When Your Freezer won't Freeze...

....your smoothie isn't thick and creamy. I found this out today. After I finished my all time favorite circuit workout (the FitSugar total body workout on my Workin' It page) followed up by a jump rope cardio workout, I was ready for a nice, cold smoothie. So I pour my milk and coffee into the blender, and I open the freezer to get some frozen banana chunks, and they're not frozen. The smoothie still tasted fine, just not very smoothie-like. More like juice. Well, now at least we know there's a problem! =D

Anyway, I really want to say that if any of ya'll are looking for a good circuit workout to do, you should try the Total Body one!!!! Its quick (20 minutes) and you can definitely switch it up and sub your favorite exercises. Its good for me because I really don't like strength training, so if I can tell myself:

"Ok, you only have 12 reps of this to do before you move on.", the workout goes by a whole lot faster and keeps the ADD side of me happy! =D

Anyway, today my mom, sister and I are going downtown to meet up with some of the ministry team! We're going shopping for some things to make Ben's Bells with. If you haven't heard of Ben's Bells, here's an excerpt from their website:

March 29th, 2002 started as a very normal day in our lives. Our sons, Matthew – nearly 6 and Ben – nearly 3 – were home playing with a playmate. Ben had a cold and a bit of a croupy cough. We were not alarmed. Never did it enter our minds that Ben was seriously ill or that he could die. And then he did. It only took seconds for him to become unconscious after his airway swelled shut. Jeannette’s efforts at rescue breathing and CPR were in vain as Ben’s airway was completely closed. In those moments on the morning of Good Friday our lives changed forever.

The depth of pain we were experiencing was beyond description. Every parent’s worst nightmare was our reality and we didn’t know how we would possibly survive. More than anything we just wished we could die. Perhaps we would have died if not for Matthew. He was still alive and he needed us as he had never needed us before.

Slowly, we began incorporating coping strategies into our lives. We came up with a design for Ben’s Bells and started making them in our back yard studio with friends. The therapeutic effect of working with clay was amazing as was the power of being surrounded by people talking and working toward a common goal. We decided to make hundreds of the Bells and distribute them randomly in our community to encourage the kindness that we so depended on to get through each day. Since Ben’s death, it had been the kindness of others, strangers and friends, that had helped us begin to heal. We wanted to find a way to pass on that kindness and to help others in the process.

On the first anniversary of his death, hundreds of Ben’s Bells were distributed throughout Tucson, hung randomly in trees, on bike paths, and in parks with a written message to simply take one home and pass on the kindness.

The ripple effect that followed was wonderful and startling. Individuals finding the Bells had stories to tell - lots of them - about grief and healing and hope. Our local newspaper printed the story - front page - next to fast breaking news of the recent war in Iraq. School groups and businesses and individuals began calling to see how they could get involved and in no time, hundreds and hundreds of Tucsonans were involved in crafting Ben’s Bells.

Ben’s Bells symbolize kindness and its power in healing. We hope that they will touch others’ lives and help to make our community a more gentle place to live. We are so very grateful for our community’s incredible enthusiasm for the project and we know that we can make a difference.

Sweet, huh?

So I'm trying to cram all of my schoolwork in this morning so that I can go this afternoon!!!!!

What's your favorite type of workout?

I go back and forth (again, ADD) but now I'm lovin' on circuit workouts! Cardio and (much needed) strength training in one, baby! =P

See ya tomorrow!

School Overload and Weigh-In #2

Hey! Hope everyone had a restful weekend!!!! I would like to report that we (almost) successfully cleaned out our fridge. The last of the Chinese will be eaten for lunch, and then we can start cooking more stuff to fill up the fridge with! =D Did you do anything special over the weekend?

 

Sorry for the later-than-usual post, I've been doing school basically all morning!! I'm taking a webpage design class, so I had to check out some website formats. I've also been working ahead in some subjects so that when a group from our church comes down, I can take some time off of school! So this means that I've been doing Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday work in some of my classes this morning! Of course, I had my cat to help me:

[caption id="attachment_281" align="alignnone" width="455" caption="I am here to help! "][/caption]

Needless to say, I decided that it was the perfect time to take a break and blog! =D

I weighed in again today. I mean, that's sort of obvious seeing as its in the title of this post...but anyway I gained another half-pound. I've been using some of ya'lls tips and they're great!! =D Basically, I'm trying to add more sources of healthy fats into my diet to "bulk" up my foods! And I'm also eating more pb than anyone would have ever thought possible....and anymore, I'm never seen without a snack of some sort in my hands! =D

I know that a half-pound isn't a WHOLE lot, or actually, is very little, but the saddest thing is that I had a mini-breakdown when I did the math (kilos to pounds) and figured out how much I had gained. I'm fine now, but I guess it just goes to show that I still have to fight my Eating Disorder even harder and that its still there, even if I have days where I think that I'm completely better. I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful family to help me and I've been praying a lot about it and I've finally begun to have a sense of peace about my appearance! =D Good news!

Once I hit 105 again, my mom said that I could start running on one of my two exercise days! I'm soooo excited!!!! Once I hit 115, I can start running for real!!!! That just makes me want to reach my goal even faster! As long as I can maintain my weight, I can run!!!! =D

Well, I had better be off....

Happy Monday!

Sunday Relaxation

I had a wonderful day yesterday! We hung out at home for a little while, and in the afternoon, headed over to a park that's close by and then to an acai place. Ya'll might have seen Acai in the States in bottled juice form, but here, we have it fresh and there are snack places that will take the acai pulp, freeze it, and blend it up so that its slushy. They then serve it with sliced banana and granola. Usually we order some strawberries or condensed milk as well. The acai is almost chocolatey and super-filling! I don't have a picture from this visit, but will try to take one next time!

