Takin' Care of Stuff

Heey! I've been a bad blogger recently.........tests have really been taking up a lot of time! So sorry! I'm finishing my LAST final today, so I should be back to my normal bloggin' self soon!

So, my mom had to go on a week-long trip to resolve some mission stuff. She'll be back on Tuesday, so in the meantime, my sister and I are doing a lot of the stuff that she normally does. Like for example, did you know that here you have to sweep and mop every day? Well, you do. And we don't use dishwashers or drying machines, which means that dishes are handwashed and clothes are hung out to dry. I don't really mind doing these things, especially since I don't really have a full workload of school. To me, being productive beats sitting around being bored! :D Except for when it comes to cleaning bathrooms......which is my least favorite chore!! What is your least favorite thing to do around the house? 

One thing that I do love to do is cook. I was going to make a soup last night, but the chicken broth that we had was homemade, and wasn't edible any more, so we created a plan B. Dad ordered a steak from a restaurant up the street, and we had leftover rice, beans and pasta. I also made some biscuits to go with our meal. It was a super-simple and quick recipe, which is great because I had less than 30 minutes to whip them together! :D

Dinner Biscuits (from Taste of Home)

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour


• 1 teaspoon baking powder


• 1/2 teaspoon salt


• 1/2 cup milk


• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil


• Half-and-half cream or milk, optional


• Butter and/or honey

Directions

• In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Combine milk and oil; pour over dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.


• Turn onto a floured surface; knead 5-6 times. Roll out to 1/2-in. thickness; cut with a floured 2-in. biscuit cutter. Place on a greased baking sheet.


• Brush tops with cream if desired. Bake at 425° for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with butter and/or honey. Yield: 6 biscuits.

I actually only ended up with 5 biscuits, but they were delicious and fluffy. Plus, a quick way to round out our meal!

I've been loving going to my Wednesday spinning class, however yesterday the teacher couldn't make it. I ended up spending some quality time on the treadmill.....watching CSI! haha It was the only way I could have possibly stayed on there, and I didn't have my cardio circuit workout written down with me. Do you have any staple cardio circuits? If so, please share!!!

Well, I should get goin' on the studying!

See ya' tomorrow!!!!

So Many Tests!

Heey!!!! So, I disappeared over the weekend.....mostly because I slept in and was too lazy to turn on the computer....:P We didn't do too much though, I think I only left the apartment twice...hahahaha! My sister and I hung out at home on Saturday and yesterday, the whole family was here. Not a lot of activity, but definitely relaxing. Which is a good thing, considering the fact that the next 2-3 weeks will be packed with tests for me. This week, I have finals, and then after that, I'll take "challenge exams" which will basically prove that I actually took the course, and will give me the credit on my high school diploma. The thing about challenge exams is that they are pass/fail, so no do-overs!!!!! Sorta stressful...hahaha! How was your weekend????

As you all know, I recently joined a gym. One part of their program is to provide a personal trainer for each member. Over a period of 45 days, this trainer will design an initial workout program and a nutrition program for the new member. After that period, you still work with your trainer, its just not quite as intense. The past two weeks have been devoted to designing my workout program, and this week I have my first meeting devoted to nutrition. I've been asked to keep a food diary, and on Wednesday, my trainer, a nutritionist and I will talk about what I need to change in order to gain some weight. I'm sort of nervous but also pretty excited about this! I've been doing a lot better emotionally, but its just been really hard to put on any weight.

On a lighter note, we still haven't fixed our coffee pot, but this has not stopped us from making coffee every day!!! hahahahaha Dad has been looking for a tube or something that he says will fix it, but hasn't had any luck so far.....oh well! :D

This morning, I made Emily's microwave baked oats for one!!!! So, so good!!! You should definitely try this out!! In my microwave, the whole cooking process took about a minute, and then I had a bowl of yummy baked oats for me brekkie!!! Quick, filling, and nutritious! Gotta love it!!!! :D

That's about it for today.....I'll see ya'll later!!!

Questions:

What's your favorite way to study for a lot of tests????

What did you do over the weekend??

Have you ever met with a nutritionist? What was it like????

Ouch!

Hey!!!!!!How has your week been? Mine has been super busy....what with school and actually getting out and going to the gym and all, I feel like I've definitely been more productive and out of the house lately!!! :D

Yesterday was my second day going to the gym. Each new member is assigned a personal trainer, who designs a workout plan based on their goals and ability. So, my trainer decided that I should do strength training (major muscle groups) three days a week, and cardio (with some minor muscle group strength training) twice. Let me just say that I am SORE! Extremely. And hungry, too.

