Happy Birthday

....to meeee (yesterday)!!!  On Sunday, we celebrated father's day, my birthday, and Brenton's birthday (his is on Friday).  After a dinner of Tofu and Veggies at a local Chinese place, we came back to mom and dad's house and opened presents.

LOL notice that I'm recording him AND taking a picture at the same time?  Pure awesomeness.

Reading a card from my sister and BIL.  She got me Lego Pirates of the Caribbean for Wii.  EEEEE!!!!!!  I had been waiting and waiting and WAITING for this game to come out!




Mom and Dad got me a Miche bag cover and extra purse straps.  And this mug that has Winnie the Pooh on it!  LOVE!

The cake was GF!!!  It tasted like a REAL cake- way to go mom!!  Like the 27 my sis made?  So creative.

BLOOOOWWWW!!!!

 Then for lunch yesterday, since that was my ACTUAL birthday, I made a massive birthday salad!!  And for whatever reason, I was inspired to find a bread machine recipe to try when I got home, so a trip to Bexley Market was necessary. 

Here goes nothin'!!  I felt weird not really MIXING this up myself before plopping it in the bread pan....

I've had a bread maker since my wedding, and haven't used it yet!    Can you BELIEVE that?!  I make my own almond milk, but I don't make my own bread?!  WHAAT?   Inspiration is a scary thing my house!!!  muah hah hah.....

Mix mix mix!!!  I had to wait 3 1/2 hours for it to be done!!!!  OHHH the agony.

 When Brenton got home, he surprised me with this!!  (a rose, some cookie dough ice cream *FAV!*, Green and Blacks Organic Chocolate, and a Disney Gift Card!  My "real" gifts are coming from Amazon.... and I don't think they'll be here for a little while.  GEESH!  This was gift enough for me!!!!!

We were both STAR-VING, so I made some quickie birthday burritos (ha.).   TJ's whole wheat tortilla, vegetarian refried beans, salsa, and lettuce from the garden.  Oh, and a little cheese and Franks Red Hot sauce.  LOOOOOOTS of Franks.  MMMM.

 ....and we had the leftover cake and the ice cream and 'bits' that hubby brought home.  Ok, that's enough sweets for a long time.... oye.  Hey, it was my BIRTHDAY!!!! 

We took on Lego Pirates-  OMG HOW FUN!!!!! LOOK!  That's Jack!!!!!

BEEEEEP BEEEEP BEEEEEEEP!!!!  (gawd.)  The bread was done!!!  YAY!   I took it out and put it on our cooling rack....aka a broiler pan.... (merpy merp).  The top was concave.... awesome.  It kinda.... made a 'thud' sound when I put it on the pan.  Talk about DENSE!

The verdict?  Actually... pretty good bread for a first attempt!!!!!!   We had it for breakfast this morning- we'll see how long it keeps us full!!  Did I mention that I had 114 Facebook "happy birthdays"?!  HOLY-COW.  I couldn't keep up with them all!!!!  Feeling loved is so great! xoxo. It was almost like the last day of school when you have everyone sign your yearbook.  HAHA. 



 SOOO for the bread recipe:

3 Cups Whole-Wheat Flour
2 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Cup Warm Water
1/2 Cup Oil (I used coconut oil because that's what I have in the house)
4 Tbsp Honey
2 Tsp Yeast
1 Cup Raisins

I poured in the dry ingredients, then mixed the wet together and poured it on top.  I SHOULD HAVE baked it on the sweet bread setting I think.  I did the whole wheat setting and the crust came out a bit hard.  BUT THE INSIDE IS SOOOOOO GOOD.   If you have a bread machine- give this a try!!! 

This'll be going up at 11am when I'm at work, so comment and I'll get it later!  Something to talk about:  do you make your own bread??  Have you ever tried?  Do you have a recipe to share???  I'm inspired to get this bread-making thing DOWN!! 

XO

Travel Series.... continued. Breakfast Cookie!

Enjoy! Inspired by the Fitnessista!  <3

xoxo

Product Review, and other things...

Good evening!  Holy moly where on earth have I been?!?  It's been since the end of APRIL?!  Oye...  it feels like longer than that.