I actually wasn't feeling up to a 500 mL bowl of acai (which is the smallest size, I believe!) so I ordered something that wasn't on their menu 6 months ago: fresh fruit salad with pineapple, kiwi, guava, strawberries, banana and mango. I had mine plain, but you can get yogurt, condensed milk, honey or ice cream on the side. I was expecting a small sized bowl of the salad, but ended up with a fruit salad in a bowl as big as my face! Once again, it was tasty, but I didn't get a pic! =( Oh well. Just another excuse to go get some more!

After our afternoon out, we came back home and watched some movies. One was pretty entertaining and one we didn't like at all! The entertaining one was RED. It was about a retired CIA agent who is attacked by assassins and decides to get his old team together. Nothing life-changing, but still pretty good! The one we didn't like was The Box, which was about an average family who receives a box and is told that if they push a button on the box, someone will die and they will receive a million dollars. We figured it would be unbelievable, but it was even crazier than we expected! =P

Our biggest task today is to finish up the food in our fridge. Here's what the inside looks like:



We've got leftover Chinese (veggie stir fry w/ cabbage, onion, carrot, lentils, and bell pepper in a little bit of soy sauce and chicken stir fry with peanuts), rice, pasta, loads of condiments(seriously, 3 yellow mustards? who needs that much =P), juices, oatmeal (which was my breakfast the other day), peach iced tea, caramel, cookies, and of course, aloe vera sun burn gunk (the green stuff).

Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday!

 

 

 

 

 

One of those days

Yesterday was one of those days where things didn't quite turn out right. I tried to make those English Muffins, but I guess that I measured incorrectly or something because a dough never actually formed, even after I added more flour. Then, just when the dough was close to being right, ants attacked it. We have lots of ants here. Little bitty ones that attack anything sweet, salty or apparently doughy. So I'm going to try that recipe at a later date.

Then, as I was making oatmeal in the microwave for overnight oats (I like mine at least partially cooked....something about the texture of raw oats throws me off) and the entire bowl boiled over! Argh!

Well, one thing did turn out: Mango-Banana Muffins!

I based my recipe on another one and forgot to write it down, but I prewrote it here so that I could share it with you:

1 peeled and diced ripe mango

1 mashed banana

2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 T baking powder

Dash salt

1 cup milk

1/4 cup oil

2 eggs

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Mix dry ingredients. In separate bowl, mix milk, oil, eggs, and extracts. Stir in mashed banana. Add wet to dry. Only when the entire mixture is fully combined, stir in the diced mango. Spoon into greased muffin tins. Bake 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. I then took the hot muffins, drizzled melted butter on top and dunked them in sugar to make a topping!



This recipe yielded very moist muffins, so you might want to omit or reduce the oil if you prefer a more cake-like muffin! We all enjoyed them though! I got 12 medium-sized muffins and about 20 mini muffins out of this!

This morning we're hanging out, but I still have that pesky chem test to take.....boo!

Hope ya'll have a great weekend!!!!

Friday!

This week has absolutely blown by to me!!!!!! School has kept me pretty busy this week, even when I've procrastinated a little bit! =P Now, all I have left to do today school-wise is take an Algebra test! I also have a Chem test, but I need to study with my dad, who's not here right now, so I'll take it tomorrow.....

I'm hoping to finally get around to baking today! I've got my eye on those english muffins! And just for the heck of it, (and to use up some mangos), maybe some mango muffins? We'll see. Then I get  to eat, eat, eat this weekend! Monday's weigh-in day, which I'm already kind of nervous about.....I don't feel like I lost any weight, but I also don't feel like I gained much. If I haven't gained, then I'll have to find a way to take in more calories, except I feel uncomfortable eating more than I already do (which is constantly....I seem like a human garbage disposal at times =P). How would I add in calories to my day without feeling like I stuffed myself? Is that even possible?

Sorry for such a serious topic on a Friday!

Remember back in December when I posted that video with my dad singing in the background? Well, I looove to brag about my family, so here's the most recent vid:



I'm so proud! =P hahahahahha

Well, I guess I had better get to study now.....

Have a great Friday!

Procrastinating

Let's face it. We've all had days where we just felt like lying around and avoiding responsibility. I'm actually having one of those moments right now. Not that the title of this post gave that away or anything... =P

Before I get going, I would like to say that if you're looking for a great 20 minute workout that works your ENTIRE body, try this one out:

FitSugar Circuit 2:

http://www.fitsugar.com/FitSugar-Circuit-Workout-2440899

Obviously, you can modify any of the exercises. For example, I like to do the squat jumps with a light dumbbell in each hand.  Or, instead of doing the one minute rest between each circuit, you could do some light cardio for one minute. Anyway, its a great workout, especially for rainy days!

Back to the procrastination. I have to finish watching Julius Caesar today. I don't really like it that much seeing as the version that I have to watch is older than I am. Actually its older than my age plus my sister's age. Then I have Algebra. So I'm doing the logical thing and taking a break from it all to blog. Mom, if you're reading this, I promise to do ALL of my schoolwork....really!!!! =D

So last night I ate the most AMAZING peppercorn burger....and now its not agreeing with me. But it was worth it. Is there such a thing as an allergic reaction to beef? Or is it just that I'm not used to eating fattier meat? Because I really enjoy a good burger. But I avoid them because I feel like crap the next day. Also, anyone have a good veggie burger recipe? I want to make some and freeze them! =D

Oh and remember that caramel that I screwed up? Well apparently everyone likes it, as that first batch is practically gone and I was asked to make a second batch yesterday. The HC family likes caramel gunk, I suppose. Easier to dip stuff into gunk than to melt caramel candies. Like for dessert, we've been getting those chocolate sandwich cookies with the chocolate filling and topping them with caramel. And my dad keeps saying that it would be good on ice cream, so we'll probably get some of that soon. =P

Well, I think that I should probably actually do my schoolwork....

