I Blinked..

I closed my eyes and it became 2012, I swear, I blinked and it was the end(ish) of May. Where has the time gone? Time needs to slow down, for goodness sake, my "baby" (not to be confused with my "little baby" that has four legs and fur) is going to be a MIDDLE SCHOOLER. Nooooo...But anyway, I am enjoying the time raising my "baby" to be a great person!

Some of you may know that I have chosen to become a Vegan! After 30+ years as a vegetarian, I think it is just a natural progression. To be honest, I do not know what took me so long (cheese, maybe?). I wanted to start this journey after my birthday (the end of this month) because Mason and I started a tradition last year of making a trip to Pittsburgh to celebrate my birthday at The Cheesecake Factory (yummm, cheesecake!). I wanted to take a week and try it out before I went "cold tofurky." I went grocery shopping and loaded up on the usual vegan supplies: fruits and veggies! As long as I wash and cut the fruit, Mason will devour it. Breakfast was not too much of a change. I usually eat a smoothie with whole wheat toast, very rarely would I eat eggs. Lunch was a different story, I would choose cottage cheese or a Chobani (ohhh, chobani, you stole my heart) yogurt. Dinner went either way. So, with a few adjustments, I was ready to tackle that week animal-product free. I started eating a big salad for lunch with any and every veggie (or fruit) that I could find to top it. Sunflower seeds for some crunch and a low-fat dressing, YUM! I started craving and looking forward to building a new (and much different) salad everyday! After a week of creating new, interesting recipes (most off the top of my head), I have to say, I LOVE THIS!! I feel so good! I found a lot of resources online that have been very helpful in making the (not so big) switch.

My dilemma: Friday night pizza night. Every Friday night Mason and I have pizza. Sometimes it is plain cheese, other times it is mushroom and black olive, but my favorite is green-salsa pizza! It is so good and easy! What to do? So, in an effort to try and solve my problem, I looked for Vegan Cheese. Yep, they make that. I found a company on facebook that makes all kinds of dairy-soy-meat alternatives. So, I "liked" them on Facebook and wouldn't you know it, they had a contest to win full-size packages of their Vegan Cheese! It was a timed contest, the first 75 people (they have almost 35,000 fans, so my chances were not that great) that filled out the form on their page won a bag of their mozzarella or mexican shreds. I WON!! I chose mozzarella but they sent me BOTH flavors!

How exciting! It arrived UPS on Tuesday and I had it sitting in the fridge until this afternoon, when I planned on making the pizza early (Mason has to be somewhere tonight). Ok, I put on the green salsa and opened the bag of mozzarella. Yep. My enthusiasm stopped there. It was odd and crumbly and smelled a little "off." But, I gave it a shot anyway. I baked the pizza as usual and when I opened the oven, I was a bit disappointed, this is what the pizza looked like:

Uh.Yeah.

Now, looks are not everything (I'm not that shallow), so I decided to cut a slice and give 'er a try.

The truth is, it did not taste *horrible*, but after the first few bites, I was done with it. Oh well. I think pizza night will resume with pizzas made with lots of extra veggies, sans cheese. I like pizza like that anyway, so no biggie!

After all that I have been reading about dairy and the dairy industry, the less I miss it. I really think that, as a nation, it has been forced on us how dairy is so good for our bodies. I'm not so sure about that, and after this week and a half without it, I cannot see a point in my life where I will want to have it again. But, with foods like this:


Whole grain toast with vegan cream cheese (that is good!), fresh dill, ice cold sliced cucumbers topped with sprouts:

Homemade Tropical Oatmeal with creamy almond milk:

Who needs dairy? Yum!

~Apparently Blogger removed spell-check. This isn't good...

You Know...

I leave for a few weeks and Blogger has changed everything!! I just want everyone to know that my life is back to normal (whatever "normal" is) and I will be back to blogging this week. That is, if I can figure out all these new settings!! Ahhh, sometimes change really depresses me. I'll be back soon, keep your eyes peeled for some great new pictures!! ~And...I'll leave you with this funny picture:

Happy [Belated] Easter!