Because I'm ADD and can't for the life of me stay on one exercise machine for  longer than 20 minutes, I found this really fun 40-minute cardio workout to do yesterday that had me jumping from the stationary bike to the elliptical and finishing up on the treadmill! I lightened the intensity a little so that I wouldn't burn too many calories, but I still got a good workout in without boring myself to death!!! Of course, I just had to toss together a playlist to keep me goin' during my workout. Apparently I'm ADD in my musical tastes as well, because I had everything from the Little Mermaid to some Christian rock songs to Hey Soul Sister! hahaha Here's what my playlist looked like:



Eclectic, huh? hahaha

For Cinco de Mayo, we had some burritos and cheesy tortilla soup!!!! So, so good! :D Here's my soup recipe, which I got off the internet, but can't find again:

Cheesy Tortilla Soup
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 medium onion, minced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (14.5-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (28-ounce) can low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water, divided
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles
4 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese (about 1 cup)

Bring about 1 inch of water to a boil in a skillet large enough to hold the chicken in a single layer. Add chicken, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until chicken is done, about 15 minutes. Drain chicken; cut into 1/2-inch cubes.

In a medium stockpot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; saute until soft.

Stir in chili powder, oregano, tomatoes and their liquid, chicken broth and 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons water.

Stir together cornstarch and remaining 1/4 cup water; stir into stockpot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until broth is slightly thickened.

Stir in chiles, cheese, cilantro and cooked chicken. Stir until cheese melts, then let simmer for 10 minutes.
This was sooo yummy!!! We didn't have any cooked chicken, and since my mom was already browning beef, I omitted the chicken breast. It was really tasty!!! I also fried up some tortilla strips to top the soup with, and they were a hit!!!!! What did ya'll do for Cinco de Mayo?

Well, I have to go study now....hope you all have a wonderful day!

Joining a Gym

Heey everyone!!! How has your week been?? Mine has been pretty busy, and the weather has been yucky! Rainy season has officially begun, and I can't wait until August when its sunny again!

So, as you can probably tell from the title of this post, I joined a gym! I actually joined last night, and am going in today for a physical-type thing. Here's a link to the gym's site (which is in portuguese, but you can still sort of get an idea of what its like): http://www.hiacademia.com.br/tamarineira.htm.

They have this really cool program where every member of the gym works with a personal trainer to meet specific goals. The trainer will design some of my workouts, as well as give me some nutritional advice. This was one of the main reasons that I joined this particular gym, because I am trying to gain weight, and I believe that having a professional accompany me will keep me from going down the wrong path. Anyway, I can walk there from our apartment, and I absolutely love all of the classes that they offer!!!!! :D

As for the weight gain, I have finally hit 100lb again!! So excited! I attribute most of this gain to the fact that I consumed almost an entire jar of peanut butter( the normal sized one) in a week!!! hahahaha What can I say? I needed some healthy fats, apparently! I still have 15 lb to go, but just hitting 1oo has given me a bit of a confidence boost!!!! My family is an amazing support system, and you guys are, too!!!! :D

So, tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo, and we're planning on a Mexican fiesta....Brazilian style! hahaha Mom and I were talking about it this morning, and we're thinking maybe burritos (since they're pretty customizable), and chicken tortilla soup! Remember, a couple of months ago, when I raved about McAlister's Cheesy Chicken Tortilla soup?? Well, I found a copycat recipe online a while ago, and have wanted to try it out ever since!!!! If its any good, I'll definitely be posting the recipe!!!!

Also, about my gluten free/reduced gluten experiments, I have to say that I'm feeling so much better!!! I still haven't been able to find any reasonable gf flours here, so I do eat some bread, but less, and I can tell that there's a difference!!! Is there any way that I could make my own gf flours?? Like rice flour or something? That sort of thing is soooo expensive and hard to find here.....I feel that if I could make my own it would be a very good thing!!!

Well, I had better get going....

See ya later!!!

Nothing Going On

Heeey everyone!!!!! Who else is excited for the weekend?????? I mean, my sister didn't have brazilian school yesterday or today, but we've both still been doing our homeschool, which is why I'm pretty excited to have NO school to do and just hang out with the family!!!