See ya'll tomorrow! =D

 

Purple Food

So I didn't get around to baking yesterday....so sad! =( Too much school!!!!! Blegh!

Anyway, I did have a fun snack! Can anyone guess what this purple monster is?





Its a SWEET POTATO! Here we have sweet 'taters that are purple on the outside and white on the inside! (The one in the picture above has already been sprinkled with cinnamon!)

I didn't quite know what to expect flavor-wise, but I really liked it! A mild, but still sweet flavor, that I think I like even better than orange sweet potatoes!!!! And it still tasted awesome with cinnamon, which makes it good food in my book! =D Cinnamon+ sweet potato= Happy me!

Someone else had his little sneaky eye on my snack:



Tonight we're having a friend over for burger night! A little nervous about this, as ground beef doesn't exactly get along well with my stomach....but I figure, mom's making peppercorn burgers (my fav), which are worth not feeling so great tomorrow! =D And baked french fries! With barbecue dry rub! Delish! I love having fun Wednesdays.....I guess its nice to sort of take a mid-week break! =D What's your favorite type of burger?

Oh, I have a question. Is it at all possible for cats to be bipolar? Because if so, I think mine is. I've even nicknamed him Dr.Jekyll/Mr.Hyde. Like this morning, he was lying on the couch half-asleep, and 5 minutes later, I scratched his head and he attacked me! Crazy cat. He's not getting any peanut butter from me any time soon!!!!

Well, I had best be off....I've still got Algebra to do!

Hope you have an awesome (and fun) Wednesday!

 

Green Monster!

First of all, I want to thank ya'll for your awesome support! It really means a whole lot to me!!!! =D Ya'll are awesome!

I just drank my first-ever green monster smoothie!!!! If you've never had one, Angela from OhSheGlows started them! Basically, its just a regular smoothie with greens (usually spinach or kale) added in. Here's what went into mine:

1/3 cup kale (I wanted to just put a little bit of kale in because it was my first!)

1 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1/2 banana (frozen!)

Instant coffee

Sugar (usually I use honey, but sugar is faster and I was THIRSTY!)

I threw all of this in the blender and a little while later, had a delicious, creamy smoothie!!!!

[caption id="attachment_255" align="alignnone" width="455" caption="Not too green....=P"][/caption]

Its not very green at all in the picture, but I promise that in real life it was!! And it tasted sooo good! You couldn't really taste the kale at all....just the coffee and the banana!

The best part was that this hit the spot after a super-sweaty circuit bootcamp workout! I used one of the FitSugar ones located on my workout page, and I was one sweaty monster afterwards!!!! =P Which is a good thing!

So now, I'm sitting here doing school/blog! Mostly school so far, but I'm being lazy and trying to put off Algebra II and US History. I actually like Algebra, but its tough!! And for some reason I decided to take Algebra II and Chemistry in the same year! Not the smartest decision ever! =P And I plain don't like History......can never remember people's names or important dates....

Now, in honor of Janae, I'm going to do a Three Tangent Tuesday!

1. I read cookbooks at night before I go to sleep. Usually dessert ones.....like my mom's Cheesecake Extraordinaire! I've got issues... =P

 

2. My mom must have an infinite amount of patience, because I take FOREVER to make a decision! Like once, in the second grade, I spent an hour trying to choose between two backpacks and ended up picking a totally different one!!!!

 

3. I have secret food stashes all over. Hidden chocolate bar in the fridge (which no one else will eat because its dark...muahahaha)......candy and saltines in my purse.......random goodies in the pantry.....you get the picture!

So there you have it, three random facts about yours truly!

I really had better get back to school.....

oh and I might just be baking today....still trying to decide what to make!

Happy Tuesday!

 

One Small Step....

So today was my weigh-in. I'll be weighing myself every Monday at our local grocery store to keep track of my progress. The result? Half a pound. At first, I was extremely disappointed, because I really did work hard at eating more to gain weight this week. Its amazing to me how quickly I can lose weight (4 lb in 1 week) but I have the hardest time gaining it. So, after the initial disappointment, I thought to myself: "Well, at least you didn't lose any weight." And then I was glad for just that small half pound.

I think that a lot of times we look for the big results, the major changes and we forget that the little ones are just as important. After all, one small step in the right direction is better than a small step in the wrong one.



Don't know if you can see this, but its a pic of last week's weigh in (100.5) to this week's (101). =D Just proof of my small success!!!!!

How do you value your small triumphs?

As for my weekend, I had a great, relaxing one! We went to church yesterday, and spent the rest of the time hanging out at home. My dad was glad because he found the playoff games online yesterday, and he hooked up the projector and watched them on our wall! =D

How did your weekend go?

Today, I've mostly been doing school.....US History, Bible Study and World Lit so far. And its only 10:30 here!!!! =D

I'm planning on baking one of my bread options sometime this week, so I'll keep you posted on that!!!! =D

That's all for now...hope you have an AWESOME Monday!!!!!