How could the EB possibly forget the Jelly Belly's? No other jelly bean is acceptable and he (or she) didn't even leave a pack in Mason's Easter basket, whooops! Perhaps a visit to Gardner's candy store will have to make up for it, at some point! Here is the only Easter picture I was able to get before my camera died:



By the looks of it, I don't think Mason missed the sugar from the jelly belly's! We had a very nice Easter weekend. The weather was amazing and Easter dinner was equally as delicious! I have to say, I may be particial, but the roasted carrots and parsnips that I made we SO good! Ratatouille, sweet potatoes, desserts, yum...! Then later, Mason and I had to time lounge and catch up on our new favorite show: North Woods Law!

This semester of school is almost over! I cannot believe how fast it has gone by! I am excited to finish up with these courses and get my finals done.

I posted on Facebook the other day that by the fourth time your SON is called your DAUGHTER, it is time for a haircut! We went to get a haircut on Friday and the wait times at multiple locations were upwards of 2 hours. I.Don't.Think.So. We finally got in to a place that, thankfully, was only about a 15 minute wait. So.....here's the new do:



It took some getting used to because I was so used to his long hair, but it is growing on me! Now we have to deal with the eyebrows. He randomly yelled down the steps that he has a 'uni-brow', it sounded oddly like he was bragging, weird. I told him he had to "man-scape" and he didn't get it!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Easter! We certainly did, Mason is as happy as can be!

No Tricks, Just April Treats!

Happy April! I cannot believe we are already into the 4th month of the year! (Dear Time, PLEASE slow down, thanks). A lot has been happening! Games, games, games! The weekends have been full of stuff! I am not complaining, I am so glad Mason is so involved with sports! He actually said the other day that he wants to start working out. He had a doctor appointment and we asked if it was ok for him to start out using the 10 pound dumbbells that we have. He wants to get in shape and be able to run faster in baseball and football. Since baseball has started I have noticed such a difference in his speed! I am thankful that he was able to get on a basketball team, it has helped him stay active all winter and make a smooth transition into baseball (translated: he's not huffing and puffing running from second to third base!).

Bring on baseball season (and all the mud that goes with it):


The shoes are last years spikes, I thought we would get another season, but no. He went to the first practice and could hardly run in them, so I got him a new pair. He also needed a new bat bag, new baseball pants, batting gloves and a helmet! Oh, this sweet child of mine is expensive!

Here is my new favorite and quick lunch:



When I get home from school or have a break during the school day, I like to come home and eat something quick and delicious! Due to the abundance of cucumbers in the summer, I imagine I will be eating this on a daily basis. This is two slices of whole grain (Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted) bread, toasted. I put a thin layer of reduced fat cream cheese, and sliced cucumbers on top. Then I top it with sea salt and fresh ground pepper! It is sooooo good! My latest obsession (although not new to me) is Chia Seeds. I have eaten them for years in my yogurt(by the way, this weeks homemade yogurt cups are lemon with chia seeds, it tastes just like lemon-poppyseed pound cake!), oatmeal, even homemade chia pudding, but recently I saw them taken to a whole new level! Chia drinks! Apparently this is an old Aztec energy recipe, but I have been experimenting with my own twist. I have made chia iced tea (that is still chilling in the fridge), chia fresca, and chia juice! It is so good. Of course, Mason rolls his eyes. I had a breakfast-on-the-go the other day of toast (the bread above), with sunflower butter (you have to try this!) and sprinkled with chia seeds. Mason could not tell me enough how disgusting it looked. I always encourage him to try new things, if he doesn't like it, that is fine, but at least he tried it. So with that, I asked him to please try it. His face was scrunched up as he took a bite of the toast, then I saw his face "not-so-scrunched", then he took a second bite (I knew at this point he REALLY liked it)! I asked him what he thought. Feeling a bit defeated, he said, "It's really good"! Score one for Mom! That is now one of his breakfast options! Chia seeds are a power/super food that has amazing health benefits.

