Sneezing, birthdays and a drive by barking

Trying to get my “blog mojo” back…..have felt a little run down the past couple of days….at first I thought I was getting a cold, but now I’ve decided it’s allergies…. will run by Mama Jean’s after work tomorrow and pick up some quercetin.  I tried it last year with good luck, so I’ll give it another try this year. I’ve been pretty lucky that my allergies don’t really bother me all that much, but they always bother ME when they are not bothering anyone else. Go figure.

Today, I had a list of things that I wanted to get accomplished….

• bind and make the little horse rug into a pillow
• get the laundry caught up
• paint a door with black chalkboard paint
• clean out my car

Well, I didn’t get any of those things accomplished, but, Kenny and I did get up early and go over to his parent’s house for his brother’s birthday party…..it was a breakfast party.  (biscuits and gravy, sausage, breakfast casserole, tomatoes, cantaloupe, muffins and cheesecake!) (all I had was tomato, cantaloupe, 1 mini muffin, and a tiny, I mean TINY piece of breakfast casserole…..all so I could have a SMALL piece of cheesecake) We all sat outside under the carport and it was unusually cool……so nice, after all this wicked heat we’ve been having.

Last night I wrapped Shawn’s gifts…..lots of little gifts all wrapped up and then put inside of a BIG box that was also wrapped.  One thing about Shawn….he loves a party!

Here is Shawn with a few of his gifts before the unwrapping began.

 

He turned the big 4-0 this year! Can you see how excited he is?

Shawn LOVES cheesecake, so his mom made him a pumpkin cheesecake instead of a traditional birthday cake.

I’m pretty fast with the camera, but TOTALLY missed him blowing out the candles…..all I got was the smoke….

Now on to Shawn’s favorite part……the gifts…..I think this one was from his dad…..see how fast his hands work when he gets a gift….they are like a blur!

This is the gift from us, big and sparkly, with a sports magazine tied to the top.

Then once it was opened, it had MORE wrapped gifts on the inside…..he was excited!

“Eeny-Meeny-Miney-Mo!” said Shawn….

He picked an orange package….

…..and then onto the cards…..a lot of them had gift cards, which he LOVES!

Nothing quite like dreaming of what you are going to buy!

After the party, we ran by a new antiques store called Relics….lots of pretty things to look at, but nothing we needed at the moment….still trying hard to liquidate rather than accumulate, but it’s still fun to look.

Then, back to the ranch, I mean home :) Took a 2 hour nap, it was so nice, but once again….not helping me get anything done. Did one load of laundry and then sat outside by the pool with Kenny and read magazines, then Kenny picked up supper from The Purple Burrito (no we don’t have snow on the ground….just trying to show the purple building)

We all ( David (our friend) and I) told Kenny we wanted carne asada burritos, but of course Kenny ordered what he wanted, so he brought home a pork burrito, a carne asada burrito and a fish burrito…..we each got 1/3 of each kind……okay, so now I know that I LOVE the fish burrito, 2nd runner up was the pork burrito and the carne asada came in last place….never would have known that if he didn’t order 3 different kinds and we got to sample them.  If you live here in Springfield, you really need to give this place a try….they have one close to Glenstone and Sunshine and then there is another one on S. Campbell near Mama Jean’s.

Also, since it was WAY cooler than it has been the dogs got an extra long walk around the neighborhood near the art museum…. they found 1 rabbit tonight, which went and hid underneath a big bush, much to their dismay. Lonnie had to be content with chasing squirrels, and he didn’t see any cats until we were in the truck, so for that he just got to do what we call a “drive by barking”.

The list will still be there in the morning, after all, tomorrow is another day.

Weekend Breakfast

As usual, as of late, I’ve been a bit absent on my blog.  I guess I’ve just been busy and haven’t had that much going on that I feel is “blog worthy”.

However, this morning I got up and made this recipe for the first time and it’s definitely “blog worthy” AND it’s healthy and SUPER TASTY…..one of the recipes I get to eat while I’m doing the Jillian Michaels plan.

Mix together 1 cup fat free half-and-half with one egg white

Add 1 tablespoon of honey Add 1 tablespoon of cinnamon. 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp orange or lemon extract…..I used lemon….that’s what I had in the cabinet. Add 3 drops of vanilla extract, 1/4 tsp. salt and stir like the devil! It takes a lot of stirring to get it to all come together and keep the cinnamon from floating on the top. Now here comes the fun part…..take your bread and dunk it one piece at a time into the cream mixture. WAIT! Don’t be shy….DUNK it, and keep it under for 1 minute… After it’s been soaking for 1 minute, put it in a skillet coated with cooking spray…..believe me, you need the spray….I tried it without and it was a sticky MESS! I had my electric skillet set on 350 and it took about 2 minutes per side for the toast to brown.  Put two pieces of toast on a plate, top with blueberries or strawberries and 2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup……YUM! (if you don’t have 3 people to serve this to, you can always freeze the rest and then get it out and reheat it in the microwave or toaster)Jillian's French Toast (serves 3)

