Six Things Saturday

I missed Five Things Friday...for several weeks now...but I felt the urge to publish something. I know I have family members who click on this page out of habit by now, so no need to completely disappear despite my overwhelming urge to run away and never come back.

1. I've been re-thinking what I want this blog to be about. I love to read others' blogs about fitness and running, mainly because they help keep me motivated, but I've realized that I personally have no interest in writing about that stuff. I genuinely don't want to share how far I ran yesterday, or how long it took me, or what I ate that will make others roll their eyes and tell me to just eat a burger already. I run, several times a week, but I run for my own personal health and not to impress anyone else. I believe beer and cupcakes are a food group, and regardless of the fact that I slave for 12 hours over people who are diabetic, artery clogged, morbidly obese messes, I have no intention of not eating things that make me happy. I just have to run longer to make up for it; totally worth the sacrifice. With all of that said, I'm still not sure what type of blog I want this to be, but I know it won't be a fitness or food one.

2. I received my first Stitch Fix a couple of weeks ago and ended up loving two of the items, a light sweater/jacket and a loose hippie- looking shirt. I meant to take pictures of both of them on me, but I'm not a fan of selfies and asking my husband to do it just opens up a whole new can of ridiculous worms. I will say that I've already scheduled my next Fix for Sept 20th and I'm looking forward to seeing what my stylist sends then!

3. I've rediscovered Pinterest. I forgot how many awesome pumpkin recipes appear on there and how many neat tattoos and outfits I end up loving. Plus it's an excellent waste of time considering I still haven't re-opened my Facebook account (go me!).

4. Our youngest cat is very photogenic and she has no problem posing for the camera. Enough said.

5. I started decorating for fall. I love fall. I especially love fall because the horrible humid heat starts to go away AND because it means everything pumpkin. For those who don't know, I LOVE pumpkin. Once I get back from vacation (which will be in a different post), I will begin my annual collection of pumpkins and gourds.

6. I did yard work today. That's right- I haven't mowed the lawn since I was a kid living on Harvey St but, while sitting outside enjoying a Dogfish Head beer, I made the snap decision to get sweaty and grassy. I also walked through a whole bunch of dog poop but at least the backyard looks good. I think even AB was impressed. Next time I get the urge I will wear gloves.

Five Things Friday

1. I am absolutely in love with Sudocrem. My sister first introduced me to it about a year ago as a possible treatment for my cystic acne, for which I've pretty much tried everything. I briefly gave it a shot (so I'm a little impatient) before finally going to a dermatologist and getting put on Spironolactone (miracle acne drug for me). My little jar of Sudocrem was then vanquished to the back of my bathroom cabinet until recently, when AB asked if he could try it for some chaffing. While it didn't make a huge difference for my acne, apparently it is a miracle cure for chaffing! Since then both AB and I have tried using it for various things and this is what it works wonderfully for (so far):

• Chaffing (for the third time0
• Razor burn
• Rashes of unknown origin
• Blisters
• Hot spots on my dog*
• Calluses on my dog's bony joints*
• My dog's ever-inflamed butt*
• Self-contained staph infections...on my dog*

*My vet was questionable about using Sudocrem on Stetson at first, but once she looked it up and read more about it, she jumped on the train with us- surprisingly Stetson doesn't lick it off; if it feels as good to him as it does to me on my post-running flabby underarm chaffing then I'm not surprised!

2. I'm giving Stitch Fix a try. I read a lot of blogs, and since it kept popping up over and over again I figured, why not? The worst that could happen is that I'd be out $20. Stitch Fix is like an online personal shopper; you fill out a [very] detailed profile, pay $20, and you are sent 5 pieces of clothing/accessories to try. You can choose to buy any, all, or none and mail back the rest within 3 days in a postage paid box. Whatever you do decide to buy you can apply the $20 towards, and if you keep all 5 items you get 25% off the entire box. You can do monthly "fixes" or just order one when you feel like something new. If you're a Pinner, you can give the company the link to your pinned clothing so they can get an idea of what you like. When you mail something back you have the option to let them know what you didn't like about it. I may end up not liking any of it at all, but I'll update once I receive my first box the week of August 30th. If anyone decides to try it, please use this link so that I can get a referral credit!

3. Canned pumpkin is the insanely cheap and easy solution to my dog's whacky bowel habits. Stetson has always had issues with his digestive tract, and since the cancer and chemo it's been even more off-kilter. We're constantly battling diarrhea and colitis so I finally took my vet's advice and started mixing a tablespoon of pumpkin into Stetson's wet food two times a day. Problem solved; the poor dog has regular bowel movements and no diarrhea! Amazing.

4. I have finally made it to Week 12 of the Couch to 10K. Running 30 minutes straight sucks; running for 54 minutes straight is miserable...but I can do it! Shockingly, my eating habits haven't changed a bit and yet I haven't even managed to drop another pound. Maybe it's the beer...