We've watched a couple of movies: Hachi and Old Dogs, and still have Reservation Road and Alice in Wonderland to go! Old Dogs was cute, but seriously, if you haven't seen Hachi, you must. Especially if you love dogs!!! Its the sweetest story ever!!!!! :D I got Reservation Road because it looked interesting, so I hope its as good as it looks!! :D Then, I chose Alice for two reasons: 1) My dad had said that he would never watch it for reasons unknown to everyone but himself.  2) I was curious to see all of the wild special effects used in this movie! Have any of ya'll seen Alice in Wonderland? What did you think?

Besides that, I've been in contact with a couple of potential sponsors and my aunt has sent them some information packages. Haven't heard back from either of them, so we'll see how everything works out in the next couple of days!

About reducing my gluten intake, I think that its really helped a lot. I've been feeling a lot better, and while there are probably some other things behind my not feeling so great, gluten was definitely one of them. Also, I've noticed that I feel better when I consume a higher quantity of fats. Made me think of Kat's awesome guest post about fat!!!! If you didn't read it, you should definitely check it out!!! :D

We don't have a whole lot planned for this weekend....probably some more hangin' out and celebrating Easter and my mom's birthday on Sunday!!!

What have you got planned for the weekend???

Powerless and Pictureless

Heeey! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!!! Sorry about my total absence form the blogging world yesterday.....we had no electricity until mid-afternoon, and by then, I really needed to do some school stuff! :P

I'm also sorry for the recent lack of pictures on here....my camera has gone crazy, is eating through batteries and changed the display language to Japanese....go figure!

So, our weekend was pretty laid back. We mostly hung out at home, got acai and fruit salads on Saturday, made chocolate milkshakes on Sunday, and watched some movies! I made my banana scones for breakfast on Sunday, and today, I made biscuits for my parents' anniversary(this is the first morning that they've been here since their trip!). For some reason, my biscuits did not rise at all, so I ended up with very yummy, flat-as-a-pancake, biscuits, which I named pan-skits. Lovely, right? :P

I have a LOT of NSLC stuff to do this week: contact people in different businesses, email my aunt and cousin my scholarship "packages" so that they can mail then to the various businesses, look at airfare, and start figuring out what I'll need to buy when I get to the States (business clothes, for example). Besides all of that, I still have my regular school stuff to accomplish!

About my gluten-free experiment, I really did feel a lot better when I reduced my gluten intake. We have  a friend who is a nutritionist, so we'll be asking her for her opinion as well. I don't think that I can completely eliminate gluten right now, mostly because finding gf food here is a lot harder and I still need the extra calories, since I'm trying to gain weight. I will, however, be greatly reducing my gluten intake, especially at night, as that seems to be the worst time for me personally to eat foods that contain gluten. What are some easy gf recipes that I could make here? We do have stuff like gf flour, but its hard to find, so I was wondering if there were any recipes that I could try out that wouldn't require a lot of special ingredients, but that would still be gluten free.

That's about it for me....What all do you have on this week's agenda?

An Experiment

Heey everyone! Thanks so much for all of your kind words about the NSLC!!!!! You guys are awesome! :D

So, a couple of days ago, I was doing some research. You see, I've been waking up feeling not-so-great some days and was wondering if it was just a side effect of my attempts to gain weight or if it was something else. I started to think about what I ate the nights before I woke up feeling gross, and mostly, it was bread or crackers. So, I researched gluten sensitivity, and a lot of the symptoms matched up (mood swings, messed-up stomach, etc). But then, I thought that a lot of those symptoms could easily apply to an eating disorder, so I researched a link between the two. Turns out that an eating disorder can actually trigger a gluten sensitivity. Its really hard to go gluten-free here, but I am trying to avoid it at night, and see how that works out. If I start to feel better, then we'll know that I have a slight sensitivity to gluten. I'll keep ya'll updated!

Next, I know most of you read Janae's blog, and if you don't you should definitely go check it out. She's been training like crazy for the Boston Marathon, but just found out that she's got a femoral stress fracture and can't run. So, Bess started a send a virtual hug to Janae thing on her blog, which  thought was super sweet! I'm posting my hug here:

[caption id="attachment_490" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="One-armed hug because I had to use my webcam :P"][/caption]

Yes, I realize that I'm sending a one-armed hug. My camera is acting crazy, and I had to make do with the webcam. Ya'll can email hugs for Janae to Bess, I think, or you can email Janae herself! She's an awesome person, and seriously has the best attitude about everything!!!! :D

Nothing much is going on here......a heck of a lot of school. Oh and last night I finally got Water for Elephants on my Nook! I'm sooo excited because I've been wanting to read it for a super long time!!!!! What are some other good books out there??? I'm sooo out of the loop, which is sad because I LOVE a good book! :D

Well, I had best get going...hope you all have a wonderful day!

