tisjewel's emotional excursion

Catchup

noreply@blogger.com (tisjewel) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 00:59:00 +0000

A little catching up for this blog. {albeit a bit scattered}

I got my nails done last week, see :) it's been many many years since I've gotten acrylics, probably since high school.

However.... I learned today that spray on sunscreen and nail polish do not mix... it melts the nail polish so I had to take it off because it became sticky and every lint bit was sticking to it :(

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Little girls on my mind :)

I made these two caps/hats w/some hand-dyed handspun yarn that I've been holding on to for a while.

I decided to try out Big Cartel, since I've seen more and more people on FB using it. The store I opened there is called RougeEden.

Rouge Eden, is what I ideally want to name my daughter if I have one :) {hoping, praying, wishing...} With the basic package I can only have 5 products on there, but we'll see how it goes. I haven't advertised it, so haven't gotten any views, LOL. When(EVER) I open my website completely, I'll put in yet another section for these, which will consist of handmade items for babies/children and photography props.

Speaking of little girls, I made this little dress, the first dress I've ever sewn, for one of my BFF's little girl. I love it! Now I want to make more. I plan on making a matching head-kerchief for it.

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On March 12th, my friend and I hosted a party. It was an interesting {to say the least} combination of 3 themes. She had been selected to host a Durex (condom) party through houseparty.com, I was selected to host a Philly Cooking Dilemma {Cooking Creme} party through houseparty.com as well and a Passionista Martini Gold party through American Beverage Co. So we combined these three into one, for a wild little shindig at my place, LOL. I have pics, just waiting to get them from my friend as my camera wasn't cooperating that day. I do have some product pics, not the condoms though.

It was good fun w/good food, great drinks (my lovely mom was the bartender), and some interesting games - Dirty Minds, a he said/she said game via Durex, and the I've Never... game.

I love having parties now, I used to be so apprehensive about having people over, but I've been working on it and have progressed far, IMHO. It is, however, A LOT of work!!! The next party I throw will be more G-rated :) for my little bug who will be turning 11 in May. Unless I get chosen for the Weight Watchers Ice Cream party :) I really wanted to get the Tapena's Wine & Tapa's party, but didn't get it. :(

Lastly... we're moving, not until the end of the year, but still :(

Photoplay

noreply@blogger.com (tisjewel) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 20:37:00 +0000

Just messing around with some photos and textures (these were taken about a month ago at JF Gregory Park in Richmond Hill, GA; since they were previously edited, the textures were applied on top of the edits.)

For Texture Tuesday using Kim Klassen's warmsun texture:

Hard Light @100% w/mask

Hard Light @50% and desaturation w/mask

Hard Light @50% w/mask

Soft Light @100%

This is one of my favs! :) Tiramisu, yummy...
Overlay @100%

Egg in my hair

noreply@blogger.com (tisjewel) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 20:47:00 +0000

[I borrowed the photo from google]
My hair has been thinning so badly :( very very upsetting and embarrassing. So naturally I want to try to do whatever I can to help thicken it and slow down hairloss to encourage new growth. So today I tried egg and vinegar. I cracked the egg in the shower. It was comical trying to keep the egg in my hand before it dropped into the tub and then once I smashed it onto my head most of it still managed to plop down. It wasn't as icky as I thought it would be. I massaged it into my scalp then shampooed like regular. So then it was time to vinegarize. I diluted about 1/4 C of white vinegar with warm water and slowly poured it over my hair. Then rinsed it off and gently put in some conditioner.

I get out of the shower and fluff it a little with a towel, then start brushing it... egg whites... yep, some decided to cling in clumps. So I had to pick those out. My hair still smells a little like vinegar, but not too bad. Overall, I guess it went OK, I'll let you know when it dries whether it helped thicken it any. I can say it is soft, but I have never really had a problem with my hair being soft.

The other night I was in one of those weird moods and decided to cut off 8" of my hair. For the most part I got it even :) It is lighter weight-wise and I think it helped a little, less weight on my scalp means that the hairs have a chance to have a little body.

What other remedies did I find that I could do... cut my hair really short - chin length or slightly longer... dye it very very light... and get it permed. Hmm... IDK. I will have to mull it over. I have reserves though: 1) if I do all that those are chemicals that could make it worse, make my hair fall out even more... 2) would a really light color even look good on me? 3) that short??? my face is already round I don't want to put emphasis on the roundness.

But really, what other choices do I have? I can't afford some of the other options, like transplants, or weaves. I tried clip-in extensions, but I can't put them in the spots that really need it because my hair has gotten so "see-through" that you'd be able to see the seams of the hair where it's sewed to the clip.

So sad and pitiful. I so need to win the lottery...

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Well, my laptop is finally "fixed". I use the term "fixed" loosely because it's not really... I had to go back in and disconnect the OEM keyboard as I was having this very frustrating "invasion of the Vs" with ocassional spacebar interjections. Now that that's no longer an issue, I think I can hang on to this laptop for a little longer. The only con about disconnecting that keyboard is that the function keys on my wireless USB keyboard aren't the same as the ones on the OEM keyboard and there are specific ones on there that I would need to use or disconnect things like the touchpad, the webcam, etc. Hopefully I won't have much need to use it as it's such a SIGH to dismantle the computer over and over again.

Again, another reason why winning the lottery would be really awesome right about now.

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And in continuing the update on my life. The softball we thought we were going to be playing in March, is likely going to be a no-go :( so I returned my glove, ball, and cleats yesterday. I had been both looking forward to it and dreading it. I'm not much of a sports person, but had wanted to stretch out a little from my comfort zone and try it at least. To be honest, though, I was having second thoughts because the idea of having to slide and dive sort of freaked me out, LOL. So now I'm both relieved and saddened that it's not going to happen.

