How to go Bathing suit shopping without feeling Depressed

With sun and warm weather basically here, most people are trying to get outside, be it hiking, camping, or going to the beach. Unfortunately, there is one chore that comes with the transition into this glorious season, that's bathing suit shopping.

Now if you have a perfect shape and size, you're probably going to grab something super cute or something skimpy right off the rack and sing "tra la la la la la" as you skip home happily with total security in your new purchase. If you are however in the group who let out a slight groan when they saw the photo above, this article could be beneficial. 

Today I did it, I went swimsuit shopping without needing a tub of ice cream to console me afterwards. How you ask? It took some time, and some effort, and some homework, but I'm here to share my methods to perhaps help you obtain this sense of triumph I've achieved. 

1. Know your body shape. Sounds simple, but for a long time I thought that I was a different shape than I am. For the sake of this post I'll share the fact I'm a pear shape, I was dressing as if I was an hour glass, I was thrown off because for a pear, I'm a busty pear. So step one would be to figure out your shape, here is a link to help you figure out your body shape if you're not quite sure.

2. Learn how to dress your shape, in general, not just for a swimsuit. Where I'm a pear I know dark colours work well on the bottom for me, and I want structured tops that draw the eye up and away from my hips (because baby got back). The same can be applied to swimsuits, and today there  is quite definitely a suit out there for every body. So I MAY have been helpful to some pear shaped ladies, but if your body type is not pear, you may be sitting here scratching your head. This is why I'm providing you with two links, to try and help you out. This link is a general guide for dressing your shape while this one is specifically for swimwear .

3.So up until know your recon work has been pretty straight forward, but there's more! Thanks to the wonderful world of pinterest,  you could go and look up more options you like to get a better feel of what you're going to look for when you hit the store. Another thing I'd recommend (and if you do this all the time like I do I could be enabling your addiction to it here) do some on-line window shopping too. If you want a real accurate read though, the old fashioned method of actually going to a store to look at what they have is the best way. 

4.So now that you know what's out there, you need to know what you're comfortable with. My body type, I should be able to wear a regular bikini top and chuck on some high waisted bottoms...but to be honest, I prefer to be a little more modest, so I tend to opt for a tankini top. It's a personal comfort thing, and if I walk out onto a beach feeling uncomfortable, it really doesn't matter if I can pull it off or not, I'm going to feel weird.

5. So now that you know what you want, where to get it, and what you're going to be most comfortable with it's the final step, actually going to the store and trying on a suit. Shave your legs before you head out, and wear your flip flops, or at the VERY least, DO NOT WEAR SOCKS! Make sure you're mentally in a good place about your body, Remember that no REAL person has a perfect body,everyone has their insecurities. The body you have takes your through you're life every day. No matter the size or shape, it's where you live and you should appreciate it because it's beautiful. 

Hopefully these steps will help with the process, and prepare you for your shopping endeavours! 

Review of Glass House

    So I'm PRETTY sure it's no Secret, I'm a fan of Big Brother. I've gone so far in previous years to go on air chatting about it, and leaving the floor open to discussion...PS I have EVERY intention of doing this again this year! If you didn't hear, CBS and ABC went to court over ABC's NEW TV show Glass House. So the idea is REALLY similar to Big Brother, and for that reason CBS said they were ripping off their idea. The Judge Ruled in favour of ABC. Prior to all of this I knew NOTHING of this Glass House show, and I likely would have seen the promo for it and said..."so a rip off of Big Brother?" and that would have been the end. But we humans....we're an interesting breed, with all the attention it got I was curious. I watched the first episode, and I feel the need to give it a review.

   So This group of 14 people living in a glass house (transparent and such). They come in (and out) on something that reminds me over Star Wars when Han is lowered into the thing that put him in Carbonite. SO you know how with Big Brother you vote for what the "Have not's" eat, or who gets special powers and stuff? Well that seems to be the concept on this show except it's for EVERY little thing. Last night they had a pool party (voted by viewers) where they got to drink (voted by viewers) and eat sushi (voted by viewers).

  SOME people are standing out more than others. Case in point? ALEX! This guy is under the delusion he's awesome...BB fans...remember Ronnie from season 11? He kind of reminds me of that...but if Ronnie were a Jock. He also looks like the older brother from the Wonder years. So on THIS show they're allowed to tweet and stuff, so I'm not sure if they asked these questions BEFORE they went in the house, or they tweeted them, but they'd all asked these questions that were yes or now questions, and they were...VOTED ON BY VIEWERS. Well this Alex guy (who btw has this whole nick name persona thing that just makes him look like MORE of a tool) asks,  "Should I become the most Epic Villain of all time?"...Um...WHAT?! FIRST episode? REALLY? Gee...how could THAT be a bad move? So here comes another BB reference...Remember in season 8, where Dick INTENTIONALLY put a target on his back and started being a jerk? Well it was kind of like that...if Dick had been about 8! He just basically went around to everyone in the house and decided to verbally abuse them as best he could without being kicked off the show. What's MORE the jabs were petty and Childish...he did however make ONE person cry...the girl he said he "wanted to get to know" because "she's hot"...yeah dude...good luck with that.

