Oh Oh Oh It's Magic

I have been tossing this topic around for a little bit and have been quite uninspired to write on it. It's one of the topics my therapist gave me. Inspiration came across tonight through quite a very amusing source. I am a follower of Eric Butts on YouTube. Every other Friday night he does a live Drunken Movie Night. These nights, Eric plays two B rated or worse (lol) movies, and with the help of Mike Elmore and usually one other guest, entertain myself and several of his other subscribers to their reactions as they watch these movies and get drunk. It is so very lighthearted and fun! Subscribers are able to interact with their hosts through live chat and Eric does an awesome giveaway package. 

It was during tonight's giveaway package that I was inspired. The giveaway was quite magical and one of the subscribers just happened to quote "Oh Oh Oh It's Magic" in the chat box. Next thing I know, that is the hashtag for the entry to win the prize package for tonight. I really want to win the package as it has a Tim the Enchanter Funko Pop figure, a Mysterious Beasts Swooping Evil Book and Model Set, an electric candle, one of Eric's Cd's, and a Rock Candy Enchantress!!!! I am like the only person in the world who doesn't have one of the Enchantresses. It just struck me as deja vu that one of my topics was Oh oh oh it's magic, the hashtag came up as the same, and this prize package is right up my alley!! I have to win this!!!!

I really enjoy these Friday night live streams. It's really hard to get out and socialize but it's fun to be able to comment from time to time in the chat and not feel the pressure to have to contribute to the conversation like I would feel if I were around actual people. I am able to sit back and enjoy the laughter and conversation while I blog or do product reviews, and I honestly think I'm more productive with my computer stuff when I'm listening. I want to give Eric a big thank you for these Friday nights. It is getting me some "socialization." I think it gets easier to interact with time and for me that is progress. I remember when I first started watching Drunken Movie Nights I just sat back and listened and watched the chat. Progress!!! Yay!

Okay I'm gonna rave about Eric's Channel just a little bit. He has a lot of awesome content including unboxings, preview reactions, movie reviews, toy reviews, and lots of Funko Pop. He is oftentimes joined by his amazing fiance, and their cuteness together is just too perfect!! You can check his channel out here. 

Eric Butts What I Know Right Now

All of the opinions in this blog are my own. Eric has not asked me to promote him in any way, shape, or form. I have just enjoyed his content so much that I choose to share it. I hope my readers enjoy his content as well. 

A Beautiful, Crisp Day

It was such a beautiful day today. I woke up nice and early and just felt so good today. It's rare that I have days where I just feel good and happy and perky, but today was one of those days and I went with it. My boyfriend had the day off so I got the bright idea to walk to the drug store so I could look for some cosmetics. He encourages me to walk when I am feeling up to it so I put on my makeup, put my hair up cute, and laced up my comfy walking shoes. I just felt really cute today. 

We were off and out into the crisp, cool air. It was just absolutely wonderful. I enjoy the cooler weather so this was right in my happy zone. Of course I took my camera with me just in case I found anything wonderful or magical. I did take some pretty cool pics. I love the bird houses on the tree. I can imagine little fairys living there. I want to leave treats for them. It's just so whimsical. Overall, it was just a wonderful walk and I enjoyed myself. It seems to be a little easier each time I go out, to actually go through the process of getting up and getting ready and actually going. Well, I get bribed with makeup too so that works. Enough of my silly jibber jabber. Here are the pictures I took on my walk. I hope you enjoy!!

I feel so pretty today!

Fairy Houses

I want to leave the fairies treats

If you would like to see what I got bribed with today, Click here for my haul video.

Feathered Beauty

Due to my depression and anxieties I usually don't want to leave my house. I don't want to interact with people. I don't want to leave my safe, comfortable cave. It's nice here and it has my dog and my bed and my food and nobody can hurt me in here. I don't have to put on my "I'm fine" face when I am withing my walls. I've been trying to get outside more since I have my new camera. I've been outside taking pictures of Gucci and the field behind the house and even the landlady's dog. My goal is to go a little farther from my house and take pictures too. I was really struggling with my inner lazy voice Monday morning. I wanted to walk to the Dollar General to get some stuff that we needed. My lazy voice said to just stay at home and relax, that it was cold and misty outside. My anxiety voice told me that it was so far and that I would be so sore if I walked and then there would be people there and it just wouldn't be worth the walk. 

Well I overcame my inner voices and I was rewarded. It was nice and cool outside so I knew I wouldn't get overheated which was a good thing. I took my camera with me intending to take a few pics along the way but I really wasn't inspired by anything. Until I got almost to the store. I couldn't believe my eyes. Sitting over on the fence about 15 yard away was this beautiful bird of prey. I couldn't get my camera out fast enough. I was just so excited! It checked me out as it posed for me. I'm not sure as to exactly what kind of bird it is but it is gorgeous. These pics are with no filters or edits. Just zoom. This feathered beauty is certainly an outstanding example of one of God's glories. I definitely plan on getting out on walks more often.

