Just Another Mom's Dot Com

The More of Less

2026-01-04T22:17:00.002-07:00

I've started the year 2026, reading The More of Less by Joshua Becker. I've been okay with purging items, but I truly want to keep the things that bring me joy and let go of the rest. I love making my home feel comfortable and warm and full, but I'm hoping I can do that without it ACTUALLY being SO full. It feels like I am endlessly posting items on Facebook marketplace, which is fine, clearly I can let things go, but I also want to slow down on unnecessary purchases, whether it be fast fashion or crappy clearance items... Becker asks some questions to get us started, so here goes:

1. What experiences, good and bad, have shaped your life? Growing up, I feel like I hung on to a lot to feel some safety and security that I was lacking in other aspects of my life. I've always liked to personalize my space, though. When I made the move to Colorado, I definitely had to consider what was really important and what could be let go or stay behind. Moving back and forth many times through college and then different states and countries, I think I definitely got better at keeping things that were meaningful but not hoarding EVERYthing. The girls' daily art projects at church or the gym helped me to learn creative ways of keeping their art without actually keeping all of it. Living in my sister's basement in 2016-2017 with my girls and sharing one room, one bed, and one closet, helped me REALLY see how we could live MUCH simpler, to the point that I actually considered that we should have a tiny home. That was freeing to realize how little we needed to be happy. I feel that being a military partner, at times, pushed me into thinking I needed to "keep up" with others, and I have definitely gone through so many times of making purchases due to pressure or influence of others. That is one thing I really want to work on.

2. My notable achievements that help me see a theme/similarities? There are achievements that have definitely helped me realize that I am hardheaded, and I typically like to do things independently. My schooling, my physical challenges like half-marathons and mud runs, were done for myself. The first time I went up the Manitou Incline, I did it by myself... and many solo times after... I like to do things without the pressure of others around me and to prove I can do things on my own. I definitely think that is a reoccuring theme. I'm not one to need to prove myself to others, only to remind (or teach myself) that I am enough and I am capable.

3. What problems in the world am I passionate about solving? Hmm. I really did enjoy the life in Germany, the way they recycle and reuse things abundantly more than we do in the US. I really miss that. It feels like a difficult thing to take on here, but I try to make little changes when I can. I would like to make purchases that are meaningful. I also really miss how they enjoyed their time, didn't rush. Talking to neighbors and walking the town, really embracing life and the people in it.

4. If money is no object, what work would I do? Clearly, I am already pursuing that with my profession... ha, it's not about my paycheck, although I will say I am grateful for the path that I have landed on. I do love teaching, and I suppose if the money wasn't relevant, maybe I'd focus more on my art, in whatever medium it may be. Yarn or drawing or painting, maybe photography or something more hands-on that I build. I definitely always want to be creating.

5. What dreams do I wish I had pursued harder? I feel like #4 really honed in on that. My art, even the graphic design aspect of it... I truly loved creating logos and doing layouts/design, but there was a lot of other stuff that went into the career that I didn't love.

6. What is the lasting legacy you want to leave? I want to leave a legacy of being thoughtful. Strong. Loyal. I don't think or have a passion to be someone that changes the world, however, I just hope that I have an influence on my friends and families and people that surround me. I hope that when I'm remembered, it makes me smile warmly.

7. Whom do I most admire? I'm not sure I'm ready to put any specific names, but I will say that people I most admire are the people that are comfortable in their skin. People that don't necessarily go with the crowd, but stand their ground for beliefs and feelings. People that know who they are and don't get swayed easily by others. People that are just. And loving. Kind. Thoughtful. Chivalrous. Those that work hard, but in a way that is for them or their families, not just for the grind. People that are present. Genuine.

These are all questions I was to answer before exploring minimalism or even beginning the process of decluttering. This felt like a good start into my journaling again. I think about it every. single. day.

I am really going to try to journal more often. Write often. I have had an idea for quite a while involving writing that goes along with sharing what I'm thankful for. And also involves a whole lot more personal stories. I hesitate to share, but I also feel like it's something I just need to get out. When I say I think about it every single day, I truly do. For years. So maybe it's time to finally do something about it.

Stacy

Him... Open Tabs and Mistrials of the Dating World.

2022-07-19T11:02:00.002-06:00

How is it possible to know someone so little.... and be SO affected by him?

Yuck. I have 34 tabs open on my computer right now. This is not uncommon for me and I actually know what they are and have a reason for each and every one. If my computer shuts down, I am sure to go to my browser history and "reopen all previous tabs," because they're important. I need them.

But, the "yuck" refers to the fact that I've had this particular Blogger tab open and that first line has been typed in like that... and it's been the only line typed... for months. And the reason I opened my computer this morning is because of that same person. Him.

I'm letting him take up room in my brain that he doesn't deserve. Can I just shut that off, please? Still trying to figure out how to make it that easy...

I've definitely been known to give people too many chances. Old habits die hard. So that's where Lou comes in. That's not his name. But I will likely never actually date a Lou, so it sounds perfect. I hate that name. Except for Lou Henson. He was awesome. But I've gone off topic. We are gonna call this guy Lou.

Lou is not local, but local-ish and we crossed paths a time or two. He reached out via facebook to let me know he was into me and I liked how direct he was about it. We started texting pretty much nonstop and that was that. It seemed like we were going to make a go of things; calling each other babe and whatnot... maybe too soon. He invited me to an event that involved his family and I thought that was a pretty cool move. Until he had his dad pick me up, which was the funniest, most bizarre thing. Maybe a story for another time, when I'm in a funnier mood. In reality, it was all fine and practical, and they're all such great people... a really fun day. But more importantly, he was letting me into his world and that was a big deal to me (After dating someone for three years that had been going through a forever-long divorce from a severely difficult person and having to feel like I was a secret, this was so refreshing to be "open"). Lou even mentioned how he could imagine me in the stands, cheering him on as he acknowledged a rather important life achievement. It was nice.

I felt "seen." Which is everything to me. This whirlwind of feelings came to a screeching halt only weeks later, when he told me he was "super busy for the next month." C'mon man, even I know that is INSANELY lame to say. And if friends came to me with this story? I would tell literally every friend of mine to run.. run far. Hell, I would even tell people that I dislike that they need to steer clear of anyone willing to give that as an excuse. No way.

So what the hell. Why the 180? I'll likely never know, because he's not able to verbalize it. Correction: he chooses not to. So... what's to follow for months-to-come is a kind of a game of cat and mouse. Lou is super funny and sarcastic and we had a way of passively reconnecting, always. We get along so easily and I let him feel like "home" in that short amount of time. He seemed so open. So easy. So "me."

I say "seemed." It all felt real until it wasn't.

I've been love-bombed and gaslit and blindsided and all those things and I really thought I was doing well at seeing that in people. So this Lou-guy really threw me for a loop. How did I miss it? When he held my hand, half-asleep, smiling and asking if I was happy... was that all bullshit? And how did I fall for it again? (If I asked him about this today, he might "not remember" this at all)...hmm.

But let's backtrack. My ex-husband. Really bad guy. This is not a "bitter ex-moment." I could make a laundry list of people, both women and men that have been taken advantage of and would back me up on that statement. Anyways. The past. My ex-boyfriend? I went through some of this too with him, but at the core, I do not believe he is a bad guy. I think he just has demons he was unwilling to face at the time and our relationship suffered due to both our past issues.

Then there is Lou. I feel this about him as well. Demons? Fear? I don't know though. He is smart and responsible and an amazing person, truly. I do not believe he is intentionally trying to hurt anyone, to include myself. Maybe that's what kept me coming back? I could be the one to "solve all his internal struggles?" I don't know. I let myself fall in... in something. Love? I don't know. I don't think so, but I let myself imagine a future with him. It doesn't matter. It's all done now.

Since Lou kept me and all things me at arms-distance, I continued to date other people. I'm thinking this is a defense mechanism. In all honesty, I've been on a lot of dates this year. It's been fun and exciting for sure. I always find it fun to get to know people and sometimes you click with a person, sometimes you don't. No matter what, I keep learning more and more about myself, regardless of the person sitting across from me. In fact, I've met people that I hope stay in my life indefinitely, even if it's not meant to be "my person."

I wish I had maybe kept more of my guard up with Lou. I saw a future with him and that's my fault for jumping in head first. He says his parents don't like each other, despite being married, for quite some time too. If I want to psycho-analyze the situation, I could say he's afraid to end up like them, so he just shuts down. Maybe. Or maybe he's "just not that into me." That happens. Either way, I know I'll be fine. I just wanted him to say it out loud. Saying things like "I know you'd be good for me," but not actually making the time to see me? That's too easy to decide. I'm not without self-worth, thankfully. But, I feel like I've been strung along for months and I finally had to put a stop to it. I know what I want. And Lou wasn't doing it. It's pretty simple. Right?

Life is wild, isn't it? I'll always be some hopeless (hopeful) romantic, so even if this seems like a sad crying-over-my-computer post, it's far from it. I sit here and smile, thinking about meeting someone that feels like I wrecked their world in the best way possible. A friend of mine was a bit down last night and she said "I'm just beginning to wonder if anyone will ever like me." I had to laugh a little, despite her downer attitude at the time. There are SO many people in the world; she and I both KNOW that is so silly to think. And okay, okay, from time to time, there are tears. I'm human, so what...

So I really just needed to type all this out... get it out of my brain and make some vacancy for someone else. Some days are easy. Some days are like today. It's hard to give new people a chance though if you're comparing all of them to someone else. That's really the goal here. I can't compare everyone to Lou. Imagining what COULD be simply doesn't make it so.

Guess it's time to close this tab, hmm? I have a few tentative plans around the corner. Who knows what's to come? Wish me luck.

For fun: Post Malone: Twelve Carat Toothache, at 11:40--song: Wrapped Around Your Finger

Consistency and Work Calls

2022-03-02T23:03:00.004-07:00

I like to write. I like this blog. Why don't I find more time to put towards it... but really, I'm asking.

When I think about how inconsistent I am with this thing, I realize that I'm actually pretty inconsistent with all sorts of things. And maybe I've never HAD to be that consistent. I've not really ever been in a completely stable place where things are just settled and coasting. I'm always on the way to somewhere. But where am I going now? Random thought...

I had remembered reading a book in the past year and the author had talked about setting aside at least 1 hour a day to write without interruption. I couldn't think of the book or author for a few minutes and I started convincing myself my brain must be broken, because my memory was so questionable. Just after that thought, Lauren Graham popped into my head. Ahem, Lorelei Gilmore. Or even Sarah Braverman. If you know, you know. If you don't, well, boo. See? I could rattle those character names off like nothing, but a book I read last year? Search deeply.

Okay, I digress. Big time. Her autobiography mentioned how she writes every day (shows, screenplays, what-have-you) and I thought... I should do that too. Perhaps on a much smaller scale. Maybe 10-15 minutes a day. That seems like a small enough chunk.

Mmkay. Well, now what?

I've always liked the name of my blog. Because it's not like I've got some astounding, earth-shaking information to share, but back when I started it, I had very little littles and I stayed at home. My blog was a way for me to share things I did, like, cook and bake and sew and whatever the hell else took up my time. It was a great time in life, now that I think about it. The girls and I living life. Having kids is such an adventure, and we went on many. Still do.

But what's my blog's focus...? Do I need to have a niche? Maybe to catch on... to trend...

I'm just trying to get some thoughts out.

The recent blogs talk more about relationships than anything, but isn't that the point of a blog? To be current? That's kind of where I'm at in life. I still consider myself new here and I'm still new to my job and working with new people and making friends and all of the relationships. But let's be real... I love Love. I get excited to find it and well... I care for, like, ALL the people I meet. I can't help it. It's just who I am. Some day I'll care about the person that cares about me just as much. Or more. Is that possible?

Quick story:

Some time not so long ago, in 2021... A guy... we will call him JT, like Justin Timberlake, but he will not be Justin Timberlake and in fact, he's nothing like him. But he added me on facebook. I don't approve people on fb that I don't know, because well, that's weird. But we had sooo many mutual friends and my brain being what it is, wondered "Do I know him and just not remember?" Shrug. So I added him. A couple days go by. I don't think I know this guy. He likes a photo. I dm him.

"Do I know you?"

"Hmm... I'm not sure. We do have a lot of mutual friends..."

"Well.... you added me, man." (Chances are, I didn't use that term "man")

Long story short, this messaging went on while traveling home from a little road trip and he said "Well, maybe we could talk on the phone instead?" since I had told him I couldn't really text at that point in time. We ended up talking on the phone for over an hour, while I drove the last leg of my trip home.

Huh. That's intriguing.

A few days later, I had walked to the library to get some work done. We agree on meeting and he picks me up in his work truck and we plan to grab a coffee or something equivalent. Remember... we do not know each other. So when I get in, he says he's just received a work call. He says he can drop me off or if I want, I can go on the call with him really quickly. Sooooo, sure. Why not. We head to a lovely establishment (read: not totally awesome neighborhood), I hang in the truck while he does his work thing (Duh, I told a bestie and sent her this photo with information about JT. Safety first, in case he's a murderer). that way she could find me, if necessary. Or my body I guess. Eek.

None of it seemed THAT weird honestly. I trust my gut and he was not waving flags. He's easy to talk to and we enjoyed each other's company. He's fun.

Is he the one? Nah, I don't think so.

A great guy, for sure. But can you ever just be friends? Unlikely. I don't know. I haven't quite figured all that out yet. I'm thinking no.

I wonder what Lauren Graham would do. She'd likely write about it.

