Wordless Wednesday: Sneak Peak..Sassy Wife T's

Single Strand Crystals



Double Strand Crystals



Swarovski Austrian Crystal Rhinestones

Look, Listen and Learn

Mr decided to invite my MIL (Mama Kat), FIL, Aunt Del and Uncle over for dinner last Saturday. They had yet to see the new place and we wanted to welcome them into our new habitat. Of course the women and men soon became separated as the men flocked in front of the TV watching football and we the women headed to the back room where we just chatted, well… they chatted and I listened. Aunt Del has been married for 45 years and my MIL just celebrated her 30 year anniversary. As they began talking about marriage and their husbands I tried to absorb as much information as possible. I even had a moment where I smiled and said this is really nice. I pray that Mr. and I can someday too celebrate our 30th and 45th anniversary. I laid on my bed and listened to the sounds of what today is history. To them it probably was just a time catching up and chatting like they normally do, but to me it was seeing the legacy of where my husband came from. Watching and listening to the women talk about life, love and men gave me so much clarity. It really cleansed my pallet. Since my grandmother passed a little over a year ago, I haven’t had those moments. Those moments where I can just listen to the wisdom and take in everything that they have to say that will help me grow and learn. I hardly said anything but they made sure to make me feel included by rubbing my back or playing in my hair as they talked and I laid on the bed.

After they left Mr. said WOW, I learned so much about marriage today. And it wasn't because the men were in front of the tube discussing relationships, it was as if he was doing the same thing as me. Listening and absorbing sound information, gestures and communication skills that helped build the longevity that both my FIL and Uncle have achieved within their marriage. He told me the things that he learned that day but I kept the things that I learned to myself because truth be told it was girl talk. There were some things that I heard before such as choose your battles, and don’t sweat the small stuff, keep busy and many more. But hearing it from Momma Kat and Aunt Del was a different experience for me. Sitting back and watching how these two women who raised my husband interact and nurture him gave me an Aah Haa moment. Everything made sense to me in regards to how my husband responds to certain situations and it really helps us to be more in tune with each other.

I am truly blessed to have in-laws that accept me as one of their own or at least make me feel that way. It really helps keep the marriage sound when you have people that you both care for and love on your side. Supporting you and showing you what real love and marriage is about. Marriage just like anything has its ups and downs, hi’s and lows but I am grateful that we both have a support system that we can go to during those difficult times. Right now our marriage is still in its infancy, developing and still blossoming and every obstacle or hurtle that we have faced has made us stronger and that much more in love, but over time I am sure we will probably need to use a few of those life lines.

Mr.

Meeeee

Biggest Loser Update

Hey!!!

Sorry I haven't posted in what seems like an eternity but I have been super busy with work and also working behind the scenes on the mentor program. I received a few emails from you guys wondering if everything is ok and YES, things are great. I really appreciate you guys checking up on me.

The weight loss contest is going great. I have lost a whopping 5 lbs and am in the lead for the most percentage lost!! WOO HOO. I've taken all of your tips and advice to heart and applied them to my new low carb lifestyle. I now only drink water and sometimes mix a little crystal light in there. I work out at least 5 times per week for 45 min at the gym also. I will keep you posted and updated on this contest and my weight loss. We may have some changes with my diet ASAP. I will let you all know.

The contest is a lot of fun at work. My colleagues are so competitive and have resorted to the destruction of my low carb life style. They went out to lunch to a famous Pizza restaurant here in Chicago and I decided to go to the gym instead. When they came back they talked about the pizza and how good it was and how I missed out. Then I noticed another "Loser" in an empty cube across from mine. I had no idea what he was up too. I then heard a fan and smelt pizza in the air all of a sudden. Take a look at what he was doing,

Yep that fan is pointed in the direction of my cube

With the pizza...SMH! The fan is angled directly at my cube.

Thats just wrong right???? This was super funny but really made me put my game face on.

Biggest Loser Contest- Prize $1000

I have talked about my weight gain in the past and I've taking steps to fight against it by working out daily. However, my diet has not really changed. Well now I have more motivation and incentive than ever!! I've entered the biggest loser contest at work. It will last for 10 weeks from September 7th through November 16th! The cost was $100 to enter and the winner takes all!!! It is based on body fat percentage and we will weigh in every two weeks. I will keep you updated on my progress and post before and after pics.

As if losing weight and looking good isn’t incentive enough, I now have the chance to win $1000 and right before BLACK FRIDAY!! If you have any tips or advice on losing weight please let me know. I plan on winning this thing.

I will blog about my progress on the scheduled weigh-in dates and let you know where I am in the race, but I will tweet about it daily. If you have a twitter please follow me @sassywife to get day to day updates on the contest.