If any of ya'll happen to know exactly what kind of bird this is, please leave me a comment down below.

Primary Inspirations

I was waiting for an appointment the other day and I saw this children's play table. I loved the primary colors and was inspired to pull my camera out and just take a few pictures from different angles. I would love to get these framed!! So here is a bit of color for your abstract viewing pleasures this evening.

New Views On Life

I feel horrible that I have not kept up on my blogs like I should have this past week. In some ways I feel like I have been really busy. But then, I wonder, busy doing what? I have to do my days in bits and pieces because of pain tolerance. I can do one thing for a little bit then I have to lay down or sit real comfy for a bit. Then I can get up and do a bit more and repeat. I take Ibuprofen daily to get me through.

Now, my happy news!! My super duper amazing boyfriend managed to get me a camera!! I plan on taking short walks and taking pics as I go along and posting them in blogs. I just got the camera today and it is so much fun. I look forward to seeing the world through the lens. I'm very tired right now and probably going to go to bed very early. Here are the outdoor pics from today. My pup Gucci is the handsome little model posing for you.

DragonMama Reviews

So I know I have been quiet on here and not blogging on the schedule that I originally intended to keep. I was quite sick last week and this week I have been pretty emotional for some reason. I just don't know. I really just want to lay in bed. I haven't really been feeling like writing dragonmama blogs of a very serious nature. I did do a blog though today. I have another blog site called DragonMama Reviews  On this blog I do product reviews. It gives me something different to do. I like to get happy mail. It's like Christmas. today I got a PINCHme box in the mail. PINCHme is a company that wants to hear your opinions. You sign up, answer some profile questions so they can match you up with samples, and they send you samples in the mail for free. When you receive your samples, you submit your review of your opinions of the products. No credit cards needed. None of that trailing off into 50 different pages of offers that eventually end up in you wanting to buy something. Just straight up, you sign up and they send you stuff.  The next sample release date is this coming Tuesday the 28th so I would sign up in a hurry. Don't forget to do the confirmation email that you will receive and then answer the profile questions so you can get matched with samples. Use my link to join:

PINCHme Referral Sign Up Link

Another site I'm working on is Influenster. You do product reviews and campaigns and link up all your social medias and eventually you can get free boxes of goodies from them including high end makeup to review. It's just fun doing the reviews and keeping my verbal skills up. I'm not very eloquent at times so typing reviews and blogs keeps me from going completely stupid. If you want to check out Influenster, please use my referral code below to sign up. Who doesn't like happy mail?

Influenster Referral Sign Up Link

So far these are the only two sites that I have come across that legit don't give you the runaround by sending you to a zillion other sites. It may take you a while to get an Influenster box if you don't do the campaigns, but if you do the campaigns, link your social media, and have huge followings, you should be able to eventually get a box. The way I look at it is, It's free, it's satisfying to get positive feedback and views on my blog reviews of products I get sent, and it's Happy Mail!! Happy Mail makes me Happy

DragonmamaCooks Vegetable and Beef Soup

I love making a big pot of soup that can be eaten off of for a few days and can also have a large portion frozen for future meals. My mama taught me a veggie and beef soup that I have adapted into my own version that I cook in a huge stock pot. It feeds the family for 2-3 days and I put enough into the freezer for another 2 meals. It's an easy comfort food soup that just hits the spot on those cold winter nights. It is also very adaptable to your preferences. I will show you how I like to make it. Then, I will show some adaptations, including some of the ways my mom originally showed me.

Dragonmama's Vegetable and Beef Soup

1 large package of stew beef cut small
1 bottle of V8
2 cans of tomato sauce
2 cans corn
2 cans green beans
2 cans sliced carrots
2 cans potatoes
salt
pepper
paprika
(Use half the amount if you don't want to make enough to freeze)

Fill stock pot halfway with water. Add stew beef. Bring to a boil. Turn to med low and simmer for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally, until stew beef is completely tender. I choose to not add any seasonings yet because it seems to take longer for the beef to get tender. Once beef has reached desired tenderness, do not drain. You now have a yummy beef stock that will enhance the flavor of your soup. Drain your cans of veggies. Add the bottle of V8, your veggies, and spices to taste. The paprika really does add something special to this soup. Let it all simmer on the med low for about an hour, stirring occasionally. I usually go ahead and ladle out a storage bowl of soup now so it can start cooling off for freezing. This serves well with grilled cheese sandwiches or just some crackers. Add some Tabasco sauce for a little heat. If you try this let me know how you liked it in the comments below. Also if you have any alternatives or additions, please leave me a comment so I can try it out. Enjoy!!

Alternatives and additions
Couple lbs of ground beef instead of stew beef
^sub a lb of ground turkey or chicken with the ground beef
frozen or fresh veggies instead of canned
add tomatoes, peas, limas, white beans
any variety of veggies can be used
tomato juice instead of V8 but I recommend  V8 for extra vitamins
add tabasco during cooking
bread bowls