I am not one that tends to be an impulse buyer (ok, I am but my current situation does not allow for much of it), however, when I saw this, I HAD to have it:



It's the CUPPOW! It is, hands down, the best invention, EVER. I like to drink out of Mason jars, but the concept of turning it into a travel mug? Genius. I love travel mugs (my cabinets can attest to that), but I can never get "THE perfect travel mug". Too big, not big enough, too bulky, BPA plastic-laced, ugly, pretty, whatever. I can never find the right one. That is until CUPPOW! It turns a wide mouth jar into a travel mug, I LOVE THIS!! It took weeks and weeks for this thing to arrive, so I was well prepared. I got one for Mason, too. It is just like the coffee lids at Sheetz. He seems to drink more water when it is in a fun mug and has a lid, so...Score two for Mom! Anyway, I am in love with this invention. It is a grass-roots company here in the USA, environmentally-friendly, and simply awesome. Then I ran into a problem. Coffee and tea are HOT (duh). I needed a Koozi. I cannot, for the life of me, crochet. I have seen them made for Mason jars, but I didn't want to spend a lot more money (or wait another few weeks to get it), so...this was born:



The semi-homemade koozi! I went to Walmart and found clearance socks for $2. These were perfect (maybe purrrfect?) except one little detail:

Creepy Cat Heads


No problem, I just cut them off (hahaha, evil laugh), fit them to size, sewed the tops to prevent unraveling, topped it off with a button and enjoyed a steaming cup of coffee!

Finally, most of you know that Tuesday is a big day for me! I am so excited and nervous. I keep reminding myself that if I wasn't meant to be there, I would not have this opportunity, so, bring on the day! I went shopping last week to pick up a new outfit:



I don't know if you can see the bright colors, but it is layered with different shades of coral, it is so pretty! I got this outfit at Kohl's.

Close-up of the necklace:



I found that at Target.

Last, but not least, THE SHOES



Oh, I love them! The color ties in perfectly with the top. I have black dress pants that I will wear. Please wish me luck, this is an amazing opportunity for Mason and I. I will be sure to let everyone know how it goes!

Spring Seedlings

I have been fighting the urge to move! Of course, I am not going to right now, but there is just something about moving that I love. It sure isn't the packing and actual MOVING part! It is the feeling of starting fresh. The feeling that everything can be new (even if it isn't). Maybe it is because Spring is around the corner and that always makes me want to clean and organize. I like change (for the most part). I like something different when I am bored with routine (which happens more than it should). I like to re-arrange, I do it often. Right now I want to get new furniture, change my curtains, buy new rugs, and paint! I can guarantee none of the above will happen any time soon! So....to curb the urge, I decided to buy seeds (you can see the connection, right? Right??). Every year at this time, I wish that my black thumb will turn green. Here they are:



I planted lavender, cilantro, rosemary, spearmint, sage (I think), cat grass (I will be sorry), basil, and some more lavender (did I mention that I LOVE lavender!!). I usually get so excited about the prospect of flavorful and wonderful-smelling herbs that I plant them way too soon, and then they die (enter black thumb). Hopefully that will not happen this year! I also got a few vegetable seeds, however I will wait to plant them in a few weeks. So, I hope all goes well and it curbs my desire to redecorate (or move!) and I can have a beautiful patio garden shortly!

[My Superstar]

Another weekend flying by! Mason had basketball today, the game was to finish up the tournament from last weekend (and before we start another one next weekend!), then regular scheduled games tomorrow! However.....



Mason's team won the tournament!! Yay! This is the first basketball trophy Mason has ever gotten. It will fit nicely with all his baseball and football ones :) WAY TO GO, MASON!! (I wish his hair wasn't so sloppy!!)

