Tuesday, August 21, 2012

breakfast cookies





Okay so I was messing around on pinterest the other day and ran across "breakfast cookies"  This brilliant creation came from vicki e's blog whatching what I eat.  Seeing as fire monster is a bear to get up in the morning I thought this would be right up her ally.  She has to get up at like 6:30 next week in order to be out the door shortly after 7 to make the bus.  Well seeing as I had to drag her out of bed at 9:30 literally to get to the gym yesterday I thought this would be a great alternative. They are really brilliant. here is a link to the recipe at vicki e's blog.  I whipped up a double batch.  they are sorta like if a granola bar and a cookie and a bowl of oatmeal had a baby.  They beat the heck out of the handful of chex mix she ate on the way out the door yesterday on the way to the gym lol

They are really hard to describe.  You don't add in flour sugar eggs any of the norm for cookies its just oatmeal bananas applesauce nuts and craison.  For mine I added in double the nuts (slivered almonds) and dried cherries.  They were yuummy.  You have to smoosh them because they don't raise or spread and they used my normal cookie scoop but I would trade to a muffin size scoop these were a bit small from the cookie scoop for my taste :) 

You know maybe fire monster would be more of a morning person if she would stop pulling things like this

I was reading in bed night before last and I went to get a drink and go potty what do I find but her passed out on the stairs hiding in wait.  When my gf sam asked her if she slept on the stairs she said"yeah because my mom wouldn't turn off her lamp and quit reading!"  She was just waiting for it to be dark to pounce! Little monster

Off to my morning shake (and maybe sneak a few more cookies ;)

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Happy Hunger Games

 Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor...

I know what I will be doing today








down 22 pounds.

Okay so I have always shared my weight loss struggles and what works for me and my tips and favorite recipes on here .   So I want to make it clear that this isn't just some plug trying to get people to buy things.  I am sharing what I have been doing and how it is working out for me :)  

In the past I have always been a weight watcher fan but I can only go so many months then it makes me insane!!!  The math and calculating every bite that goes into my mouth into points and trying to figure out how many points the mom and pop restaurant dinner in my small town came to just wasn't' working for me anymore! Not to mention I was paying 50$ a month for the rights to use their website (which there are aps that do it for free) and to sit with people and hear things I already knew. 

So when one of my old co workers I know and respect was telling me about her visalus 90 day challenge It was a no brainer for me to trade over and for that same money I could get 30 meals.  I actually do the shape kit.  Which is 2 shakes a day using this.
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They say it is the shake mix that tastes like cake mix.. and soo true I am a cake batter freak and I opened the bag and was in love lol it smells so go monkey butt said they should make a candle that smells like it lol.  I have loved the shakes but when you first recieve your kit you can be a bit over whelmed and not know what to make and what you need to make them.  

So here are the must haves for making your life better on the visalus 90 day challenge:  40 cal almond breeze almond milk, a magic bullet blender( big blenders suck and suck to clean hat them this makes it way easier), sugar free fat free pudding mixes (for mixing in I recommend vanilla pistachio, get a few butterscotch i know no one likes butterscotch but i will explain in a minute, banana cream and chocolate) , instant coffee in the little packets like crystal light, ice lots of ice, and for me a must have is chia seeds ( your make them into chia gel by adding 1T to a cup of warm water and mixing them a few times over 15 minutes and keeping them in the fridge chia you add a big blob to each shake I don't want to overwhelm you so I will post more in chia seeds later if you want to know more click the link for the benefits of chia)  I also bought a cute airtight container to keep it on on my counter next to my blender because the zip-lock closure on the bags sorta suck and i am not risking my mix being spilled and I just like things cuter :)

lets just start out by saying the general formula for my fav shakes always fill my blender cup with ice and then most of the way with almond milk and 2 scoops of vi mix and a few big spoon fulls of chia gel always figure that is in these recipe then you add these from there ;)

Here are my favorite recipes so far..
cinnabon in a cup
add a splash of vanilla ext. 
a splash of butter flavoring
a dash of cinnamon
this tastes just like a cinnabon
reeces peices
1T peanut butter
1 T butter scotch pudding powder
tastes just like reeces peices not like butterscotch at all
carmel coffee cooler
1 packet instant coffee crystals
1 splenda 
1 T butterscotch pudding mix
(yum)
pumpkin coffee cooler
1 packet instant coffee 
1 splenda 
a splash of sugarfree pumpkin pie coffee syrup or of pumpkin pie creamer
banana nut bread
1 banana or one banana packet 
a few nuts
1/4c dry oatmeal 
1 pack splenda
mocha coffee cooler
1 pack instant coffee
1 splenda
1 t chocolate pudding mix