5. I haven't had a cupcake in 6 weeks. That's right, the self-diagnosed cupcake addict has managed to avoid those little handheld servings of yummy, sugary, calorie-packed, waist-widening, addictive goodness. Until tomorrow. Tomorrow I will be having one of each from my beloved Gigi's:

Italian Cream

Kentucky Bourbon Pie

Being Artsy

A few weekends ago I finally mustered up the motivation to try a project I had found on Pinterest. My mom agreed to help (that assisted with the motivation issue) so while the weather was nice we hauled the supplies out and "got 'er done". I failed to take before and after pictures but basically, I bought the following supplies from Michael's:

• 9 8x8" canvases
• 3 bottles of acrylic paint- I chose red, orange, and yellow
• 1 tube of white acrylic paint
• 1 bottle of gloss medium
• A couple of paint brushes
• 1 small tipped squeeze bottle
• A paint tray

We laid the canvases out in rows of 3x3. Starting at the bottom left, the first square was painted straight red. The next 2 squares moving diagonally up were red mixed with orange. The middle 3 squares diagonally were straight orange. The 2 squares going diagonally towards the top right were orange mixed with yellow, and the final top right square was straight yellow. Once those were dry, we went over them with gloss medium which helped make them less flat and dull looking. After another bit of time to dry, I mixed the white acrylic and some gloss medium in the squeeze bottle, pushed all the canvases back together in the order I wanted them, and squirted out a random pattern. It took the white paint a while to dry, but the squares were then separated and mounted on the wall 1" apart. It's not the prettiest thing I've ever seen but I kind of like it!

Chocolate Chip PB Cup Gooey Butter Cake

Last week was the end of my 2-year contract at my current job, and the other two nurses who started the same time as me agreed we should celebrate making it through the program. Given that my unit is so large I wanted to bake something that could feed quite a few people, so I decided on a pan of brownies (with icing and crushed cherries, mind you) and another version of Paula Deen's Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake which I made several times over the holidays. I found the second recipe on Pinterest and was delighted to find out that it's essentially the same recipe, only this time there's chocolate chips instead of pumpkin. Because I was feeling especially sugar-obsessed, I decided to take it one step further and add a layer of Reese's PB cups in there also. Queue diabetic coma.

Crust:

• 1 box butter-recipe cake mix
• 1 egg
• 1 stick butter, melted

Filling:

• 1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 16oz box powdered sugar
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1 bag chocolate chips
• 1 large bag Reese's PB cups

Recipe:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Light grease a 9x13in baking pan
• In a bowl combine ingredients for crust, and mix with an electric mixer (it will be very thick)
• Pat into bottom of pan
• Unwrap PB cups and line them up in rows on top of the bottom layer
• Using the mixer again, beat cream cheese until smooth
• Add eggs and vanilla to cream cheese
• Add powdered sugar in slowly as you're still mixing the previous ingredients
• Reduce mixer speed and add in melted butter
• Once everything is blended smoothly add in bag of chocolate chips
• Pour filling onto PB cups and spread evenly
• Bake for 45-60 min (it took me almost 60 min)- the center is supposed to be gooey so don't over-bake!
• Remove from oven and allow to cool completely
• You can also drizzle melted chocolate on the top but I didn't go that far!
• Cut into bars and enjoy!

Breakfast Sandwich

While browsing Pinterest the other day (what? me? on Pinterest? no...) I got an idea for a breakfast sandwich. It's crazy good and crazy full of protein, so if you have bad kidneys, don't eat it.

All you need is 2 slices of bread, fresh sliced avocado (AB blended it up to make a paste), a tomato, a fried egg, and some bacon, and ta-da:

Good stuff. Try some.

Lazy Cake Cookies

Yet another recipe from Pinterest: Lazy Cake Cookies from the I'm A Lazy Mom blog. They were super-easy to make and tasted awesome. Plus, the cookies stayed moist even as leftovers.

Recipe:

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 5 tbs butter
• 2 cups chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Blend ingredients in large bowl (the mixture will be fairly dry so use an electric mixer)
3. Spray 9x13 pan with butter
4. Spread batter into pan and bake for 20min
5. Serve- esp good with ice cream

Baked Ziti

So I have a slight problem with pasta...carbs...all starches...which would totally explain my waistline issues. Regardless, I love them and will continue to consume them at an unusually high rate. Enter tonight's dinner, baked ziti. Huge surprise- I got the recipe off of Pinterest and since my dad was coming over for dinner I figured a recipe that produced a massive amount of food would be beneficial; we all need leftovers the rest of the week.

Recipe:

• 1 pound dry ziti pasta
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 pound Italian sausage
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasonings
• 2 jars (26 ounces each) spaghetti sauce
• 6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced ( 9 rounds)
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
• grated Parmesan cheese

1. Boil pasta per box instructions
2. At the same time, brown onions and sausage in large skillet- I started with some olive oil and then added a bit of chardonnay for flavoring
3. Once browned, add in chopped garlic and Italian seasoning
4. Pour in 2 jars of sauce and simmer for 15 minutes
5. Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9x13 casserole pan
6. Add ingredients in following order:
1. 1/2 ziti
2. 1/2 sauce mix
3. Provolone
4. Sour cream
5. Remaining ziti
6. Remaining sauce mix
7. Mozarella
8. Parmesan
7. Cover with tin foil and bake for 20 min
8. Remove tinfoil and bake for 10 min more to brown cheese
9. Serve with garlic bread or salad




Browning sausage and onions




Simmering






Layering






Preparing to go in oven






Final product

Bacon, Tomato, & Avocado Pasta

Another recipe that I found on Pinterest was for a creamy bacon, avocado, and tomato pasta salad. The first time I made it was for my family, and since it was a hit I made it again for AB this past Saturday. The recipe is super-easy (b/c I need things that way) and the end result is delicious.

