cooling, supportive and for both side and stomach sleepers. With the Helix, you customize your bed based on your height, weight, sleep preferences, etc. This is a cool option, but it didn't have as much support as the Leesa does. I really hope we love our new bed because our current one has me waking up each morning with a sore back.

Here is the article I used to compare the Leesa and Helix.

Also if you buy one of these mattresses you either need a platform frame, a bunkie board on top of your box spring or wood slates no more than 3 inches apart. Our wood slates are wider, so we had to purchase a foundation for our bed. Helix does make one that you can purchase, but after more research, I found this one on amazon that gets amazing reviews.

FOUR. Last time I got my hair done (2 weeks ago), my stylist used a new (to me) shampoo and conditioner on me and it has been amazing. If you have blonde hair, this is a must. It is a purple shampoo, but not like most purple shampoos. It is a "light" purple shampoo. I am able to use it daily, it smells heavenly, brightens my blonde and keeps my hair looking great in between appointments. This isn't a sponsored post. I am just letting you know about a game changer shampoo for blondes who need to maintain their brightness, health and beauty of their color treated hair.

Shampoo | Conditioner

FIVE. I know I sound like a broken record, but don't forget to sign up for the Mug Love Exchange. Head over to Wednesday's post for more information.

I am linking up with April, A Little Bit of Everything, Meet @ the Barre and Cup of Tea.

Thoughts and Confessions

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I haven't done a Thoughts on Thursday or Confessions post in awhile, so I thought I would vent and talk a bit. So grab a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy!

- I didn't do a weekend recap because there wasn't that much to talk about. First Rory got sick and we still tried to go camping, but had to come home early because it was getting worse and worse. Then I got hit with the bug and finally Sutton got it on Monday and she threw up all day. Poor girl got it pretty hard. We think Avery brought it home from preschool and passed it around.

- I took advantage of Labor Day sales at Old Navy and Loft. I bought a few things for work and got the girls more clothes. Did you know that I have to send 6 changes of clothes per child to preschool for potty training? And if they soil their clothes, which it will happen, I have to wash the clothes that night and send them back. But I am totally loving that they will potty train my kids. Ha. Oh and a little TMI, but Sutton pooped in the potty this weekend and that was a huge deal.

- Apple is having their iPhone release announcement on Tuesday and I can't wait. I just hope I can get my hands on one.

- Do you remember when I talked about the popsocket on Friday? Well it seems like I have been in the dark on this genius item. Everyone knows about it and has one. Especially if you are in middle school.

- So I have twins and their sleep habits have been crazy ever since we changed their cribs into toddler beds. Sometimes we end up sleeping on the girls floor which is fine, but so uncomfortable. They at least have a foam alphabet pad for us to lay on, but it isn't comfy when we just want to sleep. So after many nights of trying to use my old pregnancy pillow, the twin boppy and blankets, we bought a twin memory foam mattress. This way we can tuck it under their beds and their friends can use it as they get older. I researched a bit on Amazon, but ended up with one I hope works for us. Now you just watch, we won't use it for a long time because they will sleep very well. Ha.

- I have a twin mom hang out coming up that I couldn't be more excited for. I am part of a local twin mom group and then there are a few of us who just really click and have a private message group that we constantly talk on. We vent to each other, celebrate our wins and help each other through our falls, but this small group of girls are amazing. We are finally getting together for brunch where lots of mimosas will be consumed and I can't wait for it. It is almost a month away, but who is counting.

- Speaking of beds, has anyone bought a Leesa, Casper or Helix bed? I am seriously looking into them, but wanted to see if any of my readers has one or tried one.

- Next week is our monthly Girl Chat link up. This month we are sharing our favorite Fall recipes. I hope you join us!

- Also don't forget to join our Mug Love Exchange. It was so much fun last year. You can find all the details on yesterday's post.

Mug Love Exchange

Do you remember last year when I participated in a bloggers coffee mug exchange? Well this year I am happy to announce that I am a co-host for this exchange.

I love participating and co-hosting blogger exchanges because I get to know other bloggers and then I get to shop for them. I love this exchange even more because we exchange coffee mugs. Who doesn't love coffee and tea mugs?

Last year I received a Be Happy mug and a pair of donuts hand towels, plus a card.

If you want to participate in our mug love exchange (which I know you will want to), follow the steps below:

- Sign-ups open September 4th and close on September 12th.
- Complete THIS FORM to join our exchange.
- Partners will be picked and notified by September 15th.
- Get to know your partner and go shopping!
- Spend anywhere between $10 - $15 before shipping.
- Link-up and share mug details on September 28th using the hashtag: #MugLoveExchange
- Due to shipping costs, this exchange is only open to U.S. residents.

I hope you join us this year!!!

Sweet Potato Nachos

Last week, I posted a picture of the Sweet Potato Nachos that I made for dinner one night. I had a huge response to it and wanted to share the super simple recipe with you all. I got a general recipe from Nadine and then turned it into my own.

SWEET POTATO NACHOS
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

- 3 medium to large sweet potatoes
- 1 pound ground turkey or ground beef
- 1 taco seasoning packet (or make your own)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 small to medium jalapeno
- 1 large tomato
- 1 large ripe avocado
- green onions
- olive oil
- salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

2. Peel and cut your sweet potatoes 1/8 inch rounds. Place your sweet potatoes on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat the sweet potatoes. You will have to make two or three batches of these to use all of the sweet potatoes. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until they start to brown and crisp. Do not overcook. Turn and bake for another 10 to 12 minutes.

3. When you are on your second batch, brown your ground turkey or ground beef. Cook through and drain your meat. Add in your taco seasoning with 3/4 cup of water. Stir and cook until most of the moisture is gone.