2/22/22

2022-02-22T06:04:00.002-07:00

Timing. Time. It is really everything. I have a post on here, the last that I've written, and I look back at it now to realize it's already been two years since I wrote it. I remember really struggling to post it, although reading it now, it seems so silly. What was the hold up? Hindsight is so easy to see.

What caused me to open the old blog draft? Or write today?

It's because of tomorrow.

Tomorrow is Tuesday, February 22, 2022. Or 2's Day, 2/22/22. A silly day that I will celebrate, and that's really only because I will have 28 little faces staring at me, expecting me to celebrate it. Oh, and 28 other teachers that are murmuring about it too and wearing fun t-shirts about it. I didn't buy a t-shirt.

If I'm being honest? I'd rather lay low on this day. When I look at my right forearm I see my beautiful tattoo of a pocketwatch. I designed it. Got it done by an amazing Czech tattooist in Germany. The time, forever 2:22 (and 17 seconds). It was just a silly joke that I made up about needing him to leave my house by 2:22, and it just turned into a "thing." Every day, at 2:22, it was a "thing." Multiple times a day really, since we've never quite landed in the same timezone. Timing is everything.

So thinking about that last post that I never published. Why was it hard to put out there? Because I was a mess. I realize that now. I left Spain and I knew things were changed. That summer was amazing in so many ways, but it was also not what I expected. I left there knowing I chose a job here, he chose a job there, and we had so many demons haunting both of us, we were bound to torch the entire thing.

And we did.

We took a break and things were never the same. I had written that I was okay with being "alone," but at the time, had I ever been? My boyfriend had been there to pick up the pieces of a failed marriage and long drawn-out divorce. I hadn't ever really been Alone alone.

Even though he and I were not meant to be a "forever relationship," he was exactly what I needed at that time in my life. I think people are afraid to acknowledge that sort of thing. I have a connection to this person forever. People confuse that for "still having feelings" or "still being in love." I think it's just called appreciation. There were (and are) flags that I could look at today and say "No, I won't bend on that. " But at the time, I found excuses and reasons to be okay with things and how they were. Denial. At the time, I really wanted it to be him. Now I know I just didn't want to be alone.

What does this ended relationship have to do with 2.22.22? That tattoo. That joke. I remember having the conversation that we would some day get married on 2/22/22, and at the time thinking "That is so far away; no WAY am I waiting that long!" And yes, the reality of it... getting married on a Tuesday is probably not the most practical thing. But it was our thing. And every possible reason for us to hold off on our tentative future happened. Until it broke us. I believe things happen for a reason and there was a reason things never worked out for us.

We weren't built to last. And that's okay. I just read something the other day that said maybe there is such a thing called a "twin flame." It's not a soulmate. It is a person that you connect with that "opens you up to being raw, honest, and vulnerable." It is a relationship that helps you heal and love yourself. It goes on to say that "if one or both people are not ready or willing to grow, the romance can be dramatic, or even toxic.

Well. Yeah.

Kind of like my marriage, I think there is a purpose for everything, even if it drug me through some of the worst times.

Fast forward to the present. All those bad times have made it clear for me to see what I want and what I don't. That's not to say that it makes it easier to figure life out. This weekend I had a date. He cancelled. The flakiness of it all is a red flag. So why do I talk to him? Because I'm forgiving? Or because deep down, I am still drawn to these red flags because it was all I knew for a good chunk of time.

Another perfectly nice guy that I went on 3 dates with asked me yesterday what he could do to approach women differently since I told him things just weren't going to work out with us. Maybe there was no spark for us. Or maybe I just don't know how to like nice guys.

It's hard to say.

I'll be alone on 2:22. But I'm not sad or mad about it. I'm glad for the tattoo too, no regrets about that. Or regerts. I'm glad I'm the type of person that is "all in" when she wants to be and upfront when she needs to be too. I don't think people handle the honesty because it's just not how people typically operate. I'll get my heart broken at least 100 more times. Maybe even today.

Sidenote. Someone, yesterday, told me that when I get all long and drawn out in texts, he just skims it so I should probably just get to the point. Well.... this blog isn't for you, sir. This rambling helps me sort out all the overthinking I do. Some day, somebody will get that. Just not on 2/22. Maybe I'll write about it in another two years.

I hope it is a memorable one for you all!

Twin Flame

A two-year old draft. Let's post it.

2022-02-21T22:46:00.002-07:00

It took me all summer to write this one... I'm not sure why. I am a little in shock, sitting here, on a plane, realizing summer is coming to a close. And I'm always torn. I've been without my sweet girls for over two months. I feel like I'm only half-breathing when they're not around. I miss them. The flip side is, is that I've had an amazing summer with opportunity that many aren't seeing this year, due to the crazy thing called Covid... It's still beyond me. I've had a mask on my face for days, it feels like. Some countries have updated to requiring one while outside regardless of where you are, what you're doing, or how close you are to others. Bizarro-World. Anyways, this summer has been a lot of self-discovery. Discovering what I want, what I don't... who I am and whether I'm okay with that or not. There is so much that I am so happy to have figured out for myself. And then, of course, there are my little (big) demons that haunt me that I so desperately want to leave behind; I just haven't quite figured out how.

Anyways, One of my smartest friends introduced me to Halsey a few years ago. And when I say introduced, I just mean she casually mentioned she was listening to her at some point in time... and I wasn't. I had heard of her, but never really listened.

And still didn't choose to listen to her, actually, at that point. I go through different phases and love a lot of different types of music. I'd say that rock is my core love, but what does that even mean? The definition of rock is very fluid and quite frankly, disgusting. I can't get into all of it and it's not the point right now. I go through phases of feeling like listening to... all the music. So, it was probably about a year later that I decided to see what Halsey had to offer. I have no idea if she was huge or not, I just don't listen to enough radio... I caught her prior to Eastside and BTS and Without Me and well, pre-G-Eazy, I guess.

Is she even a household name? She is in mine. So anyways. I listened to both of her albums Badlands and hopeless fountain kingdom and I was just completely in love. Super raw and real, which I absolutely love. The song "Colors" is one of my favorites, EVEN though I swear she was inspired by Taylor Swift and "Red." Anyone else?! Red, blue, purple... think about it.

Sidenote, do you still trust that I listen to all kinds of music and have a wealth of knowledge when I'm sitting here discussing Halsey and Taylor? Stay with me... or not, it's fine.

ANYways, after listening to her music, I began following her on Instagram. At that point, she was dating G-Eazy, and I was also feeling so optimistic and dreamy about love again and thought they were the best crazy couple that would love each other for life. Turns out, I think he REALLY did a number on her... it works out for her musically, but damn. It just bums me out when things don't last for people, even when I have no personal tie to any of it, I just like love.

Here's my take on Halsey:

I think she is pretty smart and brave, says what she feels and has a great attitude about life. She is artistic, which I love, although I think she gets to paint and draw more often than I do.

I also hear and see another side to her. I see a craving for love and security and hmm... approval?

I see... insecurity? Do I see all this because those are my OWN issues and I am just trying to relate to her? Do I sound like a fangirl yet? Haha. Eh. Do I think she is my "spirit animal?" I really don't even know what that actually means... but maybe.

It doesn't matter what type of music it is; it is in my blood to see the ways I relate to a song or person. Maybe even not specifically in music. I'm always trying to relate to everything and everyone. But I typically listen to music thinking it was completely written for me. Haha. Anyone else do that? My point is though: I am one of those people that is influenced by music IMMENSELY and her music really effects me. You can tell that she loves hard and I love that. What other way is there to be? She quotes Romeo and Juliet in an earlier album... in my eyes, the most romantic of all the stories, yeah? Tragic, but, oh, so much love.

I also just love the little things that I find in her that are similar to myself that really don't mean anything, but it makes me smile. Like that her lucky number is 17. Me too. Fast track to today: she has a new album out. It's called Manic. I've listened to it quite a bit over the summer. I could instantly see the whole album is the after-effects of a relationship gone bad, breaking up, and all that jazz. She's working on finding herself.

Me too.

I listened to it and liked it, but it honestly took a few times to actually really like it and appreciate it. Then I listened to it more and discovered a few random quotes in it. Turns out one of them is Kate Winslet from a movie that happens to be one of my favorites. Top five, I'd say, although I'm not great at rating movies.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Aaaaamazing movie. It's about trying to erase the memories in your brain after a heartbreak, so you can move on... well, not just after a breakup, one client wanted to erase the memories of a pet she'd lost... but sad stuff, obviously. Who'd want to erase anything else?

Is it just that easy to get over something, though; just go have a procedure done and boom?

Anyways, if you haven't seen it, watch it. I probably should too. It's been quite a while actually.

Kate Winslet's name in the movie is Clementine. Which just happens to be track #2 on Halsey's album after hearing Kate's quote on track #1. Kind of cool.

Soo... what's my point? Well, I don't know. What's the point of anyone's blog really? It's therapeutic for me and people seem to respond to it. I guess my point is, is that I'm at a time in my life that I find really amazing and also insanely terrifying.

I have spent the majority of my life being a people pleaser.

I have spent the majority of it wanting to feel safe and secure.

I have spent most of my life being afraid of being alone.

I have spent most of my life without enough confidence and self-worth to truly believe what I tell myself.

This has made for some pretty messy relationships. With family. With friends. With lovers.

Why is this such an issue for me? I'm not exactly sure, but I'm working on it... or at least I was, I should probably find a new counselor or figure out how to get back to the one I had. He was pretty great. But anyways, everyone has their issues and humps to get through. These are mine.

Why am I telling you all this? Ahh, geez, again... I don't know...

Maybe someone will see this and know they aren't alone. No one is ever really alone. But I'll save that for another post. Music really gets me through things. Or at least it makes me realize that I'm not alone either. So I think that's why I write this. Someone else might see that I feel what they feel too? All these fears that I harbor, though... I drag them to other relationships and struggle with trust like it's a sport. I love hard and feel like it's worth going through heartache, but also... I think I jeopardize relationships too, because I'm so convinced that the heartbreak is coming. So when people do make mistakes and prove that they aren't perfect, I struggle to be reasonable and forgive... I just think "Oh here we go! Here's where they treat me horribly and I break. I better get out my weapons and hurt them first."

I think that's called bitterness.

It sucks to think like this.

It's taken me until this year to actually see how I would hop from relationship to relationship, trying to fill a void with a person. That's a lot to carry for that other person. It's taken me until right now to realize that I'll be okay. I mean, geez, I've been living as a single parent for practically ten years now. I've been on my own emotionally.

(unfinished, but seeing as this is two-year's old, I'm just posting and moving on... :-)

Where do we go from here?

2020-04-28T05:13:00.001-06:00

Hey all! Look, I did it! I wrote a blog within the same year as the last one! 😆

Granted, it's still been like... a month. That may not be often enough for people that like, seriously follow blogs, but I honestly have no idea what expectations are. But here I am!

So let's see, what's happened in the month of April. Because it's gone pretty darn fast... in a slow-can't-do-much sort of way... but I do have just some bullets that I am busting with and feel like sharing them would benefit your life. 😜 So here goes...

So, for the first week of April, I went back through all my old blogs just realizing how many great things I used to eat and how good it all looked. I am soooo sad to say that the pancake mix I used in one of these posts is pretty hard to find now, if it's even still made. I went to the company's webpage and they were sold out of quite a bit... however, that was at the beginning of this shelter-in-place and people were sort of losing their minds still over things like toilet paper and flour. I'll have to check again. Maybe they've settled down. Anyways, it's been a little motivation to try and eat a bit better and get creative with meals again.

[Okay, I couldn't wait. I just checked. They do NOT have the 6-grain and it just says "unavailable." I will now keep this tab open, in addition to the other 19 tabs I have open in safari right now, and I'll keep checking it because it was THAT good.]

https://centralmilling.com/store/#central-milling-organic

In case you want it too, but if it comes in stock, tell me, pretty please. This wasn't actually one of my original bullet points... I really got carried away there.

Next. Well, it's still about food. Obviously, from this blog, you can see I like food. I also enjoy good food that is really tasty but not terribly bad for me. (Even though the terribly bad food has its special place too ;-) I don't really always want to cook or enjoy cooking, typically because I'm impatient for one, and two- I don't like cleaning up. BUT... I am also cheap and still want that healthy side, so those two things usually win out and I end up making food instead of ordering. This stuck-at-the-house thing has resulted in lots of cooking and baking which has been fun. Homemade bread loaves, crepes, bagels, homemade mac and cheese, pasta, eggs, hmm, what else... the girls have tried all sorts of things. Actually, I think that was really why I didn't enjoy cooking... I don't like cooking on my own. With other people, I'm discovering it's fun! I will say, though, I am still missing my go-to restaurants in all this... I think we could all go for the communal chips and salsa right now, know what I'm saying?

I am also insanely thankful that we have a park, basically in the backyard... no, we don't get to play at the jungle gym or basketball hoops there, because that involves touching and touching is gross now, apparently, but we have a .6 mile lap that we can do endlessly whether walking, biking, rollerblading, or training to be a knight. Yes, as the Queen, I knighted someone today that went by the name JoJo (what? My girls are creative and I usually don't ask, I just roll with it...) Yes, we do rounds around town too, but this backyard lap is comforting. It's nice to know I can go out there multiple times a day with a podcast and the girls can do their thing near me too... it's weird now that they are old enough to be out on their own, but I can't let them be free because of all this social distancing stuff... :-( and soon, we will all be wearing masks all day, every day while out and about? Anyways.