This is going to be a lot of fun at work. It started two days ago and I think everyone is already hungry! They have that whole "Diva" attitude going on as if they need a Snickers!!! Yesterday, someone anonymously sent me a nice treat via interoffice. I received the envelope and guess what was in it...A Bag of Hershey Kisses!! I knew this meant one thing, Sabotage. With that said, I really could use your help and support. I am trying to decide if I want to do a fad diet or do the healthy approach and just watch what I eat. I already work out but I will increase that to twice a day as time permits.

What do you think? Atkins, Low Carb or Weight Watchers or do you have any other tips that have worked for you? I want to win this so bad.

1. Bragging Rights
2. Looking and Feeling Great
3. Maybe losing weight will assist with conception (nothing worse than a big fat negative)
4. $1000!!!

Here is the weigh-in schedule

• September 21
• October 5
• October 19
• November 2
• November 16

My weight loss icon right now..Doesn't Jennifer Hudson look Fabulous!!

Wish me luck!!
Image sources: Scale , Jennifer Hudson

Get Yo’ Man Chicken

Our Labor day weekend turned out to be a very eventful. Initially we had no plans other than going to Mr.'s Masonic BBQ on Sunday afternoon. Monday was supposed to be a relaxed day at home watching movies however, that morning I decided to get up and try this recipe that one of  the SMW readers emailed me. What really got me was the name of the recipe... "Get Yo' Man Chicken"!  This was a must try.  I told Mr. about the recipe when she sent it to me a few weeks back.  Not familiar with what he saw brewing in the pot that morning, he asked if I was making "Get yo' man back, chicken",  I chuckled and corrected him on the name of the recipe. Now I'm no Big Mama or Bobby Flay in the kitchen, but I can read a recipe and make things my own here and there.  I am also a pro at ordering take out and have perfected the art of dining out!!  I am trying to hone my skills in the kitchen ( especially before the babies come ), although I'd much rather bake.   I wanted to share this recipe with you as the meal was delicious.  My true test of a meal quality is Mr.  If he goes back for seconds then it's a hit, if he says "I feel sick"…then it's a miss. With this recipe he went back for thirds!!

So here you go…

Get Yo’ Man Chicken

2 tablespoons olive oil

6 chicken thighs, skinless
1 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoons pepper
1 medium onion, sliced
1 cup chicken stock
½ cup white wine
1 (14.5-ounce) can crushed tomatoes in thick puree
1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ tablespoon dried rosemary

1 tablespoon lemon-pepper
Hot buttered rice
2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves

Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat
Pat chicken dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken, meat-side first, and turning once, about 4 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate to reserve. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of oil from the pan. Add onion to the pan and sauté until tender, roughly 3 minutes. Add the stock and wine and stir, scrapping any brown bits off the bottom of pan. Turn heat to high and reduce by half, about 3 minutes. Pour in the crushed tomatoes and add the dried herbs and lemon pepper. Add the chicken thighs back in. Cover and cook on medium low for 40 minutes. Remove chicken from liquid and serve on hot buttered rice. Ladle the sauce on top and garnish with fresh chopped parsley

Oh I made this my own by seasoning the chicken with my favorite seasonings before browning which include: Season Salt, Black Pepper and Garlic Powder.

Image captured by Mr.
Tina..I hope this is what it's supposed to look like!! :-)

Also, if you have any recipes that you would like to pass onto me, please send them to me!!! Mr. does not mind being my guinea pig as I hone my cooking skills.

Later that day we decided to go the African Caribbean Festival. It was supposed to be a quick walk through as Mr. complained the whole way there about how he really didn’t want to go. Once we got there, he did not want to leave and ended up purchasing more things than I did!!! I keep telling him he should listen to me when I speak sometimes . We had a great time, check out some of the cool pics I was able to snag on his new phone.

Kid in a Candy Store

And yes, he purchased that hat!!

I hope everyone had a fun and safe holiday.

My Testimony

Dear Readers,
This past week I haven’t been feeling like myself. Actually I was mentally and emotionally exhausted. My dream was being muted because it appeared to be conflicting with a friends dream. This dilemma really weighted on me and it basically consumed my thoughts for a week. After much deliberation I decided to Let Go and Let God. I prayed heavily about the situation and waited to hear God’s response. The next morning when I woke up I had a huge sense of relief. I could not yet put my finger on why but I felt like the weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. This post is a little long but please bear with me as I provide my blessings received the day after I decided to put it all in God’s hands.

