a whole lot of nothin' and a little bit of somethin'

| i have moved |

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Hammer (Reed)) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 02:09:00 +0000

My blog! :) It's officially moved (Typepad is working on moving my previous posts over).

Here's the link:

http://wendyhammersblog.typepad.com/blog/

If you followed this blog please change the link! If you didn't... follow me now! :)

| transferring |

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Hammer (Reed)) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 19:07:00 +0000

I'll be transferring my blog on over to Typepad soon.

Working out the bugs, adding my design, trying to transfer my posts over which isn't going well. I used to be on Typepad years ago and love the versatility of being able to have albums and such.

So keep you eyes peeled and I'll let you know when I do it.

Hoping later today... hoping.

| goodbyes |

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Hammer (Reed)) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 04:09:00 +0000

Always so hard to say goodbye..

Sure it's a common thing and people do it everyday, but does that make it any less heartbreaking? I say not. He leaves every 6 weeks... gone for 4 weeks and home for 2. It's hard for me... hard to not see his face every day... hard to not hug him randomly... hard to not snuggle with him when it's nigh night time. Wahhhhh! I'm such a baby.

I'll definitely be scrapping this photo!

He left only 4 short hours ago, but I already miss the heck outta him! Love you Brandon! {like he's gonna see this, lol.}

| updated pics of my new scrapbook room/office |

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Hammer (Reed)) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 03:12:00 +0000

Just wanted to share some pics of my new scrapbook room/office...

The bookcases are from Wal-Mart. The tall ones were $27 each and the small ones $16 each. THANKS Les for the idea!

Mirror from Hobby Lobby. Used a 40% off coupon. :) The wire stand that the sprays are in was also from HL on clearance.

Round table from Pier 1. It used to be our dining table when we were in the apartment. I LOVE IT so I was bound and determined to still use it somehow. :) The table lamp is from Target.

Cute little bins from the $1 bin at Target.

A not so good pic. :)

Wall racks from Home Goods! LOVE THEM! They hold my alphabet stickers, rub-ons and regular stickers.

We're heading to Palm Springs this weekend so of course we'll be going to Ikea where I'm sure I'll find some new bins, possibly a cute little chair for the corner where the tall floor lamp is and some shelves for the wall. LOVE me some Ikea!

| oahu page |

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Hammer (Reed)) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:05:00 +0000

Here's another page I created the other day. Planning on finishing up unboxing all those scrap goodies Les sent me! :)

| seriously could spend days|

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Hammer (Reed)) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 07:22:00 +0000

Just cruising through this blog... amazing!

I {heart} Organizing

She has some fantastic ideas and by the looks of her photos her house is AMAZEBALLS!

| nyc & dc - scrapbook page |

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Hammer (Reed)) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 18:54:00 +0000

I played with some goodies Leslie mailed me! Remember that HUUUUUGE box I posted about?

She's such an amazing person! Thank you again Les! <3

Well, I created a few pages with it so far and this is one of my favorites.

It's totally me, totally my style. I don't even know how I would describe it. :)

I used embroidery floss to show what dates we were in what locations in the images.

| gifting |

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Hammer (Reed)) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 01:16:00 +0000

I had a honey-do list started for Brandon for when he got home. He "said" he wanted some things to do. But after I added painting my new craft/office he said he'd do it and then snoffed at it the next day. So as a present to him for the Holidays.... I'm doing it for him! LOL

I'm such a nice wife. :) Love you Mr. Hammer!!! Now you can come home, have a beer and watch endless hours of recorded UFC. ;)

| determination |

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Hammer (Reed)) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Yes.... DETERMINED! With more things than ONE! That's going to be my new word for 2012 I think. It's a good one... I'm determined in regards to many things. My first, will unfold in a positive way at the end of January. I CAN NOT WAIT!

