Friday, April 27, 2012

Bloglovin

Just added Bloglovin to my site. Follow my blog with Bloglovin
 
 
***And enjoy this fun Blog Hop too!***
 
 
 

Sweet Tooth Confessions

Confession time.  I have a major sweet tooth.  Some days I seem only to be craving sweets to eat.  Not good at all. I confess my sweet tooth needs to go away.  Far away!

I'm slowly working my family towards  healthier eating habits. We're all healthy and where we need to be as far as weight is concerned. However, I know processed food is not good for our bodies and I'm trying to make a change. I don't think we'll ever be 100% whole foods though that would be great.  I'm willing to make changes while also being realistic. Things like this don't happen overnight.

That being said...my sweet tooth (teeth in reality, every dingle dang one of them) is holding me back.  My cravings definitely cycle and its not always around "that time of the month".  The last week has been sugar central for me.  Not good at all.

My husband will tell you that while I'm not the best cook (thanks honey) I am a good at making desserts, treats and yummy snacks. He says its my talent.  Some are healthy. Most, not so much.

Here are my sweet downfalls:

Anything with chocolate and peanut butter.  Enough said.

Brownies...Full fledge MAJOR addiction people!!

Chocolate chip cookies....Warm and melts out of the oven.

Twizzlers....Funny thing is I don't crave them until I've had one.  Ugh. 

Sponge Candy....It's a Buffalo thing. I had my dad bring back four (don't judge) containers when he visited my brother in February.  I've been really good. I have two tubs left.  Hoping for more in June.

On a positive note, most of the sweets I eat are homemade.  So its not processed and I can control fat and sugar content.  I just have to work on controlling those things.

What foods are your downfall?

Ummm....hubby brought home a big package of Twizzlers and they're calling me.  Excuse me while I run away from them and my sweet tooth cravings!!

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Guilty Pleasure Popcorn

Pop popcorn. Liberally shake Kernel Seasons Kettle Corn flavor onto it.  Add a few handfuls of mini chocolate chips. Drizzle on caramel syrup/sauce. Drizzle on chocolate syrup.

Sit back.  Put your feet up. Relax and E-N-J-O-Y.

Mmmmmmmm!!!

How do you dress up an ordinary snack and make it into a guilty pleasure?


Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: A Day at the Cavern

A fun day out with the family.










Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: And Then There Were None

Last Spring we had to make the tough decision of cutting down a dying maple tree in our backyard.

Unfortunately we had to cut down our "twin" maples just a few weeks ago. It breaks my heart. Tgry were starting to lean to much towards the house after all of last years rain plus the hurricane in late August.  We could tell they were dying.  These trees were very old and we loved them very much.

My kids cried. Now our small backyard has no shade for them to play in on hot summer days.

I won't miss the "helicopters" flying off in the Spring or all the leaves falling off in Autumn. But nevertheless, I'll miss those trees and mourn them.


Sunday, April 08, 2012

Happy Easter

Happy Easter from my family to yours!

As always, the holidays to me mean spending time with loved ones and making special memories that will last a lifetime.


Friday, April 06, 2012

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs in the Rice Cooker

                              



Making the perfect hard boiled egg just got easier if you own a rice cooker. Yes, you read that right. Rice Cooker = Perfect Egg.  No broken eggs, leaky egg whites, grey tinged yolks. No more guess work. Perfect egg. Every. Time.





Step 1.  Fill bottom of rice cooker with 1 cup water.

Step 2.  Place steamer basket insert on top. Place eggs inside. Sitting the eggs up on end versus on their side will center the yolk (if you're making deviled eggs) and give you space for more eggs.


Step 3.  Place cover on rice cooker and turn it on. Set timer for 20 minutes.

Step 4.  Remove eggs from rice cooker using tongs. They are very hot. Place in an ice bath to cool. Eat immediately or place in fridge for up to a week.






                              
 Enjoy!  My kids sure do!  We'll be making a dozen tonight and coloring them for Easter.