I took my cleats back, however, and exchanged them for these babies:

Yeah, a very unusual exchange, but I like them! Hopefully an event will come up where I can actually wear them, hehe.

and finally here is my bed buddy... He was sent to me by my love during his last deployment. He watches over me as I sleep :)

Ok, I'm procrastinating, I have to get back to working on my taxes, lovely taxes that they are. (O:

Oh, BTW if you know me and you're in the area, my friend Teresa and I are having a party on March 12th. It's a triple themed party... Hit me up on Facebook for an invite.

Happy Valentine's Day!

noreply@blogger.com (tisjewel) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 16:00:00 +0000

For my husband, whom I love dearly and wish could be here spending this day with me! Love you babe and miss you very much!

And from the munchkin, in all his handsomeness, LOL

Going to spend this day out at a Luncheon with the 1/76 Ladies at Kobe Japanese Steak House, then dinner here with Teresa + 6, and Amber + 3. :)

Girls' Night Out

noreply@blogger.com (tisjewel) — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 20:44:00 +0000

Another great outing with the girls - Teresa & Ashley. We went to dinner first at Olive Garden, their house wine is divine!!! Then had time to kill before the movie, so we went to get Teresa something to cover her arms since she was wearing a sleeveless top and it was freezing out. Stopped at Ross, then went next door to World Market, picked up a couple bottle of wine. Then headed to Beverage Warehouse and picked up yet another bottle of wine, LOL. We were actually looking for that Olive Garden wine, but they were all out.

The movie we went to go see was "Just Go With It" with Adam Sandler and Jenifer Aniston. It was a pretry good movie! Funny and tear-jerking. Loved it, I think I need to get it on DVD.

After the movie we wanted dessert so we stopped at Dennys. And we were goofy, see us with our 3D glasses on? LOL

More pics on facebook.

Operation HomeFront/Lifetime Presents Army Wives at Outback

noreply@blogger.com (tisjewel) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 03:01:00 +0000

The girls (Teresa, Ashley, and Amber) and I went to an event at Outback Steakhouse sponsored by Operation HomeFront and Lifetime's Army Wives. The event honored "REAL" Army Wives.

It was pretty interesting, exciting, and fun. We all met at the YMCA in Hinesville, dropped off our kids and boarded buses. All the while being filmed. We had to do a few things over again, like walking off the bus and on the bus again. They did spot interviews on the way to Outback, and then had a squad of little cheerleaders, as well as people with signs welcoming us, film crew and news crews to greet us there with a red carpet laid out and confetti filling the air.

We got to meet Brian Macnamara (Gen. Holden) from the show Army Wives. They rushed us through appetizers, and the entree. And did a rafle for gift baskets that contained wine and gift card to Outback with either b&b stuff or popcorn. Those who didn't get gift baskets got a wine bottle and gift card.

The video above has an interview that Teresa did with WSAV, and you can see us at lesat 3 times in this. If it's not working, go here.

More pics from this event are on my facebook page.

Doing Good

noreply@blogger.com (tisjewel) — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 00:31:00 +0000

Since my hubs left last week Wed, back to Iraq, I've lost a total of 7 lbs :) (he's a meat eater so we ate a lot of meat while he was back for R&R)

For lunch on Thursday I had Tomato Bisque and steamed asparagus. I changed the tomato bisque up though, the recipe with my changes is as follows:
1 Tbsp light butter (Land O Lakes)
1/2 Med onion + 2 scallions (white portion), chopped
1 Celery stalk, chopped
3 Garlic, cloves, minced
1/2 Roasted bell pepper (jar type in water/citric acid)
5 Med vine-ripened tomatoes, chopped
32 oz Chicken broth, fat free, reduced sodium
2 Tbsp Cilantro + more for garnish
3 Sm bay leaves
6 Pickled okra (Wickles brand, optional)
1 tsp basil, dried
2 T Sour cream, light
Shaved parmesan

Melt butter in a pot over med-high heat, add onions and celery and saute until onions are translucent, add garlic and roasted bell peppers. Cook until garlic is fragrant, approx. 5 mins, then add remaining ingredients, except for sour cream and shaved parmesan. Bring to a boil, stirring often, reduce to a simmer and allow to cook, stirring ocassional, covered for 30-45 minutes. Remove bay leaves, then add sour cream. Use a hand blender, or blender to puree soup (if you use a regular blender, be sure to start of on stir, with the lid partially open before pressing puree, and only fill the blender half way or you'll end up wearing a HOT mess).

Garnish with cheese and cilantro.

4 servings (2 cups each) * P+: 3pts

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Today's lunch...

Ceviche w/Ahi Tuna on Wonton wrappers Note: I fried the wonton wrappers, but was told by a friend that I could bake them, so next time I'll do that. This recipe includes the baked version.

1/2 lb Sashimi grade Ahi Tuna, cut into small cubes
2 Tbsp red onions, fnely chopped
1 tsp, tabasco
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 sm mango, cut into small cubes
1/4 C fresh lime juice
1/2 med avocado, cut into small cubes
1/2 med poblano chile (roasted, chopped)
Wonton wrappers
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350.

Add all ingredients into a bowl, except for wonton. Mix and cover (push the plastic wrap down so that it lays on the mixture with very little air), allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.

Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray, push the wonton wrappers into the muffin pan to form cups. Lightly spray the tops with cooking spray then place the pan in the oven for approximately 8 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.

Scoop the ceviche into the wonton cups, serve and eat!

