My PB + J

BlogHer Recovery

The past three days have been ahhh-mazing, BlogHer was one of the most empowering events I have ever attended. Being in one area with over 3,700 women is just mind boggling; it was scary (at first) but honestly I just had to keep telling myself that we’re all there for the same purpose and once I let that go, I had a great time. Each day had a ton to offer and trying to take in everything the event had to offer left me extremely exhausted by the time lunch rolled around. As much as I needed a nap to rest my preggo self I knew I couldn’t, my bones ached, my feet have scabs and today just twelve hours after the event I feel like a veggie. I could have slept all day but instead I sorted through all of my swag, which is now scattered everywhere because I don’t know what to do with all of it. I also spent a large portion of my morning tweeting and tweeting with the hopes that someone would have turned in my camera. I think I left it at the Hershey’s suite but it could have also been snatched in my afternoon sessions. Who knows. I am so bummed I cannot visually share with you the silly moments I had or how hard it was to get a picture with Mario Lopez. There were so many cute pictures on my card and I truly wish whoever has it would just e-mail me and send me the SD card, I don’t care about the camera. I am going to breakdown each day but for now, I just wanted you to know that I am home and so happy that I made the decision to attend. BlogHer post to continue…

My Dwink Box {A Review & Giveaway}

A few weeks ago I was reading my friend Danielle’s blog. She was doing a review on the My Dwink Box and I was instantly intrigued. I quickly clicked on the link and had ordered two My Dwink Box’s before five minutes was up. I didn’t need to read the details to understand how great this product really is. As a mother of a very independent toddler I knew this Dwink Box would come in handy for all of those mornings we hit the Starbucks drive-thru window for her Horizon vanilla milk box (okay, and my venti unsweetened black tea lemonade). Before this box I would constantly be turning my head wondering if she was squeezing the box too hard, I would be yelling back at her to stop squeezing, then she’s pulling the straw out, and squeezing it too hard again, etc. I was paying more attention to her and the milk box versus driving. But then the mailman came and delivered My Dwink Box and I do not have to worry about this anymore. I can place her apple juice box in the Dwink and leave the room with ease because I know she is not going to get liquid all over my new hardwood floors. Do you see a trend? This product was made for worry some mother’s and like founder, Yvonne Huang, states, this box will “make our lives just a little bit less messy”. 

and because I love all you so much I am giving away the Special Edition My Dwink Box to one lucky reader. The special edition Dwink gives net proceeds to the Raven + Lily Foundation, a non-profit design studio dedicated to empowering women. Great, right!? 



Buy it: only $3.99 on the Dwink website.

Win it: (do one, do them all!)
1. leave me a comment sharing a funny mess story
2. leave me a comment confirming you’ve added my button to your space
3. become a follower and leave me a comment telling me you are
4. follow me on Twitter: @melly_atkinson and leave me a comment telling me you are


Deadline to enter is: Wednesday, August 10th at Midnight. 


I was not compensated for this giveaway. I purchased this product on my own, I just believe in sharing a good word about mommy and kid friendly products. 




Preparing for BlogHer ’11 Madness

I have to admit that I have been a wreck! I have spent many hours of my day researching what BlogHer has to offer. I have created my detailed schedule, my business cards just arrived from FedEx (sorry babe) and my outfits are almost 100%. All of the madness kicks off tomorrow, ladies have already landed and every social media site is flooded with excitement, fear and of course all those last minute plans! Since I am a natural born worry-wort I plan on losing more sleep about this tonight and tomorrow. I know once I break the ice tomorrow by registering all of my fears will subside, but until then I will continue to knock items off of my BlogHer to-do list. . . like getting my fuzzy eyebrows waxed. I know a top priority, right? You gotta do what you gotta do!

cards were designed by me and printed using uprinting.com more on them later. 
This may be a breach of privacy but I figured I would share my schedule. I wish it would come out all pretty like I made it, but for those wondering what all of us blogging geeks will be up to here is a glance at mine: 

