Disneyland....Here We Come!!

This Thursday evening Aaron, Christian, and I are flying out of SFO to good ol' LAX! Christian's 5th birthday is April 13 and Aaron's 30th birthday is April 25, so we decided that since 5 and 30 are monumental birthdays, that now is the time to go to Disneyland! This will be Christian's first time ever! He isnt as excited as your typical 4 year old usually would be, but we think he just isnt that excited because he doesn't really know what to expect. I hope that when he gets there, he just lets lose and acts like a kid. My step Dad Jim, is driving up from Fresno to meet us there. He is really into being a part of a child's first time to D-Land! We are really excited at how things are panning out for this trip financially. Since work is obviously slow for Aaron, money is tight for us. I used my Hilton Honors points to get us 3 free nights at the Embassy Suites which includes FREE breakfast everyday! My dear friend Becky lives in Newport Beach so she bought our hopper passes for us so that we could get the tickets at the Southern California residents rate! It is substantially lower than what the average joe would pay to get into the park! I am really excited for the trip and will definitely keep you posted!!

Busy Bee

This is my life right now. I have so much on the calendar, and am scared that I dont have the time or energy to get it all done efficiently! I have Pampered Chef parties on the books, a vacation to Disneyland for my Steppie's 5th Birthday, my husband's 30th Birthday, and a few random birthday parties scattered through out the next month. Mind you, I am working Monday-Friday from 8-5, and am the only one working in my house! The economy seems to be picking up a bit, so I hope my hubby will get work soon! I want time to enjoy my family and just breathe!! What do your schedules look like for the upcoming month,a nd how do you get through your "non-stop" lives???!!!

Unemployment

Yesterday was the day a lot of people dread. Work has been so slow for Aaron's company and it finally came to filing for unemployment. I have not had a lot of experience with that, so Aaron and I filled out his papers and faxed them in, not sure of what is going to happen. My husband is our main provider. I work, but I make a good $40 dollars an hour less than him. We heard that the max he will get for unemployment is $475 dollars a week! That is way less than half of what we usually bring home. Living in the San Francisco Bay area is tough. Living expenses are so high. If it were up to us, we would move far away but we have to stay here to be close to Christian. Between the two of us we bring home good money, but are some how only having an extra $200 bucks a month for groceries, gas, and leisure! (Thats not a lot!) We have had his truck for sale for about 6 months now and no one has even asked about. Selling it would give us an extra $300 a month to go towards bills. But now that he is not working, we do not know what we are going to do because we wont even have enough money to get by. It scares me. We pay $681.00 a month in child support to Aarons sons' mother. It gets garnished from his pay checks. Now that he isnt working it is up to us to make that payment or else it goes into arrears and interest is accumulated at 10% per month. It adds up fast! It stresses me out that we cant afford our own home and our own bills and are forced to pay such a high amount of money to her even though we have Christian so often. I really just need to put my trust in God. He is who will get us through this. I just pray that he blesses my Pampered Chef business and blesses Aaron with sidework. I know if we didnt look to God for guidance on this, it will break Aaron and I. The devil is always trying to interfere with us and we have to make it our mission not to let him divide us. Anyone else out there dealing with unemployment??

Sunday Cleaning

Since my husband is doing a side job all weekend, I decided I would clean. Our hall closet has soooo much crap just thrown in it, so I decided I would take all the stuff out and only put the stuff we need and use back in it...why did I even start this project???

Burritos for my man!

My man in his work attire!


Pepper Jack Cheese

El Pato,water, Spicy Sausage, 2 Potatoes with the skin still on, Scrambled eggs, diced green chiles, and garlic,salt,&pepper!

The best sauce ever! Spicy El Pato! It is a mexican Tomato sauce with tons of flavor!

Aaron is working a side job with his buddy Matt. For those of you who don't know my husband is a Plumber. (Not a plumber who unclogs drains and toilets btw!) So I decided to make them some home made breakfast burritos and deliver them! I thought they were pretty tasty myself!

Babies on the brain!!

So I am 25 and my husband will be 30 next month. He has a 4 year old who will also have a birthday next month. I have mixed emotions about babies. Like I really really really want to have them, and then 5 minutes later think, I want a house, I want a career, I want to travel. On my lunch hour everyday, I come home sit on my couch and cry my eyes out watching TLC's A Baby Story. I love babies. But then I am fearful of whether or not I will be able to handle it. Being in San Fran and my family in Fresno makes me nervous. How the heck will Aaron and I be able to pay our bills, raise good children, and still have time for our marriage without any help from any family??? Also, what is your opinion on the Chinese Lunar Calendar?? Is it fact or fiction???

For my husband's 30th...

