On Friday I packed up my husbands SUV and headed out to West Virginia. I was supposed to go to Baltimore to have lunch with Roni from greelitebites.com, but once again our plans were foiled, first by weather and then by an event that had been rescheduled to this Friday, due to weather LAST Friday. We will have lunch eventually, hopefully before her baby is born lol.
Right now I am watching my friend's son mumbling and giggling while attempting to catch a cat who is not at all interested in being caught. I managed to show up around lunch time Friday, since I left right after the morning rush hour. Traffic was fantastic (meaning, minimal) all the way here, and uneventful.
While my life before I left WV was concentrated mainly around toddlers, and how much I desperately wanted a baby, being around them again makes me wonder. Do I want all the noise, the constant needs, whining and stress? People have told me since I can remember what a great mother I would make while I constantly question how true that statement is. Am I able to give my friend's kids my 'all' because it is short term? If I had my own, would I just become lazy? I have all of these ideas of the mother that I would like to be, the activities that I would like to do with my kids, the places I want to go. Does everyone reassess their desire or ability to be a parent around time when there is no going back? Here is the thing....all those insecurities aside, I know I can do it. I also know that I will try my hardest to give it my all, and am not afraid to ask for help. Above all, I know that I have my amazing husband who will stand by my side through it all.
I also had another realization. I am more judgmental than I should be. I don't think that is it possible to be completely non-judgmental just as it is impossible to be completely objective, but I could definitely judge less. My friends raise their kids as they see fit, and I should just give their children all of the love I can in the world while I am there, and raise my children as I see fit. I tend to think since I read constantly and research that everyone should want to know that I have to think, but I also need to learn to shut my mouth, even if I disagree with people.
I'm in a funk...I am really really tired and I haven't been sleeping well. My friend told me that basically, it isn't healthy that I am waking up every 90 minutes, and remembering it every single time. At home it is mostly because my husband's snoring will wake me completely. While visiting friends it is because I am on a different bed. I don't want to take medicine but I only vaguely remember the last time I slept through the night without waking up, and it involved sleeping in my bed, alone, while my husband was out of town. I want to sleep with my husband, I love the feel of being next to him, and even here while I am away I still find myself reaching for him and longing for his heat and presence next to me. Ear plugs you say? Oh, I've tried them, many a time. They either fall out, or make my ears itch horribly so even if I fall asleep I end up TAKING them out in my sleep. I think I just need a really really comfortable guest bed. In the mean time, pardon me if I am a little grouchy and sleepy.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
It's my life...
It seems I've gotten some new readers lately! Thank you for coming over, commenting and making me feel like I'm not just talking to myself (I worry about that at times...).
Project update:
Yesterday I made another two chain-link earrings. My friend requested gold ones, so I picked up some gold hoops, and will make her some soon. I'm heading out to visit her this weekend, so I'll have pictures before then.
I finally finished my friend's afghan. I can't wait to give it to them for their baby girl. Now I'm working on another one for another friend who is expecting. Lots of babies!! It is helping me get some experience in reading patterns, making my own, and it means that my blanket when I have a baby is going to look fantastic!
Other Updates:
Phentermine
I wrote a post awhile ago about my experience using phentermine to help me lose weight. I lost almost 40 pounds and I am convinced that the medicine's metabolism increasing effects are responsible. Yeah, I went to the gym a lot, and was careful about what I was eating, but I was doing that before and it didn't seem to make ANY different. I went to a new doctor the other day and I was NOT impressed with how myself, and other patients were treated. The doctor answered the phone while I was in his office. Not once, not twice, but THREE times. What the hell! I wait an hour to see you, and you answer your phone? I also get that this guy is used to giving people lectures on this medicine and has it memorized, but you think perhaps taking a little history, learning something about me other than my blood pressure and listening to my lungs might be helpful? I just worry about people abusing this system, which seems incredibly easy. Both doctors I have gone to to get phentermine seemed a little on the skeezy side, and that really bothers me.
Yoga!
Today was our third class (last week was cancelled) but our normal teacher was away at a retreat and we had a substitute. I believe if this woman was my regular teacher, that I wouldn't have come back after the first class. Our normal teacher knows our health issues and has eased us into yoga, taking care to make sure that we are as comfortable as possible in the process. I felt quite rushed today, and we did it a lot faster than normal as well. Plus, she didn't seem at all sympathetic to our wrists hurting after having us do downward facing dog and planks for 10 minutes. I'm very glad that my regular teacher taught me stuff that helps protect my back, wrists etc so that I didn't get injured. I'm rather competitive and won't sit out, and will suffer later. After class we were discussing in the changing room that the class was much more difficult and face paced than normal, and we missed our regular teacher who leave you with a smile on your face and feeling relaxed. Instead, a little tmi here, but my butt muscles are so so so sore! So many lunges, so little time.