Blessing 1:
I had a ton of emails that morning but one that stuck out was from Yakini from the Prissy Mommy Chronicles . I love her blog and often seek advice from her in regards to my blog, therefore I was anxious to see what this email would entail. I was all smiles when she offered to have my business cards done because she had an extra credit on her account. I was so excited. I had posted the image of my b-cards on my FB fan page but had not ordered them yet. She saved me about $75!!

Business card design by Julie Holloway for more of her work click here: http://www.jmhartstudio.com/

Blessing 2:
Same day different email account... I received several emails from "you" telling me how you loved my blog, how you can relate to the things in my life and you are happy that I use this medium to talk about it. This was such a sweet blessing. I had not yet formed any perception of my blog as it is very new. However seeing those words from my readers really had me on cloud nine. Sometimes it’s just the little things you do that can really affect a person. By sending a simple email saying thank you or keep it up, provides so much hope and clarification.

Blessing 3:
Later that day.. I was in my blogger dashboard and noticed a tab called Stats. I clicked on it and WOW, it gave my all of my numbers. From the number of page views, audience and it also gave me the sources from where my traffic was coming from. A source that stuck out to me was the Black WeBlog Awards site . I had heard about the site because I actually voted for a few of my favorite blogs last month. So I clicked on the link to check out where the direct link to my site was located. The first post on the site was announcing the 2010 winners and I sifted through them to see if any of the blogs I voted for had won. Once I got to the Best Personal Blog category, my heart hit the floor. I saw Sassy Wife Chronicles as the Judges Vote! I literally had to get up and walk away from the computer. Cause clearly I'm imagining things. 5 minutes later I walked back to the computer and it's still there!!! If my walls could talk they would literally say.. This Chick Is Crazy! (Has anyone else ever celebrated by themselves by doing a stupid dance and running around with your hands up like you just knocked out a heavy weight champion ..well ..that’s what it looked like) I did not know what it meant or who was giving the award, but to me..it was more than recognition. It was another blessing. I had to find out more so I sent an email to the amin of the site.

Hello,


First let me say I really love your site and found it by way of The Broken Brown Egg’s Blog as I voted for that blog. Today I looked at my stats and noticed I had some traffic coming from your site. To my astonishment my blog name was listed under Best Personal Blog as the judges vote. I had no idea I was nominated and recently just launched my blog so I am very new to all of this.

Could you please explain what is the difference between Popular and Judges vote. Also, I viewed the finalist several times when I voted for others but never saw my blog listed. I am very honored and grateful to see my blog on the winner post, but am somewhat confused. Can someone please explain and shed some light on this situation for me?

Thanks,
Brandi

Congratulations!

I've attached the graphic to this email!

The public is represented by the "Popular Vote" and the judges are represented by the "Judges' Vote". The judges are social media experts, web designers, blogging veterans, and have a general wealth of knowledge about the web and blogging. The judges choose their own picks for each category (including any of the blogs nominated during the Awards period), and their choices are weighted based on four categories (design, content, frequency, and reach). The judges submit their choices anonymously, and the blog with the majority of votes wins the Judges vote. In the case of a tie in any category, the Chairman chooses the Judges vote winner.
Hope this explains it to you!
Thanks for writing!
BWA Staff
http://blackweblogawards.com

Sassy Wife Chronicles
For a complete list of winners click here WINNERS

Blessing 4:
Mr. reads my blog on occasion, but when he got home I couldn’t wait to tell him about the award. He knew that I was a bit down the last couple of days so he was excited and happy for me. He then proceeded to say that he is going to start a blog called "Mr...The Answer to Sassy Mahogany Wife's Blog". Now mind you he is a jokester and loves to make people laugh. I was crying/laughing when he finished talking about his blog. I can't repeat some of the things he said he would talk about but if you're married or in a relationship and sometimes don’t feel like doing the baby dance..then you could imagine the things "the Answer" would talk about. (LOL) So after his rant I asked him if he had read my last post Wife Behind The Badge and he said he was going to read it now. I let him have his moment and for the first time ever Mr. was speechless. I walked into the room and he was misty eyed and softly said "that was so beautiful sweetie." And he continued with my blessings because he actually commented on my post. Maybe small and trivial to some but for Macho man to comment on Sassy Wife Chronicles was major!

The morale of the story is this, each experience in your life was absolutely necessary in order to have gotten you to the next place, and the next, up until this very moment. Stop trying to figure everything out by yourself, pray on it and let God do his work. He will provide you with an answer whether you like it or not. So I say Thank You Lord. I got your message loud and clear. I am on the right path to serving you and fufilling my purpose.


Thank you to everyone who has helped me see the light.


I think I've talked enough and sorry it’s so long but this was in my heart and I had to tell you all my testimony.

No on can depress you, No one can make you anxious, No one can hurt your feelings, No one can make you anything other than what you allow inside.

Response: