Paparazzi Smarty Pants in the house!

Paparazzi Smarty Pants in the house! Yes, on our latest trip to Disney World in December I spotted Kelly Ripa! As I was waiting from Tom and Isa to finish the Jungle Cruise I noticed a small crowd forming near the exit. My "I promise I was not eavesdropping" ears heard something about Kelly Ripa being here. So I figured, hey why not, lets join in! I took out my phone and started snapping photos as she and crew exited. It felt wrong and right all at the same time. I won't mention how Tom laughed at me when he realized how ridiculous I was being.

Honest, real life impression of Kelly Ripa...she looked at least 15 years older than her svelte Mark Castellanos husband!

She's in the white coat on the left in my photo, looking at Mark.

Miami MetroZoo - best pass I've owned!

One of the best gifts have I received as a mommy was a membership to our local zoo, Miami MetroZoo. It was a present back in Fall of 2008. We got such use out of it. The pass let me bring one child under the age of 2 (my daughter, obviously!) and another adult. It worked great. On the weekends, my husband was the adult and on the weekdays I could easily invite a friend with her child to come, free of charge! Great deal, right?!

A few weeks ago we hit the zoo after a few months of just not having the time. We had a BLAST! The animals were moving, the weather was perfect and we got a ridiculous amount of exercise in (the zoo is HUGE!) Best of all, we renewed our pass!

Check out this photo from when we fed the giraffe. The photo was taken with my iPhone - so there is no zooming...that's how close I really was - CRAZY!

Cold, with a side of bok choy, daikon radishes and Jeruselem artichokes

The weather is still a bit on the chilly side. I still can't believe what a wuss I've become!

I actually wore my UGG style boots today. Just a few wek ago I would have sweated just at the thought of wearing them in South Florida, and here I am shivering wearing a wool sweater when it's 55 out! What have a I turned into!


I've been busy at the oven during naptime today. With yesterday's produce delivery (I need to fill you in about that one of these days) we got a huge thing of bok choy, daikon radishes and Jeruselem artichokes. What exactly do I do with all this! Thankfully with these frigid tempurters I had a request from my hubby for some stew tonight. So, with my fresh box of produce, plus TONS left over from last week, I have a yummy, healthy stew simmering on the stovetop. I adapted a recipe from SparkRecipes.com so I hope it comes out ok! It smells awesome! (BTW, the radishes are still sitting in the fridge with the artichokes. I need to find another easy recipe!)

Morning Freeze....brrrrrrrrrrrr

It's the Monday morning cold blues! Wow, woke up this AM to the low 40s in South Florida! Yikes! I grew up in the northeast but I have certainly acclimated in my 4 1/2 years down south. Winters in my book are now filled with days in the high 60s to low 70s. Not any of this nonsense!

I hit the gym this morning to work with my trainer. Although I'm dealing with a sprained finger and possible torn ligament I was there! Cheers to me! It has been nearly 3 months of dedication and I'm seeing such a difference already! I'm down at least one dress size, possibly 2! The scale isn't showing as much - just about 10 lbs. I've also been blessed to receive so many compliments during the last month. I love it! Woo Hoo!

Enjoy the big smiles from my munchkin at the Christmas tree! This photo was taken at the Grand Floridian in Walt Disney World in December!