  But Alex wasn't a TOTAL idiot...no no that title went to Jacob. THESE two hit it off RIGHT off the bat, there was some rather primitive grunting and chest pounding between these two. SO the house was divided into teams for the FIRST competition (that part was kind of like survivor). AS VOTED BY VIEWERS (are you getting the pattern yet?) it was decided that the teams would be separated, West and East (depending on where they were from). Jacob, wasn't sure what team he was supposed to be on (ps he's from Oregon). Oh Happy Day! He was with his grunt brother Alex. Now UNLIKE Big Brother, the viewers vote for who stays and who goes out of the two placed on the chopping block. In this competition, each team had to select a team captain, the captain of the losing team would be on the chopping block, along with one of his team mates as voted by the house. Jacob volunteered for this because "I know we're going to win". As for the opposing team, no one was stepping forward, but in the end Jeffrey made the call that HE would be the team captain. THIS was not necessarily a BAD call on his part, he'd been making fast friends.

 Jeffrey's team won the competition, so Jacob was on the chopping block or in THIS house "limbo". GUESS who was put on the block with him...DUR! Alex! When the members of the house are put in "Limbo" they are separated from the rest of the house while viewers vote for who will return. The go out the same way they come in and while they left Alex told them all he'd be back. NOW for SOME reason...Jacob decided to bail on the whole show...yes...first episode. I DO like that they're still letting viewers vote about Alex though.

 SO my overall feelings on this show? Well I guess the BIG thing that sets it apart from BB is that it's FAR more interactive with viewers...maybe a little TOO much. With Big Brother I like how they are COMPLETELY cut off from the world, so when some one is HOH it's pretty special they get something from home. These guys are on Twitter. I also think that these guys are kind of like puppets in the house...So viewers can make them do things...Big brother, there's viewer interaction, but the house guests playing the way the want to THAT is part of the entertainment value. OMG that being said though, one guy on Glass house has to have chosen the STUPIDEST strategy I've EVER seen! We're talking making Shelly's playing both sides of the house looking GENIUS! Apollo, wants to play an HONEST game (ok so kind of the total opposite of Shelly) he has brought in a deck of cards, and got everyone to pick a card. So when it comes time for him to vote WHO to put on the chopping block...sorry...in limbo... he'll pick one of the cards and that's who he'll vote for...yup...that's his plan...To wrap this all up...Big Brother is going into season 14...I don't see Glass house making it THAT far...

OH sorry one more thing...Alex...the most EPIC Villain of all time IS and always WILL be EVEL DICK!

Cheap and Easy Edition #16

So before I get into this week's recipe wanted to give you a heads up! There WILL NOT be a  poll this week for a new Cheap and Easy Recipe, no new ingredients list on Friday and next week there will not be a new recipe, or an Anti-bully Blog. I'm on Vacation next week, I'll be doing wedding things (my friend's wedding)  and stuff! The Anti-Bully Blog will be the first to return on July 4th, the poll for the next Cheap and Easy recipe will be available exclusively on MY fan page, you can get to it  here , that will be on the 5th. The Ingredients will come out on the 6th and I'll post anywhere I'm allowed to as per usual, and the recipe will come out on the 10th. So there's your FYI now to the Food! 

So here are the ingredients WITH measurements, and without the bang for your buck part

1lb Chicken, I used boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

5 Oz Mushrooms I kind of eyeballed this

1 Large Onion

2 Garlic Cloves

1 Green Bell Pepper

1/2 tps paprika 

1tbsp Flour

1/2 tsp Mustard Powder

1 Cup Chicken Broth

1/2 cup sour cream

2tbsp butter

Pepper 

Salt

Rice or Noodles

Cook the rice or noodles according to the package

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces. Heat up 1 tbsp of butter and cook the chicken until tender, not brown. Meanwhile chop up the Green Pepper, Onion, mushrooms and either grate, or mince the garlic. 