What's your 2012 word?

| friends, know when to hold em'... |

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Hammer (Reed)) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 15:59:00 +0000

know when to fold em'! There's one friend of mine that has really brightened up my life. Who I met through that crazy craft filled with creative people, jealous people, happy people and well... if you scrapbook you know what I mean. :) Anyway, we started chatting and became super GREAT friends and I love her to death...

Leslie Ashe!

{created waaaaaay back in 2006}

We've been through thick and thin together and still can count on each other. :) And we have had some serious laughter bouts! {right Les?} We send packages, texts, messages... She just sent me a HUUUUUGGGGGEEEEE heavy 17 pound box of goodness that I'll share a pic of.
It should be here tomorrow.
As I venture back into this crazy craft of scrapbooking I know I can count on her! Love ya Les!

She is AMAZINGLY talented! She makes me wanna scrapbook again. :)

| the tree is up...|

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Hammer (Reed)) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Our Holiday card this year! I only ordered 25, so if you don't get one in the mail... consider this your card. LOL

I think that could mean there's some scrappin' photos that will be available. :) Brandon isn't home until the 15th and I couldn't wait that long to put the tree up! It's an oldy, bought it in 2005, so we'll probably be ready for a new one next year. But I love it... all white and pretty. I couldn't decide on fewer pics to post because I like them all. BUT I realized I don't have our first ornament together on the tree yet. I'll have to put that on there. We also have two other trees (just didn't put them up yet), one is Shon's with all the ornaments he made in school and an ornament we bought each year. Then Bonloe and Boaz have their own tree also. :)

Our ornament from last year when we moved into our new house.

This years ornament, says 2011 in the middle.

| her time saving tips crack me up |

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Hammer (Reed)) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 06:15:00 +0000

This is all that's needed for this post:

Peas and Thank You - Super Time Saving Tips and a Delish looking recipe!

{image borrowed from Peas & Thank You blog}

| happy healthy tasty lunch |

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Hammer (Reed)) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 22:15:00 +0000

I love a simple healthy lunch like this!

For fast healthy and easy protein I go to canned, or bagged tuna in water. This was Bumble Bee's Prime Fillet Albacore with Cracked Black Pepper & Lemon. Hello.... YUM!!! Plus it packs a lot of nutrition... no carbs and 28 grams of protein with little fat.

Lemon and Cracked Pepper - Product Size: 4 oz (113g)

Serv Size 4 oz/113g
Servings: 1
Calories 170
Fat Cal. 45
* Percent Daily Values
(DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Amount/Serving	%DV*	Amount/Serving	%DV*
Total Fat 5g	8%	Total Carb. g
Sat. Fat 1g	5%	Fiber g
Trans Fat 0g		Sugars g
Polyunsat. Fat 2.5g		Protein 28g	50%
Mono. Fat 1g
Cholest. 40mg	13%
Potassium 390mg	11%
Sodium 370mg	15%
Vitamin A 2% • Vitamin C 0% • Calcium 0% • Iron 2%

INGREDIENTS: WHITE TUNA, MARINADE (WATER, SOYBEAN OIL, SALT, LEMON FLAVOR, SUGAR, CITRIC ACID),BLACK PEPPER.

Along side that... cute baby patty pan squash (and when I say baby, they were about the size of a quarter.) and baby zucchini. Then or course Falls favorite apple, the Honey Crisp. Just took minutes to prepare and nearly no mess! YES!

♥♥♥
Have I mentioned how much I love this guy? My Mister!

We took this at the airport when he was leaving for work. :'(

He makes my ♥ happy! Can't wait until he gets home.... TWO MORE WEEKS! ♥♥♥

|lasagna rolls with tofu ricotta|

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Hammer (Reed)) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:17:00 +0000

These are amazingly delicious and you'd NEVER know it was tofu instead of ricotta cheese!

