~Mother's Day Gift That Is Useful~

Geia sas everybody! OK so we all know Mother's Day is coming up really soon & this year i decided to get ahead of the game & buy my gift early & i'm happy i did. My mom loves smoothies (as do a lot of people including me!) & i wanted to get her a useful gift this year. Not that she doesn't love the flowers or the lunch or random nice smelling candles or lotion. But its her day she should get something that she doesn't get every year & that she can use. Sooo i went to Amazon.com & looked around for a while before realizing in my own Wishlist i had the perfect Mother's Day gift; The Blender Bottle! This is the coolest thing, it has this stainless steel ball that mixes thick drinks really well & its an on-the-go bottle too. Which my mom so is.

I'm sure you can figure out how it works its pretty self-explanatory but its something i know she'll be happy to receive in the sea of flowers & things from my brothers & sisters. Again not that she doesn't love those i know she does, she would be happy with a hug & kiss from her kids. I feel very blessed to have the great mom i have, she has given up a lot for our big family & had more than her share of pain in life but we as her children want to do what we can to give back to her. Love you Mom! (Se agapo toso poli, Mana mou!)

But anyway back to the Blender Bottle, it came today so i waited to post until it was here. (PS like how i added the 'mom tattoo' on my arm? lol its totally fake of course) So i am keeping it in the plastic to give to her (& wrapping it lol) also it is 28oz. in case anyone is wondering they do come in 20oz. as well. Here are some points about it:

• Effortlessly mix protein drinks, pancake batter, sauces, dressings and more by shaking bottle with patented BlenderBall
• 28-ounce capacity is great for 8-20 ounce drinks; includes blue top
  
• Stay-open flip cap, GripperBars make it easy to hold
  
• Cup made of BPA-free plastic; BlenderBall made of surgical grade stainless steel
  
• Dishwasher safe; do not use in microwave or with hot or warm liquids
  
  They also come in a variety of colors. I bought this one for $4.79 plus $4 shipping. So click HERE to check it out on Amazon. I hope you were inspired for Mother's Day & let me know what you got YOUR moms. Talk to you soon!

~SassyAgapi

Princess Neferure of Egypt

Geia sas dear readers! Today i saw a documentary on Princess Neferure 'nefer-rou-ray' of Egypt on the Discovery channel. She is the daughter of the Queen Pharaoh Hatshepsut & Thutmose II and the only known child of Hatshepsut. Here is her name in hieroglyphics:

Neferure ,who's name means 'Beauty of Ra', was trained to become Pharaoh after her mother, & though it never happened it was an unheard of thing for a princess to be trained as a Pharaoh. It is thought that she did not out-live her mother Hatshepsut but her cause of death is unknown. They do know her mother died of an infection in her gums that spread; it was previously thought that she was murdered.

Neferue was mostly raised by her tutor and courtier Senemut. There are statues depicting him holding her. They showed her tomb, which was very high up in a steep rock, it had little paintings left and was a very treacherous place with lots of bats.

There are still many more things to uncover about Neferure and how she and her mother lived, but it is incredible that they know as much as they do. I would love to go to Egypt someday and see where they [& many others] lived & ruled.

~SassyAgapi

This is the second session of the tattoo!
Each session needs 2 weeks in between for the skin to heal. I'll keep updating as I get the pictures.. it's really exciting for me to see this come to life on someone's skin. Sarah Miller (the tattoo artist) is incredibly talented!

I've recently started work as a graphic designer+illustrator in Las Vegas!
What a change, what a city. I'm slowly getting used to it, though. My favorite way to unwind after work is several sessions in a sauna. There's nothing like sweating to mellow out.

A Good Workout & A Good Snack

Geia sas everybody! Today I am sharing a workout video i like to use and a healthy snack to follow it. So 1st is the workout, its great for your legs & butt. I aslo like it because its not too overly long so you don't get bored or discouraged.

So what do ya think, will you use it? (The warm up is great) I incorporate it into my workouts about 4 times a week, sometimes 5. I have noticed my legs are looking a little more toned since i started using this video.

Next is the protein bar, Lara Bar is great because it has no preseervatives, no gluten, & its all natural. They also have a lot of different flavors. BUT the one drawback to the Lara bar is their price, @ around $1.12 a bar they arn't cheap. SO i was doing some research & came across a fellow blogger who happened to have a homemade recipe for bars. So i'm sharing it with you guys hoping that you'll like it. :)

Homemade Lara-type barsrecipe from Bunnyfoot check out her blog[she has a pic of the bar too]
makes 1 bar
1 Tbs dates, pureed
3 Tbs dry ingredients (nuts, dried fruits, coconut, oats, etc.)