Those are my fav so far that I always go back to.  :)   I have also heard if you want something more solid add it to oatmeal yogurt cottage cheese or pudding. Also if you work out or are on the run you can add it to water in a shaker. ( I haven't tried them and aren't recommending that I just know you can)  I do stay full and satisfied and am not sick of them after 22 days.  You eat snacks too and your 3rd meal can be what ever but make it sensible (which I really haven't been great at lol) My sis actually took them with her her long time at national gaurd instead of m.r.e.'s while out in the feild.  I am excited to see how she is doing.  

I would probably have lost more weight if I quit eating crap for dinner and got to the gym more at all lol.  I will get on that when then girls start school next week.  Anyway I have given you my honest opinion and there are somethings that are not perfect aka the website seems very cheesie meat head sorta Miami guido for me but I love the product so I can deal.  

Also there is allot of confusing stuff out there that I didn't quiet get on the website so I will break it down for you. They offer you two choices promote or join.  what promote or join means : you click join if you want to take the 90 day weight loss challenge and promote is if you want to go all in and promote it that doesn't mean you buy or sell it, you just promote it and earn things like money and prizes if you decide you love it you can always pay 49$ and become a promoter). Now they have a deal where if you get 3 of your friends to take the challenge with you you get your shakes free you don't have to be a promoter to earn that fyi.

That being said I am only putting this out there because I at one time wanted to know how to get on the plan and I am sharing this for people who want to try not to pressure anyone who isn't interested but here is my site in case you want to follow or join the challenge with me.  so here is my site if you want to join me  and here is my profile if you want to follow my progress.

Okay I am off people but if you have any questions feel free to ask :)


Ps guys I am putting a update my sis got to my house yesterday and after 18 days on visalus she was checked during her time at national guard yesterday and was down 7% body fat and down 8 pounds!  awesome for her! I am super proud of her!



Wednesday, August 15, 2012

summer flies

 So I figured that since next Monday marks the beginning of the school year for my kiddos it would be a great time to finish and share my summer flies shawl..
 Let me start by saying I am in love with this shawl.  It is my favorite one I knit ever!!!  I used size 6 needles and kertzer on your toes bamboo.  The yarn is soft and light and just what you would want for this type of shawl I LOVE it!!!

 I love the open knotted work which looks complicated but is fairly simple.


 I love the size it turned out and I love the drape.



The look of the whole piece is wonderful I think. I love that I can wear it tied underneath for a nice shrug like non grandma shawl style

or wrapped around to the front. 

I had considered doing the lace boarder instead of the picot cast of but I didn't have enough yarn and I am sorta glad I didn't.  I did how every add to the pattern since I was using fingering weight and size 6 which it calls for 9s and worsted!  So I added a few extra rows of the knotted open work because it is soo beautiful and I added a extra round of everything to make bigger. The way I did it was on what would be your 5th row of eyelets I k3,yo,(k10,m1)unitl last 3 then yo k and each time after that the pattern would call for increases I increase by 10 so next time I k20 m1 then time after k20 m1.  It was total guess work but it turned out perfect so I must have got it right lol



This will definitely be going with me to the wedding at the end of the month!!  Can not recommend this pattern enough. I will be making a worsted weight one too I have a feeling. Enjoy guys !




Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Ravellenics 2012 (knit olympics project) damask




 It is that time again yes the knit olympics are in full swing.  I carefully chose my yarn and project.  I wanted a challenge so I went with damask which is deceivingly complicated looking and chose malabrigo lace in lettuce.  As I cast on 333 stitches during opening ceremonies I thought oh crap.  Two hours in I was 3 rows in!!! but never the less since this started at the widest point it gained speed quickly.  Never the less I got it accomplished. 

 Here is the complete finished project
 blocked and ready to go.  I wore it to a reception already last weekend.
 The day after the reception I got to meet up with my knitting gurus which is such a treat!!  I love spending time with my gurus.  I worked on these as I sat on Lynns' patio in her fabulous back yard and enjoyed organic lemon-aid and some cheesecake! I got these pretty much finished there.
Rainbow socks #2  I love them but they seem a tiny bit big.  They are pomatomus by cookie a and they are knit out of cascade heritage.  Well I am off the catch up on some trueblood while the monkey is busy and work on my new wip I am obsessed with my summer flies shawl knit out of on your toes bamboo which I am loving!!! see ya