Settling In.....

So, we are now moved and settled into our new place! It's kind of crazy but it's been over a month and half already! Things have been busy as usual, coupled with the vacations we have been on and trying to wrap up a few work projects, not much time to organize. So that's my next goal :) But, I have included a few pictures from our move in late June and some updated pictures of some of the projects Tim has been working on at the house! He has been SO busy getting our interim lodging in good shape and trying to get things ready to build our new house. I am so excited for the new house, but not excited for all the work it's going to be. And, I'm not even the one that will be doing most of the manual labor. I know that Tim will be really busy and under stress with work, and the house during the next 6 to 9 months, so I will do my best to keep the peace with the little guys so he can keep moving along. So, I'm excited, but just ready to have it done already....or started at least :)

Actually, we are making good progress right now with getting the building site ready. We had a total of 7 buildings on the property when we moved here, and our intention is to only have two left evenutally. So, Tim has already taken down two buildings, a neighbor took one across the field (see pics below, it was crazy!) and is waiting on a few people to pick up two more. We have had so much rain, that it has been difficult to get the buildings moved. With the constant rain we have had lately, some of this has been postponed several weeks. Who knew July and August would seem like April and May? Hopefully that means we'll have a dry fall which would be perfect for building! There is one building still scheduled to go this weekend, and then the last little building to be moved is small and out of the way, so that one is not a huge rush. There have been a few bonfires and lots of help from Tim's Dad and brother (and a few others have stopped by to pitch in along the way) to get things moving here. Once the buildings are moved Tim can work on putting the driveway in. We are also finalizing the house plans so once that is complete, then the next step would be to dig the basement. We are hoping to have that project underway soon! I've included a few demolotion pictures below as well to show some of the progress!

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De-toxing after one too many trips and treats!

So, now that we have finished our move and are settling into our new home, and have taken two trips over the last month, I have decided to detox a bit and eat clean, do an Advocare cleanse and just get back to normal, healthy eating. So, with that being said, when I go off the sweets, I crave them really badly...yikes! So, in order to have something on-hand to feed the need and not go overboard I am making some Paleo fudge. I LOVE this stuff. There are a few home-made snacks/treats that I really like, but this fudgy yummy treat pretty much tops them all. My SIL introduced the recipe to me and I have included the link to the original author here. I love coconut and the coconut oil as well as the toasted coconut really add good flavor to them!

PRIMAL FUDGE
1/2 Cup Coconut Oil
1/2 Cup High Quality Cocoa Powder
1/2 Cup Smooth Almond Butter or Natural Peanut Butter
1/8 to 1/4 Cup Raw Honey or Real Maple Syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
unsweetened coconut flakes, toasted (optional)

Melt coconut oil. Blend all ingredients except for cocunt together in a food processor or blender. Fold in most of the toasted coconut. Pour into foil-lined mini-muffin liners in a mini-cupcake pan, and sprinkle each one with a little of the remaining toasted coconut. (The small size is perfect for a treat...or you can eat two or three :) ) Chill for 30 minutres or freeze for 10 minutes. When firm, remove from the pan. Store in a sealed conatiner or freezer bag in the refrigerator or freezer...I usually keep these in the freezer as they are really yummy that way!

ENJOY!!

Summer Vacation(s)

Since the February 2011 I have been on two trips - a cruise to the Bahamas and a short weekend in DC for family weekend. So, I have been missing my vacations! Solution: I have taken 2 trips in the last month, both ALOT of fun! Overall, it's led to a pretty busy month and putting off unpacking/cleaning up ouir new place (more to come on this in a post next week!), however, it's been a nice break from the craziness we have going on our lives! In early July, my parents and I took Luke and Logan on a trip to visit my family that live in North Carolina. My first cousin, her husband, and three wonderul children were the best hosts!

We had to drive abour 8 hours one way to get there, and we chose to do so during the day, which looking back...was an OK decision ;) Overall the boys did well in the car, but they did have bouts of shrieking and my dad even had to put in some ear plugs a few times. But, we did have 2 ipads to keep them entertained so that helped as well. We arrived and spent the week just hanging out, eating delicious meals prepared by my cousin (she's a GREAT cook!) and took a few a small day trips to the water park, costco, and a small zoo/amusement park. Overall, we had a blast, but it was probably one day too long for the little guys, as they didn't sleep well there and had several meltdowns throughout. Oh, well, lessons learned! Either way, it was nice to visit and relax with family and kind of fun to get away!