Pit dates and whir in a food processor or mash by hand until they're one sticky mass. this will be the base, the "glue" that will hold it all together. to this base, add about 3 Tablespoons of finely diced dried ingredients - the nuts of your choice (almonds, cashews, pecans, hazlenut, etc.), dried fruit, oats, spices, etc. with your hands mix it all together and form into a tight ball. roll this ball into a rope and then pat it flat into a rectangle. tightly wrap in plastic wrap (the wrapping will help the bar hold it's shape as you further mold it) and apply pressure to the top using a flat surface - a cutting board works well. to shape the sides you can take two knives and apply pressure to opposite ends of the bars. refrigerate wrapped. for larger batches shape into a larger square, chill and cut into desired bar shapes with a very sharp knife.

tasty combinations:
almond coconut: 1 Tbs dates +2 Tbs almonds + 1 Tbs unsweetened coconut
almond spice: 1 Tbs dates + 3 Tbs almonds + 1/4 tsp each: cinnamon & nutmeg + 1/8 tsp ground ginger.
cranberry coconut: 2 Tbs minced dried cranberries, 1 Tbs unsweetened coconut



The trainer from the video also has a homemade protein bar recipe here it is:

So i hope you guys found this helpful/useful & i'll talk to you all soon!

~SassyAgapi

Captivating Scents

Geia sas koritsia 'ko-ree-tsee-ah'(girls)! Today i am doing a quick post on the perfumes that i own. Starting with as you can see Curious by Britney Spears. Curious is probably one of my all-time favorite perfumes since i was about 14yrs. It has never gotten old for me, which surprises me cuz i get bored easily. :D Not only that but check out this amazing old fashion style perfume jar; lovvve it!

Next up we have [from the left] Wild Honeysuckle by Bath&BodyWorks, Maria Sharapova, DiaNoche Ocean by Daisy Fuentes, & Live Lux by J. Lo. My favorite out of those is Live Lux then Maria Sharapova. My least favorite is DiaNoche Ocean; it gets annoying & sometimes gives me a headache. :(

Now for more B. Spears, [from the left] Midnight Fantasy, Wild by Ralph Lauren, & Fantasy by B. Spears. My favorite of those is Wild, then Fantasy, as Midnight Fantasy sometimes gives me a headache one again :(

Even MORE B. Spears what can i say :D [from left] Curious In Control, Fantasy, Midnight Fantasy, Curious. Curious In Control is my favorite B. Spears perfume its amazing!

Now for Victoria's Secret!! Starting with [left] Very Sexy, Sexy Little Things, & Very Sexy Hot. My favorite being Very Sexy Hot, then Very Sexy, then Sexy Little Things. I love VS scents they are incredible! ...& oh so sexy haha ;D

And finally we have more VS, Dream Angels Heavenly & Dream Angels Desire. Desire is my favorite; great smell! Like i said VS is oober sexy & you feel empoewered when you wear it. I also have 2 other perfumes i love; Chance by Chanel & Kenzo Amour perfume only they are a little too pricey for me. So if you're looking for something new all of these scents are great.


What's your fav perfume?

Bring Them Back!

'Bring Them Back' is a campaign by Greece to return the stolen items from the Parthenon back to Greece from Britain's Museum. As you will see in the video below, 200 years ago a British Lord stole thousands of items from the Parthenon. The video explains it all:





They need people to 'sign' the petition by entering your email address. Also here is their facebook:Bring them Back. Please help bring our treasures home! Thank you to everyone who signs it!

Much love,

Let's talk Greek..Yogurt that is.

Geia sas everyone! The sun is shining & i am feeling so happy & blessed to be healthy; i found out as of late my cousin & sister both have some semi-serious medical issues which was very upsetting to me. But i know God is in control & he will take care of them. And speaking of health let's talking about Greek yogurt which is so good for you & how about 0% fat, gotta love that! We use it in a lot of different dishes as well as just eating the flavored kind. So i am going to talk about 4 different brands that are sold in most grocery stores. I'm glad the health world started to pick up on it because its now much more readily available, in more flavors, and some competition for prices too.
The 1st kind i'm talking about is Chobani. I like their yogurt alright but its not my favorite for a few reasons: it was kinda overly chunky i mean more than thick but it was literally chunks, & the blueberry had hardly any taste (its fruit on the bottom). It might have just been the one i tried but i'm not sure(i would still like to try the pomegranate). So my conclusion on Chobani; not the best but its ok. Personally not worth the higher price they charge for it. But i realize some people love it & that's fine, everyone has different preferences.

The 2nd is by Yoplait (i just ate the honey for lunch) its also the cheapest kind that i have seen so far. It was 99 cents. I do really like this one! It had flavor but not too much that it over-powered the yogurt itself, so i thought that was good. Over-all its good but still not my favorite.