Thursday:
6:00 PM
Registering
7:00 to 8:30 PM
Babeland Mixer
8:30 to 11:00 PM
3M Goin’ Coconuts Luau & Mixer @ Roy’s
Friday:
8:00  to 9:30 AM
Newbie Breakfast
10:30 to 11:45 AM
Room of Your Own | Leveraging Your Blog to Build E-Products for Sale
(SDCC 2)
11:45 to 1:15 PM
– Lunch Break –
Something Super Top Secret @ 12:15 PM
(sails pavilion)
1:15 to 2:30 PM
Mind of your Own | Connecting with Brands from the Inside Out
(SDCC 6F)
2:45 to 3:45 PM
Perfecting Product Reviews
(SDCC 4)
4:00 to 4:30 PM
Geek Bar | Self-Hosting your Blog w/ Shauna
(SDCC 6F)
5:30 to 9:00 PM
Softcup Sunset Cocktail Party (Amanda Beard, Mario Lopez & Ryan Cabrera)
Andaz | San Diego
7:00 to 9:30 PM
Skinny Scoop Cocktail Pre-Party
Tequila Bar & Grille @ the Marriott Marquis & Marina
8:00 to 11 PM
YouPhoria Party
MCASD – The Farrell Gallery
+1 w/ Danielle Simmons
Saturday :
7:00 to 7:30 AM
Quaker Wake-Up Workout and Breakfast with Bob Harper
Marriott Marquis & Marina
(thought I registered, never got anything back)
9:00 to 10:00 AM
– Breakfast –
10:45 to Noon
Minding Your Own Business | Your Blog can make you a Social Media Marketer
(SDCC 6F)
Noon to 1:30 PM
                                                                              – Lunch –
1:30 to 2:45 PM
Minding Your Own Business | Your Blog Can Make You a Local Hero
(SDCC 6F)
OR
Room Of Your Own | Putting the “Professional” in Professional Blogging
(SDCC 4)
3:00 to 4:15 PM
Minding Your Own Business | When Diversity is Simply Good Business
(SDCC 6F)
OR
Room of Your Own | How to Create a Kick A$$ Proposal
(SDCC 4)
5:00 PM
“The Help” Movie Screening
701 5th Ave
Reading Gaslamp Theatre
8:00 and On
CheeseburgHer

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

I don’t know about you guys but Pinterest has seriously refueled my passion for cooking. I have and always will be a cook but seeing all the recipes I have pinned all gathered nicely makes it so much easier for me to make my weekly meal plan. Jim was joking on Saturday that I must be on a Mexican food kick because everything, and I mean everything I have prepared has been Mexican inspired. Oh well, he better not be complaining after  only hearing for three months is, “I cannot wait for you to cook again”. Well, my dear hubby you get what you get and if that means we have the same staple ingredients every night just mixed up a bit then consider your wish granted! I kid, I kid! I know I have made this recipe before or something like it. I could eat these everyday, seriously. They are so good and you can easily switch them up for that picky eater. I made one small taquito for P since I only had two small flour tortillas left. That one was the perfect size and I would have gotten more out of the recipe and probably enough to freeze for another night which, I am going to do before this little man arrives! Seriously give them a try…your tummies will thank you (and hopefully me!)
Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos 
Recipe Adapted From: Our Best Bites
1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder (I omitted because I am out)
1/4 t granulated garlic, or garlic powder
3 T chopped cilantro (to me, maybe because I am preggo this was a lot for me, if your not a huge fan of cilantro kick it back to 1 T)
2 T sliced green onions
2 C shredded cooked chicken 
1 C grated pepperjack cheese (I used Sharp Cheddar) 
small corn tortillas (I used large flour since I only had a few small ones left, which in my opinion taste way better for baking)
kosher salt
cooking spray
Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.
Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it’s soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.
You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.
Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or are coming unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.
Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.Then roll it up as tight as you can.Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.