NSLC Update!!!!!

Heeey everyone!!!! Hoep you all had a good day yesterday! It's raining here, which pretty much stinks, but at least we only get rain about 2 months out of the year!

  Soooo, guess what? Yesterday afternoon I got an email from the NSLC Scholarship fund. MY SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION WAS ACCEPTED!!! Sorry for yelling....I'm really that excited! :D Its not a full scholarship because a ton of students apply, but it'll help. Also, I'm working on a cover letter and "scholarship package" to send to different businesses to see if they can sponsor me. We're lucky to actually have friends with contacts with Wal-Mart, Microsoft, International Paper, Nestle (maybe I should tell nestle that I love their chocolate?? :P), and a couple other companies. Hopefully everything will workout!!!!

I was so excited last night, that my dad treated us to dinner!! Nothing fancy....Subway, but I was seriously craving a cookie and their cookies are better than anyone else's here! hahaha! I got a veggie sandwich (my fav!) with red pepper flakes, and an oatmeal raisin cookie! :D

You know those Crepe Cakes that I mentioned yesterday? Well, this morning I had some more. Only they were CHOCOLATE! You see, yesterday, I happened to find a box of chocolate flavored oatmeal, which is basically oats with cocoa powder and a little sugar mixed in. So I just used that instead of the regular oatmeal, and they turned out perfectly! :D

Well, that's about it for today.....

What's your go-to weekday breakfast?

Oatmeal, egg and toast, or grits for me. :D And now, crepe cakes!!! hahaha

Awesome Dinner and Should I do a Vlog?

Heeey everyone!! How was your day yesterday???? I'm so glad that ya'll liked my new favorite sandwich idea! Sadly enough, I did not get to recreate it yesterday because our bananas are still green, but I did have just a warm honey-cinnamon sammie this morning for breakfast! :D

I didn't do a whole lot yesterday.....after I took my sister to school, I went and bought myself some sweet potatoes, and then came home and finished up any schoolwork that I had left. So, all in all, it was a pretty uneventful Wednesday.

We did have an amazing, simple dinner last night. There was a ton of stuff that needed to be used up, so we threw it all together and came up with something different than our usual rice, beans, pasta, chicken dinners. Mom and I grilled up some fish and chicken in blackened seasoning (in separate skillets :P), toasted some hamburger buns with cheese, and made some awesome baked french fries. We ended up with blackened fish or chicken sandwiches, baked fries and grilled onions and coleslaw on the side! Simple, but soo tasty! I've made baked fries several times, but this time, I left the potato skins on and also sliced them thinner than usual, which resulted in a perfectly cooked, flavorful "french fry". My mom even told me that they were her favorite batch so far! hahaha

So I've been thinking about doing a vlog, because I looove watching other people's. The thing is, I have no idea what I'd talk about, or even if anyone would want to see a vlog on here. Soooo, I've got two questions for ya:

1. Would you be interested in a vlog sometime?

2. If so, what are some things that you would like to hear about?

Basically, I need some ideas of things to talk about, and figured that since ya'll are actually reading my blog, you would be the perfect people to ask! :D

Stress-wise, yesterday was another awesome day! I'm hoping that today will be a good day as well!!!!

Happy Thursday! :D

Ghost Town

After a weekend filled with movies and season 6 of Lost, I'm back to homeschool as usual. Carnaval has really only just begun, though, so my sister doesn't have her school and my dad is at home. So, we're going to study this morning, and do something more fun this afternoon!

The good thing is that none of the main Carnaval parties are around our house, so its pretty much like a ghost town around here.....eerily quiet, which definitely beats noisy and crazy.

Sorry I didn't post yesterday....there's really not much going on........I could give you a detailed account of everything that happened in the first 8 episodes of Lost Season 6, but that's a little weird, even for me. =P

So here's some random thoughts and info about me! Hope you enjoy!