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 2nd trip I took was a girls weekend to Virginia to visit my sister. My mom, other sister and I drove to Virginia on a Friday and stayed through Monday morning. There are so many yummy places to eat in the Virginia/DC area! I definitely indulged a bit, which has lead to my strict clean eating/cleanse going on currently (I really needed it after the sugar overload I have had recently!). We also, took a little trip to several Virginia wineries which was so great! I found out I really like Chardonnay and there were several dry reds I enjoyed as well. We also, made sure to squeeze in some quality exercising, so we tried out aspin studio that I think my sister will be going back to and went to a flow yoga class at the studio she has a membership to. These were new experiences for my mom, and I think she enjoyed trying out something new. The weekend away from all my boys was kind of a nice way to relax and take a breather. As I have mentioned before, they keep me very busy and always moving, so having just a little break was nice. Here are some pics from travels!

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Souvenir for the little guys :)

Favorite for Breakfast

I have been making a few new recipes and a few old standbys and thought I I would try to share them with you! First, I have had a request to share my baked oatmeal recipe. What's like about this one is that you can make it and then reheat and eat it the rest of the week. And it's not just plain old oatmeal. I tend to tweak it a bit and try different things in it, but I'll give you the my recipe and the link to the original. Hope you like it

I have provided the link with the original recipe for the oatmeal that I make, but I usually make some modifications, so I'll list my recipe below, and you can check out the link if you want to!I also usually make 1/2 a recipe bake it in a bread pan and eat one serving fresh. Then chop it in to squares put it in the fridge and take out portions for breakfast each morning. When I reheat it I usually add in some milk and warm it in the microwave.


Baked Oatmeal with Blueberries and Bananas (Substitute strawberries/raspberries for bananas)

Ingredients:

2 medium ripe bananas, (the riper the better) sliced into 1/2" pieces - substitute sliced strawberries or raspberries for the bananas if wanted

1 1/2 cup blueberries

1/4 cup maple syrup (you can use honey or agave if you want)

1 cup uncooked old fashioned oats

1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

1 -2 tsp. of chia seeds or flax seed

3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk - vanilla flavored

1/4 cup plain greek yogurt

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Lightly spray a 8 x 8" or 9 x 9" ceramic baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.

Arrange the banana slices in a single layer on the bottom of the ceramic dish. Sprinkle half of the blueberries over the bananas, 1/4 tsp of the cinnamon, 1 tbsp of the syrup and cover with foil. Bake 15 minutes, until the bananas get soft.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the oats, half of nuts, baking powder, remaining cinnamon, and salt; stir together. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining syrup, milk, egg, and vanilla extract.

Remove the bananas from the oven, then pour the oat mixture over the bananas and blueberries.

Pour the milk mixture over the oats, making sure to distribute the mixture as evenly as possible over the oats. Sprinkle the remaining blueberries and walnuts over the the top.

Bake the oatmeal for about 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the oatmeal has set. Serve warm from the oven.

Enjoy it warm out of the oven (that's when it's best!!) and then for the rest of the week add a little milk or almond milk and reheat it and eat it!

Trying out something new on the Blog - Recipe Posts! Today: Yummy Egg Salad Recipe

I have been wanting to add some of my favorite recipes to the Blog forever and I have been waiting to for when I have time....errr, well I don't have any more time than I did before so I just decided to squeeze it in and post today real quick :) I'll try to add some more things soon! 

I found this recipe on one my favorite blogs - Eating Bird Food and I started making/eating this during lent because it doesn't have any meat in it. Of course you can substitute chicken or tuna for the egg in this recipe if you prefer! It's super yummy and a healthier spin on traditional egg salad and easy to make! If you want it with a li1ttle less calories, only use 1 or 2 of the egg yolks, and the rest just egg whites! I like to eat it with triscuits, but you can toast up some bread, lettuce, or just fork it in all by itself :) Enjoy!

Curried Avocado Egg Salad

Ingredients
4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
½ large avocado, cubed
½ Tablespoon dijon mustard (I just use a litle bit of this, it can be a little strong...)
1-2 teaspoons relish or chopped pickles 
1-2 teaspoons green onion, chopped1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
¾ teaspoon curry powderdash of hot sauce
sea salt and ground pepper, to taste

Instructions:
Add the avacado to a bowl and mash it up. Add in remaining ingredients except for eggs and mix up until blended. Chop up the eggs (or chicken or tuna) and add into the bowl and mix together with a fork. Season with additional salt and pepper. 

Check out the original blogpost for this awesome recipe: Curried Egg Salad