Massive amounts of protein!!!

|project life|

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Hammer (Reed)) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 17:42:00 +0000

Y'all know I've been wanting to get back into scrapping. Mostly to document life. BUT I've not been making time for it and I find that those big ole 12x12 pages to be a bit daunting now. Yeah, I know... I "used" to be a big ole scrapping "suppa stah", bwahahahaha... Kidding! But seriously, I do want to document things. So I ordered the Project Life kit in hopes of gettin' busy with it.

I see Ali Edwards Project Life creation and seriously love it! So I will make it a goal to work on it a little each week and see how that goes. :)

Here's some images of Ali's Project Life album. I hope it's ok that I snagged them. Eak!!! They're on Pinterest so I think it's ok. All credit is to Ali Edwards! :)

Ps... I'm totally envious of her gorgeous handwriting!

|favorite vegetarian/vegan cookbooks & blogs|

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 23:03:00 +0000

I've had people ask me for advice on my favorite cookbooks and blogs for healthy eating.

So here goes...

My FIRST veggie cookbook! I found it by doing a search online and came across her blog and videos. I'll put the link to it later in my post. It has your basic vegan recipes that you'd probably want to start out with if you're thinking of going veggie or just choosing to eat better a couple days a week.

Brandon and Shon got me this a couple Christmas' ago. It literally has EVERYTHING in it! In there is my prized all time favorite soup which has never failed me with friends who came by, including my Mom. It's a winner! I think it's called "Harvest Vegetable & Barley Soup"! It's amazing!

This is a recently purchased cookbook and the recipes are fantastic in it! Especially the oatmeal cookies (I did modify them a tad so there'd be less fat). I haven't made anything I didn't like yet, including... chickpea tacos! Which were divine and seriously tasted just like a taco!

This is my newest cookbook. I had to take a picture of mine so you could see how many recipes I have tagged to try! LOL I love cookbooks where you don't need a million ingredients to make something and this one is far from that. It's fantastic! Recipes from Thai Veggie Burgers to Chipotle Lime Tempeh Tacos to Tofu Ricotta Gnocchi. Lots of desserts in there too. I typically modify recipes a tad to my own liking and I like to adjust them so the carb to protein ratio is a little less carb and more protein, but all in all it looks great. I'm making my grocery list in a few minutes and I plan on trying a few recipes.

Now on to the blogs. This first one is seriously AMAZING! She has so many recipes and the majority of them have to pass her kids taste to make it on there...
Fat Free Vegan

Chef Chloe

Peas and Thank You (Author of the Peas and Thank You book)

Post Punk Kitchen (Author of Vegan with a Vengeance)

Choosing Raw

I don't ever try to sway anyone to be vegetarian/vegan because it is a choice. So please don't tease, make fun of, bash, or try to pressure a vegetarian/vegan to eat meat. It's just plain rude!!! Yes, it happens to me all the time. It's a personal choice and I made that choice over 4 years ago and I'm very proud of myself!
Do I urge you to try some recipes and cut out a little meat for health reasons... yes!

|hawai'i, love, health & holidays|

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 03:27:00 +0000

Seriously had an amazing vacation to Oahu with Brandon! The weather was perfect, the ocean was beautiful and my company was loving. :) All of our photos are on Facebook (here's the link: Hawai'i Album) , so I'm sure you've seen them, but here's a few of my favorites!

Hanauma Bay (AWESOME snorkeling if you can handle feeling suffocated, lol.)Pin It

Cute shot at North Shore!

The view outside our hotel room. Seriously beautiful!

Well, what can we say... Everyone was doing it!

Another shot at North Shore.

Cute little Makapu'u Lighthouse!

LOVE is a great thing and continuing to grow and understand your loved one is a wonderful feeling! I recently came across this book called "The 5 Love Languages".