When the Chicken is set remove it from the pan, add the other Tbsp of butter and sautee the Peppers and Onion (this smells AMAZING BTW) for 2 min. Meanwhile mix up the flour and mustard powder in a bowl

Add the Mushrooms to the Peppers and onion, cook until they are soft. Then add the Garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Pour in the chicken Broth, and bring to a boil. Add the Salt and pepper to taste ( I don't think I added any salt because broth is usually pretty salty anyway). Let it simmer for 5 min.  Add the paprika and Sour Cream, and simmer for another 5 min. Serve over your rice or noodles and that's that. 

I REALLY liked this recipe when I made it. THAT being said I made it with rice last time, so I think I might want to try noodles next time...and since hubs isn't a HUGE rice fan...I thin he'd appreciate that too. So that's the recipe! Enjoy! 

Avengers Review

Well I can't say I go to the movies often, but this past weekend was hubs b-day and we went and saw the Avengers. My last movie review was the Lucky one...and I was COMPLETELY out of my element...because though I AM a chick flick...I DO NOT like Chick Flicks. THIS however is back in my realm. For starters, they screwed up... How? Because this is supposed to be the ORIGIN of the Avengers....the founding members were not those depicted in the movie...There were 5 to start and they only had Iron man, Thor, and the Hulk...the comic series started in 1963, and Cap Joined in 64, Hawkeye in 65, Black Widow wasn't even until 1973. Speaking as a Comic book fan, I would have prefered to see Scarlet Witch in the place of Black Widow. She joined in 65...though it may have been a little cliché to Scarlet play the Scarlet Witch. So I can actually forgive ALL of this, simply because the way they played out the story the NEEDED Cap! Really, would not have worked out without Capitan America. While I would have PREFERRED Scarlet Witch...she would have been a little out there for this story too. The combo choice of members, was ACTUALLY really good...just not accurate. 

Lets start with the actual characters. Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark/ Iron man. When I saw the FIRST Iron man movie, I thought RDJ ROCKED the Role...the second...it got a little meh...BUT the Awesomeness of Tony was brought BACK in this movie. Tony had his MUCH needed comedic lines, his cocky attitude, and while Pepper Pots wasn't a MAJOR role in this one...we still saw Tony's softer side. Not going further in that one, or we're going to have some spoilers

Chris Evans as Captain America/ Steve Rogers. I'm not going to lie...I didn't see Captain America. WHY? Because I was still pretty pissed about the way the Fantastic Four was butchered...and then impaled on a stick with the second movie... Chris Evans played The Human Torch/ Johnny Storm. I haven't forgiven this one... That being said I'll likely check it out now...I've never really been a Cap fan though. In this Role though I have forgiven Chris Evans. Cap is really the polar opposite of Johnny. While Johnny is a Show Boater, and more like...well...Tony, Cap is about doing what is right, no matter what. SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVEN'T SEE CAPTAIN AMERICA, He's still struggling to adapt to the modern day, he's very much old fashioned, but not SO much so it's painful. 

Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner...I'm not putting the slash because he didn't play the Hulk, he was computer animated, and fun fact my hubs told me...Lou Ferrigno, is the ONLY person who has ever voiced the Hulk. Mark was my FAVORITE Bruce Banner...from the movies (you can't compare him the the orig...just sayin) Hulk is probably the background story I know the best. I think of ALL the members of the group I've read the most comics of his. NOT to mention I love the Hulk, I want to hug him (yes I know that's a bad idea). The Character of Bruce Banner is...yeah this is an over used Comic description...Mild Mannered. Mark NAILED it. He was able to the mild mannered thing, but he was able to do that transition to the Hulk role too, and it was GREAT! I thought when Eric Bana did it, he wasn't Mild Mannered enough...a trait that served him well when he was in the Star Trek Movie but I digress.  It's something for me to put him about Edward Norton though, because I think he's such a GREAT actor, but I'm not a fan of Liv Tyler...so that may have actually played a part in that. 

Chris Hemsworth as Thor. No I didn't see Thor...and I'm thinking because I hadn't when I do FINALLY (which I do) it won't be as good now because, SPOILER ALERT, We've got some more Loki in this one. So my husband told me HE thought his acting sucked...however...I....sorry...I was just thinking of Chris Hemsworth in the Role of Thor...and forgot what I was talking about. I think I've read one or two Thor Comics, so no, I don't know A LOT about Thor. I know he is supposed to have a bit of Arrogance to him, because, well he is a God. There was a little bit of that in the movie...but I think I probably would have seen a little more of that development if I SAW Thor. I thought he was good in the Role, I really couldn't see anyone else playing it. 