The ceviche can be divided into 4 servings. 1 serving of ceviche and 8 baked wonton cups = P+ 7

Julie-tarianism

noreply@blogger.com (tisjewel) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 06:18:00 +0000

Julie-tarianism: is a practice of a diet that includes anything that Julie wants to eat at any certain given time, including, but not limited to seafood, poultry, and on occasion, red meat. :)

I figure it's much easier to give myself a dietary name than to adhere to any strict guideline. haha. I had planned on going Pollo-pescetarian (seafood, poultry, dairy and vegetables/fruits), but an occasional red meat here and there may be required. I will, however, attempt to find meats of animals grass-fed or free range!

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Yes, my blog has been sorely lacking content. I lay blame solely on my hubby :) as he was back for R&R during the holidays. (Just kidding babe!)

Quickie time-line:
- For TG, my mom came to visit, and we spent the day in Jax with my friends.
- DH came home for R&R on Dec. 20th, we went out for my birthday to a Japanese restaurant in Richmond Hill on the 22nd, and we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas in NC with my parents and brother. It was nice getting together with them all, playing board games, eating, and being a family :) We got a lovely gift of a snow storm on the day after Christmas, the day we headed home so it took us 12 hours rather than 7 to drive back.
- New Years, we didn't do anything special, but it was still nice to be able to have DH home for it.
- Jan 5th DH headed back to Iraq :(... so sad.

So now, I'm still slowly adding inventory to my website storefront - http://www.Enablerie.com (the B&B section has soaps and perfumes up now :) http://www.dirtyskintonics.com).

I have to get back into the groove of working out and eating right. Briefly contemplated getting back on Atkins, but decided against it. As much as I would love to, that first 2 weeks of eating only 20 carbs a day... Since a couple of my Jax friends are doing Weight Watchers, I went ahead and signed up for it :) They're also doing a group challenge so, I'm hoping that it'll be a good incentive and good motivation for me. The WW, seems promising. I'm still learning about points, but I start an official day today. I have 29 points to work with each day (+49 weekly points), and have decided to do the following meal plan today:

Breakfast- (7pts)
Cornmeal Cake and steamed asparagus w/poached eggs

This was actually a fabulous meal, since I had problems sleeping last night I ended up sleeping in late and this ended up more of a late brunch rather than a breakfast. For the cornmeal cake, I substituted in vanilla soymilk for the milk and wheat flour for the all-purpose flour. It was a smidgen on the sweet side so I think next time I'll try subbing out the sugar for splenda and use less, like maybe 1/2-3/4 C rather than 1 1/2 C. It also took less time to cook, 36 mins whereas the recipe stated 50 mins. It could have been taken out even a few minutes sooner if I had checked, of course this varies depending on your oven, but if you are to make it, be sure to check it for doneness around the 30 mins mark.

The poached eggs on the asparagus with the cheese was delicious! My poaching skills need a little bit of work, but it tasted yummy, nonetheless.

Lunch- (8pts)
Broiled Ahi Yellow-fin tuna w/Mushroom-Shallot Fritatta

Lunch ended up being a very late lunch, unfortunately. I broiled the ahi tuna in the oven, seasoning it with onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, smoked paprika, sea salt and pepper, and 1 1/2 tsp of teriyaki sauce. For the fritatta, instead of using parsley, used cilantro. Tasty, but very filling, especially since brunch and lunch were so close togegther! I ate only half of the ahi and 2/3rds of the fritatta, which means my points are actually less than 8 for lunch.

Dinner- (11pts)

Sauteed Calf Liver w/plum sauce and sauteed baby zucchini, edamame, and fennel

Snacks-
Cool Blue Cranberry Quake Smoothie (blended w/water; 3pt)

Had to skip out on some things that were planned, but it worked out as I added/changed a couple things to dinner.

Daily total: less than 29pts

I think that's an ok start, there's definitely room for improvement. Next time I'll have to adjust points dispersal and hopefully my brain will let me sleep so that I can actually space these meals out more and it won't feel like I'm cooking and eating all day long... Remember that dream scene in National Lampoon's European Vacation where Audrey keeps stuffing her face... eating and eating and eating and her body inflates to the point where the buttons go popping off? I kind of feel like that! Just roll me on over.

On the workout front, the PLAN for today had been to restart P90X... as of right now, it hasn't happened. There are still hours left w/in this day though. So we shall see.

EA SPORTS Active 2 House Party

noreply@blogger.com (tisjewel) — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 03:50:00 +0000

this was a party that we had a I was chosen from Houseparty.com to host an EA Sports Active 2 House Party. Had a great tme tonight!

The game is pretty good actually, it offers a nice workout and there is even a personal trainer on it that you can utilize to get the best combination of a workout possible. You can also set the duration of your workout and choose what areas of your body you want to concentrate on. The only downfall of this game was that there was sometimes a lag between the sensors and the game, so you had to repeat some movements several times before it would sync up.

We played lots of games, had prizes, and great food! Being that this was the first party that I've ever thrown, I think it was a success. Can't wait for my next party.

For more information on this party and pics go to the party page.

Happy Thanksgiveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (tisjewel) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 13:29:00 +0000

Did I mention my mom was coming down for the week of TG? Yay! :) I miss my mom. We're going to go spend the day in Jacksonville with my awesome friends - and they are awesome because I'd probably still be lost in my own shell if not for them.