I'm currently uploading my 'travel breakfast cookie' recipe to youtube... it should be up by this evening!  (I hope)  Sure took me long enough...gah.

So what has been happening lately?   A whole lot, mixed with a whole lot of nothing.  I've been SLOOOOWLY getting over a cold, which has (as it does) spun my life in circles.  It all started as a sore throat... then went into a cough... and then just stuck around a while.  2 weeks!  I guess a LOT of people have had this same cold.  Wacky.

Brenton and I are back to "Insanity".  What ARE we thinking?!  I'm exhausted.  It's a great workout, but boy is it tough.  We're trying to get ourselves ready for a couple of vacations we have planned- Disney in the Fall, and Yosemite next Summer.  For us, there seems to be no better way to quickly get in shape.

Enough rambling... on with the review!  As you know, I try to go as natural and organic as possible in everything that I do, eat, wear, use.... you get the idea.  I was so excited to find this mascara at Ulta today:

Creepy eye picture coming.... you've been warned.   (LOL)

Look at the difference!  Top is no makeup at all (attractive...), bottom is with my new mascara.

Creepy...sorry.

Not bad for an organic mascara!!!  How much did it cost?  No more than any of the 'conventional' mascaras!!

RUN, don't walk, to your nearest drug store and get some for yourself (or your wife... girlfriend...sister...mom...)

I'm really impressed with the demand for natural and organic cosmetics.  We're certainly NOT there yet, but this is a step in the right direction!!!!!!  Vote with your dollars.  The more consumers buy products like these, the more the companies will start making changes (you know... that whole supply and demand concept).

The breakfast cookie video is STILL uploading.  I'll post it when it's ready!

xoxo

Go buy some organic products.  Check out www.ewg.org- this is a great resource for natural products.

A Song for Friday

LURVE.  Enjoy!!




TGIF!

Food for Thought

Good morning!  It's Thursday already.  This week has flown by!  Which is why I wanted to share some food for thought with you...

People who suffer from anxiety, like I do, often don't live IN the moment.  We're always worried about what happened in our past (and dwell on it) or what's going to happen in our future (and plan, re-plan, and plan again).  I am guilty of doing both...and I'll be the first to admit it.  But you see, if you really think about it, all we have is NOW.  We don't have last year, we don't have next year.  All we have is NOW.  What we do, in this moment, right NOW, is all that matters.  The choices we make NOW is what affect our future, or what helps us learn from our past.  Think of being PRESENT.  Is it called being PRESENT because it's a gift?

To assist me in being PRESENT, I'm starting with my eating.  I don't understand why so many of us SCARF down our food.  Are we going to be chased by a bear, so we better eat quick to get out of harm's way?  No, probably not.  If we take the time to be MINDFUL, we will most likely make better food choices, give our system time to digest, and maybe even eat a bit less!  Take time to enjoy your food, and don't make it a mindless activity.  We ALL need a break during the day- enjoy it!

I was watching Eat Pray Love while I was sick this weekend.  (good movie, by the way)  It was interesting to see Juila Roberts go to these different countries to see how everyone lived so differently.  One scene in particular was talking about why American's just worked all the time and really didn't know how to play... but the Italian's know how to play!!  So while she was in Italy, she started really ENJOYING a meal (or two...or three).  She was 'getting it'.  She was learning how to be present and enjoy the moment.  (enter lightbulb going off in my head...)

So, being mindful while you eat is one way to be present, but certainly not the only way.  Maybe give it a try today.   It doesn't have to be for every meal- just try one!  Time flies.  Slow down!  Remember, the PRESENT is a GIFT.  Enjoy it.