Weird Cat
Our older cat is acting odd. I'm not sure if some outside noise has him scared, or if he sick or just a strange cat. He is a very very talkative kitty that is suddenly silent. Utterly and completely silent. He hasn't made any noise all day. I've picked him up(he HATES being picked up and meowels), squeezed him (usually he'll at least sqeek), pet him, tried giving him treats, wet food, love...everything. He wouldn't even come out from hiding for fresh wet food, which he normally will bum rush you and trip you for. My hubby is giving him love in the basement, but if he isn't back to his normal annoying self soon, we'll have to take him to the vets. Funny that I'm complaining about the cat being quiet since normally his annoys the hell out of me with his constant yeowling. Odd the things we miss.
Misc.
I've been feeling unmotivated to cook this week, and we are down on produce so I don't have any more recipes to post. My husband surprised me by taking me for kabobs last night and then bringing home left over pizza today, so I haven't 'had' to cook. I'm thinking it is painkiller time, and a really hot bath so I can stand tomorrow. I even scheduled my chiropractor appointment tomorrow, rightfully assuming that I'd be sore.
This weekend I hope to go to WV, and have a good time. My husband has no interest what so ever in sports, so at least I'll get to watch the superbowl with friends. Thats all folks!
And here I leave you with a picture of my Newton...doing what he does best--playing fetch. He likes to pick up this ratty hair band he stole from my cousin and he will put the entire thing in his mouth and then basically spit it out and expect you to fling it around the house for him to chase...
Project update:
Yesterday I made another two chain-link earrings. My friend requested gold ones, so I picked up some gold hoops, and will make her some soon. I'm heading out to visit her this weekend, so I'll have pictures before then.
I finally finished my friend's afghan. I can't wait to give it to them for their baby girl. Now I'm working on another one for another friend who is expecting. Lots of babies!! It is helping me get some experience in reading patterns, making my own, and it means that my blanket when I have a baby is going to look fantastic!
 |
| different sized rings |
 |
| Second baby blanket--I like the colors and finally started using more than one! |
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| there are beads on the bottom one.. |
Other Updates:
Phentermine
I wrote a post awhile ago about my experience using phentermine to help me lose weight. I lost almost 40 pounds and I am convinced that the medicine's metabolism increasing effects are responsible. Yeah, I went to the gym a lot, and was careful about what I was eating, but I was doing that before and it didn't seem to make ANY different. I went to a new doctor the other day and I was NOT impressed with how myself, and other patients were treated. The doctor answered the phone while I was in his office. Not once, not twice, but THREE times. What the hell! I wait an hour to see you, and you answer your phone? I also get that this guy is used to giving people lectures on this medicine and has it memorized, but you think perhaps taking a little history, learning something about me other than my blood pressure and listening to my lungs might be helpful? I just worry about people abusing this system, which seems incredibly easy. Both doctors I have gone to to get phentermine seemed a little on the skeezy side, and that really bothers me.
Yoga!
Today was our third class (last week was cancelled) but our normal teacher was away at a retreat and we had a substitute. I believe if this woman was my regular teacher, that I wouldn't have come back after the first class. Our normal teacher knows our health issues and has eased us into yoga, taking care to make sure that we are as comfortable as possible in the process. I felt quite rushed today, and we did it a lot faster than normal as well. Plus, she didn't seem at all sympathetic to our wrists hurting after having us do downward facing dog and planks for 10 minutes. I'm very glad that my regular teacher taught me stuff that helps protect my back, wrists etc so that I didn't get injured. I'm rather competitive and won't sit out, and will suffer later. After class we were discussing in the changing room that the class was much more difficult and face paced than normal, and we missed our regular teacher who leave you with a smile on your face and feeling relaxed. Instead, a little tmi here, but my butt muscles are so so so sore! So many lunges, so little time.
Weird Cat
Our older cat is acting odd. I'm not sure if some outside noise has him scared, or if he sick or just a strange cat. He is a very very talkative kitty that is suddenly silent. Utterly and completely silent. He hasn't made any noise all day. I've picked him up(he HATES being picked up and meowels), squeezed him (usually he'll at least sqeek), pet him, tried giving him treats, wet food, love...everything. He wouldn't even come out from hiding for fresh wet food, which he normally will bum rush you and trip you for. My hubby is giving him love in the basement, but if he isn't back to his normal annoying self soon, we'll have to take him to the vets. Funny that I'm complaining about the cat being quiet since normally his annoys the hell out of me with his constant yeowling. Odd the things we miss.