 

Caramel Catastrophe

I want to apologize in advance for the lack of pictures in yesterday's and today's posts....I keep forgetting to take them! =D

Anyway, I wanted to take a break from bread-baking. My dad wants to make nut brittle, but we weren't sure if the corn syrup we have here (sort of halfway between light and dark) would work. So I decided that I would find a recipe that specifically called for light corn syrup, use ours, and see if it worked. If it did, I figured that we would also be able to make brittle. So, in my search, I found a caramel recipe. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I'm not a huge caramel fan....unless its salted, but everyone else in my family enjoys it. So I thought that I'd halve the recipe and try it out. Before I continue with my story, I'll post the recipe, because it does taste pretty good:

Soft n' Chewy Caramels (copied from Taste of Home)

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar


• 1 cup light corn syrup


• 2 cups half-and-half cream, divided


• 1 cup butter, cubed


• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

• Line a 13-in. x 9-in. pan with foil; butter the foil. Set aside. In a Dutch oven, combine the sugar, corn syrup and 1 cup cream. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Slowly stir in remaining cream. Cook over medium heat until a candy thermometer reads 250° (hard-ball stage), stirring frequently. Remove from the heat; stir in butter and vanilla until well mixed, about 5 minutes.


• Pour into prepared pan. Cool. Remove foil from pan; cut candy into 1-in. squares. Wrap individually in waxed paper; twist ends. Yield: 2 pounds.

Well, I got started, and realized that I could not, for the life of me find my mom's candy thermometer. So I figured that I'd use the cold water test and guesstimate when the candy was done. Have I mentioned that I've never actually made candy before? Because I haven't. And I didn't cook it long enough. So now we have caramel goo....tastes fine, but it cannot be wrapped up in cute little wax paper squares. Its sitting in the fridge, and my sister eats it with a spoon. =D So maybe I'll just stick with non-candy related recipes for a while......

Anyway, I'm pretty sure that today we're going to hang out at home for a while....which is just fine by me!

Hope you all have a wonderful, restful weekend!

Thank Goodness its Friday!

Here's a quick Friday post!

I can't believe just how fast this week has gone by! Luckily, I don't have a whole lot of homeschooling left to do....just watch some Julius Caesar and maybe an algebra test!

Thank you all for your input on yesterday's bread dilemma!!! =D I think I'll follow Erica's suggestion and bake one per week! After I've made all of those recipes, I'll try out my great-aunt's scary rolls!!! I'll probably cook some other stuff in between, so that I'm not just bread-baking all the time!! I'll keep ya'll posted!

Speaking of cooking, though, last night's dinner was fabulous!! We had peppercorn steak, baked potatoes, steamed veggies, rice and beans! Soo good! Gotta love a country were decent cuts of beef are priced reasonably as well! Not like filet or anything, but tasty nonetheless!!!!

I have NO idea what our weekend plans are....what about ya'll?

Have an awesome Friday!!!!

Can't make up my mind....

I'm feeling a little indecisive.............baking those bagels the other day made me want to bake even MORE bread-y carb-y goodness, but I cannot decide what to make. I have my great aunt's top-secret delicious dinner roll recipe, but it scares me, so I'm saving it for when I've had a little more bread-making practice. So, here are my options for now:

Lindsay Cotter from Cotter Crunch emailed me these two recipes:

GF english muffins from Clean Eating Chelsey:

http://cleaneatingchelsey.com/2010/12/28/incessant-english-muffins/

And Nutty Biscuits from Cotter Crunch:

http://cottercrunch.blogspot.com/2010/11/defeated-i-think-not.html

Also, yesterday, Erica from Itzy's Kichen informed me that on the Favorites page of her blog, she has more yummy bread recipes, so of course I checked it out, and these jumped out at me:

http://www.itzyskitchen.com/2008/04/brown-bread-and-french-fry-substitute.html

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Oatmeal-Whole-Wheat-Quick-Bread/Detail.aspx

So, as you can see, I have a bit of a dilemma here.....of course, not all of the recipes on my to-bake list have to do with bread....actually, they're mostly entrees or desserts.....I'm just in carb-loaded heaven right now! =D

Which of these looks good to you?Do you have a faaavorite bread recipe?

I desperately need something to cook, because otherwise, I'll be stuck doing this all day:



AAAAAAAAAH!

While my cat does this:



Whatcha' doin? You gonna bake me some cat food or something?

Speaking of my cat....the other day I was eating some Dark Chocolate Dreams and he walked up, so of course I gave him a little bit. Now he runs into the kitchen whenever I open the jar. I've created a monster. But, what else was to be expected from the cat who jumps on the table to eat peanuts and likes chocolate glaze (he licked it out of the pot when no one was looking)? Clearly, he had to like the stuff. =D

So, I guess I had better go finish up my algebra before lunch....ah and before I forget, today's workout was awesome! I did the fitsugar circuit that I think I posted last week and can be found on my Workin' It page, but I made sure that I had correct form, and did a minute of jump ropes/jumping jacks between each circuit. The supermans killed me at the end!!!!! I followed it up with some light cardio, because all I want to do now is exercise to maintain my fitness level and because I love it....definitely not to lose weight!

Gotta run!

Happy Thursday! =D




 

 

 

Bagels!

I made bagels last night!!!And I don't really even like them that much! I just got bored and knew that my mom and sister love them. I mean, doesn't everyone bake when they get bored? Or is it just me? hahahaha

Anyway, they turned out alright, I just have to remember to bake them longer the first time that they're in the oven. Bagel-making is a strange process because you broil them for like 4 minutes, boil them for 7, and broil again for about 30 minutes. So anyway, here's the recipe:

• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees)


• 2 pkgs dry yeast


• 2 tbsp sugar


• 2 tbsp salt


• 4 cups bread flour (up to 1 cup can be whole wheat flour for a nice flavor)

In a large mixing bowl combine 2 cups of the flour and the yeast. Add the water, sugar, and salt. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

Turn dough onto floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 to 8 minutes total). Divide dough into 12 portions and shape into smooth balls. Cover dough and let rest for 10 minutes.

