Recently | January & February Edition

Does anyone else feel like 2017 doesn't like them recently?  Just me? Okay.  January got off to a slow start.  And I just knew February aka Black History Month was going to be LIT for our family.  I mean Beyonce announced that she and Jay-Z were having twins on the first day of Black History Month, so how could I not take that as a good omen that February was going to bring great things?

Alas, we got hit by the flu not once, not twice, but three times last month.  So we pretty much on house arrest because I'm NOT about that spreading germs life.  Plus, I'm a light weight when it comes to heavy meds and was pretty much out of it.  Voluntary house arrest wasn't all that bad though.  Here's a look at what I've been up to recently since the last time y'all have seen me here on the blog.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I want to inform you that this post does contain affiliate links.  I use affiliate links when talking about specific products so that you can see the exact product I used and where I purchased it from.  Now that that's out of the way, carry on with the rest of the post.

January & February Wrap-Up

Cooked | Dropping 25 lbs and toning up my muscles is one of my goals/resolutions for 2017.  Last year I kind of started eating my feelings and overindulging on late night sweets.  While I started the New Year off well in the eating department, I still dropped by the library to pick up some cookbooks specifically featuring healthy meals.  My favorite at out of the six that I picked up has been Dr. Ian K. Smith's The Shred Diet Cookbook.

I want to set the record straight and admit that I don't believe in dieting.  However, I do believe in healthy eating and Dr Ian's cookbook is filled with recipes that are both healthy and delicious.  My favorite that I've made twice already is his Seared Mustard Pork Chops with Cider-Braised Onions.  These pork chops pair well with fried cabbage as well as mashed potatoes.

I'm also a fan of his Bone-Hugging Chili recipe.  We had a few chilly days towards the end of last month and chili was just the perfect meal to warm us up.  I did make a few alterations to this recipe like subbing the ground beef for ground turkey as well as making my own chili seasoning mix and adding a fresh salsa in place of one of the cans of diced tomatoes.  I'll be sharing my version of the recipe on the blog later on this week.  Meanwhile, I can't wait to try out even more recipes from this cookbook this month.

Read |  Thanks to three rounds of the flu and a double ear infection, we weren't able to get out of the house as much as we wanted to last month.  I was so bummed because there were two Black History museums that I wanted visit with the kids.  Our sick germs didn't stop us completely from celebrating Black History Month though.  Before I got hit with the flu, I managed to make it the library to pick up a month's worth of books for me and the kids written by Black authors and/or featuring Black main characters.

Our favorite read was Spirit Week Showdown from the The Magnificent Mya Tibbs series written by Crystal Allen.  Mya is a such funny and spunky nine year old.  This book made us laugh and even made us sad during some points.  It's the perfect book to share with young kids when talking to them about how to make wise choices in the friendship department and how to not be bullies.

I know I'm probably going to get a lot of shocked gasps for this, but my least favorite book was Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes.  It was so hard to get into that DNFed (Did Not Finish) it.  Listen, I tried to read this book, but I couldn't.  I probably should have seen this coming because I'm not a huge fan of any of Shonda's shows.  I like How To Get Away With Murder, but I never watch it on cable tv.  I usually wait until the season uploads to Netflix and then watch a few episodes each day.  I don't watch Scandal AT. ALL!   And I stopped watching Grey's Anatomy over five years ago.

Y'all, I really wanted to like this book.  Heck, I wanted to love it because I've heard so many people rave about how good it was.  Also, I had read some of the quotes from the book and really felt like they spoke to me, but I guess I was mistaken.  I'll try to pick up Year of Yes again over the summer.

Enjoyed |  We got snow in January y'all!!  I'm pretty sure I was more excited than the kids were.  I felt like a kid in a candy shop to say the least.  Moo was happy to have Snow Days, but that's about it.  And the cuteness/novelty of getting snow quickly wore off for JJ.

Taken on Day 2 when the sun started to melt our snow.

We didn't get to play in the snow because JJ was getting over a cold and we didn't have any snow gear.  I should have gotten the kids snow gloves and boots for Christmas.  No worries we'll be prepared when the next snow hits.

Loved |  If you haven't gotten yourself a subscription the POPSUGAR's Must Have Box, you really should.  I partnered with them to try out their January Must Have Box.  I'm so glad that I did because I have been loving the loose Peppermint Tea from Dean & Deluca.  It's basically Christmas in a cup if you ask me.  And when it's brewing, it makes the entire apartment smell delicious.

Another product from my Must Have Box that I loved and still love is my Glade soy wax candle in the Coconut Beach Woods scent.  It smells so amazing!!  Don't believe me check out my unboxing video below and see for yourself how many times I smell that candle. LOL.  The kids love it too.  I think it's going to be our signature scent for the year  or at least until the Christmas candles come out.

 Watched |  One plus side to me and the kids getting the flu back to back was being able to catch up on a lot of shows.  While the kids watched toy videos on YouTube, I did something I don't usually do- watch cable television.  I caught up on Mariah's World because it's Mariah Carey and I've loved her since I was a kid.  Also, I watched all of the episodes of the Lethal Weapon reboot.

I loved the Lethal Weapon series growing up and still love them to this day.  They're a part of the few fond memories I have of spending time with my father.  When I first heard that they were rebooting the movies series as a television series, I wasn't thrilled.  But I have to say that Fox did a good job, especially in the casting the department.  Damon Wayans and Keesha Sharp were the perfect choices for the Murtaughs and Clayne Crawford is very easy on the eyes as Riggs.  I hope it gets renewed for a second season.

Despite all the sickness during Black History Month, February wasn't a total bust after all.  I mean we got to read some pretty good books and spend time in the kitchen.  And at least we got sick after it snowed.  I couldn't imagine trying to navigate all the black ice patches between our place and the pediatrician's office/hospital.  I do hope that 2017 has been treating y'all better than it has us.

How did you celebrate Black History Month?  Are you reading any great books?  Let's talk in the comments!