Misc.
I've been feeling unmotivated to cook this week, and we are down on produce so I don't have any more recipes to post. My husband surprised me by taking me for kabobs last night and then bringing home left over pizza today, so I haven't 'had' to cook. I'm thinking it is painkiller time, and a really hot bath so I can stand tomorrow. I even scheduled my chiropractor appointment tomorrow, rightfully assuming that I'd be sore.
This weekend I hope to go to WV, and have a good time. My husband has no interest what so ever in sports, so at least I'll get to watch the superbowl with friends. Thats all folks!
And here I leave you with a picture of my Newton...doing what he does best--playing fetch. He likes to pick up this ratty hair band he stole from my cousin and he will put the entire thing in his mouth and then basically spit it out and expect you to fling it around the house for him to chase...
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| The hairband is IN his mouth. Silly kitty... |
Monday, January 31, 2011
Wow, I had a productive and creative day!! Otherwise known as...I make pretties!
This is what happens when I wake up at 5am! I get productive. As previously promised, here are pictures of the crafts that I worked on today. Like I mentioned before, we pulled out my husband's sewing machine and I love my beading stuff.
I decided to make an afghan for the yet to be born sister of the little girl I watched, and I couldn't NOT make her something too so I made her dolly a blanket! I had this allllmost done for awhile and finished it today. I accidentally pulled my yarn and it 'jumped' into my tea this morning. I rinsed it out and continued. I shall not be deterred!!
Next...My friend turned me onto TipNuts, which is sending me somewhat regular emails with awesome recipes and free patterns. It has really helped get my creative juices flowing. I first made this delicious apple cake recipe from the first email I got. Here is the link for the cake recipe. The second e-mail had a section on making stuffies, so I made....
Mr. Frog. He looks a little cockeyed in this picture so I'll try to get a better one later. I filled him with lentils, but didn't fill him enough. I also apparently can't use a sewing machine to do anything but straight lines, so Mr. Frog isn't as umm...full as he would be. He is a skinny frog...a skinny red frog made out of my husband's old t-shirt. Here is the link to Mr. Frog's pattern! You can get a better idea of what he is umm...supposed to look like from there.
I used the sleeves from the t-shirt below to try to make a turtle outline. I ended up handstitching it since my machine was trying to make turtle soup out of the poor fellow. Picture?
Next, somehow I came across a video of Martha Stewart's crafter turning a t-shirt into a reusable grocery bag! Ingenious! I picked up a 2 dollar t-shirt from Michaels today and turned it into this
Of course the first thing I did was put my kitty in it. He lovvvves bags. Most cats would flip out, maybe want out. Newton? Nahhh...he curled up into it and wouldn't get out. I had to take him out of it before he decided it was his new bed! Proof that this bag can take some weight as well! Here are some direction on making your own bag? The only change I made was that since I couldn't find markers, I used chalk to mark out the neck. I also double stitched the bottom to make sure it was strong.
Last but not least (yeah, I did a lot today) I picked up the hoops that I needed to make some simple chainlink earrings. The origional design had some beading, but I took that out as it was driving me crazy trying to hold all the loops. The next time I make them, and have the correct bead size, I can't wait to make some nifty additions. These are beautiful and sleek earrings. They were also pretty cheap to make. Maybe I should set up an Etsy shop with all this stuff that I'm making...
Chain link earrings get along well with my snuggie! Here is a picture with Mr. Frog
Interested in anything you've seen, and perhaps interested in funding my adventures? E-mail me!
I decided to make an afghan for the yet to be born sister of the little girl I watched, and I couldn't NOT make her something too so I made her dolly a blanket! I had this allllmost done for awhile and finished it today. I accidentally pulled my yarn and it 'jumped' into my tea this morning. I rinsed it out and continued. I shall not be deterred!!
I used the sleeves from the t-shirt below to try to make a turtle outline. I ended up handstitching it since my machine was trying to make turtle soup out of the poor fellow. Picture?
Next, somehow I came across a video of Martha Stewart's crafter turning a t-shirt into a reusable grocery bag! Ingenious! I picked up a 2 dollar t-shirt from Michaels today and turned it into this
Last but not least (yeah, I did a lot today) I picked up the hoops that I needed to make some simple chainlink earrings. The origional design had some beading, but I took that out as it was driving me crazy trying to hold all the loops. The next time I make them, and have the correct bead size, I can't wait to make some nifty additions. These are beautiful and sleek earrings. They were also pretty cheap to make. Maybe I should set up an Etsy shop with all this stuff that I'm making...