Working quickly, punch a hole in the center of each ball. Pull center of dough gently and evenly to make a 2-inch hole. Place on lightly greased baking sheet; cover and let rise 20 minutes (start timing after the first bagel is shaped).

While bagels are still rising, in a 12-inch skillet bring 6 cups of water to boiling. Preheat broiler.

Broil bagels 5 inches from heat 3 to 4 minutes, turning once (tops should not brown). Turn off broiler; preheat oven to 375 degree F.

Lower 6 bagels, 1 at a time, into boiling water. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 7 minutes, turning once.

Remove bagels with slotted spatula; set on paper towels. Repeat with remaining bagels.

Sprinkle clean baking sheet with semolina or cornmeal. Place bagels on baking sheet. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 25 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack. Makes 12 bagels.

Here's a pic of my bagels in the oven:



I actually halved the recipe, but instead of 6 bagels, I ended up with 4:

two chocolate chip and two plain.

And here's my cat, headed towards the kitchen:



Give me bagel!!!!

So, in other news, thank ya'll so much for the support of yesterday's post! I fully intend to meet my goals!!!!! =D

Well, I guess I had better be off......school calls my name!

What's your favorite type of bagel?

Any good bread recipes that you want to share?


 

I will...

As it turns out, I did in fact lose some weight. This made me stop and think about things that I want to do to help myself and to improve my relationships with family and friends. Here are the things that I came up with :

I will......gain the weight back.

I will......learn to love myself.

I will......spend more time just hanging out with my sister.

I will......start really talking with my parents about what goes on in my life.

So, what about you? Anything that you've made up your mind to do recently?

So today's workout was basically a repeat of one of last week's, the 20 min sweat workout + 10 min jump rope, except I toned it down a bit. To refuel myself post-workout, I made a yummy, simple smoothie with about a cup of milk, half a frozen banana and some instant coffee. The banana sweetened the smoothie perfectly and it was nice and thick!!!! =D What are some other good smoothie recipes????

This week I've started reading/watching Julius Caesar. Am I the only one in the world who doesn't especially like Shakespeare's work? I mean, Romeo and Juliet? I really didn't like that one, which we studied last year. What is your opinion of Shakespeare? I don't deny that he was an extremely influential playwright, I just don't happen to be a huge fan! :D

So, I guess that I really have to get back to school now.....by the way, Erica from Itzy's Kitchen made an awesome announcement yesterday....go wish her congratulations! =D

Gotta run...

Have an awesome day!

 

 

 

Back to School

As you probably know, I took last week off of school because of our trip.

Well today, everything is back in full swing! It is probably a good thing though, because I was starting to get bored, and at least I have something to do now.....even if it is chemistry and algebra II. =D

Last night we ended up not going to church, but we did have a little Bible study here at home, which was pretty great!!!! Then, we hung out and watched some movies!!!! It was relaxing, and I think that it was just what we, as a family needed after the chaotic week that we just had!

How was your weekend?

So I weighed myself yesterday, and I don't know if the scales are off or something, but I weighed 5 lb less. The strange thing is, I don't feel like I've lost that much weight in less than a week. Maybe a little, due to stress and re-adjusting to the food here, but not 5 lb. We're going somewhere different today to weigh and I'll tell you how that ends up tomorrow.

So glad ya'll liked the muffin recipe!!!! I'm planning on baking a LOT more once we get settled, so you can expect to start seeing some recipes popping up on the blog!!!!!

I have to get back to school......but first, its random question time!

What's your idea of comfort food?

Chocolate and cheesy chicken tortilla soup for moi.


Do you like to stay in during the weekend, or get out and do stuff?

I'm usually a stay-at-home kind of girl, but every once in a while, I like to do something that I wouldn't normally do on the weekends!

Baking, baking, baking...

Guess what I did this morning? Baked banana and banana chocolate chip muffins for breakfast for my family!!! I also made some ham, cheese and veggie omelets!!!!! I made the muffins first, though, while everyone else was sleeping, and then, when people woke up, I mixed some eggs with some milk and made the omelets. We also had some acerola and tangerine juice and coffee. Acerola is a barbados cherry and it has like 10 times more vitamin C than orange juice does! Plus it tastes soooo good!!!!!! There's a little snack place close by that makes fresh juices, and one of my favorites is an orange, tangerine, acerola mix with just a squirt of lemon juice!



Acerola!

 But anyway, back to breakfast. The muffins were a hit!

Here's my recipe:



2 cups flour (I used all-purpose white, but if you try these with another type of flour, let me know how they turn out)

1 cup sugar (once again, I used white, but I think that these would be great with at least some brown sugar!)

1 cup mashed ripe banana (the softer and browner the better...just don't use rotten! :D)

1/2 cup butter

6 tbsp milk

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon (I'd add more next time)

1/2 tsp salt

In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

Cream together butter and sugar in another bowl. Add one egg at a time to the butter mixture, stirring well after each addition. Stir in milk and banana, mix well.

Gradually add flour mixture to the wet ingredients until combined.

Fill muffin tins about 2/3 of the way full.

Bake at 350 degrees F 20-25 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick into the middle and it comes out clean.

I got 12 regular sized muffins and 8 mini muffins. I also split the batter in half, and made some plain banana muffins and stirred some milk chocolate chips in the other half of the batter. You could also probably use pb chips or white choc chips or really anything you want!

If anyone tries this, please let me know how you liked the recipe!!!!

So, we're going to spend the rest of the afternoon hanging out at home, and then there's church tonight!

Hope you all are having an awesome weekend!!!!!!!