xoxo

...it strikes again

Good Monday morning to you all.  I hope everybody had a nice Easter!  Mine was....not as nice.  Early Sunday morning I woke up with the dreaded food poisoning.  Ugh.  Now to most people, it's no big deal.  Sure it's not fun, but it's not debilitating either.  To me, however, it's the absolute worst thing on earth.  If you've been following me for a while, you know that I am an emetophobe.  And if I or someone in my house is sick like this, I FREAK OUT.  Majorly.  Needless to say I'm taking the day off to recuperate.  I am feeling much better (MUCH better), and oddly enough, I am very calm this morning.  Maybe it's because I'm taking the day off and have no real 'commitments' until this evening.  In any regard, I'm NOT worrying if I'll get sick or if I'll encounter something or someone that will make me sick.  This is a big step for me.  I ate food this morning (ok it was half of a banana and a piece of dry toast... so not really a gourmet meal...) and I feel good.  I did massive amounts of Rescue Remedy, Bioplasma, and a mix of lavender and geranium essential oils last evening.  Does the sense of calm I have this morning come from using all of that last night?  Quite possibly.  I was also EXHAUSTED so I slept pretty well.  That didn't hurt, I'm sure.

I'd like to share a recipe with you for a homemade electrolyte formula (use instead of Pedialyte, Gatorade, etc.- bad chemicals.... bad.)  This formula helps you get back on your feet after being sick, and it's so easy to make.  You might need to have someone run to the store for you to pick up a few normal goods, but we had most of it in the house already.  Source of Recipe.

Ingredients:

1 Qt Warm Water
1/4 t Salt
1/4 t Baking Soda
1 T Sugar
4 T Orange Juice
Ginger Ale (side note:  I like Reed's Natural Ginger Ale)

Mix together all of the ingredients except Ginger Ale
When ready to drink, mix 1 oz of electrolyte solution with 1 oz of Ginger Ale (side note: 1/8 C is an oz, so you should have a total of 1/4 C of liquid)
Give every hour for 10-12 hours
Keep unused portion of electrolyte solution in the fridge, keep Ginger Ale at room temperature

You know, this would be good to drink after a workout or working outside in the summer.   Just a thought!

Make it a great day, everyone!  I know I'm trying!

 

Travel Series- Staying Healthy While Traveling

Staying healthy is something that I STRIVE for while traveling.  Here's my general order of operations:

1 week leading up to travel:
Be SURE that I sleep 8 hours every night
Take my regular pills-  Vitamin D (5000 IU), Multi-Vitamin, Zinc, Magnesium (for my tremors), Probiotics
Drink a 'green drink' a few times that week with Amazing Grass, Banana, Orange, Spinach, and Rice Protein
Exercise
Massive amounts of water

Day before travel, day of travel:
Keep up with regular pills listed above and add Oregano Oil, 2nd Vitamin D pill (10,000 IU)
Drink a 'green drink'
Be sure to get 8 hours of sleep
Exercise
Massive amounts of water

At the airport, hand sanitizer/hand washing is KEY.  Be sure to wash your hands before eating or touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.  Airports and airplanes are DIRTY.  If you really think about it, imagine how many people are in and out of there every day... and how much the commonly touched areas are NOT cleaned.  ICK!  We always make sure we pack some plastic utensils to use to cut and eat our food with to help avoid having to actually touch the food.

Also, you're going to be sitting a LONG time.  It's beneficial to do some laps around the airport to get your circulation moving a bit.  Brenton and I often times walk laps.  Plus, I have an issue with claustrophobia, so getting up and moving around helps a lot.

Also there's no need to eat a heavy meal before a flight.  You'll feel icky!  Eat a snack a few times around the flight, and only eat a 'meal' if it's longer than 3-4 hours.   And even that, keep it light!  Salads are good.

Take a look at Jan McBarron's video about staying healthy while traveling.  She and I agree!!
xoxo

Travel Series- TSA Tips

Hellooooo everybody.  Continuing my travel series, I'd like to talk a bit about how to easily get through airport security.

One thing that I do, since I'm an opt-out of the the backscatter xray machines, is wear as little clothing as (tastefully) possible.  Even in the winter, I go by probably the best piece of advice that I have ever gotten.  "Dress AFTER you get through airport security".  This logic is more helpful than most people realize.  Here's what I wear, no matter the season, through security.

TSA won't have to pat what isn't covered.  Then once through security, I pull on a pair of wind pants and jacket that I have stashed into my carryon.  And of course I wear socks with this outfit and slip on shoes, too.    Works like a charm.  Brenton wears a t-shirt and shorts, and does the same thing with the extra clothes in the carryon.  We also stash any keys, wallets, coins, cellphone, ipod, etc. in the carryon and then once through, we load up our pockets like normal.

