Tag Archives: nuttzo

Assassins in Our Back Yard!!!

04/25/2015 R.C. Liley 4 Comments

That’s right, our yard is overrun with assassins. No, not with copies of the Assassin’s Creed video game, but assassin bugs. Or, Reduviidae, if you will.

Going Mom first discovered our little assassins last weekend and quickly posted this picture on Facebook asking for any help to figure out what they were.

They look like some sort of creepy ass spider (or is that all spiders?), but we were then educated with the fact that these little guys are not spiders, but just very creepy ass bugs. The biggest giveaway is that they have 6 legs as opposed to their eight-legged look-a-likes.

Apparently, there are over 135 recognized species in North America alone, and many more all over the world. So, you just might want to check your yard for the predatory bugs. Especially since their bites are said to be quite painful they use long their long mouth parts to repeatedly stab victims.

That said, their victims are usually annoying pests that will eat up any fruits and veggies you have planted. So, barring that you don’t poke at them and get bit, they’re rather beneficial to have around your garden.

Pest killers and garden defenders aside, my wife is still utterly freaked out by the petite predators, so I did what any loving husband would do. I posted a picture on Facebook and tagged her with this message…..

I know, I deserve a husband of the year award, right? My post received many responses from creeped out friends, and I Kelley even went so far as to say “I hate you.” I guess I deserved that. I just find it funny, and she agrees, that she can watch the gore on The Walking Dead with no problem, but these little bugs spike a fear in her I don’t see often.

Here’s a closer pic of what I posted, because I know you wanted to see it better.

Awesome, there’s a nest which means more to come!!!

So anyway, we have assassins in our back yard just hanging out on one of our trees. I’m not sure how long they’ll be there, but if they are going to kill the things that kill our plants, they’re welcome to stay as long as we don’t become victims to their repeated stabbing assassin ways!

Plus, we have other things to worry about inside the house right now. Possibly another type of assassin? An ewok?

Nope, just Avery draped in Mommy’s robe. But, if she were holding a mini scythe, she’d closely resemble Death.

Well, I’m hosting a NuttZo tasting party for our neighbors today, so better get ready. It’s nothing extravagant with a lot of recipes, just tasting different varieties of NuttZo. Which, I think is the best way to really get a taste of something, right?

I’ll let you know how it goes soon! Have a great weekend!

Do you have any assassin bugs in your yard?

Have you seen them before, or worse, been bit/stabbed?

Food, Going Healthy, NuttZo, Soft Star Shoes, WIAW

WIAW #7: Homemade Pizza Crust Fail

04/08/2015 R.C. Liley 10 Comments

I blame the kid. Surely my homemade pizza crust would’ve turned out perfectly without little grabby hands reaching up and pulling the parchment paper as I tried to knead the dough. Or maybe I’m just trying to point the blame on something else other than my lack of pizza crust making skills.

Regardless, my wife graciously ate my thick, non-fluffy wannabe pizza crust creation for dinner and even said she liked it. With a little help from goat cheese, balsamic vinegar, and green onions, that is.

She’s a keeper, that’s for sure. Of course, I knew that a long time ago; hence the whole marriage thing. 🙂

Despite my crust making fail, I did make the frittata recipe I never made a reality. I couldn’t stop thinking about it after writing it down and sharing it last week, so a few days later, I made it!

Check out my post with the recipe and step-by-step tutorial if you’d like this in your kitchen. And I know you do! Click here —-> NuttZo Cinnamon Banana Frittata Recipe

All I know, is this will be a multi-repeat creation in our house.

Now, how about a little WIAW action! Thanks as always to the wonderful Jenn from Peas and Crayons, for creating this fun link-up for foodies everywhere!

To join in the fun, head over to The Big Man’s World for this week’s party!

I started the day with an entire French Press of black coffee and a packet of Pyure Sweet Organic Stevia. Great, simple combo that never lets me down!

Meanwhile, Avery turned a NuttZo banana happy face into no face rather quickly.

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A post shared by RC Liley (@going_dad)

After finishing my workout for the day, I downed an un-pictured leftover green protein smoothie I made the night before. It never tastes as good as fresh, but I’m not trying to savor anything post workout anyway.

Lunch was steamed zucchini and mixed veggies with chicken sausage and spaghetti squash with a pat of butter. Veggies + butter = delicious happiness!

On the side was my non-pizza pizza crust smeared with black garlic, avocado, and a sprinkle of sea salt.

I made a large batch of slow-cooker shredded chicken and 2-bean stew for dinner and it did not disappoint!

When you cook every meal for everyone in the house (okay, that’s just my wife and daughter), slow-cookers are a life saver! This gives us meals for a few days. I think it even tastes better after everything has sat overnight to let the flavors marry.