Ministry Cookout

Yesterday we all went up into the community where we work to visit for a while. It was sooo great to see everyone and we planned a get together/meeting for this morning through this evening. The meeting part will be first, and then we'll grill out steaks and cook up some typical brazilian food such as rice and beans, along with some shrimp!!!! My mom's making her homemade brownies, too!!!! It is gonna be soooo much fun!!!! =D

Last night, we just hung out at home. We had BBQ chicken, boiled potatoes (sounds boring, but they are super good!), andpasta with either garlic butter sauce or italian dressing. I also had a slice of the BEST ever whole wheat bread!!!! It's homemade, not by me but at the local breadstore where we get most of our bread fresh daily, and soooo good!!! Oh and I broke a cup. Not for the first time, either! I think I broke a replacement cup. At least my dad just saw it as an excuse to get the largest (plastic) cup in the house! =P

Oh I also made homemade chocolate syrup and caramel for "fun coffee"!! We use an Aerolatte to froth some milk and put it on top of our coffee and then swirl syrup on top! Its pretty awesome! =P I'll give you my chocolate syrup recipe, but not the caramel, because I'm still tweaking it! =P

Chocolate Syrup

Ingredients:

1 C water

1/2 C cocoa powder (the better the quality cocoa, the better your syrup will taste!)

2 C sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

Combine water and cocoa, whisk together in medium-large saucepan over low heat until cocoa has dissolved. Add sugar, and cook over medium heat until sugar has COMPLETELY dissolved. If you try to go to the next step before the sugar has dissolved, you'll have grainy syrup. Bring syrup to a boil for 3 minutes. Be careful, because it tends to boil over a LOT during this stage, so you may have to keep removing the pot from the eye to let the mixture cool down a little. After boiling, remove from heat, stir in sugar and vanilla. Let cool before serving!

The only thing is that if you overcook this syrup at all, it'll dry up within a couple of days, but if its undercooked, its thin. So you really have to make this a LOT and mess around with the boiling time until you find the right length for you!

So, after I finished my syrup-making, I went into my sister's room (where I sleep because she has the a/c unit! =P I do have my own room, though.) and look who greeted me:



That would be my cat on my bed!!!!!!!!!

I leave you with this pic for today!

Thank goodness its Saturday!

What are your weekend plans?

Some of my Thoughts

I still haven't taken any new pictures, so I decided that this post would be about something that is very important to me: living a healthy and active lifestyle without going overboard about it. Been there, done that, lost too much weight.

I think that it is definitely important, as well as interesting, to learn how what we eat affects the way that we feel. However, it is definitely possible to take a "healthy lifestyle" way too far. I'm a perfectionist, so when I decided that I was going to start making healthier choices, I also decided to become the "healthiest" person around. By which I mean that I allowed myself next to no junk food, worked out constantly, and basically made myself and everyone around me miserable. Its amazing how what one person is feeling can affect what everyone else around them feels. Sometimes, we don't even realize this until afterwards, because, as they say, hindsight is 20/20.

Most of you already know the result of my so-called healthy lifestyle: I lost too much weight and became obsessed about food. In other words, I developed an eating disorder. I'm still fighting it today, although I feel so much better about myself already, I definitely have more difficult moments.

I think that it is so important for people who are beginning their journey towards a healthy lifestyle to remember that this means not only to eat nutritious foods and to exercise, but also to let yourself indulge on a daily basis. Denying yourself of anything will only make you miserable. I speak from experience!!!!

What do you have to add to today's topic????

Sorry about the seriousness of today's post, but this was something that God has really laid on my heart to talk more about.

Its Waaaarm!

Guess what? It warm here!!!! =P You know how you're supposed to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day? Well its about 7 AM here and I think that I've already had all 8 glasses of water! =D

Yesterday was awesome! The entire ministry team went to the airport to see us!!!!!! After that we came home, had a quick lunch and my mom began unpacking!!!!! Everything is still a little chaotic, but we've gotten down from 8 suitcases to 6, which I would say is pretty good! =D Last night, our friend took us out to a steak dinner! It was AMAZING! The steak came out sizziling with onions on top on a skillet thing and then we had rice, beans, macaxeira (a root), french fries and a cheese sauce on the side. Seriously it was wonderful, and the best part is that we can walk to the restaurant in about 2 minutes.

So today, we're going to start getting back in the swing of things. It'll probably take us a couple of days to get completely settled, but we're getting there. 

So today's workout will include the 10 minute jump rope cardio, and one of these pdfs from fitsugar.com:

Fit sugar full body circuit: http://www.fitsugar.com/Print-FitSugar-Full-Body-Circuit-2847968

David Kirsch's Bootcamp workout: http://www.fitsugar.com/Printable-Version-Celeb-Trainer-David-Kirschs-Boot-Camp-Workout-6049025

I'm still trying to decide, but I figured that I would post both options for ya'll to see.

Normally, I would be posting a pic right about now, but since I can't exactly remember where my camera is, I'll have to do a wordless post at some point in the future when I find it.

That's about all I've got for now....

Have an awesome Thursday! =D

Home.

We made it!!!!

Everyone is super tired, but we're going to push through today so that we can sleep well tonight.

I just wanted to thank you all for the well-wishes!!!!

More tomorrow! =D

Randomness

So hopefully we're on our way to warm n' sunny Brazil right about now! =D

Just so that there would be something on the ol' blog today I went ahead and pre-wrote a post for ya'll.

Since not much has happened between now and my last post, I'm going to share a little bit of random info about me. My only hope is that I don't scare anyone away in the process of writing this! =P

So one thing about me that only my closest friends and family know is that I have issues with odd numbers. As in I dislike them greatly. OCD, much? hahahaha Its pretty bad though. I mean, I count steps, ice cubes, split my food in half to ensure evenness and set the TV volume to an even number. The only odd numbers that I even tolerate are 1 and multiples of 5 that end in 5.