That leads to my next bulletpoint. Podcasts. How did it take me until this year to really listen to them? I talked, last blog, about Dirty John. Right now, I'm in the middle of Up and Vanished. It is good........ and much longer than he anticipated! Which leads me to believe there is SO much I haven't heard in this case yet, so don't tell me! But do tell me, if you listen to podcasts, what should I be hearing? I like the crime ones and humorous ones too, so help me start a list! ;-)

Alright, next... I'll address the elephant in the room. It is probably safe to say some people are back reading this blog to see if there is any more about Fred. Sigh. I wish there wasn't. I don't plan to devote too much time on this. But it does need to be addressed. I opened the box. I won't put it all back in there, just because others want me to.

Well. I'm going to start by saying that it was really overwhelming to finally post that blog. I do not regret it and I feel much better personally. Like I said, it was a heavy weight. What I didn't expect? I did NOT expect or maybe realize the response I would get from people. Not people consoling me or expressing their empathy... although those words were heard and very much appreciated. I was very overwhelmed with the responses I received saying that it was like I had revealed their journal. That it was like I was typing out their life. I had dozens of comments, but over fifteen of them had shared that they had been through something like my story. And I hope they don't mind me saying so, but a fraction of those people had been in the same "neighborhood" as me, so to speak and said it was all eerily similar. Ugh, right? I think I always thought it would be comforting to know I wasn't alone, but no... I was broken-hearted to realize how many around me have felt so much pain. And then I felt terrible for never realizing it. But I guess no one ever really knows what people are going through. The thing about all these people that reached out-- they were no longer in those relationships. Amen, right?! Thank you for being brave and reaching out, but also thank you for being brave and getting out! I'm praying that if anyone else is stuck in the muck of all that, that things are changing for them. And some friends have been through that and worked through it all and have a healthy marriage now. That's so beautiful too! I heard all the words and messages that people sent and I thank you. So much.

Of course, there was a LITTLE pushback. And when I say that, it was literally just the one person. Fred was displeased with my words. After a very riled text from him, I let him know this blog was not for him and I am not concerned. If I wanted to keep it private or block people, I would have. He threatened me with the things about me I have not publicly revealed. Maybe some day that can be a blog too. One thing at a time now... But really, my parents, my siblings, my close friends, they already know my faults and mistakes and dark. Nothing is a secret to take to my grave. I read something the other day that went like "Who does she think she is? Well, it appears she is someone living her life unconcerned with who you think she is."

I like that.

It did annoy me a bit that Fred's wife (Wilma, obviously) sent me a message on fb, saying to stop harassing him. Ummm... what? I wasn't asking for his input on my blog. I was just asking about child support. I took most of what she said with a grain of salt because I've spent zero days with her, the girls know 7 days of her, and hell, Fred has been in a relationship with her less than 6 months... but the one thing she said that stuck out was that "I must be madly in love with him still" to attempt these communications with him. I laughed and let her know her instincts are a bit misconstrued. But I have had some time to really think this through, to the point where it made me sad. And here's why. He and I do NOT communicate well. Unfortunately, we are not the amiable co-parenting adults. He smiles and says he is friendly, but our texts are not friendly. We are still dealing with a lot of issues, as our divorce has only been final for like a month or two, depending on which version of the decree you see... but I am quite curt in our communications because I am typically trying to explain his misinterpretations of the court order.

Now these communications have led his wife of a couple months to decide that I am madly in love with him. We aren't flying off the cuff... we aren't cussing and calling each other names... but by no means are these communications "nice." So being upset and annoyed... being unkind... quite honestly, talking down to someone because there is little respect in the first place, but he also just CANNOT comprehend the conversation... these ill-feelings... that equals love to her? Hmm. That's unfortunate.

And that's all I have to say about all of that... this blog doesn't have space for all that bad juju. I have so much going on, I don't try to wrap my head around any of that chaotic world. Because actually that very same day was the day our governor announced that we were finishing the school year by e-learning. We all knew it was happening, but hearing him say the words? Crushed.

I guess I'll have a story to tell about how my student-teaching days, but really, I just wanted to get the opportunity to finish in the classroom and tell the same story that ALL the other teachers in the land tell... but this very same day as silly facebook messages and the governor saying we weren't going back? That was supposed to be my last official day in the classroom. Oh... it's just not how I pictured it. I am so very thankful to have video meetings every weekday morning with my class, and the fact that I get to still take part in everything to this day. I just miss them so much! Anyways, at least this official word allows us to now do our best to make what we can special, with signs in the senior's yards, and birthday parades, and all the tentative plans for when we can hug our friends again. There is so much to be thankful for in this district and it is so bittersweet, this semester I am in.

I didn't walk the stage when I got my Associate's degree. I was hoping to do it now for my bachelor's degree, just because this has been such a journey for me. Graduating this spring will also look a little different for me... No ceremony... But oh my gosh.... I'm GRADUATING!! About 5 hours ago, I actually finished my last paper. I have a few other discussions and things to get organized and figured out, but MY LAST PAPER! YES! And being the party animal that I am, thought what better way to celebrate my last writing assignment... by... writing a really long blog?! What's wrong with me.... haha.

That being said though, I am already contemplating future classes. You know, you can take free classes right now? You could even take a class through Ivy League schools like Harvard. How awesome would that be? Some are free, and some are certified for like $50. I find this very enticing..... am I the only one?

https://www.classcentral.com/report/free-online-learning-coronavirus/

So... What do we do now? Where do we go from here?
I'm taking recommendations! Recipes, books, podcasts, stories, classes, you name it...

Talk soon!
Love,
Stacy

Some day, I'll be livin' in a big ol' city... and all you're ever gonna be is mean...

2020-04-01T05:00:00.000-06:00

I am a terrible blogger. I show up and write on this blog, oh... every 4-5 years? I need that facepalm emoji.

I can see that in May of 2019, I started to write a new blog called "Here I am." Anyone read it?

No... I never actually posted it.

I always have the best intentions of being a regular blogger and posting something every week or two. Why don't I stick with it? After rereading the last one I wrote, I think I'm realizing why... it's not necessarily lack of time. We all make time for things we think are worth it. I realize it's doubt. It's fear. It's my insecurities. I have these statements or thoughts that I feel like I have to get out, but when I do, I then wonder if I'm doing the right thing. I doubt myself. I wonder if others will judge me. I overanalyze most of my life, quite honestly. But then I hear and see things in the world and think... well, this is part of my story. Shouldn't I want to share that? And more importantly, shouldn't I want to share this to help others? Most of my fear and doubt stems from feeling like I'm the ONLY one that could possibly be going through this. But then I hear something that makes me realize I, obviously, am not the only one. And then I hear and see more that makes me realize perhaps I've been conditioned to feel unconfident and insecure. This thought process has happened after years of... well, manipulation, frankly.

So that is why I am here. I am ready to speak up. No more fear.

So if you aren't ready for things to get real? Please click on one of my other nice blogs where you can learn how to meal prep or bake sugarless cookies or something...

But if you are ready for real deal... I'm going to talk about my life. I would say I am fairly private about my life. I definitely would not say that I built up this facade or anything by what I post on social media... I am real. All of my moments that involve my girls, my family, my friends... they are genuine. I am typically the person to smile and laugh in a crowd. The smiles and laughs are genuine too, I just laugh pretty easily... I promise though, you ARE all as funny as I make you feel. :-)

I sometimes think I'm some introvert, but that's not really true. I will be one of the first ones to make a conversation in a group... this is because I have ALWAYS wanted people to feel comfortable. I despise feeling uncomfortable and don't like others to feel awkward or outcast. It's just who I am (see above: laughing). Unfortunately, I even go as far as protecting people that should not be protected. For sure, I have made bad choices and done things that I have needed to apologize for.

But... I do know the difference between being genuine... Having integrity...
...And being a narcissist. Being a counterfeit. Why would I protect these people?

You ever avoid sharing things on Facebook because it's embarrassing? People hate reading these cryptic statements that warrant more information. People hate when it feels like fishing. Fishing for compliments. For acknowledgement. For approval. And who knows what else.

I kept so much of what was going on in my life out of sight because it WAS embarrassing. And even because I was afraid half of them already knew the truth and thought I was such a naive idiot for not knowing. I never wanted to post anything. But really, it wasn't necessarily anyone's business.

And NOW... Now it's written into an official court document that I am not to speak ill words over social media about my ex. Ps... we are going to call him Fred. Fred Flintstone, in fact. My question, and I pray you are all wondering it too, is why? Why, Fred? Is this normal to include such specific requests? Why is Fred so darned concerned about what I have to say about him NOW over social media, when I haven't bothered to say anything for seven years? It's interesting that he dragged my name through the social media mud on July 4, 2018, but today, he wants to make sure I do not do the same.

Well, darn it Fred... now I WANT to share... because to me? It feels a bit like he's realizing there is less and less control over me now that everything is signed and done. And maybe this is one last thing you can try and control? Am I close? I've had counselors tell me much of what my experiences are, are dealing with a narcissist. Unfamiliar with that term?

They are all too familiar. That joking part... sigh. So so so often. :-(

That brings me to a question that I got asked about a week ago... someone asked me "So, how did you get tricked?" It was a simple enough question, but one that felt like a kick in the chest.

How did I get tricked? Hmm. Well. Truth be told, I've had a bit of an issue with self-confidence. With self-worth. It's been a lifetime issue. I'm still working on it. A side effect of having issues with these things (fear) is anger. I can rage with the best of them. Correction... I could... I have my moments now, but I am getting better. But I digress. My point is this... people witnessed my anger. I am not good at hiding my emotions. I was in a relationship where I now realize, I was drowning. And I used anger and bitterness and sarcasm, not only as an outlet, but often as a means of attention. I wanted to be saved. By him though. I did not feel loved or feel attention, so I would respond in anger. I wanted love. My method? Not effective. Not right... but it was my go-to reaction for quite a while. This is not an effective strategy, to get angry, the other person can stay charming, albeit aloof and smiling. I wasn't so good at pretending. So, unfortunately, people would see my anger and his smiles, but not the rest of what was going on in my world...

Deployments where I'm told goodnight early, because of "late night missions," which turned out to be "just times to get high"? Check.

Being told I'm a prude for not being cool with it (instead of acknowledging that my anger was from being lied to) Check.

TDY's with night's out and phones turned off indefinitely? Check.

Hearing his coworkers mention he brought girls back to the hotel and would bring them to breakfast with his coworkers on these work assignments? Check.

On TDY's, Fred would go out and cease communication, shut off his phone, and tell me he'd call me when he got back to his room. I'm still waiting on those phone calls. There was actually one time that he sent me a selfie with two friends at 7:30am, saying he never called until right then, because he hadn't even been back to his room. And he said he'd call when he got back, right? So technically, he's a man of his word. Nice. He hadn't been back... they'd been at a strip club. So... I'm the jerk for being upset, right? But the credo is "Ask for forgiveness, not permission." He never quite understood my request for just being up front with communication. He never quite listened when our therapist would say "Stop lying to her. It's on her to either process your words or throw a tantrum. That's on her. Being honest is on you. But you're not even giving her the chance." He was just apologize and I accepted it every time, thinking it would be different in the future. But it never was different.

Being left at multiple weddings? Check. Being told he wanted a divorce in 2013? Check. Again, in 2015? Check. Going home with women the day he decided to leave our house? Check. Me, moving back and forth between different countries to try to make it work? Check. Delaying my own goals and career? Check. Dating? Check. I hadn't been dating anyone at first... I'd put up the good fight. The first time I moved back from Germany, I had the time to process through breaking up, being single, and moving on. One night, I was out eating dinner with my daughters, and watching a cubs game, when a guy came up and made conversation with all of us. He was nice and he asked for my number (ps, the girls were unaware, and I gave it to him). Until then, I hadn't considered dating. As soon as I considered it? Fred wanted to work it out with me. He would message me every day when we were separated. Not to talk to the girls. Now I see it was to keep control of things. He still wanted to hook up with me, I would get my hopes up, but then he would leave, go out with friends, and tell me he still didn't think "he was ready to work on us." Writing this, gosh, I feel so ridiculous to have gone along with it.

We separated, honestly, I lost count how many times... 5? 6? Fred is like a spoiled little boy with his toys.... he doesn't necessarily want the toy any more... he just doesn't want to lose control over it.

It was all such a mess. But what happened in the middle of the mess?

I found Jesus.

In the midst of separations and deployments and being a new mom, I threw myself into the church and bible studies and activities. At first it was just to meet other moms, but it became my refuge. I really do not know where I would be today, if it weren't for going through all this and knowing that I was in God's hand. Quite literally, I would picture myself sitting in His palm. I had never NOT believed in God, but did not grow up going to church. I had so many questions. But through these times, I found comfort. I found myself. And I found Him. Serious glory to God for getting me through the things I've trudged through. I got baptized in 2014. This was between separations, but he'd only been back for one month, from a deployment, so I did that in the "honeymoon phase." That was the first time in a long time that I was doing something for me though. What a wonderful day it was.

Through every talk and study, I would hear these women and their spouses talk about the rough times in their marriages. But 5 years, 10 years, 20 years later, they'd be together and saying "Look at us, talking to you guys about sticking it out and things have never been better." In my mind... this mind of mine, where I would get trampled on, and then apologized to, and told it wouldn't happen again, but then the cycle just kept happening-- this mind truly believed this would be our story. I really thought some day I would stand up on a stage with Fred and we would talk about the hard times we've gone through, telling young military couples that they, too, can make it.