And it's really strange, lately, I've been craving, excited even, about the aspect of being around people. I'm not much of a people person, I try to be as friendly as I can be though, but am really shy and often feel awkward and like I don't have much to talk about. BUT, I've been wanting to meet new people, to host parties even. Shocking! I know I'll probably be still shy in any of those types of events, but it's the fact that I'm wanting... desiring to be around people that really surprises me. Usually, I'm just content to be by myself in my own cozy world in my house, house-mouse that I have always been. Maybe this is a new leaf for me :) I sure hope it continues and helps me branch out of my shell more.

So I am thankful for my friends, both new and old, both near and far, online and off! And for my family for all of their support and love and care. I love you all!

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In efforts to introduce and launch my upcoming site, The Enablerie, my all in one stop for fiber/yarn, art, bath and body, and more... I'm hosing a monthly giveaway. This first one is what I like to call the "pre-grand opening" giveaway.

Entry period: 10/21-12/4/2010
1st winner will be chosen randomly and announced on 11/22/2010. Winner #1B, #2 & #3 will be randomly chosen on 12/4 and announced on 12/5.

How to enter:
-- Fill out the form at this link, being sure the information is accurate, don't forget to put in your childhood nickname (the winner's nickname may be used as a future colorway), b) after submitting the form you will receive a confirmation email (subject will say: Action Required: Confirm Your Sign-Up and the email will come from enablerie@gmail.com), click on the link provided in the email, if successful you should be taken to the home page of Enablerie-- this part must be done in order for the entry to count. Only one entry via this method. Duplicate form entries will be disqualified. Also only one person per household via this method. You can obtain additional entries from any of the methods below.

-- Refer a friend to enter the giveaway and if they put your name (must match the name you initially entered with) in the referral box, then you get another entry!

-- Link to http://www.enablerie.com via your website or blog using one of the following buttons (right click on the image, save and upload to your server or blog, or use the html coding) or one of your own (must be approved first), and email me at enablerie[AT]gmail.com once you have it up.

For prizes, rules, more information, and entry form, visit http://www.enablerie.com/pages/monthly-giveaway.htm

There will also be another giveaway for December/January!

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Also... if you're a facebook user, I have setup a fan page for the Enablerie.

I'm striving for my first milestone of 50 fans, hope you will "like" me! :) Once I hit 50 fans, I'll randomly choose a fan to be a winner of this bath & body package:

Come join me! :) And if you haven't already, sign-up for the e-newsletter, which will let you know when the grand opening is, shop announcements, giveaways/contests, exclusive discounts, shop updates, and more. There's a tab on the facebook page that starts with "E-Newslette..." (it's supposed to say E-Newsletter Sign-up, but I guess it's too long to fit on there). You can also sign up via the site.

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Speaking of firsts, here's more from my container garden.

My 1st green beans! Aren't they adorable? hehe. Not going to pick them yet as they're still young, they're smaller than they look in the photo:

The 1st bloom of a zucchini flower:

The cold air is starting to take its toll on my poor plants, especially the tomato plant. She's wilting, but there are still tomato babies to develop! So get on with it lady! LOL. Right now the tomatoes on there are about the diameter of a quarter. Also, doesn't look like my winter squash, pattypan squashes, winged beans, or my soybeans are developing. Something has been eating the leaves on both the winter squash and the soybean plant. Pesky pests! Despite my best efforts to ward them off.

The herbs, however, are doing well, moderate spotting on the new basil plants, but other than that the cilantro, parsley, green onions are fairing well. Also the chinese spinach and the carrots in my make-shift global "buckets" are doing fine. Instead of using my bioplanter, that I had intended on using, I think I'll let it sit until early spring before planting anything in it. So the fennel and the chinese mustard plants I may just transfer to another make-shift global "bucket", and take them as well as the herbs inside when it gets really cold out.

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Sneaky peak of what I've been working on knit-wise:

Made for the plurk shawlette swap via plurk/ravelry. I hope my partner likes it, she liked the photo, so that's good :) It took a while to complete because I had to rip back a gazillion rows as I was running out of yarn. Which meant that I needed to discard a bazillion rows from my pattern. In the end I had to omit an additional 5 rows because I again ran into an issue with yardage. It turned out nice though, once blocked it should be a fairly decent size, wing-span-wise.

Hmm... what's next to knit? I guess I should be scrambling to knit some Christmas gifts, eh?

Anywho, that's the updated dealio. I have a doctor's appointment today, I'm not going to sweat it, it is what it is and I have today and every day of my life heretofore to work on a healthy me. Can't make me healthy in a day :)

Then later in the day I have to pick up produce again from Savannah! Yay! I like this co-op much better than the local one, though the local one did give me the coveted broccoli leaves this past Friday. I keep meaning to tell them to take me off the produce list, but keep forgetting. I need to though, or I'll be stock-piling veggies and will need a 3rd fridge or will need to consume veggies out of my ears! :)

I hope you, my reader, if you exist, have a fantastic day! Creative types and all, I hope you are filled with inspiration, motivation, and anything else you need to succeed today and always!

Fasting & Gardening

noreply@blogger.com (tisjewel) — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 15:21:00 +0000

Yesterday I started my 2 day fast. I'm using the 2-Day Fast Formula through Beachbody (the same company that sells the P90X stuff). The 1st day was ok, only being tough toward the end of the day. I did give in and drink some sodium-free chicken broth (was only 10 cals, 0 fat, but has some additives, no sodium and no MSG, but something that sounds like it), but that was my only cave-in, for the rest of the day I just had those 3 shakes and water throughout the day. I lost 3.5ish lbs. Today is the last day, yay! It says I can lose up to 7 lbs in the 2 days, so if I lost 3.5 yesterday, and if I lose another 3.5 today, that'll be pretty accurate! I'm excited!

