I Just Might Have...

This will be a picture-less blog. Beware all you who are only in it for the visuals!

Things have been pretty good lately. I may have gotten a new job. Not that I will quit my current job. This is just a job to supplement. It is with a different Home Health/Hospice agency named Primrose. I say different because I was hired at an agency called Integrity, but they lost my stuff after they hired me and never called me for like a month. I was not impressed. I didn't go with them also because I had a very busy schedule when they did contact me.

The opportunity I have with the agency Primrose seems pretty good. I am really excited and I hope that they will take me! They have always been pretty reputable and I would like to be associated with that.

Things at my regular work are good. There is always the nonsense drama between nurses and I hate that. I think the thing I hate the most about my profession is that it is primarily female dominant and therefore very dramatic at times.

This weekend things are gonna be fun. Our neighbor Brett found a bike that he wants to get so B, Brett, Stacey and I will be traveling down to Lindon to get the bike on Saturday. That will be fun to be out and about in a city that has more than 7 popular restaurants. I am excited. Plus, I really love our neighbors. They are some of the funnest people I know. We always have a pretty good time with them.

I must also confess, I have been cheating on my diet a little bit lately. On Super Bowl Sunday our neighbors and us had some junk food. Candy and chips. And today, I had some more chips. I don't feel too bad about it because it hasn't been like binge eating or anything. In fact it has been kind of nice to bring some of those items in to the diet. I don't plan on having these cheats as staples, and having that knowledge helps a lot.

There really has not been too much going on. I think it is nice to have some slow time.

Hope all is well elsewhere.

Another Protein Bar Recipe

This is another protein bar recipe that I got off of the weight loss blog that I follow and contribute to. They look super yummy. I am excited to make them and try them.

Primal Energy Bar.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup pecans

1/4 cup almond or sesame seed meal

1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1/4 cup almond butter

1/4 cup coconut oil (check your local health food store)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp of raw honey

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup dried cranberries or blueberries

Method:

On a cookie sheet, toast nuts and shredded coconut until golden brown (you may need to shake the tray once or twice to make sure they cook evenly).

Once toasted, pour mixture into a food processor and pulse until nuts are chopped and the mixture becomes coarsely ground.

In a mixing bowl, melt coconut oil and almond butter (about 20 seconds). Remove from microwave and stir until smooth.

Add vanilla extract, honey and sea salt. Mix thoroughly.

Fold in nut mixture and almond (or sesame seed) meal until mixed thoroughly.

Fold in blueberries/cranberries.

Press mixture into an 8 by 4 loaf pan.

Refrigerate for 20 minutes or until firm.

Cut “loaf” width wise. Should make 6 good-sized bars.

Enjoy! (or, if you don’t plan to eat immediately, you can store the bars in the refrigerator, covered loosely with a paper towel and plastic wrap.

By: Mark Sisson

Todays' Smoothie

Today, and yesterday, I made a very yummy protein smoothie. Here is the super yummy recipe:

1/2 Cup Skim Milk

1/2 Cup Low Fat Chocolate Milk

1 and 1/2 Scoops Chocolate Protein Powder

3 Ice Cubes

3 - 4 Chunks of Frozen Banana Slices

Blend and enjoy!

It is super yummy and has a refreshing creamy taste. I love it! It actually tastes like the egg nog that my dad used to make when I was a kid!

This is super good and super healthy, not to mention, super filling!

Another Protein Pancake Recipe

This is a recipe that I found on the weight loss blog that I have joined. You can find this blog on my sidebar. It was posted by Mark Sisson. It is almost the same as the pancake recipe that I have already posted, but their pancake pictures look much more enticing. Anyway, here it is:

Protein Pancakes:

8 egg whites

1/4 cup cottage cheese

1/2 cup old fashioned oats

1 scoop protein powder

1 small banana mashed up

cinnamon to taste

Blend all ingredients in the blender. The batter will be very thin, using about 1/3 of a cup, cook like a pancake. they will be kind of like a crepe. Spread with 1 tab of unsweetened almond butter and roll up. I usually make a double batch an freeze. great to grab and go. I like to warm mine up (in the microwave) just a little.