I call this hopeless optimism. I don't think it's wrong. Faith and hope are a life necessity. But there is a line. A line where people are just being naive and it's hurting them. This was the point at which I had gotten. I don't like the idea of "playing the victim," but sometimes YOU ARE A VICTIM. But I'm not any more. That won't define me. Ever listened to the podcast or watched Dirty John on Netflix (p.s. now is the time, while you're stuck at home--very intriguing and well-done)? You listen or watch it, thinking "Lady! How can you be so stupid?!" But I sat there thinking.... gosh. She just wanted to be loved. And at times, wow, he could be SO seemingly charming. And hey, he's going to church and reading scripture, and he makes mistakes but THIS time, things are going to be different.

And then... They aren't.

This was a bit tricky for me. I was married to a person that claims to be Christian. We are not perfect. We are all sinners. But where is the repentance in all this? Where is the heart for God? Although I opened my eyes to Jesus, I had even more questions on this path. But any Christian knows... finding God doesn't make life easy. But it does bring clarity and understanding in other ways.

I'm definitely not saying this the case for everyone's problematic marriage. To those people that stuck it out and came out a better couple? It fills my heart with joy to hear your love story.

But my story IS different. Now I see myself being the woman to stand up and say "You're going to be okay on your own, if that is the path you need to take to save yourself." It's terrible to realize the people that turned their back on me when I finally made the decision that I'd had enough. That I was pursuing a divorce. Those women that told me I just hadn't prayed enough and I was the quitter that didn't trust in God's mighty strength. How dare they. God's strength is what got me to those classes. But these women with their ridicule barely knew me...

Those women didn't go home that same day and get told that they were stupid. Retarded. That they were ugly on the inside and out and no one would ever want them. Ignored, except for sex. They were not told that even though we were getting divorced, even if we both remarried, we would still have sex together because we had such a history (by the way... never. going. to happen.) While we were living as "housemates," he told friends and coworkers that he wished someone would date me, so I would leave him alone. Being strong is staying in this?

But he told me no one would ever want me... and I believed him. My psyche was... well, so F'ed. I had allowed myself to crawl into his warped mind and actually believe the things he said. And on top of that, I would not tell anyone, because I thought maybe I had brought it upon myself! Urgh. Why is it so easy to tell Dirty John's wife or any other helpless damsel how clearly they should leave, but not see it for myself? Things had become so darn blurry. Luckily, I had people that cared about me, to tell me that this "housemate" setup was NOT working, and I needed to leave... that if I wasn't the one to finally draw the line, that this would never end.

My girls were getting old enough, that it finally dawned on me: How would I feel if twenty years from now, my daughter was in the situation I was in, feeling the way I felt, because I had painted this picture of what a marriage looked like to her. What a horrible feeling. I would hate for them to think this is normal. That it was acceptable. Sometimes people say they stay together for their kids, but that was the reason I knew I had to go. I know what real love is like, and this wasn't it. It makes me sad to wonder if some day he will break them the way he broke me. Gosh, I hope not. But I'll be here for them. It's so hard to let them walk through it on their own, but if I tried to make it any different, I would be doing them harm and they'd end up resenting me anyways. Maybe he will change some day. As of today, nothing I can see has changed. I hear updates...

TDY in Netherlands, inviting girls on CAS
Video messaging friends saying he can't sleep and he just did something he never thought he'd do while making a gesture to his nose
Making remarks about so-and-so's girlfriend having great pot on this TDY and that he's "so high right now"
Ever looked up Hotel Wellcum in Hohenthurn, Austria? Don't do it, if your children are around... in fact, don't look it up at all... you already get it by the spelling.. just know you can rent by the hour... or by the girl. And 800 euro can get you far... I bet it all added up so quickly, I can only imagine.

These are just things that I've seen and heard about since the time I left. It's not hearsay. It's confirmed by video and witnesses. Some people may think I am a crazy, terrible person to put all this out into the world. But I have been quiet for sooo long. I refrained from ruffling feathers. I now realize I was creating a sense of impunity. A few weeks ago, I was reprimanded by Fred for causing an apparent investigation at the work place. Why are actions that are not my own being made to be my fault, just for speaking up?

This burden is not for me to bear. It has been on my shoulders for so darn long. I'm tired. I want to move on. I want to be strong. And I want to be honest. Some people will not be able to handle this blog, and that's okay. I'm doing this for me and my girls.

We watched Miss Americana on Netflix the other night. Damn that Taylor Swift, she gets me every time. The girls and I love and adore her; I truly believe she is THAT genuine. Whether or not I agree with all her opinions or views on the world, the one thing I admire about her is that she stands up for what she believes is right. I want that too. And to teach my girls how to do that. She stands up for herself. She's comfortable in her skin. She supports her friends and family. And boy, does she like to call out her exes! Haha. So here's my song... Just being more like Taylor. :-)

But in all seriousness. If you are STILL reading this... and it all seems too familiar? Reach out to me. You're not on your own. And it's okay to feel whatever it is you're feeling. Life is short. Life is about growing. I hope I can be a light to you. I don't have all the answers, but I can say I've been there. And it gets better. 💚

Breakfast of Champs!

2015-03-07T15:54:00.000-07:00

Hi all! So a week or so ago, I had instragrammed some photo, well, this photo in fact, stating how it was a first try at meal prepping:

I've prepped dinners and freezer meals and that type of thing, but I've never measured and divided up and all that jazz for the week. So I did it. And the verdict? It worked out pretty great. My husband and I have both been traveling a lot, so having all these meals ready-made, made it super easy to eat healthy and not waste money on junky food in a drive-through. It also helped with packing lunches for my kindergartner! I made up salads with carrots, cucumbers, and tomatoes, they just didn't make it into the photo. The cooked meals were chicken breast, sweet potato, and steamed broccoli. (The following week, I switched out broccoli for yellow squash...) I hard boiled a bunch of eggs for snacks, to add to the salads or for a quick breakfast. Another favorite that did not make the camera cut are the turkey meatballs. I like Jamie Eason's recipes on bodybuilding.com. I used both her "muffin" recipe, as well as her burger recipe, I just made both of them into meatballs that are great to pack for snacks OR crumble up in a salad for a meal. Yum!

So the thing about posting this pic though, was that I also wanted to prep some breakfast items because morning time is precious to all of us sleepy people in this house. None of us are easy to get out of bed, but we all appreciate a good cooked breakfast in the morning. For as long as I can remember, OK, that's not true, I can remember past this, but I think ever since I was about 20, I've liked to cook two eggs with toast in the morning. I love love LOVE over easy eggs, or as my youngest would call them "Dip it Eggs." They are my fave. But making those ahead of time? Not really an option... And although they don't take THAT long to make in the morning, 15-20 minutes can make a huge difference! So, I asked others, what would be some good make-ahead breakfast ideas and got some awesome feedback, because, well, my friends are better than your friends... :-) But really, so many people gave me their own recipes and some webpages and pins for me to check out, and that is awesome! So the following week, I was able to prep breakfasts, lunches, and made some freezer-meals for the week's dinners. It only took a few hours too, which is a big thing for me. I don't want to spend an entire work day making things in the kitchen, but this was all quick work in the oven or skillet.

So this could be an easy morning:

And this could be an elaborate morning, or one where I know I'll be kicking my own butt at the gym in a few short hours...

Oh yeah, look at that! So good... That's a piece of bacon in a pancake, alright! These are so good, you don't even need syrup... And the little "muffin" is a piece of turkey (look for the stuff without nitrates and added preservatives and sugar and all that) and an over-hard egg. Using a muffin tin, you just crack the egg open, bake at 400, for 12-18 minutes, depending on if you want a runny yoke or a hard yoke. Round it out with some steamed broccoli and we are eating like kings! I mean, that is a LOT of food! The pancake mix I use if I don't make my own is this:

It is so good!! I haven't tried it to make waffles, but the pancakes are bomb. I use the recipe it has on the back, but with almond milk instead of dairy milk. I kind of wish it wasn't midnight so I could have some now. Sigh... So anyways, I made the bacon-cakes and then ALSO made apple-cakes:

Just core and slice apples and dredge them in the pancake batter, and then cook on the griddle long enough to lightly brown both sides. The girls had these with some greek yogurt and strawberry preserves. Pretty much dessert for breakfast. And yeah, that's my little lady posing for a quick photo-op... hehe.

Oh and here is my husbands plate, since he can really "throw down" for breakfast...

I added a few extra turkey meatballs for him and an apple-cake for good measure. I hate to send hungry people out the door in the morning! So yeah, there you have it! All of this was so easy to put together to make some amazing mornings for this house! It all holds up in the fridge through the week and reheats easily. I like having a variety like this, that way we can mix and match what we feel like and change it from day to day. And then getting to have my toast and dip-it eggs on the weekend is just like a special occasion now, so that is like an added bonus.

And look at this chick... she looks pretty much all-set... her apple-cakes, yogurt, robe, some almond milk, and her green juice with vitamins and she's ready to start the day!

Are you prepared to start your day? What other delicious and easy breakfasts do you have on hand for the week days? Do share, Do share! :-)

Long Time, No Blog

2015-02-21T01:10:00.001-07:00

No matter how hard I try to ignore this blog, which I seem to be very good at, it stays on my mind. I do not set aside time to do it, and perhaps I should be better at scheduling it into my planner, but sometimes it just stresses me out. Yet, I find myself making things, whether something in the kitchen, or a craft, something knit, crocheted, so on and so on, and I think to myself, this would be nice to share with the 5 people that like my blog. Someone recently asked me if I had posted anything recently. Sadly no. I want to. I just never do. So I'll try my best. I would like to be more consistent with it, but I make no promises!!!
So I sit here this Friday night, late and weary, but still up watching Lucy. I rented it, knowing good and well I would probably not like it, but here I am. The movie "Lost in Translation" is probably one of my favorites, maybe top 25, back when Scarlett was sweet and simple. Lately, she is some "fierce" tough-girl with something to prove and a much deeper voice than I remember. I don't find her as delightful as I used to. I am pretty sure my husband already told me this movie wasn't that great, but sometimes I still make bad decisions on solo snowy evenings...
So anyways, I think part of why I don't do enough updates is all the pressure of taking fancy photos of what I am up to, and instead of simplifying or cutting back, I just walk away altogether, leaving things unfinished. How annoying is that? Welp, this is my year of "Commit," so I'm here to work that out... P.S, Do you need a word for your year? Check this out! My One Word ... Such a great concept! And so anyway, here I am, ready to commit! But guess what? That just means that I'm going to do what I want to do and that is share things... what that does not mean is that I have to take fancy, svelt photos of all my food and hobbies.
Sidenote, a dinosaur just showed up in this movie. I have lost all kinds of interest in this... Grr for not having a free movie coupon today!
Back to my point. Instead of getting a beautiful plated presentation with just a morsel of food, you are more likely to get this...

Or a piece of something straight out of the casserole dish...

These two photos are actually the same thing, zucchini lasagna. Yummy in my tummy.

Or maybe something already half-eaten like this! Which by the way, is a taco pizza, and it was so so good.

This next one is probably as pretty as it gets... We used to have chili-mac growing up, so this is my version with zucchini instead of noodles. I actually thought to take a quick photo before I mashed it all up together. You can refer back up to the first picture for what it looks like at that point! Ha!

So yeah, as long as you guys are cool with seeing not-so-amazing pics, then well, cool!

I blog about whatever, but more often than not, it ends up being about food. I really like food. I've always claimed to be somewhat of a healthy eater, but this is the year that I have really discovered the benefits of clean eating, along with trying to eat less acidic and toxic foods... I'll save that talk for another night though! The movie is over and it has exhausted me of all the energy I had. So I hope to blog again soon! If not, I'll see you in 1.5 years!

Night! ;-)

Cabbage stew and shopping lists

2014-04-29T15:25:00.001-06:00

So, like all of us, on Pinterest, I pin a whole lot and then generally forget about it for a year and a half. So lately, I've been trying to go back and use more of what I pin, especially when it comes to recipes.

And I may have started to mention, I HIGHLY disagree with many, many, MANY blogs that are out there about meal planning and menus and shopping around your menu. Now, by NO means do I mean that you should walk into a grocery store and have a free-for-all with no plan or list. There are definitely guidelines. But the part that I disagree with, is that you see all these recipes, you get all these ideas for a monthly menu, and then you go into the store with the list of what you "need" and waste a whole lot of money by buying whatever it is you "need," whether it is on sale or not.

So let's look at it another way. Now I shop at a fairly small store, called Sprouts, but I know some of you shop at larger chains. If that's the case, it may be better to get the flyer ahead of time, that way you can make your list from that. But when I get to Sprouts, I always shop clockwise, starting in the deli, then meat department, come around through the produce and then to dairy/eggs. I browse through these areas and ONLY purchase what is on sale. If the meat counter has pork roast and ground chicken breast on sale, that's what I get. (And when ground chicken breast is on sale? I stock up, big time!) I do this in the meat department, as well as produce. If red peppers are 3/$1, we will be having stuffed peppers at some point in the week. And hey, I can use that ground chicken breast in the peppers… make sense? This type of shopping can require you to get a little more creative about things, but that is a good thing, and hey, that's why pages like Pinterest are great!

As far as the dairy department goes, I'm a little more "standard" about it, but I still just buy the cheapest organic milk that they've got, and I'm not picky about the percentage. If organic 2% is marked down, I'll buy it. But I have just learned that talking to the workers is a SUPER idea. The other day, the guy stocking the milk asked me if I needed help, because he could clearly see, I was scanning ALL of the milks. I told him I was just checking to see if anything had a "reduced" sticker on it, because sometimes they randomly mark down items. There were not any, but he said "Hmm… well, THIS one is getting kind of close to the sell date; I could mark it down for you." And then I laughed because he asked ME "How much do you think I should mark it?" Haha. I was thinking "Um, 15 cents?" I didn't say that, but I was still laughing at his question. I looked at the milk he had, which he said was the best and tastes like half-and-half, and a half-gallon was FIVE DOLLARS! That's craziness. But he marked it to $1.99, so I got two of them. Bomb deal. And I don't drink cow's milk, I just buy it for the family, but I tried it, and it WAS pretty darn good… So we win!