The shake itself is ok, it doesn't like to blend well with the water, kind of a tad bit lumpy, and I'm too lazy to dump it in a blender, so it'll do. I didn't really crave anything mentally, but physically I think my body was hungry as my stomach did growl at me and snarl

After this I plan on replacing 2 of my meals with a protein shake for 30 days. So it won't be a total leap into eating 5 times a day just yet, that way I don't gain all the weight I've lost right away. Don't worry, I'm taking vitamin suppliments and will be eating a light snack in between "meals" starting tomorrow. I also figured out if I get up at 6 and drink a glass of water every 2 hours from then until 8 at night, then I would be drinking my 8 glasses of water :) And eating every 3 hours will work out good too, 6 - shake, 9 - snack, 12 - shake, 3 - snack, 6 - dinner.

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On the container gardening front, I have babies! Tomato babies, that is, and my zucchini and green bean plants have buds. I'm pretty sure some of those have fallen off of my green bean plant and have tiny green bean babies. I've posted pics of them here on flickr.

Here's some photo updates on my garden:

I lost all but one fennel and all but one winter squash (who is barely scraping by right now, I hope it survives), then I also planted 2 pattypan squash (incidentally almost as big as that winter squash is, though started much later), soy beans (no pic yet), winged beans (haven't sprouted yet, so don't know), and yu choy (though I might be wrong as I might have mixed up the peat pots and it may be frisse, but I doubt it). I did have some 4 seasons bunching onions, but I don't think they'll make it, frisse I planted twice, but they didn't survive, and a couple of other things that wilted. I have a bioplanter that I need to fill up to transplant some of the ones still in peat pots. I guess I better get it done soon it's way late in the season. Most of this I'm just doing as practice, but still hopeful I can beat the frost. We are in GA afterall.

Mantra

noreply@blogger.com (tisjewel) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 16:35:00 +0000

LOL, ok, so I've been singing this made up song to the tune of "I Feel Pretty" from Westside Story in my head. I call it my mantra or a positive affirmation for getting lean and healthy, of course the words lean and healthy don't really fit within the song so had to use "skinny" for the most part, it goes like this:

I feel skinny
Oh so skinny
I feel skinny and mini and slim
And really
There's nothing that I can't fit in
I feel skinny
Oh so skinny
It's amazing how skinny I feel
And so mini
That I hardly can believe I'm real
See the skinny girl in that mirror there?
Who can that attractive girl be?
Such a skinny face
Such a mini dress
Such a pretty smile
Such a healthy me!
I feel stunning
And entrancing
Feel like running
And dancing so free
For I'm loved
By a pretty wonderful me

LOL, silly I know, and I'm not there yet, but maybe if I keep this song running in my head :O)

--

Yesterday, I did 2 30 minute sessions on the treadmill, approx. 3.2 miles. I think I did pretty well eating wise, except that I didn't drink enough water and I probably could have used a snack in between meals. I had a protein shake for breakfast using soymilk as the liquid, a recovery shake after workout, lunch was sauteed baby bak choy, dinner was Pan-Fried Flounder w/pablano corn relish and a side of sauteed baby bak choy. Then did 5 pushups, 5 situps, and 2 sets of 25 back extensions before bed.

Today, I did 2 40 minute sessions on the treadmill, approx. 3.94 miles. Breakfast I had an eggbeater omlet w/tomatoes, zucchini, onions, and fat free cheddar seasoned with garlic/onion pwd, cayenne, smoke paprika, a little mirin, and a little lite soy sauce. Had a recovery shake after workout, and am going to cook a lunch of ground turkey pan sauteed with an odd medley of fresh veg (kale, bak choy, okra, yellow squash, onion, green beans, and cabbage) again seasoned lightly with onion/garlic powder, and lite soy. Dinner is likely to be Grilled or Broiled Salmon w/Citrus Salsa Verde and a toasted pinenut & lime-pepper couscous with a side of steamed broccoli w/melted light smart balance butter.

GO FISH!

noreply@blogger.com (tisjewel) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 00:26:00 +0000

Whoops, I forgot I was supposed to go all veg this week. AH well so there goes that. That's ok though.

No recipes today, but I'll link to the ones I've used.

Pan-Fried Flounder with Poblano Corn Relish (added cayenne and smoked paprika to both the flounder and the relish) served with wilted (sauteed) baby bok choy

Pan-Seared Halibut with Grape Tomato & Grape Salsa (this one I subbed out black cod and used Halibut, and added Grape Tomatoes to the salsa for color) served with grape tomato & edamame risotto

Hmm... This weekend may bust the V

noreply@blogger.com (tisjewel) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 15:47:00 +0000

Ok, so today is day two of my week of vegetarianism. I did some research and no fish/seafood for vegetarians, those who do eat fish/seafood are called Pescetarians. There are also 3 different types of vegetarians:

Lacto-ovo-vegetarian. Eats both dairy products and eggs. This is the most common type of vegetarian diet.

Lacto-vegetarian. Eats dairy products but not eggs.

Vegan. Does not eat dairy products, eggs, or any other animal product.

Where the drawing doesn't specify the type of vegetarian guidelines we're supposed to be following, I'm assuming that dairy and eggs are allowed. So that means just cutting out meat and seafood.

However, this weekend they are having Oktoberfest AND the Great Ogheechee Seafood Fest, so I'll have to 86 the plan and push it to the 25th through 31st instead. I just have to do a week (7 consecutive days) in October, right?

Oktoberfest is likely to be small, it's being held in Bradwell Park in Hinesville, near that one German restaurant we went to a while back. In the general area that they hold the Hinesville Farmer's Market -- speaking of which we did go to it yesterday, it was pretty small, which was surprising. I had expected a lot more vendors, but there were maybe 6 total, 2-3 being veggie vendors, 1 bbq place, and a couple of other things.