What a Super Fun Night!

Last night B and I drove out to Toole to have dinner with some friends of mine from high school. Brynn and her husband Chad were kind enough to host a party. We had A LOT of fun. It was really good to see these girls again and to just do some basic catch up. Something that we definitely need to do more often in the future. As it turns out too, I am super lucky to have these girls as friends still as I was not a very nice girl in high school.

Below here is a photo of us. From left to right you have:

Kristy, Brynn, Me, Eve, and Monica. Both Brynn and Eve are pregnant right now, and both of them look fantastic! It was really a good time. Thank you Brynn so much for the idea of a get together and for thinking of me as a guest!

Below here is a photo of Brynn and her little boy Trevor. He has quite an arm. Not to mention how cute he is.

Here is a cuter photo of Trevor. He is a doll! He looks so much like Brynn. I am really excited for her and Chad on their 2nd child!

As it turns out Eve and her husband Justin have a mini schnauzer too. His name is Archie, and I regret now that I didn't take his photo. He is a bit bigger than our schnauzers but so darn cute. He is silver. Eve and I have made plans to get together with our dogs and to go out on a search party. I am pretty sure that is what schnauzers were made for... searching.

After the party at Brynns, B and I went to see Dee and Angie. That was a fun visit as well and I wish we would have been able to have stayed longer. The night just seemed to fly. I would have loved to spend more time with both my family and my friends. Bottom line I guess, B and I need to go down to Salt Lake area more often. There are so many people we love down there, and I think they love us! :)

The ride home was good. We drove mostly in rain until we got nearer to the Logan exit. And then of course the rain changed to snow. As we got into Sardine Canyon, the snow flakes were HUGE! I tried to catch some still photos of the snow, but that did not work out so well, so I took a short video to show you what we drove in.

Visibility was extremely limited. It was to the point where we had to look more at the tire tread in the road rather than look further out of the windshield. Scary. We did about 2o - 25 mph mostly. In a couple areas we were able to reach 40 mph safely. It took awhile, but B is a very experienced driver and did a fantastic job!

Yesterday I also registered for the 2010 Little Red Riding Hood Bike ride put on up here in Cache Valley. It is a yearly bike ride for girls only and you can donate money in the event and the money goes toward a different type of female cancer. Last year it was a big supporter for breast cancer. I got a little crazy on the registration and I ended up ordering a few items. Here they are below:

This is a front view of the sleeveless jersey that I bought to ride in.

Below here is the back. I think it is super cute!

Below here is a boulero (?). It is for me to wear in the morning as the ride usually starts out cooler than it finishes. I think it is super cute. This is just the front:

And below here is a photo of the back. It says 'Super Red' on it. I am way excited about having that. Plus I ordered everything a size smaller than what I was last year, because my weight loss is going so well. I hope by June I have lost no momentum, however, since I registered so early my jersey and things should ship out to me before the ride so I can exchange if I need to!

And now this is a photo of the shirt you get just for registering to ride. I think it is super cute:

Here is another one you can buy for $10.00 and I like it too, but I didn't purchase it because....

I ended up getting this hoodie:

I wear hoodies quite a bit, so I think this was the better purchase. But who knows, maybe I will change my mind and get the other shirt as well. It is only $10.00.

After having registered for the ride I have been super stoked to go cycling. I really can't wait. I also got Raw to register yesterday and have hopefully recruited Angie as well.

Today has been a pretty good day. We went out with our friends Brett and Stacey to Petsmart to see the Four Paws rescue dogs. They only had three of them there so we went to the Humane Society and fell in love with every dog they had. I love my schnauzers, and I know that I will probably pay for some more pure bred dogs in the future but I also plan on adopting dogs from the Human Society as well. When we have a house and a yard we will be able to do more stuff like that.