Next, I have a slightly more normal fact about myself to share.One of my absolute favorite things to do is to read. I'm constantly looking for new books, and once I find one that I like, I'll probably read it 10 times until I have memorized it and its falling apart.

So, that's about it for now.......

What is something that you like or that you do that is different from most other people????

 

One More Day...

We're leaving tomorrow. I know that I've said this several times, but I absolutely cannot believe that its been six months. I'll be going home, but that doesn't mean that I won't miss everyone here!

Everything is pretty much packed, and we've been cleaning out the fridge and cabinets. This means that we made chocolate chip cookies last night! =P

Guess what? Last night, it snowed! Blech. I don't know about you, but I really don't like being cold. I'm seriously so cold all of the time that my pulse measurer thing doesn't register my pulse! I have to stick my hands in warm water for it to work!!!!!!! Needless to say, I'm pretty glad that God has called my family to be missionaries in Brazil and not Russia.



This isn't from yesterday, but it still is an accurate portrayal of how I'm feeling at this exact moment! The only thing that I like about the cold is that I can use it as an excuse to drink hot chocolate and apple cider! =D

So today, I'm doing a simple workout that I haven't decided on yet, and then I'm going to finish packing. We've pretty much said our goodbyes to our friends and family, and only a couple of people will actually be going to the airport tomorrow. I believe that its easier on everyone that way.

So that we don't actually have to cook, a friend of ours invited us over for a super simple dinner. No idea what we're going to have, but it will be fun!!!!

That's about all I've got for now! =D

How was your weekend? Any major plans for this week?

Girls Night Out!

Last night was sooo much fun!!!!!

My mom, sister, and I joined our best friends for a fun night out! We had dinner at Olive Garden(hello, Venetian Apricot Chicken......my fav!). The OG salad is too acidic for moi, so I had the Minestrone as an appetizer! Delish! =D

Then, we went to Target just to goof off! Here is a pic of my friend and me rockin' the fedoras (I'm the white one. She's the cute oriental one! =D):



Its fun to shop at Target late at night! =D

So today, we went to visit with my grandmother for the last time before we head out. My aunt, cousin and her husband came as well. My cousin gave me the sweetest birthday gift! Apparently when my mom turned 16, my aunt gave her a ring. My mom then had that ring made into a necklace and gave it to my cousin for her 16th birthday. Now that I'm 16, my cousin gave me that necklace plus matching earrings!!!! I'm pretty sure that everyone in the room teared up! =D

Because she knew that it would be the last time that we would see her before we leave, my grandmother made a big ol' lunch! Chicken and dumplings, butter beans, rolls and brussels sprouts! Deeeelicious! Seriously, my grandmomma makes the best chicken n' dumplings in the entire world! =D

The only downside to the day has been that I haven't gained any weight in the past couple of weeks. For those of you who are new to this blog, I've been trying to gain back the weight that I lost while struggling with an eating disorder. I really tried to put an effort into enjoying everything that I ate and eating  more of what I wanted to. I guess my body has finally caught up in the nutrient department, which means that I'll just have to work harder to gain the remaining 10 lbs that I have to go.

Hope ya'll have an awesome Saturday!

 

 

 

 

Better Late Than Never

Hey!

Sorry about the later-than-usual post today!!! I've had sooo much school to do!!!!! =D

Anyway, in case ya'll were wondering, I did (actually, my mom did) manage to close my suitcase!!!! Whoo! Now all I have left to pack are my carry-ons. Fun stuff.G

Guess what else? I got my peeeeeermit!!!!!! Watch out Mississippians! =P



I could teach a class on how to take crappy pictures....=P

So tonight we're going to our best friend's house for a night of fun! No idea what we'll actually be doing but we plan on having a good time! Our motto these past 6 months has been :"If it ain't fun, we ain't doin' it!", and we plan to follow it exactly! =D

On a random note, I wish that I had taken a picture of my salad that I had for lunch!!!!! It was soooooo good!!!!! There was turkey, honey dijon dressing, onion, bell pepper, tomatoes, some salsa, seasoning salts and some other fun stuff. Of course, when I eat a salad, I eat it out of a bowl that's meant to serve food out of. Like it probably holds 3 or 4 cups of salad. My favorite part about eating salads is that I can eat a huge one without feeling stuffed. So then I can have dessert. Which, I probably would have had anyway, but still. Salads rock. Except for when you have to wash your lettuce in bleach like we do in Brazil. That part stinks. =P

I absolutely cannot believe that 6 months have gone by so quickly!!!!! Before you know it, it'll be 2012!!!!

What are your plans for this weekend????

Happy Friday! =D


 

Packing Frenzy

First of all, thanks for all of ya'lls college advice!!!! It was really awesome! =D

Here's a story for ya: Well, my real social security number card is in Brazil. So we had a notorized copy of it that I took with me yesterday so I could prove my identity before I took the driver's test. Guess what? The copy is only valid for 30 days and we got mine in October. Like my SSN was going to change in 30 days. So, we got another copy, and I will take that test today!!!!

Its been a madhouse around here, what with us trying to stuff all of our crap that we're taking back for ourselves and for the ministry into suitcases. We each have two check-ons: one for personal stuff and one for ministry stuff. Here's what my personal suitcase currently looks like:



 Do you think this will ever be closed? I suuuure hope so! =P

Today I'm trying out a new workout, that I'll do in conjunction with my usual 10 minute jump rope workout, so here's the link:

20 minute sweat workout:

http://www.exercisetv.tv/workout-videos/body-sculpting/20-minute-sweat-workout-5065

Because nothing helps packing-related stress better than sweating. Followed with some nice yoga, maybe. I've only recently begun doing a little bit of yoga, so I don't really know a lot about it yet.