If the Oktoberfest isn't all that great we might go to the Great Ogeechee Seafood Festival which is being held in Richmond Hill at the JF Gregory Park that we went to last weekend. If not today, then maybe Sunday.

Then tomorrow we're going to Poppell Farms where they have a corn maze and pumpkin patch.

So we have a busy weekend planned, hopefully it's fun :) Got to remember to take my camera with us.

OOOO Gotta Have Some Cookies Cookies NOW!

noreply@blogger.com (tisjewel) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 01:36:00 +0000

My dear friend Kimber posted her cookies on Plurk a little while ago, so that made me crave cookies in a way that I HAD to go make some of my own. Sigh... So here's the recipe. I had to substitute out some of the flour for cake flour as I didn't have enough all purpose, but it turned out just as good!

Soft Heath Toffee Cookies

2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
1 3/4 C all purpose flour
1 1/4 C cake flour
1 1/4 t salt
1 t baking soda
1/4 C white sugar
1 1/4 C light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 T milk
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 8oz bag Heath English Toffee bits

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Sift together flour, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. In a large bowl cream together butter and sugars. Add egg, egg yolk, milk, and vanilla to the creamed butter & sugar. Slowly add flour 1/3 at a time until thoroughly combined. Fold in Heath toffee bits.

Scoop heaps of about a tablespoon onto the baking sheet, approx 2-3" apart. Bake for 10-14 minutes or until golden brown. EAT immediately!!!

Makes approx. 42 cookies (depending on how big you make them)

Ratatouille w/Okra & Corn

noreply@blogger.com (tisjewel) — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 23:47:00 +0000

2-3 T Olive oil
1 sm onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 zucchini, chopped
2 yellow squash, chopped
10-12 lg okra, sliced
2 sm eggplant, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped roughly
corn cut from 2 fresh corn cobbs
1/2 C water
1 t thyme
1/2 t smoked paprika
1/4 t garam marsala (optional)
1 t garlic/onion pwd
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 C basil, finely chopped

Heat oil in a large pan over med-high heat. Cook onions until translucent, add garlic and continue to saute until fragrant. Add squash and okra and cook for approx 10 mins. Add eggplant and tomatoes, then water, thyme, and seasonings. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender to desired doneness. Add basil, stir, and serve.

Veggies!

noreply@blogger.com (tisjewel) — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 17:37:00 +0000

Ok so today I start that week of going vegetarian. I thought it would be easy, but I really don't know the guidelines other than to not eat meat. I mean are eggs, dairy, and fish allowed? I contacted the organization holding the drawing, but not sure if it went through as I ended up on a blank page after I hit send on the form. I'm thinking meat is chicken, beef, pork, turkey, etc. right? but still unclear on the dairy, eggs, and fish. Wish they had facts or something on that website.

This morning I had some yogurt, then some broccoli potato soup that I sprinkled with sunflower seeds and fat free cheddar. I think tonight I'll make that Ratatouille with Corn & Summer Squash w/mixed greens & balsamic vinaigrette and maybe also one of the vegan recipes that was on Biggest Loser, the broccoli one.

Tonight is the Hinesville Farmer's Market, so I may go there to pick up veggies; then tomorrow is produce day as well. So I'll be stocked pretty good with the vegetables to help me through this week.

--

On the gardening front. I made a new contraption. Materials: 1 gallon container, top cut off w/holes drilled at the bottom of the container approx 1" above the bottom, handle from the cut off top inverted and used as a watering tube, square glad cover flipped and holes drilled in randomly with a concentration of holes toward one corner, packaging tape, soil, water, seeds/seedlings.

So what I did was cut the top off of a one gallon container, including the handle. I cut the handle off the top also. Then I took a square glad lid, there's a little thumb corner that you use to help open the lid from the container, I cut a piece out of it so that the handle from the gallon container would fit through it. I then drilled holes into that lid and concentrated more holes towards the opposite corner of it (opposite from that thumb corner). Drilled holes about 1" up from the bottom of the gallon container about 4 or so around. Put the handle into the hole in the glad lid and inserted both into the gallon. The lid sits at an angle, so you want the concentrated holes toward the bottom corner. The handle I pulled back up the hole I cut it off from on the container. I then secured the sides of the lid inside of the container with some packaging tape - this is merely to keep excess soil from dropping down into the water. I packed it with soil, and seedlings (or seeds), then using the watering tube I filled the bottom with water until it started coming out of the overflow holes. Then I watered the soil lightly at the top just to make it premoist. Voila, another earth box! Took maybe 5 minutes to make and it used materials that I would have otherwise just tossed into the recycling bin!

The chinese spinach seedlings that I transplated into the new gallon earth box:

This is from the one I made from a soda bottle, my carrot seedlings are finally showing signs of their tiny first leaves :)

Quick snapshots of my container garden...