Our friends filled out an application to be a foster home for the dogs. How fun. Brett is extremely good with dog training so it makes sense that he wants to do that. They are both good people with big hearts. I am really glad that we are friends with them.

Today I also saw my friend Kandice and her husband Josh. We don't see them enough. I really do like them and want to hang out with them more in the future.

And that is that. I am just sort of hanging out now, blogging and my immediate future plans are to do nothing at all. I have to work tomorrow and that is the extent of my weekend for now. I hope all is well for everyone.

Again, thank you Brynn for a lovely evening. It was so good to see all of the girls!

Weight Loss Update

GONE are another 2 pounds. This totals my weight loss at 10 POUNDS!!!! I am feeling really good! B has done even better. He has lost a total of 16 pounds! That is awesome. I must be honest that I really worried about him sticking to this diet. He has done fantastic! Still, we are not working out like we should be, but we will!

I think I am going to add another gadget to my blog that will track my weight loss. Blog friend Googie has this on her blog and it is very cute and I think would very helpful. However, I am a little embarrassed about posting my start up weight (yikes!). You all then will know just how billowy and fat I am!

Maybe posting it publicly will be good though. There are a lot of big people out there, and I am just among them. But this big girl is getting smaller. :)

Well, the rumor is that sign ups for Little Red Riding Hood open this month. So Raw Chicken, you better have read this blog and you better hop to it and get signed up for the ride! I want to ride the 80 mile route this year. I think that will be great. I plan on also doing the MS tour, so I will be begging everyone for donations! This year I want to go the full 100 miles on the MS tour so that will be great!

Tonight I get to eat dinner with good friends from long ago. This will be fun. I really am excited to see each and everyone of these people. I will be taking photos so a nice picture post awaits. I also am super excited to see my brother Dee and his wife Angie. I have been working furiously on the comfort blanket all day to day to get it done. I am almost there. I also have a little gift for their kids. It is going to be a good night.

Love to all!

More Stuff I Have Made Recently

Things lately have been good. Work has been busy and stressful. Today I swear that I set a record for most telephone orders received and written. My oh my it was busy. But it is done and I don't return to work until tomorrow at 6:00 AM. Which is too soon.

Onto other things.

Below here is a hat that I made. It is pink and yellow with brown accents. And I put the flower on in a stupid spot, so I have to take the flower back off and re-sew it on. I put the hat on and just wondered to myself "what was I thinking when I sewed this on?"

For some reason unknown to me this hat reminds me of cupcakes. Maybe it is my diet telling me that I am lacking the daily nutritional value that a cupcake can bring. Or maybe I have had one too many chocolate cupcakes with pink and yellow icing... no that can't be it, there are NEVER too many of those!

I miss cupcakes!

And now below here is a cute lil' dog sweater that I made for one of my favorite co-workers. Her name is Patsy and she has a little girl dog that freezes all the time when out and about. So I made this, and it is a bit long for her dog, but Patsy is talented in the fine art of crochet and will shorten the length.

I took this photo to hopefully capture the flowers on the back better.

Presently I am working on an afghan for my brother Dee and his family. I know that it is not much but it is a comfort. I will photo it when I am done and post it on the blog.

I have been doing better with workouts on the days that I am not pulling 12 hour shifts at work so that is good! On those 12 hour days I come home and am just exhausted. Not sure how to not be exhausted after a day like that.

B has a test coming up on Friday. I hope he does well. After that we are going to our friend Brynn's for dinner. That will be fun to see her and other friends that we have not seen a in long time! We also plan on stopping at Dee's to see him and his family. I love them so much and it will be good to stop in for a visit.

I took my amigurumi turtles into work and showed them to some of the cute lil' ladies. They loved them. I am making some for them. I think they turned out really cute as well. Plus they are fun to make.

At any rate, that is my life in a boring little nutshell!

I hope one and all are doing well!