Anyhoo…. I don't buy a whole lot more from sprouts, just meat, produce, milk, and eggs. Because all of that is cheapest there. As for other items like ziplock bags or other random products, I usually go to Target. Between the cartwheel app and my red card, I can save a little on their name brands and do alright. We also shop at Costco, but I think I'll save that for another post.

Because, after all, this post was called Cabbage Stew. And I've yet to actually talk about that. So to get back to my point, cabbage was on sale at Sprouts for $.25 per pound. So I bought 3, not completely sure of what I was going to use it all for, but I liked shredding cabbage and using it in salads, tuna salad, salsa, that type of thing. But I also want to try and cook it more. So I've had this recipe on Pinterest for a side dish, and it's linked here:

Allrecipes Fried Cabbage

So this recipe pan fries/cooks it and like I said, it was a side dish. I adapted it into a main dish, as well as something that I could put in the crock pot to have ready in a few hours. It worked out perfectly, that I cooked the bacon, left it to rest, threw everything else in the crockpot, left and went to the gym, and when we got back 3 hours later? It was ready and delicious! My daughter even decided that she would coin it as "The Most Awesome Dinner." So….. I'm kind of a big deal…. jk jk…

Stacy's Cabbage Turkey Stew with Bacon

6 slices thick cut bacon (I buy from the meat counter, SO good)

1 head cabbage, cored and large chopped

1 lb turkey breast*, cubed
1cup broth, I had vegetable open already, so I used that, but you can choose, veggie, chicken, or beef

1 med onion, chopped, or when in a fix (like me, normally) 2tbsp dried onion

2 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp paprika

*I get turkey breast from Costco, in the meat section with other deli meat. It comes as a whole breast, so it is only like $3.99 per pound, without all the added ingredients. I'll take it home, slice half of it for sandwiches, and put the other half in the freezer. Perfect to cube or cut up for recipes like this one!

So brown up the bacon and set aside, on a plate with a paper towel on it. Throw in all the other ingredients, into the crock pot, set on high for 3 hours, and let it be. At 3 hours, ladle into a bowl and crumble the bacon over the top. That was it. Super cheap. Super easy. And super tasty! Yay!

Talk soon! :)

Questionable ingredient lists

2014-04-17T16:51:00.000-06:00

People are always linking interesting things on Facebook, and I just came across this one…

10 foods sold in the US that are banned elsewhere

Like I said last week, I knew when I ran out of my Diet Mountain Dew, I was FOR REAL, done with it. I mean, I didn't even know what the word "Bromate" meant, but when it was followed by "Vegetable Oil," I thought, hmmm… That seems weird to drink. >_<

It is a bit alarming what the US allows in its food, but it looks like most of the world allows it, as the "banned from" list on this site is pretty short. It makes me think of my neighbor, who went to Cambodia last year and said they dip EVERYthing in MSG!! For real?! She said she noticed a difference in her skin and everything, because it was in pretty much unavoidable. Yikes!

It was also about a week and a half ago, that I randomly decided to actually look at the ingredients on the gum I buy, which is Orbit (sorry Orbit…) Turns out, it, and pretty much all gum at a standard grocery, has BHT in it. I looked up the fishy acronym, and found out it is like BHA, and you KNOW how everyone has been talking about BHA, in baby bottles, plastics, and the like… But we are chewing it too and didn't even know! Such a bummer. So last week, I used my Amazon Subscribe and Save powers and ordered this:

It says it's non-GMO, sugar-free, and all that so I thought I'd check it out. Gum really isn't a "natural" thing in the first place, so this might be as good as it gets, I'm not sure… I've tried the Spry too, I might like that better…

Anyways. My point is, even labels and products we don't even think twice about, should be checked out!

Happy Thursday!!

Sunday snack time

2014-04-13T16:47:00.001-06:00

Sundays. They're great. Great for being lazy. I do have a list of things to do today, but it is nice to know that I can do most of them from the comfort of my couch! It was supposed to be a snowy and blustery day anyhow (Wait, it's April right?!), so the plan was to work on my group project all day and turn it in for the team… Two problems so far… one, there isn't a WHOLE lot of snow happening out there… and two. ONE person has turned in their part on this team assignment so far. Never mind the fact that we all agreed to have the parts in two days ago. Sigh. Tis the life of a *responsible* team member. I know I was quite a slacker at my first college go, back when I got my Associates, but I'm pretty sure if it involved other people, I put the slacking on hold. But I digress.

I suppose, though, that waiting on them gives me some blog time, so there's always a pro to the con!

So, let's discuss snacks… Another con to school, and the fact that it involves sitting in front of the computer, is that my FAVE thing to do while working is SNACK… I can easily make a one-hour assignment last four hours, by getting up every five minutes to wander around, check on the girls, stare into the pantry for snacks, sit down, pee, stare into the fridge, refill my water bottle, sit down, stare into the pantry again, sit down, mysteriously end up on Facebook for the tenth time, you get the idea… but anyways, about the snacks. Within the first week, I was thinking, I better make sure I don't even give myself terrible options to choose from, otherwise I'm going to gain 30 pounds. Part of not getting those terrible options? Don't shop in the middle aisles. I know you've heard it before. It's true. I rarely shop in the aisles, unless it is for a few of the canned goods I get. Shop the outer perimeter, and you've got your deli, meat, dairy, eggs, and produce. If the majority of your purchases come from the outskirts, you're doing good in my book.

So for snacks, you've got the basics, like carrots, apples, and other crunchy things that require a lot of chewing. I feel like the longer it takes to eat something, the better.

But I also try and get creative with snacks. A good variety keeps me from getting bored with them, and a good mix can keep you full longer, instead of those empty-calorie crackers, cookies, etc.

Here was today's mid-day snack…

The girls were upstairs playing but they are like puppies, and would sense my snack in a heartbeat, so I went ahead and made them up a little bowl. One of my favorite new snacks is a rice cake with cottage cheese on it. Today I went savory with a Sweet Chili rice cake, although I also have some caramel rice cakes that I like to put peanut butter, cottage cheese, a sprinkle of truvia and cinnamon on, and call it dessert. It is *usually* enough to fix my sweet tooth…. Usually… ANYways… These are organic brown rice rice cakes and I typically only buy them if they are on sale at the store, or if I can find them cheap on Amazon Prime. (P.s. I think Amazon Prime is TOTALLY worth it!)

So I've also got some Genoa salami, thanks to a friend that brought some over and didn't take it with her (Thanks friend!). If you like salami and deli meats, and all that, try and find things that don't have a lot of added sugar or nitrates in them. And since I went with the spicy rice cake, I grabbed some raisins to get my sweet fix. For the girls, I gave them two crackers, some of the raisins, and some of Annie's Boom Chicka Pop white cheddar popcorn… I pretty much only buy this when it is on sale too! And it's delicious. But so is a bag of kernels that you pop yourself and that is WAY cheaper too! Just toss the kernels in a brown bag and pop them in the microwave like you would with any store-bought bags of popcorn. You can give the popcorn a little spray of oil and some sea salt and you're good to go!

So, the point is, pick snacks that have a good variety, lots of protein, a few carbs, and for me, a little sweet is always good. And P.s., post-this-photo, we all decided we should have some baby carrots too! I love (and am lucky enough to have a) Costco, and they have giant bags of organic baby carrots, and they stay good forever, so we have time to eat them all. Same goes for that giant bag of raisins up there… I love Costco and don't know what I ever did without it!

So, what are your favorite snacks? What are some of your go-tos? Share them with me, for my days when I get bored with all my go-tos!

And oh, there's the snow….

Happy Snacking!

Chili and Chili-mac

2014-04-03T15:00:00.001-06:00

Man, the past few weeks have been a whirlwind. My daughter's birthday was a couple weekends ago… more on that another time!

Then there was an awesome 24-hour memorial run…

And then there was literally spending two entire days prepping for this kids consignment sale, that is not-so-fun to prep for, but man, is it worth it… I volunteered 4 hours to help set up the sale, and then we get to shop it early before the public! And look at all these summer clothes I got the girls for an insanely awesome deal!

Oh, and this is my usual campout spot, while doing my unending homework, which is where I happen to be camping out right now too!

(Yes, in that photo, you can see one of my horribly bad vices that I'm struggling to give up… soda! I DID however put a box of Diet Mountain Dew into my cart at Costco the other day, when it was $3 off… and then turned around and put it back and said "Once I run OUT of what is already at home? That's it… I'm OUT!" So…. I'm workin' on it….)

ANYways… you're probably wondering. This is great, Stace, what's your point of all this? Well, my POINT is… that the LAST thing I have wanted to do is cook. Or do anything remotely healthy, for that matter. My gym visits have actually been struggling too; I need to snap out of it… But again, I digress. But Sunday afternoon, on Day 2 of my "sitting on the couch, pinning and tagging JBF sale kids clothes and toys," I had spent about 3 hours convincing myself that we were ordering pizza. It was easy, it's all I had time for, and that is that. I was going to do it, despite all the pep talks I have been giving myself lately, on how I am going to get back to less sugar, and quit all that white sugar and white flour stuff… again. I've done it before and know it's possible, but you know how it goes… So anyways, when it actually came time to order dinner, I do what I do almost daily (For real, I do this daily), of how it really isn't a good idea, and there is always so much added junk to take out, and my inner-super-cheap heart didn't want to spend the $24 on this crappy food anyways.

So lucky for me, although my husband is deployed, I have not quite figured out how to cook LESS food, so lots of it goes into the freezer for another time. So I do a quick search, and found some chili I made a few weeks ago, with ground chicken breast, black beans, diced tomatoes, and diced sweet potatoes… (which was delicious, by the way, my first time ever trying out the sweet potatoes! Originally I had stuffed this chili in some red peppers…) Anyways, I also found some frozen cooked spaghetti squash. And dinner was found. Chili-mac, veggie style. You've all had chili-mac growing up right? It is what you always have a couple days after you eat chili? You just make spaghetti, and wah-lah! A brand new dish. But swapping and using some spaghetti squash gets you some more vitamins and goodness and all that. Here comes another sexy shot of my fancy bowl of food, much like the oatmeal photo….

That was actually the NEXT day, when I had leftovers of leftovers… Like I said, I cook entirely too large of portions… But that's ok. Because it was delicious, all ten times. So you should make it!

This recipe is based off the Better Homes and Garden's chili, found here.

Chicken Chili:

1 lb ground chicken breast

1 chopped red pepper

1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced

1 small onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 15 oz can tomato sauce

1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dried basil, crushed

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Also, to cook a spaghetti squash, cut in half, longways, scoop out seeds, lay in shallow dish with an inch of water and bake at 425 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Then use a fork to break up the "noodles." That's it!

I mixed the squash and chili together and toss some parmesan cheese on top! This is another easy "crock-pot meal," where you can toss in all those chili ingredients and leave it be, for the day, so it'll be ready when you are! Double it to get crazy leftovers like we do and you'll be pizza-free! Hooray!

Talk soon!

Stacy

Back for Breakfast!

2014-03-25T11:29:00.000-06:00

I'm baaaa-aaacck.

Ahhh, blogging.

How has everyone been….? For the past two years? I cannot say I am the best at keeping up with writing. In fact, two years is downright terrible. And I'm not even one of those funny witty bloggers that you've missed, but I keep getting this internal nudge to come back to it. Sometimes throughout my days, I'll think "I'd like to share this. I feel like it is helpful. At least, to those that find things like this helpful." And it's not the type of thing I want to update my Facebook status with. Because most of those people wouldn't care! It is generally about food. Or at least something relating to health. And now, I've had a few other people ask me what types of food I eat and what I feed my children, and this blog seems like a great way to share that.

So to start, I'll share that I do what I can to make healthy choices, but at the same time:

1. I don't do things that will exclude me from enjoying life; I'm not about to avoid going out to dinner with friends just because I'm afraid to eat.

2. I try to buy healthy options, without emptying my husband's bank account. Right now I am able to stay at home with my two girls while getting my Bachelor's degree. We are comfortable (although terrible at budgets), but I don't want to go broke just because I'm buying only organic bedsheets and organic grass-fed, wild-and-free-and-read-bedtime-stories chicken. I do like to buy these things when they're on sale and a good deal, and that is typically my rule of thumb for anything I purchase. And I'll come back to that topic….

3. I do not count calories or fat grams, however, I do watch out for sugar. It is my enemy! Again, I will not avoid foods as I don't need to draw attention to myself, but I try and watch the sugar I take in, and trust me, it is everywhere! So the occasional piece of birthday cake, sure, why not… but not every day of the week!

There is a whole lot more, but we will save that for future blogs… that is, as long as I do not completely forget about my little blog again! I have to admit I seem to have only been good at writing when my husband is out of town, and well, he's deployed again, so I should at least be good at this for a few more months! Hah!

I am not going to get into the "meat and potatoes" today, but I thought I'd start with this mornings breakfast. A fresh start for the blog and a fresh start for the day! Oh! Well, I suppose that would be my #4…

4. I like easy. Let it be known, that deep down, I don't really ENJOY cooking all that much! But when I think about how much money we waste going out, and then I think about the quality of food or the weird things that are added to all of the food that we are wasting said money on, I am generally able to talk myself into just heading home and working something out there. So simple is a requirement!