Interested in anything you've seen, and perhaps interested in funding my adventures? E-mail me!
Blog Hop linky link
Over at 21stcenturyhousewife.com she has a blog hop going on. I'm always up for linking apparently like minded cooking lovers, and thought this would be a great opportunity. I'll try to find/bring you more in the future.
On another note, yes I am up before 6am, I woke up at 5 with the hubby. Actually my husband has to work 12 hours today to make up for only working two hours during the snow storm. We didn't have electricity for 25 (I counted the hours!) hours, and rather than leave me alone in a cold cold house, he came home early and took me to the mall. I only just dug my car out last night so that I could go to the chiropractors today. I apologize for being lazy in any life updates, and turning this blog into pictures of food and kitties but sadly between the food, the kitties and the hubby my life isn't terribly interesting.
I've been feeling creatively lately, and after pulling out my hubby's sewing machine yesterday and mending two pairs of his pants and my coat, I'm ready to start sewing. On a slightly off topic tangent--why is it that a man that makes a perfectly respectable salary should wear 15 year old holey (NOT HOLY) pants in public? WHY?! He even admits that when he wears holy sweats and tie dye tees that he has been treated badly in the past. Do I want him to dress nicely for me, or for him? I totally believe that if you wear nice clothing that is comfortable and looks good on you that you feel better about yourself. I wonder what impact his clothing play on his ideas of self worth and self esteem. My husband has no problems with intellectual self esteem as he is ridiculously smart and knows it, but I don't think he is terribly comfortable with how he looks.
I have a couple of projects that I need to finish this week before finally heading out to visit friends in WV. I am still not getting my mail, I really need to call USPS, and while I can pay all of my bills online, it would be nice to see a car loan statement once every 5 years.
This weekend I rearranged our kitchen area and some of our bedroom. I get bored quickly and always like moving around my furniture. What about you? When I was a kid I had the luxury of a huge bedroom and I would always rearrange it.
Thats about it! My friend shared this website-- www.tipnut.com with me and so far I LOVE it. It has lots of link to free patterns and sewing and cooking ideas.
Upcoming post ideas?
Delicious Apple Cake recipe
Lunches for the hubby
Housewifely duties
printing coupons--do you?
vitamix, my new love...
Current Projects:
Baby blanket
stuffed frog
learning how to read patters to make other stuff....
On another note, yes I am up before 6am, I woke up at 5 with the hubby. Actually my husband has to work 12 hours today to make up for only working two hours during the snow storm. We didn't have electricity for 25 (I counted the hours!) hours, and rather than leave me alone in a cold cold house, he came home early and took me to the mall. I only just dug my car out last night so that I could go to the chiropractors today. I apologize for being lazy in any life updates, and turning this blog into pictures of food and kitties but sadly between the food, the kitties and the hubby my life isn't terribly interesting.
I've been feeling creatively lately, and after pulling out my hubby's sewing machine yesterday and mending two pairs of his pants and my coat, I'm ready to start sewing. On a slightly off topic tangent--why is it that a man that makes a perfectly respectable salary should wear 15 year old holey (NOT HOLY) pants in public? WHY?! He even admits that when he wears holy sweats and tie dye tees that he has been treated badly in the past. Do I want him to dress nicely for me, or for him? I totally believe that if you wear nice clothing that is comfortable and looks good on you that you feel better about yourself. I wonder what impact his clothing play on his ideas of self worth and self esteem. My husband has no problems with intellectual self esteem as he is ridiculously smart and knows it, but I don't think he is terribly comfortable with how he looks.
I have a couple of projects that I need to finish this week before finally heading out to visit friends in WV. I am still not getting my mail, I really need to call USPS, and while I can pay all of my bills online, it would be nice to see a car loan statement once every 5 years.
This weekend I rearranged our kitchen area and some of our bedroom. I get bored quickly and always like moving around my furniture. What about you? When I was a kid I had the luxury of a huge bedroom and I would always rearrange it.
Thats about it! My friend shared this website-- www.tipnut.com with me and so far I LOVE it. It has lots of link to free patterns and sewing and cooking ideas.
Upcoming post ideas?
Delicious Apple Cake recipe
Lunches for the hubby
Housewifely duties
printing coupons--do you?
vitamix, my new love...
Current Projects:
Baby blanket
stuffed frog
learning how to read patters to make other stuff....