I wish everyone would read this book. It's so fantastic! Even couples that think they couldn't be any better, think again. This book will seriously change your marriage for the better. It's been a NY Times best seller and between his old version and his new version has over 1,000 reviews from some happy book readin' people! You can take the quiz for free *here* and find out what YOUR "love language" is. :)

Planning on HEALTHING up after the Holidays? I highly suggest this program: LiveFit Trainer Great workouts and great results. Check it out! Also, here's a recipe that I am LOVING! It's a Pumpkin Protein Bar. Tastes like a pumpkin cake but good for you!!! I usually add a little extra protein powder and pumpkin OR applesauce for more protein and moisture.

Pumpkin Protein Bars

A couple things to note:

I don't add the Xylitol or any sweetener.
I typically double all the spice amounts because I like it spicy! :)
You can use coconut milk, cows milk, hemp milk instead of Almond milk if you want.
If you can't find oat flour at your store you can make your own by just grinding up oats (not the quick cooking kind) into a powder. It won't be as fine, but works just as well! The kind at the store is Bob's Red Mill brand.

I'll be doing a blog post tomorrow on some of my favorite vegetarian/vegan cookbooks and websites for recipes! In case you wanted to venture into Meatless Mondays or a night or two where you feed the fam a delicious health conscious meal. :)

The HOLIDAYS are here and it's my favorite time of year! I haven't gotten much into the decorating the last couple years because Shon isn't living with us and Brandon is gone most the time. It's kind of lame for me to "try" and enjoy it by myself. We had out Thanksgiving Day dinner a few days early because Brandon had to head back to work today. (Day before Thanksgiving) It was nice though!

Then we decided to put our lights up, well... I asked Brandon if he would do it for me (I had to hang them myself last year, that was a sight I'm sure!). They looked fabulous and then.... we hit up Lowes and found these really cool icicle lights shaped like actual icicles. They are 5" and 7" long. (You can't tell on the video, but you can in person that they look like real hanging icicles.) So we got up on the roof, Brandon hung them and I held the ladder. :) I didn't want him to fall, but I got to stare at his cute butt the whole time. :) Then he added the twinkle netting on a couple of the shrubs and a huge snowflake up on the front of the house. We need to add another 4 twinkle net lights (gotta get them before they don't sell those ones anymore and we can't match the color.) But here's a video of it. It's not very good quality, but you get the idea. :)

I'm thankful that Brandon will only be gone to work this time for 3 weeks and then home for 3 weeks! I can't wait. Christmas together again this year, I love it! And I love him!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

But before I go, here's a few things I'm thankful for:

- A husband that loves me and is willing to try and figure me out the rest of our lives! :) And who is a VERY hard worker to give us what we have. <3

- Family that wants to talk to you. LOL

- Not living somewhere that has a minus sign in front of the degrees in the winter time.

- Great friends you can count on and talk to even though those are far and few between. Makes me REALLY love THOSE ones that I do have!

- A fantastic Son! Whom I'm thankful all the time that that he turned into such a funny, smart & responsible young man!

- And let's not forget our two lithe boys... Bonloe and Boaz who make me laugh all the time and keep me company when Brandon is at work.

- To top off the list again, I want to say I sure love my Husband!

|what to eat before/what to eat after workouts|

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 23:25:00 +0000

I had a request for some ideas of what to eat before a workout so I'm going to give those along with what to eat after a workout which generally is THE most important part. :)

What do I have before I workout?

Vega Pre-Workout Drink along with a little protein. Maybe a couple tablespoons of an organic peanut butter or a small handful of nuts. (This is my preference!)
You can also have half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Of course use organic no sugar added jelly.
Healthy granola bar with a little smear of organic no sugar added peanut butter.

Your goal is carbs for pre-workout! Don't go crazy though. LOL :) Of course there are many pre-workout drinks out there, this one is just my preference. That will give your muscles the energy for your workout and to keep them from getting completely depleted. You should feel GREAT after a workout and energized!

What do I have after I workout?