My hubby wants a sleeve of tattoos. For those of you who aren't tattoo savy, a sleeve means your entire arm covered in tattoos. This costs a ton of money, which we do not have! His nick- name for me is Bee... he calls me this because Brittany obviously starts with a B, and also because I am the Queen of our household. Queen Bee. He switches it up from time to time and calls me Bay-Bee. This is because we live in the BAY area. We have discussed that we will NEVER get names tattooed on our bodies...(I dont have any tattoos by the way). So instead of names, we agreed on symbolic tattoos. So this is the tattoo I agreed he could get. What do you think?? I think it is awfully cute!

Pampered Chef Lover!

For those of you who know me well, you know that I am now and have been an Independent Pampered Chef consultant for a few months. I started doing it to earn some extra cash, but seriously fell in love with their products. I am stuck on how to market and how to book parties. I have done a ton, but have hit a road block!! Any suggestions?? If you know about Pampered Chef, what is your favorite product and why?? If you don't know about it, check out my website:

www.pamperedchef.biz/brittanyibarra

Chilaquilles, the white girl way!

Tonight was my first night of the "cook-off!" I decided to make chilaquilles. For my fellow white folks, here is wikipedia's explanation of what a chilaquille is:

Chilaquiles are a traditional Mexican dish. Typically, corn tortillas cut in quarters and fried are the basis of the dish. Green or red salsa or mole, is poured over the crispy tortilla triangles, called "totopos." The mixture is simmered until the tortilla starts softening. Eggs (scrambled or fried) and pulled chicken are sometimes added to the mix. The dish is topped with cheese (typically queso fresco) and/or sour cream (crema), and it is served with refried beans. Like many dishes, regional and familial variation are quite common.
Usually, chilaquiles are eaten at breakfast or brunch. This makes them a popular recipe to use leftover tortillas and salsas.
Moreover, chilaquiles are often lauded as a cure for the common hangover; this is because in Mexico it is believed that spicy foods help in the recovery process from a hangover.
Chilaquiles are frequently confused with the Tex-Mex Migas, as each is a dish that uses tortilla chips/strips served primarily in the morning. In Guadalajara, cazuelas are kept simmering filled with chilaquiles that become thick in texture similar to polenta.
The name chilaquiles is derived from the Nahuatl word chil-a-quilitl which means "herbs or greens in chile broth

I don't usually follow recipes so let me tell you how I did it!!

I boiled 4 pieces of boneless skinless chicken breasts and then shredded the meat.

In another pan, put a large can of red enchilada sauce (whatever brand you prefer) and turn on medium heat. Add the shredded chicken. Pour 5 cups of tortilla chips in the pan and mash. Add cilantro and hot sauce to taste. Top with cheese and turn heat to low. Meanwhile, in another pan, fry a few eggs. To serve, put the fried egg on a plate and spoon the chilaquilles on top of the egg.

Then add sour cream, more cilantro, and more broken up tortilla chips. For spicier chillaquilles, use hot enchilada sauce or more tapatillo! Then I served it with homemade spanish rice.

I personally thought it was quite tasty and my hubby and steppie loved it too!! Try it out and tell me what you think!!!

And the cook-off begins!!!!!!

So I have been giving my husband a hard time lately because construction has been really slow and I have been the only one working. My daily joke consists of telling him to have my dinner on the table at 5 since I am the one bringing home the bacon! He usually just laughs along and brushes me off. Today I got home from work to find my house is spotless and Aaron in the kitchen cooking me dinner. I was in shock! He was so cute! He said that he was going through my Rachel Ray and Pampered Chef cookbooks until he found something perfect! His recipe tonight was a decadent shrimp pasta! It was so good! I was so proud of him! I went in the bedroom while he cooked and all of a sudden he called my name. I ran into the kitchen and he was standing there with watery eyes and a sour look on his face. He said that he didn't know cutting onions really hurt peoples eyes. It was hilarious! So as we sat down eating Aaron's creation, we got into a debate about cooking dinner. I said that he should cook dinner every night even when he goes back to work because he gets off everyday at 2pm! So we are going to have a cook off! I am going to cook one night, and he is going to cook one night and we are going to have someone judge our food. May the best man win!!

Fun Times!

After a good 2 weeks of being sick, my hubs and I finally got to get out of the house and enjoy some time with our good friends the Ochoas!! We went to a few wineries in Livermore, CA and tasted some great vino! This one vineyard called Thomas Cloyne was great!! They served hot Jambalaya and cornbread! They had a red Zinfandel on special so we got a couple bottles. As we were leaving, there was an OPEN HOUSE sign for this huge house on a Vineyard. All 3 cars that were with our group decided to go check it out! The house was amazing...1 million 800,000! Then we headed back to Tracy and hung out! We snacked and had more wine, and indulged in some great convo! I can't wait until we can finally move to Tracy!

The Good Stuff

My husband got up this morning and made me breakfast just how I like it! Egg whites, sausage patties, and some whole wheat toast! YUMMY! I love that he loves to do stuff like that for me. It makes me really think about all the good stuff in my life!