Basil (bought as a plant):

Herbs I planted around the basil plant:

Cauliflower 1 (don't think all will make it):

Cauliflower 2 (don't think all will make it):

Cilantro in the rectangular container (aren't the tiny true leaves CUTE!!?):

2 greenbean plants + 2 zucchini (not sure if the zucchini is going to make it):

More zucchini (still unsure about them, they seem to be doing a little better, but only a little):

Italian greenbeans (one is doing better, the other still keeping an eye on):

Tomato Plant, healthy :)

Cluster of buds on the tomato plant:

Mince & Dumplings w/Southernish Style Greenbeans

noreply@blogger.com (tisjewel) — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 01:08:00 +0000

Mince & Dumplings

2 T olive oil
1 sm onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 lb ground meat (I used 50/50 of turkey & lamb)
2-3 C chicken broth
1 bayleaf
2 t worcestershire sauce
1 t garlic/onion pwd
1/8 t cayenne
3 sm sprigs thyme

dumplings:
1 c all purpose flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 C cold unsalted butter
water (1 T at a time)

Heat olive oil in a pan over med-high heat. Cook onions until translucent, add garlic and saute until fragrant. Add ground meat and cook until browned, then add carrots, broth, bayleaf, and seasonings. Simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile make the dumplings by combining the ingredients, using a fork to incorporate the butter into the flour and adding water a tablespoon at a time until a sticky dough forms. Form into rough oval balls and drop into the pan over the ground meat and veg. Cover and continue to simmer until the dumplings are soft and puffy, approx. 20 minutes.

Southern(ish) Style Greenbeans

4 bacon or 2oz prosciutto, chopped
1 t olive oil
1/2 onion, sliced thinly
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 lb greenbeans, fresh, trimmed and sliced diagonally into 1" pieces
1/2-3/4 C chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
2 T white vinegar
1 t sugar
salt & pepper to taste

Cook bacon or proscuitto in olive oil over med to med-high heat in a pot until crispy. Add onion and saute until translucent before adding garlic. Add greenbeans and cook for 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, season to taste, and allow to cook until greenbeans are soft and tender, the longer the better, adding more broth as necessary.

Vegetarian Awareness Month

noreply@blogger.com (tisjewel) — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 19:59:00 +0000

Had I known about this contest/event sooner, I would have started sooner. Since I've already eaten some shrimp today and I have some lamb/turkey planned for dinner tonight, I'll start this pledge tomorrow. The pledge I signed up for is for at least a week - 7 consecutive days of vegetarianism. So that's from 10/14 to 10/20, at the very least. I think I'll go from 10/14-10/22 (since 10/23 there is a Halloween party, I'm sure they'll have meat there). Go me!!! There's a drawing incentive, of course, if you pledge for a week the random drawing is for $500. There's also a drawing for 1 day ($250), and 1 month ($1000) - though since this month is already almost midway through not sure if that one is still valid?

Anyway, jump on board:

Gnocchi w/Creamy Shiitake Basil & Chive Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (tisjewel) — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 23:21:00 +0000

2 T unsalted butter
2 T olive oil
1/2 C onions, finely chopped
2-3 C shiitake mushrooms, fresh, cleaned, stems discarded, sliced into 1/4" pieces
1 3/4 C chicken stock (use vegetable stock to go vegetarian)1/2 C fat free half & half
1/4 C white wine
2-3 T cornstarch or flour
2-3 T basil, fresh, finely chopped (chiffonade) + extra for garnish
2-3 T chives, fresh, finely chopped + extra for garnish
1/3 C grated cheese (parmesan, romano, or similar)
salt & pepper to taste
1 pkg gnocchi, prepared to package directions

Melt butter over med-high heat in a pan. Add olive oil, then caramelize onions, add mushrooms. Allow to sautee for approx. 5 minutes. Add chicken stock, half & half, and white wine and bring to a boil. Simmer until reduced by 1/3, add cornstarch or flour to thicken as desired. Add remaining ingredients and season to taste.

Serve immediately.

--

This past weekend I found some pumpkin gnocchi at World Market. Since it's pumpkin season, I thought it would taste fabulous. Well it just tasted like regular potato gnocchi to me, still good, but lacking the pumpkin flavor I was hoping for. The sauce I made was rich and yummy, so made up for the flavor of the store bought gnocchi.

--

I transplanted the zucchini, green beans, italian beans, and cauliflower to the containers outside yesterday. The cauliflower, green beans, and one of the italian beans seem to be doing moderately ok. The zucchini however don't look so good :( They were flourishing nicely and were healthly before I did, and I was so careful in moving them, but now, I don't know if they'll make it. I'll be so disappointed if there aren't any survivors out of the six. The winter squash I still have inside, one of them I had to toss as it just wasn't doing well, and now another looks like it may be biting the dust, as well as a couple of the fennel. Sigh... So sad.

Cheesy Roasted Spaghetti Squash

noreply@blogger.com (tisjewel) — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 23:52:00 +0000

1 lg spaghetti squash, cut in half length-wise, seeds scooped out
olive oil spray
sea salt or kosher salt
2-3 bacon, reduced sodium
1/2 sm onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 14.5oz can diced fire roasted tomatoes w/garlic
1/2 t italian seasoning
1/2 t oregano, dried
pinch chervil, dried
1/2 C romano, grated
1 t black summer truffle oil (optional)
3 T basil, fresh, chopped finely (chiffonade)
1/2-1 C mozzarella, shredded
1/2-1 C cheddar, shredded
2 C baby spinach, washed

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a roasting pan with non-stick foil. Spray both sides of each piece of spaghetti squash with olive oil, generously. Season cut side with a light sprinkle of sea or kosher salt. Lay cut side down on roasting pan and bake for 45-60 minutes or until the inside is fork tender to the rind.

Meanwhile, about 30 mins after the squash has been placed in the oven, cook the bacon in a medium pan. When cooked, remove bacon from pan and set aside on paper towels to drain. Reduce heat to medium and add onions to the same pan. Saute untilo translucent. Add garlic, saute until fragrant. Add can of tomatoes and seasonings. Reduce heat to a simmer. Stirring occassionally. When there is 5 or so minutes left on the squash, mix romano cheese, truffle oil, and 2/3 of the basil into the tomatoes.