Vega Post-Workout Protein along with a piece of fruit. Like an apple or a banana. (I ALWAYS have a protein drink after workout. You only have 30 minutes post-workout to get protein and carbs back into your system for them to do your muscles any good.) I love the chocolate flavor and this one is my preference because it has your full Branch Chain Amino Acids and there is no soy in it. :) A protein drink is the fastest absorbing way to get that protein in and the fruit is perfect for your carbs!
I don't really consider anything else a great option because when you eat something like tuna or peanut butter for your protein it isn't going to absorb as quickly and remember, you have that short window of time.

Happy workouts and nutrition to all of you!

|been a while|

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 00:50:00 +0000

I haven't been on this thing in a while! Winter is here, cold as heck in Henderson. Time to bust out the scarves and winter jacket. YES! I've been hitting' the qym and login' the results. This pic was taken after about 3 months of my new workout routine...

Yeah! Also been back at my books studying and thanks to my genius Husband I have a tutor. YES! Just what I needed. I so easily get off track and overwhelmed with how much of this info they want you to cover. Not that you need to know it all or even know it for the test, but still have to read it and I hate reading. LOL Oh and we meet at Starbucks which means I get a yummy coffee. What I'm drinking from there now... Triple Grande Latte (Going to start with the decaf now though. I LOVE the flavor of coffee... I mean, LOVE IT, but I don't need the caffeine so I'm going to ditch that.)

I know we just got back from NYC, but we're heading to Hawaii this Saturday! I'm excited for what I hope to be some nice relaxing, deep thought, fun, moments with my Hubby that we're in much need of. Plus the weather won't hurt either! ;)

Who doesn't need a new lipgloss for vacation? LOL This one is the perfect barely sparkly pink. Hubby likes pink, he says it's girly. I'm not a huge pink fan of anything. But hey, that pink looks damn good on my lips! :D

While we're gone I'm gonna miss these two. :( But we have a babysitter for them coming to stay at our house thanks to my Mom!!! Very relieved, it's like leaving your kids, except maybe worse. LOL That's all I've got for now, not exciting, but it's something. :)

New oatmeal recipe...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 21:25:00 +0000

I can't wait to try this!

Belly-Stuffing Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal

Yummy healthy recipes...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 01:36:00 +0000

Baked Ginger Pumpkin Oatmeal

Makes 1 serving

• 1/4 cup pumpkin purée

• 2 tbsp non-fat cottage cheese

• 1 cup water

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• Dash sea salt

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp allspice

• 1 piece crystallized ginger, crushed

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

2. Combine all wet ingredients in a large bowl.

3. Place dry ingredients, except ginger, into a small bowl. Mix.

4. Mix dry ingredients with wet. Stir in crystallized ginger.

5. Bake in oven proof dish at 350 for 30 minutes. Serve.

Calories 233, Total fats 3g, Saturated fats 0.5g, Trans fats 0g, Cholesterol 0g, Sodium 103mg, Tota carbohydrates 38g, Dietary fiber 6g, Sugars 9g, Protein 9g, Iron 2mg

**************************

Chocolate Protein Bars

Ingredients:

1 cup Oat Flour
4 Egg Whites
2 scoops Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
½ cup Splenda, Truvia, or Ideal (I don't add this.)
½ tsp Baking Soda
¼ tsp Salt
8oz Berry flavored Baby Food (*** I didn't have any so I used 8oz applesauce and 3 tbls organic berry preserves.
3 tbsp Baking Cocoa
4oz Water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix dry ingredients (oat flower, vanilla whey protein, baking soda, salt, baking cocoa) together in a large bowl.
Mix wet ingredients (egg whites, Splenda, Truvia, or Ideal, Berry flavored Baby Food,Water) together in a medium sized bowl.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix together.
Spray cooking dish with a non stick butter spray and add batter to dish.
Bake 20-30 minutes in oven.

Makes 16 squares, serving size=2 bars. Calories: 96, Fat: 1.4 grams, Carbs: 12 grams, Protein: 10 grams

********************************

I also made "Tuna" salad for sammies for lunch.