 

1. I've never actually been a huge fan of cake....I like brownies and I'll eat cake if its there, but I was always the kid with the giant chocolate chip cookie on my birthday. I also don't like pie crust, just the filling......I go for the good stuff. hahaha So anyway, on my sweet 16th, last December, I chose fondue instead of a birthday cake so that I could dunk ridiculous amounts of random stuff (marshmallows, anyone?) into dreamy, melty chocolate.



Yes, the candle was stuck in a piece of fruit......=D

2. I hate odd numbers. Call me OCD, but odd numbers really bother me. Except for 5, and anything that ends in 5....they're ok.

3.I'm a stress eater in reverse.....the more stressed out I get, the less I eat. Which is really bad for me right now, seeing as I'm actually trying to gain weight........and I get stressed out easily.

4. One of my favorite things to do is to cook with my mom. We can be making a super simple meal of even just blending up some juice for breakfast, but its sort of our mother-daughter time.

So there ya' have it....some completely and totally random facts about moi.

How about you? Any randomness that you want to share??? =D

Hope you all have a great Monday!

Answering Questions

So yesterday, the lovely Kat asked me a few questions over in the comment section. I decided that today would be the day to answer all of them, so here ya' go:

What are some of your staples in your diet?

For breakfast, I eat a lot of oatmeal or grits.



[caption id="attachment_374" align="alignnone" width="216" caption="Our grits! "][/caption]

Lunch is pretty basic: sandwiches, sweet potatoes, soup, etc.

 

A Brasilian diet will always consist of lots of rice and beans, so its a good thing that I love them both! =D We usually will have rice, beans and some meat for dinner.

Some of my favorite things to snack on are granola bars, yogurt, chocolate, raisins and popcorn!


What are some of your favorite recipes?

Well, first of all, I looove homemade bread! =D My aunt makes these crescent rolls that are to die for! I also love healthified recipes, like the banana muffins (I'll usually sub the oil/butter for more mashed banana) or a cinnamon breakfast cake that calls for plain yogurt instead of a lot of butter. I also love anything with chocolate, like my homemade thin mints or chocolate cobbler.
What are your views on counting calories, fat, carbs, protein?

I believe that everyone is different, and therefore requires different nutrition. Sure, we all have to stay within a healthy range of caloric intake and such, but I don't think we should obsess over that. Right now, I am keeping track of my calories just because I'm trying to gain weight. Usually, though, I try not to and just go by what makes me feel my best when I eat it. Personally, I tend to do better on a diet that has plenty of complex carbs and protein. Fat is something that I definitely need, but I feel sluggish if I eat a lot of it in one sitting. All in all, I think its important to know what makes us feel best, but that counting calories isn't always the best thing to do.

What’s your favorite workout?

I love circuit workouts, like what I've featured on my workout page. My absolute favorite though, would probably be kickboxing or running.

 

Hope you all enjoyed my answers to the questions!!!!!!

Now, I have some for you:

What's you faaavorite food?

What type of workout do you prefer?

Finally, what do you think about counting calories?

Hope you have an awesome Wednesday!

http://katshealthcorner.wordpress.com/

The Return of the Green Monster

Once again, thanks for all of your support on yesterday's post. I haven't felt tired this morning, and mom and I talked about possible reasons last night. We're thinking that it could be emotional stress from the effort that went into gaining weight last week, and when I didn't gain any, I just "shut off". Anyway, I'm (hopefully) back on track and woke up feelin' great this morning!

I actually had a super yummy breakfast, it was so awesome that my sister wanted some, too! =D I made some corn grits, but instead of stirring in plain milk, I used our Aerolatte to whip the milk into a nice creamy, frothy cup of goodness and then stirred it into our grits. Then I microwaved each bowl for a little while so that the grits and the frothy milk would combine, put some butter in each bowl and voila! a simple, but fun brekkie! =P

I also tried a new cardio workout today.  Its bootcamp-style which I love, and only 30 minutes. Its not super hard, so its great if you're not used to the bootcamp style of workout. Anyway I enjoyed it, so here's the link:

Cardio Bootcamp:

http://www.exercisetv.tv/workout-videos/cardio/bootcamp-calorie-burn-1434

Post workout, I was feeling sweaty and thought that a smoothie sounded absolutely wonderful. Aaand we happened to have some fresh kale in our fridge, so I whipped up my favorite banana/coffee green monster. Here's a pic of it in all its ugly glory:

[caption id="attachment_369" align="alignnone" width="455" caption="I'm not pretty, but I taste goooooood!"][/caption]

Definitely not the most picturesque of smoothies, but probably one of my all-time favs! I've been drinking a lot of smoothies recently (like the one I posted about yesterday) because its so stinkin' hot here, but I've missed my green monsters!