                               

Thursday, April 05, 2012

That Kinda Morning

So my morning has gone something like this:

3:30 a.m. …Hubby's alarm goes off

3:35 a.m. …Hubby's alarm goes off

3:45 a.m. …Alarm again

3:50 a.m. … Alarm last time (so glad I'm off work this week).

3:50-4:00 a.m. …Hear muffled rummaging through bedroom closet and in bathroom.
4:00 a.m. …Poor, tired hubby has left for work.

4:30 a.m. …Drag self to bathroom and then back to bed.

5:00 a.m. … Hear annoying cat scratching at a bedroom door. After verify that the regular culprit is at the bottom of my bed I investigate. I don't see him so back to bed . Weird but I'm too tired to think about it.

5:15 a.m. … More scratching. Now I'm getting pissy because I'm exhausted and it sounds like he's scratching the arm of the couch in the living room. I head downstairs. See him sitting there looking innocent  and scold him. Drag myself back upstairs.

5:25 a.m. … Scratching, again. Now I'm beyond ticked. Why do cats have to scratch things?  Why my couch in particular?!  Stalk downstairs. Grab dreaded lavender smelling "anti-scratch" spray and spray both sofa and love seat arms. Make mental note to buy packing tape (stick on couch and deters scratching).

5:29 a.m. …Stalk back upstairs unsatisfied knowing it's not over. Just a small battle won.

5:50 a.m. …Scratching sound is back. I lay there and actually think it through this time.  Definitely a cat. Scratching at a door. Hmmmm...maybe to get out of a room instead of in like I assumed close to an hour before.

But wait, both cats are accounted for. Thinking. We have 2 more cats but they like to sleep in the basement at night. One is a serious recluse, afraid of her own shadow. She rarely comes up and doesn't stay for long. Maybe she snuck up and found her way upstairs into a bedroom and got closed in at bedtime.

5:54 a.m. …Listening carefully. Nothing. I decide to check Little Bee's room. Makes the most sense as its the closest to the stairs. I crack the door and Mittens runs through it like her tail's on fire and the devil's nipping at her heels.

Mystery solved.

6:06 a.m.…Meowing from basement. Obviously Molly now wants up to be with the other cats. Stomp downstairs. Let Molly in. Mittens flies downstairs to hide once again.

Dang I'm tired.  I give up on sleep. I hop on Twitter for a bit. Read through my RSS reader. Go online and comment on a Scary Mommy post.

6:30 a.m. …Give in and go downstairs and make coffee. Mittens is scratching at the basement door to come in again. Heck, maybe she want to be social finally. Well, as long as we don't get too close. Ha!

7:00 a.m. …Kids are up. Well one kid. Time to start this day. Last day of school before Spring Break. Bring it!!

***Btw...Don't judge me as the scary cat lady. The two we just got last month were my parents two cats. My mom hounded my dad to find them another home. After 6 months with no luck he was going to (well actually did) take them to the animal shelter. We couldn't bare to see that happen. My older cat is their mom. It broke our hearts. That's a whole other post. So, we took them in and hope to find them a loving home together with someone we trust. Until then, I guess I'm an honorary (temporary) member of the cat lady club.

7:26 a.m. …Goalieboy finally made it into the shower after procrastinating for over 20 minutes. Ugh!  If only he'd taken one last night. He begged, pleaded and promised to take one in the morning. I guess this was my payback for bring nice. I seem to get that a lot around here. Do you?

Tell me I'm not the only one having one of "those kind of" mornings? Do you have a story you'd like to share? Feel free to comment here or write a post about it and link back here.

Chat with you soon.

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

Girl Scout Bear

Build A Bear Workshop is helping the Girl Scouts Celebrate their 100th year. They are offering a limited edition bear and Girl Scout uniforms.

My daughter's troop had a special party there to celebrate. This is her bear, Lizzy. The pink sweater is a castoff from another stuffed animal. She claimed Lizzy was cold.Isn't she adorable?!

I love Build A Bear!  The employees are so friendly and great with kids!  We can't wait to go back and pick Lizzy up some cute outfits.