4. Once your potatoes are done, add all of baked sweet potatoes to a cookie sheet (I used the same one after letting it cool down a bit). Your potatoes can and should overlap. Add your meat mixture and your cheese. If you don't have enough cheese, add more than indicated above or to how much you like. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

5. Plate your portion of the nachos and add on your tomatoes, avocado, green onions, jalapenos, hot sauce and any other taco/nacho items you love.

6. Enjoy!

TBB Asks - September and Back to School

I am participating in The Blended Blog's monthly questions again. This month's theme is back to school. While I don't have school aged children, I do have preschool aged children.

1. Did you love school or hate it? I wouldn't say I loved it, but I did like it. All the way through high school, school was easy. I rarely had homework and graduated with a 3.98 GPA.

2. Start school before or after Labor Day? I say after. Let the kids enjoy their summer. Around here school starts the first or second week of August. While I didn't start school this early, it was usually the 3rd or 4th week of August.

3. Wake up: eager beaver or slow poke? Slow poke. I love my sleep.

4. Favorite breakfast? My mom's french toast with powdered sugar on it.

5. Favorite cereal? I am not a cereal person. I will eat it dry, but that is about it.

6. School uniform or no uniform? None. We didn't have to wear them and I am ok with that.

7. New outfit for the first day or no? I always wore a new outfit for the first day. I am definitely keeping that a tradition with my girls too.

8. Walk to school or ride the bus? I walked to school until I hit middle school and then it was too far, so I rode the bus until I got my driver's license.

9. Backpack, tote or messenger bag? I used a backpack or messenger bag throughout my school years.

10. Eat school lunch or pack? I did a combo of it.

11. Remember the little milk cartons? White or chocolate? Chocolate.

12. Paper bag or lunch box? Paper bag.

13. Favorite thing to do at recess? Play kickball or sports like that.

14. Favorite back to school supply item? Specialty binders.

15. Chalkboard or dry erase board? I remember having both growing up, but I preferred the dry erase.

16. Regular pencil or mechanical? I am old school and like the regular.

17. Homework as soon as you got home or after dinner? Neither. I usually finished my homework during another class and when I was in elementary school it was always right after school.

18. Favorite after school snack? Fruit snacks or fruit.

19. Favorite after school show? Saved by the Bell. So good. I still love watching it.

20. Favorite subject in school? Science.

21. Lease favorite subject in school? English.

22. Name of your best friend in high school? I had a few of those....Brandy, Lynzie, Kristina, April.

23. High school mascot type? Person. He was a Senator.

24. SAT or ACT? I took both of them.

25. Favorite year in school? I would say senior year.

26. Class ring or no class ring? None. I was going to get one and then decided not to.

27. Attend or not attend high school reunions? I have attended my 10 year reunion and my 20 year is coming up in 2021 which I plan to attend.

Your turn. Are we similar?

Friday Favorites

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How is it September already? Fall is sort of here. Well it is in my books because once September hits, I feel all the Fall feels. Football, PSL, cinnamon and spice, cool mornings and Fall tv. I am so excited for the next couple of months.

Let's get onto my Friday favorites and happenings for the week.

ONE. As I mentioned on Wednesday, I recently finished All the Missing Girls and started The Couple Next Door. I blew through the Couple Next Door in just over a day. I couldn't put it down. Just when you think you have it figured out, something else is added on. It was really good. I definitely recommend it. Since I finished that one so quickly, I downloaded The Marriage Lie to read. I heard good things about it, so we shall see. Also did you know that you can read your Kindle books on your pc? I didn't and it helped when I took my breaks at work and wanted to read more.

TWO. Biana mentioned a cutting board that she recently tried out. It allows you to cut your fruits and veggies and then has a convenient scoop side to it. This was something I was interested in from the minute I saw it. I am clumsy and will chop veggies and then on the way over to the stove, I somehow drop some of my veggies. This will totally help me out. I ordered it right away and it should be here this afternoon.

Cut and Scoop Cutting Board

THREE. A few weeks ago when we went to Rory's cousins wedding, one of his cousins had the coolest stand/holder for phone. I asked her about it, played with it a bit and decided I must have one. Plus I saw it at the Discovery Museum last week and knew that I needed it. Even if I get a new iPhone in a couple of weeks (please let me be one of those people who gets one). It is called Popsocket. You can bend it different ways to use it as a stand or hold it in your fingers so you won't drop your phone on your head. You know for those early morning or late night IG scrolling. This isn't a sponsored post, but just something that is so cool and beneficial.

Popsocket

FOUR. My dear blogging friend, turned real life friend, Emily lost her mother-in-law to a battle with cancer and an infection this week. My heart breaks for her and her family. Her MIL seemed like such an amazing lady. I only read about her, but I am so sad that her two boys won't get to have their grandma around as they grow up. It makes me think of my parents and my in-laws. You never know what life throws at you and I just want to cherish all the memories and moments that we have with our parents and grandparents. Just a little reminder to hug your family and tell them that you love them. Also, keep Emily and her family in your thoughts and prayers. She truly is an amazing friend.

FIVE. Did you grow up eating Sloppy Joes? I did and I used to make them all the time. I had a recipe down to a science (in my single days), but I haven't made it in years. Then I came across a recipe this week and I hope to make it next week and bring it back old school for my girls. Have you tried this one? Are you a Sloppy Joes fan?

Sloppy Joes

I hope you all have a good long weekend! I will be back on Monday with a post all about back to school. You can find the link up at The Blended Blog.

I am linking up with April, A Little Bit of Everything, Meet @ the Barre and Cup of Tea.