Now, I have a couple of questions for ya'll:

What's your favorite warm-weather snack?

Smoothies or yogurt parfaits

Is there any topic that you would like me to post about on my blog?

I looved when Alex asked me why we're in Brasil and I got to do a post about that. Soo I was wondering if anyone else out there had a specific post that they would like to see on here. =D

Got to go now....school is calling.

Hope you have a great day!

New Stuff to Try

Wow!

I just want to thank you all for your super-sweet comments on Saturday's post!!!! =D You guys are great! I really love being here and seeing what God has in store for us in Recife!

So I didn't gain any weight this past week, but I also didn't lose any, so that's progress. I had increased my intake by about 500 calories last week, so this week I'll add another 400-500. I didn't want to go ahead and add 1000 calories last week for fear of making myself feel ill, and therefore decrease my determination to eat more. I figured that if I tried to add in too much too soon it might actually have a negative effect on my weight-gain efforts. Over the weekend, we bought some new snacks for me to try out so that I don't get bored eating the same things every day. One of them was a vitamin shake mix, which I would add to milk, and get a significant amount of calories without feeling like I stuffed myself after drinking it. Here's a pic:



I tried that one, its banana, apple and papaya flavored, and it was pretty decent. A little sweet for me, but you could taste the individual fruits and it didn't have a funny aftertaste or grittiness like the protein powder that I tried did. Also, its pretty low in sodium (only 21 mg) and has 15 percent of 7 different vitamins before I add the milk. Not too shabby. =D We also bought a peach-flavored shake to try out!

So today I have a massive amount of school to do, which is precisely why I'm blogging. =P Too tired to think US History or Algebra. Which brings me to another question, I've been sleeping early and not waking up at all in the night, but I'm still tired all of the time and want to go to sleep earlier than anyone else in the family, why is that? Just curious....it may have something to do with stress......or something else...I really don't know. =P

How was your weekend?

Mine was pretty good. We spent most of yesterday at home, relaxing, and then went to church and dinner last night. Saturday, I was alone at home most of the day, but then we once again had some hang-out time in the evening.

Well, I had better get going.....hope you all of a good Monday! =D

Revisiting Some Old Friends

Hey everyone!!!!!

First off, I tried a new granola bar right now! Its watermelon and lemon flavored and tastes like summer!!!!



Its light so I paired it with a cup of yummy fruit salad yogurt for my morning snack! So good!! =D

This morning I also visited my old school friends. I found out when their break was and walked over. It was so great to see everyone and I can't wait to visit again!!!!! I think that being around other people keeps me from worrying about everything else so much. One of the downsides to homeschooling is that I don't get out as much, which normally, is just fine by me. =P I did miss seeing people my age though, so I'll definitely be visiting my school again soon!!!!

Thank you all so much for your supportive comments on yesterday's post! I love you guys! =D It helps so much to know that ya'll are supporting my as well as my awesome family!!!! =D I do have a protein powder related question or two:

Is there a way to make it dissolve better? When I mixed mine up in the smoothie, it was super-grainy. The flavor was great, though, so I was wondering if the graininess was due to something that I did wrong or  if that's just a side-effect of protein powders.

Also, what are some good protein powder recipes for one? I am really trying to supplement my diet, so that I get all of the minerals and vitamins that I need, and I was wondering what other ways there are to use my protein besides just smoothies. Its strawberry flavored, by the way.

In keeping with the treat yourself generously theme of the week, I'd say that today, my treat was spending time with friends that I haven't seen in at least 6 months. =D What about you?

Hope you all have a wonderful day!


 

“Did the programs of the New Deal or World War 2 end the Great Depression?  Support your answer.”

When at First you don't Succeed....

...try, try again. I weighed myself yesterday. Nothing. Didn't gain, didn't lose either. I'm a little dissapointed in myself......and I honestly have no idea how to add in more calories. I haven't been keeping a close count, but at the end of every day I've felt superfull and even kinda bloated. So, in an effort to add calories to my smoothies, my mom suggested that I buy a protein powder or something similar. So, I got a strawberry flavored one, and had my first banana-strawberry protein shake today!



I was definitely upset about the lack of progress, but I know that God has a plan for me and that I will get through this!!!!