Friday, January 28, 2011
genetic mouthwash
I struggle with this updating my blog thing. I have nothing witty to say, and hate to admit how much time my ass spent firmly implanted on the couch today...and lately in general. I'm lazy, and I really need to start doing something about it. I'm also once again frustrated about pain. No, not my back this time--some ibuprofen went a lot way in helping to reduce the inflammation that was causing a lot of the pain. It is my tooth. My tooth has been hurting on and off for a couple of weeks now that I think about it, but now it is getting really annoying. I think that I may have broken it. I can deal with the pain, but the uncertainty is killing me. See...my family has this dental problem. It doesn't matter how much we brush our teeth, or floss; the little buggers break/chip/get cavities and fall out. All of my aunts (and mom) have fake teeth because they've all fallen out, or just needed to be taken out. My brother and biological father have dental issues. You can see where this is going, right? My teeth were fantastic until I went to college, and all of the sudden started getting cavities, no matter what I did.
My dental hygenist told me that every time you get someone else's mouth bacteria in yours, you get all of their predisposition to cavities and the such. I think I gave my husband a couple of cavities, in his pre-Eileen no cavity mouth. Sorry honey. I've got a ton of cavities in my mouth that had none before college. I brush my teeth and floss now...something that was sadly lacking in my youth, but nothing seems to help and now they are breaking? I am going to drink a big glass of milk, take a calcium supplement and brush/floss and swish with mouthwash. Sigh....
My dental hygenist told me that every time you get someone else's mouth bacteria in yours, you get all of their predisposition to cavities and the such. I think I gave my husband a couple of cavities, in his pre-Eileen no cavity mouth. Sorry honey. I've got a ton of cavities in my mouth that had none before college. I brush my teeth and floss now...something that was sadly lacking in my youth, but nothing seems to help and now they are breaking? I am going to drink a big glass of milk, take a calcium supplement and brush/floss and swish with mouthwash. Sigh....
Monday, January 24, 2011
Back pain and gym visits
I am sitting here crying right now out of frustration. For the last couple of weeks my back has hurt, a lot and it seems to be getting worse, not better. My back has hurt for years. It took 3 different doctors and a excruciatingly painful trip to the ER after I passed out before doctors took me seriously enough to order an MRI. It turns out I have a badly herniated disc, and the others around it aren't in much better condition. I can't pinpoint the one event that herniated the disc, but I can't remember a time in my life where my back didn't hurt if I stood for awhile, or tried laying flat on my back.
Let me explain herniated disc pain to you if you don't know. A sprain has localized pain, you can pinpoint the area where it comes from. This pain is completely different. Yeah, occasionally it is a stabbing pain but generally it is this awful radiating pain through my buttock down one of my legs, sometimes both. Where ever the pain goes, I feel weak, like I can't move that leg. It spreads across my entire lower back and the upper part of my butt. If anyone touches/presses on it, I will scream...in agony. It was getting better after months of three time a week visits with my trainer and once a week adjustments with my chiro but now I feel like I'm back to square one, like all of that work was for nothing.
I really want to have a baby. I want to have a baby so much it hurts, but I'm terrified of getting pregnant and the pain being so bad that I will be literally bed ridden. I'm also worried about having to take medication that I wouldn't be able to continue when pregnant. I couldn't work now if I wanted to since I can't stand for long periods of time (anything more than 5 minutes), can't lift much, hell I can't even sit comfortably. I'm 26 and my body is failing me. I'm sick of being told that losing weight will help. I explained that the most excruciating pain I experienced from this was actually when I weighed 30-40lbs less than I do now, and that 40lbs heavier than this it wasn't nearly as bad. The next step after the adjustments are shots of steroids into the affected area. Oh joy, just what I want, more chemicals in my body.
I'm just frustrated and venting and...it's my blog.
I went to check out gyms today and the first one was huge. It is the biggest gym, by far that I had ever been to. Remember on Dodgeball, the gym that Ben Stiller's character worked at? Globoflex or something like that--it reminded me of that. It had beautiful amenities with a huge pool, locker room, salon, cafe etc. I hated how this over cologned man who was giving me the tour talked and walked too fast as he was trying to sell me the place. It wasn't terribly convincing that he even liked the place himself. I would be a number in a place where I could only find a parking spot during off peak time (I went before 11am and the lot was already packed).
The next gym that I went to was a small women's gym. I liked that it was women only and offered a bunch of classes with the membership. I didn't like that it didn't have TV to watch during cardio time, but their machines, while not plentiful were great makes (cybex).
Both gyms would require a significant financial obligation. The huge gym would be around 80 dollars a month, which blew my mind. I don't think I could use it enough to justify spending that much, just to take water aerobics. The second gym required either a long term contract, or a more pricey short time contract. Both are a significant distance from my house too...no gym around the corner. If I choose one of these gyms I want to know that I will use it. My husband and I once signed up for a gym membership at a huge gym and we never went. I didn't feel welcome, just a nameless face in the masses of people that were skinnier, healthier and much more tan than I. I don't get that feeling from the smaller gym, but there are tradeoffs. I'm going to keep investigating...