The day ended with a few NuttZo topped NuttZo Banana Frittata wedges.

I enjoy eating them cold, but I’m sure warmed up would still be outstanding. It’s hot enough in Texas now, so cold food just sounds better.

Have you ever made your own pizza crust? Was is a fail or a win?

Do you make everything for your family? Tell me you love the slow-cooker too!

Just want to mention I love NuttZo and you MUST try it at least ~~once~~ forever! Plus, if you go to their website and enter code liley15, you can save 15% off your order. 😉

Life, NuttZo, Parenting

Give This Divorced Dad Blogger Some Love

04/03/2015 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

The blogging community as a whole is pretty tight-knit, but us dad bloggers take it up a notch and share the common bond for the love of our family and writing. This divorced dad and I have been reading, commenting, and sharing each others’ posts for a while now, and I’d even say we have become online friends.

Sounds corny, huh? Maybe he even thinks so and would quickly disagree. But just like he says about his blog, this is my blog, I own it, and I can say what I want. So there!

His name is Gary Mathews (yes, just one “t”….blame his mother), and he owns the blog Skipah’s Realm. He is as open as he can be about his feelings towards his ~~ex-wife~~ daughter’s egg donor and has an awesome sense of humor. All around great guy and wonderful father to a beautiful girl. Almost as beautiful as Avery, but obviously I’m allowed to be biased just like any parent. 😉

Guess I should explain the title to this post. When I say “love”, I don’t mean it in the sense that most of your dirty minds are probably thinking, I’m talking about NuttZo Love, or #NuttZoLove, just for the Twitter aficionados. Gary and I have been going back and forth about Girl Scout cookies and NuttZo for some time now. He’s all about the only packaged form of legal crack that’s sold by cute little girls just to make it even harder to refuse, and I’m all about NuttZo. Obviously, I’m a proud ambassador because I believe in it’s healthy goodness!

Like most people I know, he’s resistant to changing from his tried and true peanut butter (albeit hydrogenated), but I’m hoping he gets the chance to try and love NuttZo! As I told him before, if not for his own sake, for his precious daughter’s sake. Give her the healthy benefits without sacrificing taste so she has all the energy to ride bike and walk with her daddy for years and years to come.

Okay, I’m not trying to make a sales pitch here (I won’t earn anything from your purchase anyway), just wanting Gary to get some NuttZo (besides his ex) of his own to try and share with his little girl. I shared a few recipes he could try with NuttZo, and meant to give him the NuttZo Banana Bread Recipe I posted a couple weeks ago but forgot. So there it is now, Gary, put down those crack-infused cookies and make something for you and your beautiful blonde bomber!

Since your daughter is seven, I probably wouldn’t feed her like I do Avery though. Just a tip. 🙂

So, if you’re around the New Albany, Indiana area and happen to have or want to get an extra jar of NuttZo, please swing for Gary to try (I rhymed!!). Gary, hope you don’t mind me sharing your location, but I just figured it’s okay since it is on your Twitter page!

Or if you’re a lucky NuttZo employee who has the power to send this guy a jar, please do so! I know he won’t be disappointed and will “spread” the good word after trying and sharing with his daughter. It might even make her as excited about the set of cool cinnamon-scented socks from littlemissmatched.com he was able to let her have and write a review on. Notice I said “set”, they come in threes and not a pair. Genius!

Wow, I’ve gone on about this single dad for a while now, huh? Should Going Mom be worried? Ummmm, no, she’s beautiful enough to turn a gay guy straight! But I’m already straight, I wasn’t saying she turned me straight. Not that there’s anything wrong with being gay. Ahh, shut-up, R.C.!!

Anyway, if you don’t want to give him NuttZo Love, just go over to his blog and read about his adventures of being taken back to court by the crazy egg donor, spending time with his daughter’s Russian KGB spy, vodka-drinking hamster named “Hammy”, how he overcame the depression of divorce, and his blissful time with his daughter when she gets to stay with him.

Disclosure: All stories about Hammy are completely fictional, but he does house a Russian Hamster named Hammy for his daughter.

As he says, co-parenting sucks, and I’m forever grateful not to know about that firsthand. And never want to!! Hear that, Kelley? 🙂

Also, I’d like to thank Mr. Skipah for mentioning me several times (like here and here) on his blog and linking back to my blog. It’s all a part of the dad blogger (or all bloggers really) community just supporting one another.

Thank you, Gary, I enjoy reading your posts and the comments you leave on my posts. Wish you and your daughter the best, and it’s obvious you are the best dad/parent for her! Now go find some NuttZo!