Speaking of carryon- what carryon do I use?  I tend to take my laptop, oh, EVERYWHERE, so I purchased one that would allow my laptop to stay IN THE BAG, rather than having to take it out.  Here's my pride and joy:  






I.LOVE.THIS.BAG.  So you put the laptop in a designated pocket, and you just unzip the top part to lay it flat on the conveyor belt.  It gets scanned in the bag and you're on your way.  It's AWESOME.  And CHEAP!!  I like, too, that there is a  pocket that doesn't zip in the front JUST BIG ENOUGH for your 1 qt size bag of liquids!!  Pull it out, plop it in the bin, throw your bag through the conveyor belt, pat pat pat, and go!  I'm glad I bought this bag.  I have used it on 2 trips (4 times through airport security) and it has worked like a charm.

Next post- my airplane comfort items.

xoxo

Travel Series- Comfort Items

Good day, all.  To continue this award winning (ha) travel series, I want to share some of the things that make me 'comfortable' while traveling.

First off, my bag-o-liquids for the carry-on:

Lavender Oil- induces relaxation
Peppermint Oil- helps with headaches, sore muscles
Rescue Remedy- to help ease panic attacks (yes, I get them)
Hand Sanitizer
Nasal Spray- to help keep my nasal passages moist and help trap airborne germs
Eye Drops- to help keep my eyes moist
Motion Eaze- to help prevent/ease motion sickness

If I check a bag, the regular toiletries are packed away.  If not, I add the normal toiletries like toothpaste, deodorant, etc.  And between Brenton and me, we can pack enough for us to be away for a week to 10 days.

Other comfort items I like to pack:

Eye Mask
Ear Plugs
Ipod, with podcasts, guided meditation, Dave Matthews (lol), and apps, with earbuds
Magazine, or two....or three
Ginger Pills, Sea Bands (more assistance with motion sickness)
Pill Bag- Chlorella tablets, Vitamin D, Oregano Oil, Zinc, Bioplasma, Multi-Vitamin, Advil (ugh.), Bonine (just for motion sickness emergencies - haven't needed it since my Motion Eaze, Ginger Pills and Sea Bands! WHOO!)
Snacks- fruit, granola bars, nuts, crackers

There you have it, my travel comfort items.  For long flights I like to wear long knee socks to help with circulation and a neck pillow so I can sleep.

It's important for me to get up and move around when I fly, especially because I have a problem with my ankles swelling.  Take a look at these two youtube videos that have exercises and information about moving around while flying. Enjoy! xoxo










Next up- staying HEALTHY while you travel!

Travel Series- Chia Fresca, TSA

Hello everyone!  Spring is in the air, flowers are popping up all over the place.  Great time of year!!  This gets me excited for summer, and more importantly, TRAVEL SEASON!!  YESSSSSSS!  I have had a love/hate relationship with travel.  When I was younger I used to love to go on vacations.  Then, as I got older, I started going on vacation with people other than my parents.  It was then that travel got a bit more stressful for me.  After more and more travel practice, however, I have become an old pro.   Because of this, I am starting a bloggie series of my best travel tips.  I know that these tips will be helpful to SOMEBODY out there, and even if it only helps one person, it's worth it.

Alright, here we go.  Chia Fresca.  When you travel, especially throughout the summer, you need to make sure you stay hydrated.  When you fly, the air on the plane is so dry that you tend to dehydrate faster than if you were on the ground.  What's really cool about chia is that, when mixed with a bit of water, it turns into a gel that is SUPER hydrating.  What I like to do when I travel is make Chai Fresca.  It's uber easy to do, and it keeps you very hydrated.  Not to mention that it's full of fiber so it helps with internal...discomfort... that often happens to people when traveling.

So here's what you need-
water
chia
lemon wedge (1/8th of a lemon is fine)

Fill up your water bottle (this is 12oz), add 1-2 T of chia seeds.

Mix well with the water and add the lemon juice.  The.End.