What is important in YOUR gym search?
Let me explain herniated disc pain to you if you don't know. A sprain has localized pain, you can pinpoint the area where it comes from. This pain is completely different. Yeah, occasionally it is a stabbing pain but generally it is this awful radiating pain through my buttock down one of my legs, sometimes both. Where ever the pain goes, I feel weak, like I can't move that leg. It spreads across my entire lower back and the upper part of my butt. If anyone touches/presses on it, I will scream...in agony. It was getting better after months of three time a week visits with my trainer and once a week adjustments with my chiro but now I feel like I'm back to square one, like all of that work was for nothing.
I really want to have a baby. I want to have a baby so much it hurts, but I'm terrified of getting pregnant and the pain being so bad that I will be literally bed ridden. I'm also worried about having to take medication that I wouldn't be able to continue when pregnant. I couldn't work now if I wanted to since I can't stand for long periods of time (anything more than 5 minutes), can't lift much, hell I can't even sit comfortably. I'm 26 and my body is failing me. I'm sick of being told that losing weight will help. I explained that the most excruciating pain I experienced from this was actually when I weighed 30-40lbs less than I do now, and that 40lbs heavier than this it wasn't nearly as bad. The next step after the adjustments are shots of steroids into the affected area. Oh joy, just what I want, more chemicals in my body.
I'm just frustrated and venting and...it's my blog.
I went to check out gyms today and the first one was huge. It is the biggest gym, by far that I had ever been to. Remember on Dodgeball, the gym that Ben Stiller's character worked at? Globoflex or something like that--it reminded me of that. It had beautiful amenities with a huge pool, locker room, salon, cafe etc. I hated how this over cologned man who was giving me the tour talked and walked too fast as he was trying to sell me the place. It wasn't terribly convincing that he even liked the place himself. I would be a number in a place where I could only find a parking spot during off peak time (I went before 11am and the lot was already packed).
The next gym that I went to was a small women's gym. I liked that it was women only and offered a bunch of classes with the membership. I didn't like that it didn't have TV to watch during cardio time, but their machines, while not plentiful were great makes (cybex).
Both gyms would require a significant financial obligation. The huge gym would be around 80 dollars a month, which blew my mind. I don't think I could use it enough to justify spending that much, just to take water aerobics. The second gym required either a long term contract, or a more pricey short time contract. Both are a significant distance from my house too...no gym around the corner. If I choose one of these gyms I want to know that I will use it. My husband and I once signed up for a gym membership at a huge gym and we never went. I didn't feel welcome, just a nameless face in the masses of people that were skinnier, healthier and much more tan than I. I don't get that feeling from the smaller gym, but there are tradeoffs. I'm going to keep investigating...
What is important in YOUR gym search?
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Warm Spiced Quinoa with Golden Raisins and Almonds
Here is another healthy recipe!
Find Roni’s origional recipe here:
http://greenlitebites.com/2011/01/19/warm-quinoa-salad-with-pears-pecans-and-raisins/
I found this recipe on one of my favorite blogs -- www.greenlitebites.com. Roni has been a great inspiration to me, since I discovered her after a CNN article I saw online. Since I was missing some of the ingredients, I made some changes. It is in the spirit of many of Roni’s recipes to make some changes, and I actually learned a lot about baking/cooking improvisations from her website.
Here’s the recipe
If you look at Roni’s recipe, she uses red quinoa, a pear, and regular raisins. I love golden raisins and was excited to have an opportunity to use them!
Assembling:
Mix the quinoa, water, spices and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, turn down to simmer and cover. Cook until all water evaporates (I left mine for 12 minutes). Do NOT touch it. In the past I’ve been impatient and it gets sticky (not good).
While the quinoa is cooking, cube the apple and chop the nuts. When the quinoa is done, toss in the cubed apple, chopped nuts and raisins. Consume...enjoy...pass on.
Here’s the recipe
- 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 1 small granny smith apple, cubed
- 1/2 oz almonds chopped (14g)
- 1/2 oz golden raisins (14g)
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| Assembled Ingredients and Finished product |
If you look at Roni’s recipe, she uses red quinoa, a pear, and regular raisins. I love golden raisins and was excited to have an opportunity to use them!
Assembling:
Mix the quinoa, water, spices and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, turn down to simmer and cover. Cook until all water evaporates (I left mine for 12 minutes). Do NOT touch it. In the past I’ve been impatient and it gets sticky (not good).