Ingredients

• 1 egg(s), whites only

• 1 cup(s) half-and-half, fat-free
• 3 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon, ground
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
• 1 teaspoon orange extract, or lemon extract
• 3 drop(s) vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 slice(s) bread, sprouted wheat, whole grain, low-sodium, such as Ezekial
• 6 tablespoon maple syrup

Preparation

In a wide bowl, beat the egg white with the half-and-half. Add honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange or lemon extract, vanilla extract, and salt. Dip each slice of bread in the mixture for a minute. Spray skillet with nonstick cooking spray and heat on medium. Cook French toast on both sides until brown. Dust with cinnamon one last time and top with remaining honey.

Serving Size: 2 pieces of French toast with 2 tbsp syrup

For Kelly (girl, you gotta try this!)

Calories: 295

Total fat: 1 gram

Saturated fat: 0

Cholesterol: 0

Sodium: 281 mg

Total Carbs: 58 grams

Dietary Fiber: 7 grams

Protein: 12 grams

212

I saw this today in one of my e-mails and had to share it with you.

At 211 degrees, water is hot.
At 212 degrees, it boils.
And with boiling water, comes steam.
And with steam, you can power a train.
Just one degree more can make all the difference.
Where can you turn up the heat?

• 2 extra acts of kindness weekly plant 104 more seeds of generosity each year.
• 15 extra minutes a day creates over 90 hours each year for what’s most important to you.
• 1 extra contact daily sparks 180 more personal connections every 6 months.
• 1 extra risk each week leads to 52 more opportunities every year for excitement and possibility.

It's your life. You are responsible for your results.
Be Two-Twelve.

A ways to go

Even though I worked on this smaller mat for quite a while yesterday, I still have a ways to go before it is finished…..AND I’d like to have it made and ready to give on Monday!  I’m SUCH a procrastinator, but I usually end up meeting my deadlines.

Today all of my hooking book auctions are ending. There are still some “deals” to be had.

There are two books in particular that I’m surprised at how low the bids still are.

“Modern Hooked Rugs” is still at a STEAL of a price.  I guess there are just lots of people out there who are more into primitive, but if you take a look inside, you might decide that you need this in your hooking library.

Here are a few teaser shots from the inside……

Most every page has about this many rugs…..

Here are a few close ups…..sorry for the bright spots…..I was in kind of a hurry….

The other book is “Contemporary Hooked Rugs”……

…..again….CHOCK full of color photos!

The one thing that this book has that I forgot to mention on my eBay ad is that is has most all of the rugs from the extremely hard to find “Alphabet of Sheep”

as well as rugs from Louisa Creed….if you love cats you’ll love her work!

I’m just saying……..

Click HERE to go to my auctions that are ending today.

Checking in

I’m still here.  It’s been a busy week….having to cook most ALL of my meals and adding in my work-out most everyday has been an adjustment for me, but it’s paying off.  However, the food is great….here is breakfast from one day this week….whole wheat waffle with non-fat Greek yogurt and fresh blueberries and almonds….what’s not to like about that?

I’ve been working hard, but the scale is NOT budging…..kind of frustrating.  However, this morning when I weighed and the scale had not moved for yet another day I decided to go back and take my measurements again…….YAY!

Have lost INCHES…..I just knew that my clothes were fitting looser, which REALLY is the ultimate goal…..I just have to remember not to FIXATE on the numbers on the scale.

Headed to the farmers market this morning to stock up on “happy meat”….. “happy meat” to me is meat that is pasture raised, grass fed and no hormones or antibiotics.  I also picked up a canary melon…. it’s a cross between a cantaloupe and a honeydew….can’t wait to give it a try.  Yellow peppers and pears as well…..yum!

Now I’m heading off to the gym to do my cardio….. I’ve picked up a copy of “Master Your Metabolism” at the library and hope to be able to read a little of that while I’m sweating away on the treadmill.

After that I hope to come back and hook or paint or do SOMETHING creative.  I REALLY need to hook, because I want to have this hooked and turned into a pillow by Monday! …..better get on it!

I’m at it again!

Yes, I’ve started

ROUND TWO

 

of my eBay auctions!

This time, I’m clearing out books……I’m being ruthless once again and starting everything at 99 cents. 

Most of the books are rug hooking books,

 

but some are country decorating,

 

 

painting,

 

 

and even a premiere issue of Somerset Apprentice

 

as well as a hooking book from the UK.

 

Take a look and see if there is something you need.  It takes me quite a while to list just 10 books, so after I go outside and take a swim and soak up some sun, I’ll be back to list even MORE!

Oh yeah click on the ebay icon down here or on my side bar to go to my auctions…..I’m happy to combine items together to save you on shipping and if you’re local you can pick them up from me and save the shipping.