In other news, dinner was fabulous! We had some teriyaki chicken, rice, pasta, and stir-fried veggies!!!!! So yummy!!!!! For the veggies, I chopped up a monster zucchini(it yielded over two cups when chopped!!!!), some onion, carrot, and bell pepper. Then, I sauteed the zucchini and carrots in some oil and soy sauce until almost done, and added the bell pepper and onion with some more soy sauce and cooked until all of the veggies were done! So tasty and good on sandwiches, too! =D

What did you guys think of Lindsay's guest post yesterday? I thought it was pretty awesome! Aren't those phrases great? Itreated myself generously yesterday by not letting my disappointment ruin my day and by spending some time just relaxing and giving myself a quick break from stress!!!

Did you do anything yesterday to treat yourself?

Hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday!!!!!!!

I'm a Crazy Person

At least that seems to be the general opinion of me. =P

Here's an example:

Our fridge was fixed yesterday, and last night, the power went out. The only thing running through my mind was: "Oh crap. We just got everything back in the fridge and now the power's out! How am I going to make smoothies?".So I proceeded to jump out of bed (I sleep on the top bunk in my sister's room because she has an air conditioning unit and my room does not) go out in the hallway and stand there because I realize that there's nothing I can do about it. The power did come back on eventually though, and my smoothie bananas are frozen! =P

This morning has been full of this:

[caption id="attachment_294" align="alignnone" width="455" caption="Algebra!"][/caption]

Because I didn't understand my crappy algebra book, and needed my dad's assistance, I started on my Algebra at 8 AM. Which is early for homeschool. Now I'm supposedly writing a US History essay (I really am, just took a quick break! =P). And to top it all off, guess who's asleep about 2 feet away from me? Him:

[caption id="attachment_295" align="alignnone" width="455" caption="He's got a hard life. "][/caption]

Its been a hard day's work for this critter. He woke up, had an extra-large Friday breakfast,bit me, and went to sleep. He's exhausted. =P

Oh and another reason I'm crazy? I can't wait to finish school so that I can get into the kitchen and bake something!!! =D

Honestly, though, I'd much rather be me and slightly crazy than be a normal person.I have lots of fun!!! =D

How's your friday going?

What's a characteristic that makes you different (in a good way, of course =D)?

Well, I love to bake. I'm pretty sure my whole family appreciates that one! =P

Also, I love to wake up early and get stuff done, which helps me not feel overwhelmed.

TGIF!!!!

Running Around

First of all, Happy Groundhog Day! =D

Yesterday we did a LOT of running around. You see, when you go to downtown Recife, you have to go to at least 10 different stores to find what you're looking for! =D So we ended up spending the entire afternoon out! It was fun, but we were STARVING when we got home! So we got a quick bite to eat out, and then dad took us to the acai place again! I even brought my camera, but forgot to take pictures. =( Sorry!!!!!

To make up for it, here's a pic of my cat:

[caption id="attachment_286" align="alignnone" width="455" caption="What? You didn't get me any acai?"][/caption]

So today, I don't even have a lot of school to do, which is super nice! =D All I really have left to do is work on my webpage design project, read Act IV of Julius Caesar and do an Algebra II lesson. Technically I'm supposed to have Algebra every day of the week, but I've got it worked out to where I take mondays off, do an Algebra lesson on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, study and do any extra work on Friday and then take the test! What can I say, I'm the queen of procrastination! =D

Oddly enough, our fridge started back up and the little red alarm light went off last night, but we're still having someone come look at it, because who knows how long it'll keep working.

In a little while, mom and I are heading to the grocery store because I am out of snacks and if I don't have something to eat later on the world as we know it will end! Just kidding, but we really do need some stuff. I tag along because I can be helpful if I set my mind to it! =D We can walk to the store, and take a cab back if we have a lot of groceries. Of course, being in Brazil, our grocery store doesn't always have everything we're looking for. Like ground beef. or vanilla extract. or powdered sugar. We've had to make our own powdered sugar in the food processor because we made cinnamon rolls and needed glaze for them. =D It was like a science experiment!!!! And tasty, too!

How has your week been going so far?

What's your favorite way to wind down after a super long day?

No cooking + giant fruit salad + family time= relaxation!!!! =D

Is there anything that you HAVE to have every day or you'll miss it?

Chocolate. And snacks every two hours! Otherwise I turn into a grump! =D

Hope you have a great Wednesday!!!!

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!!!!!

 

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




 

 

 

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!