So that brings me back to breakfast. I have recently discovered steel-cut oats. Frankly, I didn't even enjoy any type of oatmeal until I was maybe 20 or so. And I never tried steel-cut because I was pretty sure they take about 17 hours to make. I suppose that's not true, but when I wake up, I'm hungry and there is no waiting around for breakfast! So my newest favorite thing to use for breakfast is my trusty crockpot. How great is it to wake up to warm breakfast?

Beautiful, artsy shot eh? Right, right…

So anyways, at night, toss together:

1 c steel cut oats
1/8 c chia seeds
4 c water
1/2 c almond milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/8 c Ideal brown sugar
Pinch of salt

Set on low for 8 hours in your crock pot, while you sleep, and you'll wake to a great breakfast! If you like some more sweetness to your oatmeal, you can add a packet of stevia. I use truvia. My girls and I both like cut up banana in our oatmeal. I also throw in a handful of walnut pieces, but the girls opt out of that! (For now… eventually, I'll convince them… ;-)

This is a great breakfast for those that are trying to get out the door quickly. It is super filling and will give you the energy, protein and fiber you need to get started! So many people make the mistake of eating something that has no fuel and you end up hungry 30 minutes later… Donuts. Poptarts. Pastries. Some cereals. That kind of thing. Oatmeal is a great substitute for you if you are wanting that little sweetness in the morning. And the even better part is this recipe leaves leftovers, so you've got a go-to breakfast throughout the rest of the week!

And that takes me to a thought for the next blog… I'll talk about sugar and my solutions for it!

So anyways… I really did miss you, blog! And my handful of readers! ;-)

I hope you enjoy your next breakfast! Enjoy your Tuesday!

Stacy

My new skirt!

2012-04-15T21:00:00.001-06:00

Well, it's become pretty clear that I am not a person that should have a blog. Or I don't multitask well. Or something... I haven't been on here since my husband returned from his deployment. And now the only reason I'm on here? He's out of town. Lame, I know. I guess I'll never be like the Pioneer Woman or anything and become famous off my blog. That would be awesome... I just don't have the attention span, apparently.

So why am I back? I did something really awesome last night. And yes, some may shake heads, but I'm super pumped about this. It started for two reasons...

1. I've always loved InStyle magazine and taken an interest in fashion, but never to the point of being some super trend setter or anything... I've never been that cool... But I find myself ALWAYS wanting to shop, and I often will go crazy on clearance racks, only to come away with a bunch of mediocre things that I think are just "ok"... which in the long run doesn't really add up to that great of a deal. Now, obviously magazines and shows have always said this and to really just buy things you love! And it's ok to spend more on timeless key pieces and then spend less on the "trends"... Ok, I'm going off topic. So anyways, one thing you always see in magazines is how they'll buy say, 12 items, and then mix and match them in a bunch of different ways with things you may already own and you have a eleventy-billion outfits. So lately I've been thinking my outfits have been less than exciting, so how about I make a better attempt at this mixing and matching what I've already got, and I could come away with some awesome "new" outfits, rather than just buying more stuff! So while going through my closet, I've made some discoveries of things that were long forgotten... One item, a cotton A-line skirt that I wore a lot when I was pregnant, but now, honestly, I pretty much wear it for comfy sleepwear... lol. Cool.

Well, this brings me to my #2.

2. About a week ago, I watched the movie Friends with Benefits. By the way, it was much funnier than I expected it to be. Pleasantly surprised. I never thought much of Mila Kunis until Forgetting Sarah Marshall. She was freaking gorgeous. I kind of want to hate her. But I shouldn't. And she doesn't have kids, so it's acceptable. If she had kids AND looked like that.... I might just hate her. I'll cross that bridge when she gets there!

So yeah, she wore a skirt in FWB that I thought was super cute, and looked casual and comfortable... See here:

So me, being pretty creative (I'd like to think), thought maybe I could make that! Last night was execution time... why? Why not... it was like, oh, 11:40 at night, and what better than to break out the sewing machine and get to work... (Yeah, these are my ideas of fun on late Saturday night!)

Here was the skirt (almost) from the beginning. I had already cut a curved slit up to the top...

Now I'm not as awesome a sewer as some, so I didn't think I'd be able to get the ripples like hers has, but the basic cut is what I was hoping for. So I pinned....

This is how much of a sewer I am NOT, I pinned the outside and then had to repin it from the inside to sew... oops.

I also wanted to lose the A-line and have more of a fitted pencil skirt, so I pinned the sides:

Let's see how it fits!

I'm liking it! Ok, so lets turn it inside out and get it repinned... Duh.

I repinned the curve up the front first, sewed it, and then redid the rest... This is trying it on inside out after repinning correctly!

It's like I have wings! Or more like just little flaps...

So I sewed up the sides! I had contemplated if it would be too long; if I'd need to hem it up, but after trying on the finished product (and doing the "sit test") I was happy with it!

Wah-lah!!

I LOVE my new FREE skirt! (I got my money's worth out of that A-line... and I think it was like 10 bucks from Target in the first place.... ;-)

And the REALLY exciting part?? It took me like a whole 30 minutes to do this... SO happy.

So what do you think?!! Now I get to add this to my new creative wardrobe!

And for a definite side note... don't you think it's weird that there is no difference in spelling between sewer, one that sews, and sewer, like gross-in-the-ground sewer. Just a thought..... ;-)

Making a house a home

2011-12-19T09:47:00.000-07:00

Just a little preface... this was written on Sunday!!

A lot can be done in six months. My husband left on June 6. Our youngest daughter wasn't even crawling when he left... and now she's walking. She went from zero teeth to 8. (And 1/2... ;-). It's utterly wild to think about.

I'm so proud of my husband. He makes a sacrifice that I, selfishly, could never imagine doing. He is a good man. He is a thoughtful and humble person. He's the type of guy that does his job, does it well, and does it because he loves it. He doesn't look for praise or an 'atta boy', but also, sincerely appreciates it if he gets one... and he's the type of guy that would be embarrassed that I'm even talking about him...

So I shall stop. I'm going off course anyways!

He's coming home in less than a week and my girls and I are so happy. The four of us have continued to be a strong family while he has been gone, but there is no better feeling than when we are actually all together. The girls have done a lot of growing these six months, and I've done my best to run the household. A big amount of my "downtime" has been spent making our house into more of a home. I love decorating and design, but I also love a good bargain, as well as being crafty. I'm not one of those wives that just wants to spend all the money on extravagant things; I just want to make it comfortable and warm. I want my husband to come home to a place that greets him with familiarity. I've put up a lot of photos and drawings. I've added pillows and drapes and textures to make it comfy. And Saturday evening... (while standing in the kitchen, waiting for the washer to stop spinning, so I could throw the clothes in the dryer...) I was just looking around the room and it made me smile. It felt like home. And I can't lie, I feel like the glow of white Christmas lights always makes things feel more... magical. But I was proud. And it's not about trying to impress others with anything I've ever done, I'm not looking for compliments or approval from anyone. If anything, most people probably think the ideas I have are odd or things they would never do. And that's cool with me; I just get these thoughts sometimes and I run with it...

And with that being said, here are a few small projects that I have been wanting to do for a while and can now check off my infinite list! I've been trying to check off as many of these projects as I can the past couple weeks, and that way, when he gets home, we can just relax and have fun as a family in our home.. Yay! It's so exciting....

This is above the fridge. It was empty space. I may as well utilize it! It's perfect because I use my cookbooks pretty often. And I have a stool next to my fridge anyways; my oldest always has to "help" me in the kitchen! (And just an FYI, I have a project for those letters... they're not done!! hehe)

(See? She is an excellent helper!) Up ahead is our front "entrance," which is pretty much JUST enough space for the front door to open... but this mirror that I made a few years ago has just been leaning against the wall for the two years that we've lived here. So some picture wire and a hook, and done. It's up! I got the two little shelves from ikea (read: inexpensive!). The tall branch-ishes or twigs or whatever were from Hobby Lobby, $6. The little metal container was from the $1 section at Target. Well, technically it was the $2.50 section... and like I said, I made the mirror from an old mirror and old oak flooring and some grout. So, for around 25 or so bucks? A new entrance!

There are many other projects I've been working on, but I'll save them for another day!! And I leave you with this photo. My oldest daughter, Gracyn, enjoys building snowmen. hehe. This is her "snowman" made of my water cup, her milk cup, and a watch from her kids meal at chik-fil-a. Stack them up and BAM, a snowman!! I love her imagination!!!

And with that... Have a great week!!

Wheatified... look it up.

2011-12-07T23:58:00.001-07:00

Online shopping. Isn't it a beautiful thing?

I am so grateful for online shopping. Days like the past week, where it's about 12 degrees out, the last thing I want to do is drag my 1 year old and 2 year old from store to store, inevitably leading to fevers and snot. Lots of snot. It gets tricky this time of year, especially with my husband being gone... I know I will probably have to decide on a day and get a sitter to really knock out the rest of our shopping. I can be sneaky with the cart sometimes, but they tend to notice when I'm trying to stuff a giant box on the undercarriage...

I have a problem with online shopping though sometimes. I have a tendency to go to a page, spend an entire hour looking at all the great deals, put things in my cart, and then just close the page. It's really imaginary shopping, I guess... I mean, I guess that is better than really buying everything and draining the bank account... But if I really went through with the transaction, at least then I'd have something to show for wasting so much time!!! Right? Well anyways...

I had accumulated two surprise rewards cards from Victoria's Secret recently. These cards were good for the month of December, and could be worth $10, $20, $50, and so on, up to $500... Well, in the weeks leading up to the opening day, I'd convinced myself that surely this was my time to shine, and ONE of these cards was the magic $500 card... This is a dangerous imagination I have! I had already started a shopping list of ideas on how I could spend such a gift card... It would be amazing.

That was really silly of me to do... OF COURSE they were only worth the $10 off...

Well, it was fun to dream.

But anyways, on to better things... on a recent post, I talked about making wheat versions of the Texas Roadhouse rolls... and the pinwheel cookies... at the time, I had wanted to post my recipes, because they are actually quite different than the versions I had looked at, but I'd been too sleepy... so I'll go ahead and post 'em up now! (And p.s. the rolls get softer and better every day! Yum Yum!)

Here goes!

Stacy's Better-for-you wheatified texas roadhouse rolls

4 tsp. active dry yeast

1/2 c. warm water

2 c. total milk (I used 1c. skim, 1c. soy milk), scalded and cooled to lukewarm

3 Tbl. of melted butter, slightly cooled

1/4 c. sucanat (this stands for "sugar-cane-natural"-- the most natural form of sugar, can probably be found at most bulk food stores like Sunflower (which is awesome) or for C-U'er's, Strawberry Fields--although try to find it elsewhere-- that place is a ripoff!!!)

1/4 c. maltitol sweetener (is a liquid, can be found here)

2 quarts flour (7-8 cups) (I used a bread flour, about 3 cups, the remainder, I used whole wheat spelt flour, but regular whole wheat flour is good too!)

2 whole eggs

2 tsp. salt

Dissolve yeast in warm water with a teaspoon of sucanat. Add yeast, milk, sugar and enough flour to make a medium batter. Beat thoroughly. Let stand until light and foamy. Add melted butter, eggs and salt. Beat well.

Add enough flour to form a soft dough. Sprinkle a small amount of flour onto counter and let dough rest. Meanwhile, grease a large bowl. Knead dough until smooth and satiny and put in greased bowl; turn over to grease top. (I used the dough hook on my Kitchen-Aid to knead this for about 4-5 minutes). Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk. Punch down. Turn out onto a floured board. Divide into portions for shaping; let rest 10 minutes. Shape dough into desired forms (I used a dough scraper to cut into squares). Place on greased baking sheets. Let rise until doubled.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Baste immediately with butter (Or I used Brummel and Brown spread made with yogurt). Yield: 5 to 6 dozen.

YUM!

And to continue with the yum....

Stacy's Better-for-you Wheatified Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies!

Ingredients

1 1/4 c. unbleached AP flour (yes, a rare visitor in my kitchen...)

1 1/4 c. whole wheat spelt flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/4 c. maltitol

1/4 c. stevia

1/4 c. coconut sugar

1/4 c. evaporated sugar cane juice

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon peppermint extract

1 tablespoon red food coloring.( I highly recommend the gel variety. You can buy it at any craft store. It is much brighter and you can use less)

flour, for rolling out dough

3 tablespoons almond milk

DIRECTIONS

Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder and set aside.

Cream butter and sweeteners together in another large bowl. Add egg, vanilla, milk and beat until incorporated. Gradually add the dry mixture, beating until combined. Remove half of the mixture from the bowl. Add red food coloring and peppermint extract (I only added it to the red half, the white half remained plain cookie, which I think made for a more subtle cookie, but it's your call!), beating until fully combined. You may have to knead the colored dough a bit to get it mixed thoroughly. On a sheet of waxed paper, roll out dough to form a large rectangle, about 1/4-inch thick. Repeat this step with the other half of uncolored dough with no food coloring.

Now very carefully, slide the red dough on top of the white dough and slide the parchment paper out. Trim edges if uneven and patch if necessary. Roll dough into a log, creating a swirl effect. NOTE: do not worry if the dough starts to tear a little when you are rolling it. This is normal. Simply mend it with your fingers as you go along.