It'll be very gelatinous, and semi-thick like a milkshake.  It'll taste fresh, and will keep you energized and hydrated.  If flying, you can either get a bottle of water after you get through security and add the chia/lemon to it, or take your refillable water bottle through security (you may need to open it to prove that it's empty), and fill it up at the fountain.  I like to add goji berries, dried cherries, or raisins to encourage myself to drink all of my water throughout the flight.  You can pack the chia, lemon, and any extra dried fruit in a ziplock and it'll easily get through security.

SPEAKING of security...

SO, TSA.  My thoughts on the whole backscatter "naked body scanners" as they're so lovingly called.  I.DO.NOT.GO.THROUGH.THESE.MACHINES.  Pat away, TSA, pat away.  I simply do NOT trust that these machines are safe.  Any time you get an X-ray, you expose yourself to radiation.  "Experts" say that you  get more radiation by flying 2 minutes on a flight from NYC to LA, but you know what?  It's all CUMULATIVE.  It all adds up.  X-rays at the dentist.  X-rays at the doctor.  Radiation while flying.  Radiation while going through these machines at the airport.  If I have the option of avoiding one of these methods of radiation, I will.  Hence, I'm an opt-out.  My husband is an opt-out.  If TSA yells "OPT OUT!!", I'll yell it right back.  Negativity aside, in the next post I'll talk about what I wear through security to make the whole process easier.

The Sunday Newspaper- Bringing Snacks Your Way!

Every Sunday I look forward to looking at the newspaper ads.  I am not sure exactly why I like looking at them so much- I think it goes back to my childhood days of looking at them while eating a snack after church.  Nostalgia...

So this morning was like every other Sunday morning.  I woke up early (of course, because I CAN'T sleep in anymore) and went outside to grab the paper.  The bag that the paper came in had an ad on it (like normal) but it also had a little snack sample.  Check out this nutritious find!!!  Weight Watchers fans will fall in love!

Only 80 calories!!!  Real fruit bites made with yogurt and whole grain oats.  AWESOME!!!  ...right?

....I hope you can sense the sarcasm....

When you turn this little bag-o-death over, you can see that the pineapple chunks have ingredients in them.  Hello?  Why?  Just dry some pineapple and call it a day, ok?  

And then the yogurt has trans fat (aka that hydrogenated palm kernel oil), but not enough for it to be put on the nutrition facts, so no one would even know it unless you looked at the ingredients.  Thanks DOLE!  WAY TO PROMOTE HEALTHY SNACKING, DOLE!  COME ON.

Awesome.

I threw it away.

Last week there were Cinnamon Cheerios with extra fiber.  Because that's healthy.  ???

Rawr.

Yoga Spy

Hola chicos y chicas!  TGIF!  What a week this has been.  It'll be nice to enjoy the weekend without having to do a million things.  Last weekend was CrAzY busy.... this weekend....ahhhhh... not so bad.

I'm sitting here enjoying a loooovely breakfast.

YUM.  Perfect for a Friday morning.

So last night, I made these YUM-O vegan cookies.  Catch the recipe HERE.

Yes.... they were THAT good.  I only did a half-batch.... or else I would eat them alllllll.  These tasted like there was butter in them.... without the butter.  Crazy!

So last week and earlier this week, I was SICK.  I had caught a monster cold that I just couldn't seem to shake.  So, I heard about this:

Sweet, right?!  Homeopathic medicine to cure my cold.  I used 3 doses (or maybe 4?) and it zapped my cold in no time flat.  And then.... this happened...

See that active ingredient???

.....that's duck liver extract.

I think I died a little.  It worked so well.  SO WELL.  Nothing else worked to get rid of my cold.

I guess all I can say now is "thank you, mr. duck, for helping me get over my cold".  Knowing what the active ingredient in there is makes me not want to take it again.  But it helped.  A lot.  BAH!!

I ended the evening with some yoga.... and a spy came into the room (aka my hubby).  Attraaaaactive....

 


Awesome.

On a less embarrassing note, tt's going to be 59 in Central Ohio.... yay for spring preview!!

Make it a great day!  xoxo