Scar Joe as the Black Widow. She would not have been my first choice in the role...I'm not a Scar Jo fan. PS watch ANY movie with her in it, and see that signature, hurt, and shocked face she makes...it's in this one...however it's the first time I've seen her play it off well! Would she have been my first choice? No, but she was decent... I think in her FIRST scene she could have been a little more arrogant...I'm actually serious about that. 

Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye...Thank GOD they didn't stick to the old costume with that one! So the style did resemble some of the evolution of the costume, but it wasn't bright purple...I'm just sayin. Jeremy stole my heart as this character right off the bat...I kid you not, and it just grew, through the movie. While he wasn't one of the in your face characters, he was pretty freakin cool in the role. 

Tom Hiddleston as Loki. For Starters, swear this is my last character evaluation! Background info, Loki is the envious, power hungry "brother" of Thor. Tom, was what he was supposed to be! Arrogant because of the fact that he is a god, while he was powerful he still came off as weaker than Thor, he was petty, and down right evil! If you look up the mythology Loki is the God of mischief...that is an understatement . Tom had the playful Mischief were needed, the kind of creepy knowing evil smile was achieved. The Ruthless evil Villain was totally there. Loki was captured by this actor

If you want to see the movie and want to know LITERALLY nothing about the story...stop reading NOW!

You kept going, there will be no more SPOILER ALERT  comments...however I won't give away anything that I think could ruin the movie for you...so this likely won't take long. 

So in this there is an Alien Race that wants to attack earth, and they assume we're little ants you can step on with your boot (I chose those words on purpose, you'll need to see the movie though to understand). Loki meanwhile wants to RULE earth, and teams up with these aliens. Loki comes back Via Shield experiments, all hell breaks loose. Personalities clash where you would expect, there's a possible love story in there, and we learn the real strength of some of the Avengers in more ways than one. They make you actually nervous for the Hulk to appear. That for me was much like with the Star Trek Movie and Waiting for Scotty to arrive...it took too long. Both only for my love of the character...ok for Star Trek it was the Actor! The Fight scene is AWESOME! I loved it...and I'm sorry you KNEW there was a Fight scene. 

Over all, I enjoyed the movie...Marvel still has a LOT of making up to do for some movies we've suffered through, but this is definitely doing that! The LAST movie I saw in theatres I predicted and got bored with...This one had my FULL attention! I'm waiting for it to hit DVD AND the next one....on that note...STAY TO THE END OF THE CREDITS! The important part is actually part way through them, and I saw that...but I was informed I missed a Laugh at the end...:(

Avengers gets an 8.6 from me, dead on with IMDB

Cheap And Easy Edition #16 Ingredients

Logo Credit Nate Williams 

Ok well another week and I've left it up to you. I kind of like posting the options and leaving it up to YOU what the recipe would be! This is the first one in a while that ISN'T a slow cooker recipe, which I feel good about. While I love my slow cooker, I know not everyone has one...even though I think they should. SO let me start this blog by saying, I will do my best to put up a poll every week for the recipe so you can have a say. I WILL make it exclusive to my fan page, so if you wanna be in on that... it's right here . Polls come out Thursday Afternoons. This weekend is my husband's Birthday, so I WAS concerned about when I would try the recipe...but you guys voted for the one I made this past week for supper, so thank YOU! 

So here are your ingredients, and where to get the MOST bang for your buck! 

1lb chicken @ No Frills 3.77/lb

 Mushrooms @ GT .98 @ Superstore 2

Onion

Garlic

Green Pepper@ Sobeys 1.29/lb

Paprika

Flour

Chicken Broth @ Superstore Campbells 2

Sour Cream

Butter

Pepper

Salt

Either Rice or noodles (if you have rice go for that if not you can get packs of ramen noodles, JUST the noodles for like $2 and there is a TON in a pack)

So those are the "sales", but I do have some notes for you on this one. The Chicken? That is a FANTASTIC buy, if you can grab more than you need and freeze it, I would. Onion, and garlic are BOTH a kitchen staple for me. I buy bags of onions, usually no more than $3, and Garlic, I usually only pay .50 for one. Paprika and Flour, are ALSO staples, I think they are in most homes. I think I've mentioned before Chicken Broth is a staple in MY kitchen. Let it be known though, I NEVER pay more than $2 for a box of it. If I'm not mistaken the best every day buy would be Walmart or Superstore. Campbells is on for $2 this week so if you prefer it, it's a good time to stock up. Sour cream, never pay more than $2 for a smaller size. I also didn't mention this because I'm not 100% sure on this because I didn't notice it in the flyer. I'm pretty sure this morning I got a LARGER container of Sour cream for just $3. 

So those are my notes, you have your ingredients! Happy Shopping and the recipe will be coming your way on Tuesday! 