"Tuna" Salad
Makes 4 sandwiches

1 - 15 oz can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
2 celery stalks, washed and minced
1 to 2 tbsp pickle relish
1/2 tsp onion flakes
3 tbsp mayo
Black pepper, celery seed to taste

Mash chickpeas with a fork until course and no whole beans are left.
Mix all ingredients in bowl with mashed chickpeas. Add extra mayo if desired.

Calories 125, Total fat .9g, Carbs 22.5g, Protein 7.1g

Healthy recipe... Vegetarian "Meat"Loaf Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 00:46:00 +0000

I was looking for a high-protein grab and go kind of meal and came across a couple vegetarian "meat"loaf recipes. I combined the two taking out things I didn't like and adding things I did. This is what I came up with:

Cute huh?

Todays lunch on top of baby spinach and arugula!

Vegetarian “Meat”Loaf Muffins

Makes approx. 19-20 meatloaf muffins

*** NOTE on vegetable – You can buy them pre-chopped in a container at the grocery store. Usually the onion, celery & carrot are together.

INGREDIENTS

· 6 cups vegetable stock

· 1 teaspoon salt

· 2 ½ cups green lentils

· 1 small onion, diced

· 2 carrots, diced

· 2 celery stalks, diced

· 8 ounces crimini mushrooms, diced

· 2 cups brown rice, cooked

· 5 egg whites

· 8 ounces tomato sauce

· 2 teaspoons garlic powder

· 2 teaspoon basil (dried or fresh)

· 2 teaspoon parsley (dried or fresh)

· 1 teaspoon seasoning salt

· ½ teaspoon black pepper

· 1 teaspoon dried chipotle pepper powder

DIRECTIONS

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Bring vegetable stock to a boil, add green lentils and cook until done according to package.

3. Drain and partially mash lentils.

4. Stir in onion, carrots, celery, mushrooms and brown rice.

5. Add egg, tomato sauce, garlic, basil, parsley, seasoning salt, pepper and chipotle pepper.

6. Mix well.

7. Spray two muffin tin trays with non-stick cooking spray. Fill them with meatloaf mix just below the top edge of the tin.

8. Bake for 15 minutes, turn pan, bake for another 10-15 minutes.

9. Remove and cool in pan for about 10 minutes.

10. Run a sharp knife around each meatloaf muffin and gently remove.

Let me know if you make them! Enjoy!

Getting' myself back into shape...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 03:06:00 +0000

Not that I was really out of shape, I'm toning my business up! A lot of people think I'm skinny... but skinny isn't good and I'm actually not. :) I'm back hitting the gym again and I loooooooooove it! I wanna get back to this:

This was me a few years ago!
Weight training & cardio 5-6 days a week.

I wasn't really eating a clean diet then. I ate almost what I wanted, but I was still a vegetarian. I'm back to the gym 5-6 times a week, weights & cardio each day. I'll share my routine tomorrow maybe. I've been really trying to do some "clean eating". Which is basically fresh foods free of bad fats, man-made sugars and processed foods.

"Strong is the new skinny!"

|fishing day|

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 15:32:00 +0000

Using up some more goodies my pals mailed me to get me going! :)

I used the bubble wrap technique Leslie showed on the Shimmerz blog. THANKS Les!


\|click on all images to enlarge\|

I randomly sprayed Shimmerz Vibez (Sunset Strip, Before Dawn, Jeni Bleu) on wax paper. Dabbed my piece of bubble wrap in it then pressed it on my paper. I continued to do that until I covered my paper.

|love you|

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 01:49:00 +0000

|click on all images to enlarge!|

Thanks to my sweet pal Leslie Ashe for sending me every little goody it took to create this page! THANKS LES, love ya! Wendy is gettin' her groove back. :)

Here's a card I created just for Leslie to thank her for the 30 pounds of stuff she sent me and for just bein' there for me all the time! ♥♥♥