In between flea marketing and spray painting a project today, I found time to make my homemade yogurt cups:



Every morning I eat toast and a yogurt cup. Chobani yogurt is, by far, the world's best yogurt! I love their unique flavors and the thick, creamy, greek yogurt is hard to beat. It puts all other yogurts to shame (they really should be embarrassed of themselves). But (and it's a BIG but), the cost of such indulgence is adding up. At $1.29 a cup, I can easily spend $10-15 a week on yogurt!! I compromised, since I know I won't go without Chobani yogurt. I bought a large container of the plain (still $5.24 ON SALE) and made my own. I can stretch it out to get about 7 cups of yogurt and that equals out to, roughly, .75 cents a cup. I did not include the toppings, though. This week it is homemade canned plums and peaches made from someone that I hope will teach me how to can!! I love the peaches, but the plums are to die for delicious!! It is a perfect mix of sweet, melt-in-your-mouth plums with tangy yogurt. YUM! I mixed in some Chia seeds and sliced almonds. The Chia seeds will soak up all the extra juices and make it extra creamy. I almost can't wait until morning! Of course, I have to counter the healthy food. I made chocolate covered strawberries today and Mason and I can't stop eating them!!

Kale. Kale. Kale. I was on a kick early this year, drinking Kale smoothies everyday. Then it went to every other day. Then it stopped. I had an entire (huge) bag of kale in my fridge that I didn't want to go bad, so I decided to add kale to every single dish that I made. Then I made a smoothie that, well, was a little "kale-chunky." That made me not want another one FOR A LONG TIME. I am going to be honest, I was Kaled-out. I stopped eating it for a couple of weeks and then I broke down and bought another (smaller) bunch. It sat in my fridge for a couple of days just begging to be eaten in some form. So, here is what I did:



Kale Crisps!!! OMGosh, run to the nearest kale-selling store and grab a bunch! It is soooo good, you will NOT be sorry!! Slice it off the rib(?), toss it with some olive oil, salt, and pepper and place on a baking sheet. Let it bask in a 425 degree oven for about 5-10 minutes (until the edges are brown-black). Pull it out of the oven and crunch away. It takes on an entirely different taste, I couldn't believe it! You have to try it!

I will leave you today with the stunning beauty of my child on his way to take Baileigh outside:



Can you imagine what the neighbors think??

File This: Saturday

Hello on this beautiful and very windy Saturday afternoon! It is very quiet right now, but that wasn't the case about 12 hours ago! Mason had a couple of friends over and one spent the night. One would think it would only be 11 year old little girls who giggle and carry on, but not so! We had some things to do today, so I woke them up to Cinnamon Roll pancakes! I saw this recipe posted the other day online and thought it sounded delish! The smell alone was enough to make you want to eat the entire recipe! I am not too big on pancakes, so I didn't plan to eat any, just make them for Mason and his friend. I try to avoid eating white flour whenever possible because we all know that white flour is the devil



and very unhealthy. However, I could NOT resist one (or two) of these pancakes! I ended up burning myself but it was all worth it when I heard, "Thanks, these were really good, I should stay here more often" from Mason's friend!! Just take a look:



I didn't get a chance to get an "after" photo because they were all gobbled up! This will definitely be a keeper!

Since Mason had friends over, he requests "party food". Pizza, chips, etc. I usually don't keep potato chips in the house because, well, I love potato chips! As Mason was snoozing on the couch this afternoon due to lack of sleep, I decided to grab a few handfuls of chips and check Facebook. This is what I found:

And this one I like to file under the, "Awww" category:



A potato chip heart!
Now this one, I like to file under the, "I swear I didn't alter this potato chip" category:



HOW COOL IS THIS!! A perfect "M":



Since I am apparently "filing" everything today, this goes under the, "REALLY??, REALLLLLY??" file:



It is a state-of-the-art ice cube maker. Info, in case you are interested. Apparently ice is a problem when drinking fine alcohol. Priced at $800, yep....$800. I have a better solution. If your party guests complain that their Scotch is a bit diluted, perhaps you could tell them, kindly, to drink it a little faster (or just pour in more alcohol!). Wow, I guess some people really have it rough...

Finally, have you seen the prices of frozen Blackberries?? Unreal. $4.50 for the generic, 3 serving bag? Blackberries are the foundation for my smoothies and oatmeal breakfasts, but not at that price. I was so bummed when I went shopping and saw that price tag, no thank you.