I have a question for all you runners out there:

What are foods that are important for runners to eat to avoid feeling run down? Is there anything or any food group in particular that you should eat before or after running? I know everyone is different, but I want to know what works for you. =D

Well, I guess I'd better be heading out to cram for that driver's permit test....hope I actually get to take it today! =D

Happy Thursday!

Off to Take the Driver's Permit Test....

Good morning, everyone!!!!

Apparently my teachers believe in hitting the ground running when it comes to schoolwork, because that's exactly what I did!!!! By the end of this week, I'll already be testing out a website in Intro to Webpage Design, I'll have studied the basics of both nuclear and organic chemistry, watched scene 1 of Julius Caeser, finished a study of the book of Job in the Bible, read a chapter in my history book. But this is all ok, because at least I'm doing something. And I get to take next week off!!!!! Because it's hard to travel and study, and when we get there next Wednesday, we'll all be exhausted!

    Thanks for the feedback about this blog yesterday!!!! Its pretty cool to know that some people are actually interested in reading about my crazy life. I did get a request for actual pictures, which I hope to start working on because I just got batteries for my camera!!!! Whoo! So expect to start seeing more pictures in the very near future! =D

So this afternoon, I'm going to take my Mississippi Driver's Permit test! Because even if I am leaving next week, I'll need to be able to get my actual license three years from now when I go to college. And if I haven't had my permit for at least a year, I won't get my license. Which would be bad.

Speaking of colleges, I have a question for those of you who have already finished their college studies. How did you choose a college? What are the main important factors in deciding where you should go? I mean, I already know to make sure that the college is offering my major and is in my budget, and I also know that I don't want to go anywhere super cold, but beyond that, I have no idea how to make a decision!

Before I go, I'll leave you with this (old) picture of my cat:



Life is hard for him....

Happy Wednesday! =D

I Have a Camera, but no Batteries....

The title of this post says it all.

I bought a replacement camera yesterday, but instead of AAA batteries, I bought AA. So no pictures for the blog today. Some pics are coming soon, though. I promise.



Ok I want ya'll to pray for Lindsay from Cotter Crunch. She lost her grandmother yesterday.

Today, I have absolutely no idea what workout I'll be doing, but I'm feeling uninspired, so it'll probably be one of the videos that are already on my workout page.

Since it is a new year and all, I'd like to ask ya'll a few things. I know that this blog is a recent thing, and I'm still trying to figure out the blogging world. What are some suggestions that you have that would make Musings of a Healthy Chocoholic more interesting? Is there anything that I should add or remove from the site? I want to hear what you think!!!!

So school is starting back today. I've got two brand new classes (Intro to Webpage Design and PE) along with World Lit, Algebra II, Chem, Old Testament Survey and US History 102. Fun stuff.

The main thing that I wish that I had done while on Christmas break is bake all of those things that I was planning to. Somehow it all just got away from me. We visited so many people, because it was our last chance to see some of them for three years. We're packing, and getting ready to head home. So maybe I'll bake in Brazil. It is definitely harder there, though,because we have to make a lot of our own stuff. Like taco shells and flour tortillas. And we have crappy cake mixes. And Brazilians feel the need to dump 16 eggs into cakes. And sometimes the grocery store doesn't have powdered sugar to make glaze, so guess what? We make our own. All you do is pour some sugar in a blender or food processor and whir away until its fine. This is my home. =D

Hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday!!!!

Back to School

I know its been a couple of days since my last "normal" post....we've been uber-busy since we're heading back to Brazil a week from tomorrow. So we've been packing and visiting with people and all that good stuff. I'm gonna miss everyone here a lot, but I'm not going to miss the cold weather!!!! Helloooo summertime!

     Guess what? I'm starting school tomorrow....two new classes...ugh. At least I'll have something to do besides spend the entire day reading blogs. Which I haveno problem at all with doing. But still, school is kind of important too. =D

   Well, the past couple of days have been pretty hectic, like I said before. We've gone back to the friend's house where we celebrated New Year's, had lunch with some church friends, and had dinner at the house of more church friends. Oh and a friend of ours who's been on mission teams to Brazil came by to see us yesterday afternoon. I'm not exactly the most social of people, so visiting day in and day out isn't exactly my thing, but this is our last chance to see some of these people for three years. And next time, I might not even get to see them, since I'll be heading off to college pretty soon after we arrive. So its pretty important to see everyone now.

How was your weekend? Anything major happen?

Have a happy Monday!!!!  =P

2010 in Review....

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The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here's a high level summary of its overall blog health:



The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

A helper monkey made this abstract painting, inspired by your stats.

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 2,600 times in 2010. That's about 6 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 40 new posts, not bad for the first year! There were 12 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 5mb. That's about a picture per month.

The busiest day of the year was December 28th with 366 views. The most popular post that day was About.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were pbfingers.com, hungryrunnergirl.com, skinnyrunner.com, heathereatsalmondbutter.com, and chocolatecoveredkatie.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for happy christmas eve, its super duper cold outside, is there mail on christmas eve, happy christmas eve word clipart, and "happy christmas eve".

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

About November 2010
5 comments

2

Recipes November 2010

3

Workin' It November 2010

4

Big. Day. November 2010
4 comments

5

Happy Christmas Eve! December 2010
8 comments

2011.

This is gonna be a super quick post!

I wanted to wish you all a very happy New Year!!!!!



What are your goals for this coming year?

Hope you have an amazing start to the year 2011!