When squash is tender, flip them so that the cut sides are up. Lay a cup each of baby spinach into the cavities of each squash. Spoon tomato mixture evenly over the spinach. Top generously with cheeses. Return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly. Top with remaining basil and crumbled bacon.

Gardening Woes

noreply@blogger.com (tisjewel) — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 19:15:00 +0000

The ones I planted in the rectangular container, basil, green onions, cilantro, and parsley, are only doing so-so, some of the basil and parsley or cilantro are wilting :(. I think it's maybe getting too hot and drying out the soil and they're still seelings so, I might have to bring them back in for therapy.

Also after I finished potting the six 18" and 20" containers, mixed it with vermiculite and organic plant food, I saw on the back of the bag of soil that it was NOT for container gardening *facepalm*. So I think what I'll have to do is get some more potting soil, dump out half of the other soil and mix it together and hope that it'll be ok with half being that Miracle Gro Organic Soil. Man, I will be so disappointed if these veggies and herbs don't do so well outside. Right now they are flourishing nicely inside, but that's because it's a controlled environment, but when they go outside the temperature is what it is.

Trial and error, I guess....

Stuffed & Braised Zucchini & Meatballs w/Roasted Artichokes & Prosciutto

noreply@blogger.com (tisjewel) — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 19:29:00 +0000

Stuffed & Braised Zucchini & Meatballs
[Derived from the recipe in the 1st post at this link.]

3 large zucchini, ends cut off and cut into 2" pieces (I left the skin on as it helps keep it together)
2-3 T olive oil
1 Lb ground meat (I used a 50/50 mix of lamb and turkey)
1/2 C - 3/4 C panko (or bread crumbs)
1 egg
2 T fresh chives, minced
1/2 sm onion, minced
2 t garlic & onion powder
pinch or two cayenne
1/2 t smoked paprika
Chicken broth (approx. 16 oz)
salt & pepper to taste

Combine ground meat, panko, chives, onions, seasonings, and egg.

Scoop out the middle of the zucchini (I used a small melon ball scoop, you can use an apple corer or small knife). If you use a melon ball scoop, keep the scooped out zucchini balls. Stuffed zucchini with the meat mixture, using your fingers to make it easier, pack it in there. If there is extra meat mixture, form small meatballs.

Heat olive oil in a large pan and lightly fry the zucchini, meatballs, and zucchini balls, until they're nice and brown. Then fill the pan up with chicken broth, season with salt and pepper to taste, cover, and let it simmer until tender and meatballs are cooked through.

I served mine with some of the broth over wild rice.

Note: to make this vegetarian, substitute vegetable stock instead of chickent stock and use a soy-based product instead of ground meat, such as TVP or tofu.
Roasted Artichokes & Prosciutto

Recipe from Food & Wine Magazine (Oct 2010 issue, page 204). Changes: I ended up using 1 1/2 lemons as my artichokes were pretty big; I'd recommend adding a pinch or two of sugar and seasoning with sea salt or kosher salt prior to putting it in the oven; crisped up the prosciutto in the oven as well; omitted the bread and just served it as a side (leftovers I plan on using in a salad).

More Garden Photos

noreply@blogger.com (tisjewel) — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 14:41:00 +0000

Well, not really a garden yet. But getting there! Today, I'll transplant a lot of the veggies into the big containers I got yesterday. I've already moved 4 into a rectangular one.

Here's some shots of my Early Girl-50 tomato plant. Her 2nd and possibly 3rd set of buds have started to grow, I'm debating pinching them off, but will likely just leave them this time.

Notice in the above pic there is a spider on the leaf. I didn't see him until I looked at the photos. There was another photo with it making an escape. I have no idea where he went.

Switch in plans

noreply@blogger.com (tisjewel) — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 01:43:00 +0000

Eggplant Parmesan w/Sauteed Mushrooms

Decided to go with the recipe in Food & Wine Magazine (Oct 2010 issue, pg 44) for Vegetarian Eggplant Parmesan. Mostly stuck to the recipe, just changed a couple of proceedures. Turned out delicious! Bubbly, gooey, yummy.

Originally I had planned on pairing it with this recipe from Food Network via Bobby Flay, but changed my mind and went with a similar recipe, but sauteed instead, and using 3 T unsalted butter, 2 T olive oil, 8oz baby bella mushrooms, 8oz button mushrooms, garlic powder, onion powder, salt & pepper, truffle oil, grated romano cheese, and baby spinach. Heated the butter and oil over med-high to high heat, added the mushrooms and cooked until browned, seasoned to taste, added about 1-2 t truffle oil, the spinach, and lowered the heat, cooked the spinach until it was just wilted. Then sprinkled it with 1/2 C romano.

--

Today, I went out into the yard and pulled up the boards and trash bags I had put down where I wanted to put my garden.... Well, all that it did was discolor the grass to a chartreuse and made it grow longer instead of making the grass wilt. In addition that organic insect bait/killer hasn't yet taken effect and the ants were still dominant over the entire back yard (not to mention the front yard). I'm seriously beginning to think that our yards are the neighborhood ants' social gathering place. Right next door, literally attached to our place there is no sign of ants, nor in the unit further down, or the other next to it. Our yard is the most sparce in grass and driest. Great... So that shoots my plans of doing a raised bed/square foot garden. :(

Defeated by the ants, I returned the raised bed kits to Lowes, and instead got 6 giant plant containers 20" and 18" that were on sale at walmart. I'm hoping that the plants will still thrive in them. I'll have to do the SFG or earthboxes when we get our own house.

On a positive note, doesn't this look pretty? One of my fennel seedlings showing some love.