Recipe:

• 6 slices bacon, chopped into one inch pieces
• 1/2 pound dried rotini pasta
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 1 avocado pitted and sliced

1. Cook pasta according to directions on box; strain and run under cold water
2. Cook bacon and place on paper towels- once cooled cut into small pieces
3. Whisk together mayo, lemon, salt, garlic powder, white pepper, and dill
4. Cut tomatoes into halves
5. Cut avocado into small pieces
6. Combine all ingredients in large bowl and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes
7. Serve

Hearty Crockpot Potato Soup

I've been stalking Pinterest for months now, and recently I actually started trying things I discovered on there. One thing I've never been much of is a cook, but being married to someone who can cook has made me want to contribute at least partially. Yesterday I got the urge to try this crockpot potato soup and needless to say, I (nor AB) was disappointed. For the most part I followed the recipe, but since I love veggies I had to add a little extra in. If you decide to try this recipe make sure you have a LARGE crockpot- it filled mine up and we have leftovers for days.

Recipe:

• 6 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes- ~2.5lbs
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 3 carrots, thinly sliced
• 3 celery ribs, thinly sliced
• 2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans low-sodium fat-free chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half (I used regular, the recipe calls for fat-free)

1. Combine first 8 ingredients in slow cooker, and cook on HIGH for 3 hrs or until veggies are tender
2. Combine flour and half-and-half then pour into slow cooker
3. Cover and cook for 30 more minutes or until soup is hot 
4. Pour soup into bread bowls (we got ours from Panera and they were awesome)

First 8 ingredients in slow cooker

Flour and half-and-half added

Bread bowls

Final product



I've Been Busy

I had gotten excited about keeping this blog updated regularly but as always, life gets in the way. I've tried several new recipes from Pinterest (I swear I will put up recipes and pictures when I stop being so slack), have increased the work outs, and have started studying for the GRE. I've also bought about 20 books from Amazon and have been unable to break my sick addiction to Gossip Girl on Netflix so needless to say, my spare time is not so empty.

I've increased my running distance up to 2.5 miles with a bunch of elliptical workouts thrown in between; I still can't breathe worth a crap but I'm also finally going to see a cardiologist in a few weeks (long story, stemming from much more than breathing problems). I'm working on it though- the 5K with my sister is in 2 weeks so I have no excuses!

I plan on writing some better posts soon (with pictures)...

Blogger Fail

So I'm realizing that when I work 4 days in a row at the hospital, and then come home at 9pm every night only to turn around and walk the dogs and then run/ellipticate, that I don't have much time to blog during the week. I also have no time to cook or be crafty so that totally puts a damper on my blog awesomeness. This past week was rather stressful; work has me wanting to pull my hair out and that's a bad thing seeing as though my hair is too thin anyways. I managed to exercise every day except for Wednesday and doing other cardio exercises is definitely helping with my breathing issues.

This weekend AB and I are headed to the lake (huge teardrop for boating season coming to an end, especially since we won't be here next year for it!), cooking out with my parents, cleaning (boo!), and I will attempt my canvas project I found on Pinterest. Get psyched for an update.

Cookies and Cheesecake

AB and I have been craving cheesecake for almost a week now, so yesterday I did a Google search for "mini cheesecake recipes" and found one for cookies and cream cheesecake. Yum. I went and grabbed the ingredients from the store, came home, and got baking (but only after I made some more kale chips, which of course my husband refuses to try because of the smell). The recipe was very easy, and the cheesecakes are wonderful. They're even better today after sitting in the fridge all night than they were yesterday.

Ingredients:

• A bag of Oreos (because they're better than the cheap sandwich cookies)
• 1lb cream cheese at room temp
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 275. Line muffin tray with liners (I used foil) and put an Oreo in the bottom of each one

Beat the cream cheese with a mixer until smooth (so it REALLY needs to be at room temp) and then slowly add sugar, vanilla, eggs, sour cream, and salt. Once that's mixed, crush up some Oreos (I used around 10) and fold them into the mixture (not using the beater)

Fill each muffin cup with batter- I did all the way to the top- then pop in the over for 20 minutes

Once done, remove, let cool, and then stick in fridge. The longer they cool the better they get; it gives the bottom oreo time to soften up a little. Enjoy!

They were definitely a success- I think AB ate 3-4 before bed last night.

Next up on the attempt to be creative, I'm going to try an artsy-type project I found on Pinterest. I went to Michael's and bought the paints and canvases so I'll do an update once I get that done.

In a little while I'm headed to the vet to get the dogs started on Adequan; it's supposed to work wonders for arthritis and with both of the dogs getting old I don't want to wait until they're really uncomfortable!