Wrap tightly with saran wrap and place the dough back in the refrigerator and let chill for 2 hours. (If you see the original recipe, you'll see that I didn't use the sprinkles on the outside (sugar), but I did sprinkle a little evaporated cane juice over the tops of them). The sprinkles were cute, but just didn't seem necessary for me!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Slice the dough into 1/2-inch slices and place on a parchment lined sheet tray about 1-inch apart. Bake for 10-15 minutes depending on how thick you sliced the cookies.

If you'd like to see photos, you can check out the original recipe page here.

These cookies were awesome and I shared them with about ten others that thought they were awesome too! (Which is good; sometimes, I get scared that everything tastes good to me, but it's actually nasty.... lol)

OH! And just a side note... my last tray of wheat rolls didn't get the royal treatment like the previous three trays; (an unplanned phone call caused me to forget to set the timer)... So they got a little toastier and crunchier than I would've liked... well. What do you do with too-toasty bread? You make french toast of course! Typically, we stick to making "specialty" type breakfasts on Saturday... but this morning, we were up early and the girls and I conversation with Daddy was shorter than our usual morning conversations, so I decided Why Not?! An egg, some almond milk, cinnamon, and a couple packets of stevia, and we were set... I've gotta say, these crunchy rolls turned into some delicious french toast nuggets... AND this gave me an excuse to try out one of my new products, the sugar-free Nature's Hollow sugar-free maple syrup, made with xylitol.... which was also a winner!

I was able to use up all the crispy little rolls, bag them up, stick them in the freezer, and now we can pull them out and toast them up in the toaster! Quick and so good!

Alright, enough food talk... it's making me hungry! But remember, just because you've got a recipe, don't be afraid to make it a little better for you! And if you ARE afraid, send it to me and I'll experiment until I figure out how to make it just as good!)

I'm going to leave you with a quote that someone posted yesterday on good ol' facebook. I am pretty sure it came from one of the "quote of the day" pages, but you know how it goes, sometimes, the message just comes at the right time!

" Don't try to be better than someone else. Try to be better than who you were yesterday."- Johni Pangalila

(Um, I'm not sure why my page looks crazy, but oh well...)

Pin It

Someday, organization and I will be friends...

2011-12-06T00:35:00.001-07:00

Sigh. I get SO many emails. I rarely actually seriously TAKE the time to sit down and check my email. Generally, I'll hear my phone go off, every five minutes, it seems, I glance at it, and move on... Well. In doing so, I've created quite a blunder. It doesn't effect anyone beside myself, so that is good, but still... There is a potluck brunch coming up and I was SURE it was tomorrow morning... so today, I was in the kitchen...

Making these...

If you read my post Texas Roadhouse anyone? you know that I was able to replicate the rolls that they serve at the restaurant. And they were delicious. But I typically don't use just white flour and sugar; that was an extremely special exception to try and figure out my baking issues... and since I'd solved them, well, then today, I was able to revert back to my ways, using a whole grain wheat flour, as well as maltitol syrup and evaporated cane juice, rather than the plain old white flour and sugar...

And yay! These are delish as well! They are not as puffy, due to the higher protein content in whole wheat spelt flour, but they are light and lovely anyways! And something I didn't make last week with the others, I did today, because tomorrow was a special occasion... the cinnamon and honey butter. I used brummel and brown's whipped yogurt butter, so it was technically still healthier than regular ol' butter.... but the honey... that was the real deal.

Very tasty though and it's in small doses, right? Unless you end up eating like ten rolls... hah.

Well, ANYways...

I also made these:

Granted, they may not look like these, that I'd pinned a few days ago, but they are darn tasty! Peppermint swirl cookies! Mine are bigger. And mine also look darker, due partly to half whole wheat flour, and partly from using coconut sugar, which has the color of brown sugar.

Fun and festive! I like them!

And I'd thought to myself "These are perfect to take to the brunch!"

Well... after all this baking, I decide I should double check that the time is at 9:30 and also double-check the address of the house. Welp. In checking all of that important and vital information, I also take notice of the date... the 13th... the 13th... wait, that's not tomorrow! That's not even this week!!! Agh!!

Why do I do this to myself... that's what happens with my lack of organization!!

Well, luckily, I will be seeing a handful of those people tomorrow anyways, so I guess I'll just be passing out snacks for the fun of it. It's really the only option, otherwise my 1 year old, 2 year old, and I would be having a carb-party extravanganza... and well. We don't need that. :-)

Oh well, I guess that was my dry run for the real deal a week from now! Ha!

I was pretty psyched today. The UPS man took two days off from our house, but was back in action today! hehe. And this time it was like a Merry Christmas to Me package! Well, maybe that would actually be a horrible Christmas gift, but I was excited none-the-less. I'd run out of Muscle Milk Light protein powder, so I went online last week to order some. I stumbled upon a page I'd never ordered from before called www.netrition.com. Well, little did I know, the same page also sold a few items I've been looking all over the place for. There are a ton of sugar-free products that use xylitol, a sugar alcohol derived from corn... this is better than sugar-free stuff that uses splenda(which is in practically ALL things "sugar-free"). Splenda is created in a lab and contains chlorine... so yeah.

It's not often I use ketchup or bbq sauce or syrup or honey or jam. Not often at all, in fact. But when I DO use them, I always hate it, because they can be clogged with sugar (Well, duh, of course honey would be...) But the rest tend to be sugar-stuffed, unnecessarily. So I ordered all of them, as well as some more PB2, because I ran out last week... I was SO very excited to see the package at the door today... so excited that I changed the dinner plan and made sloppy joes instead, with some ground turkey, that way I could try out some of the ketchup and bbq sauce. Good good good. And like I said earlier, I used the maltitol in the bread as well as the cookies!

My loot. Won. Der. Ful. Aww, I just realized I didn't put my honey-bear in the picture; he was the only thing that doesn't go in the pantry so he'd already been put away. Oh well. I'm excited to try out all of this great stuff!

And on that note, I've got to get some sleep! Always up too late... and I've got to get up early to go to my non-brunch... hehehe

Christmas Creativity! Feelin' the flow...

2011-12-05T01:17:00.001-07:00

Ah, Christmas. It is upon us!

Today, I went to the mall with a few other wives to do some Christmas shopping. It's always better to shop at the mall during Christmas time, I'm sure it's because of the lights and decor. So pretty. I haven't actually ventured OUT much yet to do shopping, although I have ordered quite a few things online. The UPS man can back me up on that, seeing as he was at our door 5 days in a row last week!! I suppose that wasn't ALL me, that'll also happen when there are grandparents in another state! :-)

It's been a while since I've felt that kind of *magic* for Christmas. It most certainly helps to actually acknowledge, as they say, "the reason for the season"... Knowing Jesus Christ as my savior is seriously life-changing. Like a burden off my shoulders. But that is a whole other blog for another day! :-) But another thing that really brought back that "magic" is children. Having children helps you to go back and see the holidays through their eyes. My girls are still so young, they don't know much about Christmas, but are also at the age that everything is fascinating. And I love that.

I am having SO much fun this year, using the creative side of my brain. Creativity is second nature to me, having loved art and majored in graphic design. I keep checking the mail daily; I am SO excited for our Christmas cards to come in the mail. My sister is a consultant for Heritage Makers, which if you haven't heard of it, check it out... it's amazing. It's like digital scrapbooking, but you can create SO many different things... like Christmas cards for instance! It was so easy and quick and I can't wait for them to come. They've got pictures of the girls, and I know the people I'm sending them to will love to see how they are growing. HM has always been superfast to ship too, so I'm betting I'll get them in the next day or two and then I'll be able to say a little "How do you do" and personalize them for everyone. Yay! So exciting! I can't wait!

Another project I worked on the other day... sigh. I can't even finish the sentence because I'm so excited. It was so easy. So cheap. And so awesome. I know that my sister and I had discussed it, I forget where we originally saw this idea (maybe if she reads my blog, she can comment on it, she's got a much better memory than I!), but anyways... SO incredible!

Ok, so if you try and buy topiaries for Christmas, you already KNOW how expensive they are. Which I really have never understood why... but even if I ever DO understand it? That's not going to make them cheaper... right?

SO....

Step one: Take a large pot that was utilized in the summer but is no longer in use. Like so!

Next: Whatever it was we read, it says to use a tomato plant stand; you know, those tall metal circular things, but finding those in the off season could prove to be difficult. So hopefully you've maybe already got them! I did not. So, I used this plant form that I've seen at both craft stores and sewing stores:

I bent the bottoms, so they were aimed more straight down into the pot. Then, using a 9ft garland with lights, I wound it around and up the metal form; conveniently, there is a hook at the top that I was able to wrap the end of garland around. Using electric tape, I taped the garland in place as it wound down to the pot, to more evenly space each "row" if you will, of garland.

That is virtually it. IT! My one pot was a little narrower than the other, so it didn't stand quite as easily and isn't as sturdy as the other, so I put a strand of white lights at the bottom of each "tree" to hide the gap it was creating... And I always feel like, the more white lights, the better anyways, yeah?

The stands were $3.47 each and the garland was $9 a piece, I think? So yeah... you do the math on that. Awesome!! (And yeah, I am seeing how I throw that word around a lot... hehe)

My favorite project of the Christmas season isn't necessarily the execution or look of it, but what it is for the family. I made an advent calendar for the girls and I'm so happy about it!

So. Here goes:

The materials: Canvas framing $5.80, yarn that I already had (and this requires next to none!). The teeny clothes pins were $2.99 I think. The one large was also around $3, as well. The squares for numbers were $2.50 but I definitely used more like $1 worth.... Oh and two sheets of scrapbook paper for 30 cents a piece...

Wrap the yarn around the frame repeatedly in whatever pattern you'd like. Glue the squares to each of the pins and then write each number up to 25. Now thanks to this AWESOME webpage http://www.dltk-kids.com/, I was able to print out fun activities for each day. I just cut squares of the scrapbooking paper and came up with fun things to do everyday. Now, having a 2 and 1 year old, MOST of the activities will be coloring, but there were also days that included alphabet poems, songs, getting a door hanger, watching a holiday movie, special coupons for a sweet treat or an indoor lunch picnic, reading Christmas books (we definitely have plenty!) and a night out on the town to look at Christmas lights! Oh... AND, I think it's happening on the 18th, they will get to open their own personal letter from Santa (again, I don't know how I stumbled upon that page, but it was INSANE!!! :-) We've been through 4 days now and the girls (as well as myself!) are loving it! Such a fun way to count down for the big day! The 25th may be the simplest of all, as it's instructions are to: Sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and celebrate the day with family.

I've taken a few pictures of my two gals coloring, or like today, enjoying their sweet treat coupon. I've decided that when it's all said and done, I'm going to create a paperback book for each of them (also through Heritage Makers and supercheap and easy!) and I'll include the pictures they colored and the photos I've taken. They'll have a neat little book to remember what will hopefully become a holiday tradition!! :-)

This next picture is a proud moment for a mom, it's the first time she's "colored" or drawn something intentionally. She drew the two little pegs, held it up and said "Look Mommy, I drew shoes!" It's that kind of thing that makes me even more excited about the paperback book! :-)

Taking the door hangers upstairs to hang on their doors!

Two happy girls cashed in their coupons for a sugar cookie after lunch... (well, more accurately, I guess they'd be called stevia cookies... hah)

Our Christmas collection:

The last picture is what happens when you turn your back on two girls that really enjoy bows on packages.... hehe. They've been caught!!

Happy Holidays Everyone!!!

A sock and a t-shirt

2011-12-04T00:21:00.001-07:00

Two awesome things here... the sock bun... and the infinity scarf.

1. Sock bun. Pull hair up into a ponytail. Tie a sock around the base of ponytail. Wrap hair around the sock and pin or use another hair tie to hold bun in place. Your hair should completely cover the sock and appears much fuller than the standard bun! :-) Even though the sock is to be hidden, I used a chocolate colored sock with a argyle pattern, in case it ended up sticking out, it may be mistaken for a hair tie or something... but I went all day and into the night and it stayed put! Easy... peasy...

Okay and 2. Infinity scarf. You know how you think of things that are brilliant and it's just too late. You look it up on google and 4 out of 5 people are already doin it? Yeah, this was one of those... but oh well, it's still awesome and I still did it, even if I wasn't the first ever... take an old t-shirt and cut the bottom hem off. Then cut straight across right below the arm pits. You are left with no seams on your "scarf", the torso of the t-shirt. Stretch it out; I used this opportunity to turn it into a workout. One foot on one side of the scarf and do arm curls to stretch your scarf. Or bend forward and then back up; essentially a dead lift, you should feel it in your lower back. It doesn't take much to stretch and you can wrap it twice around your neck, typically. A bonus for me is that I used an old shirt of my husband's and it smells like him all day when I wear it... too weird? Oh well, I don't care. I miss him!

And there it is... two easy and FREE wardrobe updates... anyone else have any more free and easy updates?? DO share!! :-)

Texas Roadhouse anyone?!?