While the quinoa is cooking, cube the apple and chop the nuts. When the quinoa is done, toss in the cubed apple, chopped nuts and raisins. Consume...enjoy...pass on.
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| Up close picture |
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| Umm...I ate it all |
Find Roni’s origional recipe here:
http://greenlitebites.com/2011/01/19/warm-quinoa-salad-with-pears-pecans-and-raisins/
Friday, January 21, 2011
Best Chicken Sandwich--adopted from Coastal Flats
I love to cook, and eat out. Eating out however isn’t always (or usually ever!) the healthiest choices because of all of the additives that you don’t know about. My solution? Make it at home! So I’ve started replicated restaurant recipes at home. This chicken sandwich has become a family favorite.
Description:
A moist chicken sandwich with havarti cheese and sliced bell peppers on thick slices of fresh grilled sourdough bread. The original sandwich had mayo, but we didn’t add it this time.
How do I make this sandwich?
Description:
A moist chicken sandwich with havarti cheese and sliced bell peppers on thick slices of fresh grilled sourdough bread. The original sandwich had mayo, but we didn’t add it this time.
How do I make this sandwich?
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts either sliced or pounded thin. Basically, you need enough chicken breast, cooked, to fit on your bread. I panfry it with a little olive oil.
1 sliced bell pepper
Havarti cheese once again, enough to cover 2 slices of bread
4 thick slices of fresh bread You can use some fresh Italian Bread or we found that rounds of sourdough are amazing with the havartiBUTTER!
How to assemble
Cook chicken, thick slice your bread and grill it with some butter in a pan--only on the outsides. Put the cheese on the bread almost immediately so that he can melt. Since we only toast the outside, the sandwich comes together and stays in the bread.
After the bread and chicken are grilled, put the chicken on the bread, top with peppers and toss on that piece with the nice melty cheese.
Note: We don’t always let the cheese melt all of the way, but if you just left the sandwich for a couple of seconds before snarfing it down, and snarf you will, it will melt together.
You can add fresh spinach, mayo anything you want.
Finished Product! I took a bite before I remembered to take a picture.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Projects
I have some fun projects going on that I wanted to post some pictures of.
The first is a necklace (lariat) and earrings that I made. My friend want to buy them from me, and offered to before I even finished them!!
The crochet hook on top is 6 inches long. It is probably 2.5 feet wide square now! This is the first blanket I've ever made. I am sorta working on a hat, but since I was a complete experiment I'm not sure I want to show it off lol. I have food pictures that I will do another post on.
What crafty stuff have you done lately???
The first is a necklace (lariat) and earrings that I made. My friend want to buy them from me, and offered to before I even finished them!!
The next is the baby blanket that I've been working on. For all the haters--I ONLY made it pink because it was the only color they had other than white. I refuse to saddle any poor new parent with a white blanket and expect it not to be disgusting.
What crafty stuff have you done lately???
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Amazing cupcakes and rant....
warning: this isn't the happiest post...but I needed to rant.
Maybe it is PMS, or maybe it was boredom but I made yellow cupcakes with chocolate frosting today. From scratch. Double boiler to melt the chocolate and all. What took the longest was letting my eggs and such get to room temperature. The cupcakes were/are so good. So good in fact, that I will be sending the rest to work with my husband to work tomorrow.
My back has been killing me this last week. I knew it would happen again, but I was so psyched that it stopped hurting after I had my tonsils taken out (something about narcotics and sleeping for 10 days) but after yoga the other day, the stretching and such really 'woke' up and pissed off my lower back. When it began hurting, before I knew I had a herniated disc, it would hurt on the right side. Now, the pain has mostly moved to the left. It is this odd feeling too, aside from the pain it is this incredible weakness in your trunk. There are days where I think that my entire lower half is going to collapse, and just cease to work. I am thankful daily for the ability to move at all, especially move without pain. I just recovered from one surgery and I damn well don't want to have another, but I do wonder frequently if surgery would help this problem.
I've been told my entire life that losing weight will fix my life. I'll be happier when I'm skinnier, I won't get headaches, PMS, cramps, trouble getting pregnant, back pain, or attacks from gremlins if I lose weight. Well ya know what? I'm not happy TRYING to lose weight. Why is it about the weight? Why? I was a hell of a lot healthy 5-10 pounds heavier when I was working out with a trainer 3x week, going to the chiropractor, and muscular as hell. The ONLY reason I've lost weight, and sustained that lost weight since having surgery is because my muscles are atrophying from lack of use! I want to live a healthy life. Yeah, I made cupcakes today, and YES I used two sticks of REAL butter in them, but I'm not planning on eating all 12 of them! I could walk more, eat more vegetables, drink more water, and eat less but don't we ALL have things that we wish we did, and didn't do well enough? I'm done worrying about my weight. Screw it, I'm going to love me, for me. I've got a lot to offer--my husband certainly thinks so, and I AM happy. If the end of the world comes, I'll be the last to starve mwhahahah watch out skinny people--evolution is on my side now!