Next up is Oikos by Stonyfield; first let's talk about how to pronounce this. I have heard many people say many weird/funny things in place of this like 'oy-kis' 'o-ik-os'. The correct pronunciation is 'ee-kos' (to hear it click on the pronunciation) it means 'house/home' in Greek. Now i for one can really appreciate them giving the yogurt a Greek name, so bravo to them. :) I also really do like their yogurt it is probably my favorite of the yogurts i'm reviewing. They have come out with 2 new flavors' caramel & CHOCOLATE; which for me is heaven!

Finally we have Fage pronounced 'fah'yeh', a Greek yogurt made by a Greek company. It's delicious yes. But the only thing i do not like about Fage is their flavored cups are not o% fat :( ...but they are still healthy & yummy! Some things you can do to spice up the fat free plain kind is add fresh berries or bits of granola to it. Mmm! They are kinda expensive unfortunately but if you can afford it they're great!

What's your favorite yogurt?

The Back-Up Plan & Yummy Pasta

Geia sas guys! So this will be in my top movies of 2010 i'm so sure! I like Jennifer Lopez but i love Alex O'Loughlin; Moonlight fan! ;D

Anyone else think it looks good?

Tonight for dinner i made Sweet & Sour Meatballs [currently in crockpot] my mom got the recipe from her old friend Inez & she loved it. So i'm making it for my family tonight, i've never tried 'em before so if i like 'em i'll post the recipe on here. I also made this delicious pasta salad with farfalle, spinach, cucumber, red & orange pepper, red onion, black pepper, italian-style dressing & garlic. Soo yummy & fresh! I might throw in a few cherry tomoatoes & parmesan cheese before we eat too.

It's not the best picture but you get the idea. There are MANY variations of this salad, i also love it with green onions, basil, feta, pine nuts...mmm.

What would you add?

Mini 'Mall Haul'

Geia sas everyone! I'm so excited to have more followers!!! If you guys ever have any requests for exercise moves, recipes, or maybe you want product reviews, I am more than happy to do so.
But today i am doing a 'mini haul'; i did some shopping & bought a few things so i thought i'd show you guys what i got & tell you where you can get 'em. So the 1st thing I got was this great pair of Navajo-style wedge heels that i am so in love with. [i love Native American Indian stuff, as i am a tiny bit Iroquois] I always try to look for different things that are ethnic or unique, needless to say my wardrobe is a combo of many different things but i like it that way. But anywayy i bought these @ Charlotte Russe. They are comfortable & cute! :)

I highly recommend Charlotte Russe for cute shoes on a budget; they were $29.

Next, also from Charlotte Russe(they have the BEST deal on jewelry; 2 for $8!!) i bought these dream catcher earrings.

For the 2nd '2 for $8' deal i bought bracelets:

These are great little bengals that have a kinda summery Arabic feel to them, plus i love gold!

Then i made a quick trip to Marshall's & got this workout shirt which is super comfy & airy. It was $9.99

& Marshall's is so the place to get workout clothes cuz they're way cheaper & you have a lot of options, but it all depends on the day you go for what they have in stock. I have gotten a lot of great stuff from there.
Ok so that's it for today, in case anyone is wondering i did my nails myself & am willing to do a post on them if anyone wants. ttly! :)




~SassyAgapi

The best compliments involves pain..

This is mind blowing for me.

This is a work in progress of my Brief Glimpse painting being tattooed on Kylee.
The tattoo artist is Sarah Miller.

Tone Those Arms For Summer!

For anyone looking to tone their arms check this out! I really want them perfect for tank-top & sun-dress weather. So I am going to share with you guys a few moves that I use to do so. The 1st is best for the triceps, it's called the Triceps Dip. I found a picture to show you what it looks like:

1.Sit on a chair, bench, or I sometimes use my bed.

2. Put hands slightly under the hips.

3.Lift up on hands with hips out.

4.Bend the elbows 90 degrees & lower down hips keeping them close to the chair.
5.Push back up without locking elbows & repeat for 11-18 reps.

Here is another picture to better illustrate the move:

So I try to do that move at least 5 days per week, 7 if i can.

The 2nd move is great for the deltoid muscle & biceps. It's an Angled Bicep Curl into an Over-head Press. You'll need 5-10lb. weights for this exercise.

Angled Bicep Curl:

Combine the 2 moves & do 15-20 reps.

Over-Head Press picture:

I also do some push-ups & yoga for my arms but these are go-to moves for me.

..Also i just entered this great giveaway: http://awfulbeautifuldisarray.blogspot.com/2010/04/giveaway-giveaway-giveaway-d.html#comment-form