2011-12-03T00:44:00.001-07:00

Okay, so just real-quick-like... I have to share... I've been having some major baking issues lately and couldn't figure out what was happening! It just seemed like nothing was turning out well. I don't use white sugar and I don't use all-purpose flour, so I was starting to think that the recipes I was trying just weren't going to work because of my substitutions... So I was hesitant, but I went to the store and bought High Altitude AP flour, unbleached AP flour, and bread flour. I was going to experiment and get to the bottom of it... but I also had another inkling. And that was to buy an oven thermometer. I had a funny feeling that maybe my oven was not so accurate. So I put it in and turned the oven on. The oven took a few minutes and then BEEP, it's ready and at 350... right? I look inside at the thermometer... BARELY up to 250 degrees!! Are you kidding me?! I've been ruining loaf after loaf of bread, and killing myself over why it was so difficult! (Yet, hadn't ALWAYS been...) Now, the oven does eventually get up to the right temperature, it just takes an extra 10-15 minutes to do so.. still unsure and not willing to waste any more expensive flour, I used the unbleached AP flour today. I figure if those turn out, then I'll slowly add back in my other flours in recipes. And wouldn't you know! Today, when I actually KNEW the oven was at 375, I put in a tray of dough and came back with something... well.... amazing. I can't really get over how excited I was. Because I made Texas Roadhouse rolls... yeah, you know the ones... I'd pinned a recipe from Eat Cake For Dinner and they said they were close, and by golly, they're close enough in my book! (The only thing I didn't make, to even more closely compare them, was the sweet butter they use at the restaurant... maybe next time)

But anyhow.. SO stoked.

Okay, yeah, so maybe they don't LOOK that pretty... haha. The note on the webpage said she rolled out the dough and then folded it in half, sealed it with a light roll over the top of it and then cut them into squares... well, I guess I was a little TOO gentle about the sealing part, since they pulled apart like two pillows... haha. But oh well! It didn't change the fact that they are amazingly delicious and so close to the actual thing! Yay! SO... I have regained faith that I am a capable baker... finally! And now that I know it's not the operator, I will try again with my other flours... I think next time I make these, I'll at least use half AP, half WW and see what happens...

And while on the subject of baking... in a blog or three ago, I'd mentioned trying to make a flourless and butterless chocolate cookie... maybe I didn't say it on here, maybe it was pinterest, I don't remember. But I digress. Even WITH my terrible oven, I made a cookie that tasted darn delicious! I shared them at our Thanksgiving gathering, and I'm pretty sure they didn't last very long... oh, and did I mention they were low-sugar as well? Yeah, well... they were... ;-)

They were adapted from the webpage Divine Baking. And if you stay on her page for too long, you can get into trouble, everything looks amazing!

But I tried out the chocolate cookie, putting my own spin on it... here goes:

Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips (about 9 ounces), divided Okay, here is my first switch, I used half 70% dark chocolate chips, and half grain sweetened chocolate chips. (Check them out, they're made with barley flour and cocoa powder and are lower in sugar and delicious!)
3 large egg whites, room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided--I used 2 cups (I used one cup stevia, one cup xylitol)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 2 large baking sheets with nonstick spray. Melt 1 cup chocolate chips in glass bowl in microwave, stirring twice, about 2 minutes. Cool slightly.

Using electric mixer, beat whites in large bowl to soft peaks. Gradually beat in 1 (I halved the sugar here) cup sugar. Continue beating until mixture resembles soft marshmallow creme.

Whisk 1 cup sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in medium bowl to blend. On low speed, beat dry ingredients into meringue.

Stir in lukewarm chocolate and 1/2 cup chocolate chips (dough will become very stiff).

Place 1/2 cup sugar in bowl. Roll 1 rounded tablespoon dough into ball; roll in sugar, coating thickly. Place on prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing 2 inches apart. (Okay, this was the one exception I made with sugar, because I figure using just stevia wouldn't taste as good... so I combined about a 1/4 cup stevia with a 1/4 cup powdered sugar to coat the outside)

Bake until puffed and tops crack, about 10 minutes. Cool on sheets on rack 10 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool.

Yield: Makes about 18

SO good and I'm pretty sure of all the people that ate them, they probably didn't even realize that they weren't terrible for you... yay!

Alright, well, I know I said I would talk about the advent calendar I made... but maybe tomorrow.

Food trumps all other discussion. It's just the way it is.

Happy Baking! 'Tis the season, after all! I know, that thanks to a $3 thermometer, my baking days really did just get a whole lot happier! ;-)

'Tis the Season to be Blogging

2011-12-01T19:14:00.001-07:00

Well... Last night I was checking out some random strangers' blogs before going to bed, as it's quite easy to go from one to another... As I continued to click through different blogs, I started seeing a theme and came to a conclusion... I just may not be HIP enough for a blog... hah. I'm not mocking anyone. I am quite serious. There are so many blogs with women doing amazing things or making amazing things! And SO many photos! So, so many photos... girls in funky dresses and tights with mary janes standing in front of old barns or in fields. From what I can read many of them have husbands that enjoy taking their photos. And often, it appears. I would feel silly asking my husband to do that, and he is so NOT the type to be interested in doing so anyhoo. hehe. It's funny to even think about it. I'm definitely not saying there is anything wrong with that; I enjoy reading the blogs and looking at pictures and all that, very much. However, I feel like I'm not whimsical enough for the blogging world. When I first started this blog, I didn't want to reveal my name or photo, or that of my husband or children either... it kind of freaked me out to think of people reading all about us and seeing our pictures and all. It could be silly of me to think we'd be so awesome, we'd end up with stalkers or something... I just always feel weird about people knowing our "business." I guess this is definitely better than facebook though. I mean, it's not just posted for all; People would actually have to make the effort to get to my blog. So that's good. So I'm going to open up a little. I feel like that's what the People want, after all... ;-) It'll be a slow and steady process though.

With that being said, my girls and I had quite a dance party today. You'll have to forgive the blurriness, they were shaking it so hard!

We turned on Christmas music and danced all over the house. It was pretty fun and I attempted to turn it into a bit of a workout, running, squatting, and doing high knees throughout the house. I mean, I thought to myself, I may as well do this now with them while they think it's funny and not embarrassing! And as I hold my two-year-old upside down, and dance in circles, she laughs and says "Mommy, you make me laugh"... Now I have to say that is one of the sweetest things she's ever said to me... I love my sweet girls. In the midst of our dance party, I folded some clothes AND transformed a boring wreath:

Into awesomeness:

A $10 transformation... yay!

And while I'm on the subject of Christmas (I was, wasn't I?), I want to post the other Christmas decorations... this is mostly for my husbands benefit, so he can see what the house looks like, but it might give anyone else ideas too, so here goes!

I love our tree. We use little piles of white garland to look like clumps of snow... although in this dark room, it looks like they are giant glowing bulbs!

Our ledge gets this little tree, where we put all the "personal" decorations, mine from childhood, our childrens beginning collection, and hopefully soon, my husbands will be on there too! (My mother-in-law has to do a search first ;-)

Soft snow above the cabinets with colored snowflakes and rope light! I love how it glows!

(Oh, and you also get a peek at how our walls and cabinets have turned out! I haven't posted pics for those projects, mostly, because the backsplash is the last project that hasn't happened yet...)

Last year, my daughter and husband decorated the little trees that go in the girl's rooms... but this year, the girls decorated them themselves... I have to say, it gives them much more character, I love them ;-)

-and-

So sweet... it's been a while since I've been so happy about the holidays. For quite a few years, I became one of those people that was pretty sad around the holiday time. Meeting my husband, and even more so, having children, has made me appreciate much more and realize what a wonderful time of year Christmas is! I'm so excited to create new traditions with my family! Which reminds me, I'll be posting soon about the advent calendar I created! But for now... sleep :-)

Going Green!

2011-11-29T12:24:00.001-07:00

I love Colorado. I love that at the end of November, it can be 63 degrees one day, and 46, then 59, the next two days! It's always a toss up, and just because it's beautiful blue skies and sunny, doesn't make it nice... it's actually a pretty deceiving little city we live in... Yesterday was one of those days were it was beautiful and sunny AND warm out! It was great. And because you don't know if you'll get another day like that, that's the day you have to drop everything you are doing and get outside to take advantage! So that's exactly what my girls and I did! Running around outside is always so much more fun than running around inside for kids! Of course, we have our daily trip to the gym, as well, and that became ten times better yesterday by walking there instead of driving. It's almost exactly two miles there and two miles home, so it's also a bonus to the regular gym routine! On the way there, I jogged most of it, wearing a weighted vest that my husband tried to tell me was only 15 pounds but I held it on the scale, it's 22... I think the only way I was able to jog that while wearing a vest AND pushing a double stroller was the fact that it's (for the most part) a gradual downhill slope... hah. On the way home though, AND after a pretty badass workout, walking with the vest seemed good enough!

And after all that work, we returned home to enjoy something that is quickly becoming a favorite between my preschooler and I! Adapted from a trainer that was seen on Dr. Oz, we present to you:

The Spinach Shake

Ingredients

Makes 1 1/2 servings

3 cups spinach

2 cups ice

1/2 banana

2 tbsp of peanut butter

1 scoop vanilla protein powder (use Muscle Milk Light to lower the calories a bit!)

3/4 cup of unsweetened almond milk

Directions
Add all ingredients to blender and blend on high speed, until completely mixed.

Pour shake into glass and enjoy!

Now, me being me, I can't ever leave ingredients alone. I'm always changing ingredients, so instead of peanut butter sometimes, I'll use PB2, which is the best food creation I've ever known... Also, like I said, I use the Light version of Muscle Milk... oh and I like to throw in a packet of stevia. It just makes it that much more "indulgent"-ish!

However, if I'm not drinking this for breakfast or after a workout and don't need all the protein and calories, I've omitted the peanut butter and protein powder, and added 1/4 cup greek yogurt and about a tbsp maybe of cocoa powder. This makes a great tasting and creamy shake still, just a little lower in calories... and heck, you're still getting a little protein from the yogurt, which is always great... it makes 1 and 1/2 servings, which my daughter really appreciates! hehe. Spinach is chock full of potassium so Go Green!! (oh, that's not what people mean by that phrase? ;-)

Recycling for artwork

2011-11-10T08:45:00.000-07:00

You know how you sometimes you have this idea in your head and get so excited about it?! And then when you execute it, you still think it's awesome, but there is also this other voice inside that is thinking "What if this isn't as awesome as you think it is..."

About 7-8 years ago, in my dad's garage, I built a table. A dining room table out of 2 old small doors and 4 old table legs. The doors had two insets each, so I came up with the idea to put pieces of compressed wood in them, so the surface was flush. I also thought it would be awesome to paint those pieces with chalkboard paint, and kept a bucket of chalk in the middle of the table... it was a super fun table, to say the least. Here is a picture of how our Thanksgiving went a couple years ago:

(Nevermind all the junk around the table, we'd been in the house for only a couple weeks! hah)

The table was fun while it lasted, but once my oldest daughter was old enough to scribble.... and scribble... and scribble... I got more and more tired of having to clean it so often. She wasn't quite as delicate with the chalk as we had been.

SO, we found a new table, and "this guy" went to live in the basement. I attempted to sell it at a garage sale, but without actually putting it together (the legs unscrew and the chalkboard pieces just set in, they aren't glued or anything for cleaning purposes), I don't think anybody knew what it was. Or cared. Duh.

But now I'm so glad! So back to what I was saying, I got this idea in my head, because we have a huge ledge above our tv in the living room and I couldn't figure out what to put up there. I came up with an idea but thought I would need to go to the hardware store and buy some plywood or something to paint on. (I'm too cheap for canvases sometimes...) Then it dawned on me that I could use this tabletop!

So it took only about an hour to transform it, and when it was finished, I thought to myself "Yay, I love it! But is it really great or am I just caught up in it?" So I put it up on the ledge to test it out and stared at it for the rest of the night. I liked it.

This morning, though, as I came down the stairs? It was like Christmas morning! I had forgotten all about the new artwork and when I turned the corner, I was taken aback. I LOVE IT!!!! I think it looks perfect.

The best part about it, is the sentimental meaning behind it. The words are song lyrics and very few will probably know the song. But my husband knows it. It's our song, and it has been from the very beginning. Every time I look at this, my heart melts! I'm so excited. I didn't want to post this or talk about; I wanted to surprise him when he comes home... but I am too impatient. I know he will read this, and I'm too excited; I have to share it with him! So hopefully he likes it! haha

Yay!! So pleased with the outcome! And for free too!! I used whatever spray paint and latex paint I already had!

And a p.s.... the graphic designer in me wants typography to take over my house... a visit to the clearance shelf at Target got this wall a $6 makeover, the frame was $2 and the ampersand was $4. It's just the space between my kitchen and laundry, leading out to the garage. And that makes me smile too!

Anybody else have some "recycling/reutilizing" projects they want to share?? Or some awesomely discounted deals that lead to mini-transformations?? Show us!! :-)

The simplest changes for BIG impact

2011-10-30T12:00:00.000-06:00

Paint is the cheapest most remarkable thing I'll ever find. I love it. It can transform anything within a great budget. I have been staring at my front door thinking it's such a boring door. I've disliked the color since the day we moved in, but just never gave it too much thought, and when I did, it can be overwhelming to decide on a color. I mean, I want something that will go with all seasons. I want something that makes a statement and doesn't look like every other door on the block. But at the same time, sometimes when you are at the hardware store, choosing a color, you choose something that you THINK you like under those horrible lights, but then you get it home and it's horribly, horribly wrong. And the front door? Everybody is going to see it! Ahhh! So last week, the color just hit me! Like it fell on my head or something. I decided what color I wanted and went to Lowes in search of it. And even as I began painting, I was thinking PLEASE let this be a good decision! But as it dried, a wide grin on my face, I was seeing that I made the perfect decision. And I love it!! And today, I got a random text from a neighbor, saying he and his wife loved the new door! Yay! The last thing I want is for my neighbors to be embarrassed of the new people... haha ;-)

Before: Ugly. Boring. Boo.

After: Spectacular!!

I love it! Oh, and I love my pumpkins with buttons!! hehe

Happy Halloween everyone!