nice

 

I love finding hidden treasures in unexpected places!  It makes me giddy.  :D

ps3 cookies

Sorry I haven't posted anything lately.  I've been lazy, uncreative, and busy.  This is old news, but most of you don't know about it yet.  For my boyfriends birthday I made him playstation3 cookies!  He loved them.  How cute are they??  I was pretty proud of myself.  They tasted horrible because of the black frosting, so don't ask for the recipe.

weeknight brushetta

Weeknight Bruschetta

french baguette

can of diced tomatoes with onion and garlic flavor

fresh basil

shredded mozzarella cheese

olive oil

 Preheat oven to 350.  Slice baguette.  Pan grill bread slices in olive oil over medium high heat.  This will take a few minutes for each side.    Set bread slices aside.  Chop basil.  Drain tomatoes.  Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.  Arange slices of bread on cookie sheet.  Place a few tomatoes on each slice.  Sprinkle on basil and cheese.  Bake for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.


This was such a simple recipe to throw together, and it turned out to be a big hit.  Fresh tomatoes would make it better of course, but they aren't in season here yet, and I really don't like chopping tomatoes (too gooey).  We made pasta with a simple butter herb sauce too!  I just boiled mastacholi noodles (adding olive oil and sea salt to the water), then drained the noodles and returned them to pan, added fresh chopped herbs (basil, oregeno, rosemary, and sage) and a half a stick of butter, some shredded parmesan, a little more olive oil......bliss. 

This would also make a great date night meal, or a good appetizer for late night guests.  I would imagine it pairing well with a fresh salad, and some Riverboat Red. 

bright eyed and bushy tailed

Tears started flowing out of my eyes when I took pictures of squirrels yesterday morning.  Not because I was moved, but because the harsh early morning sunlight was too bright for my vampire eyes.  I am so proud of this photo!  I took it with my new toy, a Canon PowerShot SX120 IS.  I love this camera!  Messing around with digital SLRs in the store made me realize they were way out of my league.  Who needs a dslr when you can buy a great point and shoot camera for around $250, complete with 10.0 mega pixels and a 10x  optical zoom?! It even has sepia and black & white modes!   I haven't played around with it much, but it has already helped an amateur like me take some pretty impressive photos. I am very excited about better pictures, spring cleaning, and warmer weather.  What are you excited about?

be yourself

"To be nobody- but yourself-- in a world which is doing it's best, night and day, to make you everybody else- means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting."  - E. E. Cummings

go out and play

Round up the nearest little one and take them to the park.  Set them free and follow them around.  Crouch down so you can really see the world through their eyes.  Try out as many pieces of equipment as possible.  Play with them.  Get dirty.  Find some sand, take off your shoes, and sink your feet in deep.  Build castles.  Climb mountains.  Be a troll under the bridge.  Run until it hurts your heart, and just try to wipe that smile off your face!

you make me happy when skies are gray.

sunshine by

Gray gray skies have me yearning for yellow.  Are you ready for spring?

In like a lion...

out like a lamb.  Hopefully.  It's March first, and the first day of making healthier choices for the next 4 months.  Our whole family will be "spring cleaning", not only our home, but our minds, bodies, and attitudes as well.  We're all ready to be a little healthier.

The girls signed up for the walking school bus.  The program was supposed to start back up today, but the weather guidelines are pushing that start up back a little further.  We decided to walk anyway, which was fun and refreshing.  Until they started complaining about frozen hands and legs that wouldn't take them any further.  Then, while the crossing guard was helping us cross the street right before we hit school property, Lilly spilled her smoothie.  On her coat.  On her fleece jacket.  On her jeans.  And on her lunchbox.  yeah.  That was fun.  But it will be fun.  It will.  We'll get there.

I also decided that it was high time that I lost this baby weight for good!  My youngest baby is 6.  And a half.  It's time.  My goal is to lose 20 pounds in 4 months.  I am going to do this not by counting calories and being a slave to fitness, but by cooking my meals and using common sense.  The family will benefit from all the healthy home cooked yumminess too!  I will be walking every morning before work and school.  On my days off I'll do a workout video until the weather gets nice, and then I'll have much more options for exercise.  I will listen to my body when it is full.  When I feel an emotional eating binge coming on strong I will pause, practice deep breathing, and treat myself in a healthy way (like buying myself an unsweet tea instead of a box of hostess cupcakes).  I will treat myself like you would a child when it comes to eating.....small portions, lots of fruits and vegetables, hardly any processed junk, and a homemade cookie once an a while.  I will work harder to keep a clean house, which will minimize couch time.  After the 4 months is up, I'll probably continue to lose a few more pounds, tighten up the muscles, and work towards my dream body.  Well not my real dream body, but my near 30 had 2 kids body.

What I ate today:

•  1 c yoplait strawberry banana smoothie (found in the freezer section)
•  4 colby jack cheese cubes
•  2 two bite everthing bagel with cream cheese leftovers from the girls
•  chicken lunch meat on wheat bread with mustard 
•  apple slices
•  1/2 bag of m&m's (nobody's perfect)
•  a slice of french bread
•  beans & rice
•  1/2 c orange juice
•  1/2 baked peach cobbler with a scoop of vanilla ice cream

 

Roasted Peach Crisp

adapted from Cook Yourself Thin

2 peaches halved and pitted

honey

1 large egg white

2 pinches brown sugar

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

dash of salt

1/4 c smashed up almonds

1/3 c instant oats

Preheat oven to 425.

Place peaches face up in glass baking dish.  Drizzle honey on top.  Put a tiny bit of water in the bottom of the pan.  Cook peaches for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, mix the other ingredients in a bowl, then spread out on a small baking dish.  Place alongside peaches for the last 10 minutes of cooking time.

Break up cobbler and place over peaches, and of course top with vanilla ice cream. 

What did you eat today?