To clarify (cause my husband asked) I am NOT going to turn into a gluttonous fool, but rather that I am sick of fixating on a number on a scale. I am sick of beating myself up for not being good enough. I will strive daily to be my best, but when I fail it is okay.
Cupcake recipe:
Read more:http://www.joyofbaking.com/YellowCupcakes.html#ixzz1BRiilczb
Read more:http://www.joyofbaking.com/YellowCupcakes.html#ixzz1BRieWriQ
Maybe it is PMS, or maybe it was boredom but I made yellow cupcakes with chocolate frosting today. From scratch. Double boiler to melt the chocolate and all. What took the longest was letting my eggs and such get to room temperature. The cupcakes were/are so good. So good in fact, that I will be sending the rest to work with my husband to work tomorrow.
My back has been killing me this last week. I knew it would happen again, but I was so psyched that it stopped hurting after I had my tonsils taken out (something about narcotics and sleeping for 10 days) but after yoga the other day, the stretching and such really 'woke' up and pissed off my lower back. When it began hurting, before I knew I had a herniated disc, it would hurt on the right side. Now, the pain has mostly moved to the left. It is this odd feeling too, aside from the pain it is this incredible weakness in your trunk. There are days where I think that my entire lower half is going to collapse, and just cease to work. I am thankful daily for the ability to move at all, especially move without pain. I just recovered from one surgery and I damn well don't want to have another, but I do wonder frequently if surgery would help this problem.
I've been told my entire life that losing weight will fix my life. I'll be happier when I'm skinnier, I won't get headaches, PMS, cramps, trouble getting pregnant, back pain, or attacks from gremlins if I lose weight. Well ya know what? I'm not happy TRYING to lose weight. Why is it about the weight? Why? I was a hell of a lot healthy 5-10 pounds heavier when I was working out with a trainer 3x week, going to the chiropractor, and muscular as hell. The ONLY reason I've lost weight, and sustained that lost weight since having surgery is because my muscles are atrophying from lack of use! I want to live a healthy life. Yeah, I made cupcakes today, and YES I used two sticks of REAL butter in them, but I'm not planning on eating all 12 of them! I could walk more, eat more vegetables, drink more water, and eat less but don't we ALL have things that we wish we did, and didn't do well enough? I'm done worrying about my weight. Screw it, I'm going to love me, for me. I've got a lot to offer--my husband certainly thinks so, and I AM happy. If the end of the world comes, I'll be the last to starve mwhahahah watch out skinny people--evolution is on my side now!
To clarify (cause my husband asked) I am NOT going to turn into a gluttonous fool, but rather that I am sick of fixating on a number on a scale. I am sick of beating myself up for not being good enough. I will strive daily to be my best, but when I fail it is okay.
Cupcake recipe:
YellowCupcakes:
1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all purposeflour
1 cup (200 grams) granulated whitesugar
1 1/2 teaspoonsbaking powder
1/4teaspoonsalt
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsaltedbutter, room temperature (cut into pieces)
1 large egg, room temperature
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons purevanillaextract
1/2 cup (120 ml) sour cream or whole plain yogurt, room temperature
Chocolate Fudge Frosting:
4 ounces (120 grams) unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup (150 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups (160 grams)confectioners(powdered or icing) sugar, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Garnish:(optional)
Colored Sprinkles or Shaved Chocolate
YellowCupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and lightly butter or line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat to combine theflour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter, egg, egg yolks, vanilla extract, and sour cream. Beat the wet and dry ingredients together at medium speed until the batter is smooth and satiny, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. If necessary, stir the batter with arubberspatulauntil the flour is fully incorporated.
Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until pale gold and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing. You can either spread the frosting on the cupcakes with a small spatula or, if piping, use a large Wilton 1M open or closed star tip to make lovely swirls. These cupcakes are best the day they are made, although they will keep for a few days at room temperature.
ChocolateFrosting: Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and beat until it is light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the chocolate and beat on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until frosting is smooth and glossy (about 2 -3 minutes).
Makes 12 cupcakes
Read more:http://www.joyofbaking.com/YellowCupcakes.html#ixzz1BRiilczb
Read more:http://www.joyofbaking.com/YellowCupcakes.html#ixzz1BRieWriQ
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