Hub's Birthday dinner

So for the last SEVERAL years, for my Husband's Birthday I've told him, I'd make him whatever he wants for Supper on his Birthday OR We could go out. I do all the cooking for the most part in our house (however he is a GREAT helper when I need him) so there are QUITE a few recipes he could choose from, and yet for the last 3 years (maybe longer but I know at least 3) it's ALWAYS been the same, Seafood Chowder. The anticipation is building in my house for this recipe. 

When we FIRST moved to Saint John, I was CONSTANTLY looking for new and AWESOME recipes, and came across a New England Clam Chowder recipe. I adapted it, and made it my own! 

Here are 3 reasons why my husband LOVES this recipe SO much

1. I always make a TON of it

2. I'm not stingy with ANY of the ingredients

3. There's a LOT of Bacon! 

I mentioned that I would tell you how to make this a cheaper version. How? Well for one, make this simply clam chowder. The clams are the cheapest seafood in here. The other way? Half this recipe. I mentioned I make a TON...that's because this recipe is double the original. So here are your ingredients

8 Strips of bacon, raw, and chopped

4 Ribs of Celery, chopped

1 good size onion, chopped

3 1/2 cups chicken Broth

2 10oz cans of clams,drained 

1 bag frozen shrimp, peeled (or 2 shrimp rings)

1lb scallops (I'd picked up some frozen ones a week or two ago, then he reminded me he wanted this so they're still in my freezer)

2 8oz bottles of Clam Juice

4 med potatoes cubed

4 tsp dried parsley 

1 tsp celery salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 cups heavy whipping cream 

1/4 cup flour 

In a large pot cook bacon,  stirring often for about 2 min, then add the celery and onion and cook for another 3 min, stirring often 

Add Broth, Seafood, Clam juice, potatoes and Spices to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 20min

In a bowl Whisk together the Cream and flour. Stir into pot, and simmer until thickened, stirring often 

It's really good, and I'm looking forward to making it...I'm thinkin I may make it EARLIER in the day because it can get hot in the kitchen with this one! 

The Anti Bully Blog Edition #35

So today before I get into our actual topic I wanted to give a heads up. Since we're getting into the Summer months, it is the time of year when people go on Vacation. In the next couple weeks I will be taking a week for my Friend's wedding. So at that time, I will be putting the blog on hold. THAT is the only way it's going on hold, Vacation, no other reason will hold me back...just so you know. 

Well last week I said something about not having had some one send me THEIR story in a while, and when that happened...a listener of course made me eat my words...they were medium rare with a side of slaw...ha ha...

Now after further conversing with this listener they said they had more than one story, but would prefer not to use their name. Now I got confused, I wasn't sure if they meant on JUST that story or this one, so when in doubt, I leave it out. 

I had a couple stories that have caught my attention, that reminds me, bullies come in all sizes...and so do their targets. One story I saw was posted on the Anti-bullies Unite page...and I believe my exact words were "are you FREAKIN kidding me"?!

This Anti-bully's Story, didn't make headlines, but I had a similar reaction to it. Here is her Story:

When my Daughter was 3, My kids and I were standing and waiting for the bus. My youngest daughter had Speech Appraxia, which meant she didn't speak her first words until she was about 4. Regardless she did express herself differently than most, and she had a hearing problem as well. At the bus stop was a well dressed woman, and my daughter decided she would make friends with this woman. Well the woman got really annoyed and turned to me very sarcastically and said "What's wrong with her? There has to be something wrong with her". I didn't feel it necessary to explain my daughter's problems, so I simply said "She is 3, and she is a kid, that's what is wrong with her". My other two children were Mortified that an adult could be like this. I had to Simply explain to them that people are usually the way they are from they life they have lived, so don't blame her, just forgive her. But my point is bullying is something that has no age limits.   

For starters, thanks SO much for sharing your story. That was a pretty horrible thing to do or say. REALLY, who DOES that?! However a Good lesson was taught there. Her kids were taught what is the typical reasoning behind such behaviour. And what's more they were taught forgiveness. 

Make NO mistake about it, Adults can be bullies. We see it every day, just adults have enough life experience to attempt to cover it up in one way or another, or be VERY tricky about it. Kids bullying is obvious, when you see it...you know it. While this adult happened to be right out there, and I suppose Child like, because it was pretty obvious, adults should maybe stop and think...are kids picking up on what I'm doing? Really, you might be very subtle...but kids aren't stupid. So I suppose the moral of the story here, adults, have a look at yourself. Kids learn from us. 

Remember if you have something to contribute to the Anti-bully blog you can facebook me